The Rotten Grape

The Rotten Grape
An eclectic out of the way small restaurant downtown Kelowna, right by the water. Upon entering you notice large modern paintings on the walls and quaint small tables and benches, They also have a nice patio located on busiest walking street in Kelowna with a view of the park and lake. If you're with friends for drinks, I recommend the people watching action of the patio; however, if you’re looking for more intimate company chose the quiet less hectic inside. On Thursdays they have a local man come in to play guitar.

I loved the diversity of the menu, but it took me a very long time to decide what I wanted and included everything from exotic pizza to home made soup and entrees. The food is all purchased from local farmers and is all organic or as much as possible. The Rotten Grape is the first to offer an enomatic wine system in BC; this means that any wine offered by the glass is in a special system that won’t allow air to enter the bottle so the first glass is the same as the last no matter how long the bottle has been open.

The service however was not good. We got seated and ordered with the same waitress and half of the way through we ended up with another with no explanation also my companion ordered the special soup of the day and was told that it was a tomato, that it was not spicy and very lovely however, the soup that was delivered turned out to be a cream of asparagus? When I questioned this I was told that the tomato was yesterday’s soup? Fortunately my companion loved it and luckily it was a happy surprise.

The rest of the food was phenomenal! To share we order a Cheese plate it came on a very nice wooden cutting board with nice knives including dates, nuts, and local cheeses. Duck my favourite was a small breast nice presentation but I had to purchase a side separate as there was none and it was $7 for boiled spinach.
www.therottengrape.com



Rating
Price 3/5
Decor 4/5
Service 2/5
Taste 5/5
Total 14/20

Summerhill Winery

Summerhill is the most visited winery in Canada; it boasts an all organic wine list and menu as well even as far as growing some of their own herbs and food to grace the menu. Summerhill has wine tours daily check out their website for more information http://www.summerhill.bc.ca/ the tour is $5 a person but is worth it to see the unique way that they cellar there wine in a geometrically correct pyramid.You don’t need reservations at Summerhill however if you’re planning on going on a Friday/Saturday night I would recommend it as sitting on the patio is the only option for this place while inside is also nice the view on the patio is worth a million dollars in itself. Though the atmosphere is high-end I noticed that all kinds of people were there everyone from nicely dressed couples on dates, families and even cyclists still in helmets.The menus are made of cork and the wine list is made of wood they are the most beautiful menus I have ever seen just some of the little touch’s that make this place special. The lighter side of the menu or the appetizer portion is from $10 to $25 an item however this is mostly an antipasto sort of menu with bread, cheese, pickles... all priced individually.The dinner menu changes every 6 months from summer to winter and ranges from $20 to $45 an entree. I found the service to be wonderful however the waitress that I had, seemed to be a bit unknowledgeable with the wine and food on the menu. The chef that night had created a little treat for everyone as a starter, a melon mint mix on a Japanese spoon, very light and refreshing and free! I had the duck (one of my favorite things to order) and my partner had the flat iron bison. Both were cooked to perfection the duck came with a rhubarb crunch and the bison with roasted veg and garlic mashed.Desert ranges in price from $6-12 they even have a pastry and chocolate sampler if you’re sharing. Summerhill is known for its harvest or ice wines, if you go get a taste from the store it’s $3 a shot so I assumed that it was the same price for an ounce to have with desert however when my bill for two ice wines came to $25 I was extremely put out. I find that far too expensive. Overall Summerhill is one of my favorite upscale restaurants, for just a glass of wine and some cheese on a Sunday afternoon or a full on dinner.
Rating
Price 2/5
Taste 5/5
Decor 5/5
Service 4/5
Total 16/20

