The Dish & Runaway Spoon Bistro

Well many appologies for the lack of reviews lately, but onto the new reviews of Edmonton eateries!
This weekend we were taken to a wonderful and quaint little bistro style restaurant in downtown Edmonton, by our lovely friend Sherah along with her "friend" Mike.

From the moment you walk in there is a cozy yet stylish feel to the place, that offers minimal seating, contemporary decor and candle lit tables. The waitress was friendly and presented us with menus right away and offered us a choice of drinks. However for a stylish bistro such as this one, I was surprised to see her dressed in dark jeans and a casual top.
The menu offers a variety of appetiezer, salad, soup and dinner entre choices. Everything from Honey Greens salad to Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
The four of us started off with the Artichoke and Creamcheese Dip, served with bread and flavorful chips. The dip had just the right amount of garlic and artichokes and was a pleasant start to the evening.
The gentleman order the Lemon Chicken served with rice, and seasonal vegtables. The chicken was juicy and infused with a lemon taste that caught the attention of your tastebuds, without being too overpowering. Sherah ordered the Gourmet Mac & Cheese served with a slice of foccaccia bread and a side caesar salad. The pasta was baked with an assorment of cheeses such as parmesan, assagio, and cheddar, and piping hot.
I ordered the crab cakes with rice and seasonal vegtables. The crab cakes had a nice flavour that comlimented the rice. The vegtables were carrots and broccoli which were bright in color, however they were not entirely hot or cooked.
We declined dessert, although the chocolate brownie, carrot and cranberry cake and caramel pudding cake didn tempt us otherwise.
Overall the experience was pleasant and enjoyable with few criticisims. Ther service was good and the food was also well done. Definitely a place to go back and experience again.

The Empress for Afternoon Tea

Wow it has been a long while since our last review, appologies to anyone who keeps up with this blog. Does anyone actually read this one? Well, we'll still write our reviews nonethe less. Perhaps some famous writer will catch on and want us to travel the world and do nothing but stay in fancy hotels, spa, eat and write reviews. Ah yes that would be the life!

Back to the review though...................

So my mother and I drove down to The Empress earlier this week to take in our Christmas tradition of Afternoon Tea. I will try to keep this as UN-Biased as possible, seeing as I worked there for over 2 years. Afternoon Tea is an English tradition that should be experienced at least once in a life time, particularly at The Empress.

Right from the start, the tea room is an elegant lobby from old, that has comfortable seating that overlooks the harbour. The large spacious room presents an old England charm that takes you back to earlier years of large elegant hats and white gloves.
We were seated at a cozy table for two, our jackets taken from us and white cloth napkins draped across our laps. The lovely server brings us our first sampling of the afternoon, fresh strawberries with Devonshire cream, finished with a bright colored gooseberry. The fruit is full of flavor and the cream completes this first sweet course.

As we are enjoying our first course, our server returns to inquire which flavour of tea we would like. We have a choice of The Empress blend, flavours from Kenya, China and Southern India. Or, if we would prefer, a herbal Green Tea Blend is also available. I choose the traditional Empress Blend and am not disappointed. A fabulous tea full of flavour and richness.

After a few minutes, our friendly server returns with an elegant 3 tier plate presenting our meal for the day. She offers to take our picture for us, and with delight we accept. The 3 tier plate has a variety of lavish foods to look at before enjoying. The lower level consists of an array of tea sandwiches to choose from. A flavourful Carrot & Ginger is my all time favorite, with the Chicken Curry sandwhich coming in at a close second. There is cucumber, Smoked Salmon, and Egg Salad to also choose from, delicately cut and sliced to perfection.

The second tier up holds the savory scones, fresh Strawberry preserve and the clotted cream, along with a couple of orange infused cream puffs and Christamas Cake pieces. This is my favorite part of the course. The fresh baked raisin scones, with Strawberry preserve spread a top finishing with a teaspoon of the rich clotted cream, truly makes this scone a delight.

The top tier of the tea plate offers a variety of sweets to savour; the Chocolate cream truffle melts in your mouth, and the fresh shortbread signifies that the Christmas season has arrived.

The Afternoon Tea at The Empress is an experience to remember and to cherish with someone who appreciates good tea, savory foods, and fine service. The tea is costly though and is not something you could afford to take in every weekend or month. At a cost of $29.95 per person in the low season, $39.95 at Christmas, and up to $49.95 per person during the summer, this is one afternoon you may need to save for. If you wish to experience this once in your life time I have to honestly say that spending $39.95 on tea sandwiches and sweets is definately worth it.

If spending an afternoon in an elegant old tea lobby is your style then the Afternoon tea at The Empress hotel is for you. I will definately be back!

Cafe Brio

August 28th 2006
(Jaime's words in green)

I made reservations for 6:00 to experience the chefs 3 course dinner special for $28.00. Parking was easy and the first sensations to hit us was how small and intimate the setting was. Outside patio, tables, booths, they had quite a variety of views to take in the atmosphere. The décor is French artwork, a little too heavy on the boobs for my taste, but a nice ambiance nonetheless.
7/10

The first course we decided on, being the salad was the Hearts of Romaine. It arrived promptly and at first glance quite plain. Laying in the middle of the plate were 5 to 6 leafs of romaine lettuce, with a light coating of dressing and paper thin crouton pieces. After the first sampling of the salad I found it to be quite refreshing and flavorful. The dressing, although light on the amount, was tangy and it had a bit of a “kick” to the taste. The wafer thin croutons were unusual but added a bit of flair. Overall the salad was nice, however I didn’t find that it stood out as anything really unique in regards to Caesar salads.
7/10

The main course I selected was steak frites. Two words… “nailed it”. The steak was done to perfection (med. Rare for me, med. Well for Jaime), and the seasoned frites (fries) were fabulous. It looked a little on the small side at first, but was really quite filling. The meat was very tender and tasty. One of the best steaks I’ve had dining out!
9/10

Dessert was a Crème Brule. I was again impressed. I’d say it was the best Crème Brule I’ve had. Perfect size, perfect flavor, temperature and consistency. Well Done!
10/10

The service we received in our dining experience can only be described as mediocre, unfortunately. Our server was in professional attire and nicely dressed, however her attention and service skills seemed to be lacking. After being seated and our drink orders taken, I realized that our server was the same lady that swiftly walked between us at the front of the restaurant. With out so much as an “excuse me”, she made her way directly between us, forcing us to move aside for her. It has been described before that the most important part of a professionals dress or uniform is the smile. I only recall a smile shown to us 2 times, and most other times there was a flat, bored look on her face. We had to request a second cup of coffee after we had fully completed our first cup, and it required us to be patient as we tried to get her attention at times. To complete the dinner, the check was placed on our table with some mumble of “here’s the bill”, no eye contact and no smile once again. Perhaps it was a challenging evening for our server, however in an establishment such as this, I would have expected more quality service.
5/10

All in all Café Brio was a memorable dining experience. We’d definitely go again. Jaime and I give Café Brio a 37/50.