Jethro’s Fine Grub

June 12, 2013June 22, 2013Leave a comment

I’m extrermely behind on positing up my blog pieces these days, and let’s just blame that on school and exams. Anyways, probably around three weeks ago, my friends and I decided to go grab some early brunch on Victoria Day. Yea, Jethro’s Fine Grub is definitely not the place to go on a holiday or weekend unless you’re willing to wait an hour or get there at 8 a.m. We arrived at around 10:30 a.m. and were told that we would need to wait around 1.5 hours to get a seat, and that would mean two separate tables as well since we had a group of around 8. After a while of being indecisive, we finally agreed to grab take out and go to Kits Beach to eat. Our food was ready in around 30 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Benedict – Grilled English muffin topped with wild smoked salmon, poached eggs and hollandaise. Served with hashbrowns.

I’m always craving the eggs benny for brunch, so I opted for the Smoked Salmon Benedict. Sadly, by the time I started eating, my food had cooled down, so my review here is not going to be the same as someone who ate it fresh in the restaurant. My hollandaise sauce had cooled down, so the consistency was a little too thick.

I loved how the yolk was still runny in the middle and the smoked salmon along with the capers gave the eggs Benedict added flavour. However, the hashbrowns were quite disappointing. They were burnt and also soggy (which may be due to the lid being closed for too long).

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Alligator Nuggets – Battered and flash fried ‘gator over basmati rice with blonde barbeque sauce and a tossed salad

S got the Alligator Nuggets. I tried a piece of these nuggets and I must say the batter is quite unlike any others I’ve tried. The batter was extremely light and they had a distinct flavour to it. However, we both agreed, that it wasn’t the best nuggets we’ve had and it seems to be over praised for.

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The Cobb – Roast turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, scallions and crumbled blue cheese. Served with hashbrowns and toast

M got The Cobb, which included an omelet filled with a variety of vegetables, roast turkey and blue cheese. This was served with hashbrowns and toast and made it a very filling meal. Because the food had cooled down, the blue cheese wasn’t as stringy as M would’ve liked it.

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Breakfast Burrito – Scrambled eggs, chorizo, 2 salsas, jack cheese, avocado and hashbrowns wrapped in a warm tortilla

T got the Breakfast Burrito, and I managed to snap a picture of the huge burrito! It’s definitely a huge burrito that could be easily shared between two people.

Overall, my review cannot be justified since most of our food cooled down by the time we ate it. I would imagine that the food is much better warm, as it was still alright with it being cold. Plus, there must be something special about Jethro’s with those huge line ups.

Mimibuloveme

May 21, 2013May 21, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve been seeing everyone posting delicious dessert pictures from Mimibuloveme so I dragged J along to go check it out. Weirdly enough, the outside of their store says Bubble House. We were sort of confused for a second, but I walked closer and saw that they sold the same things I had saw on their Facebook page. I’m guessing they haven’t switched the sign from the previous shop?

The place is fairly small, and is actually the same location where Dots Desserts used to be. Their tables reminded me of what Dots had too. They also have this awesome panda bear sitting on a chair. Totally wanted to hug him.

They also have these paintings around the shop, and they also sell greeting cards with these characters.

Matcha Crepe – red bean, matcha ice cream

I chose the Matcha Crepe to share and it was filled with red bean and a few mochi balls inside and on the top. I wish they put more mochi balls, because those things are my favourite! It was then topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream on the side. Not bad! It’s also decently priced at around $5 compared to many other crepe places which charge at least $8.

Matcha Ice Cream

Because I enjoyed the Matcha Ice Cream so much, I asked for another scoop of it for just $1.50. Not bad at all considering a scoop of ice cream is usually over $3 at most dessert shops!

Overall, Mimibuloveme is a cute little shop to grab some desserts and chat with friends. I’m guessing that it gets really busy on weekends and late nights, and therefore hard to find a seat.

Gramercy Grill

May 19, 2013Leave a comment

For K’s birthday, I took her to Gramercy Grill for dinner. Unlike these few days, the week before was full of sunshine and it was still sunny in the evening! We were asked to choose to dine indoors or outdoors, and we opted indoors since we were afraid it would get chilly later in the evening.

Each day, they have different specials. We went on a Tuesday, and there was an oyster deal. We aren’t huge fans of oysters though, so we didn’t end up ordering any. Their menu also seems to be a little different from the one on their website and some prices have been changed as well. I wish I knew that they had a happy hour deal as well! We were only 3o minutes late for that!

