Seafood Archives - Page 9 of 14

In Granville Island

Whet: ‘Whet Your Appetite’ Dining Package Review

October 27, 2012

Whet is located at the entrance of Granville Island right across from the Children’s Toy Store. They serve up West Coast Cuisine and are dedicated in using sustainable and local products in their dishes.

Vaneats is offering a dining package right now that gives you 2 beers, 2 appetizers, and a main dish for $30. The items included are:

2 Sleeves of Angry Scotch Ale
Coconut Scallop Ceviche
Prawn, Shrimp, & Wild Mushrooms Salad
Choice of the following:
- Crispy Duck Leg
- Red Honey-Curry Coho

The interior is nicely spaced out and has a predominant wood texture. There is patio seating available too. When we went on a Monday night, it was pretty empty and the service felt very awkward. It’s probably best to go on busier night like Friday and Saturday.

2 Sleeves of Angry Scotch Ale are from Russell Brewing Company. It’s a dark ale with dominant malt accent that originated in Edinburgh. Made with Scottish specialty malts including Peated Malt imparting a slight smoky character to the beer.

I found that the beer best paired with the entrees more so than the appetizers. I am not a dark beer drinker, but I found it to be not too strong for the casual beer drinker.

Coconut Scallop Ceviche has hand peeled shrimp, citrus juices, ginger, jalapeño, corn chips, tobiko, & ikura.

It’s easy to share since each person has their own pile of chips! No more fighting over who’s chip is who’s. The ceviche was ok, but needed more acidity since the coconut neutralizes it.

One this I really didn’t like about the dish was how watery the ceviche was. I would be very hard to eat it without it dripping all over the table or on your clothes. We couldn’t figure out the best way to eat this.

Prawn, Shrimp, & Wild Mushrooms Salad has pan seared prawns and wild local mushrooms, hand peeled shrimp, arugula, grapefruit, taro root crisps, and a lemon-hazelnut vinaigrette.

When this arrived, we noticed they had the same grapefruit slices and the hand peeled shrimp in the previous dish. The mushrooms were my favorite part of the dish.

Red Honey-Curry Coho has wild BC Coho, saffron yoghurt, hot pickled lime puree, candied almonds, and cinnamon market vegetable. The interior was very moist and the outside had a great amount of unique flavours.

It’s very hard to share between two people, so you may want to order an additional entree. KoreanGirl and I found we were not too hungry after this meal.

Crispy Duck Leg, has confit of Fraser Valley duck leg, sweet chill ginger sauce, yam & plantain chips, sesame seeds, and grilled plums. This is the other option if you didn’t choose the Coho. You can check out Alvin’s review to see what he thought about this dish.

Overall, the dishes were just OK, KoreanGirl and I didn’t particularly enjoy this dining package. The service was really awkward, but maybe because it was just a Monday night. It was good that we were able to try the offerings from this restaurant and seeing the array of styles they put into their dishes. You probably need to order a few dishes to get the full Whet experience.

We Rate Whet:

Address:
1517 Anderson Road
Vancouver, BC V6H

Website:
www.whet.ca

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1517+Anderson+Road+Vancouver,+BC+V6H&hnear=1517+Anderson+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Feastro the Rolling Bistro: Rolling Around Downtown Vancouver

October 23, 2012

Feastro the Rolling Bistro has rolled its way over to the Art Gallery. They serve up local fresh seafood with their menu items. I was excited about this place since I heard much about it when they were near the Convention Centre.

Everything looked good, so I really have no idea what to choose. The fish and chips seemed good, so I ordered that.

I also splattered some vinegar onto my fish before digging in.

Fish and Chips ($13) has Red Snapper coated in a light panko breading, served with fresh-cut fries,our tangy red wine vinaigrette coleslaw and truck made tartar sauce. You definitely get a lot of food for the price. The taste of the snapper was ok, but nothing too impressive.

On the bottom, you have fries that are really awesome and crunchy! Then the coleslaw was OK too.

Overall, I found the items on the menu to be a bit pricey compared to other food carts that are around. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, except for their super crunchy crispy fries.

We Rate Feastro the Rolling Bistro:

Location:
Howe St x Robson near Art Gallery

Website:
http://www.feastro.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.com/maps?q=Vancouver+Art+Gallery,+Hornby+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada&hl=en&ll=49.282067,-123.119107&spn=0.002289,0.005552&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.284089,90.966797&oq=art+gallery+&hq=Vancouver+Art+Gallery,+Hornby+Street,+Vancouver,+BC,+Canada&t=m&z=18 “]

In Izakaya

Minami: Yummy Aburi Beef in Yaletown

October 22, 2012

When I came back from vacation, I headed out to Minami with @Lensflaaare and @Floyvr to see what all the hype was about Minami. Minami is the sister restaurant of Miku. They are popular for their aburi sushi.

It’s located really close to the Yaletown Skytrain on the Canada Line.

Unlike Miku, the atmosphere here was more dark and intimate.

Jasmine tea comes in tea pots. It tastes good and goes really well with their food.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi is pressed rice with local salmon, jalapeño, and miku sauce. This is their most popular item from both Miku and Minami. It’s so good!

Slow Roasted Beets & Watercress Salad has yuzu creme fraiche, fig, candied sesame cashew, fig chutney, and a yuzu chardonnay vinaigrette.

Kaisen Soba Pepperoncino has shrimp, squid, scallop, sweet pepper, shiitake, and jalapeno. This dish was ok, not too spicy, but I felt it was a weird combination of seafood and spice.

Aburi Carpaccio has a organic 64 degree egg, asian pear, market greens, lotus root chips, and jalapeno-garlic ponzu. It was fun popping the egg and letting it go all over the raw meat. I enjoyed the nice clean flavours.

Overall, the food was good, but our server was always in a rush and not very attentive. If I had a choice of going to either Miku or Minami, I would go back to Miku. I didn’t enjoy the ambiance or the service as much.

