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In American

Chicago Food Planet Tours: Gold Coast & Old Town Food Tour

October 4, 2013

I had a week in Chicago and it’s quite hard to eat everything. There’s only so many restaurants I can go to in one day. I contemplated for a long time if I should take a food tour or not. 7 restaurants in 3 hours is always enticing for a foodie for $50.

Chicago Food Planet Food Tours offered a tour of Gold Coast and Old Town‘s best eats. It’s a cool neighbourhood, but the only reason I went on the tour was to try a slice of deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s. I really didn’t want to eat a whole pizza to myself or eat alone.

We explored:

Lou Malnati’s
Delightful Pastries
Kamehachi Old Town
The Fudge Pot
The Spice House
Old Town Oil
Tea Gschwendner

The group was only 16 people, so it was a nice decent size. What made me feel awkward was that everyone else came to the tour as a group or a couple. It made me feel like an awkward turtle.

Lou Malnati’s

Our first stop was Lou Malnati’s for their famous deep dish pizza. This was the starting point of the tour. They are an iconic Chicago-Style Deep Dish pizzeria. It’s been around since 1971.

All 16 of us sat down and started beginning chowing down on our meal.

We began with a salad.

Then the deep dish pizza! So satisfying and the crust is so crispy. Definitely the highlight of the tour.

Tea Gschwendner

We then walked a short distance to Tea Gschwendner. They are Europe’s leading specialty loose Green, Black, Oolong and White teas merchant and have been around since 1987.

We were given a little lesson about different types of tea and how to make tea.

Iced tea was given to everyone as a refresher after the yummy pizza. As it was a hot summer we definitely needed.

We then headed into Old Town and was told about the history of some notable buildings and history.

Kamehachi Old Town

Kamehachi Old Town is Chicago’s first Japanese-style restaurant, sake cafe and sushi bar . It has been around since 1967.

We had 2 types of maki rolls, but only 2 pieces. It was ok, but not great. Coming from Vancouver, this doesn’t even compare to what good sushi is like.

The Fudge Pot

The Fudge pot is Chicago’s oldest chocolate confectioner, butter toffee and home-made fudge shop. They have been around since 1963 making delicious sweets.

We were taken to their kitchen to hear the history of the Fudge Pot and their production.

The butter toffee samples we received were pretty awesome. So addictive.

Spice Merchants

We then stopped by the world-famous merchant of hand-prepared spices, blends and artisan seasonings. Once you step close to the door of this place, you’ll definitely smell the amazing flavours. It’s quite strong stuff.

They have hundreds of spices! They have even made their own special blends. You can probably find any spice you’re looking for.

We looked around the shop and then taken to the back to get a lesson on different spices, best ways to store spices and how to get the most flavourful spices. Interesting stop on this tour, but we only smelled spices.

Old Town Oil

Old Town Oil is America’s premiere supplier of aged balsamic vinegars and 100% extra-virgin olive oils. I’ve never seen so many tins of olive oil and balsamic vinegar before.

We were able to try all the flavours we wanted. Interesting flavours.

We continued walking around the neighbourhood and heard more about the history.

Delightful Pastries

Our last stop of the tour was at Delightful Pastries. It’s an authentic Polish-European bakery serving pastries, pierogies and pies.

Two Macaroons

Two different types of perogies.

The Chicago Food Planet Tour of Old Town and Gold Coast was fun and enjoyable, but if you are a hardcore foodie, a majority of the places aren’t super amazing. The shops are unique and have a long history, but it won’t keep you coming back. Especially if you are a local.

As a tourist, it was a good use of 3 hours to visit so many shops and restaurants, plus learn a little bit of history in these 2 areas. The 2 restaurants that stood out to me was Lou Malnati’s and The Fudge Pot. Mmmm pizza and chocolate.

Our tour guide was great! He was funny and was very personable to each person on the tour.

Website: http://www.chicagofoodplanet.com/tours/near-north-food-tour/

In Canadian

Earls Kitchen + Bar: Lets Get Cracking

September 30, 2013

The Lobster Event is back at Earls on October 3, 4, and 5th, 2013. It’s a celebration of all things East Coast and apparently the birthday of Alexander Keith (Yes, that beer brand). They fly in 15,000 Nova Scotia lobsters for the 3 day event. It’s been going on for the past 11 years.