The interior is quite classic with carpet flooring and wooden furniture. The crowd is a bit older, and it seems like there are some regulars. They also have a bar where many people came to watch the hockey game. Service was alright, but they essentially only have three people working the floor. There was one man, who was extremely friendly.

Calamari

Since not many of the main entrees really appealed to us, we ended up ordering three appetizers to share and an entree of mussels. We started with the Calamari, which we had imagined to be fried. Perhaps I didn’t read the description clearly, because it ended up being calamari served in a saucy broth. It ended up to be decent, but not what I was craving for. The calamari were cooked to tender and the sun-ripe tomatoes and olives gave the broth some flavour. I guess this was much more healthy!

Beef Carpaccio – truffle puree aioli, fried capers, shaved parmesan & crostini

Next up, I wanted the Beef Carpaccio. The beef was sliced extremely thing and topped with lots of parmesan, truffle puree aioli and fried capers. In the center, there were a few slices of crostini to accompany the carpaccio. I thought that there was a little too much parmesan, and wished they gave me a few more crostinis because the pairing worked so well together. The capers brought some flavour, but overall, I thought it was just okay. I’ve had better beef carpaccio elsewhere.

Gramercy Meatballs – Italian parsley, grana padano & house made tomato sauce

K had been to Gramercy Grill before, and she told me the Gramercy Meatballs were one of her favourites. Three large meatballs came sitting in a dish of tomato sauce. These were indeed quite delicious! The seasoning was just perfect and I started to crave some spaghetti to accompany these meatballs…

Local Mussels & Pommes Frites

Lastly, I wanted the Local Mussels & Pommes Frites. Unfortunately, we didn’t come on a Wednesday, because on Wednesdays, they have a deal for $10! Anyways, the portion was decent and each shell was filled with a plump mussel. The sauce reminded me of some curry/ indian inspired flavour actually. I don’t quite remeber what our server told us the sauce was comprised of, but on their website it says tomato sauce and merguez sausage. I didn’t find any sausages inside, however. So perhaps, it was a different broth. I only remember it having frozen corn in it. The fries on the other hand, were extremely crispy. I believe they are hand cut, as they taste homemade. They were extremely good!

Chocolate Torte

To end off our dinner, we decided to share the Chocolate Torte. They don’t have a dessert menu on their website, but they do have a selection of desserts to choose from. This had to be the best part of the meal. At first, I saw the melting ice cream and thought that this was presented so unpleasantly, but you will understand why once you bite into that torte. It’s almost like a brownie/ lava cake and the chocolate is so warm that it just melts in your mouth. Along with the ice cream that brings a hint of coolness, it is just amazing! There’s two pieces of the chocolate torte, and comes with a scoop of ice cream and whip cream, so it’s plenty to share between two. It takes some time to get served though, probably because they need to heat it up. A must try though.

Dinner at Gramercy Grill was alright. I didn’t find it to be spectacular, but it’s a nice place to spend your evening. The restaurant definitely caters to the older crowd as most of the items are quite classic. Prices are also on the higher range for the portions you get. However, that chocolate torte makes me want to come back!

La Casa Gelato

May 9, 2013Leave a comment

After dinner, I dragged J along with me to visit La Casa Gelato. I’ve heard that the place has over 200 flavours of gelato and some pretty exotic ones too, and I’ve been dying to visit the shop. To my surprise, the place is painted bright pink, and even their parking lot across the street is pink…

The place is pretty huge for a gelato shop, but it’s got to be that size to store all the flavours! Some weird flavours included wasabi, curry, and garlic. They also had more normal flavours such as vanilla and chocolate.Sorbet is also an option if you don’t want gelato.

Your gelato can be scooped in either a waffle cone or cup, which were seen all around the shop.

Before purchasing your gelato, you are welcome to try the flavours. There are many employees behind each fridge, and they were extremely friendly and helpful. I didn’t dare try the exotic tasting flavours, such as curry or garlic, but I did try one of the alcoholic ones. I believe it was called Tequila Sunrise, and they definitely put some alcohol in it! However, I felt like it was too strong, and it just didn’t taste good. After trying several flavours, I found that most of the flavours didn’t actually work. They were creative, but the it was either too strong or lacking some flavour. The recipes definitely need work!

Green Tea Gelato

In the end, I ended up with the Green Tea Gelato, which is my all time favourite ice cream flavour. However, I didn’t think it was the best gelato I’ve had. The green tea wasn’t strong enough, and the gelato wasn’t exactly smooth. They did, however, give me a pretty large scoop which I think was around $5. Overall, don’t expect any quality ice cream. It’s definitely a shop of quantity over quality. If you’re looking to try some crazy flavours, then you’re at the right place.

