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, February 2, 2012

Red Piano

Red Piano

Location: West Edmonton Mall

While waiting for a movie, my companion and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat. While perusing the restaurants within 'Bourbon Street' of WEM, I noticed a small but tastefully done sign with a red piano on it. We stopped to check out the menu, and it looked promising enough, so in we went.



The first thing I noticed was that the vibe was very upscale - very classy environment, though dark. I liked the interior decor. The food is supposedly cajun in nature, and there were a few things I was interested in trying, including alligator, the lobster corn dog, among other things.

As we'd spent most of the day eating at the Heritage Days booths, neither of us was hungry for the entrees, so we settled on getting a sampler of the 3 different soups they served, the aforementioned lobster corn dog, and the crab cakes.

The corn dog I have to say was good, but the tomato-based remoulade did absolutely nothing for it. I'd have been happier with a creamy based dipping sauce I think. Maybe even just ketchup a la standard corn dog, but then I suppose it likely wouldn't have tasted as good. The soups were an interesting medley - the tomato-based seafood gumbo was too watery, and the chicken gumbo could have been a little less thick. The third in the trio was the red onion soup, pretty much their own take on french onion. The taste wasn't bad, if a bit salty. I have to say, the chicken gumbo tasted a bit like curry, as thick as it was. Finally we dug into the crab cakes, and it was ok, but not the best I've had.

I would have been happy enough had it just been a restaurant, but it turns out, at 9 PM, they have live entertainment. And not just any old thing, but dueling pianos. I have to say, I wasn't a fan of all the music, but it was fun nonetheless, with a good display of showmanship and flair from the musicians.

Overall, I like this place, though I find the prices a little high for what you get. The entertainment portion of the evening makes it a definitely worthy stop though.

Taste: 7.5/10 - For the upscale feel of it, they could have done a better job.

Service: 6.5/10 - We had to wait a bit to get some side plates and cutlery, and we were never asked about refills. Good thing we were leaving!

Ambiance: 9/10 - Very posh, I could have stayed there a long time.

Plating/Presentation: 9/10 - Nicely spaced out dishes, nothing over the top, and no extra drizzle where it wasn't needed.

Prices: $15-20 appetizers, $30-45 main courses
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