Tuesday 27 November 2012

Siem Reap


As a former downtown resident and lover of the multitude of Thai and Cambodian options there, I was slightly concerned when moving to the west end that I would no longer have a go-to place when I was looking for something other than a pizza or burger. This week, I discovered that not only is there an option - there happens to be a darn good one... which will be really nice for my tastebuds, but perhaps not as good for my wallet!


While I couldn't find a website for Siem Reap online, I was able to find a number of websites with reviews of the restaurant that is owned and operated by a local family.  None of the reviews were surprising based on our experience - people have been happy with their visits - when dining in or taking out - and look forward to opportunities to return.  Siem Reap is named after a city in Cambodia, and, not surprisingly, the restaurant is decorated in warm tones of red with dark accents and beautiful pieces of art showing off its heritage. There is nothing fancy about the space... It is not a very large restaurant - and a small section of the space is occupied by a dish and take-out counter with a cash register... but the size of the restaurant does not take away from its ability to produce good product - it just means that you may need to be patient if you arrive to find a full house.  And my opinion on that?  If you do see a crowd, it is well worth the wait for a spot - or, just order and take your food home.  It's all fresh and delicious.  If you do luck out and get a table, then I'm sure you'll do as we did and stay comfortably for a while (if you need a topic that will make you laugh as boisterously as we did, then check out the movie "Pitch Perfect".  Seriously.)

This week, we were joined again by Tonia's mom, Shirley, as well as by our friend Jon (who, with quick wit and a ton of personality was definitely a nice addition to our outing).  While the restaurant was quite busy upon arrival, we were able to find a table for six at the back of the restaurant. In no time at all, we were greeted by a very friendly and courteous young waitress and presented with menus and drink options.  The restaurant is not licensed, so we were limited to pop and/or water for the evening, but that certainly wasn't the end of the world.  The menu is well priced, easy to read and has a nice variety without being too much to choose from - simpler items for those less adventurous, and more flavourful or spicy items, too. Something I quite enjoyed - the option of fresh salad rolls with pork instead of shrimp.  I think that I have yet to see this anywhere else in the city, and while I certainly love spring rolls, it was a nice change.


And with that, I might as well get to our orders!  Siem Reap is another restaurant where ordering is probably most easily done using numbers, but I will include the names for you as well.  Most dishes are served with your choice of rice or rice noodles.


Carrie: Of course, I ordered the salad rolls with pork to start, and #3 - Tomato Pineapple Beef: tender slices of beef, fresh tomato, pineapple and onion sautéed in a roasted garlic and oyster sauce.  


Tonia - spring rolls to start, and #19 - Yellow Curry Delight: tender pieces of chicken, carrots, green beans and onions simmered in a rich yellow curry and coconut sauce.

Shirley - spring rolls to start (oh man, do we love our spring rolls and appetizers!!), and #16 - broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers and onions stir fried together with rice noodles in an oyster sauce. This dish is served with chicken or beef, Shirley chose beef.

Jon - #6 - Golden Chicken: chicken, bell peppers, and green beans simmered in a hot and sour spice with peanuts and lemon grass.


Todd - vegetarian spring rolls to start, and #7 - Cambodian Curry: sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and tender pieces of chicken breast simmered in a rich and creamy Cambodian spice and coconut milk.

Samer - shrimp salad rolls to start, and #17 - Chicken and Vegetables: tender pieces of chicken, fresh bell peppers, onions and cashews stir fried in an oyster sauce.

Despite our picky nature when it comes to spring rolls, most of us were pretty happy - although Todd mentioned that the vegetarian rolls were a little bland.  The nicest thing about them was perhaps that it was obvious that they weren't mass produced and frozen before being cooked and served to us. The salad rolls were fresh and tasty - both Samer and I were impressed, and again - I really enjoyed having this as an option for a change.  If you haven't ever had a salad roll before, you should - they are a nice, light option.  Filled with cucumber, carrots, noodles and either pork or shrimp, salad rolls are wrapped in rice paper and are served cold.  Delicious, and they kind of make you feel better about having an appetizer since it isn't deep fried.  You'll probably notice that each main course item says something about the meat being "tender"... and this certainly isn't a lie.  On top of that, the plates were colourful and flavourful. I'm not sure there is a whole lot more to ask for. 

