Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant: Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Cuisine: Pizza/Mediterranean/Italian
Last visited: March 9, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1265 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: n/a (Media dinner)
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5 (food is on generally good, but not worth it)
Additional comments:

• Chef Brian Ritchot
• Chef from Montreal, one from Spain
• DJ’s/live music on weekends
• Contemporary, sleek, posh atmosphere
• Great for groups
• Specializes in gourmet pizzas
• Mediterranean/Italian options
• Longue like atmosphere
• One large projection screen TV
• Open late
• Pizzas available for take out
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Short Rib Pizza, prosciutto di Parma 18 Month, Duck Pizza, Banoffee Pie

I was invited to a media dinner at Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar so the food served this evening was complimentary. However there were no expectations from Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar and the review represents my true and honest opinions.

Overall the evening was very pleasant and the food was good. However if I were to imagine myself as a regular diner I would probably think great atmosphere, good food, but over priced. It’s “Yaletown Pizza”. Better than Opus Bar pizza for sure. Nothing tasted bad, but when you’re paying for it you get more critical. There are things in the recipe or cooking method that could be improved. I would have liked to see smaller sized pizzas at a reasonable price…which they may consider. I just don’t want to share 1 14 inch pizza if I’m having dinner with one other person…and if we order more we’re looking at a steep bill with lots of leftovers.

They offer pastas and a couple mains but their focus is pizza. I liked the thin crust and made in house aspects but it was at times inconsistent and some were crispier than others. I'm not being too picky either - it was a significant difference. However the pizza crust has a slight garlic powder flavour which is great! Also there’s decent leopparding on the bottom of all the crusts – sign of pizza crust cooked properly.

Soggier crust on 1st pizza.

Crisp crust on last pizza!

I attended the evening with Victoria from Victoria’s Food Secrets. 9 courses later and we still had room for one more dessert…so we just reached for the unfinished dessert down the table. ;)

Oh and no – that is not Charlie and the owner’s name is not Charlie…Charlie is a fictional character the restaurant and food is inspired by.

The dessert portion of dinner at Charlie's Restaurant + Bar.

On the table:

House Marinated Olives 4/6

• Citrus & fresh herbs $6
• Olives are olives and there were a variety which I liked.
  
• I like olives so I liked them. The marinade was good, but also standard.

Grappa Cured Salmon 3.5/6

• Cream fraiche, cucumber, mint, salmon roe and lemon zest $15
• Very fresh and big piece of salmon. Quite a simple dish that sounds more interesting. A sharing appy.
  
• I liked the levels of saltiness from this – the salty bite of salmon roe, fresh sea salt on top of the salmon and then the fresh caper berry. The cream fraiche helped to balance and round out the flavours.
• The cucumber, mint and lemon zest was more for décor and not enough to actually add to the dish.
• Not sure how much this appy suits the restaurant, but it’s still good.

Prosciutto di Parma 18 Month 5.5/6

• With pea mousse, snow pea tendrils, a poached egg, two crostini, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
• Not on current menu, but will be added at end of month. Price TBC. I would hope $12-14.
  
• Great combo of flavours and loved the plating. Prosciutto roses!
  
• I loved the pea mousse. Its very light and fluffy. I recommended them to add Mascarpone to the mousse to give it creaminess and richness. Drool.
• I could taste some tuffle oil on the prosciutto – great touch!

• The poached egg could have been even softer and there were fresh green peas underneath it all. Loved the textures of it altogether.
• It definitely needs a few more crostini for the portion.

Meatball Pizza 2/6

• Spicy tomato sugo, pork meatballs, fontina, smoked speck and fresh oregano $23
• It was good, but for $23 I wouldn’t order it. It’s a bit too basic for me anyways so I wouldn’t have ordered it on a regular basis.
• The best part was the Fontina, except it made the pizza extra greasy which eventually made the thin crust a bit soggy.
• It was homemade Italian Sausage meatballs. They were ok but a bit dry and not a highlight. The pizza also wasn’t spicy to me and there wasn’t much oregano. Maybe they should shred them up and spread them around.

