New site!


Right, so back by popular demand, the restaurant review site, but in a new format. Many of these reviews are old, just haven't gotten around to posting them until now. I'll try to date them where I can. You can still check out the old site here

Unlike other foodie bloggers, I however don't own any fancy camera gear - just an old Sony digital camera that works. Maybe if it breaks I'll look at getting something else, but likely just another simple point and shoot type thing that I won't break easily!

So here we go!

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.

To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.

Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold.

Oh, I'll accomodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine."
― Anthony Bourdain

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Black Swan

Black Swan
10455 Southport Rd SW

So after a game of floor hockey, a couple teammates and I decided we wanted to go for cheap wings and drinks.   We'd originally planned on hitting the Boston Pizza just off Macleod Trail, but finding that it was Karaoke night and not Wing night there, while it was 22 cent wing night over at the Black Swan, we swung in that direction instead.  I hadn't been planning on blogging about this place, but I thought I'd share our (mis)adventures there!




The Black Swan is an old pub, and has been there for quite some time - one of my good friends used to be one of the cooks there, and we'd had many memorable nights there.   With that in mind, I'd high hopes for good wings, once again.   It's in general, the same as most pubs in Calgary, dark, and decorated with many beer signs,  a lot of wooden furniture, and the like.   However, the first thing I noticed walking in was just how loud the music was playing.   I couldn't really hear the others talking unless we were a bit loud - not my cup of tea, usually.  


Here's where things got a bit sketchy.  Service staff in general will or are supposed to upsell, even during a wing night, so I wasn't expecting to just be greeted by our waitress saying 'I'll get your wing order in a few minutes', then running off.   At least one person at our table actually wanted something other than wings!   While we got our drinks relatively quickly, it took some time for the waitress to actually take our order - that is, after we managed to get menus from her.   


I did end up ordering wings, and I do have to say - I loved the wings once again there.   Big, juicy, and with a lot of great choices of flavours, like Garlic Butter & Red Pepper, or Chipotle BBQ, and I've heard some people swear by the Sesame Seed Soya.   However, the service there turned us off completely.   It wasn't that it was entirely rude - but it felt completely indifferent or inconsiderate.   We were served our food quickly, but without smiles, or what we felt to be proper service.   You'd think a waitress at a pub would come by once in a while to check on drinks.


Our waitress had only come back long after we'd finished, and seemed completely distracted by something else, though we were only one of a few tables remaining there.   It took quite a while to manage to pay, and each one of us had to wait our turn while she got distracted with something else, instead of just staying by us for all of 3 more minutes to get the transaction completed.   I'm sure she felt robbed by the tips we left, but the tips were completely reflective of the service.  


Presentation:  6.5 - Wings in baskets, can't really mess that up!

Ambiance:   6.5 - WAY too loud for a normal pub, on a Wednesday night

Service:   2.0 - Act like you care, maybe?

Prices:   22 cent wings on Wednesdays.   Too bad about the service.
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