Old Mill at Ashton

We had a chance to go out to the Old Mill at Ashton with some friends.  I have been here before a while back.  The place is an old mill in Aston Station just west of the city that has been transformed into a micro brew pub.  The style inside is of a very European country-side style pub, and comes along with plenty of soccer(football) decor.  There was a small patio outback as well as a decent amount of seating within the main area.  We ordered some of the beers, while the boss and our friend ordered a cute flight that came in a mini-truck.  I thought this was a very nice touch!

For food specials, they had a cajun fish and chips which three of us ordered and there was the classic bangers and mash.  The food was very tasty.  The fish was very nicely battered with the cajun spice noticeable but not overpowering.  The bangers and mash was flavourful and was what you would expect for an english pub.

The beers were also brewed quite well.  I have been on a stout binge and was very satisfied with what they served as their stout.  The service was friendly, helpful, and with a smile.  If you are in the mood for some classic pub fare and good micro brew, I would very much recommend checking this place out.  We hope to be back soon!


Review (out of 5):
Food: * * * 1/2
Value: * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * 1/2
Service: * * * *
Price: $7 - $20
Website: http://ashtonbrewpub.ca/

Sail Loft - Boston

Being in Boston, we had to try and get in some seafood.  We talked to the front desk to get more information on where to eat and he recommended a place down by the harbour called the Sail Loft.  Our only requirement was that it had to have some excellent chowder.

We cabbed it down to the harbour since we were hungry and when we got there, the place was packed tighter than a can of sardines.  (I'll try and keep the fish metaphors down, but I couldn't resist).  We were told that it get a table, it would be about 30 mins.  We put our names down as we already made it this far, and before long, we were told we could take a table near the front door.  The place was hopping, and small, so the volume of people talking and the music in the background was VERY loud.  After we got seated with out menu's, we ended up waiting 10 mins without any service.  We decided to flag someone down who told us that she was not our server, but she would find us ours.  After another 10 mins, one of the tables further away from the door and closer to where there seemed to have staff opened up, so we moved over there and we finally got some service.

We all ordered the chowder.  There were two sizes, mug and regular.  I was hungry so I went for the regular.  Do note that apparently the regular size is VERY BIG.  It can almost be a meal in itself.  I do have to say, that chowder was one of the better chowders I have every had.  It was rich and creamy, lots of ingredients, and best of all, lots of clams!  I was stuffed after just the chowder.  Too bad I also ordered fish and chips, the boss had the fish sandwich.  The fish sandwich was actually quite good.  The fish was battered well, the tartar sauce was tangy and everything held together well.  The fries on the other hand were a little on the soggy side.  Not very appetizing.  For my fish and chips, when it arrived, it looked great!  Even if I was full, it looked tasty.  When I took my first bite, there was a healthy portion of fish.  What was weird was with that perfect looking batter and great fish, there was not any flavour to be had.  NONE!  I could barley taste the fish.  The meal became an expensive tartar transportation vehicle.  My fries were also soggy but luckily, it did not matter, as I was full.  Also by this time, the place got busier so the bar decided to pump up the music louder.  My ears were ringing by the end of it.

The restaurant was decorated like an old wooden fishing ship, long and narrow, making it difficult to walk by to get to the small cramped washrooms.

The chowder was awesome, but between the horrible service, the mediocre food and the club pumping music and noise, we just will not be back.

Review (out of 5):
Food: * *
Value: * * 1/2
Atmosphere: *
Service: *
Price: $5 - $30
Website: Sail Loft Google Page

Beer Works - Boston

Waiting for our tour of Fenway Park, we saw and notices a big sign at one of the places just outside our gate that had the word "Beer".  On a hot sunny day, that caught our attention, so we went over to check it out.  Sure enough, it was a craft brewery local to Massachusetts.

When we went in, our server was very knowledgeable and friendly.  We told him we were on a timeline, and he had no issues to make sure we were going to make our tour in time.  He also knew his beers on tap.  We each explained to him what beers we liked, and ask advice on what beers would be unique to this location.  They had on tap a couple different fruit beers.  There was two blueberry beers, which is apparently the beer they are most known for.  One of those blueberry beers was the original one they made, back by special request.(I can see why, this one was the better of the two)  There was also a watermelon beer that came with a big wedge of watermelon.  This was also a very light and excellent for a hot summer beer.  There was also a good selection of reds, browns, stouts, and pilsners.  All of the beers were excellent in flavour and each had its own identity and balance of flavours.

