529 Wellington - Extravagant Excellence

Food is meant to be experienced. Rarely do I dine out nowadays solely for the role of nourishment, rather I dine out to be wowed and inspired by great food and great company. The success for any restaurant is their ability to weave a story in the food they present and become a springboard for diners to create an experience. One of the top restaurants in Winnipeg is 529 Wellington, a steakhouse known for its high quality food and expert service. Thus you can imagine my excitement when a fellow pediatrics colleague of mine decided to host their birthday celebration here.

Key to the experience of 529 Wellington is the grounds for the restaurant. The building is a mansion harkening from the early 1900s that was meticulously retrofitted to become the current restaurant. Details are key here with the designers maintaining an aged feel to the restaurant, like the large magnificent foyer greets diners or the grand staircase leading up to the second floor.

The private room we were situated in was gorgeous. Magnificently realized paintings adorn the walls of the room and overlook a massive oak table and plush comfortable chairs. A lovely chandelier paints the table with warm light to give diners the ultimate romantic dining experience. Finishing the experience are a troupe of expert wait staff who were a wonderful combination of respectful, meticulous and thoughtful to our group.

As a larger group, 529 Wellington has a trimmed down group set menu. Taken all from the regular menu, the preset option is perfect for groups to try a variety of options. At the end of the day, 529 Wellington is known for as a steakhouse and prides themselves on their Canada Prime beef. A helpful tour of beef is given for first time diners here where the service staff help explain the different cuts, give a visual clue to the size of servings and ultimately help whet the appetite for the upcoming meal. If steak is not in the cards, there are number of fish and seafood options available as well, both on the set and on the main menu. While I found the waiters attentive they did have some difficulty with payment and splitting of the bills with multiple people having errors in what was charged; and while contentious and quickly willing to resolve, I feel an error like this is amateur and should not be present at such a prestigious restaurant. Nevertheless off to the food!

The Smoked Salmon appetizer was phenomenal, with large portions of succulent tender fish that paired well on the accompanied toast. The classic combination of capers, onion and lemon make their entrance here and work as effectively as ever to balance out the fatty fish. The addition of an garlic aioli was thoughtful as well and gave the dish a creaminess that was lacking.

I found the Cheese Bread to be utterly disappointing, both in taste and presentation. A couple slabs of crusty bread is topped with a bunch of nondescript cheese and finished plainly in the oven. No balance of flavours was found here with diners just getting a taste of salt from the cheese and nothing else to contrast it. The tin foil serviette was laughably amateur and an eyesore for such a classy restaurant. Completely forgettable.

The size of the Jumbo Shrimp was impressive. The massive crustaceans were served cold and paired with lemon and a tomato based cocktail sauce. The shrimps, nice and succulent, had a wonderful hint of sweetness on top of the meaty bites. Adding in the cocktail sauce gives diners a tart and tangy flavour to contrast the undertones of the meat. Well done!

These Dry Ribs were also a disappointment, despite the cute presentation. The slabs of ribs, supposedly dusted with a dry rub, were so devoid of flavour that I wondered if the chefs even bothered to season the meat at all. Finishing the ribs off in the oven unfortunately rendered the meat dry, overcooked and robbed of any hint of juiciness. Utterly mediocre.

One of the specials of the day was a divine Lobster Mac & Cheese. Al dente macaroni is served here with large chunks of fresh lobster meat and tossed in a extraordinary creamy and rich cheese sauce, delightful! Bits of broccoli permeate through the dish and give tender morsels of freshness while adding a sense of colour to the dish. Ultimately though, it is the interplay between the creamy cheese, pasta and lobster that is key here. Delicious.
 

The starter Spinach Salad was completely ordinary with a bevy of spinach tossed in a tart vinaigrette. Crunchiness is added through the addition of walnuts while creaminess is found through the large chunks of blue cheese. While I appreciated the large portion given, the flavours themselves seemed very ordinary and nothing stood out as unique or exciting about the salad.