We Rate Minami:

Address:
1118 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.minamirestaurant.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1118+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&hnear=1118+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver+Regional+District,+British+Columbia&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Coquitlam

Sushi Kamizato: New Japanese Restaurant in PoCo

October 5, 2012

Sushi Kamizato is a new Japanese restaurant that opened up 4 months ago in Port Coquitlam. It is Japanese owned and they serve awesome sushi and its very different from Sushi Town or California Sushi. The owners stay true to their roots and make sushi like how it can be found in Southern Japan.

There are only about 22 seats in the restaurant, so it’s a bit tricky to fit large parties here unless you arrange with them ahead of time.

Try to strike a conversation with the sushi chef or the waitress, they can be helpful in deciding what to order. They are also extremely nice.

Green Tea is complementary! It’s good too.

When we arrived at the table, we got a complementary appetizer. I think it as like a seafood karrage. It was really good and my little sister love it so much that she ate most of it.

Aburi Saba is seared saba with a miso sauce on top. It was so good!

Asian Nachos have sheets of deep-fried wonton sheets with a mixture of tuna, avocado and tomatoes. It’s very different from regular nachos, but it tastes good!

Chopped Scallop comes with 8 pieces and the scallops are large! You really get your moneys worth!

Aburi Beef Carpaccio was tender and lightly seared on the outside.

Some slices could have been a bit thinner, but the flavours were still good.

Ocean Wiser has raw ebi, salmon belly and cucumbers on the inside. It is topped with more salmon and avocado.

It has it’s own sauce, which makes this roll deliciously flavourful!

PoCo Gunner was shrimp tempura and cucumber in the middle and topped with seared inari.

Tiger eyes is one of their special nigiri rolls. Rice is wrapped with seared salmon belly and topped with chopped scallop mixture. It tasted so good! The salmon belly just melts in your mouth! So good!

Overall, I was impressed by their menu and how creative they are with their dishes. They aren’t trying to be like the other sushi restaurant around town. If you are looking for something different and creative, come to Sushi Kamizato!

Words of Wisdom:

Small restaurant
Decently priced, but some items can be a bit expensive
Fresh ingredients

We Rate Sushi Kamizato:

Address:
2850 Shaughnessy St, suite 2105

Website:
http://www.sushikkamizato.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=2850+Shaughnessy+St,+suite+2105&hnear=2850+Shaughnessy+St+%232105,+Port+Coquitlam,+British+Columbia+V3C+6K5&gl=ca&t=m&z=16 “]

In Downtown

Miku Restaurant: Aburi Sushi Gourmet Cuisine

October 4, 2012

Miku has been around since 2008 serving delicious Japanese food. They are best known for their aburi style sushi. It’s sear-flamed sushi. You won’t need any soy sauce or wasabi with any of their items.I’ve heard much about it, but it took me a long time to finally dine here. The thing is that it is a bit expensive and dinner can burn a hole in your pocket.

The interior is very open and has lots of natural light. It is highly recommended to have reservations as they are really busy.

Green Tea was good! The servers also did a great job diligently filling up the cup too. It was never empty.

Aburi Salmon Oshi Sushi ($14) has local salmon pressed and dressed with soy & Miku sauce, topped with jalapéno. This is what you must get! It’s so good!

Aburi Sashmi ($25) is a trio of aburi sashimi paired with house made sauces

Rainbow Salad ($18) has 6 kinds of sashimi, avocado, organic greens, and tosazu jelly. It was really good! The acidity from the jelly really complimented the delicate taste of the sashimi.

Soba Pepperoncino ($15) has squid, sweet pepper, shiitake, jalapeno, garlic, and tempura bits.

Green Tea Opera ($10) has green tea sponge infused with espresso and frangelico liquer, green tea butter cream, dark chocolate ganache, azuki bean cream, green tea sauce, and green tea ice cream.

Cherry Panna Cotta ($10) has vanilla bean panna cotta, cherry and amaretto infused sauce, cherry compote, sesame crumble, almond tuile cookie, cherry vanilla ice cream and sorbet. The presentation was really cool! I was definitely impressed.

Overall, I loved the entire meal! The service was amazing with great attention shown by the servers. This place is expensive for certain dishes, but you will fall in love with their aburi sushi for sure! Its a great place to take your girlfriends or your significant other.

We Rate Miku restaurant:

Address:
1055 W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
mikurestaurant.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1055+W+Hastings+St+Vancouver,+BC&hl=en&hnear=1055+W+Hastings+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6C+0B2&gl=ca&t=m&z=16″]

In Mount Pleasant/Main Street

Cray Kitchen + Bar: Cray-vings Dining Package

September 13, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Cray-vings” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along CandiedZen to keep the review as unbiased as I could.

Cray Kitchen + Bar on Main street near Broadway serves Louisiana Style Crawfish and seafood. If you’ve ever heard of Crab Pot in Seattle, it’s like that but with plastic bags and lots of aromatic sauce. I came here with CandiedZen to check this place out.

Vaneats.ca currently has a dining package called “Cray-vings”, which you can get the following for only $18.50 for a limited time.

1/2 lb of Crawfish, shipped live from Louisana
1/2 lb of Shrimp, shipped from Thailand/Ecuador
Cod Nuggets, deep fried and crispy (3 pieces)
Deep Fried Oysters, spiced in a Louisana cajun fry batter (2 pieces)
Cajun Fries, cajun spice peppered

The interior was nice and has a good amount of seating. It’s good for large groups too, unfortunately, they don’t take reservations on Fridays and Saturdays.

The menu

When you order the Cajun Seafood Boil, your table will be lined with a large parchment paper and come with a bucket with bibs, paper towels, and gloves. Eating this type of seafood is messy and you don’t want to get any of your clothes dirty.

The first basket of goodies that arrive are 3 piece of cod nuggets, 2 deep-fried oyster, and a bed of cajun fries.

The Cod Nuggets are very very delicious! The outer batter is crispy and thin, so you can taste the amazing light and moist texture of the cod. I would highly recommend this!

Deep Fried Oyster were very large and plump. When I bit into them, it was very moist and flavourful! Even a bit of juice started running down my fingers. Highly recommend these as well!