So... our FORK RATINGS? Here's the run-down:

Carrie: 5 forks!  No surprise... salad rolls were de-lish, and my main dish had flavourful beef and sauce.  The pineapple was nice and sweet, adding extra flavour; and the onions neutralized the sweetness and pulled it all together. Yum.

Tonia: 4 forks.  Tonia specifically mentioned being happy because she felt satisfied after the spring rolls... and this wasn't the case at our last Cambodian/Thai stop.  While Tonia's main dish was VERY flavourful, the disappointment came with the amount of ingredients in the sauce - there were only 4 small pieces of chicken and the plate didn't seem very full outside of the rice.

Shirley: 4 forks.  A woman of few words, Shirley stated that her meal was "very tasty". Well said, Shirley.

Jon: 3.5 forks. While collecting ratings from my friends, Jon was perhaps the least verbose I have ever known him to be. (Good timing, Jon!).  His comments?  "It was good. Nothing more to say.  It was good."

Todd: 4 forks. While the rolls were "lacklustre", Todd really enjoyed the sweet and spicy flavouring, and he stated that he felt very healthy eating it.  He was also very happy with the portion size of the meal.

Samer: 4 forks. Samer mentioned that the sauce on the meat was a little too sweet for his liking, but that the meal overall was very good.  Also, the salad rolls with shrimp were "amazing".

Overall rating: 4 forks!

Long story short, whether you live in the west end or not, (maybe you are out at the mall or running some errands?), Siem Reap is definitely worth a stop.  I can only imagine that the restaurant is typically very busy with people dining in and taking food out as it was during our visit... and I hope that as long as I remain a resident of the west end, Siem Reap remains as well.

For our next stop, we are breaking our "no chains" rule and heading out to The Keg!  Jon tried very hard to get us to choose the $5 lunch option at Leonard Hall at Queen's University... but sadly, we all work for a living (including Jon!).  Maybe some other time, Jon... in the mean time, we will continue with our night time tradition with a slight change to the norm.  C'mon... don't be too hard on us - if you've ever been to The Keg, you know it is well worth it.  

Before signing off, I'd like to mention Movember... A number of my friends (thankfully, all male), have been taking part in this very notable cause, and Jon was kind enough to let me take a picture of his nothing-short-of-phenomenal 'stache.  While Jon doesn't have a website, a lot of men do - and if you are willing and able, please take the time to donate.  If you are looking for a place to direct your cash, my good friend, Grant, grows his sub-nasal hair-do in honour of his late father, who I hear was a pretty cool guy.  Click here to support Grant and the fundraising effort:

http://ca.movember.com/mospace/84747


Nice one, Jon.  Nice one.

Siem Reap on Urbanspoon

Wednesday 21 November 2012

The Rose and Crown


First, my apologies for getting this edition of our adventure published in such tardy fashion.  I realized tonight that it is about time that I write about last week - given that we are heading out to our next restaurant tomorrow!

The Rose and Crown... the restaurant is described plain and simply on their sign below their name: "a family restaurant and English pub".  Based on the (very large!!) crowd in the pub while we were there, the sign is absolutely correct about being a family restaurant.  Every table, booth and bar stool was full - people young, old(er) and of ages in between seemed to be there.  To be honest - it was the complete opposite of what I expected.  I was thinking something more like "west end, somewhat popular pub with a 30+ crowd"... Instead, we arrived to a "west end, very popular pub with a 5+ crowd".  I actually had to wait until we were leaving to take a picture of the inside of the restaurant because until that point, I couldn't get a single shot without someones head in the majority of the frame.

