Medicine Hat Media

Posts Tagged ‘Reviews’

I have been a consumer of Iced Coffee for a number of years and recently the fast food industry has been jumping on the band wagon to capture a share of the market.

I have tried Iced Coffee from the following sources:

  • Canned mixtures from Vietnam, purchased from Sam’s Oriental Market in Brooks when I lived there
  • Starbucks
  • Cafe Mundo
  • Pho Dao Noodle House
  • Tim Hortons
  • McDonald’s
  • Burger King

The canned mixture was my first introduction and it was an instant “I like this!”. The second try was to discuss what I would like and with the helpful staff at Starbucks, I was hooked for life.

Cafe Mundo also produces a nice product that is prepared fresh, similar to the Pho Dao Vietnamese version that is brought to the table to finish brewing.

The fast food joint’s attempts are palatable but are premixed and contain unknown quantities of cream/sugar/syrup.

My favourite Iced Coffee, containing only ingredients that I request, is from Starbucks:

Venti Iced Americano, Light Ice, with Room

Translation: largest size, mega amounts of freshly-brewed espresso mixed with cold water, some ice cubes, and room for me to add the amount of cream I desire.


On Saturday, August 29, Vaughn, me, and our party of 6 in total dined at Dublin’s Pub. It was not the first time at least four out of six of us had been there, and much like our visits previously, the service and food was great.

Notable meal shout-outs include the Danny’s Devil Burger – a half pound hand-made burger with bacon, two kinds of cheese and BBQ sauce, which is Vaughn’s usual choice, and my choice this time around as well. If you manage pack this burger away in your stomach, you will be feeling full and satisfied for a long time afterward. The burger gleans it notability from being handcrafted, which is the opposite from most other restaurants out-of-the-box style burgers.

Another notable mention is the Steak Sandwich. Most restaurants I have eaten steak sandwiches at seem to provide you with a very small amount of meat on top of some bread. The last time I ordered this from Dublin’s, I remember thinking halfway through: “Ugh, I still have so much left to go!” – A definite plus for anyone who loves leftovers.

The straight up reason why Dublin’s is such an awesome local establishment is the amount of food you get. There is no “I wish I had more…” once you finish off your meal. What is more, the price versus food content and amount easily beats out any of the fast food places in town.

There is not a negative thing to really say about the place, with the exception maybe being that we luckily avoided the UFC party that would have probably packed the pub and slowed the service down. We also mentioned Dublin’s Pub before in a post called “Best Restaurants of 2008” in which Dublin’s Pub still remains the top voted for restaurant in the list as chosen by our readers.


My wife and I went to Asia Garden for the first time this afternoon and were not disappointed. The combination of quality of food plus the friendliness and the price has made Asia Garden our favourite restaurant.

Asia Garden, primarily termed as a buffet, includes a “Mongolian Grill”, a lot like Menggu Grill previously. I asked our friendly server Vivian to assist me with the grill as this was our first visit to their establishment. She took a stainless steel bowl and added fresh, cooled, uncooked ingredients to my specifications. The ingredients ranged from rice noodles, peanuts, shrimp, bok choy, squid, pork, THEN with a warning, very sparingly, Mongolian hot sauce mixed with oyster sauce and lastly, a curry sauce to top it off. Vivian then took the heaping bowl to the chef who grilled the mixture and in no time she returned to our table with the steaming hot food.

The Mongolian hot sauce is hot! I am accustomed to warnings of hot sauce turning out to be mild for my taste – not in this case! The dish was excellent with every ingredient having a distinct flavour and yet the combination of sauces lingering in the background.

The price includes the usual Chinese buffet but after my Mongolian dish I was quite satisfied. My wife ate from the buffet and said everything was very fresh and good also.

For the two of us, including a $3 tip, the bill was under $20.

Asia Garden, next to Visions
2 – 3363 Dunmore Road SE


Taylor and I have been to Argo’s a couple times this summer for breakfast, and in one word, it is fantastic. The staff at the restaurant, whether seating or serving, are always fast and friendly.

