American Archives - Foodology

In American

Colony Northwoods: Bar and Restaurant in North Vancouver

October 3, 2018

Colony Northwoods is a bar and restaurant in North Vancouver. This is a great location as it’s in a new plaza close to Seymour Mountain and Deep Cove.

They have a large selection of local craft beers and a variety of new fresh dishes created by Executive Chef Karen Lyons. A good spot after a hike or snowboarding on the slopes. There are other Colony locations in Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant as well.

Interior

The interior is quite large with 130 indoor seating and 130 more on their heated patio. The space looks very nice and spacious with the high ceilings. This location is a lot larger and modern that the other 2 locations.

Drinks

Beers, wines, cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages are on the menu. If you don’t see something you want on the menu, you can ask them if they have the ingredients to create something more for your taste.

Corn Dogs

Who doesn’t love a classic corn dog? There are 2 kinds available – regular and veggie. It is house-battered with a Nathan’s Famous Dog in the centre, then served with dijon mustard, and ketchup. A fun dish that comes with 4 pieces so you can share among the table.

Yam Fries

The crisp yam fries are served with a chipotle mayo sauce. Another great items to snack on while you have a drink.

Loaded Tater Tots

Tater tots, an all time favourite is loaded with banana peppers, jalapenos, sour cream, green onions, chipotle mayo, and pico de gallo. If you don’t love banana peppers and jalapenos, you can always ask them to omit them. This was one of our favourite dishes to snack on.

Rainbow Glory Bowl

If you want something a bit more healthy, they have different filling bowls with quinoa, spinach, fried tofu, cucumber, beets, Carrots, Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, Tahini Dressing. Delicious!

Chicken Wings

Classic pub fare and this one is coated in Frank’s Red Hot, which is always a nice spicy flavour, There is also Lemon Pepper and Sriracha Salted. You can also request salt and pepper as well.

Crunchy Chicken Sandwich

On the bun you have a big piece of crispy chicken with house pickled red onion, arugula, and herb mayo. You can have it served with either fries or salad.

CB Burger

This burger has 100% Pure Beef Patty, aged Cheddar, butter lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, and burger sauce. A good burger and nothing complicated.

Baby Back Ribs

This dish has the whole rack of Danish baby back ribs slathered in their housemade BBQ sauce. Then it is served with some veggie skewers and fries. It was a so-so dish as some parts were drier than others.

Salmon Cobb Salad

This hearty salad has a piece of Wild Pacific salmon, grilled leeks, charred corn, gem tomatoes, and their Goddess dressing. It was a large portion and tasted good. The salmon was moist.

Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

In each order, you get 3 macarons with vanilla bean ice cream. It was surprisingly really good. A bit pricey, but it was the perfect bite to the end of the evening.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food is good for the price you pay and there really aren’t too many options in this area. It’s a great place to have a drink with friends and some bites together. They have a variety of items if you want a fuller meal or just finger food.

Address:
2100 Dollarton Hwy, North Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://colonybars.com/north/

In American

The Girl and The Fig: Dinner in Napa Valley

September 12, 2018

One of the most memorable meals of our Napa Valley and Sonoma trip was at The Girl & The Fig. We got reservations for dinner through their website a few weeks in advance. There are a few shops in the area, so we got here a bit early and decided to walk a few blocks to check out some stores until our table was ready.

Interior

There aren’t too many tables inside, but luckily, we were seated in their back patio which was really nice. It is a heated patio, so we weren’t worried when the sun went down.

Complimentary Olives, Bread and Butter

An assortment of olives arrived at the table and they were so addictive. Our favourite ones were the big plump green ones. They are unlimited, so you can ask for more.

Bread and butter arrived too. We were trying to save our appetite since we ordered a lot of dishes, but ended up eating all the bread since it was also good.

The Works

If you want to try a bit of their meats and cheeses, they suggested we try The Works, which has 3 selections of cheeses, cured meats, seasonal fruit, house-made fig cake, spiced nuts and sliced baguette.

The cheeses that we chose were:

La Délice de Bourgogne: Full-fat cow’s milk with fresh cream for a rich, whipped texture.
Laura Chenel Chèvre: A goat’s milk with creamy texture and delicate flavour.
Central Coast Creamery Ewenique: A sheep’s milk that is velvety and white with sweet and savoury flavours.

All of them were delicious, but the Laura Chenel Chèvre as it went with the honey drizzle.

As for the meats, I don’t remember what we got, but we still enjoyed it. The other accompaniments of this board were delicious like the wine grapes, fig cake, and nuts. It all worked so well as finger food before our entrees arrived.

Grass-Fed Steak Tartare

This has a traditional steak tartare with a raw egg, caperberries, lavender sea salt, mustard, and toast. This was really good and fresh. We liked how the pieces of the tartare was not too fine.