Based on the sign outside, the sign also seems to be correct about being an English pub.  Now, I can't bee 100% sure about this... I've never been to England.  BUT - I have been to quite a number of pubs (the number is perhaps absurd... please don't judge - I'm a social being!) and if I was going to guess what would be on an English menu, this one had some nice highlights at very least - fish and chips just the beginning. 

Helping out the menu on the English-front: the decor. Nothing says English Pub like a nice wood bar with a couple of televisions, cozy booths and art inclusive of mini Union Jacks, old licence plates and witty posters in hues of red.  All of that said, I am basing my opinion greatly on what I've seen of "The Rovers Pub" on "Coronation Street" - but I, like many good-natured Canadians know that Corrie is real, after all... right? Uh... right?  Hmmm... moving on.  Adding to the decor during our visit - large ornaments hanging from the ceiling and fake presents attached to the walls.  Now, some might say that the following statement is because I am somewhat of a "Scrooge", but I will say it anyway: I sincerely hope that these decorations were hanging only due to the upcoming holiday and aren't part of the usual set-up. Fingers crossed!


On that note, perhaps it is time to move on to the orders of the evening.  The menu at The Rose and Crown truly has something for everyone - including a section of "Healthy Specials" for those who are "heart and health conscious".  It didn't take us long to find something appealing.  Here's how it shook down:

Tonia and I had mozzarella sticks to start. (There's always a starter, isn't there?) While we were a little surprised that the dip on the side was ranch instead of the typical marinara, it wasn't half bad. Perhaps wouldn't have been my choice if given it again, but not a complete disappointment.  The sticks themselves were obviously mass-produced-cooked-from-frozen.  Still cheesy, though... and much like bacon, in my books, it is hard to go wrong with cheese.

Following the sticks, Tonia had Halibut 'n' Chips - served with tangy tartar sauce and a lemon wedge.  I had the pub's Chicken Melt - grilled chicken served on garlic toast with mushrooms and melted cheddar on top.  Served with a side Caesar salad.


Todd ordered a Caesar salad to start and the Steak Canadian - fast fry steak served on a toasted bun with cheese and fried onions with a side of chips and gravy.

Samer ordered grilled haddock and mushrooms (with no mushrooms!) with a side garden salad, balsamic dressing and garlic toast.


Of course, since it is a pub, we were inclined to order a round with our meal, and not surprisingly, there was a wide array of beer options on tap. What always does surprise me, however, is how the waitress could remember the names of everything offered... I felt like I was back in high school science class when I was trying to remember the first 30 elements on the periodic table in order.  While I did get it eventually, and I'm sure that the waitress has had lots of practice, I do know how long it must have taken to get it all down.  While we waited for our food, I was also surprised to see a side menu on the table entitled "Christmas Selection Boxes".  Not only can you go to the Rose and Crown to grab a pint and a bite, you can also head home with a box of candy for your family - just in time for the holidays.  Admittedly, I giggled at the idea.  Seriously - giggled.

In spite of the pub being very busy, it didn't take too long before food started coming (in the hands of very courteous staff at that!), and all in all, we were pretty happy with what was served.  By the end of the meal, we were stuffed (I know - our usual...), but seeing sundaes and cheesecake on the menu, we just couldn't resist the dessert menu.


The final verdict?  Here are our FORK RATINGS:

Carrie: 3.5 forks.  The ranch dip with the cheese sticks was a little odd... the sandwich was good, but helped a lot by a little bbq sauce, and certainly not stellar overall. The best parts were the mushrooms and the fact that it was made on garlic toast.  The cheesecake was alright - but, like the cheese sticks, seemed mass-produced and store bought. 

Tonia: 3.5 forks. The fish was good overall, but Tonia said that she wouldn't rush to come back to try something else.

Todd: 3 forks. The sandwich was "fine" - but nothing spectacular.  To quote Todd, it was all "okay pub food".  The disappointment of the night: $3.30 for a soda water (?!)

