Somewhat abridged from today's T&T
New eateries open in Metro
Published Tuesday March 15th, 2011
By Eric Lewis
Times & Transcript Staff
M.I.C. Canadian Eatery & Whisky Pub is now open in Place 1604 on Champlain Street in Dieppe. The eatery is decorated with images of great Canadians of all walks of life and serves quintessential Canadian dishes and Canadian whiskies. The first opened in Sudbury, Ont., a little more than a year ago when the owner of the local Don Cherry's sports bar decided to drop the franchise and open a new pub with a distinctly Canadian flavour.
M.I.C., after all, stands for Made In Canada.
Just last week, Tom Betts and Greg Mitton did the same thing. The owners of the Dieppe Don Cherry's decided to rebrand their own restaurant to M.I.C.
So, how Canadian is it?
In addition to artwork depicting Canadian actors, actresses, musicians, philanthropists and more, the pub plays only Canadian music and offers only Canadian whisky, wine and beer.
There's a sample tray of some high-end Wiser whisky products and rare bottlings like Forty Creek's Confederation Oak whisky. (Betts is careful to note that's "whisky" without the "ey" at the end, which is reserved for American and Irish whiskies. Canadian and Scottish products simply use the "y".)
Typical Canadian beers are offered and Betts is hoping to offer New Brunswick-microbrewed products soon.
The menu is loaded with Canadian and Acadian dishes, with smoked meats, poutines, chicken fricot, sugar pie, apple crisp, bread pudding, spinach salad with smoked salmon and products made with premium Alberta beef offered.
"All the people that we've had for our first opening week have been very receptive and really liked the menu," Betts says.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day, with the pub side staying open until 2 a.m. Live entertainment will be appearing in the future, Betts reports.
Meanwhile on the restaurant beat,
Catch 22 Lobster Bar in the old Bogarts location on Main Street in Moncton opened recently and
Tide & Boar Gastropub, which has replaced Kramer's Corner on Main, is set for its grand opening on April 1 and 2. Nova Scotia band Signal Hill is performing both nights, which are already sold out.
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Relish Gourmet Burgers location is set to open in the old location of Jagoe's Jewelry, but a date for opening hasn't been set yet, its owners told the Times & Transcript yesterday.
On the other side of the Petitcodiac River in Riverview, a small restaurant seems to be leaving a big impression on those who have tried it out.
Alto Express Restaurant opened with little fanfare in December on Pinewood Road in the strip mall across from Home Hardware, but the restaurant has earned rave reviews thus far, offering a lengthy menu with Greek and Mediterranean dishes along with some German food.
Owner Adam Tabet says the response to Alto has been great.
"Riverview, I think, is a market that hasn't been explored yet," he says. "And now, after four months of business, I can tell that it's a great place to do business and the community here is wonderful. We're really happy here."
The Algeria native moved to Canada roughly 15 years ago, settling in Montreal before moving his family to New Brunswick about four years ago. The family moved here as they felt it was a nicer place to raise children.
Tabet has been in the restaurant business for most of his life, and he brought to New Brunswick a Quebec restaurant tradition that is fairly new to this area.
Alto doesn't serve liquor, however it has a licence that allows its patrons to bring their own wine. The only catches are that the wines must be purchased from NB Liquor stores (homemade wines aren't allowed), and there is a $5 corking fee one must pay at the restaurant.
Tabet says his patrons have enjoyed this unique feature Alto offers.
Initially, it took patrons, and even health inspectors not used to the idea, by surprise, he says with a laugh.
The restaurant owner says he is in the process of adding new seafood and Greek items to Alto's menu.
Currently, Alto is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. during the week. They stay open a little later on weekends, and Tabet hopes to start a breakfast menu once he adds some staff in the future.
Personal note - curious, a couple of pages back was wondering what had happened to Cafe Cognito. I knew at the time that it had been forced out at the end of it's lease. I remember now what is happening to that space. The Tide & Boar, which is taking over the old Kramers space, is going to put in a small market and takeout service next door where Cafe Cognito used to be. I believe Cafe Cognito is looking for other space elsewhere on Main Street to reopen. 
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. The building that I attatched is a Hotel (preferably a Courtyard by Marriott).
Didn't the Verdiroc proposal have some kind of large pedestrian space is that area as well? Or was that across the street?
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