Hello, friends!
We've been dealing with kind of a cruddy end to 2014 and beginning of 2015, so have been rather silent recently (other than a super-fun gig earlier this month, which we'll post about soon, once Alyssa gets the video links working...). But we've decided to drown our sorrows in Barrielicious – a food festival running January 23 - February 8. There are over 40 restaurants participating, so we won't be able to get to them all, but damn it, we'll do our best! Each restaurant offers a 3-course meal for either $15, $20 or $25 per person, so we're using it as an affordable way to test out some of the restaurants in our new city. We may be gaining a few pounds and blowing our "no wine on weekdays" idea, but what the heck, life is short.
Last night, we opted to try a restaurant just down the hill from us, which we've walked by many times but never ventured in: Shirley's Bayside Grille. For some reason, the name had always made each of us think of the place as somewhere between Fran's and Al's Diner, but it turns out, we were horribly wrong, and have found a new neighbourhood favourite! (Although the walk back up the hill after a 3-course meal was a little nasty...)
We were a little nervous walking in, as the room was quite full and loud AND there was a drum set mid-room, but the guy playing it (never caught his name – he introduced the singer, and that would have been a perfect time for her to introduce him, but... she was apparently one of "those" singers...) was very tasteful and sensitive to the room, and – while not perfectly – Don was able to hear most of what was going on. When we go back, though, we'll be sure to ask for a corner table, to make it a little easier on the ears.
Our waiter was Liz, who was very friendly and professional. One of Alyssa's pet peeves (as a slow eater) is how so many waiters these days seem to be in a rush to get you the hell out of there, and will clear one person's plate when the other is still eating – not only did Liz wait for us both to be finished before clearing, she also left us a decent amount of time between courses before bringing the next one. Oh, if only all wait staff were as courteous as Liz... OK, rant over. :)
As we realized too late that they have a crazy-extensive martini menu (next time!), we ordered a bottle of Masi Campofiorin from their also-extensive wine list, and perused their Barrielicious menu.
For starters, Don opted for the spicy chicken tomato soup with wild rice and baby spinach – quite spicy, indeed, and tasty! Alyssa went for the house salad, which was a perfectly balanced blend of lettuce, baby spinach, red onion, cucumber, melon and strawberries, topped with a creamy poppyseed dressing. We both ate the whole thing.
Main course for Alyssa was a perfectly-cooked Atlantic salmon, topped with asparagus and sundried tomato butter, and served with roasted squash, carrots, broccoli, and to-die-for twice-roasted garlic potatoes. Don surprised us both by going for the vegetarian dish: a huge bowl of penne with sweet peas and wild mushrooms in a tomato-basil sauce, topped with feta and goat cheese crumble. Don managed to eat the whole thing, Alyssa managed all but two slices of potato and half a piece of broccoli.
We thought we might die at this point, but dessert comes with these meals, so whatcha gonna do? Alyssa chose the strawberry swirl cheesecake (because at her age, it's important to get your calcium... and fruit is good for you), and Don went for the chocolate milky way cake with ice cream and a warm caramel sauce. We managed to each get through half – Alyssa finished the rest for breakfast this morning!
Because it was Friday, and we'd had kind of a sucky day earlier, we decided to be naughty and also treat ourselves to a special coffee. Liz suggested their specialty, "Millionaire Coffee", which has brandy, Cointreau and Kahlua – and whipped cream, which probably did us in, but was well worth it.
We told Liz we'd definitely be back – and she was kind enough to warn us that the Barrielicious portions are smaller than their usual menu. So when we return, we'll definitely split an appetizer and expect to bring home a doggie bag!
The walk back up the hill was v...e...r...y... s...l...o...w... , and we failed to break up a fight between a couple of neighbourhood cats en route, but we did make it home to spend some time moaning on the couch and promising ourselves we wouldn't eat that much again... until tonight's dinner, anyhow.
All in all, Shirley's Bayside Grille was a great beginning to our Barrielicious adventure!
