Satisfying standard fare at Trapeze

I love a good burger, like love.  The unfortunate thing is that: though you often expect this standard fare to be good, sometimes it's unpalatable; you have a dry patty or a bun that tastes like sawdust.  And then, there's the burger at Trapeze restaurant at the Casino, which is none of these things.  

I went with a large group a couple months back, eight of us in fact, and the food and the service was great.  We started the night with a bunch of appetizers: bruschetta, nachos and calamari that were all pretty good, though I only had a bite of each because I was saving room for the burger.  The apps were gone in an instant.

For my meal, I ordered the Mozzarella and mushroom burger with a side spinach salad.  I love the spinach salad at Trapeze, and I've had a large one several times since.  With a generous helping of spinach, it's dressed with marinated butternut squash, carrot ribbons, red pepper strips and a tangy goat cheese - I usually get the cilantro ginger vinaigrette on the side.

                              

Anyway, on to the burger.  As I said above, it was delicious; the juicy patty was topped with a generous portion of melty cheese and succulent fried mushrooms.  Add to that, the usual fare of lettuce, tomato, onion and a pickle spear, the burger was filling and satisfying.  

                             

This was a tasty meal indeed.  We finished the night off by sharing some awesome desserts: chocolate cake and a yummy blueberry-based one too. I only had a couple bites of those as well; I was full, but I had to try them...for research purposes, of course! ;)

Wednesday Night at ONYX-The best deal in town!

I've been noticing a pattern about the places that I go for dinner...I LOVE to try new restos, don't get me wrong, but there are certain ones here in Halifax that have that...something. Though I've eaten there countless times before, I have dinner plans on Tuesday at the Brooklyn Warehouse, a place I've been often, but keep coming back to for great food, service and atmosphere. Another spot, and this Wednesday's dinner plans, is ONYX on Spring Garden Road; another resto where service is fantastic and the food is impeccable, it's a 'go-to' spot where I know I won't be disappointed.

The obvious allure of Wednesday at ONYX is the 1/2 price Bar Bites menu, and the lack of corkage fee. That's right, BYOB, and no charge for the service. A deal that is, hands down, the best one in Halifax. A couple weeks ago, some friends (in wine sales) and I had a lovely evening with a nice variety of wines at ONYX, supplemented with some tasty treats.

The boys had steaks, and some oysters were shared, but I went for my absolute fave- the duck Spring Rolls; crispy wrapper enveloping rich, tender meat, accompanied by a tangy dipping sauce. I also went for one of my favorite deep-fired treats, onion rings. I don't know what kind of magnetism onion rings have that always draws me to order them in a fine dining resto, but I simply can't resist them. Case end point: Bish, Ryan Duffy's and my upcoming post on CUT Steakhouse. However, I'm pretty sure that ONYX wins for my fave O-rings in Hali!

Duck Spring Rolls

one of my Top 10 Memorable Morsels of 2009

Onion Rings

The Great CATCH Culinary Competition!

The clock ticks. A chef bends over the hot burner and tries to breathe deeply as chef Ray Bear, host of the Great CATCH Chef Competition, announces that there’s less than one minute left in the competition.

The chef removes his Digby scallops from the pan and gently arranges them on a serving platter. He dips a spoon into his beurre blanc and carefully drizzles it over the tender seafood, ensuring that each one receives the same amount of sauce.

Chef Bear announces the thirty second mark. The chef pauses to consider his plate and reaches for some fresh chives to serve as garnish. The audience starts to count down: Ten - he quickly glides his knife over the tender green; nine, eight, seven- he sprinkles the chives over his dish; five - an extra grind of pepper; four - he gives his plate a final wipe. Three, two, one, Time!

The chef steps back and breathes a sigh of relief. He’s finished, but the judging is about to begin. He shakes the hand of his competitor, smiles, waves to the audience, and waits for the announcement that may name him as the top chef of the Great CATCH Chef Competition.

Such was the fate of chef Andrew Stevens of Little Louis’ restaurant in Moncton, New Brunswick. Stevens was the winner of CATCH’s 2009 competition, and is considering returning to defend his title again this year.

When asked about how he prepares for a competition, Stevens keeps it pretty simple, saying, “I prepare the same as I do for service in the restaurant; I review everything I need to do - step by step, over and over.” The competition’s host, chef Ray Bear, on the other hand, has a routine; ironing his chef whites, sharpening his knives, and going for a run the day of a competition. Bear is used to competing and adds that, “Once I put on my chef jacket, I’m there - I’m in the zone!”

The two chefs agree that an essential tool for any competition is a sharp chef knife. Stevens adds a little flair to his tool kit, bringing along liquid nitrogen to do frozen components. To this year’s competitors, however, Bear gives this counsel: “Competition is no time to experiment!” He says that the chefs should stick to their usual routine, just make sure to do it to the best of their ability.

As the host, Bear wants to see each competitor’s passion for Nova Scotia’s seafood come out in their dishes. “Show me in your style that you love cooking with our seafood.” he says, “I'll be able to taste your commitment.” He wants to see the competitor’s ability to showcase the main ingredient to its fullest, emphasizing that, “Nova Scotia's seafood is a gift to any chef.” Chef Stevens thinks of the competition as a great way to meet new contacts as well as an opportunity to work with various Nova Scotian products. He confides that his ideal ‘Black Box’ would contain Nova Scotian lobster and scallops.

