Commercial Drive / Grandview Archives - Page 2 of 4

In Cafe

Yama Cafe: Japanese Cafe in Vancouver

April 30, 2017

Yama Cafe has taken over Basho Cafe a few months ago. Everyone was so sad that Basho closed their doors, but Yama has kept the essence of Basho and put his spin on the menu. I came here with a few foodie friends to check out the space and have a treat. They serve up drinks, rice bowls, salad bowls, bread, and soup.

Interior

The interior is still the same with their wooden rustic look and bunting spread across the room. There were lots of people inside here, but if you come at off-times, there are tables.

Treats

They have a selection of treats like brownies, moffins (made with mochi), and other treats. You can’t go wrong with any of them as they are very well made. They are delicious and it’s just the right amount of sweetness to go with their drinks.

Matcha Latte

Their matcha lattes can be sweet or unsweetened, I went with the unsweetened kind as I don’t like to much sugar in my drinks. It was delicious and they did a very pretty latte art on top.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I love this space. It’s so cozy and great for hanging out with friends. Their drinks and baked goods are delicious too. I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Yama Cafe:

Address:
2007 E Hastings Street, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Yama-Cafe-699753386865794/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

77K Freeze: Nitrogen Ice Cream on Commercial Drive

April 5, 2017

77k Freeze is a new nitrogen ice cream shop that just opened on Commercial Drive. I came with a friend for a sneak peek of their shop before their grand opening. They are named after the low boiling point of liquid nitrogen – 77 Kelvins.

The owners, which are scientists discovered the joy of using liquid nitrogen to make frozen desserts while doing cryogenic experiments. They created a Cryogenic Control Unit to control the liquid nitrogen for making ice cream.

Interior

The interior is all white with snowflake decorations and blue accents to give the space a cool atmosphere.

There are seats out front, but they also have this lounge area that can be booked for events.

It’s great if you want to host an ice cream party or some gathering.

Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

You can create your own ice cream selecting the base, flavours, toppings and sweeteners. Or, they also have a few creations of their own creations like Snowflake, Oh Canada, Blueberry Pine, and Vancouver Red Velvet.

When you choose what you want, they start mixing it up and thats when the liquid nitrogen works its magic.

I tried a few of their flavours but I really enjoyed the Oh Canada with the milk base, a bit of maple to sweeten it and it has crunchy bacon bits and poppy seeds. I loved the crunchy texture of the whole ice cream, but at $8 for their signature flavours, the price needs a bit of work as it’s very expensive compared to the other shops in town.

As they just opened, they have some kinks to work out, but hopefully with more customers giving feedback, they will improve.

Website:
http://www.77kfreeze.ca/

Address:
2240 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

In Brewery

Luppolo Brewing Company: Brewery in East Vancouver

December 19, 2016

My friends take me to the coolest breweries. We made a stop at Luppolo Brewing Company in East Vancouver. Luppolo means hops in Italian, thus the name. They were inspired by the values associated with Italian culture – quality, craftsmanship, community and family. This really fit with what they’re trying to create at their brewery.

Interior

There are tons of tables inside the tasting room. For a Sunday evening, this place was almost full.

Beer Flight

I got a beer flight and as usual I ask them for their recommendation of beers that are light and not as hoppy.

One of my favourites was the New World Sour. You can taste the notes of grapefruit and other citrus fruits.

Another one that I enjoyed was the Dunkleweizen, which is a German style dark wheat beer has a silky mouth feel with hints of banana and clove that compliment the light roast malt character. Subtly sweet and surprisingly refreshing.

Saison was on my list too. Always a great light bodied, fresh and crisp beer. Super easy to drink with minimal hoppiness.

Snacks

Antipasto Platter comes with Grana Padano, marinated peppers, eggplant, olives, and artichokes served with bread.

We all nibbled on this as we all drank out flights and pints.

We Rate Luppolo Brewing Company:

Address:
1123 Venables Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://luppolobrewing.ca/

In Brewery

Storm Brewing: Craft Beer in East Vancouver

December 18, 2016

Storm Brewing is a bit different that other breweries in Vancouver. They don’t have a lounge or a tasting room.

