Review: Forbidden Flavours

Forbidden Flavours is a local Brandon/Shilo chain and I love supporting them for that reason. The location on 18th is my favourite as the physical space is large enough to accommodate plenty of folks and there are some great comfortable chairs and couches. The staff never try to rush you out the door so you can really tuck into a book or work on some homework at this location - the free WiFi helps too! Coffee shops in a small town like Brandon are weird because it only takes a few loud/annoying folks to really ruin the experience and I find that a comfortable visit to Forbidden Flavours isn't guaranteed due to this. This is, of course, no fault of the establishment but it bothers me all the same. 

According to their out-of-date website the 18th Street location once held a used book store which would have been pretty cool! They have the standard coffee items and a few speciality drinks - I usually order the green tea frappé which is always great. They also specialize in ice-cream (which I've never had) and have a few cakes and cookies on offer. I would avoid the bakery section as everything I've had has been stale, mushy/dried out, and just icky. The bagels are good so order that if you are hungry! I've never been able to have have a sandwich/panini from Forbidden Flavours as they do not offer vegetarian options.  

Overall this is a nice, usually quiet, cafe that I love supporting because its locally owned! 

 

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Review: Brew'd Awakening

#LWA #onlinebookclub #bookclub #lovedit

A photo posted by Sarah (@wingedsnail99) on Apr 25, 2015 at 10:31am PDT

I finally managed to get out to this cafe. It has been on my 'to-try' list since I first moved to Brandon but the Internet Cafe part of this establishment scared me off. I am not interested in the type of cafe that an 'Internet Cafe' calls to mind - dark, dingy, with rows and rows of computers from the 90s. Thankfully I gave this place a shot because it is nothing like the Internet Cafe's of old.

This cafe is bright, clean and cheerful. The decor reminds of 1950 Rock-a-billy with bright teal vinyl bench seating and primary colours. The music playing fit the theme as well. The computers available are in a circular desk and there are only about five of them. The tables are clearly designed to accommodate laptop computer users as one is board room style and almost all the booths would fit 6-8 people. There is a comfy leather couch in the back and some bistro-style metal tables near the front.

The menu is pretty standard cafe fair with the full range of espresso machine drinks available. I've been trying to limit my caffeine intake lately so I noticed that there is not much choice with regard to non-coffee 'fancy' drinks. There wasn't very many vegetarian food choices either. However the iced tea and cheese cake I had were both very good.  

However, the staff was quiet but very polite. Good service is ridiculously hard to find in Brandon so I am very glad to have had a good service experience at Brew'd Awakening. I will return!   

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Review: Wildflower Cafe

Brandon doesn't abound with choice when it comes to cafes but the Wildflower Cafe in downtown Brandon manages to be cute, tasty, and comfortable. They have a few vegan options and a few gluten free options which means that everyone can find something to eat. The staff is friendly and courteous. Sometimes the service is weird as the certain staff members aren't aware of what other staff members did but this is easily forgiven because the staff always have a smile on their face. 

(From UrbanSpoon)

They seem to do a brisk service all day but are especially busy on during the weekday lunch rush and Saturday morning brunch. I usually get a coffee and a sandwich during their down time and have never felt rushed out as I sit and enjoy my morning coffee with a book. I wish their weekday hours were longer as they close at 4pm and are not open on Sunday at all. 

While it doesn't seem like it when you walk in there is actually a lot of tables - as there is a second floor mezzaine and an outdoor patio so there are plenty of cute places to sit. They are pretty active on social media which is convenient for discovering the daily specials.

Overall this is the best cafe I've been to in Brandon and the service and food stands up to that served in larger communities. 

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Review: The Dock on Princess

Menu: Standard pub fare. We had nachos (which were passable but nothing special) and fries (which were passable but nothing special). 

Vegetarian Options: A few things but the menu is heavy on traditional meat items. 

Quality: The cover the menu states that their beef and chicken is made in Manitoba. The company names of the providers of bread and coffee are listed. This suggests that the meat is not ethically sourced but is only locally sourced. This omission/discrepancy is something to be aware of. 

Cost: Average. Suits the quality of the food. 

Service: We ate an early supper at the non-bar tables near the door. Our service was horrible - truly horrible. In addition to having to wait for items (missed order of fries, empty drinks) she engaged in ridiculous conversation (like asking us if 'We wanted to get going' when she had only moments before given me a second beer), constant interruption for no reason (30 seconds after asking my dining companion if she wanted another drink, she returned (or should I say swung around the booth to ask her again) and overall inappropriate behaviour.  

Atmosphere: This bar boasts a 'Husband Daycare' which is extremely sexist! You know - because men can't like shopping and women can't like beer. The bar area seems like a nice place to watch the game and get a pint of beer, unfortunately only 6 of the 14 taps are Canadian craft beer. The existence of the Husband Daycare, combined with the shoddy service already experienced and the mediocre food and limited craft beer selection makes me want to declare that I will never return to this establishment - especially because they aren't open Sunday. Lazy Sunday afternoon beers are the best! However, as it is one of the only places to get draught craft beer in Brandon it seems inevitable that I will return. That is until I buy a second fridge with which to stock craft beer and start my home brewing hobby with full force. 
   
