What's Up With Red Ox Inn?

I have heard so many excellent reviews about this restaurant, but had no real interest in purposely seeking this place out. I mean the location of this place is a little random, as it is located among the residential area of Strathearn. But it wasn't hard to find at all, and am I ever glad I paid a visit here..Where do I even begin...

Red Ox Inn is one of the finest restaurants in Edmonton. I mean it. The restaurant interior is very simple (small - did I mention there were only about 10 tables or so?), in no way is it as fancy as a place like Wildflower or the Harvest room but that rustic aura really makes you feel at home. From the moment you walk in the door, to the moment you walk out, the service is wonderful and go beyond to make your dining experience memorable. The server was friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and attentive to our needs.

Starting of the meal with drinks and an appetizer, I wanted something warm so I went with the cappuccino. That strong, rich espresso coffee with steamed milk was lovely, but was a better accompaniment with the desserts at the end.

Lucky for my friend and I (or maybe not), they ran out of the pork belly so they had a substitute appetizer for the day: Lamb ravioli. It sounded amazing, and it wasn't on their main menu so we had to order it. If the portion seems small to you, it really was. But, the ravioli was none like any other....Slices of asparagus on top of a tomato jam, on top of the lamb ravioli which was again on top of a creamy pea sauce. The lamb was braised to perfection (melt in your mouth), and the pasta was al dente. When everything was brought together, you have this amazing combination of nutty (from the pea sauce) and sweet tomato. The flavours are insane!

For my entree, I decided to go with the classic strip loin. I was expecting the typical 7 o.z steak on the side, with steamed vegetables as the side arrangement but was pleasantly surprised! The strip loin was cooked to perfection and exactly what I wanted it medium rare. Super soft tender meat served with kale, cornbread puree, a dark rich bordelaise sauce (made of red wine, bone marrow, demi-glace and shallots) and a creamy, thick gruyere cheese sauce. Again with the flavours!! How does one come up with such original and fantastic combinations??? It is unbelievable. Everything on the plate had its own distinctive taste, but when combined my palate was brought to life with the creaminess of the cheese, the tangy bordelaise and the natural flavours from the steak.

Desserts, desserts, desserts! After the nice meal, my friend and I both wanted more! So after browsing the dessert menu for a minute, I knew right away the chocolate mousse was for me. I absolutely love anything chocolate! The mousse was rich and creamy, yet not overly sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed the brownie bits For the tart, the waiter said the rhubarb came from the owners backyard? Something like that..but the fresh BC cherries, strawberries and rhubarb came together so well. I love the tart shell too, flaky, light, crispy...yum yum yum...

So back to my question..What's up with Red Ox Inn? The menu selection and quality of each dish will blow your mind away. This is the place to go for an amazing dining experience. Although the interior is a little shabby and simple, the food will surpass all expectations! The service is excellent, and the waiter really went out of his way to purposely find us the information for the local supplier of where they buy their tea from. I adore this restaurant and is definitely in my top 3 list for favorite restaurants in Edmonton. I am looking forward to my next dining experience here at Red Ox Inn.

Quick Burger Meal at the Next Act

Ugh. I am a sucker for fast food...The fries, the burgers...the fattiness..something about it all just lures me each and every single time. My brother is on this giant health kick, comes home from work, spends 4 hours at the gym, downs protein shakes and is cutting back on the carbs. Then you have me! Someone who finds great enjoyment eating burgers and fries. Haha. But! I have a taste for good quality burgers, not any burger can satisfy this palate! Plus, it's not like I spend every weekend dining on burgers. So this message is directed to Winston (my brother), stop scolding me on being unhealthy and chubby!

Anyways, after a hard day of work, my friend picked me up and we went to the next act on whyte ave. A couple of co-workers were there the week before and I missed out on that, so I wanted to make up for it! I love love love this place. Everything about this place is so original starting with the interior. I absolutely adore the wall of facial expressions pictures of the employees hanging up on the side. It really does bring out the chill/laid back environment.

I started off with the usual choice of beer: Crabbies ginger beer. Such a refreshing light drink that really hits the spot after a long tiring day of work.

For the burger, I went with the classic pulled pork. The pork was soft, tender and flaky. Not sure if enjoyed the coleslaw on top though. It was watery and had no taste! I felt like it should be on the side and not part of the actual burger. In my opinion the watered down mayo does not mix well with the barbecue sauce of the pulled pork. But nonetheless, this is a killer sandwich.

I will definitely be back with a couple of friends! This is the ideal place to hang out, grab a drink and catch up. The delicious burgers (food) is a nice bonus. :) I cannot wait to be back to try the other things on the menu.

Trip to Thailand through Thai Flavours

I have a confession to make, I am an urbanspoon addict. I downloaded the app on my iphone and when I have nothing else better to do with my life, I search for restaurants that I have yet to try. My friend and I were searching for a thai restaurant, and we stumbled across Thai Flavours. Located in Lewis Estates (near River Cree Casino Resort), we decided to hit up this location and give it a try. The restaurant is quite small and cozy, upon walking in you know you are in a Thai restaurant by the decorations they have up on the wall. Also, I love the tropical theme this restaurant has! Those colourful table cloths are really something else haha! Thai Flavours also has daily specials which is a nice bonus and it can be found on their website. We went on a Tuesday, and the spring rolls were their special of the day (4 for $6).

We decided to try 1 order of spring rolls, 2 beef and 2 pork. I have never tried beef filling before so it was something I was looking forward to tasting. We ordered tom yum soup (at my request because I absolutely love that stuff), a curry dish (Gang Leang) and one classic noodle dish (Pad Thai).

