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In All You Can Eat

Montana’s Cookhouse: Wednesday All You Can Eat Ribs

November 29, 2013

It was M’s Birthday, so he chose to go to Montana’s Cookhouse. As it is a Wednesday, they have all you can eat ribs! I made sure to prepare and wore sweat pants to prepare for this occasion. Trying to figure out what camera to bring to a restaurant is always a pain. As I haven’t used my HTC One yet, I used it instead of my iPhone or my LX7. The last time I went to Montana’s we were able to eat a large amount of ribs. 3.5 racks to be exact, but back then they were much smaller. I was definitely up for the challenge!

If you come here during your birthday, they make you put on a moose hat, sing you happy birthday in front of the restaurant, and bring you a free piece of cake. M of course was too shy, so he didn’t tell anyone it has his birthday.

The interior is very country. It’s family friendly and has tons of seating. There’s some pretty cool things on the ceiling to look at. Like… cars, canoes, antlers, etc.

Water comes in mason jars and you get some crayons to draw all over the table. It’s fun to just doodle as you wait for the food.

For the ribs, you get a bucket for your bones, lots of napkins, cutlery, ketchup, wet naps, and straws for your drinks.

AYCE Back Ribs ($28.99) starts off with the first rack with the flavour sauce of your choice, 2 sides and cornbread. We were surprised to see the ribs were so large and meaty. Each rack has 12 ribs and the meat was moist, plus it had a nice smokey flavour.

As our order arrived, we immediately put in an extra order for half a rack since it took the quite a while to get our first order.

Of all the flavours, our favourite was the Texas Bold.

3 people’s worth of half a rack of ribs. We could only finish 2 more before we had to stop. We were very full after 14 ribs. We asked if we could take it home, but we weren’t able to. I guess that’s a good thing since some people might abuse the AYCE system. We felt bad for over-ordering since we didn’t want it all to go to the trash.

Overall, the ribs were pretty good with the Texas Bold sauce and I would come again for AYCE. It’s a bit expensive, so only go when you have a crazy appetite. Do be warned that the service is very slow. We waited about 40 minutes to get our first order, but we knew it wouldn’t be a quick dinner, so we had our phones with games to keep us company.

We Rate Montana’s:

Address:
1046 – 2929 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.montanas.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2929+Barnet+Hwy+Coquitlam,+BC&t=m&hnear=2929+Barnet+Hwy,+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3B+5R5&z=16 “]

In American

White Spot: New Location in North Burnaby

November 17, 2013

The old ABC Country Restaurant in Kensington Plaza finally closed down after years of horrible service and food. When we passed by and saw White Spot opening up, we were ecstatic. Anything was better than ABC.

M and I decided to head over as it was very close in the neighbourhood and we were too lazy to cook.

The interior has had a complete makeover that matches their other restaurants. It was bright and welcoming. Lots of booth seating and it was pretty busy on the weekend.

The White Spot Club has turkey breast, bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo & chili sauce on sourdough bread. I substituted my fries for their Spot Salad. The spot salad has dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, greens and arugula with a honey sherry dressing.

I didn’t like the sourdough bread for this particular sandwich because the crust was quite hard and would cut my mouth, but other than that, it tasted good. There was a lot of bacon, so it made me happy.

Bacon Cheddar Bigger Burger has a 6 oz beef burger with bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce & tomato with Triple O sauce. M substituted his fries with the Zoo sticks, which as zucchini fries. The zoo stick were very thick, so you definitely get a lot of zucchini.

There was also some coleslaw on the side. The burger was pretty decent.

The Spot’s Salad with Chicken also has artisan greens and arugula with honey sherry dressing, cranberries, sunflower seeds & toasted almonds. It supposed to come with garlic panini bread, but I don’t know why I didn’t get any.

Either way, I still really like the salad.

B.C. Chicken Burger has chargrilled BC chicken breast, cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and the Triple “O” sauce. M also got the Zoo sticks substitute this time too.

Overall, the food isn’t too bad. We left feeling satisfied with all this comfort food. It’s nothing fancy but its good and simple.

