Teo's/Mano a Mano

Drinking my cool drink in a cool
mason jar on a cool patio on a hot
evening

Since the weather quickly went frigid this weekend, I felt I should quickly pump out a couple of my dates that feature a patio in some way before they're completely irrelevant. I've noticed, actually, that quite a few places I've visited in town only really have their patio going for them; I suppose we're willing to suffer mediocre dining if it means we can spend some time outside during our gloriously short patio-season.  

Teo's fits that bill pretty well. Or is it Mano a Mano? I'm still a little confused as to why this bar/restaurant has two names. It seems that the kitchen itself has a specific name? I don't understand; it baffles me and I spent way to much time thinking about this as I sat on their sidewalk patio (with loads of solo seating). Actually, I wish more places in town had patios like this; I've seen a lot more in more pedestrian friendly parts of other cities like Montreal.

Pictured: Summer in a glass AKA
Gadda da Vida

Fortunately for me, Teo's (AKA Mano a Mano) stays open late if there's business to be had; it can be bloody hard to find a place open past nine on a Monday (because Winnipeg is a swinging, party town) and sometimes my date nights to myself start late. Although be aware that once the street lights snap on, it can kind of kill the ambiance. I found that this is another one of those establishments that is really more of a solo drink place than a solo meal place; there's some creative cocktails but the food is pretty ordinary. The sauce and pasta are nothing special and a lot of the fried things I ordered were rather bland. I was a huge fan though of the cauliflower in the Fritto Misto, if the whole dish was like that, we might be ok. The seafood, however, was fairly tasteless and the zucchini could have been 76% crispier. NB: The appetizers here are massive. you will likely only need one. I wanted to sample a couple of things for a more varied review and ended up taking a ton of it home. I wanted to give the antipasto a try, but it wasn't on the late night menu (remember, 9:30 on a Monday is 'late night' in Winnipeg).

Checking out Teo' bar; not to be
confused with the Mano a Mano
kitchen

There's a chalkboard along the sidewalk that stated there were both food and drink specials available although I never did hear what either of them were and water wasn't provided even though it was crazy hot out at the time. It would have been nice to have had some, but no one else on the patio seemed to have a water glass either, so perhaps pure alcohol is the custom on this one. The server's suggestion for said alcohol, Gadda da Vida, was pretty much summer in a glass and helped cut the heat almost as well as H2O might have. The cocktails here generally did it for me; 2 oz, girly, but not crazy sweet. I get the feeling that this patio might be a better pre/post meal/outing kind of place to hang, especially after having the starchy, tasteless Arancinis which, to their credit were at least satisfyingly hot and crunchy.

I feel if you're not too adventurous palate-wise, this might be the kind of place for you. I found the food boring although it was rather inoffensive and the drinks were just fine. Since Winnipeg nights are going to be cooler and kick in sooner each and every day, you may want to hold off on this one for next summer so that you can enjoy the patio later on a weeknight, if that's your kind of self-date.

Price: $$$
Rating: *

Peasant Cookery

While the bartender may not know
your name, she is unlikely to look
at you like you're a loser because
you're eating alone in the lounge.

If I'm going to keep going with my Exchange District theme, it would be silly to wait any longer to write about Peasant Cookery. Their patio is a nice alternative to the one at King's head; you can feel a little fancier and you can still see what's going on in Old Market Square, if there's something going on in Old Market Square.

Because of the patio/lounge seating and the small plates, I've come here a few times on my own; the servers always make me feel normal eating en seule and give me excellent service every time. However, I feel that the menu is getting kind of tired. Maybe I'm just there at the wrong times; the menu has got a date on it, so I assume there's some variation, but whenever I go I don't really see new items. The day I went I was dying for a cheese platter for some reason, but I didn't see it on the menu. A friend of mine swears up and down that there's a cheese platter there, but I equally swear I had no idea. Perhaps a cheese selection is posted inside somewhere; serves me right for sitting on the really awesome patio.

I feel there's a joke that I'm 

supposed to make here about the 

Peasant Sodas being, uh, fit for

teetotaling royalty or something, 

but I don't think I can without

sounding like a lame-o.