Family fine dining at the Wildflower

It has been a while since we celebrated mother's day at a nicer, upscale restaurant (I know this post is way outdated..haha). Since my brother and I love our momma to bits...(with the bonus of us working full time), we decided to take her to the Wildflower at the matrix hotel. At first, we wanted to go to hardware grill but the timing of the reservations did not work out to plan. The wildflower grill is located at the matrix hotel near jasper ave. Semi-formal attire, dim lighting, relatively quiet environment emits the mature atmosphere.

 For drinks, I ordered the blueberry, pomegranate iced tea. It tasted exactly as it sounds with a nice herbal aroma to compliment the fruity flavors.

The meal came with a complimentary French brioche, it was so good! Light, fluffy and flaky pastry that melted in your mouth immediately. It is seriously to die for. My only complaint is that they did not bring out more!!!
For our appetizers, I recommended the gnocchi and beef carpaccio. My parents have never tried gnocchi before so I figured it should be something we order. The gnocchi was chewy in the center yet crispy on the outside and it was served with a sweet pea puree which made a nice compliment.

The beef carpaccio was the favorite of the night! Thin slices of extremely tender beef, served with a sweet chipotle jam and a hint of spiciness from the aioli. Unfortunately, our palates were highly stimulated from the brioche and we ravaged the appetizers in no time before realizing I forgot to take a picture.

Another freebie for the night: a spoonful of Thai salad for each!  

So I'm a very conservative person when it comes to food, I don't venture far from the 3 main meats(chicken, beef and pork) but that night I was feeling adventurous! So I went with the venison. I had no idea what to expect and the thought of eating deer meat seemed odd to me. But nonetheless I am always open to try new things! How do you even describe this type of meat.... It does not taste anything like beef, a little like mutton...  It was okay, I'm not sure if I have a liking for it haha But it was extremely tender and flaky. I did a quick search on the taste of deer, and people describe it as being "gamey". Not sure what that means...But it seems quite fitting. The dish came with deep fried polenta (cornmeal), the texture was crispy on the outside with a soft warm middle. One of the polenta was way too fried as you can tell by the picture. Notice the colour contrast? I kept that on the side of my plate.

At the end of the night, they also brought out a complimentary plate of petite four! Such a delight surprise, especially after a filling meal. It really was a nice addition and completed the entire dining experience. The white and dark chocolate truffles were my favorites!
Service is excellent, the waitress was attentive to our needs and gave us enough time to carry out our conversations. In addition, she answered all our questions and gave honest recommendations about several dishes. Food was delectable but nothing amazing in terms of flavour or presentation. The little "extras" were a pleasant addition to our full course meal. Overall, the experience was great and my parents thoroughly enjoyed the fine dining experience! I highly recommend dining here at the wildflower - service, ambiance and food is excellent!

Carnivore Delight at Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus!

My family loves to eat meat. Sorry vegetarians...but we love our beef, chicken, pork, you name it! It is a must have ingredient in our household or else complaints will arise like no tomorrow. So for fathers day, I decided to take my family out for some delectable smokehouse meat! I heard many many good things about this small restaurant place..and the insane portions! Earlier, a few guy friends went here and posted pictures of the humongous sized burgers.. It seriously seemed like some jaw dislocation was needed to take a bite out of the burger.

Anyways, for the family of 4, we went with the game day platter. This included beef brisket, ribs, chicken, pulled pork, corn bread, loads of fries and baked beans. Basically, it was a good sample of all they have to offer! And for $75...and the amount o food they give, it was definitely worth it. 

When it came out, we were all shocked because we were not use to seeing all the food piled together onto one giant plate. It was impressive and the smoked meat smelled amazing..

The beef brisket was the first thing I dived into and unfortunately it wasn't as tender as it looked. Quite dry and flavorless..which was a little disappointing. But on the bright side the pulled pork was fabulous! Whoo! I wish they gave more, I felt like the skimped out on the pulled pork.. but I'm sure it was because my brother was gobbling it down the quickest and left none for the rest of us. Jerk! The ribs were also excellent. Super tender, well seasoned and barbecued to perfection. The chicken was also a little disappointing.. Not much flavor and it was quite burnt. 

Here's a picture of the aftermath... we fought a hard battle but lost. But it was a good fight! We were completely stuffed, and the funny thing was after the meal we all said the same thing: Phew no meat in this quantity for a longgggg time please... Haha.

This place is a must try! Grab a couple of buddies and head down to sloppy hoggs and I guarantee it will be a great night. Depending on what type of meat you order some are tender and if you love barbecues this place will not let you down. Bring YO APPETITE. 

Quick Sugarbowl Catch Up with a Girlfriend

I am a University of Alberta student and this is so sad...but I have never been to the Sugarbowl before. Ugh! I know, I should be kicking myself for putting it off for so long. EVERYONE at the university is talking about the sugarbowl as the place for drinks and food etc. It is an amazing joint and the food is so delicious. Anyways, I absolutely love hummus...so I had to order the flatbread and hummus to start.

The hummus was so creamy and smooth. It is SOOOO GOOD. I love hummus so much haha. With a hint of paprika and a splash of olive oil this hummus is a done deal.

The thing I love about the sugarbowl is the amazing contrast of green with the main. Look at the amount of salad! All that folic acid makes me feel less guilty about the jerk chicken and avocado burger. The burger itself was fantastic. The chicken was tender and the addition of avocado completed the burger.

This place is definitely one of my favorites near campus, and I am for certain to hit up this place again when the school semester starts again! A great place to grab a quick bite, enjoy light conversations and rewind before or after classes.