We Rate White Spot:

Address:
6500 Hastings Street
Burnaby, BC

Website:
https://www.whitespot.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=6500+Hastings+Street+Burnaby,+BC&t=m&hnear=6500+Hastings+St,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5B+4B3&z=16″]

In American

Original Pancake House: Dutch Baby and Apple Pancakes

October 6, 2013

A great thing about going on vacation and visiting relatives and friends is that they know where cool restaurants are. I’ve never heard of the Original Pancake, but they are most famous for their Dutch Baby and Apple Pancake.

Ifs located all over the states and if you recognize this place, you know they have very cool breakfast food. It was pretty busy on a Saturday morning and line ups almost out the door. We waited for a bit but got a table quickly.

The Apple Pancake is oven baked with fresh granny smith apples and pure Sinkiang cinnamon glaze. It was really good but it’s best to share since it’s loaded with sugar.

We all cut it up into slices are shared it. Pretty delicious and amazing. Highly recommended.

Dutch Baby is oven baked. Served with whipped butter, lemon and powdered sugar. We opted for the smaller version since we knew we wouldn’t finish the large version.

Blue Crab Meat Benedict has poached eggs, sauteed Blue Crab Meat & lightly grilled tomato slices on top of a grilled English muffin with our hollandaise sauce. Garnished with parsley & capers. It tasted alright, but not crazy amazing.

The benedict came with a side of fruit.

Sausage & Basted Eggs was alright, but nothing special. You get 2 eggs, 2 sausage patties and pancakes.

Pancakes that came with the sausage and basted eggs.

We also ordered side of bacon and side of hash browns. We loved the bacon because it was nice and crispy.

We had so much food that it barely fit onto our table. It was a yummy breakfast.

Overall, the specialty items were quite amazing. You must come here to order the apple pancake and the dutch baby. You won’t be disappointed.

We Rate Original Pancake House:

Address:
153 Green Bay Rd
Wilmette, IL

Website:
http://www.walkerbros.net/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=153+Green+Bay+Rd+Wilmette,+IL&ll=42.070354,-87.704587&spn=0.012822,0.030642&t=m&hnear=153+Green+Bay+Rd,+Wilmette,+Illinois+60091,+United+States&z=16 “]

In American

Chicago Food Planet Tours: Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour

October 4, 2013

I had a week in Chicago and it’s quite hard to eat everything. There’s only so many restaurants I can go to in one day. I contemplated for a long time if I should take a food tour or not. 7 restaurants in 3 hours is always enticing for a foodie for $50.

Chicago Food Planet Food Tours offered a tour of Gold Coast and Old Town‘s best eats. It’s a cool neighbourhood, but the only reason I went on the tour was to try a slice of deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s. I really didn’t want to eat a whole pizza to myself or eat alone.

We explored:

Lou Malnati’s
Delightful Pastries
Kamehachi Old Town
The Fudge Pot
The Spice House
Old Town Oil
Tea Gschwendner

The group was only 16 people, so it was a nice decent size. What made me feel awkward was that everyone else came to the tour as a group or a couple. It made me feel like an awkward turtle.

Lou Malnati’s

Our first stop was Lou Malnati’s for their famous deep dish pizza. This was the starting point of the tour. They are an iconic Chicago-Style Deep Dish pizzeria. It’s been around since 1971.

All 16 of us sat down and started beginning chowing down on our meal.

We began with a salad.

Then the deep dish pizza! So satisfying and the crust is so crispy. Definitely the highlight of the tour.

Tea Gschwendner

We then walked a short distance to Tea Gschwendner. They are Europe’s leading specialty loose Green, Black, Oolong and White teas merchant and have been around since 1987.

We were given a little lesson about different types of tea and how to make tea.

Iced tea was given to everyone as a refresher after the yummy pizza. As it was a hot summer we definitely needed.

We then headed into Old Town and was told about the history of some notable buildings and history.

Kamehachi Old Town

Kamehachi Old Town is Chicago’s first Japanese-style restaurant, sake cafe and sushi bar . It has been around since 1967.

We had 2 types of maki rolls, but only 2 pieces. It was ok, but not great. Coming from Vancouver, this doesn’t even compare to what good sushi is like.

The Fudge Pot

The Fudge pot is Chicago’s oldest chocolate confectioner, butter toffee and home-made fudge shop. They have been around since 1963 making delicious sweets.

We were taken to their kitchen to hear the history of the Fudge Pot and their production.

