Review - Market Buffet, Casino Niagara

I got a chance to go down for a free dinner, courtesy of comps, to the old Casino Niagara last night with Dave. We decided to try it, since it has been a few years. We were impressed! The meal was great, with crab legs, associated seafood as starters, and they even had an option to add a steak to your buffet experience for $6.50.

Besides the normal buffet fare, the steak was served hot in an iron skillet. Dave ordered the 10 z strip loin, I had the 12 oz prime rib steak.

For all its worth, the steak was one of the best I have ever had! Tasty and done to perfection...Dave had his well done, which I think is a crime for any steak, but my med rare was perfect. The only thing I would change would be serving it in an iron skillet. Tended to make the steak more well done than I wanted towards the end. It kept the steak hot though!

With the other offerings at the buffet, we came out stuffed and satisfied...I would go for adding the steak to your buffet meal, and get ready to enjoy it. Definitely will be back there again for dinner, and I would even put it above the Fallsview Casino's Grand Buffet. Total bill was $56, but it was free...

Next week, Bob and I are heading out for Indian food, at a new place on Main Street. Stay tuned!

Review - Fallsview Casino, Niagara Falls

It's been a few days since Bob and I had our monthly dinner out. We hit the Fallsview Casino Grand Buffet on 23 Oct, to enjoy a night away at the hotel, and a night of Monday Night Football.

The buffet was great, as usual. The price was dropped to $20, including taxes, and we started with some crab legs, shrimp, and some salad. For the next course, you can't beat the roast beef, and you have to have the grilled corn on the cob. Can't beat it. They have quite a few items available for all tastes, and it is a great deal, at $20 per person.

For dessert, we had some rice pudding (not as good as what I can make, see below...), various other sweet treats. Top that off with a coffee, and you have a full tummy, with lots of goodies. After dinner, we headed over to the old casino, to watch the football game, Giants at Dallas. Giants won of course, but I digress!!! With a few martinis, we were doing well for the night. The old casino has a sportsbook, which is just a glorified Pro-Line, but they do have nice TVs. Another home run with the visit for the ball game.

We had planned on stopping off at the deli at the casino, but we were full from dinner. So, that will have to wait for another time.

The room was nice, a parlour suite, which looked out to the Falls...American and the Canadian versions. I had a good sleep, and was off to dream land quickly.

The next morning, Bob and I slept in, and we didn't get a chance to hit the pool. We got up and headed down to the breakfast buffet, and enjoyed a fantastic breakfast, which opens at 8 am. We just made it at 10:30, and enjoyed omelettes, Eggs Benny, and assorted breakfast meats. Not a bad deal for $10!!

All in all, a great dinner and breakfast at the casino. We will head back and do it again soon, as long as the comps keep up!!

Recipe - Creamy Rice Pudding

It's been awhile since I have added a recipe, but I had a craving for rice pudding last night, and decided to try and make it. I had made it before, but it wasn't as creamy as I would have liked, and it was quite the mess last time, since it had to bake in the oven.

This time, I found an easier recipe, and it worked just fine...I got what I wanted!!

Creamy Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup uncooked rice

1 1/2 cups of water

1 1/2 cups of milk (original called for 2 cups, divided, but I replaced 1/2 cup with half & half cream)

1/2 cup of half & half cream (10% MF)

1/3 cup of sugar

1/ teaspoon of salt

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup of raisins (original recipe called for golden, I used regular)

1 tablespoon of butter (I used Becel...)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add rice, salt (to allow the rice to accept flavours later on) and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until done.

2. In another saucepan, combine the cooked rice above, with milk and sugar. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy. Stir in remaining ingredients - cream, beaten egg, vanilla, and raisins. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in butter.

3. Serve warm, or portion, and put in fridge. Garnish with cinnamon if you like, before serving.

I was impressed with this batch...needless to say, it was good warm or cold. Enjoy!!

Review - Sizzle & La Luna on King St.

With the nice weather this time of year, Bob and I decided to meet up at Hess Village again, to enjoy a cocktail before we went to our choice for our monthly dinner. We decided to check out Sizzle Lounge, which seems to have replaced the old Ivories that used to be there.

