Lasagna

Tonight we had lasagna with Italian sausage, beef, cottage cheese and spinach for dinner. My husband served it with garlic and parmesan pumpernickel bread. Unfortunately I wasn't home when he was making it, so I didn't get all the details and shots in between. Hmmm, I wonder if he did that on purpose! I did get a tidbit of why it was so flavourful. Lots of garlic and a little tarragon. It was heavenly, and the perfect comfort food on a cold rainy day.

Fried Green Tomatoes

We've got a bunch of tomatoes from our garden that will just not ripen. So tonight, my husband fried them up and served them with a cauliflower and cumin soup from The Red Apron. It was very easy (from what I could tell), and very yummy.

What you’ll need

Sliced green tomatoes

1 egg

Herbs and spices

Cornmeal

Salt and pepper

Blue cheese dressing

Chives 

What to do

Mix the herbs, spices, cornmeal and salt and pepper together. Coat the tomato in the egg, then dredge it in the cornmeal mixture. Then cook them in the frying pan. 

Sprinkle them with blue cheese dressing and some chives.

Total time, approximately 20 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Ok, so the theme of this weekend is smoked fish. You've seen my lox breakfast. You've read about my smoked trout, mackerel and salmon. You didn't see the smoked fish platter my friends and I purchased at La Boucanerie Chelsea that was amazing, but that's ok. And now, my lunch for tomorrow is a maple smoked salmon sandwich on multigrain bread with cream cheese, cucumber, capers, sprouts and red onion. Hey, when you've got something good going why end it?

Le Château Montebello – Montebello

$$$

Sunday brunch at le Château Montebello is the best buffet for the price by far. Since I already had breakfast today, we'll call this one lunch. It's available every Sunday at 11:30am and 1:30pm and costs $39.50. This is not your average buffet. You get a pretty elaborate spread – which makes it very hard to decide what you're going to eat. They have everything from quail and lamb to seafood, cheese and desserts. I didn't even look at a couple of the tables for fear i'd find something else I wanted. I had a few salads, one being a delicious oriental salad made with beet greens, peppers and almonds as well as a lobster salad that was fantastic. I also had some pickled beets and scalloped potatoes. This is all beginning to sound quite random I know. That's how I started off. Then I got a little more specific. I filled my second plate with seafood, which consisted of smoked mackerel, smoked trout, stuffed smoked trout, smoked salmon, shrimp, crab and seafood sauce. Then I went for a third plate, which included patés and terrines made with duck and ostrich and some baby gherkins and pickled onions as well as blue St. Benedictine cheese and Gouda. My final plate was the perfect ending. I had strawberries and bananas with warm chocolate sauce and crepes with local maple syrup. Trust me, the crème caramel, apple pie, sugar pie, etc, were very hard to pass up. But I just couldn't go any further. If you feel like taking a nice Sunday drive, followed by an amazing brunch and then just relax for the afternoon, this is a great place to go. I went there today with a really good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. After stuffing our faces we took a nice walk along the water then went back into the foyer and had a glass of port. We spent 4 hours there and it was probably one of the best afternoons i've had in a while. As soon as you drive onto the property you immediately feel relaxed. I'll probably have to go more often. Just a side note too, if you park in the lot bring your card inside, they will validate it for you so the parking is free.

www.fairmont.com/montebello

Maple Lox with Cream Cheese and Capers

I've labeled this under Misc Food because my husband didn't prepare it for me. I know, it's hard to believe. And yes, I do actually prepare food for myself on occasion. Although it's very rare. I bought the maple smoked salmon at La Boucanerie Chelsea yesterday. God I love that place. Add a Montreal bagel, cream cheese, red onion, capers and sprouts and you've got an awesome Sunday morning breakfast.