Samer: 4 forks. This was a score even surprising to Samer.  He admittedly arrived as someone who isn't a big fan of pubs, and was expecting and ready to give the Rose and Crown a score of 1, but in his opinion, the fish was done really well when as a whole, it is a dish that could easily become rubbery.

OVERALL SCORE: 3.5 forks.  Generally speaking, not a bad score. As Tonia mentioned, we might not rush to go back, but we certainly wouldn't turn it down in the future, either. Nice to know there are options in the west end when the downtown core is so competitive.

Typically, we would have stayed and socialized for quite some time, but in this case, while we were comfortable, we were all quite tired, and eventually a strong smell of garlic was coming from the kitchen that was so intense, it made it hard to stay... So, off we went - leaving a pub that was still quite busy with plans for the following week (now tomorrow since I'm so late writing!): Siem Reap - also in the west end.

Until then, dine on.


Rose and Crown Pub on Urbanspoon

Sunday 11 November 2012

Phnom Penh

Much like many of the restaurants we are visiting on our adventure, Phnom Penh Restaurant is nestled in the hustle and bustle of downtown Kingston.  Situated on King Street East, Phnom Penh is close to Springer Market Square, shops and other dining options.  In spite of the amount of "competition" close by (there are multiple restaurants within a 5 minute walk in any direction), Phnom Penh has been very successful.  Many of my friends frequent this restaurant, and I can certainly see why... Quite some time ago, I, too, used to visit Phnom Penh regularly, but since moving from downtown to west of the city, it has been quite some time since I have enjoyed a meal there, and I must say - it was a pleasure returning.


While not exceedingly "cozy", the restaurant itself is comfortable enough that you can sit for extended periods and enjoy your meal and the company that you are with (in our case, of course, this is never hard... we are fun people after all!). The walls of the restaurant are warm - painted red and adorned with beautiful pieces of art highlighting the restaurant's ethnic and cultural background. Named after the largest and capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is very obviously proud of its roots - which is pretty cool in my books. Nothing like a place that really celebrates its heritage (instead of, perhaps, putting wooden cowboys up on the wall??) and gives you a sense of where inspiration is coming from.  The fact that I'm not well travelled also makes the artwork even more enjoyable as it gives me a sense of what other parts of the world are like... And, if Cambodia is anything like these pictures, then I am certainly inspired to go some day.

Phnom Penh presents a menu (found here) of cambodian and thai cuisine that is highlighted as "exotic and delightful". Lemon grass, coconut milk, curry, bamboo and galangal shoots, shrimp, peanut sauce... each of these authentic ingredients can be easily found on the menu - and for those like me who tend to eat foods from a very specific box - it is important not to turn a blind eye or "wimp out". As we say in the Coun'y (that's Prince Edward County for those of you who just cocked your eyebrow), just "give'r" - pick something, give it a shot, and I would almost guarantee that you will like it.  How am I so sure?  Because even this once-scared-of-anything-that-wasn't-a-club-sandwich eater has yet to try something at Phnom Penh that she didn't like... Further, in this visit, we started passing our plates around the table to share - which speaks to how close we are growing as friends and to how just plain awesome the food tastes.

Want to know what we had to eat?  Of course you do. 


Samer, Tonia and I were all tempted by the Cambodian spring rolls, and ordered some to start. (My apologies for the picture orientation... I can't figure out how to rotate it! Where's TheFamilyGeek when you need her?).  We were surprised to learn that chicken was the base for the rolls here (more often than not, we have found that it is pork).  They arrived quickly and hot, but weren't the best part of the meal by far. Now, this statement can be taken with a grain of salt, in my opinion, because we could easily be considered "spring roll snobs" - we eat them wherever they are offered and are very particular about ingredients, flavour, texture... Long story short, we have our favourites, and these didn't quite match up.  The rest of the meal, however - VERY happy with the food and presentation - colourful and flavourful. What more could we ask for? Not a whole lot!


Tonia ordered #5 - a chicken stir fry with lemon grass, peanut, onion, red and green pepper and green chilies with a side of rice.  Tonia opted to have the chef cook the dish without the chilies to reduce the heat.

