Pampa's Brazillian Steakhouse

I went here today after my Surgery rotation to celebrate the start of the holiday season. We arrived to a packed restaurant but luckily they had a table for two and we were promptly seated. Our server expained to us how Pampa's works as a rodizio (people come table side and carve you meat off of a skewer) and how we had buttons to declare if we wanted meat or wished to take a break. We ordered water and were told how it was "premium filtered" and would cost $2 a person. Surprisingly it did taste better than normal water... though I'm probably just crazy.

The meal included an unlimited salad bar which featured dozens of breads, salads, cold cut meats, and fruits. I can't remeber every item but some highlights included a lemon fish, grape fusilli salad, mango carpacio, pineapple and salami pairing, and a tasty potato salad. There were also some misses including tasteless meat stuffed bread, dry foccacia, and a bitter eggplant sausage combination. Once sat to my delight we were promptly served.

Since we went for lunch there were only five cuts of meat (at dinner there are 10). Chicken drumsticks was first up and they were absolutely delicious: seasoned and cooked perfectly; juicy and the skin was crispy. I ended up having four of those in total. Next up was a pork sausage which though a bit salty was still surprisingly good. The parasean cursted pork tenderloin was a mixed bag. My first piece was delicious; but, the second was very fatty and almost leathery in texture. The beef skewers were overcooked and dried and altogether forgettable. Lastly, the top sirloin steak though it was fun to peel off the meat as they shaved it from the skewer was relatively average in seasoning.

I didn't plan on blogging so I don't have too much in terms of pictures. This was supposed to be a nice relaxing day with my good friend Marina so here she is enjoying the meal.

In summary, Pampa's Brazillian Steakhouse was a unique expereince. All of the staff were extremely friendly, and the rodizio is a cool experience. Unfortunately the point of rodizio is the meat and the meat was just average here. Lunch was $60 for two after tax and tip and would likely be double that price for dinner. I would recommend coming here to experience it but I doubt I will be back. Verdict 70/100.

The Dish Bistro

I came to this restaurant with my two friends Eric (KFC coupon guy) and Robyn. We were prompted sat, told the drink specials, and given some ice water. The restaurant itself looked pretty ordinary just some generic tables and chairs nothing that stood out. I ordered the crab cakes, Eric the Octoberfest plate and Robyn had the sticky lime chicken. I'll talk about my crab cakes first:

The crab cakes were delicious; baked to perfection: crispy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. I wish they were a little more generous with the mango coulis sauce on top. It is unfortunate that they failed to really compliment the crab cakes with the sides or maybe they were just lazy. I was served a plain bed of rice and a skimpy portion of steamed vegetables. If this dish was a bit more refined it would have really been great, what a shame. I tried some of Eric's plate which consisted of two Bratwurst sausages, potato salad, spätzle, sauerkraut, and rock salt mustard.

To be honest I didn't care for the dish much. Though Robyn said she "loved" the sausage. It tasted like a salty sausage to me. The potato salad and spätzle were bland though Eric did mention the bacon on the spätzle saved it. Tasted very home made to me and when I go out to eat that is not what I want. I only had a small bite of Robyn's chicken which was had a unique delicious flavor. My gripe here again is the sides were not very well thought out; some plain mashed potato and steamed veggies. Lastly don't be fooled by the angle of the photo,  the chicken was quite a small portion for a $20 dish and served bone in.

Robyn and Eric wanted to be a part of the review so I recored some comments which can be found here. Robyn's rating was 76 and Eric's was 70. For me at about $15-20 an entree I didn't really expect much more in terms of finesse. Considering price and value it is an above average place with some potential. Verdict: 75/100

La Persaud Bistro

I was invited to come here by my good pal Doug (author of the blog foodmatterstome) and a couple other friends Siah and Cian. Doug had a $100 gift certificate which he graciously shared between the four of us. Cian had arrived first and he stated he stood up at the front awkwardly (since there is a lack of waiting area) without even being acknowledged for over 5 minutes despite us having a reservation.

Ice water and bread was promptly served as we took a look over the menus. The selection was quite limited with only a handfull of appetizer and entree options. We ended up ordering a Nicose salad and beef tartare to start. We were quickly greeted with an amuse bouche of potato veloute (pretentious word for cream based soup) and crustini. Free stuff is always pleasant and it had a nice seasoning to it.
 

