No Monkeying Around – A Review Of MONKI Breakfast Club & Bistro

There’s no such thing as too many brunch places. You can say that about pizzerias. You can say that about schwarma joints. And you can say that about Vietnamese restaurants, but most people would universally agree that there is no such thing as too many brunch places. At least in Calgary anyways.

So A. and I woke up early one Saturday morning to check out the newest kid on the brunch block – Monki Bistro. They are located just opposite off the Community Natural Foods and occupy a pretty cozy spot at the corner of 10th Ave and 12th St SW. We got there at 10ish and it was already packed, but luckily for us, there was room at the kitchen counter which was fine by me as I love open-concept kitchens that open up to the entire restaurant – it’s like getting a front row seat to your favourite band. We got there in good time too, cause as soon as we were seated, a huge line-up started, most of whom didn’t get seated until we left…two hours later.

"Cozy" would be an understatement when describing this place. I don’t think I have ever been to a tinier restaurant. Shit-hole Korean restaurant Don Day, by comparison, is palatial. Nonetheless, the cozy atmosphere coupled with primate-art adorning walls and large windows that let in plenty of natural light gave this place a kind of a "happening" buzz. Not quite the same happening vibe you get from OEB or Una, but somewhere halfway in between. It’s getting there.

One of the main reasons I wanted to check out Monki was for their Banana and Frangelico cream cheese-stuffed French toast topped with Nutella and condensed milk (yes, you read that right). Who wouldn’t want to try that? However, I don’t like sweet breakfast options, so I convinced A. to order it (with empty promises of sharing my order) whereas I went with a burrata, vine ripe tomato, arugula, pesto olive oil  & balsamic panini. As soon as the server left, an absolutely mouth-watering eggs benedict dish of some sort went past us, making me instantly regret my order. Oh well, I guess I have an excuse to go back again.

The dishes were well plated, but the stuffed French toast in particular looked like a thick piece of steak. I don’t know if others would find that comparison tasty, but that’s the first thing that came to my mind. Interestingly, based on what my eyes saw and what I had read about that dish, my mind was expecting something super-rich and sweet. However, kinda like eating dark chocolate, my taste buds were deceived and disappointed. It’s a bit of a mind-fuck, but a delicious, well-balanced piece of mind-fuck. Otherwise, you would have a hard time finishing the dish. Eating a whole jar of Nutella sounds delicious, until about your 10th spoonful. After that, you are just shitting out Nutella. A thick, gooey, dark-brown Nutella.

Next up was the panini and this dish definitely grew on me so much so that I really enjoyed it by the last bite. The panini was a much mellower and earthier dish compared to the stuffed French-toast. Furthermore, I made the mistake of eating the side salad that came with a balsamic dressing. The latter was way too overpowering for the panini. The panini was pretty much toast after the first bite of salad – all I tasted was the texture of the bread and cheese. However, the panini gradually began replacing the taste of the balsamic vinaigrette towards the end and I really started enjoying the earthy taste of the cheese, arugula, and pesto.

The food was good and delicious, but it lacked the "wow" factor for some reason. A. made the very insightful observation that the dishes weren’t balanced properly. So, for instance, the stuffed French-toast was delicious, but it was too much of a good thing. It could have used some hash browns or toast on the side. Same with the panini – the balsamic vinaigrette was simply too overwhelming thus upsetting the balance of the dish. If Monki gets this balance right, my gut feel is that it will become a solid hit.

When you show up to a new restaurant with a camera, the staff pay attention, no matter how inconspicuous you try to be. The main chef chatted me up during a brief lull and we got talking. Monki is run by a pair of chefs/owners/brothers who previously used to run the Italian-joint Gnocchi’s Ristorante (which has a 90% "Like" rating on UrbanSpoon.com). Apparently, one of their reasons for wanting to start a bistro was having a more stable 9-5 pm schedule in addition to cooking a different type and style of food. It also explains the heavily Italian-influenced menu.

