I know it is a bit late, but we decided to this post as a wrap up to eating out and our restaurant picks of 2009. Just in time for 2009 tax season though! This is also a follow-up to our original post, Best Restaurants of 2008 – Top 5 which also builds on a poll we ran in 2009, Input Needed: Best Restaurants of 2009. Because of the timing, we won’t do a poll this year, but hopefully we will for 2010. – Vaughn

Moxie’s Classic Grill – Sean’s Pick #1

Moxie’s is much like the other chain restaurants in town. They have reasonably priced food and their service is usually top-notch. I have had a few dishes from Moxie’s, but now I generally center on the steak sandwiches, which is why I have included Moxie’s in this post! I get steak sandwiches at least once from every restaurant I go to, and Moxie’s has the best (with Original Joe’s as a close competitor). If you are as satisfied by a steak sandwich as I am, head on over to Moxie’s, just be sure to order the steak as medium rare for full flavour.

Dublin’s Pub – Vaughn’s Pick #1

I originally wanted to mix it up a bit, but then, I didn’t. I’ve recently eaten at a lot of new places, but now that it’s 2010, they don’t exactly qualify, and furthermore, they just aren’t as good as my all time favourite anyways. While Dublin’s Pub doesn’t exactly win any points for best looking interior or atmosphere, although they have done some recent tweaks that have made it look much better – that’s not why it’s my favourite, in fact, it probably doesn’t even factor in. While atmosphere is important sometimes, the best burger I’ve ever had trumps aesthetics in my mind. I’ve had quite a lot from their menu until I stumbled upon the Danny Devil’s Burger which is a home-made hamburger patty topped with 2 types of cheese, barbecue sauce, tomato and lettuce.

Read our full review on Dublin’s Pub (by Sean)

Pasta-bilities – Taylor’s Pick

Cheap, fast, and delicious. These are the words that best describe the lunch spot that is Pasta-bilities. Although the menu is limited to pasta of the day and not much else, as a lactose-intolerant and a self-proclaimed picky eater I have yet to be disappointed in any meal from this restaurant. Even if you can’t make it there during your lunch break you can buy authentic Italian food from the restaurant to cook at home. The next time you want a change for lunch visit Pasta-bilities, and listen to the Italian music over a dish of hot, fresh pasta.

Read our full review on Pasta-bilities (by Sean)

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Beautifully Retro Guinness Poster/Ad Design

*Update: Added the Ottoman Lounge and The Garage*

I have wanted do this post for quite a while now but I didn’t have enough research, so I decided this might be as good as time as ever, seeing as it is St. Patrick’s Day and all. The post name is self-explanatory. Where in the city can you grab a delicious pint of Guinness? Well, as it turns out, only two places to my knowledge. Now, what I mean when I say “pint of Guinness”, I ain’t talking about from a can or something, I’m talking about on tap! This is also what I meant by research, I have only found it at two pubs/bars, but with that being said, it’s probably at some others. So if there is any other places that you guys/gals know, please comment so I can add them!

Original Joe’s

Not only does Original Joe’s have Guinness on tap, they also have a huge selection of other beers, house beers, and hybrid beers. View our review on Original Joe’s by Sean.

The Silver Buckle

This is one of my favourite pubs in the city. The laid back atmosphere, Dale’s Pizza attached to it, and Guinness – Combine those three things and you will have a full belly and a good night.
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It’s almost that time again, when we do a big post about the best restaurants of the given year. Last year’s article was posted by myself without any input from the community, so this year will be a little different, considering we actually have a community now. What I want is for people to comment about their favourite restaurants for 2009 and don’t skip on the details! In a couple weeks or so we will be writing a new article with everybody’s input and will also have a poll for users to vote. Last year’s winner of the poll was Dublin’s Pub as you can see by the poll:

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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.

Karl Wolf - The only picture of him with a shirt on (haha) via MySpace

This Saturday, July 11th, Karl Wolf will be playing at Dublin’s Pub. I know it’s kind of “WTF?”, but I think something fishy is going on here. As well, the guest list includes Kay & AACE, Cash Flo, and Absent Minds. First of all, I thought this is kind of weird considering Dublin’s is fairly small for an act like this, not to mention the posters say “All Ages!”, yet below that it says (with licensed 18+ area) which leads me to believe that the show might be happening in the now empty building inside/beside Dublin’s Pub (in the same building, that used to be a Bingo hall). It would be cool if anybody can confirm this. Karl Wolf’s MySpace lists the event as “Dublin’s Event Room” so I might be right in my speculations.

Anyways, the doors will open at 7PM on Saturday night and advanced tickets are going for $20 a pop available at either Shoe Warehouse (for minors) or Dublin’s Pub, it doesn’t list a door price, but I assume around the $25 mark. Karl Wolf will also be doing a 3PM autograph signing at the Medicine Hat Mall on Saturday. Although I’m not a big fan of the artists playing, I do like Karl Wolf’s cover of Toto’s (think back to the 80’s) “Africa”. All artists playing are Canadian(ish), so that’s a definite plus! Dublin’s Pub is located at 4 Strachan Court SE and you should try some of their food if you have a chance – it’s excellent! Links and videos after the jump… THE JUMP – Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I know this post is kind of late, but here’s my pick of the top five places that I ate at in 2008. I’ve eaten at a lot of places around this city looking back on this last year, which is probably why I am trying to go on a diet now to recoup for my “gain”. This list isn’t necessarily ordered in any way, I could almost think of these five places as equals in most regards. All photography provided by the Medicine Hat Restaurants website.

1. Pho Dao Vietnamese Noodle House

Pho Dao is a very fresh and very fast Vietnamese-style restaurant. It’s not your typical Americanized Chinese restaurant, the food here seems very authentic, or at least different from some of the other restaurants in the city. It’s also very fast, sometimes me and my girlfriend get our food within minutes, way faster than any fast food place. The dishes consist of many different types of noodles with different combinations. Other traditional dishes are also available and combo meals, consisting of rice, pork, chicken, shrimp, vegetables and other things. Their spring/meat rolls are some of the most tastiest I’ve ever had. My favourite pick from Pho Dao is Combo #4: Steamed vegetables, rice, charbroiled pork & chicken, wonton soup and spring rolls.

Pho Dao - Spring Rolls

2. Thai Orchid Room

Thai Orchid Room is a very nice place to eat and could definitely be considered fine dinning. They have many beautiful dishes most of which are on the pricier side but it’s definitely worth it. The food is truly an authentic Thai experience with a very large menu consisting of curries, stir-frys, vegetable dishes, noodles, rice, soups and salads. My girlfriend loves it because of all the different curry meals you can get (one of the only places in town for good curry), but I love some of the other stir-fry meals as well. They are definately a little different than what you are used to, especially if you get some of the hotter (spicy) dishes.

Thai Orchid Rom - Green Curry Pork

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