My best friend and I have been meaning to get together for a while. For a bunch of unforeseen life…read moreevents, it took a couple of months to find a date and time. I let her know that I had a weird food suggestion. I asked her if she'd like to go to The Keg. I saw a veggie shepherd's pie on the menu. I was intrigued. My friend is vegan. I'm suggesting that we go to a steakhouse. Luckily, she said yes. I did a search. I found this one in Oshawa, which is roughly midway between Peterborough and Markham. We met last Friday at around 6:15 pm. It's a part of Oshawa Centre, but on its own structure-wise, away from the physical mall, across from Shoppers Drug Mart and Hudson's Bay. I rarely go out on Friday nights. I didn't look to see whether we could do a reservation. Instead, we just showed up to try our luck. I parked somewhat close to the main entrance. My friend arrived ten minutes later. We met up and walked in. We approached the reception area. I asked for a table for two. The woman said that seating at the bar would take 40 minutes. It would be a 1.5-hour wait for one in the dining room. We went with the former. I left my name with the woman. She asked whether we were going to wait inside or outside. We went with the former. I got a buzzer. I liked the strawberry-cucumber-infused water in front of us. I should have got a glass, but we were talking so much that it didn't cross my mind. I don't think we waited 40 minutes. I saw the buzzer go crazy with lights. The female host grabbed the buzzer from me and led us to the bar. Service was excellent. We had the best female server who was attentive and friendly. We got the following items: - Sourdough bread (complimentary) - Tropical spritz (non-alcoholic) - Diet Pepsi (me) - Onion rings - Veggie shepherd's pie - Mini crème brûlée We got water to start. Considering how much we were talking and catching up, it was needed! We both ordered the tropical spritz. It had alcohol-free pineapple liqueur, passion fruit, non-alcoholic sparkling wine, soda, and a charred pineapple on top. This drink was delicious and so refreshing. The charred pineapple was yummy. I wanted everything, but in a larger size. I ended up getting a diet Pepsi. I needed another cold, refreshing drink, but cheaper. This one hit the spot. My friend was hungry and had a hankering for onion rings. We got some as a starter. They were crispy on the outside. The onion rings were sweet. It came with a mayo dip. My friend got ketchup. Both condiments were perfect. Our shepherd's pie came out next. It came with a large mixed greens salad. This meal was divine. The shepherd's pie had lentils and lots of veggies. The gravy was yummy. I actually used the sourdough bread to it up. The mashed potatoes were perfect on top. I loved the mixed greens salad. Everything was crisp and fresh. The dressing was bright. The salad had pickled the onions. If they were sliced thinner, I would have enjoyed them more. The larger pickled onions still had that raw burn to them. Although we dined in the bar, we could still hear each other. It was great. The downside was that we were at a long table. A group of five folks sat on the opposite end and made the table rock as if were were on turbulent waters. I ended up shaking the table, which caught their attention to not do what they did. I shouldn't feel seasick eating at a table when I'm not on water. Sheesh! I felt like dessert and got a mini crème brûlée. It was the perfect portion. I wanted a bit of dessert. I got it here. I liked the contrast between the crispy sugary top part of the dessert that was fun to shatter, with the creamy custard layer underneath it. The orange slice was the perfect ending to my meal. We split the onion rings. It was cool not paying taxes for this meal. I wish it were the case all the time! We had belated Christmas presents to unwrap. It was funny that both the server and the manager asked if was a special occasion. We said no. Meanwhile, we had these gift bags for each other... haha! We spent almost three hours at this eatery. We used the washroom before we headed to our vehicles. The women's washroom is by the wine display. The washroom looked modern. The stall that I used was clean. I liked that there was a hook for my gift bag. There was plenty of parking at this eatery. I'm so glad that we met up here. It has vegan and vegetarian options. It was my first time not ordering a steak at The Keg. It was cool. The food and drinks were yummy and I had the best company with me. (56)

We had a birthday dinner at one of our favourite restaurants and the food was delicious. I had…read morenever tried the prime rib sandwich. Meat right off the roast and it was fabulous. Love the Billy Miner pie too.