5th Street Bar & Grill

Cost: $10 for disaster, $30 for dinner

Prep: 35 minutes + clean-up + drive+wait

We had a dinner disaster last night. Matt chopped up a tonne of veggies for a stirfry. Peppers, broccoli, onion, green onion, carrots, and more. Then, just as he was finished, a can of fruit JUMPED from the cupboard above the veggies, landed on one of the Correll plates, and shattered it. No, not shattered, sharded it.

He was frustrated, the food was all COVERED with shards of glass, the clean up took quite a while (and involved moving the stove), Charlie was pissed that he could help vacuum, and hunger was roaring.

So, we went out for dinner.

We decided to try the Fernwood Inn again, since it was about 5PM on a Monday. However, on our drive over, traffic was heavy, and it was 5:15 by the time we reached Hillside.

We decided, in a split moment, to turn right instead. We haven't been to 5th Street in a while, so we decided to pop in.

The last time we were at 5th Street was almost a year ago, and honestly, it was a bad experience. I had the $20 Prime Rib, as did 5 of the 6 adults at our table. It was terrible. So much fat, about 75% fat, and WAY too much added fake smoke flavour (WHY?). THEN, to top it off, Glee star Corey Monteith had been dining there as well, and Glee is one of our favourite shows (mine especially), and he ran into Matt, who was carrying Charlie, then 6 months, and didn't apologize! It just left a bad taste in my mouth, both food and experience wise.

But, it was not a bad enough experience to cross 5th Street off. (Charlie, Grandma Sharon, and I have been here once since.)

There are things I do and don't like about 5th Street. The first thing I don't like is the parking lot. It is way too small, but at 5:15 on a Monday, it was great. Even when we were leaving at 6:30 there were still a few spots.

The thing I like is the menu, $5/$10/$20 (plus a bit more now). BUT WAIT. Those prices and that style of menu are DONEZO! I couldn't believe it. Overall, the prices really weren't that different, but I still think it is a mistake. One bonus is the kid's menu: $5.55 for any item (and great choices for when we need a meal for Chuck).

I also, generally, like the service. It is usually fairly quick, and the waitstaff is friendly and professional. Last night we had Maia (I think that is her name) who we have had a few times, and she is accommodating even to a baby stealing her pens and devices while she is trying to take orders.

We ordered three appies and a meal to share. It was a bit much, but I think Charlie would have liked a bit more food even though his patience was stretched.

For appies, we had the oysters, fries (the dip is C's fav), and flat bread (our fav). Charlie likes to use 1 fry to eat as much dip as possible, lick that from the fry, and then dip again...and repeat. His most favorite food in the world is anything pickled, so olives, and thereby the flat bread, was also a hit.

As out shared entree, we had the burger with salad. The burger was great, huge patty and perfect for sharing.

Besides the change in menu, my only real complaint last night was the high-chair. It had no working buckle, which is a problem for parents with an acrobatic toddler and a possible liability for the restaurant. Actually, I do have another complaint, not 100% 5th's fault: there was a smoker smoking just outside the open doors, and the ENTIRE restaurant really stunk before they shut the doors/asked the person to move. THERE ARE LAWS AGAINST SMOKING THAT CLOSE TO DOORS AND WINDOWS YOU GROSS SMOKERS, just saying.

Anyway, I am not against 5th Street. We had a good experience last night and the baby genius like it.

Smoken Bones

Matt and I have been going to Smoken Bones since it opened in Langford. It, in the beginning, was awesome; then it was decent; then okay; then not great; and then kind of gross.

Tonight when our night out with the Ladies Dining Club fell apart, my preggo friend and I decided to hit up the new Smoken Bones downtown. The new decor is nice, and the dining area has a lot more seating.

At first we thought we would be disappointed, as we were told it was going to be an 1/2 hour wait for a table for two. Ouch.

Luckily, there were two seats at the bar, and it was fine for us to sit there. Actually, it was more than fine for a couple reasons: (1) the bartender is quite handsome and (2) we got our drinks quickly and our food orders went directly in. My friend and I are both quite chatty, outgoing people, so it was nice to sit there and even briefly chat to the bartender and owner/manager (?) who both seemed to be doing a great job running the place.

For drinks we had Caesars, virgin. Man, these were good. I love a Caesar. The bartender asked how we wanted it (cloudy, muddy, spicy). I like mine muddy, so I am glad he asked, because most places don't.

We shared the oysters for our appie. It was a good size portion (there are already one or two missing in the picture). They have changed something about the cornmeal batter though, and even though it was good, I liked it better before.

My friend had the Royals Burger with blue cheese and mac and cheese as her side. It looked good. The burger patty was very thick, and the blue cheese all melty as it should be.

I ordered a small side of the butter fried cabbage and a pulled pork poutine. I love love love love the cabbage; I always have, and I always will. Even the times that it came cold (just before we stopped going to the Langford location), I still did not want to share with Matt. It is such a simple dish. I know it isn't healthy--duh, BUTTER FRIED--but it is perfection. I just had the side ($2.50) rather than the full order ($5) and I am glad for it, as it was a large serving.

My other favorite at Smoken Bones was always the Mount Poutine, now just Pulled Pork Poutine. It is so different from any other poutine, and that is what I love about it. No gravy; delicious smoked cheese sauce. Lots of pulled pork. My complaint tonight would be there were not enough fries to go with the dish, and the pulled pork was not "pulled" enough. Sometimes, I would think I was going to have a fry, and it would be a chunk of pork. Also, I kept having to spit out chunks of fat--significant chunks. Regardless, it was a good dish, and a huge portion. Matt, who already pizza and a bagel, is currently finishing the half of it that I couldn't.