For $25, you get a whole steamed 1½ pound Atlantic lobster served up with prawns, grilled corn cob, fingerling potatoes, a brioche bun and chardonnay butter for dipping.

For an additional $5, you get a huge ice cold pint of Alexander Keith Hop Series Ale.

The best part about eating lobster is really the bib. Come on, every adult likes to reminisce about their childhood and get messy. Take all your rings off and get messy. Especially if you are certified in hand to claw combat, you can tackle this meal.

This is my favourite tool! You’ll need it to help you crack those big claws. The chef pre cracks the tail and the claws but there is still some work that needs to be done to get the flesh out. I wish I took more photos of the meal, but my hands were covered in butter and meat.

Throw all the shells away! This saying is quite true.

Sometimes you really need a wet nap at the end of the meal or run off to the washroom to wash your hands.

The meal was delicious and the amount was just right. You definitely want to make reservations ahead of time since they have limited quantities at all their locations. Happy cracking.

Address:
1095 Mainland St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.earls.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1095+Mainland+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=1095+Mainland+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+1A9&z=16 “]

In Canadian

Crave on Main: Goodbye My Favourite Burger

September 29, 2013

Crave on Main is coming to a close today – September 29th, 2013 after 7.5 years in operation. When M and I found out, we were quite sad because we were convinced they had the best burger in town.

We came here 2 years ago and fell in love with this restaurant. With all the great items on the menu, we always end up getting the same burger. Something about it was so magical.

Organic Beef Crave Burger with back bacon, truffle mayo and blue cheese ($12 + $1 +$1 +$1 = $15)

It comes with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, an organic beef patty on the soft focaccia bread. The additional toppings of the blue cheese, truffle mayo and back bacon.

Everyone at the table ordered this and it was just like music in our mouths. The patty was very moist and flavourful, the blue cheese just oozed everywhere and the back bacon was so good. We haven’t been able to find anything else in town that compares.

Mushroom soup (+$1.50) was needed as an upgrade since we didn’t want fries. I have a weird addiction to mushrooms, so I just had to have it.

Overall, after all these years, they have kept up the consistency of their food. I hope the owners decide to open another restaurant, but no word on it yet. I’ll be crossing my fingers to see this burger be back someday.

Instead of a restaurant, it will be replaced by housing. Boo.

We Rate Crave on Main:

Address:
3941 Main St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.craveonmain.com

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3941+Main+St+Vancouver,+BC&t=m&hnear=3941+Main+St,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V5V+3P5&z=16″]

In Coquitlam

Church’s Chicken: Korean Style Chicken

September 29, 2013

I have been feeling quite junky lately by having a lot of fast food. Perhaps it’s because of the really crappy weather lately. It makes me just want to stay home and watch Breaking Bad. Last episode tonight! I’m just really excited to see how it all ends. But I digress.

I’ve always had a soft spot of Church’s Chicken because of their crunchy chicken skin and moist meat.

What we recently noticed is their introduction of their Korean Style Chicken. It is their fried drumstick doused in sweet and spicy sauce. This particular Church’s Chicken is located near “Korean Town”, so it was interesting to see how close they could make it taste like real Korean Chicken.

The original name used to be “Gangnam Style Chicken” to feed off the popularity of Psy’s song – Gangnam Style. Unfortunately, they changed it due to legal issues.

You order up at the counter and nothing is very interesting here. Nothing special either, but you can see how they cook their chicken. Smells good too!

Korean Style Chicken (5 Pieces – $7) it’s all drunk sticks. M found it more sweet than spicy. Its doused in sauce and if you are doing take out, the sauce seeps out of the box…so be careful. M didn’t particularly like it.

With the abundance of Korean chicken in this area, we prefer to go to Ajuker.

Spicy Fried Chicken 3 Piece Meal ($10.08) it comes with a regular soda, small fries and 3 pieces of fried chicken. You can have original or spicy flavours but I like it spicy. This is one of the only thing I order.

I really like it and much better than KFC.

