Introduction & Recapitulation of Feenie's

I've always had a keen interest in food from a young age. Back then, when papers and exams were a distant concern, I would sit myself in front of the TV and watch Food Network as soon as I got home from school until I fell into bed, visually satiated by images provided via cathode ray tube. However, it was only recently that I decided to apply this culinary interest to real life, and foray into the 'foodie' world of eating out. The only previous occasions in which I had dined in a non-franchise establishment were with my parents, and I paid no particular attention to what I ate.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of dining at Feenie's with my older sister. This was a spontaneous decision. I was extremely excited, as Rob Feenie was one of my favourite Food Network hosts (who doesn't love New Classics with Chef Rob Feenie)? As I entered the crimson room, I wondered whether the celebrity chef would be there. I desperately wanted to ask our hostess if he was, but to keep my sister's dignity intact, I refrained from doing so. The wait was surprisingly short - only about 5 minutes. We had barely seated ourselves at the bar before being ushered to a table. My sister and I ordered a butternut squash ravioli with a buttery sage-lemon sauce and pine nuts to start. I enjoyed this a lot, and remembered watching Feenie prepare ravioli on his show years ago. I must say, it was an extremely small portion (4 domino sized ravioli for $14), but the sage-lemon butter was delicious. I ordered beef short ribs (which were $25) and my sister ordered Rob's calamari sandwich (at $14). My beef ribs arrived on a bed of creamy polenta and baby carrots, served with the jus. I was amazed with how tender the ribs were. I've often had braised short ribs in my own home, but never like this - the meat completely fell off the bone. The polenta (my first taste of polenta actually) was really rich, at times a little too rich for my liking but still - can't complain! My sister found her calamari sandwich to be too greasy, but the fries were tasty (you can't really go wrong with fried carbs). We ended off our meal with a champagne sorbet served with ruby red strawberries marinated in champage, nestled between crisp puff pastry disks ($9.50). I personally am impartial to the taste of champage, and so did not enjoy the sorbet. Otherwise, the dessert was really nice, with the combination of juicy fruit and buttery pastry. Sadly, my sister and I gorged on each plate before I remembered to actually take a picture of it, so I have no photos to share. We only took photos of each other, which I'm too embarassed to post as you can clearly see the schoolgirl delight on my face because we were dining in one of Feenie's restaurants.

I would definitely return to Feenie's. The atmosphere, though busy (with the red walls and other patrons in close proximity), would be a nice place for a date, I think. It was a little hard to hear over others, but I liked the dark lighting, which made for an intimate setting.

As my sister and I left the restaurant (I was so stuffed I barely made it to the car), we passed by Rob's wall of accolades, one of which was a magazine cover with his smiling face and head of highlights adorning it. I suppose that would be the closest encounter with Rob I would have that night.