Rating Archives - Page 7 of 99

In Brewery

Main Street Brewing: Craft Beer in Mount Pleasant

July 31, 2017

Main Street Brewing is a bit off Main Street on E 7th Ave. You can fill up your growlers or enjoy an array of their beers. I’ve been here a few times and it’s a nice popular place to hang out over food and drinks. This was our last stop of the night, so we made the most of it.

Beer Flights

For my flight, I chose – Fruit Bomb (kettle sour), Saison 7, Nurse Night, and Main Street Pilsner. All 4 were great, I did like the selection as I am more into the less hoppy beers as usual.

Food

They have a good amount of food here from their kitchen and at the bar. They have 3 different types of pepperoni sticks, chips, sandwiches, wraps, salads, wings, nachos, charcuterie, pretzels, and various dips. The prices definitely vary, but they have a good selection.

Spicy Pepperoni was what I had first. I love getting pepperoni sticks at breweries. It has a good amount of spice to pair with the beers.

Hummus Dip Plate is made fresh with garlic confit, jalapeño garlic, roasted red pepper and fresh lemon, Served with naan bread. There was a good ratio of bread to dip.

Final Thoughts

Overall, a good brewery to check out if you’re in the area and you need a place to chill at over beer and some nibbles.

We Rate Main Street Brewing Company:

Address:
261 E 7th Ave, Vancouver

Website:
http://mainstreetbrewingcompany.com/

In Brewery

R&B Brewing: Craft Beer in Mount Pleasant

July 30, 2017

R&B Brewing is located in Mount Pleasant and has been around since 1997. I came here with a few friends to try out their beer and enjoy the afternoon. Vancouver has a great craft brewery scene and R&B Brewing is one of many near Main Street.

Interior

There are lots of seats indoors, but there is a little patio out front.

There is a large line up of beers on tap. All 12 to be exact.

To pair off with the beer, they have a few snack options as well as pizza. We weren’t hungry to have pizza, so we snacked.

Kettle Chips and Dip

I got a basket of kettle chips with dip to go with all our flights of beer. Something to munch on so we could continue to drink beer. It was perfect as we needed something salty and crunchy.

Beer Flights

My flight consisted of Tod Creek Cider, Howe Sound Lager, Belgian Table beer and a Hefeweizen. They also poured me an extra Belgian Amber Ale. A normal flight comes with 4. All of them were ok, but nothing really stood out from the menu. I chose beers that were more on the light end and less hoppy. Thats usually the type of beers that I enjoy so, they are low in IBU.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it was a good place to chill in between other breweries for the afternoon. A good range of beer options but the food options here could be a bit better.

We Rate R&B Brewing:

Address:
54 East 4th Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.randbbrewing.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen: Thai Iced Tea on Commercial Drive

July 27, 2017

Kin Kao Thai Kitchen is located on Commercial Drive. It’s been a very popular spot since it opened for authentic Thai cuisine. My friends and I were craving Thai Iced Tea, so we decided to meet up and have lunch here on the weekend. We went around 1pm and it wasn’t too busy. I had to take my Thai friend as she could tell me how ‘Authentic’ it is to food in Thailand.

Interior

There is bar seating and a few other tables around the restaurant, but it’ll be hard to accommodate large groups unless you go early. It’s easier going in groups of 2 – 4 people.

Thai Iced Tea

Thai Iced Tea is made with black Thai tea, sweetener and topped off with half and half cream. You mix it around to incorporate the tea and the cream. It was absolutely delicious but I personally would have wanted it a bit less sweet.

Complimentary Soup

Before our order arrived, we got a nice complimentary soup for each person at the table. It was a clean garlicky broth and we really enjoyed it. My Thai friend said it really reminded her of home.

Chicken Satay

The chicken tender strips are marinated with coriander, cumin seeds, kosher salt, lemongrass, turmeric, galangal and coconut milk. It was really delicious and tender. The cumin, lemongrass and turmeric stand out in the flavour profile. It comes with 3 pieces.