We Rate Church’s Chicken:

Address:
555 North Rd
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
http://www.churchschickenbc.ca/

In American

GT Fish & Oyster: Amazing Seafood in Chicago

September 28, 2013

GT Fish & Oyster is an awesome restaurant in Chicago. I was looking hard for a good seafood restaurant and I was recommended to this restaurant. It has received a Michelin Star and several other awards.

They are an American Seafood Restaurant a few blocks away from the Magnificent Mile. It’s not a long walk and easy to get to. They have indoor or patio seating. Lots of space.

We came in the early evening for some quick bites. It’s a nice cozy restaurant.

GT Oyster Shooter ($5) has tuna, cucumber, and tobiko caviar. It’s super cute and comes served in a martini glass. The ingredients really go together. I really wanted more!

Shrimp Bruschetta ($11) has avocado, toasted pistachio, grapefruit, and cilantro. It was really good! Seafood is fresh and quite flavourful. The ingredients really compliment the seafood.

Fish Tacos ($13) has a garlic marinade, chipotle aioli, and chicharron. It comes with 3 pieces and it mighty fresh and delicious.

Oyster Po’Boy Slider ($4 each) has the fried oyster withkimchi, peanuts inside a toasted buttered bun. I love kimchi, so having it in this way was really good too.

GT “Mac & Cheese” ($17) has bits of lobster and english peas. It’s a filling dish and one of the heavier dishes on the menu. It’s creamy and cheesy, but it fell a bit flat.

Overall, BaguetteGirl and I had a great experience here. The food was delicious and I would come back. Some items are a bit pricey, but it’s still a nice venue for drinks and small bites.

We Rate GT Fish & Oyster:

Address:
531 N. Wells St.
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.gtoyster.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=531+N.+Wells+St.+Chicago,+IL&t=m&hnear=531+N+Wells+St,+Chicago,+Illinois+60654,+United+States&z=16″]

In Bar and Grill

John Hancock Center: Signature Lounge at the 95th

September 26, 2013

The best advice I got during my trip to Chicago was from my aunt who told me to grab a drink at the restaurant on top of the John Hancock Center and enjoy the summer fireworks. It’s great because you get a good view without paying the outrageous prices to be at their observation deck (which is on a lower level).

The Signature Lounge is located on the 95th floor (vs Oberservation Deck – 94th floor). To get up there, you go in through the south entrance. If you see people lining up for the observation deck, you’re in the wrong place. As it was a busy night, we waited about 20 minutes to get up to the restaurant. Other people were smart to go early to grab a seat and wait for the fireworks.

The interior was the restaurant was nice and cozy. They have tons of seats, but as you can imagine, it is quite packed.

Isn’t that just a stunning view?

As we waited for the fireworks, we had to order something. So we got drinks and shared a cake.

White & Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake ($8) also comes with chocolate bark and pistachio gianduja.

Stella Artois ($8.25) is light, crisp and declicious.

We found that our seats didn’t have the best view of Navy Pier for the fireworks, so we went to the womens washroom to watch the fireworks. It sounds weird, but it has one of the best views! You get a clear view of the loop and Navy Pier.

It was quite a night. Great views with great company. The items on the lounge menu were quite expensive, so just grab a drink and sip it slowly.

We Rate Signature Lounge:

Address:
875 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.signatureroom.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=875+N+Michigan+Ave+Chicago,+IL&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=875+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60611,+United+States&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 Bucktown/Wicker Park

iCream: Liquid Nitrogram infused Ice Cream

September 24, 2013

iCream is a unique dessert experience in Wicker Park / Bucktown. While my aunt took me around this area, she insisted we come here for a cold snack. It looked pretty unique and you can create your own frozen dessert concoction within seconds using liquid nitrogen.

Stores likes these have actually been popping up all over the country. I even saw it in the night market in Richmond.

They outline 3 steps in creating your dessert.

1. Choose ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, a shake, or hot pudding (with or without rice)

2. Select your dessert base: regular, light, organic, soy, regular or non-fat yogurt

3. Pick one or two flavors and fruit or candy mix-ins from our toppings section

And check out the favorites section for our most popular dessert combinations.

