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In Canadian

Mosaic Bar & Grille: Chefs Tasting Menu

June 26, 2013

Mosaic Bar & Grille is located in the Hyatt Vancouver on Burrard and Georgia Street. They specialize in locally sourced produce, sustainable seafood and choice ingredients with careful and creative preparation.

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Chef Thomas Heinrich, their Executive Head Chef created a 5 course Chef Tasting Menu from June 14th to June 28th. He incorporates the freshest ingredients of the season into this menu.

The 5 dishes in the menu are:

Roasted Sweet Corn Bouillon
G B E Heirloom Tomato Salad
Skuna Bay Salmon Sockeye Salmon
Taleggio D O P Italy
Watermelon

It’s costs $45 for the 5 course meal. If you want the additional wine pairings it costs $65. It’s a pretty good deal and he creates these types of menus every few weeks. So, the menu is always changing.

The meal starts off with complimentary biscuits that arrive as you wait for your meal. It’s fluffy and comes with butter.

If you had a long day at work, its good to grab a drink as you peer off into the streets of Burrard street. I find enjoyment staring at people walking up and down the street. It’s weird, but it’s fun.

Roasted Sweet Corn Bouillon has some tomatoes, chanterelle mushrooms and topped with a feta foam. It has my 2 favorite ingredients – mushrooms and corn. It’s a nice start to the meal as the broth was light that complimented the ingredients.

G.B.E. Heirloom Tomato Salad has basil gel, pickled okra, some seasonal greens and topped with aged parmesan. The ingredients were just beautiful and the presentation was just wow. I really like their salads here.

Skuna Bay Sockeye Salmon is seared on the sides and the plate also has sweet garlic gnocchi and sorrel leaves. The salmon was cooked nicely so it just melt in your mouth.

Taleggio DOP Italy is an example of a savory sweet dish. It was a hot bowl of cheese, nuts and dried fruit. There is grilled bread and fig jam on the side.

Watermelon This has the gravity defying panna cotta, topped with a watermelon and pepper mixture and then lemon sorbet and chocolate bits. I wasn’t a fan of this dessert, even though it had a lot of watermelon elements to this dish, it didn’t capture of fresh crisp taste of watermelon. The presentation was definitely cool though.

In addition to the items on the Chefs Tasting menu, we received two extra dishes. This on was seared scallops with seasonal greens above a cucumber jelly. The cucumber jelly didn’t really mesh with the dish too well, but we did like the scallops.

Lamb on lentils. The lamb was incredibly juicy! Easily our favorite dish of the night. Many thanks to Daniel and Michael for making the additional dishes.

Overall, still a pretty good set of dishes for the Chef’s tasting menu. The chef definitely does a lot of cool experiments with the dishes, so you will find something unique about it.

Words of Wisdom:

Follow @CheftHeinrich on twitter, You can be up to date on new menus that he launches at Mosaic
Steps away from Burrard Skytrain
Free Mosaic Chocolate Cake on your birthday
Beef Carpaccio is a must!
Great service

We Rate Mosaic:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.hyatt.com/

In Canadian

PHAT: Smoked Meat Sandwiches in Yaletown

June 15, 2013

PHAT is a sports bar and restaurant that is located in Yaletown and specializes in Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwiches. PHAT stands for Pretty Hot and Tasty. It’s a very strange name for a restaurant, but we were very curious about this restaurant after seeing the ‘sandwich head’ around Yaletown skytrain station.

Hot Montreal Smoked Meat on Marble Rye (PHAT Size $9.99) the meat is flown in from Montreal and the sandwich is served with Mustard & Kosher Dill Pickle. The slices of smoked meat were very thin. The sandwich was ok, but it still didn’t exactly compare to the ones in Montreal even though the smoked meat is sourced from there. I still miss the smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz.

Hot Montreal Smoked Meat on Marble Rye (Skinny Size $7.99). The size between the Skinny and the PHAT size was about the same. Not really sure how much of a different there really was.

My friend designed herself a tuna melt sandwich ($8.49). She thought it was ok.

Overall, the food was passable, but it wasn’t anything spectacular. It has a good location, a heated patio and lots of TV screens if you want to watch the game.

We rate PHAT:

Address:
1055 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.phatdeli.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1055+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1055+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+1A9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Brunch

Fable Kitchen: Farm to Table

June 11, 2013

Fable Kitchen is owned by Canada’s Top Chef contestant Trevor Bird. The idea of the restaurant came about from the episode ‘Restaurant Wars’, where Trevor named his farm to table concept – Fable. When returning from the show, he began working on bringing the vision to life.

They work with amazing local farms to make sure they have the best ingredients to use in their meals. My friends and I wanted some brunch on the weekend, so we decided to come here. There was a bit of a line up, so we ended up spending 30 minutes waiting. We didn’t mind since it was nice and sunny outside.

