NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS
J. Fox’s
414 Academy Rd
(204) 478-3035
February, 2009
The former Academy Bar and Eatery in the heart of the Academy strip is now J. Fox’s gastropub. Deservedly or not, people know the British not only by their great beer, but also by their bland (and sometimes lousy) food. The latest trend in shedding the latter part of this description is by integrating good and original food into the British pub milieu and adopting the name “gastropub.” Sophisticated food replaces the ubiquitous pub grub bangers and mash, and shepherd’s pie. The dark atmosphere and the dominant river stone wall add an air of elegance above the regular, grungy pub look.
An adequate supply of various suds runs on tap but I expect a larger selection, considering that we are in a pub. The selection should satisfy most patrons but nothing special jumps out of the menu. We opt for the house cider, for a change. This cider has a tarter taste than most ciders, and less effervescence. As an accompaniment to a meal, this is a nice beverage but it won’t be very refreshing on a hot summer day.
We start with the house salad, which comes with a very balsamic vinegary taste with a sweetish edge. The salad tastes well enough, but nothing about it propels this intro above the ordinary. One of our dishes comes with a side order of coleslaw, which far exceeds the salad in excellence. The large carrot shavings provide beautiful texture to accompany the lovely creaminess of the dressing.
When I first read the description of their appetiser, I thought I saw a typo. We soon discover that there is no typo and Fox means to print “pasties,” rather than “pastries.” A little bit of research and I find out that pasties mean more than what my depraved mind believes. A pasty (in the gastronomic sense) is a small meat pie or turnover. Our server carefully pronounces it pah-stee. Fox’s pasty is a pastry pocket stuffed with ground beef and a small smattering of carrots and onions. Essentially, the pasty looks like a samossa, but this is where the similarity ends. Most samossas have an Asian or African ancestry and have heavy and delicious flavouring. Fox’s pasty has absolutely no flavouring, seasoning or spicing. If I unwrap a package of ground beef, boiled it up, and stuffed it into the pastry, this is what I would have. A generous sprinkling of salt and pepper saves this disappointing appetiser.
One of the saddest dishes that I can come across is overcooked mussels. Once mussels have seen too much heat, they shrivel into nothingness and become a hard nub of flavourless flesh. Fox’s mussels come perfectly plump and juicy. The best way to eat a mussel is to scoop up the delicious broth with the shell and slurp the juices with the plump mussel meat. Alas, while Fox cooks the mussels up beautifully, the sauce falls short of the mussel’s quality. The beer-garlic sauce tastes so beery that you can barely taste the essence of the mussel juice. A little bit of beer flavour adds a zing to a dish; a lot of beer flavour overwhelms and smothers the dish, which is what happens here.
Fish and chips appears on most English pub menus and it appears on Fox’s menu as well. Rather than the usual cod, flounder or haddock, Fox uses the much-preferred halibut in their fish and chips. Although the beer batter is a little thicker than I prefer, it doesn’t get in the way of the wonderfully mild taste of the halibut meat. The light, crunchiness of the batter compliments the fish nicely as the sweet tarter sauce completes the meal. The thickly-cut fries tastes moist and tender, although a tad too greasy. The generous servings preclude us from sampling the house-made, rotating desserts.
J. Fox certainly offers food that you would never dream of finding in regular pub grub but the quality of the dishes are hit or miss. The dishes run the entire spectrum from divine to dreadful. It leaves me wondering how someone can create such great dishes and then complete flops. Come on in, have a beer, order some food, and cross your fingers.
**½ /5
J. Fox’s
414 Academy Rd
(204) 478-3035
February, 2009
The former Academy Bar and Eatery in the heart of the Academy strip is now J. Fox’s gastropub. Deservedly or not, people know the British not only by their great beer, but also by their bland (and sometimes lousy) food. The latest trend in shedding the latter part of this description is by integrating good and original food into the British pub milieu and adopting the name “gastropub.” Sophisticated food replaces the ubiquitous pub grub bangers and mash, and shepherd’s pie. The dark atmosphere and the dominant river stone wall add an air of elegance above the regular, grungy pub look.
An adequate supply of various suds runs on tap but I expect a larger selection, considering that we are in a pub. The selection should satisfy most patrons but nothing special jumps out of the menu. We opt for the house cider, for a change. This cider has a tarter taste than most ciders, and less effervescence. As an accompaniment to a meal, this is a nice beverage but it won’t be very refreshing on a hot summer day.
We start with the house salad, which comes with a very balsamic vinegary taste with a sweetish edge. The salad tastes well enough, but nothing about it propels this intro above the ordinary. One of our dishes comes with a side order of coleslaw, which far exceeds the salad in excellence. The large carrot shavings provide beautiful texture to accompany the lovely creaminess of the dressing.
When I first read the description of their appetiser, I thought I saw a typo. We soon discover that there is no typo and Fox means to print “pasties,” rather than “pastries.” A little bit of research and I find out that pasties mean more than what my depraved mind believes. A pasty (in the gastronomic sense) is a small meat pie or turnover. Our server carefully pronounces it pah-stee. Fox’s pasty is a pastry pocket stuffed with ground beef and a small smattering of carrots and onions. Essentially, the pasty looks like a samossa, but this is where the similarity ends. Most samossas have an Asian or African ancestry and have heavy and delicious flavouring. Fox’s pasty has absolutely no flavouring, seasoning or spicing. If I unwrap a package of ground beef, boiled it up, and stuffed it into the pastry, this is what I would have. A generous sprinkling of salt and pepper saves this disappointing appetiser.
One of the saddest dishes that I can come across is overcooked mussels. Once mussels have seen too much heat, they shrivel into nothingness and become a hard nub of flavourless flesh. Fox’s mussels come perfectly plump and juicy. The best way to eat a mussel is to scoop up the delicious broth with the shell and slurp the juices with the plump mussel meat. Alas, while Fox cooks the mussels up beautifully, the sauce falls short of the mussel’s quality. The beer-garlic sauce tastes so beery that you can barely taste the essence of the mussel juice. A little bit of beer flavour adds a zing to a dish; a lot of beer flavour overwhelms and smothers the dish, which is what happens here.
Fish and chips appears on most English pub menus and it appears on Fox’s menu as well. Rather than the usual cod, flounder or haddock, Fox uses the much-preferred halibut in their fish and chips. Although the beer batter is a little thicker than I prefer, it doesn’t get in the way of the wonderfully mild taste of the halibut meat. The light, crunchiness of the batter compliments the fish nicely as the sweet tarter sauce completes the meal. The thickly-cut fries tastes moist and tender, although a tad too greasy. The generous servings preclude us from sampling the house-made, rotating desserts.
J. Fox certainly offers food that you would never dream of finding in regular pub grub but the quality of the dishes are hit or miss. The dishes run the entire spectrum from divine to dreadful. It leaves me wondering how someone can create such great dishes and then complete flops. Come on in, have a beer, order some food, and cross your fingers.
**½ /5
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