Posts Tagged ‘Comfort Food’

THE RED WAGON

May 29th, 2011 admin

2296 East Hastings Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-568-4565

Web: http://www.redwagoncafe.com/

Twitter: @redwagoncafe

Advice: Expect to wait in line awhile during weekend brunch.

Brunching is a favourite past time for most, I like to explore different neighbourhoods and one of the best ways to do this is to go for brunch in a different neighbourhood and to then walk and explore the hood.

Pulled Pork Pancakes

I had heard about the house specialty and had to try it, the Pulled Pork Pancakes ($12) are 3 buttermilk pancakes layered with pulled pork smothered in Jack Daniels maple syrup, heavenly and well kind of filling too. You’ll find some traditional brunch fare with a twist from Benny’s to a Chicken Confit Chilaquiles chicken confit, two eggs, corn tortilla chips, salsa verde, feta, crema, and red onions and more. The lines can be long as I discovered, the wait is worth it, bring a book to read or bring your kids who can draw, they will find crayons in the red wagon!

Review By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Hastings Tags: , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

SLICKITY JIM’S CHAT ‘N CHEW

May 8th, 2011 admin

3475 Main Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-873-6760

Web: http://www.slickityjims.com/

Twitter: @SlickityJims

Advice: write your name on the sign at the door for your chance to wait in line until it is your turn to be seated.

It is an iconic breakfast spot for me, I began to frequent the place when they first opened in the Soma area of Main back in 1999, I would often do breakfast or brunch with friends on the weekend. In 2009 after the building burned down Slickitys was suddenly gone, hearing they were going to open a couple months ago I was ecstatic. I had breakfast on a Sunday morning recently with my friend Jason, dining in the back overlooking the park, this eatery is larger than its former, its kitchy and bright.

The Honey Man City Butter

The Morning Yearning

I had my ‘usual’, The Honey Man City Butter ($9.75) -Three slices of multigrain French toast with an effervescent cinnamon and honey-butter sauce, served with fresh fruit atop roasted potatoes and Jason had The Morning Yearning ($9.75) Two free run eggs any style with bacon, chorizo, grilled tomato, and veggie chilli, served with multigrain, rye or sourdough toast.

This is the kind of place which is one of a kind, each dish is cleverly named and the specials even more so. For breakfast you will find the classic egg dishes, from omelettes to French toast to The Benedictions. For lunch you may want to try one of their Sammie’s such as the Denizen of the Deep ($10.50) another favourite of mine that is a wild salmon fillet blackened with Cajun spices in the heat of a stark meeting between fish and pan, topped with salsa on baguette or one of their big burgers. I hear a dinner menu is going to happen soon if it hasn’t happened already. So happy that Slickity Jim’s is back!

Review By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Main Street Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

A Quest for the Best Mac & Cheese

February 15th, 2011 admin

Mac & Cheese defines comfort food at many restaurants  throughout North America, some go the traditional route with a basic dish of Macaroni noodles and sauce and others jazz them up with different shaped noodles, some add lobster, and other gourmet ingredients. I did not just taste the dish, I ate each full dish. I have spent over a month sampling my away around Vancouver to find the BEST Mac & Cheese!

Note: You may not agree with my opinion as my taste may not be your taste. The prices indicated exclude tax and were for one Mac & Cheese dish. I only visited places in Vancouver, I did not venture into the suburbs on this quest.

In ranking order, these are my favourite Mac & Cheese dishes around Vancouver.

1)    Coast Restaurant  - 1054 Alberni Street – $16

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

Very good Lobster Mac & Cheese, creamy, cheesy with lots of lobster pieces, good flavour & rich! Made with Gruyere, blue cheese, sharp cheddar and parmesan with a Bechamel sauce that had a little garlic and shallots. Nicely presented in an All-Clad steel dish! This was the very best I had out of all of the Mac & Cheese dishes I tried, and the price was affordable based on the type of ingredients in the dish.

COAST RESTAURANT

2)              100 Days – 350 Davie Street – $22

Lobster Mac & Cheese with Hennessey bisque

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

Big chunks of lobster in this dish making this one super rich and tasty. The Hennessey bisque made this dish, it was absolutely delicious and was a fine meal that came with some greens and garlic toast.

100 Days

3)    Hamilton Street Grill – 1009 Hamilton Street – $13

Mac & Cheese topped with house made Strip Loin Beef hot dog, served with 2 slices of garlic toast

Type of Noodles: cavatappi

Large dish made with gorgonzola, Sardo parmesan, and white cheddar on top. The rich and delicious sauce was made with cream, roasted garlic, splash of Tabasco, leeks and shallots. The Strip loin beef hot dog is seasoned with mustard powder and paprika. Pricewise this Mac & Cheese is value and it is a meal for a great price.

HAMILTON STREET GRILL

4)    Yew Restaurant (in Four Seasons Hotel)  - 791 West Georgia Street – $18

Truffle Mac & Cheese

Type of Noodles: casareccia

Elegantly presented in a ceramic bowl this dish was made with Farmhouse Cheddar and Black Truffle. The Béchamel sauce is made with milk (not cream) made very creamy, good and rich taste, topped with shaved truffle mushrooms.