Both times that Taylor and I have been there over the course of the summer, we have ordered the same meal (we are boring), which is the Argo’s Breakfast Special (or something like that), which is a little bit of everything: Eggs, Hashbrowns, Toast or Pancakes and Bacon or Sausage. Both times, as well, we have had the fortune of having the same server, who is a very upbeat person and always wears a sincere smile and is very attentive on checking up on how the food is and drink levels. Her friendliness even extended to asking Taylor about where she got her shirt from, kind of creating a more friendly connection between establishment and patron.

The best thing about Argos is that I do not feel lethargic after eating the food, like I do with breakfast from most places, since my stomach does not really like breakfast foods.

As far as breakfast locations go, I would highly recommend Argos. I am sure their lunches and dinners are great as well, though I have not been there during those times to see for myself.

Argos is located at 3065 Dunmore Road Southeast.


Earl’s is a fine dining restaurant located along Dunmore Road in Medicine Hat. It is much like other casual dining restaurants in terms of food and price, but Earl’s has a more classy air with the decor and furniture.

The atmosphere overall was pleasant, despite a few loud people around us, and the food was good. As per usual, I ordered a steak sandwich (something I get at least once from every restaurant I go to) and it was prepared well, and something I would definitely order again if I go back. The restaurant was semi-cool in temperature, though it was very hot out, so they probably had the air conditioning raised a fair amount, but was more comfortable than not.

The restaurant features the “Phoenix Lounge”, which is a classier area of the establishment, as opposed to the restaurant side, where families would go.

My only quarrel with the dining experience was the attire of the female staff. Most, if not all places, have a dress code, and while Earl’s seems classier, it almost seems like the majority of the female staff dressed in short or tight dresses that had flashy sequins on them or tears in the fabric to expose more skin. I am not speaking for all guys in town, just that to me, it is not appealing or classy.

My imagination conjures up the thought of a married couple dining there with the husband looking attentively at the waitress and the wife being apathetic over it, or the exposing of skin to increase tip amounts. Personally, nice friendly staff who check up on their guests and refill drinks when needed are what makes me leave good tips.

I have never been to an Earl’s besides the one in Medicine Hat, so maybe other ones are different. Either way, the steak sandwich is my food choice if I find myself back there.

Earl’s is located at 3215 Dunmore Road SE.

http://www.earls.ca


Over the weekend I had the immense pleasure of visiting DeVine Grill, one of the fine dining restaurants in Medicine Hat. After a friendly greeting by the hostess, Sean and I were comfortably seated in a secluded area of the beautiful patio, surrounded by flowers, lamps, and a picturesque fountain. Although we arrived too early to order right away (the kitchen doesn’t open until 5 p.m.) our waitress, Jen, met us almost immediately to get us drinks while we waited.

Although the menu is relatively limited, and a little pricey, the choices are diverse, with a variety complete enough to please anyone. The wine list in itself was quite expansive and I believe even the most experienced Wino would be able to easily find something they liked. Our food arrived promptly and didn’t disappoint. With frequent visits from Jen to assure our meal was satisfactory, the dining experience was excellent.

I have only one small critique, however, the proximity of the tables on the patio could be quite uncomfortable if the restaurant was busy. As we were leaving, the table closest to us became occupied and it felt a little crowded, like the previous intimacy would be nearly impossible.

All in all the experience was both exceptional and memorable and I’ll be sure to revisit many times in the future.

www.devinegrill.com


Pasta-Bilities is a quaint restaurant tucked away behind a small facade in the Starbucks/Joey’s Only parking lot off 13th Ave SE and TransCanada Way. The restaurant offers a large menu consisting of pasta courses and desserts, as well as a pasta-of-the-day which is not only filling, but affordable as well. The courses are always available to have add-ons put in, such as meat balls.

The pasta, sauces, and desserts are all prepared in-house by a nice elderly man who is also the resident Chef and owner and ensures that you will have a freshly prepared meal. The ambiance in the restaurant is wonderful. The front facade of the building is all windows, allowing much sunlight in. The colour scheme of the decor is primarily green, white and red, reminiscent of the Italian flag, and soft Italian music floats through the air to top off your dining experience.

Apart from a delightful dining experience, the restaurant also offers pasta products and sauces, as well as a few other things such as pasta makers.

I have never had a poor meal at Pasta-Bilities, and plan on going back many more times.

Pasta-Bilities is located at 1290 Trans Canada Way SE, across the parking lot from Starbucks.


