Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro Recommendations? [General]
2009 May 12
Portion sizes are fairly large, in my opinion... I went for lunch, ordered a salad and a sandwich and it was way too much food!
I would choose a starter OR an inbetween, then a main, then dessert. But I love dessert! Most mains should come with sides so that shouldn't be a problem...
That being said - I love the rabbit dumplings, and I believe they are a signature item since I've never seen them off the menu.
Since the menu changes every season, and I haven't been since november, I can't offer many more suggestions.... that being said, I'm jealous, and having just looked at the menu I will have to go back soon!
I would choose a starter OR an inbetween, then a main, then dessert. But I love dessert! Most mains should come with sides so that shouldn't be a problem...
That being said - I love the rabbit dumplings, and I believe they are a signature item since I've never seen them off the menu.
Since the menu changes every season, and I haven't been since november, I can't offer many more suggestions.... that being said, I'm jealous, and having just looked at the menu I will have to go back soon!
2009 May 12
if you get one thing, get the navajo fry bread. it's one of those simple dishes that's just damn good comfort food.
portion sizes are normal to large(r) - as in the plating doesn't consist of one bite of meat, a sprig of arugula, and sauces smeared artfully all over the dish. i'd pick a side/starter/in-between to start, a main, and dessert. all 5 would be overkill, but i'm not the type of person to sit at a restaurant for 3-4 hours.
the vendor listing on here has a few good pics Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro (you need to click 'Older' in order to see them all)
portion sizes are normal to large(r) - as in the plating doesn't consist of one bite of meat, a sprig of arugula, and sauces smeared artfully all over the dish. i'd pick a side/starter/in-between to start, a main, and dessert. all 5 would be overkill, but i'm not the type of person to sit at a restaurant for 3-4 hours.
the vendor listing on here has a few good pics Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro (you need to click 'Older' in order to see them all)
2009 May 12
Hmmmmm, they change thier menu seasonally so I can't really reccomend anything that I had when I went there. Looking at the menu, and assuming that I was there with one other person, I would choose the Potlatch to start; selecting the dumplings, pate, and wild boar - seems like the best way to samle as much as poosible. I would probably hope that between my companion and I, we would select 2 of the 3 choices of the grilled tatonka, the lamb, or the wild boar. These are just my personal preferances mind you; pipe dreams of if I was still livig in Ottawa :P not actual reccos....but its nice to think about :)
2009 May 13
I usually get a starter OR an in-between, and then main course, and sometimes dessert. Portions are big enough that getting a starter AND in between would be too much and you wouldn't finish your main dish :)
Last time i was there i had the "lamb 3 ways", which should still be on their menu because i think it was the new menu. I enjoyed it. The lamb stuffed in a ravioli was just simply awesome.
I'm a big meat eater, so anything meat related has usually been awesome at Sweetgrass :)
Last time i was there i had the "lamb 3 ways", which should still be on their menu because i think it was the new menu. I enjoyed it. The lamb stuffed in a ravioli was just simply awesome.
I'm a big meat eater, so anything meat related has usually been awesome at Sweetgrass :)
2009 May 14
Thanks, everyone, for the tips! We ended up having to wait a long time to be seated (90 minutes at arriving at 7:00), so next time, we'll definitely make a reservation. It was absolutely worth it, though: that was, quite possibly, the best food that I've had this year.
The popcorn and rolls (which tasted like a combination of baking powder biscuits and buns) with the herbed butter were a spectacular start of a splendid evening to come. The frybread, which arrived shortly after, was possibly the best flatbread that I've eaten, beating out east Indian flatbreads by a substantial margin.
For our appetizers / in-betweens, we got the boar belly, rabbit dumplings, and duck spring rolls. The boar belly, while a small portion, was easily the best thing that my mouth has met in ages. What a fantastic treat. The rabbit was also delightfully seasoned and the pastry it was served in was exquisitely crisp and elevated it to brilliance. The duck roll, while my least favourite of the appetizers, was still phenomenal, and it was nice to have a spring roll with substantial variety of ingredients in the filling, all with complex contrasting and complementary flavours. Stunning.
The entrees we ordered were the buffalo and the duck. The buffalo was exquisitely tender, and a pleasure to eat. My dinner companion, who had ordered the duck, preferred it to her own dish. This was fortunate, though, because upon trying the duck - which was perfectly sauced and had a juxtaposition of the ever-so-juicy duck flesh against the stunningly crispy duck skin - I was sorry that I had not ordered that, so a trade was executed.
To finish off, despite the fact that we had already had to both loosen our belts, we opted for dessert and enjoyed the buudin and the Jamaican rum bread pudding. Impressed with the generous portions of everything (except the boar belly, to our dismay), we left with our minds reeling from the euphoric nirvana that can only be achieved by sharing food as bliss-inducing as this.
Absolutely worth the price. I've wanted to go here for years really badly, and thus had a very high expectation in my mind from the long build-up of anticipation. I figured there was no way that Sweetgrass could live up to the ideals that my imagination had had so long to concoct, indeed, I am delighted to say that it surpassed them.
Easily one of the best food experiences I've had in awhile, and I will definitely go back.
The popcorn and rolls (which tasted like a combination of baking powder biscuits and buns) with the herbed butter were a spectacular start of a splendid evening to come. The frybread, which arrived shortly after, was possibly the best flatbread that I've eaten, beating out east Indian flatbreads by a substantial margin.
For our appetizers / in-betweens, we got the boar belly, rabbit dumplings, and duck spring rolls. The boar belly, while a small portion, was easily the best thing that my mouth has met in ages. What a fantastic treat. The rabbit was also delightfully seasoned and the pastry it was served in was exquisitely crisp and elevated it to brilliance. The duck roll, while my least favourite of the appetizers, was still phenomenal, and it was nice to have a spring roll with substantial variety of ingredients in the filling, all with complex contrasting and complementary flavours. Stunning.
The entrees we ordered were the buffalo and the duck. The buffalo was exquisitely tender, and a pleasure to eat. My dinner companion, who had ordered the duck, preferred it to her own dish. This was fortunate, though, because upon trying the duck - which was perfectly sauced and had a juxtaposition of the ever-so-juicy duck flesh against the stunningly crispy duck skin - I was sorry that I had not ordered that, so a trade was executed.
To finish off, despite the fact that we had already had to both loosen our belts, we opted for dessert and enjoyed the buudin and the Jamaican rum bread pudding. Impressed with the generous portions of everything (except the boar belly, to our dismay), we left with our minds reeling from the euphoric nirvana that can only be achieved by sharing food as bliss-inducing as this.
Absolutely worth the price. I've wanted to go here for years really badly, and thus had a very high expectation in my mind from the long build-up of anticipation. I figured there was no way that Sweetgrass could live up to the ideals that my imagination had had so long to concoct, indeed, I am delighted to say that it surpassed them.
Easily one of the best food experiences I've had in awhile, and I will definitely go back.
vorpal
I'm so excited: tomorrow, I'll finally be going to Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro for the first time, which is something I've been wanting to do for a few years now.
Given that, I want to make sure that the experience is as close to perfect as I can manage. Does anyone have any recommendations in terms of dishes? I'm not a huge fish / seafood fan, but anything else is fair game.
Also, how are portion sizes? The menu seems to be divided into starters, in-betweens, mains, sides, and desserts. Should I be getting one of each, or will that be entirely too much food?
Thanks so much, everyone!
Sebastian