We did not have time to eat any meals, but we did get some quick munchies of pretzel balls, spicy peanuts, and potato sticks (Home made hickory sticks).  It was a good addition in having something salty with the beer.  The menu itself looked good if we had more time, with lots of selection of your typical pub fare.

The restaurant itself was open and spacious.  There was plenty of TVs with baseball on (it was next to Fenway), and had a "steel mill"/industrial vibe to it.  In the entry way were the big vats of beer they were brewing. 

The prices were a little high.  But that was expected due to the location by the stadium.  If we get a chance to be back in that area, I expect to be back to sample more beers and the menu!

Review (out of 5):

Food: N/A
Value: * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $7 - $20
Website: http://www.beerworks.net/

Maria's Pastry Shop - Boston

One of the things that was told to me when I visit Boston, was to get a cannoli.  There are a few very old and very established Italian bakeries that remain in downtown Boston, still offering an authentic cannoli along with other Italian baking.  Maria's was one of those places that we decided to stop in.  They had regular and chocolate dipped, and we tried the base ricotta version and the more Americanized version with mascarpone.

The cannoli pastry was very flaky and fresh, while the insides were smooth, creamy but not too rich.  You can tell that the techniques are being passed down through the generations here.

The shop is a tiny little place, and it serves many other Italian desserts, along with gelatos.  The staff is very friendly and welcoming.  If you get a chance to drop in here, do so, it is worth the visit!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *
Value: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price: $5 - $20
Website: http://mariaspastry.com/

The Salty Pig - Boston

In out trip to Boston, our friend's job was to look up some places for us to visit for food to try out something that we can't get as much here at home.  He found a place called The Salty Pig.  This place serves a wide variety of salted and cured pig, on a personalized charcuterie board.  Sounded interesting, so we went to check it out.

The restaurant was located still in downtown Boston, so we were able to walk there with no problem.  The decor was very modern, factory, metallic like.  Very trendy, dark, and what was cool was that it had an open kitchen for us to look in and see how the chefs were working.

Ordering the food was simple, order a meat, then a cheese, then a spread.  We all tried different things.  I went with a pork paté, while the Boss went with a more smoked pig slices.  The side I had, which you can see in the picture is honeycomb.  Everything was served with a side of a very strong mustard, and crostini.

When the food arrived, it  looked great!  There was a healthy portion of each.  The flavours in the meats were excellent, well balanced, not too salty.  The paté was a big hit.  The honeycomb was new to me, and it was a very good experience.  I was expecting sweeter, but was very pleased with what it actually tasted like.  What was also a nice touch was the fact they use local seasonal ingredients.  There is something different quite often when you visit!

We were there until 8ish, and the place was still packed, including the patio.  The service was excellent, and prompt.  The food was not cheap, but the quality was very good.  For all my pork loving friends, this is a place that is worth the visit when you get a chance to visit Boston!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *
Value: * * * 1/2
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $7 - $20
Website: http://www.thesaltypig.com/

Uno - New Hampshire

On our trip down to Boston, we visited a place that was at the New Hampshire outlet mall we were shopping at.  Hungry after a good haul shopping, we wanted to find someplace decent, but close for lunch.  In the parking lot was the place called Uno.  I had never heard of it, but some further research shows that this is a pretty decent size chain across the US.

We walk in, and for us, it felt like a combination of Kelsey's, crossed with a Chicago version of East Side's.  It was bright and had a buzz from the large number of people there eating.  We got seated pretty quick and took a look at the menu.  The menu has a huge selection, maybe a little too much, but I guess they want to cater to a larger audience.  The boss ordered the veggie black bean burger with the skinless bake on the side.  The veggie burger was actually quite flavourful.  I am not one who usually likes veggie burgers, but there was a good mix of spices and flavour in it.  The side was quite good, but I think because of how bad it is for you.  It is one of those guilty pleasure things.  Our friends ordered the steak and the avocado eggrolls.  Both of which were also very good.  The steak was cooked well, and marinated for extra flavour.  Since this restaurant is from Chicago, I had to have their deep dish pizza.  The pizza was good, the sauce had a good combination of spices, but I felt that it was lacking....cheese for a deep dish pizza.  The one other time I had a deep dish pizza was in Chicago, and that pizza was loaded, heavy and delicious.  I could only eat two slices.  This pizza, was good, but it just did not seem like a deep dish pizza.