My main, the Beef Wellington, was expertly crafted and beautiful presented. The base Filet steak served here was extraordinarily tender and cooked to a perfect medium rare. Each bite of the exquisitely tender meat was smooth, succulent and melted in your mouth. Paired with the beef wellington was a foie gras pate that had a nice beefy and rich consistency that melted along with the beef. Unfortunately the exterior puff pastry crust, while tasty, did not adhere to the pate and ended up flaking off into small separate pieces, robbing the entire dish of the contrast between the meat, the pate and the crust. Topping the beef is a strong red wine demi-glace that added a nice salty and savoury flavour to the meat.

Accompanying sides to the beef were Snap Peas tossed in a host of butter and finished with garlic. Nice, tender and succulent, these snap peas were a bright contrast to the heartiness of the main courses.

I thoroughly enjoyed these Button Mushrooms. The aroma of garlic and butter permeated the air when these mushrooms arrived and was a perfect compliment to the beef.

These Au Gratin Potatoes were average. Here scalloped potatoes are tossed in a cream cheese sauce and baked to perfection with a bread crumb topping. The dish had a nice contrast between the nice and creamy potatoes with the crispy topping.

By now I was about to exploded but managed a few bites of the Warm Blueberry Bread Pudding. The luxurious chunks of bread pudding, with the occasional blueberry baked into it, was a nice contrast of warm bread, sweet caramel and airy whipped cream. Tasty but nothing extraordinary.

529 Welllington overall packaged great food with exquisite service in a gorgeous setting to fit the bill of fine dining and was exactly what our group was looking for in a birthday celebration. The costs, while high, are on par with what excellent steakhouses should charge; and truly 529 Wellington does their beef well, with incredibly tender and well seasoned steaks that is a cut above anything I have had in Winnipeg. However it is the accompanying dishes, especially the appetizers, that at times fell flat and not on par with the quality of their steaks. And so while I would recommend 529 Wellington for anyone looking for the best steak in Winnipeg, I would caution larger groups with the quality of the set menu and rather point them towards ordering a la carte.

Sydneys at the Forks - MPS Society Dinner

Like clockwork, one of the event dinners that I have come to associate with Pediatrics and our residency program are the Manitoba Pediatric Society get togethers. Hosted always at Sydney's at the Forks, it gives the residents valuable time to work with and be in the company of our mentors. Usually armed with a theme, this particular night at Sydney's focused upon advocacy and what the upper year residents were doing for their annual advocacy project. The night works to two-fold: to arm the current group of pediatricians with a worthy cause ... and also inspiring and moving the new generations (i.e. me) of residents forward with our own project.

Sydney's needs no introduction. The beautiful restaurant is located on the second floor of the Forks Market and has become known as one of the go to places for upscale society dinners. The view and location are their key draws, being on the banks and overlooking The Forks, but it is their food that keeps people coming back. I was always impressed by the level of service and hospitality of the staff, giving it a true fine dining upscale experience.

Each Manitoba Pediatrics Society dinner has had its own specific menu and todays was no different. Nevertheless, the menu is a nice examples of the typical fare you would find on the non-catered menu. Offering fresh produce and meats, Sydney's focuses on high quality European cuisine combined with Asian influences. I realize that is a rather nefarious description that encapsulates a large range of cuisines, but Sydney's truly tries to push the current accepted standard of haute cuisine, often with positive outcomes.

Most of the diners started with the Cauliflower & Leek Soup, a nice take on the classic French Leek soup. This version though has a nice textural crunch of pureed cauliflower and is augmented by aromatic oolong tea. The base creaminess from the leek is accentuated by their use of cream here. Served warm, the leek soup was an excellent light starter to tickle the palate for the upcoming meal.

One of my dining companions ordered complimentary dishes for us all to try. Their Butternut Squash & Feta Ravioli was an impressive site to behold! The large ravioli was made up of al dente pasta holding the butternut squash and feta inside. Adding black miso into the dish gave a rich aromatic flavour that complimented the sweet butternut squash well. The pickled carrot and almond toppings completed the dish by giving a crunchy textural component. Only gripe was the addition of feta which was strong and seemed to overpower the tender pasta and sweet squash.