$3 In – Café Soup‘Herbe

Well, it took a while, but i've finally gotten my first Tip Jar submission. I'm sad to say the culprit is Café Soup‘Herbe. I've now removed them from my favorite places to eat right now list. I still love the food. And I will go again. But I couldn't for the life of me tip our server today. We arrived and were greeted by a girl who looked like she had arrived from a different planet and had no idea how to do her job. We asked how long it would be for a table and her reaction was like we had asked her to drop her pants. Ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a little. We decided to sit outside where there were some tables available and then that was it, they forgot about us. One of us decided to remind them we were there. It took a while but we finally got our order. After going inside to get our napkins, cutlery and everything else we needed we had to find our server yet again to get some bread and water. I had had a late breakfast so I only ordered the Peanut Curry Soup, which was delicious, so that, along with my drink and half of my friend's lunch cost (it's day 2 of her birthday) came to $20. It didn't even seem worth it to tip 10%. So 15% has now been added to the Tip Jar.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Chives

Did I mention my husband also cooks amazing breakfasts? This morning I got home from walking my dog and there it was, soft scrambled eggs with chives on whole grain toast with tomato from our garden and a piece of La vache qui rit cheese. I caught the drool forming at my mouth with my first bite. It was delicious. I don't have the recipe for this one as it's pretty obvious I think. But this proves right here that presentation is everything! Don't get me wrong though, if there was no presentation, i'd still love it.

Wasabi Japanese Restaurant

$$

If anyone ever asks me where they should go for sushi, I always recommend this spot. Another sushi place in the market is Kinki, but I would never recommend it. The service is absolutely terrible. I hadn't been to Wasabi in a while but we decided to take my best friend for her birthday last night. They recently renovated to make the restaurant bigger. It's got a great atmosphere, dim lighting and the service, as always, was wonderful. On numerous occasions, my husband and I would go all out and get the Boat, which is a massive selection of sushi and sashimi for $64. Last night I controlled myself. I started out with the Gyoza – pork and vegetable dumplings, and probably my favorite thing on the menu. I then had the Wasabi Knock-out Rolls made with spicy salmon, crabstick, lettuce, crispy tempura flakes and masago as well as the Seoul Roll, which had kimchi, cucumber and fish cake. It was all very fresh and super tasty. I found the presentation to be quite exceptional too. I overheard my friend say her tempura was the best she's ever had. For drinks I had a ceasar to start then a large Japanese pilsner. I was stuffed, and my bill with tax was $45. Apps range from $3 to $13 and mains from $10 to $31. Definitely worth every penny.

www.wasabisushibar.ca

Chicken and Quinoa

We love to start our week on a healthy note. This week is no exception. My husband just finished cooking a bunch of chicken breast for our lunches this week. This is a very easy and insanely healthy lunch recipe. It's good for dinner too.

What you’ll need

Cooked boneless skinless chicken breast

Cooked quinoa

Baby spinach

Tarragon

PC arrabbiata sauce or any other flavourful tomato sauce

What to do

Season the cooked chicken breast with tarragon. 

Place the quinoa, spinach and chicken breast in a plastic container and top it with arrabbiata sauce. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Total time, approximately 1 hour. Mostly spent on cooking the chicken.

Spicy Trout

I've been asked by a few people if I would include recipes for my husband's meals. There are never any exact recipes per se. He usually does them off the top of his head, or modifies recipes he's seen elsewhere. And he never measures anything. But, I've decided to stick to him like glue while he's cooking (he loves it, I know he does!) and ask as many questions as I can so that you can reap the benefits of his quick, easy and healthy cooking style.

A friend of ours recently came back from visiting her parents and brought us a gorgeous trout that her father caught. Tonight we had it for dinner and it was so tasty. Wild fish always has the best flavour. And this recipe really did it justice.

What you’ll need

Trout filet cut width-wise into 2 or 3 pieces (depending on the size)

Cooked wild rice

3 or 4 celery stalks sliced 

3 whole garlic cloves

1 chopped red or green chili pepper (he used red to add more colour to the dish). You may want to use up to 3. We are not spicy people and with just one was pretty mild.

