Ward 1

Apparently this place has fallen victim to the Basil's curse and is no longer in operation (for what sounds like good reason). 

If you want to sit above the crowd
and people watch, that's a thing
you can do in the Ward 1 lounge.

New Year, new restaurant. Okay, so the new year started 30 days ago; the resolution against procrastinating didn't go so well. Anyway, I stopped in at Ward 1 which is where the Black Rabbit used to be... and some other thing before that, and Basil's a hundred years ago... that seemingly lucrative and cursed corner that can't keep it's doors open. You know, that one. Hopefully the current tenant sticks it out through the summer because although tis not the season for it, that patio is ace. The layout reminds me of something more common in Montreal and other, denser cities.

Vegetables wrapped in bacon and/
or deep fried: the way God intended

Last comparison to restaurants that no longer exist: there's some really interesting two-tier bar seating going on in the lounge that was not there before and it makes the place seem bigger and busier than it was. Which, with that and a hip, brassy soundtrack made for a cool, buzzing atmosphere that made for a great place to sit down and grab a drink, even by yourself. The menu is entirely Louisiana/Cajun inspired, which I believe is not really a thing elsewhere in Winnipeg. In any case, this made it one of the more unique places I've taken myself too, which also makes it fun. The seafood boil looked particularly interesting but is only available for 2+ diners. Sadface. I was also intrigued by the catfish options but since I get sucked in by compelling appetizer menus, and Ward 1's got one, I ordered a couple things that are delicious but probably terrible for me. Both things I ordered - bacon-wrapped jalapenos and deep-fried cauliflower (both or which are vegetables... good for me, right?) - were crispy and perfect; no soggy batter or bacon here. The portions were big enough to be shared but since that's not a thing I was doing, I took some home to not be a total glutton.

I felt too fancy for happy hour.
Champagne glasses = fancy.

I ignored the all-night happy hour in favour of reviewing the cocktail list (you're welcome). The girly and bubbly Tiffany Twisted was totally my jam combining both wine and gin and fruitiness. For those of you who do not like drinking the adult equivalent of children's juice, the ginger beer drink Wheels of Steel is less sweet than you might suppose; the grapefruit cuts the sugar and balances it out nicely.

I think the menu here makes this one another example of a restaurant that might be better for groups or a date that involves another human given the variety of dishes and the family-style options. Still a great place to hang out by yourself, but bring a bigger appetite than I have or opt for just beverages. The staff, as is often the case in my adventures, was super competent and efficient; I had three different women come to my table at different points and they somehow worked in tandem in a super hopping lounge to take my orders, being me drinks, box the food that bested me, and handle my payment. Bonus points to the girl who asked me if it was 'all together?' when I was settling up; I've been waiting since I started doing this blog to quote cute observations and comments like that.

Rating: **

Price: $$

Meiji Sushi

Mmmmm.... Sushi... I love it so hard and it's been awhile since I've written about it. Maybe there's 'better' sushi out there, I don't know, but this is pretty much my go-to. Meiji Sushi has all the choice both with the food and, due to the attached G Martini Bar, beverages that it would be pretty surprising if you couldn't find something you love. Something about it being all dim and downstairs makes it feel cozy to me which is counter-intuitive, I know, but just accept it. Since it's cold these days and I need excuses to get out and about, I felt that it was time to head over and reevaluate some favourites of mine.

The Nutini, in all it's almond-y goodness. The
cloth napkins and superb waitresses will make
you feel classy as you drink alone

Since the air outside is cold enough to kill people right now, I felt it would be in everyone's best interest if I started off with some hot foods. Miso soup is, of course, a standard, so I'll skip ahead to some others. The agadashi tofu is deliciously crispy (and no, no matter what your conspiracy-theory wielding friend says, it will not mess with your hormones or secondary sex characteristics)  although the pieces were a little unwieldy for my chopstick-handling skills. This is a good thing, by the way, the pieces are rather large so there's more to enjoy. Gyoza is something that is often overlooked at sushi places, I find, taking a backseat to tempura and, well, sushi. Do yourself a favour and order some at Meiji; the garlicky-onion flavoured pork is so amazing that, despite the pain (they arrive nuclearly hot), you won't be able to wait to crush these amazing dumpling.

