Seared halibut with pea and padano risotto at the Velvet Glove, one of Winnipeg's best restaurants. (Photos by Robin Summerfield.)
Huffington Post recently asked Peg City Grub for some advice. The news and lifestyle website wanted to know: What makes Winnipeg's food scene rock?
PCG was happy to oblige. After all, Winnipeg food is worth talking about. Our local scene is vibrant, dynamic and full of dreamers and doers who make things happen.
We're the best-kept food secret in Canada. And it's time to be loud and proud.
With that in mind, we spent a recent Friday afternoon spilling the beans on Winnipeg's best eats. Here's Huffington Post's list of best restaurants in Winnipeg.
Here's the article. Did your favourite restaurant make their list?
Best Restaurants in Winnipeg: Where to Eat in the Peg
By Huffington Post Canada
Winnipeg might just be Canada's best-kept food secret.
The Manitoba city, with a population hovering around 700,000, has been making leaps and bounds in their restaurant scene over the past few years, and it's time everyone else learned about it.
"Especially in the last five years, I’ve just noticed a jump in people really trying to put new food on the scene and trying new restaurant concepts too," says Robin Summerfield, a journalist and blogger behind Tourism Winnipeg's Peg City Grub.
She notes trends like secret dinners and the pop-up restaurant set on frozen ice are on the rise, with chefs pushing boundaries all over the city.
"Everybody just counts us out," Summerfield tells the Huffington Post Canada. "But this is a great place to start a business. You can afford to live here and you can afford to take a chance and maybe explore the dream that you have." She points to the many coffee houses that have opened up in various neighbourhoods, creating hubs that offer a real sense of community.
Food trucks are also very hot right now, including Pimp My Rice, a Filipino food truck that helps represent the massive population from that country in the city.
And though Winnipeg may be the Slurpee capital of Canada, the real local food is pickerel.
"It's a gentle, lovely fish," explains Summerfield. "You can do anything with it. It's a clean slate, an empty canvas."
Here are Huffington Post Canada's picks for Winnipeg's best restaurants.
Segovia Tapas
Where: 484 Stradbrook Ave.
Type of food: Modern Spanish
Menu highlight: Fried Brussel sprouts, Feta mousse, baba ganoush and pomegranate dressing
Bonfire Bistro
Where: 1433 Corydon Ave.
Type of food: Wood-fired creations, including pizza, paella and fish
Menu highlight: Paella with chicken, chorizo, clams, prawns, mussels, sea scallops, green onions, tomatoes and peas baked with saffron rice
Deseo Bistro
Where: 696 Osborne Street
Type of food: Comfort food elevated to gourmet levels. "His quality is really there," says journalist and food blogger Robin Summerfield.
Menu highlight: Lobster-stuffed, serrano-wrapped half young chicken with Brussels, pancetta, truffles and pan jus
Wasabi on Broadway
Where: 588 Broadway Ave.
Type of food: Sushi and Japanese dishes
Menu highlight: Tongarashi calamari — grilled whole Japanese squid marinated with ginger soy and Asian pineapple salsa
In Ferno's Bistro
Where: 414 Academy Rd. and 312 Rue Des Meurons Street
Type of food: Continental cuisine with a focus on French preparations
Menu highlight: Arctic char stuffed with a lobster gruyère, potato mousseline over a lemon verbena sauce
Purple Hibiscus
Where: 171 Dumoulin St.
Type of food: Caribbean-style fusion dishes
Menu highlight: Bacchanal shrimp served with a choice of guava coconut glaze, curry, honey jerk, or roasted pepper rum sauce
Chew
Where: 532 Waterloo St.
Type of food: Local, Canadian food — though as they put it, "not exclusively, truffles and octopus are too good to pass up and don't grow here"
Menu highlight: Stinging nettle ravioli with braised rabbit and ricotta salata
529 Wellington
Where: 529 Wellington Cr.
