European Archives - Foodology

In European

Cinara: Carte Blanche Tasting Menu in Vancouver

October 29, 2018

Cinara is the sister restaurant of Autostrada Osteria and is known for their Italian dishes like pasta. Cinara is closing down by the end of 2018 and will be rebranded as Autostrada. When talking to the staff, they assured us that only minor tweaks would be made, so it’s not a full facelift.

For our monthly foodie blogger dinner, we decided to come have dinner here as we heard good things about the menu. I’ve missed the last few meet ups since Summer has been busy, but I was able to make it this time to see my blogging friends again as well as celebrating my birthday.

We opted to do the Carte Blanche – 6 Course Tasting Menu for $75 as it seemed like it would give us a good taste of the menu.

Interior

The space is quaint and set the mood for an intimate dinner. Reservations are best to ensure your group has a seat as you never know if it will be super busy or not.

House Sourdough Bread and Whipped Butter

To start off the tasting, we had a slice of baked sourdough for each person at the table with whipped butter. The bread was nice and rustic but we felt there was definitely excess flour on the outside that made the crust harder and more flakey.

Chicken Live Paté

This was the amuse bouche for the evening. It is a chicken liver paté on a crisp flatbread with fermented cornichon, which are pickles. You first take your knife and spread it all over so it is evenly spread out and enjoy. It was delicious.

Burrata Cheese

The next dish is their creamy burrata cheese served with a dollop of preserved and fresh plum purée, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and cracked pepper. It didn’t pair very well with the plum and took away from the burrata as the star of the dish.

Beef Tartare

This isn’t your typical beef tartare. It has house ground strip-loin beef tartare with pickled pear, radish, local greens and creme fraiche. It’s not as densely packed as other beef tartares out there and was missing more of an acidic element to this dish.

Pacific Halibut Cartuccio

This dish has halibut wrapped up in parchment then baked in the oven. It is accompanied with potato, carrot, and escarole underneath. Then it is poached in plenty of butter. This was the worst dish of the evening. It was incredibly overcooked and dense.

Tortelloni

This is a larger version of tortellini. It was very delicious and one of our favourite dishes of the evening. We wished there were most pasta dishes as part of this tasting menu as they specialize in pasta.

Pork Collar

This is served with cipollini onion, cannelloni beans, apples, chanterelle, and brussel sprouts. It was tender and delicious, but a tad on the salty side. I wished this portion was a bit larger but as it was on the tasting menu, it looked like the pork collar was chopped in half, which made it less appealing.

Salted Caramel Tart

The salted caramel tart has crushed pine nuts and a dollop of apple purée on the side. It was a great way to end the meal. I wished this slice was bigger as it was very good.

Final Thoughts

The 6 course tasting menu for $75 wasn’t as I had imagined. There were more misses on it that hits. The portions were smaller and looked like it was sawed in half. We would have preferred to order the regular items from the menu and probably saved some money that way. We tried it, so you don’t have to. Just stick with the pasta dishes and you can’t go wrong.

Address:
350 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://cinara.ca/

In East Village

Raclette NYC: Delicious Melted Alpine Cheese

January 27, 2018

A popular place is Raclette NYC is the East Village for some savoury melted cheese over your meal. How can you deny such a glorious thing? When we visited New York, we couldn’t say no. It’s gotten very popular in the news lately for this classic Swiss dish.

Interior

It was busy for lunch, so reservations are recommended to ensure you have a seat. We made reservations a few days in advanced and they did call us a day before to confirm our attendance.

Parsienne

The Parsienne has a 7 oz pan-seared marinated skirt steak, sautéed mushrooms, roasted asparagus and potatoes. The we got the black truffle cheese from France. One of the most popular choices. The best part of this experience is seeing the staff bring the raclette to your table and scrape the oozy cheese onto your plate right before your eyes. The stake was done medium rate and it was delicious.

Savoyarede

This dish has roasted potatoes, cornichons, and pickled white pearl onions. I wanted something simple and not too heavy as I already had a meal prior to this. I chose to have the porchini cheese from Switzerland. Delicious and cheesy with the savouriness of porchini. The overall dish was pretty meh, but then again, I chose a dish that wasn’t as interesting.