From a competitor’s point of view, Bear confides that the audience should be ready for a very intense and technical level of entertainment. In his role as host, Chef Bear is inspired by chefs who seek to determine where they stand among their competitors. He encourages this year’s competitors to give it their all, saying, “Show me the talent! I want the best plate of food in Canadian competition!”

Be sure to check out all the fun at this year's CATCH Seafood Festival, especially the exciting Great CATCH Culinary Competition, June 19-20, at the Cunard Centre, Marginal Road.

See all the details, and full schedule here. Info will be updated as it becomes available!!

Nova Scotia's 3rd Annual Seaport Beerfest!

Hey Brewnosers! Here's another local event to keep in mind...

The 3rd Annual Seaport Beerfest!

On August 8, the section of port between the Garrison Brewery and the new Nova Scotia College of Art & Design will be lined with tents and filled with beer!

The Beerfest festival has both an afternoon, 2-5pm and evening session, 7-10pm. Keith Andrews will entertain the crowd in the afternoon, while Old wagon Whiskey will get the party going in the evening. Tickets are $35/person Advance, $40/person at the Door, + HST, and are available at select NSLC stores, Garrison Brewery and Bishop's Cellar.

This year's Beerfest will showcase 65 breweries and ciders with 140+ brews from Canada and abroad. Participating Nova Scotian breweries include: Granite Brewery, Garrison Brewing, Propeller Brewery, Rudders Brewpub, Sea Level Brewery,Rockbottom Brewery, Tideview Cider, Stutz Cider and Keith's Family of Fine Beers.

There will also be tasty food samples to pair with your brew, including offerings from Scanway Catering, The Port Pub, and Sweet Spot Chocolate Shop!

Check out the Seaport Beerfest's website for more info!

Halifax Greek Fest '09

Man, oh man- I love food festivals! Err...cultural festivals, I meant cultural festivals. This past weekend, the Greek community of Halifax hosted Halifax Greek Fest 2009 at St. George's Greek Orthodox Church on Purcell's Cove Rd. My friend and I stopped in en-route to the cottage to fill up our bellies and take in some sights. Those sights mostly ended up being enormous plates of food, but whatev!

After much discussion and evaluating our level of hunger, we decided to be pretty ambitious and got two platters to split- Vegetarian, and Lamb. Not that either one of us is a vegetarian, but the veg plate did have a nice selection of goodness so we thought we'd merge the two.

Vegetarian Platter
w/ Spanakopita, Dolmades, Roasted Potatoes, Greek Salad and a mysterious, yet yummy eggplant and stewed tomato-type mix...

Lamb Platter w/ Roasted Potatoes & Greek Salad

Dessert was a much harder decision. There were lovely Greek mamas filling up trays and trays of sweets: Diples, a deep fried crispy pastry; Galaktoboureko, a custard-filled phyllo pastry; Kataïfi, almond & walnut pastry in syrup and Kourambiedes, almond shortcakes in powdered sugar to name a few. In the end, we decided to go pretty main-stream with a couple pieces of Baklava, a dessert made of paper-thin layers of pastry, chopped nuts, and honey. This stuff was euphoric- flaky pastry with warm notes of cinnamon, cardamon and cloves, mixed with walnuts and drizzled in sweet honey.

Baklava

We moved out of the food area for dessert, got two strong Turkish coffees, and scored a couple spots in the entertainment area where a group named Poseidon were just finishing up their last couple songs.

Baklava & Turkish Coffee hangin' out

And then, finally, it was time for the best part- coffee and dessert! Turkish coffee is made from freshly roasted beans pounded in a mortar just before brewing. The powdered coffee is boiled in a pot or cezve - I had mine with a little sugar- and served it into a cup, where the dregs settle - watch out for that!

After our bellies settled, and we took in a little more music and dancing, we rolled ourselves out to the sunshine and proceeded on our way to the valley. The crowd was getting heavier on our way out with curious people young and old looking to learn something new, try some great food, and maybe have a dance or two.

I ran into a Greek friend of mine on the way out, one of the organizers behind the event, who said that this was the best year yet. I have no doubt, and I'm sure next year's festival will top it yet again.

Grafton Street Dinner Theatre...and food phobias

This past week, I went to the Grafton Street Dinner Theater as for my office Christmas party. This is a great way to relax, have fun and get in the Christmas spirit! It was also a great way for me to get to know my new colleagues in a not so formal setting.


A delightfully creamy, seafood-packed chowda was my choice of appy. For a main, this company provides 6 choices! I, of course was the last to order but finally decided on jam-packed lobster crepes, fresh veg and a lovely creamy sauce. For dessert, a huge - and I mean huge, berry crumble of which I ate the entire thing. Sidebar - My camera died before I could photograph the tasty berry treat.

As much as I loved the food on this particular night out, I was more taken with the way the show set the wheels turning in my slightly (wine induced) cloudy brain. The show was about phobias. I have the "usual" phobias I guess - I'm petrified of sharks, and I'm not too fond of broccoli. However, I recently went for allergy testing, and I realized then and there that a true phobia of mine is the potential discovery of a food allergy.

It makes me sad when people are allergic to food. Allergies like seafood, nuts and berries - no bacon wrapped scallops, peanut M&M's and chocolate dipped strawberries? WHAT. Anyhow, it turns out that the allergies I had as a child remain: dust, dust, cats (sniff) and more dust. I have also determined this Christmas season that I might just be allergic to my Christmas tree as well. However, that is a small price to pay as Christmas comes but once a year, but bacon wrapped scallops are forever.