The butter toffee samples we received were pretty awesome. So addictive.

Spice Merchants

We then stopped by the world-famous merchant of hand-prepared spices, blends and artisan seasonings. Once you step close to the door of this place, you’ll definitely smell the amazing flavours. It’s quite strong stuff.

They have hundreds of spices! They have even made their own special blends. You can probably find any spice you’re looking for.

We looked around the shop and then taken to the back to get a lesson on different spices, best ways to store spices and how to get the most flavourful spices. Interesting stop on this tour, but we only smelled spices.

Old Town Oil

Old Town Oil is America’s premiere supplier of aged balsamic vinegars and 100% extra-virgin olive oils. I’ve never seen so many tins of olive oil and balsamic vinegar before.

We were able to try all the flavours we wanted. Interesting flavours.

We continued walking around the neighbourhood and heard more about the history.

Delightful Pastries

Our last stop of the tour was at Delightful Pastries. It’s an authentic Polish-European bakery serving pastries, pierogies and pies.

Two Macaroons

Two different types of perogies.

The Chicago Food Planet Tour of Old Town and Gold Coast was fun and enjoyable, but if you are a hardcore foodie, a majority of the places aren’t super amazing. The shops are unique and have a long history, but it won’t keep you coming back. Especially if you are a local.

As a tourist, it was a good use of 3 hours to visit so many shops and restaurants, plus learn a little bit of history in these 2 areas. The 2 restaurants that stood out to me was Lou Malnati’s and The Fudge Pot. Mmmm pizza and chocolate.

Our tour guide was great! He was funny and was very personable to each person on the tour.

Website: http://www.chicagofoodplanet.com/tours/near-north-food-tour/

In American

GT Fish & Oyster: Amazing Seafood in Chicago

September 28, 2013

GT Fish & Oyster is an awesome restaurant in Chicago. I was looking hard for a good seafood restaurant and I was recommended to this restaurant. It has received a Michelin Star and several other awards.

They are an American Seafood Restaurant a few blocks away from the Magnificent Mile. It’s not a long walk and easy to get to. They have indoor or patio seating. Lots of space.

We came in the early evening for some quick bites. It’s a nice cozy restaurant.

GT Oyster Shooter ($5) has tuna, cucumber, and tobiko caviar. It’s super cute and comes served in a martini glass. The ingredients really go together. I really wanted more!

Shrimp Bruschetta ($11) has avocado, toasted pistachio, grapefruit, and cilantro. It was really good! Seafood is fresh and quite flavourful. The ingredients really compliment the seafood.

Fish Tacos ($13) has a garlic marinade, chipotle aioli, and chicharron. It comes with 3 pieces and it mighty fresh and delicious.

Oyster Po’Boy Slider ($4 each) has the fried oyster withkimchi, peanuts inside a toasted buttered bun. I love kimchi, so having it in this way was really good too.

GT “Mac & Cheese” ($17) has bits of lobster and english peas. It’s a filling dish and one of the heavier dishes on the menu. It’s creamy and cheesy, but it fell a bit flat.

Overall, BaguetteGirl and I had a great experience here. The food was delicious and I would come back. Some items are a bit pricey, but it’s still a nice venue for drinks and small bites.

We Rate GT Fish & Oyster:

Address:
531 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.gtoyster.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=531+N.+Wells+St.+Chicago,+IL&t=m&hnear=531+N+Wells+St,+Chicago,+Illinois+60654,+United+States&z=16″]

In American

Hot Doug’s: Chicago’s Most Popular Hot Dog Store

September 23, 2013

Hot Doug’s Sausage Superstore and is only open during the day. If you plan on coming here at 4pm, you’ll be out of luck. What makes Hot Doug’s highly desirable is their specialty hot dogs. Fois Gras Hot Dog, Crocodile Hot Dog, Elk Hot Dog, and an endless combination of toppings.

They’ve been covered on the Food Network and even have their own book. They have gotten worldwide popularity and most tourists make a visit here when visiting Chicago.

Sadly, I have to admit, I was one of those tourists. Seriously, you can’t come to Chicago and not try the best hot dogs. (or at least what people of the internet claim to be the best).