Final Thoughts

You pay for the dish and then you pay for the addition of the cheese. So, the menu is a bit deceiving even though these are both raclette dishes. If you’ve never tried this before, it’s still fun to try out and remember to get a reservation.

We Rate Raclette NYC:

Address:
511 E 12th St, New York

Website:
http://raclette.nyc/

In Dessert

The Praguery: Chimney Cake Truck in Vancouver

July 16, 2017

I have a HUGE sweet tooth so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try out the chimney cakes at The Praguery. It was the perfect treat after a day of writing exams (as I was wrapping up my program at RED Academy). The truck was parked in the heart of Olympic Village Square, near the giant birds. I brought along my classmate and friend, Vanessa Shakespeare, and she took the awesome photos you’ll see in this post. Thanks girl!

Upon arrival of the food truck, we were greeted by friendly staff and Jaro (short for Jaroslav), the President and Owner of The Praguery. I could quickly see his passion for his food truck, as he started to explain how the chimney cakes (also know as “Trdelnik”, a popular Czech dessert) they make in the truck are baked fresh daily. He showed us as he started to bake a chimney cake, and we watched in anticipation as the raw, yellow dough turned a perfect golden brown. The chimney cake is then dusted and covered with cinnamon sugar.

We watched patiently as one of his staff members filled the chimney cake with premium soft-serve vanilla ice cream, and topped it off with strawberry compote and premium strawberry sauce. The chimney cake has now become a Strawberry Prague’s Cone. The size of this treat is quite substantial and makes it perfect for sharing, unless you’re the type that doesn’t like to share dessert!

I obviously shared this with Vanessa, and we both enjoyed it! The Prague’s Cone was slightly crisp on the outside, but perfectly doughy on the inside. The cone had a hint of lemon flavour, which was complemented by the cinnamon sugar coating. The premium soft-serve vanilla ice cream was very smooth and creamy. The strawberry compote and sauce added a slightly tart contrast to the overall sweetness of the Prague’s Cone. I made sure I ate enough of the vanilla ice cream before taking bites of the cone, which came of in the direction of the cone’s spiral. This made it really fun to eat!

Jaro also offered me a simple chimney cake with a lemon curd filling. The lemon curd had a bright citrus flavour, which is a good option for people whose sweet tooth isn’t as big as mine.

I asked Jaro how long he The Praguery has been in business, and he stated that it has been a year, with the truck in operation a little over a month now. He started out with a chimney cake booth at the Vancouver Christmas Market at Jack Poole Plaza. After customers tried the chimney cakes and enjoyed them, people told Jaro that he should consider having a truck, and here he is today! Jaro is proud to offer this unique and delicious treats, and a Prague’s Cone is perfect for cooling off on a hot summer day.

Lookout for Jaro and The Praguery, which is his eye-catching aqua blue food truck. You can find out where the food truck will be located next on the Street Food App.

Location: Varies

Website: http://praguery.com/

In European

Cow Girl Creamery’s Sidekick Cafe: Weekend Raclette in San Francisco

November 28, 2016

I came to the San Francisco Ferry Terminal on a weekend and Cowgirl Creamery’s Sidekick Cafe sells Raclettes on the weekends on Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 3pm. I’ve been dying to have a good raclette, so when I saw it, I just had to have it.

Rachlette is a Swiss dish of melted cheese. Typically it can be on top of potatoes or bread.

The smell at the ferry terminal was intoxicating and it drew a large crowd. Its such a nice feeling watching them scrape the melted cheese onto the plate. I waited about 20 minutes for my order to be ready.

All the gooey cheese on some pickled veggies and 2 slice of fresh bread. This Rachelette was delicious. Simple, but there is no denying melted gooey cheese.

We Rate Sidekick Cafe:

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

Website:
https://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/sidekick-cafe-milk-bar

In Dessert

Transylvanian Traditions: Desserts That Do Not Suck

August 13, 2015

Transylvanian Traditions is located on Davie Street in Vancouver and they make delicious dessert. No vampires here. Narcisa Stoian noticed the lack of traditional Romanian sweets, which have always been a part of her childhood and her parents’ careers, and decided that Vancouver was the perfect place for her to share her love of Romanian cuisine.

If you miss the taste of Romanian and European desserts, definitely make a visit here. If you look closely, they have vampire mugs here.

