Downtown Archives - Page 17 of 22

In Downtown

Pita Wrap Cafe: Come Here, Eat Cheap, Be Full.

November 2, 2011

Pita Wrap Cafe is super popular for international students for their cheap lunch deals. You can probably get really full for about $7. They have about 2 daily specials, which are usually the most popular. Since I wanted to explore more of the unknown restaurants, I came here with Flo for lunch. We really had no idea what to expect.

The interior has a few seats and you just order up at the corner. It gets pretty packed here around noon, so it’s best to go earlier before noon or past 1pm.

The most popular items for lunch are usually on the middle menu section. Most regular menu items are under $8, but if they happen to be the daily special, it can be about $5 – $6.

Chicken Shawarma wrap ($5.25) has fresh lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, tzatziki and tahini. Not as good as other places, but it was decent.

Flo had a Lentil Soup ($2.75) to go with her wrap.

Beef Kabob Plate ($7.45) has rice, greek salad, roasted potatoes, tzatziki, pita bread and the beef kabob.

The 2 beef kabobs tasted alright but could have had more flavour. The rice and potatoes were decent as well.

Just like the rest of the meal, it was alright. you get what you pay for. You will get pretty full from this dish, but it won’t be the most exciting beef kabob you have ever had. You probably want to come here to eat cheap to be full.

Words of Wisdom:

Good variety of dishes
Pretty average dishes
Daily Specials everyday
Under $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate Pita Wrap Cafe:

Address:
565 Dunsmuir St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Osa Tako Hero Takoyaki Food Cart: Best Takoyaki Ever

October 27, 2011

A new food cart has popped up at the other end of Pacific Center! I was just walking by and I just had to stop dead in my tracks to try this place out.

Osa Tako Hero specilizes in authentic Takoyaki. Their whole cart is theme like an cartoon RPG game. I was actually quite surprise and confused at the same time.

Their takoyaki is made of octopus (tako), a secret batter, green tea, cabbage, carrot, onion and seaweed. All their ingredients are fresh.

I took me a long time to figure out how to read the menu since the RPG theme made it so confusing. All you need to do is read the “hero magic scroll” and follow the steps!

Choose how many balls you want (5,7 or 10)
Choose your sauce ( takoyaki sauce +mayo or spicy takoyaki +mayo)
Choose your toppings ( Curry powder, shredded cheese, seaweed, maple syrup, or bonito flakes

Spicy takoyaki sauce + Curry Powder (10 – $5.99) I really had no idea what I was thinking when I made these 2 flavour combination. It didn’t taste bad, but I think it would have just been better with the traditional mayo and the bonito flakes instead.

I love how they make the takoyaki!!!!! It was nice and soft on the inside with a large piece of octopus on the inside. The octopus tastes really fresh!! It literally blew my mind! SO much better than the ones at the Richmond Night Market. If you are a takoyaki fan, you must try this food cart out!!

Overall, very impressed by the taste and quality. Best I’ve ever had!

Words of Wisdom:

Very well made!
Good Price! Under $10
A large selection of toppings!
stick with the normal teriyaki and mayo sauces with bonito flakes
Best takoyaki I’ve ever had!

We Rate Osa Tako Hero:
Location:
Howe & W. Pender – in front of Pacific Center Mall entrance

Website:
http://www.osatakohero.com/

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Mangal Kiss Mid East BBQ Truck: It’s like Nuba on A Truck

October 26, 2011

Since so many Food Carts are continually popping up Downtown, I thought it would be a great idea to check out more of them! Since there are so many near my work place that are new, I needed to go try them before the Vancouver rain ruins the beautiful sunny days.

Mangal Kiss has some delicious middle eastern food. When I looked at their menu, I had no idea what it was, but I keep hearing its good.

Perhaps I have bad eyes, but it took me a while to figure out how to read the menu. They sell shishliks, which is like a wrap. Then you choose what Salatim or sauces you want inside. I just let them put anything into my shishliks.

I got the Chicken Shishlik ($7) which has hummus, tahini, purple cabbage, beets, pickled turnips, pickles, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, radish and tabbouleh wrapped in Taftoon, an iranian flat bread. It is packed full of vegetables and a skewer of chicken.

The flavours went together so well and it reminded me of the flavours of Nuba, but in a wrap. I do love vegetable, so I didn’t mind that it has so many vegetables. The chicken was quite small compared to the size of the wrap, but I think it worked well overall since you get a lot of taste from the vegetables and sauces.

This wrap isn’t small either. It’s pretty large!

Mediterranean Tomato Basil Soup (With shishliks it’s extra $4). One of those good things to have on a nice cold chilly Fall day. It tasted good but it was not as good as Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck’s soup.

Overall, pretty good food here. You will get full. I was stuffed! If you like exotic eats, go check them out! With the OccupyVancouver happening at the Art Gallery, they have had a 70% drop in business. Don’t let those protesters get in the way of experiencing yummy yummy food. Support local businesses and give Mangal Kiss BBQ Truck a try!

