Weekend at Blu Duby's
The Friday Night Dinner Club has been in action for six years now. In London Mayor Time, there's been Anne Marie DeCicco-Best--remember those ghastly (and costly) metal trees? Remember the whole "downtown restaurants can't have patios that encroach on the sidewalk...unless it's my husband's" fiasco?
Not to mention the aforementioned husband's six criminal counts? Plus, there was the time I saw DeCicco try to go in the exit door of the grocery store, so there's that. Then there was Joe "Still Has To Wear an Ankle Bracelet" Fontanta. Matt Brown could Weekend at Bernie's his whole mayoralty and still fare better. In the same time that the city has had three mayors (plus an acting mayor during Fontana's investigation), FNDC has reviewed eleven restaurants. And of those eleven, four have died (Jambalaya, Blue Ginger, Up Front, and Braise). So as we made our way downtown through the herds of Knights' fans, side-stepping weird metal trees, we came upon our very own Bernie encounter...the once-dead Braise was seemingly alive again as Blue Duby.
The interior of Blu Duby maintains the sophisticated atmosphere of Braise with its high ceilings, low lighting, and interesting architectural details but it no longer has the extravagant elegance as it tries to attract a larger clientele with a more reasonable price-point. With a few new-comers to the table, the restaurant was able to comfortably sit our party of fourteen. Our waiter was knowledgeable and very attentive to our large group. With good music, atmosphere, and drinks the restaurant was very much alive. But like the start of any good zombie story, you need to feel safe and happy at the beginning...
Everyone ordered appetizers ranging from a Duo of Duck to their signature Quinoa Cake. One Reviewer said that his Duo of Duck was like a "classy quarter-chicken meal from Swiss Chalet" and his Salmon and Corn Chowder tasted like "someone dropped a fish into [his] turkey chili." However, Sir Smokes A'Duby claimed that his superior appetizer picking skills were paramount in his Shrimp Tandori which was delicious. While the Lobster Mac & Cheese seemed to be a winner, all the other appetizers were met with mixed reviews. The feeling of being underwhelmed would permeate into the main course. Again, there was a range of dinner options. Pad Thai, Beef Cheek Risotto, and Garlic Gnocchi were the common orders. The Pad Thai people complained that it was "good" but "nothing special." The Risotto people were impressed by the tenderness of the beef but that the risotto lacked flavour. And those poor Gnocchi people...if only zombies could be warded off by garlic! I didn't know there was a garlic limit on my palette. One Reviewer, who has been known to double the garlic amount in any given recipe, even said that it was too much. And note: apparently tonic water and garlic has the same effect as orange juice and toothpaste. Like the appetizers, the overall consensus was that the food, in general, was bland (or, you know, too garlicky). The desserts weren't anything special either. Phat Elvis was the only one pleased with dessert--the only one to order the lemon tart--and said that the tart "redeemed the meal." (The last time Elvis had a tart redeem his meal was at the all-night buffet at The Diamond Cabaret! Hey-oh!)
It seemed that the menu was trying too hard to satisfy too many tastes. Gluten Hater was pleased that there were good gluten-free options but for gluten lovers, this is a set-back for humanity.
While in life I support diversity and inclusion, when it comes to my menu it needs to be simple. For its appetizers, Blu Duby lists twenty different items under "Nosh" (don't even get me started on this). TWENTY. And with a legend of symbols to denote gluten-free, vegetarian, allergic to lobster, and startled by snails the menu takes forever to read. Gluten-free prejudices aside, the menu also hits several cultural flavour profiles that, even if you were to call it "fusion", is confusing and out of place. The menu needs to be parred-down and simplified so that the cooks are able to focus more on flavour rather than pandering to everyone's tastes. And before I push my gluten-free people off the precipice let me offer this olive branch: vegans are more annoying than you.