They selection of desserts isn’t too large, but you will find something that you will enjoy.

Creames is made with homemade filo pastries combined with vanilla cream cake, covered by a layer of whipping cream mixed with roasted walnuts. I thought it was ok, but M loved it.

Chocolate Eclair is a cream puff filled with special recipe chocolate cream and home-made whip cream. This was so good and really just sinfully delicious. I would order this again.

Profiterole has vanilla cream puffs embedded in fluffy chocolate mousse cake. It is topped with whipped cream and has a chocolate drizzle on top.

Overall, we both enjoyed it and the prices were reasonable. It’s not a super fancy place but it has great taste and awesome to bring to potlucks or parties.

We Rate Transylvanian Traditions:

Address:
1111 Davie Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://transylvaniantraditions.com/

In Bakery

Middlegate Aroma Bake House: Bakery in South Burnaby

January 22, 2015

Middlegate Aroma Bake House is located in South Burnaby close to the Edmonds area. The newest owners have been here for the past 1.5 years serving up a variety of baked goods from all over the world.

Throughout the year, they have close to 900 different items for sale.

Once you step into the shop, you will see so many baked goods and desserts.

The treats are quite affordable and most are under $2.

They also sells a variety of cakes, tarts and desserts.

Forty Ninth Parallel is what they serve if you need a little coffee with your treats.

Zaban Puff Pastry is a Persian pastry with a touch of honey on top. It is flakey and not overly sweet.

Danish Pastry had more of a bread to cream ratio. I wish there were more cream and peaches to their danishes.

Dark Chocolate Mousse is nice and creamy with a bit of cake on the bottom.

Fruit and Nut Scone is packed full of nuts and dried fruit. So much! I really enjoyed it and would make a great power breakfast.

Rice Cookies comes in 2s. It doesn’t contain gluten, so it’s great for people who are allergic to gluten. When you first bite into it, it is quite dry, so you will need some coffee or tea to go with it.

They also sell Zolbia and Bamieh, traditional Iranian treats drenched in honey. It’s quite sweet, so it’s not for everyone.

Baklava comes in square bite-size pieces. It has a strong taste of honey but is pretty addictive.

Almond Florentine is a brittle, roasted almond mingled with the taste of candied fruit. It is also dipped in chocolate on the other side.

Brownie bites in a cup.

Each bite was good and its the perfect size if you just need a bite of brownie.

Cannoli was good. The inside is made on dense fudge with bits of nuts and the crispy tube.

Tahini Granola Balls comes in a pack of 4. Another alternative treat for people who are vegan or gluten free.

Almond Apricot Tart has the apricots scattered all around. It tasted alright.

Buckwheat and Quinoa Cookies are gluten-free and is rich in Amino Acids, Dietary Fiber, Minerals, Vitamin Bs, Antioxidants, high in Protein, and easy to digest. Since my sister is Ciliac, this would be a better option than the other treats here.

Overall, they have a lot to choose from and have alternatives for people with dietary restrictions. If you’re looking for a bakery with European and treats from around the world, give Middlegate Aroma Bake House a try.

We Rate Middlegate Aroma Bake House:

Address:
7155 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.aromabakehouse.com/

In European

The Spud Shack Fry Co: Burgers and Poutine in New Westminster

January 15, 2015

The Spud Shack Fry Co is located inside the New Westminster Skytrain station. They open up everyday at noon and serve up twice cooked Belgian Frites and artisan draught beers.

They have $5 happy hour on the weekdays from 2pm – 6pm, where you can choose between select beers, wine or a medium poutine.

It’s literally a few steps from the platform. Great for a quick stop to grab a bite.

Looking at their menu, I was impressed by the amount of beers they had available. They also have a variety of poutines too. They have the usual poutines and then creative ones like ‘The Night Market’, ‘The Squealer’, and ‘The Brat’.

There aren’t too any seats, but good size for groups of 2’s or 4’s.

I tried a flight of a few of their different beers and its great they are using some pretty local craft brewers like Steel & Oak, Whistler Brewing, and Four Winds Brewing.

Frites are 100% local Kennebec potatoes cooked in high quality gluten-free Canola oil and tossed with Italian sea salt. They definitely take their time to prepare these fries since it was so good and crispy.