Fig & Arugula Salad

We had to get a dish with figs in it because thats the name of the restaurant. This has toasted pecans, Mano Formate pancetta, Laura Chenel Chèvre, and a fig & port vinaigrette. Perfectly dressed and all the ingredients balanced very well.

Duck Confit

We got this dish with 2 duck confit legs. It sits on top of sweet corn, green tomatoes, farro, and a bacon vinaigrette. The legs were delicious, tender and juicy.

Wild Flounder Meunière

The flounder is served with a Yukon potato purée, spinach, and lemon-caper brown butter. A nice combination of ingredients and were pleasantly surprised with how good it was.

Steak Frites

The 6-ounce prime flat iron steak was served medium rare with skinny frites, and a roasted padrón butter. We were also impressed with the dish as it wasn’t too salty and everyone loves fries.

Cookies & Milk

This is a fun dessert for adults and kids. You get two warm chocolate chunk sea salt cookies and a vanilla milk shake. It was very delicious and gives you so much nostalgia when you devour this treat.

Profiteroles

This is more like a profiterole ice cream sandwich. It has Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream in the cream puffs and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. Also another amazing dessert!

Final Thoughts

We loved every item we ordered and was well worth the price we paid for 4 people. It was definitely the most delicious and memorable meal of our time in Sonoma and Napa Valley. Highly recommended to make a stop here.

Address:
110 W Spain St, Sonoma, CA

Website:
https://www.thegirlandthefig.com/

In American

The Boon Fly Cafe: Breakfast in Napa Valley

September 10, 2018

When we were in Napa Valley, we decided to head over to The Boon Fly Cafe for breakfast. For a Friday, this place was very busy. We waited quite a while and was the last group to be seated for the breakfast menu. We were glad we just squeezed in because we were here specifically for breakfast.

They do offer complimentary water and hot coffee outside as you wait. A nice touch!

Interior

There are a good amount of seats inside for small to large groups. If you have a larger group, best to come early. They only do reservations for dinner. Other wise, it’s first come first serve.

Boon Fly Donuts

Their mini donuts are made fresh with sugar covering each piece. You get 13 pieces per order. It’s soft in texture and light. When it arrives at the table, eat it right away so you can enjoy them hot and fresh.

The pieces at the bottom of the bucket were coated in a lot of sugar, so they were more sweet.

Boon Fly Chicken & Waffle

This is made using Mary’s free range chicken, malt waffle pepper jam, maple syrup, and whipped brown butter. A deliciously crisp waffle with 3 pieces of fried chicken. Depending on the piece of the chicken, it could be dry or juicy. Pieces like the breast with white meat tend to be more dry.

Green Eggs and Ham

We ordered this because of the name, plus it reminds us of Dr Seuss. This has poached farm fresh eggs wrapped in honey-cured ham, lemon leek-cream, on crispy hash browns. A creative dish that also tasted good.

Boon Fly Benedict

This dish uses Sweet Pea Bake Shop’s fresh English muffin, thinly sliced honey-cured ham, poached eggs, Jalapeño hollandaise, and crispy hash browns. One of the eggs were poached soft and the other one was more of a medium. The hashbrowns are pretty darn tasty.

Corned Beef Hash

This has house-made corned beef, crispy hash browns, spinach, grilled onions, poached eggs, and Jalapeño hollandaise. I asked the staff for a recommendation on the menu and they said their favourite dish was the corned beef hash, so I had to get it. It was really good and you can tell the quality of the corned beef was very high. The eggs were both soft poached perfectly and the hollandaise was delicious.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the breakfast here was delicious and the staff were very friendly. The dishes we ordered were a bit more on the heavy side, but they do have lighter and healthier items on the menu too.

Website:
http://www.boonflycafe.com/

Address:
4048 Sonoma Hwy, Napa

In American

Cocktails and Canapés at The Victor

March 12, 2018

“To the victor belong the spoils.” After arriving on the sixth-floor rooftop, I already felt like a winner about to enjoy my prize. The evening was elevated with spectacular views of BC Place, a water feature, and ambient lights. The Victor is located at Parq, Vancouver’s newest casino with two luxury hotels. The Victor is one of four restaurants at this entertainment destination, and is cleverly named to reflect the “spoils,” or wins, guests may experience while they stay, dine or play at Parq.

The Victor offers the ultimate dining experience with it’s classic North American steak and seafood menu.

The meat carving station, fresh seafood and sushi bar, salad station and dessert bar were impressive to say the least. Since the restaurant boasts its steak and seafood, I quickly navigated to these areas, after picking up a little bubbly.

The meat carving station had striploin steak that was perfectly seared to a medium-rare. It was tender, moist and oh-so flavourful! Grainy mustard and chimichurri were served as complementary accompaniments to this cut of beef. This is definitely a must-try!

The fresh seafood bar made my eyes widen in excitement, when I saw crab legs, oysters and clams on display. The sushi bar was impressive as well. The rectangular dishes of various nigiri and rolls looked elevated. I am usually skeptical of a restaurant that offers both steak and sushi, but I was impressed with the quality of sushi at the restaurant.

There was a lovely and enticing dessert bar, which showcased some items on their menu, plus candy.

The dessert that stood out amongst the rest was the Crème Brûlée Donut. It is a creme-filled puff topped with hardened caramel, which is reminiscent of sugar that is torched on top of a traditional crème brûlée. It was sweet, creamy and oh-so indulgent!

The food wasn’t the only impressive thing about The Victor. The restaurant staff were very friendly and hospitable. I talked to a few and asked what they liked on the menu. Their responses were so passionate, I could tell that they really liked what they recommended! I found out that the really good sushi wasn’t out that night, so I will make a return visit just to try the Hamachi Nobu Style.

The restaurant is adjacent to a lounge, which is a great space for cocktails and convo with great company. It’s a lux space to wait, have a drink, and look out the window to enjoy the city view.

If you’re looking for a delicious cut of steak, fresh seafood, and an elevated space for cocktails, make your way to The Victor, Vancouver’s newest dining destination.

Address:
39 Smithe St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.parqvancouver.com/restaurants/the-victor/

In American

Sylvia’s Restaurant: Queens of Soul Food in Harlem

January 3, 2018

Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem is know for their classic Soul food and was recently featured in the Worth It series by BuzzFeed. When I knew I was going to New York, I had to add them to the list.

Sylvia’s Restaurant, the “The Queen of Soul Food”, was founded by Sylvia Woods, in 1962. Established in the historic village of Harlem, Sylvia’s is a community favorite, known as the world’s kitchen. Serving authentic soul food for over 55 years, this icon remains a culinary must-visit for foodies.

Interior

The space has a good amount of tables for small to large groups, but it is always best to make a reservation if you can. We had reservations later in the evening, but decided to come earlier because we were hungry, so we ended up waiting around 15 minutes for a seat on the weekend for 3 people.

Complimentary Cornbread

As we waited for our meal to arrive, we got a lot of cornbread with butter. It was delicious and we wanted to eat more but we wanted to save our stomachs for the entrees.

Southern Fried Chicken

This was served with 2 sides and we chose traditional collard greens and baked mac & cheese. The chicken was crisp on the outside and moist inside. It did take some time for the meal to arrive at the table.

Sylvia’s World Famous Bar-B-Que Ribs and Fried Chicken

The combo came with 2 pieces of the ribs smothered in Sylvia’s Original Sassy Sauce. I got dark meat for my fried chicken. For my 2 sides, I got Okra & Tomato Gumbo and Traditional Collard Greens. The ribs were pretty mediocre and lean. The chicken was great, but I still have my favourites from other restaurants around the world. The portions were great and it was pretty hard to finish every thing on the plate.

Grandma Julia’s Fruit Punch

The fruit punch was very sugary and M didn’t like it at all.

Home Brewed Iced Tea and Lemonade

The home-brewed iced tea comes sweet, which is essential a Southern sweet tea. My friend got the lemonade to pair with the meal. We both found that all the drinks were too sweet for our liking, so we waited for the ice to melt to dilute it a bit more.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was ok, but it’s pretty hard to find Soul Food where I come from in Canada, so it’s always a delight eating more soul food on my travels.

We Rate Sylvia’s:

Address:
328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York

Website:
http://sylviasrestaurant.com/

In American

Yale Saloon: Family-style Backyard BBQ in Vancouver

December 13, 2017

Yale Saloon is a country bar and BBQ restaurant located right before the Granville Street bridge. I came with a few friends to check out their Family Style Backyard BBQ. Yale Saloon has been here for quite some time and transforms as the evening goes on.

Interior

There are long tables and lots of space for dancing. As we came around 6pm, it wasn’t busy just yet.

The space is good for large groups and parties. Very casual setting and good for those who are younger.

Drinks

Drinks are a must when here, I had the Southern Comfort Sweet Tea and my friend had the Pa’s Caesar. A good way to start off the night. Both drinks were delicious.

Deep Fried Pickles

How can you say no to deep-fried pickles? It has a good amount of crisp breading and was so delicious with the dip.

Backyard BBQ

Backyard BBQ is $35 per person and is served family style. You get a taste of everything – Brisket, Andouille Sausage, Turkey breast, Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, and Rotisserie Chicken. It is also served with coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans, & Jalapeño cornbread.

The sides were ok, I really didn’t like the coleslaw as it has some odd aftertaste. None of the coleslaw, potato salad, or baked beans stood out. It might of needed a pinch of more salt ti give it more flavour.

The Jalapeño cornbread was better and paired with the BBQ a lot more. The Jalapeño was subtle, but added a good taste to the cornbread.