When you walk through their sliding door, you are right in the middle of where the brewing magic takes place.

You are essentially in their workspace brewing away some amazing beers. There are no seats, no tables, and no food.

Anyone 19+ can sample up to 6 different brews one at a time by a cash donation. They do not have pints or flights.

They have lots of beers to choose from. They have their mainstays and a bunch of experiments brews.

Mainstays:

Precipitation Pilsner 5%
Highland Scottish Ale 5%
Hurricane IPA 7%
Black Plague Stout 8%
Imperial Flanders Sour Ale 8%
Chales Dickens 7.5%

Brainstorms:

Vanilla Whiskey Stout 9%
Rosemary IPA 7%
Turkey Dinner IPA 7%
Snake Eyes Ale 7.5%
Glacial Mammoth Extinction 25%
Mrs Claus Pilsner 5%
Lemon Ginger IPA 7%

We spent more time trying these ones as they are pretty unique compared to other breweries. Rosemary IPA and Turkey Dinner IPA have strong aroma of herbs. I was surprised this flavour combination would be possible.

My friends also paid $5 extra to try the Glacial Mammoth Extinction at 25% alcohol. I didn’t try it since I had to be a responsible driver to get everyone to our next spot.

Overall, this place is super unique, but you most likely won’t be spending too much time here. The space is definitely sketch, but they do have some pretty cool beers. I love how much they experiment with beers.

We Rate Storm Brewing:

Address:
310 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.stormbrewing.org/

In Brewery

Doan’s Craft Brewery: Beer in East Vancouver

December 16, 2016

Doan’s Craft Brewing Co is a family run brewery in the heart of the East Van. From home-brewing to Craft Brewing, the Doan’s family is inspired by great beer, the art and science of craft brewing and the community created by the craft beer movement.

I passed by this shop a few times and thought it looked pretty cute and not pretentious at all. A few friends and I visited their tasting room on a Sunday night and they are open pretty late, which is great.

They do flights, glasses of beer, growlers, and some food too.

Interior

Their space is small and doesn’t have too many seats for large groups, but there is one larger communal table and 3 smaller ones in another corner. They also have some cool local art on the walls too.

If you love arcade games, they have an arcade machine with a few games you can play by yourself or with a friend.

Beers

Looking at their drinks, I had to get a flight of 4 tasters to get a taste of how their line up of beer tastes.

I got them to pick 4 drinks for me that were on the light end of the spectrum and isn’t too hoppy.

I got the:

Kolsch
Scrooge’s Light Ale
Doan Bros Pale Ale
Rye Stout

All 4 beers were really good, but if I had to choose one, it would be the Kolsh. Very light and refreshing, which I enjoy the most.

Overall, it’s a cool space to hang with friends and enjoy a beer. Super casual atmosphere with good beer.

We Rate Doan’s Craft brewery:

Address: 1830 Powell Street, Vancouver

Website: http://doanscraftbrewing.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Natsumi Ramen: Ramen on Commercial Drive

November 16, 2016

Natsumi Ramen on Commercial Drive is one of the newer ramen shops to pop up in Vancouver. There aren’t any ramen shops in the area, so I was surprised this was here. I was walking along Commercial Drive with a few friends and we decided to stop here, avoid the rain and have a hearty bowl of ramen.

Interior

The interior has a lot of cat silhouettes. No problems here since I love cats. Dog lovers are welcome here too.

There are a decent number of tables here for small and large groups.

Side Dish

Before the ramen arrives, everyone was given pickled and marinated onions. Surprisingly really good. Something to munch on before the ramen arrives.

Ramen

Tsukemen has a soy sauce based broth with noodles on the side. There is also diced pork belly, soft boiled egg, bamboo shoot, green onion, and roasted seaweed. This is a dipping ramen, so you take some noodle and dip it in the broth, then slurp it up.