They have a variety of delicious sauces to choose from. If you have fries, you must order a sauce to go with it.

Andalusia mayonnaise
Bacon mayonnaise
Chipotle mayonnaise
Truffle mayonnaise
Parmesan mayonnaise
Malt vinegar mayonnaise
Curry mayonnaise
Jalapeño mayonnaise
Dill pickle mayonnaise
Dutch mayonnaise
Curry ketchup
Chipotle ketchup

Effing Good Burger has smoked onion mayo, BBQ sauce, tomato jam, bacon, lettuce, pickle, and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s also served with regular frites.

I was surprised by the smokiness of the burger, really god depths of flavour. Mmm Mmm Mmm!

The Classic Poutine has frites, cheese curds and gravy. That gravy is really good and just tasted so comforting. Plus, the frites were still crispy!

Overall, I really enjoyed the food here. I’ve been searching a long time for a poutine that has crispy frites. It’s good stuff and I highly recommend coming here for a visit. Just hop on the skytrain.

We Rate The Spud Shack Fry Co:

Address:
352-800 Carnarvon Street
New Westminster, BC

Website: http://www.spudshack.ca/

In Brunch

Good Wolf Kitchen and Bar: Weekend Brunch

December 8, 2014

Good Wolfe? Good Wolf? I’m not quite sure which name they are going for. Weird how they have dropped the ‘e’ in their name. It turns out Chef Josh Wolfe, the original owner has left the restaurant earlier this year. Good Wolf has been on my list for a while, but too bad I didn’t come here sooner before he left.

Good Wolf Kitchen and Bar specializes in European food and they try to get most of their ingredients sourced from the West Coast.

I came here for brunch with a few of my friends to catch up over some good food.

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice ($4) comes from across the street at Chaser’s Fresh Juice & Deli. Its yummy and has a good amount of pulp.

Kale & Potato Hash ($12) has 2 soft poached eggs, chorizo, mushroom, and hollandaise sauce. CanuckGirl and FloRida thought this dish was quite one dimensional and missed the mark. The hash really wasn’t as flavourful as they had imagined.

Signature B.E.L.T ($14) has house cured bacon, fried egg, lettuce and tomato. It is served with home fries on the side. The bun was an interesting surprise because this made it seem more like a burger. With the amount of bun, the ingredients inside really didn’t shine through. Plus, those home fries needs some work.

Breakfast Spaetzle ($12) has 2 soft poached eggs, bacon, chorizo, and maple syrup. The eggs were so soft that the yolk just popped right out. I do like a good soft poached egg. The bacon was really the best part of the dish as it added more flavour. It was quite a large portion and I could barely finish it.

Cinnamon Brioche French Toast ($13) has a blueberry compote, whipped cream, and maple syrup. This was really good! The french toast has a nice crunchy exterior and the blueberry compote was yummy.

Overall, the french toast was a winner, but every other dish we ordered wasn’t as delicious.

We Rate Good Wolf Kitchen and Bar:

Address:
1043 Mainland St
Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.goodwolfe.ca/home.html

In Afternoon Tea

La Petite Cuillere: High Tea and Afternoon Tea in Vancouver

September 2, 2014

La Petite Cuillere Tea House is located in the Mount Pleasant area. They serve up all day brunch, high tea and afternoon tea sets. I came here with my coworkers for a team social with all 8 of us. Looking at a few of the High Tea places in town, this was definitely the cheapest.

We came here because it fit into our budget and it was very close to our office. Plus, a few others recommended we come here.

The interior is quite nice and it has a few tables and cupboards filled with saucers and cups. You also get a good view of the outside. If you have groups of 4 or more, you’ll want to make a reservation so they have everything ready ahead of time, especially for people with allergies.

The English Tea Menu has 3 main selections:

La petite cuillère Tea ($12.75 per person)
Two miniature sweets and one of our signature cupcakes. Served with your choice of tea.
The “Afternoon Tea” ($24.50 per person)
Full service of three miniature sweets, three finger sandwiches, two miniature scones, mini loaf, tea biscuit, fruit preserves, and Devonshire cream. Served on a traditional three tier stand with your choice of tea.
The “High Tea” ($13.75 per person)
A selection of two miniature sweets, two finger sandwiches, one miniature scone, fruit preserves, and Devonshire cream. Served on authentic English bone china with your choice of tea.

