Ric's Grill - downtown Edmonton

[KayceeK]

Hello,
Just wondering how busy Ric's Grill - downtown location is on a Saturday night? I've only been there once during the week for lunch and seem to recall the space being quite polished. The food, however...I remember the chef had a heavy hand with the mayo on my sandwich and the dressing on my salad. Is this always the case, or could it have been a bad day? Should I ask for light dressing to avoid a soggy mess?

Any dishes to recommend?

Thank you.

[Bob Mac]

KayceeK:

I am not sure how busy the Ric's in the old Metals bldg. gets on a Saturday night as I too have only been there ...and it was quite some time ago... for lunches but given that this Edmonton, I would expect that it [Saturday] together with Fridays are their busiest evenings.

I am with you when it comes to salads. Apart from those evenings where I am particularly wanting "blue cheese dressing" on a chop salad [such as Chop in the west end...another place I have not been to in months and months] and as a result do not mind a "heavy hand" I do not want my salad becoming mush as I work my way to the bottom and find "porridge" rather than a caesar salad.

I usually want dressing on the side or very light and generally speaking ask for it that way.

As you know, you can always add more but it is difficult to redeem a sodden mass of what might have otherwise been, nice greens.

When I go to Ric's I usually have the Black and Blue seared tuna...I probably have had fish there more often than meat.

I have not been to the Riverbend and St. Alberta locations but when they first opened in the west end were there from time to time.

Truth be known we have been to the Ric's in Kamloops more often than anyplace else as it has become a mid-way stop en route to or back from BC.

Let us know, how you make out at the downtown spot but living out in the west -end we rarely venture back downtown after work hours.

[KayceeK]

Bob,

We did end up going to Ric's last Saturday night. We had a reservation for 8pm but were running late, and they were very accommodating at switching us, last-minute, to 9pm instead. We were pleasantly surprised to see the restaurant still swinging (it's been our experience more often than not, that people tend to eat an early meal...) when we arrived.

Our server was very polite and friendly; not much for wine knowledge but he had all the stock answers down pat (what's in the soup, spice level, etc.) Hubby had beer, I had a half litre of a nice pinot noir - lots of good options by the glass and half L. Bacon-wrapped scallops were fine, pretty hard to mess up but nothing overly special. The soup that came with my dish was a bit thin, but the potatoes and beef were cooked well, and it did have a bit of kick as he promised.

Hubby had a steak and crab legs special and thought the crab tasted a bit old, but really enjoyed his steak. I went with the Black & Blue seared tuna, like you, and thought it was cooked perfectly. Blue-rare, yum. The sides were uninspired - rice and a few veggies, but well executed (nothing worse than raw or mushy veggies). We skipped dessert.

One pet peeve - they bring the baguette and butter out, looks sliced, but really isn't. I go to take a piece, but find I have to grab ahold of the rest of the loaf to tear a chunk off. We didn't mind too much, since it was just the two of us, but I can see how it could be a bit off-putting to others. Bleh.

Probably wouldn't go back again anytime soon (I should mention we had a gift certificate that needed to be used up), but it was decent.