Cajun Fries were crispy on the outside and seasoned with cajun spice. I thought it was ok, nothing too impressive.

You also get 3 dips to go along with your item – Tartar sauce, ketchup and spicy mayo.

As we waited for the 1/2 lb shrimp and 1/2 lb crayfish to arrive, we prepared ourselves by reading instruction and putting on our bibs. We didn’t bother with putting on gloves since we wanted to get down and dirty with our meal.

Our Cajun Seafood Boil came with choices of seasoning and spicy level. We chose the Mild Cray Mix ( Juicy Cajun +Garlic Butter +Lemon Pepper). It arrives on your table in a plastic bag.

The Crawfish were very tiny and it was just like a mini lobster. All of their Crawfish is shipped from Louisiana. You can acquire meat from this creature from its tail and claws. This wasn’t our favorite item since it takes a bit of effort to get a little bit of meat. Another problem, the meat had very little flavour from the sauce, so you need to dunk it into the sauce to add more favour to it.

Most of the crawfish is our bag was fresh, but there was one that was completely black on the inside. I’m not sure what happened here, but we decided not to eat it and discard it. If you come across one that looks like that…its probably best not to eat it.

The shrimps are from Ecuador and very massive. It’s almost the size of a spot prawn. It had a lovely sweet flavour to it. I would highly recommend the shrimp!

Our table definitely got messy. After eating everything that was part of the package, we were still hungry and craving more items, so we ordred more.

I saw that they had Sapporo on tap, so I got a pint of it to enjoy more of the meal! It’s one of my favorite beers. It was about $7 or $8 for a pint.

1lb of Clams ($11.99) in a mild garlic butter sauce. The clams tasted great in the sauce, but I felt the clams were a tad bit small. We ate these pretty fast since the bag is mostly the shells.

1 lb of Shrimp ($10.99) in a medium Cray mix sauce. I did enjoy the sauce more when you increase the spiciness of it. It definitely adds a lot more flavour.

Overall, the concept of getting messy with your food is very fun! I would definitely come here again, but I would not order the crawfish. I would order the cod nuggets, deep-fried oysters and the shrimp. Parking was a bit difficult since it was on a major street, so I parked a few blocks down in a residential area. Service was ok, but we felt it was a bit awkward at times.

You won’t get full by just having the amount of items included in the dining pass. you probably want to add an extra appetizer or a few extra pounds of seafood like what we did. Nonetheless, if you haven’t experienced getting down and dirty with your meal, I think the dining pass is a good opportunity to do that and try new types of food. You can get the dining pass at Vaneats.ca for $18.50.

Words of Wisdom:

Best to make reservations just in case it gets busy
Shrimps are massive and so are the deep fried oysters and cod nuggets
Metered parking a long the streets
Don’t wear white

We Rate Cray Kitchen + Bar:

Address:
2470 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.getcray.com/

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In Granville Island

Sandbar Seafood Restaurant: $12 Mussel Mania

September 11, 2012

The Sandbar Restaurant has a happy hour special for mussels called “mussel mania” in their Teredo Lounge. It includes mussels, fries, and a pint of Granville Island Beer for $12. It used to be $10, but prices have risen. You can get this on the weekday from 3-6pm. It’s a good deal considering Sandbar is a bit expensive for dinner.

KoreanGirl, CanuckGirl and I came here to grab a quick bite.

It wasn’t very busy inside, nor was the Teredo Lounge very busy either.

Complementary Bread arrived at the table, but they didn’t give us utensils to spread the butter onto our bread. We had to ask them to give us side plates and cutlery.

Service was very poor from the start of the meal and didn’t improve. We found this was very interesting because the restaurant had lots of staff, but most of them were standing around.

Granville Island Pale Ale is my favorite beer since it’s light and sweet.

The mussels come in 3 sauces of your choice – Thai Curry, Vindaloo, and Tomato Provencal. When the mussels arrive, you think you are getting a bucket of mussels, but the bucket is just for the shells.

Vindaloo Mussels was ordered by me and I did enjoy the sauce. It wasn’t too spicy and coated each mussel nicely. The size of the mussels were fair and there were no complaints.

Tomato Provencal had pieces of chorizo inside. CanuckGirl enjoyed them because of the meat and the mussels.

Thai Curry Mussels was enjoyed by KoreanGirl. She was kinda disappointed by the size once she realized the bucket didn’t contain as my mussels. Looks can be deceiving.

Overall, it was a good-sized snack before dinner. We girls did have a good meal despite the lack in service.

Words of Wisdom:

Poor service
Weekdays 3-6pm Mussel Mania for $12

We Rate Sandbar Seafood Restaurant:

Address:
1535 Johnston St, Creekhouse #102
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.vancouverdine.com/sandbar

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In Japanese

Sushi Garden: Craving Japanese Food For Lunch

August 22, 2012

KimboCake and I had a really failed ritual of waking up at 8am to be productive at Starbucks. We only successfully met twice. On one of the successful days, we went to Sushi Garden on Lougheed Hwy near Brentwood Town Center to chow down on some sushi.

Miso Soup was really good! It had green onions and bits of puff tofu in it. Pretty awesome compared to the other miso soups out there.

Agedashi Tofu was crispy on the outside and had a bunch of sauce on the bottom. If you wait too long, the crispness will go away. It tasted good!

Half order of Spicy Salmon Sashimi is a must! It is slathered with Korean hot sauce. It’s not too hot, but eating too much at one time can make someone tear up at a little. If you can handle a moderate amount of spice, you’ll definitely enjoy the flavours and texture.

Alaska Roll has a lot of avocados in the center and topped with salmon sashimi and a citrus sauce. It’s one of the very popular items here. Yummy!

Smoked salmon cream cheese roll is not for everyone. Some might think the cream cheese gives it a weird texture. For myself, I do enjoy the cream cheese and smoked salmon!

Tobiko with Quail egg is very yummy, but yet again not for everyone. It has a slimy texture from the quail egg and the little tobiko will pop in your mouth once you bite down. It’s a cool item to order if you want to experience different food textures.