You can add $2 to the price if you want their premium selection instead of the standard.

We all ordered The “Afternoon Tea” and waited patiently as if arrived. While we waited, we loved looking at their little plates and cutlery.

They have a large selection of tea and i went with the Ti Kuan Yin Oolong. This tea is a semi-fermented Oolong tea, has long been one of China’s most popular teas. It has an aroma reminiscent of a Merseault wine with a creamy sweet flavour and some floral notes to it. The brew finishes with its famous cooked sugar taste.

I love asian tea! I’ve grown up with it and I can’t seem to like any other types of teas.

When the three tier stand arrived everyone started whipping out their phones to take pictures. Who wouldn’t right? It’s quite a sight when you see all the tiers appearing on the table.

The 3 finger sandwiches are on the first tier and there was a croissant sandwich, a asparagus and salmon sandwich and a veggie roll. The 3 items were decent.

On the second tier, you have the two miniature scones, mini loaf, and tea biscuit. You use the Devonshire cream and the fruit preserves from the first tier for the scones.

The third tier is the dessert. Macaron, cheesecake and a raspberry tart.

Every last item was enjoyable. Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom.

For $24.50 for their largest set, it is definitely affordable compared to some other places in town. The service is great and there is a cozy atmosphere. As for the quality of the items you get as part of the Afternoon Tea are decent. It’s not the best but you do get what you pay for. Nonetheless, I did have a great experience dining here.

We Rate La Petite Cuillere Tea House:

Address:
55 Kingsway Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lapetitecuillere.ca/

In Cafe

Balzacs Coffee Roasters: Featured on Dragons Den

August 28, 2014

While in Toronto, Balzacs Coffee Roasters caught my eye when walking around Yorkville. They were on Dragons Den looking for funding to expand their shop into 2 Downtown Toronto. They got their deal with Bruce Croxon and Arlene Dickinson.

This location at the Reference Library in Yorkville was one of the two that needed funding to expand.

The coffee shop is European inspired and you have the signature framed posters on the walls and the chairs.

It is connected right beside the library, so you can go borrow some books and then come to Balzacs for coffee.

You can purchase an array of baked goods and get your usual coffee, tea or cold drinks.

Latte was what I ordered. They had some issues frothing the milk, so they couldn’t do much latte art on it, but if you look closely, it could resemble a woman with long hair? Either way, the latte tasted great and had a strong shot of espresso inside.

If you are in the area for good coffee, give Balzacs a try!

We Rate Balzacs Coffee Roasters:

Address:
789 Yonge St
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.balzacs.com/

In Brunch

Kessel&March: Brunch Time

July 10, 2014

Kessel&March is an awesome restaurant on Powell Street. They do have brunch! TaiwaneseGirl, CanuckGirl, and I headed off on a Saturday to have our usual brunch get-togethers. The menu looked great and you can get brunch between $9 and $13. Pretty decent price point and also the food is high quality.

Brunch is available Saturday and Sunday from 10am till 3pm.

Kessel&March isn’t a large restaurant, but it’s still pretty quiet during the weekend as it’s not very close to any skytrains.

The upstairs of the restaurant is pretty cool as you can see their huge shelves of food.

The upstairs is a nice cozy space. Great for large groups!

Fisherman’s Eggs ($12) has 2 poached eggs, tuna, cod, clams, bacon beer broth, fiddleheads & a side of toast. MMMmmmm Mmmmm good! If you love seafood, this is a dish you should get. I didn’t expect this combination to be good, but it tasted great. Very healthy! The toast was beautifully toasted and its the best toast I’ve ever had.

The poached eggs were beautiful too.

Chorizo Hash ($11) has 2 poached eggs, rainbow swiss chard, rapini, potatoes, romesco sauce & toast. You can also turn this into Smoked Tofu Hash for the same price if you are not a meat eater.

Meat Skillet ($13) has 2 baked eggs, ham, breakfast sausage, potatoes, baked beans, tomato, mushroom & toast. CanuckGirl was amazed at how healthy this dish felt because it was not greasy at all!

Overall, the brunch was pretty good and the quality is there. No matter what you get, it tastes great and that toast is addictive.