The chef's creation in all its glory
(The roll behind it is the Golden
Roll. The others are just random
nigiri)

Now, that's a lot of 'appetizer' before sushi, so let's take a drink break. The martini menu ranges from almost literal dessert to something slightly sweet that your super-masculine, tofu-fearing buddy might admit to liking. I went with an Amaretto-heavy Nutini although my favouritest sugary drink here is the Millennium; raspberry liqueur with vodka and champagne, poured over an actual sugar cube. Fortunately diabetes does not run in my family.  Something that I think gets overlooked in favour of the fancier drinks is the sort of 'build-your-own' feature with classic martinis. there are a nice variety of gins, vodkas, and garnishes to let you assemble your perfect martini (for those of you who like to be more of a Bond and less like a woman on her 18th birthday). I'm an olive girl myself, but there was also the option of a citrus twist, pearl onions, or chocolate, if you still want your sweets.

As far as sushi goes, Meiji has all the standards and then some. My personal recommendations are the Golden Roll; a solid 'cheap roll with tuna and avocado, and the chef creation with avocado and quail egg; the texture is amazing and it's something reasonably unique to get at this particular location.

Rating: **½

Price: $$

Cornerstone

I've mentioned my renoviction before and was thinking about my standard solo date-nights that are now slightly further for me to walk to and thus not as common these days for me as they once were. So I decided to head over to Cornerstone, which is my favourite place to go on a Monday night. Not only is the restaurant geographically convenient for someone like me, but it's open until 2:00 every day which is nice, given that most places shut down by 9 or 10, particularly on weeknights.

From my small, corner table, I
probably looked like a psycho,
taking pictures of other humans in
their natural environment

So, why Monday? the specials for their 'TGIM' include $1.50 oysters and discounted bubbly, which can be a perfect after-work date on a day of the week many 9-5ers loathe. When I lived in Osborne/Corydon I was a big fan of using this place as an after-work stop since my bus stopped literally steps away from the door and it got quite a bit of seating. It can be pretty hopping there, even on weeknights, but right after work it's fairly easy to snag a seat at the bar or at one of the small tables along the window. The TVs and loud-ish music might be distracting if you are here with friends, but it makes chilling alone super easy.

The bar service can be slow, especially when there are like-minded after work crowds, but the cocktails are smooth and creative (in addition to my standard Cornerstone-Monday Cava, I snagged myself a Citrus-Sage Sour) without falling too far away from classic to be threatening or obnoxious. Speaking of drinking, in cool, crafty bars like this one, I find they can make a decent mocktail since they have a lot of house-made syrups and such. Don't ask for one here. I requested a non-alcoholic drink from the bar and my server looked at me like I was an alien and informed me that the bartender couldn't do that. Maybe she thought that keeping me drinking booze would keep my bill up, even though I find that fancy virgin drinks are usually $5-8 anyway... I don't know. It was weird. I wouldn't recommend trying it.

The red stuff in the middle is super
good.

Anyway, food. Let's talk about that. Naturally I ordered oysters, which can come with hot sauce or horseradish, if you're into that, but I declined since I just really like the dressing/vinegar that it comes with; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Also, since it's cold out now, I went with the chickpea soup, which was amazing and had all the textures going on at once and is anything but boring (some people think that soup is boring; those people are wrong). I've got a bit of a cheese platter obsession going on right now, so I got that too. It was both great and awful all at the same time. The crosini was weird and, like... stale? I don't know. It was really bad. I don't usually ask for a reboot, but this time I did. Round two was the same. I've had cheese here before and I don't remember the crostini being oily, not crunchy, and old-tasting but I also don't like making a fuss, so I just let it go. Not having crostini that's palatable might have been okay, but the cheese bits were really small, so without bread, it ended up being a pretty minuscule plate. Regardless, the cheese was really good and since that's the name of the game, I suppose that's a pass. I didn't know it until having a Cornerstone cheese platter, but apparently I can like blue cheese. Even when it's not smoked. The server told me that it was something Dutch and I found it way milder than the other blues that I try to force myself to eat when they show up in dishes that I've ordered in an effort to not look picky. There was also some kind of soft cheese from Quebec that made me equally happy and a Parmesan to round everything out. It all came with a couple of savoury jams, which I prefer over sweet when eating cheese.