Samer ordered special #2 - stir fried chicken with green and red peppers, onions, cashews and green chilies with oyster sauce and rice. Samer opted to keep the green chilies... which he then ended up picking out as it was just a little too hot.  Still - picking them out didn't take away from the experience and flavour of the dish.


Todd ordered #13 - chicken, mixed vegetables, green beans, jack fruit, and lemon grass paste with rice. (The mixed vegetables were accompanied by cauliflower - resulting in Todd exclaiming "I can't escape cauliflower!"). I had to google search jack fruit... if you are curious, too, click here.

I had #17 - a bowl filled with noodles, cucumber, carrot and lettuce shavings, BBQ pork and spring rolls (that's right - I had spring rolls as an appetizer and as part of my main course.  I told you - spring roll snobs.).  This dish comes with a bowl of peanut oyster sauce to pour over the top, however, I ordered it without the peanuts as I'm not a big fan.


And the result of each of these dishes? A darn good score.

Carrie - 4 forks. The spring rolls (darn) were... blah.  Nothing extraordinary. But #17 - delicious and filling. The BBQ pork was especially flavourful.

Tonia - 4 forks. The spring rolls didn't cut it, but the main dish was de-lish.

Todd - 4 forks. His plate was "monochromatic, but delicious!"

Samer - 4 forks. Outside of the entire fleet of green chilies, Samer enjoyed special #2 immensely.

Much like each of the other weeks, we sat and chatted for quite some time, and the waitress in the restaurant was flipping the sign in the door to "closed" before we stood to pay. A wonderful night as usual, and definitely deserving of the OVERALL SCORE of 4 forks! (Thankfully, the math was pretty simple this week!).

Next week, we are breaking from the usual downtown spots and heading to the west end to visit the Rose and Crown. I'm excited - it will be my first visit!!  Until then... happy eating :)

Phnom-Penh Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Sunday 4 November 2012

Pasta Shelf & Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar

Pasta Shelf is a family owned restaurant that has been based on Bath Road in the west end of Kingston for a number of years, and they have now branched out to own another location in the heart of downtown Kingston - on Ontario Street.  This is where our adventure brought us this week, and - for reasons I will explain later - we broke tradition this week and also continued on to Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar.  We were also joined by our friend, Leslie, this week, which was great... She was a very good participant in our adventure - especially given that she had no idea that there was anything other than going out for dinner involved until we were on our way downtown :)

With one quick glance at either the website or the menu for Pasta Shelf, it is very clear that family is very important to the owners.  The restaurant boasts an offering of family rooted, home made, authentic Italian recipes that are hand made on site and available at affordable prices.  Both restaurant sites offer a dine-in experience as well as a take home and bake option - perfect for the "in a rush on my way home and too tired to cook" kind of night.  Check out more details for the restaurant here.

I should report that I have had Pasta Shelf before.  When studying to become a teacher, my peers and I met at the west end location two or three times over the course of the school year for a quick dinner between afternoon and night classes; and as a teacher, I have been to conferences and professional development opportunities that have been catered by Pasta Shelf.  On each of these occasions, I wouldn't say that I have been blown away, but I was certainly stuffed and satisfied.  As we ventured to the downtown location this week, I wondered if I would have a similar experience.  In fact, I expected I would. Generally speaking, though, things were different this time around - and whether this is a result of being a different location with different staff, a result of how much time has passed since I have last had a Pasta Shelf experience, or a result of something different entirely... I can't say for sure. 

The atmosphere in the restaurant is relaxing and comfortable.  Exposed limestone walls, rich wood floors, beams and furniture, as well as beautiful pendant lights with deep red shades made of glass all add to a very classy feel that is also welcoming and doesn't make you feel like you have to dress to the nines in order to go there.  It is the kind of place where you could be dressed up with your date for dinner before a show, or be dressed in jeans and a t-shirt (my personal favourite wardrobe items!) with your buddies and not feel out of place.  I absolutely appreciate a restaurant that can serve double-duty in that respect, and in all reality - it is probably very smart from a business perspective, as your doors are open to a much broader clientele (which of course, means more money!).

