La Bocca

November 26, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

The next morning at Whistler, we decided to go for our team breakfast before we headed home. This time, we finally got the whole team sitting together. We ended up at La Bocca, which is next to La Brasserie, and they look basically the same. It was confusing to find it when a couple of us were late and were looking for the rest of the group. The place looks pretty diner style, but they don’t just serve breakfast food. It’s also located right in the heart of Whistler Village, so extremely accessible.

Sunrise Breakfast – 2 eggs served any style (sunny-side up) with hashbrowns, strip bacon, breakfast sausage and whole wheat toast

M got the Sunrise Breakfast. He said that it was pretty decent and that he would rate his meal 7/10. That’s pretty good! It looked like a pretty good breakfast since you get a variety of your favourite breakfast foods. I believe he mentioned that the toast wasn’t that great though…

Traditional Benedict – sliced black forest ham, soft poached eggs and homemade citrus hollaindaise on an English muffin, served with hasbrowns

I got the Traditional Bennedict, which was surprisingly really good. I think I had low expectations coming in because I saw that the ratings were terrible on Urbanspoon. The only bad thing about it was the English muffin, because I swear it was so difficult to cut into. If it takes me so much effort to cut into my eggs benny, it doesn’t make me happy! But, other than that, the eggs were poached nicely, and I liked the hollandaise sauce. The hash browns, which were really tater tots, were the best part. They were crispy on the outside and surprisingly weren’t super salty. They were perfect with the ketchup on the side. Overall, it was a pretty good breakfast. And the portion was actually good since I was able to finish all my food and be full, but not overly full. However, I felt that service wasn’t extremely good. The server wasn’t too friendly, and actually seemed a little annoyed by our large group. After getting home and reading the reviews again, I realized that most of the dissatisfaction was based on their dinner or lunch menus. So I’m guessing their actual entree food is probably not too good, but as for breakfast, I thought it was quite decent! Not so much like a tourist trap, like many said.

Earl’s Restaurant & Bar (Whistler)

November 24, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Last weekend, I went to Whistler for a team building/bonding trip for a school club. It was lots of fun and I also encountered the first snowfall of the year at night! And what’s a trip without some food. We had originally sat down in a nice fine dining restaurant, but they only offered a set menu, and some of us really couldn’t choose anything we liked. So embarrassingly, we told our server we would be looking elsewhere…How awkward. The girls ended up ditching and went off to Earls. Yes – from fine dining to Earls. But oh, comfort food made me so much happier. Earls was located on the second level of a building and was located right inside the village.

Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla – chili, garlic and cumin roasted portobello mushrooms, red peppers and zucchini, avocado, melted jalapeno jack and cheddar, crisp flour tortilla, sour cream and house made roasted tomato salsa

There are always enough choices at Earls for everyone to find a dish. I ended up getting the Roasted Vegetable Quesadilla which came with fries. At first, I felt that the portion was quite small, and it almost seemed like an appetizer, even though it was listed as an entrée. However, I actually got really full and couldn’t even finish my fries. The quesadilla was a vegetarian dish, with no chicken, but it was still really tasty. I’m usually a meat person, but I was still really satisfied with it. The cheese was melted nicely and I enjoyed the peppers and zucchini which gave great flavor. It also came with a dip, which I found quite spicy. It was like a roasted tomato salsa and sour cream, which I mixed it up with. You were supposed to dip your quesadilla in it, but I found that the quesadilla already had enough flavor. So I ended up using the dip for the fries instead. The fries, which I was told to be really really good, were true! They were thinly cut, and somehow, they were just fried to a perfect texture. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my dinner. Across from me, was my friend’s meal, which was a Cajun Chicken Sandwich with Caesar Salad, which I was told was extremely delicious as well.

Service was also typical and friendly. It wasn’t over the top annoying or ignorant, but just enough to make my experience satisfied. Another note is that when I went to the bathroom, I realized that there were a bunch of empty seats in the back. However, they still made us wait 5 minutes, before we were taken to our seats. They clearly want to make an illusion that they are always packed, so they make you wait a short time.

Triple O’s (UBC)

November 20, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Pulled Pork Poutine – poutine smothered with pulled pork in a tangy BBQ sauce, cheese curds, gravy and drizzled with ranch

When I’m hungry at school and I’m too lazy to walk all the way to the SUB, I always end up at Triple O’s just because it’s the closest. I was about to just get a Caesar salad, but the new ad for the Pulled Pork Poutine caught my attention. That advertisement just looked too good to resist. And to be honest, I was still having a few coughs, but I had not had a poutine for months… And so of course, I ended up getting it. It was quite a large portion and had tons of ranch, BBQ sauce and gravy drizzled on top of the cheese curds. I wish the cheese curds were a little more melted, since I like the stringy cheese on my fries. I also found the sauces to be a bit too salty for my liking. The pulled pork was great though. There was just enough to accompany the fries. However, I still prefer the ones at New York Fries. Their Butter Chicken Poutine is the bomb! Still, the Triple O’s poutines are a great alternative when I’m at school.