Of the bunch, the ribs and the brisket were solid, good smokey flavour and tender as well. If you’re new here, I liked trying all the meats as it’s a good way to get a feel of all the variety of BBQ they serve. The sausage and the rotisserie chicken had great flavours too.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a feast, you will definitely get it here along with a great selection of drinks at Yale Saloon. Fun place to hang out with friends, have a drink and nosh on some BBQ. There is also a mechanical bull here too. It’s definitely a place to come here late into the evening.

We Rate Yale Saloon:

Address:
1300 Granville St, Vancouver

Website:
https://yalesaloon.com/

In American

Johnny Rockets: Open in Downtown Vancouver

September 13, 2017

Johnny Rockets has finally opened their first location in Downtown Vancouver. They are expanding fast and their next location is on Oak Street in Vancouver. Since 1986, Johnny Rockets has been a favourite place for all-American burgers, fries and shakes in the States. When we heard they had opened, my foodie friends and I made a visit for dinner.

Interior

The interior has an interesting look that is different from some other locations in the states. They call this ‘Diner 2.0’ for this modern contemporary diner look.

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The group of us didn’t know how we felt about the look as it seemed a bit cold compared to the cute retro diner at the older location in the states.

On the bright side, there are plugs and USB outlets at each table so you can charge your phones, laptops or whatever else. On the table, you’ll find difference sauces.

The Rocket

The classic cheese burger has cheddar cheese, leaf lettuce, tomato, white onion and special sauce. They source the meat from Canada for their patties, but I felt the burger was ok. Solid, but nothing special. I ordered the combo, but one thing I didn’t like was the lack of customization, so I couldn’t swap my fries for onion rings even if I wanted to pay more. The fries were mediocre. Nothing wrong with them, but I personally like my fries with a crisp exterior.

Smoke House

This has smoked bacon, crispy onion rings, cheddar cheese, and their Smoke House BBQ sauce.

Bacon Cheddar

It has thick-cut smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, leaf lettuce, tomato, sliced onion and special sauce. The bacon was on point, a very very crisp.

Onion Rings

When you order onion rings, it comes on a tray by itself. My friend ordered a burger with it but they didn’t put it together even though they both on one tray.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was ok and didn’t stand out compared to the other options in Downtown Vancouver. If you are a fan of Johnny Rockets, you may like what they’re cooking up.

We Rate Johnny Rockets:

Address:
755 Nelson St, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.johnnyrockets.ca/

In American

Monarch Burger at The American in Vancouver

May 3, 2017

Monarch Burger is a completely made from scratch burger restaurant. They are currently operating out of the American on Main St. close to Torafuku, Pizza Farina, and Campagnolo. I tagged along with a friend for their opening night to try these burgers. I am a huge fan of the Dirty Burger at Campagnolo Upstairs, which was originally create by Robert Belcham. When I heard Robert was starting up Monarch Burger, I had to see if the burgers held up to it’s name. They have a happy hour special where you can get a beer and burger for only $12 during 5 – 7pm.

Interior

The space is huge and there are 150 seats in The American. There’s a live DJ, pool tables, foosball, skeeball, and other arcade games. This is the ultimate place to hang out with your friends over some drinks…and now some burgers too.

The mid part of the restaurant has long tables to fit a lot of people. One one side of the restaurant, there is booth seating if you want to be in a more private seating area.

On the other side, there is a whole line up of pinball machines.

There are so many pinball games to play and they are $1 per play, which isn’t too bad, so make sure you bring some spare change.

Familar pinball games like Game of Thrones, Star Trek and Simpsons can be found.

Great for novices and experts. Lights. Lights. Lights.

We even saw a skeeball machine.

Monarch Burger

The menu is pretty simple. Choose your burger and put any add-ons and sides. This place has bar service, so you need to go to the bar to order your drinks and food.

Once you put in your order, they give you a number. Once it’s ready, they will bring out all the food.

Gotta add some drinks to the mix. We went with something lighter instead of cocktails, so we had beer and cider.

Cheeseburger

We got the cheeseburger and it comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles and their secret special sauce. Their beef is sourced from local farmers who pasture raise and tend their animals with care. They then age the beef for 45 days, grind it fresh daily and hand form every burger. It came to the table very greasy and the cheese was just everywhere. This was definitely a messy burger to eat. The patty was more cooked compared to the Dirty Burger at Campagnolo Upstairs. It was a solid burger but it still doesn’t out do Campagnolo Upstairs.

Double Cheeseburger

Go big or go home. We got the double cheeseburger with an egg and bacon. The fried egg was cooked thoroughly, so there wasn’t as much drippage. Similar with the first burger we had, it was very greasy and you needed a handful of napkins to keep somewhat clean.

Poutine

The poutine was decent but it was a bit heavy handed on the salt.

Kale Caesar Salad

This was delicious. The croutons were airy and crisp. The kale was lightly dressed and topped with parm to give it more dimension. I really enjoyed this and it pairs with the burger nicely.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the burgers could have been less greasy and heavy. I appreciate the use of good fresh ingredients, but it didn’t hit the mark this time. I still prefer Campagnolo Upstairs for their Dirty Burger. The one thing that stood out to me was the Kale Caesar Salad. I still love The American for their awesome space with all the games around the venue.