The beef tartare was very average. I much prefer it from other locations in Edmonton such as The Marc. This one lacked any strong flavor and the pickle taste I like. The Nicoise salad was similar to the one I had in France consisting of seared tuna, sardines, egg, and greens - not a fan of the overal textures and flavors here (probably a personal bias).

For our entrees Cian had the duck confit with rolled onions and potato and the three of us ordered steak Béarnaise. The duck was presented nicely and had a good flavor and was tender and juicy. Served on a bed of I'm not even/can't remember though I remember it tasting bloody...

The steaks all came out all horribly overdone. We had ordered rare, med-rare, and med and what we got was med-well, well-done, and dryed out over done - mine unfortunately =[. The waitress did not ask if they were cooked right for over 10 minutes as we picked at our fries and salad. Finally when she came over she told us it was going to be a 45 minute wait for new steaks which after some grumbling we agreed to. Soon after the manager came over and again asked us if we were "sure" we wanted them recooked since the kitchen was backed up. Puzzled since she offered no real solution (other than eat these poorly cooked steaks) we looked at each other and still said yes. At this point I was quite frustrated, for a place that claims to be fine dining a over or under steak should result in a rapid refire and an apology at the very least, let alone a 45 minute wait in an empty restaurant to flash cook 8 minute steaks. At least be close to the correct temperature but these were just so far gone. Finally the food came and the waitress apologized about a grumpy kitchen. When it was cooked properly it was an average steak at best and the Béarnaise sauce just reminded me of Hollindaise sauce and I barely used it.

All and all the food was not terrible in itself but considering the price and laughable service I would not recommend La Persaud even with a $100 gift certificate. Each entree was $30 and the appetizers were about $15 each. Verdict: 65/100.

KFC Zinger

So my good buddy Eric told me about a deal to get some free KFC Zinger sandwiches FREE with the purchase of a beverage (a copy can be found here; expires Oct 7, 2012). I am a KFC man though KFC is no longer a super cheap option for a quick bite. The toonie Tuesday has escalated to $2.99 and the other menu combo items are all $7-9; I would rather just buy value meal items for $1.39 at Mcdonalds. A bit of back story on the new menu item KFC Zinger; it was initially supposed to be a form of the double down just spicy but the backlash from a "sandwich" with 540 calories, 32 grams of fat and 1,740 milligrams of sodium was too much here in Canada. Thus the Zinger Sandwich was introduced. What it's supposed to look like:

According to the website the KFC Zinger is "marinated in our hot & spicy seasoning for full flavor, then double breaded by hand for extra crunch ... top[ped] it with crisp lettuce, all served on a toasted sesame seed kaiser bun" and features a 2HOT4U spicy mayo sauce. What it actually looked like:

To be honest it was pretty good. The chicken was soft and spiced in itself and the mild (definitely not "2HOT4U" sauce) mayo added good flavor (and not overly spread onto the chicken). At this particular location the lettuce was actually crisp too which was nice. I would probably buy this again even without the coupon if I ever found myself at KFC and not in the mood for popcorn chicken or a bucket. Verdict: 80/100.

Hundred Bar and Kitchen

I had heard many mixed reviews about Hundred but I had purchased a groupon and finally decided to go try it out. The atmostphere they claim to have is a "seductive nightlife" and I guess dim lighting (so dim the couple beside us asked for our table candle so they could read their menus!!) and dressed up staff in all black reflect this. We were promptly sat and unfortunately the specials were not described to us (apparently they have $7 slider appetizers and flat breads on Thursday). Anyways I decided to order the salmon and my friend Marina went for the steak.

The food was a bit slow to come out and there was another event (Haute Fashion or something) and so they quieting down the restaurant and used a screechy microphone and no one had any idea what was going on which was pretty annoying. When the food did come out, I was pleasantly surprised. My salmon was cooked nicely and the bacon hollandiase sauce added a nice flavor. Both Marina and I agreed that the pea rissoto and argula pesto was absolutely delicious. Her steak was seasoned and cooked to the proper temperature from the bite that I had though it seemed pretty standard served with seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes.

After hearing so many horror stories about this place, I must say it really wasn't bad at all. There were some annoyances mentioned earlier and the food is pretty pricy ($25-40 an entree) and maybe I was biased by good company and a groupon but at the very least I liked the food here. Verdict: 77/100.