I spent some of that time staring at the roasted piggy by the window. It looked so good! Crispy skin!

The interior was quite nice, the back wall is a chalk board, so all the imagery is drawn on. The chandelier in the centre of the room has pitch forks. Really nice to bring the concept of farm to table in the decor.

Farmer’s Muffin ($10) has sausage, scrambled eggs, cheddar, tomato jam on top of the muffin. It also comes with salad and rosti on the side. Oh my, this was packed full of flavour and you can’t deny the amazing taste. The sausage was juicy and nicely seasoned and the egg is just so creamy.

Omelette ($11) is made with 3 eggs, bacon, mushrooms and cheddar. It also comes with salad, rosti, and rustic bread. My friend really enjoyed this too. She thought it was a bit on the small side, but after she finished it, her face was beaming because of its great flavours.

Pulled Pork Johnny Cakes ($12) comes with tomato jam, picked jalapeño, a poached egg, and rosti.

Scrambled Eggs ($12) is in the jar with the bacon, spinach, parmesan with the foam on top. There is also brioche, tomato jam and rosti that comes with it.

House Bacon ($4) is one of the side items you can add to your meal. It’s thick cut and quite delicious. It’s a bit expensive, but I couldn’t say no because it was bacon.

Overall, the brunch here is pretty solid. We all had a good meal and left happy. The portions aren’t too large and the prices were ok. It’s not a place for everyone. It’s hard to figure out what item to order for brunch, but if you stick with the eggs, you can’t go wrong.

We Rate Fable Kitchen:

Address:
1944 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.fablekitchen.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1944+West+4th+Ave+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1944+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6J+1M7&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Brunch

The Waterfront: Breakfast in Gibsons, BC

June 3, 2013

We were heading to the Sunshine Coast and as we left the Langdale Ferry terminal, we decided to make a stop at Gibson for a few hours before continuing on our journey. I’ve never been outside of the Lower Mainland in BC, which is very odd since I was born here. Perhaps I may have forgotten, but it was good to get away for the weekend and explore some new places.

The only way to get here is by Ferry from Horseshoe Bay and it takes about 40 minutes. Gibson is a small coastal community of about 4,200 people.

There wasn’t too much to do but we did stop by Gibson’s landing to have lunch and explore. We mostly stayed by the ocean to take some pictures and oddly enough play a lot of rock, paper, scissors.

The Waterfront was where we went for lunch. We came here because we saw they have a delicious sounding breakfast menu. We couldn’t say no to breakfast.

The interior has a nice view of the harbour if you happen to sit by the window.

Coffee ($2.50) was something that was needed on any trip. It’s refillable too.

Corned Beef Hash ($12.60) also has tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, 2 poached eggs, and sprinkled with cheese. I found this dish to have more potatoes than corned beef. It was a hearty item to order but it did have a lot of excess oil.

Small Breakfast ($9.90) comes with 2 eggs, toast, hashbrowns and your choice of wither 3 strips of bacon, 3 sausages, or 2 slices of ham. CoffeeAddict chose the sausages. It was decent, but not the best breakfast.

Reuben ($11.95) comes on grilled rye bread with sauerkraut, mozzarella, and Dijon mustard. It also comes with your choice of salad, fries or soup.

Overall, the food as ok, but the service was a bit frazzled and slow at times. The prices are a bit high compared to what you would find in Vancouver.

We Rate The Waterfront:

Address:
440 Marine Drive
Gibsons, BC

Website:
http://www.waterfrontgibsons.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=440+Marine+Drive+Gibsons,+BC&hnear=440+Marine+Dr,+Gibsons,+Sunshine+Coast,+British+Columbia+V0N+1V9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Mosaic: Spot Prawn Tasting Menu

June 1, 2013

It’s May and it’s BC Spot Prawn season! I go nuts since BC Spot Prawns are my favorite thing to eat. I usually got to T&T to grab a few pounds, it’s never occurred to me that I could go out and eat them, especially in a 5 course meal.

Mosaic is located on the 2nd floor of the Hyatt near Burrard station. The executive head chef of the Hyatt is the amazing Chef Thomas Heinrich, who crafts the delicious dishes coming out of the hotel. Mosaic currently has a spot prawn tasting menu till May 29th. I know it just ended, but they always have some special menu for whatever ingredient is fresh in season. I just get all my news from the Chef on Twitter. You can follow him at @CheftHeinrich

This menu is the 5 course tasting menu focusing on spot prawns. It’s $45 or $65 with alcohol pairings.

The alcohol pairings is a nice touch as you get to try different wines. I had the wine pairings and my friend didn’t. You don’t need alcohol to have fun with this tasting, but if you have a good appreciation for wine, you should do it.

Complementary biscuits come before the meal. It’s deliciously fluffy and comes with butter.

