Tag Archives: Currents of Windermere

Edmonton Restaurant Review: vivo Ristorante (Windermere)

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Bruschetta & Ricotta

I’m always looking to try new eateries, so I was super excited to hear that vivo Ristorante was opening a Windermere location, which is in my neck of the woods. In late spring, they welcomed patrons into the space previously occupied by Chili’s (layout remains the same). At first, the reviews seemed somewhat dire, so I was apprehensive to go right away; we waited until this month before we ventured over.

Now, to be fair, this iteration of vivo Ristorante is not the same as their two other restaurants in west Edmonton or Sherwood Park. Although I’ve never been to either of those (yet), they have a reputation for serving upscale Italian food. While the menu still leans towards Italian-style dishes in Windermere, the atmosphere is a lot more casual and they’re catering towards a clientele that wants to have an enjoyable meal out without breaking the bank.

Their menu is reasonably priced with the most expensive pizza/pasta/burger coming in at $18 and the majority of the mains in the mid-twenties range. Plus, they offer a daily happy hour that includes drink specials or food items such as arancini, meatballs, and bruschetta from 2:00pm to 6:00pm and again from 10:00pm to close for a steal.

Beer & Cocktails are on special during happy hour!

When we dropped by during the August long weekend, we found out that on Mondays they have all day happy hour, so even though it was past their usual time frame, we were able to take advantage of the deals. Kirk got a Snake Lake draught ($6 after a $3 discount) and I got a High Tea signature cocktail ($11 after $3 off). I found the beer to be pretty good; it was cloudier than expected, but it was smooth and didn’t leave a lingering bitterness at the end. The High Tea cocktail had two ounces of alcohol in a small glass, so it was initially quite potent; however, after some food, the flavour seemed to mellow and it was pleasant to sip throughout our meal.

To eat, we shared a few happy hour plates (all up to fifty per cent off) including four Meatballs ($0.97 each), four Sliders ($2.50 each), and Bruschetta ($5). Additionally, I wanted to try their Brussels Sprouts ($9), and Gnudi ($16) for some variety. The food was prepared quickly and, before we knew it, dishes were being presented at our table.

Sliders

I’ll start with the Sliders because we did have an issue with them. The patties in the first batch that came out actually had raw centers. We made our server aware of the problem, and she was quick to take them away and offered to either have the dish taken off of the bill or to have them remade. We still wanted to eat the miniature burgers, so we asked that the kitchen just make a second order for us. They turned out much better. Fully cooked all the way through, the all-beef patties were juicy on the inside with a nice char on the outside. The sweet pepper relish, provolone cheese, and vivo sauce hit the spot with a mix of salt and sweet. When we got the bill, I saw that they actually comped both the original plate and the replacement for us, which I thought was excellent on the part of their management and staff.

Meatballs
Meatballs

Continuing with the meats, vivo’s Meatballs are made with all-beef as well. They’re covered in a rich marinara sauce with a decent sprinkling of asiago cheese and focaccia crumbs. The balls were pretty succulent and they fell apart easily with a fork. Since you can order as many as you want from the happy hour menu, I recommend getting them as a side to one of their meatless pasta dishes.

Bruschetta
Comes with Ricotta

I was surprised by the portions of the Bruschetta, which not only came with the diced compilation of sweet bell pepper, jalapeno, and roma tomato, but also included a generous bowl of herbed ricotta cheese with grape tomatoes, basil, and mint oil. Five or six large slices of crostini completed the dish. It was light and refreshing, and, despite having jalapeno in it, it was not spicy.

Brussels Sprouts
Crispy pancetta with Brussels sprouts

The wonderfully fried Brussels Sprouts were a different take on the veggie in that they were served in a spicy honey. The requisite crispy pancetta was there for the savouriness, but the heat and the sugar was unique. Most other restaurants avoid the sweet route with Brussels sprouts whereas vivo jumped right in. It totally works, especially when the tiny cabbages are fried so beautifully and the honey plays off the smokiness of the charred leaves.

Gnudi

My pasta dish came out a little later as a main course, but I snacked on the Gnudi between helpings of everything else that we were still working on. It also arrived with a rolled slice of crispy pancetta that I broke apart and stirred into the sauce. The meat provided hits of salt that cut through the otherwise bright and citrusy in-house lemon cream sauce. Green peas and pine nuts brought in texture that balanced out the pillowy pieces of fresh-made toasted ricotta and spinach gnocchi. A thick slice of garlic toast came with the dish, too. I was worried it might be overly crunchy, but it was actually perfect and soft in the middle, making it the ideal vessel for sopping up any leftover sauce.

