Sushi.... At Hakone Japanese Cuisine.

As we were planning on having a date night, my husband and I went looking for a restaurant to try out on the north side of town. Heading up 137 Ave right around 127 Street we spotted Hakone Japanese Cuisine. We both enjoy sushi and decided to give it a go.

Walk in and you find a small but clean and sharp looking little restaurant. Booths line one wall and a private room and the kitchen/sushi area line the other. An kind older lady was behind the counter making sushi for another table, but still greeted us warmly when we walked in. A moment later a young girl comes out of the back and seats us at a booth and asks what we would like to drink. Our go to beverage at any sushi restaurant is the green tea.

After browsing the simple menu we decided on the Boat-Boat. Sushi, Maki and Sashimi all on one boat. It sounded delicious.

After about 20 mins of waiting our boat showed up at the table and we started to dig in. First piece in and we noticed it was a tiny bit fishy, but kind of usual at a sushi restaurant in land locked Alberta. The part that set me off a little was that the sashimi actually tasted a little salty, so I let my husband finish the sashimi and stuck to the sushi instead. The other thing we noticed was how little there was on the over $40 dollar boat. As we were in a hurry to make it to a movie we decided to not make a fuss about it and just ate and moved on.

While the staff were nice and the food was okay, I don't think it is a sushi restaurant we will go back to.

Food: 3/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Dinner for 2: $55.00
13907 127 St NW
(780) 761-3006

A new foray into Indian food... At Daawat.

During a cold night in Edmonton my husband and I decided to try and warm things up by going for something spicy for dinner. Mexican and Thai are normally where we lean but on that night we opted for something new... Indian. We had heard a lot about a restaurant on Whyte Ave called Daawat and figured we would give it a go.

Parking on the street is an issue but there is ample parking in the back. Walk in the door and you are greeted by tidy tables in gemstone colours and the scents and smells of a far away land. A buffet lines one wall and tables on the other.

If you know exactly what you want you can order from the menu, or you can try a little of everything through the buffet. This is what we opted on. They also have an impressive selection of beers from all over the globe, and we tried a couple Indian beers. My husbands choice was one named Taj Mahal, similar to a pale ale. Mine was Kingfisher, a light but crisp lager.

There are plenty of vegetarian options as well as many for those of us who prefer some meat with our meal. The ones that stood out the most for me were the Mattar Paneer (Homemade cheese cooked in peas with a mild curry sauce), the Beef Curry and the Coconut Naan, but I would definitely go back for the Butter Chicken, Fish Pakora (think spicy fish fritters) and Chana Masala (Chickpeas cooked with cumin, onions and tomatoes) as well.

Their mango Lassi (A yogurt based drink blended with mango juice) was DELICIOUS and I barely had enough room to finish it but made sure I did because it was that good. And I finished the evening with a small bowl (only because that is all I had room for) of their Kheer (a rice pudding with pistachios) which was sweet and creamy.

We will definitely venture back here and I suggest it to anyone who is nervous about trying Indian food as they are very welcoming here and are willing to answer any questions you have.

Food: 4.5/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Dinner for 2: $70.00 (with drinks)

Daawat Authentic East Indian Cuisine
10015-82 Ave
(780) 469-3517
http://www.daawat.ca/

Seafood dinner gone wrong... mostly. A night at Red Lobster.

The other day my family welcomed a new member. My first GREAT nephew was born on Saturday. My husband and I decided to celebrate that evening by going out for dinner. We had just seen on TV the day before that Red Lobster was just starting up their Crabfest event and we decided to give it a shot. Now we know it is a chain restaurant and they don't normally have the same level of customer service as a self owned restaurant but living in Edmonton, Alberta we don't have many options for decent seafood of any kind other than sushi.

We went into the restaurant and were greeted by a huge crowd of people so we asked what the wait time was. At 15-20 mins we figured that was decently short and decided to wait. We sat at the bar and ordered a couple drinks, which were served fairly quickly. The husbands drink had a crack down the side of the glass (which we didn't even notice) and the bartender immediately replaced his drink. After about 30 mins though I went and asked how much longer our wait would be since we were told 15 mins and was told we were next in line. However it still took another 15 mins before we were finally seated at a table.

Our waiter came over to the table and took drink and appetiser orders. My drink came quickly and we ordered our dinner. My husband ordered their Crab & Roasted Garlic Seafood Bake and I ordered the Canadian Snow Crab & Crab-Topped Shrimp. I also decided to try the Corn and Crab Chowder instead of the usual starter salad.

