#dining week

Another late post from Edmonton Downtown Dining Week back in March.. >.< I went to OEB to get their dining week brunch special.

I came with my SIL & my 2 nieces. We got 2 meals & shared between the 4 of us. The deep fried pierogies was what I personally wanted to try as it is not on their regular menu! I don't know if this was a trial item to test its popularity or . .. what.

Their regular menu ^

The interior still looks the same as before.

I really like this organizer. It's very functional.

I came here several times in the past after night shift with my coworkers. I don't particularly like night shifts but the breakfast after the last one was something I always looked forward to haha

Okay, here's the deep fried pierogies. They're so mini & cute! & also very delicious. So crunchy on the outside & the inside was soft. Not much flavour on its own but I didn't mind too much. Came with sour cream & salsa.

The Meatless to Say poutine with medium-poached egg. Egg was perfect, the bacon was great, potatoes were good . .. the sauce was good too but my nieces didn't like it T_T

The other entree, also with deep fried pierogies. This was the Montreal smoked brisket benny. YUM~

The banana cream pie French toast. I wasn't a fan. .. too much cream, the warm banana was gross...... I don't like warm fruits, in general. Banana, when heated, gets more mushy. The texture is sooo not appealing to me.

Lastly, the French toast trifle. It was alright. In general, I lean more towards savoury brunch food so . .. yeah, it was mehh. This was better than the banana cream one though.

Hey guys!

Let's backtrack a little. .. to Edm Downtown Dining Week, which happened at the end of March. .. lol sorry!! >.<

One of the participting restaurants was Jack's Burger Shack. They started out in St. Albert (original location), & now (since a few yrs ago) has a 2nd location in Downtown Edmonton. I've been to neither, same with my companion DQ, whom I came here with. So we were very exciting to try out this place since we've heard very good things about it :D

It was a Tues later-lunch when we came but bcos it was dining week, the place was packed. Thankfully, I managed to snap a photo of this wall that features their sign while they were cleaning between diners.

The place was very narrow & not a lot of seating available; however, it's neat, cozy, & I like the range of furniture/decor.

My friend DQ in the bottom left corner taking care of her daughter haha

So during Dining Week, participating restaurants have a pre-set menu. Jack's was only open for lunch service & they had 2 menu sets; we got the $15 option, which we thought was a better bang for your buck. (The $25 option is an 'upgraded' version of the $15 menu, with a diff burger & poutine instead of fries with aoili).

The rootbeer float. Omg, can't remember the last time I had a float. .. probably 2 decades ago?? Can't say I am a fan but I finished it regardless.

The fries + melt aoili & the 5oz burger (the original one). The melt aoili was good; not sure about the fries. I like my Costco fries :P

Edmonton Downtown Dining Week took place from March 30 - April 10 & I got take-out from Chop Steakhouse & Bar~

I don’t usually “participate” in Dining Week bcos I find the deals (or so they say) is not great but I decided to comb thru each restaurant to see which ones are actually deals. I did an awful lot of research lol I went as far as comparing the Dining Week menu with their existing menu & seeing if the “discount” was significant. Some places were a rip-off, it was ridiculous!

However, upon researching .. . Chop turned out to be a VERY good deal! So I ordered from them :D

For $35 dinner, you got to choose one of 2 salads, one of 5 mains, & one of 2 desserts.

I phoned to make an order on April 1st & guess what they told me . .. their kitchen flooded so they’re not taking orders for the rest of the day, & likely will be ready tomorrow. But then I didn’t want to risk it .. so I waited another day & made the order on April 3rd haha it went thru & my pickup was ready shortly after I arrived.

* PS: The staff there said they don’t do take-out for dining week but since the staff who took my order already .. . took my order, they’re letting it slide. Good to know for next time!

Here’s my meal - re-plated & everything haha I’ll show you what it looked like as take-out at the end of the post.

The artisan greens with avocado lime vinaigrette.

The loved the vinaigrette so much! It was so lime-y & tart & delicious! Just very refreshing, overall. The greens were fresh; loved the cherry tomatoes. They also had some edamame, which I was never a big fan of anyway & also a tiny sprinkle of sunflower seeds.

The 9oz prime rib with grilled veggies, served with horseradish. I got it as medium rare so it gave me room to heat up to like a medium - medium-well bcos I knew it would be cold by the time I got home. Gotta be smart & plan ahead haha I basically just lightly seared it before consuming; it was a really light sear that some parts were still red.

The prime rib was so soft & melt-y. I didn’t need the au jus but I added a little just for kicks. So tasty!

As for the fries, I still prefer the good ol’ Costco fries but these were not bad. I’d say they’re crispy-er than other restaurant fries I’ve eaten.

Here’s my dessert - the flourless chocolate torte, which has Amaretto mousse & chocolate ganache, served with vanilla anglaise & a berry sauce. I really liked this dessert bcos the cake itself was not very sweet. The cake had a good balance of mousse smoothness & the slightly hardier base. Enjoyed it so much!

So yeah .. it came like this:

The salad came in a very large container haha

The prime rib, as you can see, was very rare at the time. It came in the same sized container as the salad.

The dessert was in a smaller container, packed with the 2 sauces. I’m glad they packaged the 2 sauces that way (or maybe it was unintentional) so that contact was avoided. It was basically stuck there so the cake didn’t move, neither did the sauce containers.

Februar er snart overstået

Februar er snart slut Den første måned på det nye job er snart overstået, og er du gal for en måned det har været. Ud over det har jeg haft fødselsdag, været til Dining Week og meget mere. Den første korte uge på det nye job var stille og rolig, skulle lige lære folk at kende og lære at finde rundt på biblioteket. Så var der lige en masse møder jeg skulle med til for at komme up to speed med de…

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (Edmonton) - DW#5

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse | 9990 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton Atmosphere 4/5 | Food 4/5 | Amount $15, $25, $50 | Service 3.5/5 Tip: We didn't really get steak (that's what they are famous for), but judging on the quality of the prime rib sliders that we did get, I'd say they're worth the big bucks. Try: Again, can't really vouch for the steak because I've never had it, but the prime rib sliders were quite tasty. Consensus: Until I get the steak, I say we hold off on a REAL consensus. PS Our waiter was a little confused. Instead of giving us three prime rib sliders and two fish & chips, he came out with three fish and chips and two prime rib sliders. The fish and chips were quite greasy and heavy (was it ever a generous helping though), but the prime rib sliders (only three) were just enough for a quick, light, lunch. The restaurant has great ambiance, almost as fancy-esque as Hardware Grill.

Niche: DW#4

Hardware Grill: DW#3

The Sutton Place Hotel: DW#2