Chopped coriander

Salt

Paprika

Olive oil

What to do

Place the celery, garlic cloves and chilies in the bottom of a skillet. 

Set the trout on top. Sprinkle some coriander, a bit more celery, salt, paprika and olive oil over the top. 

Add 1/4 cup of water to the bottom of the pan. Bring the water to a boil then cover and simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes. Serve over the wild rice and sprinkle with chopped chilies, coriander and salt – voilà!

Total time, approximately 30 minutes.

Café Indochine

$

I used to eat here often when I worked in the market. I was in the area getting my hair done so all I could think about was grabbing a bite here afterward. They have a wonderful lunch menu where you get a soup, spring roll and vermicelli dish for $11.95. And I ordered exactly that. The soup comes first, hot and sour pineapple soup. It's a light and slightly spicy soup with sliced celery, tomatoes and pineapple. Really tasty. Then came my bowl of vermicelli, I got the vegetarian version which has fried tofu, a spring roll, lettuce, bean sprouts, cucumber and carrots with a bean sauce (I get that instead of the fish sauce). Vietnamese food is like comfort food for me. I have an obsession with vermicelli noodles so unless something is really wrong with the food, Vietnamese restaurants will always have a pretty good review rating with me. This one isn't my favorite, but it's good. The food is fresh and the service is good. One time a few years ago, I came here for lunch and although I was the only person in the restaurant, 15+ minutes passed with no one coming to see me. So I walked out and vowed to never come again. But I did, because I still really like the food. And the service has never been that bad again. I've never been for dinner. But the prices on the menu range from $5 to $9 for apps and $10 to $18 for mains. They also have a tiny little patio outside that's great for summer days.

Café Indochine

Ahora

$

This was my second time here. It's a cute little Mexican restaurant in a basement on Dalhousie. When you walk in you immediately feel like you're somewhere different and authentic. It's very colourful and fun, which makes the fact you're in a basement not so bad. They were packed so we waited for a table. It's kind of a cafeteria style set up where, once you sit down and decide what you're going to eat you have to get up and order it at the counter. I'm not a huge fan of that but whatever. They also have a salsa bar, so you can try all the different kinds and take as much or as little as you want. My girlfriends and I shared a bottle of wine and I ordered the Burrito de Camarones which has shrimp, cheese, red and green peppers, onions, rice and sour cream and a salad on the side (you get your choice of salad, beans or rice). From the salsa bar, i'm a bit of a pussy when it comes to hot stuff, I grabbed the mild salsa and a handful of coriander – I LOVE coriander. I ordered the same thing the last time I was there because I have an avocado allergy and this is one of the only items on the menu that doesn't have avocado in it. I absolutely hate that there is a food item I'm allergic to. It's the only one, but I hate to have to special order anything, I hate being “that” person. So when I cut into my burrito and a big chunk of avocado came out I was totally bummed. They were really good about it and made me another one. Because they were so busy, it took forever to get our food but I got my second burrito very quickly. The ingredients they use are very fresh and the food is super flavourful. Other than the food being slow that night the service was really good. This place is very inexpensive, apps range from $4 to $7 and the mains from $5 to $13. You should definitely check it out.

www.ahora.ca

BBQ Chicken Ceasar Salad

My husband makes the best ceasar salad dressing. It's got a strong kick but is very light in texture. In addition to the chicken, we had fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden and a piece of La vache qui rit cheese. So yummy!