We Rate Monarch Burger:

Address:
928 Main St, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.monarchburger.com/

In American

The Holy Crab: Louisiana-Inspired Seafood in Vancouver

February 1, 2017

The Holy Crab has opened their first location in Canada and it’s located on Vancouver’s Robson street. It’s very interesting to see something new open up in this neighbourhood that isn’t Japanese food. I was invited to try a few things off the menu, so I was ready to get my hands dirty.

The Holy Crab has partnered with suppliers to bring the best selection of local and premium sustainable seafood to its tables, with many of them Ocean Wise.

The menu includes a variety of seafood such as Dungeness crab, King Crab, Snow Crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, oysters, and crawfish. Seafood is boiled and served with a choice between garlic pepper or The Holy Crab’s signature Cajun sauce.

Interior

The 2,900 square foot, 92-seat restaurant aims to focus on sustainable seafood offerings in a casual and friendly southern-inspired setting.

Preparation

They give you gloves, a bib, utensils and lots of paper towels to make sure you’re ready to begin devouring all the food. They have many different kinds of scissors too for cutting up the various types of seafood. The staff are nice and they will give you through how to each each item.

Dungeness Crab

The dungeness crab comes from the Pacific Northwest, on the coast of Washington. It is best known for its sweet and succulent taste. It is about 2lbs and is OceanWise certified. It was hard to figure out how to crack this open, but my trusty friend Gastrofork did all the dirty work and I just reaped the rewards. It’s good to have skilled friends.

It is topped with their original cajun garlic pepper sauce and you can have it as mild, medium, spicy or HOLY MOLY!. Of the bunch, we liked the holy moly as it has more flavour but it can be spicy for some people.

Crawfish

The freshwater crawfish also known as crayfish is like a tiny lobster. I would say this isn’t my favourite seafood as it’s mostly shell. You have to work hard to get a small piece of flesh.

Shrimp

The shrimp was pretty good and you can’t go wrong by adding corn to it. One of the easier items to peel with your hands.

King Crab Legs

Hailing from the Northern Pacific, these gigantic King Crab legs are filled with tender, slightly salty white meat. As the legs were spikey, it was a bit hard handling them and cutting into them.

Maggi was super determined to de-shell this for the table. Props to all her effort.

Clams

Clams are OceanWise certified and I found the meat inside the shells to be a bit tiny.

Onion Rings

Onion Rings were lightly battered and had a nice crunchy texture to it but it was missing some seasoning.

Crispy Soft Shell Crab

These baskets are so cute. The soft shell crab is delicious, I have a secret soft spot of soft shell crab.

Crispy Fish Fingers and Cajun Fries

This was one of our favourite sides. The fries and fish dipped into the tartar sauce was so good. We gobbled this right up.

Sweet Potato Fries

Another delicious item. Super crisp and you can’t say no to sweet potato fries.

Steamed Vegetables

Nothing exciting here, but if you need a balance of veggie goodness, it’s an option.

Drinks

The have alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. My favourite thing to have with good Cajun seafood boil is beer. Besides beer, there are mocktails and cocktails.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was great to give The Holy Crab a try as there have been other seafood boil restaurants popping up in Metro Vancouver. It’s very unique in the West End on Robson Street. The flavours of the sauce aren’t overpowering and goes well with the items on the menu.

We Rate The Holy Crab:

Address:
1588 Robson St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.theholycrab.ca/

In American

Gotts’s Roadside: Burgers at the Ferry Building in San Francisco

December 13, 2016

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and we ended up at the Ferry Building to grab some lunch. The ferry terminal has so much to eat, but we were on a mission to find Gott’s Roadside since we were told by several friends they have some awesome burgers.

We ordered our items at either the left or the right side of the restaurant. They have 2 counters to take orders.

Once you have your order and get your drink, you get this electronic buzzer and it will let you know when your order is ready.

Flashing lights. Time to get the food!

Bacon Cheeseburger is a beast with American cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles & secret sauce on a toasted egg bun. Really nice toasted bun with a good amount of ingredients inside the burger. It really hit the spot.

Onion Rings were huge and I love the crunch when you bite into the onion rings.

Don’t forget to grab some ketchup and mustard. They use Sir Kensington and they make amazing condiments. My favourite brand.

Cheeseburger has American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and their secret sauce on a toasted egg bun.

My friend also got Sweet Potato Fries on the side with a chili spice-dusted and a side of house-made ranch sauce.

Overall, it was a great lunch and we really enjoyed Gott’s. I would come back again. They even have outdoor seating if you want to enjoy the sun. We avoided eating outside since we didn’t want to get too tan.