Words of Wisdom:

Amazing flavours
Under $10
Close to City Center, Burrard or Granville Skytrain

We Rate Mangal Kiss Mideast BBQ Truck:

Location:

Behind Vancouver Art Gallery

Twitter:

@mangalkiss

In Downtown

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck: Nom Nom Nom Omigosh!

October 25, 2011

Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck has been catching A LOT of buzz since it just opened a week or so ago! They specialize in GRILLED CHEESE! Nothing gets more delicious than that. Remember when you were a kid, grilled cheese was that ooey gooey snack that you craved so much?

When I arrived a little past noon, the line up was HUGE! It spread at least to that lamp post! Even it was a cold day, the people faced the cold to get grilled cheese! We actually waited 30 mins before we got our food. It was ok considering there were SO many people in front of us. Best to come with a friend to wait out the line. OR just go early or late to avoid the long line ups.

Then menu has a few specialities, build-it-yourself type of options, dessert, sides and drinks. Their desserts looks so good as well! The Fat Elvis has peanut butter and banana on grilled white bread. Even though the specialties are limited, you have endless combinations with the sandwich you want to build.

Sometimes they even have daily specials on their Facebook and twitter, so best to like and follow them.

Pop Shoppe Pop ($1.75) looks super retro, but I’ve heard it tastes amazing.

Roasted Tomato Soup (Cup $3.50) is the best tomato soup I have ever had. No joke about that! It’s worth it! I usually don’t like tomato soup, but this soup changed my whole perception of tomato soup. It is also topped with basil mascarpone, which is a yummy addition!

Karen’s Killer Chili ($5.50) is topped with cheddar, sour cream, and cilantro. My coworker had this as a “super deluxe add-on” to her sandwich, but I think they just gave her the full size. I don’t think she minded the mix up since she got way more than what she paid for.

As you wait for your sandwiches, you can sip on your hot soup or chili and watch “mom” hard at work grilling those sandwiches!

The Jackson 3 ($8.50) has triple cheese, triple decker grilled cheese…three pieces of sourdough surrounded by melted, Brie, Boursin and Gruyere! This was huge! When I was reading the menu, I missed the part where it said it was 3 pieces of bread. Look how big it is!

Look at that, isn’t that so pretty? The Brie, Boursin and Gruyere are melted inside so nicely with the nice crunchy sourdough bread. If you have a big stomach, totally get this!! Look how small my hand is compared to the sandwich!

If you like an extra kick to your sandwich, they have a bunch of hot sauces that you can add to your sandwich.

Your meal doesn’t just come with the sandwich! It comes with a wedge of pickle and chips! It’s was a nice surprise to see that since I originally thought I wouldn’t get full from just a sandwich. The chips were very good as well. I got super full and had foodcoma.

My other coworkers decided to build their own. Looks pretty good right? (P.s. does not come with iPhone 4s)

The sandwiches are very to vegans too! They have a special Daiya vegan cheese for an additional $.75!

Overall, I wasn’t disappointed in anything they made! It’s pretty popular right now, so you may end up waiting a bit in line.

Words of Wisdom:

Roasted Tomato Soup is a MUST!!!
Love the sourdough bread!
Under $10
Surprise addition of the chips and pickle!
Not something that you can have everyday…so cheesy and oily.

We Rate Mom’s Grilled Cheese Food Truck:
Address:
800 W Georgia St
Vancouver, BC
Website:
momsgrilledcheesetruck.com

Facebook:
facebook.com

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Vancouver

In Downtown

Hubbub Sandwiches: When Sandwiches become Salads

October 16, 2011

It was another weekly Wednesday at lunch and all the co-op students at my work place love to go out and eat! Since I haven’t been to Hubbub sandwiches yet, I thought it would be a great place to take them. Everyone loves sandwiches (hopefully) and they are famous for their sandwiches.

Even when you’re waiting in line to order or waiting for your food to come out, you can read a little bit about their story and their sandwiches.

There are a few seats, but it can get busy, so it might be good to arrive early or just take out. You can also order online too.

The menu is quite straight forward, choose the protein you want and then you can add additional sides or a drink.

I decided to get all 3 items to get the full experience but, it did cost quite a bit.

Albacore tuna Sandwich has black sesame crusted albacore tuna with mango, avocado, chipotle aioli and arugula. AvocadoGirl really loved this sandwich since the tuna was lightly seared…since she’s also a huge fan of avocados, she obviously liked it.

This was one of their special sandwiches of the day, so it’s not on their regular menu, but if you see it, you should definitely order it.

Pork Sandwich ($8.49) Marinated spicy and tender pork, pickled jalaenos, creamy garlic sauce, romaine lettuce, cilantro, carmalized onions on a toasty baguette.

MeatLover said this sandwich was really good but it was quite spicy.

Chicken Breast Sandwich ($8.93), Chicken breast steeped in citus and coconut milk with pickled jalaenos, creamy garlic sauce, romaine lettuce, cilantro, carmalized onions on a toasty baguette.

I loved the other ingredients in the sandwich, but I found the chicken to be a bit dry. I probably wouldn’t order this again and go with something more saucy.