YEW RESTAURANT

5)       Au Petit Chavignol – 843 East Hastings Street – $9

Classic Four Cheese Macaroni

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

This dish was made with Gruyere, white cheddar, orange cheddar, stilton. Loaded with cheese, the orange cheddar on top was a nice touch though was not melted enough breadcrumbs were on top of the cheese, but the Stilton cheese was overpowering in taste which overdid my palate.

AU PETIT CHAVIGNOL

6)    Acme Cafe – 51 West Hastings Street – $8

Mac & Cheese served with greens

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

Served as a meal this dish was made with a creamy béchamel sauce, topped with cheddar cheese and bread crumbs, baked in white ceramic dish and nicely lightly browned, however I couldn’t taste the breadcrumbs topping.

ACME CAFE

7)       Burgoo Bistro – 3096 Main Street   –  $10

Mac & Cheese

Type of noodles: elbow macaroni

Loaded with aged white cheddar, baked golden brown. This Mac & Cheese was pretty good, gooey, and cheesy goodness. The waiter offered me ketchup, hot sauce and pepper for my mac & cheese and I was a bit puzzled and declined as I wanted to try the Mac and Cheese as they prepared it.

BURGOO BISTRO

8)       Society – 1257 Hamilton Street –  $15.50

Baked Truffled Mac & Cheese

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

Made with Winter truffles and parmesan gratin, this dish was tasty, not over powering with the truffle, the size of the dish makes it easy not to over eat and it is not too rich this way. Nice presentation with little black skillet and served with a slice of garlic toast and greens, however the price was a little too high for this type of dish.

SOCIETY

9)   Crave on Main – 3941 Main Street –  $14

Aged Cheddar Cheese & Macaroni Gratin

Type of Noodles: penne

This dish was topped with a crumbly bread crumb mixture and sundried tomatoes and did not have much flavour. It had a creamy, cheesy sauce, however the whole dish had a bland flavour overall. It’s over priced in comparison to other Mac & Cheese dishes I had around the city.

CRAVE ON MAIN

10)     Whole Foods – 510 West 8th Avenue – $5.50

Mac & Cheese

Type of Noodles: elbow macaroni

Their Mac & Cheese is on offer most days and it is on their hot buffet bar and is sold by weight. I scooped a portion on to the plate and this was tasty, rich and cheesy, however there was too much butter and when heated in the microwave it is was too oily.

WHOLE FOODS

Do you have a favourite Mac & Cheese from a restaurant around Vancouver or in the suburbs?

Feel free to add your comment here and name the place and their location, the cost of each excluding tax and why you think they are the best!

By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Culinary Adventures, Latest, The BEST List Tags: , , , 6 Comments »

PAUL STIRFRY

January 31st, 2011 admin

 

UPDATED 3/4/12 BUSINESS HAS CLOSED

550 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Tel: (604) 566-9949

Web: http://www.PaulStirfry.com

Twitter: @paulstirfry

Advice: Build Your Own is a great feature, choose a protein to any of the featured dishes and choose a starch. No reservations, take-out available. Many of the items are GF / Gluten Free and V / Vegan Friendly.

Love the concept of this healthy Asian eatery, the menu has a vast selection of appies, soups, salads and bowls, the serving size of the bowls is fairly large and each offers a healthy option such as Quinoa or Brown Rice that is either included or extra for a nominal charge.

Sable Squared

Spicy Edamame

Malay Mayday

Beef Satay Spears

On my first visit I had the delicious and healthy Sable Squared ($12) flash fried, sesame & ginger marinated sablefish, with sweet soy, quinoa, pea shoots, onions, broccilini, red pepper & snow peas, and ponzu. Back again for another visit where I had the ‘Build Your Own’ Malay Mayday ($9) coconut green curry, bok choy, broccolini, peppers, bamboo shoots, & fresh herbs and chicken, I also had some of the Spicy Edamame ($4.50) Thai chilli spiced sweet soy marinade, along with their Beef Satay Spears with Trio Sauce including the Japanese Mustard & Sesame, ginger soy, Sirachacha Chili.

The kitchen is quick and the service is great, looking forward to my next visit, perhaps with a friend so that we can have The Big Bang Daang!

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Downtown Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

AU PETIT CAFÉ

November 13th, 2010 admin

4851 Main Street, Vancouver

Tel:  604-873-3328

Web: www.aupetitcafe.com

Twitter: n/a

Advice: No reservations, prepare to stand in a line-up during peak periods. There are a few different sauces on each table, use their Hoisin sauce with any of the subs. Their French Bread out of the oven is outstanding and usually sells out by the end of the day.

I have dined here on many occasions and have had a few different dishes on the menu, though I tend to order the same dishes on each visit.