Miso Ramen has pork belly, bean sprout, bamboo sprouts, blacktree fungus, fried onion, green onion, corn and roasted seaweed. My friend added an egg to this.

Cheese Kimchi Ramen has a soy sauce based broth, pork belly, soft boiled egg, bean sprout, green onion, corn, mozzarella, chopped kimchi, and roasted seaweed. This loaded ramen had an interesting concept, but the cheese easily dissolves into the ramen and doesn’t hold together well after it melts.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the meal, cute little candies come in a box to finish up the meal. The ramen was pretty average, but it was nice to have a ramen shop in the area.

We Rate Natsumi Ramen:

Address:
1179 Commercial Dr, Vancouver

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ramennatsumi/

In Cafe

The Drive Coffee Bar: Coffee and Beer

May 22, 2016

The Drive Coffee bar is located right near 1st Avenue and Commercial Drive. I came here for their Grand Opening/1 Year Anniversary Party to check out what they offer. Strange combination to have a Grand Opening and 1 Year Anniversary party, but I guess that works. Any excuse is a good excuse to have a party. With the abundance of coffee shops just a few blocks away, I was curious to see how it would perform compared to the other established coffee shops on the same street.

The Commercial Drive Coffee Company are a local producer of roasted coffee beans and sell that at several retailers around town. They took that business and decided to create a coffee bar showcasing their different types of coffee beans.

They have coffee and tea based drinks. They also offer hot chocolate for kids too.

Iced Latte is served in a clear pint glass and I love seeing the contrast between the milk and the coffee. A great drink for a hot summer.

Latte with a leaf latte art on top. The latte was well-balanced and was a bit on the stronger side, which I like.

Of course, coffee is a main staple at any coffee shop on commercial drive, but they try to set themselves apart by offering Parallel 49 beers on tap.

If you ever wanted a beer instead of coffee, it’s definitely an option here.

They also sell Cartem Donuts here too. How can you say no to an earl grey donut?

Overall, they have good coffee and many other items to offer customers.

We Rate The Drive Coffee Bar:

Address:
1670 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://thedrivecoffee.com/

In Brunch

La Mezcaleria: Weekend Brunch

December 17, 2015

La Mezcaleria has been on Commercial Drive now for quite a few years as a Mexican Cantina. For brunch they infuse traditional Mexican flavours with West Coast influence. When I think of La Mezcaleria, I never thought they had brunch. It was surprising, so M and I decided to check it out.

We were on our way next door to go to the wine store, but could help gravitate in here to grab a bite.

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. M always orders horchata at Mexican restaurants and just loves it.

Huevos Rancheros has two corn tortillas served with two sunny side up free-range eggs topped with refried black beans, quesofresco, pico de gallo, salsa ranchera, calabacitas, beans and crema. Definitely very saucy but with a lot of delicious flavours. Plus, a good amount of bacon if you add it.

Almon Con Tequila has toasted english muffin topped with tequila and citrus cured salmon, two poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise. Served with seasonal greens and hashbrowns. The hashbrowns were amazing and super crisp! The salmon is also Oceanwise. The whole dish was delicious and well balanced. The poached egg was perfectly soft.

They also gave a us a few sauces with our meal.

Overall, the brunch was great and I would highly recommend it. I’m glad we stopped here for brunch since it was totally unplanned.

We rate La Mezcaleria:

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

In American

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive

September 22, 2015

reLiSH Gourmet Burgers on Commercial Drive opened in the Summer serving the community with yummy burgers. The restaurant comes from the East Coast of Canada – New Brunswick. They also have another location on Davie street and will soon open another in North Vancouver.

M suggested we eat burgers for dinner since it was National Cheeseburger Day. Since I didn’t want to make dinner, I happily agreed.

The Great One ($8.96) has cheddar cheese, bacon, and roasted garlic mayonnaise in the sesame and poppyseed bun. I got it with the angus beef patty and it was pretty delicious. I love the char on the patty.

Beefeater Onion Rings ($4) didn’t come with very many on the side, but they were surprisingly delicious. It was the right amount of batter on the onion rings. Very crispy texture on the outside.

