We wanted a glass of red wine with our dinner so we tried two different selections. We had a glass of the Jackson Triggs Merlot (Proprietors Select) and a glass of the Peller Estates Merlot (their feature wine). Both were a “big” disappointment!

Valerie had the traditional burger while I had the Monty Mushroom burger. We both had the fries with a side of gravy. The burgers were pretty good with a couple of exceptions……..the one piece of tomato on my burger was a little sliver of a piece from the end of the tomato and it was obviously old as it was soft and wrinkled and the buns were not as fresh as they might have been. The rest of the burger was tasty with the meat cooked just right (not overdone!). If you like thick cut fries, you’ll like these…..we prefer thin cut our selves. The gravy could definitely use some help as it was pale and not very flavorful.

Our server was not very attentive and when she did stop by once to see how things were, we asked for extra napkins which never did show up. When we asked if we were to pay her or at the front she said we could do either but we might be better to pay at the front as she sometimes takes a long time to find the card machine. Having already waited long enough throughout our visit, we paid at the front.

The restaurant was clean as were the washrooms. The garbage cans in both washrooms were overflowing.

Having had a similarly disappointing experience with breakfast at the Edmonton, Alberta White Spot just a month earlier, we have decided to take White spot off of our list of restaurants. Too bad….we used to love their burgers. Having said that, it was the Kelowna White Spot where we have had great burgers in the past.

We rate our experience at the White Spot restaurant in Calgary Alberta as a 2 star and certainly not worth the $40. We could have had just as good experience at MacDonald s or A&W for half the price and half the time. Sorry White Spot….you are no longer in our books as the best burgers around….what happened???

We wanted to have a nice breakfast before our 5 hour drive home. We love the White Spot for burgers and fries so we thought we would try them for breakfast.

Their coffee was a bit too strong (and we like strong coffee) and a little bitter.

There was only one server that we could see. She could have used help as the service was a little slow.

I had their Big Bowl (kind of like a scrambler). The only piece of meat in the dish was one strip of partially cooked bacon. The eggs were good as were the vegetables, cheese and mushrooms. The hash browns were ok.

My wife had the traditional bacon and eggs. Her bacon was also undercooked. The eggs were tasty and cooked just right.

We were happy to be able to have multi-grain toast.

The place could definitely use a cleaning crew. From the benches to the bathrooms.

We rate the breakfast meals that we had at the White Spot in Edmonton, Alberta as a 2 star. Stick to burgers White Spot and hire some more staff for cleaning and serving.

We received a nice friendly greeting on arrival and quick seating. Very nice ambiance. White tablecloths. beautiful unique fireplace on one wall. Great service from start to finish.

Excellent selection of wines (a little on the pricey side). À la carte menu (also a little on the pricey side).

We started with the Calamari which was not very good at all. It was drenched with some kind of sauce which made the battered coating very soggy rather than crispy and calamari itself was very rubbery. I know….it’s squid and it’s supposed to be rubbery…but this was VERY rubbery. Between 6 of us we ate only about 1/2 of the dish. I complained and they did not charge us which was decent of them.

The entree’s were brought to the table on plates that had been heated to 500° F. Seemed a little excessive and more than a little dangerous. Like most people, I usually touch my plate at some point in time while dining.

Their claim to fame is serving USDA corn fed beef. They do have Alberta beef on the menu, but most of the choices are US cuts.

My wife’s son and I had the USDA Rib-Eyes. What should have been a very tender piece of meat was more than a little tough. It was tasty and medium rare as requested. One of our future daughter in laws had the chicken and the other the Portabello Mushrooms. They both were happy with their selection. My wife had the Alberta Tenderloin. It came topped with butter which history has taught us is not a good sign. It was medium rare as requested but also on the tough side for tenderloin. My son had the tenderloin and scallops. He thought the scallops were better than the steak.

The side of Broccoli was overcooked and had a burnt or grilled taste. The potatoes Au Gratin were ok but nothing special. The snow peas with garlic was our best side order pick.

All that said, it would look like our group of 6 unanimously agree that for a Steak House, they could use some improvement.

Dinner for 6 (including 2 bottles of wine) was just under $500.

We rate Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Edmonton, Alberta) as a 3, thanks to the ambiance and the excellent service. Not worth the $$$$ price tag. Outback’s would have been a much better choice.

The atmosphere is a little rustic, open and loud! There is no dividers or sound barriers between the casino and the restaurant or between tables. Between the smell and noise, there was no mistaking that you were in a Casino / Bar.

The steaks were Excellent! The rest of the meal was average. The wince selection was mediocre.

The service was pretty good. There was lots of parking.

We rate the The Derby Steakhouse in Butte, Montana as a 3 star restaurant. Was it the best steak in Butte? Probably….there is not much else to choose from. We would eat there again.

Yes it is a chain and it happens to be one of the chains that we love to eat! We have had several great meals at Outback Steakhouses across the country. Never a bad meal!