Burgoo (West 4th)

April 25, 2013April 26, 2013Leave a comment

My 3rd year of school is officially done! For now at least… until summer school begins again. This called for a celebration dinner! Since N and I finished our exams at the same time, we decided to meet up for dinner and J joined along. We went to Burgoo on West 4th since I’ve been craving some comfort food and have been seeing too many of their delicious pictures on Instagram these days. Continue reading →

Suika

March 2, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

For our school club’s team dinner, I chose to have it at Suika. It’s located conveniently on Broadway and offers a selection of Japanese tapas, similar to the ones you can find at Guu.

We ordered a bunch of dishes to share, but it was difficult to share with such a large group. I suggest going here with smaller groups since each dish cannot be shared with probably not more than 4 people. Above was something similar to a tartar I’m guessing? I don’t really know since I didn’t order or try it.

Plum Wine

We all got some plum wine and this was sweet and easy to drink. It was really good served over ice.

Deluxe Suika Box – nine kinds of appetizers

I chose to order the Deluxe Suika Box, but unfortantely it is extremely difficult to share. H and I ended up being the only ones who devoured it… It was an assortment of 9 appetizers and was presently really nicely in a box. Some items were marinated lotus root, eggplant, spicy tofu, a few types of fish, something that tasted similar to beef tongue, and also something similar to a cracker with something like cream cheese. I’m not exactly sure what each dish was, but it was exciting to try a bit of everything!

Kakuni Bibimbap – stewed pork belly, sweet dried shrimp & scallions on rice served in a hot stone bowl

We also got the Kakuni Bibimbap, which was full of flavour. The pork belly was an interesting choice for a bibimbap.

Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio – thinly sliced sockeye salmon with sesame soy dressing, yuzu zest, garlic chips & wasabi mayo

I’ve heard great things about the Sockeye Salmon Carpaccio, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. This was really good! The dressing complemented the salmon really well and I would definitely order this again next time.

Chinese Poutine – french fries topped with spicy ground pork sauce, mozzarella, chili oil, sansho and minced cilantro

The name Chinese Poutine really got us curious about what it was and so we ordered it. I don’t really know why it’s called Chinese poutine, but I guess they used some Asian ingredients in it. I’m a fan of poutine, so this was definitely something I enjoyed. It’s got more of a sauce than say the typical cheese curds though. They basically melted mozzarella on the ground pork sauce, but it was very flavourful, and had a hint of spice.

Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki – with home made chili oil on a bed of sliced onion topped with scallions

I ordered the Lightly Smoked Tuna Tataki and enjoyed this quite a lot. It was lightly seared on the sides and the sauce was different from other restaurants I have tried. It worked well with the fish!

Beef Filet Fried Rice – cured beef & garlic fried rice

The Beef Filet Fried Rice didn’t look like anything special, but it was surprisingly really good. The beef filet was extremely tender and the garlic in the fried rice definitely gave the dish some flavour. Great variation to the typical Chinese fried rice.

Grilled Duck – grilled duck breast with tomato, granny smith apple slices and special sauce (balsamic, soy, butter & Japanese pepper)

I didn’t try the Grilled Duck, but it looked quite delicious. I found that the accompaniments on the side were also quite interesting. Granny smith apples and tomatoes along with duck? I’m actually quite curious now to know what it tasted like.

Asari Yaki Udon – pan fried thick noodles with manila clams & citron pepper

I love a good dish of yaki udon, so I ordered the Asari Yaki Udon. It wasn’t a large portion, but there were a decent amount of manila clams for the portion of noodles we were given. It was extremely flavourful, and the udon were covered evenly with a bit of sauce.

Chicken Kara-age – famous Japanese “o-sho” style deep fried chicken served with sansho jio (Japanese salt & pepper)

I also ordered the Chicken Kara-age, and they were such large pieces of chicken! I would’ve preferred them to be cut into smaller portions so more of us could try it. It also came with a salt and pepper for dipping instead of the typical mayo.I felt like the chicken was covered with more batter than it needed, so it felt like you were eating batter instead of chicken for the most part.

I’m not sure what this was called, but it looks like a Japanese pizza. I never tried it either, so I’m not sure what ingredients are in it.

Someone at the table also ordered some sashimi, which I believe both are some sort of tuna. I tried the one on the right, and it was extremely fresh. I loved how it was topped with some tobiko too.