When we arrived around 1pm, the line up was huge. It wrapped around the corner and the wait was about an hour. We thought we could avoid the lunch rush, but we got caught up in the lunch rush.

We at least had a good view of these little piggies. I got educated on the different pork parts.

Once you somehow make your way through the long line, this colorful interior awaits you.

There’s so many choices to choose from. Even some hot dogs are named after celebrities. When you are ordering, you’ll be greeted by Doug of Hot Doug’s that will take your order at the counter. He was quite nice to all the customers.

Escargot & Guanciale sausage ($9) with parsley-garlic goat butter and double creme brie cheese. This was a strange sausage but I adored the creamy brie cheese on top. The sausage was charred on the outside and lacked a distinct flavour.

Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage ($10) with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel. One of the most popular items on the menu, might as well order the best. It’s pretty good.

The Dog ($2) is a Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings – pickle, peppers, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and mustard on a poppy seed bun. This was a cheap hot dog compared to the other specialty hot dogs. The hot dog is much smaller compared to the others.

Overall, I was impressed by the toppings but the quality of the sausage wasn’t as good as I anticipated. They were a bit on the small side and the not juicy at all. It just felt like the sausages were just sitting around for a while.

We Rate Hot Doug’s:

Address:
3324 N California Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.hotdougs.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3324+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60618,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=3324+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60618,+United+States&z=16″]

In American

The Purple Pig: Ears, Bone Marrow and Shoulders in Chicago

September 16, 2013

The Purple Pig is one of Chicago’s most talked about restaurants. It’s located right on the Magnificent Mile and has won 3 consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago awards. It basically means they are quality restaurants at an affordable price.

Even at 5:30pm, the place was packed. They don’t take reservations, so you gotta get there early if you have a big party. They do have indoor and outdoor seating.

There weren’t any tables left so we sat at the bar, which looks into their little kitchen behind the bar. Fun to see them put our dishes together.

Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Pickled Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg. This item is very popular and its’ really good. It’s quite greasy, so its nice to have a drink to go with this. Highly recommended.

Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes. The shoulder was very tender and lots of flavours It was slightly on the salty side, but still yummy.

Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs has some rustic toasted bread on the side. If you’ve never had bone marrow before, it just tastes like fat and oil. Some people like it, but it’s more of

Overall, it was pretty tasty food and a nice meal before heading to Second City to watch a comedy show. Our bellies were full of pork. We didn’t have a full meal here since we weren’t that hungry, but some of their other dishes looked amazing.

We Rate The Purple Pig:

Address:
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.thepurplepigchicago.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=500+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60016,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=500+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60016,+United+States&z=16 “]

In American

Argo Tea: Specialty Tea Shop in Chicago

September 13, 2013

Walking in the hot summer Chicago weather, BaguetteGirl and I were getting a bit thirsty and decided to head into Argo Tea for a drink. Argo Tea originated from Chicago and they serve a variety of teas and focuses on being sustainable and giving back to the community. They also sell coffee and baked goods.

Walking inside, it kinda reminded me of David’s Tea with their large variety of teas. But, Argo has a larger focus on being a cafe rather than just selling tea. The location we were at, there was lots of seats to just chill and enjoy the air conditioning. They have some pretty strange drinks like Chocolate Mint, Red Velvet, Tea Sangria, Teappuccino, and many others. Weirdly enough, they also have bubble tea.

I grabbed a latte and my friend grabbed a cold specialty tea drink. The drinks are pretty good, but for myself, I like plain teas like straight up green tea or black tea. I don’t like them with sweet smells or anything like that. They do have a nice variety of different tea, sweet teas, and other types.

We Rate Argo Tea:

Address:
140 S Dearborn St
Chicago, IL

Website: http://www.argotea.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=140+S+Dearborn+St,+Chicago,+IL+60603,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=140+S+Dearborn+St,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60603,+United+States&z=16″]

In American

Hershey’s Store in Chicago

September 11, 2013

In a lot of the tourist book, they highlighted the Hershey’s store on the Magnificent Mile. For some reason, I imagined it as exciting as the M&M store in New York, but sadly, I was a bit disappointed when I arrived. Also the Hershey’s Store in Niagara Falls was larger.

This is not to say this is a horrible store to go to. If you’re in the area, stop by. If not, don’t go out of your way to come here.

