The
Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant
204-505-7772
Papa George’s was an Osborne
Village
Turn the page and the Cornerstone Bar & Restaurant has
taken Papa’s place. The location’s a lot
brighter and cheerier, with unobstructed windows offering diners a direct view
to some of Winnipeg ’s most
interesting characters outside. Not only
has the appearance changed; the service has improved immensely as the array of
staff flit hurriedly from table to table to kitchen.
With a great view of the kitchen, every dish that passes by
our table leaves me rubbernecking. My
meal starts with the Cioppino, or fish stew.
My first mussel disappoints me as it tastes dry and overcooked. A well-made mussel looks very plump and
tastes juicy—an overcooked mussel looks sere and shrunken. Fortunately, only two of the ~10 mussels saw
too much heat; the remainder tastes delicious.
Often, when a dish comes with fresh mussels and clams, the
mussels will be overcooked, as the clams normally take more time to cook. Not so here—the clams tastes perfectly made,
to go with the majority of the mussels.
Similarly, the shrimps also taste juicy and moist—and I’m thankful that
they removed the tail for you. I know
that shrimps traditionally come with tails on—but why? I much prefer poking my shrimp with a fork,
over dirtying my hands to pick up the tail.
My cioppino only came with one scallop, and I would like to
have seen more of the delicious molluscs.
There isn’t a lot of salmon meat either, but there’s enough to give the
broth a rich, full-bodied seafood essence.
The crab claw on top of the mound makes a lovely topper—alas, it’s a tad
overdone as well but I’ll take it nevertheless.
You get fresh and crispy toast on the side. It’s difficult not to indulge as it tastes
great on its own, but as a sopper for remaining broth, it sponges everything
nicely.
The Chickpea Soup is supposed to come with guacamole and
crispy quinoa but there isn’t a lot. The
soup has enough substance to be a good base but it needs a bit more to make it
exciting. The depth of some more guac
and the crunch of more quinoa would elevate this starter greatly.
The simple Pickerel main comes lightly seasoned, which is
great since it lets the delicate flavours of the fish shine through. The velvety couscous also tastes very subtle,
making a nice complement to the fish. I
would like to see a few more mushrooms, as well as something else in the
couscous to act as a contrast to the texture—perhaps something lightly fried
and crispy.
The menu offers a number of interesting and unique
sandwiches but if you want something more plain, you must try the Cornerstone
Burger. The plump and delicious patty
comes beautifully seared on the outside and wonderfully moist on the
inside. Tons of onions contribute to
making this simple but excellent burger a winner—I love the addition of lightly
fried onions to give a bit of crunch to every bite.
The Steak Frites comes with wonderful rustic fries, expertly
fried to be firm and not at all greasy.
They’re perfect for soaking up the beef juice left by the steak. The steak comes exactly grilled as ordered
and tastes wonderful.
Cornerstone is not a dark, quiet, romantic retreat. True to its Osborne nature, the restless and
nomadic customers keep the dining room loud and lively music pumps the
action. This is not the place to go for
a restorative, vegetative respite, but it is a great place to go for an
exciting meal to start the evening.
**** /5
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It’s a great post. I am going to host a dinner party on my birthday at one of best dinner party venues in Chicago. I have been to that place only once but had a great experience. Their cuisines were so yummy and delicious.
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