Modern Sushi at Japonais Bistro

We're back with a brand new review, and this time we headed downtown for some Japanese delights at Japonais Bistro! A relatively new restaurant on Jasper Avenue, Japonais (meaning Japanese in French) bills itself as "modern Japanese cuisine" and offers a sake bar and kaiten dining, where plated dishes travel around on a moving belt. In addition to the sake bar and traditional cooked dishes, an intriguing assortment of unique sushi offerings, new twists on classic cocktails, and tempting desserts round out the large menu. We invited sushi fanatic Becky along for lunch to try some tasty food and see if we could find a new go-to sushi joint! Keep reading to find out what we thought!

Mini Review: Mini Mango

Deciding where to go for a quick lunch that satisfies both meat and vegetarian cravings can be difficult, but this past week we found a great little spot that we both loved! Mini Mango is a small, casual Vietnamese restaurant located deep in the south side, on Ellerslie Road and 91st St. The inside is bright and inviting, with orange and red chairs, Vietnamese themed art, and colorful accents.

A Trip to Paris... er Duchess Bake Shop

While planning which restaurants we want to review for this blog, one of the names that kept coming up was Duchess Bake Shop. This gorgeous little shop, located on the revitalized 124 Street, is incredibly popular and for good reason. Specializing in French pastries and also serving a light lunch, they pride themselves on making all of their products from scratch daily in their onsite kitchen. The attention to detail, wide variety of items, and simply delicious food brings their customers back again and again!

Warm up with Curry Corner

On a freezing Edmonton day in late December, we headed to a little hidden spot on the south side for some tasty Indian food with our first Meat VS Veg special guest, Becky. Curry Corner, located in Riverbend Square, is a small but cozy restaurant serving up authentic East Indian cuisine in a casual setting. Like many ethnic restaurants there are numerous vegetarian and vegan options, and in fact the menu categorizes their food as "vegetarian" and "non-vegetarian" which was a novelty for Steph, our resident veggie girl!

Mini Review: A Veggie Visits The Keg

This past weekend I celebrated my younger brother's birthday with my family. As per tradition, he got to choose the restaurant and out of all the restaurants in Edmonton, he chose The Keg in South Common. Now I have nothing against the Keg, it's a lovely establishment, but as a vegetarian I took one look at the menu and inwardly groaned. There are no vegetarian entrees, as could be expected, but even the salads and appetizers were a challenge. As everyone in my party excitedly picked their cut of beef, I mulled over the few choices available to me.

For salads, the Caesar is out (anchovies in the sauce) as well as the Iceberg Wedge, which if I removed the bacon would just be a slice of lettuce sprinkled with tomatoes. I ended up choosing the Mixed Greens salad ($6.95) to start, which was surprisingly tasty despite the bland description. The house vinaigrette had a lovely, complex flavour and there were plenty of veggies hiding under the lettuce. The soft, warm complimentary bread they brought out was also quite welcome.

For my entree I wanted protein and for that my only choices were in the Starter menu: Baked Goat Cheese ($8.95) or the Garlic Cheese Toast ($5.95). Deciding I didn't need any more white bread this evening, I opted for the goat cheese despite not being a big fan of goat's milk products in general. I also asked for a side of garlic mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables to round out my meal.

The small pat of goat cheese was crusted with sliced almonds and served with tiny toast crisps (so much for no more white bread!) and a "tomato basil salsa" which was more bruschetta than salsa. The cheese was hot and creamy and didn't have the strong flavour I associate with most goat cheeses so I was pleased but could only finish half as it was so rich. The mashed potatoes and veggies were standard but tasty.

Overall I was happy with the food I received, but unless you go there willing to eat a steak, The Keg's menu makes it a poor choice for vegetarians.

~Steph