lunch Archives - Page 5 of 10

Glory Juice: New Location Near Olympic Village

July 30, 2015

Glory Juice just opened their third location near Olympic Village on 2nd Avenue. Since I work close to this area, I thought I would grab a healthy lunch from this place. I brought along CoquitlamGirl to check this place out.

Also, right around the corner is Earnest Ice Cream. Best place for dessert ever!

They have a few seats inside and it’s a nice open space for lunch time. A lot of people went to grab take out, so it wasn’t too busy inside here.

They have so many juices available, but if you aren’t good at committing to a flavour, you can grab a sample if they have it available. The flavours range from pure veggies to sweet citrus tastes. It’s tough for a first timer to choose.

I grabbed a Small Pad Thai Salad and a small Mixed Citrus cold pressed Juice. I was feeling pretty healthy today.

The Mixed Citrus was one of the sweeter juices that had. It contains orange, grapefruit and lime.You can taste there is a dominant flavour of oranges.The juice is also organic, raw, unpasteurized, with no added water, sugar or preservatives.

The Pad Thai Salad came with a peanut sauce to enrobe all the veggies with its yumminess. There isn’t any noodles in the salad, but it was more like a bowl of thinly sliced vegetables with sauce and sesame seeds.

Overall, it was a good healthy lunch. The price is a tad high, but its understandable since a lot of effort goes into their juices and food, plus its organic where possible.

We Rate Glory Juices:

Address:
78 East 2nd Avenue, Vancouver

Website:
http://gloryjuiceco.com/

In Cafe

Golden Garden: Vietnamese Food in Chinatown

July 29, 2015

Golden Garden Vietnamese Cuisine / Kim Saigon Sandwiches is an affordable restaurant with amazing items like pho, bahn mi sandwiches, spring rolls, and a lot more. I was introduced to Golden Garden by my coworkers a few years ago and this has become my go-to place for lunch. Take out is quick and I always made sure I get a bahn mi since it’s only $4. Every few months, a couple of my coworkers will have a group lunch and dine in.

When you look inside the dining area, its clean and quite nice compared to other places. It’s not sketchy at all. You will find families, business workers in the area, and some tourists.

Vermicelli Bowl with chicken was what I ordered. It came with a small bowl of fish sauce and I poured a bit over the noodles. I added some hot sauce too for some added heat. It was really good as there were lots of bean sprouts and veggies. I couldn’t stop eating this.

On another day, I got bahn mi for take out. Remember that they can only do debt or credit card transactions for an order $5 or more. If not, you will have to have cash on you. Thats why I ordered a Bahn Mi and a drink to get me to $5.25 so I could use my debt card.

I love how its wrapped up and then tied up in a plastic bag.

I know I could have made this look better, but I didn’t have a knife to cut this in half.

Pate Bahn Mi ($4) has assorted cold cut meat, pâté, pickled vegetable, jalapeno, cilantro and some fish sauce. The bun is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Overall, a great restaurant in the heart of Chinatown with good food and prices. It’s a comfortable space and not sketchy at all.

We Rate Golden Garden:

Address:
509 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://goldengardenrestaurant.ca/

In Cafe

Scent of a Sandwich: Lunch in Chinatown

July 25, 2015

Scent of a Sandwich is located close to Main St and Hastings St. This place always catches my eye because it’s one of the only places near my office to send mail. My coworker and I thought we should try this place out as we were quite curious about it.

They started off as a catering company, but now has a store to serve sandwiches to the Downtown Eastside community. They roast their meats in-house, source local ingredients and bake fresh bread.

There are a few seats inside, but when we were here, most people were taking it to go.

They usually have 1 feature sandwich of the day you can order, or else you can build you own sandwich.

We decided to keep it simple and get the special. They have a bunch of different types of bread you can choose from.

Chicken and Brie on Whole Wheat Sourdough was what I ordered and I had it to go. It was a busy day at work, so I needed a grab and go type of meal. The is the sliced up chicken, brie, spinach and mayo. Then they put it into a panini grill to get the brie nice and melted.

My coworker and I found it to be a tad dry and underwhelming. It could have used a bit more brie too.