Chicken Wings

These deep fried chicken wings marinated with fish sauce, garlic and white pepper tossed in garlic, red jalapeño, vinegar, sugar, salt and corn starch. The saucy wings has a sweet finish to them, but the crunchiness was definitely lost because of it. The size of the wings and drumettes were on the smaller side.

Papaya Salad

It has shredded green papaya, tomatoes and long beans with their spicy dressing – thai chili, fresh lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, garlic, palm sugar and peanuts. Whey they mean spicy, they do mean spicy. Very fresh tasting papaya salad, but those thai chilis pack a punch.

Stir Fry with Thai Basil

Green Curry

It has coconut milk, chili, garlic, ginger, thai eggplants, lime leaves, bamboo shoots, palm sugar, fish sauce and thai basil. We got this with chicken. This was also medium spice, but it only had a tiny tiny amount of spice.

Candy

When we got the bill, it came with Amira candy for everyone. Amira is a tamarind candy.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the spice level of the dishes were strangely balanced. Everything was medium spice but the papaya salad was a ton spicier than our 2 main dishes. In terms of authenticity, it fell a bit short as it seems to be catered towards the clientele of the neighbourhood.

We Rate Kin Kao Thai Kitchen:

Address:
903 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.kinkao.ca/

In Downtown

Pokerrito is open on Hornby Street: Review

July 25, 2017

Pokerrito has opened their second location on Hornby and Nelson. They serve up Hawaiian poké with a Japanese twist in burritos, bowls, and salads. I was watching Wonder Woman with friends and we needed quick bite to eat before the show. We love eating on this street since so many other restaurants have popped up in this area.

Interior

The space is larger than their original Dunsmuir location. It has a similar look as well. All that matters is the food right? As long as both locations are consistent.

Poké Bowls

Hawaiian Classic has marinated ahi tuna green onion, romaine lettuce, lemon, seaweed salad, and sesame seeds. It was supposed to have edible flowers in it, but I guess they ran out of them. Instead, they put sprouts on top. I got it as a bowl with a salad base. I really prefer this combination without all the other toppings as you can really appreciate the marinated ahi tuna without other strong conflicting flavours. When I usually customize my poké bowls in the past, I would load it with anything that would make bowl worth it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to see they are expanding, but there is another poké shop located right next door, so it should be interesting competition. All my other friends ordered poke bowls with a mix of rice and salad as the base. Then, they added their favourite toppings. Love how it’s highly customizable for all taste buds.

We Rate Pokerrito:

Website:
http://www.pokerrito.ca/

Address:
991 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Website: http://www.pokerrito.ca/

In Bakery

Nemesis Coffee: Toast in Gastown

July 23, 2017

Nemesis Coffee is located on Hastings Street right under the new SFU building. I heard they have avocado toast, so cL, Nosh & Nibble and I decided to meet up over lunch. I love meeting up with foodies and trying new places in town as we end up going auto pilot talking about the amazing food scene in Vancouver. The hardest question of them all is “what is your favourite place”. Those who ask me that question know I hesitate to answer. For good reason too, you can ask me IRL one day.

Coffee

The interior of Nemesis Coffee is visually stunning with the light wood, white and some greenery. The aroma of coffee really envelops the room and its so good. They take pride in their coffee and hands down, they make a good cup of coffee. They even have vials of coffee beans.

I got a cappuccino and there was some latte art on top of a heart and perhaps some wings. It was really good coffee and strong, which I really enjoy.

Classic Chocolate cashew sea salt cookie and cold nitro brew was what Hanson had for his snack.

Toast

Bangin’ beans toast with heirloom beans, legumes with romesco sauce.

Avocado Toast with smashed avocado, ricotta, and cilantro. You can also add a poached egg to this if you want. This was ok but it didn’t impress me too much. It looks pretty but it was missing something. Maybe that egg. Either way, it was a good accompaniment to coffee for lunch.

