Canadian Archives - Page 2 of 6

In Canadian

The Flying Pig: Olympic Village Appy Hour

February 25, 2016

The Flying Pig located on 2nd Ave near Olympic Village has appy hour between 4pm and 6pm every day. It’s great that they open a location closer to my workplace since my coworkers and I love a good appy hour. The items on the menu are all $6 and there are $5 drink specials too. What better way to rejoice after a long day at work?

We came right at 5:45pm before appy hour ended and put in our order. I actually prefer this location over the Gastown location since the staff here seen nicer.

We even spotted a flying pig on the wall. Oink. Oink.

Crimini Mushroom Gratin isn’t an appy hour item, but it’s a side item off their regular menu. It’s only $6.50 but it’s so worth it. Delicious mushrooms covered in parmesan and herbs. Whats not to love?

Beef Carpaccio comes with dijon aioli, olive oil, and crostini. I liked it since the fried capers give it a nice salty taste.

Truffled Jumbo Macaroni comes with a 4 cheese cream sauce but I thought this dish could have been a bit more cheesy.

Their House Terrine comes with a salad, 4 pieces of terrine and and toasted bread. The terrine was a bit stiff and not easily spreadable, but that was ok. We liked the flavour of it as it has a slight smokey taste.

Beef Short Rib Croquette comes with a spicy dipping sauce. It comes with 4 pieces in an order. The croquettes were crispy on the outside and had the short rib mixture on the inside. It tasted alright.

Crispy Brussel Sprouts are a must. Drizzled with lemon, parmesan and capers. Always a favourite among the table.

Overall, I love coming here for appy hour. The food and drinks are a good price, plus its a great time to hang out with friends. All the dishes are filling and you can’t go wrong. We didn’t even need dinner after coming here.

We Rate Flying Pig:

Address:
127 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://theflyingpigvan.com/

In Canadian

The Oakwood: Dine Out Vancouver

January 23, 2016

The Oakwood Canadian Bistro is located in Kitsilano. I’ve been here before for brunch and dinner but I thought it would be great to take a few friends to Oakwood for Dine Out Vancouver. A 3-course meal for $29 is a pretty good price for this place. To add on wine pairings, its an additional $20.

Dine Out Menu

You get to choose 1 item from each category

Course 1

Potato and leek soup with bacon and cheddar roll
Lemon pepper calamari with blistered green beans and sauce rouille
Buttermilk fried chicken, endive and pear salad with honey mustard ginger dressing

Course 2

Braised beef shank bourguignon, pomme puree, gherkins, and crispy onions
Olive oil poached ling cod, wild rice, puffed rice, cauliflower puree, coconut curry, and pickled fennel
Smoked ham hock orecchiette, shemiji mushrooms, brussel sprouts, creme fraiche, and pangratatto

Dessert

Salted Caramel and Apple Cheesecake
Chocolate and orange tres leches cake

Their space is quite cozy even on their patio. Its heated and theres blankets to keep you extra toasty.

Our table sat inside right by the fireplace in a large booth for the 4 of us.

Drinks

Before we dug into the menu, drinks are needed! They have a good selection of wines, cocktails and beer on the menu. Also, the bar looks pretty nice.

Bomber Pilsner has a floral aroma, which makes it a refreshing and clean-drinking lager. It won a gold medal in Vancouver Magazine’s International Craft Beer Awards in 2015.

Nagging Doubt Pinot Noir has intense strawberry, red cherry, spice, and pepper notes. Medium-bodied with nice acidity and extremely soft tannins, this pinot will pair well with duck and salmon.

Buffalo Eat Grapes ($11) buffalo trace bourbon, pinot noir syrup, lemon and bitters.

Course 1

Buttermilk fried chicken has endive and pear salad with honey mustard ginger dressing. It tasted delicious, but it was a bit small and the presentation was pretty much lacking. It looked like chicken nuggets on top of salad. It’s hard to not judge it by its presentation, but when you taste the fried chicken, its very delicious and tender! The endive worked very well in this dish to give more texture to the rest of the greens.

Lemon pepper calamari is served with blistered green beans and sauce rouille. The calamari is very tender with delicious green beans. Since it was a small starter, we wish we had more.