Spot Prawn Terrine came with fiddled head ferns and topped with fried lotus roots and ikura. There are also dots of fermented black garlic gel and lemon fluid gel. I really liked this dish since the spot prawns were nicely presented and their natural flavours shined through.

Spot Prawn and Arugula Salad comes with almonds and a citrus caviar. It was a nice dish, but I felt like there was a little too much dressing so it wilted the leaves a little bit.

Spot Prawn Carbonara has freshly made linguini, peas, geldermen farms pork belly, truffle oil, parmesan, and a 64 degree egg yolk. It is a very rich creamy dish

Spot Prawn and Spring Creek Beef has fava beans and a pomme maxim which is a ring of fried potatoes. This dish is beautiful but by this part of them meal, I started to wonder why the spot prawns weren’t that star of each dish if it’s a spot prawn tasting.

I had the beef done at medium rare and it was beautifully cooked, but it was quite tough to cut through. Perhaps it was the aging of the beef that made it a tad tougher, but the flavour of the meat itself was very lovely.

Tangerine Consomme was a lovely end to the meal. In the center is the cardamom ice cream.

Overall, the menu was great but since the menu is supposed to showcase spot prawns, I felt like there could have been more cooking techniques used to showcase the versatility of the spot prawn. Whether its serving the spot prawn raw or frying the shell…it just seemed the spot prawn was the secondary item in most of the dishes except the spot prawn terrine dish. $45 for 5 courses and $65 for 5 courses plus wine pairings is a fair price.

Below are a few other item off the tasting menu that we tried.

Asparagus Consomme with gruyere cheese balls was an interesting soup. Never would have thought about asparagus as a soup. As asparagus is fibrous, we did feel small strands of fibres in the soup. At first I thought I was getting my hair in my mouth but realized it was the asparagus.

Besides that, the gruyere cheese balls were so delicious when dunked in the soup. Mmm so good! My friend even said she would eat a whole bag full of these if she could.

Seared Scallops with a stinging nettle puree oh boy, this was really good! The scallops were seared perfectly and the stinging nettle puree was so delicious. I would eat this over and over again.

Words of Wisdom:

Follow @CheftHeinrich on twitter, You can be up to date on new menus that he launches at Mosaic
Steps away from Burrard Skytrain
Free Mosaic Chocolate Cake on your birthday
Beef Carpaccio is a must!
Great service

We Rate Mosaic:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.hyatt.com/

In Canadian

Richmond Night Market 2013: SaucyPops, Takoyaki, Chef James, and Mogu

May 24, 2013

The Richmond Night Market is back and is often confused with the Summer Night Market (the one by IKEA). This one is located right beside the River Rock Casino and Canada Line. There are tons of shops and food stands in the market.

There are also 1,500 parking spots in the lot and it’s free, but entrance into the market is $2 per person. Sucks, but I just tell myself that it’s worth the easy parking.

My friends and I came here to eat food at 7pm and it wasn’t too busy as we came on a long weekend. We aren’t too keen on shopping at the market but we just love the food stalls. Meat on sticks!

This year the theme is the Magical Duck Island, named after the stretch of land that the night market resides on. There’s a lot of hype around ducks this summer as Hong Kong has the duck art installation in Victoria Harbour. I’m not really sure if there is a correlation there or perhaps good timing.

There are rows upon rows of shops, but I can’t remember exactly how many stands there are. When I was younger, the usual items we would purchase would be stationary, Korean socks, and a stack of blank CDs.

The food section is much busier. It can get crowded at peak hours and you will probably fear the people walking and holding their skewers. Even though I wear glasses, I’m always afraid someone will poke my eyes out. It’s not likely to happen, but beware the crowds.

This year the sitting area is slightly larger. If you have 2 plates of food in your hands, you know you need a place to sit and actually enjoy your meal.

SaucyPops

SaucyPops sells homemade chicken wonton lollipops or as I call it jumbo fried wontons on a skewer. Their fried wontons are served with 4 signature sauces:

Wasabi Aioli – Mild sweetness with a wasabi kick
Korean Spicy Aioli – Spicy and salty
Honey Garlic Aioli – Sweet and savory
Citrus Orange Marmalade Aioli – Sweet and spicy

You can get all 4 for $4.75. It’s not a bad price and it’s a fun treat to share with others too.

I really liked the different sauces that went along with the wontons. When you bite into them, you get the crunchiness of the wonton wrapper and the great flavour from the sauces. My favorite was the Korean spicy aioli and the wasabi aioli. Clearly I like it spicy when it comes to fried food.

Takoyaki

It’s everyone’s favorite! Theres a few other stands in the night market but most of them are about the same.

For this particular stand, it’s 6 pieces for $5 and you can choose from octopus, shrimp, scallop or veggie for the center filling.

