Last night, Jillian and I invited our good friends Domenico and Lila out for dinner to Gourmet Emporium to sample their 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week menu.

Their Winter Bites menu is unique as it offers 7 courses, three of which you can pick from different choices.

The meal started off with an Amuse Bouche, goat cheese over a toasted crostini sprinkled with a raspberry reduction sauce.

Next, we had a choice between a salad, which contained mixed greens, apple slices and goat cheese with a honey poppy seed vinaigrette, and a French onion soup topped with a crostini and aged white cheddar.

After the soup and salad, the Brown Butter Asparagus came out. The brown butter sauce had just the right touch of sweetness to it to not overpower the natural flavours of the asparagus. All four of us raved about this dish.

A Cheese Ravioli was our next dish, served with a dollop of pesto on top.

To help ease us into our main course, a sorbet palate cleanser (shown in the top photo) was handed out.

After Jillian, Lila and Domenico had all chosen the 5 oz. fillet for their main course, I had originally chosen the Pollo Pancetta. Peer pressure, however, forced me into making the same choice as the rest of the group. This is the only time peer pressure has ever worked out for the good.

The fillet was served with a red wine reduction, which covered caramelized onions and pan seared button mushrooms.

The meal then ended with all of us sharing each dessert option offered: a whole baked apple served with ice cream and a slice of cheesecake.

I was quite impressed with the meal as it didn’t leave me overly stuffed nor wanting more. In what rarely happens with me, it was the perfect amount of food we needed.

If you’re interested in this meal, I encourage you to hurry as today is the last day of the 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week.

Still haven’t been out for our 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week sponsored by 93.9 The River and Global Machine Repair? Well, you better hurry because there is only tonight and tomorrow left!

A place to try, especially if you’re with family, is Mongolian Grill in Tecumseh. They are offering both a $15 lunch and a $25 dinner menu and it is a fun, interactive evening out for a meal.

Last night, WindsorEats held our popular Tweets, Beats & Eats event at Motor Burger as part of our Winter Bites Culinary Week. Sponsored by 93.9 The River and Global Machine Repair, the event offered guests a meal that consisted of 3 burgers paired with 3 sides and 3 beers. We had DJ Mele mashing up awesome beats all night and guests were encouraged to tweet with their mouths full as our Twitter feed of the event was broadcast live on screens throughout the restaurant.

The first course was a recipe that our very own Jillian created. As such, it was named the Jillian SMART Veg burger. It is a lentil patty and was paired with Motor Burgers famous nachos and Sapporo beer. The recipe is on our site should you choose to try it out.

Throughout the night we had people tweeting from home saying how they wish they could have come and were jealous of all the fun and good eats they were reading our guests were having.

My personal favourite tweets of the night were coming from a table if med students in the back. You were awesome!

The second course was one called the Rice Burner. It was a chicken patty with Thai chili, lemon grass, cilantro, green curry lime spiked cucumber and red onion slaw. The side served was double blanched fries. People loved it so much they were tweeting insisting Chef Jay Souilliere insert it onto his regular menu. The Rice Burner was paired with Singha from Thailand.

Unfortunately I devoured my third burger, the Grand Prix du Canada, was devoured so fast I forgot to take a photo of it. It was made of grilled beef chuck, dijonaise, Gruyère, Montreal smoked meat and coleslaw, served with fried pickle and paired with Unibroue Maudite from Quebec.

Dan MacDonald of 93.9 The River, was terrific as the emcee for the evening and gave away prizes including dvd’s to some lucky winners of some trivia questions.

Thank you everyone that helped make this edition of Tweets, Beats & Eats so much fun!

Have you tried the Dalhousie Bistro‘s $10 Winter Bites Culinary Week menu yet? You should! First of all, $10 for the meal you get is an incredible deal. Second, if the other options are anything like the Vegetarian Spinach Panini I had, the food is fantastic!

Watch the video above to see myself sampling the panini.

Outstanding. I had the Oishii Sushi Roll to start and Derek went with the Gyoza, which were Japanese dumplings filled with vegetables. You’ll…um….probably notice that we started digging in to most of the meal before I realized that I hadn’t taken photos.

We both had the Vermicelli rice noodles which was loaded with vegetables and bit of curry. It’s a bit messy because I like checking out each individual vegetable before I eat it

And for dessert, well, the creme brulee was just calling our names. It didn’t disappoint either. If you are at Chanoso’s, try it. The berries added a nice tart flavour to the rich and creamy custard.

