grill Archives - Foodology

In Bar and Grill

Relish Gastropub and Bar: Happy Hour Oysters of Disappointment

July 8, 2012

Relish Gastropub and Bar has buck-a-shuck oysters from 3 -6PM everyday, plus $3 beer specials. This really enticed KoreanGirl, Mandu and I to dine here.

I’ve been here several years ago and it has changed a lot! It use to be really large and was always packed for dinner. I also remembered they had some pretty awesome food back then too. I always wanted to make a return trip and now was the chance to do so over some oysters with the girls.

Their beer/wine specials are listed on a big chalkboard.

Bottle of Moosehead ($3) tasted good and it had a light and crisp taste.

Buck-a-Shuck Oysters ($1 each) were very tiny! Mandu had a look of terror on her face as it arrived.

They were also not shucked very well as there were bits of shell inside.

There are also a few vinaigrette sauces you can put on top.

Overall, the experience was quite poor. I would never return again for the oysters. I would go chill and relax with some beer, but I would never order oysters again. They were also very understaffed. Our host, server, and oyster shucker was the same person. We did have to wait for a long time for it to arrive too.

If you are looking for buck-a-shuck oysters in Vancouver, there are tons of other alternative places to go to.

Words of Wisdom:

$3 daily beer specials
Daily wine specials
Loungy atmosphere
Do not order the oysters

We Rate Relish Gastropub and Bar:

Address:
888 Nelson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.relishthepub.com/

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In BBQ

Gyu Kaku Japanese BBQ: Happy Hour Makes Us Happy

July 7, 2012

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ is a Japanese restaurant in Downtown. It’s located beside Relish Gastopub and below Guu Garden.

They have a lot of good lunch combos and even a wicked Happy Hour special. They sell Japanese BBQ grill dishes, noodles, rice and other dishes. You can have a good lunch for under $10 after tax. If you come at happy hour times, it’s pretty damn cheap too! KoreanGirl, Mandu, and I came on Monday for their all day happy hour special to just pig out and celebrate graduation.

Edamame ($1.75) is the perfect starter if you want something to snack on while drinking beer. It is lightly salted on the outside to give it a little bit of flavour when you chew at the edamame to extract the beans.

Pitcher of Sapporo ($9.99) is a good price. It’s kinda needed if you want to just drink and chill.

Large Sake ($5) we got a large sake too since mandu is always wanting some sake bombs.

We also decided to do a bit of barbecuing too.

The grill is hot and flames will shoot out of it. We ordered a bunch of different meats to go on the grill.

Kalbi Chuck Tare ($3.95) is thin cut beef. It was good.

Horumon shio ($3.95) is intestines! It’s not for the squeamish or people who hates eating animal organs. It was a bit tough and interesting to eat, but I’d probably never order this again.

Yakishabu Tare ($2.95) we got them to put spicy miso sauce on it to give it some more flavour when grilling.

Toro Beef Tare ($3.95) was good tasting as well.

Pork Belly ($2.95) comes in 4 pieces and it a must when doing barbecue.

Filet Mignon ($5.95) was our favorite. The cuts were nice and chunky, so you could cook them medium rare if you wanted to.

After you finish grilling your meat, you can dunk them into 3 different sauces – soy sauce, ponzu sauce and something else.

Chicken Karaage Bowl ($5.95) is a must order item!!! It’s the best karaage you will ever have. We order this every time!

Pork Belly chips ($3.95) was good too but it did taste similar to the chicken Karaage.

Overall it was a good experience. We usually come here during happy hour if we want to pig out and not spend over $20 per person. The first two dining experiences were great, but for my graduation dinner, we made reservations and they did not honor it. They made all 8 of us wait for 30 minutes for a table and we got fed up and went to Guu Garden instead. We tried asking the host several times for an update on when our table will be available, but they were not there most of the time. All we knew was that the table was finishing their dessert. We were quite pissed.

