Striving for a little something different

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This article was published 08/02/2018 (2768 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Denizens of the Riverview and Lord Roberts neighbourhoods have been keeping an eye on the empty space at 557 Osborne St. for about a year wondering what was going to fill the former home of Begonia Gardens and before that, Sawatdee Thai.

On Jan. 8, they finally got their answer, when Oxbow opened its doors — more precisely, a heavy wooden door that swings open to reveal exposed brick behind the bar and an open kitchen; in the dining room, the walls are rich, dark blue, with exposed wooden beams and grey upholstered banquettes.

The lengthy renovation — the room was taken down to the studs — was worth the wait. The vibe is both elegant and rustic, with gleaming table settings and gilded chair backs complementing the wooden tabletops and provençal-style cloth napkins.

Lucien (Luke) Joyal, 27, has a lot of sweat equity invested in the 46-seat restaurant. The front-of-house manager worked at Sous Sol while devoting most of his spare time to the project.

He co-owns the restaurant with chef Sean Bernard, 36, formerly of the Roost on Corydon Avenue. Their other partners, Ike Hedenstierna and Caiden Bircham, also own the Roost. The dining room offers up a four-course prix fixe dinner ($46), featuring dishes such as rye spaetzle with duck heart, caramelized fennel, smoked lamb belly, butter-poached char and pumpkin-bourbon bread pudding.

Bernard explains the significance of the name Oxbow to their vision, as the word refers to both a U-shaped bend in a river and the wooden frame that attaches a team of oxen to a plow. “So that was significant to our geography and to our frame of mind when we were opening this place.”

“For us, we wanted it to be actually looking at ‘What does Manitoba produce and what do we do here?’” Joyal says. “We farm, really well. And there are tons of producers and tons of interesting products that sometimes get overlooked in terms of stuff coming from further away.”

“We’re striving to do something that’s original in the city,” Bernard says. “Right from the idea of doing a four-course menu — there weren’t very many places that were doing that, right off the hop…

“I had started off at the Roost doing small plates — that was a limitation of the kitchen size — and we were seeing a lot of places doing small plates or tapas-style food. I wanted to go in a different direction and offer a little bit more, but at the same time, I didn’t want to be doing steak and potatoes. So we found a middle ground — with the four courses, I can put out smaller plates, but you get the entire experience of the full meal to yourself.”

Another focus is natural wine, which is Joyal’s particular passion.

“It’s exciting and it’s just kind of making its way into Manitoba right now,” he says of the wine made with minimal chemical and technological intervention. “If we make a point of caring where our food is coming from and where our products are coming from, with natural wine, it’s the same thing — these are all sustainable farms, good clean practices, really caring about the production methods.

“We have a number of natural wines (at Oxbow) that are sort of stepping stones, good introductions to natural wine, but we also have some that are big challenges,” he says, adding that the staff has been trained to aid diners with choosing bottles that may not fit conventional flavour profiles. Joyal and Bernard both stress that they want to avoid the “fine dining” white-tablecloth stigma while still providing a nice night out.

“This is very blue-collar city and as much as everyone likes fancy things, there’s a lot of pretence that could be shed,” Joyal says. “We just want to provide a good product, people that care, a lot of fun and a good experience; you don’t need to wear a dinner coat.”

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The latest pop-up dinner from Manila Nights combines classic grooves with a Valentine’s vibe for Reminisce: Old School R&B Dinner and Dance Fundraiser at the Pampanga Restaurant and Banquet Hall, 349 Henry Ave., on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $50 (at bit.ly/reminiscefundraiser) for a six-course contemporary Filipino-inspired meal by chef Allan Pineda, with a portion of the proceeds to the Spence Neighbourhood Association. A ticket is also entry to the after-dinner dance party, where DJs DLO, D-Luxx and Ryan Reyes along with Tha Coach will be spinning R&B, hip hop, reggae/dancehall, new jack swing and slow jams.

It’s an 18-plus event (but organizers jokingly point out, a 30-and-over atmosphere). Attire is semi-formal, but guests are encouraged to don their ’80s, ’90s old-school hip-hop and R&B clothing. Prizes will be given to the best costumes.

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Didn’t get tickets to the 2018 Winnipeg Whisky Festival? Never fear: there’s another chance to try out a variety of scotches at the Wooden Barrel Scotch Tasting and Dinner at Mona Lisa restaurant on Thursday, Feb. 22. Local sommelier Darren Raeside will be on hand to guide you through a tasting of five different scotches (paired with a five-course dinner).

Tickets are $125 (plus tax and gratuity); call 204-488-3686 or email Marilena@monalisa.rest to make a reservation. The event begins with cocktails (cash bar) at 6:30 p.m.; dinner is served at 7:30 p.m.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier