A foodie with a conscience…not as great as it sounds

Here are some things to know about my foodie background. I come from a rather large french family who plans meals weeks in advance. I’ve been groomed to savour food, finish your plate and enjoy the amazing culinary experiences brought before you by aunts/moms/grandmas. Much like Kath’s family, we show our love through sharing great food!

During the week I’m fairly laid back in the kitchen; nothing to complicated unless both Doug (editor note: her Doug is Doug #2 as my Doug is Doug #1) and I are home. But usually once a month we book a “grown up” date with our favourite foodie couple to try out a new restaurant. This month we decided on “The District” in Winnipeg’s exchange district. One of Doug’s good friends is a manager there, and after he was done work he sat down to dinner with us to show us some of the highlights of this great restaurant.

Having opened just over a year ago, The District is a unique downtown dining experience. Dinner is served in an open, airy room that feels elegant but still comfortable. We started with a lovely red wine (which of course I will never remember the name of, but apparently we really liked it judging by the number of bottles we drank).

For appetizers we tried an amazing Berkshire Pork. I love the way their menu is laid out, and basically tells you all of the elements of the dish you’re about to try.

Ex: Berkshire Pork

Confit belly lemongrass ginger poached granny smith apple

brioche french toast smoked walnut maple puree!

That’s right, Pork and French Toast…a match made in heaven.

We also went for the appetizer special of the evening which was a simple but delicious bison ravioli. To die for. Something to note is that pretty much everything in this place is made in house, and usually fresh that day.

I was torn between the halibut, but ultimately went with something that I would never usually consider in a restaurant: rabbit. Here is what the menu described.

Rabbit

black olive roma tomato braised leg

smoked loin pearl barley risotto cumin roasted carrot (substitute for asparagus because cooked carrot is about the ONLY thing I can’t stand).

I was staring at my menu thinking “how often am I going to have the chance to eat a well prepared piece of rabbit. If I’m going to form an opinion about this type of meat, I might as well try it in an upscale restaurant paired with my favourite side dish (i LOVE risotto).

So, I ignored the slight nagging voice in my head (and the voices at the table teasing me for my ethical dilemma) and went for it. The meal came, and despite my friend sitting across the table wiggling her nose in bunny fashion at me, the meal was amazing. The risotto was creamy and done perfectly with big chunks of chorizo in it, and sauce that came with the rabbit was beautifully done and featured a lot of Mediterranean flavours.

We finished the meal with a yummy desert and then headed to the lounge side of the building for a night cap and some pool. The lounge is across the hall, and what a beautiful room it is! Deep red walls, paintings of jazz musicians and big comfy leather chairs invites you in to the warm atmosphere (we lost track of time which resulted in a very tired me for work the next morning).

I’m still feeling pangs of guilt for eating a rabbit, but it was something that i had to at least try. Being a city girl I’m slightly removed when it comes to my dining choices, but I think this meal made me take steps in a positive direction to understand and be thankful for where my food is coming from.

So there you have it…meaning found behind a meal and a fabulous downtown restaurant that I would highly recommend to Winnipeggers looking for something different!