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a review by Patrick Simpson
Monday
is Christabel's and my day off together. Today, we were feeling quite
energetic and since we’re trying to shed a few pounds before our
upcoming vacation to France, we decided to go running. We decided that
Elk Lake was shady enough to avoid heat stroke, falling
unconscious and the subsequent deployment of search and rescue. On our
way back home, I was feeling peckish and had come to the conclusion that
I deserved to have a beer, or two, after my athletic struggles.
We
ended up stopping at The Bird of Paradise Pub, an occasional and
consistent destination. The place has a south western theme with lots of
cacti and Tex Mex style propaganda. I also like the fact that the menu
and drink specials follow the same Southwest motif. There is nothing
worse than a Mexican style restaurant that has a British style pub menu
(fish and chips, bangers and mash.) One thing that does rub me a little
the wrong way at the Bird of Paradise are those absolutely horrid shirts
that the servers have to wear. As far as I could tell, most of the
servers there are women and they must cringe at the site of the (ocean
blue with tropical birds all over) Hawaiian shirts. Yikes.
Something that I really have enjoyed on my excursions to the Bird of
Paradise is that as soon as you sit down the server will come straight out
to you with a small plate of house-made tortilla chips and salsa.
Today was a Monday and the daily special was 99 cent taco. For the all
the refined food Christabel and I like to eat, sometimes a couple of
99 cent tacos and a bottle of Corona is just what the doctor ordered.
The tacos were basic: seasoned ground beef, salsa, sour cream, lettuce
and cheese. However, the taco shells were crispy, the lettuce was fresh
and really what more can you ask for at less than a buck a piece. We
also liked the little rack of hot sauces that the server
brought out on request.
One of
the few complaints about this establishment is the other clientele. We
sat on the enclosed patio and it was very nice. But if you had to sit
any were near the actual bar there are a lot of bar flies swaying back
and forth, pretty good for two in the afternoon.
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Christabel says...
I like the Bird of Paradise Pub too. Pub food
too often torments me with its feeble attempts at sophistication and ends up tasting packaged and over processed. Most of the
time, I’d take a greasy burger over some froufrou wannabe gastro
pub creation. Selecting a Southwest theme for the menu
satisfies my craving for salty and fatty pub food without
boring me or poisoning me with nitrates. It certainly
isn’t authentic Mexican, but it is solid and good-tasting beer-drinking food with a bit of a twist.
And hear, hear – the grotesque Hawaiian
shirts need to go!! |
Value of Food: 9/10 (if we’re talking about the
tacos 10!)
Quality of Food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Ambiance: 5/10 (cheesy Southwest décor, doesn’t really work for us, neither do the drunks at the
bar.)
Wine List: n/a (better off
ordering a Tequila Sunrise, it’s often on special)
Reviewed:
August 15, 2005 |