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ

Chef James Xin Jiang Man BBQ is best known for his lamb skewers. There was a HUGE line for these bad boys and there were at least 10 – 15 people waiting to pay and another line waiting for the food. The lines move fast, so don’t be intimidated by the large amount of people. Just make sure you line up correctly cause it can be very confusing where the line begins.

3 skewers for $7.25
5 for $11.50
Buy 6 and get a free pop ($13.75)

They cook a bunch and then have it kept under the warm lights, so that’s how they move quickly through the long line ups.

We got a bunch of different skewers, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. They all taste good. My personal favorites was the beef and lamb.

Mogu Japanese Street Eats

Food Trucks make me excited, but what makes me even more excited is when they are at the night market. Mogu was selling their signature item – the chicken karaage. They aren’t selling their sandwiches, but thats ok since the chicken karaage is pretty darn good.

3 pieces – $4.75
5 pieces – $7.50

I liked the chicken karaage and so did my friends. Some were a bit iffy about the sauce, but the way they batter and fry the chicken was spot on.

Rotato

Rotato serves up the hurricane potatoes. The line up is always long. It seems to be the only stall that served these. We didn’t line up, but they do have this really cool illustration about what you can do with your Rotato.

You can now learn how to propose with a rotato, make a baby stop cry with a rotato and even go fishing with a rotato.

I usually go to the night market a few times a year and it’s fun for the summer. Lots of things to see and buy, but its all about the delicious food.

Address:
8351 River Rd
Richmond, BC

Website:
richmondnightmarket.com

In Canadian

Mosaic Bar & Grille: Local, Sustainable, Creative, and Delicious.

April 14, 2013

I was invited to Mosaic Bar and Grille by Chef Thomas Heinrich to explore their amazing cuisine. They specialize in locally sourced produce, sustainable seafood and choice ingredients with careful and creative preparation. When you look at their dishes, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Mosaic is located inside the Hyatt Vancouver Hotel on the 2nd floor. It is easily missed if you come out from the Burrard Skytrain. It’s right above Grain Tasting Bar.

When you sit by the window, you get a great view of Georgia Street and Burrard.

Right now, they have teamed up with Vaneats.ca to create a 3 course dining pass for only $22. Seriously, it a really good deal!

We start off with complementary biscuits that arrive as you wait for your meal. Good bite-size pieces and you can always ask for more.

Spring Creek Beef Carpaccio has 15 thinly sliced pieces topped with fried capers, crispy chives, castillo de canena smoked olive oil, and a 68-degree yolk.

It was really good! If you’ve ever had beef carpaccio, this will blow you away! The crispy capers and chives add an amazing texture to the savoury beef slices. Highly recommended!

Pork Jowl lays on top of pickled radish, and snow peas. The dish has a galbi marinate sauce drizzled around the dish. The dish is garnished with crisp lotus roots and edible flowers. The pork jowl was deliciously fatty and super tender.

Local Seasonal Spring Salad looks amazing. Probably one of the prettier salads I’ve seen in a while. The greens are very fresh and you can definitely tell they put a lot of care into sourcing the ingredients. The housemade sheep milk ricotto and the citus/mustard dressing liven the dish.

Warm a la Minute Smoked Skuna Bay Salmon arrives on your table with a dome-shaped cover. Insides the dome is smoke. When they remove the dome, the delightful smokey smell envelop your senses.

Once the cloud of smoke goes way, you will see the salmon, avocado terrine, maple matured sherry bourbon oak vinegar gel. The presentation is really amazing, so it was hard to take the first bite out of it. You can tell the restaurant puts so much love into their food. Each item is beautifully arranged. Highly recommended!

Grilled Skuna Bay Salmon lays on a bed of British peas and topped with a lemon foam. The salmon was beautifully cooked, so the center was very juicy and tender. I usually don’t liked cooked salmon, but they do a fantastic job!

Oceanwise Long Line BC Gray Cod has a bed of baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms surrounded by a dashi broth. The combination of all the items have it a bit of an Asian flare to the dish.

8 hour braised short rib with BC foraged ramps, sweet onions, and morel mushrooms. The meat is tender and the morel mushrooms was a treat to devour.

Lamb Medallions were cooked nicely with fresh greens on the side.

Mosaic Chocolate Cake is their signature triple layer cake. This cake has been with Mosaic for years and years and year. The recipe has never changed and will probably be there for more years to come. Anyone that comes here raves about how huge this cake it. I’ve had this twice and it’s quite hard to finish. But have no fear, there is always a takeout box for it.

Banana Split is huge! There is caramelized banana, vanilla ice cream, almond brittle, chocolate sauce and fresh fruit. What I love about Mosaic is that their desserts aren’t small.

