A Fair to Remember

The Red River Exhibition is on and boy, has the Ex ever changed since I was a kid! I must confess to not having been the Ex for quite sometime now. Probably about 10 years or so. What I remember from when I was a kid is the Ex always being set up in the Polo Park area around the old stadium and the old arena. It was always so much fun to walk around and play those carnival games, even though Mom always warned us those games were fixed, stand in line to get on the rides that will make you dizzy, and try some of that carnival food!

Nowadays, the Ex has a larger site on the west side of the city and so much more has been added. More games, more rides, more family activities, and more food. Food is what I am going to talk about. 

Monday evening the Boy, Hubby, and I ventured out to see what the Ex has to offer.  We were quite surprised at the variety of foods offered. It really isn't just corn dogs and candy floss anymore.  I highly suggest you do a full walk about before committing to a food choice. The concessions are spread out throughout the park and some concessions offer the same food item, but have a different take or recipe. (Also, if planning on partaking in the rides, ride first, eat later...)

Now, on with the food!

As I said before, take the full tour first. The 3 of us walked around, took in the sights and smells, and marvelled at a few of the vomit inducing rides.  We had 6 coupons to spend on any concession item we wanted. I enforced the sharing with your favourite food blogger law to make sure we all got to taste a little bit of everything.

This could be best expressed with the help of photos...

My memories of Ex food:

Corn dogs, candy floss, and snow cones..

Some of the food offerings this year:

Some of what we ate:  

Chipstix: fried potato on a stick. I was expecting this to be crispy  but was merely a soft, greasy fried potato on a stick. You do get to choose the sprinkle flavour of you choice, but this was a disappointment.

Souvlaki Skewers with chicken, lamb, and beef, all in the same pita! This was fabulous. All the meats were cooked just right and had all the Greek flavouring you would expect. The tzaziki was garlicky and delicious.

Tacos from Yo Quiero Tacos Tacos Tacos. Hubby ordered a trio of shredded beef tacos and the boys at the truck loaded them up with everything. They were messy and wonderful.  

Hubby here!  These tacos were awesome - nicely cooked meat, a hint of spice, cilantro, tasty tortillas and fresh vegis.  I would recommend these if you are a fan of Mexican food.  For me, they could have used more heat, but I recognize that what is spicy for most people barely registers for me.  Sadly, Yo Quiero is a native of Vancouver, but if you are out that way, find them and enjoy some mouthwatering Mexican cuisine.

Poutine from the Poutine King topped with bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, and green onions. (It was called the Canadian).  The fries were perfectly cooked on the outside and soft on the inside. The variety of different toppings offered was interesting.

Some more food we ate:

Deep fried foods are their own food group which happens to include Oreos, pickles, and mini donuts.

The pickles had a nicely spiced batter that had some dill and red pepper flakes in it. They were tasty and great for sharing.

Deep fried Oreos.....these are a must try. You will get 5 in your order and you will need to share. They are Rich, chocolatey, and have a hint of cinnamon.

Mini donuts. Freshly fried and coated in cinnamon sugar. Enough said.

I must not forget to mention the chocolate covered bacon... Or the free concert that happens every night.

The Boy thought the chocolate covered bacon was quite amazing. I felt it needed to be a better quality/tasting bacon for it to work better.

The quick and easy:

Parking at the Exhibition grounds will cost you 5$, so if you drive, be prepared for that.  City transit also makes regular runs out there.

Entrance to the park will cost 13$/person with children under 6 getting in for free.

Ride tickets bought on site run 1$/ticket with some price breaks on larger quantities.  Rides tend to be about 5 tickets each.

Ride all you want wristbands can be purchased for 45$, which, if you plan on riding a lot,  is a good deal.

Food costs vary and depend on what you order. There are many items in the 5$ range for quick snacks and sharing but you will also find items upwards of 10$ or more.  Have a look around.

Bottom line: bring money but plan out your time there. With so much to do and see, it will be easy to spend your money before the night is done.

Now don't get me wrong, once in the park there are some free things to go see. Entertainment such as  the lumber jack competition, concerts, animals and agriculture events, and so on.

The Ex also offers free admission during of small windows of time.  Check out their website for more info and entertainment line ups.

All in all, we were well fed and entertained while at the Red River Exhibition. It was a nice evening out for the three of us.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.

Please note that while our evening at the Ex was generously donated to us, it has no bearing on our opinions regarding quality and taste.

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.

Things I tried in Hawaii

Wow, I am a lame brain and still trying to get back into the swing of things....in fact I should have posted what I made for dinner tonight, but I didn't...I am working on that, dinner was delish!

I didn't actually bake anything for Valentine's day like I did last year. I did however think this would be a time to share something I tried while I was in Hawaii not too long ago.  While the temperature is warmer this week, it dipped way down again other week. Two Fridays ago it was -40 Celsius with the windchill....brrrrr....That is a good 70 degrees colder than it was when I was in Hawaii! (I want to go back!!!!)  One day while wandering through one of the many ABC stores, not sure of what I wanted to snack on, I happened upon this small heating/keep stuff warm unit.  Inside were these little curious bundles...I just had to try one.  Turns out that if you take a piece of Spam, dip it in teriyaki sauce, pair it with some sticky rice, and wrap it in nori, you get a tasty little fast sushi style snack!!

Seriously, this was quite tasty!

I will work on that dinner post for tomorrow!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

A Very Busy Fall

Oh my do I miss you guys! Where has the time gone?   Fall has snuck up on us with the changing colour of the leaves, the cooler weather and getting back to school.  Between work, baseball, work, a couple of visits to the ER, baseball, Hubby being out of town, and this head cold, I have been busy!  I actually have lots of pictures, recipes, and ideas to share but I've had no time to write.

Lots of great baseball weather still!!

 We've found some time to go to a couple of fall feasts featuring fabulous local produce, meats, and grains...all the food was absolutely fabulous!

The first dinner Hubby and I went to was out at the St. Norbert Market where we got to wander around to different booths at the Farmers' Feast. We got to talk not only with local chefs but local farmers and producers as well. We definitely left stuffed and ready for a nap!!

Pulled pork sliders and other yumminess

Manitoba beef sliders, and beer

soooooo goood.....

the yumminess continues

Everything is better with bacon!

The second supper the Boy and I went to was the feast out at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach for their Supper from the Fields.  We went with Trina and quite the fun drive out there and met Susie and her boys there. We had such a fun time and the food was fabulous!!

The Boy spinning the wheel for the food Manitoba game

Farmers' market

Salads....soooo yummy! Orzo, beets, panzanella

Apple crisp with sunflower brittle

Susie's girl not happy about sitting with the Boy!

The Boy and our bag of free loot!

Fun on the tractor!

Putting his moves on the statue....

Once again, my apologies for the absenteeism, I am working on getting back into the swing of things.  As things return to normal around the Little Kitchen, I will continue to post some of the many pictures and recipes I have waiting (some are still from the summer)

The famous Windmill at the Village.

Until next time, stay warm and eat well.