St. Bernardus Abt 12

St. Bernardus Abt 12 - 10.00 % alc./vol. 4 x 330ml $23.99(CAD)

"St. Bernardus Abt 12 - Abbey Ale brewed in the classic "Dubbel" style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. Store and serve this noble, wonderfully balanced and delicious ale at 52-56 degrees F in a goblet glass to best enjoy its delicate bouquet"

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Honestly, CJ didn't know it was $23.99(CAD) until he checked his receipt when he was preparing to blog. Wow, that's a little on the pricey side for some beer. And judging from the packaging, it was clearly marketed to the American palate...but really, I doubt they would know what to do with a STRONG BEER (emphasis on the packaging, not CJ).

Well, today was the first snowfall of the fall, and all my Canadian sous-chefs know what that means...and for my international sous-chefs, here is a hint...

CJ would define this beer as a dark, strongly flavoured, ale. A lot of sediment and with 10.00% alcohol, it's a "sleepy time" beer - basically enough to help any insomniac. Not so much recommended for dinner time as a "help wind your evening down while you let your brother empty the dishwasher" kind of beer...yeah, it's pretty good.

The photographic evidence:

Look at how happy that monk is on the bottle! Why is he smiling? It's just because CJ gave his beer a solid 8.1 out of 10.0!

Highlands Platter - Highlands Kitchen

Coffee - $2.50 (CAD)
Highlands Platter - 2 cheesy scrambled eggs, ham, sauerkraut, buttermilk biscuit, preserves, choice of salad or potato hash - $15.00 (CAD)

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Realistically, they should have had a nice big "гарне харчування" sign. It wasn't GREAT food, but it was pretty good. And you could soon see the Ukrainian influence soon after you walk in the front door...

The setting was small, wooden floors,drafty as we were near the front door, a little cramped, and busy (it was a Saturday morning). Menu was very simple, white paper with black/grey lettering with a simple description for each dish. Yes, yes! Pyrogy and cabbage rolls did make an appearance! It was like a Fall Supper (Breakfast?) dream come true!

But, CJ didn't go to fill his belly with comfort food from the motherland. Nay. It was breakfast food to induce winning picks in the weekly NFL Proline Syndicate (Fuck you, Aaron Rogers for losing to the Colts! Where's your championship belt now???...CJ has always disliked the Packers, ever since they stole Reggie White...) So eggs it must be!

The presentation of the dish was good. It wasn't a lot of food, and for $15.00 (CAD), it was a little less than I was expecting. Regardless, the dishes came out in a timely fashion.

CJ ate the eggs and ham first. They were pretty good, although the eggs were just a tad runny. Maybe they could have set for another minute or two on the stove. The potatoes, on the other hand, were very tasty, and cooked to perfection. Honestly, a grade of 8.7 for the potatoes (or should CJ say "potatoes and sweet potatoes"?). Yummy. And the preserves and biscuit finished it off. The jam seemed fresh and full of flavour, while the biscuit had that soft, warm, recently baked feeling to it. Pleasant to the palate.

Supposedly there's been some good reviews for the restaurant in the past... "Top 10 Best New Restaurants in Canada 2009"? Really? Finally, we can say that Air Canada got something right...

The photographic evidence:

Overall grade: and 8.1 out of 10.0. It would have been a little higher had it not been an expensive breakfast.