One major thing to note: it took us two hours from time we got seated to when we got out. Unfortunately, the food did take a while to come out. The kitchen was working pretty deftly, but they are still working out their timings and rhythm, especially in that tiny, tiny kitchen (think food truck tiny). Typically, in most brunch places, the line-ups are much longer than how long it takes the food to come out, but either way, you are looking at around 1.5-2 hours before you have paid your bill and are on your way out. Monki is no different, except here, the food takes much longer to come out.

No one’s really heard about Monki yet, but I suspect as the word of mouth spreads and they get even busier, they will have to do a better job with getting the food out faster. Also, like most brunch places, you have to wait in line again at the end of your meal to pay before you are on your way out. This is extremely frustrating, but only Vendome has managed to find a solution for this. Either way, I am definitely looking forward to going back there to try their eggs benedict.

Ranking

Ambiance	4/5
Service	4/5
Originality	4/5
Taste	3.5/5
Value	3/5
TOTAL	19.5/25 = 76%

Until next time. PO, b.

-Kiran

Good food, good times at Borgo Trattoria

Summary: a trendy, hip, yet casual place to hang out for morning coffee, lunch, dinner or post-dinner drinks with a great selection of tapas-style appetizers

Borgo Trattoria is the latest restaurant offering from Owner/Executive Chef Giuseppe di Gennaro of the now-defunct Capo Restaurant in Inglewood and is tucked away in Mount Royal Village Shops, just off 17th Ave SW. The great thing about Borgo is that this place is open all day…literally. According to the website, the coffee bar/lounge/restaurant starts its day at 0830 and ends somewhere around mid-night (presumably…the website just says “till close”). So, basically, they are open for morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, AND late night snacks….pretty ambitious!

I am not complaining though, as YYC needs more late night hang-outs like Model Milk where you can get good food and drinks. It also helps that the interior is gorgeous and is a visual feast. We went after work on a Friday night, but judging by the pictures taken by other bloggers, the place looks gorgeous in natural daylight. The high ceiling creates the impression of a wide open space even though there is a bar right smack in the middle of  the establishment. The coffee/alcohol bar can be viewed from all corners of the restaurant which further lends to feeling of spaciousness. There is also a semi-private area tucked in behind the bar that is available for private parties.

Kent and Richard got there at around 1800 and had to wait about 30 min. for a table. The place was pretty happening by that time and had a great vibe and excitement. It felt like we were transported to some other place instantly like NYC or some other big city.

We were seated in a spacious booth and each given a paper copy of the menu. The concept at Borgo, if you haven’t heard by now, is family-style shared meals. They have four different menus: lunch, dinner, dessert, and cicheti (small bites). Most of the appy’s are priced per piece, meaning you can order as many or as little as you want to share amongst a group of friends.

Kiran’s Judgement

The vegetarians at the table ended up ordering risotto cheese fonduta ($2 pp), bruschetta ($2 pp), eggplant fritta with fennel yogurt dip ($7), sauteed mushrooms ($8), and finally, grilled foccacia with balsamic vinegar in olive oil ($4) to start. This was a large amount of items, but we were sharing between four people, so it wasn’t really that substantial.

Biting into the risotto cheese fonduta “balls” was equivalent to biting into a little fluffy cloud: a deep-fried, creamy, cheesy, extremely delicious piece of cloud! Must try!

The bruschetta was delicious but felt a bit flat. The crostini was a bit too thick for my liking and the “bruschetta” was just a piece of tomato on top of the buffalo mozzarella.

Eggplant fritta was very addictive, especially with the fennel yogurt dipping sauce. The crispy exterior gave a very satisfying crunch every time I bit in to it.

 

The sautéed mushrooms smelt delicious, but ultimately didn’t live up to it. The sauce was creamy but not too rich and was perfectly seasoned though.

Last but not least was the focaccia bread which was very soft and perfectly salted. The mark of any good restaurant is the bread they serve, and in this case, Borgo definitely delivered.

All throughout this gastronomical tour of Italian cicheti, the service was perfect. Our server was on top of things and was very helpful and patient with our questions. Everything came out almost immediately and nothing was missed.

