Browsing: Restaurant Features

Le Bebe Rouge

June18

I have a wonderfully, diverse career.  There are times when I spend solitary time writing, other times when I am highly engaged in the media world, learning about new products and strategies and planning and executing them with the assistance of many media partners.  And then there are the times, which I enjoy the most, and that is when I get to teach.   My favourite students are adults, particularly adults who are learning a brand new social media skill or going back into a career world.

On one such day, I was asked to lead a team-building training session for a group of 55+ers.  At the end of this half day, I came away knowing about the hardships and joys and sorrows of being a part of a group of this kind.  And as I often conclude, I came away more educated than when I went to do the educating.

The rural community where the session took place was Ste. Pierre, just south of Niverville on Hwy. 59.  I had always wanted to visit as Sister #3 had friends residing there and had often told me about a little restaurant called Le Bebe Rouge.

So on my way home, after a satisfying day, I stopped in to pick up an early supper.  I chose their signature burger as prompted by Sister #3 and then could not resist the urge to try the poutine.  I was in a rural French community after all, likely similar to the one where poutine originated in the first place.  Now I must confess, I have actually entered into a 12 step treatment program to control my addiction to poutine.  I was successful in limiting myself to one delicious taste and then I sealed the container up again so that I would not be tempted by more.  I did not even allow myself to take a photo of them.  They did not go to waste though, D enjoyed them the next day for lunch.

The burger in the mean time was perfect- a beautifully cooked all beef patty, with appropriate squirts of mustard, relish and ketchup, melted cheese and crispy lettuce.  I am guessing that the bun had been laid a top of the grill because it was sweet, soft and moist.  The burger all comes together like a mystery, my never being able to identify the one clue of its success.

So if you ever find yourself in Ste Pierre or if you ever just need an excuse for a lovely drive south of the city,  Le Bebe Rouge is the first gas station on your left just at the north edge of town.

Kath’s quote:  “It requires a certain kind of mind to see beauty in a hamburger bun. Yet is it any more unusual to find grace in the texture and softly carved silhouette of a bun than to reflect lovingly on the hackles of a fishing fly? Or the arrangements and textures on a butterfly’s wing? ”-Ray Kroc

Love-that is all.

Rudy’s Eat and Drink

June13

My lunch meeting at Rudy’s Eat and Drink was one of those classic adventures where I scoured the dining room room for his familiar face before being sat down in the lounge and then spent the rest of the time looking at my watch and thinking that perhaps I had the day or the meeting time wrong.  In the mean time, he was in the dining room doing exactly the same thing.  He had just sat back down after doing another lap looking for me, when we finally intercepted.

While I was alone, I was entertained and content.  Not only could I get caught up on my Blackberry messages but the bar is equipped with TV screens that displays their Twitter feed and I was challenged by seeing my own message appear on their screen.  So too, the male servers at Rudy’s are particularly gorgeous and I know handsome when I see it (my husband of almost 28 years being quite the catch)!

But, as usual, I digress.  To the food…

My friend had Rudy’s Reuben and was well pleased.  Stacked high with pastrami, it also contains sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Russian dressing.  The latter is very similar to Thousand Island dressing and some say that they are interchangeable.  My guess is that on a Reuben, they would be hard to distinguish, but that is just my hunch.  My eye was drawn by the house bacon that I spotted on the salad.  Bacon in a Caesar is a treat that we like to make at home.

While I had spent time on my own, one of the servers came over and asked if I had dined at Rudy’s before.  When I told him no, he proceeded to tell me the quality story of Rudy’s kitchen and their “from scratch” cooking style including the fact that they cure all of their own meats on premise.  He was very sincere about their philosophy and it was recited in such a genuine way that I was duly impressed.  This, having worked behind the scenes in the restaurant business, is the sign of excellent training.

When it was my turn, I made a combative choice of the Dueling Tuna.  Said to be a battle between carpaccio and tartar, my natural demeanor must have taken over, because they tasted quite harmonious to me.  I do recall having to have some fruit before my dinner time because I was not fully satiated after my light lunch.  Next time I may chose something a bit more substantial.

Rudy's Eat and Drink on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “’Hey, Earthman? You hungry kid?’ said Zaphod’s voice. ‘Er, well, yes, a little peckish, I suppose,’ said Arthur. ‘Okay, baby, hold tight,’ said Zaphod. ‘We’ll take in a quick bit at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.’”-Douglas Adams

Love-that is all.

Unburger Revisited

June12

Over a year has come and gone since the opening of Unburger and D had still not had a chance to visit there.  But the fabulous little place was “top of mind” since Uptown’s- Best of Winnipeg list had come out and indicated that it was voted “best new restaurant” on the vibrant Winnipeg scene.  (Food Musings was declared “best Winnipeg blog”-quite an honour).  A casual dinner with a business friend from out of town became the right occasion and D finally ventured in.

D just had to have the Drunken Aussie, tempted by the taste combination of beets, double smoked bacon and Bothwell cheese.

But look more closely for the real taste sensation-an omega three, perfectly cooked,  sunny side up egg, perched on top.  This makes for glorious, rich and goey eating.

Our American friend loved her Chicken Burger (but I was holding the table by the window and was not in ear shot to hear which one she ordered).

I was well pleased with my choice of a Bella Burger- a portabella mushroom burger with a special treat of balsamic onions.

At Unburger even the sides are good or shall I say the sides are especially good.  I was really hoping that D or our friend would have ordered either of the potato fries but was not disappointed by the “Edamommy” in curry salt and was over the moon for the 8 Grain Energy Salad that D and I both chose.  It was chock full of 2 kids of quinoa and roasted almonds-yummers!

