Balkan House

Once again, we were meeting with MagMagMug for some eats. TS and Donna Chang were not able to meet up with us at Rodney's, so we set up another rendezvous. Trying something a bit different this time, we settled on the Balkan House. TS was not exactly pleased since that would mean she would have to drive all the way out to Edmonds. I think there is an imaginary line around Fraser Street in Vancouver that she never crosses. Next time, I'm going to setup a dinner in Langley just to spite her. We really don't eat Eastern European food that often and didn't know what to expect. Thankfully, days prior, Jessica (Yum-O-Rama) had visited the Balkan House and blogged about it. Since we were going on a Sunday, we had the opportunity to try the buffet which runs from 4:00pm - 8:00pm. Vandelay, Donna Chang and myself arrived relatively on time after navigating through the street closure on Edmonds. It's part of the Sunday street closures in the GVRD.

Now, if you are ever in a restaurant with a buffet, it's hard not to look at it and wanting to try it while waiting. We gave TS half-an-hour to arrive before we decided to attack the food. Among the items at the buffet included Coleslaw, Bread, Scalloped? Potatoes, Rice, Roasted Potatoes, Veggies, Pork with Mushroom Sauce, Roast Pork, Vienna Schnitzel, Veal & Pork Sausage, Roast Chicken and cake. For $15.99, the price was reasonable since most of the dishes were around that price already. Because the food at Balkan House is predominantly heavy meats, don't expect to go back too many times to refill your plate. I only made it back twice and the second plate was modest. By virtue of being a buffet, I found most of the meats a bit overcooked. Thus, it was not the best indicator of how good the food should be. The meats were conservatively seasoned except for the roast pork, which was a bit salty. However, that was probably the best meat at the buffet since it was really tender. It reminded me of the Kintaro fatty pork.

The service at the Balkan House was quite friendly and attentive. The servers did their best to make us comfortable. In terms of ambiance, I found the restaurant to be stuck in a 70's time warp. It has the 70's lounge type decor and atmosphere. Either they are trying to be retro or they have no intentions of renovating. The clientele was predominantly European which indicates authenticity and popularity. The place was bustling with activity throughout our dinner. The buffet provided a good sampling of the various dishes at the Balkan House. I'm looking forward to trying some of the other dishes on a non-buffet night. I'm not sure if TS is going to join us though since New Westminster is like another world to her.

The Good:
- Really good service
- Unique cuisine, especially in the GVRD
- Great for carnivores

The Bad:
- You're not going there for the decor
- Food can be a bit heavy (if you do not like meat, but I do!)