We rate Gott’s:

Address:
Ferry Building, Level 1, 1 Ferry Plaza, Suite 6, San Francisco, CA

Website:
https://gotts.com/

In American

Bourbon St Grill: Metrotown Food Court

December 7, 2016

Bourbon St Grill just open at Metropolis at Metrotown and it’s slowly become M’s favourite food court place to eat at. Their menu is pretty interesting as it’s Americanized food but with a cajun twist. It’s like Manchu Wok but more variety in flavours. The few times that we’ve been here, there was a line up but it moves really quickly.

You can also find them at other malls across Metro Vancouver.

I got a plate with green beans, BBQ pork, battered chicken and cajun rice. A good portion for 3 item and rice. As for food court food, it was pretty average, but you get your moneys worth.

We Rate Bourbon St Grill:

Address:
4700 Kingsway
Burnaby

Website:
https://metropolisatmetrotown.com/stores/bourbon-st-grill/

In American

Original Joe’s: Burgers and Drinks

December 3, 2016

Original Joe’s is a Restaurant and Bar located on Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver. We came here to try a few of the new menu items that have some out this fall.

I’ve seen Original Joe’s around but haven’t made a visit till now.

Interior

The interior is just like a bar with screens all over to watch the game. It was dimly lit, but it set the mood. We did notice this place was super clean. The space is still pretty new as it hasn’t been at this location too long.

Drinks

Guilt & Honey has buffalo trace boubon, amaro, honey syrup, lemon juice and lemon bitters.

Original Joe’s Blonde Lager is a nice light beer that is well balanced. Not too hoppy.

El Diabla is a mix of jalapeno, tequila and other ingredients.

Appetizers

Dynamite Tempura Shrimp is topped with a spicy chili aioli, unagi sauce & togarashi. I really enjoyed this dish. It has a good amount of shrimp and the batter is just the right thickness, so it has a nice crunch.

Bacon Jalapeno Mac & Cheese has chopped bacon, jalapenos & a blend of cheeses; topped with parmesan panko bread crumb. This was ok, but I wish it was more cheesey.

Burgers

A.C.E Cheese Burger has two thinly pressed beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle & house made burger sauce. I liked how the patties are griddled and not grilled to retain more moisture. The sandwich also comes with 2 choice of sides, so we went with the mixed green salad and homecut fries with dill sauce.

I’m really surprised that it came with 2 sides as it adds variety to the meal.

It was pretty good for a classic cheese burger.The 2 thin patties that sandwiched the cheese was so good.

The Grilled Cheese Burger has garlic grilled french bread, cheddar, swiss & provolone cheese; with peppered bacon, shredded lettuce, tomato & a stack of crisp fried onions. You also get 2 sides too. We went with the poutine and caesar salad. Good, but we all still preferred the A.C.E Burger.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with a beer or cocktail with their A.C.E Burger.

We Rate Original Joe’s:

Address:
294 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.originaljoes.ca/

In American

Nat Bailey Stadium: 3-Foot-Long Yard Hot Dog and More

August 28, 2016

Nat Bailey Stadium has cranked up some cool menu items for the 2016 Vancouver Canadians baseball games. From baseball game classics like burgers and nachos to sushi and the new 3-foot-long Yard Dog, the Nat has something for all fans.

When at the game, grabbing a drink or food item is part of the whole baseball experience. Since the games start at 6pm, it’s prime eating time.

We got a chance to try out a few of their signature items that are a hit with fans.

Smoked Brisket Sandwich

Smoked brisket sandwich is a popular item to eat during the game. Easy to eat when its tender and juicy. It comes with a bag of chips on the side too.

The brisket is rubbed for 24 hours with Regional Executive Chef O’Brien Tingling’s secret home recipe then smoked for 15 hours and is ready to be served when the doors open at 6pm on game days.

3-foot-long Yard Dog

The new 3-foot-long Yard Dog has only just been introduced to the stadium this season. In the previous year, they’ve only offered 2-foot-long hot dogs, but they knew they had to step it up. This all-beef giant is perfect for splitting between 4 -6 people.

Or if you are super ambitious, you can try eating it yourself. It’s an huge hot dog, but they couldn’t acquire a large enough bun for the 3 foot hot dog, so they have 2 2-foot buns from a local bakery. They are trying hard to see if they can source a 3-foot bun thats fits better for the next season.

If you aren’t up to the challenge, they have 1 foot or 2 foot hot dog options.

Nachos

Nachos are a game day staple, cover it with a lot of cheese and toppings to make it amazing. Easy item to share too.

Pretzels

Pretzels are another traditional game day favourite. A pretzel in one hand and a beer in the other.

Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. You can get an ice cold treat in a Canadian’s Baseball cap cup. We got the mint chocolate chip ice cream housed in that super cut cup. With the hot summers, have a nice cold ice cream for the kids in a great accompaniment.

Beer and other alcoholic beverages

Speaking of beers, they have a large variety of domestic and international beers. Whistler Brewing has a few of their beers here. They also have Hey Y’All hard iced tea for those who want a little something something without a strong alcohol taste.