Overall, I loved my experience at Mosaic. After this experience, I came back with a bunch of my friends with 11 Vaneats dining passes. They all loved it too. 3 courses for $22 is totally worth it because a regular entree is a about $20. I would go back again for special occasions and pay regular price. I am usually not impressed by fine dining, but I’ve enjoyed my 2 visits to Mosaic and was not disappointed.

Words of Wisdom:

Steps away from Burrard Skytrain
Free Mosaic Chocolate Cake on your birthday
Beef Carpaccio is a must!
Great service

We Rate Mosaic:

Address:
655 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://vancouver.hyatt.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=655+Burrard+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=655+Burrard+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+2R7&gl=ca&t=m&z=14 “]

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/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1812+Commercial+Dr+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1812+Commercial+Dr,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5N+4A5&gl=ca&t=m&z=14 “]

In Canadian

Forage: Mmmm Seafood Chowder

March 24, 2013

Forage is located inside the Listel Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. They pride themselves of being very sustainable, meaning zero waste and using local sustainable ingredients. After seeing tons and tons of people instagramming photos from Dine Out Vancouver, this was on my ‘to eat’ list. When TaiwaneseGirl was thinking of a venue for her birthday party, I suggested we come here. Making a reservation for a large group was easy and not a hassle. They don’t allow outside desserts, but they were nice enough to make something special for the birthday girl.

Instead of candles, they have a jar of fake moss and an electronic candle. Very cute.

Since it was a celebration, we decided to order a bottle of Riesling. We know we’re getting a bit older when we order a bottle of wine for the table.

Fresh Shucked Oyster ($2.50 each) were small, but they were packed full of flavour. I can’t remember what type of oysters they were but they were good.

Fanny Bay clams ($12) with merguez, sea cider, and romesco.

Squash Pierogies ($12) has a birch syrup vinegar reduction, smokey potatoes, and scallion crème fraîche. Highly recommended.

Pacific Provider salmon ($16) with Pemberton potatoes, “bread n butter” sea asparagus, and pickled huckleberries.

Smoked albacore tuna ($22) with blackberry and fir jelly, chantarelle, brown butter gnocchi, hazelnuts, and squash.

Spiced grains and wheat berries ($12) with quinoa, autumn vegetables, handmade roti, and raita.

Double-fried pork cutlet ($14) with green cabbage, bull kelp, and pickled cipollini’s.

BC spot prawn and seafood chowder ($12) with soft-poached egg, smoked chicharrón, and pork hock.

The smoked chicharron had a texture like puffed rice crackers and it soaks up the favour of the chowder. This item was everyone’s favorite. The chowder is famous since it won the Chowder Chowdown from the Vancouver Aquarium. Highly recommended!

Rangeland game burger ($16), caramelized onion preserve, house-cured bacon, Golden Ears cheddar, and fries.

The burger had some pretty cool ingredients inside since it wasn’t beef. The patty is bison, elk and venison.

Pain Perdu ($8) has autumn spice brioche, hazelnut caramel, and brie Anglaise.

Carrot cake ($8) has a Neufchåtel frosting, candied walnut, and cranberry sorbet.

Overall, the food was a tad expensive, but its understandable since the place uses sustainable ingredients and the calibre of restaurant that it is. All the dishes were carefully put together and the service was phenomenal! Our server was so humble and shared his stories of when he was in Brazil. Everything he said left a smile on our faces.

We Rate Forage:

Address:
1300 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.foragevancouver.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1300+Robson+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1300+Robson+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6E&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Foodwares Market: Inside Granville Skytrain

February 23, 2013

At the Granville entrance to the Granville Skytrain is a restaurant called Food Wares Market, where they sell fresh paninis, baked goods, desserts, sushi, soup, coffee, premade salads and sandwiches.

If you work downtown, its a quick lunch thats around $10 and tastes good.

When you walk up to the entrance, you can see all their delectable treats. I was so temped to get a bunch of desserts for lunch, but I knew I just wanted a sandwich.

There’s prepackaged salads, sandwiches and salads in the coolers, but It wasn’t for me. I wasn’t in the mood for something cold. The weather outside was cold enough. hahaha.

Pastries.

I settled on getting a panini. It seemed quite popular and people were lining up for them.

Duo ($10.75) choice of panini served with a choice of baby greens salad or daily soup. This looked like the right choice for lunch.

There’s a good variety of panini types and it was calling for me. You can also choose whatever bread you want for your panini. A little bit of everything to satisfy all dietary restrictions…unless you can’t have gluten.

Aged Canadian Beef Brisket, topped with Canadian brie, grilled mushrooms, braised spinach and grainy mustard in olive bread.

I liked it, the creamy brie and the beef worked well together. The panini was toasted really well.

Corn Chicken Chowder was amazing! It had a good amount of corn and chicken, plus they add a hint of spices that give this chowder a nice spicy kick.

Overall, I enjoyed the lunch experience here and I would return for a quick lunch. I wish they had more hot food items, but I guess a sandwich and soup will do.

