Posts Tagged ‘st. catharines restaurants’
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When I got home last night we decided it was a good night to have our more-or-less weekly date night as we are going to a work-related function on Saturday night. Amy wanted to get a haircut so we drove into St. Catharines and decided en route where we would go. We ended up at the Cat’s Caboose on Glenridge Avenue (sidebar: they have an absolutely fantastic website that I had not previously visited).
It is a very roadhouse/bar looking sort of place (apparently the Jagermeisterrettes were going to be there sometime later Thursday than we were there, which gives you an idea of the calibre for which they aim) though there is a more traditional-restaurant-looking dining area to one side where the music is not so loud and there aren’t as many TVs. There is a live jazz group (sometimes trio, sometimes up to a quintet) on Saturday afternoons/early evenings and live bands later on Saturdays. The decor and ambiance would not lead one to credit the food too much but appearances are (as they often can be) deceiving.
They have one of the most varied menus of any restaurant I’ve ever visited. Priced comparably to Kelsey’s or Boston Pizza (actually a bit cheaper than either), they tend toward what I think of as ‘generic restaurant’ food, not associated with any particular culture or cuisine. They have 13 sandwiches, 5 burgers and a couple kinds of wraps but also steak, fajitas in several varieties, pasta, salads and a ridiculously full page of appetizers. As I said, a very varied variety (that particular alliteration is a lot of fun to say) and extremely reasonable prices. They have fajitas for between $10.99 and $12.99 and I think most places start at $14.99 and tend upward.
Amy had the Roadhouse Roadkill Cajun Chicken sandwich (though she asked for and received the substitution of a wrap for bread) with Chicken Gumbo soup as a side ($8.99) and I had a Paris Chicken sandwich (chicken, apple slices and Brie which I chose because I wasn’t feeling particularly adventurous. I find it interesting how much my tastes have changed in that a sandwich with fancy cheese and apple slices is my “boring” option. Also it was $9.99) with a side of fries. Both of Amy’s dishes were slightly spicy. Not a “perspiring while eating’ kind of spicy but they had some bite. I really enjoyed my sandwich (though it was full of what seemed to be shredded lettuce mixed with mayonnaise. Tasty but a strange texture and appearance) and the portions were very good. I’m sure they have their fries supplied but they are quite crisp and not particularly heavy.
Our server, Alistair (not making that up) was very attentive and quite friendly. Overall it was a sterling example of an independent restaurant making up in quality, service and value what it lacked in national radio and television advertising campaigns. I think we’ve now been there three or four times and I recommend it highly.
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Sick of being in the house, we decided to take a date night tonight. This is a fairly regular occurrence around these parts and being in the Niagara area, we usually try to find a non-chain restaurant to grace with our presence. Tonight we decided to try Café Amore on Martindale Road in St. Catharines.
It is kind of hard to find if one does not know where to look. The signage is fairly unassuming and it’s in the middle of a generic-looking strip mall. There was no wait at the door though most of the tables (including the one where we were seated) had Reserved signs on them. The decor is very tasteful (though not quite as quaint as at their other location on Lake Street where we’ve been in the past) and kind of homey on the side where we ate. Homey in the ‘stereotypically Italian living room’ sort of way. The other main section is decorated more in the style of an old-country street, or so I assume, having only ever been in the new country.
Our waitress, Pam, was very friendly and a little bit absent-minded. Amy asked her for a recommendation and this threw her off completely. All of the entrées come with salad and garlic bread and there are many options. I picked Chicken Genoese ($14) and Amy selected Garlic Shrimp Pasta ($14 as well, prices approximate). All the pasta dishes have the option of penne, linguine or whole wheat spaghetti pasta (she chose whole wheat and I went with linguine).
The salads and garlic bread arrived first. My garden salad was very good. The dressing put me in mind of a very finely diced bruschetta. Amy’s caesar had good dressing but the lettuce was wilty at best. We both really enjoyed the garlic bread though the presentation was a bit odd: It was served on a plastic cutting board that had pretty clearly been used (one hopes it was used for the cutting of the garlic bread but it is impossible to tell).
The pasta was pretty slow in arriving and when they did, Amy’s was penne. The waiter took it back and brought out one on whole wheat spaghetti pretty quickly. The shrimps were so big she had to cut them in half before eating them. The pesto cream sauce on mine was very good but I found the chicken very dry and not very flavourful. Pam did a pretty fair job of bringing us refills for our drinks but she was a little over-eager when it came to packing up my leftovers. Amy was still eating when my extra food was dumped into styrofoam right there at the table.
One of the things we would like to do at some point is stay at a restaurant for dessert. Café Amore is one of several restaurants in St. Catharines that have their desserts on display but we’ve never made it through a meal with enough space left over for that to even be an option. I enjoyed the restaurant tonight from a subjective perspective (atmosphere, friendly service, happy to be out of the house) but more objectively it wasn’t really that good (messed up order, entrée actually not that great). The Lake Street location has been closed for construction for a very long time and I think we might give it a try if/when it reopens.
everybody’s saying everything is alright
Additional Information (posted Aug 10, 2009): I drove past the Lake Street location today and my hopes were abruptly sent up and then crashed down. The under construction sign had been removed, as had the sign asking people to go to the Martindale Road restaurant (hooray! Re-opening!). Then I noticed the small, red ‘For Sale’ sign in the window. Crushing disappointment! Looks as though it’s Martindale or nothing and by nothing I mean one of the other excellent Italian restaurants in St. Catharines.