I am chasing food in Edmonton.
I am looking for local restaurants that are the best kept secrets Edmonton has to offer. You can keep your Olive Garden's and your Keg's. After the lobster I had while cruising a lagoon in Cancun, Red Lobster can bite me.
I am looking for that little hole in the wall that everyone in the neighbourhood raves about. Your suggestions are not only welcome, they will be tried and tested.
Yesterday, it was lunch at Bucas and Pastas in the West End. If you can find the West Division police detachment, you will be directly across the street from Bucas.
You can find their site, complete with menu, here.
The restaurant itself is located in a strip mall and it has about 10 tables, if you are interested in staying for your meal. I would suggest getting there early as the seating looks a bit cramped; we were there around 12:30, which in Edmonton is prime lunch time, and all the tables were full and there was a long line at the counter.
Do yourself a favour and study the menu. Pour over it before you get there. Make sure you know EXACTLY what you want when you get to the counter. There's a bit of a Soup Nazi vibe from the staff, especially Mumma working the line; she wants to keep things moving and the sooner you pay, the sooner she can make money off someone else. I can respect that, but it is best if you know what sauce you want or she will decide for you.
The daily lunch special (which comes in at a very reasonable $8.95) was chicken and prosciutto cannelloni with your choice of salad; I went with the creamy dill:
Forgive the pictures. The cam on my phone sucks a bag of you know whats. And lunch was a take away, so the food had been slapped in containers and tossed about on the way back to the office.
Believe me, it tasted miles better than it looks.
Ratings:
Appearance: Clean and quaint.
Service: Be ready or be roughed up a little. Things go fast so be prepared.
Food: Home cooked Italian. Very good, 7.5/10
Overall rating: Will be back.
Chicken and prosciutto cannelloni:
I'm not entirely sure my cannelloni had prosciutto in it. I was definitely missing the saltiness that comes from that kind of ham and I found the filling lacking somewhat in seasoning but it was hearty and combined well with the pomodoro sauce. The pasta was done perfectly and just the right amount of cheese was baked on. It was a bit messy to eat, mostly because it was in a take away container, but the small sized portion was the perfect amount of pasta for a lunch. Overall, 7/10.
Creamy dill salad:
I could very easily become friends with this salad. I would have preferred more dill and less carrots but that is a personal preference and not a knock against the salad itself. If you are a fan of salads that do not contain lettuce, this is a safe and yummy choice; it was simply cauliflower, broccoli, red peppers, carrots, and creamy dill dressing. Overall, 8/10.
I did not have dessert as it was lunch and I do not usually have dessert with lunch. That being said, next time, I will have death by chocolate!