The server we had was excellent.  She dropped by often to make sure we were happy with our food, and she had a huge smile on her face the entire time.  To be honest, it felt like she was too happy, and it was a little creepy.  I would still rather deal with that then a down-trodden server.

Overall, we had a good time there, the food was pretty good, the prices were reasonable, and the service was great.  I would have to classify this place as being better than Kelsey's on the quality and selection of food level in the "family sit down restaurant" chain category.  We were happy with the place and we would go back.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2
Value: * * * *  (we went for lunch)
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $7 - $20
Website: http://unos.com/

Play Food and Wine - Ottawa

We were in the market in the afternoon when we realized that, we had not gotten a chance to eat down here in a while.  Trying to think of where to go, I realized that one of the places I have been meaning to go and check out was the second restaurant opened by Chef Moffatt and Stephen Beckta called "Play Food and Wine".  The idea behind this local is to have some fun with food, serving tapas style courses.  It was later in the afternoon so getting a seat on a weekday was not to bad.  The decor was modern, bright and very colourful.  This suits well the idea behind the theme.

For lunch, they have an excellent price where you can get any two non-sharing plates for $20.  So, the boss and I got that deal each while also getting a sharing plate.  We are not down here enough, so we had a chance to splurge.  The menu has a very good selection of many different things, but at the same time showing some of the simplicity behind the plates.  Simple is good!  It was also a nice added touch where each of the savory and sweet plates also included a recommended wine paring.  We started with a mixed charcuterie plate.  I then ordered the hanger steak followed by the Pure's gelato.  The boss ordered the gnocchi followed by a cheese selection.  We were offered a plate of toasted bread with oil and balsamic vinegar to much on.  The bread was very nice, very airy with a nice crunch to it.  The bread was not heavy at all.  The charcuterie plate arrived with a nice big selection of different meats, spreads and pickled veggies.  Everything on the plate went well together.  The pickled cauliflower was better than expected.  I really enjoyed the thin slices of cow tongue, but the boss was not a big fan of the texture.  The mains arrived next, with the gnocchi and the hanger steak.  My steak was good almost perfectly, I think it was a little over cooked, but it was not by much.  The steak was still very tender, and marinated in a very delicious sauce while the fries were very fresh.  The gnocchi was something very exceptional for the boss.  Gnocchi is one of her favorite plates, and this dish became her new favorite version of gnocchi.  The pasta was cooked to perfection, and the mix of the mushrooms, pasta and greens together really worked well together.  She could not stop raving about this plate for the rest of the lunch.  We did order the wine paring that went with our courses, and the sommelier did an excellent job at selecting the wines for these plates.  Last came the last plates of cheeses and my gelato.  The cheese plate came with a generous portion of  breads and of the three cheese the boss chose.  There was a very good selection from the menu to choose from, and of the three the boss chose, they were all excellent.  My gelato came, and it was plated beautifully.  There was bright colours and the mixed fruit really brought out a the restaurant theme more.  The three different type of berry gelatos, with the associated fruits on top was excellent!  The flavours were not to over powering, and the gelato was not too sweet.

The service we had while we ate was excellent.  He was friendly, knowledgeable, yet not intrusive.  Plus, he smiled which if you read my previous posts, was a nice change to have again!

The only thing that I did notice, was the dust on the window sill.  We were sitting by the window, getting a nice view of the market, but all along the sill was a layer of dust, and what looked like dusty cob webs.  Everything else in the restaurant was clean, the bathrooms, the bar, but sadly, the window was dirty, and it was noticeable.

Overall, the service was great, the food was excellent, the place was bright, warm and welcoming.  Great job again Chef Moffatt and Stephen Beckta, we do plan on being back.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * * 1/2
Value: * * * * * (we went for lunch)
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $7 - $19
Website: http://www.playfood.ca/

 

 

Mill Street Brewery Part Deux - Ottawa

With the great weather we are having, we felt like visiting one of our favourite micro-breweries and enjoy the patio with some good friends.  This time, we had more to eat than drink, which suits this blog a little more.