We rate Scent of a Sandwich:

Address:
100-418 Main Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://scentofasandwich.com/

In British Columbia

JJs Trucketeria: Filipino Food Truck

July 11, 2015

JJs Trucketeria was outside one of our offices during the lunch hour, so we decided to devour their amazing Filipino BBQ meats. You can’t go wrong with anything from their menu. For healthier options, they do have a market bowl or salad.

JJ’s Signature Panwich ($7.50) has your choice of either Filipino BBQ pork or Lemongrass chicken. It is served on top of pandesa, which is a Filipino bun. Mags and Anne got theirs with BBQ pork.

It’s a sandwich with great value for lunch for so much delicious flavour.

Garlic Fried Rice Big Plate ‘The Halfer’ ($10.50) is huge. It has Filipino BBQ pork, lemongrass chicken, garlic fried rice, fried egg, and JJ’s dipping vinegar. It was massive and I could only finish about 60% of this. The garlic rice is subtle and not too pungent.

Overall, one of the best food trucks with good value plus delicious meats. You can find them at most food truck festivals around town. Just make sure to check the Vancouver Street Food App to see where they are located.

We Rate JJs Trucketeria:

Location:
Varies

Website:
http://jjstrucketeria.wix.com/jjs-trucketeria

In Gluten Free Options

Aqua Sushi: Sashimi Brown Rice Bowls

July 6, 2015

Making a revisit to a restaurant is always great as I always discover new things on the menu. The food at Aqua Sushi has always been of great quality and I’ve been making a lot of trips there recently for lunch. My office is close by, so it’s a great alternative to the other restaurants close by.

I recently noticed their Sashimi Brown Rice Bowls that were pretty substantial for a lunch hour meal.

Spicy Tuna and Negitoro Brown Rice Bowl ($11.50) has all the sashimi mashed up with pickled ginger, veggies, wasabi on a bed of brown rice. What I liked about this rice bowl is that you can mix up the rice, tuna and negitoro all together so every bite tastes delicious. The brown rice by itself is also very delicious.

It’s a good gluten-free alternative, but don’t forget to ask them for gluten-free soy sauce! They also have less-salt soy sauce.

Wild Salmon and Tuna Brown Rice Bowl ($11.50) has 3 pieces of tuna and 3 pieces of salmon with the wasabi, pickled ginger, greens and on top of the brown rice. A beautiful and healthy lunch. I always take a wasabi lump out as I find its too much.

Overall, great spot for lunch with super healthy options.

We Rate Aqua Sushi + Juice Bar:

Address:
1764 Manitoba Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://aquajuicebar.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=1764+Manitoba+Street+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=1764+Manitoba+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5Y+1H9&z=15 “]

In British Columbia

Vancouver Food Cart Fest: Every Sunday, All Summer Long

June 29, 2015

Food Cart Fest is Vancouver’s biggest celebration of street food and they are returning for a fourth year with more food carts and expanded entertainment programming that includes a live-music patio.

It goes on every Sunday during the summer from June 28th to September 6th, 2015 during the hours of 12pm -5pm.

The Food Cart Fest is located between the Cambie Bridge and Olympic Village. It’s easily accessible by transit.

Admission is $2.50, but there are ways to get in for free:

Free for Vancity Members
Free with a non-perishable donation to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society
Free for children 13 and under
Free for seniors 65 and over

Travelling on a bike and not sure where to keep it secure? There’s free bike valet so you don’t need to worry about your bike being stolen.

Food Trucks and Food Vendors

Every week the food truck vendors do switch up, so keep an eye out for which ones will be there.

The list includes:

There’s probably others that aren’t on this list.

Be ready for lineups! The most popular food carts like Mom’s Grilled Cheese and Tacofino will constantly have long lines. Especially during the hot summer weather, make sure you have sun screen on or a really big hat.

The Food

Lets be real, food is really the main attraction and everyone needs a bite of the Vancouver Food Cart Scene. I love food carts and summer is a great time to see them out and about at special events.

Mogu Japanese Street Eats serves up Japanese inspired burgers and their famous chicken karaage. You can also find them at the Richmond Night Market as well as their usual location in Downtown during the weekday.