We decided to have Grey Goose martinis ($15 each...), and looked at the menu for appetizers. We both ordered the baked oysters, which were delicious. The calamari sounded good, so we split an order of those too. The calamari was fresh, with a light batter, which we enjoyed with a jalapeno mayonnaise. This is a nice place to go, and is very upscale dining. A bit pricey for appetizers, as the bill came in at $100 with tip, but great none the less. We will be heading back there for a main course sometime in the future. Nice to see a classy place in the middle of Hess, which is usually the 18-25 crowd on weekends.

After the visit to Sizzle Lounge, we walked a block and a half down to La Luna on King St. It was recommeded as the better of the 2 La Luna's in Hamilton, although they are run by the same extended family.

We asked them to give us the best they had for Lebanese fare, and started with 2 salads...tabouli and another salad, which seemed to be a regular chef salad with deep fried pita chunks. Both salads were refreshing, with the tabouli being prepared properly...no parsley stems, which is the right way to make it!!

The appetizers were part of the La Luna platter we ordered...you have to forgive me for not knowing the official names of the dishes...I should have grabbed the menu, but I will explain the dishes, and you can figure them out from that.

The appetizers were: baba ghanoush, hummus, fried cauliflower and tomato, falafel, mushrooms, and some sort of deep fried spiced meat, reminiscent of a donair taste, but a little spicier. They were all excellent, with the hummus being especially good. The falafel wasn't dry, and the spiciness of all the appetizers were perfect.

For the main course, we had skewers of chicken and filet mignon, on a bed of rice. The chicken was done to perfection, but the highlight of the meal had to be the beef. The marinade with the taste of the grill, was a perfect match with the vodka martinis we used to wash down this great meal. Whatever the marinade was, we know that if it we ever had a BBQ, we would definitely look for a similar marinade, for our own backyard dinners.

We topped the meal off with some baklava, and coffee, and walked out with a bill of $95, including tip.

All in all, it was a great experience of Meditteranean food, and we will definitely go back again, and perhaps even try the La Luna on the Mountain next time. If you are looking for great food at a great price, try La Luna, you won't be disappointed!

See you here next month!!

Review - The Keg, Hamilton, Ontario

I am a little late getting to this post, but better late than never!! Bob and I had our monthly get together 2 weeks ago. I was on vacation with the kids last week, so I didn't get a chance to get on the computer much with the kids here. So, here goes....

We met up at Hess Village, at the Gown and Gavel, for a few drinks, to sit and get caught up with each other as to what's been happening. Hess Village is a nice place to relax, with numerous bars and patios. We tend to stick to the G&G, but the other bars look ok. While we sat and had a few beers and some appetizers, we decided to head up to the Keg for dinner for this month. Although it wasn't our usual fare of walking into a restaurant and asking for the staff to serve us their specialties, it's a good standby for getting a great meal.

We started off with martinis, which we considered as salads, since there was an olive in them...next time, we will ask for Grey Goose, and really enjoy the martini!

Since we had appetizers at Hess, we went right into the Prime Rib. Bob and I ordered the Keg cut, and we were a little disappointed with the size. Seemed to us that the portions were a little on the light side, from what we had remembered. We checked with the waiter, and he assured us that it was the right cut. Regardless of the size, it was delicious. I don't think there is another restaurant that can give a better Prime Rib meal out there...feel free to let me know if there is a better place, and we will add it to the list for future consideration.

For dessert, we indulged in a Keg special coffee, which was standard. No big surprises with that. A special coffee is a special coffee!

Although the meal wasn't as exciting as we have experienced in the past, it was a good, hearty meal, and that is what we were looking for, for the evening.

If you want a good meal, you can't beat the Keg for prime rib.

The plan is to get together again the third week of September for another night out. We haven't decided what or where, but I am sure Greek food is on the menu, to make up for the disappointing meal we had a couple of months ago. We both have a craving for a good lamb dinner, so we will see what happens.

Until next time, enjoy your next meal out!