Moriarty's Bistro & Wine Bar

Moriarty's Bistro & Wine Bar
10154 100 St
780-757-2005

Following my trip to Halifax and my visit to Obladee Wine Bar, I wanted to scout out the wine bars in Edmonton. When Passion for Pork week came up, I sent the info to my pork/bacon-loving buddy Garson, and he replied with a list of his three choices of restaurants to visit, with Moriarty's being one of them. I had wanted to visit Moriarty's for a while, so off we went.

While Andrew and Garson wanted to try the pork menu, I was more interested in their cheese and charcuterie boards and small plates. I chose to have a board with 3 selections: Rustic Pork Pate, Fairwinds Chevre, and Candied Salmon ($18) paired with an 8 oz glass of the Olivares rose wine ($9). Other additions that accompany the cheese and charcuterie board were pickled vegetables, condiments, and crackers. Overall, I was disappointed in my board. Both the pate and chevre were alright, but nothing outstanding and memorable. The candied salmon was almost unpalatable. I was expecting a dried smoked salmon marinated in a sweet seasoning mix. The stuff on my board was raw, fishy salmon with a severe lack of any sweet taste.

cheese.and.charcuterie.board

In addition to the cheese and charcuterie board, I ordered a Small Plate (a reduced sized entree) of the Spring Creek Organic Short Rib ($16). The short rib was savoury and tender. It passed my standards for short rib, as I define a good short rib as one where a knife is not needed to take a forkful. On the side were a couple of stalks of white asparagus, chorizo gratin potatoes, and stilton aioli. My favorite side was the potato. I loved the crispy coating and the al dente texture of the potatoes. I was a bit confused by the aioli. While it was tasty, I wasn't sure what part of my dish I was supposed to eat it with, as everything else had enough flavor.

spring.creek.organic.short.rib

I was given a little taste of Andrew's pork menu selections. The appetizer consisted of a base of cheddar grits, followed by a layer of fried pork belly, a poached egg, and a few pieces of arugula on top ($13). This was incredibly tasty and I would have been happy with this selection if I had ordered it.

country.fried.pork.belly

The entree, however was another story. It was a 12 oz pork chop with a side of wild mushroom bread pudding, creamy salad greens, and peach chutney ($26). There was a major discrepancy between the size of Andrew and Garson's pork chops. But that wasn't the huge issue. When I had a taste of the pork chop, it was so heavily salted that it felt like it was corroding my tongue. I instinctively grabbed my water to chug down with the piece of meat. Both Garson and Andrew agreed that it was too salty, but didn't complain, but if that had been my entree, I would have sent it back to the kitchen. Other than the nasty pork chop, everything else on the plate was acceptable. There was a third item on the pork menu, a maple bacon ice cream, but we never got to try it as the kitchen had run out. We ended up passing on their other dessert offerings.

pembina.pork.chop

The service was mediocre. At the beginning of the night, our server was inefficient and it felt like she unnecessarily interrupted our table too many times. Fortunately, it improved as the restaurant got busier. One thing I dislike about some establishments is their push for customers to order sparkling water or bottled water, which is what happened here. I could go on a rant on water quality, but I'll refrain from doing that here.

Based on tonight's experience, there wasn't enough of a draw to bring me back for a full meal, but perhaps drinks. Moriarty's would be a great, modern place to gather for happy hour drinks and light meals. I felt that they could improve on the cheese and charcuterie menu and number of items on that list. In terms of wine, they offer quite a few by the glass and bottle. An ad accompanied our bill that promoted a Tuesday night special: 2 Small Plates for $20. This is a decent value considering the price of their Small Plates range from $12-16 each. This might be the only reason why I would consider returning to eat.

3/5

Dutch Pancakes and Moroccan Cuisine in Calgary

Pfanntastic Pannenkoek Haus
2439 54 Ave SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 243-7757

My cousin (whom I affectionately call Boohead) suggested going to this place after he saw it on "You Gotta Eat Here". Anytime someone mentions eating breakfast food, I'm always game. I was also overjoyed to hear that they were open for dinner on a Saturday evening. There's just something about eating breakfast for supper that makes it even more special to me! What's special about this restaurant is that they serve Dutch pancakes in both sweet and savoury flavours. Dutch pancakes are large and thin, with most ingredients incorporated right into the batter.