After demolishing all the cicheti, we had room still for pasta, so we went for the tomato and mozzarella gnocchi…which turned out to be the major disappointment of the night. The sauce was extremely salty. I love salt, but this was too much even for me. I couldn’t eat more than one or two bites at a time. I thought I was the only one but everyone at the table felt the same.

Not wanting to offend the chef, we enquired if the the gnocchi was supposed to be that salty, which sounds like such a stupid question, but I am no food critic, so I didn’t want to look like a fool. This seemed to set off a chain of events which ultimately led to the manager reproaching us for not informing the kitchen earlier on. This was fair: in retrospect, instead of being polite, we should have informed the kitchen right away. We didn’t really want more food (which he offered) either, so it was all good.

Richard’s Notes

When I hear “Trattoria,” I think of a small, family style Italian restaurant, but Borgo is a trendy, modern-themed locale that kind of reminds me of Model Milk in its lighting and white bricks.  The black-and-white film projected on the wall and factory/industrial elements all added to the chic feel – expect to see plenty of yuppies here.

The main menu fits on a single sheet – though in this case, the piece of paper is tabloid-sized and double-sided, so there is quite a variety of small eats, pastas and meaty mains to choose from.  They even have a sort of “charcuterie” section with meats and cheeses. 

An initial glance suggested that prices weren’t too bad, but our waitress warned us that “everything is small… very small.” Turns out that her warning was fair for a few of the dishes – for example, the wafer-thin scallops, which probably weighed less than the ink on the menu (though they still packed a surprisingly good amount of flavour).  Some of the dishes though, like the mushrooms and the pasta, I thought were quite reasonably sized.  Plus, the sodas are only $2 a pop, which is quite a good deal for a place like this.

As for taste – well, it was all over the map on the evening that we were there.  The mushrooms were very nice, with the aroma of truffles and cream, but the bruschetta was rather mediocre (hard, thick bread, not very flavourful) and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the foccacia (it’s on the dense side, and was served barely above room temperature). 

Even the pasta was bipolar – in addition to the gnocchi, Kent, our friend Song and I also shared the paccheri maccheroni (in essence, giant, tube-shaped pasta).  The pasta had a nice springy texture, the shrimps were crisp and juicy, and the bit of panko sprinkled on added an interesting dimension to the dish.  Alas, it was also salty as balls – this wouldn’t be a dish suitable for people with hypertension.  I’m not sure if it was an off night, or if it’s commonly like that, but we couldn’t finish the pasta as a result and I was gulping water for the rest of the night. 

I finished with a couple scoops of sorbetto, almond and lemon – they were decent, though the almond one was a bit sandy (I think almond makes a better gelato than sorbetto).

Service was a bit oddball as well – it was adequate (if a bit slow) earlier on in the night, but for some reason after we spoke to the manager about the saltiness of the pasta our waitress appeared to get banned from our table (in any event, she never came back).  It was an awkward situation to say the least.

 

Summary

Despite the uneven food, I was pretty impressed by the service quality. None of us were expecting Borgo to not charge us for the gnocchi, especially as we ended up eating over half of it, so I give kudos to the manager that night. Kent’s attempt at tipping was dismissed (this was the most bizarre part of the whole night), but it would have been unconscionable if we didn’t leave a $20 tip for the service and reversal of charges. 

At the end of the day, the food was hit and miss, with some of the appy’s being great and other’s not as much. There’s nothing on the menu that would entice me to come back for dinner, but that said, Borgo would be an amazing place for morning Illy coffee (and freshly baked goods) or late night eats after a play or movie. Borgo seems to have garnered a lot of negative reviews for their service, but this could have been due to the initial growing pains. Most of the established bloggers such as Dan’s Good Side and Chocolate & Ginger though, don’t seem to report any problems with service or food quality.

At the end of the day, any restaurant that is willing to eat the cost of a dish is serious about it’s service quality and reputation. Combined with the excellent service, the lively ambiance, and of course, the food, Borgo is a great place to share an evening with friends and family.