The Standard

$$

Formerly the old Mash restaurant and bar, The Standard is your typical pub style restaurant. This wasn't my first time there. It's a good place to start before a night of drinking and to grab a quick bite. The food is ok. Not great, not terrible, ok. I started off with a Mill Street Organic, my new favorite light beer, and the Calamari. It was pretty standard (no pun intended), not too greasy, light, and slightly burnt, which I kind of liked. For my main it was a toss up between the Mini Burgers, which are quite fun, three 2 1/2 oz patties with lettuce, tomato and onions, or the Angry Burger. I went with the Angry Burger, and substituted the meat patty for a veggie. The Angry Burger came with a cajun style spice, roasted garlic, charred red peppers and a spicy mayo. The description sounds better than it was. The bun wasn't toasted and the flavours weren't as great as the description sounds. But again, it wasn't bad. It was ok. I had this with half and half sides of sweet potato fries and salad. The dressing on the salad was great, very tasty. I must say though, I do prefer the food at their market location over the Elgin location. The atmosphere is quite nice, the service is usually ok, tonight however, it was slow. And they have a good selection of beers, including a few of my favorites, Red Stripe, Beau's and Mill Street Organic. Prices range from $7 to $9 for an appetizer and $11 to $28 for a main. I probably would have had my first tip jar submission tonight (finally!) but a good friend of ours was in town from Montreal and picked up the tab – thanks Mark!

www.thestandardtavern.com

Coconut Curry Tofu on Rice

Another highly pleasing meal. Did you expect anything less? Tonight my husband made a tofu, zucchini, tomato and green onion dish with coconut curry sauce on whole grain and wild rice, topped with cilantro.

Ratings

Below is my rating system for the restaurant reviews.

5 Stars: Amazing!

4 Stars: Excellent

3 Stars: Very Good

2 Stars: Good

1 Star: OK

Price symbols indicate the overall cost of an appetizer and main course and non-alcoholic beverage, per person, without tip, tax, wine or alcohol.

¢: under $15

$: $15-$25

$$: $25-$35

$$$: $35-$45

$$$$: $45+

Curry Turkey Sandwich

Well here it is, my lunch for tomorrow. This savory sandwich is one of my favorites. Turkey breast with green onions, cucumber and raisins folded in a curry, mayo, yogurt and dijon mixture, then topped with mâche, radicchio and frisée on potato and scallion bread. YUM!

Café Soup’Herbe

$

I've been to this place more than I can count. It's a quaint little vegetarian restaurant in Chelsea that is the perfect spot to stop in for a bite after either hiking, biking, kayaking, or whatever your fancy when in the Gatineau Hills. It's usually my incentive to go do one of the above. Today, I went road riding, and Café Soup'Herbe was my destination. The first thing I do when I arrive is check what the soup of the day is. I'm always hoping it will either be Hungarian Mushroom Soup or Peanut Soup. Both are my favorite but they don't make it enough. Today was Cream of Spinach. No matter which soup you order here, you can't go wrong. They are all amazing. The cream of spinach was just the right consistency, not too thick and had lots of flavor. They also bring whole grain rolls to the table which are always fresh. If you go for breakfast, instead of rolls they bring you a warm cinnamon roll, which I would go for breakfast just to get that. For my main I had the Asparagus and Artichoke Heart Tartelette made with cheese, eggs and pecan with a zesty orange flavor. Basically it was quiche, with a light golden crust. You could barely taste the orange zest, in fact, I forgot about it until I read it in my Restaurant Notes book, and once I remembered and thought about it, I could taste it. My mother in law gave me a notebook specifically for taking notes at restaurants. I like it because I concentrate a little more on my food while i'm eating it so that I can think of new things to say. I think i'll need to get a culinary dictionary to get some more words into my vocabulary though – awesome, amazing and delicious are getting old. With almost every meal they serve you a mesclun mix salad with a delicious homemade vinaigrette and thinly slivered carrots, almost vermicelli-like. I tried to order the Three-fruit Crumble with ice cream but they were out of ice cream and their espresso machine was also broken, so I skipped dessert. The service here is good. My server today was especially friendly and i've never been disappointed with a meal here. The prices are good, my soup and tartelette with water came to $22.24 with tax. But everything is fresh and obviously worth it since I do come often.

Café Soup’Herbe

Flame Grilled Pollo Loco Con Limon!