Once you tell them your creation, they will begin creating in the back counter. It’s quite weird seeing them mix liquid and powders together as you know what goes into it.

The pour the liquid mixture into the mixer and the show begins. Its pretty darn cool.

I got frozen yogurt and my aunt got ice cream.

Mango Ice cream was ordered from my aunt and thought it was ok too.

Green Tea frozen yogurt has a very icy texture and not as smooth as the usual frozen yogurt. It did have the tart taste but not the same.

Overall, the presentation of the ice cream and how it’s made is quite fun and exciting, but the taste was just ok.

We rate iCream:

Address:
1537 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.icreamcafe.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1537+N+Milwaukee+Ave+Chicago,+IL&t=m&hnear=1537+N+Milwaukee+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60622,+United+States&z=16″]

In All You Can Eat

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot: Hot Pot in Burnaby

September 22, 2013

Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot has several locations around the world in the United States, China, Japan, and Canada. In the Vancouver area, there is one in Richmond and most recently their Burnaby location just opened.

They have all you can eat Hot Pot for $19.95 (Adult) and $14.98 (Children), you then have to add $9.99 for the soup base. The price is pretty decent.

I came here with the ChineseBites crew for dinner to see how it compares to the other hot pot places in town.

The interior is quite large and can fit a lot of people. They even have outdoor patio seating too.

All the sauce for the hot pot is available in the middle of the restaurant. It’s on top of a cart and you’re free to grab as much as your like.

The different sauces are:

Soy sauce
Vinegar
Peanut Sauce
Chili paste
Chili oil
Satay sauce

The peanut sauce and satay sauce are most popular.

Once you have your sauce, you are ready to start cooking!

The broth we had was a mix of spicy and original broth. It’s a good option to get if you have a group of friends who can’t decide which broth to get. I generally find that spicy is great for cooking meat and the original is great for vegetables.

Lamb and Beef Meatballs.

Cuttlefish and shrimp meatballs.

Beef slices

Lamb Slices

Seafood

Garlic Beef

Oyster Mushroom and Enoki Mushroom

Frozen Tofu and Fresh Tofu

Pork Liver, Beef Tendon, Bible Tripe, Honeycomb Tripe and Pork Blood.

Dumplings

Overall the All You Can Eat Hot Pot items are pretty solid and I wasn’t disappointed. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot is still one of my favourite hot pot places in town. The only downside is that the service here is pretty poor. If you want another order, you really gotta track them down.

Additional Items off the Hot Pot Menu

Plum Juice ($2 with free refills) is a must, but for anyone new to this drink, you may not like it.

Chinese Donut wouldn’t be an item I would order at a hot pot restaurant. Perhaps if it was closer to noon.

Seasme Bun was quite dense, so it can fill you up before you you even begin hot pot.

Lamb Skewers has a strong taste of cumin and was quite delicious.

Spicy Beef Skewers were quite good and full of flavour.

Overall, I think I would just stick with the all you can eat menu. It’s pretty good.

We Rate Mongolian Little Sheep Hot Pot:

Address:
#200 – 4755 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=4755+Kingsway+%23200,+Burnaby,+BC+V5H+2C3&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=4755+Kingsway+%23200,+Burnaby,+British+Columbia+V5H+2C3&z=16″]

In BBQ

Urban Belly: Pork Belly, Ramen, and Communal Tables

September 21, 2013

When I was vacationing in Chicago, I went to visit Urbanbelly near Logan Square. They are also recipients of a Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago award in 2010. It basically means they are a quality restaurant with affordable price.

They don’t take reservations, but on a weekday lunch hour, there was no wait.

The counter is at the back, so you just line up and order. They have daily specials written on the wall.

You can find the rest of the regular items on their menu. The prices are quite decent with nothing over $13.

The interior is one large room with 4 communal tables. Better get cozy and meet some new friends.

Asian Squash and Bacon Dumplings ($7) comes with 4 pieces of the steamed dumplings. It has a predominantly squash filling. It is topped with bacon bits, orange slices and other things. It was pretty good and has a nice balance between the sweet oranges and the savoury dumpling.

Urbanbelly Ramen ($13) is made with a pho broth and has pork belly and shitake mushrooms. Its deep rich broth with layers of savoury flavours is quite delicious.

