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)

Deer + Almond

Hello Winnipeg.

I've been taking myself on dates for awhile because there are cool restaurants in this city that I want to go to but don't always have the energy to wait around for people to scrape together the time and cash to join me. It turns out I am not the only person who does this. I was chatting with my friendly neighbourhood bartender at Deer + Almond, where I'd ducked in because it was raining and a Friday and I wanted to do something cool, and bam, inspiration struck. Forgive the shoddy pictures. These will get better now that I know this is a thing I want to do.

The main thing I look at is some variant of how awkward it is to eat at a place alone (seating, do I need resos, is there Wi-Fi, do the servers look at you funny). Then I'm going to tell you how much I liked a place out of 3 and the priceiness. Keep in mind that since I'm making these as dates to myself as opposed to, say, grabbing something at a drive-through, a 1/3 for price is still going to be expensive. Dining alone is not cheap, especially if you drink, so don't call me out on that one. I got it.

The best popcorn is
complimentary popcorn

So, back to Deer + Almond then. This was my very first time going here and the staff made it super easy to grab a seat by myself. They had a sit-in bar, which I always appreciate, because then I don't feel like I'm taking away space from bigger parties as the place starts to fill. Mr. Bartender was totally on board with my eating out alone, as I mentioned before, and was great at recommending cocktails and getting me started there. The ones I tried were super strong and well-made. I'd say you'd be into them if you are more into stereotypically 'manly' alcohol. I like the girliness myself, so I'd recommend the Strawberrykin if that's what you're into. Also, they gave me popcorn as an appetizer while waiting for my... appetizers. Which was pretty rad.

If you can't read through the blur,
it says 'congratulations,
your dining choices
helped others today'

I'm a fiend for raw meats, so I ordered the deer tartare and omg, holy sh**, that is one awesome dish. Instead of just egg yolk, they use hollandaise my friends, hollandaise sauce. The texture was perfect and clearly, I thought it tasted great. It was served with plain salted chips which were too thin to support the weight of the tartare if you like doing that (I do) but it paired super well anyway. And, AND, just so you can feel even better about eating this thing, they donate $1 to the St. Amant Centre each time they sell one.

Everybody wins.

If I'd stopped there we'd be looking at 3/3 but I decided I should probably eat something else. I ordered a halloumi dish. To be fair, the menu did say it came with lentils and such, but I would describe it more as a lentil dish with halloumi rather than a halloumi dish with lentils. It was fine, but maybe my standards were too high after that tartare.

Anyway, I'm glad it rained on Friday and I'm glad I stopped in on my way home. It was a great place to dine solo, had some Wi-Fi for me to use and cool staff. The major downside for me was it was crazy expensive for one, even by my generous solo-dining standards.

Price: $$$
Rating: **½