Potato Chips ($1.99) are local BC grown potatoes. It is all natural and contains no trans-fats. I love these chips! They were really crunchy and not too salty. So much better than any other chips I’ve had.

Overall, it was a good experience for all! The 3 of us found the sandwiches pretty awesome and better than Meat & Bread. I saw other people have the salad option instead of having their sandwich in bread … it looked quite amazing…so I think I need to go back to try it again!

Words of Wisdom:

Gluten Free option: Turn the sandwich into a salad
Take out option and order online
Most seatings in 2’s and 4’s
Slightly pricey
Pork and the albacore tuna seemed good

We Rate Hubbub Sandwiches:

Address:

859 Hornby St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
hubbubsandwiches.com

Facebook:
facebook.com

Twitter:

@_hubbub

Vancouver

In Downtown

Stackhouse Burger Bar: Mouthwatering Burgers

October 12, 2011

Before AndyEatsAlot departed back to Montreal, I had dinner with him and Gmoney at Stackhouse Burger Bar. They are known for their delicious burgers! Since Andy was about to leave, it seemed fitting that we meet up and just do what we love – eat!

The interior is not too bad looking and it is filled with natural light since the whole front of the restaurant was made of glass.

All the delicious burgers come out from here! You can even look to see what the cooks are doing!

Stackhouse Burger ($15) has a 6.5 oz local prime rib patty with pancetta, portabellini, Guinness cheddar, chipotle aioli and butter lettuce served on a brioche bun.

This is probably one of the most popular burgers since it’s named after the restaurant.

Fries are russet potatoes fried and seasoned to perfection with fleur de sel, served with your choice of aioli. Fries comes with the burger or you can substitute it for something else like salad or onion rings.

Portabellini Burger ($14) has 6.5 oz local prime rib patty with portabellini, Guinness cheddar, chipotle aioli and butter lettuce served on a brioche bun.

Ahi Tuna Burger ($16) has a 5 oz Ahi tuna steak with miso aioli, watercress and creamy avocado. Topped with fried onions, served on a brioche bun.

I know, I should have gotten a beef burger like the others, but once I see the word “tuna”, I kinda had to gravitate towards it. The ahi tuna is lightly seared on the outside. It tasted alright, but it wasn’t the most amazing ahi tuna burger I have had. If you are a true burger fan, might as well stick with the other meaty burgers.

Fried Pickles with truffle dip it’s not on the menu, but they have it if you ask them. I added this to my meal and I think it was a few bucks more. I’ve heard much of the deep fried pickles, but I was super unsure how it would taste. I love pickles on its own! After eating it fried, I thought it was good for the first piece but then it got kinda boring. I really wish the pieces of the pickles were thicker rather than the thin ones. It’s probably because I love pickles just the way they are.

Overall, Stackhouse Burger Bar has good burgers, but it can get a bit pricey if you want a drink and upgraded sides.

Words of Wisdom:

May need reservations for peak hours
Good burgers – Stackhouse Burger!
Slightly Pricey
Closest Skytrain: Granville (a bit of a walk…probably need to bus if you are lazy)

We Rate Stackhouse Burger Bar:

Address:

1224 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z

Website:
stackhouseburgerbar.com

Vancouver

In Downtown

Hapa Umi: Delicious Food in Small Portions

October 10, 2011

Hapa Umi is the higher end version of Hapa Izakaya. They are located near Waterfront and serve up some unique Japanese dishes. I bought 2 Living Social Coupons a while ago, and since they were about to expire, I really needed to use them. I brought along 3 friends to join me on this delicious journey.

I tried making reservations a few days in advanced, but they were super busy with other reservations. I got an 8:30 slot, but we were so efficient that we arrived at 8 instead. The hostess was very nice and was able to seat us earlier.

The interior was quite nice! Theres even an area of seating where you can look at the water.

The menu has three courses and you had your choice of any 3 items.

From the booths that we sat at, we were able to see the chefs in action putting together our dishes.

Since no meal at a Japanese restaurant can be complete without beer, InsecureGirl got the Hapa Lager and I got a Sapporo.

Halibut Ceviche has fresh cuts of halibut sashimi with sliced cherry tomatoes, topped with onions, lemon-lime soy marinade and shiso-infused olive oil.

Very nice and delicate taste! It definitely has different texture, but I think I still prefer my usual tuna.

Pemberton Medows Beef Tataki has the thin slices of beef with garlic ponzu, green onion and spicy daikon.

KoreanGirl, InsecureGirl and CanuckGirl all liked the quality of the dish, but it did seem a tad small.

BC Wild Spring Salmon has the pan seared salmon on skewers with gnocchi, roated cauliflower, cauliflower puree, grilled zucchini with a soy-maple shallot butter.

Tofu two-ways Tofu steak with crispy tofu, scallion-ginger soy, peppers and a basil cream. One tofu was deep fried and the other was pan fried.

This dish was alright, good flavours but I found the portion sizing to be quite small for the entree. Very good quality, but it still left me hungry.

AAA Alberta Beef Tenderloin Steak came medium rare with vegetables and some other sauces. This wasn’t written on the menu since they needed to make a few substitution on a few items. InsecureGirl said this dish was pretty well executed, but was also a tad small.