The Italian Stallion ($9.95) has tomato basil marinara sauce, Italian sausage, and mozzarella. M chose the angus beef patty to go with this. The Italian sausage was cut quite thinly, so it was really hard to get a balance of it with the patty. Still, nonetheless, M loved the burger. The burger was put together nicely and I was surprised it wasn’t too messy to eat.

reLiSH Green Peppercorn Poutine ($6.45) the poutine comes as a side and it was also a bit small for the price. The fries were nice and crisp, but it could have used more gravy and cheese.

Overall, the burgers were pretty tasty, but when you add the side to it, it can get pricey. The sides could be a little bit bigger too.

We Rate reLiSH Gourmet Burgers:

Address:
2290 Commerical Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.relishlife.com/

In Cafe

Turk’s Coffee Bar: Iced Americano and Banana Bread

June 21, 2014

Turk’s Coffee Bar is located to Commercial Drive and has been serving coffee since 1997. They serve Milano coffee since that is their parent company. It’s not a bad things since they have good tasting espresso beans. Milano Coffee has won several international awards for their espressos. I came here with Mandu to get a taste of their coffee.

The interior is quite and during peak hours, this place is packed with people. A lot of people have mixed feelings because of the poor service.

After I ordered my drink, a few items came out but everyone was confused who’s drink was who’s as they looked similar. Because the staff were so busy making drinks, no one noticed the customers trying to ask them questions.

Iced Americano is what they had instead of generic iced coffee. I just added some milk and sugar for taste. It tasted great and perfect for the hot weather.

Erin Ireland’s To Die For Banana Bread was being sold here. It took me so long to finally try this. It has a top crust of macadamia nuts and chocolate chunks. It is quite moist and flavourful. You can taste the prominent banana and the nuts and chocolate add great texture.

Overall, good coffee and snacks on The Drive. Too bad the service wasn’t as friendly as I would have liked.

We Rate Turk’s Coffee Bar:

Address:
1276 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.milanocoffee.ca

In Cafe

Dolce Amore Gelateria: Artisan Gelato on The Drive

June 20, 2014

The Drive has a lot of amazing shops and most importantly delicious treats. Dolce Amore Gelateria is a family run business and is now run by the fourth generation of the Grippo family. They also sell pies, sorbetto and cakes.

I was on Commercial Drive for a special event for work, so I decided to stop in here for some gelato with a few friends. Best decision ever. The summer sun is best paired with a few scoops of gelato.

The shop isn’t very large and does have limited seating, but since it’s a nice day in the Summer, you’ll probably want to be out in the sun on The Drive. There’s a good amount of flavours and treats to purchase in the shop.

Peanut Butter Gelato in a waffle cone was really good. The peanut butter taste is strong and the fragrant peanut butter really shined through. Also, there were little bits of peanuts in it. The quality is definitely there.

If you are on The Drive, stop by Dolce Amore Gelateria for some cold treats.

We Rate Dolce Amore Gelateria:

Address:
1590 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://gelateriadolceamore.com/

In Cafe

Continental Coffee: Independent Coffee Shop on Commercial Drive

June 1, 2014

I was walking down Commercial Drive and I saw Continental Coffee House, so I decided to stop here and grab a coffee. It was cool to see an independent coffee joint in the neighbourhood. The place was packed in the middle of the day with people having meeting, people hanging out with friends, and people doing homework. It’s been around for a long time since 1979. They have been voted one of the best independent coffee shop in Vancouver.

There is also a second location on Main Street, that opened on December 2012.

Cappuccino was what I ordered. It was good coffee with a rice strong flavour.

I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Continental Coffee:

Address:
1806 Commercial Dr
Vancouver BC

Website: http://continental-coffee.ca/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: I Got Cravings

May 11, 2014

Right after work, M and I were deciding if we wanted to go home to cook dinner or just to go out for dinner. After pondering in the car for a while, I thought about Kishimoto and we ditched our cooking plans to chow down at Kishimoto. Seriously, it’s a good place, but the wait is nuts. It was a little before 6pm and there was already a line forming.