Ebi Katsu has a breaded deep-fried prawn patty, house made Japanese tartar sauce, and lettuce. That patty is loaded with shrimp! Definitely try it out.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Karaage has marinated deep-fried chicken topped with their house made sweet chili sauce. A crowd favourite!

Dougie Dog serves up all-natural gourmet hot dogs. You may have heard of them because they made an unsuccessful pitch on Dragons Den.

La Mexicana Hot Dog has guacamole, salsa, bacon, jalapeño peppers, and topped with cheddar cheese. It was pretty spicy because of the hot dog and the jalapeño peppers, but the guacamole balances it out a bit more to cool off the initial spicy taste.

Johnny’s Pops is always a popular option for awesome popsicles! Make sure to grab some quickly because they sold out before 3pm on opening day. I waited too long and wanted it to be the last thing I ate here, but I was too late.

Don’t forget to take a photo of it first! Photo first! Eat second!

Don’t forget to stay hydrated. They have their odd booth called “World of Drinks”. Drinks range from $2 – $4.50.

Summer Patio

New this year is the summer patio with live music and alcoholic drinks. It is 19+, so make sure you have ID. They try to showcase the best craft beer and wine the province has to offer.

There are lots of tables and seats available in the area.

You just need to buy drink tickets to be able to sample the drinks. They are around $5.

While I was here, there was Maui Brewing Co, Laurelwood Public House & Brewery and Redhook Ale Brewery. Also Summerhill Pyramid Winery, River Stone Estate Winery and Bombay Sapphire.

I’m sure there will be a rotating selection of craft beers, wine and liqueurs.

Activities

Of course there is more to the food cart fest than just eating. They have included a few fun activities to keep you occupied like life-sized connect 4!

Super-sized checkers game.

They have big jenga too! These 3 games are all located inside the huge shady tent.

Ping Pong

An imitation beach with a live DJ.

The East Side Flea

They were here for the opening weekend. There are a variety of vendors selling some pretty neat stuff.

I’m not 100% if they will be back again, but you can check out their future locations on their Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/eastsideflea

The food cart fest is a zero waste event and they try to divert as much waste away from landfills as possible. With the amount of garbage generated, it’s not great for the environment if we just chuck it all away. Last year the festival was able to run for 11 weeks, diverting 93% of the waste generated onsite. Thats pretty damn awesome.

I was actually quite confused how to separate my waste, but there’s usually someone around to guide you.

Overall, it is a fun Summer event in Vancouver. It’s a great way to hit a bunch of food carts at once all in one place. I did find on the opening day that the line up to enter the food cart festival was long and also certain line ups to the popular food trucks were also long. Paying an entrance fee and then paying for food seems a bit off since food trucks are all over the city on the weekday. Luckily, there are options for free entry.

This event isn’t for everyone. If you hate the sunny weather and hate lines, this isn’t the event for you.

Foodology Disclaimer: I was invited by the Food Cart Fest organizers for a media preview to sample some food and also I am an employee of Vancity. I ensure you that all thoughts are my own.

Address:
215 W 1st Ave (between the Cambie Bridge and Olympic Village).

Website:
http://www.foodcartfest.com/

In lunch

Tea Wok Cafe: Bubble Tea near Science World

June 9, 2015

Tea Wok opened right under Columbia College on Terminal close to Science World. The cafe is pretty hidden and you will probably only notice it if you walk around this area. They serve up Taiwanese dishes, bubble tea and dessert.

Their menu is quite limited and is not like the full Tea Wok Restaurant. When we came, they said their fryer was broken so they couldn’t make any other that good salt peppery chicken.

The interior isn’t too large inside, but can still fit large groups if its not busy. During lunch time I did notice most people did do take out.

Jasmine Green Tea is always a cold drink that I enjoy. I find that it was a tad sweeter than most places, so I should have ordered it half sweet.

Minced Pork with marinated egg on rice was one of their lunch specials. It’s pretty basic for a lunch meal and there wasn’t anything special about it.

A lot of the food on the menu is more like Asian fast food. The food is average and nothing special.

