The Bothy Wine & Whisky - Unimpressive Food (Edmonton 30 in 30)

After settling into a coffee shop with my work and a cup of Starbucks I received a text message from a couple close friends asking if I had plans for supper. The truth was ... I already ate. But nevertheless I often find it hard to pass up an opportunity to catch up with good friends and also try out a new restaurant. After a few minutes of deliberation and probably to help quench my guilt of having a second supper, we decided on The Bothy Wine & Whisky Bar for a drink and a small bite ... or two ...

The Bothy found just off of Calgary Trail and 54th Avenue. Designed as a European pub it hails a conglomerate mishmash of traditional booth style seating, large round table seating and bar tops. Add in the attentive, personable staff, an incredible bevy of liquors and dim lighting you have the ambiance and decor for an upscale pub.

The menu is as you would expect. While we had originally came here just for drinks there were some intrepid members of our group who had not eaten and recommended/coerced me into ordering food. The food menu compromises the staples of European pub fare. The main feature is their sharing plates which combine any number of local and international cheeses and meats. Their appetizers and entrees include both standard pub fare of pies, sandwiches and more unique dishes like a sous vide beef cheek and even haggis!

Our meal consisted of a sharing plate: Smoked Bison, Smoked Duck, Smoked Salmon (in the middle going right to left) and a cheese, Petite Basque (top right corner). Accompanying the meat and cheeses are a bevy of small toast, pickled vegetables (bottom left corner), mustard, Apricot Jelly, homemade pesto and an apple jelly. We were overall impressed by the platter and thought the meats were a nice varied range of salty bison, fatty and sweet duck and creamy salmon. The petite basque, although pungent and aromatic, was refreshingly light and paired well with the bevy of sauces.

One member of our group had the Walleye Fillet as their main: a large fillet is placed on a bed of baby potatoes and topped off with a carrot and fennel slaw. Unfortunately the interplay of the salty and soury slaw did not work the bland fish and the creaminess of the Tzatziki. Altogether the fish was lost in the dish and the resulting vegetables all felt over seasoned and over sauced, culminating in a dish that was completely unremarkable and borderline inedible.

Thankfully my Steak and Mushroom Pie was a little better. The Bothy pairs the pie with your choice of soup, salad or potatoes; the soup of the day came out to be a Chicken Curry. I was puzzled by the soup which turned out to be a thin watery broth with a hint of curry flavour enveloping a few dismal chunks of chicken and vegetables. Altogether it resembled a chicken broth soup with a dash of curry powder to taste. Needless to say, not my favourite.

The pie though was slightly better: a  flaky pie with a slew of tender beef and vegetables in a beef broth; this pie was the epitome of pub food done well. Served warm, the savouriness of the meat and sauce are punctuated nicely by the soft crunch of carrot and celery.

Overall The Bothy was a disappointment. While their pie and charcuterie platter were average; the soup and fish dishes showed a lack of knowledge in flavour profiles and poor cooking technique. I realize that, as per their namesake, The Bothy focuses on wines and whisky, but if they are to offer a menu, they must stand by their food ... and ultimately that food was utterly disappointing. Come for a drink if you must, but get your meal somewhere else.

Pourhouse - St. Patty's Day Fun (Edmonton 30 in 30)

I love spontaneity, the idea of going into a situation with no predetermined plan and that sensation of adventure and excitement mixed with slight apprehension as you decide, on the spot, the subsequent course of events. On St. Patrick's Day I had met up with a couple close friends on the initial pretense of simply grabbing a drink. As I was running late the pair had, on impromptu, stopped in at Pourhouse Bier Bistro for a drink. Four hours and three incredibly filled stomachs later, we emerged wondering with huge grins and a memory to last for the ages. You see, when we arrived we were greeted, amongst the forest of green, by a special Chef vs. Chef pop-up series where two popular would go head to head with novel and unique food creations. You can imagine what we decided to do.

The Pourhouse Bier Bistro is located on a bustling part of Whyte Avenue between 104th and 105th street. The signage, although a tad small and difficult to see, is bold and engaging and beckons potential patrons forward. The bar's interiors are simple and functional with large wooden tables, a random mishmash of wooden chairs and sparse decor. The wait-staff, although attentive, were overworked (it was St. Patrick's Day after all) and undermanned such that small aspects of the service were missed. Nevertheless they were unobtrusive and did a fine job despite the healthy turnover of patrons.

As mentioned above, the pop-up featured two chefs, one from Toast Fine Catering and the other the house chef from The Pourhouse duking it out with their unique menus. I thought the presentation a bit tacky with simple print-out Word documents doubling as a "menu" and would have preferred a bit more pretext into how the Chef vs. Chef pop-up would work, how and if we were to score each chef and the influences and styles that guided each chef to create said menu. Dining as a trio was perfect as this afforded us the opportunity to try each item on the menu.

We were served first the dishes of Chef Daniel Huber from The Pourhouse. The first was the Black Stout Beef Stew, a thick mixture of tender beef and vegetables in a delightfully rich and beefy gravy served on top of bacon mashed potatoes. I appreciated the slight bitterness and aroma from the stout which elevated the entire dish and thought it contrasted the fatty beef and sweet vegetables well.

Next was the Sriracha and Lager Braised Lamb Sandwich served with the Bibb Lettuce Salad. The sandwich consisted simply of braised tender lamb served on a brioche bun with a slight hint of the rosemary sauce. I loved the contrast of flavours from the slightly sweet bun with the lean but tender lamb (nicely cooked and devoid of any gamey-ness). On the other hand the salad of bibb lettuce, beet, radish and boiled egg was unfortunately under dressed and resembled a random mishmash of ingredients with little forethought.