All the tables were full.

Luckly, the bar was open, so we sat there without hesitation. Plus, I really like looking at the chefs doing their thing. I was amazed because the staff didn’t say much but they had a very good rhythm of execution.

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. This is one of their signature items. A lot of people compare it to Miku, but it’s still good here too.

The time around there is more scorched top and it tasted heavenly. The charcoal makes a huge difference.

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) comes with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. Good quality of sashimi! Plus a nice presentation.

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce. The sweet sauce is what makes it different that the usual chicken karaage.

Toro Nigiri just melts in your mouth because it’s so fatty. So good! Don’t put it all in your mouth at once, eat it in 2 or 3 bites to really enjoy it.

Unagi Nigiri was good and full of flavour.

Tamago Nigiri was good as well.

Overall, we had a great dinner. It is always a bit pricier than most places, but the quality is there. The downside is the wait. Some people waited 45 minutes for a table.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:
Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kishimoto: Beautiful Sushi Rolls on Commercial Drive

February 2, 2014

Coming with the girls on the weekend for lunch drew us to Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen. I haven’t been back in 3 years, so I just had to come back and try more items off their menu. Also, they serve Salmon Oshi Sushi similar to Miku’s Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi. It looks very similar, but was curious how it compared.

The restaurant quickly filled up and got much busier as it approached 12:30pm. The 3 of us got seated quickly but we were put in a very small table and it was uncomfortable and cramped. They do not take reservations, so you just need to take your chances.

Complimentary tea arrived at the table. It was piping hot and enjoyable as we waited for our order.

Salmon Oshisushi ($11.75) has a salmon creamy sauce with freshly cracked black pepper, then seared with a torch and an added jalapeño on top. It looks like Miku, but the flavour is just not the same. Once you have Miku, you can’t go anywhere else for these types of sushi.

It comes with 7 pieces and it’s still good.

Unagi Oshisushi ($11.75) has unagi, creamy sauce, freshly cracked black pepper, then it’s torched. A slice of cucumber is on top. It’s good, but not as good as their salmon version.

The presentation of all their dishes are really cute. All the little details make the experience more enjoyable.

Tuna and Salmon ($10.25) come with 3 pieces of salmon and 3 pieces of tuna. It is served on top of a block of ice and daikon. The sashi tasted very fresh and was enjoyable.

Chicken Karaage ($6.75) is very good. Nice crispy skin with a slightly sweet sauce.

Masago Nigiri ($1.50) has a lot of masago. Yummy.

Dragon Roll ($10.95) has 2 pieces of prawn tempura, tobiko, unagi sauce, sliced avocado and unagi on top. It comes with 8 pieces.

Scallop Roll ($3.95) has scallops, cucumber, masago and mayo. It came with 6 pieces.

Toro Nigiri (3 pieces – $10.50) just melts in your mouth because its so fatty. nom nom nom. It’s quite expensive for 3 pieces.

Nabeyaki Udon ($13.95) has 3 pieces of tempura on the side. Inside the bowl is mushrooms, chicken, soft boiled egg, kamaboko, and green onion all in a bowling hot stone bowl. It was pretty yummy.

Pork Okonomiyaki ($10.95) was the last item to arrive at the table and it took over an hour to arrive. A lot of tables ordered it too and they were also mad it took a long time. Mandu thought it was a bit bland, so we asked them for more sauce on the side. Granted, it is quite large and is delicious with more sauce.

Overall, the presentation of the food was beautiful. The service was decent and the food was pretty good. The prices are a bit high and we spent close to $100 on lunch for 3 people.

We Rate Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen:

Address:
2054 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/Kishimoto…

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In Commercial Drive / Grandview

La Mezcaleria: Mezcal, Tacos and Enchiladas

January 31, 2014

La Mezcaleria was created by the same people as La Taqueria. They are the first mexican restaurant offering the finest small batch mezcal, tequila and cocktails from different regions of Mexico. You will find it as a good drinking place with some Mexican cuisine.