Overall, the sushi was pretty good and satisfied KimboCake and I. During lunch time, this places isn’t too busy so it’s a good time to go if you hate crowds.

Words of Wisdom:

Free Parking in the front
Busy during peak hours
Large variety of items

We Rate Sushi Garden:

Address:

4269 Lougheed Highway
Burnaby, BC

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In Burnaby Central

El Inka Deli: Latin American Food in Burnaby,BC

August 21, 2012

M, Jewels, and I decided to have dinner at El Inka Deli. It’s a hidden restaurant in the Burnaby Central area. I’ve never heard it until someone told me I had to check it out. It’s also beside the Burnaby Hospital, so if you are in the area, do check this place out.

El Inka Deli serves Latin American food and it’s very unique to find this type of food in Burnaby. It is family owned and you will get a sense of that once you walk in the door.

Jarritos Lime was ordered by M and he really enjoyed the fizzy sour taste of it. I had half of this and it’s really good Mexican soda.

Horchata is a traditional drink made out of almonds, sesame seeds, rice and barley. The way they made the horchata was very gritty and had a strong sesame seed taste. We were not a big fan of this.

Chicken Empanadas was an item was started out with. It was crispy on the outside and nicely toasted.

The inside had a good amount of filling and was delicious. Yum!

Cheese empanadas was even better than the chicken empanadas. It took a while for it to arrive at the table, but ooey gooey cheese was inside this empanadas! SO GOOD!!! If you love cheese, you will go GAGA over this!

Picada Criolla has pork chop, pork, sausage, fried plantains, fried cassava, corn bread, and potatoes. It was definitely a meaty dish. The sausage tastes good, but the pork chops and ribs were really dry. The fried cassava were like fries, really really delicious. M and Jewels both ordered this, but I don’t think they would order this again.

Mixto Ceviche has raw fish and octopus with corn, yam, onion and cilantro in a acidic sauce. It was huge!

It was probably one of the better ceviches I’ve had and the portion was very very large. It’s a good size for sharing!

I wanted a bit of heat in my ceviche, so they give a hot sauce on the side. It’s not the usual hot sauce you would think of, but this was spicy and it did the trick!

Overall, the food can be a hit and miss at El Inka Deli and take a while to arrive at your table too. I would still come again because it’s close to where I live and I love ceviche!

Words of Wisdom:

Paid parking in front (but can be very confusing how to park)
Decent prices
Ceviche is delicious!
Slow service

We Rate El Inka Deli:

Address:
3826 Sunset Street
Burnaby, BC

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In Fairview

Suika Japanese Snackbar: Stingray, Pig Foot, and Other Odd Dishes

July 17, 2012

Suika Japanese Snackbar is owned by the same people who created Kingyo Izakaya. It is located on Broadway near Fir St. I’ve been to Suika Snackbar a few times and it’s a great place to dine with friends over yummy Japanese food.

The famous chandelier!

Chicken Karaage ($7.80) is deep fried chicken pieces with a side of salt and pepper. Very yummy! I usually order this when I go to any Izakaya restaurant.

Corn Kakiage ($4.80) are corn niblets fried in cilantro batter, soy sauce and butter. It’s one of my favorite items! It comes with 3 pieces and the butter definitely enhances the flavour!

Tonsoku ($6.80) is a sauteed pig foot until it’s crispy. It is flavoured with soy butter. On the menu it says “Don’t try, if you never had”. Just because of that line, it made CandiedZen and I eat it! When it arrived at the table, it was indeed a pig foot. It tasted good, but it’s not for everyone. There’s not much meat on it, so you are basically eating skin, fat and cartilage.

Sweet Balsamic Sauteed Portabella Mushroom ($6.80) was a very interesting dish. It looked really weird, but with the balsamic vinegar, it was sweet.

Eihire – Dried Sting Ray ($4.20) was something that caught our eye on the menu. CandiedZen and I were so curious about how this would taste! It is also accompanied by a chili sauce and mayo. The look of it was quite weird as I commented saying it looked like very thick feet skin. I think I ruined M and CandiedZen’s appetite. hahaha. The taste was like dried squid, so it tasted totally fine.

Ahi Tuna Carpaccio ($9.20) had lots of slices of tuna with mayo, onions, tobiko, and pea shoots. It’s a pretty solid dish to order at any izakaya restaurant and Suika does a good job at making this. Yum.

Words of Wisdom:

Pay parking on Street
No refills on pop (M accidently spent $7.50 on 3 cups of coke)
Reservations highly recommended!

We Rate Suika Snackbar:

Address:
1626 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.suika-snackbar.com/

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In Downtown

Coast Restaurant: Lunch Specials in Downtown, Vancouver

July 13, 2012

Coast Restaurant is part of the Glowbal Group and they specialize in seafood. Located on Alberni Street, tourist and locals flock to Coast for fresh and delicious seafood. They a a bit expensive for dinner, but for lunch time, they have some amazing lunch sets for under $15. It has a good atmosphere to bring coworkers or friends.

Before I left to Hong Kong for vacation, I met up with Flo to have some lunch here. She’s been here several time, but I haven’t, so she was nice enough to join me on this food adventure.

Fish & Chips Cones ($8.95) has tempura cod, japanese tartar sauce, sprouts and tobiko wrapped up. The tempura was lightly battered and very delicious! It’s unlike the traditional Japanese sushi cones, these ones won’t make you too full.

Linguine Vongole ($14.95) has manila clams, bacon lardons, crushed chillies in linguine. Flo thought it was alright, but it wasn’t anything amazing. You can get the same item for dinner for $16.95.

Oyster Box ($13.95) has an oyster po’ boy sandwich, caesar salad, fries, and smoked fish chowder.

The Smoked Fish Chowder thats part of the Oyster Box was ok. I didn’t get a lot of the smoky fish taste in the chowder.

The Fries were my favorite part of the box. It was very crispy and awesome when dipped in the mayo sauce.

The Caesar Salad was quite plain. The dressing was very light, which isn’t a bad thing. The strip of bacon was yummy and crispy .

