Niagara Falls Dining « Thats Niagara

24Aug/10Off

GooEe’s Oriental Grill House in Summer 2010

About a month ago I went with a friend of mine to GooEe’s Oriental Grill House on Stanley Ave for lunch. I had previously been in contact Joann Son, the General Manager of the restaurant and let her know that we were coming. I invited this particular friend to go with me because he lived and worked in Korea for several years and speaks fluent Korean. I wanted his opinion on how authentic the experience was.

Joann works at the restaurant and her fiancé is the chef. They’ve wanted to open a restaurant for a while, and finally opened GooEe’s in November. The word gooee is roughly translated to mean “roasted”. Joann has never worked at a restaurant before, but you would never know as the service she provided was excellent.

They have done a nice job with the building. It was formerly a Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall. They did some extensive renovations (including putting in windows) and have the main floor setup for the restaurant. The decor was exactly what you would expect if you had walked into a restaurant in Seoul, from the artsy glossy photos on the walls, down to the very mellow instrumental music (called GyoungOoMak in Korean). The downstairs might be used in the future for banquets.

The presentation of the meal was neat and orderly, and most importantly, the food was good. We had Korean Chili Pork. The flavors were as close a blend to what my friend had experienced while living in Korea and he liked the fact that they did not tone it down for us. It was pretty spicy! The only disappointment that my friend had was that the rice was not Korean style. Apparently they had tried it, but the customers didn’t like it, so they switched to a different style of rice that the customers liked more.

As someone who was going to a Korean restaurant for the first time, I couldn’t comment on how authentic things were, but I can say that the restaurant was clean, the service was excellent, and the food was very good. The lunch was reasonably priced and the portions were very generous. My friend can see it becoming very popular with the local Koreans. He thought it was the best Korean experience in the Niagara region. We’d both recommend it!

I took a few pictures with my cell phone while we were there. You can see the thumbnails below, or the full version in the GooEe’s Oriental Grill House in Summer 2010 gallery.

Note: There are now 3,214 images in 253 galleries in the Niagara Falls Image Gallery.

Gooee’s Oriental Grill House There used to be a Jehovah’s Witness building on Stanley...
Brasa heats up From Niagara This Week: Niagara Falls is starting to heat...
The unoffical start to summer 2010 I guess this weekend and next constitute the unofficial start...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: GyoungOoMak, Niagara Falls Dining, gooee's oriental grill house, jehovah's witness, joann son, kingdom hall, korea, korean, korean chili pork, korean restaurant, korean style, renovations, stanley ave, summer 2010 Comments Off

5Aug/10Off

Parrot heads thrilled by Buffett concert

From the Niagara Falls Review:

It was a sea of Hawaiian print fabric and flip flops Tuesday as die hard parrot heads jammed with their idol.

Singer songwriter Jimmy Buffett surprised both tourists and locals alike after he jumped on stage for a lively concert at his Margaritaville Cafe.

The popular entertainer served up eight songs at his namesake restaurant including Cheeseburger in Paradise and, of course, Margaritaville.

Buffett performed with the Barry Fish Band and Coral Reefer Mac McAnally.

Among those in the audience was Mayor Ted Salci, an enthusiastic parrot head.

Jimmy Buffett chooses Falls site for eatery From the Niagara Falls Review: The first Cheeseburger in Paradise...
Jimmy Buffett serves up entertainment at Falls restaurant From the Niagara Falls Review: Customers at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville...
Hundreds line up for Margaritaville job fair From Niagara This Week: Prospective employees braved long lines and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: Margaritaville Cafe, Niagara Falls Dining, Niagara Falls News, Niagara Falls Night Life, cheeseburger in paradise, hawaiian print, jimmy buffett, jimmy buffett's margaritaville, mac mcanally, margaritaville, parrot head, parrot heads Comments Off

4Aug/10Off

IHOP on Clifton Hill problems

Yesterday I tweeted about the IHOP on Clifton Hill. I couldn’t believe that this was now the 4th one in Niagara Falls.

I’ve heard that the restaurant wasn’t valid. This location was not a legitimate franchise. The Dave & Buster’s is owned by the same group that owns the other two restaurants near Clifton Hill. Apparently they wanted to “test” out an IHOP on Clifton Hill so they went ahead without getting franchise approval. They were shut down (I’m not sure by who).