Words of Wisdom:

$9.99 pitchers of beer during happy hour
Some items are a hit and miss
Under $10 lunch specials
Happy Hour deals
Make reservations

We Rate Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ:

Address:

888 Nelson St
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.gyu-kaku.com/

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In American

Black and Blue: A Dinner of Meaty Proportions

July 2, 2012

Black & Blue is owned by the Glowbal Group. The same people who bring us Coast, Italian Kitchen and many others.Black & Blue is a steakhouse that prides themselves of having amazing steaks.

It was a special occasion for a few awesome SFU alumni and the amazing Sam Thiara! FoodPunk chose this place to have our little get together.

The interior is very gorgeous. High ceilings with two floors.

Fresh Oysters ($3.75) We ordered the Kusshi and the Effingham oysters. They are both locally sourced from BC! Angel has never ever had a raw oyster before, so, Ange and I made it a mission to get her to eat one. She loved it! Both of the oysters were really good and had their own subtle tastes that differentiated from each other.

Louie Salad with Dungeness Crab ($17) has romaine, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, eggs, avocado, louie dressing, and dungeness crab. This was an interesting twist on a salad. Its basically half a romaine. You have to cut it up yourself. Angel seemed to be enjoying it, but she really didn’t expect the salad to be more hands on. hahaha

P.E.I. blue ribbon 12oz New York Strip ($39) comes ala carte. You probably want to order a side for this dish. The steak is known for their superior marbling since they feed their cattle longer.

Mac & Cheese ($9) are deep-fried into little sticks. It is accompanied with a truffled cheese sauce. It was very delicious and the inside of it was very cheesy and gooey. It was highly recommended by the server and now I highly recommend it as well!

The steaks also came with 3 accompanying sauces – Chimichurri, Cabernet Jus,and Peppercorn. I actually quite liked the chimichurri sauce!

32 oz prime rib ($32) comes with yorkshire pudding, mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, red wine jus, caramelized pearl onions and some horseradish. This prime rib was a good deal since it comes with a few items on the side. The prime rib was done perfectly and everything was very delicious!

New York Cheesecake was the special dessert of the day. We devoured it like a maniac. Very delicious and it was great how there were fresh berries.

20 Layer Chocolate Espresso Cake ($12) actually have 20 layers! We actually counted several times until everyone agreed there were 20 layers. This was my favorite since there were bits of crunchy espresso beans. It also comes with whipping cream and brandied cherries.

Overall, the experience was pretty good! The prices are reasonable and the ambiance is very nice! I’d probably come back for other special occasions since the prime rib wasn’t too expensive.

Words of Wisdom:

Reservations are recommended
Beautiful decor
Great steaks

We Rate Black + Blue:

Address:
1032 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://blackandblue.ca/

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In Bar and Grill

Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar: Salad Drenched in Dressing

May 14, 2012

Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar is located inside the Waterfront Skytrain Station. They serve a lot of different types of craft beers and other drinks. It’s a beautiful place to dine with coworkers and have a few drinks. I came with a few people to have dinner and chill.

Chicken Cobb Salad ($14.99) has chicken, avocado, roma tomato, rough chopped bacon, soft yolk egg, blue cheese, and ranch
dressing. The soft egg yolk was pretty awesome and delicious, but I felt the salad was way too dressed with the ranch sauce. It made the leaves less crisp. The chicken was good and tender.

Overall, I still prefer the burgers or sandwiches to get the best deal and it tastes good. The decor is really nice, but the service was quite bad. Our server disappeared for long periods of time and it was really hard to get her attention.

Words of Wisdom:

Rogue burger and Fries x3 recommended
Pay parking in adjacent lot
Large selection of drinks
Some items can be expensive
Beautiful decor
Located in Waterfront Station

We Rate Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar:
Address:

601 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.roguewetbar.com

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In Bar and Grill

Rogue Kitchen & Wet Bar: More Than Meets The Eye

August 21, 2011

Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar is located in Waterfront station in Downtown. They are a great addition to the downtown core serving up pasta, burgers,pizza, salad, soup and a bunch of other items. It’s a great place to bring your clients or even a girls night out since they have some elegant decor with high ceilings.