Our appetisers and our starters showed up fairly quickly and were really good. My soup had slightly charred corn and LARGE chucks of crab meat in a creamy broth. The potatoes in it were cooked perfectly and still had quite a bit of bite left to them. After this I was really looking forward to our dinner.

Unfortunately this is where everything started to go downhill. After waiting for almost an hour our food finally showed up and was stone cold. The waiter apologized and claimed that the heating tray in the kitchen had broken. I'm sorry, but if that was what had actually happened then there would have been alot more angry diners in the restaurant and it seemed to me that everyone else in the restaurant was getting their food just fine. Another 15 mins later our food showed up again, only to have the wrong sides on mine, and was missing the 'crab topping' on my crab topped shrimp. The waiter apologized again and a few mins later I was brought my broccoli and my crab topping for my shrimp.

The silver lining to this was that the waiter mentioned our extremely long wait and issues to the manager and they made our entrees free and our appetisers as well. After being there for over 3 hours I think that was the least they could do. As my husband pointed out to me the table behind us had 2 different groups of 4 completely finish their dinners (one of which was celebrating a birthday!) and the 3rd group of people order and recieve their dinner before we were even done our dinner.

As much as I enjoy seafood it looks like I'll either have to try and find a new place to go in Edmonton or wait until I'm on the coast before I get any again.

Food: 3/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 1/5
Dinner for 2: Normally $95 (With discount from manager... $35.00)

Red Lobster

10111 171 St
(780) 484-0660
http://www.redlobster.ca/ 

Mmm... Pancakes. At IHOP.

We went out for brunch yesterday with my parents and were in the south side so we decided to try IHOP. My mother had never tried it. For those of you who don't know IHOP stands for International House Of Pancakes and is an American breakfast chain that is starting to come into Canada as well. If you are going here on a weekend expect a lineup and a wait. Normally about a half an hour to 45 minutes. It's very popular for brunch. Our wait was only 25 minutes so I was happy that we didn't have to wait as long this time.

We all got the basics for our breakfast (aka bacon or sausage and eggs) and then we all got different pancakes. My parents both got the traditional buttermilk pancakes. They were fluffy and dense at the same time and then complimented with the variety of syrups that are provided. My dad preferred the blueberry syrup and my mom preferred the traditional but the other 2 options are butter pecan syrup and strawberry syrup. My husband had the pumpkin pancakes and he said they were fluffy and sweet with just the right amount of pumpkin. I had the carrot cake pancakes. They were everything that you love about a carrot cake, but in a pancake. Raisins, walnuts, spices and of course lots of carrot and then covered in a cream cheese icing (not too much though).

My dad liked how quickly we got served our food and the fact that he got his own thermos of coffee right at the table. No having to wait for the waitress for a refill. But still the waitress did stop by a few times to ask if we needed anything and how our food was. Which was good because my mom had to send her eggs back. She had asked for soft basted and the yoke was completely cooked. The waitress was very prompt, my mom got her new eggs perfectly cooked in a short amount of time.

It is definitely one of my main choices for brunch because they cover all the basics and then add variety seasonally. Plus it helps that I am a complete pancake person for breakfast.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Brunch for 2: $35

IHOP

3921 Calgary Trail NW
(780) 462-9597  
http://www.ihop.com/

High Tea at Rutherford House.

My husband and I were off enjoying a rare day off together during the week and we decided to check out the Rutherford House. A little info about the house... It belonged to Alexander Rutherford, the first Premier of Alberta. Rutherford House was built in 1911 on a large lot in Strathcona near the University of Alberta campus. The residence, initially called Achnacarry by the Rutherford family, after their ancestral castle in Scotland, is now known as Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site. It is a living museum here in Edmonton, located right on the University Of Alberta campus.

We decided to take in High Tea. It is suggested that you make a reservation for the restaurant and we were thankful we did. Here at Rutherford House High Tea is an institution, served in the traditional manner of the early 1900's. The tea is served in real bone china. I ordered their Chai Black Tea and the hubby ordered the Monk Blend Black Tea. Both were very aromatic and Delicious. I enjoyed the dainty little cups but my husband was unsure how to hold the cup without breaking it. Very cute to watch a man try to be dainty.

Our lunch came served on a 3 tier china server and consisted of Cucumber sandwiches on baguette, Egg salad on pumpernickel bread, warm red pepper rolls, homemade scones with raspberry butter and devonshire cream and an assortment of dainty desserts. The cucumber sandwiches were complimented with dill cream cheese and were crunchy and very refreshing. The egg salad was deliciously accented with paprika. And the red pepper rolls were absolutely wonderful filled with a red pepper and cream cheese. YUM!