In the end, I didn’t have anything to worry about with vivo Ristorante. The service was attentive and caring; they went out of their way to make things right. Sure, they have some poor reviews online. Yet, I think most of them were from patrons of their other locations who expected the same sort of menu and upscale quality they were used to. They didn’t realize that the new vivo Ristorante Windermere was aiming to be more relaxed with a very unpretentious menu. It’s not five-star dining by any means, but the food is affordable and satisfying nonetheless.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Buco Pizzeria + Vino Bar

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The open kitchen of Buco Windermere is surrounded by bar seating.

Sorrentino’s Restaurant Group expanded in mid-2015 with Buco Pizzeria + Vino Bar in St. Albert. While I’ve never visited that location, a friend of mine is the executive chef at the newer Epcor Tower spot in downtown Edmonton. It’s just blocks away from Rogers Place. For me, the closest and most convenient is in Windermere.

My fiancé and I recently popped in to check it out. We spent an entire $65 OpenTable dining cheque on an indulgent Saturday afternoon lupper (lunch-dinner). The reason why we chose to go at that time is because they offer Social Hour specials daily from 2pm to 5pm and 9pm to close.

It’s nice and airy inside with an industrial feel.

Even in the middle of the day, there were a decent number of guests seated in both the industrial style lounge and dining room. However, there were just a few staff on hand, so service was a little slower than it should have been. It was worth it though, and it kind of forced us to sit there and enjoy our meal rather than quickly rushing through it all.

My Peaches ‘n Cream cocktail at the front and the featured Shock Top draft at the back.

To start, my significant other opted to go for their feature draft. At $5 for 12 oz. it was reasonable (regularly $7.50). That day’s option was Shock Top, so nothing too special. I chose to try their Peaches ‘n Cream cocktail ($5 for Social Hour, usually $9.50) — peach grappa, peach purée, white tea, and peach infused whipped cream. Our server said it took longer to make it because they had an issue with the whipped cream dispenser. That’s no big deal. I was more annoyed with the fact that it was so messy. The drink was filled so high that it was spilling down the sides of the glass and I got whipped cream all over my hands and the table. They never bothered to wipe that down or offered to bring extra napkins or anything. Other than that, I could have done without so much ice. The cocktail comes in a short glass, so the more cubes there are, the less drink there is, and I finished it really quickly.

For sustenance, we shared a Carne E Formaggio Board for 2 people ($12, typically $22), a Carne pizza, and a Fig Prosciutto pizza ($12 each, outside of Social Hour it’s $21). This was a ton of food and could easily have fed another couple.

Carne E Formaggio Board for 2 People

The cheese and charcuterie board was brought out as a starter, so we were able to snack on that first. This actually wowed us because we weren’t expecting the smaller size to be such an extensive spread. I think the only constructive feedback we have about this item is that it needs to come with more slices of bread. There were only two pieces per person. It meant the ratio of bread to cheese and meat was off, and it’d be nice to have more bread to balance everything out. Otherwise, the variety of cheese included a mix of both hard and soft textures and a range of mild to pungent flavours. The meats were also great. They stuck to the more familiar cured meats like prosciutto and salami, which ensures everything will be eaten when it comes to a chef’s choice type of situation.

Carne Pizza
Olive Oil with Hot Chili Pepper for dipping.
Fig Prosciutto Pizza

For the pizzas, we were eventually asked if we were ready to have them fired up. We felt like we’d had enough of the board, so we said yes. It didn’t take too long for them to bake in their oven and they came out piping hot. The Carne is a pie layered with red sauce, meat, meat, and more meat. The toppings included short rib, Italian sausage, pepperoni, and bacon for the protein. Smoked caciocavallo and fior di latte filled the cheese quotient. This pizza was everything a meat lover could want as there was just so much of it and it was incredibly savoury. On the ligher side of scale, our Fig Prosciutto pizza is made without tomato sauce. It consisted of fontina cheese, fig jam, prosciutto, and balsamic drizzle. It has that salty-sweet combo that is appealing to a lot of palates. The crusts were easy to fold, crispy and slightly charred on the outside, and a little chewy in the middle.

