Hey guys! So I was in the exchange last night with a girlfriend. Let me tell ya, nothing like the shops downtown. (Note to self, head to the Haberdashery ASAP!) After an evening window shopping and wandering, we ended up in Osbourne Village.
Just off Osbourne on Stradbrook is a little place called 'Unburger'. I'd heard of it before, and wasn't too sure what to expect. The only photo I'd ever seen of their food was a burger patty between two peices of lettuce (Not my idea of a good burger, really). We were both starving though, and decided to try it.
The place is probably the most interesting looking restauraunt I've seen. It's all white, red and black. The burgers are really, really well thought out. The have the option of a whole wheat bun, their signature bun, or a lettuce wrap. You can also get Gluten free pitas! The toppings seem pretty much endless. There are beef burgers, chicken burgers, veggie burgers and bison burgers. Your sides are fries, sweet potato fries, or cesar salads. You can choose from beer on tap, water, or coke and sprite in glass bottles (Cool!). I'm sure there are more choices then I saw, but the menu is so full it's almost hard to see it all and make sense of it. Here's a link to the menu.
I had the "Deliciousmosttastious Bacon Cheddar" with a Mini Cesar Salad and a bottle of Coke. The beef was fresh, The cheese was real cheddar (I watched them cutting peices off a big block) and the bacon was cooked to that perfect texture, right in the middle between chewy and crispy. It came with tomato, lettuce and herb mayo on it. It was simple, and it was tasty!
The salad was.. Pretty much just a cersar salad. It was good, and I can't say anything bad about it. It's pretty easy to screw up a cesar, so that's a plus for them.
The service was cool. You walk up to the counter and order your meal like at McDonalds, and they give you a table tag (Which just happens to be a toy. Ours was a blue My Little Pony with rainbow hair. I saw someone with a robot, someone with a turtle, and someone with something completely unidentifiable.). Your order is brought out to you on really nice white rectangular plates, burger on one side, salad in a square bowl on the other side.
The table was a little small, and once the food was on it there was enough room for the plates and drinks... and that's about it. They had big clunky napkin holders on the table that made it hard to communicate with my girlfriend, I almost felt like we were sitting at two different tables.
Still, the quality of the food was more then enough to make me happy. I'll definitely be back for more.
And of course, what's a trip to osbourne without stopping at Baked Expectations for some apple pie to go? :)
Friday 3 February 2012
Wednesday 1 February 2012
Water Lily; St.Vital's hidden gem
So a few weeks ago, we decided we were too far behind on our blogging, and we needed to head to a restaurant. Water Lily had been on our 'To Review' list for some time, and seemed like a good choice. We both love Indian, so why not go with a place we'd probably both like to get us back into the swing of things?
Boy, were we in for a treat. Jess liked it so much that she put off blogging so that we'd have to come back and eat again if we wanted to do a review. So here we are, a couple weeks down the road, deciding to do take-out this time.
The first thing Jess noticed was the service. The staff were friendly, happy to be there, and excited about the food. They were accommodating, and easy to talk to if you had any questions about the food.
The restaurant itself is small, but don't let that fool you. It's a great place, and is worth your time!
As an appetiser, Jess grabbed some beef samosas. Last time we were there, the owner stopped by the table to let us know about them, and that if we ever want some, just to call and give them ten minutes heads up, cause they make them fresh to order, filling and all!
These samosas were fantastic! The pastry was crispy and light, and the filling was moist and flavorful. It was the perfect balance.
Jess had the chicken Rogan Josh, which is a cream & yogurt almond sauce, blended with far too many spices to name, and onion gravy. It's light, not too rich, and comes with your choice if meat or seafood. The dishes are served 'family style', so you get your bowl of sauce, and a serving of rice. You can mix them however you like (I like it heavy on the rice, which is why my tummy is so sore and full now), or you can order naan bread and skip the rice completely. The naan bread is soft and chewy, and comes in a number of flavors. So far, we've tried plain naan and garlic naan. The garlic naan is extremely flavorful (Being a Ukrainian and a garlic lover, this is not a problem for me, but if you can't take a bite out of a clove of garlic and like it, the garlic naan may be a bit much for you.).
You have a choice between Mild, Medium, and Hot for your dish. The waiter was quick to make sure that we were used to spicy food when we ordered medium heat. For Jess, Medium is just right. There's no build up of spice in your mouth, leaving it hard to taste your food toward the end of the meal.
It was chicken Vindaloo for Alex. (For anyone following us, Vindaloo is one of the greatest foods ever! At least in my eyes.. err.. stomach.) The weirdest thing is everywhere you go, its different. Some sweeter, more coriander, and all the subtle but delicious changes. The Water Lily is no exception, but it's good. Like really really good. (To put it in perspective as to how good it was, I walked around, involuntarily going mmm, mmm, mmm, for the better part of an hour after.) Chicken, potatoes, coriander coated in the sauce. It feels like an odd thing to mention, but the potato was cooked perfectly. Not dry, and partly crunchy like they tend to end up when playing second fiddle, but perfectly soft and almost creamy to bite into. The medium spice was just right. Perfect amount of heat, without being over whelming.
When we ate in on our first visit, at the end of the meal they brought around a small tray with candied and dried spices, tasting wonderfully of licorice. It was such a nice touch. So far from the mass produced after dinner mints you usually find, and honestly, I don't think any mint could have ended the meal off better.
Over all, a great experience, and we'll be back. Again. And again.
Boy, were we in for a treat. Jess liked it so much that she put off blogging so that we'd have to come back and eat again if we wanted to do a review. So here we are, a couple weeks down the road, deciding to do take-out this time.
The first thing Jess noticed was the service. The staff were friendly, happy to be there, and excited about the food. They were accommodating, and easy to talk to if you had any questions about the food.
The restaurant itself is small, but don't let that fool you. It's a great place, and is worth your time!
Mmmm, take out.
As an appetiser, Jess grabbed some beef samosas. Last time we were there, the owner stopped by the table to let us know about them, and that if we ever want some, just to call and give them ten minutes heads up, cause they make them fresh to order, filling and all!
These samosas were fantastic! The pastry was crispy and light, and the filling was moist and flavorful. It was the perfect balance.
Just look at these bad boys!
You have a choice between Mild, Medium, and Hot for your dish. The waiter was quick to make sure that we were used to spicy food when we ordered medium heat. For Jess, Medium is just right. There's no build up of spice in your mouth, leaving it hard to taste your food toward the end of the meal.
When we ate in on our first visit, at the end of the meal they brought around a small tray with candied and dried spices, tasting wonderfully of licorice. It was such a nice touch. So far from the mass produced after dinner mints you usually find, and honestly, I don't think any mint could have ended the meal off better.
Over all, a great experience, and we'll be back. Again. And again.
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