Apart from some of the weirdness I mentioned (one I didn't because it's not super relevant, but still confuses me: there's an ATM by the door. I don't really understand why it's there, but it is. I guess that's just a bar thing? They take credit and debit so...? Yay for choice?)  this one is a pretty cool spot that's buzzing and fun but not full of teenagers. I recommend it if you'd like to play a trendy business person who's who's unwinding after work some Monday. Or another day of the week if oysters aren't your thing.

Rating: **
Price: $$

Sous Sol

I have a habit of writing my reviews in notebooks and then misplacing said notebooks. So, while I wait for my review of The Roost to turn up, I'll fall back on one of my absolute favourite, never-fail solo-dates.

When I say 'never-fail,' I of course mean that if you,re solo-dating at a very specific time on the weekend since Sous Sol is only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings and even then is occasionally too packed during peak hours to even cram in one more. But, when you do snag a seat, I think you will get the 'never-fail' declaration I have previously made. I hear from some people that they're kind of shy to just go out alone in public and do their thing. If that's how you feel, the dark, intimate seating at this place means that it's entirely likely that no one other than your waiter will know that you're too cool to go out with other people.

The candelabras here are too hip
to burst into a chorus of 'Be Our
Guest'

One of the reasons I like going out to Sous Sol is because it is totally too cool in here; the super-secret-basement-restaurant, as I like to call it (there's no store-front and only fluent Seinfeld viewers will get the pseudonym printed on the door to the building and name of the wi-fi), with it's small pile of candle lighting the place, makes me feel like I am doing something super special. Speaking of super special, the drink menu makes me so happy that I may have, on more than one occasion, made a marriage proposal to the bartender (no, I wasn't drunk - yet). Rencontrer dans le Jardin is what God drinks at garden parties and although nominally for two, I promise that you can and should order it for yourself (it totals 3 oz. of booze, so if you're there for food as well and don't just chug it and dash, you won't be a weird, trashy, lonely drunk). One of the reasons I really dig this cocktail is you sweeten it yourself and with the basil, cucumber and lavender it, I don't know... feels like your drinking a salad. Which sounds weird and maybe unappetizing, but I love it and you'll see what I mean when you try it.

Pictured: three components of the
best damn cocktail ever that you
may also find in your Nan's china
cabinet. Also, a glass of water.

I also had the Dill We Meet Again which is another great cocktail for those of you who may lean towards savoury things more than sweet, as I do. I thought it went super well with my tartare which, this week, was venison. For a few bucks extra, you can upgrade from beef to whatever cool alternative they have going; I have had the privilege of sampling ostrich, elk, and horse, which in addition to being awesome made me feel like a Khaleesi. Another indulgent add-on to the tartare that your server might recommend is foie gras; follow his advice, he knows what he's talking about and if you're the type to eat raw meat, I feel you're the type to not be squeamish over foie gras. Since we're talking about foods that make some people squeamish, the escargot I had did not blow me away, but the fried zucchini blossom totally made up for is as well as the cucumber salad which had hazelnuts, dill, chevre, pickled tomato, and love. Sous Sol makes eating vegetables way more fun than when I try to prepare them at home.

I was a little disappointed that all the wines available by the glass were French save one Australian Shiraz, but I suppose that I don't really need regional variety on my wine list when the cocktail menu is this good.