We Rate Foodwares Market:

Address:
674 Granville
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.foodwaresmarket.com/?cmd=Vancouver

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=674+Granville+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=674+Granville+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+3J3&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Canadian

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro: Growler Sundays

November 10, 2012

On Sunday nights, Oakwood Canadian Bistro has $15 Growlers! It’s 64oz of any local craft beer on tap. Janice, Andy and I came here to try it out. I am not exactly sure if we were attracted by the amount of beer or just the cool bottle. If you remember the time when Vancouver had a basketball team…you’ll definitely go crazy over these bottles.

On the back of the bottle it says “Get your grizzly on”. Unfortunately, they don’t sell them and it’s quite hard to steal it and hide it in your purse. I’m still trying to find ways to acquire these bottles.

All Canadian Poutine ($11) has fries, curds, gravy, and smoked meat. It was a pile of deliciousness especially when pair with beer. The poutine isn’t very large, so sharing it with lots of people might be an issue if you’re really hungry.

Overall, I still love this restaurant for late night drinks or even brunch. Can’t go wrong with either!

Words of Wisdom:

Parking on street or in residential area
Great late night eats and specials

We Rate The Oakwood Canadian Bistro:

Address:
2741 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K

Website:
http://www.theoakwood.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2741+West+4th+Avenue+Vancouver,&hnear=2741+W+4th+Ave,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia+V6K+3V9&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In 24 hours

Resto la Banquise: Epic Poutine From Montreal, QC

June 6, 2012

Resto la Banquise is located in Plateau Mont-Royal and is known to have very good poutine. It is open 24 hours, so University students can go any time to chow down on delicious poutine. They have tons of variations of poutine and are known to satisfy all the crazy poutine lovers.

CanuckGirl and I came here since we heard it was a must-try place for poutine. It’s not the most healthiest, but at least there is a park nearby.

We had the option of sitting inside or on the patio. We chose the patio since it was a very nice day outside. In case it rains, there is a tent above the seating.

Obelix Poutine ($8.25) is topped with Montreal smoked meat, cheese, and gravy over a bed of fries. The cheese was slightly squeaky as it rubs against your molars when chewing. It was quite good, but I am not used to eating a large amount of fries.

Classic Poutine ($5.95) has cheese curds and gravy over a bed of fries. CanuckGirl also liked it and is the most authentic! She ate everything off her plate, so I am sure she enjoyed it.

Overall, it’s a great place to get poutine. It’s open 24 hours, so you can go anytime without worrying it will close. They also have other items on the menu, so you don’t need to get poutine.

Words of Wisdom:

Classic Poutine is always good
Open all the time
Indoor and outdoor seating
Service is a bit spotty since they have so many customers

We Rate Resto La Banquise:

Address:
994 Rue Rachel E
Montréal, QC

Website:

http://www.restolabanquise.com/

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In Brunch

Senator Restaurant: One of Toronto’s Oldest Restaurant

May 21, 2012

The Senator is Toronto’s oldest restaurants, which can date back to the 19th century. It is located close to Dundas Square and is quite popular for breakfast. Dre from Bite Me Food Blog was kind enough to take CanuckGirl and I here. It is slightly hidden, so you need to look around for it.

The interior is very narrow, but they can still fit a decent amount of people here.

We came at around 9:30am and the place was quite packed when we arrived.

French Toast ($10.25) has thick slices of challah bread dipped in egg Batter & served with maple syrup & seasonal compote.

Senator Breakfast ($7.95 Before 11:30am) comes with bacon & eggs with challah toast, beans & home fries. Also your choice of tea or coffee. It was a good standard type of breakfast. I enjoyed it and so did CanuckGirl.

House Blend Coffee was much needed since 9:30am Toronto time is 6:30am Vancouver time.

Overall, good for breakfasts and has a cool diner feel to the interior. The breakfast selection is under $10 and has great value.

Words of Wisdom:

Under $10
Near Dundas Square
Good hearty breakfasts

We Rate Senator Restaurant:

Address:
249 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.thesenator.com/

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In Aboriginal

Tomahawk Restaurant: Established in North Van Since 1920s

March 23, 2012

The Tomahawk Restaurant has been around since the 1920’s. It’s been featured on ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’ and also ‘You Gotta Eat Here’, which are both shows on the Food Network.

With so much buzz going on about this place, Amy, Angela, Anita, Kathy and I decided to trek all the way to North Vancouver to check it out. It was an interesting drive to this place as I kept trolling Angela by not putting my hands on the wheel as we drove on the Highway. Was she ever freaked out. hahaha.

As you walk in, there is a mini gift shop where you can buy souvenirs and other sweet treats. The wait was quite long for a table for 5 people. I think it was about 35 – 40 minutes. Seeing that there were so many awards won by this restaurant, we knew that this place was something special.