Course 2

Braised beef shank bourguignon comes with pomme puree, gherkins, and crispy onions. The gherkins felt like it was oddly placed in the dish. The dish was delicious but we wished there as more beef. The beef was super tender, but there were only a few pieces.

Smoked ham hock orecchiette has shemiji mushrooms, brussel sprouts, creme fraiche, and pangrattato. It was more filling than the other dish. I love this grungy presentation and the flavours of the brussel sprouts are awesome. The pangrattato add awesome texture too.

Dessert

Salted Caramel and Apple Cheesecake is what half the table ordered. Pretty average tasting.

Chocolate and orange tres leches cake came in a jar as well. I wasn’t very impressed by the dessert as the flavours didn’t shine through. It was a cute idea to have it in the jar, but felt below par for what they usually serve.

Overall, I find with Dine Out that its a love-hate relationship. I love a 3-course menu at a reduced price, but i just hate how there are time limits imposed on eat seating, and also the quality decreases since its all batch cooked. Thats what they need to do since it’s a packed night every night. Oakwood has amazing dishes but this visit was average. The entrees were definitely worth devouring and I’ll be back again for a regular dining experience.

We Rate Oakwood:

Address:
2741 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver

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

In Brunch

Chez Cora: Breakfast in Richmond

January 17, 2016

Where do you find breakfast in Richmond that’s not Dim Sum? Cora, a Canadian chain of casual restaurants serves breakfast and lunch and they have a location in Richmond on Steveston Highway.

We came on a weekend in the morning before an afternoon movie at the theatre close by. We had to wait a little bit since they had a few large groups that morning. The manager was nice and apologized for the long wait and gave out smoothie samples to everyone.

Coffee is a must in the morning and a few of us can’t go on without it.

Breakfast on a Cheddar crepe has 2 eggs, 2 strips of bacon, 2 sausages served on a crepe filled with cheddar cheese. Mandu ordered an extra side of sausage with her meal.

M got his version with poached eggs. He asked for them to be soft but it came out to be more of a medium.

Toast came with the meal too. A lot of toast.

Burrito crepe is stuffed with eggs, a black bean patty, red and green peppers, onions, green onions and cheddar. It is served with sour cream, salsa and roasted potatoes.

Buckwheat blessing has 3 sausages and cheddar cheese rolled in a blanket of buckwheat crepe and served with fresh fruit. The fruit this time wasn’t as fresh and also didn’t have much variety as I’ve experienced at other locations. The fruits were not very ripe. The grapes were dirty and unwashed.

This visit, no one really seemed to like their meal. The fruits were very disappointing and lacked its fresh flavours. The rest of the dishes were pretty average and nothing was very special with them.

We rate Cora:

Address:
170-11380 Steveston Highway, Richmond

Website:
http://www.chezcora.com/

In Brunch

Belgard Kitchen: Brunch

January 16, 2016

Belgard Kitchen is inside the Settlement Building in the Downtown Eastside close to Ask for Luigi. My friends and I came here for brunch on the weekend to reconnect and enjoy some good food.

Their brunches are on Saturday and Sunday from 10am – 3pm.

The space is pretty awesome. High ceilings and tons of barrels that make the space quite unique. It’s a brewery and a winery all in one building.

Postmark Ale Sausage Skillet ($15) has crispy potatoes, roasted mushrooms, tomato, poached eggs, smoky onion parmesan cream, with grilled sourdough. A very hearty dish with a little bit of everything.

Belgard Bacon ($10) has maple bourbon pork belly with maple caramel. This definitely isn’t an entree for one person as it’s pretty tiny. It’s more like an appetizer where you would share it with the table. The bacon was nice and thick but it was a tad sweet.

Belgard Brunch Burger ($14) has Pemberton Meadows beef, Village Cheese Works cheddar, caramelized onions, house relish, iceberg, tomato, fried egg, brioche bun, and brunch spuds in a jar. Once you stack the 2 halves together, its quite large. I made sure to eat the egg yolk before putting it together as I didn’t want it to get messy. The potatoes were a good touch, but I wish it was a salad instead.

