Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Bluestone Bistro

If you've been following my blog you would probably know that I'm always looking for good eats in uptown. In particular, non-Asian, non-chain restaurants (so something like Moxie's, but non-chain, so similar to Joey's?). 


I discovered Bluestone Bistro from my 2010 entertainment coupon book. It had two coupons for dinner at Bluestone Bistro, both were along the lines of "buy one entree get the second one free, up to a value of $16" (may not be those exact numbers). The first time I went for dinner, I had their Gorgonzola and Portobello Mushroom Pizza (which had baby spinach, roma tomatoes, fresh herbs, portobello mushrooms, mozzarella and fontina cheese on a basil pesto base, topped with a gorgonzola-parmesan crumble) - it was really good. The second time I went I ordered a pizza again, that time I had their Thai Pizza (chicken sweet soy glazed chicken, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, mozzarella cheese on a chili oil base, finished with a peanut swirl) - this was also very tasty. In general, I can say that the pizzas Bluestone Bistro did not disappoint. However, at the time, I can't vouch for anything other than their pizzas.


For this post, a group of us (6 to be exact) wanted to do brunch uptown. I didn't know Bluestone Bistro had brunch until my friend Kat, suggested it; she got the 2011 entertainment book and had coupons for Bluestone Bistro (coupons expire at the end of October for each year). I was excited to see whether the brunch at Bluestone Bistro is just as good as their pizzas.


When you walk into Bluestone Bistro, this is what you will see - a long bar to your right with beer glasses lined up, tons of hanging lights, and a glass table in the middle with a huge vase filled with flowers. It feels a bit clustered in my opinion but really not a big deal at all - the dining area is not like this. 



See? No cluster. Very comfortable actually. 




We went at 1pm - we were offered both the breakfast and brunch/lunch menu. 


Similar to some of my other posts, I can't comment on a lot of things because I didn't try everything myself. Nonetheless, I managed to ask my friends what they thought of their brunch afterwards =)

Florentine - Potato Rosti topped with Wilted Spinach, House-made Applewood Smoked Salmon, Two Poached Eggs and Drizzled with Hollandaise Sauce. Served with a Toasted English Muffin. My friend said this was delicious but was a bit on the salty side (probably due to the smoked salmon and the hollandaise combo, she said). It was also very filling.


Traditional - Two Poached Eggs with Peameal Bacon on an English Muffin and Topped with Hollandaise Sauce. Served with Home Fries. My friend thought this was pretty decent, he was especially happy with the whole slice of peameal bacon between the egg and the English muffin.


Grilled Vegetable Pizza - Peppers, Zucchini, Onions, Portebello Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Fontina Cheese on a Trapini Pesto Base, Drizzled with Roasted Garlic Infused Olive Oil. My friend thought this pizza was great, excellent price for the portion. And I quote him "...vegetables were running wild on the pizza".


Grilled Vegetable Wrap - Assorted Grilled Seasonal Vegetables with Mozzarella & Goat Cheese. I had this and it was delicious, although I thought the tortilla wrap could have been a bit softer. All the ingredients inside were piping hot and there was tons of goat cheese (my favorite) so definitely no complaints from me. It was a very good size.


Sweet Potato Fries - OK they weren't this bright orange in real life but clearly I messed up the picture. Anyway, my friends loved the the fries.


Small Bistro Salad - My friend Jenn hated this salad. It was bland with minimal veggies besides the iceberg lettuce - hardly any tomatoes, bell peppers, or cucumbers. It looked awfully boring and plain to me too. This salad was $5. Jenn took only a few bites and didn't finish it. When the waitress came over she noticed that the salad was hardly touched so she asked Jenn if there was anything wrong with the salad; Jenn told the waitress about what she thought. When the bill came, our server did not charge us for the salad. I think that was a really nice gesture.


Prime Rib Wrap - Black Angus Prime Rib, Mushrooms, Onions, Mozzarella Cheese and Horseradish Mayonnaise All Wrapped in a Flour Tortilla. My boyfriend had this and he said it was good but the meat didn't taste like prime rib. 


Onion Rings - Panko Crusted-Peppercorn. My boyfriend and I shared this and was sooo good! The onion rings were huge, and not because it was full of batter, but because the actual onions rings used were big and thick. The batter was crispy yet thin, and the peppercorn added a bit of kick to it. No doubt I'm going to order these again when I go back to Bluestone Bistro.


I'm quite happy with Bluestone Bistro, well with their pizza and brunch items. I'm very likely to go back again =)

I'm still looking for more good uptown places though, especially for brunch (again, non-chain restaurants, and please don't suggest Cora's). Please leave me a comment / message if you know of any. Thanks!

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