Oyster Po’boy sandwich was very poor. The bread was very hard and thick that it didn’t allow much flavour of the oyster to pop out. It was very hard to eat through the bun, so I just ate the oyster. The oyster wasn’t too bad, it was very large.

Overall, the Oyster Box wasn’t every appetizing even though the price is quite fair. It had lots of food, but didn’t hold up to the reputation of the restaurant. Flo commented saying how the food wasn’t as good as before. The service was also slow and was hard to have a meal in under one hour. You need at least 1.5 hrs to have a lunch here. We really didn’t know why the service was so slow because it was pretty empty at 11:30am. It started to get very busy around 12:30pm. Also check your bill since they may accidentally charge you the dinner price instead of the lunch price. Good thing Flo and I checked the bill!

Words of Wisdom:

Always good to have reservations just in case
Well priced lunch box specials
Good friendly service
Allocate more than 1 hr for lunch

We Rate Coast Restaurant:

Address:
1054 Alberni St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.coastrestaurant.ca/

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In Four Beakers

Neptune Oysters: A Must Visit For Seafood in Boston, MA

June 17, 2012

Neptune Oysters is the place to go for Oysters and seafood when you are visiting Boston. Usually tourists go to the Union Oyster House for seafood, as it is the oldest restaurant in America. We chose Neptune Oyster House because it was highly talked about and MedicalGiraffe told me I had to go.

CanuckGirl and I came here after a day of sightseeing and shopping. It was around 5:30 and we put our names down. We still had to wait a little bit. Even though there are no physical lines outside the restaurant, there will be one on a piece of paper. Usually people just walk around the area and come back.

We sat at the bar area and it was fine for a group of 2 people. The servers were very nice and for some reason they were all women.

They also have a few larger tables too, if you have a big party, definitely come early as they do not take reservations.

You order all your oysters on a sheet and it comes with all the information you need. It was great having the descriptions so you know what to expect if you are an oyster noob. CanuckGirl just ordered the oysters that originated from the West Coast. Since we were near the East Coast, I decided to try the medium-sized ones.

The oysters do range in price, but they aren’t too expensive. It comes with cocktail sauce, vinaigrette, and lemons. The descriptions of the oysters are accurate and the people who shuck these oysters do a great job!

Maine Lobster Roll ($25) the lobster comes on a toasted roll with the lobster in hot butter. You can also have the lobster cold with mayo instead. Canuckgirl liked it better in its hot form with butter. The pieces of lobster were massive and worth the price. It also comes with a side of fries and ketchup. Highly recommended!

Neptune Burger ($16) has cheddar cheese, burger, fried oysters, garlic mayo and relish. It also comes with fries and ketchup on the side. You can choose the degree of wellness of your burger, I chose mine to be medium-rare and it was AMAZING.

It was a bit too big to hold with my hands, so I used the fork and knife to devour this bad boy. It was very very delicious! Probably one of the best burgers I have ever had. The oysters were lightly battered and had such a delicious taste. The burger was perfectly done and the juices that poured out of the meat was so yummy. Highly recommended!

Overall, we had a great time here. The food was great and the service was great as well. If I was to visit Boston again, I would definitely come here again!

Words of Wisdom:

Oysters are a must!
Good service
Long waits at peak hours
No reservations
Neptune Burger, Maine Lobster Roll and Oysters are a must!

We Rate Neptune Oyster House:

Address:
63 Salem St
Boston, MA

Website:
http://www.neptuneoyster.com/

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In Cafe

Food Adventure in New Westminster: Ki Sushi, Tre Galli Gelato, Karmavore, and Boathouse

June 13, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: The Food Adventure was paid courtesy of the Salient Group. The reviews are unbiased as the restaurants were chosen by the winner and no restaurants had prior knowledge of our presence.

A few weeks ago, I held a contest to have a reader join me for an all-day food adventure with me. Through the powers of Excel, @depotato got drawn as the winner. Since it was also her sister’s (@seapotato)birthday, we took her along on our adventure in New Westminster. She selected a few places to go to – Ki Sushi, Tre Galli Gelato, Karmavore and the Boathouse.

Since they have never been to New Westminster, we walked around checking out a few really cool stores like the retro video game store and a board game store. Clearly, we 3 were very nerdy and loved video games. The day was very fun despite some restaurants being a hit and miss.

Ki Sushi

At 11am, we went to Ki Sushi. Since they just opened, it was quite busy, but by 12pm there were definitely more customers. They sell the usual type of Japanese dishes. I’ve been here about 5 years ago and they have undergone some renovations.

Salmon and Tuna Sashimi ($11.95) has about 5 pieces each and was a decent price. It tasted delicious and fresh. What I liked out the place is that they use Wild Sockeye salmon rather than the usual salmon.

Seafood Salad ($9.95) was very massive and had a good amount of seafood. It had ebi, hoki, tako, baby shrimp, avocado, shredded lettuce, and a citrus sauce. The salad was good, but we wished it was larger pieces of lettuce rather than the shredded lettuce. Also, there was way too much sauce.

Gyoza ($3.50) was very sloppy and poorly executed. When you pick up the gyoza, it would fall apart instantly. I assume when they were making them, they probably didn’t seal it well enough.

Prawn Tempura ($8.25) was a good size and was crunchy on the outside.

American Roll ($12.95) has half a soft-shelled crab and seaweed on top of 8 rolls. The inside of the roll has avocado and crab. It is wrapped with tuna. This was my favorite roll, but it was a bit expensive.

Vancouver Roll ($9.94) is topped with avocado and eel on top. It was also a favorite of the table.

Maple Roll ($6.96) has wild sockeye on top and the inside has tuna. If you love sashimi, you’ll definitely love this.

Overall, the food can be a hit and miss. The service was ok, but we did notice some of the dishes were quite dirty so we had to swap them. The food came out fairly quickly which wasn’t too bad.

Words of Wisdom:

Hit and Miss dishes
Good sushi
Decent prices

We Rate Ki Sushi:

Address:
31 8th St
New Westminster, BC
Website:
http://www.kisushi.ca/index.asp

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River Market

We stopped by after our lunch to check out The River Market near the waterfront. They have the worlds tallest toy soldier, a good amount of shops and restaurants. It was moderately busy on the weekends. The busiest areas were inside River Market since there are some amazing restaurants there – Wallys Burgers, Re-Up BBQ, and some other places.