Salmon Gravlax Hash ($15) has house cured sockeye, crispy potatoes, avocado, pickled onions, arugula, beet with Postmark IPA puree, poached eggs, and smoky onion parmesan cream. It’s a beautiful dish was beaming with colour, but there would have been more salmon on the dish. Very heathy compared to other hashes around town.

Overall, it was good brunch food. Their menu is a good size and you will find a little something for everyone. One thing that we did notice was the service could have been more attentive.

We rate Belgard Kitchen:

Address:
Settlement Building
55 Dunlevy Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://belgardkitchen.com/

In Brunch

Earl’s Kitchen and Bar: Weekend Brunch

January 3, 2016

Earl’s Kitchen and Bar serves up brunch on the weekends and they invited us to try all 5 of their signature brunch items on the menu. They were founded in 1982 and since then has 65 locations across North America. This particular location in on the 2nd floor right above London Drugs on Robson Street.

The space is large with patio seating as well. We were seated right by the window, so it was nice to watch the cars drive by Robson Street.

To start off the brunch, I got apple juice and the other ladies got orange juice.

Goat Cheese Frittata ($13) has arugula, oven dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, chopped olives, and preserved lemon. The egg was light and fluffy on the bottom and the greens on the top helped lighten the heaviness of the egg.

Sweet Virginia Benny ($13) has sweet virginia ham, poached eggs, hollandaise, grilled sourdough, and crispy fried potatoes.
The eggs were poached perfectly soft! The crispy potatoes were so addictive!

Fried Egg Sandwich ($13) has cheddar, caramelized lemon aioli, tomato, and bacon inside warm griddled sourdough.

This reminded me of a BELT Sandwich but with cheddar. It’s a good alternative. Tasted very satisfying but I wish the side wasn’t potatoes. Perhaps fries or a salad.

Chorizo + Mushroom Hash ($14) has avocado, crispy fried potatoes, topped with poached eggs and hollandaise. This was the favourite dish of the meal.

The egg was poached perfectly and the chorizo, avocado and crispy potatoes just meld together so well.

Sourdough French Toast ($12) has a berry compote, chantilly cream and pure maple syrup. A perfect item to end the meal. Splitting it amongst friends is the best so you can ensure a sweet finish to the meal.

A majority of the dishes use sourdough bread which was easily noticed when we had all the dishes in front of us.

After eating all those dishes, we needed to eat and drink more to digest. We all got coffee and just relaxed.

What better way to enjoy the weekend that brunch with some good friends? The brunch at Earl’s was pretty good and the items were prepared very well. The prices are very fair and I would return again. With all the other brunch options in town, its easily missed.

We Rate Earls:

Address:
1185 Robson Street, Vancouver

Website:
https://earls.ca/

In British Columbia

Tim Hortons: Steak and Cheese Panini

December 29, 2015

There’s a Tim Hortons near my work and I haven’t been here in a long time. I used to go to here all the time in my University days, but I soon learned fast that the food was pretty mediocre compared to other fast food restaurants.

Looking at the menu, one item that caught my eye was the Steak and Cheese Panini using certified Canadian beef. Since we are in Canada, why wouldn’t they be using Canadian beef?

There is 100% Canadian beef steak piled on a grilled white homestyle bun, top it with red onions, and melted cheese.

The beef is very dry and overcooked and has a lot of processed white cheese.

I really hated the processed white cheese since it sticks to everything in your mouth. It was a pretty bad panini. I wouldn’t order it again. Nothing about it was good.

In Canadian

Char 631: Steakhouse in Coquitlam

December 16, 2015

Char631 is located in the Ramada on Lougheed Hwy in Coquitlam. I came here with a Socialshopper deal for a dinner which included an appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert for $39. M and I came right after work, so it wasn’t too busy here.

There is ample space for your car in the parking lot. It seemed like a few people who were dining here were already staying in the hotel.

The interior has an Italian feel to the place due to the red and white checkered napkins. There’s a lounge on the right side and then there is the main dining area. I liked the look of the chalk board menu.

Calamari has a smoked lemon tartar sauce. There is a grilled lemon that your can squeeze all over the calamari. The squid was tender and had a nice crust around it.

