Date Day at Bistro 7 1/4
Who says lunch can't be romantic?
Who says lunch can't be romantic?
Thu, 01/03/2013
My handsome partner and I took a Friday off of work a while back ago to indulge in a little self-care. Since he is the Executive Director of a non-profit and I was nannying, an event coordinating and running my own non-profit, we were pretty constantly exhausted. Having date afternoons is a good way to get to hang out and spoil ourselves with romantic restaurants, afternoon cocktails, treats, movie matinees, buying fancy soaps and books while everyone else it at work.
Let me tell you, finding an eatery that tantalizes our tastebuds is TOUGH - we LOVE to eat and have lunched in the obviously vegan-friendly restaurants in our city. There are a few vegan stand-bys in Winnipeg, but we love variety and having a great dining experience, but also getting inspiration for our own culinary pursuits. This time, we solicited recommendations from friends and we decided to go to Bistro 7 1/4. We called ahead to make sure that they could accommodate our veganism, and they confirmed that Chef Alex would whip us up something with what he had on hand. Uhhh...what?The meal started off with a couple of cocktails - a citrus spiced martini for me and a rum and ginger beer concoction for my date. The cocktatil and wine menu is extensive, but expertly curated and the staff is full of suggestions. We sipped our drinks and watched the chef cook our meal at the open kitchen. The kitchen is in the middle of the main dining room, letting you watch the master in action.
Usually our forays outside of establishments without vegan items on the menu resulted in a meal of side dishes passed off as a cohesive meal. We just have to laugh every time we are given quinoa or rice with roasted vegetables - we appreciate the effort, but we could have made something more creative at home! It's refreshing to see chefs use their culinary knowledge to create masterpieces out of various legumes, grains, vegetables, and flavours. We were beyond delighted to be treated to parsnip pancakes with roasted fennel, ginger, pears, and jalapeno with lentil sauce and fennel olive salad. It was the perfect size for lunch, leaving us satiated but not stuffed.
Let me tell you, finding an eatery that tantalizes our tastebuds is TOUGH - we LOVE to eat and have lunched in the obviously vegan-friendly restaurants in our city. There are a few vegan stand-bys in Winnipeg, but we love variety and having a great dining experience, but also getting inspiration for our own culinary pursuits. This time, we solicited recommendations from friends and we decided to go to Bistro 7 1/4. We called ahead to make sure that they could accommodate our veganism, and they confirmed that Chef Alex would whip us up something with what he had on hand. Uhhh...what?The meal started off with a couple of cocktails - a citrus spiced martini for me and a rum and ginger beer concoction for my date. The cocktatil and wine menu is extensive, but expertly curated and the staff is full of suggestions. We sipped our drinks and watched the chef cook our meal at the open kitchen. The kitchen is in the middle of the main dining room, letting you watch the master in action.
Usually our forays outside of establishments without vegan items on the menu resulted in a meal of side dishes passed off as a cohesive meal. We just have to laugh every time we are given quinoa or rice with roasted vegetables - we appreciate the effort, but we could have made something more creative at home! It's refreshing to see chefs use their culinary knowledge to create masterpieces out of various legumes, grains, vegetables, and flavours. We were beyond delighted to be treated to parsnip pancakes with roasted fennel, ginger, pears, and jalapeno with lentil sauce and fennel olive salad. It was the perfect size for lunch, leaving us satiated but not stuffed.
Not only did we get what was easily the most beautiful meal we've ever eaten, there was vegan chocolate pudding with toasted coconut to be had and syrupy, sweet espresso to finish it all off. Chef Alex won us over with an exquisite meal that he presented to us personally, but the whole dining experience was exactly what you would hope for from a restaurant of that caliber - perfect from our greeting and seating down to paying our bill. We felt like special guests, not like a burden because of our special dietary requests. Bistro 7 1/4 is a spot we can't wait to lunch at more frequently.