Ok so my best friend named this dish. She was over for dinner tonight and the Mexican theme got to her. As soon as my husband told us he was making one of our favorite dishes of his, lime and chili grilled corn on the cob, excitement filled the air! With that, he served BBQ potatoes and chicken thighs grilled, then marinated in olive oil, garlic, fresh oregano, sherry vinegar and red wine.

Roast Beef and Tomato Sandwich

Ok, i've been holding back on these, but after I saw this one made, I had to add it to my blog. And if you don't hate me yet, you will now. I'm talking about my lunches. Yes, that's right, not only does my husband cook me dinner, he also makes my lunches. Every day. Even when he doesn't make one for himself. What do I get to look forward to tomorrow? A roast beef and tomato sandwich with mâche rosettes, mayo and horseradish mustard on whole grain olive bread. Mâche, I learned tonight, is a delicate European salad green with a nutty flavor. I'm counting down the minutes until lunch tomorrow! And for the record, I do pull my weight around here. Just not in the kitchen.

Ravioli with Prosciutto Ham and Shitake Mushrooms

I've been working a lot this past week and not sleeping very well. When i'm over-tired, that's when the pasta cravings start. And my savior is right there, waiting for me. Tonight we had cheese and broccoli ravioli with prosciutto ham and shitake mushrooms in an alfredo sauce. I'm ready to curl up on the couch now.

Murray Street

$$$

I know i've already reviewed this restaurant but I wanted to do a second review because my experience was so great. I was with a group of people from out of town and I could see their mouth watering when I told them about this restaurant, so we went. We started off with the Charcuterie Bar Menu and ordered the Elk Salami, Wild Boar Ham and Smoked Ostrich. From the Terrines we got the Lamb-Cassis and from the Pate the Crêtons and Olive oil marinated spicy Hungarian czabai. On the cheese side, we had the Indiscretion and another that I unfortunately cannot remember the name from the Semi Soft, as well as the Vigaroso from the Hard and St. Benoit Benedictin from the Blue. Every single item was amazing, just like the first time I ate from this menu. But the real reason I wanted to do a second review was because my main was also fantastic. I ordered the St. Canut Farms Pig with creamed corn and home made baked beans. The meat literally fell apart when you touched it and melted in your mouth. The dish was amazing. 2 other people also ordered it and were extremely impressed. I noticed on the website the item is no longer on the menu; however, there is an alternative that sounds equally delicious. My husband had the Mariposa Duck, and yes, I tried some, and yes, it was mouth watering. I didn't try our other guest's Vegetable dish, but it sounded wonderful and she enjoyed it very much. It was a Wheatberry and smoked mushroom fricassee with Spicolli's kale, roast King Eryngii mushrooms and grilled corn, curried quinoa and roast cauliflower savoy cabbage rolls with a coconut curry sauce. We drank a Syrah wine from Lailey Vineyard, a winery in the Niagara region, that was the perfect accompaniment to our meal. Our server, although a bit serious, was very knowledgeable and thorough. Prices for the charcuterie are very reasonable at $25 for 3 meats and 2 cheeses, and the large plates range from $18 to $25. This new experience has brought this restaurant to a four star on my list now. I've never enjoyed meat so much!

www.murraystreet.ca

EAT

This article was taken from the Saturday, September 6, 2008 National Post newspaper. 

Taking a photograph of your meal can encourage weight loss, say researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their study found that dieters ate healthier foods if they took a photograph of what they were eating. The pictures appeared to concentrate the mind before the dieter ate, and were more effective than food diaries at causing people to watch what they eat. The researchers asked 43 people to record what they ate for one week in pictures and words. When they were questioned later, the photos appeared more effective at encouraging healthier eating and acted as a reminder of snacking binges. Lydia Zepeda and David Deal, who carried out the study reported in New Scientist, found that diaries were often filled in hours after the meal and were not as powerful in creating an impression of how much food had been consumed. The Daily Telegraph

