Restaurant Review – Jungle Jims

Shawn celebrated his birthday this week, and it just so happened that his brother, sister-in-law and young niece and nephew were in town last weekend, so we went out to dinner to celebrate. With two young kids, we had to choose a family friendly place.

First stop was East Side Mario’s where we were told there would be a 30-40 minute wait. Second and third stop (Montanas and Jack Astors) we were told the same thing. Finally, we wandered into Jungle Jims where we were greeted with only a 10 minute wait – that was do-able!

Well turns out that the wait to actually get a table wasn’t so bad, but if you wanted to actually eat something you better be patient! We ordered right away because we were all famished. The kids were going to have chicken nuggets and asked for a plate of veggies and dip (that was supposed to be on the side) to come as an appetizer. I ordered a chicken quesadilla on a whole wheat tortilla, Shawn had an alfredo pasta, his brother ordered Surf and Turf with bbq’d shrimp, and his sister-in-law had another quesadilla. She also ordered an appetizer of crocodile tails (or potato skins…).

Well, 40 minutes later and the raw veggies still weren’t on the table, and either were our appetizers. When the waitress finally came with the veggies she said our food was “on the line”. 10 minutes later our food arrived : no appetizers, a white tortilla for me, and garlic shrimp for Shawn’s brother. Seriously?

I’m not expecting world class foods in one of these chain restaurants. I know I’m usually going to get a lot of food, and it’s going to be alright, but nothing to write home about. But the fact that she messed up almost all of our orders was incredible. It’s not as if she didn’t have time to double check things, as the whole dining experience took over 2 hours.

I was offered a whole wheat quesadilla to take home, so that was a nice gesture. And Shawn’s sister-in-law was given a free dessert because of the appetizers, but the whole experience was still disastrous. The kids were anxious to get out of there (and who could blame them), and even the adults were pretty fed up.

I did write a comment to them on their website about our issues with service, but have yet to hear back from them. Needless to say, I will never, ever go there again.

Restaurant Review – Little Europe, Hydrostone

I had a couple of friends visiting from out of town last week, and I decided to take them up to the Hydrostone area of Halifax since they had never been.  They Hyrdrostone is a quaint little area of town with lovely buildings, shops and restaurants.  Little Europe is a newly opened restuarant in that area, and is definitely worth a trip to the North End to check out.

The tiny restuarant has only about 8 or 9 tables inside, as well as a small patio area outside.  The decor makes it feel as if you are dining al fresco whether you’re inside or out.  The chef and the kitchen are open concept, located right behind the register.  There is also a little take-out area where you can purchase gelato (which I didn’t try, but definitely will in the next couple of weeks).

The menu is mostly lighter fare, although I believe there were some pastas and larger main dishes as well.  I split a grilled veggie ciabatta, and had a cup of grilled pepper and tomato soup.  Fresh bread and olive oil/balsamic vinegar were provided as a started.

First of all, when we asked the server if we could split the sandwich I was expecting it to be delivered on one plate with perhaps two small side plates.  They actually took the time to prepare two different plates for us, complete with a side of the best french fries I’ve ever tasted!  They were crispy, and so flavourful that I didn’t need to use ketchup.  The sandwich was done on a very fresh and light ciabatta, and the grilled veggies were excellent!  There was also a bit of cheese, not overwhelming, just perfect.

The soup was also delicious, perhaps one of the best I’ve ever tasted.  You could really taste the roasted peppers and it was nice and creamy!

The price point is also quite good!  Most sandwiches were in the $9-12 range, and come with your choice of fries or salad (go for the fries – it’s worth it), and the cup of soup was under $6.

Don’t overlook this little gem.  It’s well worth going out of your way to visit they Hydrostone – and while you’re there,  check out some of the other great shops too!

Visit their website at : http://www.littleeurope.ca/

Restaurant Review – Brooklyn Warehouse, Windsor St.

My lovely sister  decided to treat my mother and I to a dinner at the Brooklyn warehouse to thank us for our babysitting duties.  Located across from the Halifax Forum, this location has been the home to many restaurants since I moved to Halifax three years ago.  Unlike it’s predecessors, I feel as if Brooklyn Warehouse may have some staying power based on the amount of buzz I’ve heard from friends from several different social groups.

The atmosphere is great, and the wait staff were fantastic.  The three of us went there with a taste for a great burger, and a great burger is what we had!  A nice, thick, juicy buger on a foccacia bread with bacon, applewood cheddar, onion and tomato was presented along with homemade french fries and red pepper mayo.  I put a little mayo on my burger, and used the rest to dip my fries in – delish!  It was one of those burgers you have to hold with both hands, and prepare for dripping juices over your plate.

This burger is currently in the running for Halifax’s best in the Coast Reader’s Survey, as was demonstrated by the flag in our burger telling us to vote.  I don’t know whether or not it is the best in Halifax, but we left there wanting to vote because of the excellent wait staff.  They were fun, energetic, and made us feel like a vote for their burger would be better than a $100 tip (although I doubt that is actually the case)!