Since I have already reviewed Mill Street already, I will not go into detail about the facilities part.  The beers are still tasty and this time, I was able to take a picture of the pulled pork nachos.  So tasty!  The service was once again great, and we were checked in with a few times to make sure the food was good and the beers were full.

For meals, around the table, we had the chicken club, the turkey cobb salad, fish and chips and I had the tortiere. The cobb salad was very tasty.  The chicken club was huge!  The boss only ate half of it, which meant I got the other half for lunch!  Yum!  I felt that it was a good combination of all the toppings, and extra bit of roasted garlic added that extra touch.  The fish and chips was battered perfectly, with a good balance of batter and fish and with plenty of flavour.  Lastly the tourtiere was spiced very well.  I know it is a dish best eaten over the winter, but I had a craving for some baked meat pie.  The tourtiere was served with green peas, which sadly was over cooked.  The fries that everyone else had were very fresh and tasty. 

Overall, the beers and the food was great.  We still will be going back :)

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *
Value: * * * *
Atmosphere: * * * *
Service: * * * *
Price (dinner): $8 - $26
Website: http://ottawa.millstreetbrewpub.ca/frontpage

Commerce Gate Dynasty Cuisine - Toronto

Finally, our last stop in Toronto or to be more specific, Richmond Hill, is to have some good dim sum.  Mom usually goes here on her way home as she loves the quality of food they serve here.  On top of that, if you come early, before the big dim sum rush, all items on the menu are marked the same low price.

The place is a little hard to get to and find the parking lot.  We had to take a few turns around before dad was able to give me the correct directions.  It does not help that Hwy 7 is under construction.  The restaurant is located on the second floor on the corner of the building.  All along the side are big giant windows that look out on Hwy 7 and the surrounding area.  The view is actually quite nice and helps make the place much brighter and open.  The dim sum is ordered by marking them off on a paper and they bring out the food for us.  They had all the standard fare dim sum food.  Of note, the steamed ground beef balls were much better than in Ottawa.  Better flavour and texture.  The BBQ pork buns were also extra tasty.  Sadly, they did not have any egg tarts!  Very disappointed about that.  The service here was pretty good.  They did smile and we did get prompt service.  They do need to clean up their restrooms more. 

Overall, the mix of the open restaurant, decent service, good food and cheap prices, this place is a great place to visit for dim sum.  Make sure you do come early, or you will not get that discount.  We will be back!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * *1/2

Value: * * * * 

Atmosphere: * * * 1/2

Service: * * * *
Price Range: $ 7- $12 (Dim sum)
Website: http://www.dynastycuisine.ca/index.html

LAIDOH Resturaunt - Toronto

One of the things I remember when I was growing up and visiting my grandparents in Hong Kong was what my mom called, "Hong Kong Breakfast".  This was not dim sum, but actually an interesting combination of breakfast cultures.  There would be congee, and fried noodles, but the main type of food was macaroni soup, or instant noodles served with ham and a fried egg.  This sounds very weird to most, I am sure, but for me, it brought back a flood of memories when my mom told me that you could now get this in Toronto.

The place is in the Splendid China mall across the street from the Pacific Mall.  It's a small place, but it opens early enough to have breakfast.  The place reminded me quite a bit like a Hong Kong Diner.  Mom and the "boss" had congee while dad and I had the noodles, meat and ham.  This all came with some buttered toast as well.  The service was good, since we were the only ones there bright and early, the place was clean and the food was what I expected.  The noodles are instant noodles, as they should be, and the congee was good as well.

The cost for food here was very cheap and cash only.  The food did its job at bringing back memories of Hong Kong.  For a cheap, Hong Kongs style breakfast, I will be back for sure!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * *

Value: * * * * 

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * * * *
Price Range: $10 - $25

Hipot Hot Pot - Toronto

Next on the list on cultural experiences is hot pot.  Hotpot is usually a meal had over the winter, because of how the meal will also heat up your home.  The meal consists of having a big bowl of boiling broth, and you get served big platters of raw meats, and veggies.  Everyone then takes the food, and cooks it themselves in the broth, and then you can eat it, or dip it in some of the sauces they have at the table.  The more stuff you cook, the more flavour the broth becomes. I think this meal was the hardest for the "boss" due to cooking raw foods in with other foods in the broth.  For me, this was all the norm as I have had this since I was little, so I guess my stomach is able to handle whatever comes at me from this meal.

