Roadhouse’s butter chicken star of the show

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/01/2015 (3886 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

My lunch date on this day lives in the west Winnipeg neighbourhood of Assiniboia.
Even though there would have been lots of great restaurants to choose from in her community,

I suggested that we turn west on Portage Avenue and head to Headingley (no pun intended).
Within moments, we were settled in at the Roadhouse Eatery. A roadhouse is typically built on a major highway or trunk road to serve travellers going to or passing through the area. With the Roadhouse Eatery being right on the Trans-Canada Highway, it is appropriately named.

Our pick of table included beautiful antique-looking farm chairs. Right off the bat I had a hunch that we would be enjoying stick-to-your-ribs fare.  The extensive menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches, chicken, burgers and fish & chips, but also pasta, pickerel and the biggest surprise of all – Indian dishes.

When faced with the decision of what to sample, we opted to share the wildberry salad, butter chicken and homemade fries. My friend, who hails from England, indicated that Brits often order some fries along with the rice that would accompany a curried dish. If she were back home, it would be dubbed “half and half.”

Always my first taste, the fries were great and piping hot, but had perhaps not been double-fried the way I enjoy them best.   The wildberry salad was not able to live up to its name since it is not wildberry season in the middle of winter. The salad lacked the declared strawberries, raspberry and pecans but the grapes, oranges, apples and frozen blueberries were still tasty enough.

The star of the show was the butter chicken served with buttery naan bread and pilau rice made from basmati, peas, carrots and orange zest. Hearty pieces of both light and dark meat had been prepared in a spicy tomato sauce. This version was shy on the yogurt that I include in my own recipe but was deeply satisfying when ladled over the delicate rice. Was it the best butter chicken I had ever tasted? Perhaps not, but it was the best butter chicken I had ever eaten at a roadhouse!    

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Have you ever wondered what the life of a professional foodie is like? Here’s your chance to find out. Submit your suggestion for a locally-owned, independent restaurant that may be appropriate to feature in this column, with your contact details to contests@canstarnews.com or Food Musings Contest c/o Canstar Community News, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2X 3B6. You could win dinner for two at The Keg Steakhouse + Bar accompanied by Kathryne. Contest closes Feb 28, 2015. Dinner will be scheduled after March 10, 2015.

Kathryne Grisim is a local food and travel writer and blogger: foodmusings.ca She believes food = love.