5 posts tagged “food”

In a nutshell:  don't go there.

Mike and I both ordered the Angus striploin.  If what we were served was Angus, I'm the queen of Siam.  I've had better tasting sawdust.  Fatty, tasteless pulp.  The "frites" were over-seasoned and the service, while adequate, was, well, zombie-like.  I guess unless you're ordering drinks they aren't too interested in you.  The only thing going for the place was the music; it was pretty good, mostly 80s but not bubblegum-pop. 

The Carleton is owned by Mike Campbell and Mike Rhodes, better known to some from their 80s Much Music show, Mike and Mike's Excellent X-Canada Adventures.  Fun show.  Lousy restaurant.  Perhaps they should be concert promoters or something instead.

1.  I made a Rainbow Cake.  My first attempt was made with diet pop as the recipe suggests, but that didn't work for me at all.  So this time I followed the cake mix instructions and got a nice-looking, fully-baked, colourful, edible cake.

Unfortunately it is a mix, so the taste ... not that great.  But it is edible.  Maybe next time I'll make it from scratch.  I'm just not a very good baker.

2.  Saw Inglourious Basterds last weekend.  Don't get me wrong, I love me some Quentin Tarantino.  However, this one was over the top, even for him.  It's basically a Jewish revenge fantasy, with a small group of mostly Jewish-Americans taking on the Nazis.  They collect their scalps and brand the few they allow to live.  There is a big film premiere in a small theatre in France, and all the Nazi big-wigs will be there.  Both the Inglourious Basterds and the owner of the theatre are planning to kill Hitler, Borman, Goebbels and the rest of the top tier that night.  It's well-acted, well-written and very funny in parts ... but the level of gratiutous violence was a big turn-off.  I had to turn my head away more than once.  In fact, I couldn't watch the climactic scene in its entirety; it really was a disturbing level of blood and mayhem, serving no obvious purpose. 

3.  I crocheted a fried egg.

Isn't it adorable?  It's for a swap on Ravelry.  It's not perfect but I like it, and I miss it already.  *Sniff*  Amigurumi is the bomb.

We've had a Lone Star restaurant in Halifax for ... oh, at least 10 years.  I've been addicted to their fajitas for that long.  Mike and I went there at least once a month, and before Mike I went with my ex and anyone else I could drag there.  One of the wait staff ended up working with Mike.  In fact, the regular staff learned quickly what our regular order was, down to the drinks.  This is their last weekend in operation; then the owners are turning it into a Brewdebakers.  Yeah, 'cause there aren't enough places to get beer and ribs in Halifax.  So here are some photos of our most beloved Lone Star, which we will sorely miss.

One lonely guy at the bar.  The place was hopping. The waitress tried to wedge us into a small table against the wall, but we suggested she find us a better table.  Actually, I just said "no" and she took us to a four-seater.  We got there before six but it was already packed.  There was a line by the time we left.

Some of the decor:

This one has a website:  www.opataverna.com.

I always expected this restaurant to be dark and crowded, I guess because of its location on the corner of Blowers and Argyle streets, both crammed with little eating establishments.  However, Opa is large, bright and spacious inside.

Mike and I brought our niece Sarah to the restaurant.  She professed to love chicken souvlaki.  What she really meant was she likes chicken.  She picked the vegetables off her skewers, claimed the Greek salad had too much dressing and cheese, and didn't care for the accompanying potato either.  I'm sure her meal would have been fine for someone who likes Greek food.  I don't, so I ordered the meatballs (soutzoukakia) with penne pasta.  While tasty, it was also very oily.  Mike had chicken shawarma - chicken and veggies wrapped in a freshly-baked pita - which he very much enjoyed.  I tried his potato, which appeared to have been peeled and boiled whole, and it had a strange, tangy taste.  I don't blame Sarah for not liking it.

Desserts were very good all around:  black and white mousse, chocolate torte and apple baklava.  Our server was friendly, but there was quite a wait for the entrees, presumably since they are made from scratch. However, it was nothing like the wait for our pitiful food at Stonehaven.

There is a fake olive tree in the middle of the restaurant.  For some reason, a man at another table got up to investigate this tree.  He circled it, staring up into the plastic leaves and olives, for several minutes before returning to his table.  Perhaps he doesn't know a fake tree when he sees one.

Prices were reasonable and even those who do not like Greek food can find something.  We will definitely be going back.

Stonehaven has a couple of strikes against it before I even taste the food.  First, it has no working website.  It has an address, but it has never had content so you can't view their menu online.  Second, the menu is very limited.  If you don't like shellfish, can't have cream sauces, and aren't willing to overpay for a steak, there isn't a whole lot for you. 

Stonehaven is the former La Cave on Blowers Street.  They've removed most of the little caverns so it is *slightly* more open.  It is still a woefully small restaurant; there are several tables mere feet from the front door.  Hope you don't mind a draft.  Fortunately we were seated in the restaurant proper.  Our server was friendly and the chef didn't mind substituting once I explained I was lactose intolerant.  Mike and I both ordered the Devilled Chicken. It comes with a white wine cream sauce; I was told mine would be made without the cream.  What did I receive?  No sauce at all. Two large, overcooked, dry, tough chicken breasts.  It took more time to saw my way through it than eat it. I'd been told the mashed potatoes contained no cream; turned out they did so they gave me a baked potato (very good) with bacon bits (very cold, but at least they were real).  The dish also came with some tasty basmati rice and some perfectly tasteless carrots and green beans. 

One more problem with the entree:  I don't like peppercorns.  The chicken dish (the ONLY chicken dish on the menu) said peppercorns.  I guess that's what makes it devilled.  I was expecting the usual whole peppercorns I could push off the meat.  Nope, these were ground peppercorns.  I had no choice but to eat them and suffer. 

Mike liked everything about his meal.

Dessert for me was the Gingerbread Tower; Mike had a caramel and chocolate swirl cheesecake.  The gingerbread was very good but again overdone, and it came standing in a sickly-sweet sauce with candied pecans.  I left the bottom of the gingerbread to avoid the sauce.  Again, Mike was happy with his food.

The wait between ordering and eating was unacceptably long.  I only stayed to use a gift certificate we've had for this restaurant for almost a year.  The bread "basket" consisted of four small, toasted pieces of garlic bread with a spinach dip on the side.  They were gone in four bites. 

The final bill was waaaay too expensive for the quality of food received.  You can get better selection, better prices and much better food at many other downtown restaurants.