The Waffle

We were looking for something fun to do before Parliament came back - and what’s better than pigging out, I thought. Thankfully, I had heard that Montana’s All you can eat ribs promotion was back.  And so 4 of us decided to kick-off March with…

THE WAFFLE’S FIRST ANNUAL MONTANA’S ALL YOU CAN RIBS CHALLENGE!!!

Thankfully, after calling to reserve a few days before, I was informed that the promotion was extended to March 14th, which was great news - we didn’t want to miss out, but we didn’t want to rush into it either.

First, the rules needed to be clear - and I received the rules from Cara’s Guest services department.  Then I had to clarify our own rules:

1. Everyone had to try every type of ribs - Pork Back, Pork Side, Beef.
2. Everyone had to try every type of sauce - Texas Bold, Apple Butter, Honey Garlic.
3. Everyone had to fill out the scorecard
4. Everyone had to drink beer.

So we proceeded to Montana’s in South Keys, armed with our scorecards to evaluate their ribs with the following criteria:  Taste, Texture, Aroma, Temperature, Quality.

We ordered a pitcher of Rickard’s Red, got the scorecards out (much to the staff’s amusement) and we got down to business.  After the jump, the results of our deliberation:

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Here we were, in Parking Lot C of Ralph Wilson Stadium, for a quick tailgate before the Patriots-Bills game.

I say quick because it was a 1 PM start, so it reduces the available time before the game, especially considering the night before.

I planned ahead this time, and brought some equipment and supplies, including a propane stove to cook our pre-game meal.  For food, we went to Tops, which usually has everything one can need.

Not this time, though - one having self-imposed vegetarian constraints, we looked for veggie burgers or dogs.  No luck in downtown Buffalo.  But I was already planning a vegetarian chili.

• Butter
• 1 small red onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1 can of black kidney beans
• 1 can of corn
• salt
• pepper
• my secret blend of chili spices
• A few drops of Búfalo Jalapeno Hot Sauce  (A good review on Associated Content, not so on Good Hurts)

I used a small hand-powered food processor to chop the onion and the green pepper. I melted the butter (picked up at Jim’s Steakout yesterday), then I lightly browned the onion.  I followed with the green pepper, and a good helping of salt and pepper. After a few minutes,  I threw in the can of tomatoes, heating at low.  Once it was simmering, I added my special blend (garlic powder, onion powder, morrocan paprika, black pepper, and Club House’s Chili Powder), then the beans and the corn.  I let simmer for a while in order for the chili to get denser, et voilà.

This was a pretty good chili, as far as non carne goes.  I usually do not add corn to my chili, but I thought it would be a good substitute for beef and add a nice colour and texture to the dish.  It was not too spicy, but the hot sauce gave it a nice bite.  I’ve got to admit that I did like that sauce - it is great for cooking.  But I can see why some might not like it on its own.  In the chili, however, it worked very nicely.

Steak sandwiches were also on the menu.  I toasted some buns, I quickly pan-fried some minute-steaks, finishing them with some of the Original Dinosaur BBQ sauce  - the Sensuous Slathering sauce - that I had picked up at the joint in Syracuse (More on that soon).  A great BBQ flavour, with smokiness, it has a dark honey colour.  Fairly thick, this sauce needed to be reduced a bit.  Although tomato is the main ingredient, the main flavours comes from the mustard and brown sugar. A little bit of a kick at the finish, a nice cayenne touch.

The sandwiches were a success, as you can see below (left). So much so that even the vegetarian joined in - no worries, he replaced the meat with a healthy helping of vegetarian chili (right).

The Bills however did not do so well, but at least they were in it until the end. But nevermind.

We were on our way to Buffalo, although this time I was with a different gang - this time, I was with New Democrat colleagues.

Lunch time was rapidly approaching, and most of the guys in the car were getting annoyed with Axl’s quality singing. Despite the fact that they have no musical ear, I accepted the proposal to stop in Syracuse for lunch - Michael knew a barbecue joint that would rock our socks more then Axl, apparently.

So here we were in downtown Syracuse, pulling in front of Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.
(Click on the picture to get a feel for the location!!  First Waffle movie ever!)