The desserts were my favourite part though, with tiny decadent brownies, coconut macaroons, Rooibos tea cookies and Lemon cream cheese filled strawberries. The latter I wanted all to myself but I begrudgingly let my husband have one as well.

We also took in the tour of the estate (only an extra $4.00 a person) and got to learn a little bit more of the history of the house and the family which owned it. The picturesque house is wonderful to wander through and I would love to go back just to peek into history again.

Food: 4.5/5
Ambiance: 5/5
Service: 5/5
High Tea for two: $55

11153 Saskatchewan Dr NW
(780) 427-3995
http://rutherfordhouse.ca/

Things are getting Wild in Edmonton... At Wild Wing.

One afternoon my husband and I were driving around and he announced he was craving chicken wings. Well we had both heard of a new place called Wild Wing so we figured we'd give it a shot. Now while they do serve other items, this is a place you go to for the chicken wings. They have over 100 flavours and you can get them on 3 different types. Traditional, Buck Naked and Boneless. The traditional ones are breaded, the buck naked are unbreaded and the boneless are of course all meat.

My husband and I differ on types we like, I always get the breaded ones and he prefers unbreaded. Good thing is that at Wild Wing we have plenty of options.

We both ended up ordering the Wing Sampler where we got 4 different types of wings and 5 of each type. The hubby got Sweatin Bullets (One of the hottest on the menu), Honey Jerk (Sweet mixed with Caribbean Jerk), Bonnie and Clyde (Maple mixed with Hickory) and Awesome Honey (Honey Garlic and Honey Mustard). He finished off all of them except the Sweatin Bullets, which he could only eat 3 of them before his lips lit on fire.

I got the Hot Dill Pickle (Hot and Dill mixed together, obvious), Gar Par (Garlic and Parmesan Creamy), Hot Chocolate (Hot wings drizzled with chocolate sauce) and Dry Cajun (Dry wing covered in Cajun seasoning). Mine were pretty good, just hot enough I thought but I like spicy.

The service was excellent and fast and neither of us had to ask for refills of our pops, they just appeared on the table and the old glasses were whisked away. And the tables come set with a tin bucket for the bones and a big roll of paper towel & wet wipes for cleaning your hands. We both left feeling extremely full and the hubby was wishing he had some ice to hold against his lips. We will definitely go back, mainly because there are still over 90 flavours for us to try.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Dinner for two:$60

http://www.wildwingrestaurants.com/
We went to the location at 15845 97 St NW in Namao Centre Edmonton.

The Highlands Kitchen

Recently my husband and I decided to check out the Highlands Kitchen located at 6509 112 Avenue in Edmonton. We had seen it featured on the show 'You Gotta Eat Here' and figured we'd give it a shot.

We arrived at around 7 pm on a Saturday night and were greeted right at the door. The hostess asked if we had reservations (we did not) but proceeded to direct us to a table immediately. It was steady but not busy. About 5 minutes later our waitress came over and placed a wine bottle full of cold water at our table and took our drink orders. Only took a few minutes for our sodas to show up at the table.

For an appetiser we decided to try the Bacon Wrapped Dates. These are stuffed with pecorino cheese and finished with a pomegranate molasses sauce. They were delicious, a perfect mix of sweet, salty and savory. (And well my husband likes anything wrapped in bacon.)

My husband ordered the Bison short ribs for his entree and I went with the Pork and Beans special of the day which had pork medallions with sweet chili white beans. The bison was extremely tender and fall off the bone and served with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. I don't think hubby said a single word while he was eating he enjoyed it so much. My pork medallions were nicely browned on the edged but still juicy and tender. Served atop a bed of slightly spicy and tender white cannelloni beans. Also had roasted veggies. It was very tasty and the portion was a little large for me so I had to get my hubby to help finish it off.

After letting that rest for a few minutes we were encouraged to try a dessert. As the portions of our dinner were rather large we decided to split a chocolate pot de creme. Think creme brule made of chocolate without the crispy sugar layer. It came served with a healthy portion of whipped cream and fresh blueberries on top. Unfortunately for me I am allergic to blueberries. Once hearing this though the waitress promptly took it away and replaced it with one topped with fresh pineapple instead. I thought this was very thoughtful of her. And it was delicious.

We will gladly be going back for another special dinner.

Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Dinner for two: $80

http://highlandskitchen.ca/