Taco Time - Sylvan Lake

They have a really good beef taco salad.  Fresh lettuce and tomatoes, a generous helping of beef and cheese in a tasty tortilla bowl.  If I want a crisp taco I prefer Taco Bell but for  taco salad in Sylvan Lake this is great.

Food Truck Thursdays - Chedda Heads

Who knew I would move into a town of 14,310 (and by the way I've been here a couple of weeks now - why hasn't the sign changed to 14, 311??!!) and they would have Food Truck Thursdays?  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!

I love food trucks and the opening of Food Truck Thursday in Sylvan Lake was no exception!  The sun was shining, people were out walking around, and there were six trucks there. 

I had eaten before at Chedda Heads last year in Edmonton and loved it.  Today the Rearview Mirror with cheddar, bacon, apple and maple syrup was just okay.  I will still give them another try and try another sandwich - probably next week at Food Truck Fridays in Red Deer!

King Donair

Excellent donairs!  Tasty, generous and well priced.  The owner is excellent as well.  Located right across from the lake so a great place to pick up a quick bite!  He can run out of food at times though so get their early!  He will stay open later at night as it gets busier during the summer.

Bravo Gastro Lounge

Great place on Lakeshore Drive right across from the lake.  Great ambiance.  TV's over the bar to watch the game (or Nascar race!)  The menu is divine, however, when I was there they were in the process of changing to a new menu so many of the items I wanted to try weren't available.  The service was great and I had a fun night with all the gals working.  The food was good.  The wine is overpriced in my opinion, which will dissuade me from going back often, but I will definitely go on Wednesdays when it's half price wine night.  And I will return to check out their new menu.

La Casa Pergola

New Owner + Same great Chefs = Amazing Food - as well as Amazing service by the way!!

I cannot give enough high praises about this place!  Totally loved it!!  I am new in town and had it recommended to me by a co-worker.  Based on the high praises I could not wait to go.  And it did not disappoint!

The Owners changed hands just recently (May 1st) and they have already made some great changes.  As of Sunday, May 21st they will have an amazing sidewalk patio that can seat sixteen.  It will be so nice on our great summer days!  They have half price wine on Wednesdays - who cannot pass up that deal??  And I suspect some other summer specials may be coming their way.
 
I had the Sacchetti Con Tatufo - a lovely and decadent truffle filled sacchetti (probably the creamiest filling I have tasted) in a Brandy Cream Sauce topped with Italian Black Truffles.  How does it get any better than that?!  It was scrumptious.  Delicious.  Decadent.  I loved it!  And I am a hard critic, particularly when it comes to pasta. 

They have several other dishes that come highly recommended some which are particularly interesting that you would not typically find on a lot of other menus.  For example, their Arogosta Frites(Lobster Fries) - Italian Fries topped with Langostino and their special blend of cheeses.  They offer two soups, two salads, and nine enticing appetizers including Prawns stuffed with cheese wrapped in prosciutto served with a Maple Apple Reduction (sounds amazing!) Calamari, Stuffed Risotto Balls, Crab and Shrimp Cakes and others including a Charcuterie Board of assorted imported and domestic cheeses, Italian deli meats with Focaccia and house made preserves.  $24 but if you want to add a bottle of house wine the cost is $60.  Nice way to spend an afternoon in the sun on their patio if you ask me!

They also offer seven pastas and eleven entrees of beef, veal, fish, lamb or chicken.  Some that look particularly enticing to me and that I will have to try on upcoming visits soon include: Bistecca Alexander - an 8 ounce tenderloin grilled with scallops, prawns and langostino topped with Chardonnay, Gorgonzola Cheese, cream sauce - sounds AMAZING!!  Also the Veal Saltimbocca stuffed with basil, parmesan cheese and prosciutto bakes with a brandy cream sauce.  Their Atlantic Salmon is baked in Wine with a Tarragon Cream Sacue and their Rack of Lamb is marinated in a raspberry, rosemary vinaigrette grilled and flambéed in Chambord (who does that?  Awesome!!)  For those of you that love a red sauce, they have plenty of those as well, I just always gravitate towards the creamy sauces.  Their pastas offer half size options as well. Dinners are served with a great selection of sides but you also have the option to upgrade to one of their premium sides including Lobster Risotto, Lobster Fries, Gnocchi in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce, and Pasta in a Garlic Cream Sauce or a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.  Nice!  

La Casa Pergola is also open for lunch offering two soups, four salads, five pastas, their Lobster Fries and eight mains from burgers to veal chicken steak and salmon offerings with 1/2 size options available.  A variety of yummy sounding deserts are also available. 

So back to my night.  My food was excellent, the bottle of wine recommended was great and the service from Alex was absolutely perfect.  He is a real gem!  And I appreciated Chef Cory coming out to my table so that I could share with him how much I enjoyed his food.  It was a great evening and I will be back again soon - probably next weekend!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that people believe this is a high priced restaurant.  I really have to disagree.  This is a fine dining establishment for sure.  But the food is of such high quality and the tastes and flavours are so impeccable that it is certainly worth the price point and many others restaurants of this quality are much more expensive.

My only complaint - and it's not even a complaint but rather a request.  Even though this is a fine dining establishment, I would appreciate having one wine available at a lower price point.  Most of their wines are not available in a liquor store so you are getting a good quality wine but the lowest price is $40.  Other options range between $48 and $202 with quite a good selection.  Cocktails range from $7 - $8 and up to $13.  AND THE GREAT NEWS?!  There is a HAPPY HOUR from 3 - 6 PM with Hi-balls, Beer and Wine for $6.  I would definitely recommend you check this out after work one day and then stay for an amazing dinner!

Oh and one other thing that I wasn't aware of but I read it on the back of their wine menu, they have a FIVE COURSE CHEF'S TASTING MENU for $100 per person, $160 with wine pairings.  This, in my experience, is reasonable for a five course tasting menu.  I always just order a bottle of wine, instead of including the wine pairings because they always seem priced high to me, but maybe one day I'll splurge. I'm sure it would be an amazing experience!

First Stop in Sylvan Lake - Pier 7

Upon my arrival in Sylvan Lake, my first stop was Pier 7.  I liked the name and thought it was on the water so thought it would be a good spot.  It is across the street from the water but the view of the lake is nice from the second level patio (not that I would know however).  It was a stellar, beautiful, sunny day and all of the other patios in town were open but Pier 7 was not opening theirs until the next day.  I did not feel like sitting inside so I ordered a bowl of Seafood Chowder and had a quick glass of wine.  The chowder was good although I had to ask to have it heated up and the wine was a decent price.  They have daily meal, appie and drink specials so I will return to try more of their offerings but will ensure that I sit on the patio.

I'm Back!!!!

After a long hiatus away from the Edmonton food scene (but definitely still enjoying food in Mazatlán and writing about it!) I am back in Central Alberta and ready to enjoy all the great food it has to offer! 

Three weeks ago I relocated to Sylvan Lake - what a beautiful spot!  And it, and neighbouring Red Deer, do have some great food offerings - some of which I have already enjoyed.  So here we go with more food posts which will likely mainly focus on the Sylvan Lake/Red Deer area with perhaps some trips to other cities here and there!