We've been dealing with kind of a cruddy end to 2014 and beginning of 2015, so have been rather silent recently (other than a super-fun gig earlier this month, which we'll post about soon, once Alyssa gets the video links working...). But we've decided to drown our sorrows in Barrielicious – a food festival running January 23 - February 8. There are over 40 restaurants participating, so we won't be able to get to them all, but damn it, we'll do our best! Each restaurant offers a 3-course meal for either $15, $20 or $25 per person, so we're using it as an affordable way to test out some of the restaurants in our new city. We may be gaining a few pounds and blowing our "no wine on weekdays" idea, but what the heck, life is short.
Last night, we opted to try a restaurant just down the hill from us, which we've walked by many times but never ventured in: Shirley's Bayside Grille. For some reason, the name had always made each of us think of the place as somewhere between Fran's and Al's Diner, but it turns out, we were horribly wrong, and have found a new neighbourhood favourite! (Although the walk back up the hill after a 3-course meal was a little nasty...)
We were a little nervous walking in, as the room was quite full and loud AND there was a drum set mid-room, but the guy playing it (never caught his name – he introduced the singer, and that would have been a perfect time for her to introduce him, but... she was apparently one of "those" singers...) was very tasteful and sensitive to the room, and – while not perfectly – Don was able to hear most of what was going on. When we go back, though, we'll be sure to ask for a corner table, to make it a little easier on the ears.
Our waiter was Liz, who was very friendly and professional. One of Alyssa's pet peeves (as a slow eater) is how so many waiters these days seem to be in a rush to get you the hell out of there, and will clear one person's plate when the other is still eating – not only did Liz wait for us both to be finished before clearing, she also left us a decent amount of time between courses before bringing the next one. Oh, if only all wait staff were as courteous as Liz... OK, rant over. :)
As we realized too late that they have a crazy-extensive martini menu (next time!), we ordered a bottle of Masi Campofiorin from their also-extensive wine list, and perused their Barrielicious menu.
For starters, Don opted for the spicy chicken tomato soup with wild rice and baby spinach – quite spicy, indeed, and tasty! Alyssa went for the house salad, which was a perfectly balanced blend of lettuce, baby spinach, red onion, cucumber, melon and strawberries, topped with a creamy poppyseed dressing. We both ate the whole thing.
Main course for Alyssa was a perfectly-cooked Atlantic salmon, topped with asparagus and sundried tomato butter, and served with roasted squash, carrots, broccoli, and to-die-for twice-roasted garlic potatoes. Don surprised us both by going for the vegetarian dish: a huge bowl of penne with sweet peas and wild mushrooms in a tomato-basil sauce, topped with feta and goat cheese crumble. Don managed to eat the whole thing, Alyssa managed all but two slices of potato and half a piece of broccoli.
We thought we might die at this point, but dessert comes with these meals, so whatcha gonna do? Alyssa chose the strawberry swirl cheesecake (because at her age, it's important to get your calcium... and fruit is good for you), and Don went for the chocolate milky way cake with ice cream and a warm caramel sauce. We managed to each get through half – Alyssa finished the rest for breakfast this morning!
Because it was Friday, and we'd had kind of a sucky day earlier, we decided to be naughty and also treat ourselves to a special coffee. Liz suggested their specialty, "Millionaire Coffee", which has brandy, Cointreau and Kahlua – and whipped cream, which probably did us in, but was well worth it.
We told Liz we'd definitely be back – and she was kind enough to warn us that the Barrielicious portions are smaller than their usual menu. So when we return, we'll definitely split an appetizer and expect to bring home a doggie bag!
The walk back up the hill was v...e...r...y... s...l...o...w... , and we failed to break up a fight between a couple of neighbourhood cats en route, but we did make it home to spend some time moaning on the couch and promising ourselves we wouldn't eat that much again... until tonight's dinner, anyhow.
All in all, Shirley's Bayside Grille was a great beginning to our Barrielicious adventure!