L2 Grill

The Edmonton restaurant scene is pretty dismal. The four corners of the city are packed with chain restaurants with one name monikers such as 'Joey's', 'Milestones', 'Moxies', 'Hudsons'... need I continue? Most of the food served at these chains are predictable and taste is mediocre at best. The only thing you can count on is consistency... whether it is consistently mediocre or consistently bad service.

Recently, I read a review about a new innovative dining experience called 'L2 grill' Since this restaurant was once the 'Fantasy Grill and Lounge' I already had my doubts but the review was RAVING about how wonderful this place was. As I'm always drawn to the possibility of great dining in this city like a silly moth to a flame, I decided to check it out.

The location is hidden in the corner at the mall... right across from the chapel inside WEM. It's a strange location and if you didnt' know how to find it, you probably won't. It's in the hallway between Eddie Bauer and Alexis. The exterior has changed immensely - and the design reminded me of the entrance to a nightclub inside one of Vegas's hotels. It was nice - glowy and showy. They had a menu posted outside and I took a look - pretty standard dishes of chicken, steak, lamb, and pasta. The prices were also reasonable from the mid $20 to mid $40 range.
Napkin folded into a shirt - cute
There was a coat check which was a nice touch and rows of booths with small tables off to the side. There was also a curtained off area which looked like a nice place to hold a party. The booths were large and comfortable and were spaced properly so you wouldn't end up accidentally listening in on someone else's conversation. A waiter came and introduced himself - and I must say, was probably the most awkward waiter I've ever encountered in my life. He would ask us what we wanted to drink. Then pause. Then when we just settled with water, he would pause and then ask us if we would like any cocktails. After we declined, he stood there for a moment before walking away. It also didn't help that he looked like Imhotep from the Mummy... and that whatever we ordered, he would pause, ask us to show him on the page... and then he proceeded to carefully copy down the order onto a little notebook.

We ordered our dishes and were given bread to nosh on. Pretty interesting selection of flat breads, rolls, and a choice of butter, tzaziki sauce, and a red pepper hummus like sauce. The waiter returned with an amuse bouche... which was some sort of smoked salmon roll... it seriously tasted like Philadelphia smoked salmon cream cheese... meh.

Our dishes came fairly quickly - which was great since I was starving. I ordered a pasta while my partner in crime ordered the Tagine of chicken... The flavours were definitely fusion and heavily inspired (in my opinion) by the Mediterranean. When we asked the waiter if it was Mediterranean inspired, he said no... it was inspired by the chef's love of cooking... (btw, the Tagine of chicken IS a Moroccan dish...heh)
Since the portions were fair, we ended up ordering a marscapone strawberry bomb for dessert. Very creamy and lightly flavoured with strawberry. It was a nice end to the meal.
Marscapone strawberry bomb
The bill came with a plate of house made chocolates... another nice touch. Overall, it was a lovely dining experience with a hint of awkwardness thanks to Imhotep.
House made chocolates
Overall - I wouldn't go again unless I wanted to try their Kobe beef burger with foie gras. It does offer interesting dishes for reasonable prices and if you are stuck at the mall and wanted something other than the Old Spaghetti factory or BPs, give L2 Grill a try.

Service ~ 6/10 Imhotep was too weird... and the other waiters were greasy looking. The coat check girls also disappeared so we had to grab our coats from the closet ourselves after dinner.

Ambiance ~ 8.10 Very nice decor, right amount of lighting, kudos for using LED candles instead of the real thing...

Food ~ 7/10 Good uses of flavours and not afraid to experiment.

Price ~ 7/10 not overpriced for the food you get

Overall ~ 7/10 Not bad for Edmonton but not spectacular.

Cora's

I waited a while to try Cora - partly to beat the rush that always seems to happen when a new restaurant opens in Ed... anyway, went there last Saturday for a late breakfast... I guess it was more like lunch as it took about 20 minutes of waiting in line to get a table. The line up was still a bit crazy... but not as crazy as it was when it first opened.

The waitress was very bubbly - and asked if we wanted a table or a booth. I was getting a bit hungry so I thought - anything would be fine... anyway, we were seated in this tiny table for two. No sooner did I hang up my jacket did all of a sudden, this voice came up from behind me and said... "do you want a booth?"... shocked, I looked over my shoulder and saw a beeming waiter with a dish cloth.... he ran over to quickly clean a booth and moved us over because according to him, "it is such a beautiful day and a booth is so much more private and comfortable!" Impressive. Anyway, I could already tell that service was priority at Cora's.

There weren't too many menu choices but enough to make you want to order more than one item. After much decision, I ended up choosing the April 89... which is essentially a GIGANTIC fruit crepe. I went with the vanilla custard instead of the chocolate... when it arrived, I was shocked by the size... it was the size of a small platter...eep. I ate about half before I gave up, unravelled the crepe, and picked out the pieces of fruit that I liked....

Review:

Service - 8/10 Waitresses/waiters were friendly, efficient, and all smiles.

Food - 6.5/10 Nothing special - just A LOT of fruit.

Presentation - 7/10 - mostly nice cut outs of fruit but they do a good job

Cost - 6/10 - the average price is around $15/entree... but the portions are generous.

In my honest opinion, Chez Cora is one of those 'chain restuarants' that you'll end up trying but not necessarily loving. You'll go because it's there, it's convenient, and there's no other choices. Since it is strictly a breakfast/lunch place, the food tends to be lighter and the prices are more reasonable. For breakfast, it's certainly not hearty but it could be healthy depending on the choices you make. If you are looking for a traditional breakfast, stick to Barb and Ernies or even Denny's. If you've never been to Cora's, go for the smiles and the fruit :)