Foods from 1951 West
Comments
2014 Nov 29
I visited this reboot of the Hemingway's/Cock'n Bull location a couple Fridays ago during their soft opening, courtesy of the legendary Shannon Smithers-Gay of www.one80design.ca . Unsurprisingly, the decor was impressive and striking, from the steel topped hostess station to the keg-adorned lounge wall, and the filament bulbs and candles that illuminated thick glazed wooden tabletops.
This past Thursday (their 4th day of business) I took the wife and kids there for dinner. We had been hemming and hawing about where to go when we didn't want to cook after a busy day, and I suggested checking out this place as I'd been pleased with the samples offered during the soft opening.
The dinner turned out great! Complimentary (and excellent) olive tapenade arrived with a little pile of crostini. The soup of the day, an Italian Wedding Soup ($5) had excellent homemade grape-sized meatballs and a tasty broth. My wife opted for the Meatloaf ($16, pictured on right), which came wrapped in phyllo on an elaborate plate with piped mashed potatoes and a row of cipollini onions standing ankle-deep in brown gravy. She wasn't thrilled with the slightly mushy meatloaf (too much filler?), the out-of-place coleslaw, and the blandish flavours, but I assured her that I thought it was a great rendition of a classic Canadian comfort food. I slept on the sofa that night. (Just kidding!) :P
My dinner choice was the Baked Macaroni and Cheese ($14, pictured left), which was accompanied by a surprisingly elaborate salad of spring greens and pomegranate arils. The 5-cheese sauce was tasty and tangy, with a good mix of capicollo ham, pasta, and broccoli florets. My wife liked this dish way more than her own. I thought both were pretty decent. Both of our mains were accompanied by a fresh dinner roll and whipped butter.
My son had a personal-sized 10" Canadian Pizza ($14), which he loved. It looked awesome but he wouldn't share. My daughter had one of the kids' meal choices--a hamburger with fries ($7). The fries were seasoned and excellent, and the burger and bun were of excellent quality. She was sad that it didn't have lettuce and tomato, and our wonderful server noticed this and asked her about it. A minute later, she returned with a saucer containing tomato slices and lettuce leaves. No extra charge. These folks are working hard to impress!
We will be back for sure! With super friendly service, snazzy decor, diverse and tasty menu, this is a pretty perfect family restaurant. With 20 small and large scale beers on tap, it's also a pretty cool evening hangout for grownups. The food and feel is an interesting mix of rural diner and urban wine bar. No kidding! As an alternative to suburban chain restaurants, this one's a no-brainer. Bells Corners is getting pretty awesome.
This past Thursday (their 4th day of business) I took the wife and kids there for dinner. We had been hemming and hawing about where to go when we didn't want to cook after a busy day, and I suggested checking out this place as I'd been pleased with the samples offered during the soft opening.
The dinner turned out great! Complimentary (and excellent) olive tapenade arrived with a little pile of crostini. The soup of the day, an Italian Wedding Soup ($5) had excellent homemade grape-sized meatballs and a tasty broth. My wife opted for the Meatloaf ($16, pictured on right), which came wrapped in phyllo on an elaborate plate with piped mashed potatoes and a row of cipollini onions standing ankle-deep in brown gravy. She wasn't thrilled with the slightly mushy meatloaf (too much filler?), the out-of-place coleslaw, and the blandish flavours, but I assured her that I thought it was a great rendition of a classic Canadian comfort food. I slept on the sofa that night. (Just kidding!) :P
My dinner choice was the Baked Macaroni and Cheese ($14, pictured left), which was accompanied by a surprisingly elaborate salad of spring greens and pomegranate arils. The 5-cheese sauce was tasty and tangy, with a good mix of capicollo ham, pasta, and broccoli florets. My wife liked this dish way more than her own. I thought both were pretty decent. Both of our mains were accompanied by a fresh dinner roll and whipped butter.
My son had a personal-sized 10" Canadian Pizza ($14), which he loved. It looked awesome but he wouldn't share. My daughter had one of the kids' meal choices--a hamburger with fries ($7). The fries were seasoned and excellent, and the burger and bun were of excellent quality. She was sad that it didn't have lettuce and tomato, and our wonderful server noticed this and asked her about it. A minute later, she returned with a saucer containing tomato slices and lettuce leaves. No extra charge. These folks are working hard to impress!
We will be back for sure! With super friendly service, snazzy decor, diverse and tasty menu, this is a pretty perfect family restaurant. With 20 small and large scale beers on tap, it's also a pretty cool evening hangout for grownups. The food and feel is an interesting mix of rural diner and urban wine bar. No kidding! As an alternative to suburban chain restaurants, this one's a no-brainer. Bells Corners is getting pretty awesome.
zymurgist