I use to come to this area quite often as a kid and this area has definitely transformed a lot!

Right by the dock, there was also the Samson V Maritime Museum. It’s free to enter and you can look into their engine room, captains deck, and their living quarters.

Tre Galli Gelato

As we were walking around River Market, gelato caught the eyes of @seapotato and she just had an urge for gelato. Tre Galli Gelato Caffe has a large selection of gelato and they serve coffee.

Guava Gelato / Espresso Gelato ($3.75) was a strange combination by @seapotato but she enjoyed it.

Espresso Gelato / Hazelnut Gelato ($3.75) was chosen by @depotato and she liked both flavours. She also said the hazelnut gelato was more dominant compared to the espresso gelato.

Hazelnut Gelato ($3.75) was what I chose. The flavour was very nice and strong, so it was nice for a hot day outside.

Overall, the gelato was a good price and the flavours were very delicious. It’s a good item to snack on if you are at the River Market chilling with a few friends.

Words of Wisdom:

You can sample the flavours
A good selection of drinks
Decent prices
Close to New West Skytrain

We Rate Tre Galli Gelato:

Address:
810 Quayside Dr
New Westminster, BC

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Karmavore – The Vegan Shop

Karmavore is a vegan shop in the heart of New Westminster. They have a eco-friendly retail shop on the main level and a grocery store/deli in the basement. They are 100% vegan. It’s the perfect spot if you are vegan.

They have a few tables downstairs, but the space isn’t too large. You can find some unique items here. We were drawn here by their root beer floats but it turns out they were not available. We were quite sad, but we decided to grab some other snack and drinks since we were there anyways.

We consumed the following:

English Breakfast Tea ($1.75)
Carob Peanut Butter Puck ($2.50)
Edible Flours Mini Red velvet Cupcake ($1.99)
Happy Planet Lost lagoon Mango Smoothie ($2.79)
King Island Coconut Water ($1.49)

Overall, we were a bit disappointed since they didn’t have the root beer float even though it was still written on their chalk board. As we ordered our pastries, they were quite hesitant to give us a plate since we wanted to eat it in the shop. It seems like it really was a “grab n go” deli. Nonetheless, it’s a good spot to go to if you work or live in the area to grab something.

We Rate Karmavore:

Address:
610 Columbia Street
New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://www.karmavore.ca/

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Downtown New Westminster

As we finished our snack, we walked around Columbia Street to see what was in the area. We stopped by the Trapp + Holbrook presentation center and had a tour of their apartments. It was very pretty and I was so amazed by their fridges since it was built into their cabinets.

We check out most of the stores on Columbia street and walked up a giant hill onto 6th st. We huffed and we puffed and then we went to Blenz to grab a drink before heading back down to the River Market for dinner. We also found some vegemite and marmite at Sherlock’s Cafe.

The Boathouse

For our dinner, we decided to get our fill of seafood by going to the Boathouse. It is located right by the River Market and is known for their steaks and seafood. As we arrived, we were really looking forward to oysters and lobsters. Unfortunately, they already sold out of lobster tails and Shrimp Kisses. We were very disappointed since it was very early in the evening, so there was no way they would have been sold out. It was a weekend, so it didn’t make sense they wouldn’t be prepared for the weekend rush of customers.

@depotato and @seapotato decided to get 3 course dinner set for $35 instead.

Complementary bread was very good. It was fluffy in the center and nice and nice and crisp on the outside. It also came with some herb butter to spread.

Boathouse original West-coast Chowder didn’t seem very hearty like how a chowder is supposed to be.

Crispy Calamari comes with Tzatziki. It was nice and tender. Very soft and chewy.

6 Kusshi Oysters + 6 Royal Miyagi Oysters ($17.99) tasted good and their tastes were a bit different, but Kusshi is definitely the better oyster. What I noticed when I reviewed by photos was how battered the oysters looked. Whoever shucked these were quite aggressive with them.

Thai Crab Cakes ($12.99) comes with 3 pieces and the taste was alright, but we did notice there was not a lot of crab meat compared to the amount of bread crumbs.

Mixed Seafood Grill has grilled sockeye, crab stuffed jumbo prawns, pan seared sea scallops and fire grilled prawns with tomato pesto orzo and vegetables.

7oz Sirloin Steak with stuffed prawns ($29.99) was asked to be cooked medium rare, but the cut of meat was very tough.It seemed to be cooked medium instead. I just left it since I didn’t want to be picky. They gave M a steak knife for his steak, but didn’t give me one for some reason. So, I just assumed I would use my regular knife. It was very hard to cut, I had to use a lot of strength to cut up my steak.

14oz Prime New York Steak ($39.99) was what M ordered and it was a huge steak. He ordered it rare and there are visible grill lines. On the menu it states “the top .2% of world class beef – the best quality available and exclusively cut for Boathouse”. M did not think the quality was there. He was quite disappointed as well.

Molten Chocolate Brownie ($8.99) is served warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and strawberries on the side. M said the brownie was very warm and the ice cream definitely balanced it out.

Famous Mud pie is also known as the mocha ice cream pie. It comes with a chocolate ganache sauce and maple almonds. It did taste good.

Creme Brulee was ok according to @depotato. She did say the crust was very hard and it made it a bit bitter.

Overall, I was not satisfied with the service or food at this Boathouse location. I’ve been to other Boathouse locations and the quality was not here. I would not return to this location again. Even though we told the server that it was @seapotato’s birthday, they did not provide a sparkler on her cake compared to the other customers in the restaurant. Also, they charged us for the cake when it was supposed to be complimentary. You can pay the same price at Black & Blue Downtown to get better quality…and pay less.

