Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Theo Bill's Restaurant


SO I am constanly driving up and down Victoria ave with my friends and family and really, there is so much on that drive that it all becomes a blur. But last time we were driving down victoria after a mildly successful breakfast at perkins my friend cassie mentioned that she heard that this 'theo bill's' place was good.
and my friends, like me, are ridiculously indecisive. so to have a preplanned place to go for breakfast is a novelty for us. On sat it was Cassie's birthday and we went for breakfast...and without even using my google search for 'breakfast regina' i was able to decide on theo bill's. We drove up and it looked pretty busy from the outside.. we walked in to a very weird scene.. about 8 eldery men by a pool table sitting and drinking..... interesting. we sat down at a booth and thought.. this cant be right. so we decided to venture further and low and behold there was actually a restaurant part. THANK GOD.
so we walked in and had a seat. the service wasnt bad. it took a bit to get our menus and coffee but there was one woman working and it was kinda busy. after a bit she was great, always there with more coffee and really talkative and likable. which i think is something you really need at a breakfast place.. you want to feel like you are being served pancakes from your mom.. they always taste better that way dont they?
me and cassie both ordered a basic breakfast... bacon, eggs, toast and hashbrowns. and i am not kidding you, it came in less than 2 mins. it was great!!! a great basic breakfast... eggs done right. and the hashbrowns were so good!!! seasoned well and not deepfried, they were just like homemade hashbrowns. they were soo good.
downfall: we were a little put off by the grungyness of the place and the smell... but i assume the smell was from some customers boot as a leftover from the barn... not really the restaurants fault but it didnt make my food taste any better!

if you're looking for a good, and fast, breakfast place.. then head here. its worth it.. it was 10.40 for 2 breakfasts and coffee. what a freakishly good deal!

Aroma Saskatoon



On a recent spur of the moment road trip to saskatoon I made a stop at Aroma restaurant. It is located in the radisson lobby and is a great restauarnt to have readily accessable when you are travelling. I never ate supper there but I wish I had. Once i sat down and read the menu there were about 5 things i wanted to eat. But I was there for some drinks and Appi's. so thats what I had. I started off with a ceasar (the drink) which was actually pretty good. there was only one server and the service was kinda slow but we were in no rush so it didnt really matter to us. then decided on the bison wellingtons. they were pretty good, not excellent. the meat was cooked well and the dough surrounding them was good at one point i am sure but by the time I got it, it was a little doughy and soggy. but I am sure if they were hot off the press they would have been great. the gravy underneath the mini wellingtons was really good as well... it could have used some kind of cream of something inside the wellingtons since it was shaved meat and not one peice of meat covered in pastry.
last but not least I got the brulee trio.. it was chocolate, caramel and saskatoon berry..... the saskatoon berry creme brulee was amazing.. so creamy and prefect crust on top. the chocolate was like a thick chocolate truffle.. so creamy and good.. the one downfall was the caramel one in the middle.. it wasnt in a cute little cup but just sitting there .. there was no burnt crust on the top and it was all slimey and watery. but i just ignored it and enjoyed the other two. It was worth it just for the saskatoon berry brulee.
i really like the atmosphere in aromas and i did like the food.. i am sure the main courses would be great. went there the next morning for breakfast and it was AWSOME.... well priced and great food! and it filled me up!
I'd check it out for sure if you're in the mood for some different appi's and great breakfast in the morning.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

La Bodega







On Jan 10th 2009 I went to La Bodega with my friend Cassie. It is a Tapas Bar and Grill in Regina. When we arrived it was busy and we had to wait a little. One small problem was that there was no place to wait for a table. It is in a renovated character home and they never created a seating space for waiting customers. so we stood in a room which was for a large group and waited for our table. We didn't wait too long and we were seated in the bar area at a little table in the back. it was a good size and it was kinda nice being away from all the people getting crazy drunk at the bar. It was very loud and it was hard to have a conversation without yelling at each other! we were so excited to be there and we were committed to trying new things that we had never tried.




We started off with 3 dishes. The first was Fois Gras and Italian Truffles (terrine of Fois Gras and truffles served with croustini). It was interesting because the fois gras was so creamy and didnt have an extremely distinct taste but I loved the texture. The truffles (which i had never tried before) were different. They really tastes 'earthy'. It's not like they tasted like dirt but there was a distinct taste that made me think that these were just plucked from the ground. The two mixed together were a good combination and I think I prefer them together than appart. I liked how they were presented as well.. kinda like a yin yang..one side completely creamy fatty duck liver and the other this earthy fungi but they go great together. the next was the duck, which I was not super impressed with. The outside was nice and crispy but the duck was kind of tough. Not what i would expect of a restaurant like this.


Next we had the Mushroom Strudel (mushrooms, nutmeg and herbed cream cheese, wrapped in phyllo and oven baked). I am not a really big mushroom fan but this was really good. we actually tried the two other dishes before and these were slightly cold by the time we got to them but they were still really good. the cream cheese with the mushroom and the phyllo was a great textural combination. The spices were great and it actually made me like mushrooms a little bit.




After the first three I was able to convince Cassie to try the steak Tartare (ground raw beef topped with an egg yolk, accompanied by minced onion, parsley,anchovies, capers, Dijon mustard and toasted baguettes). we were completely oblivious on how to eat this and thank goodness for our waiter who explained that we were suppose to mix it all together and then put lemon juice on it... or we would have just taken and spoonfull of raw meat and jammed it in our mouths! so me and cassie did our duty and mixed the meat with the egg yolk and then began to mix everything else in and the squeezed the lemon juice on. our one mistake was squeezing too much lemon on.... or maybe ordering this in the first place. we had both never tried this before and it was fun to try but it wasnt to either of our tastes. it actually kinda tasted like seafood to me. the texture was not that great.. I thought it would be more like rare steak but it was a totally different texture. if you want to try something different, by all means order this. I dont know if i would order it again.. and its not due to the quality of the steak tartare.. just my personal taste.


For dessert we got the chocolate fondue (Dark Lindt chocolate with fresh seasonal fruit and nuts). i enjoyed the fondue just because it was fondue. the fruit they gave was unusual and not that great for dipping in chocolate.. we had honeydew, cantelope, oranges, pineapple, watermelon and apples. There were no banana's or strawberries which are soo great with chocolate. The best part of the fondue was the chopped up nuts or toffee in the middle that you can dip your chocolate covered fruit into. it was wonderful!
We had a great time at La Bodega. Our waiter was THE BEST and we never had to wait very long for our food. I am dying to go back and try some other interesting things that they have on their menu. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you're looking for something different... and they make a pretty good sangria as well.

Cin Cin







On Jan. 3rd 2009 I was still in Vancouver and after a long day of shopping a friend and I decided to head to a restaurant that we had stumbled upon on Robson Street. It was called Cin Cin and it was on the second floor. It is a beautiful restaurant and it feels like you have stepping into another country when you walk in. The atmosphere is more 'classy' (dare i say) and the waitstaff all whore button up shirts with ties. we felt a little out of place, well at least i did but i was very excited to eat the food. we were seated right away at a cute little table by the terrace and Sarah ordered us some wine. I wish I could say that I carefully chose a wonderful bottle of white to go with our meal but I have no clue about wine other than it tastes good. So I left that decision up to my Friend Sarah who did a wonderful job.


We were unsure as to what we should order but when I heard that the special was duck my mind was made up and I was able to convince Sarah to order it as well. I had never had duck before and I thought that if i was to eat it anywhere for the first time... THIS should be the place. I had never tried Polenta either and we got a side of polenta to try. when the duck arrived it looked so good. the outside was crispy and a little salty and the duck was done perfectly. it was a little pink inside and melted in my mouth. I dont even remember what else was on the plate because the duck was so amazing. the serverings were a good size, which was surprising for a restaurant like that. I am used to extremely small servings at places like this.