This is the scoop I’ve heard. They certainly could get a franchise agreement in place right away and continue to operate. In fact they may have already. But this is what went down earlier this week.

Clifton Hill Resort Update – Winter Holidays 2009 Last Thursday (Christmas Eve) I received the latest newsletter from...
Clifton Hill Resort Update – January 2010 Last Wednesday I received the latest newsletter from the Clifton...
Clifton Hill Resort Update – February 2010 On Monday I received the latest newsletter from the Clifton...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Dining, Restaurants, franchise agreement, ihop Comments Off

4Aug/10Off

Jimmy Buffett serves up entertainment at Falls restaurant

From the Niagara Falls Review:

Customers at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville were given an added treat that wasn’t on the menu on Tuesday.

Buffett stopped by his namesake restaurant Tuesday.

He spent about an hour at the Fallsview Boulevard restaurant, greeting staff and customers.

He took to the stage around 5 p.m. and played a few signature tunes.

Jimmy Buffett chooses Falls site for eatery From the Niagara Falls Review: The first Cheeseburger in Paradise...
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, the Newest Niagara Falls Restaurant, Opens Friday, June 18 on Fallsview Boulevard From a PR Web press release: Margaritaville Canada Ltd. announced...
‘You never know when Jimmy’s going to stop by’ From Niagara This Week: Now that the warm weather has...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: Niagara Falls Dining, Niagara Falls News, Niagara Falls in Pop Culture, customers, fallsview blvd, fallsview boulevard, jimmy buffet, jimmy buffett's margaritaville, margaritaville, staff, stage, tuesday, tunes Comments Off

22Jul/10Off

Niagara Falls, Ontario Farm To Table Movement Grows in Niagara Falls Restaurants, Markets & More

From a press release seen on Hospitality Net:

The Niagara food and wine scene is vibrant and active as Niagara Falls restaurants team up with local wineries to create unforgettable culinary experiences in Niagara Falls, Ontario. In addition to featuring prominently on the Niagara Culinary Trail with a growing number of farm to table restaurants, Niagara Falls also serves as a gateway to a culinary Niagara vacation — just a short drive from Niagara-on-the-Lake wineries and the popular agri-tourism of the Niagara Peninsula.

Follow the link and read the whole press release. I’m left with the question, “Could they have put the word Niagara in a few more times!?!”

Niagara Falls, Ontario Attractions Open for the 2010 Season, Spring Packages Abound From a Niagara Falls Tourism press release distributed by PR...
Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. to Build New Hotel Complex Decision brings new jobs, development and tourists to Niagara Falls From a PRWeb press release: Today brings great news for...
Niagara Falls Tourism Website Re-launch Offers Virtual Travel Planning From a PRWeb press release seen on Yahoo! News: Offering...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: Niagara Falls Dining, Restaurants, agri tourism, culinary experiences, niagara falls, niagara on the lake, niagara peninsula, niagara vacation, press release, wine scene Comments Off

9Jul/10Off

Savour Niagara Flavours

Back in February I posted about a promotion that Buchanans (part of the Doubletree Fallsview Resort & Spa by Hilton – Niagara Falls) was having with $5 wines and appetizers. The other day I received an ad for the same promotion. You can view it below or download a PDF (around 400kb) in higher quality.

“Savour Niagara” Last week I received this information from the Doubletree Fallsview...
Jokes from Doubletree kids menu I wrote earlier this week about our nice stay at...
Our latest stay at the Doubletree Fallsview Resort & Spa by Hilton – Niagara Falls In the middle of April, I had the opportunity to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Filed under: Doubletree Fallsview Resort & Spa by Hilton - Niagara Fall, Doubletree Resort, Niagara Falls Accommodations, Niagara Falls Dining, buchanans, buchanans chophouse, doubletree, doubletree fallsview, stanley ave Comments Off

3Jul/10Off

Bravo! Pizzeria + Grill opening soon

They have done a lot of work on the old Capri Restaurant building. It’s hard to believe it is the same place! I don’t know when they will be opening, but it will be very soon. Virtually everything on the outside and inside look done.