Tokyo Oxtail Ramen – slowly braised oxtail & noodles in soy broth topped with dried fish powder & scallions

Someone also ordered the Tokyo Oxtail Ramen, which actually looks really delicious! I didn’t try it though, but it looks like it would be full of flavour.

Yukimi Daifuku – green tea & red bean gelato wrapped in sticky rice cake

And onto the desserts! We ordered pretty much every dessert on their menu and decided to share them all. First up was the Yukimi Daifuku. I actually really wanted to try this, but it was extremely difficult to share. It’s like the perfect combination of my two favourites: gelato and sticky rice cake, better known as mochi! I am definitely going to come back here for this.

Almond Tofu – served with blueberry sauce

The Almond Tofu was extremely smooth and delicious. It was like having tofu dessert but with almond flavour! It was also served with a blueberry sauce, but none of us ended up using it since the dessert was already great on its own.

Earl Grey Tea-Creme Brulee

The Earl Grey Tea-Creme Brulee was so delicious! It was basically a creme brulee but infused with earl grey flavour in it. I love variations of typical creme brulees and this one definitely worked!

Japanese Legendary Matcha Tiramisu

The Japanese Legendary Matcha Tiramisu was also delicious. The cake was so fluffy and light, and the matcha was strong in flavour so I loved it. Along with the whipping cream, it was just perfect! I love the Japanese twist they add to these French desserts!

Matcha Brulee – frozen matcha creme brulee with fresh whipped cream & red bean sauce

And then we also got the Matcha Brulee. Okay, so we had an earl grey creme brulee and now a matcha one? Nope! This was a frozen creme brulee! It felt like I was eating matcha ice cream or something! So smooth but icy at the same time. The top was lightly caramelized just as a creme brulee would be. Such an interesting but delicious dessert!

Souffle Cheese Cake – fluffily baked cheese cake w/ brown sugar sauce

Lastly, we had the Souffle Cheese Cake. This was extremely fluffy and light. It reminded me of Japanese cheesecakes as opposed to the typical cheesecakes because of how light it was.

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the food at Suika. They have a normal menu that they have every night, but they also have a menu where they change it up every night. Definitely a great place to share some plates with friends, but probably not in too large of a group. I’m definitely coming back again, whether it be just for the food, or the desserts…Definitely for the desserts though!

Raw Canvas (Dine Out 2013)

February 4, 2013April 28, 20132 Comments

I’ve always wanted to try Raw Canvas but looking at the menu, it can be pretty pricey. It’s basically a place where you can eat some meat and cheese, have some drinks, and then you have the choice to go paint! Pretty neat idea, and an awesome place to go for a girls night out. Luckily, Raw Canvas participated in Dine Out Vancouver 2013, so I got to try it out for only $38!

$38 gets you your “appetizer”, which is a choice of cheese sampler or meat sampler. Then your “entree” is a canvas to paint on, with all paint supplied and included. Lastly, your “dessert” is gelato and port! A pretty good deal, since the smallest canvas itself is normally $55. The one for dine out is a bit smaller though, but still a deal regardless since you get food as well.

They have a really nice bar, and at around 9p.m, the place was filled with people having drinks. It definitely feels like a nice place to chat with friends over some drinks.

The place is basically separated so one side is where you eat, and the other half of the place is where the art happens! At first we thought that there weren’t that many easels, but they actually have a lot! It gets a little tight, so if you want lots of space, then I would suggest going earlier or on a weekday night.

I love how the wooden tables and brick walls give the place such an artsy feel to it! Along with the gorgeous paintings on the wall, you can’t help but feel inspired to paint!

The place actually has a decent amount of seats too. Seats for smaller and larger groups as well. The dim lighting totally works in this setting.

Blue – Sake, alize bleu, ginger ale, ginger

K got a mixed cocktail called Blue. Pretty nice!

Karmellet Tripel (Belgium) – abbeys

E got the Karmellet Tripel, which he said wasn’t too bitter. It was recommended by the guy, who we think may be the owner. He was extremely nice and professional. Awesome service!

Peach Italissima Nectar

For myself, I was not feeling like alcohol, so I chose the Peach Italissima Nectar. I really had no idea what it was, but it came in a tiny little bottle.

Then you pour it into a glass with ice, and it is actually pretty good! It’s a little thick, but the ice helps to liquify it. Not bad, and it actually was decent with the meat.

Water comes in a Raw Canvas glass bottle, which they reuse. It’s pretty neat though. You want to check your glasses beforehand though, because some of them have paint on them since people can take their drinks with them when they go paint. The servers were observant enough to let us know and quickly change them though.

