Lit Wine Bar

Hello hello!

Thursday night my friend Jason accompanied me to Lit Wine Bar (10132-104 Street). Jason and I are "wine friends" and often go to Tzin (across the street from Lit).  However, with Tzin booked up for the night, I thought Lit would be a great option.  I had already been there twice before, and had had good experiences, while Jason had never been.

I was very hungry when we arrived (rushed to the gym after work and did a wickedly difficult boot camp class...) so I had worked up an appetite!

The server suggested Arancini Rossi to start. I described them as "adult tater tots" though there isn't any potato in them... maybe that's why! haha. They were great! Rice, cheese and peas in tomato sauce, stuffed, breaded and deep fried. Came with two great sauces for dipping. Thumbs up from the both of us!

Jason's first glass of wine was the Cline Mouredre (Red from California.) while I started with a Birichino Malvasia Bianca (White from California.) We both really enjoyed our choices- especially because the server offered us samples before we decided on a particular glass.

 Our second course was the Pizza Capricciosa- a fantastic flat bread  with prosciutto, red peppers, olives, mushrooms, cheese... the crust was my favorite part. The only thing I didn't like was the olives.

Jason got to sample three different wines before making his second wine choice! The server really liked him, probably because Jason knows so much about wine and could talk the talk. I can't... I just know what I like!! Regardless, I tasted the samples as well and found something I liked too!

Here I am enjoying a glass of Montere Rapasso 

Finally- Dessert!! Chiocolatto!!

Baileys and Kahlua Chocolate Cake, topped with White Chocolate, Raspberry Mousse and Chocolate Ganache. It was lovely, though it fell apart pretty quickly as we ate it.

All in all I really enjoyed our experience at Lit.  They have a great selection of wine and food.  The menu is reasonably priced too.  I think what put this experience above my previous ones was the really excellent service.  The numerous wine samples and food recommendations from her really made for a personalized and memorable experience!

Lunch with Lauren

Lauren! (and a penguin)

 Since starting my new job, it has been more difficult to see some friends I used to see on a regular basis, especially the ones in school.  Luckily, Lauren and I have been able to go out for lunch every few weeks or so. I hope we can keep this up, and this way, I can let you all know about my eats at some of Edmonton's yummy restaurants.

 A few weeks ago we decided to go to Zuppa Cafe (9843 110 Street), since its close to my work. Overall, I thought it was good. LOTS of food for a good price (I had leftovers and paid somewhere around $10, including drink.) My favorite part was the salad, which was full of green grapes. I also had pea soup, which I really enjoyed. My least favorite was the panini, which was a little on the cold side. That is, however, a minor problem.  That being said, this is a nice little place to hit up for breakfast or lunch- to stay or to go!

Chomp!

 Our second lunch date was at Col Mustard's Sandwich Canteen (12321 107 Ave). In my opinion what a perfect lunch place. So many delicious and fresh sandwich options! I ended up getting a turkey deli sandwich with provolone and red pepper sauce on a french bread.  The only thing I would have liked was maybe a side salad or something... and maybe slightly more flavor with the red pepper spread. But I love that it is made fresh to eat, and the sandwiches are quite large!

My eats.

 Lauren went with something a little different:

Her choice was more vegetarian- a falafel! Lauren gave it the thumbs up, even thought it was on the messy side. We left there happy! 

What are your favorite lunch places? Let me know, especially if they are in the downtown area so I can go their on my lunch break!!

Stay warm everyone!

Meat Pie Madness

20 Pounds of Ground Pork

A Team Ready to go! Ryan, Jordan, Cathy (myself and my mom missing from photo.)

Some serious mashing of potatoes....

30 pounds of potatoes!!

Rubbermaid container with all 30 pounds of potatoes...

Cooking up the meat!

Mix it all together with CLOVES, SALT and PEPPER!!

Now it is time to assemble!

Go team!!

Concentrating hard...

Tortiere!!

I was working on the crust...

Rollin... Rollin....

(FYI:

We purchased 15 pounds of dough from Grandin Bakery in

 St. Albert)

Rollin the dough!

In the oven at 400F for about an hour!

Baby pies!

So worth the hard work!

The Stats:

30 pounds of potatoes

20 pounds ground pork

15 pounds dough

=

27 small pies

13 medium (standard) pies

1 large pie

41 pies made by 5 people in about 6.5 hours!

My freezer is now half full of pies! I love the Holiday Season!!

The Dish Bistro

On Tuesday night my friend Matt and I met up for good food and even better conversation at The Dish Bistro (and the Runaway Spoon) on 124th street and Stony Plain Road.
I had never been and while I had heard of this restaurant, had no idea it was tucked away in this location!
It wasn't a busy night, or at least by the time we sat down at 7:30, any rush had passed.
I liked that the menu was simple and small. I always get overwhelmed at places with large menus. Ask anyone I go out with, I often don't decide until the last second and sometimes will ask the server to pick between a few for me.
Matt had heard the tomato basil creamy soup was excellent, so of course I had to go with that! Along with the soup I had their Grilled Portobello and Brie Sandwich. Everything was delicious. I LOVED the soup- the texture was thick and creamy, but wasn't completely smooth, which I liked. I believe it had croutons on top too. Sandwich was served on foccacia. Loved the brie and mushroom- only problem was it was really messy to eat... WARNING: THIS IS NOT A SEXY EATING SANDWICH! DIG IN!

A comforting meal

Matt decided to go with  the Greek Chicken Phyllo Pastry with a side of balsamic salad!
His description was something along the lines of a "eating delicious deck of cards" (if you could eat cards of course... and if cards were delicious... okay clearly I need to take notes when attempting to describe others eating experiences... but you get the idea... right?) Basically: Matt really liked his dinner! And honestly, I think I might get it next time! Cheesy goodness!

Matt: putting up with my terrible photo taking skills!

I can't wait to visit the Dish Bistro again to try out more of their menu. Their price point was just right too!
Also I should note that on their website they have what looks like weekly movie nights! I think in the New Year I will be checking that out! What fun!
Have you ever been to the Dish? Love it? Hate it? Let me know!!