Phat Rice ($9) is a fried rice dish that combined all the other rice dishes into one. There was short rib, pork belly, pineapple, scallions, pea shoots, and Thai basil. I chose this dish because I was pretty indecisive of what to order….so this was the best option. It was pretty good.

Chinese Eggplant with Thai Basil came complimentary because we waited a long time for the Phat Rice. I loved the sauce that came with it.

At the end of the meal, they give you some Ginger Candy to round out the experience.

Overall, the food was pretty good and I would come again. The food is a bit only and rich, but that means its extra delicious.

We Rate Urban Belly:

Address:
3053 N California Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.urbanbellychicago.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60618,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&hnear=3053+N+California+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois+60618,+United+States&z=16 “]

In lunch

Leafy Box: Fresh Salad, Juice and Smoothies

September 19, 2013

Leafy Box serves up healthy salads and juices in Yaletown. If you’re into the cleansing thing, it’s a good option to go to if you don’t have lunch and you’re in the area.

I came here with KoreanGirl during lunch since we wanted to be a healthy. We had too much fried chicken and beer the past weekend for our own good.

The inside was quite large and there are distinct areas to go grocery shopping, make a salad at the salad bar, and a hot food section. All the produce looks really fresh.

The salad bar has its separate fruit and veggie section. For some weird reason, there was even jello as one of the options.

Of course there is a juice and smoothie bar. With all the fresh produce, the juice is mighty enticing.

For my lunch, I grabbed a salad and a bottle of their cold pressed raw juice.

Salad from the salad bar (~$5) I threw in a lot of random ingredients, but you must get avocados because those are mighty yummy.

Essential Greens Juice ($7) has kale, spinach, celery, apple, parsley, cucumber, lemon and ginger. Lots of good stuff bottled up inside. It’s made from 4 pounds of produce in each bottle. The juice was good, but the only ingredient that threw me off a bit was the cucumber, it’s probably because I don’t like cucumber.

Overall, I do like the concept of the store and I would come again for juice. It is a bit expensive, but if you’re lazy to make your own juice, definitely check this place out.

We Rate Leafy Box:

Address:
1155 Pacific Boulevard
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.leafybox.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=1155+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+BC&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=1155+Pacific+Blvd,+Vancouver,+Greater+Vancouver,+British+Columbia&z=16 “]

In American

The Purple Pig: Ears, Bone Marrow and Shoulders in Chicago

September 16, 2013

The Purple Pig is one of Chicago’s most talked about restaurants. It’s located right on the Magnificent Mile and has won 3 consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands Chicago awards. It basically means they are quality restaurants at an affordable price.

Even at 5:30pm, the place was packed. They don’t take reservations, so you gotta get there early if you have a big party. They do have indoor and outdoor seating.

There weren’t any tables left so we sat at the bar, which looks into their little kitchen behind the bar. Fun to see them put our dishes together.

Pig’s Ear with Crispy Kale, Pickled Cherry Peppers & Fried Egg. This item is very popular and its’ really good. It’s quite greasy, so its nice to have a drink to go with this. Highly recommended.

Milk Braised Pork Shoulder with Mashed Potatoes. The shoulder was very tender and lots of flavours It was slightly on the salty side, but still yummy.

Roasted Bone Marrow with Herbs has some rustic toasted bread on the side. If you’ve never had bone marrow before, it just tastes like fat and oil. Some people like it, but it’s more of

Overall, it was pretty tasty food and a nice meal before heading to Second City to watch a comedy show. Our bellies were full of pork. We didn’t have a full meal here since we weren’t that hungry, but some of their other dishes looked amazing.

We Rate The Purple Pig:

Address:
500 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL

Website:
http://www.thepurplepigchicago.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=500+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+IL+60016,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=500+N+Michigan+Ave,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60016,+United+States&z=16 “]

In Gastown

Pizzeria Ludica: Pizza and Board Games

September 15, 2013

On the outside, it still looks like the late Verace Pizzeria. It recently changed ownership and is now Pizzeria Ludica. They opened last week but did not publicly announce it to test the waters. M and I work close by and pass by all the time. When I saw Verace Pizzeria was closed, I was a bit sad, but on the door it said Pizzeria Ludica is opening in its place.