-Kiran

Ranking

	Kiran	Richard	Kent
Ambiance	5/6	4.5/6	/6
Service	5/6	3/6	/6
Plating	4/6	5/6	/6
Taste	4/6	3/6	/6
Originality Authenticity	5/6	5/6	/6
Value	3/6	2.5/6	/6
Overall	26/36 = 72%	23/36 = 64%	/36 =

Review of Niko’s Italian Bistro

Niko’s is one of those places that you have heard of before, know it is good, but somehow never quite found the time to make it over. We were taking a stroll in Kensington when we happened to walk by Niko’s, so even though I didn’t have my camera, I couldn’t pass up the chance to check out this Kensington institution. Upon walking in, we were immediately greeted by the very friendly Niko himself, and even though we didn’t have any reservations, were seated almost immediately. Looks like we had just got in time, as 30 min. later, the place was packed…on a Sunday night.

The first thing that strikes you about this bistro is that it is an awesome date place. It’s casual and classy, but not fine dining. It is upscale, but not snooty. Floor to wall windows facing Kensington Rd, high ceilings, an elongated rectangular hallway, and mood lighting give it an air of sophistication. True to the description, there were several couples there, not to mention a high school double date, which my partner thought was cute. I was just a bit amazed that high school kids these days could afford places like Niko’s. Definitely not a place for three dudes to go to “hang out.”

Typically, I have found that any Italian restaurant worth its salt bakes its own bread. However, considering Niko’s did not offer that appetizer, we ordered their bruschetta ($8) and caprese salad ($8) to set a baseline comparison. I also ordered the prosecco ($7), a type of Italian dry white wine that is consumed an as aperitif.  Niko was pretty knowledgeable about the menu, which I suppose is a no-brainer considering he is the owner. Still, it is heartening to see the owner at the front of the house, mingling with the patrons, ensuring first hand that they are having a good time.

The prosecco was a nice balance of dry-but-too-dry and sweet-but-not-too-sweet. Although, I prefer sweeter wines (screw you, snobs), I didn’t mind this version of the drink. It was a nice mellow drink that also served well as a palate cleanser between the different dishes. The appetizers were another story. I found them to be generally underwhelming and lacking in freshness. IMHO, the only thing that differentiates a good from an ok bruschetta or caprese salad is the quality and freshness of their ingredients, especially the tomatoes. In this case, it simply wasn’t there. My favourite part of the bruschetta was the crostini, which I sadly disappointed to find out, isn’t actually made in-house.

However, I refused to let that deter me as my partner had been here on several occasions, and couldn’t stop raving about there main course. As I am a vegetarian, there weren’t very many options that could be ordered wholesale without seriously compromising the chef’s original vision. N. was a huge fan of the gnocchi caprese ($16), so we both got a plate to share.

It turned out to be the best food-related decision I have ever made. I don’t have the range in my food-related vocabulary to illustrate just how fantastic this dish was.  From the potato dumplings that melted in my mouth, to the creamy and savoury tomato sauce, every bite was pure delight. When N. couldn’t finish hers, I was more than happy to finish it off for her. From now on, this will be the gnocchi that all other gnocchi will be compared against. Hands down, no questions about it. Well done, sir, well done indeed.

N. wanted to order some desert, and after the gnocchi-related food-gasm, I couldn’t really say no. Plus, the desserts sounded really, really good, so I was happy to oblige. I ordered the Grande Marnier Banana ($7) and N. ordered Crème Caramel ($7). It was odd to see no mention of any tiramisu on the menu though…

The Grande Marnier was another winner. It was sublime and a very good finish to the meal. The banana slices were perfectly ripe and were caramelized just enough to bring out their flavour. You couldn’t really tell there was any alcohol in the dessert, which for me, is always a plus. My only complaint would be that the vanilla ice cream was already melted by the time it came out, which probably means that it was sitting on the counter for a while, waiting for the crème caramel to be finished. The crème caramel was delectable, although frankly, it did not come close to even touching the Grande Marnier.

Summary

Niko’s is a great place for a date or for a family dinner. The casual but sophisticated ambiance, great food, and excellent service make it a worthwhile visit. Don’t miss out on it!

Ranking

Ambiance	5/6
Service	5/6
Plating	4.5/6
Taste	4.5/6
Authenticity	5/6
Value	4/6
Overall	28/36 = 78%