Petit Bill’s Bistro

$$

Last night was my first time at Petit Bill's since I started my blog and unfortunately my food experience was not great. I ordered a dish I had had before, Pan Seared Sea Scallops with maple butter and salad; however, when I had it before, I believe it was Pan Seared Sea Scallops with pancetta squash risotto and bourbon maple glaze. My first experience with the dish was amazing and I never forgot it. This experience was ok, not great. It lacked the “wow” factor once it hit your taste buds. The salad was pretty generic too, nothing compared to a squash risotto. I then had the Cod with lemon and butter and frites. It was labeled as a “signature dish” and our server said that people would go there specifically for that dish. I find that hard to believe. There was nothing special about the dish. The fish was more fried than I expected too. They used to have a small plates menu, which I loved. But unfortunately they had to discontinue it as the kitchen was not large enough to support it. I spoke to one of the brothers who own the restaurant after dinner. He asked me how I'd enjoyed my meal. I was honest, which led to my finding out that the current chef is only there one more week and had only been there 6 weeks total. They have a chef from Newfoundland and who has been working in Toronto starting soon, at which point they will be updating their menu. I'm glad I spoke to him and found this out as I don't think I would have gone back. The service was wonderful and his eagerness to know exactly what I liked and didn't like during my experiences there leave me quite hopeful for the new chef. I'll definitely be checking it out once he's settled in. They're also having a tough time at the moment because of all the construction out front. They're sales have decreased by 75%. That's got to be tough on a place that hasn't been around for that long. The link to their web site is below, but don't get too excited, the menu on here is their old one and it's not the same anymore.

www.petitbillsbistro.ca

BBQ Cornish Hen and Corn on the Cob

My husband makes the best Cornish Hen. He splits the hen, then shoves a butter, garlic, thyme and sage mixture under the skin and throws it on the barbecue. He served this with local, fresh corn on the cob and green beans. 

Pork Medallion with Mashed Peas

My husband made a delicious marinated pork medallion, farm fresh mashed peas with marjoram, chives and olive oil and a salad with balsamic vinaigrette for me for dinner tonight. And as usual, it was awesome!

Rossmount Inn – St. Andrews

$$$

My husband treated me to a golf package at the Fairmont Algonquin for my birthday this year. My father-in-law also happened to be in St. Andrews at the same time bringing a travel writer for a tour of the area, so he and his wife decided to take us all out for dinner at this fabulous restaurant, which comes in as my second 5 star rated spot. This inn was formerly a family home that burnt down and was rebuilt as a 3-storey manor house hotel, using moldings and other key pieces from the St. John Hotel that was being torn down at the time. The hotel wasn't very nice and didn't do very well until the new owners Chris and Graziella Aerni took over and changed it to an inn and restaurant. Their focus was the restaurant and they did so well that they were able to use the profits to improve the rooms. It's now a wonderful place to eat and stay. As usual, I had a terrible time deciding what to order. Everything looked absolutely amazing. My father-in-law fixed that for me by requesting a chefs tasting. I LOVE doing that! I was so excited I could barely sit still. We started off with a bottle of white wine and an amuse-bouche of lobster ceviche, then they brought us a salad of candied baby beets and shaved fennel figs with toasted pecans and warm chèvre fritter. Our next plate was the Wolfhead (local smokers) smoked salmon with chive-potato pillows, horseradish-caper mousse and pickled shallot. Then came the sweet potato crab cakes with beet-shallot salad and celery root-apple remoulade. Then we had a mouth watering pork belly dish with summer squash purée and basil-arugula drizzle, followed by the seared tuna loin and “corriander crunch” roasted corn-zucchini fritter and watercress-pickled red onion salad. Our final dish for dessert was a bee balm-vanilla poached peach and homemade blueberry ice cream. I also had a glass of port. A lot of their ingredients are local and seasonal so the menu changes regularly. Now if the descriptions above aren't enough to have you running to St. Andrews to eat there then you are just weird. The prices are insanely reasonable, starters range from $3 to $15 and mains from $17 to $28, the ambiance is relaxing and the service is great. We even got to meet Chris, the chef/owner after our meal was done because my father-in-law knows him well and brings many people through there on his tours. I'm not sure when i'll be in St. Andrews again, but i'll probably build another trip around it just so I can eat at this restaurant again.