My goal upon arrival was to order one savoury pannenkoek as my main course and a sweet one to follow as dessert. My dining companions were doubtful that I could finish both myself and convinced me to share the sweet one with them. For my entree, I had the Spek, Paprika en Champignons ($10.95). It was a harmonious blend of bacon, red and green bell pepper, and mushrooms. Once the pannenkoek was cooked on one side, cheese was placed on top and the pancake was flipped over, the cheese melted and became a crispy coating.

savoury.crepe

I even tried my pancake with a few dollops of the Dutch syrup on our table. It ended up being a good contrast between the salty bacon and the sweetness of the syrup.

Crepe dressings - Maggi sauce and Dutch syrup!

After we polished off our savoury crepes, our Warm Kersen ($9.45) arrived. It was a sweet pannenkoek with warm cherries and icing sugar. There was a perfect amount of cherries and sauce for the pancake and having the fruit warmed up made it so enjoyable. I was actually stuffed after eating the savoury pancake and a third of the cherry pancake. In the end, I was glad I shared this with Boohead and Andrew, although it still won't stop me from wanting to order one of each in the future and taking my leftovers home.

dessert.crepe

The menu selection is fairly large, and with the possibility of building your own savoury and/or sweet panenkoek, the possibilities are endless! I've been told that another Dutch pancake restaurant is supposed to be opening in Edmonton any day now (De Dutch), so I look forward to the day I can have Dutch pancakes again. Until then, I long to go back to Calgary so that I can enjoy some more pannenkoek!

5/5

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Sultan's Tent
4-14 St SW
Calgary, AB
(403) 244-2333

I've had Moroccan food only twice in my life, and both times were in Calgary with my cousin Brenda. For my second Moroccan experience, we went to Sultan's Tent in Kensington.

Andrew and I had a late lunch on the way to Calgary, and this was an early supper, so we decided to forgo appetizers and order 3 entrees to share. We amicably agreed on two tagines and one couscous dish. We tried ordering dishes that had different flavours from each other. Everything is meant to be eaten with only hands here, so there is a special vat of water that is brought to the table to wash up prior to eating.

hand.washing

The first tagine that arrived at our table was the Beef Vegetable Tagine ($26.75) with spicy tomato sauce. Our server explained that it wasn't heat spicy, but instead had a flavourful blend of spices, which I agreed with.

beef.vegetable.tagine

The other tagine was the Lamb Tagine ($26.75) with lamb, dried apricots and plums, almonds, and honey. It was a tasty blend of savoury from the lamb with sweet from the dried fruit. Both tagines were served with a flatbread.

lamb.tagine

Lastly, we also had the Chicken Couscous ($25.50), which contained whole chicken pieces, and a variety of vegetables including carrots, cabbage, zucchini. It was very mild with the least amount of flavor/spice out of all of our dishes. There was unanimous agreement that lamb tagine was the best because of how much we enjoyed the sweet sauce and how it enhanced the flavor of the lamb. Between the three of us, we weren't able to eat everything. We could have had a fourth person helping us out that night!

chicken.couscous

It didn't really occur to me until my visit to Sultan's Tent that at nearly all of the restaurants I visit these days, the serving staff is fairly young. It came as a surprise to me to see almost all of the waitstaff here were middle-aged and beyond (with the exception of a high school-aged busperson). There were some instances at the beginning of our night that made me question the service. The hostess seemed confused that we had reservations, was unable to find our booking, and came back to us several times to ask us the name and phone number on the booking. Our server also appeared confused by our requests for water and when we accepted her offer of explaining the menu to us. Fortunately, the service did get better and more efficient throughout the night.

table.at.sultan's.tent

There is a colorful ambiance at the Sultan's Tent. Each table is in its own semi-private booth curtained by Moroccan fabrics. They're closed Mondays and Tuesdays and they're open only for dinner starting at 5 PM. Reservations are recommended. This is another Calgary restaurant I will have to put on my list of places to visit when I'm there next. I've tried to find a Moroccan place in Edmonton, but have had no luck. Please let me know if you know of any!