There’s lots of see and buy at this store. It’s only one level, so it’s not very large inside. There are high ceilings with lots of natural light that make the interior seem larger.

What I found quite cool large candy bars and large syrup bottles.

There’s also a little cafe area where you can buy cupcakes, cookies and other confections. There’s hot chocolate and other drinks too.

Overall, it was nice to stop by to see all the cool candy products. Some items were a bit pricey, but in the end I didn’t purchase anything since nothing really appealed to me.

Address:
822 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.thehersheycompany.com/about-hershey/visit-hershey/retail-stores/chicago.aspx

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=822+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60611,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=822+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60611,+United+States&z=16″]

In American

Lou Mitchell’s: Free Donut Holes and Milk Duds in Chicago

September 5, 2013

Lou Mitchell’s is one of Chicago’s oldest restaurants specializing in diner food. They only sell breakfast and lunch till 3pm everyday. It’s located in the loop and serves up American food.

There was a lot of seating inside but during the weekday, it wasn’t too busy at all.

What makes them different is that everyone gets a donut hole and a box of milk duds. As the owner is Greek, he offered a nice sweet treat to welcome his customers as a symbol of his generous hospitality.

The reason they chose Milk Duds to give away is because they were originally manufactured in Chicago and the owners was a customer and a friend to Lou.

Corned Beef Hash comes with eggs cracked on top and a side of toast. It’s only supposed to be 2 eggs, but looked like 4 eggs. I got a choice of different bread but I chose rye bread. The dish was good but a bit greasy, which isn’t strange cause it’s a diner and breakfast food should be sinfully delicious.

One egg comes in a pan with roasted potatoes. Jenn also added $0.50 for raisin toast. She wasn’t too hungry, so she settled on this.

Overall, it’s a great place to go to if you want American diner food. It’s not fancy food. You may not remember the meal, but you’ll remember the donuts and Milk Duds.

We Rate Lou Mitchell’s:

Address:
565 W Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.loumitchellsrestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=565+W+Jackson+Blvd,+Chicago,+IL+60661,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=565+W+Jackson+Blvd,+Chicago,+Illinois+60661,+United+States&z=16 “]

In American

The Publican: Homage to Beer, Pork and Oysters in Chicago

September 3, 2013

The Publican plays a homage to beer, pork and oysters. The restaurant is owned and operated by Executive Chef and James Beard award winner, Paul Kahan. We made a call before we went to dine here and sure enough, they did have space available.

The interior is style like a European beer hall with lots of communal seating. There are some standing tables in the centre, but set up in a square are long tables. They can seat about 100 people in the restaurant. There are portraits of pigs all around the restaurant.

The waitress was nice and explained how the menu works. It’s family style, so everything is shared. She suggested about 2 plates per person. We had 4 people, but we only chose 6 items.

Complimentary bread service available upon request. So, it won’t come until you ask. What arrives is rustic bread with butter. I found the bread to be quite burnt on the outside, so most of us avoided that part.

Beets ($9) were very delicious. You can really taste the freshness of the beets. There were some grapefruit and pistachios accompanying the dish.

Tomatoes and Burrata has some balsamic drizzle on top with sprouts.The tomatoes were very cute and had so many different colors. The creamy and rich burrata is a great combination.

Taste of Three Hams ($21) has their 3 signature cured hams with their distinct tastes. It is served with nordic creamery goat butter and peasant bread. It’s a nice item to munch on if you’re having a few drinks.

Loup de mer ($28) has a yummy sauce with a nice crispy skin.

Pork Belly ($26) comes in a thick slab with potatoes, shrimp and corn. The pork belly is just cooked so nicely and falls apart. One of our favourite dishes of the night. Highly recommended.

Farm Chicken ($25) with summer sausage & frites. The fries were very crunchy and oh so gooood. Chicken was very moist and the outer skin had a nice smokey flavour. The sausages were ok, but wasn’t very moist but more dense.

Overall, The Publican was a great place for dinner. When you come here, you must have pork! Some of the dishes can be a bit heavy and greasy, but you can wash it down with some beer.