Even though I did not get the cheese that my heart desired, I was super pleased to see some cool, new sodas for their summer cocktail menu. Since my visit was during Fringe, non-alcoholic options were real nice to have since my liver can only take so much Festival boozing. My placebo cocktail was so well-made that it was virtually indistinguishable from its harder counterparts. This place might be a good option if you want to take yourself to drink fancy things but you can't do alcohol for whatever reason; the virgin drinks don't feel like they're missing anything unlike a lot of other alcohol-free attempts at a cocktail. If you are feeling drinksy, I really recommend Peasant Cookery for wines; all of the wines available by the glass are the same price so you don't have to worry about the server's recommendation being an excuse to tack on a couple extra bucks onto your bill or settle for a chardonnay when you really wanted a sauv blanc because the latter was five bucks more than the former.

Mmmmm... various meat products.
The pickles were all spectacularly
ordinary, but I didn't order this dish
 to get my veggies.

As is my custom, I go with a tartare whenever possible. I'm not a huge fan of their's though; it's dressed in a way that is super acidic. Too much... vinegar? Mustard? I'm not foody enough to know exactly what I do and do not taste, but whatever it is, it really overpowers the meat for me and, hey, if I'm going to eat raw meat, I wanna taste it. If I'm gonna risk the salmonella, I better get to experience the thing that's going to land me in the hospital. Speaking of things that come from animals that I really enjoy but other people find icky: the chicken livers are amazing. If you're the type to give organ meats a try, I feel you will not be disappointed with these. And speaking of things that are likely to give me gout, in lieu of the cheese board that may or may not exist, I went with a charcuterie. The meats were AMAZING and finally let me let go of the weird dairy craving I had. I was especially a fan of the pates/mousses/things that were on my plate that weren't sausages, although the sausagey bits were delicious as well. As I'm writing this, I realize that this is definitely a restaurant for a meatetarian, I feel vegetarians will miss out on the more delightful menu offerings that this place has. While I have enjoyed a salad or two, this one is definitely the place to go for an iron/B12 boost. 

Price: $$$
Rating: **

Cordova

Picture from the bar seating to the super
pleasant window seats that are also suitable
for one. If the brightness intimidates you,
don't wory; the super chic dim mood
lighting is what you get when the sun goes
down.

Another new place I checked out during Winnipeg Fringe was Cordova. It's at the old Across the Board location on Albert Street and is nominally a tapas place. Although it has a more limited selection than, say, Segovia, the small plates are extremely reasonably priced. There is a pretty tiny cocktail menu which, when I was there, was 2/3 based on bubbly; it is clearly more of a beer/wine place. I had a French 75 which was lovely and flavorful and not sweet in a 'cheap girly teen drink' kind of way.

There's loads of solo seating both at the bar and at the window, if you'd like to watch the Exchange District walk by. I ordered a cheese plate since the last place I'd been too had charcuterie but no cheese and I was dying for some schmancy cheeses. Speaking of charcuterie, Cordova also has a half-and-half cheese/charcuterie plate, which is super nice for indecisive types who like eating both animals and dairy fat. The cheese plate was perfect; a bunch of different textures and a mix of North American and European varieties. I am loving loving what seems to be a trend in smoked blue in this city (I've had a couple on different cheese plates in town); the smoke cuts that sharp salty sulfur taste that often overwhelms me and is a major turnoff to a lot of people. I've started to appreciate blues a little since having the smoked version because they no longer make me feel like I'm being punched in the face by a 15-year-old's gym bag.

There were a couple of 'meh' dishes that I can't remember because they were neither amazing nor terrible and also because there is no website for this new-ish place and their Facebook page doesn't list the menu but in general, everything was what I wanted it to be. They had some nice small plates, decent drinks, and a place where I could sit and watch the Fringe happen, by myself, and at a bit of a distance.

Price: $$½

Rating: **½

PEG Beer Co.

Looks like this one died and went to Winnipeg Restaurant Heaven.

You may have noticed that my last post was on the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. While food trucks are generally the way to go during festivals, I figured it would be a great time to try out some restaurants in the area; you'll likely notice a bit of an Exchange District theme the next couple times I write. Fringe is, admittedly, a time when I tend to be more social in my dining habits, but since I was writing up a few show reviews, I thought I might look cool critiquing theatre while dining alone in a trendy place with classy drinks.