Don’t let the exterior fool you, they just haven’t gotten their new signs yet.

The interior looks similar too.

What makes them different than the other pizzerias is that they have over 500 board games. It’s all on the back wall. They have the usual board games to more unique games that places like Walmart or Target won’t have. Their collection is quite impressive.

M regularly plays board games so he found it cool that there were so many he hasn’t heard of. There’s no extra change to play games.

They are also happy to teach people new games to play. Very insightful staff!

They even have simple games for kids too. Definitely a great place to take your family.

M and I played Smash Up while we waited for our order. Lets just say, I kick ass in board games and I beat M. It’s quite a fun game.

While we were playing the game, the food all arrived. I must say, it was a challenge eating pizza, drinking, and playing games.

The menu items are similar to Verace.

Limonata Al Mosmario has freshly squeezed lemons, rosemary and soda.

Menabrea Beer ($5.50) was pretty good and had a bit of citrus notes in the beer.

Proscuitto Cotto e Funghi ($12.99) comes with mozzarella, ham and mushrooms. It was good, but need some more of a mushroom punch.

Margherita ($10.99) was one of the specials of the day. It is served with plum tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella, finished with grana padano, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil.

The pizza was a good size, good for individual or sharing at about 12 inches. The quality was alright, but there could be more improvements. The basil was sparse and didn’t seem very fresh as it could be.

There are 3 types of oils you can dip with your pizza – chili oil, rosemary oil and garlic oil. My favourite was the garlic.

Overall, great concept with good quality board games. The pizza could use a bit of improvement since the pizza was a bit soggy in the centre and would flop over when eating. It’s quite hard eating it by hand, perhaps a knife and fork would be better. But, I’ve heard thats the style of Neapolitan pizza. I just prefer my pizza to be a bit more crunchy.

We Rate Pizzeria Ludica:

Address:
189 Keefer Pl
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.ludica.ca/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=189+Keefer+Pl,+Vancouver,+BC+V6B+0J1&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=189+Keefer+Pl,+Vancouver,+British+Columbia+V6B+0J1&z=16 “]

In Dessert

Earnest Ice Cream: Seriously Good

September 14, 2013

Earnest Ice Cream recently opened a shop on Fraser Street in Vancouver.I’ve always adored their ice cream since they used to deliver the jars to my workplace. Once you have their salted caramel, you can’t go back to other ice cream places.

Depending on what time you arrive, there can be long lines, but you don’t wait too long. Near the big arrow in the back of the restaurant, you can see the pint size jars available. Those flavours aren’t the same as what you can get for the ice cream scoops.

The menu is quite simple and you can see the ice cream available for the day. The popular flavours tend to run out fast. My personal favourites are Salted Caramel, Oatmeal Brown Sugar, Peanut butter chocolate chip, and strawberry basil.

Clearly, I’ve bought a lot of pints before. So, it’s quite nice to finally have then open a shop and not have limited flavours to try.

A scoop of London Fog in a waffle cone ($5) was delicious! You can definitely taste the Earl Grey tea. It was so good that the next day, my sister had to order a pint for the fridge.

Affogato ($6) with a scoop of Tahitian Vanilla Ice cream. It tasted good, but my other friend had hers with whiskey hazelnut ice cream. The espresso is made with Matchstick Coffee. It has a nice strong bold taste that pairs well with the ice cream.

There’s a few tables inside, and some people like to sit on the benches outside. The turnover of the tables are quite quick, so you will have to have good timing to grab a table.

Overall, the ice cream is pretty good, but it is quite expensive. It’s not a place you can regularly go to or else you’ll be broke. It’s a nice treat on a hot day.

We Rate Earnest Ice Cream:

Address:
3992 Fraser St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://earnesticecream.com/

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In American

Argo Tea: Specialty Tea Shop in Chicago

September 13, 2013

Walking in the hot summer Chicago weather, BaguetteGirl and I were getting a bit thirsty and decided to head into Argo Tea for a drink. Argo Tea originated from Chicago and they serve a variety of teas and focuses on being sustainable and giving back to the community. They also sell coffee and baked goods.