This type of meal is now becoming more and more popular in Canada with the growing population of Asians.  This is my first time having it at a restaurant.  The location was a little hard to get to with all the construction out front, but the place was clean.  There were many tables, all ranging from a few very big round tables of 10-12 to the smaller tables of 4.  We showed up late, around 7pm, and we had to wait about 10 mins.  Very popular place.  The location was bustling and noisy, as everyone in the place was having a good time.  The space to move around was a little cramped as beyond the main tables, there were a lot of smaller side tables to help hold all the raw foods (The main table has your bowls, chopsticks and the big pot of broth).  Service wise, the place was overly busy for the number of staff.  They were all running around trying to serve everyone with little luck.  Once we did get our order in, there was a decent number of broth refills when we did get low.

The food was very fresh and had a decent selection.  The main staples were beef, chicken, beef and shrimp balls, whole shrimp, a variety of veggies, oysters, lamb and I think mom ordered 4 lobsters.  Everything was very tasty and I was very full by the end of the night.  The food you order is all you can eat, so you end up paying a flat price and you get a selection from that bracket.  There are higher brackets, and that opens up more selection of meats, and seafood.  The down side is that there were still things that were extra, such as eggs, and if you wanted to start with a more spicy or flavoured broth.

Overall, this is a lot easier and cheaper than doing hotpot yourself at home.  The time it takes to slice everything, the clean-up and selection is a very good choice.  This is not for everyone, as the boss was a little more uncomfortable with the idea, but she still tried everything!  The service left something to be desired (it seems to be a common theme on the trip), and as clean as everything was, the place was cramped.  I was still go back here if I had a craving for hot pot but not go back regularly.  Sadly I do not have much to compare it with, but home cooking.

When we left, 2 hours later, there was still people waiting at the door for seats.

PS:  Quick warning, the menu is only in chinese.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * *  

Atmosphere: * * 1/2

Service: **

Price Range: $25 - $35

Osechi Japanese - Toronto

For dinner we went out for some all you can eat sushi.  This gave us a good opportunity to compare the all you can eat sushi market in Markham and Ottawa.  Dad found a good deal here and it was well recommended.  We easily found this place and when walked in, the décor was very modern.  It has nice dark colors with some brighter pink and reds and glass beads separating some of the sections of the room.  At the far back, was the sushi making area and one more private room where instead of chairs, there were cushions on the floor.  Very nice addition, albeit, I am sure sitting there can be very uncomfortable!

We menu had a good selection of things that were raw and cooked.  The boss and I ordered more of the raw fish as my parents went the route of the cooked fish.  The food came very quickly and everything was very fresh.  The sashimi had our favourite, white tuna which came in generous portions.  Everything we did order came, which is always an added bonus when coming to an all you can eat sushi place.  The price was about 22$ per person, which is about just below the cost of what it is here in Ottawa.  One of the things on the menu that was not "standard fare" when it comes to all you can eat sushi was a white arctic roll that had some smoked flakes on the top.  The flaked were on a roll that had white tuna in it, which gave the already delicious fish some smokey flavour.  For desert, they had a decent selection of asian ice creams such as, red bean, and sesame flavoured.  It was a black coloured ice cream that did not have much flavour at first, and then you get a nice aroma of sesame after.  Delicious!  

Once again on our trip, the service was not good.  The staff looked like robots, who walked around delivering food and clearing plates.  Not ONCE did I see a server smile.  When they dropped off food, or cleared off some plates, we would say "thank you" which they would with an expressionless look just say, "ok".

The décor was nice, the food was good, but the service and the gloomy expressions on their faces really dampened the experience.  I am not asking for super happy with a fake smile, but a small smile once in a while would have been appreciated.  The menu was good but pretty much standard fare, and the price was ok, but when you add on the type of service, I would not revisit this place.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 1/2

Value: * * *  

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * 1/2

Price Range: $22 - $25

Keung's delight - Toronto

We took trip down to Toronto recently and we got the "boss" exposed to some more asian culture food than she is used to that is not "canadianized".  