Ok, so maybe this one isn't really a classy drink place, but PEG Beer Co. lured me in with a Fringe Special, which was any one of their amazing flatbreads (or 'pizzas' as us common folk might call it) with a pint of any one of their craft beers. Now, I'm actually totally not into beer at all. It's not a thing I generally enjoy, but I dig places like PEG Beer because I can order a flight and discover which beer I hate least, in the event I find myself in the awkward situation where I have to pretend that I like beer and need to order one and drink it.

This time, since the special included a pint, I found myself in the awkward situation where I needed to order one beer and drink it. Fortunately, the lady at the bar where I was sitting was super proactive at offering me a small sample so I could figure out if I wanted to drink a whole 16 ounces of Guten Tart. I decided that I did. If beer isn't your thing, and you're not persuaded by a lunch/dinner special, there are also a handful of cocktails and wine available. However is IS called PEG Beer Co. so, if you feel obligated to drink the stuff as I often do, you can be non-committal and get a flight of four different ones.

Apparently I was enjoying my flatbread/pizza too much to
remember to take a picture. So here's one of the beer flights
I appreciate so much that I lifted from the CBC.

For the part of the Fringe Special that I knew I was going to like, I got the Bacon & Egg Flatbread (pizza) which was outstanding and available gluten free (there are also vegan cheese options, all those clearly the Bacon & Egg is so non-vegan there'd be little point). PEG Beer has amazing flatbreads due to the super simple toppings that are somehow surprisingly innovative in the world of pizza (or perhaps that's the difference between a flatbread and a pizza? That I feel the topping are interesting and basic all at the same time?).

In addition to the signature flatbreads, I have enjoyed their olive mix and their sandwiches, which are pretty decent with some excellent fillings including a gorgeous variety of cheeses and smoked pike, for a change of pace. the ISA and Aged Cheddar soup is shockingly lacklustre for a place that has beer in it's name and a clear appreciation for cheese and again made me wonder why we can't have salt and pepper on the tables in case of such emergency. Anyway, the soup gives you a reason to order a side salad with your sandwich that isn't trying to be health conscious. Again, if you're looking for pure indulgence for your meal, look to the pizzas. Or flatbreads. Whatever it is that the cool kids are calling it.

There is a lot of solo seating at this one, either at the bar as I did or, uh, randomly facing a wall that is uncomfortably close due to the width of the table. The tables do have cool purse hooks under them though so you don't have to calculate how to sling your bag over your seat, when you're on one of those super tall chairs that usually comes with bar seating/dining alone, to avoid making the trek down when it slips onto the floor. Anyway, like the trendy person I pretend to be, who uses purse hooks and writes online critiques, this is definitely a place that can class up something so ordinary as pizza and beer.

Price: $$

Rating: **

Winnipeg Fringe!

So I haven't posted too much lately because I've been too busy hanging out at the Winnipeg Fringe which, incidentally, is a great place to go on a solo date. Pick some shows for times that work for you, no need to work something out with your friends. You can't chat once the show goes up anyway, so it's totally not weird to do that solo. I've also been doing some reviewing there, so check it out if you want to see some of the shows I think are pretty rad. The Fringe Exchange also lets patrons submit reviews too, so you can post what you think too :) Happy Fringe.

Price: $

Rating: *** (dependent on show; results may vary)

Smith & Riverstone Spa

If you heard my rambling CBC interview on the weekend morning show a couple of weeks ago, then you know that I plugged Thermëa  as one of my favourite places to take myself on a date. I'll write about that one eventually but that spot, to me, is a wintertime date and not a mid-July one, so you'll have to wait. Anyway, I realized that in addition to blogging, spas are a thing I do now; I have a pretty screwed-up back so I often go for massage. Since I don't have insurance anyway, I decided that I'd spend my money seeing a RMT at schmancy spa places and make an event out of it. My most recent excursion like this took me to Riverstone which is adjacent to Smith, so I'll tell y'all a little about the spa-ing before we go into cocktails, etc.

One thing I really dig about Riverstone is that the spa/sauna stuff is included in the price, so when I go in for a deep tissue massage, which is pretty pricey anywhere, spa or no spa, I get all the extras and don't have to shell out extra. It's a pretty decent place; all inclusive in that there are no BS fees for robes or anything like that, the towels are full sized and not these tiny pool-towel things you get sometimes, flip-flops are included. The saunas are small-ish but good; there's a steam room and a dry sauna as well as super fancy showers. It's gender segregated because the spa stuff is in the changing areas, so that might be a good thing if you feel weird about being alone in a swimsuit in a co-ed environment. However, there isn't really a silence policy, so you will hear all about Janine's new house, which Stephanie thinks is a great investment, although it's really too bad that the counter-tops aren't granite like her last one. Just as an example. There are also small snacks in the waiting are for the massage and other services, so that's a pretty cool touch.

As a huge history nerd, the HBC theme in Smith does it for
me so hard.

After the spa, I headed over to Smith. You can order drinks and such from there to Riverstone, but for some reason the receptionists didn't want to have me drink before my massage, so I had to put some pants on to go get my food and booze. I was there on the weekend during the day, so the menu was specific to weekend brunch. Often I find day menus a little disappointing, but this one had a 'mimosa bar' which was pretty cool. I tried all three which were fun spin-offs of the typical OJ and bubbly. They also have an extensive beer/wine/scotch menu but I prefer to drink things that I can't make myself (e.g. too many ingredients) when I'm out and about and on a super classy date with myself.

Smith has a HUGE sit-in bar, so there is plenty of solo seating; I imagine this has something to do with it being in a hotel. There are also TVs mounted about, so you really shouldn't feel weird if you're here by yourself. In fact, there is a good chance you won't be the only one. They have a great variety of small plates on the menu, so I got myself a Ploughman's Lunch. I wish the server had described the plate as she set it down; without the menu, I had forgotten what kind of cheese it was and that the white stuff was aioli. It was kind of annoying that there was no salt or pepper at the bar, so I had to eat my boiled egg plain. The olives were WAY better than the last time I had them here; they are scotch smoked and I found both those flavours so overwhelming on the batch I had ordered previously that I actually didn't finish them. Perhaps I am not the only one who prefers to taste at least a little bit of the olives that they ordered.

Anyway, there have been folks who've informed me that they'll feel a little out of place going out alone. This will probably be one of the most comfortable solo-dates I can recommend to you.

Price: $$$
Rating: **½

The Oakwood Cafe

I keep forgetting to take a picture of
my food before ripping into it; I
already ate the bacon because it is the
rules that you eat the bacon first.

One of my favourite things to go to in the summer in the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and this year I'm part of a show. We rehearse pretty much right across from the Oakwood Café so I figured it was about time to check this one out since I've been passing it by pretty much weekly.

This one is probably better for lunch and breakfast - which they serve all day, but I ordered dinner because having a date night with yourself and eating eggs is somehow weirder to me than all of the other things that are weird that I do on my own. The server picked up pretty quick that I'd never been and pointed out that there was wine in addition to their cocktail menu. I ordered liver and onions because I am a weirdo who enjoys organ meat. It came with mashed potatoes and peas. The potatoes were done with the skins on, which I dig, but were kind of dry. They came with packets of butter on the side, so I guess this is something that the kitchen anticipates. The liver was just ordinary, breaded, with equally ordinary onions and a couple of super crispy strips of bacon on top. 

My meal, with the generic side dishes and breaded meat reminds me of something that I'd have at my mother's, which really means nothing to you, so I'll explain that my mother prepares super basic meals because she loathes making a mess to the point that cooking that causes any kind of splatter or potential spills is out. So, yeah, the liver was super hot and tasted good enough, but over all it's not something that you or I couldn't throw together with marginal cooking skills and no mess or hassle. Generally I try to avoid taking myself and ordering food that I could probably make myself, so maybe this one wasn't the best choice for a dinner date for one.

Best milkshake in the universe. Go
get one. If you are 18+. Please
drink responsibly. Or the serving
staff might judge.

They had a summer cocktail menu based on lemonade which was super fun and available virgin. I had a blueberry one at the suggestion of the server but didn't really notice much of a different from the strawberry gin one I had next. I do have to say they had super awesome milkshakes and there was a Black Russian version that I had and would definitely go back again for.