Food and drinks are an essential part of the game with the Vancouver Canadians. Of course the game itself is entertaining when someone hits a home run or when people strike out. They also have fun things to engage fans beside food, like, their bobblehead giveaways.

Website:
http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t435

Address:
4575 Clancy Loranger Way, Vancouver, BC

In American

Be Our Guest: Beauty & The Beast Themed Restaurant

July 23, 2016

Be Our Guest is one of the most highly sought after restaurants in Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Getting dinner reservations is nearly impossible unless you book well in advance. We got our travel agent to book it for us so we were guaranteed a spot.

As a huge Beauty & the Beast fan, I had to dine here.

Stepping inside the Beast’s enchanted castle was definitely a dream come true.

How can you not swoon over being here and having a glimpse of Disney magic? I was super happy to have dinner here.

When it was out reservation time, we went up to the front booths to check in, but they were about 30 minutes behind, so we waited outside until they told us we could go past the main gates.

Once we got to the main gate, we waited a little bit more until they called out names to head on inside.

Through these large beast statues are the 3 different dining areas.

The Grand Ballroom

The Grand Ballroom is iconic with its high, domed ceiling, chandeliers and snow-laced Gothic arches brings us back to the moment when Belle and Beast have their dance.

I ended up dining in the ballroom and the entire time, I was just in awe.

The West Wing

The West Wing is Beast’s mysterious West Wing study—if you dare—and perhaps you’ll even spy his enchanted rose. Its a dark room and its’ pretty cool to be in.

The beast!

The Castle Gallery

The Castle Gallery has pictures of Belle and Beast as well as large statues of them dancing in the centre of the room.

Dinner Service

No matter which room you are dining in, all 3 have the same menu. With the Disney Dining Plan, we get 1 non-alcoholic drink, 1 entree, and 1 dessert.

I went with unsweetened iced tea as that seemed to be my favourite drink in the Disney Parks. It’s refillable too. M went with a Coke.

As we waited for our entrees to arrive, bread and butter arrives at the table. Pretty standard and nothing that exciting.

Entrees

Grilled Strip Steak with herb butter and pommes frites is what M ordered. The steak was very tough even though it was ordered as a medium rare. The gristle and fat was made this steak very unappetizing and hard to cut through.

It was so bad that they just took it off the bill since they saw we didn’t enjoy it at all.

Roasted Lamb Chop served with potato pave, artichokes, tomato salsa, and a lamb demi-glace. It came with 3 pieces of lamb and it all tasted ok. The potato pave was really good.

Dessert

When it is time for dessert, they roll out the carts and you can choose which dessert you want.

Chocolate Cream Puff is filled with chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream and chocolate. M felt like the dessert got a bit dry as it sat in the display case.

The “Grey Stuff” has a chocolate shell, cookie creme topped Lumiere’s special “grey stuff”. It just tastes like cookies n creme

Before you leave, don’t forget to take a picture of the Beast and also post in front of this glass window. We missed the beast since he was taking a break.

Overall, the restaurant looked amazing, but the food was pretty subpar. If you are a big Beauty & the Beast fan, Be Our Guest is a must since you’ll be able to see a lot of iconic items from the movie.

We rate Be Our Guest:

Address:
1365 North Monorail Way, Lake Buena Vista, FL

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/magic-kingdom/be-our-guest-restaurant/

In American

Finding Croissant Doughnuts in Epcot

July 14, 2016

Walking around Epcot, you can’t help but look at the different kiosks to see the different snack options. Strolling along Epcot, I spotted Croissant Doughnuts at the Refreshment Port.

Using my dining plan, I grabbed the Croissant Doughnut tossed in cinnamon sugar.

It was pretty large, but it was drenched in oil and hard to eat. You’ll need a knife and fork for this.Grab a napkin because it will come in handy. I wouldn’t get this again.

We Rate Croissant Doughnut:

Address:
200 Epcot Center Dr, Lake Buena Vista

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/refreshment-port/

In American

Funnel Cake Cart: Disney World

June 16, 2016

There are a few places in Disney World to get Funnel Cakes:

Funnel Cakes are a popular snack at carnival and theme parks in America. You really can’t leave without getting one. I went to the one in Epcot in the American Pavilion.

All they serve are funnel cakes with different toppings.

Funnel Cake with Sugar is the classic choice, plus you can use your dining plan to get this as your daily snack. They dust the top with powdered sugar.

This came right out of the fryer, so it was really hot. Parts of it was light and crisp, then other parts were a little more limp.

Overall, a good snack to share, but nothing that I would go out of my way to find.

Address:
Near American Pavilion in Epcot

Website:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/funnel-cake/menus/

In American

Churros and Mickey Pretzels at Magic Kingdom

June 13, 2016

Walking around Magic Kingdom in Frontierland, we stopped by this cart for a quick snack. Since we had the Disney dining plan, we were entitled to one snack each per day. I was originally looking for a cart with Turkey legs, but turns out they don’t offer it as a snack item as it is $11.75. Since I didn’t want to spend extra money, we had to settle for Mickey-shaped pretzels and churros.