Their dessert menu is separate and our eyes just lit up when we saw it.

We ordered 2 orders of the Cannoli and the cheesecake, but they decided to present it to us in a larger plate so we all could share.

Umi Cannoli ($9) citrus cream cheese filling, shiso and strawberry compote with sour cream ice cream. These are the small circular things on the plate. There were really really good, but its not the type of cannoli you would see in the stores. This is more flat like a cookie with delicious filling. I could eat these all day!

Souffle Cheesecake ($9.50) has strawberry and shiso compote too. The cheese cake was quite dense and did eventually slowly fill us up.

Overall, good quality and taste of the food, but the portions and price are completely different spectrums. It can get quite expensive.

Words of Wisdom:

Japanese modern fusion type of food
Great taste
Small Portions
More higher end compared to other Japanese Izakaya Restaurants
Great place for Business meals or special occasions

We Rate Hapa Umi:
Address:
909 W Cordova St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
hapaumi.com

Twitter:
@hapaumi

Vancouver

In Dessert

Footo Delights: Pesto Turkey Croissant Sandwich

October 6, 2011

I went back to Footo Delights to try more items. Last time, I came here and bought a whole bunch of croissants for the office/home. I wasn’t disappointed at all. I really value little shops that focus on healthy natural ingredients. Looking at my slowly increasing weight, I could really cut down on bad stuff.

My goal during this visit was to try their croissant sandwiches since they did look pretty damn good from my last visit.

The croissant comes in a cute little box with their customized branding.

Inside this box is the Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwich ($4.95 ala carte or $8.50 with soup), which has the most delicious pesto I have ever tasted! It is matched really well with the turkey, swiss, tomatoes and lettuce. Not a bad sandwich at all. The croissant was flakey on the outside with crispy ends! The inside was nice and fluffy.

Their daily soup that they had was the Carrot Ginger Soup. I’m not a huge carrot or ginger fan since I prefer more of the clear types of soup. Ya… I’m so asian. The soup has a dominant flavour and the ginger is very very subtle.

Overall, a good place for a quick lunch since I am a few blocks away.

Words of Wisdom:

Made with natural ingredients
Large selection of desserts
Small local and independently owned
Not your typical croissant
Highly recommend the chocolate croissant and Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwich
Closest Skytrain: Stadium or Granville

We Rate Footo Delights:

Address:

820 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.footodelights.com

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

Twitter: @FootoDelights

In Downtown

Suzette’s Cafe: Cheap Breakfast and Lunch for Under $6

October 4, 2011

I’ve heard the sandwiches at Suzette’s Cafe is a must try. I have to admit, I’ve passed by so many times and it really doesn’t appeal to me. Perhaps it’s the outdated decor or perhaps their Coca-Cola signage.

Nonetheless, I decided to try it out with @floYVR for some cheap lunch eats!

You order at the counter and it reminds me of a Subway. There are lots of seating around the restaurant and lots of windows, so it’s well lit.

They have all day breakfast, so you can get your fill of eggs and bacon! At these prices, it won’t break your wallet.

They also have another board for sandwiches. They have a good amount of choices.
This place is quite popular for their cheap eats and attracts many international students in the area.

Schnitzel Sandwich ($5.50) has freshly prepared schnitzel with your choice of bread and fillings. They don’t have a large selection of vegetables, but you can choose from the basics like lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and sauce.

Flo was feeling a need for pickles, so she asked for a side of pickles to fill her cravings.

She thought the sandwich was alright for the price. It’s not the most amazing sandwich, but you get what you pay for.

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich ($5ish) is this huge hotdog looking sandwich! It has whatever vegetables filling you want. It has cheese on top and the best sauce to go on top is BBQ sauce.

I got pretty full from this sandwich, the taste was already, but nothing super delicious. I wish they had more variety of toppings to add on, but I guess thats why it’s so cheap. There was lots of meat piled on top, so I wasn’t disappointed.

Overall, it was just pretty average. They are well priced and will fill you up! Perfect for students in the area that want a quick cheap lunch or breakfast. After 2:30pm, they have a special deal where it’s buy one get one half off. (I think)

Words of Wisdom:

Cheap and affordable
All Day Breakfast
Closest Skytrain: Granville

We Rate Suzette’s Cafe:

Address:

501 Dunsmuir St
Vancouver, BC

In Downtown

Frenchies 50s Diner: Montreal Smoked Meat of Disappointment

September 23, 2011

I always by this place when I walk to Stadium Skytrain. I always look inside and drool at the montreal smoked meat, but never had a chance to go inside. This week, I thought I would go since I was a hungry girl needing some lunch. Frenchies focuses on French-Canadian like montreal smoked meat and poutine.

You really can’t get anymore Canadian than this. There are so many warning signs outside saying this place is addictive.

The interior is set to a 50s diner theme. Pretty cool since there’s not that many around.

The interior has a few seats, not the best for large groups since seats are in 4s and 2s. They have a few old hockey photos on the walls too.

Trio smoked meat (~$15) comes with 5oz montreal smoked meat sandwich with fries and pop. I found this to be quite expensive especially for lunch. If i’m paying $15 for lunch, it better be damn good.

