My Weeknight Out at the Lobby on York

Every now and then it is nice to be spoiled rotten, isn't it? Ahhh.....yes.....spoiled rotten. You see, a few weeks ago I received an offer that was just too darned good to pass up. So of course, I said yes! I don't know too many people who would pass up a night out with a group of fun loving people for dinner at the Lobby on York. I simply cannot think of a better way to spend a Tuesday evening! So here I sit, watching some baseball and reminiscing about the fun, food, and wine at the Lobby on York.

I must admit to not going to the downtown area all too often these days but once upon a time when I first started dating Hubby, he lived in the building across York street from where The Lobby on York is located and to be quite honest, the location was a little on the seedy side. Opened in May of 2009, The Lobby has such a nice warm glow that it gives off the perfect vibe for a nice slow meal with friends and loved ones.  It has definitely been fixed up, looks completely different, and serves up some modern grub in a gentle, warmly lit environment.

It was a quiet evening in this cozy restaurant and lounge, well it was quiet until us ladies showed up! We were greeted warmly at the front desk by general manager, Shan, and escorted to the back where they had a room set up for us. Almost as though they knew we might cause some sort of trouble. Shan gave us the low down on the Lobby, including the two different rooms they have for various sizes of gatherings.
Everything was already set up for us, including a table with the different wines we would be enjoying that night. Dinning room manager, Karl, got the wine flowing right away for us, with a nice light Riesling from Loosen Brothers. I am going to leave the wine comments up to Sarah as she actually knows what she is talking about in that department, all I know is that it went down smoothly. Once all the ladies (Trina, Shel, Rebecca, Susie, Sarah, and myself) showed up and we got settled, Karl hopped to it! Before we knew it we had 7 appetizers and 3 different wines in front of us.

We were treated to the following scintillating appetizers:

Albacore tuna tartare served with avocado, sesame, chili aioli, cilantro, and these delectable little homemade ripple chips. I have never tried a tuna tartare before and this was fabulous! I would order this again.

Sliced beef & crostini: smoked tenderloin served on a Guinness mustard with horseradish cream, Parmesan, and fresh arugula. An overly strong smoky flavour on the beef but it goes so well with the horseradish cream that is cut the smokiness.

Village Bay oysters served with lemon and a red wine mignonette. (These gems are from Canadian waters.) These oysters were salty and fresh. The mignonette paired so well they went down smoothly. I could have have a few more of these guys.

Tomato salad served with blue cheese, baby greens, spiced nuts, pickled onion, and a smoked buttermilk dressing. Fresh, crisp, tasty....need I say more?

Korean beef short ribs done in a ponzu marinade with sesame, cilantro, and a house made red chili sauce similar to Sriarcha, but better. Another one of my favourites.

Chopped salad consisting of crisp romaine, corn, onion, cucumber, olive, radish, and feta finished with an oregano cream dressing. Another great combination of crisp, fresh veggies.

Duck quesadilla made with pulled duck, a Brie and cheddar mix with sesame, bell peppers served with spicy mayo. Served as a roll cut into sections, a complete taste sensation.

Three wines where chosen to be served with our appetizers. To be honest, I just smiled and nodded when Karl explained the wine related details. My only question was 'Karl, is there alcohol in that wine? Then pour please.' It all tasted fabulous and that is really what matters to me.

While the 6 ladies chatted, laughed, and made a lot of noise, our selection of entrees was being carefully prepared by head chef Jesse.

For our entrees we were treated to a fabulous selection of food:

Peppercorn New York strip loin served with a pink peppercorn sauce, scallion mashed potato and seasonal vegetable. (Beef at the Lobby comes from High River Alberta, not local, but still Canadian.) The steak was well cooked but I am not a huge fan of too many peppercorns. If you love pepper, then this is for you.

Portobello rib steak served with a marinated portobello mushroom and truffle butter on scallion mashed potato and seasonal vegetable. My favourite entree of the night.

Australian rack of lamb with a tamarind mint sauce. I know lamb is best served rare but this was a bit too rare for my liking. Taste wise however, it was quite good.

Ricotta Gnocchi with a red pepper pesto, walnuts, mushrooms, asparagus, brocollini, and fresh arugula. A nice vegetarian option.

Seafood trio which turns out to be prawns, scallops, and a 1/2 lobster tail served on lemon risotto. I don't eat a lot of seafood but this not only was pretty to look at, it was pretty to eat as well.

