Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse at Porka Palooza

 

The 2nd Annual Porka Palooza was held at Borden Park from June 19th - 21st.  This was a great event.  It would have been even better if the weather cooperated as it poured down with rain a few times and was very windy when we were there and later that evening there was hail.  But there were 25 food trucks and restaurant vendors, live music, lots of competitions and demonstrations as well as other vendors in a great big open space - so not as crowded as other events.

Our first stop at Porka Palooza was Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse.  This was a great opportunity for me to try their food as I haven't been to the restaurant as I can't possibly eat $49 worth of meat.  But it is a popular restaurant with great food and great reviews so I stopped here first to try their Pork Belly and Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs.  They were both excellent and very good value at $4 each per sampler plate.  Loved it!

 

 

 

Pico Bello Cafe

Is it ok? Yes. Will we return? No. It is a little place and compared to similar kinds of operations this is just fine. It is certainly not fine fining but nor does it intend to be. There are a small number of tables that were full the whole time we were there. The decor is tired with stained carpets, marks and scratches on the wall and pan flute music playing in the background. There is a vacuum sitting in the corner of the dining room and two more stored in the bathroom. Perhaps the ambiance at the front of the restaurant is better but we were seated at the back and all we saw was the older bus lady continually going from the back storage/kitchen area to the front kitchen carrying a tray of dirty dishes, back and forth, back and forth, leaving the door open so we could see into the storage area just pass the bathrooms. Not a nice ambiance by any stretch of the imagination. As she was walking back and forth she kept getting closer and closer to our table and at one point almost walked right into me to the point where she had to apologize. When we were leaving to pay our bill we had to wait and then had to wait some more when they over loaded the power breaker and had to go flip the breaker to get the cash register and credit card machine working again.

So - for the food. It was okay. We are always on the hunt for the best Eggs Benny and, although we couldn't find a menu for this place, I saw a review on TA mentioning Shrimp Eggs Benny so I went looking to try these. Well, the Shrimp dish is actually scrambled eggs in a cheese sauce with cajun shrimp on it and hollandaise. Although not traditional, I thought I would try it and it was okay. Nothing I'd go back for but nothing to complain about. My husband thought he would be adventurous as well and thought he'd try the Eggs Benny on waffles instead of english muffins. Well, this was weird. We kind of thought they might have small waffles the size of english muffins but it was one big waffle, topped with two basted eggs with ham and covered with hollandaise. Again, it was okay but nothing we would have again.

So, overall, glad we went to be able to try it and write a review but we won't be going back. We asked to see their dinner menu and there certainly wasn't anything that would make us make a special trip. Nothing overly inspired. Not a terrible place if this kind of place is what you are looking for.

Creations - Sawridge Inn

So I obviously had to go to see how such a restaurant could get such a prestigious rating on Trip Advisor (it was rated the #1 restaurant in Edmonton at one time). Well, after visiting, I'm still stumped. Clearly I don't understand the rating system used by Trip Advisor. I'm not even sure how any restaurant with only 32 reviews at that time could beat out all of the other great restaurants in Edmonton, even if they had all perfect ratings (which they do not). Also, all of those with only one review are somewhat suspect in my opinion.

Having said that, now on to the review. It's a restaurant in a hotel, not the location or ambiance that I would normally choose. The lobby is very nice though and it does have some interesting artifacts but the previous comments about the little bugs in the restaurant are absolutely true. So our party tried a number of different dishes and tasted each so we could sample many different things. For appetizers we tried the Lobster Bisque, the Warm Cheesy Forest Mushroom Dip and the Pan Fried Dumplings. The Lobster Bisque was good, nothing that I would return for, but good. The Warm Cheesy Forest Mushroom Dip, on the other hand, was absolutely amazing. Very delicious! The Dumplings were also good but not anything any different from dumplings you can get anywhere else.

On to the main course. We had the AAA Strip Loin Steak, Fish and Chips, Lobster and Pea Risotto and the Apricot Stuffed Chicken Wrapped in Bacon. All of the dishes were decent. My friends thought the chips with her Fish and Chips were some of the best chips she's ever and - and she likes chips! My other friend liked her risotto. I tried it and wasn't overly impressed but maybe because I didn't get a piece of lobster. My chicken was very tasty but a little dry - but I know better than to order chicken in a restaurant for exactly that reason. But the stuffing of apricots and almonds was tasty. The fourth in our party had to send her steak back as it was well done. When it was returned it was tasty. Because of this we were offered a free desert so we chose the Crème Brulee to share which was very good. The prices were exceptionally reasonable for what we got and even more so given that restaurants in hotels often inflate their prices. Not here. The service was a little awkward but fine overall. In the end, it was decent but I likely won't return.





 

Ricky's Grill - 170th Street

Went after work today for "Wine Wednesday".  Wouldn't have thought of going there to eat but there menu looks pretty good!  I had some Panko Breaded Prawns which were just fine.  My friend ordered the Baked Brocco 4 Cheese Soup - excellent!  I will be back for a bowl of this again.  There were a number of other dishes on my menu which piqued my interest as well which was surprising but true!

   

 

Note though - and this is important!  A 6 oz glass of wine was $4.  A 9 oz glass of wine was $7.  We, of course, wanted the 9 oz glass so that's what we ordered.  But, on reflection, we could have got two 6 oz glasses (each, of course0 for $8.  Rookie mistake!!

 

Chef Nikko

Chef Nikko has his first Chef's jacket!  So exciting (for the mama!)

Celtic Knot

Went here on Saturday night for a retirement party.  It is a good venue for a large group as there is a separate room/area for special events.  The service was excellent.  The food was okay for what it was - a group of us shared an appetizer platter.  Wine was reasonably priced.  They had live music playing at 9:00 pm. 

What the Truck?! Brunch on the Boulevard - June 14th

 

This was a great event!  The weather was not great and the wind made it a little cool but there were hardly any lineups when we were there.  Not great for the trucks but great for the guests - not at all like the event a few weeks ago at Churchill Square where the lineups were crazy.

  

And the food was GREAT!

 

First up was Street Eats.  Where has this truck been all my life?  And why isn't it out more often around town.  Had the most amazing Lobster Grilled Cheese.  It was just packed with lobster and was delicious.  Very good for $9. 

 



Next we were off to Phat Tony's.  Probably the best bites of the day.  They had Smashed Potatoes covered in sour cream, cheese, bacon and green onions.  It was delish!  They were very generous with the toppings and this has now become their "signature dish".  Was excellent!

Along with the potatoes was the Benny in a Bowl.  Look at how beautiful this dish is!  It was really, really good and the fruit cup on the side was so fresh and tasty.  Great!

 Look at how awesome this looks!

 

 

 

And then we were off to Cuisine on Wheels.  Had a Bacon Wrapped Cheese Dog.  Not the most experimental dish we could have tried but it was really good!

Next up was Nhon Hoa to try a bubble drink again.  Still not crazy about them.  I'll try one more time.

  I'm the hand model!

 

Then to Dolce and Banana for desert.

 

I had the Pistachio Panna Cotta.  It was okay.

 

All in all a great day! Thanks to the organizers for all the work involved in putting on this event and to the food trucks for showing up.  We loved it!