www.rossmountinn.com

The Bell Inn – Dorchester

$

While on vacation in New Brunswick, my husband and I did an 85 km bike ride through Memramcook, Sackville, Shepody Bay and Dorchester. As I always do, I ended the ride with a food reward which was the Bell Inn Restaurant, a spot my husband often went with his grandmother as a child. This house was built in 1811 and is the oldest stone structure in New Brunswick. It used to be a stagecoach stop in the 1800's and is now a highly rated restaurant. They serve traditional home-cooked comforting foods, which was exactly what we needed. We were lucky to get a table when we arrived. As we walked through the rooms of the house almost all the tables were reserved, and the ones that weren't kept getting the signs put on them every time the phone rang. I started off with a glass of lemonade, so refreshing and was my second choice to the beer I didn't get because they aren't licensed. Then they bring you the best homemade biscuits you've ever had. That is by far their specialty. I ordered the daily special, meatloaf with boiled potatoes, gravy, vegetables and coleslaw and it was delicious. I mashed my potatoes up with the gravy and mixed my veggies in with it, I've always done this with turkey dinner, it's how I love to eat them. My husband had the biggest lobster roll i've ever seen (I think it was a whole lobster in a bun), which came with potato salad and coleslaw and a side garnish of dulse - also delicious. And I know this because my husband can't order anything without me getting him to give me taste or splitting his plate with me (we often do half and half with our plates). The service was professional and prompt and the prices were very reasonable. I'll definitely be back when i'm in New Brunswick, but i'll make sure to make a reservation. I think we got lucky.

Bell Inn

Murray Street

$$$

My husband and I have a tradition that the day we get home from a holiday, we go out for dinner to decompress. Last night we did so at Murray Street restaurant. We sat on their back patio which was beautiful. It was nestled in a pergola with grape vines and after the sun set the dim lights were very relaxing. I immediately started to get excited as I read the menu. They have three sections to their menu, small plates, large plates, and the section that makes them so unique, the charcuterie menu. They use regional and seasonal ingredients in their dishes which is even more exciting, and also have a selection of regional micro-breweries and Canadian wines; however, upon their recommendation we went with a Californian wine, the Waterstone Pinot Noir - dry and light. We started off with 3 meats and 2 cheeses from their charcuterie bar menu. We had the Smoked Ostrich from the slicer, Venison-hazelnut from the terrines and the Elk Liver-brandy from the pate. For cheese we had St. Benoit Benedictin from the blue section and Indiscretion from the semi soft. Our blue cheese selection was not too strong for a blue cheese and the semi soft one was very flavourful. For the meats, you have to get the Smoked Ostrich, that was my favorite, but the terrine and pate were equally delicious. As I was eating all of this I was thinking they would definitely get a 4 star rating for sure, these meats and cheeses were so delicious I didn't want my meal to end. Unfortunately tho, the small plates we ordered, although very good, didn't meet the standard that the charcuterie items did. They were slightly bland in comparison. We shared 2 small plates, the BLT, which is an in-house smoked St. Canut porcelait belly with North Gore tomatoes and basil on toast and the Wild Sockeye, in-house smoked salmon, cucumber salad and pickled mushrooms with goat cheese. The service was good, had our server not been so busy it may have been great, but I think she got a lot of tables in at once. The prices are reasonable for what you're getting too. The charcuterie plate was $25, the two small plates came to about that amount as well. Our wine at $65 brought the total up and we finished off with a vintage port and long espresso. I'll definitely be back again, even if only for the charcuterie menu.

www.murraystreet.ca