The joint (now with locations in Harlem and Rochester) was opened in 1983 by three bikers, bound together by “the love of good food, a 55 gallon drum cut in half, and a serious case of wanderlust”.  What could possibly go wrong with that?

The sign was clear: this was a genuine rib joint. Blues music was pouring out of the outdoor speakers, and we happily walked into a packed place, even if it was past 1 pm already.  And it got even busier later, people lining up and waiting for tables.

The cooks were busy in the kitchen, the waiting staff was not wasting time moving quickly from table to table, and the owner was happily shouting announcements in the sound system, standing in the Hostess Hut by the front door.

Thankfully, there was room for our party of five. The BBQ aromas were great, the menu offered many options, including some for our vegetarian organizer. (The other vegetarian chickened out, which is kind of weird for a vegetarian.  Thankfully, we replaced him with a carnivore.)

We peered at the menu. Everything you expected was there. While we were thinking, we ordered a couple of pitchers of beer.  With the beer, I suggested that we share a pound of their Drunken Spicy Shrimp Boil as an appetizer. Enthusiasm and cheers all around - it was going to be a fun weekend.

For 20$, we got about 40 shrimp, which were cooked in a boil of beer, old bay, cayenne, herbs and spices. They came with a side of habanero cocktail sauce.

The shrimp were big, tender, spicy. Impressive - though a tad messy, but it didn’t seem to bother us.

Then, another important decision faced each of us: what sides to choose from? And what sauce would you pick from the selection available on the table?

Each dish came with two choices amongst:
Mac & Cheese • Carrot Raisin Salad • Cole Slaw • Macaroni Salad • Tomato Cucumber Salad • Soup of the Day • Bar–B–Que Beans • A.K. Chili • Fresh Salad Greens w/ Bar–B–Blues House Dressing • Real Mashed Potatoes with Gravy • Black Beans & Rice • Rice & Gravy • Fresh Fruit Salad • Applesauce  • Cottage Cheese • Fresh Veggie of the day • Fresh Cut Fries.

Depite the fact that their fries are cooked in 100% Canola oil - “Zero Trans FAT Crapola” - I went ahead with the Cole Slaw and the Bar-B-Que Beans to accompany my main meal: The Tres Hombre!!!  A spirited serving of pulled pork, some sliced Texas-style Beef Brisket, and ribs!!!  And all that came for only $15.95!!!  Much cheaper then the, oh so tempting High Time Special: A Full Rack of ribs plus a bottle of Dom Perignon for $195.00…

Now, that was some good Bar-B-Que! The pulled pork was great, tender, moist. I added some of their sauces here and there, to give it a little more zip.  It was fantastic, and there was lots of it.   The ribs were great - they marinate them for 24 hours with a spice rub; then they are slowly pit smoked and lightly glazed with their Sensuous Slathering sauce. They were meaty, perfect tenderness without staying on the plate when you picked a bone.  The brisket was fine - nice smoke ring, nice smoky flavour - but it was a little dry, and I guess I prefer the texture of bigger slices - at Dinosaur, they are thin sliced. It was, however, plenty of food.

The sides were not bad.  The cornbread was a bit too moist for my taste, but the coleslaw was creamy and a little spicy, and the beans were tasty, but a little runny.  Not a homerun, but not bad nevertheless - and besides, that is not why we stopped.

Pat went for the Traditional Sampler (left - ¼ chicken, ¼ rack of ribs, beef brisket) with mac & cheese and fries on the side.  Michael chose the pulled pork and ribs combo (right), with a side of mac & cheese and coleslaw.

Marc-André didn’t want Michael to feel bad and chose the same thing (left), but he went for the fries and oddly, the cucumber and tomato salad.  Perhaps he wanted to fit in with his neighbour, Rick, who ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes and by fried, they meant crispy fried, topped with shrimp, romano and cheddar cheese and served with a ranch sauce. On the side, mac & cheese again (I tried it - it looked creamy and cheesy and it was excellent - my choice next time) and the soup of the day - a crab bisque.

