Sherman's Food Adventures: Abigail's Party

Abigail's Party

As per usual, I picked up Polka King on our way to our Friday night hockey game. We head in and take a look at the video screens for which rink we would be playing at. We wheel our bags over to red rink and... the Zamboni is toast! Yup, it broke down. The game prior to us had not even started yet! Yikes, what do we do for over an hour? Well, not much really, just head back into the lobby for warmth and chat. I suggested we go eat first... to no avail. Of course, with the game being delayed for over an hour, it cut into my eating time afterwards. As a result, we had to look for really late night eats. Boss Woman wanted to go to Happy King; but we had already appeased her with a visit to Congee Noodle King last Friday. We voted against wonton noodles and decided on something a bit different. In reality, it might have been a bit too different...

Lionel Hutz suggested a place he'd passed by many times while dining at his favourite spot - Hapa Izakaya in Kits. The place is Abigail's Party. When I drove by as I was looking for a parking spot, it dawned on me that this may not be the right place for us. It was pitch black inside and resembled more like a club than anything else. Man... I haven't been to a club in over 10 years! As Polka King and I walked into the place it was indeed very dark. We made our way to the table where Milhouse, Boss Woman, Lionel Hutz and Bear were already seated. Yes indeed, it is Bear, he is alive and well. He played for our hockey team tonight.

Let's just say the crowd here is quite young (and I don't even think I'm that old!). They are boisterous and out to have a good time. Nothing wrong with that, it goes with the overall ambiance of the place. It just makes it hard for anyone to have a conversation without yelling. Furthermore, not many people were eating; rather, they were drinking lots. That didn't stop us since we were a bit hungry. Polka King and Boss Woman shared Scallops & Clams in addition to a Poutine. 2 large nicely seared Qualicum scallops rested on a bed of clams. At least this is what I thought it looked like. You see, it was so dark in there, we really couldn't see what we were eating. Bear got a chance to look at my pictures after the fact and he exclaimed, "so that's how my food looked like!" Polka King thought it was nothing special; but at least everything seemed fresh. Milhouse had Big Al's Beef Burger and he thought it was neither dry or juicy being somewhere in the middle. He did like the fries though, they were very crispy. Lionel Hutz really enjoyed his Short Rib Sloppy Joe. The meat was tender and he really liked the sauce, it was sweet and tangy. For me, I had the Duck Confit Sliders and a Poutine as well. I was a bit indifferent about them because the duck was a bit dry and the texture of the bread was a bit tough. I did like the pickled cabbage on top though. Good crunch and tang added to the otherwise flavourless duck. In terms of the poutine (Bear had it too), the fries were great and the cheese curds were melted. The chicken gravy was unique with a slight sweet veggie aftertaste.

Surprisingly, the food was pretty decent here, especially since we didn't expect it due to the overall atmosphere. However, I do not recommend coming here for a bite if you do not like a club/bar atmosphere. Furthermore, there was only one actual server (along with the boss?) handling the entire place. Thus, the service was sparse and error-filled (although it was really friendly). I didn't get my beer originally and when I asked for it a second time, I got charged for 2 beers! I also asked for bacon on my poutine and did not get it. Also, waiting for anything, including the bill took forever as our server seemed more interested in socializing than paying attention to requests.

The Good:
- Food actually ain't bad
- Open late
- Club/bar-like atmosphere (if that is your style)

The Bad:
- Service was friendly, but absent-minded and non-existent at times
- It's so dark, you really can't see what you're eating
- Club/bar-like atmosphere (if you hate that sort of thing)

Abigail's Party on Urbanspoon

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

FYI: There is a 2-for-1 coupon for Abigail's Party in this year's Entertainment coupon book.

Search this Site