I really felt that the Oakwood was more of a family restaurant than a good place to go alone. Take some friends there for breakfast/lunch and I think you'd have a great time. I didn't really get to sample too much else since there weren't really small plates and I am not the kind of person, physically or financially, who can order more than one meal. So yeah, not great for one, especially if you're into the cocktails; the server, when running me through, awkwardly commented on the number of drinks I had (3) which I had to repeat to myself can't be that ludicrous since I had a full meal. But yeah, I guess you might stand out a bit if you try to do this one on your own, just a head's up.

Price: $$

Rating: *

Saperavi

Om nom nom, why do not more people
sit on this patio and eat these amazing
things?

Ok, moment of truth: sometimes I write a review for my blog and don't post it right away. I have it so I can roll these things out in a consistent way. Sometimes I have a page of notes and don't write the review until I'm bored or procrastinating, or haven't gone out recently. This is not one of those cases; I could not freaking WAIT to tell y'all about this place and Jesus H. Christ, you get yourself there while you can. I get the feeling that Saperavi doesn't get as much business as it should and, as I understand it, it takes quite a bit of cash to run a restaurant so, seriously, patronize this place before it's too late.

Soup was great but could stand to
lose the ice cubes; how chill do we
really need to be?

I genuinely don't understand why this place isn't hopping; it's got a choice patio right on Corydon and amazing food. Maybe people are hesitant to try Georgian cuisine for some reason? Maybe they figure the Georgia in question is the state and not the country (which might be good too, I don't know what American Georgians eat traditionally)? Do they confuse it with other businesses that share the building? Who the hell knows, but when you walk by these days, they've got a table with their menu, business cards, and a freaking free sample to try to show you how delicious this stuff is. The sample was this amazing baked cheese flaky pita thing called Khachapuri Imeruli served with a delightful tomato cilantro sauce that they don't name in the menu, but is available either mild or spicy. Since I tried the cheese one from the sample, I ordered a meat one for dinner (Kubdari). Dumplings also seemed to be the food to get. They were out of meat ones but the server suggested the mushroom and I do love mushroom, so we were cool. I kind of wish there was more filling in it, but they came with sour cream which made the extra dough delicious anyhow. 

Suppers for large group. *Sigh*
Wish I had a family that loved me
and/or would eat out with me at
cool places.

It was stupid hot, as it has been the past few days, so I figured I'd start off my meal with some chilled cucumber soup and sangria. The soup was refreshing and I really dug the walnuts on top, but the fact that it had ice cubes in it made it kind of hard to navigate; I get that you want it to be cold, but eating around ice cubes with a spoon is a little tough. The sangria was solid, available white or red, and the bartender came out to see if I liked it since she said she didn't make white sangria all that often. It was great but it was nice that she checked in. For the most part this is a beer/wine place, nothing special on the cocktail side. I was a little disappointed that the Georgina wines were only available by the bottle. I'm not going to pretend that, as a solo diner, I have never consumed the equivalent of a bottle of wine, but it seems a little much to order a bottle of wine for one. I'm not even sure if that's legal in this province.

Over all, I would definitely say this is a hot, comfort food kind of establishment although it's certainly worth the visit on a hot day for the patio if for nothing else than beverages. The menu was a little overwhelming for going solo; there was a lot of choice and large-ish portions made it hard to have a variety but the food kept well enough for a take-home container. If you're thinking of making it out here with others, it looks like they have a set dinner for x number of people, which looks like it might be fun to try if I wasn't so very, very alone.

Price: $$
Rating: **½

Naru Sushi

A recent article on the CBC got me thinking about sushi. It sounds like a good chunk of these restaurants in Winnipeg was using an unlicensed guy to hire Korean workers. While that's kind of sketch, it isn't inherently exploitative BUT at least one of these restaurants made their staff hand over a good chunk of their wages, which is just sick. Pay your staff, srsly. To my knowledge the restaurant(s) that did/do this have not been made public, but if you know who they are, please share. There's a ton of sushi in Winnipeg and I'd really like to frequent those establishments that pay their staff. Call me a crusader.