My Sous-vide Pork Belly consisted of tender and smooth meat with a candied apple and chickpea stew. The addition of rhubarb, along with the apple, gave a crunch and sour component that went along well with the pork. But truthfully, the pork belly was the star of the dish with succulent tender meat, smooth silky fat and a denser crispier skin. The chickpeas felt out of the place in this dish and felt like filler to flesh out the dish.

I have always been impressed by the fish at Sydney's and their Salmon Fillet was no different today. Flaky, juicy and tender fish is paired with sweet potato, truffle and beets. I loved the interplay between the soft fish and the inherent sweetness of the potato. The beets were a thoughtful addition by giving the dish a meaty salty alternate to the fish. Topping the dish with proscuitto was a good idea but the other flavours were developed enough that it felt tacked on and added little to the dish.

Similarly, their Angus Beef Striploin was nicely done. Medium rare, the tender steak was finished simply with salt and pepper and grilled perfectly. The sides of spaghetti squash and brussels sprouts worked not only to give a green element but also to compliment the salty and fatty beef. Star of the dish goes to the slightly bitter, slightly salty and slighty sweet brussels sprouts which were a nice explosion of flavour next to the beef.

Something new to the menu was the Duck Breast. Beautifully presented, the pieces of sliced breast were of high quality and cooked perfectly to preserve the crispy skin but maintain a glorious medium doneness. I have always viewed duck as more of a red meat than a white meat and prefer the tenderness associated with medium duck rather than full doneness (ala chicken). The addition of grapefruit here gives a bitter and sweet component that works well to accentuate the slivers of tender breast. Bok choy gives colour and freshness to the dish.

I have found the desserts at Sydney's less than spectacular and unfortunately the trend continues with their Dark Chocolate & Cherry Mousse. The chocolate too hard and bitter, the cherry mousse not flurry enough and monotonous, the entire dish seemed more of an afterthought than a carefully crafted dessert. The saving grace is the jelly made from Sauternes (a French sweet wine) that was a tasty combination of sweet and savoury.

The Creme Brulee was better but simply average. The classic French dish is crafted here with smooth rich custard topped off with the, as expected, flambe'ed caramel topping.

Sydney's at the Forks continues to deliver thoughtful and, for the most part, incredible French and Asian inspired cuisine. Designed with fine dining in mind, ever aspect of the meal was of class and elegance and while there were a couple misssteps, the food continues to be excellent. Certainly a recommendation for anyone looking for fine dining in Winnipeg, especially if they are in The Forks area.

The Blue Marble Restaurant - Disappointingly Mediocre Tapas

I normally do not frequent airport restaurants because they often feature fast food equivalents for the on the go diners. That was when I read about a new establishment billing itself as an upscale tapas style cuisine. Called The Blue Marble and located in the modern Grand Hotel, the premise and positive posts on Urban spoon moved me to try the place. Grabbing a friend for a belated birthday, we made the quick drive over to the airport to dine at The Blue Marble Restaurant.

Finding the place at the airport is easy. Parking in the airport parkade allows for a quick five minute stroll over to the Grand Hotel where The Blue Marble is located. A handsome modern restaurant with large panes of glass and plentiful comfortable booth style seating, diners have the option of choosing from the louder and more raucous lounge or the dim private dining room. Thankfully parking is validated for six hours for paying guests.

The main attraction to the restaurant is their tapas style menu. Served only at dinner, Blue Marble offers a large number of clever tapas creations with enough variety to compliment most diners wishes. Reading through the menu reveals interesting combinations like a Venison Carpaccio with a Chestnut Puree or a Beef Tartar with Avocado. If tapas is not in the cards, a dinner menu was also provided which features more ordinary dishes including a smattering of soup and salad options, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and grilled entrees. The more exciting menu and one that Blue Marble can differentiate itself with is the tapas.

Our meal started with a Arugula Salad which featured the fresh greens with a Saskatoon vinaigrette, prosciutto, candied pecans and poached pears. The tastiest dish of the day, the chef does well to pair classic ingredients and new flavours into a well balanced salad that could have served as a main meal for some. Salty, sweet, slightly bitter and tart all come together nicely here.