It definitely has a different atmosphere than La Taqueria. It gets darker at night and louder. Not a bad thing as its more of a fun atmosphere at night.

Espadin Mezcal Flight ($26) They have their customized flights served with sangrita and lime. These are strong drinks! The flight I got had Fidencio Unico, Scorpion Silver and Rey Zapoteco mezcal. You’re supposed to be sipping these drinks throughout your meal and chase it down with the sangrita and lime.

Horchata is a traditional non-alcoholic drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. It’s white, so it totally looks like milk. Tasted great!

Queso Fundido ($16 + Chorizo $2.50) is Mezcaleria’s molten cheese fondue served in a volcanic rock molcajete. You have your choice of either salsa verde or Mexican chorizo.

The dish is very rich and oily. You scoop this onto a corn tortilla and enjoy. I found that it didn’t hold very well in the tortilla because the oil would just be dripping out. The best part of the dish is the cheese on the sides of the bowl. It’s crispy!!

Guacamole ($7) is made to order with fresh avocado, cilantro, lime, onion, jalapeño and tomato. This is a staple dish to have at any Mexican restaurant. Good as an appetizer to nibble on with some drinks.

Enchiladas Clasicas ($14) is filled with spicy chicken, cheese or beans. Topped with green tomatillo or red tomato salsa, onion, cream and Mexican cheese. M went with the green tomatillo sauce. It was a bit spicy but he loved the sauce and the complex flavours.

Tostadas De Pato has Fraser Valley duck confit, guava, fruit mole sauce (manchamanteles), chayote squash and radish. The tortilla on the bottom is fried, so its hard to eat with your hands. I liked eating it with a fork and knife.

They have other taco selections too similar to La Taqueria. They’re all pretty darn good!

You have 4 sauces to choose from at the table – Chipotle, salsa verde, chile de arbol and habanero. My favourite is always the salsa verde.

Overall, if you are familiar with La Taqueria’s tacos and that’s all you want, you are best to probably stick with La Taqueria. The prices are a bit higher but you do have more variety of dishes. I know I keep comparing it to La Taqueria, but that’s what a lot of people are familiar with. People like coming here for the drinks and ambiance.

We Rate La Mezcaleria:

Address:
1622 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website: http://www.lamezcaleria.ca/

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In Cafe

Waves: $2 Lattes for January

January 22, 2014

Waves $2 latte deal is back! Now I don’t need to have a Starbucks Treat receipt to wait for a coffee after 2pm. The deal is pretty good and its a medium sized latte. I always drink lattes, so as you can see, it hurts my wallet if I always buy it at regular price.

My girlfriends and I came on the weekend to just chat and chill over the $2 lattes.

Waves on Commercial Drive was packed on the weekend. Lot of people studying and hanging out.

The latte was pretty good and is a great size. It is an espresso based drink that is bold and balanced. The steamed milk that sits on top makes the drink sweeter. Some people add sugar, but I just like it as is. The latte art is definitely a plus.

Go grab one before January ends.

Website:
https://wavescoffee.com/

In Bar and Grill

Storm Crow Tavern: Board Games, Beer, and Burgers

November 16, 2013

M told me about Storm Crow Tavern and now it is the nerdiest bar in Vancouver. I totally had to tell my nerdy blogging buddies – Gastrofork, FoodQueen, and EatingWithKirby. We are secretly really big geeks inside.

The tavern is on Commercial Drive right beside Grandview Park.

There’s a giant cthulhu with a mini skull.

There are battle axes, swords and a bunch of memorabilia on all the walls. You definitely have a tavern feel when you get inside.

There are also lots of board games to use free of charge.

Guns!

Mead ($6.50) is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented honey and water. If you play video games, you know this drink pops up a lot.

The Wolverine ($9) has maple whiskey, butter schnapps, frothy cream in an adamantium mug and a stick of crunchy bacon. It sounded like a cool drink but it definitely wasn’t for me.