8oz USDA Prime Striploin Steak with potatoes, roasted vegetables and a mushroom gravy. M thought this was ok, good presentation, but the quality of the steak wasn’t very good.

It was cooked to medium rare, but the quality really wasn’t there.

Seared Wild Salmon with vegetable risotto and a citrus beurre sauce. At first glance, it looks delicious, but the salmon was overcooked, so it was hard and not very moist. The vegetable risotto was good.

Chocolate Cake is served with a berry compote and whipped cream. The presentation was pretty bad and the taste wasn’t as appealing either.

Overall, it was quiet when we arrived and remained throughout the dinner. The service was mediocre and there seemed to be some issues with the kitchen. We overheard other tables getting their steak overcooked when it should have been medium. For us, they got us the wrong dessert, but quickly fixed the mistake. Even with the deal, I wouldn’t return. I just felt like the food was missing the extra punch of flavour. Especially when you’re eating out, it should taste better than what you can cook at home.

Disclaimer: I was provided a SocialShopper voucher to dine here. Although the meal was complimentary, the views and opinions expressed are entirely our own.

We rate Char 631:

Address:
631 Lougheed Highway, Coquitlam

Website:
http://www.dellacasarestaurants.com/char631.html

In Canadian

Village Bistro: Canadian Comfort Food

December 14, 2015

Village Bistro, formerly known as Lips Resto, has been reimagined by the original owners to serve as a casual West End staple in the community. They serve up bistro-style comfort food with Canadian flavours, and a menu entirely made-from-scratch. I was invited to come here for dinner to experience their new brand and menu.

I was a fan of Lips Resto, so I wanted to see how their menu has evolved too.

The interior is quite beautiful and can seat up to 100 people. I love the old-world bistro charm with modern industrial accents.

Their custom-made caramel leather chairs, rich wall coverings, and warm lighting installations really give it a nice atmosphere.

Closer to the bar, there are a few TVs so you can watch the game and have a drink.

Layer Cake Pinot Noir ($10) is from Central Coast, California. M has fallen in love with Pinot Noir during our trip to the Okanagan. This particular pinot noir has aromas of savory herbs, licorice, mint, plums and black cherries. Definitely has a different taste than the ones from the Okanagan.

Peroni ($6) is one of my favourite beers. It’s light, refreshing and not bitter at all. A good easy beer to drink.

Salt Spring Island Mussel ($12) has a smoked tomato broth, roasted garlic, basil, and a ton of mussels. There is also 2 pieces of focaccia. Very good mussels and plump in size.

Alberta Bison Carpaccio ($10) as pickled mushroom, egg duo, grana Padano, and fennel aioli. That carpaccio was addictive! I would highly recommend it.

The egg that sits on top is beautiful. So good!

Boneless Alberta Beef Short Rib ($19) has roasted cauliflower, broccoli, crushed potatoes, blue cheese, and natural jus. This is one of their most popular dishes.

Herb Roasted Fraser Valley Chicken ($18) has bacon wild rice pilaf, seasonal vegetables, arugula salad, and blueberry jus.

The chicken was juicy and had great flavours on its skin. The salad helped balance out the heaviness of the sauce.

Cheesecake is served up in a cute mason jar. The crumble on top added a nice texture to it.

Peach Cobbler with homemade vanilla bean ice cream was crisp on the outside. I don’t eat a lot of cobbler, but it was good.

Overall, the prices of each dish were very reasonable and tasted awesome. They really don’t cut corners preparing these dishes. I would come back again.

We Rate Village Bistro:

Address:
1143 Davie Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.villagebistrobc.com/

In Canadian

Burger 55: Custom Burgers in Penticton

November 24, 2015

Burger 55 in Downtown Penticton is best known for their customizable gourmet burgers. It’s also appeared on You Gotta Eat Here on Food Network. On the way back home to Vancouver, we made sure to stop here for lunch. Who can’t resist a burger? I know M and I can’t.

When you get to the front door, they outline the way you must order.

You must grab a clipboard with the order form and fill it out before giving it to the cashier. Even if you want a simple milkshake, you have to fill it out.