Overall, I love the coffee here, but the food just too way too long to arrive. The service is also lacklustre and inconsistent. Some of our drinks were put on the counter for pick up and the other was delivered to the table. There was a really big time gap between the coffee and toast.

We Rate Nemesis Coffee:

Address:
302 W Hastings Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.nemesis.coffee/

In Chinatown

Rhinofish: Taiwanese Beef Noodles in Chinatown

July 18, 2017

Rhinofish is a Taiwanese Beef Noodle shop in Chinatown. It recently opened and I was excited because it’s hard to find good Taiwanese Beef Noodle in the area. Before they opened, they gave a few of us a sneak peek to see what to expect.

Niu Rou Mian

Taiwanese beef noodle with braised soup, tomato, baby bok choy, carrot, potato and asian sauerkraut. I had high hopes for this dish as it’s their specialty, but it fell short of expectations. The beef was very dry and did not melt in my mouth. The broth was deep in flavour but tasted more like Chinese medicine. The noodles themselves were good.

Hua Diao Ji Mian

Hua diao rice wine chicken broth, sous vide chicken breast, baby bok choy, cherry tomatoes, and tea infused egg. I preferred this a little bit more, but the broth flavour is very very subtle. It was a clean homey flavour to it. Some others commented saying it was bland. I added some mustard greens and some chili oil to transform the flavour.

Guo Bao

Taiwanese steamed bun with pork belly was ok but it needed something a bit more to bind the two things together. Maybe more sauce to moisten the bun slightly.

Xiao Huang Gua

Pickled Japanese cucumber with garlic and chili is a nice item to start with, but for $5, it’s a bit much for what you end up getting.

Mu Er

Wood ear mushroom with sesame soy dressing and plum salt in this dish. Another starter dish to share.

Yansuji with Nanjing sauce

A classic Taiwanese dish of crispy chicken nuggets topped with fried basil. the nanjing sauce is on the side. The chicken is good on it’s own, so the added sauce doesn’t add much difference. The chicken was moist on the inside and the outer fried are was crisp.

Yansuji with Parmesan and truffle oil

Very similar to the dish above with the different toppings and a bit of lemon.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food was ok but the menu prices are a bit high for what you get. We ended up giving the chef some feedback about the dishes but we’re not sure if he ever made changes before they opened. They tried to be innovative with their dishes but in the end it fell flat as they tried to reinvent the wheel as basic Taiwanese beef noodle is a classic dish. No one was impressed.

We Rate Rhinofish:

Address:
550 Main St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.rhinofishnoodlebar.com/

In Brunch

Clough Club: Brunch in Gastown

July 15, 2017

Clough Club is now offering brunch out on their patio. They serve up badass cocktails and drinks, but now you can pair it up for brunch on the weekends. We were invited to try a few of their brunch offerings and cocktails to see what their brunch experience out on the patio is like.

Interior

There are a few seats inside, but with the beautiful weather, you might as well have it outside. Pros and cons of both options.

Crepes

Fried Chicken Savoury Crepe has spinach, onion, bourbon maple syrup, and hot sauce. Delicious! One of my favourite dishes since the chicken was so addictive. Also chicken and hot sauce is the best combination.

Brisket Savoury Crepe has caramelized onion, cheddar, kale, sunny side egg and hot sauce. That egg definitely adds a lot to this crepe.

Cannoli Sweet Crepe has ricotta, honey sweetened creme, and fresh berries. It was ok, but we wanted a little bit more sweetness from this dish.

Banana and Hazelnut Sweet Crepe has granola, nutella and fresh berries. We all really enjoyed this out of the 2 sweet crepes.

It’s great to see that they are putting their own fun twist to crepes. The savoury options were really good and I would come back for them.

Bacon Cheese Dog

The hot dog uses Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and topped with double smoked bacon, pickled onion, American cheese, sunny side egg and maple syrup. There is a side of tater tots as a nice touch. It’s a dressed up hot dog, perfect for those who need some indulgent food. You can also find something similar on their regular menu.

Fried Chicken & Waffles

Golden waffles is topped with buttermilk fried chicken, sunny egg, bourbon maple syrup and hot sauce. The fried chicken was surprisingly moist for white meat. A fun dish for brunch, but their quality of waffle could be improved.

The Hangover Burger

Inside the brioche bun is a beef chuck patty, American cheese, fried egg, iceberg lettuce, and tomato. Upon first bite, it reminded us of a Whopper because of the smokey beed patty. It was ok, but it would have been nicer if was more elevated and juicier patty.

Tater Tots

The tater tots were crispy and the perfect little things to accompany a meal. You must get a side of these.

Drinks

Food is one half of the experience at the Clough Club, you gotta indulge in the drinks.

Mimosa

A brunch classic drink is the mimosa – bubbly mixed with freshly squeezed orange juice. Really good especially when its fresh pressed orange juice.

House Radler is a combination of Driftwood Witbier combined with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. It is also topped with a slice of grapefruit. I love this so much.

Caesar

They also have really good caesars, not overly salty as they make their own mix from scratch. It is also topped with a tomato, bocconcini and bacon.

Final Thoughts

Overall, they have amazing drinks for brunch and a few of the dishes are hit and misses. If you go with the savoury crepes, you can’t go wrong. Just don’t forget the side of tater tots.

We Rate Clough Club:

Address:
212 Abbott Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://donnellygroup.ca/clough-club/

In Cafe

Roost: Cafe and Bistro in Strathcona

July 13, 2017

Roost Cafe and Bistro has been around for about a year in the Chinatown/Strathcona neighbourhood. I came here for lunch with a friend since we wanted to try something new close by our office. I ended up finding this place through Google Maps. We saw they had some avocado toast, so we wanted to give it a try.

Interior

The interior is very cute and hip. They’ve really transformed the space to suit the people moving into this neighbourhood. They have bar seats, patio seats and a few tables inside.

Soup of the Day

We originally wanted some avocado toast, but they ran out of avocados before noon, so C went with the soup of the day which was a tomato soup. It is served with buttered sourdough toast. It was not very impressive.

Sandwich of the Day

I originally wanted another sandwich, but since there were no avocados in sight, I went with the sandwich of the day, which had pesto, ham, cheese and tomato between 2 slices of sourdough bread. It is served with a side salad with vinaigrette dressing. It was ok, but a bit pricey for $12.

Overall, we were not very impressed by this lunch experience. For the neighbourhood, the food is a bit pricey. It was too bad they didn’t have avocados stocked on a Tuesday since that option would have been better.

We Rate Roost Cafe and Bistro:

Address:
789 Gore Avenue, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.roost.cafe/

In Bakery

Bjornbar Bakery: Cafe in Edgemont

July 12, 2017

Bjornbar Bakery is located in Edgemont neighbourhood of North Vancouver. We wanted a cute place to have lunch after we finished the Grouse Grind. Since it was somewhat close by and heard this place was good, we made a visit here.

Interior

The space is cute and cozy. A nice neighbourhood space to hang out with friends and chat over coffee and treats. You order everything up at the counter and they give you a number and deliver the food to your table when it’s ready.

Cappuccino

I got a small cappuccino and it came with a sweet treat on the side. A nice touch. Good coffee and it was made very well. After I got it, I wish I got a larger size.

Old Skool Sandwich

This sandwich has ham, sharp cheddar, grainy mustard and a pickle inside the panini pressed sandwich. It was a really good solid sandwich. Just looking at the cross-section, there is a lot of ham and cheese inside. I really enjoyed this sandwich a lot.

Final Thoughts

Overall, its a great place for the morning or afternoon to indulge in treats and have a cup of coffee. I would definitly be back again.