We Rate Tea Wok Cafe:

Address:
418 Terminal Avenue,
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://teawok.com/

In Cafe

Tractor Foods: Everyday Healthy Foods

April 21, 2015

Tractor Foods has their original location in Kitsilano, but they recently opened up their second location in the Marine Building on Burrard Street. They mostly sell a variety of salads, soup, and sandwiches. They are quite popular with the weekday work crowd. I find that it’s a nice alternative in the area.

It’s a good place to eat out if you have a few food restrictions. They cater to people with nut allergies, vegan, gluten free or dairy free.

When you line up, it’s kinda like an assembly line where you pick and choose item that you want. The staff are nice and friendly too.

Don’t order too much or else it will get a bit pricey.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts salad ($3.25) has toasted hazelnuts, radicchio, italian parsley, double smoked bacon, apricot mustard vinaigrette. It is dairy free and gluten free. I enjoyed the whole hazelnuts as it added a lot of texture to the salad.

Pork Sandwich (Half – $5) has roast pork, wild arugula, tomato, roasted garlic aioli, and provolone cheese on a sourdough bread. Pretty decent sandwich and its grilled nicely too.

Kimchi salad ($3.25) has green cabbage, pickled carrots, clantro, mint, green onions, and sesame. It is nut-free, vegan, dairy free and gluten free.

Albacore tuna steak with grilled lemon $5 (2 oz) is a nice addition to any salad as it’s full of flavour and lightly seared on each side.

Overall, it’s an awesome cafeteria-style restaurant, plus great for the Downtown lunch crowd. If I had days where I feel like a little bit health conscious, I’ll definitely be back.

We Rate Tractor Foods:

Address:
335 Burrard St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://tractorfoods.com/

In Cafe

Cafe de l’Orangerie: Amazing Japanese Pasta

April 13, 2015

Cafe de L’Orangerie is now located in Marpole, a few minutes away from the Vancouver International Airport. They are a Japanese-style cafe serving up their interpretation of Western food.

After coming here, I really wish they had more locations. I love this type of food. You will find on their menu – pasta, curry, hamburg steak, beef stew, and teriyaki. Sounds pretty boring, but once you eat it, you won’t regret it.

I came here with the lovely ladies of Gastrofork – Dee and Nat to film a short interview … and eat of course!

London Fog ($4.55) is a black tea latte with vanilla and steamed milk. Mmmm my favourite! Seriously, I’m going on a long streak of ordering london fogs. It’s essentially my coffee alternative.

Campari Lemon ($6.50) is an alcoholic beverage with the bitter taste of Campari and limonata lemon juice cocktail. Nat and her early morning cocktails. She even got ID’d.

Matcha Green Tea Latte ($4.55) was what Dee ordered. Looks very vibrant and green due to the matcha. You can’t go wrong with this drink.

Curry with Pork Cutlet ($11.95) looks delicious and has a generous portion of curry to rice ratio.

Spaghetti Carbonara ($9.80) has bacon, mushroom, garlic, egg, cheese, and cream. OMG so good! I ate all o fit and didn’t even leave a single noodle on the plate. SO GOOD!

Zunda Dango Parfait ($6.95) is a dessert made with rice balls, sweet edamame bean paste, red bean, ice cream and black sugar sauce.

I would definitely come back! It’s the type of food that M and I love. Love the Japanese twist to Western food.

We Rate Cafe de L’orangerie:

Address:
1320 W 73rd Ave
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://cafedelorangerie.ca/

In Gastown

Tacomio: New Restaurant in Gastown

March 4, 2015

Tacomio is a new taco place that opened up near Tinsel Town. The corner of Abbot and Hastings was marred by a run down hotel, but since then has been torn down and rebuilt as nice retail locations. There is a Frank Oak shop as well as a new coffee place opening up very soon.

The Tacomio staff was very friendly, and for the first few days of launch, is giving away free guac and chips, as well as a Hibiscus Limeade with a purchase of a meal. The tacos are the small soft kinds aka, authentic one’s made even more popular by La Taqueria down the street. You get to choose any 4 tacos for $10

I chose the Chicharron (Pork Rinds), Carnitas (Confit Pork), Cochinita Pibil (Pork), and Tinga de Pollo (Chicken). They also had a nice number of salsa and sauce ranging from super mild 1, all the way to La Bomba 8.

The tacos themselves, were super bland in my opinion. Putting La Bomba on them helped a little bit, but the meats themselves were not flavourful at all. I was expecting a Meat and Bread type of Pork and rinds for the Chicharron, but instead, they were whole pork rinds that were soaked in marinade, creating a consistency of fat and slime. While I was waiting in line, I saw one of the employees dump shredded pork from a vacuum sealed bag, which was a foreshadowing of tastes to come.

The best part of the meal was the drink for sure. The most depressing part of the meal was that if they didn’t give the drink and chips away for free, my meal would have costed $17! Definitely did not feel my bang for my buck. With similar prices but more delicious tacos at 3 nearby locations La Taqueria, La Casita, and Tacofino Gastown, I find little draw to come here. Tacomio doesn’t seem to have any specific edge over their competition, nor does it stand up on its own.

We Rate Tacomio:

Address:
435 Abbott St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.tacomio.ca/

In Cafe

Pepper Lunch Canada: Sizzle Sizzle Sizzle

February 27, 2015

Pepper Lunch is finally coming to Canada with it’s first location in Richmond, BC and soon another location in Downtown Vancouver. It officially opens on March 14th, 2015 but we got a sneak peak. Mmm Mmm Mmm.

Pepper Lunch is very famous in Asia as a fast-food steak restaurant franchise. There are over 350 locations. I remember going to one in Hong Kong a few years ago. Whats great about Pepper Lunch being in Canada is that we have high quality beef, chicken and fish available. Pepper Lunch Canada uses Certified Angus Beef and BC Steelhead Salmon.

Pepper Lunch in Richmond is a sit-down restaurant unlike a few food court style ones in Asia. The seating is comfortable.

When you first enter the door, you can place your order, then they seat you.

Their items on their greatly varies in price as some dishes are $8.50 and can go all the way up to $29.95.

For those who are indecisive, there’s even a picture menu. It definitely helps give you a visual of the food.

Salmon Pepper Rice ($10.95) uses sashimi grade tuna, loads of corn, green onion, pepper and sauce.

You just need to mix the ingredients together and try not to burn yourself on the skillet. It’s 260 degrees! This was my favourite dish! full of flavour and the salmon is so fatty and delicious.

Beef Pepper Rice ($8.95) is similar in composition as the salmon pepper rice. It’s a good dish, but it wasn’t as flavourful as the salmon. If you add their signature sauces – Garlic soy sauce (Karakuchi) and honey brown sauce (Amakuchi), it will give it more flavour.

Kobe Style Burger Steak ($12.95) comes with bean sprouts, beans and rice. Very flavourful beef and Mags seemed to really like it.

Rib Eye Steak ($29.95) is one of their more expensive items on the menu. The 8oz Rib Eye is Certified Angus Beef and very tender when cooked.

You leave it on the skillet for however long you want, then you flip it to cook the other side. Once you are finished a bit of the dish, add the rice on the skillet to soak up the delicious sauce.

I’m glad Pepper Lunch is finally arriving in Canada. No more trips to Asia for DIY cooking. Plus, it tastes a lot better in Canada than the ones in Asia. You really can’t beat our beef and salmon.

We Rate Pepper Lunch Canada:

Address:
5951 Number 3 Rd Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.pepperlunchcanada.com/

In Cafe

Sunny Spot Cafe: Xi’an Street Food on Main Street

February 10, 2015

Sunny Spot Cafe isn’t a place I would normally go to. I’ve passed by several times, but never took notice until Mags told me to come here for lunch. It is owned by a husband and wife that make all the Xi’an Street Food dishes by hand.

It’s only 2 of them working and they really make their customers feel at home.

We got seated promptly as it wasn’t too busy during the weekday lunch rush. We then asked for tea and ice water as we browsed through the menu.

The menu isn’t very large, but they have the basics – dumplings, soups, salad, noodles, and their specialty buns. All items are under $10 and is quite affordable.

Handmade Pork Dumplings ($8) comes with 10 pieces and are boiled. If you eat them by themselves, it is a bit bland, so you need a touch of sauce or the chilli oil to enhance their flavour.

Tripe and Glass Noodle in Hot and Sour Soup ($6) is very spicy and piping hot when it comes out.

Biang Biang Handcrafted Shaanxi Thick Noodles with Beef ($8) both Mags and Min ordered this dish and they thought it was good. Tasted very homey.

I’ve never been to Xi’an to tell if this is authentic or not, but the food tastes like what your parents would serve you. Good food, no fuss. The owners are nice and put a lot of love in their food that they serve. There’s one item that I didn’t try here, but I will have to next time – braised pork bun.

We Rate Sunny Spot Cafe:

Address:
2543 Main St Vancouver, BC

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

In Gastown

Einstein Wrap House: Donair and Shawarma in Gastown

January 3, 2015

Einstein Wrap House is located in Tinseltown and they serve up donair and shawarma. I haven’t had a wrap or a platter in a long time, so I decided to drop by for lunch.

The prices are under $9 and it’s decent for the downtown area. There’s really no other donair/shawarma shop in the area. A lot of people love the platters since it’s a lot of food for under $10.

Chicken Shawarma Wrap ($6.25) has freshly sliced chicken, tomatoes, lettuce, hummus and tzatziki sauce. It was a good amount. Quality was decent but the hummus or tzatziki wasn’t very flavourful.

Can of Coca-Cola ($1.35)

Overall, I would come here again if I had a donair craving in this area. There are definitely better donair places in town.

We Rate Einstein Wrap House:

Address:
516 Abbott St
Vancouver BC

In Four Beakers

Roast: Meat and Sandwich Shop

December 17, 2014

Roast Meat and Sandwich Shop at the Victoria Public Market at The Hudson serves up delicious sandwiches that rivals Meat and Bread. They are commitment to providing delicious, natural, and humane meat you can feel good about buying and eating.

While I was in Victoria for a work trip, I had to stop here to get a porchetta sandwich.

There’s something about watching a man carve meat that compels you to stop what you’re doing and consume immediately. This is quite true and so many people at the market just stopped, smelled the meat, and then lined up to get a piece of it.

It smells really good with the aroma of roasted chicken, beef and pork in the air.

They sell a variety of sandwiches and even whole roasts.

Oh man, look at their carving station with long strips of chicharron.

You can’t deny how amazing that prime rib looks.

All that porchetta staring at you. Delicious crust of crackling.

Porchetta Sandwich ($9.50) has naturally raised pork, provolone, broccolini, and salsa verde in the Portuguese Bun.

I love the broccolini and the slab of salsa verde, it helps cut the grease from the pork and balance out the flavours.

Beef and Pork Sausage Rolls sell out fast! We came here on a Saturday at 2pm and all of them were sold out, so we kindly asked them to save us a few for Sunday to pick up before our ferry ride back to Vancouver. I was super excited to devour these.

The sausage roll had lots of filling! It was packed full of meat and the crust was crispy. It’s really good and perfect for kids to eat.

They also sell chicharron by the weight so I got a piece to go for a late night snack in the hotel. Mmmm Mmmmm. You probably want to drink this with beer or some soda since it has a very smokey flavour.

Overall, Roast is very good and offers a variety of sandwiches, roasts, and salads. I would definitely come back again for my next trip to Victoria. The prices are a tad high, but you won’t walk away disappointed.

We rate Roast Meat and Sandwich Shop:

Address:
1701 Douglas Street
Victoria, BC

Website:
http://roastsandwichshop.com/

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 American

Rouge Bistro: New Restaurant near Olympic Village

September 18, 2014

There’s a new cozy bistro called Rouge Bistro located on 2nd Ave and Manitoba. Just right outside the Olympic Village. It has only been open for the last month and a half. I’ve actually come here a few time during my lunch hour because they have very homey tasting sandwiches and soups.

I’ve never had anything I was disappointed with . The shop is a family owned business and they want to provide customers with yummy food that makes them smile. Plus, most items on their menu is under $10. Perfect for the lunch hour.

There aren’t a lot of seats, but I haven’t found it a problem yet. It’s not too busy, so you will still find a seat. As they are still new, I can see this place being quite busy in a few months.

Their menu is mostly comprised of salads, sandwiches, soups and daily specials. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but they have a good selection for lunch.