Near the couches, you will be able to spot Guy Fieri’s trademark emblem when he visits restaurants.

There’s also a mini pond with rubber duckies.

The inside was actually quite small. From the videos from the show, it seemed so much large for some reason.

Their placemats are quite interesting too. Theres a whole map of Canada and a few things that are fun facts about each province.

Coffee is a must for me when you make me wake up before noon. Free refills too!

Tomahawk Style Beep Dip has slow-roasted organic Baron of Beef, shaved on toasted French baguette with a homemade au jus in a cup. Amy chose fries as her side. Check out The Food Queen to find out what she thought about it.

Chief Dominic Charlie Burger has Lettuce, organic ground beef patty, grilled Yukon-style bacon, aged cheddar cheese, tomato and Tomahawk special sauce. Angela chose fries as her side.

Check out Muchkie’s Munchies to find out what she thought about it.

Organic Roast Beef Dinner has slow-roasted Baron of Beef, hand-carved and served with a thick gravy, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and thier world famous Yorkshire pudding.

The beef has a nice thick cut, but at time it was a bit bland and tough. It’s just a personal preference since I like my beef a bit rare. The gravy did make it taste so much better. The yorkshire pudding was also ok. I found this dish to be a bit expensive. Probably a bit too hyped up from the TV show.

Side of Fries thats a lot of fries for just a side order.

Side of Onion Rings

Overall, the Tomahawk Restaurant was ok. The prices are a bit steep for certain items and the food is so-so. I think it really depends on this dish that you order. It has a lot of rich history in this establishment .

Words of Wisdom:

Long waits during peak hours
Decent food
Around $10 – $18 dollars for lunch
Lots of free parking around

We Rate Tomahawk Restaurant:
Address:
1550 Philip Ave
North Vancouver District, BC

Website:
http://www.tomahawkrestaurant.com/

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In Brunch

Jimmy’s Place Restaurant: Epic Hash Browns

March 3, 2012

Jimmys Place Restaurant is super hidden near North Road and they serve of breakfasts and lunch. WIth my last experience here, I wasn’t eager to come back, but M kept on insisting we have their eggs benedict and hash browns.

The interior seems a bit dated and has a diner feel to it. It’s cash only, but the food is quite cheap and affordable. It’s known as a neighbourhood favorite for their breakfast.

Pop ($1.95). It’s the classic bottles! In my opinion, it tastes the best from the bottles compared to the plastic bottles or fountain drinks.

Jimmy’s special burger ($8.95) comes with bacon and cheese as well as a side of fries.The bun was nicely toasted on the outside, but the patty wasn’t good at all. The fries were alright too. I probably wouldn’t get the burger again.

Black Stone Benedict ($8.95) is M’s Favorite items from Jimmy’s Place. This is all he will ever order. The eggs are nicely poached with lots of hollandaise sauce on top with bacon, green onions and tomatoes. The hash browns are also super crispy on the outside. After I tried a bit of this, I totally wanted to steal his whole dish away from him.

Overall, the food is ok, but the only item that is super good are the eggs benedict! The hash browns are super amazing too. Whatever you decided to get, you must have the side of hash browns!

Words of Wisdom:

Cash only
Some items are hit and miss
Eggs benny with hashbrowns are the best items
Lots of parking
Lots to choose from in their menu
Cheap and affordable

We Rate Jimmys Place Restaurant:

Address:
435 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

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In Brunch

Reno’s: Gotta Love the ‘Greasy Spoon’ Cafes

January 21, 2012

Reno’s is located on the ground floor of the Lee Building on Broadway and Main street. They sell cheap and affordable food! Most of the items on their menu is a little bit Canadian and Chinese, but you still have the breakfast classics.

Munchkie’s Munchies took me here for some brunch since it’s been on her ‘To Eat’ list forever.

To order, you line up at the counter and pay first. Then they will give you a number to wait at your seat.

Tea ($1.25)

Pancake Special ($5.95) comes with 2 pancakes, 2 sausages, 2 strips of bacon and eggs.

It’s a good price for what you get, but you can hear more about what Angela thought about them on her blog – Munchkie’s Munchies.

#3 Special ($6.95) + Side of Sausages (2.95) the special comes with hamburger steak, eggs, potatoes, toast and then additional order of the 3 sausages. I’m pretty sure the hamburger was just frozen and then cooked. The eggs were a bit bland, but if you throw some salt and pepper or some tabasco sauce it’ll be better.

Toast was the usual toast. You can choose from white, brown, or multi-grain bread.It’s buttered and you get a little container of jam.

Overall, the food was decent and at good prices. It’s a place with no frills type of food.

