Restaurant Review
Why do people think dogs and food don't mix? Most often its because dogs will stare at a person with food with an intensity that is disconcerting. Many people claim they are unsanitary but Ive seen a lot more people who unsanitary than I have dogs. One thing that is a must for any restaurant I go to with my dad is that it must have a patio and it must allow dogs. This can be a rather difficult condition to meet so our choice of restaurants is rather limited. But I knew of this place had a nice size patio so there was hope. It is a restaurant up on Main and 26th ave. called The Reef. I had heard good things about it and have a fondness for Caribbean food.

Parking specifically for the Reef is non-existant which can be somewhat annoying but if you don't mind parking off Main you can usually find some nice free parking on the side streets. If you're really lucky you might actually find an empty spot in front of the restaurant but those remain vacant for all of 0.05 seconds.

We got to the Reef at about 4:30 P.M. on a Friday which was not the smartest time to go there being as Friday afternoon is bustling on Main. The patio was damn near full and honestly I was expecting this restaurant review to end up being a bust because there was no empty tables. I was pleasantly surprised otherwise. The Reef has communal tables outside, so while 3 people were sitting on one corner of the gigantic patio tables there was still plenty of room for us to siddle in with them. Luckily for us the people there were not dog haters and there was little problem of getting my dads border collie mutt called Benny to sit under the table to wait for the inevitable snacks we would bestow upon him.

It took us all of about 5 minutes to realize that if we were going to eat here we were going to have to get use to slow service. Im not sure if it was just busy than usual or if the staff are just into a casual, caribean, laid back atmosphere but the service definately wasn't prompt. We finally got our menus and look at the choices. There wasn't a huge selection of food but what they did have looked quite good. Plenty of interesting food you'd be hard pressed to find elsewhere, and unique takes on food you find everywhere. The plantaition chips were quite good, made out of some type of yam and served with a spicey mayo, definately a good started to some of their big 'tings as they called them. Now the problem for me is that since this place was tropical there was a large degree of fish on the menu, and being the unrefined, non-foody I am I avoid it like the plague except on very special occasions (which this was not). So while there wasn't a huge selection of entrees for me I did end up settling on their caribbean curry with rice and chicken.

One of the reasons why I love Caribbean food is the spices. I love that sweet, gingerlike spice that permeates almost all aspects of their cuisine. I was praying that the Reef would stay true to this and I was not disappointed. The curry was light on the spice (it wont make you sweat) but it had that unique tang that I long for in all my caribbean food. They served it with a mango jam and some odd variation of yogurt in plates too shallow to deep in and too wide and oddly formed to pour that left me wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with it. My father got the quesadillas which judging by the eagerness of his eating were more than just edible. My friend got the ribs, which were sadly only a appetizer so they were not the largest ribs you will ever see. When I looked at them I thought they'd gave him marinated bones and kept the meat for themselves but my friend assured me they were some of the best ribs he'd ever had.

Going back to the service for a minute I just have to say that they were really cool about us having our dog there, the only time they said anything was when he wandered inside with me for a minute. There is even a water bowl by their street sign which signifies that they encourage their patrons to bring their four legged friends and this attitude has earned my fathers appreciation (he now goes there at least twice a month).

Now its important to remember, since it was the end of the work week on a Friday we didn't come there just for the food. We wanted a good drink. Now the thing about the Reef is you have to like Rum. Why? Because rum drinks are 80% of their liquor menu. The most popular being the mojito, which is a combination of rum, mint leaves, ice, and ginger ale. There are several variations of it depending on your tastes but they all taste the same to me. Its a damn fine drink on a summer afternoon but I won't be slamming many of them back in October I can tell you that. It's the kind of drink that you just don't want to drink when its cold because the mint and the flavours of the liquor take you somewhere warm (or maybe I was just drunk).

So while the service was slow, it was laid back, friendly and helpful in deciding what to order. The food was good, definately higher end but cheap. The liquor was good (if you like rum) but not somewhere I'd go if I wanted to get blotto for less. The atmosphere was nice, lots of hip, trendy late 20 early 30 somethings with the occasional hipster from the older generations giving the place a real open, welcoming vibe. If you're in the area I'd definately recommend it over some of the over pompous eateries nearby. Give it a shot