It took me awhile to get a picture
that showed off the steam sufficiently;
I am terrible at snapping pics of my
dinner.

ANYWAY, one of my fav solo sushi dates is at Naru Sushi. It's on the way home/to a lot of places from where I live so the convenience of location probably plays into that. The service is really great too and accommodating for a solo diner such as myself, so I sincerely hope that the owners don't skim off the servers' (or kitchen staff's) cheques. If it ends up being the case, I can content myself that the experience isn't quite as good as it once was; they've axed their shrimp gyoza and the nigiri has been a bit dry. As is fairly typical, they use 'crab stick' for their California rolls, but you can upgrade to real crab for a slight charge, which is a nice option to have.

There's nothing terribly special here for booze, so I don't make this an alcoholic night out since wine and beer is something you can get anywhere. But if you're the kind of person who abstains, there are some fun 'kid-friendly' virgin drinks available. I had the Pineapple Spumoni (pineapple, grapefruit, pop) which was a nice alternative to getting a Coke. I usually go with tea with sushi since that seems to be the things to do, but it was a zillion degrees Celsius in Winnipeg that day, so a cold drink seemed to be in order.

That said, their hot dishes at Naru are pretty great. I have to get miso soup or I feel like I cheated and theirs is just as good as any. I really dig their sushi pizza; raw salmon is one of the best things to serve with avocado and the rice patty it's all on is not too thick and nice and crisp. If you're not sure what to try, give that one a go. It'd make sushi purists gag, but it's worth it.

One of the reasons I love sushi as a solo-date is you can get nigiri in single orders/the rolls are usually small enough that you can get a couple different ones without stuffing yourself to the max. As I've mentioned before, I don't have a huge appetite, so I definitely go for variety over quantity when I take myself out for dinner. Naru in particular has great combo trays for one. My go to and the one I got on this visit was the 8 piece sushi, California Roll, and a miso soup. As I said, the nigiri has failed to live up to what I was used to getting and I'm always a little disappointed when they don't identify what the fish is when you order a 'chef's choice' kind of combo. That said, the server might have just took my confidence in ordering as a sign that I could tell what I was eating by sight (which is half true, but beyond the tuna, salmon, and ebi, I have no idea).

Naru is a pretty small place, so I recommend making this spot a weeknight dinner venture so you don't feel too guilty taking up the space that a larger party might need. If you live in the Village, it's a solid stop-off before or after some grocery shopping, if you're walking to the Safeway or Vita Health.

Price: $$

Rating: **

Upstairs in the Village

One of the nicer views from a
Winnipeg patio, in my opinion

So, I hit this one up when, walking home from work, it was too nice to go home and eat alone in my sad, sad basement apartment. This has got to be the best patio in Winnipeg with the worst possible menu. It was small and completely unappetizing. Maybe it was because the only thing really on it was pizza and it was a stupid hot day so I was looking for something lighter; I will revise this if I ever sample the hot food and it ends up not being terrible but I was so unimpressed that I just got myself a Caesar Salad. It was fine, as Caesar Salad tends to be. At least the lettuce was crisp and all those sorts of things that a salad should be, at bare minimum.

The staff is super duper friendly and make you feel pretty normal to be hanging out alone on what I've decided is actually my favourite patio I've sat on this summer. Unfortunately there isn't much of a draw; for one of the very few times when I'm out alone I felt too old to be in an establishment. There's these club tunes going and security staff so I guess I was in a bar although the set-up to me really implies that it's supposed to be a restaurant. The drink menu consists of things that your teenage self might have drank to mask the taste and get hammered as quickly as humanly possible which, considering the night I was there was 'Triple Tuesdays' when you can get a triple of your favourite crap spirits for $10, might be the entire reason this place exists.

The flip side was burgers. Serves
me right for not checking
that the place was a restaurant
before I walked up the stairs...

Oh dear, I just went looking for a website to link up to Upstairs in the Village and all I could find was a Facebook page... the cover photo implies that, yes, I stumbled into and got lost in some kind of bar designed for and by teenagers (it's what could easily be super smashed bar-star girls with cleavage just sort of mashed together into a photo that probably defines some student's awesome Friday, or more likely Thursday, night).

