Garden of Eat'n
Variety: Acadian, Mediterranean and Persian
Address: 6293 Quinpool Road
Date Visited: Friday, November 22, 2013
Orders: Chicken and Beef Shwarma Plate, Stuffed Grapeleaves, Zeitoon Parvardeh
Taste: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Portion Size: 9 + 9 = 18/20
Presentation: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Value: 8 + 9 = 17/20
Service: 8 + 9 = 17/20
Bonus: 1
Minus: -
Final Grade: 85% (Exellent)
(Scoring:
100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good,
60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40%
to -1% = Abysmal)
Notes: To say that this was a complete surprise would be an understatement. With all due respect, I don't know whether it's that I find the restaurant's moniker too kitschy for my taste or just plain stupid, but it's one of the reasons why we didn't visit sooner. That, and fusing Acadian, Mediterranean AND Persian cuisine? That just sounds a little too wacky. Well, my friends, our joint gut reaction was WRONG. Our friend B was in town for a couple of days and we joined up with our other pal R (who'd been to Eat'n before, usually just for a late night falafel) and settled on this place due to its location as well as a means to try and find something we'd all like. Walking in, it had a really cool atmosphere - kind of like a place you wouldn't mind hanging out for a few hours with friends (which is what happened, both because R was running late and because we all had lots of catching up to do!) The servers were very patient with us and didn't rush us, which was most appreciated. When R finally arrived, we let him order the appetizers because he was more familiar with the fare than us. J usually doesn't dig stuffed grape leaves (dolmades) but these ones were pretty good and the zeitoon parvadeh was phenomenal! We didn't know what we were eating at first and, frankly, it looked kinda...um...like poop...but this olive and walnut concoction was just marvellous. A real winner buried on the back page of the menu! We both decided to go for the Chicken and Beef Shwarma Plate - a hearty and heaping plate with a salad and curry spinach rice. Yum! After we finished eating, we stuck around for a while longer and then they whipped out the hookah water pipes for some of the other patrons. We didn't partake, but it only added to the vibe. T thought this was so cool that she insisted on a bonus point, bumping The Garden of Eat'n into the upper echelon of the Hfxfoodreviews rankings.
Final Verdict: We're not crazy about the name, but you'd be crazy not to give it a try!
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Review #53 - Talay Thai Restaurant
Talay Thai Restaurant
Variety: Thai
Address: 1261 Barrington Street
Date Visited: Saturday, November 16, 2013
Orders: Sweet & Sour Beef, Pad Thai, Cashew Chicken, Deep Fried Spring Rolls
Taste: 7 + 7 + 8 = 22/30
Portion Size: 9 + 9 + 9 = 27/30
Presentation: 8 + 8 + 8 = 24/30
Value: 8 + 8 + 8 = 24/30
Service: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18/30
Bonus: 1
Minus: 3
Final Grade: 75% (Good)
(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)
Notes: Our friend B was staying with us for a few weeks and joined us for dinner after the Parade Of Lights. Well, not AFTER the parade, we got tired of waiting for the parade to resume (apparently there was some kind of medical emergency earlier in the route, but the marshals didn't relay any info to us, and standing there for half an hour with nothing going on wasn't much fun). To be honest, this didn't put us in the best headspace, but we'd been looking forward to this meal for weeks so we had high hopes. We had a group reservation in the private room (another reason for our premature departure from the parade) and, yeah, definitely a sweet room (hence the bonus point!) Not particularly quiet but marvelous decor and far enough removed from the rest of the patrons to feign a little privacy. Anyway, we loves us some Thai food but have to be mindful of T's onion allergy. We alerted the server and she said no problem. The restaurant was busy-ish but far from full. However, it was a full 45 minutes from the time we placed our order until the appetizers arrived (we shared the deep fried spring rolls, always good) and another 15 minutes until the main arrived. At no point during this wait did the server return to check on us, offer an explanation or even to refill the beverages. Two minutes points there. The other minus point came in the form of notifying us as our cashew chicken arrived that there had been onion in the sauce so they served it with no sauce at all, just a bit of water that tasted of MSG. A reasonable alternative would have been to provide a different sauce on the side in case we'd like to give it a shot, or at least to tell us in advance and give us an opportunity to order something else. We absolutely appreciated the attention paid to the onion allergy, but the execution was really disappointing. The rest of the meal was quite good, though and aside from the wait and the cashew chicken fiasco, we were pretty satisfied - this otherwise might have been one of our higher rated restaurants in town. Pity.
Final Verdict: Tasty Thai, great private room, but service issues soured the experience.
Variety: Thai
Address: 1261 Barrington Street
Date Visited: Saturday, November 16, 2013
Orders: Sweet & Sour Beef, Pad Thai, Cashew Chicken, Deep Fried Spring Rolls
Taste: 7 + 7 + 8 = 22/30
Portion Size: 9 + 9 + 9 = 27/30
Presentation: 8 + 8 + 8 = 24/30
Value: 8 + 8 + 8 = 24/30
Service: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18/30
Bonus: 1
Minus: 3
Final Grade: 75% (Good)
(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)
Notes: Our friend B was staying with us for a few weeks and joined us for dinner after the Parade Of Lights. Well, not AFTER the parade, we got tired of waiting for the parade to resume (apparently there was some kind of medical emergency earlier in the route, but the marshals didn't relay any info to us, and standing there for half an hour with nothing going on wasn't much fun). To be honest, this didn't put us in the best headspace, but we'd been looking forward to this meal for weeks so we had high hopes. We had a group reservation in the private room (another reason for our premature departure from the parade) and, yeah, definitely a sweet room (hence the bonus point!) Not particularly quiet but marvelous decor and far enough removed from the rest of the patrons to feign a little privacy. Anyway, we loves us some Thai food but have to be mindful of T's onion allergy. We alerted the server and she said no problem. The restaurant was busy-ish but far from full. However, it was a full 45 minutes from the time we placed our order until the appetizers arrived (we shared the deep fried spring rolls, always good) and another 15 minutes until the main arrived. At no point during this wait did the server return to check on us, offer an explanation or even to refill the beverages. Two minutes points there. The other minus point came in the form of notifying us as our cashew chicken arrived that there had been onion in the sauce so they served it with no sauce at all, just a bit of water that tasted of MSG. A reasonable alternative would have been to provide a different sauce on the side in case we'd like to give it a shot, or at least to tell us in advance and give us an opportunity to order something else. We absolutely appreciated the attention paid to the onion allergy, but the execution was really disappointing. The rest of the meal was quite good, though and aside from the wait and the cashew chicken fiasco, we were pretty satisfied - this otherwise might have been one of our higher rated restaurants in town. Pity.
Final Verdict: Tasty Thai, great private room, but service issues soured the experience.
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