Wildebeest


This restaurant has been on my list for a while, it's in an odd area of town that I rarely hang around, being old and decrepit and all.

One thing to note, this is a very meat centric menu, if your a vegetarian then this restaurant is not for you!

If you do like meat, continue on!

We all decided to share everything that we ordered beginning with appetizers. We started with the Roasted Bone Marrow with buttered leeks and Oyster mushrooms.

Wow this is a fatty dish! Insanely fatty, but oh so good. It looks small, but its too much for one person, but great as a shared appetizer for a group. The marrow is very rich and buttery.

Lamb Sweetbreads, with apple and sorrel puree and charred Onion petals

This is the first time I've tried Sweetbreads... and I think it will be the last time also. It is like super strong flavoured lamb paste. I didn't like it, my sister didn't like it, even my dad who is a huge fan of sweetbreads didn't like it. He normally has beef sweetbreads. So I would skip this, and order something else. I guess my palette isn't ready for this.

Roasted Game Hen, Roasted breast and stuffed leg, purple potatoes and ricotta.

Normally I don't order poultry at a fancy restaurant. But wow! This was great! The chicken is very juicy with good (for lack of a better description) natural chicken flavour. My whole family was surprised how tasty chicken can be. I assume this was made via Sous Vide technique, but isn't stated on the menu. I would order this again in an instant!

Roasted Lamb shank with Mint & pea Risotto

The lamb shank has a nice roasted finished to it, and very tender, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Risotto was delicious, cooked perfectly and very creamy. My mom hates lamb, and was initially reluctant to even try the risotto due to its proximity to the lamb, but changed her mind quickly afterwards, as we were all quickly scooping up the risotto. The mint risotto has a nice clean finish without being too "minty". A great dish overall, but get it more for the risotto than the lamb.


Handmade Parpadelle, Quail ragu, smashed chestnuts, shaved Parmesan cheese

Wow & wow! Best dish of the night! Fresh cut pasta with a light cream sauce, covered in cheese. What's not to like? It might sound like a simple dish, but it had some very rich and deep flavours. The only fault is there isn't much quail in the dish at all. We all loved this dish and would happily order this again.

The Ribeye, Fois Gras & Bone marrow jus

The Ribeye? How pretentious... It's a properly grilled 24 ounce ribeye that tastes great. The beef is beautiful, simply done and tastes great. But there are two issues with this dish. There is supposedly foie gras & bone marrow jus, and I see a little dribble of jus, but what you see on the plate is all there is, not much at all. The other problem is price. This item is $93, a bit steep even for a 24 ounce steak. It's good, but not worth the price. You can get a great steak elsewhere, order more pasta and game hen instead!

Great restaurant, especially for us carnivores out there! Just avoid the sweetbreads... I just don't get it :-)

Portland

A few weeks ago (before the dollar tanked) we went on a mini vacation to Portland Oregon. Someone at the gym recommended a place for us to try, said it was one of the best meals he'd ever had. As I haven't been to Portland in almost 15 years, I figured I'd give it a try

The Ox

Argentinian inspired BBQ, all wood fired. Prepare yourself for an epic meal
Apologies for the poor photo's, my phone is old and the camera seems to be crapping out.

First thing I noticed upon arriving at the restaurant, that there are outdoor tables and a separate bar right next to the restaurant. I initially thought it was outdoor seating, but in fact it is the waiting area for the restaurant! The place gets so busy that a bar opened up next door just to feed and drink all the guests waiting to get into this place! This is a good sign :-)

Luckily we were the 2nd people in line, so no waiting for us.

We are lucky enough to get the chef's table, a bar area that overlooks the wood fired grill, we get to enjoy the action!

The place surprises us with a creamy butternut squash soup with caramelized apples.

 Wow! What a great way to start off the meal! The shot of soup is rich, and very flavourful, the apples add a nice cool touch to the soup.

Fresh bread with Chimichurri & salted butter

 Crisp warn fresh bread, the chimichurri is great and goes with everything including the bread.

Grilled corn, poblano & cheese empanada

One of the best empanada's I've ever had, perfectly fried with a very creamy filling, the peppers add a nice kick! Just look at  that tasty filling! Yum!

 

Did I mention yum?

Baked ricotta with confit mushrooms served with toast

Bland. Seriously disappointing, the cheese is flavourless, as are the mushrooms. The toast is burnt too. Best to avoid, not worth the price.

Sautéed Mushrooms, Foie Gras, Wilted Spinach, Spring Onion

This is the small size version of this dish... Wow! Look at the size of this thing! The Foie gras is properly served rare (there's quite a bit of it too!) with fresh mushrooms. My idea of a salad!

The main course, Grilled house Chorizo & Grilled Skirt steak

The sausage has a very meaty flavour with a nice spicy kick, Debbie really enjoyed it. The Skirt steak was amazing! It was so buttery and flavourful! Melt in your mouth good! I eat a lot of steak, but this was incredible!

Without a doubt this was a fantastic meal, worthy of the trip. The next time we're in Portland (not for a while due to the weak dollar) we will be hitting this restaurant again!

The McLobster!

Hooo Boy...

Lobster at Mcdonalds...

It is real lobster, and yes that is real lettuce too! I'd say at least 50% lettuce!

It's watery, overly vinegary, and doesn't taste of anything.

In the end, lets never speak of this again.

Ok it's been a while...


Out of the blue I passed by a random coworker of mine (whom I don't know), and she suddenly asks.. "Are you the Hungry Emperor??"... In my shock I said yes! LOL!

She shamed me for my lack of attention to this blog.

I'm sorry!

Anyways I'll try my best and update again....

So for my triumphant return to this blog I will review a Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant!

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..

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I'm serious...


No really!


Here are the pics to prove it!

Debbie always wanted to try this place, so I finally gave in.


We started with the Artichoke.

Well the official full title of the dish is Artichoke + Cashew Paté, Wild Leek + Pine Nut Pesto, Sherry Gel, Mountain Sweet Cicely, Radish, Olive Salted Taro Crisps... Sound Hipster enough for yah?

Basically it's Taro chips (free refills!) served with cashew butter & pesto, But I'll admit it was a very clean tasting dish, the pesto is especially tasty with a very rich flavour and the chips are nicely fried. As for the Sherry Gel? Needless and makes the dish sound fancy. But overall a great start!

 Debbie's main dish, A Wild mushroom Orecchiette in a light cheese sauce.

Very rich mushroom flavour, in a light but strongly flavoured cheese sauce, a little on the small side but quite filling. Another good dish... Will wonders ever cease?

My Main, Beer Battered Halloumi, Zucchini + Potato Pancake, Smashed Peas, Mint Yogurt, Acorn Garden Lemon Balm

Fried cheese, yum! Ok so this dish isn't exactly healthy, but it is vegetarian! This dish is the restaurant's take on fish & chips. It nails it completely. The cheese is rich and tasty, but the biggest surprise is the peas and the potato cake, the peas are very fresh and sweet, while the potato cake is crisp and not greasy. The yoghurt is a dead ringer for tarter sauce but much lighter and healthier tasting. This meal is great so far! EEP!

Onto dessert! Maple-Pecan Crumble, Banana, Date Caramel, Coconut-Vanilla Cream, Zimt Dark Chocolate, Chrysanthemum Sauce

A nice way to end the meal, banana custard with coconut vanilla cream, a very rich dessert. The chocolate is kinda grainy though, but everything else about this dessert is great!

Another bonus is the restaurant serves you unlimited carbonated water! So overall, I gotta admit this is a great restaurant, even for a carnivore like me! There are a lot of hipsters though... :-)