Anyway, next time you feel like sneaking off Prohibition-style on the weekend to a literal underground place with with a great variety of small plates, sneak over to Sous Sol where you're very likely to meet your new favourite cocktail. And maybe me; I'm the one in the corner, in a blazer, sipping my booze from a teacup.

Price: $$$
Rating: ***

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)

Segovia

So here's one that is actually the opposite of my usual; I've been several times but never alone. It is the 'sharing' kind of place given that it is a tapas bar, but I am pleased to announce that it also works out super well if you're going it alone. It has a very small bar that one can sit at and again, I was pleasantly surprised that there was no wait for me to snag a chair. Segovia doesn't take reservations so it's always a bit of a race for seating, even the comparably less favourable bar stools.

Le menu. Don't be intimidated by
the brief descriptions; your server
can totally help you pick some
good ones.

What I really liked about this spot is that the bar seating isn't in front of the bar but rather in front of part of the kitchen so you get to watch some meal prep rather than bar-tending which is a cool change up for the seasoned solo diner.When I sat down, I saw exactly what I wanted to try first being prepared, so it was really easy to ask what it was since it was literally being made right in front of me (beef tartare tostada, for the curious). My server was also really great at describing what was on the menu since, as you can see, there's a limited description of the dishes so if you lack a culinary vocabulary, having a translator is useful. While Segovia is a pricey place, I find your dollar buys you more variety than at another top dollar place like Deer + Almond. The plates are small enough that even someone with my appetite can try four of five different things without spending more than at my other $$$ rated places.

Another thing I've always appreciated at Segovia is how they change up their menu; there are some standards as well as daily features for variety but they also change up the rest of their menu.. quarterly? I want to say quarterly. Anyway, it changes ever few months (save a few standards) so you won't get bored or completely lose your favourites.

When I went in on Friday they had a scallop feature that was the most AMAZING texture; it was the best thing I've ever had in my mouth and I know how that sounds and I don't care. The gazpacho it was served in was a little weird as a complement, but I didn't care because, again, oh-em-gee, that scallop.My tartare dish disappointed me a little; I didn't think the hard corn tortilla went super well with the tartare itself and found the green goop (the chef told me it was yogurt with parsley and some other green stuff that I forget now) kind of overpowered the meat bit, which is the main reason I like tartare. Nonetheless, I appreciate that they tried something different with one of my favourite ways to eat raw food. The cocktails here were on par with the other $$$ places I've been to: well-made, strong, not sweet, While that kind of drink isn't generally my bag, I thought I'd try a couple for, uh, research purposes. My go-to drink at Segovia is sangria and since I'm usually not here alone, a pitcher is the way to go. They do sell it by the glass but since it's super chilly for June (because, Winnipeg) I wasn't feeling it; I like my fruity fizzy drinks on hot days, preferably outdoors.

I still feel like a bit of a tool snapping
pics of my food/impending food.
And saying, 'no, really, it's for my
blog' makes it sound even more
obnoxious. Here's where I was
sitting. The tattooed arm is the
culinary wizard who seared my
scallop. That sounds like an
innuendo. It really isn't.

I'm not usually into desserts when I go out alone; sweets take money and calories away from my preferred vice of hard alcoholism BUT the marscapone dates are the best thing ever, Jesus Christ, try at least one no matter how weird you think it sounds.They are also a rare example of something actually being cheaper in a restaurant than making it yourself. They once printed the recipe in Ciao! magazine which I did make and they tasted EXACTLY like the ones you order from Segovia. However, the ingredients are not cheap. Per date, I suppose it's cheaper, but as much as I like them there is no way I can eat the 32 or so in one go that you'd have to make to make the endeavor economical. And, at $2 a piece, there is no reason not to ad a couple to your bill at the end of your meal.

Overall, this is one of the best dates you can take yourself on; super staff and seating that doesn't make you feel like a werido, expensive enough to feel classy without making you gag a little when you see your bill, and they make eating your vegetables fun (I had the asparagus dish at the suggestion of my server and didn't regret taking it over something with less vitamins in it).

Price: $$$
Rating: ***