Top chef puts mark on Murrieta's - Graham Hicks' Weekly Dish review of Murrieta's West Coast Bar + Grill, originally published in the Edmonton Sun, March 14, 2012

Posted @ 3/16/2012 1:21 PM By Graham Hicks

Shane Chartrand is newly arrived as the executive chef of Murrieta’s West Coast Bar + Grill on Whyte Avenue. The Fantasyland Hotel’s L2 Grill, under Shane’s direction, was named in  this column  as the city’s top restaurant in 2011. New management at the hotel led to a change in culinary philosophy not compatible with Shane’s talent. Fortunately, the executive chef job at Murrieta’s came vacant. Shane was head-hunted for the position. While Murrieta’s is part of a three-restaurant group – with Murrieta’s in Calgary and Canmore – the owner believes each chef should have full rein over his or her kitchen. The Weekly Dish went to dine at the “new” Murrieta’s last weekend, not realizing Chartrand’s spring menu, his first, was still weeks away. Not to worry, we were offered a “sneak peek” at the menu to come, with pricing comparable to the current offerings. Oh boy … a w ...