We Rate The Publican:

Address:
837 W Fulton Market
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=837+W+Fulton+Market,+Chicago,+IL+60607,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=837+W+Fulton+Market,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60607,+United+States&z=16″]

In American

Shameful Tiki Room: Get Fired Up

August 23, 2013

During a group outing with my coworkers, we came to the Shameful Tiki Room . It’s on Main and 28th. What we found strange about this place is that you go through the door, then you have to go through the heavy curtains into pitch darkness.

It’s not actually that dark, but when you come from the bright sun outside, it takes your eyes some time to adjust.

The interior had the right mood for a tiki bar. From top to bottom, you can see everything decorated to fit the theme. There’s so much decoration, that there is always something to stare at.

Near the entrance, there is a stage and there are usually performances during the evening. We came here after work, so there wasn’t anything playing.

Complimentary chips and salsa were good to munch on before the meal, but the chips were a tad stale.

Their menu is pretty interesting, they have lots of descriptions but it doesn’t go into detail of what items contain. When I was just browsing the menu, one item caught my eye, the mystery bowl. With a description like that, who could resist? Especially if there is a gong involved.

Mystery Bowl is meant for 2 people or 1 heavy drinker. hahaha. The bowl is lit on fire via the limes floating on both ends of the bowl. As we aren’t allowed to know what is inside, we had a hunch there is a little rum inside. The mystery bowl came up to be about $18 I think.

Large Share Plate ($40) feeds up to 4 people, but with 5 of us, we were ok with this amount. There were ribs, sliders, pineapple rice, skewers, nuts, grilled vegetables, and spam balls. The food was alright, but wasn’t crazy amazing.

Overall, the atmosphere is great and they have a very unique menu with cool food and drinks. It’s a nice place for drinks and some nibbles, but the food didn’t really stand out.

We Rate Shameful Tiki Room:

Address:
4362 Main St
Vancouver, BC

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=4362+Main+St,+Vancouver,+BC+V5V+3P9&ll=49.246111,-123.101077&spn=0.01066,0.030642&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=4362+Main+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5V+3P9&z=16″]

In American

Reel Mac and Cheese: Comfort Food On Wheels

May 22, 2013

The list of new food trucks was revealed a few weeks ago and I just had my eyes on the Reel Mac and Cheese Truck. When I saw them open, my coworkers and I just had to go. It was a nice sunny day, so why not. I’ve always had a soft spot for childhood comfort food. Growing up with Kraft dinner…you know you either loved it or hated it. I loved it as a kid, but as I grew older, it just didn’t satisfy anymore.

The Reel Mac and Cheese Food Truck has movie inspired menu items. The mac and cheese is all made by scratch. The menu has 7 items can be customized with some additional add ons.

The Main Event ($7) is a blend of 5 cheeses, with butter, whole milk, spices and of course the elbow macaroni. It is then topped with crispy onions. The portion size was a good size, but my coworker was underwhelmed by the mac and cheese. It didn’t taste anything special but she did love the crispy onions for the added texture.

The Main Event ($7) with Kevin Bacon’s Bacon (+$2). I can’t say no to bacon, so I had to add it on. It also had the fried onions on top. Once you add the bacon on top, it does get quite expensive and there isn’t too much of it either.

Run Fatboy Run ($6) is deep-fried Mac and Cheese balls. It comes with 3 pieces. They are quite big, so its best splitting with a few others.

Once you open it up, its nice and gooey inside with the crispy exterior. We actually liked this item more than the mac and cheese dishes.

Overall, it was an OK food truck. It has a nice concept that brings people back to their childhood, but the mac and cheese could be more rich and cheesy.

We Rate Reel Mac & Cheese:

Location (can vary):
600 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.reelmacandcheese.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=600+Hamilton+Street+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=600+Hamilton+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2R4&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In American

Sip Resto Lounge: Dine Out Vancouver

January 31, 2013

Sip Resto Lounge on Granville Street is participating in Dine Out Vancouver again! What is unique about Sip is that every dish is made of alcohol or at least used to be. Even though most of the alcohol is burned off in the cooking process, its a cool concept. For $18, you get a 3 course meal. I came here about 7 years ago for Dine Out and remembered it was good. CandiedZen and I came here since the menu looked OK and the price seemed right.

Beef Carpaccio is topped with Arugula, Garlic Aioli, and Aged Parmigianno. Delicious and the aioli worked nicely.

