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| - I met up with Poppa U (yes that's Kris U's dad) here last night for a casual hangout and some quality father-son time.
Prior attempts to meet here after work seemed to fail as the after work crowd packs this joint anytime after 6-6:30pm so we arrived shortly after 5:15pm and had out pick of seats in the restaurant or bar side.
It's a chain so if you've been to one FM you've been to them all, however, the caveat with this location is I noticed that it appeared, more open, cleaner and less like a dingy traditional pub and more like a proper restaurant.
We're both trying to eat healthier, so maybe a place that labels itself as a gastropub/bar wasn't the best laid plans BUT with the new Ontario law about all menu items at chains needing to have nutritional information on the menu for every menu item helped to make this less difficult, while certainly being more eye opening.
Dad went for the straight up burger with a side of garden salad ranging in calories between 1080-1200, this was without cheese or bacon but all the regular toppings one might like from a burger. He seemed to enjoy it, yet dad is like me and a lover of food (hence why we both need to be healthy) and has simple tastes so he would have enjoyed it either way. It was a decent sized burger though and the "healthiest" of the burger/sandwich section.
For my meal I had a real tough time, everything I craved was 1500-2200 calories, basically my current max daily range. After some review I realized that the braised lamb shank with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies was only around 700 calories so I went for this. Much to my surprise before I could say 'shank' to my server she interrupted me and said "ughh great choice it's really fantastic", so this made me super happy about my more health conscious decision.
The lamb shake was beautifully played, I mean for pub I was really impressed - it could have easily been served at a shi-shi 3 star restaurant except for the fact that it was a sizable portion. The lamb was so tender it broke apart with minimal effort from my fork! The seasoning on the meat was classically simple but delicious with the flavors going all the way to the bone. The potatoes were, well they were as you'd expect not too lumpy but not too runny. The veggies were cut into long, thick grilled spears and were lightly cooked and still crunchy. The dish was finished off with a gravy that, while not needed on the lamb, really worked perfectly to kick to sides up a notch.
It was the perfect portion size, I was content at the end, didn't feel stuffed at all but couldn't help using my finger to get the last bits of yummy gravy off the bottom of the plate!
I was really impressed with their efforts, their staff and their food. More so than I've come to expect from many of these big chains. We both really enjoyed our meal and decided to make this our regular meeting spot for future father-son night out.
Eatcrest out!
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