We Rate Kessel&March:

Address:
109-1701 Powell Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.kesselandmarch.com/

In East Village

Kessel & March: So Damn Good

June 16, 2014

Kessel & March is one of the newest restaurants on Powell Street. It’s right beside Odd Society Spirits. They offer private events here as well, which worked out for us because my coworker decided to book out the entire place for the night. Seeing that there was about 25 or more of us, there would be no way they could seat of for a regular evening.

The offered us a 3 course set menu for $28, which is a pretty good price!

They also have a Family-Style supper every Wednesday, which you need to reserve ahead of time. It looks like a good deal.

The kitchen is viewable for everyone to see and its’ pretty fun to see them work their magic.

They have seating on the bottom floor.

Then there is a staircase at the back of the restaurant that leads you to the seating upstairs. The tall shelves are pretty to look at too.

Chicken Liver Pate served with toast and a side of marmalade. Mags said it was really good! She gobbled this up quite quickly.

Tuna Tartare with crostini was great! It has slice of orange to balance the flavours. It was a great dish as well.

Lamb Meatballs with White Beans & Rapini was so good! Probably one of the best meatballs I have ever eaten. I would eat a dozen of these if I could. So GOOD!

Sticky Toffee Pudding was surprisingly amazing! I usually don’t like sticky toffee pudding but this one was s good. The pudding wasn’t overly sweet and it was perfect.

I loved eating everything here. Nothing disappointed. The portions are small, but if you order 2 or 3 dishes, you will be satisfied. Sometimes its good to share a few dishes with some friends so you try a little bit of everything. I’ll definitely be back!

We Rate Kessel & March:

Address:
109-1701 Powell Street Vancouver BC

Website:
http://www.kesselandmarch.com/

In American

Burgoo: Amazing Comfort Food

March 28, 2014

I’m so glad I work so close to Burgoo. Burgoo is the ultimate place for addictive comfort food. Sometimes, we have to put diets aside and just indulge in delicious food. Their location is on Main street and have others in Kitsilano, North Vancouver, and Point Grey areas.

They have Mac and Cheese, Grilled Cheese, fondue, soups, stews and a bunch of other satisfying items. They don’t take reservations on Fridays/Saturdays, but they only do reservations for large groups (8-12 ppl) on other days. The wait time can fluctuate. One time I had no wait and another time, it was an hour.

After School Special ($16.50) give you the choice of any sandwich and soup on the menu. To keep it classic, M chose Gooey Cheese Grillers which includes two grilled, angle cut, house baguette sandwiches with melted Mozzarella, Gruyere, Emmenthal and white Cheddar. For his soup, he chose Straight Up Tomato Soup with red wine simmered tomato and garlic, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

This is the ultimate comfort food! Best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. You can’t go wrong with this choice. They don’t skimp on the cheese.

Mussels Cocotte ($18) has fresh mussels cooked with white wine, cream, herbs and bacon, served with house bread. Its an appetizer that is supposed to be shared, but I had it all to myself. This is my version of comfort food. There was a lot of mussels and the size was definitely worth the price.

There was so much sauce too! Great for dipping the bread into. There was also large chunks of bacon. MMMMmmmmmm BACON.

Overall, M and I were impressed. The price is fair and if you make the right choices of your dish, you’ll be in heaven.

We Rate Burgoo:

Address:
3096 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://burgoo.ca/

In Brunch

Lily Mae’s Comfort Cafe: Brunch in Gastown

January 15, 2014

Lily Mae’s Comfort Cafe is located in the heart of Gastown. I came here with coworkers on the weekend to have some brunch. If you are looking for some comfort food, its a nice place to go to. They serve brunch on weekends from 10am till 3pm.

The cafe is very small but has a very cozy place to chat and chow down on food. Very adorable! The brick walls, the little windows and of course the hipster centrepieces on the tables.

They also have an small upper area for larger groups.

Coffee was needed or else I would have fallen asleep.

Maple Black Peppercorn Bacon ($4.50) is an expensive price to pay for 2 strips of bacon. Nonetheless, DeeBee enjoyed it and loved the flavour.

Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes ($10) is served with real maple syrup and strawberries on top. You get 3 big fluffy pancakes and it will definitely fill you up.