Looking at the cross section, the amount of meat was quite decent. The bread was sourdough and it had mustard. The meat was nice and delicate.

Even though this picture is nice, it’s not a great representation of the sandwich!

All the meat was bunched up in the center and very little was on the edges. I felt lied to!! It really did not feel like 5oz of meat. The edges of the sandwich were basically empty. The only good bite was the first bite in the center.

The fries that came with this was pretty good. Nice and crispy on the outside. I love crispy fries!

I was pretty disappointed, it was expensive and not worth the price at all! There are so many better restaurants in the area that would even be cheaper. I would not visit again.

Words of Wisdom:

Around $15 for lunch
expensive for what you get
Mediocre service

We Rate Frenchies 50s Diner:

Address:

425 Dunsmuir Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.frenchies-diner.com

In Downtown

Japadog Restaurant: Novelty Has Worn Off

September 1, 2011

I have to admit, when I heard they opened up a Japadog shop, I wasn’t very keen on visiting. I mean, they do serve up really unique Japanese inspired hotdogs, but no more street eating culture. I just find the best part of eating Japadog is just sitting on concrete steps and trying to fend off the rain.

For the others, the Japadog restaurant is great for people who just want to stay indoors and sit on some real chairs. The restaurant isn’t very large, so there is still very limited seating. Most people just do take out.

I came here with MedicalGiraffe and MedicalDog when they came to visit. She wanted to show him the world famous Japanese Hot Dog.

You order at the counter on the left and then you can pick up from the right side.

They have many options to their menu. The main one above the cashier has the usual japadog, sweet japadogs, ice cream japadogs and the shake fries.

Near the door is another menu, where they have additional items and substitutions such as vegetarian options.

Here are all 3 of the Japadogs that we ordered – Oroshi, Terimayo, and Okonomi.

Terimayo ($4.75) has a beef hotdog with mayonaise, teriyaki sauce and shreds of dried seaweed. This is probably the most popular Japadog. The bun is toasted on the outside, and you can tell by the grill marks. MedicalDog thought it was good! He thought it was pretty unique and is nowhere to be found in the States.

If you really want to be cheap, you can also remake it at home. very simple and easy.

Okonomi ($6.25) has Kurobuta Pork Sausage with mayo and bonito flakes. “Okonomi” means “what you want”, which if funny for this Japadog because the toppings are already preset.

MedicalGiraffe thought it was alright, but didn’t taste as good as a few years go. Perhaps the novelty of the Japadog wore off for her.

Since I was doing Meatless Mondays with a few people on Twitter, I really had to try my best to not eat meat. So, I just substituted the normal bratwurst sausage with a veggie sausage.

Oroshi with Veggie Dog ($4.74) has a veggie sausage with radish and some light sauce with green onion on top. The bun for this one was slightly different, it seemed to be oiled and then grilled. The taste was alright, every time I eat this, I do feel a bit healthier since I am eating vegetables.

Butter + Shoyu Shaked Fries ($2.39) is the most popular shake fries, but I was very disappointed. It just tasted like McDonalds fries and looked like them too. The flavour of the butter and Shoyu were very very subtle. I actually didn’t full taste it until, I picked up a large clump of the butter and shoyu in the bottom of the bag.

Shichimi & Garlic Shaked Fries ($2.39) were really good! You coud actually taste the seasoning compared to the Butter + Shoyu!

They also have a curry flavour of shake fries too and that flavour is pretty popular as well!

Overall, I found the Japadogs not as exciting when it comes from the restaurant. The food is pretty average, but people eat it for the novelty of it because it is THE Japadog! My relatives from Hong Kong heard about it on the news and just had to get one when they visited. A lot of people have differing opinions about it, but if you love a good hot dog with crazy toppings, come here to Japadog.

Words of Wisdom:

Limited Seating
Under $10
Closest Skytrain: Granville or City Centre
Curry Shake Fries and Shichimi + Garlic Shake Fries are worth a try

We Rate Japadog:

Address:

530 Robson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.japadog.com

In Bar and Grill

Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar: More Than Meets The Eye

August 21, 2011

Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar is located in Waterfront station in Downtown. They are a great addition to the downtown core serving up pasta, burgers,pizza, salad, soup and a bunch of other items. It’s a great place to bring your clients or even a girls night out since they have some elegant decor with high ceilings.

Lobster Mac n’ Cheese ($17.99) is one of their more popular items and it has a blend of 4 cheeses, macaroni, lobster and topeed with bread crumbs and cheese.

M and Cdiddy thought it was subpar and there was not a ample amount of cheese flavour. There was plenty of lobster bits however. The whole dish was bland tasting, but the crumbs on top created a nice contrast texture from the smoothness of the mac and cheese. The real disappointment here was the salad. It was unbearably sour, and the selection of the greens didn’t help either.

The 9.2 oz ROGUE burger ($12.99) has a large sirloin patty, sesame brioche bun, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet relish, and mayo. It also comes with a side of fries. This is one massive burger and it is even skewered together by a knife.

