Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
Dish
Every Second Friday
The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.
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Rethinking restaurant reviews
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The last time the Free Press ran an honest-to-goodness restaurant review, stars and all, was on March 12, 2020. We all know what happened next.
The pandemic changed everything about the way restaurants operate which, in turn, changed everything about how we cover restaurants. A decision was made early on to do away with star ratings while the industry was in survival mode and our longtime restaurant critic, Alison Gillmor, adapted with roundups of favourite spots across the city and occasional takeout reviews.
Indoor dining has returned to some semblance of normal and new restaurants are popping up all over. How entrepreneurs remain undeterred after the hardships of the last three years is a mystery to me.
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Internally, we’ve been discussing how we want to cover restaurants right now. The consensus: a return to full-scale reviews isn’t realistic at the moment (resources, man) and star ratings remain off the table (pun intended). Yet, we still want to give readers a sense of the food being made in local restaurants.
Enter Tasting Notes (kudos to my colleague, Jen Zoratti, for the name), a new series that combines reported stories with a glimpse of what’s on the menu. These aren’t wholesale reviews, just a taste of a signature dish or a popular menu item.
The sourdough at Petit Socco is served with most dishes, including the Iberico chorizo, guindillas and nicoise olives. (Mikaela MacKenzie / WInnipeg Free Press)
You can check out my first foray into this format here, featuring an interview with chef Adam Donnelly (formerly of Segovia) and Courtney Molaro, the couple behind Petit Socco on Stafford. The story includes a taste of Donnelly’s sourdough bread, which undergoes a 48-hour ferment and is served with most courses on the small menu.
I’m excited to embark on this new series and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Any additional info you’d like to see in future installments? Ideas for restaurants to cover? Drop me a line.
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Eva
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If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider forwarding it to others. They can sign up for free here.
And make sure to check out the other Free Press newsletters, such as Jen Zoratti’s Next, which dives into what’s next in arts, life and pop culture, or Business Weekly, with the latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
You can browse all of our newsletters here.
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Tasty tibits
- Chef Edward Lam of Yujiro Japanese Restaurant took home gold at the regional qualifier of Canada’s Great Kitchen Party last weekend. He will go on to represent Winnipeg in the Canadian Culinary Championships in February. Chefs Brent Genyk, of Harth Mozza and Wine Bar, and Pamela Kirkpatrick, of Bonnie Day, placed second and third, respectively.
- A Scott Bagshaw original is included in Canada’s Best New Cookbook, a recent release from Air Canada enRoute. The cookbook features a recipe for Enoteca’s beef tartare with XO sauce, pho aioli, cured egg, foie gras and sourdough from the local chef and restaurateur.
- South Osborne’s Tabula Rasa (725 Osborne St.) has had an adjacent cocktail bar in the works for some time to accompany their elevated, small-ish plate eatery — and it appears it’s now nearing completion. They’re currently in the obligatory stage of waiting for permits/plumbing/etc., but the Tabula Rasa folks are hoping to have Solera up and running in the next couple of weeks or so. If you’re familiar with the cocktails they (and sister eatery Sous Sol) have been serving up so far, get excited for this.
- Sleepy Owl Bread is returning after a months-long hibernation. The Wall Street bakery, which was founded by Joanne Toupin and Beau Burton and shuttered in May, will be reopening under the same name and in the same location, but with new ownership. According to an Instagram post, the new owners aim to stay true to the original recipes.
Recommended fare
Ben: I just returned from D.C., and kept myself busy on the flights to and from Winnipeg reading Acid for the Children, the funny and heartfelt memoir by Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea (born Michael Balzary). It chronicles his troublemaking formative years in Australia, New York and finally L.A., his longtime friendship with Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis and original guitarist Hillel Slovak, his first forays into music and more. Oh, and I blasted through the eight-part Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which beautifully scratches an itch for anyone who enjoyed the Peter Jackson films.
Eva: I’m currently in the throes of kitchen renovations and have been listening to a great many podcasts while painting, installing cabinets incorrectly and washing dishes in the bathtub. We Were Three, a new three-part audio doc from Serial and the New York Times, chronicles the tumultuous dynamic of a small American family and what happens when two of its members die from COVID. It’s sad, heartfelt and honest.
Homemade
Homemade: Recipes and Stories from Winnipeg and Beyond is a community cookbook celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Free Press. Copies can be purchased online. Join our Facebook group for recipe sharing and home cooking conversations.
This week’s recipe for Easy Baked Bannock comes from Sarah Schwartz.
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More stories to sink your teeth into
Eva Wasney:
Kitchen party for 10!
Ex-Segovia chef Adam Donnelly and partner Courtney Molaro flex their creativity with a small space, big ambience and creatively changing menu
Read More
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
Dish
Every Second Friday
The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney.
Sign up for Dish
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