The Sunny Day Benny ($14) is a favourite on their menu. It has crab, avocado, and tomato smothered in hollandaise sauce. You get to choose your side of fried potatoes or mixed greens. There are a few pieces of fruit on the side too.

Magz really enjoyed the benny and would highly recommend it. She said there was a lot of crab in these bennies.

Chorizo Breakfast Wrap ($11) has scrambled eggs, basil pesto, chorizo and cheddar. I chose to have mixed greens as my side. The salad was pretty good and it had blueberries and cherry tomatoes. The wrap isn’t anything fancy, but the ingredients just go well together. Definitely comfort food that won’t destroy your waistline.

Overall, the food was good, but the wait time did take a while. They definitely need to work on their executing and timing a bit more. Granted, they did warn us it might take a while and a large group put in their order ahead of us. Once the food did arrive, we ate pretty quickly.

We Rate Lily Mae’s:

Address:
12 Powell Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.lilymaes.ca/

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In Dessert

Adorabelle Tea Room: Afternoon Tea in Steveston

November 25, 2013

Adorabelle Tea Room is a little cozy tea room in Steveston that serves up Afternoon tea. I rarely come to Steveston, but had I know there was such a cute little restaurant here, I would make more trips down here. The tea room is in the location of an old courtroom in Steveston. Seems like a weird place, but it’s the perfect location for a girls night out.

Afternoon Tea service is from Wednesday through Sunday. There are designated seating times 11:00am, 12:30pm, 2:00pm and 3:30pm. Reservations are required before you come here as they need to plan in advance. It’s $25 per person, which is a good price considering other places are around $50 per person.

Once you go inside, it is small, but it is the perfect atmosphere to have afternoon tea here. There are only 5 tables here.

Good intimate atmosphere for a bunch of girls to come here, de-stress, and have a good catch up session.

Our reservation was from 12:30pm – 1:30pm. Each seating is an hour-long, but its a decent amount of time to eat the 3 tiers of treats. If not, you can take then home and enjoy further.

When you sit down, you have your cup ready and your napkin folded like a rose. It’s the small little touches that make dining here great.

You can choose when types of teas you want. It can be a bit of a struggle to figure out which tea you want to try out.

It’s good that they come around to help you choose the right tea. You can smell them all if you like too.

I went with the Cream Earl Grey and my friend chose Paris. Both very good types of black tea.

As your tea steeps, it has a cozy to keep the heat from escaping.

A few minutes pass by and we can enjoy our tea. There is milk and sugar on the side if you need.

Shortly after, our little treats arrive.

For each person, it comes with:

five tea sandwiches
two fresh baked scones with sweetened cream & strawberry preserves
five house-made petite sweets

Smoked Salmon pinwheel, bacon and chive cupcake, egg pinwheel, cucumber cream cheese open-faced sandwich, chicken and waffles sandwich, and lastly the savoury shortbread with asiago and fennel.

This was by far my favourite section of the meal. Every single item tasted fantastic! The two items that really stood out for me were the bacon chive cupcakes and the savoury shortbread. YUM!

Level two is scone central.

There is the regular scone with raison and topped with icing sugar. The next is the orange scone with a nice glaze on top.
I’m not a huge fan of scones, but these were pretty good. Very filling as well.

Sweetened cream and strawberry preserves to go with the scones. You must add these or else the scone will not taste as delicious. So good.

The last tier is dessert time.

Strawberry with cream cheese, chocolate minty cake enrobbed with ganche, ginger molasses cookies and fruit pastilles.
Delicious and was a sweet overload. A good way to end the meal!

Overall, KoreanGirl and I really enjoyed ourselves here. It’s a quaint little place and we will definitely be back. Afterwards, we walked around Steveston and checked out Garry Point Park.

We Rate Adorabelle Tea Room:

Address:
12051 Third Avenue
Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.adorabelletearoom.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=12051+Third+Avenue+Richmond,+BC&t=m&hnear=12051+Third+Ave,+Richmond,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V7E&z=16 “]

In Bakery

Swiss Bakery: Pretzel Croissant

September 25, 2013

Swiss Bakery is at it again with combining different pastries together. First it was the frissant (fritter + croissant), but now it’s the Pretzel Croissant. The bakery is a few blocks away from Main Street/Science World Skytrain station.