Calgary: Redwater Rustic Grille

I’d driven by Redwater Grille many times, located across the street from Foothills Hospital, but truthfully never had the desire to eat there. It might be the location, as it is somewhat hidden near an odd little strip mall, behind The Keg and Wendy’s. Or it might be the fact that, for a pricier meal, higher-priced chains are rarely the best offering (Redwater has four Calgary locations).  Nevertheless, we headed there at my sister’s suggestion.

The menu seemed quite standard for a chain, offering flatbreads, pastas, steak, and some other mains (in the high $20s to mid-$30s range). My sister ordered the chicken papardelle and my brother the lamb risotto, while I opted for the cremini mushroom flatbread.

Though we’d made the reservation for 8:15, the server was a bit slow to take our drink orders, bring our drinks, and take our meal orders. It was well after 9:00 by the time our entrees came.

The chicken papardelle ($18.95) came with a variety of vegetables – spinach, mushrooms, peppers, peas, and asparagus. The chicken was flavorful, but the rest of the dish was entirely forgettable – too many ingredients in a generic cream sauce with slightly overcooked noodles.  Nothing too impressive.

The lamb risotto ($21.95) had a nice flavor, though my brother felt that the strong, gamy flavor of the lamb compromised the creaminess he was expecting from the risotto. The lamb would have been much better served as an entrée with sides, as it seemed to clash with the texture of the risotto.

The menu described the crimini flatbread ($12.95) as roasted garlic cream, arugula, shaved grana padano, truffle honey, and balsamic. Mostly, though, I could only taste arugula, mushroom, and balsamic. The balsamic reduction drizzled on the arugula was quite tasty, and I felt the flatbread could have used more of it. The flatbread was okay, again nothing too impressive.

The service at Redwater was also a bit lacking. Though the restaurant wasn’t overly busy, the server never checked on our food or asked about drink refills, and when it came time to pay the bill, we were left waiting for her to return while we watched her chatting by the bar.

Overall, I’d describe my experience at Redwater as very average. The service was disappointing, the menu standard, and the food forgettable. For the price, there are much better options – for a similar-priced chain, I’d recommend Cactus Club Cafe.  

9 Course Meal at Kaylee's House

I went to my friend's house for a surprise birthday party and we were surprised with 9 delicious courses of food! My friend is only 23 and WOW so domesticated cooking as if she were middle aged woman. All the food was made fresh that day so she slaved away since like noon (and she even made cute little labels). I took pictures after the guests already went at the food because I wasn't sure if I was gonna write about this so it might look a little scarce but originally they were big platters full! I'm going to start randomly!

The quiche was tasty! The pastry was nice and flakey and there was big chunks of diced ham! The boccacini (baby motzarella?) and tomato reminded me of my trip to Italy and of  Caprese salad! I don't even usually like cheese but this was mild and delicious!

The potato gratin was clearly a popular choice too! The top was slightly burnt but the inside was nicely cooked. They tend to come out undercooked and hard. There was a nice garlicy creamy sauce too!

The crab and cream cheese pastry was just ok. I'm not a big fan of cream cheese so thats probably what is biasing me but the pastry was flakey and there was big crab pieces (only one left good thing I rushed over to snap this photo).

As a viet person I am always hard to impress when it comes to salad rolls (my mom makes a mean salad roll) but this was no exception. However, the sauce was unique and had a different flavor too it that I'm used to. I snatched up two before they were all gobbled up!

Italian sausage and baked pasta sounds pretty ordinary and it was haha (everything can't be positive!) There was a nice spice to it and the pasta was cooked al dente as I prefer it.




The chocolate dipped strawberries and bananas were pretty good too! It was nice that they had peanuts or coconut on them as well!

 

The tiramisu looked appetizing and had a nice consistency to it (not too thick and not too runny). Unfortunately my first bite was a mouthful of rum flavor but I did have an edge piece. The rest of the dessert was decent but again nothing too special here!

Last but not least was the cake: banana nut with cream cheese frosting! Again not a big fan personally of cream cheese but the cake was moist and bananay and nutty and it kind of reminded me of banana bread actually.

The food was good and I'm still so surprised that she cooked it all! She was an excellent host and there was also a vegetable platter I didn't mention and like 10 types of juice and pop to drink! She also has an adorable little Bijon named Sky (but don't stick out your leg...) to keep you company. Verdict: I'd come back.

