Fredericton...
Hi there
We are going to be passing through Frederiction next week and staying downtown in a BnB - anyone have any suggestions as to a good place to eat? Nothing too heavy, perhaps a bit funky in terms of decor. And open Monday nights!
Thanks
Iain
IBlair
Sep 13, 2007 04:20PM
Hi IBlair,
Fredericton's ethnic food scene is awesome (and affordable.) Just a couple:
Caribbean Flavas on York... everything is delicious, and lots of it is lighter... soups and smoothies as well as jerk and curries, etc. Open till 8:30pm on Mondays.
Dimitri's Souvlaki on King... Greek food. Salads are great as are the vegetarian options (can't speak for the meat). Open till 9:30pm on Mondays.
Chez Riz on Queen... my absolute favorite. Super-cheap, fabulous Indian food. They also offer buffets at dinner time— the only buffet I'd ever recommend (photo of someone's plate on Flickr: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreela...
Open till 9:00pm on Mondays.
123 York St, Fredericton, NB, Canada
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The Blue Door....On Regent at King. Fun, funky decor. Good food. Diverse menu, there's a little something for everyone. (But they do it well...)
www.thebluedoor.ca
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I'm not a Fredericton local, but whenever I visit town El Burrito Loco is a must on my itinterary - tasty mexican food. I'm not sure if I would consider the deco funky --- it's certainy busy, and a lot of fun. It's down town, so should be relatively close to where you are staying.
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I hate to be such a critic about Fredericton's restaurants, but I would want to this info if I were visiting.
The only consistently competent rooms in town are in the Delta and Lord Beaverbrook. The Blue Door and Brewbakers offer mediocre food and relatively expensive prices. Sometimes their dishes are worse than mediocre. Just the other week I had "Vietnamese Market Noodles"--a banal bowl of rice noodles with a generic sauce. Dimitri's is the sort of Greek restaurant that can only exist in suburbs and small towns. Avoid it. Chez Riz is barely passable, as one would expect from an "Indian" restaurant that generally caters to people who are decidedly not from the subcontinent (and whose culture shuns spice).
Once upon a time, El Burrito Loco was surprisingly good "Mexican", but some years ago they expanded and declined substantially in quality.
Don't come here looking for good restaurants. This is a meat and potatoes town and little more. But if you have access to a kitchen, the market offers some really excellent meat producers and in the summer the produce is superb.
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I'm going to have to provide a counterpoint to waxingdeep. I'm not sure what sort of food tastes he has, or whether his (as I see it) poor judgement is the result of glitchy visits, but so far I'm quite certain I wouldn't trust him to recommend me a restaurant any time soon.
My only experience at the Delta was very poor, the service was pretty poor considering we were the only table, and the food was overpriced and bland. (I suspect waxingdeep would like Oscar's on Prospect, which I felt was about on par with the Delta. Restaurants for people who insist on seafood or steak in order to be satisfied.)
Perhaps it's my fault for thinking a meal of the price I paid at the Delta should be more substantial, or perhaps I mistook the rice side dish's nature and it was indeed meant to be slightly crunchy. Perhaps I should speak up and complain more to the staff so they can fix the problem... but alas, I am timid. I did get the impression I was meant to be appreciative for the seared skin and fat left on one side of the morsel of boring duck... but I wasn't.
On the other hand ... despite El Burrito Loco's occasional lapses in service, the food has always been good, and I have to stop myself from overindulging (generally unsuccesfully). I have friends who have moved all about for school, etc. who spent the first few years moaning about a lack of EBL, from the expected Wales and England, to North Carolina and *Texas*
The Blue Door and Brewbakers are some of the better places to spend money at "restaurant prices" in town. The Blue Door's sweet potato fries are great, Brewbakers' maple curry chicken penne...
Dmitri's is admittedly blessed with a bit of a diner air, but the prices are reasonable for what is obviously not meant to be haute cuisine. Consider the other options for Greek and Mediterranean food in Fredericton? Pano's? I mean really, they have paper placemats... (then again, so did the deceased Praying Mantis...)
Sure, don't travel to Fredericton for the food, but don't avoid our restaurants because of this fellow's poor reviews.
If I had to make a shortlist for visits (future ones, for the original poster) I would say Brewbakers, the Blue Door and Mei's.
