Cheat Meal Saturday - Cured Wine Bar
You don't need to know me very well to know I like my wine. Growing up in the Thompson-Nicola valley, right next door to some of BC's greatest wineries, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this blonde likes her vino. There's something about it that can make even the oldest sweatpants classy while you're sitting on your couch, binge watching Netflix. Yup. Classy! Recently, K and I needed a break from boxes, PODs, moving, and two screaming toddlers, so we decided to check out what Edmonton offers in the name of wine bars. Let me tell you: there's a surprising number of them in Edmonton, just Google it! We had heard from a close friend that there one just opened up on the South side so we figured we would give it a shot. Cured Wine Bar is tucked away just off the Anthony Henday and 91st; a perfect location for those of us living around the Ellerslie area. They specialize in cured meats, artisan cheeses and locally sourced veggies (yay!) Plus, they have this cookie dough dip for dessert that you need to try!
The atmosphere is reminds me of New York loft with its brick and barn wood walls, dim lighting, and rose gold cutlery. Edison lights hang from the ceiling, teasing Type A customers with its scattered distribution. They, also, have some of their most expensive wines "on tap" so you can test them without committing to the bottles' prices. K and I kept thinking how intimate and inviting the place was, planning on inviting some friends along next time for some good conversation. All in all, a really relaxing place to be.
The servers are new, but friendly and the food was creative with a lot of flavour. They offer meat and cheese platters as well as entrées, but we opted for a few small appies and a dessert -it was late at night, after all. We played it safe with some Sriracha Bacon Popcorn, Garlic Ginger Wings and This Brittle Piggy (peanut-bacon brittle, honey glazed graham crackers, and cocoa almond cookie dough dip) but I saw many more things on their menu I plan to try next time. I'm big on supporting local businesses, and finding a small place that can offer such an immersive atmosphere definitely deserves a return visit.
If there was one downside, it would be that Cured doesn't offer a "flight" to try their wines. They're new -only opened just over a month ago- so it may be something they introduce in the future. But, the service was friendly, the food was imaginative. The atmosphere made it a winner. I would definitely decide to head there for a date night in the future. It's a little pricey so you may want to choose one of the more pocket friendly dates suggested in my previous blog *Active Dating* and make this your last stop. In any case, you're definitely going to want to check this place out. Happy Cheat Meal Day!!