Smoked Salmon Pizza 3/6

• Salsa verde, house-smoked salmon, red onion, capers, arugula preserve, lemon and goat cheese $25
• Lots of stuff going on here, but I did like it.
• I liked the big pieces of salmon and there was a decent amount of creamy goat cheese crumbles…a little goes a long way.
• It was salty, slightly peppery and the salsa verde got nicely baked in the oven so it gave off a nutty flavour and crispy texture. It was quite a herby salsa.
• It was almost like an arugula salad tossed on top so it was quite fresh tasting – the heaviness comes from the goat’s cheese. Some could like this idea and others might find the salad messy and distracting. I liked it.

Roast Potatoes – Side 3.5/6

• The potatoes were very flavourful, fluffy and buttery but the skins were not crispy enough.

• If we stopped here I would have been slightly underwhelmed...until...
  

Short Rib Pizza 5.5/6

• Tomato sugo, braised short ribs, caramelized onion, mozzarella, horseradish cream and green onions $25
• This was my favourite of the night!
  
• Lots of short rib, but it was a bit dry. I like how I can see it but this method dried out the meat during baking.
• The beef could have been more marinated to compensate for the drying out. There’s definitely some dried herb they cooked it with so there's still some flavour.
  
• I loved the fresh spicy horseradish cream! It’s spicy, but it tastes like they made it milder so it wouldn’t be overpowering. it also added some sauce/juice to the meat.
  

Duck Pizza 4/6

• Porcini sauce, smoked duck, roast portabellini mushrooms, tallegio, radicchio and truffle oil $25
• This had so much potential and it was very good but I was very bothered by the duck part…which is the main part. It had almost completely dried out during baking and it came off as roast beef. Since it was thin slices of duck it really came off as roast beef.

• You can see how the duck meat is dry and wrinkly. So it was good, but disappointing in that one aspect.
  
• I liked the mushroom flavour throughout though. Nice layers of mushroom flavour including the big slices of juicy Potabellini and truffle oil which I could taste.
• It was a bit on the salty side and I would have liked more shredded cabbage for more of a crunch.

Drinks

Keep in mind I’m not much of a drinker – watch this video to see why.

Champers Thyme 2/6

• Apple, cucumber, thyme smashed with agave syrup, Henrick’s, Prosecco crown $11
• A sparking cocktail to start the night. Couldn’t taste much apple, but cucumber and thyme stood out. Refreshing, but quite bitter (from Thyme) and tart.

Cocktail 1265 2.5/6

• Blood orange, grapefruit, juniper berries, pine nuts, basil, grapefruit bitters, Vodka $10
• I thought I would like this more than I did. Pretty strong drink. The pine nuts are pureed it so it has a very subtle nutty flavour. Bold, citrusy and slightly sweet, actually quite bitter.

Devil 4/6

• Sliced fennel, cloves, cherry syrup, Cazadores Reposado tequila, cherry bitters and ginger beer $11
• I don’t like Tequila, and this was the best drink. It’s surprisingly sweet because of the cherries and it just worked very well. It has a warm spice and slight licorice taste.

The dessert portion of dinner.

Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca

Restaurant: Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca

Cuisine: Italian/Pacific Northwest/Casual fine dining
Last visited: January 16, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
869 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30 (for entrée)

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: 5

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Located in historical Victorian house
• Executive chef Julio Gonzalez Perini
• Italian chef
• Specializes in Italian
• Italian with West Coast influence
• Extensive wine list
• Casual fine dining
• Clean menu, nice selection
• Home made desserts
• Great presentation on the whole
• Very friendly service
• Cozy, intimate atmosphere
• Great for parties, private rooms available
• Dinner from 5pm
• 5-6:15pm 3 course set menus $28/$38 available

