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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Bertrand at Mister A's Restaurant Review

Last summer I was fortunate to dine at Bertrand at Mister A's while we were visiting San Diego. The restaurant was chosen based on a recommendation from a friend who lived in the city. Bertrand at Mister A's describes themselves as "Best Dining with a View", sitting on the the 12th floor of a commercial building on 2550 Fifth Avenue, they do have some of the best views of San Diego city. The dining area of the restaurant is surrounded by a 180 degrees view of the city and guests have the option to sit out on the balcony terrace that extends all the way around the restaurant, although it seems like these tables are usually reserved well ahead of time.

We started with two appetizers. Unfortunately, their menu has changed since we were there months ago so I will have to go entirely by memory with it comes to the ingredients.

 A deconstructed salad with red and yellow peppers, goat cheese, olives, some sort of fried fish, and a herb emulsion dressing on the side. This dish did not stand out for me as I wasn't particularly interested in any ingredient. However, all the ingredients were fresh and prepared with care. It's a light salad that wets the palate with sweet tasting peppers, strong creamy taste from the goat cheese, and the tanginess of the olives.

 I honestly could not recall what oysters these were. You can see they are smaller in size and of course, very fresh and creamy-tasting. What made us wanted to try the oysters was the champagne mignonette that came with it. The champagne mignonette had champagne, shallots, garlic, and fresh parsley. I've never tried a champagne mignonette before so in terms of the quality of its taste, I can't fairly compare anything to it. I did enjoy the mixture of the champagne with shallots and parsely. The taste was sweet, tangy, and bitter at the same time, but unfortunately, it didn't conceal enough of the oysters raw's taste for me to enjoy this appetitizer. I like oysters where you can taste how fresh and creamy they are, but with the raw taste concealed. So, I've found that pairing oysters to the more common chili cocktail sauce is still my preferred combo.

Beef filet with bone marrow, au gratin potatoes, and I believe chanterelles mushrooms. I don't recall the sauces however. Steak and potatoes are staples at any restaurant serving western cuisine and it makes comparing offerings from one place to another much easier, because you've had it so many times. Let's start with the au gratin potatoes. They were excellent. The top layer was crispy and tasted a bit cheesey. The rest was definitely very buttery and creamy with the right kind of firmness to them. Each layer was visible and did not collapse into each other when you put your fork into it. The chanterelles mushrooms (on a bed of greens) has soaked in the juices they used to prepare them and they were so tasty when all this juices poured into my mouth when I took my first bite.

The marrow was also very delightful. It was sweet and had all the flavors that beef-lovers like so much without the raw taste. I asked for a medium rare filet and it looked a bit too cooked for mediume rare, but it didn't affect the tenderness of the meat which was half melting in my mouth as I was chewing it. *.* The only thing I would change in the entree is to have less sauce. Everything was already so tasty and juicy that I didn't feel it was necessary to have all that cream sauce.

 Contrary to the heavy steak entree, this one was much lighter in taste and calories! Copper River salmon, lentil beans, cremimi mushrooms, and potato. The salmon was excellent. Cooked to perfection and had just the right portion of sides to make this a filling dinner for most. I really enjoyed the sauce drizzled on the salmon. The sides were simply prepared and rounds off the entree as a healthy, very tasty part of dinner.

 Mr A's famous Macaroni and Cheese with comte cheese and black truffle. It is as rich in taste as it sounds. Black truffle is one of my favorite ingredients so I was really excited to try this. It didn't disappoint and every bite made me feel guilty and happily so.

A classic dessert. Their creme brulee is delicious. Nothing extraordinary, but if you crave for some creme brulee, you're going to get exactly what you'd expect from an award winning restaurant!

The service was excellent as well. Our server was very attentive. They must be so used to people going out on the balcony terrace for the view and to take some photos. Despite how busy the area is around the entrance to the balony, they never made us feel like we were in the way. You wouldn't expect anything less from a restaurant like Mister A's and we were treated like the best guests in the house while we were there.

I will make certain to visit Bertrand at Mister A's if I'm ever in town. The views are beautiful and the service is as attentive as they lead you to believe on their website! I would try some different appetizers as neither of what we ordered on this trip was particularly impressive. The rest of the dinner was excellent though! 

Where: 2550 5th Avenue #12  San Diego, CA
http://www.bertrandatmisteras.com/

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Fitzroy Island. Gorgeous!

Ever been to Australia and wanted to stay there? Welcome to the club! lol

After many years of thinking and talking about going to Australia I finally visited the beautiful country. Where do I begin..Australia is a young country in the pacific east part of the world where the primary language is English. In Sydney, the country's capital, there is a healthy mix of ethnic cultures that boosts the modern city's cultural diversity. While the country's economic competitiveness at the international level continues to evolve, natives at heart seems to value family life and one's well-being over work. I absolutely love it. Play hard, work hard, and take care of yourself and others - living in the moment! What is not to love about this kind of attitude?!

So while my experience in Australia was fabulous in many ways I'd like to focus on one part of my trip. Specifically, the day I spent up on Fitzroy Island, Cairns. Cairns is home to the world famous Great Barrier Reef. It is a popular destination for many people especially divers who have much to see in the world of the sea. The Great Barrier Reef consists of many small islands and many of them do not have resorts on them meaning you must travel to the islands in the morning and leave in the afternoon to go back to the town of Cairns. Cairns is a small town and the part of it with the most bustle is of course the streets where all the hotels are.

My trip to Fitzroy began with an hour-ish ferry ride from the pier of Cairns.

 Fitzroy island is probably going to rise in popularity now that they have a hotel resort on there. The resort is brand new and while I haven't been into the rooms or the restaurants of the hotel, everything looks 4-5 stars.

One natural destination between Fitzroy and the other Great Barrier islands is the beach shores of the island is not made up of soft sand. Most of the beach shoes are made up of fossilized coral. Awesome to look at, but not so awesome to walk on with flap flops. You are better off in trainers when you're out and about on the island. The water is pristine and you'll see in the photos below just how far you can see through it. The reefs themselves are only several meters off from the shore so there is plenty to see in the water even just with snorkeling. There are a bunch of other activities you can do on Fitzroy which includes hiking, camping, diving, paddling, and more.

resort pool

 

 

the reef is protected by the government and it is illegal to remove them from their natural habitat

There are two beaches on Fitzroy. One is readily accessible just as you hop off the ferry while the other, Nudey Beach which has soft sand on its shores, requires a 30 min hike to the opposite of the island. According to the resort staff, it had been raining the entire week so we missed the super shiny days, but it was blessing that we got decent amount of rays during the hours we were there!

you can see into the water all the way to the coral from the pier

ocean trampoline

My visit to The Great Barrier was one of the most memorable parts of my trip to the outback. There is loads of information available online if you're interested in planning your own trip there. I would only suggest that as part of your research to please learn how to protect the reef during your visit. Part of the reef's viability and keeping the reefs open to tourists depends on all of its visitors. I found a great place online at Dive The Reef where you can begin your research.

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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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