The steaks are always prepared to perfection and the sides are very tasty as well.

The atmosphere is unique with it’s Australian flare. The facilities are clean, neat and offer some privacy.

The service was great as was the meal!

We rate the Outback Steakhouse in Flagstaff, as a 4 star Steakhouse. If you want a Great steak every time…..go to Outbacks!

The atmosphere was noisy. The service was slow considering it was not very busy.

As for the food, if you want greasy fried food with no taste, T.G.I Friday’s is your place! Very disappointing overall!

We rate T.G. I. Friday’s in Provo, Utah as a 1 star restaurant. We should have taken the time to get in our vehicle and found somewhere else to eat. If it were not for the blizzard we most certainly would have. In our opinion….DON’T DO IT! When we were finished our meal we said T.G.I. Over!

Fix is a high end Steak House in the Bellagio Casino!

The environment was noisy as the restaurant is right within the Casino with no wall separating the two.

Don’t expect any bargain dining here! We each had a steak with a glass of wine and the bill was $200! Don’t come hungry as the potions are very small. We are VERY small eaters and we were just right!

The tables are put very tightly together in a small area so don’t expect quiet, romantic surroundings.

The food was excellent and prepared to order!

The bathrooms were a joke…..ONE SEAT ONLY! The restaurant had to seat at least 100 people……what a joke for a billion dollar casino and a $200 meal!

We rate the Fix in Las Vegas, Nevada as a 3 star restaurant. They really need larger portions, more room and a more quiet environment!

Our motto is if you want Crab….go to a Crabskack. It’s not the place for steak or a hamburger BUT it is the place for Great Crab! The sides left a little to be desired with a half cob of tasteless corn as the veggie BUT we were there for the crab and that is what we ate.

They have a decent selection of wines.

The atmosphere was open and loud with basically one big open room. There was sticky something on the seats and floor that we wiped up while we waited for our meal.

The service was a little sloe considering the place was near empty when we arrived.

We rate Joe’s Crabshack as a 3 1/2 star restaurant……definitely the place to go for a Great Crab Dinner at reasonable prices.

11639A Jasper Avenue N.W.
Edmonton, AB T5K 0M9
(780) 482-2600

A MUST DO if you are in downtown Edmonton!

Our choice of wine to start the meal was a Nieto Senetiner Malbec (2007 Reserva) and it was EXCELLENT (as was the price). We ordered the second just before the meal arrived. We started with the Escargot. They were topped with what looked like Bruschetta (tomato, green onion and spices), smothered in a delightful concassé butter sauce and were very tasty in deed. For our main dish, Valerie had the Seafood Pasta (Crab Legs, Shrimp & Scallops with olive oil, garlic, white wine, tomato concassé, spinach, basil sauce; Chad had the 12oz Certified Angus New York Steak charbroiled AAA strip loin in a three peppercorn brandy demi-cream sauce and Lyle had the Beef special which was an 8 oz tenderloin served with a three peppercorn sauce. All of the meals were prepared to near perfection (the crab was slightly overdone). When asked how the steak was, my son, who has been a chef for over a decade, told the waiter that he was a little shocked that it was prepared to perfection given the two cooks that could be seen through the glass wall looked so young. We had both ordered our steaks medium rare and they were EXACTLY that!! The waiter called the two young men (Derek and Roger) out to our table so we could thank them for the excellent meal and talk about their experience. Turns out, despite their youthful appearance, they have years of experience. Roger is on his last few days at Normand’s as he is moving to France to attend culinary school. We hope he comes back to Alberta!! We had to pass on the dessert even though it looked and sounded delicious! The whole experience took a couple of hours….do not be in a hurry….sit back and enjoy every minute.

The one little negative in our experience was the washrooms. They were VERY SMALL indeed and could have used more frequent visits by cleanup staff to tidy and wipe up. The floor had cracks that women with pointy high heels would want to be careful of, according to Valerie the bathroom critic of our group. The waiters are very touchy and close….if someone touching you and leaning over your dinner table while talking to you bothers you. you won’t like it here.

We rate Normand’s Restaurant in Edmonton as a 4 1/2 star restaurant and MUST TASTE experience if you are anywhere near downtown Edmonton looking for a great meal.

We created our own pizza with our 8 favorite toppings. Not only did this cost a fortune at $1.50 per topping but whoever the chef was, they did not have a clue how to cook the whole thing. The tomatoes were raw and cold as were the red peppers. The crust was sopping wet and the remainder of the toppings left much to be desired. We do a similar topping pizza at home that is 10 times better at least.We each had one piece and tossed the rest in the garbage. Had we not been famished we would have not even eaten one piece.

I’ve eaten pizza at hundreds of restaurants and this rates as the absolute worst!!!

If you ever get a chance to eat in Waterton, our recommendation would be to avoid Pizza of Waterton.

We rate Pizza of Waterton as a 1 star. If we could rate it less than that  we most certainly would! AVOID, AVOID, AVOID!!!