Brooklyn Warehouse is definitely a spot I’d visit again and I hope my prediction for their longevity comes true!

Restaurant Review – Little Fish Restaurant and Oyster Bar, Argyle Street

February is Food and Wine month in Nova Scotia.  Part of the festivities include a program called “Dine Out”, where several restaurants across the province provide a prix-fixe menu for a run of two weeks or so.

Last year I went to Chives, and while the food was fantastic and filling, I decided to switch it up this year and go to Little Fish.  Little Fish is located beneath Five Fisherman, and I have a feeling it has been overlooked by many Haligonians.  The atmosphere is nice and relaxed, and the service and food was excellent!

I started off with Thai Steamed Mussels, and sampled from Shawn’s Pan Seared Digby Scallops.  Both dishes were done to perfection and they were that “melt in your mouth” type of seafood.  We cleaned the scallop plate, but needed to leave 3 or 4 mussels as we prepared for the main course.

For our main dish I had the Lobster Stuffed Haddock with rosti potato and a lobster sauce.  The haddock was great, but the potato left a little to be desired.  I blame this on myself though, as I’m not a fan of pepper (bizarre, I know). Shawn had the pan seared Sambro Halibut.  I didn’t try it, but based on the absence of any food at the end of his meal I can assume it was good!

For dessert I had my favourite comfort dessert – gingerbread cake with a caramel sauce.  It was the 2nd best I’ve had in Halifax (the best being at the Henry House).  It was served warm and was oh so moist and delicious.  Shawn had the vanilla bean creme brulee, which was almost as delicious as mine.  It was flavourful and smooth!

Overall, we left the restaurant extremely satisfied!  Our service was excellent – she said “You’re Welcome” every time we said “Thank You” – that’s rare!  I enjoyed it so much that I offered to babysit for my sister and brother-in-law and bought them a $40 gift certificate so that they could take in the experience as well.  The three course meal was only $30 per person during the Prix Fixe menu.  Even if it had cost us more, this would still be one of my favourite dining experiences in Halifax!

Restaurant Reviews – Brussels, Granville St.

I’ve been going to a lot of restaurants lately so I thought I’d start putting a few reviews on here.  Halifax is a great place to go out to eat, but it’s hard to decide where to go.  I’ve been to a couple places this past year that have truly let me down, and a few that have been amazing!

I thought I’d start off with Brussels since we just went there last night.  Brussels is a newer restaurant and is owned by the same people that have the Hamachi group of restaurants.  Shawn won a $50 gift certificate at the Savour Food and Wine Show, so we thought we’d give it a try.

This location has had several restaurants in it over the past few years, but none have succeeded.  It isn’t exactly out of the way, but it’s not in the main restaurant area of Halifax which may be why it is overlooked.  I was happy to see a lot of people in there when we arrived, and thought that there must be something drawing people in.  The atmosphere was great – simplistic, yet elegant.  Not at all intimidating and we were lucky to get a table for four (even though we were only two).

We started off with an Australian wine – Jim Jim Barber.  I like Australian wines, and I loved the name.  I’m not a sommelier, nor will I pretend I know how to tell if a wine is good.  I can tell you how it tasted though – and that was good.  Sometimes wine can have a taste that smacks you in the mouth right away, but this was very subtle and easy to drink!

We decided to skip any appetizers and order the Platter for Two with various meats and seafood.  My first recommendation is to ask what they have – we didn’t receive any pork, lamb, or lobster tail.  What we did receive is steak, chicken, shrimp, salmon and mussels.

We started with the mussels and right away I noticed that the temperature was a bit off.  They weren’t done in any particular sauce – instead we ordered 3 different sauces to go with the entire meal.  We went with the recommendations of our server, but still didn’t know what sauce went best with the chicken, shrimp or mussels.

We moved onto the steak – not cooked medium rare as asked – but still my favourite part of the meal.  It was coated with a crumbled Roquefort cheese, and I love a good strong cheese. Once again, the steak was not at the right temperature, but the flavour of the cheese allowed me to forget that – delicious!

The shrimp, like the mussels, were very plain and we weren’t sure what sauce to use.  We had a mushroom sauce and the “seafood” sauce, but the seafood sauce had very little flavour.

The chicken was dry – thank goodness for the mushroom sauce which was actually very good!  I’m not a seafood eater, so Shawn had the salmon and gave it a modest review.

Overall, the platter was not to my liking.  Sure, there’s a lot of food, but what does that matter when it’s dry or under flavoured?  To be fair, the people around us had individual meals and they seemed to be enjoying them.  Perhaps it was just that we were too greedy and wanted to try as much as we could.

Finally, the platter came with the fries – no veggies, just fries.  I missed having some sort of vegetable with my meal, and the limp, cold fries did nothing for me.

We decided not to do dessert, although I’m sure that would have been the best part.  The ovation chocolate with the bill provided me with my chocolate fill.

We left Brussels after getting out own coats (that had been hung up for us upon arrival) and we probably won’t go back any time soon.  But, as I said, the other people around us seemed to enjoy their individual meals, so maybe if you go and order one of their specialties you will have a better experience.