Normands

I came here on a recommendation from my dentist actually (strange I know). She said the venue was a little bit sketchy (right beside a liquor store and on the fringe of downtown) but the food was simply delicious! When we arrived the waiter promptly took us to our table and brought us two glasses of ice water. After telling us the specials he brought over two loaves of bread with a nice tomato and garlic butter. The bread was warm and quite tasty.


We decided to share the PEI mussels to start. I am usually not a big mussels person but these mussels were simply delectable. Big and juicy and served in a white wine, garlic, peppercorn sauce finished with a wedge of lemon. We quickly devoured the entire plate and I even used the bread to dip in sauce it was so tasty.The waiter let us know that on Mondays they have a mussel special with 4 different sauces and 4 pots of mussels.


The entrees came out in a timely fashion - I ordered the petite New York Strip with a wild mushroom sauce. While my friend got the Seafood Pasta. Unfortunately the steak was pretty ordinary; served with scallop potatoes and steamed veggies. The temperature of the meat was fine but it just lacked any strong punch or flavor.

 On the bright side the seafood pasta was absolutely phenomenal. The plate came out overflowing with food. The pasta was mixed with generous amounts of seafood and spinach. There was an abundance of baby shrimp, jumbo shrimp, beautifully cooked golden brown scallops, and a steamed crab leg. Most importantly the sauce was delightful -- a light tomato seafood flavor.


Overall I really enjoyed my experience at Normands. This place isn't cheap with most entrees costing $25-45 (in our case mussels $21, steak $23, and pasta $33). The menu also featured a wide variety of game meats as well (for instance a bison carpaccio). While the steak was ordinary the rest of the food was fantastic. Verdict: 87%

 

Lux Steakhouse and Bar

I came to Lux after a long day of work and my friend had warned me that they are an overrated place but that the double pork chop (since they will cook it at a temperature other than well-done) and burger were pretty good. We got there at around 5:30PM and it was a relatively empty restaurant but it still took us about 10 minutes to get seated (not impressed). The restaurant inside was quite nice with a nice fountain and ambiance. Anyways they claim to use only Heritage beef from some organic free range farm from Northern Alberta or something. I ended up going with the burger and fries.

The burger came out relatively quick and looked quite impressive and the fries were served in a cute little shopping cart with chipotle mayo:

 It was indeed an impressive looking burger that boasted a heritage beef patty, breaded portabello mushrooms, stella artois battered onion ring, and the regular fixings (tomato, lettuce, mayo, and pickles). The burger was stuffed so high it was hard to take the first bite and eat. The patty was nice and juicy. Disappointment -  is the only way I can describe my first bite. It tasted overly peppery and pretty bland. There were a few highlights the onion ring was delicious (though I'm pretty biased as I love onion rings) and the breaded portabello was unique and seasoned well (I ended up taking them out of the burger and eating them separately). The fries were average though the mayo was tasty.

At a hefty price tag of $25 this burger is NOT worth it. Though there are a few promising things about but without the meat itself tasting delicious disappointing. Verdict: 62/100

Towa Sushi

 

After a rather large brunch I was not very hungry but as I awoke from the car ride home from Banff I found myself waking up to the front of this contemporary sushi venue on Broadway in Calgary (wow wordy but oh well). They had specials listed on a whiteboard at the front and the hostess was quite pleasant. There is fresh ginger on the table to cleanse the palate. Seeing as I do not have much penchant for ginger I did not much appreciate it but my company said it was quite good. We only ordered 3 rolls for the four of us and these included (from left to right) the Ocean Roll, Towa Special Roll, and Spicy Salmon Roll.

The Ocean special roll was delicious; scallop shrimp avocado and cucumber topped with mayo and a spicy sauce (not quite Sriracha but similar?). The spicy salmon roll had an extra kick to it which is what I want when I order spicy. The salmon portion was generous to say the least wtih salmon overflowing from the end pieces (in my experience the end pieces of sushi wind up being mal-portioned and altogether sloppy). So far so good. Next up the Towa special: Salmon, white tuna, red tuna, white tuna, salmon with cucumber and salmon and tuna filling and topped with a single piece of alfalfa which I thought was a nice touch. Unfortunately the Towa special roll did not taste as good as it looked and was pretty average.

Each roll costs around $14-20 so this place isn't exactly cheap. Overall it was pretty good and I left satisfied. Verdict: 81/100