Hectors Casa

Hector's is a vibrant Mexican restaurant on Pansosy in the mission. Hector will greet you himself when you walk in with a friendly “Hello my friend!” The decor is wonderful, colourful, and cheerful. He and his wife run the restaurant; she works in the kitchen and he manages the front end. In the summer you can sit out back on the patio painted red, white, and green in the colors of the Mexican flag. It’s an enclosed oasis with Mexican music playing. Hectors is not the most authentic Mexican food because they don't push the boundaries of the Canadian concept of what real Mexican food is beyond tacos and burritos? But it is very consistent and I continue to go and eat there because of the friendly service, reasonable prices, and cheerful ambience as I have been many times. A meal will always start with the free salsa and chips--this is my favorite part, as the salsa (or as they call it, Pico de Gallo) is made from wonderfully fresh tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Unfortunately, beyond the appetizer, the main courses offer little variety. The menu is mostly the same with very little variations. Choosing a dish from the menu at Hectors is kind of a joke with me "what are you having?" Because it doesn’t matter, it all tastes the same; the only choice is you’re filling of either chicken, beef, or chrisio sausage, or if you want it fried or not fried. All items come with beans, fried rice, and are topped with shredded lettuce and cheese. So don’t worry too much about what you order. The lunch menu is from $9.75 to $13.35--very reasonable; however, for dinner it’s about $4 more per item (again with the non-variation same menu for lunch and dinner) and you only get a little bit more. My advice for if you're going there for dinner would be to just ask for the lunch portion--it’s enough to fill you up, and you save money. The food always arrives quickly even if it’s busy. This is also a great family restaurant as kids love it! The food is not hot nor does it have weird spices like more authentic places the menu is the same as the adult one just less expensive for children.Another awesome item on the menu are the margaritas--totally yummy! A must on a hot day. A bit expensive at $6.50 or $30 something a jug. The desert menu is good with Mexican fried ice cream, home-made churos, and rice pudding. Now here is my beef with Hector's dessert menu: they have this plantno frito desert on the menu that sounds awesome. "Fried plantains, the house specialty!" However, they never have it! Ever. It’s like the Polkaroo on the Polka-dot Door--it's rumored to be there but never is. The excuses range from: "oh, you just missed it" or "we had them yesterday" or "they are coming in soon." I swear, it’s becoming a big joke to see how many times I can go there hoping to get this desert so they can all have a good laugh in the kitchen at my expense. I bet one day I will come in and finally they will have it, but it will taste like shit because I have built it up in my mind so much. Anyway, overall Hector's is an awesome place to have lunch. The super friendly staff and wholesome food make up for the lack of variety in the menu!

Rating
Price 4/5
Taste 3/5
Decor 4/5
Service 5/5
Total 16/20

In the beginning

And then there was food. My mission on this blog is to change the way you think about eating out. Make you re think all your misconceptions and hang-ups. My hope is that you will try out some of the wonderful restaurants in Kelowna or in your area.
This is how it all starts we have all been there someone is hungry and the inevitable question comes up “where should we go?” And the even more predictable answer “I don’t know where do you want to go? “ This will go on for a bit each one pretending to think about somewhere to go when in reality you are both just waiting for the other to pick, eventually someone does and 9 times out of 10 it will be a chain, now this conclusion happens for a few reasons, the first and most important is that we never want to offend anyone with our choice chains are safe they are accepted everywhere and you are less likely that someone would possibly not like it. Moreover because of the advertising we are more likely to think of one. We have all had good and bad meals there. Then there is the money issue, for some reason independent restaurants are getting a bad reputation for being expensive when in reality they are the same if not less than any chain. And last but not least people think that it has to be a special occasion to go to an independent restaurant like a birthday or anniversary when this is just not the case I think that this stems from when our generation were children and our parents only took us to restaurants on these special occasions otherwise it was drive through McDonalds , we didn’t have what I like to call “high class” chains like we to today, the best we would get would be ABC family Restaurant, Denny’s or the ever famous IHOP. Today we now have the Keg, Red Lobster , Joey’s , Earl’s so when we think of going out just because, eating at one of these “high class” chain restraints are ok in our mind, but eating at a independent means we must have an occasion.
So stay tuned as I take you through some of Kelowna’s finer places to dine, eat and Drink!
Cheers!