We Rate Bjornbar Bakery:

Address:
3053 Edgemont Boulevard, North Vancouver

Website:
https://bjornbarbakery.com

In Gastown

Haru Korean Restaurant in Gastown

July 4, 2017

Haru Korean Restaurant is open in Gastown serving homey Korean food. My friend and I were passing by for dinner and decided we wanted to give this place a try. We love to wander around downtown to find whatever restaurant interests us so we can find more of the hidden places around town.

Interior

The interior is mostly wooden with accents of this colourful stripped fabric. There is a decent amount of space for small to large groups. For large groups, they take reservations.

Tea

As we sat down to look over the menu, they gave us some hot tea.

Complimentary Salad

The green salad has radishes and a light vinaigrette. A nice start to the meal.

Complimentary Kimchi

Kimchi is a must at any Korean restaurant and it usually comes complimentary, It’s part of the whole experience.

Kimchi Fried Rice

This is fried white rice with kimchi, pork, onion and topped with a round fried egg. The kimchi fried rice was ok, I found that it needed a bit more kimchi and it was very very oily with the onions.

Jap-Chae Noodle

There is stir fried clear noodles with veggies seasoned in house special soy sauce. A good portion for an individual.

Seafood Pancake

The seafood pancake is pretty big. It has seafood and green onion in the batter, but I thought it was pretty average. Nothing special to have it stand out.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the food here was average and nothing stood out. Some dishes were pretty oily and unnecessarily greasy. I can see this would be a good lunch spot.

We Rate Haru Korean Kitchen:

Address:
324 Cambie St, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.harukoreankitchen.com

In Burnaby Central

Sugar Lab: Cafe in Burnaby

July 3, 2017

Sugar Lab is a new dessert cafe in Burnaby and they specialize in Mille Crepes. A few other cafes in Richmond have them, but now it’s closer to the suburbs of Burnaby. It’s a bit hard to find but keep your eyes open. It’s on Grimmer Street and Kingsway.

Interior

The place is small an cozy with one large communal table and 4 other smaller tables. Some people do take out to avoid the lines.

Green Tea Crepe Cake with Red Bean

The layers of all the crepes and cream were pretty good. The red bean is a bit sweet, so it over powers the subtle green tea crepes.

Tiramisu Mille Crepe Cake

The chocolate and coffee taste is stronger in this crepe cake. Good texture and it was delicious.

Mango Pancake

Mango Pancakes come 2 pieces per order. Inside the square crepes is whipped cream and a chunk of mango. I always enjoy this kind of dessert.

Serradura Pudding Plant

There are layers of pudding, cream and crushed up graham crackers. It was a decent dessert. Not too sweet either.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a cute new cafe with great desserts. It’s pretty unique when it comes to Burnaby. Always great to have more variety of desserts here.

We Rate Sugar Lab:

Address:
5376 Grimmer Street, Burnaby

In BBQ

Whiskey Six BBQ: West Coast BBQ in Vancouver

July 2, 2017

Whiskey Six BBQ is an organic, local, sustainable barbecue joint nestled in the heart of East Vancouver. I came with a few foodies to eat mass amounts of meat to kick off the long weekend. A few of us have been eyeing this place to see how their BBQ would compare.

Interior

The space is small and they don’t take reservations. First come first serve. On a Thursday, it didn’t start getting busy until around 7pm.

Beer

I got the Strange Fellow’s Talisman West Coast Pale Ale as I thought it would be great to pair with BBQ.

Windsor Meats Sausage

We got 2 links, and chose braised greens and wings as our sides. It also comes with a slice of Fife Bakery bread, mustard and pickle. The sausage was good and it had a kick of heat to it. We added $2 extra for the wing option and it was worth it. As they are whole wings, so its meaty. The braised kale needed a bit more seasoning to it.

Johnston’s Back Ribs

We got the full rack of ribs and we got the fries and smokey beans. The ribs were more like smoked ribs so it’s not a wet rib.