**Recommendation: Hard to say – I liked parts of each dish. Ideally it would be braised pork cheeks on soft mascarpone polenta…which is a combination of 2 entrees. I’ll have to recommend the braised beef short ribs, and the lamb shank ossobucco is popular too. I’m very curious about the chicken; it’s supposed to be amazing. For dessert: Panettone Bread Pudding, Tiramisu

Lupo Restaurant + Vinoteca recently reopened. The restaurant was originally Villa Del Lupo Restaurant but they went through some new owner and also had to reinvent themselves. Rather than catering to the $50+ clientele they are targeting to a $30-40 crowd and hoping for a more casual atmosphere. As much as they’re trying to revamp themselves it still feels intimate, cozy and slightly pretentious, although the service is not at all. Good thing! It’s almost impossible to leave this “cozy/intimate” atmosphere because the restaurant is in a historical Victorian house from 1905. I felt like I was walking into someone’s house for dinner, it reminds me of Mis Trucos on Davie, but more upscale.

It’s supposed to be serving traditional Italian food (what I was told), but the menu looks more West Coast Italian to me. The main ingredient in each dish is Italian, but there’s still some creativity and small global influences to it. I was more impressed with the service and presentation than I was with the food. The food was good, but it sounded better and I don’t think any of it reached its full potential. Everything was missing a note and parts of every dish had something going for it, but no dish on the whole was outstanding - it was quite good though. I would come again, but I also wouldn’t chose to come again.

My dessert post

On the table:

Ricotta Gnocchi 4/6

• Braised pork cheeks and porcini mushroom “sugo” $14/19 (14 appetizer size, but quite big)
• The pork cheeks were the tenderest meat out of lamb shank ossobucco and braised beef short ribs. It was really juicy tender and soft which just a thin layer of fat around the edges. Even as an appetizer it came with 2 cheeks which was a great surprise.
• The sauce was “sugo” almost like a ragout made with stewed tomatoes and mushrooms. The sauce was very simple in flavour and tasted mainly like tomatoes so it was quite tangy and one dimensional in flavour. I wanted to taste some red wine and some meaty flavour like beef stock.
• The mushrooms were very slippery and very soft. I didn’t feel like the mushroom flavour cooked into the sauce though.
• The gnocchi wasn’t a traditional gnocchi. The concept was there and I was really excited about it, but it sounds better than it was. I couldn’t taste the potato, and if I paid close attention I could taste the ricotta, but if I didn’t I could have forgotten it was in there. The ricotta made the texture a little more mushy and soft than typical gnocchi is. They also put some minced flat leaf Italian parsley and minced carrot into the ricotta potato mixture. It was quite flavourful, but I didn’t warm up to the texture.
• This may be getting a bit picky, but the gnocchi was inconsistent in terms of size. They were very oddly shaped and it might be because the ricotta made for an overly soft dough.
• They were also missing the fork indents so it’s didn’t pick the sauce up as well as it could have.
  

Risotto 3/6

• Seasonal wild mushrooms and garlic confit $16/20
• The biggest issue with this was the size and plating. The ricotta gnocchi as an appetizer looked the same size and was probably more filling than the mushroom risotto as a main dish size.
• It was served on a plate and I think it should have been served in a deeper dish. I wasn’t too impressed with the plating which is unfortunate because everything else was plated well.
• This wasn’t my dish, but I did get to try it. Based on my sample I wasn’t too impressed. I’d be really disappointed if I ordered it because at $20 it was really small and I’d still be hungry. Not just me too, anyone would.
• The price comes from the fact that this dish is loaded with mushrooms. The mushrooms are great, juicy and plentiful, but the rice is still hard. The texture could have been creamier and I felt like it was rushed.
• It also needed some truffle oil, which would have enhanced everything.