Local pickerel served on saffron couscous, marinated tomato, and herb pesto topped with crispy Serrano ham. I am a fan of pickerel and this fish swam well with all the rest of this dish.

Alaskan lingcod served on wild mushroom risotto, truffle butter, and shaved asparagus. This was a new fish to me. It was a meaty filet but the most memorable part of this dish was the risotto. A nice combination.

Three different wines were carefully selected to go with our entrees and yet again, the wines went well with the food.

Karl was a good man and even brought out a few desserts to try:

I am fairly new to the restaurant review game but if you are looking for a night out with great food but don't want the same old boring food, this is the place to go. Be prepared to spend a little extra money but it will be worth your while and your taste buds will thank you.


The quick and easy:

Lobby not only has their dinner menu, they also offer up a fabulous lounge menu and a lunch menu!

Lounge offerings run from about 8$ for sides to 16$ for appetizers or a burger, and the steaks start at 24$

The lounge at the Lobby has some fabulous deals during the week which include:
   - Thursday's buck a shuck oysters and 8$ drinks.  Now don't go ordering a ton of oysters for 1$ each and drink water. Have a drink or two. The bartenders will fix you something nice.
    -Friday in the lounge you can get a 5 oz glass of wine for 5$ or a 9 oz glass for 9$ (or how about the bottle for 25$)
     -Jets nights will find the lounge offering shots for 3.50 and appetizer 2 for 20$ (not signature appies though)

 The lunch menu runs from about 6$ for the soup up to  about 16$ and cover a wide range of salad, sandwiches, and seafood offerings.

Dinner offerings are more expensive but have plenty to offer. Starters are in the 10 to 15$ range. Entree offerings will run from 24$ to 39$ with side dishes starting at 8$.

A funny thing happens when you dine out with food bloggers; Everyone HAS to take photos of all the food before we eat. Not only that, everyone feels the need to live tweet the event as well thus sending my phone into a tizzy of notifications. At least when dining with fellow bloggers, no one complains about everyone having their phones out. We all understand each other.

Thank you so much Lobby for putting up with us!!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Please note that while the Lobby generously provided us with all the food and drinks during our night out, it had no bearing on my opinions regarding quality and taste.

Squash Your Pasta

Ever have one of those nights were you knock dinner right out of the ball park? Last night was one of those nights. We are still doing the gluten free thing around here but I was wanting something more Italian and pasta like. I picked up a spaghetti squash at the store this weekend and thought I would give it a go.

1 spaghetti squash
1 pkg (6 links) hot Italian sausage squished out of the casings(make sure it is gluten free if that is a concern)
1 onion, sliced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
500ml tomato sauce or a couple of diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
Parmesan cheese

To start off you will need to roast the squash for about 45 minutes until the flesh shreds into spaghetti like shreds with a fork. First pre heat the oven to 350 F. Next, wash off the squash, dry it, and slice the squash in half lengthwise and place cut side down on a baking sheet. While the squash is in the oven is a good time to do other things such as make your kids do their homework, do some yoga, read a book....you get the idea.

Once the squash is cooked and ready to spaghetti, heat up your frying pan. Fry up the sausage, breaking it up as it cooks.
Add the onion and peppers and continue to cook until softened
Scrape all the spaghetti squash with a fork into strands, this will be easy if it has been roasted long enough. You should be left with 2 empty squash shell halves. Dump the strands into the pan and grate in 2 cloves of garlic. Mix it all together into one tasty mass.
Pour in your tomato sauce and stir until heated through. Sprinkle on about 1/4 (or 1/2) a cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Serve it up with extra Parm and some garlic bread (gluten free bread if needed).

This got rave reviews not only at supper last night but in the staff room today at lunch. I had to promise to post the recipe.

Not to brag, but that tomato sauce is my owned canned sauce from the fall.

Sooooooo good.

The only thing we really had to say was that next time we will use a spicier hot sausage.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Warm Brownies Cold Night

The temperature keeps dropping here in the great white North and this means ski pants, extra sweaters, jammies, and warm brownies with ice cream. Ice cream? What the?
(Okay, now that I've finished writing, the temps have warmed to only -20 Celsius.)

Yes. That's right. Prairie dwellers still require the occasional ice cream or a slurpee or two, even in the dead of winter. Perhaps if our insides are cooled down, the outside temp doesn't feel as cold? Who knows? People around here tend to be extremely proud about being able to withstand the cold temperatures. Me on the other hand, I will bundle up to the point of no return. I walk to work. Even in -45 Celsius. Not happily. But I do. For some reason work just expects me to be there, no matter the temperature. Weird. I will confide this: sometimes my co-workers laugh at me. I don't mind though. Because I just say no when they come see me to borrow a sweater! FOOLS!