Words of Wisdom:

Paid street parking nearby
Under $10
Lots of seating
You can even order Chinese food here

We Rate Reno’s:
Address:
151 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

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In Canadian

Dunn’s Famous: Montreal Smoked Meat Deliciousness

January 9, 2012

Dunn’s Famous has opened up their first location in Western Canada in Downtown Vancouver. I’ve heard their super sandwiches were really good, so the SFU Food Bloggers – FoodQueen, I’m Busy Eating, Good Eat, Eating with Kirby and Eat with Jenny decided to check out this restaurant.

Do check out their blogs for their version of their review since we all have different tastes and opinions.

The main dining area is quite large and can accommodate large groups.

They even have a smaller room in the back and I think it turns into a private area if you have a super super large group.

Salami Stacker ($12.99) has a stack of sliced all beef salami on light sourdough rye with mustard. Comes with a choice of side and coleslaw with a pickle. I chose fries for my side.

The salami in the sandwich was cold, but I guess that’s how the salami supposed to be. There is a generous amount of meat in the sandwich and it has mustard inside to complement the meat. I thought it was OK, but there are better items on the menu.

If you have this for lunch, you will be full for sure.

Hot Chicken ($11.99) has Two Rivers free run chicken breast on sliced white bread covered in gravy, topped with peas. Jenny chose the fries on the side.
The Famous Dunn’s Reuben ($13.99) has Montreal smoked meat, double stacked on dark rye with sauerkraut & melted Swiss cheese. The side is seafood chowder and it doesn’t cost extra! Kirby ordered this and Good Eat and I shared this too.

It tasted really good with the layers of smoked meat, sauerkraut and Swiss. One thing that sucked is how the bottom bread gets soggy.

You have your choice of choosing lean, medium or fatty for the Montreal smoked meat, but all of us chose medium since it was the best one.

The Combination ($12.99) gives you the choice of Montreal smoked meat & free run chicken or Montreal smoked meat & salami or salami & free run chicken on light sourdough rye. I’mBusyEating chose the Montreal smoked meat & free run chicken. She also had the seafood chowder on the side. She found the chicken to be pretty dry.

Super Montreal Smoked Meat ($10.99) has 6 oz hand sliced smoked beef brisket on light sourdough rye poutine. FoodQueen added the Québécois poutine of the side for $3.50 more.

Look at all that meat!

Super Giant Montreal Smoked Meat ($12.98) has 8 oz hand sliced smoked beef brisket on light sourdough rye. I ordered the salad on the side for no additional charge. GoodEat and I shared this too.

At first glance its hard to tell the difference between 6oz and 8oz, but you need to look carefully.

Medium was a good choice for the Montreal smoked meat and worked well for all the sandwiches.

If you need more flavour, they have ketchup and mustard for you. I really like mustard, but I would have much preferred Dijon Mustard with the seeds.

Overall, really great super sandwiches, they are so super you will definitely get full off of them.

Words of Wisdom:

Metered Parking in front, underground pay parking, ImPark Lot across the street
Decent Prices
Medium Smoked Meat is best
Chicken is very dry
Choose the featured soup for no extra charge
Lots of seats
Great for large groups

We Rate Dunn’s Famous:

Address:
827 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC
Website:
dunnsfamousbc.com
Twitter:
@dunnsfamousbc

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In Brunch

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro: Fantastic $10 Brunch

January 8, 2012

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro is a new restaurant that opened up in Kitsilano. Everything they use is fresh and local. Since Etodac told me they have really cheap $10 brunch, we thought it would be a great place to check out. We brought along M and VideoGameGirl to check it out too. Plus, no one can resist brunch.

Vancouverites go crazy over delicious cheap brunch.

The interior is very nice and loungey, lots of tables, but it can bet quite busy after a while. They don’t take reservations, but you should be able to get a spot right away if you are in 2’s or 4’s.

Their ceiling is also made of wood! Do you think it’s Oak wood?

Pineapple Juice

Green Tea

The Lumberjack ($10) has scrambled eggs, house made breakfast sausage, smoked bacon, hash browns, salted cucumber and toast. VideoGameGirl said the bacon was really good and was nice and thick. Pretty good dish!

Corned Beef Hash ($10) as soft poached eggs, house corned beef, sauerkraut, Dijon hollandaise, and hash browns. M and Etodac both ordered this. M said it was alright, but this might be because he wanted more meat.

Albacore tune nicoise Benedict ($10) has green bean salad, hash browns, corn muffin with poached egg, tuna and hollandaise sauce. I thought it was a really good breakfast dish! All the flavours worked well together and I loved it.

Overall, $10 brunch is not bad at all! You’ll get full off delicious dishes!

Words of Wisdom:

Brunch only available on Weekends 10 – 3
Only $10
Parking on street or in residential area
They don’t take reservations for Brunch
No large line ups

We Rate The Oakwood Canadian Bistro:
Address:
2741 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K
Website:
http://www.theoakwood.ca/
Twitter:
@theoakwoodkits

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