Serving Oxtail Ravioli in undercooked (almost raw) pasta is an egregious error that took away from the entire dish. Granted the oxtail was nicely prepared and tender and while the accompanying white bean puree and morels were tasty, the entire dish ground to a halt with the disgustingly undercooked doughy pasta. Beautifully presented, woefully prepared.

This mediocre Duck Breast, prepared sous vide, is paired with a venerable forest of greens and lentils. The breast, although tender and cooked through, was laughably devoid of any seasoning or flavouring; furthermore the usual contrast of crispy skin with smooth meat was destroyed here with fatty tendrils of charred skin that offered nothing to the dish. Finally, the accompanying salad, while nicely dressed with a Saskatoon berry vinaigrette, completely overpowered the bland duck and overall resembled a salad more than a main dish.

Thankfully the Arctic Char was much better with seared and tender filets of delicate char that went well with a citrus-filled salsa. I enjoyed the use of the blanched green beans and thought they paired well with the crunch of toasted almond and bacon. The accompanying crispy skin of the fish though, was completely tasteless and added nothing to the dish.

Canadian Prime Beef Tartar was also decent, with the chopped fresh meat paired with avocado and a horseradish puree. The spice of the horseradish was off-putting initially but our taste buds quickly adapted to the spiciness and thought it helped elevate the tender and luxurious beef. The addition of avocado was an interesting one as it added more, un-needed, fattiness but also a creaminess that the beef was missing.

This handsomely presented Pickerel features portions of filet served on blanched leeks and paired with a truffle aioli, crispy shallot, summer peas and watercress puree. I enjoyed the balance between the nicely prepared fish with the truffle aioli and the sweet pop from summer peas. Textural balance is achieved from the crispy shallot and smooth fish flesh. The rest of the accompaniments feel cluttered and added little to the dish.

Blue Marble Restaurant was an unfortunate example of fancily dressed mediocrity: the food was unspectacular, ordinary at the best and downright repulsive at worst. While I appreciated the unique elements in each dish, it was as if the chef thought to overwhelm the customer with every ingredient in their playbook and hope the diner enjoys some aspect of the dish. Granted there are some nice pairings here but the overall dining experience was forgettable and lackluster. There are better tapas restaurants in town, ones in locations better accessible and featuring uniformly better food than Blue Marble.

Woodwork - Solid Contemporary (Edmonton 30 in 30)

Working on this blog for the better part of a year now has afforded me the opportunity to meet others passionate in the food industry. Ranging from incredible chefs, heartfelt owners or eager food bloggers, my list of food(ies) is starting to outstrip my other social circles. You can imagine then my delight when I met a fellow food blogger in Edmonton, from the medical school nonetheless! Meeting up for supper with the owners of ForkIt, we agreed to meet at Woodwork, a new contemporary restaurant in downtown Edmonton.

Woodwork is located in the heart of downtown on 100th street and 101 Avenue. Synonymous with the explosive growth in downtown Edmonton, Woodwork is one of numerous new tenants in the area offering up good eats for would-be diners. The restaurant itself is found in a handsome storied building with tall arches and huge windows. Indeed the magnificence of the restaurant cannot be understated with its massive wall of local and international liquors, plentiful seating and tasteful decor.

The menu is small but has a surprisingly good variety. Woodwork divides their menu into three main categories; bar snacks for those interested in a small bite between drinks, small plates that work as both an appetizer or a smaller main for those less hungry, and larger plates that function as main courses. Their menu emphasizes wood fired cooking and utilization of local regional ingredients. Small but functional, it was a good sign when the two of us had difficulty picking between all the tasty options!

Both of us quite enjoyed the Steak Tartare. Woodwork elevates the ordinary tartare through their use of pickled beets which add a firmer salty bite to the smooth and luxurious beef. The accompanying wafered potatoes give a nice airy light crisp contrast to the dense meat. As expected, the beef was of an excellent grade, extraordinarily fresh and well prepared.

Their smaller plates taking the show, the Wood-fired West Coast Clams was also one our favourites. The star is the meaty clams which were tender, juicy and succulent. The tomato based broth adds a tartness while the addition of bacon wraps the dish in a fatty smokey flavour. Topping it off is a side of sourdough which became our favourite element as it soaked up all the delicious juices from the broth and the clams.