All this for only $15. Derek and I both felt we needed to be carried out of the restaurant. It was a great meal!

If you haven’t been to a participating Winter Bites restaurant yet, what are you waiting for??? It all ends on Saturday, January 22, 2010!! Get out there and support your local restaurants! They have some exceptional deals going on right now and many of them have items on their Winter Bites menu that you won’t be able to get any other time.

Last night, Jillian and called our friend Vinny and headed out to Centro on Erie Street for their 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week menu.

To start, Jillian ordered the Sweet Potato Tempura Roll so we decided I would get the Cucumber Avocado Roll and we’d share.

The servings of the Carbonara were incredibly huge, so much so that I had a nice serving of leftovers for lunch today.

The Nutella Cheesecake was the perfect way to finish things off. Even though we were so, so full from the first two courses, how do you turn down anything with Nutella in it?

To celebrate the first day of the 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week, we headed out to Blue Danube Restaurant on Ottawa Street for lunch.

As I stated when I first mention Blue Danube was participating, husband and wife duo Sam and Zora Popovic are two of the nicest people you’ll meet and are alone worth the visit. Add great Hungarian cuisine on top of that and you can’t go wrong.

Jillian ordered the Goulash and Chicken Paprikash while I enjoyed the Goulash and Cabbage Roll & Sausage Combination.

The goulash was excellent and had a little bit of a kick to it. Along with homemade dumplings, there was also beef and potato cubes in it.  Zora insisted we try a Hungarian wine with it saying the two matched very well. It was a bottle of Egri Bikavér: Egri being a region in Hungary and Bikavér translating into ‘bulls blood’. Of course, she was right. The dry and smooth red wine enhanced the flavours of the goulash. I recommend ordering the other if you’re already getting one.

The Chicken Paprikash was incredibly tender. The meat just fell off the bone. It was ordered with baked rice that was savoury and complemented the chicken very well. The sauce on the chicken brought together all of the flavours in a dish that warmed you up perfectly on a cold day.

My dish, the Cabbage Roll & Sausage Combination, was huge in portion and incredible in taste. I’ve heard people rave about the cabbage rolls at Blue Danube before, but, this was my first experience with them. They didn’t disappoint one bit. The sausage didn’t disappoint either. Owner Sam Popovic makes all the sausages himself. Zora says that it’s a secret recipe, but I was told it was a blend of veal and pork. Sam proudly said he hasn’t changed the recipe since Blue Danube opened 36 years ago and people are still loving it.

For dessert, Jillian ate homemade apple strudel while I chose the Palachintas. The strudel, which Zora proudly told us is made in house, had an amazingly rich pastry and chunks of warm apple inside. It was like being on vacation in Hungary. The Palachintas are the Hungarian version of crepes. The flavour and aroma was so rich and satisfying. Jillian compared it to enjoying a great scented candle and actually being able to eat it and enjoy it. Odd, yet somehow she’s right.

Koi Sushi & Japanese in Kingsville and Gourmet Emporium in Old Walkerville are the latest restaurants to join the popular 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week.

Koi, which won the best restaurant in the county in the latest WindsorEats Awards, will be offering a $25 dinner menu. I highly recommend the Panko Chicken.

Gourmet Emporium will be offering a $35 menu with a twist. There will be 7 courses, 3 of which will give you options to choose from.

Winter Bites starts today and lasts until January 22, 2011.

Also, remember that tickets for Tweets, Beats & Eats at Motor Burger are still available for $35 and can be purchased either online or at the restaurants itself.

Being the eve of the 2011 Winter Bites Culinary Week, and the fact I’m a huge fantasy sports fan, I thought it would be fun to pretend we lived in a perfect world and I were able to eat each Winter Bites menu at least once.

A warning, this is going to be a long post and some menus are still yet to arrive.

If given the opportunity, here are what my choices would be at many of the restaurant:

Big Tony’s Original Wood Fired Pizza Co.
Most Windsorites don’t know this, but, tucked in the back of Big Tony’s is Blue Marble Sushi.