Kyle came over to say hi but quickly had to get back to expediting the hot orders from the busy kitchen to his hungry guests.  It sure is wonderful to see young talent like the Unburger guys obviously doing so well.  The food and the restaurant itself is fresh and clean and simply adorned.

The evening was gorgeous and so we had a walk through the village and ended the evening with a glass of wine at the new/old Basil’ s patio-a perfect summer evening in Winnipeg.

Unburger on Urbanspoon

Kaths quote: “Love and eggs are best when they are fresh.” –Russian proverb

Deer + Almond

June4

Sometimes connecting with long-standing friends feels as if there were never any gaps in your time together.  Such is the case when friends Laura and Sue indicated that they wanted to take me out for a birthday lunch.  We have celebrated many of my birthdays together but not so many as of late.  I miss our times together but we made up for lost time with this rendezvous.  We enjoyed bonding chats and a beautiful bottle of wine (2 in fact) and the food-ah the food!

Tapas is my favourite menu style but is not conducive to all lunch gatherings.  I have shared so many forkfuls off of plates not my own, with this trio though, that it is not an issue.  There was a time when we enjoyed dim sum together almost once a week.

There was harmony in our selections and the end result was a delectable sampling of tastes.

My first bite was of Potato and Egg and I could have happily, eaten an entire plate (potato lover that I am).  The tiny multi-coloured potatoes where lightly squashed and then topped with shredded egg and fish eggs.  The saltiness of the roe was a perfect compliment to the silky oil and perfectly cooked potatoes which tasted almost sweet.

The spicy cilantro chicken came next and although it was undercooked, the meat was succulent with a little bit of heat at the end of a bite.  The cilantro garnish did not seem to be an essential flavour in the dish.  Too bad-I love the fresh taste of cilantro with chicken.

One of their specials was grilled fava beans with feta which were unique and delicious.

I have no idea what the ingredients of this last selection were but the details do not really matter when something tastes this good.  The grilled cheese was creamy and silky and the bread perfectly grilled with what tasted to me like an extra generous glob of butter.  Whatever else was stuffed inside, perfectly blended with the identified tastes.

The locale at 85 Princess Street is nicely appointed but very noisy as there are no floor or wall coverings on concrete to buffer the boisterous lunch chatter.  We solved this by staying half the afternoon, when it became much quieter.

I find the decor of my favourite Winnipeg restaurant-Segovia, cozier and their staff more acquainted with the passion of tapas but I was definitely intrigued by what Deer + Almond has going on and will likely check them out again.

Deer + Almond on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote: “Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”M.F.K. Fisher

Love-that is all.

Sunday Lunch at Pine Ridge Hollow

May31

There are times when D and I head out to the cottage for a short time without packing up any groceries.  This is a far cry from the days when the kids were growing up and we looked like the Beverley Hillbillies even when we were just packed up for a short time.  This weekend, was a case in point.  We arrived in time for Saturday evening dinner at the “big” cottage as it is affectionately known (meaning that it is “bigger” than our tiny one).  On Sunday morning we had coffee fixings and then we headed 2/3 of the way into town and ventured into beautiful Bird’s Hill Park.

When we arrived at Pine Ridge Hollow (without a reservation) we were told that there would be a 15 minute wait, which we gladly used to snoop around their splendid gift shop.  The decor items are gorgeous and perfect for the cottage, so we made a couple of little purchases.

When we were sat in the second floor dining room, we noticed many multi-generational families in large groups finishing up their lunches.  We’ll have to remember this special gathering place in the future.

I was an absolute thug after we perused the menu because it was so beautiful, I had a difficult time making a choice.  The physical layout of the menu has a number of photos and sections and little anecdotal words.  I guess I was so drawn to it because it is very much like my blog template.

In the end I chose the apple, walnut and goat cheese salad, which after I ordered it, realized that is was almost exactly what I ordered my last time to a restaurant (that being Dessert Sinsations the previous Thursday).  I told you I was distracted….

Even though the ingredients were very similar, they tasted very different and I enjoyed Pine Ridge’s version just as much.  Just one tiny suggestion-the server knew that I was avoiding deep-fried items because I had already passed on the pickerel for that reason and yet the two disks of goat cheese were panko coated and deep-fried.  I set them aside and had them packaged up for a treat for D.

D on the other-hand, knew exactly what he wanted and ordered it immediately.  He loved their Reuben as he indicated that it was not over-powered by dressing and cheese and the quality of the corn beef and the pungent sauerkraut shown through.  He was also tickled with the hand-cut fries and added that it was one of the best Reubens that he had ever tasted!

I also enjoyed my individual pot of tea so much that I asked for the pot to be refilled with hot water.  I can’t specifically say whether it was the tea itself or the quaint little tea pot that the soothing liquid was served in.

The attention to detail on this property is unsurpassed in the decor, plate presentation and the facility as a whole.  As we walked through the garden on our way back to the car, we could not help but notice that they are perfectly set up for weddings.  If they go to such trouble for a simple lunch, imagine the effort that would go into a wedding!

Pineridge Hollow on Urbanspoon

Kath’s quote:  “The table was set up inside the cartshed. On it there were four sirloins of beef, six fricassees of chicken, casseroled veal, three legs of mutton and, in the centre, a beautiful roasted sucking pig, flanked by four chitterlings with sorrel.”-Gustave Flaubert

Love-that is all.

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