Seafood Linguini ($16.99) it has prawns, scallops, salmon, halibut, lemon, herbs, red & yellow peppers.

Fries x 3 ($8.99) are hand cut kennebec fries that comes in 3 types – gorgonzola cream & bacon, poutine and truffle oil & parmesan. This appetizer is best shared.

The poutine fries is very typical – gravy and curds. It was alright, but not my favorite.

The truffle fries have been doused with truffle oil and has a strong taste of mushrooms. It was good.

The gorgonzola cream & bacon fries was my favorite since it was the most flavourful and most unique. The gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese, so it has a pungent flavour. Not everyone likes this kind of flavour. It is an acquired taste, but I highly recommend trying! The crunchy bacon goes well with the melty pungent cheese.

Overall, a few of the items on their menu are a hit and a miss.

Words of Wisdom:

Rogue burger and Fries x3 recommended
Pay parking in adjacent lot
Large selection of drinks
Some items can be expensive
Beautiful decor
Located in Waterfront Station

We Rate Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar:

Address:

601 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.roguewetbar.com

Twitter:

@roguewetbar

In Bakery

Footo Delights: Brand New Pastry Shop Specializing in Croissants

August 19, 2011

I love discovering new restaurants and shops through Twitter. I was going through my followers list and thought @modernmixvan would be interesting to follow. I was looking at their site and I saw an article about a new shop – Footo Delights, which opened up and they were having their grand opening event. Since I work close by, I thought I would check it out. Plus, who can say no to croissants?

Food Delights is own and operated by Brenda, who is from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts in Vancouver. She has a huge passion for what she does and puts her heart and soul into the products she creates. Footo Deslight is located close to Homer and Robson. They are the first croissant specialty store in Canada. It’s all fresh from the oven, so you know its not sitting around for a while.

They have nothing to hide from their customers. Similar to larger restaurants, this little shop has an open kitchen concept where you can watch them make the next batch of croissants. They pride themselves of only using natural ingredients and having no artificial flavours, preservatives or chemical additives.

They have many different varieties of croissants – plain, whole wheat, almond, cheese, chocolate, Spinach & Feta and sometimes specialty flavours.

If you aren’t into the croissant spirit, they have other desserts too! Chocolate Mousse, Panna Cotta, Tiramisu, Fruit Mousse and cute strawberry tuxedos.

They have croissant sandwiches too.

It doesn’t stop there, they even have smoothies, yogurt parfaits and frozen yogurt.

Here is their menu.

Since there were way too many choices, I grabbed 2 Chocolate croissants, a complementary bag of mini pastries and a Matcha latte. Instead of just shoving your pastries into a little bag, they have boxes to carry your croissants. Since they don’t get smushed, you know they will stay fresh longer. Plus, the box is super cute! Look at the handle! It’s a croissant!

The Chocolate Croissant ($3.25) is filled with delicious chocolate in the center, layers of the croissant layers and drizzled with more delicious chocolate. I brought these back to the office to share with my coworkers since sharing is caring!

I loved the melty chocolate in the center! I have come upon some croissants that have rock hard chocolate centers, but this one was nice and soft. What is great about these croissants is that you can tell they use less fat and are healthier than other croissants. Since they do use less fat, the layers of the croissant are not as flakey as the ones at Faubourg. The layers are similar to very fluffy light bread. The taste is nonetheless still very good, despite the texture of the layers. The outer layer still has the crunch as well as the ends…yummy crispiness. Totally makes up for the cons.

Since I showed them a coupon for a complementary bag of their pastries, I got these for free. Inside the bag are mini spinach and feta croissant, mini almond croissant and a lemon poppy seed cookie. It’s more like a sampling of their signature items.

The lemon poppy seed cookie was alright, it had a good balance of the lemon and the poppy seed flavour.

The mini feta croissant was one of my favorites since I am also a huge fan of savory croissants. It also had a good taste, but I think I will go back later to try the regular size to see how it is in it’s original form.

The mini almond croissant was also very good. The ends were nice and crispy and the overall flavour was really good.

To grab your own bag of complementary bag of their mini pastries, just grab this coupon from their website and present it to the store. The offer ends tomorrow, so don’t delay.

Overall, good addition to the Downtown core. Great flavours, tons of desserts and are healthier. I saved a bit of the croissants for my sister for her to critique since she has strong opinions about croissants. She really liked it and was very surprised by the overall taste.

Words of Wisdom:

Made with natural ingredients
Large selection of desserts
Small local and independently owned
Not your typical croissant
Highly recommend the chocolate croissant
Closest Skytrain: Stadium or Granville

We Rate Footo Delights:

Address:

820 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.footodelights.com

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

Twitter: @FootoDelights

In Downtown

Slingers Mobile Food Truck: It’s Like Pasta Between Two Buns

August 17, 2011

I was walking near Burrard to find something interesting to sink my taste buds into during my lunch break. I really had no idea where I was going, until the Slingers Mobile Food Truck caught my eye. I always have such bad luck trying to catch them because they are at various locations and not always at the same spot. They are located on Burrard and Pender on Wednesdays and Fridays.