Johnston’s Prohibition Pulled Pork

The pulled pork was really good and we got it with the coleslaw, and southern biscuits. The 2 biscuits that came with it tasted more like baking soda and was missing something. I liked the coleslaw as it had a delicious tang to it.

Free Range Farmcrest Smoked Chicken

The chicken was tender and had a good flavour, but it reminded us of rotisserie chicken. We got the coleslaw and potato salad.

Blue Goose Cattle Co. Organic Beef Brisket

Of all the BBQ meats that we had, the beef brisket was our favourite.

Final Thoughts

Overall, their BBQ is different that what we were used to. The flavours are more tame and it’s not saucy. They put their own twist on West Coast BBQ and to us it didn’t stand out.

We Rate Whiskey Six BBQ:

Address:
826 Renfrew Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.whiskeysixbbq.com/

In Downtown

Yah Yah Ya Ramen in Downtown Vancouver

July 1, 2017

Yah Yah Ya Ramen opened their second location in Vancouver and they specialize in Yokohama-style ramen. The style of ramen blends tonkotsu and shoyu broth together to give a unique blend of broth. We were invited to try their special Cold Ramen only available in the summer.

Interior

There are 2 larger communal tables inside and a bunch of other smaller table. Lots of space for ramen lovers.

Japanese Ocha

Once of my favourite drinks to have at a ramen bar. You can have it sweetened or unsweetened. I would definitely recommend having it unsweetened so you can taste more of the tea.

Gyozas

These come in 6 pieces per order. A decent pan fried on one side. A good item to share among a table of friends, but it still felt a bit average.

NO. 1 Shoyu Ramen

You will find 3 pieces of toasted sesame, 2 pieces of chashu, egg, spinach, and their pork soy sauce ie-kei soup base. Very delicious and highly recommended if it’s your first time here. You can choose the texture of the noodle (hard, normal or soft), the richness (heavy, normal or light) and oil (more, normal, or less).

Black Ramen Tonkotsu

Inside you will find 3 pieces of toasted seaweed, bamboo shoots, 2 slices of chashu, and ramen egg. Delicious as well. It’s hard to choose between their bowls of ramen.

Mazesoba

In this bowl, you’ll find pork meat, toasted seaweed, bean sprouts, green onions, bamboo shoots and a golden egg yolk. You mix this all up really well and then enjoy. The flavour of all the items coat the noodles and is enjoyable.

Cold Ramen

This is only available in the Summer. It has sliced chashu, sliced red ginger, sliced egg, bean sprouts and cucumber. Mix it up and enjoy. A good choice to cool down for the Summer, but I still have a huge craving for a hot bowl of ramen even if it’s super hot outside.

Spicy Cold Ramen

If you want a kick of heat, they have a spicy cold ramen too. It has sliced chashu, kimchi, seaweed, bean sprouts and cucumber.

Salmon Don

You can have this as a combo with your ramen or on it’s own. The piece of salmon on top is very meaty.

Negi Chashu Don

Another don option if you like their chashu. I thought this was ok as the sauce felt a bit overpowering.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Yah Yah Ya Ramen is a pretty solid ramen shop. With so many ramen shops on Robson Street, they do stand out for their Yokohama style ramen. If you’re in the area, check it out.

We Rate Yah Yah Ya Ramen:

Address: 570 Robson St, Vancouver

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

In Buffet

Saffron Indian Cuisine: Lunch Buffet in Burnaby

June 27, 2017

Saffron Indian Cuisine is a popular restaurant for their lunch buffet as it is a very affordable price. My family was in town, so we called ahead for reservations to ensure all 9 of us would be seated for lunch promptly. I’ve heard lots about this place but I haven’t been here yet.

Interior

For weekday lunch, this place was packed. A few walk-ins and a few reservations. There was a good flow of people until around 1:45pm.