Favourite Item: Canadian draft beer. 

The Dock on Princess
1133 Princess Ave

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Review: Blu Kitchen Bar

Menu: A little bit of 'big city prejudice' is going to show through in this post. This place is trying very hard to be a high end restaurant but the 'cutting edge' menu has become standard fare in the restaurant industry. This would be fine if the quality of the food was up to par but the food was bland, greasy, and unappealing visually. The beer and hard liquor selection is very 'bottom shelf' and I found it difficult to find something I wanted to drink

Vegetarian Options: A few salads, a wrap, a few pasta dishes. Nothing inspired.

Quality: I wasn't too impressed with the food here.

Cost: A touch expensive given the taste but not too bad. Drink and food specials. 

Service: This restaurant was extremely well staffed and the service was pleasant, friendly and fast.

Atmosphere: Besides the annoying loud club music, the atmosphere at Blue is pleasant. The dominate colours are dark brown/black and silver. The lounge side of the restaurant has several bar style tables and deep circular booths. It's clean and well lit with several large televisions that seem perfect for watching hockey games. The atmosphere (combined with the service) is the primary reason that I would return.

Blu Kitchen Bar
1630 Park Avenue

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Review: The Magic Bean

Located in small, aggressively friendly Carberry, this little coffee shop is the perfect anecdote to big city living. It serves all the standard cafe fair (espresso/cappuccino/steamer) but the staff seems genuinely friendly and helpful, especially to older customers. The locals come out in force to consume soup and sandwich lunches and to engage in the traditional small town gossip. The decor is a mix-match of styles but because they had a comfy couch and armchair in which to read I didn't mind. 

There are two big grievances I have with this coffee shop. To get to the washroom you have to walk by the kitchen, through the office, and past a storage room. Then to add insult to injury the washroom ceiling isn't completely closed in but at least they had a low-flow toilet. The other issue is more serious as the milk for any steamed milk beverages is stored in the fridge, taken out to be steamed and placed back in the fridge while still hot to be re-steamed for another beverage. This seems gross and unsanitary as well as resulting in a watery beverage. 

While not a must-visit, The Magic Bean is a nice place to meet friends for lunch, or to stop for a coffee while on the way through town. 

The Magic Bean
48 Main Street, Carberry Mb
8:30-4:30 Monday - Friday

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Review: Wok Box

Menu: Order and pay at the counter, take a seat and your food will magically (and quickly) arrive in front of you. Drinks are serve yourself. This is a fast food system but efficient.  

Vegetarian Options: All the main dishes can be made with tofu which results in this restaurant being very vegetarian friendly.

Quality: I've ordered many dishes but cannot distinguish their flavour from each other. This is not to say that the food is bad, it's just not memorable. I do like the multiple choices of noodle available.   

Cost: Affordable. The cost is consistent with the quality and the food is okay which makes Wok Box a nice place to go for a quick meal in Brandon. 

Service: The food arrives very quickly and is always piping hot. 

Atmosphere: Standard Family restaurant

Favourite Item: None.

Wok Box, 930 D 18th St

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Review: Sushi Hut

Menu: I've only had the All-You-Can-Eat option. Using a grease pencil, you mark off what type and quantity of dishes you want to order. They do charge for uneaten food but you can order as often as you want and I doubt they would charge if you ordered one portion of a dish and didn't enjoy it for some reason so this policy is not an issue. 

Vegetarian Options: Quite a few. Ask the staff if you are unsure of what comes in a roll.  

Quality: Food is always fresh. A tip off quality raw ingredients is the state of the avocado served. At this restaurant the avocados always perfectly ripe - never under ripe or overripe.

Cost: I find the cost of this AYCE to be slightly high but the experience is pleasant and the food good so I will return on occasion.  

Service: Friendly and Fast. I have been to this restaurant at various times of day and week and wouldn't return on Friday or Saturday night as this is when they are busiest and the food arrives slowly (but still hot and delicious). I would go for lunch as the all you can eat is cheaper during that time and the service is very attentive and the food arrives quickly.  

Atmosphere: Kitschy interior but always clean. A portion of the kitchen is visible to the dining room so you can watch the chefs prepare certain dishes. Bathrooms could use a good update, but they are clean and functional.  

Clientèle: Every time I've been to this restaurant I've been witness to some extreme, unnecessary and ridiculous customer behaviour ranging from the benign but annoying (rubbing chopsticks together) to the outright rude (yelling at the waitress as they assume she doesn't speak English). Please note: No one made you go to a sushi restaurant, so if you are racist, please stay home.    

Favourite items: Mango Avocado Roll, Avocado Roll, Broccoli Tempura, Veggie Pizza, Edamame 

Sushi Hut, 2728 Victoria Ave

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