Lamb Shank Ossobucco 3.5/6

• Lamb shank ossobucco with lemon saffron risotto $20
• This has been an item on the menu for 20+ years. It’s the only item that has carried on from the old menu and it’s one of their most popular entrees.
• The presentation is lovely with mini scoops of zucchini and carrots – talk about fine details to plating.
• The lamb was coated with a simple tangy tomato sauce and it was tender but it could have been tenderer. It wasn’t falling off the bone and it still required some kni fe and fork action. The lamb also had a slight gamey taste at the end, it’s wasn’t too strong, but I’m really sensitive to that taste and I could taste it.
• The lemon saffron risotto was creamy but the rice was still hard again. It tasted like exactly what it sounds like so the recipe was quite simple. It was tangy and I could taste both ingredients, but not much of anything else. I could have used more parmesan cheese to give it more flavour. It maybe could have used some peas too, to give it some texture.

**Braised Beef Short Ribs 4/6

• Braised beef short ribs with soft mascarpone polenta $24
• It was really good, but could have been better. The au jus was the problem for me.
• The braised beef was boneless and very lean with little bits of juicy fat around the edges. It wasn’t chewy either.
• The meat was very tender but not necessarily juicy (except for the fatty parts) because there weren’t many spices or seasonings if any.
• The braised beef had more fat than the pork cheeks yet the pork cheeks were most tender out of the 3 meat entrees. The braised beef still shred away with a fork, but still not as easily as the pork cheek.
• The mascarpone polenta had a great texture and I loved the ultra creaminess. It’s creamier than the risotto. The problem was I couldn’t taste the mascarpone – even keeping in mind mascarpone has a very mild flavour. It was almost like mashed potatoes, but less starchy and it has a mealy (like polenta is) in texture. I really liked it though – just missing the cheese factor.

  

• The gravy they served it with also wasn’t very reduced. It was actually very salty and tasted like over salted beef au jus. At first I did not like the runny texture of the gravy, however with the polenta as the starch it worked well. If you let the polenta absorb the au jus then the mascarpone flavour completely disappears even more than it did before. The sauce was very overpowering and didn’t enhance the dish.
• On top of the short rib was a crispy piece of pancetta. I think it’s deep fried, but I didn’t like it. It was salty, and it looks nice, but it has the texture of egg shells.
• If the gravy is going to be like this then they need to serve it in a deeper dish so that the polenta can absorb the sauce. They should have served it like my Roasted Duck Leg at The Irish Heather.
• Again it had nice presentation, but hard for me to capture.
  

I didn't forget the dessert...yes there is always room...;)

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen – Happy Hour Review

Restaurant: Goldfish Pacific Kitchen – Happy Hour Review
Cuisine: West Coast/Pacific Rim/Fusion
Last dined: December 8, 09

Area: Vancouver (Yaletown/Downtown)
1118 Mainland Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (Based on happy hour)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Located in Yaletown
• Mostly Asian chefs/cooks – Chef William Tse (previous sous chef of Joe Fortes and Chop House)
• Asian fusion/Asian inspired menu
• Focus on sea-food
• Sophisticated and creative food
• Extensive Wine Bar
• Contemporary, trendy & “Yaletown” atmosphere & décor
• Quite a large dinner menu
• Dining Room/Lounge/Patio
• Covered sun room with lounge couches
• Great for appies/drinks/late night
• M-F 11am-4pm “$10 Gold Plates”
• M-F 4pm-6pm Happy Hour – appies and drinks

**Recommendation: Chicken satays, tuna tartare, short rib sliders, bacon fried rice (very popular but I haven’t tried), Trio of West Coast Sushi Pizza, Shiitake mushroom meatloaf

I’ve came here on a few occasions before I started blogging so I’m going to summarize my visits. This review focuses on my happy hour visit. I tried everything on their happy hour menu besides their house made potato chips and toast & jam, which sounds a bit boring. I can’t be as detailed in this review because it was a visit from September 10, 09. So I’m writing on recollection. The positive to this is that I can tell you what was truly memorable about the dishes I ordered. Overall their happy hour is worth it and I must give credit to their dips and sauces which were all really good. I actually think the food during happy hour is better becuase they have more time to prepare it. I will post my lunch visit tomorrow. (For my lunch review)