Walking inside, it kinda reminded me of David’s Tea with their large variety of teas. But, Argo has a larger focus on being a cafe rather than just selling tea. The location we were at, there was lots of seats to just chill and enjoy the air conditioning. They have some pretty strange drinks like Chocolate Mint, Red Velvet, Tea Sangria, Teappuccino, and many others. Weirdly enough, they also have bubble tea.

I grabbed a latte and my friend grabbed a cold specialty tea drink. The drinks are pretty good, but for myself, I like plain teas like straight up green tea or black tea. I don’t like them with sweet smells or anything like that. They do have a nice variety of different tea, sweet teas, and other types.

We Rate Argo Tea:

Address:
140 S Dearborn St
Chicago, IL

Website: http://www.argotea.com/

[googlemap width=”620″ height=”480″ src=”https://www.google.ca/maps?q=140+S+Dearborn+St,+Chicago,+IL+60603,+USA&sll=49.2399859,-122.95816940000002&sspn=0.1721632379598321,0.3516140337636478&t=m&dg=opt&hnear=140+S+Dearborn+St,+Chicago,+Cook,+Illinois+60603,+United+States&z=16″]

In Downtown

A&W: Buffalo Blue Cheese Teen Burger

September 12, 2013

While I was looking for some food near Waterfront station, this little sign caught my eye – Buffalo Blue Cheese Teen Burger. It looked pretty neat and a strange combination of flavours.

I actually quite liked the interior too. It’s 2 floors and lots of seats. Makes for a good place for a quick lunch.

Buffalo Blue Cheese Teen Burger was put together nicely and not sloppy at all compared to other fast food chains. Also included in this sandwich is onions, bacon, and lettuce on a sesame bun. Pretty good. It a little little bit spicy which was a nice added touch to go with the mild blue cheese flavour.

I usually get onion rings, but since they recently introduced their Russet Thick-Cut Fries, I thought I might as well try it. It was a bit improvement to their previous fries. They had a nice crunch to them.

Overall, the sandwich and fries were pretty darn tasty. A&W is definitely one of the better fast food chains I’ve come across.

Website: http://www.aw.ca/

In Fast Food

Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder

September 9, 2013

While visiting the Rock n Roll McDonalds, I just had to have a burger that’s not available in Canada. Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder was just the burger that I wanted to consume with fries and a coke. I really wanted to see if it would be spicy or not.

The Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder has a quarter pound patty of beef with white cheddar, Applewood smoked bacon, tomato , leaf lettuce, and a spicy-cool habanero ranch sauce, on a toasted bun.

To my disappointment, the habanero flavour wasn’t very strong at all. I wanted to see a noticeably amount of spice, but it didn’t really sting. The bacon was delicious and crispy. It was a decent burger with a nice habanero ranch sauce, but needs more spice.

Website: www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html

In Chicago

Rock n Roll McDonald’s in Chicago

September 8, 2013

Rock n Roll McDonalds is their Flagship store in Chicago, Illinois. It’s quite famous and attracts lots of tourist every year. It’s a few blocks away from the Magnificent Mile. What makes this location unique is that its 3 times the size of a normal McDonalds, has a Rock n Roll Exhibit and a mini McDonalds Museum.

Near the entrance, there are a few statues there that you can pose and take pictures with.

Peek-a-boo! It’s Ronald McDonald and I. Of course I had to take some fun pictures with those statues.

The bottom floor has lots of seating and the counter to order food. Stairs and escalators are located in the middle of the floor that leads to the 2nd floor.

Upstairs is the McCafe serving lattes, gelato, and baked goods. It’s very relaxing, so you could spend a lot of time just chilling here because there is so much natural light. I saw a few people just on their laptops working here.

On the second floor, there is a little Museum area where you can view old memorabilia. I remember collecting all those Inspector Gadget toys too.

On the walls are stories about the McDonalds Franchise.

Overall, it was a pretty cool location with awesome memorabilia to look at. If you’re a tourist, it’s a fun place to just stop by and have a snack. It’ll probably be one of the best looking McDonalds you’ve been to.

Website: www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/home.html