Restaurants come together for theatre fundraiser

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This article was published 14/03/2019 (2408 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Love theatre? Into food? Fond of wine? Then Prairie Theatre Exchange’s annual fundraiser, PTE Pairings, is the event for you.

On Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m., the Winnipeg theatre welcomes a host of local restaurants and food providers into its Portage Place space, offering attendees the chance to try hors d’oeuvres, snacks, small plates, pastries and desserts, all perfectly paired with a variety of vinos — red, white, rosé, sparkling — and even some ciders.

Among the outlets dishing up delicacies at this year’s event are High Tea Bakery, Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant, Prairie 360, Promenade Café and Wine, Clementine, Gates on Roblin, VG Fairmont, Brazen Hall, KYU Grill, Kevin’s Bistro, Melt Chocolate, Decadence Chocolate, Aschenti Chocolate, Prairie Oils and Vinegars and Dead Horse Cider.

As always, wine pairings have been curated and provided by Kenaston Wine Market, which also operates a pop-up store on the premises for attendees to purchase bottles (some vendors products are also for sale). Some of the wineries represented this year include Benjamin Bridge, Ogio, Stratus, Clos de Fous, Pino Doncel, Yalumba, Curvos, La Bastide St. Dominique and many more.

There are just a few tickets left for the event, which include unlimited food and beverage samples, and a partial tax receipt. They’re $100 at pte.mb.ca.

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Denizens of West Broadway may be lamenting the fact that Khao House has permanently decamped for its new location at the Good Will Social Club at 625 Portage Ave., but they won’t have long to wait before a new restaurant opens up in the cosy space at 126 Sherbrook St. The house that was formerly home to chef Randy Khounnoraj’s Asian-inspired comfort food will soon be the site of Roughage Eatery, a vegan restaurant run by partners Jessie Hodel and Candice Tonelete.

The pair, who have been running a catering business and doing pop-ups under the Roughage name, are hoping to have things up and running by May. Initially, they had planned to open in the Portage Avenue space formerly occupied by Jonnies Sticky Buns — along with 1882 Fruit Based Hot Sauce and the Cozmic Wolfe Tea Room and Café — but when the Sherbrook space became available, they jumped at the chance to have their own kitchen.

“For us, I would prefer not to have to share the kitchen, because of the type of food that I do,” Hodel says. “So that outweighed the benefits of sharing space.”

The licensed cafe will have a capacity for about 10 sit-down diners, and will also have a take-away counter for deli items, vegan cheeses and snacks like black-bean burritos, pizza subs (with meatless pepperoni), bahn mi (with tofu tocino), adobo siopao buns and spanakopita (with almond feta).

For updates, follow the restaurant at Instagram.com/roughage.eatery.

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After a couple of months of teasing a new menu and a new concept with copious Instagram posts, Boulevard Bistro and Pub announced on Saturday that it would be closing permanently as of March 20. The Charleswood neighbourhood restaurant at 3670 Roblin Blvd., had announced on Jan. 5 it would be rebranding under a new name. The bistro side had been closed for renovations, while the lounge side stayed open and began debuting a different menu with a focus on craft cocktails, shared plates and flatbreads (a change some longtime customers weren’t entirely happy with).

Although renovations are ongoing, Boulevard’s serving staff has been laid off. According to the restaurant’s posts on social media, the space will continue to operate as an eatery, but under the guidance of a new ownership group (all Boulevard gift cards will be honoured, however).

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BaoHouse restaurant at 637 Corydon Ave., which had its grand opening on March 8, has finalized its regular hours. The Asian fusion bistro — which features such Instagram-friendly items as an ahi tuna sushi tower and a deep-fried Oreo ice cream bao — will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dedaumier