The interior isn’t that impressive, but it does the trick. The lunch buffet area is on the right side with all the dishes all lines up.

Naan

Naan bread is delivered to the table and you can ask staff anytime to refill your basket.

Round 1

I went with salad, veggie pakora and tandoori chicken for round #1. The tandoori chicken could have used more depth of flavour and spice. You can tell the spice level is toned down.

Round 2

This round, I got more curry to eat with the naan bread and a few more pieces of veggie pakora. All goof flavours but I wished there were more options in the buffets with spicier dishes.

Dessert

Kheer is a rice pudding, which I really enjoyed. It sweet but not overly sweet. The other items was like a mango yogurt with grapes. I personally didn’t like it.

Final Thoughts

The buffet lunch is a great deal but as it’s made in large batches, it caters to their general customer. If you love extra heat in your curry, you might want to order from the regular menu. I would have preferred playing a similar price for one really good dish at medium heat. Thats just my personal preference. If you like your dishes mild and have more variety, the lunch buffet is for you.

We Rate Saffron Indian Cuisine:

Address:
4300 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.saffroncuisine.ca/

In Bar and Grill

The Copper Coil Still & Grill in Squamish: Review

June 24, 2017

It was a long weekend and a group of my friends headed up to Squamish to enjoy the awesome craft brewery scene and also indulge in some food that we can’t get in Vancouver. Squamish is about an hour away from Downtown Vancouver and they have a thriving community. We asked a few locals where to eat and they suggested Copper Coil for some cajun cuisine. Since long weekends are busy, we waited a bit before getting a seat outside on their patio. It’s a great patio as it faces The Chief.

We tried ordering their signature Cajun items on the menu, but they were all sold out and it was only 4:30pm. We all started with beers except for me since I needed to drive. The drinks came out promptly, but the food that we ordered would take a very very long time to come out. It turns out the kitchen was severely backed up with orders and couldn’t get them out in a timely manner. Majority of the items left to order were deep-fried so maybe they didn’t have enough room or man power to fry them all. It was close to the one hour mark when some of the items started coming out.

Smoked Brisket

We got Smoked sliced brisket, kale slaw, and chipotle mayo on two buttermilk biscuits. It also comes with a side of curly fries. This was the first item that arrived and we were a bit underwhelmed. $17 and it wasn’t that impressive when you get it on 2 buttermilk biscuits. The slices of brisket was a bit dry.

Platter O Plenty

This platter has a little bit of everything – Smoked Wings, Cajun Pickles, Popcorn Shrimp, and supposedly poutine. Our order came out at different times and they ran out of poutine too. So, no poutine for us. They substituted it with another bucket of popcorn shrimp.

All the items were pretty standard and deep-fried. Nothing very special about it. We originally wanted to order it to munch on as we ordered beer, but since it took so long this had to save some of us from our hangry selves.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we heard such great things about Copper Coil but our experience was far from that.I really wish I had more positive things to say. The servers were very apologetic and were able to cover all our drinks and give us 50% off the food we ordered. It’s too bad we weren’t able to have a great experience, but so many things went wrong in the kitchen.

We Rate Copper Coil:

Address:
37996 Cleveland Ave, Squamish, BC

Website:
http://thecoppercoil.com/

In Fairview

Assembli: Build Your Own Pizza or Salad

June 21, 2017

Assembli is a new restaurant that lets you create your own pizza or salads at one set price rather than annoying add ons that will cost you. I was invited to come try a few of their creations to see how they differentiate themselves among the other restaurants in the area.

Interior

When you get here, you can walk up to the counter to put in your order and then pick up on the side.

You can watch them put your order together so there isn’t any secrets to what goes into your meal. They use fresh, non-GMO, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and local and organic when possible.

Pizza

You can create your own pizza or you can get choose their pre-built pizzas with suggested toppings. It’s a good option if you are particular about what item goes on your pizza.

