If I had to summarize the food in one word it’s “rich”. If I get a second word, it’s “egg”.
Over the past year I’ve noticed a fair number of Tapas style restaurants coming up in the city. Maybe I’m just behind the times, but I had never really had something like that before. The only type of food that normally gets shared at a table when out is pub fare appies like deep fried wings, nachos and the like.
But I’ve been hitting a few tapas places in the past little bit. And enjoying it. Someone told me that Rush has a bar side that maintains a completely different menu the the dining room, and they had almost tapas style food. getdown.ca had been there before, to review the restaurant side, so I headed in to complete the deal.
I wanted to give it a great review. There are so many great things going on in that place. But almost everything had an asterisk beside it, everything had a qualifying statement. It was an enjoyable night - but. It is a great menu - but.
The date and I booked through OpenTable to take advantage of the reservation system and to use the free valet parking (sweet). I would be interested to see what foot traffic is like for the place after work or at lunchtime because on the Tuesday night we went the place was dead. The decor is nice in that shiny leather, brushed metal and stone way that is contemporary, clean and welcoming.
We did wait what we felt was a bit of a long time between visits from the wait staff. But he was very friendly, knowledgeable, and had recommendations for wine. But there was only one other table to serve, so we were unsure about the lack of speed in delivery.
We had a handful of the small plates. Sweet potato chips are sliced almost paper thin and exquisite when you don’t dip them in the too rich but flat rosemary buttermilk dip. The Rush Caesar salad is extremely creamy, almost too much so, with a 63.8 degree egg and white anchovy upping the thickness and the saltiness just a bit over the top. The shrimp and grits were a tasty combination. But the egg sitting right on top threatened to drench them in yolk, and was just an extra taste and textures complicating an otherwise fine dish.
After sharing the small plates we were already feeling a bit slow from the deep caloric intake of the meal. But we still had a large plate coming, the spring creek braised short rib. This was the dish that saved the night. Much more simple. Meat. Potatoes. Peas (sugar snap). The meat was coming apart almost just sitting there, juicy and tender. The potatoes were a firm contrast to the falling apart meat. The peas just what was needed to round out the flavors.
In the end, it wasn’t a bad meal. But it was just too much. Not from a portion view, but everything else. Too much time between wait staff visits. Too much effort, ingredients, and richness in most of the meals. Even the valet parking felt a bit over the top when I handed over the keys of the 97 Sunfire to the Valet. It’s a nice place, with a great location, but I probably won’t eat on the bar side again.
Rush Bar
100 9 Avenue Southwest
(403) 271-7874
