Boston Pizza

Cajun Rice Bowl  A dish inspired in Louisiana! Tender pieces of chicken breast, prawns, tomato, green pepper and red onion sautéed in our spicy cajun tomato sauce. Served over rice.

This Cajun dish was not very inspirational. Tiny cubed chicken pieces, tiny diced green peppers and the prominent vegetable was red onion. I like red onion but not to eat an entire one at one meal.  The shrimp was was large and fresh tasting, its saving feature but then there was just too much rice.  Does a restaurant really fool anyone with cheap fillers like rice, pasta and iceberg lettuce.

This is not my favourite restaurant, so I went kicking and screaming.  It's not because I don't usually enjoy their food, it's because I question their hiring practices.  Does Boston Pizza have something against servers over size 1 and over age 20?  The restaurant could learn something from a mature server, maybe as a customer I'm not skinny or good looking enough....hmmmmm.  Well, tonight I was surprised, our server was actually a size 5 and maybe 25 years old and, she knew not to set cutlery on the seats when setting tables...hmmmmm.

SERVICE:  This server was friendly and attentive.  Again, Saint John has great service staff.

QUALITY:  I think this dish was created mostly from frozen foods.  The taste didn't remind me of Louisiana.  Not much of a presentation either, smudges on the sides of the bowl.

ATMOSPHERE:  Fun environment, clean and the music was not too loud.

VALUE:  The prices are average, but this meal was not worth the price.

Would I pay a return visit:  Not is a hurry to return.

Bourbon Quarter

Grilled Watermelon Salad, Buttermilk Vinaigrette, Goat Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes, Watermelon Coulis (juice from the watermelon)

Blackened Catfish, smoothered in "Slap Yo' Momma" spices.  Potato wedges and asparagus.

This is a great restaurant.  I had put off going because it is more pricey, but "you do get what you pay for", and we did.  The meal was superb!  Watermelon salad alone sounds fine but, broiled and a dash of salt over the sweet watermelon, well....it was amazing....I've got to find the receipe, I'm even dreaming of it.  I don't remember eating goat cheese before, I have always had feta, so what a nice change.  This cheese has a smooth, gentle sharp flavour, with a hint of old.  Now Catfish, there is a new experience;  I feel a southern drawl coming on.  Any fears I had was immediately gone with the first bite.  This is a gentle white fish, easy on the palate and stomach.  The crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside potatoes were the best and asparagus cooked perfectly not stringy, thank you.

SERVICE:  The server was knowledgable and attended to our needs often.

QUALITY:  The tastes were wonderful,  rich flavours.   The spices were a guarded secret except for "lots of garlic"; you've got to love any spice that's named "slap yo' momma".

ATMOSPHERE:  We choice a dark and stormy night, typical for Saint John,  so yes our corner of Bourbon Quarter was quiet and inviting.  This is another historic building, well renovated to fit the name.

VALUE:  Higher then average prices and worth it.

Would I pay a return visit:  Can't wait for a return visit.

Splash

GREEN THAI CURRY (Gaeng Kioh Waan)

Green Curry with Thai eggplant and herbs in coconut

milk. A powerful and popular curry designed to

stimulate all the taste centres at once.

Oh my goodness, I thought I was going to die!!  I ordered a medium curry, I love curry, but holy cow was this hot, hot, hot!!  There was no way I could tell if this dish had value until I could chew and swallow.  It took forever to find a server to bring some sour cream, by that time the meal had cooled temperature wise. The sour cream was the only way to keep the curry from incinerating my mouth.

SERVICE:  The Friday night we visited, the restaurant had only been opened a few weeks and a few kinks were still being worked out.  The server was lovely but not quite on the ball; maybe it was just too busy and too new.  So of course I'll give it a second chance.   

QUALITY:  I'm not sure, the curry was so strong that nothing else could be tasted.  I wasn't scared about food poisoning, because the spices would have killed any potential danger.

ATMOSPHERE:  Beautifully designed, great ambiance, well done.

VALUE:  The prices are competitive.

Would I pay a return visit:  I'll have to pay another visit because I'm sure this meal wasn't a "good judge of character."