Raspberry Ricotta Cake

Half of our meal was packed up to go as there was no way we could finish it all at once. But, we did save some room for dessert. In the end, we shared a slice of the beautifully presented Raspberry Ricotta Cake ($9). It was a bit more crumbly than I thought it should be despite the moistness of the ricotta and vanilla based cake. Still, the raspberry coulis, fresh berries, and fresh whipped cream did a good job of tying everything together.

We’ll definitely have to go back again soon to sample more items. Nevertheless, judging by what we’ve eaten there so far, overall, Buco Pizzeria’s menu is up to snuff. Where they can certainly use improvements is with the servers and management. They seemed kind of oblivious to the fact that they had guests. They were more preoccupied with setting up the restaurant for the evening and ignored current patrons unless they were blatantly waved at. It shouldn’t be a requirement to make full on eye contact with a staff member in order to get any service. They need to be trained to be more attentive. Hopefully, I’ll see changes with respect to that next time I’m there.

Edmonton Restaurant Review: Sushi Shop

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I plated my order from Sushi Shop at home.

Living in the deep southwest corner of Edmonton, there weren’t a whole lot of dining or takeout options when I first moved into the area. Thankfully, things have improved. In late 2015, I found a flyer for Sushi Shop in my mailbox. It’s a quick service chain restaurant located in the Currents of Windermere development (also available in Kingsway Mall, City Centre and Southgate Centre). The first under the brand originally launched out of Quebec and is born out of the MTY Group, which has brought other recognizable names like Jugo Juice, Mucho Burrito and Thai Express to strip malls and food courts everywhere. Sushi Shop coupons are delivered to nearby neighbourhoods on a seasonal basis, so I usually order from them maybe a dozen times throughout the year.

Before putting my thoughts down for this review, I happened across a bunch of write-ups from other customers on Yelp and Google, and, to some degree, I completely understand where some of the bad ones come from. Many of the terrible notes were more to do with the service. I’ve had my share of incidents with this location. Sometimes staff don’t pick up the phone even after multiple calls, the wait can be long for the food, they don’t necessarily acknowledge patrons as soon as they walk in, etc. But, this is one of the closest and more affordable sushi options at hand.

California Classic Maki
Ebi Maki

For the most part, I’ve rarely been disappointed with what we’ve gotten. While I do wish they’d use real crab meat instead of imitation, the quality has, otherwise, almost always been more than decent. Although, admittedly, while upkeep of the store has gotten better, the rolls have, for some reason, been found looking less desirable lately. The fillings spill out, the rice isn’t wrapped tightly enough, and sometimes the rice is softer than I’d prefer; however, it still comes across as fresh and everything tastes good. After numerous visits, my fiancé and I have learned to stick with what we know is tried and true. Usually, we only sample something new when there’s a coupon offering a free item with purchase.

Diablo Blossom
Philly Crispy Roll

Surprisingly, a few of the giveaways, including the Black Mamba Maki ($9.95), Diablo Blossom ($8.95), Philly ($8.95) or Dragon Eye ($9.95) Crispy Rolls, Lion Sumomaki ($7.95), and Teriyaki Bomb Temari ($7.95 for 4) have actually been pretty great. Others like the Magik Blossom ($8.95) have not been up to par (this one tasted off; I’m not sure if it’s always like that or if an ingredient in the roll was past due).

Some have said that the prices aren’t much less than what you would pay at a more formal sushi restaurant. Therefore, they don’t see the value in spending their money here. But, I beg to differ. The majority of the rolls are between $7 to $10. Equivalents elsewhere probably range from $11 to $15 per roll. On top of that, gratuity is required. At Sushi Shop, if I want to, I can just pay the bill outright and be done with it. I carry my food to go and I get to eat in the comfort of my home. Usually, for about $25 to $30, both of us are fed to the point of bursting, and that’s just not possible at other sushi joints in the city (perhaps save for Tokyo Express).

Sweetheart Maki
Akanasu with Avocado
Inari Nigiri

My fiancé tends to go for the rolls with fully cooked fillings like the Ebi Maki ($5.95) and California Classic ($5.95). It’s hard to go wrong with those ones. I’m a little more adventurous, but also cheap, so my top picks for affordability are the Sweetheart Maki ($7.95; contains minced salmon and smoked salmon), Akanasu — sun-dried tomato pesto and light cream cheese — with Avocado ($4.95), and Inari Nigiri ($3.75).

Honestly, Sushi Shop is perfect for a quick fix whenever you have a craving. It’s definitely not going to be the best sushi anyone’s ever had. But, why are people expecting that from a fast food joint in the first place? Set your expectations based on what you’re buying into and it’ll be fine.