Filling it out was like doing a test. So many options putting together your lunch.

The interior is pretty cool and hip.

Chocolate Milkshake ($5.25) I haven’t had a milkshake in a long time, so I just had to indulge and order it. It totally hit the spot.

Custom built burger is what M wanted. He had a beef patty, cheddar cheese, back bacon, fried egg and other toppings. M loved his creation. He can’t eat a burger without back bacon and fried eggs.

The Signature Burger ($9.50) has AAA Angus Beef on a 55 bun with 55 signature spread, 55 buddha sauce, dijon mustard, vinaigrette, spinach, tomato, sprout, roast corn and parmesan. This are their built burgers so you don’t have to make a decision on what to add to your burger. Indecisive people should look at that part of the menu.

Maple Bacon baked Beans ($4) is topped with cheese bits. Surprisingly is tasted pretty good too. Not too sweet either.

Corn Dog ($4.75) looks pretty, but it was pretty damn delicious. The batter was thin and added a nice crunch to the exterior of the hot dog. I would order it again.

It was a good lunch and service was quick. I would come back again. The food is nothing fancy but sometimes you just need a good ol’ burger.

Address:
52 Front Street, Penticton, BC

Website:
http://www.burger55.com/

In Calgary

Charcut Roast House: Steak in Calgary

November 12, 2015

Charcut Roast House is located in the heart of Downtown Calgary. I first heard about Charcut on Top Chef Canada when Chef Connie Desousa was a final contestant. M and I wanted to go get some steak while we were in Calgary, so we came here as it was highly recommended.

Grapefruit Soda from The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company was refreshing. I thought it was pretty awesome that they support local businesses by carrying their sodas. The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company is from Canmore, Alberta.

Charred Octopus has sausage, stewed tomatoes, giganate beans, and chili oil. It comes with 2 pieces of bread on the side. The octopus was delicious and tender.

Bison Brisket also has beech mushrooms, boar bacon and sour cream.

Side of Poutine was recommended by their staff as an extra addition to the meal. It was good but it would have been better if the fried were double fried so they remain crisp as the meal goes on.

Butcher steak is topped with chimichurri and has a wild arugula salad on the side. Deliciously cooked to a medium rare.

Overall, it was good, but it didn’t wow us. Perhaps it was all the hype I kept hearing about it.

We rate Charcut:

Address:
899 Centre Street SW #101, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://www.charcut.com/

In Brunch

OEB Breakfast Co: in Calgary

November 9, 2015

The first thing to do when M and I arrived in Calgary was to get breakfast. A few friends suggested we go to OEB Breakfast Co, so that’s where we headed. There is pay parking on the right side of the building.

Chef Mauro Martina created OEB in 2009 and has since won many awards like Best Brunch by Where Magazine, Brunch for 2013/14 by the Calgary Herald reader’s choice awards, and Award of Excellence by Trip Advisor. OEB stands for Over Easy Breakfast.

The restaurants seats 36 people and the menu changes bi-annually. The interior is fun and colourful, a perfect way to perk up your morning.

On the weekend, there are usually long waits, but I love how they have the chalk writings on the ceilings. If there is a wait, you can use the NoWait App to put your name on the waiting list without being present. It will also give you the amount of people ahead of you as well as the wait of the line. It’s pretty good if you won’t want to be wasting time waiting in line.

Freshly Squeeze Organic Orange Juice ($5.75) is very fresh and the perfect pairing with breakfast.

Mango Dream Real Fruit Smoothie ($5) has mango, strawberry and mango nectar.

Croque Madame @ OEB ($15) has rosemary ham, sourdough rye, fior de latte mozzarella, summer truffles, cherry tomatoes, crispy potatoes, 2 eggs sunny side up, and brown butter hollandaise.

It was really good. The eggs were cooked perfectly. I just found the only problem is that it had so much carbs inside. I could have gone without the potatoes in it.

Porchetta Benny ($15.50) has roast pork, porcini and white truffle ragu with the brown butter hollandaise. It is served on an english muffin. There are twice fried duck fat herb potatoes and fresh fruit. M thought it was ok.

Overall, it is a unique and hip restaurant serving brunch.