4/5

Violino Gastronomia Italiana

Violino Gastronomia Italiana
10133 125 St
(780) 757-8701

Andrew recently visited Violino's with Gil and loved his experience there, so we came here for my birthday dinner. To start, we shared a half order of the Antipasto Misto ($23). This was a large platter of veggies (grilled zucchini and eggplant, roasted red pepper, and mushrooms), shrimp, sugar-glazed bay scallops, smoked Atlantic salmon, Italian cured meats (proscuitto, capicollo, and sausage), and a medley of olives. Mixed greens were placed in the middle of the platter as a centrepiece. We loved the seafood - the shrimp and scallops were cooked appropriately and I always appreciate when scallops are not overdone. The smoked salmon wasn't too salty and had a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The veggies were cold and bland, but they tasted better when eaten together with the sliced meats and olives. The rustic bread served pre-meal smelled heartwarming and paired well with the appetizer.

antipasto.misto

My entree was the Costina de Manzo Brasato ($28). It consisted of sliced braised beef short ribs on a bed of wild mushroom risotto. Wilted spinach and battered finely cut onion strings were placed on top. The risotto was rich but was cooked well with a lovely texture. I liked the wilted spinach and especially the crispy onion pieces. The meat was so tender that it didn't even need a knife to be cut apart. I thought that the sauce could have been improved, however. There was a distinct taste in it that I wasn't too particularly a fan of, but it wasn't anything that would prevent me from ordering this dish again in the future. Because of the large appetizer, I wasn't able to finish my entree. Surprisingly, I thought it tasted better the next day!

costina.de.manzo.brasato

Andrew ordered the Veal Parmigiana ($37) as his main course. The veal was crispy and was topped with a tomato basil sauce and melted Boccocini cheese. The serving was HUGE (18 oz), and the piece on the plate was bigger than Andrew's head! Andrew loved it for the value, but he ate less than half before calling it quits. He also liked how the bone was kept on the piece of veal - he revelled in gnawing on it. Alongside the veal came a creamy and decadent fettucine alfredo. It almost tasted as if there was a strong cheese flavor in it. I was ok to eat my small sample portion from Andrew, but it was too rich for me to eat much more. The second side to this entree was a caesar salad. It had a garlicky dressing and was drizzled with a sweet balsamic glaze, topped with a thin crostini and a sheet of crispy melted cheese.

veal.parmigiana

The wine I sipped on this evening was the Cecchi Chianti ($7.95 for a 6 oz glass). This was based on the suggestion from our server, as I'm not very knowledgeable in Italian wines. It was a soft, medium bodied red wine based on predominantly Sangiovese grapes. It paired well with my meal. Andrew had the Casasole Orvieto (same price), which is one of his favorite wines when he actually decides to drink wine. This wine's characteristics are that it is a light and semi-sweet white wine.

giant wine glass

When our server brought over the dessert menu, I knew I was defeated and didn't plan on ordering anything. Before she even came to check on us for a dessert selection, she brought over a slice of the Decadent Chocolate Alla Dolce and sang Happy Birthday to me. Well, there was no way I was going to pass up a dessert that's sitting in front of me! It was a light cake that just dissolved on my tongue, frosted with chocolate ganache and hardened dark chocolate. It wasn't too rich, so it was the perfect way to end off the meal. As if that wasn't all, we were brought a sampler piece of fennel biscotti and Ouzo candies along with the bill.

chocolate.alla.dolce

Our server, Annie, made us feel valued as customers. She was knowledgeable about the menu and wine list, she wasn't pushy at all, and she treated us like we were the only patrons in the restaurant. It really seemed like she cared about her job and providing exceptional service. Plus her jazzy rendition of "Happy Birthday" was probably my favorite version ever. Andrew mentioned that the server he had during his earlier visit was also pretty amazing as well. Kudos to Violino's for their service!

4.5/5