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

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Sugarbowl

The Sugarbowl

Breakfast being the most important meal of the day, meant I couldn't possibly skip it, so I met a few friends over at a popular breakfast joint, the Sugarbowl.   I'd also heard they had one of my guilty pleasures on the menu, chicken and waffles, so how could I say no?



It was quite a nice Saturday morning, and the place close to the U of A, so it was very busy, but we managed to snag a table after only a short wait.  It's got quite an eclectic feel to it, almost like a bar, but for breakfast.  I heard that they also had live music/DJs at night, which wouldn't surprise me.   There were a couple of big garage type doors opened, so tables sprawled outdoors and in, all enclosed by a small picket fence.

I perused the menu and spotted the classic, chicken and waffles, but my eye was caught by the Sugarbowl Benny, a traditional eggs benedict with a slight twist - it was served on corn bread.   Since one of the others decided to honor my visit to their city by ordering the chicken and waffles, I was then free to pick the Sugarbowl Benny. 

I'm fairly picky about my poached eggs - so if they're not done just right (poached medium, a little runny but not too much!) I tend not to like my benedict - and unfortunately this was the case here.  I think it was more a case of a completely swamped kitchen, and staff running all over the place to try to accommodate the crush of people that morning.   I also found my corn bread a bit too dry, so between a dry corn bread and a 'dry' and overcooked egg, I can't say I was a huge fan of the plate, but the flavours were good, so I could see how it'd all work together. 

My friend had never had chicken and waffles, and hers wasn't quite what I'm used to.  In the southern US, most times the chicken is bone in, white or dark meat, pretty standard southern fried chicken, just on top of waffles, and served with gravy.   Here, they gave her a small container of maple butter.   Maple syrup might have bound the two together a bit better, and the chicken was more akin to what you'd see as a part of a chicken parmesan - a breaded and deep fried filet of chicken breast.  

I did get to taste a small piece, and it was ok, but nothing compared to what I've had in the US.   It really could have used a gravy instead of the maple butter as well.  

In any case, I'd go back, on a quieter day, hoping that the kitchen wasn't so busy. 

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