Tuna Tower has Sherry Marinated Albacore Tuna, Cool Coleslaw, and Tropical Pineapple. It tasted more like spicy tuna sashimi. You have the tuna on the first layer, and then layer 2 and 3 is the cracker.

Guinness Grilled Chicken has Free Range Organic Chicken, Roasted Garlic Mashed potatoes, Seasonal Veggies, and Guinness Gravy. The chicken was plenty moist, but the Guinness Gravy didn’t mad must taste to the chicken.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin is Bacon Wrapped with an Apple and Caramelized Onion Filling. It also has Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Season Veggies, and a Mushroom Strongbow Cider Pan Sauce. The pork was tender and plenty flavourful.

Frangelico Chocolate Cake was very thick with the chocolate ganache. It wasn’t that good.

New York Style Cheesecake was probably the best of the 2 desserts. It has a nice smooth texture and the fruity sauce worked well.

Overall, the food was just average, but paying $18 for 3 courses was acceptable. The staff was nice and attentive, but the tables were not as clean. It wasn’t as pretty as I remember from all those years ago.

We Rate Sip Resto Lounge:

Address:
1117 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.siplounge.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1117+Granville+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1117+Granville+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2G6&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In American

Joeys Burnaby: Ahi Tuna Deliciousness

January 17, 2013

I got a lovely email from Joeys with a $50 gift card for the holidays. A nice surprise, so I decided to have dinner with ShyGirl. Joeys has come a long way and I remember a time when they only had one location in Coquitlam. Super addictive place! That was probably 5 or 6 years ago.

I always wanted to try having dinner here and see how the menu has evolved. Joeys Burnaby location is in the old location of Shark Club near Brentwood Mall.

The location is quite nice and their menu has slowly evolved over the years. It’s definitely funny to see sushi on the menu.

Sapporo ($6) is a beer that I must have and it’s on tap too! It’s light and crisp.

Ahi Tuna Tacos ($12) has seared tuna, toasted sesame ginger coleslaw & wasabi aioli. It’s not spicy at all. It tasted great and the sesame and tuna is a perfect match. I’d definitely recommend this item, but it can be a tad expensive.

Sashimi Tuna Salad ($17.50) has seared rare ahi, mixed greens, mango, peanuts, avocado & cilantro mint lime dressing. I had no idea what to expect from the salad but when it arrived at the table, it was SO pretty. I really didn’t want to eat it since it looked like art.

After staring at it for a long time, I dug in and the flavours were really good. But for $17.50, it was an expensive salad!

Rotisserie Chicken ($22) comes with its natural juices, dirty rice & seasonal vegetables.

Overall, the food was delicious and presented nicely on the plate, but it sure is quite expensive. You still get a great meal and the service is great as well. There is free valet parking in the parkade too.

We Rate Joeys Burnaby:

Address:
1899 Rosser Ave S
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.joeyrestaurants.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1899+Rosser+Ave+S+Burnaby,+BC&hnear=1899+Rosser+Ave,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5C+6R5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In American

Arby’s: Good Mood Food in a Food Court

July 12, 2012

I’m sure it’s no surprise that I have a secret addiction to fast food. Give me a burger and fries and I’ll slurp it right up. M and I were at Metrotown in the food court and were feeling hungry, so we stopped at Arby’s. It’s kinda our go-to place when we don’t want to make too many decisions. The roast beef is quite yummy and addictive.

This is the only location that we have Arby’s because it’s convenient.

Theres lots of seats, but it can get very crowded at peak hours. M and I have a tradition of always going down to the pet store to check out the kittens after lunch.

We grabbed a bunch of things and found a seat.

Don’t forget to grab some Horseradish sauce and Barbecue sauce! You can add it to your fries or into your burger.

Curly Fries are a must! It’s crispy and golden brown and is so much better than normal fries. Some curly fries can be really curly and some other not so much.

Large Roast Beef has heaps of roast beef sandwiched between a sesame bun.

Look at the layers. You probably would want to add the barbecue sauce to this.

Bacon & Cheddar Deluxe has the thinly sliced roast beef with lettuce, mayo, cheese and bacon in between the sesame bun.

The bacon was a bit of a disappointment since it was so small.