Words of Wisdom:

Quality is not there
Overpriced
Inconsistent service amongst customers

We Rate Boathouse:
Address:
900 Quayside Dr
New Westminster, BC

Website:
http://www.boathouserestaurants.ca/

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In Faneuil Hall

Boston & Maine Fish Company: Lobsters at Quincy Market

June 8, 2012

Quincy Market is an awesome place to check out when you are in Boston. It’s located in the Downtown area and is a few minutes from the center of Downtown. It has lots of stores and it’s a great place to EAT.

After our walking tour of the Freedom Trail, CanuckGirl and I decided to get a bite to eat. She decided to get clam chowder and I was on the hunt for a lobster. Ange kept telling me to eat lobsters, so I just had to find one without killing my wallet.

As I walked inside, I saw that Boston & Maine Fish Company was selling tons of lobsters and there was a huge line up. The lobsters looked good, but I decided to walk around the whole market to see if there was a better deal. It seems like they were the only place serving steamed lobster.

They were offering a steamed lobster with corn and butter for $17.99. It was alright, so I decided to get one.

We sat in the 2nd floor seating area. There are a few seats open during peak hours, so you really gotta keep your eyes open for a spot. You can also eat outside if it’s a nice day.

Once the lobster is chopped up it doesn’t look too big. It was probably around a pound in weight. Most of the meat is in the tail and claws. I still was full eating it all. The meat was nice and tender.

You get the whole lobster, so you have to stare at its face. Some can tolerate it, some just get scared. I tend to play with my food so I wasn’t squeamish.

After eating all of the meat in the lobsters tail and claws, it was time for the best part… THE BRAINS. I normally never eat the brains since I leave it to my mom to enjoy the fatty goodness. CanuckGirl told me to suck it out, but it don’t think it works for lobsters (it works for prawns), so I just used a fork to scoop out the brains. I took a photo because sometimes I like to be stupid.

Overall, it was a decent size for a lobster for $17.99 , but it’s the cheapest. I got it here since I didn’t want to pay $40 for a lobster at a restaurant. I got my lobster fill in Boston…and yes I even bought a lobster plushie too from a nearby store.

Words of Wisdom:

Decently priced lobsters
Very crowded on weekends
No free wifi, but just stand near the Starbucks in the building

We Rate Boston & Maine Fish Company:

Address:
200 Fanueil Hall Marketplace
Boston, MA

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In Downtown

Kamei Royale: Kamei Kiss Dining Package Review

May 31, 2012

Foodology Disclaimer: VANEATS.ca approached me to try out their “Kamei Kiss” dining package and write a review about it. I got a complementary dining package for myself and I brought along M to keep the review as unbiased as I could.

Kamei Royale Japanese Restaurant is located on Burrard near West Georgia, thus very close to the Burrard Skytrain. They are owned by the Kamei Group that also owns Ebisu and Daimasu. I’ve visited Ebisu and Daimasu before, but I have not been to Kamei Royal until this experience.

The guys at VANEATS.ca is offering a new dining package called Kamei Kiss for $19, where you get 4 courses consisting of:

Healthy Agedashi Tofu
Crab Salad
Oda Roll
Ice Cream Tempura

The interior is quite nice and the interior is large too. I would think this would be a good location for large parties. Some of the staff are even dressed up in kimonos.

Crab Salad has a crab mixed with avocado, mango, mayonnaise and tobiko. It is garnished with tomatoes, fried lotus roots, sprouts and greens. It is served in a martini glass and was a little bit difficult to figure out how to eat it since we were unsure if we should be eating the large leaf of lettuce or not. In the end, M and I just at the crab mixture and the garnishes and left the large leaf. M enjoyed the amount of crab and the accompany ingredients.

Healthy Agedashi Tofu is deep-fried and topped with kinpira, nameko mushrooms, edamame beans and lotus roots. It sits on top of a bed of ponzu sauce. The outer skin of the agedashi tofu was a little big soggy due to the ponzu sauce and the ingredients on top. It’s best to eat the item fairly quickly when it arrives at your table before the skin gets too soft. Nonetheless, the tofu does have a delicious flavour that balances with the sauce.

Oda Roll has mango, avocado, cucumber and salmon inside. It is topped with tempura eel and cream cheese. The server comes by and torches the top of the cream cheese with a blowtorch. It’s a fun little show, plus it looks amazing. I’ve never seen cream cheese being torched since it’s usually raw fish.

The creaminess from the cream cheese and the avocado made it a delight. The scorched cream cheese added a nice smokey taste that accompanied the tempura eel quite well.

Ice Cream Tempura has vanilla ice cream deep-fried in tempura batter, drizzled with chocolate and topped off with powdered sugar and a cherry. It’s about the size of a baseball. When we cut into the ice cream tempura, the inside was still cold, but it does start to melt quite quickly. M really enjoyed the dessert and was tempted to purchase another one just for himself.

Overall, if you look at Kamei Royale’s regular menu, you will see that the dining package is a steal! The Oda roll by itself is $15.50, the crab salad is $8.50, agedashi tofu is $5.95, and then tempura ice cream is $5.50. You save about $16.45 with getting the package. If you get the package and an additional noodle or rice dish, two people can get full.

The package is on sale now till it’s sold out, so you can grab this at VANEATS.ca for $19.

Words of Wisdom:

Beautiful decor and food presentation
Good for large groups
Tea costs $1.50 🙁
Overpriced for what you get, there are many cheaper options Downtown

We Rate Kamei Royale:

Address:
1030 W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.kameiroyale.com/

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In Downtown/University of Toronto

Guu Izakaya (Toronto): Still got it Guu’d

May 23, 2012

Guu Izakaya is the first Guu location in Toronto. It is much smaller than its other location – Guu SakaBar, but it is very very popular. BaguetteGirl, CanuckGirl and I waited 1.5 hours for a table of 3. That’s quite nuts, but I have a goal of going to all the Guu’s in the world. It’s my favorite restaurant, so it just seemed like I needed to go. No line up will stop me. I’m just glad Vancouver has 6 Guus so I don’t have to wait so long.

The interior has bar seating, a few long tables and some patio seating. It’s quite hard to get a large table unless you come here early.

We sat at the bar watching the chefs cook up some delicious food and we saw this super cute cat!