Anyhow, I do believe I mentioned brownies at some point. These particular brownies were of the gluten free variety. I bought a bag of coconut flour the other week and have used to coat chicken wings and to make brownies. The brownie recipe is right on the back of the bag.

Gluten free brownies

1/3 cup butter (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
(I added a good handful of shredded coconut too!)

Pre heat oven to 350 F and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment.

Melt butter or coconut oil and mix in cocoa powder until smooth. I did this in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the cocoa mixture.

Now add the coconut flour and mix until it is no longer lumpy. You will be surprised at how much the flour seems to expand and thicken the egg mixture!

Now add the chocolate chips and coconut, if using.

Pour into the parchment lined baking pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream and what ever sauces float your boat (or snowmobile).

I found some cherries in the freezer so I thawed those with a tablespoon or 2 of sugar to make a syrup....soooooooo delish!

Hello Hockey Cheesesteaks

Depite bitter cold temperatures Winnipeg seems to be breathing a sigh of relief now that hockey is back. This means our beloved Jets are back in action at the phone booth and the fans are louder than ever. We are not fortunate enough to have tickets to any of the games but we did watch the game this afternoon on the TV. What does any game day require? Some grub!

This is another idea I found via Pinterest (the biggest time suck EVER)! We are making an effort to eat less gluten. That's right. You heard me. You'll notice I didn't say I that we were cutting it out altogether. I just can't do that. It is too restrictive. I don't like feeling guilty every time I slip and have a little bit of bread or a gluten containing item. We are a sandwich loving house. The Boy isn't concerned about gluten, just Hubby and I are. The Boy hasn't changed a thing.

Today's snack/lunch was a Philly style cheesesteak stuffed pepper. All the Philly cheesesteak goodness, none of the bread. I found some sliced brisket in the freezer, dug out an onion, some mushrooms, and the provolone cheese. In a pinch you could use deli roast beef, or any sliced steak/roast beef you have on hand.

These were some pretty darn tasty treats to munch on while watching the First Jets game of the season, even if they did lose.

Here's how it all went down:

Gather up the following:

3 peppers
12 slices provolone cheese
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
10 or 12 mushrooms
Sliced cooked steak or roast beef (about a pound, or 454 grams)
1 tbsp oil for pan

Wash, stem, and clean out 6 peppers and cut then in half. Line each pepper with a slice of cheese.

Slice onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Sauté these until golden.

Add the beef to the pan and stir up until heated through. Divide the beefy mushroom goodness up between the 6 pepper halves. Cover each pile o' goodness with another slice of cheese.

Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is melty and the pepper have softened slightly.

Enjoy!

Now these little gems got rave reviews and the ok to make them again! (I love it when that happens!) Today I only baked these babies for 20 minutes but I think they could have stayed in a little longer. The peppers were a little too crunchy for the taste and feel I was wanting.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Ringing in the New Year

Here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year. Whether you are out whooping it up or holed up in a blanket fort battling a cold like Hubby may you ring in the new year in style! Tonight our style involves warm pjs, fluffy socks, piles of comforters, and boxes of Kleenex. Yup! The Boy started out with this cold last week and he has graciously shared it with us. We whooped it up by making a fabulous pot of broccoli cheddar soup. I found the recipe on Pioneer Woman's site. It turned out so well and helped warm us up. Did I take photos of the soup? No. Why? Because I suck and as tasty as this soup is, it isn't really a pretty soup.  Besides, right about now I kind of wish we were in the spot we were last year at this time.... On the beach in Hawaii...

We curled up with our bowls of soup and watched season 2 of Flashpoint, a fantastic Canadian show about a police strategic response unit. The show just recently had its series finale and we are getting caught up on missed episodes.

Of course with it being New Year's Eve, we indulged in dessert. Sticky toffee pudding cakes! Yum! This is a recipe I found online from Chatelaine magazine and really reminds me on a Christmas time steamed pudding my Mom used to make, This one is complete with a brown sugar sauce to top it off. (Of course adding some Bailey's Irish Cream to some whipped cream doesn't hurt!)

Once again, here's wishing you a happy, healthy new year!  Here it is only 9pm and I will probably be asleep soon....there's always next year!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.