The Rooftop

How many posts from Regina already?  I've lost count, but looking bad, it seems like I ate out a lot when I was there!  Another place I managed to visit was this place called The Roof Top Bar and Grill.  A couple of colleagues wanted to out, and I'd already eaten so I tagged along for a drink.  I wasn't expecting much, but when we stepped inside, we found a pretty classy looking place. 

It wasn't that busy considering it was a Friday night, but then again, it was -30 with the wind chill so I'm not surprised the place was practically empty. 

My friend's Martini.

On Friday nights, they have Ken Jefferson come in to play the piano.  This gentleman knew over 1000 sounds, including some songs I didn't think he would know, like Lili Marlene.  He takes requests of any sort, and this one time, even let one of our group play the piano for a while.

I was pretty full from dinner and most of my colleagues were as well, but some decided to order desert.  I sampled some of the cheesecake, and I'd have to say it would be worth coming back here just for the deserts and atmosphere.

Of course, someone was hungry and ordered the Lobster Broccoli Cheddar Dip ($11.97) which in taste was out of this world. 

Besides the fact that we weren`t really hungry, the kitchen was closed for food anyway.  I had a chance to speak to the proprietor and he suggested that the next time I visit, I should try the prime rib.  Unfortunately, I didn`t get a chance to go back before leaving Regina.  I think if I were to return to Regina, I would definitely take him up on his suggestion because I happen to love Prime Rib.  The staff were quite friendly and the service was great.  The atmosphere was definitely nice as well. 

La Bodega

 La Bodega was a pretty long walk from the Wingate where we were all staying.  A 15-20 minute walk may as well have been an hour considering it was -30 that night.  One of our pals soon learned to regret just walking out in a sweatshirt.

 

No wonder my frozen friend ordered a hot soup!

I rarely eat escargot, and it's not because I don't like it.  It's just that it's not readily available and most places I frequent don't serve it.  I'm glad someone ordered it though because the sauce alone would have been worth it. 

Foie Gras was delicious.....but there was so little of it!  The tiny little sliver of foie seemed even smaller on the huge plank of wood it came on.  It tasted like heaven, but I just wished there was more of it!

I don't know what I was thinking, but I ordered nachos.  The bare chips came with some salsa, some guacamole, and some sour cream.  Really plane-jane.

.The walk back was a nightmare, the wind had picked up and it felt even colder.  As you can tell from this picture, I was miserable.  For just a few seconds of exposure, my hands were completely numb from taking this photo.  

La Bodega was an interesting little tapas bar.  The atmosphere was cool, and the service was good.  Don't think I'd ever go back unless it was summer the next time I visit Regina!

Beer Bros Bakery & Cuisine - Part 1 and 2

- Part I -

Beer Bros became one of the favorites for my group during our stay in Regina.  We were in Regina for a service excellence course, so naturally, we started picking up on what was good customer service, and what was passable.  The servers at Beer Bros had impressed us for the most part and I think that's why we kept going back.  I've only got pictures from two of our visits, but during the two week stay, we went there three times.

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I had what has become my now standard drink...Chivas Regal, 12 yrs on ice.

This was some kind of $30 beer......I sampled some and it tasted more like carbonated juice....Tasted good, but I have no idea what good beer is supposed to taste like

The beerogies and sausage.  Everything on the menu had beer in it at one level or other.  And of course, with a lot of beer, the conversation had degenerated to an all time low, what with the sausage jokes and everything.

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The pizza/flat bread was really tasty.  This one had blue cheese in it and though it wasn't my order, I found myself reaching over to my friend's plate to grab another slice.

The beef ribs were effin' good.  Tasted more like brisket, but I wasn't complaining because I love my beef with loads of fat.  Again, this was not my dish, but I didn't not feel the slight bit embarrassed about asking for another sample.

The beef kabobs were a bit on the dry side for my tastes, but the flavour was awesome.

Gyoza...it always makes me giggle to see these things outside of Hon's House of Noodles.

I had a burger, but by the time I got through sampling everyone else's dish, I was full.  I wasn't a big fan of the whole wheat bun, but the filling was good.  And I have to say that was one of the best side salads I'd ever had with a burger.

I just hope the beer wasn't recycled.

- Part II -

Did I mention it was cold in Regina?

More flat bread....

For lunch, I ordered the venison pot pie, with the same salad I had the other night.  It was sooo good, but I had about 3 minutes to enjoy it before our bus left and took us on a field trip to City Hall.

The salad had candied walnuts, blue cheese, this incredible dressing....could have done with out the carrot strings, but whatever, still tasted good overall.

If you end up in Regina for some strange reason, make sure you visit Beer Bros.  If there was one place that stood out in Regina, this place would be it.  Not overly expensive (actually everything is quite affordable), great service (at least the servers we had), and easily accessible.  I actually wish there was one here in Vancouver!

Bitten

I was originally planning on living on the cheap during my two weeks in Regina.  I even brought 10 packs of instant noodles, but deep down, the foodie inside (along with a couple of new friends I met over in Regina) coaxed me out of my stingy ways and got me to go out on a food sampling binge. 

Bitten was right around the corner from our hotel, and we were originally going to go there Monday night (but the place seemed to quiet and serene for folks like us who weren't there to celebrate Valentine's Day. 

We had a relatively large group so we got seated upstairs.

My friend had the calamari, and being so far away from the ocean, I was pretty skeptical about seafood.  Well, frozen seafood goes along way, and it turns out that it still tasted pretty good.  I was quite impressed with the tast as well. 

The yam fries turned out not so good.  They were actually a bit raw in the middle, and my friend broke the cardnal rule and actually sent them back.

I ordered a smoked salmon platter that came with an assortment of veggies, onions, some really good cream cheese and capers.....awesome combination.  I was quite happy with what I ordered.  I'd eaten a bowl of instant noodles before heading out, so all I was planning to do was have a drink.  But since everyone else was eating and sharing, I caved and ordered something safe.  Turns out, it was pretty good.

Another item I got to sample was this killer brownie with a scoop of ice cream.  It looks simple, sounds simple, but tasted dangerous.  I don't know if I was just slightly intoxicated, or this dessert really was that good, but I remember blurting out something like it was as good as sex.  In retrospect, I'm not entirely sure how accurate that statement is.

Bitten was a cool hang out, the atmosphere was quiet....someplace you'd bring a date.  The service was good and the prices were.....well, date prices.  Not somewhere I'd go on my own, or with a couple of pals to sutff our faces.  Yeah, I'd go again, under the righ circumstances.