The restaurant isn’t as busy as it should be and I’m not sure why. The food is not bad and the atmosphere is fantastic. It’s very trendy, contemporary and spacious. They have a lot of room to occupy so I think they would do better with a smaller space. I’ve sat in covered patio in the back, the lounge, and the dining room. I liked the patio the best. The patio has blankets, heat lamps and comfy lounge sofas. It’s not great for lunch or dinner, but it’s great for drinks, appies, and after work/late night socials. I would prefer the patio in the back over the lounge in the front.

A while back they were closed for lunch, but they decided to re-open for lunch recently.

The food is very East meets West – very Asian inspired. It’s probably because the owners and chefs are Asian, so they reinvent a lot of Asian classics by putting an “American” or West Coast twist to it.

On the table:

• Beef Satays 2/6
• Madras curry, cucumber ginger yogurt $3.75
• The beef was a little dry and over cooked a bit all the times I’ve ordered it. The pieces are nice and lean though.
• The sauce is like a raita sauce (that cucumber yogurt condiment they give you an Indian restaurants). It’s refreshing, aromatic and bit spicy from the fresh ginger. I’m used to having these with peanut sauce from Malaysian restaurants and I prefer that version.
• Chicken Satays 4/6
• Thai red curry sauce $3
• The menu now says “Thai red curry sauce” – when I ordered it it was a Thai yellow curry sauce, which was really good! It was like a curry peanut ginger and garlic sauce. I’ll have to re-order this to see if they’ve changed it. I hope they only changed the curry paste and not the recipe beucase it was so good already…well maybe it’s better now? I’ll have to see. The chicken itself is nice and seasoned with a dry rub. These ones weren’t dry.
• Short Rib Sliders 5/6
• Spicy Hoisin mayo, crispy onions $3
• These were memorable. It was very tender falling apart beef short ribs. They were nice and saucy and tasted like an Asian barbeque sauce – which is the Hoisin sauce. It wasn’t spicy for me though. More sweet and tangy. The crispy onions were a nice touch. I think they’re using the mini dinner rolls from superstore rather than actual slider buns. It’s more like a hot dog bun. It didn’t bother me though because it was nicely grilled and crispy yet soft. You got a lot of meat and it’s nice and tender – that was the most important part. It was nice to have it not pre-shredded as well. It shred away easily just by me biting into it and th at’s how tender short ribs should be.

  

• Mini Crab Cakes 2/6
• Thai basil yogurt $4
• To be honest I don’t really remember these. I know they weren’t bad, but that also can’t mean they were really good. They were forgettable. I know they were a nice size, crispy, hot and not overcooked though. I usually take a picture of the inside of the crab cake so you can see the ingredients. I’ll have to order these again next time to give a better review.
• Freshly shucked Oysters
• Freshly shucked oysters grated horseradish $2.75
• I can’t remember which type of oysters they gave us. They weren’t Fanny Bay’s which was surprising, since these are most available being in Vancouver. I do appreciate the grated horseradish, that was a nice touch. I think they should use freshly grated wasabi though – it suits their Asian-inspired theme better.
• Tuna Tartare 3/6
  
• Crisp butter lettuce $4
• These served these with deep fried taro chips which was a great idea because I was expecting regular chips or crostini. Well from the menu I was expecting just butter lettuce.
• I like tuna tartare so that’s why I recommended it, and for the price you're paying it's worth it. The colour of the tuna doesn't look great, but it doesn't taste bad either. It has some avocado, green onions and I think some red peppers it it. They make it better at Japanese places, but this one was decent.
• Chilled Tiger Prawns
• Mango lime aïoli $4.75
• The prawns were nice and big and I don’t really remember the dip. I will have to reorder this to give a better review. I’m sure it was good though because we didn’t have one bad dip. They do a good job with all of them.