The most ordinary dish of the day the Cornish Hen takes oven roasted hen and pairs it with a barley risotto and finished with a hen reduction. While the hen was nicely prepared and had a subtle sweet aroma to it, there was nothing that elevated or made the meat stand out. Indeed it was the barley risotto that impressed us striking a delicate balance between the inherent chewy and firm with smooth and creamy.

On the other hand, their Woodwork Dill Sausage was quite tasty. Initially concerned of a overwhelming dill flavour, the dish actually had a perfect balance between the strong aroma and flavour of dill with the meaty and fatty meat. Topping each slice of sausage with the accompanied aioli advances the delicate balance of flavours even further.

Woodwork, overall, delivered solid contemporary food that struck a fine balance of flavours and was not afraid to use bold ingredients (successfully) to advance each dish. Although we were more impressed by their smaller plates, Woodwork still offers excellent cuisine at fair prices that should cater to anyone with any taste buds. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

Make sure to also give ForkIt as follow: https://fungfoodie.wordpress.com/

North 53 - Exquisite Shareables (Edmonton 30 in 30)

When they first opened their doors, North 53 took the Edmonton food scene by storm. Instead of creating another eatery, the owners and chefs took a venerable risk by crafting a restaurant based on a extravagant and ever changing tasting menu. Hoping to cash in on the economic boom of Edmonton (and Alberta), North 53 initially did quite well and began changing the food scene of Edmonton from meat and potato loving to fine dining folk. Well, fast forward nine months and how it has changed. While the restaurant still remains I am told the original chef moved on to different pastures. The restaurant then moved to the hands of a new chef, one who took the extravagance of the previous restaurant and toned it down for less adventurous folk, effectively opening the establishment up to a larger clientele.

The restaurant is located 124th street, a booming area of Edmonton. Benefiting from the new developments in the downtown core, 124th street is becoming a new age Whyte Avenue with plenty of young professionals, businesses and eateries taking up shop. The restaurant is on the corner of the aforementioned 124th street and 103rd avenue in a pretty two story brick building, of which the bottom floor has been retro-fitted to the restaurant. Arriving just after 9PM with a group of six, I was impressed by the number of patrons, mostly consisting of Millenials, wining and dining their way through the night. Indeed over the course of our two hour dinner, a constant stream of customers would flock through the doors to enjoy the loud thumping music and to sip one (or multiple) of their numerous cocktails.

While the restaurant itself has not changed, their menu is completely different. Gone is the tasting menu and what remains is a limited selection of snacks, small plates, two "large" plate options and desserts. Clearly pandering to the new age style of shareables, North 53 crafts these dishes with sharing in mind. What initially seems like a restrictive list of items actually shows plenty of range and variety, with simple starters like their crunchy salad to interesting small plates like an oxtail tart and large plates consisting of an entire roast chicken or a succulent hanger steak. Missing are the organs and raw exotic game meats of the previous North 53, yet what remains still amounts to an exciting menu that should satisfy most patrons.

We started with the incredibly tasty Popcorn Chicken. Each airy light ball are filled with succulent tender morsels of chicken breast and dusted with popcorn on the outside. A playfully named dish high on taste, these balls of goodness were lapped up quickly and whet the global appetites of everyone at the table.

We were pre-warned that many others table thought the Chicharron were polarizing. Completely the opposite for us, these Portuguese inspired pork rinds had a light crisp texture and were dusted with a hint of dried scallop and mussel flavour.  While these rinds were nicely prepared, the flavour profile simply was not as present as initially expected and was missing a coating or spice dusting to finish the dish.

The Carrot Salad combines lightly cooked carrots with goat cheese and pistachio. Handsomely presented, I was delighted by the firm texture of the gently cooked carrot and thought it went well with the smooth cheese and crunchy pistachio. The light flavours also allowed the inherent sweetness of the carrot come to the fore, which was accentuated by the aroma of and freshness of parsley.