Their menu is quite simple and has an Italian flair to their menu. They serve up their signature parmesan sandwiches and pasta.

Seeing that I was hungry for lunch, I ordered the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich Combo ($11.75). It comes with the sandwich, fries and a can of pop.

I was looking through their pop and my eyes gazed upon Brio,italian style herbal drink. It tasted different of course, but it was not bad at all.

They give you a lot of home cut fries for the combo. They are made to order and some of the fries are soggy, some of them are crunchy. I guess it depends how long you leave it in the box too. They probably could have used a bit longer in the fryer.

There were really way too many fries to eat, so I ate a bit of it because I still had the sandwich to get through. I have a weird eating habit, I must eat the sides first and then the main item.

You can choose from chicken or veal for your sandwich, but I chose chicken. It is lightly breaded in a mixed herb batter and deep fried. It is also topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, and served on a Calabrese bun. This really was like pasta between two slices of bread, but without the noodles. It tasted alright, but really nothing too special. They could have done more to it to make it more exciting, but it just seems kinda premade. I am probably wrong, but I didn’t see it as amazing.

Words of Wisdom:

Closest Skytrain: Burrard
Pricey for what you get

We Rate Slingers Mobile Food Truck:

Address:

W Pender St & Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.slingers.ca

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/SlingersMobileFood

Twitter: @slingersmobile

In Downtown

Fresh Local Wild: Awesome Sandwiches and Fish & Chips

August 9, 2011

Fresh Local Wild is a food truck brought to us by Chef Wolfe. The truck is located on Hastings and Burrard. They are open for weekday lunch serving up different types of fish and chips as well as sandwiches.

Even though there are long lines, Chef Wolfe always finds a way to entertain the crowds.

Their menu is located on a chalkboard on the side of the truck. A lot of their items run out quickly, so be sure to not come too late. When I was there the Cod Fish and Chips was all sold out by 1pm.

Near the tires of the truck are utensils, napkins, ketchup and I think it’s balsamic vinegar. You can add this to your fries/ fish & chips / whatever you want.

Since the patio seating only fits 4, it’s always full. The few times I went, I spent it sitting on these stairs along with the many other strangers.

Albacore Tuna Melt ($8.50) comes on whole grain bread with cookied albacore tuna and smoked cheddar cheese. It was really good and it was like a well cooked grilled cheese with tuna. Ooey gooey yumminess!

The best part was the crispy cheese the oozes outside of the sandwich and gets grilled! The sandwich is toasted on the outside, so bits of it are dark and burnt. Nonetheless, it’s still very good.

Grain Fed Chicken Club ($8) it has grilled chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon on toasted whole grain bread. The smokiness of the bacon can be tasted throughout the sandwich and it makes it so delicious! The chicken isn’t too dry and the bacon blends so well with the chicken. The bread is toasted on the outside as well, so you get a nice crunch every time you sink your teeth into this.

This item is one of the most popular items at the truck. Highly recommended.

Sockeye Salmon Fish and Chip ($12 – 1 piece) comes with tartar sauce and a bed of rustic fries. The fries are one of the best fries I have ever eaten!! Really crispy and full of flavour. Some may not like it since it can taste burnt… but I lurve burnt crispy fries!

The salmon was good, you can really taste the natural flavour of the salmon and it is not over powered by the batter. The most popular fish was the Cod and the Halibut during the times that I was there.

Overall, pretty good selection of fresh items from Fresh Local Wild.

Words of Wisdom:

Best Fries!
Grain Fed Chicken Club is a must!
Small Patio seating

We Rate Fresh Local Wild:

Location:

Burrard St & W Hastings St
Vancouver, BC

Website:

http://www.freshlocalwild.com/

Twitter:

@freshlocalwild

In Downtown

Coma Food Truck: Korean-Mexican-American Fusion

August 5, 2011

Coma Food Truck finally makes their way to the Downtown core. They originally had their truck across the bridge on Broadway, but thats a bit hard to get to during my lunch break. They are now located outside the Vancouver Public Library. They sell delicious fusion food that combines Korean, Mexican and American cuisine.

They will probably put you in Food Coma afterwards, but Coma stands for Korean (Ko), Mexican (M), American (A).

I was just on Twitter and I saw that @DennisPang was getting a bunch of people together to grab lunch at here, so I decided to check it out. If you are wondering, yes, I paid for this meal from money from my pocket.

Their menu is located on a white board and features items such as Bibimbap, seaweed rolls, burritos, burgers, and quesadilla. They are infused with korean flavours, so these are not your regular items. Since everything looked super delicious, @kathygko and I split the Burrito, Bibimbap and the quesadilla.

They also have a few pictures too. If you have no idea what to order, you can see what it looks like. While looking at the menu, you can also stare at them making your meal!

I started off with the Yuzu Iced tea ($2.49). It sounded a bit different and sure it did taste different. Yuzu is a citrus fruit in asia that is similar to an orange. In Korean culture, it is used more for drinks.

The yuzu iced tea is very similar to normal iced tea, but the tones of the yuzu do shine through and give you a slightly tart taste. It was still good nonetheless.