As October is coming up, they created the Pretzel Croissant to celebrate Oktoberfest. They make limited amounts daily, but if you follow them on Twitter, you can scope out when they have some available. I had to go twice to acquire this creation. Good thing I work close by so I could run back. I wouldn’t call it desperation, it was more like…going to get exercise. hahaha

Pretzel Croissant ($2.15) has a soft fluffy centre with a crispy buttery exterior it was quite good. It’s kinda like a croissant but with the harder exterior. Definitely have some with beer!

I couldn’t just get one, so I got a few to spread the love. The best way to enjoy it would be popping it back into the oven for a few minutes to firm up the exterior to give it an extra crunch.

Address:
143 E 3rd Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.swissbakery.ca/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/swissbakery

In European

Chambar: Awesome Mussels and Meat

September 10, 2013

Chambar is located in Gastown near Stadium Skytrain and are known for their amazing mussels and European-inspired dishes.

We came here for CanuckGirl’s surprise birthday party as we heard they have great food. Plus, I haven’t been here yet, which I found surprising. I was pretty excited to come try their famous mussels.

We started off the night with a Rosé wine. I don’t remember what type it was, but the waiter was kind enough to help us pick the wine. Good choice.

Boeuf et morilles ($16) has Chicago style beef striploin, candied chanterelles, cippolini onion rings, pine nuts,and grated parmesan. This dish was so good! Many “mmmm” and “omg” were heard when we put this in our mouth. Highly recommended!

Thon rouge et petit pois ($31) has seared yellowfin tuna, sweet pea & mint puree, eggplant chutney, spiced quinoa & pickled kohlrabi. My friends really enjoyed this as well. It was a bit expensive, but it is yummy.

Coquotte Mussels ($24) has white wine cream, smoked bacon lardons, and spring onions. It was also very yummy and everyone at the table had to have some. For a group of 7, we ordered 4 buckets. Everyone was very happy with it and it comes with fries.

Frites come with the mussels and they are crazy crunchy. So good! So addictive.

Overall, all the food was fantastic! It was expensive, but its definitely worth it. I would definitely come again. Be sure to make reservations online to make sure you have a spot since it can get busy during peak hours.

We Rate Chambar:

Address:
562 Beatty St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.chambar.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=562+Beatty+St,+Vancouver,+BC+V6B+2N7&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=562+Beatty+St,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+2N7&z=16 “]

In Brunch

Tour de Feast: Hidden Gem in North Vancouver

August 4, 2013

Tour de Feast is this little restaurant on the north shore. After hiking at Deep Cove, we got hungry and decided to come here for brunch.

The restaurant is very cute and adored by locals. The outside of the restaurant didn’t look like very much, but once you walk inside and look at the menu, you know it’ll be good.

It’s a family run restaurant and you can definitely feel the love in this place. It was a busy Saturday for them, but when we arrived at 2pm, the place was starting to clear out.

Home made Iced Tea ($2.50) is infused with blueberries and strawberries. It was a big glass and was very refreshing our hike. Not too sweet.

Lyon ($12) comes with two poached eggs, mushroom, spinach, red wine sauce and bacon. The dish is presented on a cast iron pan and comes with buttered bread and a simple salad. InsecureGirl and NotFauna thought this dish was ok. It was kinda like a stew.

The salad that comes with the Lyon is mixed greens with a vinaigrette.

Confit Pork Sandwich ($7) has slow cooked pork, ciabatta, dijon, onion Jam and a side salad.

You can choose to add the soup of the day to your meal for $2.50. Coconut Bisque with roasted pepper, carrots and seafood. It was pretty good and it has lots of seafood, which was unexpected.

Smoked Salmon ($10) has sunny side up, english muffin, smoked salmon, capers and lettuce salad. There was a generous amount of smoked salmon. It was really good. Simple but delicious.

The smoked salmon and Lyon dishes came with a side of roasted vegetables. They were a great addition to the meal.

Overall, the food was great and it was very unexpected. The environment is very relaxed and we will definitely be back again.

We Rate Tour de Feast:

Address:
319 Mountain Hwy
North Vancouver District

Website:
http://tourdefeast.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=319+Mountain+Hwy,+North+Vancouver,+BC+V7J+2K7&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=319+Mountain+Hwy,+North+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V7J+2K7&z=16 “]