Wild Salmon Walnut Pesto Sandwich ($9) and it comes with a side of soup. The side of soup I chose was mushroom and it was good! Lots of mushrooms were in it and it was quite yummy.

There was a lot of the salmon in it and they do not skimp out at all! It tasted very good and healthy. Plus, I was super stuffed when I finished it all!

The Roast Beef Sandwich ($9) and a side of broccoli soup. This was a simple meal but it tasted so good. I don’t know what their secret is, but it was just really good.

The owner comes in here every morning to roast his beef and lamb before the lunch rush. Inside the sandwich is mushrooms, cheddar and the roasted beef. I think the reason why it tasted so good is because everything is fresh! The beef was still very moist and flavourful.

Chicken Soup, Quinoa Chickpea peanut sauce salad, Chicken Seaweed Salad was a nice trio for lunch if you wanted something a tad healthier.

Curried Quarter Chicken ($9) comes with your choice of breast or leg/thigh. I chose the leg/thigh because I love dark meat and its juicier. This also comes with a side of soup! The soup this day was french onion soup. This chicken was really good and it has a few chunk of potatoes on the bottom.

Overall, I love coming here to have lunch. Everything is fresh and delicious, with great prices. Having been here 3 times without any disappointment, I think this place is pretty solid. All my coworkers love Rouge Bistro too. It’s refreshing to have a good place to eat close to Science World without having to go to the usual places like Tap and Barrel or Craft.

We Rate Rouge Bistro:

Address:
91 West 2nd Avenue
Vancouver, BC

In Canadian

Sassafraz: Lunch in Yorkville

September 10, 2014

Sassafraz is located right in Yorkville and the serve up French inspired Canadian cuisine. I came here for lunch with Flo when I was visiting Toronto for a few days. We thought it would be a great place to catch up as they have a patio area outside.

As we waited for our order, some bread and butter arrived. We took a few bites of the bread and it was good and simple.

Cucumberland Detox ($8) is a cold-pressed juice with cucumber, apple, kale, spinach, lime, and coconut water. It was good to see a variety of drinks on their menu. For a traveller, it’s always hard to get a good dose of fruits or vegetables.

Nova Scotia Digby scallops ($24) has a sweet soy glaze, citrus roasted cauliflower, forbidden rice, samphire, with a dashi broth. It was quite a small dish for $24. It barely had any rice in it. Also, the scallops looked super seared.

Ontario artisan flank steak salad ($19) is served medium with mixed greens, caramelized onion, pickled honey mushroom, and Dijon vinaigrette. This was a nice healthy lunch and it was good.

Overall, the lunch was quite pricey and the portions are a tad small.

We Rate Sassafraz:

Address:
100 Cumberland St
Toronto, ON

Website:
http://www.sassafraz.ca/

In Japanese

Saboten: Japanese Tonkatsu in Richmond

September 8, 2014

Saboten is the largest Japanese Chain Restaurant for Tonkatsu chain with over 500 shops across the world. They have been open since 2012 in Aberdeen Centre in Richmond BC.

I’ve passed by this place all the time, but I’ve never dined her until now. I’ve always been turned off by the huge lines, but today, there are hardly any lineups. Perhaps the hype has died down.

It’s always a busy time in the Aberdeen Food Court, the crowds can be a bit crazy during dinner time, but there are a lot of food options.

I loved looking at the display food and you are probably going to be mesmerized by how good it looks. FYI, it’s not going to be looking like this at all.

Tenderloin Katsu Curry set comes with 2 pieces of katsu soaked with the curry sauce. Then you have rice and cabbage on the other side. You also get miso soup and a small container of pickled vegetables.

Tenderloin & Loin Set has miso soup, rice, sesame seeds, pickles, sauce and the tenderloin and loin katsu.

After tasting both of these items, you really don’t get a lot of katsu. Plus, it does’t stay crispy for very long. I was a bit disappointed in the portions and didn’t satisfy my katsu cravings. I much prefer Zac Zac Curry in Downtown Vancouver.

We Rate Saboten:

Address:
4151 Hazelbridge Way
Richmond BC

Website:
http://www.saboten.ca/