Thats the cross section of it. It tasted ok, but I felt the lettuce and bacon didn’t add much to the sandwich.Perhaps next time, I’ll just get the sandwich with cheese and roast beef.

Overall, if you like meaty sandwiches with loads of roast beef, go to Arby’s.

In American

Black and Blue: A Dinner of Meaty Proportions

July 2, 2012

Black & Blue is owned by the Glowbal Group. The same people who bring us Coast, Italian Kitchen and many others.Black & Blue is a steakhouse that prides themselves of having amazing steaks.

It was a special occasion for a few awesome SFU alumni and the amazing Sam Thiara! FoodPunk chose this place to have our little get together.

The interior is very gorgeous. High ceilings with two floors.

Fresh Oysters ($3.75) We ordered the Kusshi and the Effingham oysters. They are both locally sourced from BC! Angel has never ever had a raw oyster before, so, Ange and I made it a mission to get her to eat one. She loved it! Both of the oysters were really good and had their own subtle tastes that differentiated from each other.

Louie Salad with Dungeness Crab ($17) has romaine, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, eggs, avocado, louie dressing, and dungeness crab. This was an interesting twist on a salad. Its basically half a romaine. You have to cut it up yourself. Angel seemed to be enjoying it, but she really didn’t expect the salad to be more hands on. hahaha

P.E.I. blue ribbon 12oz New York Strip ($39) comes ala carte. You probably want to order a side for this dish. The steak is known for their superior marbling since they feed their cattle longer.

Mac & Cheese ($9) are deep-fried into little sticks. It is accompanied with a truffled cheese sauce. It was very delicious and the inside of it was very cheesy and gooey. It was highly recommended by the server and now I highly recommend it as well!

The steaks also came with 3 accompanying sauces – Chimichurri, Cabernet Jus,and Peppercorn. I actually quite liked the chimichurri sauce!

32 oz prime rib ($32) comes with yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, red wine jus, caramelized pearl onions and some horseradish. This prime rib was a good deal since it comes with a few items on the side. The prime rib was done perfectly and everything was very delicious!

New York Cheesecake was the special dessert of the day. We devoured it like a maniac. Very delicious and it was great how there were fresh berries.

20 Layer Chocolate Espresso Cake ($12) actually have 20 layers! We actually counted several times until everyone agreed there were 20 layers. This was my favorite since there were bits of crunchy espresso beans. It also comes with whipping cream and brandied cherries.

Overall, the experience was pretty good! The prices are reasonable and the ambiance is very nice! I’d probably come back for other special occasions since the prime rib wasn’t too expensive.

Words of Wisdom:

Reservations are recommended
Beautiful decor
Great steaks

We Rate Black + Blue:

Address:
1032 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://blackandblue.ca/

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In American

Parish Cafe: Sandwiches by Famous Local Chefs in Boston, MA

June 18, 2012

CanuckGirl and I were looking for a place close to our hotel for dinner. After surfing on Urbanspoon, we decided to go to Parish Cafe. It was created by Gordon Wilcox and he had a simple concept. He approached all the famous local chefs and asked them to create a sandwich for the Parish Cafe menu.

Each Sandwich is named for the chef and the restaurant they are from. Since most of our menu items are created by other chefs, the standards are high and that’s how they have become quite popular.

On the walls, there are tons of articles about their restaurant.

On a busy weekend, it was quicker to get a table inside than sitting on the patio. 45 mins wait for the patio or a 5 min wait for inside the restaurant? Of course we chose to sit inside.

The Lumiere ($10.50) was created by Michael Leviton, the Chef/Owner of Lumiere, Newton. The sandwich is a slow-roasted pork butt sandwich on a seeded bun with a lime and green curry tartar sauce. Served with an ocean papaya salad topped with peppered peanuts.

The Schlow ($13.25) was created by Michael Schlow, the Chef/Owner of Radius & Via Matta in Boston. It s a roasted rare sirloin, sliced thin, with caramelized onions, tomato confit, arugula and a horseradish-cream sauce. Served on Tuscan wheat bread with coleslaw and mixed greens.

It was quite delicious and had a good amount of rare sirloin.

Overall, the sandwiches were great. The service was quite mediocre as the servers were always in a rush. We would signal to them that we were ready to order but they would not return. It took a while to get their attention.

Words of Wisdom: