Viphalay - July 25, 2014

10523-99 Avenue

(780) 756-8188

Bree’s Selection

Sometimes lightning does strike the same place twice. Viphalay is located in the exact same building that our inaugural restaurant (La Tapa) was. With that in mind, Bree reserved an upstairs table near the window because we love the natural light. Our server was a real character. We neglected to get her name. She was incredibly flamboyant and outspoken.  All in all, sge was a lovely lady (but she may not have been born that way). Enough said. Now let’s talk food. Our appetizers included Thai samosas (third favourite), crispy cream cheese wontons (number two because there was too much wonton and not enough cheese), and the appetizer of the year award goes to… Goong Laow Dang (red wine shrimps). Dang it was good! After that flavour fiesta, we moved on to the main course. Bree ordered Gaeng Kiew Wan (green curry). Ang chose the spicy beef stir fry. Dave decided on Gai Himapan (Orange Cashew Nut Chicken – that English description needs an adjective, don’t you think?). For good measure, we added coconut rice. Although we ordered separately, the dishes loaned themselves to being sharing and who were we to argue? All three main courses were amazing but the green curry was served with an extra dash of pizzazz. As this point we were fairly stuffed so we limited ourselves to two desserts. There wasn’t a huge variety anyway. Both of our desserts contained fried banana. One was served with vanilla ice cream and the other with cinnamon and maple syrup. They were both delicious! By our count, Viphalay was the third Thai restaurant that Bree has chosen and as usual, it did not disappoint. Great job, Bree!

Woodwork - April 4, 2014

10132-100 Street (780)-757-4100
Ang’s Selection
In keeping with Dinner Club rules, Angela asked permission to bring her hubby Graeme as her date. Permission was granted. Before we get started though, there’s something our readership needs to know. Bree has a habit of trying to guess the restaurant ahead of time. It wouldn’t be so bad except she’s often right. We don’t know how she does it. Luckily for Ang, this wasn’t one of those times. The mystery was upheld until the moment we arrived. Immediately upon entering Woodwork, it was all about the bar. Its surface consisted of a solid wood plank that extended along the left-hand side. In behind, a series of wooden shelves stretched high to the ceiling. They were lined with bottle after bottle of alcohol. The uppermost shelf was reached via a cool sliding ladder, the kind you usually see in traditional libraries. It was like a library of booze. Mmm booze. The alcohol menu was three times larger than that of the food. It offered drinks of all hues and inventive concoctions too. For instance, Bree ordered a violet cocktail that tasted like a flower. Ang sampled a bourbon infused with whipped egg white. Some drinks they liked. Some they sent back. Plain old Dave had boring old water. Wahwahwah. As far as the food was concerned, Woodwork was our first restaurant where the menu seemed to change day by day. Angela’s appetizer was the brassica kale salad. It was effing amazing. Bree agrees. Graeme and Bree both combined chowder and a side order of warm corn bread. The chowder was loved. The corn bread, a little less so. Dave’s smaller dish was a scalding skillet of mac and cheese with pork cracklings. It was delicious. Note to self: when the waitress warns that it’s hot, it truly is. Five days later, Dave and Bree both still bear the burns marks. Oops. On to the main course. Angela reeled in a flank steak served with hickory frites (as did Graeme). She found the meat and frites super salty. Here’s some alliteration for you: Bree had the baby back ribs with beans and coleslaw. The best part by far was the beans. Dave opted for the understated country pie, a pastry stuffed with house ham and smoked chicken. It was good but it couldn’t compare to the mac and cheese he enjoyed earlier. Let’s talk about dessert baby… Let’s talk about things sweet and savoury… After ordering every dessert, the only one worth discussing was the sticky toffee pudding. It perfected the ratio of sticky toffee, pudding, sauce and whipped cream. It was amaze-balls. High five Zawada! Dinner Club out.

Mayfield Dinner Theatre - February 22, 2014

16615-109 Avenue (780) 483-4051

Dave’s Selection

Sometimes a person has to leave before she can be invited back. Former Edmontonian, now a Saskatoonian, Leia Bridge fit that category, and so she accompanied the group on this outing. The stage was set for this dinner club when we saw a warning sign that read: Caution gunshots and frightening scenes. We were worried our little Zawada would get too scared. The title of the play was Death Trap and the food was served buffet style. We were seated in a booth and it was a good thing too. People placed at tables often had to turn their heads to see the play and those located next to aisles were bothered by patrons going to and from the buffet. The selection of food looked larger than it actually was. The dining hall was sectioned into three clusters of tables. However, each section presented the same dishes as the others. Also, there was a display of desserts and a meat carving station on opposite sides of the space. Of everything we ate, the following dishes topped the list: Leia liked the Yorkshire pudding. Bree beat her way to the front of the line for the prime rib with extra extra horse radish sauce and au jus. Angela savoured the salmon lox. Dave’s favourite was the chicken stuffed with goat cheese. As good as the main course was, the desserts took the cake. Literally. There were almost too many to choose from: chocolate fondue, strawberry panacotta, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake with strawberry topping, caramel chocolate pecan, all sorts of fruit… I’m sure we we’re missing lots. Suffice it to say, the desserts were a definite highlight. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the play itself. We loaded up our dessert plates and hyped up our expectations. We hoped it would be great. There is no other way to say it. It wasn’t. This murder mystery about a writer struggling to find his muse was plagued by too many twists to the plot. Did the protagonist kill his protégé to steal his story ideas? Were both writers actually conspiring together for ulterior motives? Was the apprentice more in control than his mentor? Sorry to say, by the end we didn’t care. All in all, we loved our evening, and the company especially, but perhaps a musical would have been better in retrospect.