Portobello Ristorante

RISOTTO DI MARE
Italian Rice with Prawns, Squid, Sea Scallops, white wine, fresh herbs

COZZE ALLA MARINARA
Fresh mussels, steamed with butter garlic and white wine, touch of tomato sauce

FUNGO PORTOBELLO GRATINATO  Portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs, fresh herbs  Served with roasted red pepper sauce
 Amaretto Di Saronno crème brulee

Torta di Nocciola

Hazelnut chocolate Cheese cake

Portobello Ristorante is said to be hidden gem in the neighbourhood when you have a look at the reviews online! So of course, I decided to go try it out! I had imagined it to be a very fancy restaurant, but it was actually quite family-oriented. It is apparently an Italian family owned restaurant and therefore, the food is quite authentic. Both the risotto and mussels were very delicious! It had great flavour. The portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs was my favourite. I’m guessing this is their signature dish since the restaurant has the word portobello in its name! It was extremely moist and juicy, and crispy at the top. The hazelnut chocolate cheesecake and creme brulee were also exceptional! Definitely need to check this restaurant out! It’s casual, but the ambiance is lovely!

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Bell’s Bake Shop

Red Velvet Giant Cupcake

Did I make this myself? Nope…but it sure looks like one after a really disappointing cake fail story! I got my friend a giant cupcake for her birthday at Bell’s Bake Shop in Steveston Village, and by giant, I mean it’s supposed to be equivalent to around 20 cupcakes, so it feeds around 10 people. This one was red velvet with buttercream frosting. So I picked it up at the store, and they showed me how it looked inside the box, and I went back into the car carrying it on my lap while I was driven to the restaurant for dinner. I was told to just put it at room temperature so I handed it over to my waitress. Around 15 minutes into dinner, my waitress comes over and tells me that I should take a look at my cake. The manager was also there and said that he had opened it and the cake had fell. Basically the whole top half had toppled to one side. I was extremely disappointed and asked if they could do anything to fix it up. And this is what they came up with. Pretty good compared to what a mess it had looked like…The red colouring is from the birthday message I had paid to get written, and I told the chef to just smother it around since the message was ruined anyways.  I had paid $35 for the cake with $2 extra for the birthday message. I don’t know if it was my own fault from the way I carried it, or the cake shop themselves, but I am definitely not going back there again – at least not for a giant cupcake. Yes, the giant cupcake looks really cool and presentable at the table, but if it is so unstable and just topples over, I really don’t think it’s worth it. I might as well just buy 20 different cupcakes.

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4 Stones Vegetarian

Ground Veggie Meat Sauce with Rice

Curry Fried Rice

Veggie Chicken Cutlet Noodles in Soup

Veggie Chicken Cutlet

My friend brought me to 4 Stones Vegetarian Restaurant and I was really amazed at the dishes they were able to make! I’ve had vegetarian food before, but haven’t tried this place yet, and people had given 4 Stones great ratings. They have a large variety of choices and the fact that they could make chicken cutlet vegetarian was pretty cool. All their rice dishes were also made of brown rice, which made it really healthy. So if you want to try some healthy vegetarian food, or if you’re vegetarian and wanting some variety, this is the place to go!

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The Naam

Gold Dragon Dragon Bowl – mix of Naam fries, cheese, miso gravy, steamed veggies, sprouts, carrots & deep fried tofu

Tempeh Reuben – Marinated tempeh with melted cheese, grilled mushrooms, mustard, sauerkraut & grated beets, on a whole wheat burger bun

Always heard about the Naam, but never got to try it till now! The Naam is a very busy vegetarian restaurant, and you can tell just by the lineups outside. Our wait was around 15 minutes I guess – not too bad. It’s located in the Kitsilano district on Main St, and is open 24 hours everyday! They say they only close on Christmas. That’s pretty crazy! Around half an hour after we got in, live music was also going on. We later found out that there is live music of folk, jazz, and blues every night from 7-10 pm. Not a huge fan of that type of music, but definitely an interesting and lively experience. The decor inside the restaurant is also very funky with wooden furniture and flooring. The restaurant has been given awards from Best Organic Restaurant to Best Vegetarian Restaurant, so definitely well known and worth a try. And the food is really full of veggies, and lots of it! The portions are huge and you can actually get full from all those organics. The burger that my friend tried had tempeh, which was basically a slice of tofu-like patty that is made of soybeans. Pretty interesting! So if you’re craving some veggies or just want to eat healthy, this is the place to go! Open anytime except Christmas, so no excuse to not get some vegetarian food!

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Foundation

Nachos – with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa

Final Option – Crazy Veg Curry, Served on Rice

OPPP – Our Peanut Pesto Pasta. Onion, Broccoli and Tofu tossed Round Pasta

Foundation is a vegetarian restaurant on Main St. It is probably one of the most hipster restaurants I have ever been to. And it’s not just the people working there. People eating there are also very hipster with a unique style of their own, but I guess most of the people strolling around the streets of Main are like that. Most tables were ordering the huge platter of nachos and there seemed to be a rave about how good they were, so we ordered it too. We only ordered the regular size and it was already huge! Really cheesy with beans and the side sauces make it even better! Definitely a must try! Servings are also quite large and I’m not even a big fan of veggies, but I definitely enjoyed my vegetarian meal here! If you want to enjoy a different dining experience – perhaps a hipster one, this is the place to go!

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