Chicken Sub

Dark French Coffee

Most recently I had the #4 Chicken Sub ($3.75) fresh home-made French baguette with shredded chicken, vegetables and hot peppers and the #55 Dark French Coffee ($3.25) Vietnamese coffee (with no cream). The décor is bright pink inside the small restaurant and I am pretty sure it hasn’t changed since opening many years ago. The service has always been very friendly and a cup of hot tea is on the table by the time I have been seated. The other dish that I have had on many occasions is the Curry Chicken served with steamed rice for ($7.25). The menu is filled with noodle and rice dishes as well their French bread sandwiches.

Review By: Richard Wolak

Posted in Main Street Tags: , , , , , , , , No Comments »

TAPENADE BISTRO

August 20th, 2010 admin

3711 Bayview Street, Richmond

Tel: 604-275-5188


Twitter: @tapenadebistro

Advice: The patio is the place to dine on cool or warm sunny day.
I love visiting Steveston, walking around the quaint shops, enjoying the breeze off the water, people walking about. Last weekend I finally had a chance to visit Tapenade, a bistro that I have been wanting to visit for quite sometime. The outside patio is large and seats just about as many as the inside dining room where I chose to have my lunch. Chef Alex Tung has created a varied menu which has an emphasis in French tradition with Westcoast flair.

Fish & Chips

Watermelon Salad

Both brunch and lunch favourites were featured, I started with the tasty crispy Fish & Chips ($11) crispy halibut cheeks, chickpea fries, fennel carrot slaw, house-made tarter sauce and then moved on to sharing the tasty, refreshing Watermelon Salad ($10) gin infused watermelon, radishes, corn and feta.

Marsaeille Sandwich

Pink Shrimp and Spinach Crepe

For our main entrees, we shared the tasty,  Marsaeille Sandwich ($12) shrimp, fennel, radish sprouts, filone baguette, organic field greens; as well as the Pink Shrimp and Spinach Crepe ($13) pink shrimp, spinach, bechamel, artisan baby lettuces, light tomato cream.

Bread Pudding

Callebaut Chocolate Pudding

We had to save some room for dessert which we did of course, both of these desserts were quite different,  Bread Pudding ($7.50) peanut butter, banana, chocolate bread pudding, frozen peanut butter chantilly, salty caramel sauce; we also shared the delicious Callebaut Chocolate Pudding ($7.50) chocolate brownie, creme chantilly, vanilla creme anglais. They have a good wine list with a focus on BC, California and France wines as well.

Review by: Richard Wolak
Posted in Restaurant Reviews, Richmond Tags: , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

ACME CAFÉ

May 27th, 2010 admin

51 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-569-1022

Web: www.acmecafe.ca

Twitter: @acme_cafe

Advice: Sit at the counter, make sure you save room for some pie!

High-falutin’ Grilled Cheese

Strawberry Custard Pie

When I was a little kid I used to go a café nearby that had a cool old time counter and stools, the things we remember from childhood seem to come back again later in life. Over at Acme Café they have the same old fashioned counters that were custom built for them along with comfy booths and those cool counter stools. The room is large and spacious with high ceilings, I like the décor and I like the café. This is a friendly neighborhood eatery that serves up delicious food at great prices and the service is wonderful. I had the very tasty High-falutin’ Grilled Cheese ($10.00) with cheddar, swiss, brie, Grand Marnier–cranberry relish on a Ciabatta panini grilled, that was served with broccoli almond slaw and potato chips. For dessert I had a slice of the Strawberry Custard Pie ($4.25). You’ll find breakfast favourites, great tasting sandwiches, soups, salads, and main plates that include a Crock Pot supper feature that changes daily. Everything is made fresh, and their pie selection is outstanding, they usually have 6 different pies on daily with a rotating selection, make sure that you have some pie and just like the old days add a scoop of ice cream too! I can’t wait for my next visit and I am going back to try their Espresso Milkshake and another piece of pie!

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Crosstown, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , No Comments »

LEGENDARY NOODLE

May 6th, 2010 admin

 

UPDATED 3/4/12 BUSINESS HAS CLOSED

4191 Main Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-879-8758

Web: www.legendarynoodle.ca

Advice: Cash only.

Shredded Potato

Crispy Fried Pan Cake

Lamb Shanks Noodle Soup

Noodles

For over 13 years this family run business has been hand rolling their noodles that they have become known for. I was lucky to be joined by my friend Stephanie Yuen who is another food writer who knows her Chinese food oh so well. We began our meal with the cold Shredded Potato ($3) with garlic, sesame oil a vegetarian dish with a sour and salty taste. Next up was the tasty Crispy Fried Pan Cake ($3.50) with fresh green onion, sprinkled with sesame. We then ventured into the first of a couple of the noodle dishes that they are known for. First was the Lamb Shanks Noodle Soup ($8) sprinkled with garlic and cilantro; and the other dish was the Noodles ($7) Perfumed with lemon garlic, green onion sauce, red chili crunch, topped with spinach and beansprouts (spicy & hot). With a pot of their house tea we enjoyed all of the dishes and conversation.

The style of food cooked here is from Lanzo in the Ghanxu province in China, very different style of food than other Chinese restaurants.

Review by: Richard Wolak

Posted in Main Street, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , No Comments »
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