The Jack Burton ($5) Jack Daniels with Lager. Dee rolled the 20 sided dice and landed on number 3, which was this drink. We all wanted her to land on 20 to get the Critical Hit drink, but it wasn’t meant to be. I think she just wanted to roll the cool dice.

Chickpea Fries ($6) are huge fries made of chickpeas. It also came with vegan gravy. This was the best thing we had here. Definitely recommended

With our drinks in hand, we played a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity. I think it’s probably one of the most popular games here. It’s an easy game.

Crow Burger with gluten free bread ($9) has chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, dijon, mayo, and onion.

Thunder Burger ($8 + $3) is a storm burger with a few upgrades. It has a 6 oz beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, sun-dried tomato aioli, bbq honey sauce, smoked provolone cheese, and crispy bacon on a Portuguese bun. I chose to have salad on the side.

The burger was ok. Lots of bacon, but everything else was pretty mediocre.

Elvish Veggie Burger Supreme with Daiya vegan cheese ($8 + $2) has a patty made of chickpeas, lentils and rice. The burger also has roasted corn, black beans, tomatoes and a salsa verde and veganaise sauce.

Barbaric Beef Stew ($8) is a savage stew of roasted potatoes, yams, onions, carrots, butternut squash and beef covered in gravy. There is also garlic bread that comes with it. Looks pretty meh and from Dee’s expression, it didn’t seem very good.

After our meals, we thought a proper game of Jenga was in order. It’s quick and there really isn’t too much strategy that goes into it. I lost twice out of three rounds and I totally blame the uneven tables.

When the bill came, we also got a few magic cards. As I don’t play magic, I just took them home and gave them to M. He’s a big magic fan, so I’m sure he will make use out of these.

Overall, the food is very mediocre and the drinks can be a bit expensive depending on what you order. I wouldn’t come again for the food. I’d come here for a beer and play some board games.

We Rate Storm Crow Tavern:

Address:
1305 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.stormcrowtavern.com/

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In Bar and Grill

Falconetti’s East Side Grill: Dining Package Review

April 5, 2013

Falconetti’s is located on Commercial Drive near 1st Avenue. They are famous due to their sausage. Even Guy Fieri came here to film Diners Drive-ins and Dives. They make all their sausages in-house on the right side of the restaurant and the right side is a restaurant.

Right now they are doing a dining package with Vaneats.ca, where you pay $16 to get a mini poutine, 2 4oz glasses of beer, slow smoked pork ribs, and one of their famous sausages. I came here with my sister during the evening to try the package.

The interior is narrow and has a long bar on the right side. They have special performances at night too.

The 2 4oz glasses of Phillips Beer’s Blue Buck arrives first. As you wait for your meal, you can enjoy the taste of beer. The Phillips Blue Buck Beer is a deep amber coloured beer with a crisp finish featuring a delicate hop aroma. If you like your beer, you know just 4oz won’t do the trick. You’re just getting started.

The Mini Poutine is made of skinny fries with gravy cheese curds and a bit of pepper. This item was our favorite of the night. The skinny fries were crisp and it was the perfect type of fries to have in this poutine.

The slow smoked pork ribs comes with 4 pieces and is slathered in their special rub and tequila BBQ sauce. The meat was quite tough, so it made the eating a bit difficult. We thought this would be tender, but it wasn’t.

Honey Bratwurst was the sausage we chose for the package. it is an old world flavor, dressed with honey mustard, and caramelized onions on top. My sister and I were torn on the sausage, she thought it was very moist and I thought it was kinda dry. Clearly, we have different tastes.

Outside of the menu, we ordered the Polish ($12) that has beef sirloin sausage with sauteed sauerkraut, onions & grain mustard. We got the yam fries on the side. Their fries are pretty damn good. As for the sauasage, it was ok.

This is probably not a very healthy dining package, but it get us really fully. I’m not a huge fan of pub food, so this wasn’t my favorite package, but you do save some money by getting the Falconetti’s Fix package from Vaneats.

We Rate Falconetti’s:

Address:
1812 Commercial Dr
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://falconettis.com/

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