We Rate OEB Breakfast Co:

Address:
824 Edmonton Trl NE, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://eatoeb.com/

In Brunch

Galaxie Diner: Old School Diner in Calgary

November 7, 2015

Galaxie Diner in the Beltline area of Calgary is an old school diner. This diner was recommended by a friend, so we went. Surprisingly, it was a block away from our hotel, which was awesome.

Galaxie diner opened in 1996 serving delicious meals at fair prices.

The diner is small, so it doesn’t fit too many people at once. We came here on a weekday just before the lunch time rush and we had to wait a little bit for a table of 2.

We ended up with 2 seats on the counter but we didn’t mind since this is where the action happens.

Their grill is working non-stop to serve the lunch rush. Their chef was cooking so many dishes at once but I noticed how he kept his station quite tidy as he churned out each dish.

Breakfast Burrito (1 piece – $11.75) has scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, beef sausage, sauteed mushrooms, onions, banana peppers, and green peppers all rolled inside a tortilla. Salsa, sour cream, and hash browns are on the side.

It was really good. The salsa and sour cream really hit the spot.

Calgary Sandwich ($15) is loaded with eggs, cheese, sauteed mushrooms, onions, green onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, green peppers, bacon, beef sausage, and mayonnaise on grilled brown bread.
Served with hash browns on the side.

This sandwich put a smile on M’s face. Good food, huge portions and super casual atmosphere.

At the end of the meal, they give you some dubble bubble. Oh man, I haven’t had this in a long time. I hate dubble bubble, but the memories just flood back. The best part was really the comics inside.

We Rate Galaxie Diner:

Address:
1413 11 St SW, Calgary, AB

Website:
http://www.galaxiediner.ca/

In Canadian

Dunn’s Famous: Smoke Meat Deli in Vancouver

November 3, 2015

Dunn’s Famous has undergone a facelift in their Downtown Vancouver location. The old restaurant looked like more of a sports bar rather than a Montreal smoked meat deli. They really wanted to give customers the experience of being in Montreal when the restaurant was founded in 1927. You will see original pictures from that day on their walls.

I came with a few food blogger friends – Sherman, Food Queen and VanFoodies to check out the space as we were invited by the owners.

Once you walk in, you will find their new deli counter right by the front door. You can see all the staff preparing your meal right in front of your eyes. The menu is still the same with a few additions like the Wholy Cow Sandwich.

Pepsi is the ultimate pairing with a smoked meat sandwich. The classic cups really bring you back.

Latkes ($7) are potato and onion pancakes with sour cream. It comes with 4 pieces per order. They are fried till golden brown and its quite good with the sour cream. I love sour cream.

Fried Pickles ($5) has dill pickles that are beer-battered and served with a red pepper mayo. The batter was a tad thick and I wish they used something a bit different with more crunch to the texture.

Matzoh Ball Soup ($6) has 2 hand-rolled matzoh balls in chicken broth with a sprig of dill. The matzoh balls were pretty large and went with the broth quite nicely.

Dunns Poutine ($13) has a bed of fresh hand cut Kennebec fries with BBQ beef gravy and chopped smoked meat piled on top. The fries were really good and crisp. They make the fries in-house, so the fries were deliciously enjoyed by all at the table. No matter which poutine you get, you will enjoy it.

Smoked Meat Grilled Cheese ($9) has cheddar cheese on white bread with smoked meat. The smoked meat had medium fat, which was good but pretty average I would say. Perhaps it needed more cheddar so it could ooze all over the place.

4oz Monteal Smoked Meat Sandwich ($11) is hand-sliced to order, served traditionally on light rye bread with yellow mustard. You can choose the different cuts of smoked meat and mustard if you want to customize it a little bit.

12 oz Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich is what we specifically asked for. On the menu it goes up to 8oz, but we knew it couldn’t hurt to ask. We got it with yellow mustard and a fat cut of smoked meat so it is extra juicy and delicious. Oh man, was it ever good! Since you are eating out, you must get the fat cut.

Yummy!

Reuben ($16) has smoked meat double stacked on dark rye bread with sauerkraut, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing. It was delicious and the sauerkraut paired really well.