Of all of the pizza’s, I really enjoyed the Smoke and Fire Pizza, which has pepperoni, smoked cheddar, mozzarella, banana peppers, red onion, and a spicy tomato sauce. I like it hot.

Salad

When it comes to salads, I like to create my own since I’m a bit particular about what I put in it. Similarly to the pizza, you can choose pre-built versions or create your own. If I had to choose one of their salads, it would be the O-Mega Braniac Salad with mixed greens, quinoa, cucumber, cabbage, blueberries, beets, avocado salsa, walnuts, seed mix, and glory dressing. Very filling and packed with great ingredients.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a place with build your own pizza or salad, check Assembli out on Cambie Street. It’s a pretty busy place for lunch as it’s unique in this neighbourhood. Imagine it like a Chipotle but for pizza and salad.

We Rate Assembli:

Address:
2325 Cambie St, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.assembli.ca/

In Gastown

Orchard and the Sea: Cider House and Restaurant in Gastown

June 15, 2017

My friend and I love wandering town to find unique places to eat and drink. We wandered deep into Gastown and stumbled upon Orchard & the Sea, which is a Cider House and Restaurant every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night at Birds & the Beets.

They are committed to serving the best ciders from local and international producers, paired with expertly hand-crafted small plates.

Cider Flight

I got a flight since I love trying a variety of drinks to see what my tastebuds are in-tune for. Plus, I never have that much cider, so I wanted to try different types.

Shacksbury Cider Basque: a still, extra dry, and unfiltered cider. This was an interesting cider since it had a funky taste. You’ll find grapefruit rind, spice and apple cellar muskiness.
Twin Islands Cider Boat Days: An off-dry blend of apples harvested from trees on Pender, Mayne and Samuel Island, as well as Vancouver Island and Worrenberg Farms in Keremeos. A partial wild fermented cider aged 6 months in their cellar.
Scenic Road Cider Co Razz: This was my favourite of the bunch. It has a hint of sweetness as it is made exclusively with local dessert apples and raspberries. Their craft ciders from Kelowna are hand blended in small batches.

Final Thoughts

Orchard and the Sea is a cool place to hang out after work on the weekend to have a bite and some craft cider. There isn’t really anything like it in Vancouver, but it’s great to see the variety of local and international Ciders.

We rate Orchard and the Sea:

Address:
55 Powell St, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.orchardandthesea.ca/

In Chinese

Pidgin: Prix-Fixe Tasting Menu

June 11, 2017

PiDGiN has always been a place I wanted to check out. I went with a friend to try their prix-fixe tasting menu for $55 per person, but there was an awesome voucher on TravelZoo for the 7 course dining for 2 people at $66, so I purchased it to save a little bit of money.

Interior

The interior is hip and cozy. The lighting is dim but it sets the atmosphere.

Happy Hour

Since it was happy hour, drinks were on special, so I grabbed Tiger, which is an Asian Lager. Good and crisp to pair with the dishes.

Daily pickles

Some daily pickles were carrot, onions and cucumbers. Nice to much on as we waited for the other dishes.

Oyster shot

This also has apple, cucumber granite, and a horseradish dashi. AN interesting combination of flavours.

Spring salad

The salad comes with marinated tofu, onsen egg and wasabi yogurt. A good refreshing salad before the other dishes arrived.

Mantou bread

This dish has 3 pieces of mantou bread with bayildi, miso, eggplant, onion, and tomato.

Cultivated Mushrooms

This is topped with a delicious ramen egg, soy yuzu brown butter, and onion puree. If you love mushrooms, you’ll love this dish. The mushrooms just soak up all that delicious butter.

Spring Salmon

This dish has clams, maitake mushrooms, sesame butter, and tobiko. The salmon is perfectly cooked with more mushrooms and the yummy calms.

Beef Striploin

Topped with broccolini, spinach gomae, and some local wasabi. The wasabi was freshly grated and not as potent as the ones in tubes. The dish was ok but the gomae was on the salty side.