Le Garage
166
Provencher Blvd
204-237-0737
Facebook:
@legaragewinnipeg
Twitter: @GarageCafe
Le Garage has been parked in the heart of the French Quarter
forever (since 2005 anyhow). I remember
this place as the dominant storefront on the street, back when they had an open
patio and blaring bands. Today, the
frontage looks much more subdued, even easy to miss.
I walk by here frequently and I often peek through the door
as I pass. From the outside, you can
only see a few seats. Based on the
modest exterior, I would never have guessed the roominess of the interior.
Many restaurants offer wine pours at six ounces or nine
ounces, with an inflated charge for the larger glass. Not so here—you ask for a glass of wine and
you get a good sized glass. I’m glad
they don’t screw around with the pouring sizes to squeeze an extra buck. Especially since they offer a nice selection
of white and red, I think I’ll have an extra glass in appreciation.
Staff offers friendly and attentive service. The clientele seated at the bar look like a
Cheers kind of crowd where everyone knows each other. Does anyone even know the vintage show Cheers
anymore?
Whereas Cheers was known exclusively as a watering hole, Le
Garage is reputed for hosting live bands but you definitely shouldn’t forget
that they offer delicious food here. Dinner
starts with the soup of the day, which today features chorizo sausage in
roasted red peppers.
This broth has great flavour, although I’d like to see some
of the fat, presumably from the sausages, skimmed off. The chorizo tastes lovely and adds depth to
the soup, but a few more chunks of meat would be nice. Otherwise, the soup comes with big chunks of
vegetables but needs more meat to balance the ingredients. Because there’s no lack of flavour, I’m going
to assume that the ladling was a tad imbalanced.
For mains, the wrapped chorizo gives a lovely presentation.
The cream cheese cuts through the grease of the sausage;
meanwhile, the seared chicken wrap adds a hint of grilling, yielding a
wonderful marriage of flavours. The
roasted red pepper sauce (suspiciously similar to the soup in taste!), makes a
lovely dipper to both the main and the vegetables.
The boeuf bourguignon comes in a delicious, deep and dense
red wine sauce. The accompanying mashed
potatoes taste wonderfully garlicky and easily stand on their own. However, it’d be a shame not to use them to sop
up the fabulous sauce. Sadly, there’s no
bread that comes before dinner otherwise, the bread would drippingly soak up
the jus. I love the plentiful mushrooms,
which add a nice texture to the dish.
Unfortunately, the weakness of this creation comes with the beef itself,
with quite a few chunks tasting dry and somewhat hard.
I wish we had more restaurants in the area like this
quintessential St. Boniface eatery. As
much as I like Japanese and South Asian food, more good French restaurants in
the French Quarter would make the French Quarter more French.
Le Garage hosts nightly entertainers with karaoke every
Monday and open-mic every Tuesday. Take
the opportunity to come enjoy the entertainment, be the entertainment, or just
sip on some wine and eat some delicious food.
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Ray Yuen, Pit Master
Certified Kansas City Barbecue Society Judge - Badge #97736
Canadian Barbecue Society Member
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