$10 Lunch
First Course – Vegetable Egg Roll
Second Course – Smoked Salmon Roll
Third Course – Volcano Roll

$25 Sushi Dinner
First Course -  Vegetable Egg Roll
Second Course –  Smoked Salmon Roll
Third Course -   Volcano Roll and Naturoll

$25 Pizza Dinner
First Course –  House Salad
Second Course –  Sausage Peporanata
Third Course –  My toppings would be grilled eggplant, red onions, Italian sausage and bocconcini

Blue Danube Restaurant
A mainstay on Ottawa St., Blue Danube serves some fantastic Hungarian cuisine. A definite must try.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Goulash Soup
Second Course – Cabbage Roll and Sausage Combination
Third Course – Palachintas

$25 Dinner
First Course – Perogies
Second Course – Cabbage Roll and Sausage Combination
Third Course – Palachintas

$35 Dinner
First Course – Perogies
Second Course – Marosi
Third Course – Palachintas

Dalhousie Bistro
New to Amherstburg, Dalhousie Bistro is a fantastic place to have lunch with a view of King’s Navy Yard Park.

$10 Lunch
First Course – Soup
Second Course – Reuben Panini
Third Course – German Oatmeal Cakes

Centro
An Italian eatery that offers the traditional and not so traditional. Sushi by Jared is also on the menu.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Minestrone
Second Course – Primavera
Third Course – Cannoli

$25 Dinner
First Course – Sweet Potato Tempura Roll
Second Course – Carbonara
Third Course – Nutella Cheesecake

Chanoso’s Restaurant & Oishii Sushi Bar
Popular downtown Windsor restaurant that is known for their endless possibilities of stir fry.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Avocado Egg Roll
Second Course – Vermicelli
Third Course – Creme Brulee

$25 Dinner
First Course – Firecracker Roll
Second Course – Mango Tango Chicken
Third Course – Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte

Jack’s Gastropub
One of Kingsville’s most popular restaurants, Jack’s is known for it’s tasty, unique and ever changing specials.

$35 Dinner
First Course – Artichokes Parmesan
Second Course – Brandied Beef Tip Shepherds Pie
Third Course – Chocolate Chevre Brownie

La Contessa Ristorante
This restaurant is known for its homemade pastas, hand stuffed raviolis and fresh sauces.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Bruschetta della Casa
Second Course – Pollo al Marsala
Third Course – Cappucino

$35 Dinner
First Course – Eggplant Parmigianna
Second Course – Scallopini Saltimbocca
Third Course – Wildberry Panna Cotta

La Zingara Trattoria
This restaurant offers a visually stunning exterior, interior and cuisine. Service is also top notch.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Insalata Finnochio e Arance
Second Course – Calzone (chicken)
Third Course – Pineapple (with alcohol)

$35 Dinner
First Course – Capesante alla Siciliana (sea scallops with cauliflower and blood oranges
Second Course – Spezzatto (tenderloin tips with sage, spinach and prosciutto)
Third Course – Pineapple (with alcohol)

Mezzo Ristorante & Lounge
Mezzo was chosen as the “Favourite Windsor Restaurant” by voters in the 2009 WindsorEats Awards.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Stracciatella Soup
Second Course – Gnocchi
Third Course – Chocolate Tartufo

$25 Dinner (a celiac/gluten free menu is also offered)
First Course – Squash Soup
Second Course – Pappardelle
Third Course – Crepes

$35 Dinner
First Course – Antipasto Misto
Second Course – Spinach Salad
Third Course – Pollo Sorrentino

Mongolian Grill
A great place to take the family and kids, Mongolian Grill offers up an interactive dining experience.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Crab Rangoons
Second Course – Lunch Meal
Third Course – Deep Dish Cookie

$25 Dinner
First Course – Crab Rangoons
Second Course – Dinner Meal
Third Course – Rangoon Cheesecake

Motor Burger
In its short existence, Motor Burger has become one of Windsor’s most popular restaurants. Their specialty, as their name shows, it burgers.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Spicy Nuts & Panko Avocado
Second Course – Classic Motor Burger
Third Course – Nutella Cheesecake

$25 Dinner
First Course – Chorizo Chili Spring Rolls
Second Course – Jillian’s SMART Veg Engine
Third Course – Nutella Cheesecake

Taste Bud Bistro
Located inside the Art Gallery of Windsor, Taste Bud sources plenty of local products and offers a great view of the Detroit skyline. The meals are always creative and delicious.

$15 Lunch
First Course – Vegetarian Chili
Second Course – Vegetable & Chickpea Curry
Third Course – ‘Mojito’

$25 Dinner
First Course – Baby Spinach Salad
Second Course – Braised Local Beef
Third Course – ‘Mochaccino’