Movers and shakers: New web series will showcase local eateries

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This article was published 30/11/2017 (3243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WTF Winnipeg — that’s Where’s the Food Winnipeg, a new food web-series focused on local restaurants, pubs, lounges and cafés. The show hopes to give viewers a peek inside some of Winnipeg’s many gems and introduce them to people behind these businesses.

Each show will have different guests, including chefs, sommeliers, Instagrammers, influencers, mixologists and media personalities.

The first episode, which organizer/chef Allan Pineda says is scheduled to be up in December, will focus on the Sherbrook area, including Khao House and Have a Nice Day (a third restaurant has yet to be announced).

For more information, follow them on Instagram and Facebook at @WTFwheresthefoodwpg. Videos will be posted there, and on an upcoming website and YouTube channel.

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Bouchée Boucher, the St. Boniface butcher shop/bistro, recently welcomed new chef Blaine Robinson. The Winnipegger, who most recently worked as a sous chef at The Pear Tree in Burnaby, B.C., and spent several years working at restaurants in Australia, also served as a sous chef at Exchange District restaurant Peasant Cookery in 2013.

In other news, after hosting a series of teaser pop-ups, the bistro’s sister location, Ward 1, will have its grand opening on Saturday, Dec. 2. The menu at the former Black Rabbit and Basil’s location in the Village (135 Osborne St.) has a southern influence — expect crawfish, gumbo, seafood boils and pecan pie.

Before the “Coming Soon: Ward 1” signs went up, passersby may have seen indications that a restaurant called Little Goat would be opening in the space. That venture from former Bouchée Boucher chef Alex Svenne has since shifted to St. James.

Svenne took possession last week of the space that used to house Rustic Restaurant and Bakery at 2615 Portage Ave.; Little Goat Food & Drink will start serving breakfast next week, gradually expanding to lunches and dinners. (Svenne is hoping to have a liquor licence by January.)

“We’re trying to just have a nice little neighbourhood restaurant,” says Svenne, adding that the cuisine will be French comfort food. “There’s not a lot around here that’s not a chain or a burger place.”

The restaurant seats about 80 and will be open from 8 to 11 a.m, Tuesday to Saturday next week, expanding to 3 p.m. the following week as they add lunches.

Asked about the reason for the new location, Svenne says his partnership with Bouchée Boucher owner Steve Conner, who was the venture’s majority stakeholder, fell apart. Initially Svenne intended to leave Bouchée to take over the Osborne Village spot, “but I wouldn’t agree to a whole lot of terms so we parted ways,” he says.

Svenne says he will continue to offer catering via his website, alexanderskitchen.ca. “One of the reasons we like this space is it has a really big prep kitchen in the basement that’s all up to code, so it’s a great space to do catering out of.”

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Finally, a back-to-school idea we can get behind. Craft beer-crazy sports bar Barley Brothers, 2005 Pembina Hwy., is hosting Beer University on the last Thursday of every month, focusing a different brewery with samples, prizes and the opportunity to learn about craft beer from the people who make it.

On Nov. 30, the featured brewery is Minneapolis stalwart Surly Brewing, which began its expansion into the Canadian market this summer in Winnipeg. For more information, go to barleybrothers.ca or call 204-691-3300.

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Fans of Filipino food probably already know about Hot Rod’s Grill, hidden inside Vickar Ford at 2000 Main St. and dishing up Pinoy specialities like tosilog, pancit and isaw from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Now fans of the 20-seat restaurant’s longanisa — a sweet Filipino-style chorizo — can buy it to cook up at home. Unfortunately, owing to federal/provincial rules for selling meat, the sausages are only available directly from the restaurant ($12 for a 450-gram package), but Hot Rod’s also offers free delivery within Winnipeg ($48/month for four packages; $92 for eight).

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @dedaumier