This was a great pit stop. Sure, it is a bit out of the way, and you risk arriving in a packed place after trouble finding parking, but this was simply great. Dinosaur, I’ll be back.

There is a castle in Alexandria Bay. Cavallario’s is an Italian Steak and Seafood House located on Church street in A-Bay.  An institution near the waterfront, it caters mostly to tourists in the Summer season.  Cavallario’s facade is made to ressemble a castle and the walls inside are covered with items inspired by the Medieval era.  Especially Medieval is one of Don Cherry’s plaid jacket hanging near the entrance.

Having experienced one of the best Bloody Caesar at the Thousand Islands Country Club (extra horseradish, a bit pricy at 7.00$), most of us decided to see if it was an A-Bay area specialty.  Although decent, it was not quite as tasty as it was at the golf club, but it was also half the price.  (Talking of gold, our round today was postponed and then definitely cancelled after 12 holes for cause of thunderstorm accompanied by lightning that fell too close for comfort.)

Cavallario’s menu is quite diversified, which makes it tricky to figure out what is actually worth paying for and what is there just to make sure everybody finds something to order.

I didn’t feel really hungry, so I decided to go for a lighter fare tonight.  Especially since they kept bringing more of their delicious bread, a softy warm loaf covered with garlic butter.

I started with their BBQ Shrimp, stuffed with horseradish and wrapped in bacon, and served with a tangy bbq sauce with a very good kick.  Unfortunately, only four shrimp were on my plate, fairly big ones but still, you expect a couple more for 8.00$. James also went for shrimp as an appetizer, choosing the Shrimp Cocktail Supreme.  Again, four shrimp only, so I guess the supreme would be the price.  Brian decided to go for the Fried Calamari, a good pick once again this year as they were lightly battered and perfectly fried, and there was more then four - (no worries, I didn’t actually count them).  A few others ordered the French Onion Soup, and I heard no complaints about the very cheesy plate they were served.

A cup of a cream of potato was included with my entree.  It was actually quite well done, not heavy at all, which is rare for a cream of potato.  There was no chunks of potatoes however, but instead nice and crunchy green beans, which gave some depth to the soup.

Where is life without love or a dinner without wine?

That is the question Cavallario’s is asking on top of their wine list.  I suppose they are right, so we ordered a couple of bottles of the Cabernet Sauvignon 7 Oaks from J. Lohr’s winery in California, a well balanced wine, with dark cherry flavour and underlying black currant.

As I said, I wasn’t really hungry, so I ordered the baked manicotti.  Manicotti is a preshaped tubullar pasta, stuffed and baked most often with a blend of cheese.  The Manicotti I got where no longer tubular - they looked like crepes.  That is because the blend of cheese inside (ricotta and parmesan) was too soft for the heavy mozzarella they topped it on.  Unfortunate.  The pasta was served with a nice and rich marinara sauce,  and the blend of herbs and cheese inside the manicotti was very good.  The mozzarella however was a bit chewy, and could have been cut with something lighter.

In a previous trip, I had the Diablo Chicken, a spicy breast served on penne pasta and topped with hot peppers.  It was quite good last year, but Mike told me that it wasn’t as spicy this year, although still good.

Norm had the Roast Rack of Lamb.  The chops were juicy and well marinated with herbs.  And with eight bones, they were a good deal at 26.00$.  They came with an industrial mint jelly, uninspiring and unworthy of the meat.

As for Kenny, I could have sworn he had actually ordered half a cow when his King Cut of Roast Prime Rib arrived. Although it was pegged at somewhere around 16 oz by our very professional server - who sounded like Reese Witherspoon at times - there is no way that beast could have been less then 20 oz.  Cavallario’s is roasting their beef piece every day, and consumers are warned that it is available only until it last as it is the house specialty.  The meat was very tender and juicy, despite the thickness of the cut.  The horseradish that came with it was unfortunately too mild and almost watery.

Everybody was full at the end of this copious meal, and once again Cavallario’s is showing why it’s been around for so long. Attentive and fast service (except perhaps when ordering bar items - which we of course barely did…) made this a very enjoyable meal.

We all skipped dessert.