A table favourite, the Clam & Scallop Fettuccine seems simple in concept but was masterfully prepared. Some on the table remarked the scallops were some of the most tender they have ever had, a strong statement for a restaurant in landlocked Edmonton. Indeed the combination of exquisitely tender scallop with the al dente pasta in a light white wine sauce elevate this dish above simple pasta into the spheres of fine dining.

I loved this Shrimp Chorizo. Playful, unique and utterly delicious, the "chorizo" is made up of ground shrimp meat which impart a soft sweet texture to the sausage. Pairing it with fried potatoes gives it a firm textural contrast while the ham broth gave the dish a rich sauce. Overall the exquisitely tender chorizo was the highlight of this dish and rank as one of the tastiest things I have ever eaten.

The description for the Beer Glazed Short Rib was enough to whet our appetites, and the dish itself did not disappoint. A large tender beef rib is cooked well to the point of fall-off-the-bone tenderness and topped with a sweet and slightly bitter glaze. The sinewy, fatty meat had a definitive beefy-ness to it which was accentuated well by the sauce. The addition of navy beans on the bottom was simply a starch add-on though and did little to contribute to the dish.

I was not expecting this when I order Pork Cabbage Rolls; even after being perwarned of LOTS of mushrooms did not do the dish justice. Nevertheless, the pork cabbage roll is smothered by a mushroom cream sauce, which was truly the main ingredient and star of the dish with the  rolls being a mere companion to the delicious sauce. Indeed, the combination of MANY mushrooms in a cream sauce, reminiscent of a straganoff, was a wonderful combination of sweet, salty and savoury.

Rutabaga & Oxtail Tart was intriguing as well with the seemingly random mix of ingredients. In actuality, the tart actually works! The base is a crunchy tart and filled, akin to a savoury pie, with a mixture of tender oxtail meat and delicate rutabaga. The addition of greens was thoughtful here as their freshness cuts through the gelatinous oxtail and slightly bitter rutabaga.

Deciding on which of the two mains to order was difficult but we landed on the Hanger Steak (22 oz). The large platter of pre-cut medium rare tender steak is paired with overseasoned mashed potatoes and silky smooth braised beets. Creating tender steak is part ingredient and part skill of the chef and North 53 has both. The steak, perfectly seasoned, was a phenomenal medium rare and melted in ones mouth.

Topping each portion of protein is a rosemary cream sauce, a rich and thick sauce with a strong aroma of rosemary, adds a savoury umami to each bite. Pity about the overseasoned mashed potatoes, otherwise this plate would have been perfection.

We forced room in our tummies for this elegant Cognac Ice Cream. Imparting a slight cognac flavour, this ice cream was the epitome of indulgence and had an addictive quality that quickly reeled the table in. Each bite of smooth cream is accentuated by the sweet and slight tartness of the raisin or the crisp crunch of biscuit into a rainstorm of flavours dancing in your mouth. Delicious.

Apple Tart was a bit pedestrian with a crunchy tart base, apple core and topped with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, this ice cream seemed lackluster and simply average when compared to the previous cognac equivalent and while the tart was well prepared, there was nothing extraordinary in this dish to save it from the doldrums of mediocrity.

I had to laugh at the Blue D'Elizabeth, a playful dish consisting of a braised pear and a pear shaped wedge of blue cheese. Unsure of the reference to Elizabeth (Queen perhaps?), this dessert was more reminiscent of an appetizer with sweet and savoury pear and strong and aromatic cheese. One always has to be concerned about the potential of cheese overpowering a dish, and unfortunately the blue variant here was of such a quantity and offered such a distinctive flavour that it enveloped and cast aside the gentler pear.

It was not long after this meal before I started craving their food again (darn that popcorn chicken was good!). In truth, having been a frequent diner of the previous North 53, the new menu is improved, with a bevy of both safe and exciting elements that should appeal to anyone looking for quality cuisine. Located in a part of booming Edmonton, North 53 has everything that it needs to succeed: a beautiful building in a great location serving excellent high quality and, at times, imaginative food. Although it might not be the most refined of meals I have had, it remains as one of the more memorable and instantly ranks as one of my favourite establishments in Edmonton.