Dunns Famous Cheesecake ($9) uses their original Montreal recipe, baked in house with fresh strawberries & strawberry coulis. It has a unique taste that is quite different that other cheesecakes.

Overall, same great food with a new look. Definitely more casual dining that makes all customers enjoy the atmosphere.

We Rate Dunns Famous:

Address:
827 Seymour Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.dunnsfamousbc.com/

In Canadian

Truffle Pigs Bistro: Dining in Field, BC

October 28, 2015

Field, BC is a small town of about 169 people. M and I decided to stop in this town to go to Truffle Pig Bistro right after exploring Yoho National Park.

Truffle Pigs Bistro and Lodge uses fresh local and regional ingredients in all their dishes where possible. It was highly recommended by locals who frequent this area.

When you look at the interior, you will find a lot of pig decorations. We came right at the opening of lunch at 11am, so it was pretty empty for a weekday.

Meat-Head Truffle Pig Flat Bread ($18) has a 6oz Wagyu beef meat ball wrapped in a flat bread with tomato garlic sauce, parmesan and topped with a kale green salad. They use a lemon garlic vinaigrette on top.

I looked nice, but the wagyu beef meat ball was severely overcooked, so it was touch and dense. It was a pitty since it really ruined the beef.

Roasted, Toasted and Fried Salad ($13) has Jen’s organic toasted millet salad, tossed with roasted walnuts and pumpkin seeds, sun-dried tomatoes, kale and lemon garlic olive oil vinaigrette. This healthy blend is served on a bed of hydroponic butter leaf lettuce and topped with fried chick peas and goat cheese.

This was a very hearty salad! I really enjoyed the flavour combinations.

Overall, it was neat to see such a restaurant in this small town of field. We really loved the salad but the flat bread wasn’t executed well.

We Rate Truffle Pigs Bistro:

Address:
100 Center St, Field, BC V0A1G0

Website:
http://www.trufflepigs.com/

In Canadian

White Spot: Burger Guest Stars

May 24, 2015

Having a White Spot so close to our place is awesome when I need a quick and no-frills type of meal. For a chain restaurant, it’s not bad and I always find something I want on the menu. One item I can never go wrong with are their burgers. They have been making them since the very beginning with 100% fresh Canadian Beef.

Currently they have a “Burger Guest Stars” menu at White Spot for a limited time until May 31st. They have a line up of premium burgers:

Truffled Mushroom Bigger Burger
Steakhouse Supreme Bigger Burger
Crispy Almond Chicken Burger
Johnstone Strait Salmon Burger
Sriracha Goat Cheese Turkey Burger

Some of these are completely new to the menu and some are past guest favourites that they have brought back.

M and I came to grab lunch on the weekend and give them a try.

Truffled Mushroom Bigger Burger ($14.99) is a twist on their Monty Mushroom Bigger Burger. It has 6 oz. of 100% fresh Canadian beef burger with truffled mushrooms, Provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato ,and Triple “O” sauce.

M really liked the patty as it was just screaming with flavour.

Baked Potato Poutine (+$3.49) has cheese curds and gravy loaded with classic baked potato toppings – bacon, sour cream and green onion. By upgrading to the poutine, we had so much food! We could barely make a dent into poutines. Tastes good when you reheat it at home and crack an egg on top. Mmmmmm.

Sriracha Goat Cheese Turkey Burger ($14.99) is a new item they have introduced. It has a chargrilled BC Turkey patty topped with Happy Days Goat Cheese mixed with Sriracha sauce, bacon, apple relish, arugula, tomato and mayo. It is served with coleslaw and a side. Surprisingly it was really good! I never normally order a turkey burger, but they sauce and the bacon make this more flavourful.

I decided to upgrade my side to have the Monty Mushroom Macon Poutine (+$3.99).

Of course, we always wash it down with a glass of Coca Cola.

Overall, good place for a burger and I can see why they had this campaign. Good food done right. They are currently giving away a bunch of prizes as well as free burgers for a year. To enter, just snap a photo on instagram and tag it #BCsBurger.

More info: https://www.whitespot.ca/menu/bc/promo/burgergueststars
Contest ends on May 31st, so you only have a week left.