So I guess my advice is, don't go here unless you've just turned 18 (or are younger with an older sibling's ID), the LC is out of coolers, and you have no desire to eat. I won't say that I'm above drinking cheap liquor, but if you've got a friend with a balcony, you could probably have a very similar experience with better booze provided you stopped at Safeway to grab a salad kit before heading over. It'll also help if the friend with the balcony is really friendly and discusses her folk fest plans with you while not judging you for your solo drinking.

Price: $

Rating: ½ (of a star. It would insult actual restaurants if I gave this place a full one. The half is purely because every server who interacted with me was a delight)

Prairie's Edge

Audrey II peruses the menu;
she was impressed by all the
 tenderloin selection

I guess I'm breaking my own rules pretty quickly about dining alone, but I had to bring someone along this time. She was pretty nervous about her Rainbow Stage debut tonight, so we decided to go for dinner to calm her nerves before the show starts at 8:00. To be fair, she doesn't talk much and seems pretty preoccupied with being fed, so it will essentially the same as when I go out on my own.

Prairie's Edge is the restaurant in Kildonan Park, so it was a natural choice for a Rainbow Stage pre-show dinner. For this reason I did something that I have literally never done before, which is make a reservation for one. Usually, because my dates to myself are somewhat spontaneous, I just walk up with the understanding that if they can't accommodate me, I'll just walk somewhere else. This one is a little far out of the way to take that chance, especially because I have tickets to a show and am therefore a little more time-bound than usual in how my meal has to progress. Making reservations for one is annoying and a little weird, so I try my best to avoid it. It turns out that was pretty unnecessary. But, to be fair, this was a preview show, so maybe it's busier when the show at rainbow is in full-swing. It also appears to have a pretty big patio, but it was too cold for patio dining this week. Also my date, being from what appears to be the plant kingdom, might not have held up so well with the chill.

My Rainbow Stage
actor friend is so
Winnipeg -famous
 that she has a cocktail
 named after her at a
local eatery

As luck would have it, the cocktail menu included a beverage named after my new friend, so we tried that one straight away; I liked it alright even though it had melon in it (I'm not a huge fan). The cocktails here are fruitier and maybe not quite as pro as some of the other places I've been lately. My second one had some muddled blackberries which could perhaps have been more muddled as they kept clogging up my straw. Audrey II had to finish it for me and I didn't really want another cocktail, which maybe says something about their drink menu.

Audrey II just stuck with
drinks; they didn't have
what she wanted on the
menu and she's a
surprisingly picky eater.

The menu here definitely is 'prairie;' things that I kind of took for granted might be a Manitoban thing were all over the menu: pickerel, beets, wild rice, fruit crisp on the dessert menu (this week's was rhubarb; very Prairie). I wanted to try a few things to write the best review, but I don't have a huge appetite (unlike my voracious date), but the fried rice dish looked like something I'd like (someone out there try it and tell me if I should go back for it). I started with a VERY small cup of wild rice and mushroom bisque... I could find the wild rice in it but it looked pretty well puréed, so maybe it got immersion blendered in with everything else. It wasn't super flavourful; I added salt which is not something I usually do (although I am a pepper fan, and there were some cracked corns on top of the soup, so that was nice). I ordered a beet appetizer on which I found it strange that the bacon was hot; everything else (cheese, egg, beets, greens) were cold. Since it was more of a salad I didn't really like the hot meat on it. The deep fried pickerel dish I got was really nice and crispy but was't as delicious as the description led me to believe. Overall I guess I found the food to be as uninspiring as the cocktails although, to be fair, I did not try a main. There were tons of steak, fish, as well as veg options, so it's possible I just made the wrong selections.

Fortunately, for once, my date comprised of more than eating alone, so the meal didn't have to be the main attraction. Fortunately, my date got to have her own food preferences addressed during the run of her show. I think she had a better time there than with me at the restaurant. I guess I'm a lousy date. I was glad to have her along anyway though; this wasn't a great spot for me to go solo (distance, ambiance, ineffective wi-fi password,,,) and the menu didn't wow me. It would have been a rough go alone.

Price: $$

Rating: *

Quick, pre-show selfie to prove that I could totally
get a date to join me for dinner - I just don't wanna