The first place we went to was a small place in Markham called Keung's Delight.  This is traditionally a congee place with a mix of noodles,  rice dishes and veggies.  For those who do not know what congee is,  it is most easily describede as Asian rice porridge as the plain porridge.  After that, you can have many different varieties when you start adding different ingredients, such as chicken, beef or eggs.

We ordered a nice variety of things for our lunch.  I had a beef congee and my parents had one with some seafood in theirs.  The congee was actually really well done and had lots of flavor.  Sadly, since the boss is allergic to scallops,  this place uses dried scallops in their soup base so she ended up not having any at this place.  In addition to the congee, dad ordered a fried noodle dish, as well as a free ranged quarter chicken cooked on the bone.  The checks is cooked in almost a steamed or boiled style, so the meat was very tender.  For myself, one of my favorite things to order in a Chinese restaurant is the Asian breadstick wrapped in a rice noodle.  Lastly,  mom ordered a bowl of won tons.  These were surprisingly very large in size and with very good size shrimp within.  

The food was very good and a nice experience of a more traditional congee dining.  The location is very clean, open and with lots of light.  Plenty of parking too which for me, is a great bonus being in the middle of Markham.  The staff I found was slow and did not pay much attention to the diners.  They spent much time standing in the middle chatting which I was not very happy about.  When we asked out waitress recommendations,  they did try to help as best they could but in the end,  they were to very helpful.  Price wise,  this is where they shine.  The food is cheap.  For the quality of food,  this alone makes it worth visiting again.

Next time we are in the area and have a craving for congee,  we will be back for sure!!

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * 

Value: * * * 1/2 

Atmosphere: * * * 

Service: * 1/2

Price Range: $12 - $20

Absinthe

After the Music and Dinning experience and tasting Chef Garland's duck there, we ventured off to his restaurant down on Wellington Street.  The location has big windows in front to let in plenty of light, while the decor inside is a very nice green colour to match the colour of absinthe.  The place was not very busy, for the later seating which is a bit of a shame, but it is the middle of the summer and the middle of the week, so many people may have been on vacation.  We all went with the table d'hote.  The waiter came back with an amuse for us, which was a very light and delightful duck tartar.  This did an excellent job at setting the tone of the meal, and really exciting the taste buds.  We got served fresh baked bread with a butter infused with a bit of citrus.  It was a very good combination.

For appetizer, we ordered at the table, the charcuterie, the tuna ans scallops, and the escargot.  The escargot in the vermouth cream was amazing.  If it was not uncouth to drink that sauce out of the plate, I would have.  I did polish off the rest of the bread trying to soak up the rest of that sauce.  The tuna and scallops was also very tasty and cooked well.  The charcuterie was what the boss had and it was presented on a wooden cutting board with all the different styles of duck and a mini loaf of bread to help eat that spread.  Every bite made the boss ohh and ahh with the flavour.  Surprisingly, her favourite thing on that plate was the Duck confit pogo.  The presentation of both the tuna tartar and the charrcuterie was excellent.

For the mids, we had ordered both between the four of us.  Sadly, this was the most disappointing course.  The salad was nothing special, and the vinaigrette did not accentuate the salad.  The soup was decent, but I found the soup to be very one dimensional.  There was not any flavour pop, but I think it acted more like a pallet cleanser.

When the mains came back, it made up for the mids big time.  The boss had the farm duck duo, while I had the steak frites with a duck poutine.  The farm duck duo had the duck cooked to perfection,  The presentation was decent, I felt was a little bit messy, but I had seen worse, but the flavour and the taste made up for it.  The duck really melted in your mouth and the seared foie gras was what the boss called, "one of the best things I've tasted in a long time".  My steak frites was an excellent cut, cooked perfectly to medium rare.  I do have to say, I never thought I would say this about fries in fine dinning, but these fries were just that good.  Mix in an excellent gravy and some duck and wow, it was very good!


The service over the meal was excellent.  The staff was very knowledgeable, introduced all the wines, and the plates while not being intrusive.  When we did ask them any questions, they were very helpful, and polite.

For this level of food, I have the say that the price is very reasonable.  Excellent job to Chef Garland and his staff.    We do hope to be back again soon.

Review (out of 5):

Food: * * * *

Value: * * * * 1/2

Atmosphere: * * * *

Service: * * * * *

Price Range: $7 - $29 (+$30 for wine parings)

Website: http://absinthecafe.sitebenefits.com/