Freshly Baked French Baguette

At first, we thought that we would not get full at all, since we’re really just eating meat… but we were wrong! For the 3 of us, they served us two large bowls of Baked French Baguettes. And we were totally full after our meal! I guess the bread really fills you up.

Charcuterie Tasting Plate, served with freshly baked french baguette: Provence Saucisson Sec – southern French sausage flavoured with pastis, Pheasant and Pistachio Terrine – made in Quebec by maison du gibler, Czech Beer Salami – classic Czech style salami flavoured with beer

Accompaniments:Stoneground Mustard, Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Cornichons

All 3 of us got the Charcuterie Tasting Plate, which is basically a plate with 3 types of meat and 3 accompaniments. On the far left, there was the Provence Saucisson Sec. This was basically a sausage, and was my favourite. It was soft and tasted great with the stoneground mustard. In the middle, was the Pheasant and Pistachio Terrine. This was probably my least favourite. It might’ve been the pistachio flavour that threw it off for me. Lastly, on the right was the Czech Beer Salami. Although it was lightly sliced, it was very chewy and hard. It was also extremely strong in pork, but salami is made of pork! They gave a fair amount of the salami, and it was easy to place on the bread.

For the accompaniments, it came with the Stoneground Mustard, which was my favourite! It’s basically mustard seeds that are grounded and made into a paste. It’s definitely strong in mustard flavour, and I could just spread it on the bread and I would be completely happy. So delicious! In the middle, we had the Fire Roasted Tomatoes, which were also really delicious. This can just be put on the bread and there was tons of flavour. And lastly, on the right, were the Cornichons, which are basically pickled cucumbers and are popular in Europe. I’m not a big fan of pickles, but these ones were surprisingly not too sour. I didn’t finish all of them, but they were nice to have in between all the meat.

Gelato and Port – Vanilla Bean Gelato with Sweet Portuguese Wine

For dessert, the item was Gelato and Port. It was a huge scoop of Vanilla Bean Gelato, and you could see the black specks so you knew it wasn’t just vanilla extract. It was served with a glass of sweet Portuguese wine, which when you smell it, smells quite strong in alcohol. I thought it was brandy or whiskey at first, but the server explained that it was a sweet wine. I poured around half the flask in, and it was already plenty to have a taste of alcohol in it. Definitely brings out the sweetness and was a great pairing to the gelato.

After you finish dessert, they ask you if you’re ready to go paint! They don’t push you to, and you can take your time to talk some more if you want to. But of course we were ready to go paint! They provide you with a smock so you can totally get into your artsy spirit. They also have a long wall of paints, and you just squeeze them out onto you palette board. I wish I got a picture of that, because it looks really neat! Then, you go ahead and get all artsy! They also have an artist there to look after you in case you have questions, or need some help getting inspired. And honestly, you don’t need to be an amazing artist to paint. Everyone was just having fun and bringing out their creativity!

So overall, Raw Canvas is an awesome place whether you know how to paint or not. It’s definitely a place to go once in your lifetime, whether it be on a date, to celebrate or to find a place to have food, drinks, and art! It may get quite expensive if you go on their regular nights, but it is something that everyone should try. Instead of having a typical movie night, why not go painting?

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. (Kitsilano)

February 1, 2013April 28, 2013Leave a comment

I’ve heard good things about Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and I finally got the chance to try it out. J and I went on the least busiest time ever. A weekday at around 2pm, and we were literally the only ones there.

The place has a bar so I’m guessing it might get lively on weekend nights.

We got to sit in the room with the oven! They literally put the pizza in that oven in the back, so it’s pretty neat. I got to see the pizza getting baked.

Chicken Noodle Soup – Housemade chicken broth loaded with organic pasta, shredded carrots, chicken & topped with three herb pesto

I already ate, so I wasn’t too hungry. I chose to get the Chicken Noodle Soup. I didn’t think it was anything amazing. It was basically just broth with pasta, chicken and some veggies. I thought that the pesto on the top actually threw the soup off a bit. The soup also came with something like pita bread. It was pretty tough, so I had to dip it in the soup, except the soup was really just broth, so it didn’t work so well together.

All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza – Organic tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, organic beef pepperoni, crimini mushrooms, shaved red onion & sliced roma tomatoes; Topped with fresh chopped herbs

J got the All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza. They are basically famous for their flatbreads, and they are actually really good! Thin crust and full of toppings. We did find that they were a little burnt at the bottom, but it wasn’t too bad.

I also found out that they were having a special dine out event that night, but we totally missed it! You could make your own pizza and put it in the oven. Sounds so neat! Hopefully, they’ll have these events again even after dine out.