This Baked Scotch Egg was the most interesting dish of the day. The central egg is covered by a few layers of pork and sausage and baked to with a final layer of breadcrumbs. The result is a wonderful contrast of crunchy breadcrumb, fatty meat, silky egg white and dense yolk that is all brought together by a thick and salty Hollandaise sauce, yummy!

Chef Spencer Thompson started with a smoked Andouille Sausage, Kale, Lentils and Cornbread. Going for a Southern influence, I enjoyed the combination of the cooked sausage with the bitter kale and tender pine nuts. The tastiest bite came from the warm, flaky and grainy cornbread. Ultimately though the dish lacked a unifying force, a sauce, to tie everything together.

These Acorn Squash Ravioli were the worst part of the meal. Chewy and doughy, the pasta was unfortunately overcooked and began to congeal and stick to one another. Thus partitioning each ravioli became impossible and the dish began a disastrous mess of overcooked pasta, the occasional taste of acorn squash and airy whipped ricotta.

The T.F.C Fried Chicken has a confusing name (T for Chef Thompson perhaps?) and was an equally confusing dish. The two pieces of chicken, nicely fried with a thick and non-greasy batter and tender meat, were paired with bitter mustard greens and a bland potato puree. The entire dish was under-seasoned and lacked, again, any unifying factor to bring all the flavours together.

The dessert from Chef Huber was the Deconstructed Apple Pie, an interesting take on dessert with Jamieson marinated apples, Riseling Apple Jelly, Shortbread and Vanilla Ice Cream. Taking a nibble from each item creates a nice mixture of flavours including the creamy ice cream, sharp apple jelly, smooth sweet apples and dense shortbread. Tasty.

Chef Thompson's dessert offering was this sloppily presented, but tasty Guinness Chocolate Mousse. The mousse was excellently light and airy smooth and was a tasty contrast to the Bailey's whipped topping.

I love impromptu events like this at The Pourhouse as they create a buzz of excitement amongst diners and also allows for local talent to compete and create novel dishes. However, the execution of said events need to be improved. I felt the restaurant failed to deliver on its promised Chef vs. Chef competition ... where was my scoring system and where was my ability to deliver comments about each chef's dishes? In the end I felt Chef Huber the clear victor with his tasty twists on classic bar treats. Chef Thompson, on the other hand, delivered bland, tasteless, sloppily presented and tasteless dishes more reminiscent of an amateur home cook than a restaurant chef. Ultimately I applaud The Pourhouse for creating the Chef vs. Chef pop up and encourage anyone interested in the concept to attend future events.

The Grove, Cut Above the Rest

Another venue for our CaRMS suppers was The Grove. A local favourite and well renowned for their pub style food, I entered with some trepidation. I had just been disappointed by the Cornerstone and knew that the Grove was a sister restaurant with some ties to them. However being related does not render the same judgement on all and thus I entered with as much an open mind as possible.

The Grove is a large establishment on the corner of Stafford and Corydon Avenue. I am told this used to be two restaurants, a bar and a restaurant which amalgamated to become the current rendition. I was impressed with the decor and the attentive wait staff. Furthermore it possessed a vibrancy and energy from the packed crowd. I was excited.

The Grove features a stable menu of standard pub fare. Furthermore they offer daily specials which range from an appetizer, main and dessert. Rounding off the menu are local beers and cocktails, should you be in the mood for some alcohol hydration.

As we were ordering for a group we started off with a number of appetizers. The Cheese Platter featured Blue Cheese, Brie and Chevre and was served with crackers, crostinis and fruit. The addition of fruit here was a nice balance to the creamy cheeses.

Their special was the Chicken Wing Platter. Deep fried wings with a homemade honey garlic sauce served with vegetables and a blue cheese dip. The wings themselves were as you would expect, but went well with the creaminess of the cheese dip. Overall solid!

Billed simply as Fancy Fries, this was a monster serving of poutine. I enjoyed the thick cut fries which were topped with nice squeaky cheese and finished with a beef based gravy. Overall this was a good dish but altogether ordinary.

Wanting to try something new we ordered the Chevre & Pequillo Pepper Croquettes. These croquettes were panko crusted, deep fried and served with a roasted pepper dip. This was a nice inventive take on cheese balls. The chevre added a creaminess that was cut by the spiciness of the pequillo pepper. Well done!

To add some heartiness to the meal we went with The Duffy pizza. A nice offering with crusty dough topped with mozzarella, hoison, spicy chicken, tomato, avocado and sriracha. I enjoyed the interplay between the salty Hoison sauce with the creamy avocado and smooth mozzarella. I would never have imagined them working together but somehow The Grove has managed it. On the other hand, the Sriracha sauce feels tacked on and unnecessary in an already flavourful dish.

Wanting to order a main I went with The Stafford Burger. This came highly recommended by many people, and it did not disappoint! A fresh fatty with the usual fixings, avocado, blue cheese and bacon jam. The interplay between the fresh avocado, sharp blue cheese and fatty bacon jam with the crisp vegetables make this dish work. The patty itself was well done and cooked perfectly, but it was the toppings and fixings that took it to another level. I still can taste that bacon jam!

Despite being sister pubs, The Grove does a much better job than The Cornerstone in food delivery and creativity. I enjoyed the interplay of multiple flavour profiles and welcomed the creativity displayed in their dishes. Ultimately the Grove does a fine job on delivering modern pub fare with a twist and is worth the visit, if not just to try the bacon jam!