Overall, I liked Weekend at Bernie's but had trouble suspending disbelief that they were using a dead guy as a puppet in order to pick up chicks. As for Blu Duby, for a restaurant brought back from the dead, it most certainly has some zombiesque attributes: not afraid of garlic, will plod ahead, and feasts on human flesh. (Don't you hate when a metaphor falls apart before you're done with it?!) We wanted to like Blu Duby, we really did, but unfortunately the flavours just weren't there. Perhaps in its next resurrection, 125 Dundas Street will get it right--some combination of Braise and Blu Duby, perhaps. A Frankenstein's monster of a restaurant, if you will! (Time to dial back the Gothic literature, I think.) In the meantime, catch up on some municipal politics, watch Weekend at Bernie's, and get yourself a lemon tart. Phat Elvis would approve.
Location: Blu Duby (125 Dundas Street London, ON)
Entree Cost: $20-$35
Number of Reviewers: 12
Value: $$
Overall: * * *
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| Weekend at Bernie's (1989) |
The interior of Blu Duby maintains the sophisticated atmosphere of Braise with its high ceilings, low lighting, and interesting architectural details but it no longer has the extravagant elegance as it tries to attract a larger clientele with a more reasonable price-point. With a few new-comers to the table, the restaurant was able to comfortably sit our party of fourteen. Our waiter was knowledgeable and very attentive to our large group. With good music, atmosphere, and drinks the restaurant was very much alive. But like the start of any good zombie story, you need to feel safe and happy at the beginning...
Everyone ordered appetizers ranging from a Duo of Duck to their signature Quinoa Cake. One Reviewer said that his Duo of Duck was like a "classy quarter-chicken meal from Swiss Chalet" and his Salmon and Corn Chowder tasted like "someone dropped a fish into [his] turkey chili." However, Sir Smokes A'Duby claimed that his superior appetizer picking skills were paramount in his Shrimp Tandori which was delicious. While the Lobster Mac & Cheese seemed to be a winner, all the other appetizers were met with mixed reviews. The feeling of being underwhelmed would permeate into the main course. Again, there was a range of dinner options. Pad Thai, Beef Cheek Risotto, and Garlic Gnocchi were the common orders. The Pad Thai people complained that it was "good" but "nothing special." The Risotto people were impressed by the tenderness of the beef but that the risotto lacked flavour. And those poor Gnocchi people...if only zombies could be warded off by garlic! I didn't know there was a garlic limit on my palette. One Reviewer, who has been known to double the garlic amount in any given recipe, even said that it was too much. And note: apparently tonic water and garlic has the same effect as orange juice and toothpaste. Like the appetizers, the overall consensus was that the food, in general, was bland (or, you know, too garlicky). The desserts weren't anything special either. Phat Elvis was the only one pleased with dessert--the only one to order the lemon tart--and said that the tart "redeemed the meal." (The last time Elvis had a tart redeem his meal was at the all-night buffet at The Diamond Cabaret! Hey-oh!)
It seemed that the menu was trying too hard to satisfy too many tastes. Gluten Hater was pleased that there were good gluten-free options but for gluten lovers, this is a set-back for humanity.
Overall, I liked Weekend at Bernie's but had trouble suspending disbelief that they were using a dead guy as a puppet in order to pick up chicks. As for Blu Duby, for a restaurant brought back from the dead, it most certainly has some zombiesque attributes: not afraid of garlic, will plod ahead, and feasts on human flesh. (Don't you hate when a metaphor falls apart before you're done with it?!) We wanted to like Blu Duby, we really did, but unfortunately the flavours just weren't there. Perhaps in its next resurrection, 125 Dundas Street will get it right--some combination of Braise and Blu Duby, perhaps. A Frankenstein's monster of a restaurant, if you will! (Time to dial back the Gothic literature, I think.) In the meantime, catch up on some municipal politics, watch Weekend at Bernie's, and get yourself a lemon tart. Phat Elvis would approve.
Location: Blu Duby (125 Dundas Street London, ON)
Entree Cost: $20-$35
Number of Reviewers: 12
Value: $$
Overall: * * *
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