Type of food: Steakhouse
Menu highlight: 22-oz. peppered ribsteak with cognac peppercorn cream sauce
V.J.'s Drive Inn
Where: 170 Main St.
Type of food: Burgers
Menu highlight: V.J.'s special burger with cheese, mustard, chili sauce, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato
Boon Burger Cafe
Where: 141 Bannatyne Ave. and 79 Sherbrook St.
Type of food: Vegan burgers
Menu highlight: Grilled Buddha patty with chickpeas, brown rice, curry, onion, fresh ginger, garlic, fresh cilantro, and lemon juice
Deer and Almond
Where: 85 Princess St.
Type of food: Small innovative plates, the chef is also behind many of the exciting food events in Winnipeg (pop-up river meals, food festivals, etc.)
Menu highlight: #humblepie with bison and bone marrow
Simon's Cuisine
Where: 513-B St. Mary’s Rd.
Type of food: Argentinian
Menu highlight: Breaded beef topped with tomato sauce, ham, mozzarella cheese, roasted red bell peppers and fried eggs
Bistro 7 ¼
Where: 725 Osborne St.
Type of food: Comfort food with a beer-loving, gourmet twist
Menu highlight: Chicken livers with Fort Garry dark ale, bacon and caramelized onions
The Velvet Glove
Where: 2 Lombard Pl. (in the Fairmont)
Type of food: Upscale, classic hotel food with local elements
Menu highlight: Veal cheek boubourguignon with truffle pommes puree, Harbourside bacon lardons, "mini" king oyster mushrooms, braised cipollini onions, natural jus
Stella’s Cafe
Where: Seven locations across the city
Type of food: Home-cooked food "if your mom had a serious spice rack," explains Summerfield
Menu highlight: Thai yellow curry made with fresh pineapple, grapes and red pepper in a sweet yellow curry and coconut sauce, served over basmati rice with Stella’s peach chutney
Kum Koon Garden
Where: 257 King St.
Type of food: Dim sum
Menu highlight: Shrimp dumplings
Hermanos
Where: 179 Bannatyne Ave.
Type of food: South American with a local slant
Menu highlight: House-breaded Manitoba pickerel topped with tartar and served with house chips
Cafe Dario
Where: 1390 Erin St.
Type of food: Latin American prix fixe menu
Menu highlight: Corn flour crusted frog legs, fried crispy and placed on a warm bed of Colombian hogao sauce
Fusion Grill
Where: 550 Academy Rd.
Type of food: Fresh, local, organic dishes — with an all-Canadian wine list
Menu highlight: Panko-crusted pickerel cheeks with local fennel bulb and orange salad, creme fraiche and Northern Pike caviar
Pizzeria Gusto
Where: 404 Academy Rd.
Type of food: Italian
Menu highlight: The Lucia, with caramelized onions, fig jam, calabrese salami, cambozola, citrus tossed arugula and pecorino
Clay Oven
Where: Three locations
Type of food: East Indian
Menu highlight: Tandoor salmon tikka with bite-sized pieces of salmon marinated in special spices
East India Company
Where: 349 York Ave. and 210 Somerset St. W.
Type of food: East Indian
Menu highlight: The 40 to 50-item lunchtime buffet
Peasant Cookery
Where: 100-283 Bannatyne
Type of food: Healthy, local food
Menu highlight: Persillade-crusted Mahi Mahi with Nantes carrot stew, asparagus coins and tips with parsley water
Here's the link to the story.
Spicy La Bomba Chicken pizza, Bonfire Bistro.
Peg City Grub is your ultimate source for everything foodie in Winnipeg. From the hottest chefs to the best new restaurants to the most delicious events, we’ve got you covered. Follow us on Twitter @pegcitygrub and visit www.tourismwinnipeg.com for more on the city’s fabulous dining options.
Peg City Grub is a Tourism Winnipeg culinary initiative.