Don't forget Dessert! OHHHHHHHH, the dessert..... I ordered the Tiramisu. it was a great decision, the marcapone was wonderful and it was so creamy and the flavours were great. Sarah had beignets which were great, especially dipped in chocolate! Those both looked really pretty too!

If I were rich I would go to Cin Cin for every meal.

Just an update; I recently went to Cin Cin again when my sister and her husband were in town in Feb 2011. The food was once again amazing and very creative. The servers were so friendly and helpful. They are always a great bet for a good, wait not just good, AMAZING meal out!

Blarney Stone Gastown Vancouver


On Dec. 31st we headed out to have a wonderful new years and ended up at the Blarney Stone Pub in Gastown. I was starving and needed to fill my belly for along night of drinking and partying that was ahead of me. I ordered the Sheppard's Pie. It comes with a basic salad and sourdough. the sheppard's pie was really good. the meat was seasoned really well and the mashed potatoes were creamy and they had a nice crust on top from being baked. My friend Sarah had never had sheppard's Pie in her life and loved it. It was a little on the saltly side but not insanely salty that you could not eat it. It was great for pub food and a wonderful way to start out the night!

St. James Gate







On Dec. 29th 2008 I was on my way to Vancouver with my friend Sarah and we stopped over night in Banff and stayed with a friend who works at St. James Gate Olde Irish Pub. We decided to go there for supper and some drinks. I am sooo glad we did.



we decided to get the stuffed baby yorkies for an appetizer. They were absolutely wonderful. The outside was nice and fluffy like a yorkshire pudding should be but the inside had shaved beef and this wonderfully creamy horseradish sauce. there was pan jus to dip the yorkies, which gave it a great flavour. I had to snap this picture quickly before they were all gone!




For my entree I ordered the Beef Wellington. I had never had it before and was curious, so i decided to take a change and get it. it was a pleasant suprise. the outside was nice and flaky and the beef inside was cooked so well...it couldnt be rare because they have to make sure the bread is cooked but it didnt matter, it was still so tender. It was smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce and served with risotto and seasonal veggies. The risotto was a little dry and stiff but I couldn't care less because the wellington was so good! I was completely stuffed after supper.


BUT... you can't forget dessert. we were convinced by our friend Tina to get the bread pudding for dessert. it was soooo great. The bread pudding was a huge mound of this wonderful soft bread covered in a gooey sauce that make you smile! I wish i had the recipe, well maybe I don't because i would gain about 50 pounds in 2 weeks.
The atmosphere in the pub was great. Very relaxed but it was insanely busy. Our waitress was so friendly and the food came out really fast. I would highly recommend stopping into St. James Gate Pub for a bite to eat if you are in Banff.


Punjabi East Indian Buffet




On Dec. 27th 2008 I was shopping downtown and ran across a East Indian restaurant called Punjabi. I walked in annd the place was empty but decided to take a seat and see how it was. I looked at the menu and ended up asking the waiter what I should order. He suggested the Special, which was Lamb curry. So i decided to go with it. I also asked if they had Mango Lassie's, which they did, so I got one of those too. the service was great but the food was not. the lamb was sooooo tough and greasy. when i was dipping my naan bread it was soaking up mostly oil and grease, which wasn't appetising. It was almost impossible to eat. My mango lassie was very watery and not creamy and full of flavour like it should be. The one redeeming part of the meal was the Veggie Somosas.. they were great. They were priced well and were crispy on the outside and warm and spiced well on the inside. I have never tried their buffet but I may go back to sample a bunch of their dishes.. i may have just got a bad one.

Exploring Regina

Hi Everyone,
I moved back to regina and was so excited about trying all the restaurants here. I am continually trying new restaurants and new foods. I decided to create a blog so that I can document it for myself and also for those of you looking to see what others thought of these places. I am hoping that I can get some feedback and hear about new great places to eat and where I should stay away from.