The Kimchi Quesadilla ($5.99) comes with a chipotle quesadilla with vegetables, kimchi, and salsa. It is not very spicy at all and its a good fusion between korean and mexican. The flavours blend nicely together and it’s the type of comfort food you want to sink your teeth into. The quesadilla is crunchy on the outside. On the inside you get some oogey gooey cheese with savory ingredients. Yum!

@kathygko didn’t take a liking to this due to the lack of spice.

Kibimbap ($6.99) has rice with bean sprouts, mushrooms, daikon, zucchini, carrots and egg with Korean bbq beef, spicy sauce and hint of sesame oil.

To eat this, you just take your utensils and mix it up until it’s well so the sauce and vegetables are well combined. It’s a decent dish, but I felt like I needed more spicy sauce. If you have been to Korean Restaurants before, you have the option of having it in a stone bowl or just regular. I prefer my bibimbap in a stone bowl (I love the crunchy rice), but its really not possible from a food truck.

This also came with a Korean version of Miso soup, but M just calls it seaweed soup. I don’t have a picture of it because I took it home to drink. @kathygko and I were way too full to finish the other items that we ordered. The miso soup was really good!! It was a tad spicy with lots of enoki mushrooms, seaweed, tofu, and green onion. So good!

We also got the Spicy Pork Korean BBQ Burrito ($5.99) kimchi, vegetables, cheddar jack cheese, and spicy pork all housed in a wrapped up 12in tortilla. I took it home to eat too, so I shared it with M. He thought it was a mexican burrito, the first thing that came out of his mouth was “tastes strangely Korean”. I forgot to tell him the part where it’s a Korean-Mexican fusion fish. This was so good and had that nice kick of the korean spicy sauce.

Overall, Coma Food Truck has some good offerings from their truck! I didn’t get a chance to check out their american fusion items, but I’ll be back!

Words of Wisdom:

Burrito and Quesadilla are recommended!
Good prices
It’s hard to figure out where they are, so best to stalk them on twitter

We Rate Coma Food Truck:

Website:

www.comafoodtruck.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coma-Food-Truck/126803084055777

Twitter:

@ComaFoodTruck

In Cafe

Sajin’s Green Tea Cafe: Best Matcha Green Tea Latte

August 3, 2011

Last week I checked out Sajin’s Green Tea Cafe. I was meaning to visit here a while ago after seeing a post by Janice of Goodeat.ca . The Green Tea Latte looked super good, so I just had to try it out! It is located pretty close to Chapters Downtown, but I was always too lazy to walk all the way there.

They serve up some really really super cheap lunch and beverages like tea and coffee.

The large latte ($3.20) was good. I think a large was way too big for my daily caffeine allowance.I think next time, I will stick with a small. I get jittery if I have too much.

Large Green Tea Latte ($3.20) was SO good! It’s not even comparable to any other cafe I’ve been to. They use quality matcha to get the bright vibrate green color and the taste is amazing. It was a mixture of milk and syrup, so it wasn’t too sweet nor overly milky. I really enjoyed this and no wonder this is their signature drink!

Also, after 2pm, the medium green tea lattes become $2! Good deal!

Overall, I enjoyed the rest of the green tea latte at my desk. It’s 5 blocks away from my office, but I totally have no problem using my entire 15 minute break to sprint there and sprint back just for the latte. After going here, I have actually abandoned Starbucks and Cafe Artigiano for hot drinks.

Words of Wisdom:

Matcha Green Tea Latte!
$2 Medium Green Tea Latte after 2pm
Cheap lunch specials

We Rate Sajin Green Tea Cafe:

Address:

110 – 840 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
sajinsgreentea.blog6.fc2.com

#tidal

In Downtown

Nu Greek Street: Amazing Grilled Souvlaki Pita

August 2, 2011

Nu Greek Street is a Street Cart spin off of Nu Restaurant. It is on the corner of Granville and Georgia. They specialize in a few traditional Greek items. When I walked up to the cart, one of the guys operating the cart looked familiar. So, to not embarrass myself, I just ordered, but then he gave me a strange look and it seems like the Ip brothers are back at it again! First it was the PanDa Fresh Bakery, then the Lullys Sandwich Bar, and now Nu Greek Street.

The cart serves up souvlaki and sides such as Greek Salad, tzatziki and hummus.

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Souvlaki Pita ($6.50). The pita is so delicious! Lightly grilled and crispy with a nice buttery salt taste. It is loaded up with onions, tomatoes, a skewer of chicken and a generous helping of tzatziki.

This was surprisingly not messy at all! The chicken was charred on the outside, but it gave it such an amazing flavour! It really made me want some more, but I really had to control myself. You must get this!!!

Next I had the Greek Salad ($4). It’s the traditional greek salad you would see with peppers, cucumbers, onions, olives, tomatoes, feta cheese and a nice light sauce. This tasted pretty average, but I really did not like the large chunks of onions, it made me feel like I had super bad breath during lunch. I think if they had smaller pieces of onions, it would be better.

Overall, pretty solid main item – Grilled Souvlaki Pita. Quick, fast and super delicious!

Words of Wisdom: