Parking was INSANE! We had to park about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the park where it takes place. I'm sure they call it Kinsmen Park but it's located to side of the picturesque Bessborough Hotel. We bought 11 tickets at $2.50 each. Most dishes were 2 tickets each with some desserts and drinks being only 1. Each venue offers 3 choices.
Both, Hubby and I had scouted out the website which had the list of 30 restaurants taking part in the event. We decided our first stop would be to a brand new place.....so new in fact that it doesn't open until tomorrow.....the Bell & Whistle Bar & Bistro. We ordered the Sundried Tomato Bruschetta. Hubby is all over Bruschetta lately since he got it at Pizza Pirates. It was presented to us in a cup much like those from the fro-yo places.....the bruschetta was in the bottom and the bread was rising out of it like the rocks of Stonehenge. It was good. No it wasn't the best we've had. The bread wasn't toasted but yet was almost....I have no idea what they did to it. The tomato was a little too tomato sauce like and not really chunky as we've had it before.
We ate under a tree.
In the next booth was Saboroso Brazilion Steakhouse. It was my turn to order so I chose Picanha Taco which was a shredded prime cut of beef. How it was presented was a taco with the beef on top and then I got to choose from toppings. I choose guacamole and a tomato/corn salsa. I really enjoyed this dish. The beef wasn't really anything special, but the toppings were amazing and really made it delicious!
Moving along we stopped at La Bamba. Now, a loooooong time ago Hubby and I tried to go to this place and people were lined up out the door. After tasting some of their food, I now know why! We ordered the Tostadas de Pollo with refried beans. Holy smokes were the refried beans amazing! I don't know what they did to them but I've never ever had refried beans like that! The tostada was filled with a flaked chicken and had a lemon cilantro sauce. The combination was really good.
We wandered around looking at the various booths. Some of them were places we've already been to while others Hubby had heard didn't give very much for the tickets. Some of his coworkers had already been there for lunch. So we stopped at a place and a restaurant which we found last fall and totally fell in love with the Louisiana cuisine. Hubby ordered Jambalaya from Mardi Gras Grill. It came with two giant shrimp and nice pile of rice and the sauce. It was perfect. It wasn't too mild and wasn't too hot. Then Hubby decided we should get the dessert from that booth too.....Flambe Bananas Foster Cheesecake. This might be the most incredible dessert I have ever eaten since New York. PLUS we got to see the chef actually flambe the bananas. They tasted like cinnamon and rum but it wasn't over powering and those flavours along with the bananas and cheesecake.....well......*faints*
To finish things off, I went to the booth right next to Mardi Gras Grill - the Winston's English Pub and ordered what I had seen everyone walking around with.....the Saskatoon Berry Iced Tea. I've had it other places before but I really liked this drink. It wasn't too sweet and yet was very refreshing.
On the bandstand during the whole even is various entertainment. When we first got there, my coworker who is a violin teacher was performing with one of her bands. By the time we got to the bandstand that band was done and packing up. Phooey! So with our tummies full we decided to take a scenic walk back to the car along the walking path of the South Saskatchewan River.
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| The Bessborough Hotel & Garden on the bank of the river. |
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| Kinsmen Fountain with the Bessborough in the background. |
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| The University Bridge. |
Lard makes good refritos!
ReplyDeleteSaskatoon Iced Tea sounds delicious. MmmM! Love saskatoons!
ReplyDeleteI have never eaten refried beans that I liked... I think it's a texture thing, or more likely just not having experienced quality cooking from that culture (not a lot of that sort of thing in these parts, lol). Sounds like you had a delicious day!