We Rate White Spot:

Address:
6500 Hastings Street
Burnaby BC

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

In Canadian

Frenchies: Montreal Smoked Meat and Poutine

October 17, 2014

Frenchies has relocated to Main Street right by Broadway. It now occupies the now closed – Cray Kitchen. Frenchies had their previous location on Dunsmiur. I went there years ago, but it wasn’t very good.

For a goodbye lunch for a coworker, we decided to come to Frenchies for poutine. It’s great for vegetarians because the gravy is veggie friendly.

Their menu is more or less the same as before.

You will still see favourite items like Smoked Meat Sandwiches, Poutines and Hot Dogs.

Breakfast Poutine (Small – $10.95) is topped with scrambled eggs, onions, bacon, cheese curds and gravy. Mags loved it as it contains all of her favourite breakfast items. She’s a sucker for anything related to breakfast. Small was a pretty big size, so you may want to share.

The ratio between the amount of fries and toppings was great. You will have enough gravy and cheese to cover those fries.

Smoked Meat Trio ($13.95) is something I always end up ordering. It comes with a pop, coleslaw, fries and a 5oz Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich. The fries were addictive and crunchy and the coleslaw was good.

I ordered a coke as part of the combo.

The smoked meat sandwich was average and I think quite lean. I still prefer the smoked meat from Schwartz or Rosemary Rocksalt.

At the end of the meal, you get a maple candy to finish off this Canadian experience.

As they are still settling into their new location, the service is atrocious. As they were short on staff, the owner helped to take orders and serve, but a lot of our orders were incorrect or missing. The owner was very honest and tried his best to make sure the experience was good. They kitchen was a bit slow in pumping out the lunch time orders for the rush, but they have a lot of things to work out.

We Rate Frenchies:

Address:
2470 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://frenchies-diner.com/home/

In Canadian

Paul’s Place Omelettery Restaurant:

October 7, 2014

Where do Vancouverites go for all things omelettes? Paul’s Place Omelettery Restaurant serves all day breakfast and all day lunch. We came early in the morning and there was already a line up of people waiting to be seated. It is located just off of the Granville Street bridge.

I’ve heard of this place before but hadn’t come here until JK took M and I here. Making new friends and discovering new restaurants around town.

Lots of seats downstairs. There’s a staircase that goes upstairs but I have no idea where it leads to.

Coffee is necessary to fuel to sleepy minds of people who haven’t had breakfast yet.

3 Cheese Omelette ($7.25) is made with a blend of cheddar, edam & cream cheese. The eggs used are B.C. Free Run Eggs. It is served with your choice of toast. You can also add $1.50 for pan fries.

Florentine Omelette ($9.75) has shiitake, oyster, button mushrooms sautéed with garlic, onions, spinach and feta. M chose his toast to be whole grain. The omelette is folded together nicely, but it wasn’t as big as I had imagined.

It tasted good , but the omelette was quite thin, but that means you get a lot more toppings than egg. The portions are a bit small, so if you are a big eater, you might want to order an extra side dish.

Side of Sausage ($2.95) comes with 1.5 sausages.

Meatlover Omelette ($10.25) has bacon, oktoberfest sausage, ham, onions, cheddar, edam and romano cheese. Very good item with lots of meat.

Zimmer ($9.75) is one of their specialty items and it comes with avocado, sauteed mushrooms, cream cheese, 2 free run poached eggs
on toasted rye bread topped with cheese sauce and alfalfa sprouts.

Overall, is pretty good, but may not make you super full. The quality of the omelettes are great, but the omelette is a bit on the thin side. The food is simple and nothing fancy.

We Rate Paul’s Place Omelettery:

Address:
2211 Granville St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.paulsomelettery.com/

In Canadian

The Green Moustache: Juice and Smoothies in Whistler

September 27, 2014

The Green Moustache is located in the Whistler Village and serves up juices, smoothies, and healthy food. M and I were spending a day in Whistler and needed a place to have some juice. We passed by Green Moustache and decided to give their drink a try.

Besides smoothie and juices, they have salads, soups, rice bowls, and raw food treats. It’s good for people with restrictive diets.