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.


Restaurant: Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
Cuisine: American
Last visited: October 9, 09

Area: Multiple locations - Denver, Colorado
6025 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland
Price Range: $10-20USD

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Chain restaurant (I was unaware)
• Casual and lively atmosphere
• Line-up/crowded at peak hours
• Friday-Sunday $12.99 Prime Rib dinner available
• 3 course menu deals: $12-18USD
• 90% of menu made from scratch
• Known for beers and steaks
• Menu has a Tex-Mex flair
• From the creators of Chicago Pasta & Pizza chain
  
• Happy hour
• Offers mini desserts for under $3
• Lighting made it difficult to take pictures

**Recommendation: Classic Mac n' Chicken, Overnight Braised Short Rib, Steaks, Stout BBQ Ribs (didn't get to try), handmade beer bread (served with Asiago dip, didn't get to try)

This wasn't the original choice for dinner, but it started snowing and out of convenience it was the first thing we saw that looked good. Being from Vancouver, I didn't know Rock Bottom was a chain restaurant although it could have been easily assumed from the exterior and interior design/set-up. It had that big chain restaurant feel: large space located in a strip mall with other chain restaurants, crowded bar, energetic atmosphere, large advertisements and promotional materials. Nonetheless I was still excited to try it, after all 90% of their food is made in house and that is something to salivate about.

The menu consisted of standard chain restaurant items: BBQ meats, steaks, pasta all they typical stuff, so naturally my eyes kept coming to items with the words "homemade", "famous for", and "signature". I was actually quite impressed with the standard of food for what we were paying - it was moderately priced, homemade and made upon order. The food wasn't outstanding or really creative, but I do appreciate a chain with a focus on homemade food without being overpriced...I'd say it's a pretty solid choice.

On the table:

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• **Classic Mac n' Chicken 6/6
• This is their famous Mac n' Cheese. It's your classic homestyle mac n' cheese except loaded with chicken!

• I made a special request to order it as a side because I didn't want it as an entree - they happily honoured the request.
• The cheese sauce was homecooked and really good! It's creamy instead of stringy so you could tell the cheese was cooked into the sauce rather than thrown in last minute. I think they used a combo of sharp White and Orange Cheddar cheese. It was rich and decadent and there were chunks of juicy baked chicken throughout, not one piece was dry. They used a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper in the sauce so it really enhanced the cheesiness.
• It also had this baked Parmesan breadcrumb crust that was almost nutty and very very cripsy! It was saucy from top to bottom and not dry at all.
  
• One of the best traditional mac n' cheeses I've had.

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• **Overnight Braised Short Rib 4/6
• Slow-roasted boneless short rib on a bed of White Cheddar mashed potatoes (can't tell in the picture because it's too bright), fire-roasted tomatoes, peal onions with roasted mushroom sauce.

• The rib was really tender and it was obvious that it was well marinated and slow roasted because it was falling apart.
• The roasted mushroom sauce was really hearty and rich. It was a little heavy on the balsamic vinegar and with the added fire-roasted tomatoes it was a bit too tangy for my liking. However, together with the White Cheddar mashed potatoes and ribs it all came together quite well...especially since the potatoes were dry. They definitely needed the mushroom gravy.
• They used fresh parsley to garnish it, but I think they should have used something else because it didn't go with the sauce or flavours of the dish very well.
• 
• Mahi Mahi Tacos 1.5/6
• Mahi Mahi, pineapple slaw and cilantro wrapped in white flour corn tortillas served with pico de gallo, black beans, and rice.

• This was really disappointing. It sounds really good on the menu and it was recommended, but it wasn't good. They were going in all sorts of wrong directions with the flavours.
• Mahi is a sturdy fish, almost like halibut so it tastes like chicken. It's also a tropical fish so it's good with tropical flavours. Therefore the pineapple was a good idea, but making it a slaw was not. They should have kept it nice and light and served it with pineapple salsa if they wanted to keep it fusion.