Big Mug Sapporo ($9.50) is similar size to a ‘Mega’ Sapporo in Vancouver. It’s quite large…a liter of beer! I couldn’t finish it….but if I did…I probably wouldn’t be able to get home.

Gomae ($3.80) is blanched spinach with black sesame sauce. I liked the spinach, but I think there was too much sesame sauce.

Gindara ($9.80) is grilled black cod with Saikyo miso and white wine sauce. It was a bit small for the price, but it was very tender and flaky.

Karaage ($6.80) has deep-fried soy sauce marinated chicken served with a mayo sauce. I had the karaage at Guu SakaBar and they karaage does differ slightly. It seems like this one has a bit more battering to it. Nonetheless, it still delicious and tender on the inside.

Okonomiyaki ($6.80) is a deep-fried Japanese pancake with squid, tonkastsu sauce and karashi mayo. It comes in 4 pieces and quite delicious! It is topped with bonito flakes and seaweed! The bonito flakes move around as heat is emitted from the dish. It looks alive, but it isn’t.

Gyu Carpaccio ($6.50) has seared beef sashimi with ponzu sauce. It is topped with scallions, radish, garlic chips and mayo. It’s one of my favorite dishes! You take the slices of beef and put a little of everything on it.

Kimchi Udon ($7.80) has udon noodles with spicy cod roe and kimchi. It is topped with dried seaweed and scallions. You mix this together with your chopsticks to get everything incorporated. It’s not spicy at all! Very delicious and savory. Usually when you cook kimchi, it softens up and the spiciness disappears. Very yummy!

Overall, the items between all Guus in the words are quite similar. They have very similar items, so no matter where you are in the world, you can have their delicious karaage, sashimi, and udons.

Words of Wisdom:

Super long waits
If you hate waiting, go to Guu Sakabar for a shorter wait
Under $10 per dish, but can add up if you drink

We Rate Guu Izakaya:
Address:
398 Church St
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.guu-izakaya.com/toronto.html

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In Four Beakers

Buster’s Sea Cove: Fish Sandwiches at St. Lawrence Market

May 20, 2012

Buster’s Sea Cove in the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto is very very popular and there are always long lines on Saturdays. Even though the line is quite long looking, the staff are very efficient, so it shouldn’t take too long to order and then receive your items.

BaguetteGirl, CanuckGirl, Fabo and I went here to eat lunch since we heard the fish sandwiches were to die for. Plus, there was a long lineup, so there must be a reason why they were there.

New England Clam Chowder (S- $3.80) comes with a small cup of goldfish crackers. CanuckGirl thought it was good but not very creamy.

Calamari & Salad ($9.95) was actually just a box of calamari and then a box of salad. The calamari tasted fresh, but it wasn’t very crispy. It comes with a marinara type of sauce. The salad was pretty usual but it does come with a balsamic vinegar.

Shrimp in Rose & Herb Sauce ($11.95) comes with a bed of basmati rice and slaw. Fabo enjoyed the size and freshness of the shrimp.

Grilled Salmon Sandwich ($8.95) comes with a side of slaw. BaguetteGirls usual orders the sandwiches at Busters.

I stole a bit of BaguetteGirl’s sandwich and the salmon was so tender and perfectly done! I usually hate cooked salmon, but it was just so moist and delicious.

Overall, the seafood tasted very fresh and is a great place to go for a good lunch at the St. Lawrence Market. Definitely a go-to place if you visit the market!

Words of Wisdom:

Delicious Fish Sandwiches and Fish + Chips
Long waits, but goes fast
Decent amount of seating

We Rate Buster’s Sea Cove:

Address:
93 Front Street East
Toronto,ON

Website:
http://ww.busters-seacove.com/

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In Four Beakers

Alpha Sushi & Japanese Tapas: A Good Alternative

May 5, 2012

Alpha Sushi and Japanese Tapas is located in Yaletown and is quite popular even on weekday nights. It was empty at 5pm, but by 6pm it started to get quite packed. As you can gather by their name….they do have Japanese tapas and sushi.

CandiedZen and I decided to meet up after my last day of work to just catch up over food and drinks. My last visit was probably 5 years ago and I remember it being a delicious place.

South Pole ($5.75) has tequila, cassis, pineapple, and lychee.

Pint of Sapporo ($5) is something I must get when I have Japanese food. I find it the perfect pairing. It’s light and not too strong.

Tako Wasa ($4) is seasoned baby octopus with japanese horseradish. It is served with shrimp chips on the side. You would scoop the octopus onto the cracker and eat it. The shrimp cracker gives it a nice crunchy texture to go with the octopus. CandiedZen liked it with the shrimp cracker but I thought it was a bit strange since it’s usually paired with seaweed.

Mini Potato Croquette ($6) is a deep-fried potato with bits of beef. It has a side of fruity vegetable sauce. I liked the small size and its simple taste.

Tuna Garlic Pepper Sashimi ($9.50) is one of their popular items that they sell. It has black pepper and garlic flavoured seared fresh albacore tuna with ponzu sauce. It was good, but I felt there was a bit too much going on with the plate and drowns out the natural taste of the sashimi. If you love garlic, you’ll love this dish.

Dill Salmon Carpaccio ($8.75) has sliced dill salmon with capers, dressing and a side salad. There really wasn’t much dill to it except for the sprinkles of dry dill. It’s best enjoyed by taking a bit of everything and eating it.

Grilled Hokke-Mackerel ($8.75) is grilled salted hokke mackerel with ponzu sauce. They already remove the bones so it’s quite easy to eat. I enjoyed it with the ponzu sauce since the acidity from the sauce blended well.

Ebi Mayo Japon ($6.50) are deep-fried nobashi prawns in breaded panko crumb batter with tartar sauce. It was delicious!

Overall, it’s a great alternative to the other izakaya restaurants in town. Some items can be a hit or miss, but a majority of the items are pretty good. They have lots of specials and special drinks. To help make ordering a bit easier, they have a list of the most ordered items of the previous week. The service was quite attentive and the servers were helpful.

Words of Wisdom: