Red Ox Inn Restaurant Review

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure to try an excellent restaurant called, the Red Ox Inn in Canada. I was under the impression that it was a steak house, but that couldn't be further from the truth. They serve, might I add, very delicious continental and European-influenced dishes.

Red Ox Inn is an initmately sitted restaurant with a maximum capacity of 30 people so a reservation is highly recommended. If you want to dine there on a Friday, Saturday, you most certainly will need a reservation. Our reservation was at 6:00PM on a Saturday evening and it was already filled with guests when we arrived. The menu selection is varied, but limited in the number of items. There are 6 different appetitizers, 8 entrees, and 4 desserts to choose from. Their wine selection is quite large relative to their menu size.

We weren't sure which were their signature dishes or what we can't go without trying so ultimately, we went to food that typically appeales to us anywhere we go.

 Firstly, I wish I had better photos to share with y'all! The restaurant is very initmate and with limited lighting in the space, the last thing I wanted to do was make my camera flash several times before we were done. I actually didn't even bring out a camera that evening. These were all taken from my phone!

 

[left to right] We started with the beef tartare where our server was thoughtful enough to have them split the dish onto two seperate plates for us. The tartare was AMAAAZING. It had caper aioli, pickled shallots, and parmesan. The tartare was marinated and seasoned to perfection. Of recent memory, this is the best tartare we've both had and is easily in our top 5 tartare list. My boyfriend ordered a bottle of Craggy Range Pinot Noir and I'll be honest to say that I'm no wine connosieur. I just know what I like and this pinot noir was not very memorable for me. It was a medium-bodied pinor noir and had a fruity, tangy taste, but the aftertaste was too tarte for my liking.

 Next to follow is our entrees. The Duck Breast with gnocchi, confit, roast carrots, goat cheese, parnips was so fabulous and sooo tender. The duck was cooked to medium perfection and once again, is the best duck we've both had in recent memory. There was nothing gamey about it and the garnish were excellent compliments to the meat's already mouth-watering taste.

 

I had the Flank Steak that came with leek and shallot bread pudding, crimini sauce, and tomato. I thoroughly enjoyed my steak. Steak is my to go-to whenever we're at a good restaurant. lol I've ordered a lot of steak and to be completely honest, I was so blown away by the duck breast that there wasn't too much about the steak that stuck with me. I did find the leek and shallot bread pudding interesting. I don't think I've ever had non-sweet bread pudding before so this was a first. I actually like leek and shallots, but did not care much for the pudding. On the contrary, I really enjoyed the brocolini. It absored so much flavor! I ate my meal in the order of a bite of steak and a bite of brocolini with some bread pudding somewhere in there. :)

 Finally, but most definitely not the least, the lovely Chocolate dessert. We were torn between this and some other dessert with a seasonal theme to it. Can't recall the exact name. Our server offered to surprise us so we left the decison up to her and she came out with the Chocolate. The Chocolate consists of chocolate brownie, caramel ganache, chocolate mousse and brown butter praline. I know it sounds heavy, but in truth, high quality chocolate is not supposed to taste overly sweet or heavy. It was the perfect chocolate dessert. The texture was smooth, light and creamy. The blend of flavors were harmonious like several instruments blending into a single note. This may or may not sound familiar but of recent memory, this is the best chocolate dessert I've had. Gosh..for this alone, I would go back to this place over and over again.

Red Ox Inn is an initmate restaurant that I whole heartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys casual fine dining. What I love about this place on top of its world-class cuisine is the quiet, relaxed atmosphere. The clientale definitely has a certain air of debonair to them, but everyone is still relaxed and casual. You can dress up (dress for labies and suit jacket for the guys) or enjoy dinner in jeans and a sweater. The staff is professional and efficient. Our server made our evening more memorable than it already was.

I also want to comment on their pricing and portions. Their food are priced very reasonably for the quality and portions you are getting. We could have just as easily ended dinner without dessert and left full and satisfied. This is a little gem that hopefully, will be around forever!

Where: 9420 91 Street, Edmonton, Alberta
http://www.theredoxinn.com

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Rise No. 1 Restaurant Review

I recently went on a short little vacation down south. The vacation was super, but always too short. We did however visit Rise n°1, a French souffle restaurant. There are not many of these around. Actually, this is the first I've heard of and been to one. Rise is not a restaurant with spectacular dessert souffle. It is actually a restaurant where you have a souffle as an entree and perhaps a souffle for dessert afterwards. Very cool concept. Good souffles are difficult to make so I can only imagine what it took to turn entrees (that people would eat) into a souffle.

Pistachio Souffle with Custard on top

The decor of the restaurant is French themed. The inside is dimly lit and looked very cozy. Reminds of what homes in the French country-side would look like. We sat on the enclosed patio and it was perfect. It had big top to bottom windows that let lot of light in which made it feel like you were sitting on a patio, but yet completely sheltered from the weather.

 

We started with the Marshmallow soup and Rise n°1 salad with baby greens, I replace the blue cheese with goat cheese, roasted pecans, Granny smith apples, and pecan vinaigrette. For entrees we had the Truffle Infused Mushroom Souffle and that day's special the Crab Souffle. For dessert we shared that day's special, Pistachio Souffle. 

The Marshmallow soup were both of our favorites. The three "marshmallows" floating on top of the soup are actually really fluffy goat cheese and they were perfect with the tomato bisque. So very tasty! For the Rise salad, I especially enjoyed the pecan vinaigrette. It tied all the ingredients of the salad together very nicely. The goat cheese, as our waiter promised wasn't going to be too strong and he was right. We both really enjoyed the appetizers.

Now comes the beef of the visit - the souffles. I found out from this little excursion that unfortunately, having souffle for an entree is not for me. Please understand that I still think Rise to be very cool and I would still recommend this little gem to anyone, but the souffles were too savory for me. It reminded a bit of the feeling I get when I have risotto. It tastes really good, but I can only have a few bites. The Pistachio Souffle was good, but I also learned that I generally only like pistachios in their original form, pistachio gelato, and pistachio spread. Again, nothing to do with the quality of the souffle it is just not something I can appreciate like someone who loves souffle.

Truffle Infused Mushroom Souffle

Overall, decor and food fit together very well. It's a cute place to be on a Sunday for lunch with your date, with family or as a group of friends. Casual dinning on high quality food. We would go back in again for the Marshmallow soup and will certainly try a different flavored dessert souffle next time!!!

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