During our visit, the restaurant wasn't particularly busy, meaning that it was fairly easy for our waitress to be attentive to our needs (she even looked on the sound system for me to see what song was playing when one peaked my interest... for anyone interested, it was a guitar acoustic version of Crash into Me covered by Stevie Nicks.  Totally worth a download). I'd be curious to see how a weekend compares to a night in the middle of the week, though - because as a group of people who dine out fairly regularly, we find that we rarely crave Italian food, and seeing a number of empty tables left me wondering why attendance was poor.  Not a favourite spot?  Too competitive a market in downtown Kingston? More people are taking food home than dining in?  There's no way for me to know for sure, but based on our experience, my future decisions of whether or not to visit again rather than go somewhere else in an area where a plethora of restaurants are available will be based on opinions of the food... which sadly, weren't all that positive in this visit.

This particular dining week, a couple of us ordered drinks - a glass of white and a glass of red were delivered - and I had a "Mediterranean Sunrise", which was delicious and probably consumed much too quickly. I wasn't on the ball in this instance and didn't write down what was in the drink, sadly... But if you know me, you can bet the drink was at least a little fruity (you can take that as you'd like). Beyond the drinks, the ordering run-down went as follows:

Shared at the table - bruschetta; toasted baguette topped with fresh pesto, bruschetta and melted asiago and romano cheeses.

Carrie - Caesar salad to start, and Linguine Chicken Matriciana; a pasta dish with a tomato cream sauce, chicken and bacon topped with mozarella cheese.

Tonia - Soup of the day to start - tomato and spinach, and Rigatoni Parmigiana; rigatoni in a meat sauce topped with melted mozarella and parmesan cheese as well as Italian meatballs.

Todd - Caesar salad to start, and a hot and spicy pizza - topped with tomato arrabiatta sauce, hot Italian sausage, green peppers, red onions and mozarella cheese.

Samer - Garden salad to start, and Seafood Linguine; linguine in marinara sauce (you can choose alfredo if you'd prefer) with scallops, shrimp and mussels.

Leslie - Caesar salad to start, and Rigatoni with Sausage and Peppers; rigatoni in a spicy arrabiatta sauce topped with hot Italian sausage, red and green peppers and smoked white cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.

To begin, let me say that the presentation of each dish was wonderful.  Clean, white dishes, colourful meals.  Without any bells and whistles, they looked absolutely delicious... The unfortunate aspect is that they looked better than they tasted.  It's not that anything was inedible or disgusting or terrible, even... But things were bland.  Looking at the plates, you expected a great deal of flavour, but you were left feeling disappointed as things were "flat".  I've never been to Italy, but I've heard that the food there is pretty darn good to say the least, so this didn't seem like a "true Italian experience" in the end. Even the bacon flavour in my pasta was barely noticeable, which was hard for me, because I am a believer that bacon makes everything taste better (that is, except bacon itself... although bacon-wrapped-bacon wouldn't be such a horrible thing!  For the record - bacon is the sole reason I could never be vegetarian.)  We, of course, polished our plates clean as per usual... but by the end of it all, we were left feeling in need of a more satisfying taste experience (the restaurant's slogan "pasta made perfect" didn't hold true for us), so we opted to have a look at the dessert menu, only to find that the things we were interested in having weren't available because the restaurant was all out. 

This is where the decision to visit Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar on Brock Street (facing Market Square) came in. I have been quite obsessed with cheesecake as of late (as a kid, I hated it, and in the last couple of years, I have rediscovered it... unluckily for me, it has discovered my lovehandles...), so what better way to end the evening than with a piece of delectable deliciousness.  Since Sipps was close by, we decided to give it a go.  Before I describe that experience, here are the scores for Pasta Shelf, using the ever-trustworty and reliable FORK RATING SYSTEM:

Carrie: 2 forks. The bartender saved this one - the drink was great, but the pasta was bland.  Caesar salad was okay - but pretty ordinary.

