This is 'Bitten on Broad' in Regina. A restaurant recommended to me by my friend Julie and I confirm, it was a great suggestion. Its near downtown and the casino and has the illustrious location of being one storefront away from the only sex shop in Regina -- not that I was looking for a sex shop -- that is what I was told! Honestly.
The decor is warm; lots of candles, antique chandeliers, unmatched tables and chairs (that's called eclectic for those of you not in the know!), dark red and black velvet table covers and a fire place, which I was sitting right beside. I felt comfortable sitting on my own; it was upscale but comfortably casual. Bitten started out as an 'apps' and 'desserts' place when they first opened. They have since added dining specials of: one pizza, one pasta, one mussel dish and one dinner feature which changes on a weekly basis. For this week, the pizza was honey mustard chicken with cheese; beef tenderloin with pesto fettucine alfredo for the pasta; maple chili mussels; and the dinner feature was a cold duck salad with berries. I was undecided between a couple of appies and the pasta feature. Patrick, my waiter, recommended the apps and added that the Tuesday night special is 1/2 price appetizer for every drink. Well that settled it for me. I started with the Royal-tini.
This is my totally arty-farty picture of my cocktail: vodka, chambord, cranberry and pineapple juice. Very similar to a concoction I have made myself before. Not only TASTY and DELICIOUS but also only $5.25! What! Are you kidding me?? That's what I said: $5.25. Wow! About half the price of an Ottawa cocktail. I guess there really are some benefits to living in a smaller town!
For dinner I chose two appetizers which were served at the same time.
First: the "Goat Cheese and Portabella Strudels" - goat cheese and portabella mushrooms folded into delicate pastry and baked golden. Served with jalapeno cream and on a cucumber salad. Unbelievable. Absolutely FANTASTIC. Patrick, my waiter, told me they were one of his favourite things on the menu and I completely concur. The mushroom/goat cheese filling was rich and creamy. It was smoky, the pastry crisp and just ... yummy. Add to that the jalepeno cream on the bottom of the plate. It wasn't spicy and really, I wouldn't really have known there were jalepenos in it but it was good. I could have eaten a whole lot more of that cream. YUM-MMY! It also came with a mixed greens salad with cucumbers. The salad had a very zesty vinaigrette. Some people may have found it a little too acidic, but not for me. I love citrus/vinegar anything.
This is second choice of appetizer: the "Maple Chipotle Glazed Ribs". These are pork side ribs which can sometimes be a little fatty and greasy compared with baby back ribs, but Bitten's ribs were cooked beautifully. Not the least bit fatty, very meaty and just falling off the bones. The flavour was very good - a little hint of a kick from the chipotle (I could have handled a little more bite for my taste but it did not diminish my enjoyment of the ribs in the least). They were sweet and tasty. Served along with the same zesty salad as with the strudels. My only complaint would be that the ribs could have been served a bit hotter. They were warm but I would have preferred them hotter. However, it was very busy that night and the kitchen may have been a bit slammed.
It was an excellent meal, and here is the kicker: $22. Two royal-tini cocktails (oh yeah, did I mention I had a second drink? Hey: buy a $5 cocktail and get your meal for 1/2 price - YA, I'm all over that!) and two appetizers. I was too full for dessert so I'm not able to comment on that but there were diners around me who seemed to be enjoying their desserts quite a lot and they looked good. I owe it to Julie for getting me out on a Tuesday night, in Regina, for an absolutely delicious meal. Yum yum.
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