So fuck! Being that I'm in a good mood today, I thought it would be a good time to write an honest review on one of Saskatoon's many dining establishments. As my inaugural review I've chosen to start with the city's most popular, Earls. I'll try to keep this short and sweet.
When thinking of Earls the first thing that comes to mind has to be the food, it's good and consistent, with a menu that has an emphasis on Cali/Asian cuisine. I give them credit on this, the menu changes often and they do create and bring in food that is interesting and tasty while staying away from being lavish and over complicated. To put it bluntly I understand why, Saskatoon isn't filled with too many "smart" diners; we're a city that craves its shitty asian buffets, its burgers and nachos and caesar salads and cheesecake. We love meat and potatoes and all the simple stuff, and with Earls you have it all, done reasonably well and simple. I may not agree with a lot of their practices (like only hiring girls whose hips generally fall between the space of your hands put out in a "w" format. I've helped in the hiring process this way and it isn't fun to watch. My old boss who shall remain nameless used to be forced into hiring girls this way to meet the owner's perverse and youthful image. You have no idea how hard it was taking in resumes from girls who you knew immediately wouldn't stand a chance at being hired due to these requirements. At the time you wanted to say something to them, but I mean what do you say, "hey, you seem great and you are way more qualified than half of the girls I work with but unless you lose that gut you ain't getting into the club". Trust me I had issues with this from the start) but hey they do make good food. I especially enjoy the Earls bigger better burger, by far the best in the city (Weczeria does have one that comes a close second).
However, I do have an issue with their new fondness to go "slightly" asian with their appetizers. Anybody who tries to get some apps kid who forgets to wash his hands, who smokes more weed than a girl I work with and who is on his way to being an alcoholic in two months to make me a tuna sushi roll has got another thing coming. I've seen this shit they put out and try to serve, anyone with any sense has to know that if you are in a joint that serves you Leroy's dry ribs and 1lb wings should not be fooled into believing can also serve you good sushi. Morons!!
Hint** Avoid the sushi.
Okay enough about food, now the booze. The wine menu is average, totally created with a corporate vision, with obvious deals struck with various wineries, Jackson Triggs and Inniskillan to name a few. At least they got away from their late 90's Australian obsession, if I hear another server claiming that Wolf Blass Yellow Label is "so good" I'm going to puke. They do offer a good sampling from the glass with maybe a little too much emphasis on Shiraz and not enough on Pinot Noir but hey I'm just being picky. You should find something that fits your palate quite easily. As for their cocktails, well their martinis are elaborate and full of juice, great for that group of girls hitting the town on a friday night, but mostly they're your run of the mill drinks. Can anybody say Smirnoff? Great choice for house vodka guys, excellent choice. mmm quality :) I'm kidding. Not much else to report on the bar side of things, just like their food, they offer any and everything, nuf said.
As for my view of Earls as a whole, well lets see, their owner is a pig and and asshole (he almost fired me for having long hair, why he had a problem with my hair is beyond me). The service is hit and miss, when you hire young kids as your servers you will more often than none suffer with bad service. I don't blame them so much as I blame the management, the leaders at Earls tend to watch and patrol rather than help and run for their staff. The esthetic is somewhat confused, the dining room is awful and in dire need of a makeover. The old bar is nice, a bit tacky with horrible ostrich heads strewn about. Bacchus is way over the top, if I were the owner I would totally redo it or at least reshape it, the massive bar separates and distorts the room from having any sense of energy and cohesion. But aside from a few blips, I rate Earls as a good restaurant for Saskatoon. They've taken the WalMart model of "we'll offer you everything" then wrapped it up and put it in a large setting full of young people and scenesters. If this is what you are looking for then I say head on over and enjoy, but if you want a quiet evening out then stay away and find another option.
later.
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