Mickey Pretzel looks super cute but they didn’t have anymore cheese sauce. When we ate this, it was pretty hard to eat this without any additional flavour. That cheese sauce would have come in handy.

Churro was what I’ve been waiting for. It’s super long, fresh and crisp. Tons of sugar was packed on but I didn’t care. More calories, no problem.

Everyday, we would walk a lot around each park, so I didn’t mind eating a lot.

Location:
Frontierland, Magic Kingdom

In American

The Keg: Dine Out Vancouver

January 30, 2016

The Keg Steakhouse + Bar is a Canadian chain of steakhouse restaurants and bars located in Canada and the United States. M really was craving steak and I had a $50 gift card to use from my work, so we decided to come here for dinner. We actually come here quite often since the steaks are good and prices aren’t too high compared to other places.

I totally forgot it was Dine Out Vancouver, but customers don’t have to order from the set menu. I contemplated for a long time to see if I wanted to order from the menu. My asian mind started calculating numbers to see what was a better deal. A $40 3-course meal isn’t cheap here, but I only had to pay a few more bucks for an appetizer and dessert.

In the end, M decided to order from the regular menu and I got the Dine Out Vancouver menu.

Concannon Pinot Noir was M ordered to start off the evening. He has a pinot noir phase at the moment and wants to try them all. He didn’t particularly like this. Perhaps it was because of the toasty oak finish to it.

Complimentary loaf of bread arrives with whipped butter. It comes very hot, which is perfect for all that butter to melt.

As part of the dine out menu, I started off with the Caesar Salad, which is typical with their regular Keg Classic meals. I had a mad craving for a caesar salad, so I didn’t get the baked garlic shrimp or the wild mushroom soup. It had the right amount of dressing on each leaf, plus cheese and croutons are so good.

For my entree, I got the New York Striploin at 12oz with some veggies and you choice of side. I chose to have the roasted garlic mashed potatoes as my side.

I got them to cook it the striploin to medium rare, just the way I like it. It was very tender and has nice grill marks on it. The veggies are ok, but it felt a tad undercooked. The mashed potatoes were awesome.

As for dessert, I tried their cheesecake since I’ve never had it from here before. It has a graham cracker crust on the bottom, with cherries on top. The cheesecake itself was good and you can tell there is a lot of cream cheese in it.

M and I shared the appetizer and the dessert, but he went with his own steak as he wanted something more tender.

10oz Filet Mignon has the tenderloin wrapped in applewood smoked bacon and served with Béarnaise sauce on the side. He got mixed vegetables as his side. He also felt like the vegetables were a bit undercooked as well. Other than that, his steak was cooked to a perfect rare. He really enjoyed it.

On average, we always spend close to $100 for the 2 of us. I don’t mind since I can never make as good steak at home. I found the quality of their steaks are pretty good even for dine out since all the items they offer on that menu is on their regular menu. Their mixed vegetables could be a bit better but can’t go wrong with their mashed potatoes.

We rate The Keg:

Address:
4510 Still Creek Avenue, Burnaby

Website:
https://www.kegsteakhouse.com/

American

Interior

Drinks

Corn Dogs

Yam Fries

Loaded Tater Tots

Rainbow Glory Bowl

Chicken Wings

Crunchy Chicken Sandwich

CB Burger

Baby Back Ribs

Salmon Cobb Salad

Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Complimentary Olives, Bread and Butter

The Works

Grass-Fed Steak Tartare

Fig & Arugula Salad

Duck Confit

Wild Flounder Meunière

Steak Frites

Cookies & Milk

Profiteroles

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Boon Fly Donuts

Boon Fly Chicken & Waffle

Green Eggs and Ham

Boon Fly Benedict

Corned Beef Hash

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Complimentary Cornbread

Southern Fried Chicken

Sylvia’s World Famous Bar-B-Que Ribs and Fried Chicken

Grandma Julia’s Fruit Punch

Home Brewed Iced Tea and Lemonade

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Drinks

Deep Fried Pickles

Backyard BBQ

Final Thoughts

Interior

The Rocket

Smoke House

Bacon Cheddar

Onion Rings

Final Thoughts

Interior

Monarch Burger

Cheeseburger

Double Cheeseburger

Poutine

Kale Caesar Salad

Final Thoughts

Interior

Preparation

Dungeness Crab

Crawfish

Shrimp

King Crab Legs

Clams

Onion Rings

Crispy Soft Shell Crab

Crispy Fish Fingers and Cajun Fries

Sweet Potato Fries

Steamed Vegetables

Drinks

Final Thoughts

Interior

Drinks

Appetizers

Burgers

Smoked Brisket Sandwich