Acme Cafe

September 27, 2012May 2, 2013Leave a comment

Americano

Veggie Sandwich – goat cheese, portobello mushroom, peppers, zucchini, sprouts, sun-dried tomato basil mayo. Ciabatta panini grilled; with cup of Curry Lentil

Chicken Club Sandwich – multi-grain, chicken, bacon, aged cheddar, tomato, arugula, sun-dried tomato may and grainy mustard; with cup of Curry Lentil

Shrimp Melt – shrimp, roasted peppers, and onions open faced and topped with Jack cheese. On a half-Ciabatta; with cup of Curry Lentil

High-faultin’ Grilled Cheese – cheddar, swiss, brie, cranberry-Grand Marnier relish. Ciabatta panini grilled; with cup of Curry Lentil

Close up of the High-faultin’ Grilled Cheese!

Mac and Cheese (side)

I barely ever wake up in time for brunch or breakfast, but KT, KC, J and I decided to make that happen. KT suggested to go to Acme Cafe in Gastown, and we tried to get there for their breakfast menu, but of course, we ended up late… So we were only able to order their non-breakfast food. Anyways, Acme Cafe was busy when we got there, but we only waited for perhaps 5 minutes to get a seat. The place is really cute, and reminds me of a vintage diner, yet a little modernized. They also have this seating area which is a semi-circle and you can watch the chefs prepare your food. Pretty cool place in my opinion.

Anyways, everything on the menu sounded delicious, so it was hard for me to choose something. I ended up getting the High-faultin’ Grilled Cheese since I love grilled cheese sandwiches, but this one seemed to be more than just a grilled cheese sandwich. They also had a normal grilled cheese sandwich, but this one was “high-faultin’”. The ciabatta was thin and crispy, with loads of cheese melted so it was stringy, and the unique part of it was that it had a cranberry-Grand Marnier relish. The hint of sourness actually worked really well with it and was a great twist to the normal grilled cheese sandwiches. I also took a bite from the Shrimp Melt, which was really delicious! It was open-faced so a little difficult to eat unless you cut it up, but the shrimp and all the ingredients together made it an excellent light sandwich to eat. Delicious! All the sandwiches also came with your choice of chips, or soup of the day. We all got the soup of the day, which was the Curry Lentil. Surprisingly, it wasn’t super spicy or anything. It just had a hint of curry flavour to it, but it was definitely a hearty soup. I’m not a big fan of lentils, so it was just alright for me. The two boys also got a side of Mac and Cheese, and a I stole a spoon. It was really good! There were loads of cheese. Like LOTS. But it worked well and I loved how the top was baked so it was a little crispy.

Overall, awesome place to grab brunch or even lunch. Service isn’t anything over the top, but was quick and efficient. Check it out!

L.A. Grill and Bistro

August 20, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Curry Penne served with Garlic Bread – olives, tomatoes & onions in curry cream sauce

Grilled Chicken Pesto Sandwich – toasted whole wheat bread with grilled chicken breast topped with house-made pesto, melted mozzarella, served with roasted potatoes & green salad

L.A. Grill and Bistro used to be a place I went with my friends back in high school. It was cheap with large portions, and their daily specials always attracted us back when we were students. Especially since I’ve moved away from that neighborhood, I haven’t been to Blundell Mall for quite a while. It’s kind of out of my way, but since I hadn’t had it since..probably high school, J and I decided to revisit it.

I got the Curry Penne, which was alright. The curry soup is definitely not the curry you get at Asian restaurants. It’s the westernized curry, which isn’t my favourite compared to Asian curry, but still not bad. All that pasta totally filled me up though.

You can’t expect any high quality food at L.A. Grill and Bristo, but the portions are definitely filling for the price you pay. It’s also got a very nice casual environment, and I think they offer some pretty good deals for late night snacks now too.

Cora’s Breakfast & Lunch (Ironwood)

August 13, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Fruit Cocktail

Jo Construction – 3 eggs (easy over), 3 sausages, and bacon

Toast that came along with Jo Construction

Eggs Ben et Dictine – two poached eggs and ham on an English muffin covered with Hollandaise sauce, served with roasted potatoes and fresh fruit

My parents normally don’t go out to eat breakfast, unless it’s dim sum, but we decided to head down to Ironwood to check out Cora’s since it had opened not too long ago. The service there is…interesting. The people are really friendly, but a little overly friendly that it seems almost fake. They seem to just recite these lines, and it’s almost a little awkward.