The Fast Romantics are an alternative (indie) rock band from Calgary and are most recently playing gigs to promote their self-titled debut album. Their sound kind of reminds me of a mix between Arcade Fire (to reference a popular band) and something kind of like piano-pop with some jazzy bits – with maybe a little mix of  The New Pornographers, Hot Hot Heat, and The Strokes (in some of the synthesized stuff – more notably at the end “Stop Me”). Obviously with all of my references, they are a little hard to categorize, which is nice, because even though the genre isn’t my favourite, their music kept my quite satiated with an interest for they were throwing out on their first release.

The Fast Romantics CD Cover Design

The Fast Romantics CD Cover Design

It was all quite varied too, there’s a lot of different sounds going on throughout the album – but not exactly all over the place, it all worked together nicely. Very up-beat, very danceable (like lots of brit-pop and indie-rock) and overall a nice mix. I wasn’t shooting my mouth off about the “jazzy” bits either, “Mr. Magoo” features a trumpet, a clarinet, a trombone and a baritone sax (and a bass/guitar/piano/drums if those count too). If you want to get technical, several tracks also feature a viola, violin and cello as well. Keep in mind though, all of the external instruments are being played by external participants, or “special guests” which I list at the bottom of the post.

The album artwork is very nice with masterful and playful illustrations by Dave Barnes and design by Matthew Angus (the vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist of the band). The illustrations take place throughout the cover, the inside flap, the CD, under the CD and even on the back – it’s all great, beautiful, and typeset mostly in Trajan Pro (to ensure the EPICNESS).

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »


The Beefeater – it pretty much sums itself up in its name and it’s damn proud of it too! It is Medicine Hat’s premier “beef eating” establishment and probably one of the most expensive places you can eat at within the city (save M Grill and DeVine). I maybe should reword that for some people, it is an expensive place to eat if you are going there for a really nice cut of steak, such as a Filet Mignon or sirloin cut – but really you get what you pay for. Otherwise though, there is a standard selection of chicken, seafood, and other beef meals (ribs, burgers) that are reasonably priced and like I said, if you want the nice stuff, you’re going to pay for it. I even noticed a $10 hamburger – I was kind of intrigued since it seemed quite reasonably priced for the type of place. Throw the $1 salad and soup bar into the mix, and it’s actually a pretty good deal if you’re looking for a “fancy-ish” night-out.

Let’s talk about the soup and salad bar. There’s normally two soups available, piping hot and both delicious. Usually they serve a beef soup (such as beef barley) and an other alternative soup (such as french onion). Both are delicious, and the beef variety of soups they serve seem very “home-made” in the sense that it seems like they cooked the beef themselves and thrown it into the mix – this isn’t condensed soup grade beef (like Campbell’s), it is prepared in the kitchen. There’s a huge selection of salads: lettuce, macaroni, 6 different dressings with all the fixings. This is all for $1, unlimited servings, granted you buy an actual meal. Continue reading…

THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »


Sushi Miso is a quaint sushi restaurant located at 1561 Dunmore Road SE in Medicine Hat.

The food is prepared rather quickly and almost entirely made by hand, but nevertheless, I have never been disappointed. The restaurant boasts a wide selection of menu items, ranging from the archetypal raw fish to more “Americanized” sushi, which has chicken in it, to anything else you might ask for in a sushi restaurant.

The norm for me and friends to get is Miso Soup to start with, which is a salty broth filled with chives and tofu, followed by at least a roll (sliced into 6 smaller rolls) each, or three rolls (18) for two of us, or 5 rolls (42) for three of us. Despite looking like a small portion of food, one roll sliced into six smaller ones is enough to fill me up, and what is more, the ends of the roll are usually left untouched, so you get a little bit extra salmon, chicken, or whatever you ordered, sticking out of the ends.

The great thing about Sushi Miso is definitely the fact that it is not fast food and does not have all the additives and preservatives that other fast food places have. When I am done eating, I do not feel physically bad from eating it, as I might from McDonalds or any other fast burger place. Our bills at the end of the meal generally range between $6.00 and $10.00, comparable to most restaurants.

Sushi Miso:
1561 Dunmore Road SE.
403-528-9881


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