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• The "pineapple slaw" was plain old cole slaw. I didn't see or taste one piece of pineapple. It was too rich and creamy because they went overboard with the mayo.

• Then they decided to serve it with Mexican condiments and sides.
• So you had the creamy cole slaw and then pico de gallo - which tasted like relish instead of fresh tomatoes, onions, limes & chillies. They also added pickled jalapenos so it wasn't as spicy, but it made it taste very preserved or a couple days old...maybe it was. It tasted even more preserved because they put capers in it too...for I guess a Mediterranean twist? It was weird. The whole thing was wrong and didn't go well with the tacos at all. It was creamy cole slaw with pickled salsa...ick.
• Was it Hawaiian? Mexican? Mediterranean? They were fusing a bunch of flavours together and all in the wrong way. The only good thing was each taco came with 2 big pieces of Mahi Mahi.
  
• 
  
• 
• **Filet Mignon 4/6 (If they don't overcook it!)
• Centre hand-cut aged 8oz filet rubbed in in house seasonings and topped with creamy roasted garlic butter.
  

• I ordered mine medium rare with the White Cheddar mashed potatoes, veggies and a side of roasted mushrooms. The veggies were the frozen kind....not impressed.
• The roasted mushrooms were more like sauteed mushrooms. They were heavy on the black pepper and tasted like they were reduced with balsamic vinegar...just like the sauce that was served with the braised short rib. It worked with the steak more than the ribs.
• My steak was cooked medium and not medium rare like I requested..that was a real bummer! However my friend's was cooked to medium rare and his was really good. The dry rub was not bad, but also not memorable. The filet was served on a giant onion ring which was a nice surprise. It was only for presentation though and it got really soggy so I didn't even eat it.
• The steak itself isn't a stand out, but I also couldn't complain.
  
• It was quite good for a brewery, but also not nearly as good as a steakhouse steak.
  
• White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes 2/6
  
• Mashed potatoes were really dry and sturdy. They really emphasize it as a restaurant favourite, but I don't know why. I could stick my fork it in and it would hold straight up. They weren't creamy, fluffy, or cheesy. They make it with cream, White Cheddar cheese and sour cream, but I didn't taste the richness of any of those.
• Genovese Pasta 3/6 (soon to be off the menu)
  
• Grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes, walnut pesto, fresh basil, Parmesan cheese on penne.

• I couldn't get a picture because it was too far down the table.
  
• I was very intrigued by the walnut pesto...but I think this was "too weird" for most, that's why they're taking it off the menu.
• Unfortunately it didn't taste like walnuts at all. It looked and tasted like plain old pesto. As pesto, it was good. But as a "walnut pesto" it was not.
• The pasta was very pesto-y. I really like pesto so it didn't bother me. It was kind of oily so the tartness of the sundried tomatoes and freshness of the basil was good.
  
• 
• Asian Ahi Tuna Salad 4/6
• Seared sashimi grade ahi tuna with cabbage, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, carrots, spinach, baby corn, edamame and crunchy noodles. Served with light ginger citrus dressing.

• I have to say I was quite impressed with this! The ingredients were nice and crunchy and fresh. The tuna was really top quality. It was a bright red colour and they seared it perfectly! The garnish was green sesame seeds (I've never seen before) and I think it was a sea salt/lemon pepper crust...? It was really good!
• 
• Blackened Salmon Caesar 4/6
• A Caesar salad topped with a Cajun-spiced salmon and Parmesan Caesar dressing.

• It had real Parmesan curls instead of the shredded kind so that was nice.
• The star was really the salmon though. It had this really flavourful dry rub that was spicy but not overly spicy...it was just right.
• It wasn't overly charred and it was seared perfectly with a juicy and moist centre. It's so easy to overcook salmon and they didn't do it with this one - it was such a thick piece I was almost sure it was going to be too.
• Side Garden Salad