But anyways, my dad decided to try their Fruit Cocktail of the day, which was supposed to consist of 5 fruits or something like that. I don’t remember which fruits she said, but I took a sip, and it was alright. Just a bunch of fruits blended together I’m guessing, but not a smoothie texture for sure. It was much more light and watery. For myself, I got the Eggs Ben et Dictine. I seem to always get the eggs benedict at breakfast places, but that’s cause I feel like I can’t easily make that at home. Or at least I don’t feel that I’m skilled enough to do so! It was presented really nicely with fruits covering the plate in a nice presentation. Apparently, at Cora’s, their selling point is that their breakfasts are supposed to be extremely healthy because of all the fruits they add to the plate. But the funny thing was that my roasted potatoes were the last thing I would call healthy. They sure were roasted… Some of them were so burnt that you pretty much couldn’t even take a bite from the side. It was just pure black. I swear I had 1/3 of the potatoes left on my plate because they were just clearly inedible.

Other than that, everything was decent. Surprisingly, the portions weren’t as large as I had imagined. I think it’s probably because 1/4 of your plate is full of fruits, so it’s not as filling. So I would say Cora’s definitely has smaller portions compared to places such as IHop. I was also quite surprised that on a weekday morning, there were actually quite a few tables of people eating.

The Local Yolk Cafe

August 9, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Fresh Orange Juice

Our Famous Combos – French Toast, Sausage Links and Three Country Eggs

One Pancake – with two eggs and two slice of bacon

Eggs Benedict – English Muffin, Slice of Ham, Hollandaise Sauce and Hashbrowns

My family had stayed in Lynnwood since we booked our hotel last minute, and everywhere in Bellevue was full, or at a ridiculous price. We got up early to start our day of more shopping, and we decided to head out to grab some breakfast. I really wanted to try these KFC chicken bites that were new, but we were 30 minutes too early, and it wasn’t opened yet. We decided to go to Denny’s which was in close proximity, but we ended up passing by The Local Yolk, which seemed to be a local breakfast place. So hey, why not give it a try. The parking lot had a few cars, so we thought it couldn’t be too bad.

It seemed to be a family run business, and surprisingly it was quite packed on a Sunday morning. The prices were the typical breakfast prices, around $10-$15. My sister and I shared the Eggs Benedict, which was quite large, and consisted of 3 English muffins. The hashbrowns were also really tasty with some crispy edges to them! I also enjoyed their Fresh Orange Juice, which consisted of pulp, so you knew it was freshly squeezed – at least I hope it was!

By the time we left, the parking lot was jam packed, so I guess people really do like coming here for breakfast. Much better than Denny’s for sure in my opinion.

Cheesecake Factory (Bellevue)

August 7, 2012May 3, 2013Leave a comment

Tropical Iced Tea

Complimentary Bread

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak served with Mashed Potatoes and Onion Rings

Petite Filet served with Fries and Onion Rings– a smaller version of Filet Mignon

Bistro Shrimp Pasta – crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms, tomato and arugula tossed with spaghettini and a basil-garlic lemon cream sauce

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake – raspberry-vanilla cake, creamy lemon cheesecake, raspberry lady fingers and lemon mousse

It seems that my family always ends up going to The Cheesecake Factory whenever we’re in Seattle. Perhaps it’s because it’s the perfect place to go to after a long day of shopping at Bellevue Mall. Cheesecake Factory is always packed around dinner time, so we had to wait for roughly 30 minutes before we got seated. I decided to get the Tropical Iced Tea, but I didn’t realize that American Iced Teas were unsweetened! And so I was left with a rather bland iced tea with hints of fruitiness to it. My parents both got steaks, and the Petit Filet Mignon was exceptional. I stole a bite, and the meat was extremely tender. I also tried an onion ring, and loved the outer batter as it was thin and crispy. And I forgot to mention, that Cheesecake Factory’s portions are absolutely huge, and it is almost impossible for me to finish a plate by myself. And so of course, I decided to share a plate with my sister, who doesn’t eat a lot either. We got the Bistro Shrimp Pasta, which was extremely delicious. I loved the spaghetinni, as it was thinner than normal spaghetti, and the shrimp also had a lovely texture since it was coated with a light batter. The sauce was light and not too creamy, which I liked. My whole family was extremely full by the end of dinner, but who goes to the Cheesecake Factory without getting a slice of cheesecake! Most tables had their cheesecake to go, but since we still had a long ride back to our hotel, and the weather was quite hot, we decided to just stuff ourselves and eat it at the restaurant. We chose a lighter cheesecake since we could not go for something extremely rich at that point, so we got the Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake. The lemon and raspberry gave the cheesecake a lighter taste to it, with its hint of tangy flavour. I especially love their whipped cream, since it’s super light and airy. You can barely even taste the cream in it! So delicious!

I do want to mention, however, that our waitress, Kelly, was one of the worst servers I’ve had. She came by at the beginning to take our orders, dropped off our drinks and food, and asked how our food was tasting once throughout our whole dinner. I’m not the type that likes to be bothered while eating, but it’s a common gesture to come by more than once throughout the dinner. Not to mention, that I asked for a straw for my drink, and she said she would be right back, but no straw ever came back. My parents also had to remind her to bring them steak knives, which was highly unprofessional. It was almost like we had to chase her down to get her attention. But that’s just our server. I’ve definitely had better servers in the past here, so I guess this is just an exception.