The Next Act

So where do you eat when you have a Fringe play to go to afterwards?  Why, Urbanspoon, yes, please guide me to greatness.  The Next Act had great reviews but so did MEAT, so we were debating back and forth which one we should try (yes, I know they are sister restaurants in case you were wondering.  You weren’t?  Good, I was being rhetorical.  Now keep reading.  Please).  The restaurant was packed when we got there (especially considering it was a Monday night) so I made the executive decision to check it out.  We put our names down and ended up with a nice corner booth for four.  The wait was quick and easier than I expected.  I will say the staff here is great, especially our waitress who was genuinely a real sweetheart (I don’t think I even call anyone that in real life).  But seriously, she was great.

Our friends were running late so I ordered a pint of Magners pear cider ($8.50). Wasn’t too shabby but I JUST missed out on happy hour (3-6pm, $1.00 off draft drinks). Curse you late friends. Check out the drinks menu above (thank goodness someone is keeping gender stereotypes alive).

2x Pulled pork sandwich ($14.00)
Slow cooked BBQ pork with housemade slaw. The pulled pork was tasty and moist but was seriously lacking on the slaw. We both agreed that they could have been more generous, it’s just slaw! The poutine (an additional $3.00 to substitute) wasn’t very good either – very salty and not up to Montreal standards.

Tequila lime chicken sandwich ($15.00) – tequila lime glazed chicken breast with bacon, guacamole, jack cheese and jalapeno garlic mayo.  Didn’t taste this but our friend seemed to enjoy it.

Cajun fish sandwich ($15.00)
Their sandwich special of the day. Halibut fish in a Cajun style sauce and it came with lemon dill coleslaw and pickles. I substituted for the soup for an additional $1.00. I took my first bite and memories of my childhood came flooding back. You won’t believe what it reminded me of. You ready?

McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. That’s right, McDicks. Are you kidding me?!?

I wasn’t impressed, especially not at $15.00 and with a 90% rating on Urbanspoon flashing in the back of my mind. At least the soup lived up to it’s name (spicy roasted vegetables and white bean). I could have ate a whole bowl of that!

Anyways, perhaps we ordered wrong and should have just gone with their speciality burgers and stuck with drinks. I was just expecting more awesomeness. Clearly, I should listen to myself more and keep expectations low. Lesson learned. Sit out on cool patio and people watch the cute girls, er, I mean fellow Fringers/Whyte Ave hipsters pass by.

The Next Act
http://www.nextactpub.com/
8224 – 104 Street
Edmonton, AB
(780) 433-9345