Tonia: 3 forks. Good bruschetta, AWESOME soup, good wine (thanks to the winery). Pasta... meh.  It was salty and only had 3 meatballs.  Not the taste she was looking for.

Todd: 2.5 forks. The salad was "ho-hum", and the pizza was comparable to frozen.  In fact, Dr. Oetker does it better. And, then the bill arrived. To quote Todd, "It annoys me when people charge $2.29 for soda water"...

Samer: 3.5 forks. The garden salad was really good.  The pasta was okay, but the seafood was very bland. "I could have made something similar at home... I actually just made something just like it yesterday, but with more flavour".

Leslie: 3.5 forks. Typical caesar salad.  The pasta was good - it had a little zing to it. (I think Leslie's spicy pasta was the only pasta that wasn't bland!). According to Leslie "for someone who likes spice, that's a low-level spice"... but for those of us with no flavour, it might have been just right!

OVERALL SCORE: 2.9 FORKS.
Not a "never go again" restaurant... but certainly not on the top of my list, given that out of 5 meals, the score was saved by appetizers and one somewhat spicy pasta...

And so... on we went to satisfy our tastebuds at Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar.

I'm not really sure about the particulars regarding Sipps... how long they've been open, who acts as the brains behind the operation, where inspiration comes from... I just know that I am darn happy that they were open, and even happier that they had cheesecake available.  Have I mentioned my obsession with cheesecake lately?  Yes?... Oh, well, it is an obsession after all.

Sipps is a cosy spot. You can either sit at a table by the window, on a comfortable couch or arm chair in the back, or at a pub-height table on a comfy leather chair.  Sipps is for anyone and everyone.  Those who like a warm beverage (coffee, espresso, hot chocolate, tea...) or a cold drink. Those who like tarts, cakes, pies, cookies... Those who need a place to study, or want a place to quietly socialize. I have never walked by Sipps and seen it empty - perhaps partly due to the high-traffic area at which it sits (Market Square is certainly a good place of real-estate!); but also probably due to all of the goodies it has to offer.  I know that sweets aren't for everyone, but I really believe that almost anyone can find something they'd love here. 

Life is short.  Let's get to the point and tell you about the goodies.  We decided to continue with our fork ratings for the evening and give Sipps a score, too.

Samer chose a chocolate chunk brownie.  While he said he has had it before, and it wasn't as fresh as usual (it was 8:00pm by this point, after all), he still gave it a score of 3.5 forks.

Tonia nibbled on 2 chocolate chip cookies.  She said they aren't as tasty as the ones that you can always depend on from Farmer's Market, but still very delicious. (Arguably, it would be hard to compete with Tonia's own homemade cookies, so she has a right to be picky). Her score: 4 forks.

Todd enjoyed a large slice of red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. It was the last piece of the night, so it wasn't as moist as it could be, but it was still tasty enough to deserve a score of 3.5 forks.

Leslie got on the cheesecake train with me (she's a smart girl). She took pleasure in putting her fork through a caramel apple cheesecake.  While it was a little too sweet for her tastes, she especially enjoyed the chunks of real apple and gave the dessert a score of 4 forks.

And me? I devoured a slice of chocolate caramel swirl cheesecake. Yes - I said it correctly.  Chocolate. Caramel. Swirl. It put me into a total cheesecake coma and it was completely worth it. Absolutely worth a score of 5 forks and the complete discomfort I felt from gorging myself until I was filled to the gills.  As Tonia said, "this feeling is uncomfortable, but tomorrow, it's going to be gone."


That gave Sipps an overall score of 4 forks. Not too shabby for few sweets.

Two restaurants in one night?! I can't wait to see what the rest of this adventure has in store for us!

"Wilson" of the Restaurant World

Sipps Coffee and Dessert Bar on Urbanspoon

Pasta Shelf on Urbanspoon