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Gotta reply here as well. I agree with Balthcat. The Delta offers mediocre (and that is generous-partly because of the view!) food, poor service and little in the way of "funky decor". It's a hotel dining room. Period.
I have seldom had a poor meal at Brewbakers and/or the Blue Door. And, if for some reason, there has been a problem, it has been corrected (or at least someone has acknowledged the problem-not so at the Delta) The wine lists at both places are quite good as well.
Dimitri's is not fancy, but has good greek food. Not amazing, but good.
I cannot comment on The Lord Beaverbrook, since I have only eaten banquet food there.
For the person who recommended Mei's-yes the food is good- but fyi- there have been some cleanliness issues in the kitchen.
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I never found much good to eat in Fredericton, which always surprised me given it is the provincial capital city -- I figured the expense-account business from politicians would support some good places. To me, the Diplomat, out by the Delta, epitomized the place, with ordinary food at high prices.
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My daughter and I were in Fredericton last week to check out UNB.
While walking around downtown, we looked at the menus for the ethnic restaurants mentioned here. Mains are all at least $3 to $5 more than we're used to paying in Toronto.
We ended up at El Burro Loco. In contrast to the reviews here, our service was okay, but the food was mediocre and pricy. Frozen peas and corn in a Mexican taco?
She loves UNB, but isn't looking forward to the lack of decent, inexpensive ethnic food. I guess she'll be cooking in the residence kitchen to get her ethnic fix!
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even in the summer the veggies are frozen ones there. And they are in everything. Frozen veggies in the nachos! I kid you not.
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WOW! Fredericton is not like T.O...?! On the main drag no less - I'm aghast!
Sorry to be so snide, but what exactly is everyone expecting out of Freddy Beach? For it to be "just" like your hometown, where the population is 10X larger than our entire province... Demand and accessibility my friend, they have an impact.
There are lots of items to find and enjoy in Fredericton, and yes, some of them are best prepared at home with ingredients bought from local merchants, but that doesn't mean that a stroll down King St. is a great representation of our city's culinary greatness.
That being said, seconds for Blue Door and Brewbaker's. They are not the typical student hangouts by any means though.
Cedar Lunch comes to mind for good Lebanese, sometimes great depending on the hangover :)
Maritime-style donairs are not for everyone, but they are definitely a regional item that I have not found anywhere West of Edmundston (try Greco oven subs).
The market is great for ethnic-inspired cuisine - I won't go to the "authentic" arguement, it's overdone on ChowHound enough. Kurt's sausages remain my fave BBQ-pit food, though Pano's (overly-priced) donairs/kebab are good too. You can also find the epedemous samosas at the "Kwiki-Mart" on the corner of King/Regent.
Luna Pizza remains one of my must-haves anytime I am home - the student-special warmed my belly on many evenings, but the Special is the go-to these days.
Don't worry though, your daughter will no doubt be eating nachos in the Cellar, steak and eggs at the Hilltop or fry-truck post-bar food outside Sweets - did I mention Boston Pizza won for Best Restaurant the year I moved down South?
Thanks for the walk down memory lane! Can't wait for the real thing though ;P
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FYI- after the "great samosa debate" of 2007, Patel's stopped making them, and the Kwiki-mart is now an Asian grocery. The only place you can get the "real" Fredericton samosas is at Samosa delite at the market on Saturday mornings. Look for the lineup.
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Nooooo! :P
I know there's lots of debate, but I grew up on the Patel's incarnation and loved every greasy finger-lickin' minute. I noticed the stall was strangely absent the last time I was home - almost 2 years ago :(
Is the Asian grocery the same one that was in the Video King/Degenhardt's/KoD location? It was closed every day of the 2 weeks I was back...
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If it is the same owners-they have pulled up their socks...They are open every day. (Maybe not the whole day, but at least every day!) They have alot of vegetable that aren't available elsewhere in Freddy beach.
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Thanks for the suggestions, CampySD, I'll pass them along to my daughter.
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Whatever you do DO NOT go to Amici's on Queen St.. Probably the worst meal my wife and I have ever had. I will talk more about it later as I don't have time now but seriously, don't waste your money there.
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Ok- I live in Fredericton,and my husband and i need to know what the issues were. Cause we only have about 4 restaurants to go to, so we need ALL the restaurants we can get.... Thanks! :)
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