Lobster Mac n’ Cheese ($17.99) is one of their more popular items and it has a blend of 4 cheeses, macaroni, lobster and topeed with bread crumbs and cheese.

M and Cdiddy thought it was subpar and there was not a ample amount of cheese flavour. There was plenty of lobster bits however. The whole dish was bland tasting, but the crumbs on top created a nice contrast texture from the smoothness of the mac and cheese. The real disappointment here was the salad. It was unbearably sour, and the selection of the greens didn’t help either.

The 9.2 oz ROGUE burger ($12.99) has a large sirloin patty, sesame brioche bun, bacon, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet relish, and mayo. It also comes with a side of fries. This is one massive burger and it is even skewered together by a knife.

Seafood Linguini ($16.99) it has prawns, scallops, salmon, halibut, lemon, herbs, red & yellow peppers.

Fries x 3 ($8.99) are hand cut kennebec fries that comes in 3 types – gorgonzola cream & bacon, poutine and truffle oil & parmesan. This appetizer is best shared.

The poutine fries is very typical – gravy and curds. It was alright, but not my favorite.

The truffle fries have been doused with truffle oil and has a strong taste of mushrooms. It was good.

The gorgonzola cream & bacon fries was my favorite since it was the most flavourful and most unique. The gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese, so it has a pungent flavour. Not everyone likes this kind of flavour. It is an acquired taste, but I highly recommend trying! The crunchy bacon goes well with the melty pungent cheese.

Overall, a few of the items on their menu are a hit and a miss.

Words of Wisdom:

Rogue burger and Fries x3 recommended
Pay parking in adjacent lot
Large selection of drinks
Some items can be expensive
Beautiful decor
Located in Waterfront Station

We Rate Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar:

Address:

601 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Website:
www.roguewetbar.com

Twitter:

@roguewetbar

In Bar and Grill

Wings: What Else Is On The Menu Besides Wings?

August 13, 2011

I came to Wings with a bunch of SFU-ers to chill, hangout and of course eat! What was very ironic is that we did not order any wings. For a place called wings, you would think we would order wings. Since it was not a Sunday and they did not have any wing specials, we all ordered entrees. Don’t get me wrong, the wings are good, but it’s best to come here on Sunday for the specials.

ShumBum ordered the Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla. It comes with a side of sour cream. The dish is nice and colorful using 2 types of tortilla wraps – tomato and herb. The inside of the quesadilla had a good amount of chicken and cheese.

KoreanGirl had the Fiji Blond Beer-Battered Fish and Chips. It comes with fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw. It has a generous amount of fish. There was so much that she did not end up finishing it. Nicely battered on the outside with delicate meat on the inside.

I ordered the Beef Dip. I chose the salad on the side instead of the fries since I know I didn’t need the excess calories from the fries. The beef dip is served on a garlic herb ciabatta with a large amount of beef and a side of au jus for dipping.

The au jus is what really makes the beef dip amazing. Once you dip the sandwich in there, it just soaks up all those nice fatty flavours from the sauce. I fell in love with the beef dip and its a worthwhile dish to order.

Overall, not bad choices from Wings. It’s great for accommodating large groups.

Words of Wisdom:

Decent priced items
Sunday wings special
Good Beef Dip
Great for large groups
Beer specials and they can create some nasty shots for the Bday boys/girls

We Rate Wings:

Address:

345 North Road
Coquitlam, BC

Website:
www.greatwings.ca

In Bar and Grill

The Keg: Lobster Summer Menu

July 29, 2011

M and I spent an interesting day shopping and returning things at Costco in Burnaby. Seriously, sometimes you can spend forever in all the aisles. Since The Keg is super close to Costco, we were super tempted for some meat!!

I really enjoy The Keg for their prime ribs, atmosphere and more meat.

I walked in looking for prime rib, but when I saw that they had a lobster summer menu that features their fresh batch of lobsters from the east. It sounded really good, so I had to try something off the menu.

Something wrapped in a white cloth came to the tables. Can you guess what it is? TA DA! It’s the complementary sourdough bread! It was a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. It’s cut up into 4 pieces for you to share between 2 people. I found that eating one piece was good enough for me since I didn’t want to fill up my stomach.

Sometimes I wonder… how much bread do they waste in a month if people don’t finish it all.

M ordered the Tender New York striploin with mashed potatoes. M was so happy! 12oz of yummy yummy meaty goodness. He ordered it medium rare and it came out perfect. It wasn’t tough and it was seasoned with peppercorn on the outside.

I had the Seafood Sirloin ($27.95) grilled sirloin steak, topped with lobster, shrimp and scallops in a chive velouté sauce. Instead of mashed potatoes I ordered the house salad for the side. The salad was alright, nothing very special. Should have gone with the mashed potatoes…

I was disappointed by the size of my sirloin and the minimal seafood. The seafood really didn’t shine in this dish and as always, I could have always used more meat. Beside the size, I really loved the sirloin! Perfectly cooked medium rare with great flavour.

Overall, we really like this place for their steaks, but some dishes can be overpriced.

Words of Wisdom:

No reservations, so go early or go late
Slightly hard to drive to, so make sure you are driving from the south
Can get a bit pricey
Amazing steak and prime ribs

We rate The Keg:

Check out their website: http://www.kegsteakhouse.com/en/locations/BC/burnaby/burnaby-keg/

In Three Beakers

Hamilton Street Grill: Dinner in Yaletown

May 8, 2011

I have recently began volunteering for the 48^th Annual National Chefs Conference and we had a little get together meeting at Hamilton Street Grill with the Social Media Team and the Chair; we talked about so many amazing things such as the dynamics of a restaurant business, amazing local chefs, and of course our plans for the social media push. Don’t worry; I am not pushing the viewers of Foodology to get tickets to the event. Nor am I looking to get into the restaurant business, its just a fun pass time.

I just decided to volunteer because I wanted to appreciate where my food comes from and to see food as an art and rather just…you know… food.

The chef made this on the house for all of us. This is the Radicchio, brie and Strawberries. This was very simple, but surprisingly, the flavors went well together. This brought together bitter, salty and sweet together and it was good!

LondonGuy had the Lamb Shank ($26). The lamb shank is braised with Red wine , caramelized onions, and sits on a bed of herb mashed potatoes and vegetables. The lamb was very very tender, falling off the bone!

A few other had the Grilled Wild Sockeye Salmon ($24). It has whipped goat cheese, peperone sausage and vegetable risotto, and a balsamic reduction. They all seemed to have enjoyed the dish.

I had the Vancouver Island Scallops ($26) It has pan-seared scallops, vegetable risotto with a lemon butter sauce. Very good dish, but small portion. I didn’t get too full from this. The scallops were well prepared, but I prefer my scallops to be more seared and charred on the outside.

HrGirl ordered the Pork Belly with a side of greens (~$20). The pork belly sits on a bed of vegetables. Small portion as you can tell

Overall, we had a great time and it was a good place to have a meeting. We probably spent 3 hours just chatting away. It was a Monday night so it was not too busy inside.

The food way pretty good, but it is quite expensive for small portions. I didn’t feel the food was very mind blowing or super unique. I probably wouldn’t come here unless it was for a special occasion.

As I was washing my hands in the washroom (Yes, washing hands are good), I saw this! Telus is having a promotion with a few restaurants in Downtown for Taste of Tuesday where the appetizer and dessert is free with purchase on an entrée. It only applies on all Tuesday in the month of May. 3 courses for about $20 – $25 are not bad. I treat it as another version of Dineout Vancouver but a bit cheaper.

Words of Wisdom: