The Dime Roadhouse

What can one get for $4.95 these days?  Parking in Downtown for 2 hours (if you're lucky)?  2 Macarons?  One dumpling at Pennisula???  Yes, not much can be had for that amount of money in and around Vancouver.  Well, similar to The Warehouse, The Dime offers up cheap eats on Commercial Drive.  Interestingly, judging by the eclectic decor and clientele, this would be the last place to be Rick Roll'd.  Yes, Never Gonna Give You Up came on all of a sudden and to top it all off, people began singing along to it...  #bizarre

Anyways, as for the food, we were perplexed at the temperature it was served.  The Korean Chili Fried Chicken and Cucumber was stone cold.  Yes, the cucumber was supposed to be cold, but the chicken was actually not even lukewarm.  Overlooking that, the chicken was sufficiently moist with a sweet and mildly spicy sauce.  Next, the Garlic Shrimp was at the very least warm.  It was sauteed with garlic, leeks, basil and white wine atop lemon-thyme tomato & grilled bread.  The shrimp had a meaty snap while the flavours were pleasant enough.  I liked how the bread stayed crispy despite the wet ingredients.

Next, we shared the Dime Burger consisting of Canadian beef, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and roasted pepper mayo on a toasted bun.  We added maple bacon for $1.50.  Hey, for the price, it was a solid burger.  The beef patty was moist while the bacon was crisp.  I liked the soft airy bun as it didn't interfere with the ingredients while holding up to the moisture.  The side of fries were decent being crispy and not greasy.  We also had the East Van Pulled Pork rubbed with red curry and slow cooked.  It was sufficiently moist without being doused with sweet BBQ sauce.  The apple and papaya slaw was somewhat in the background as it was only mildly tangy.

Lastly, we tried Mama T's Mac n' Cheese spiked with curry.  Again, this was served stone cold which greatly depreciated our eating enjoyment.  Despite this, the noodles were still toothsome while there was no mistake there was curry in the mix (a definite spice level).  It was more curry-like than cheesy though.  But then again, there was very little to complain about due to the low prices.  One thing worth mentioning is the really cheery and attentive service we got.  Definitely a surprise considering the price point of the joint.

The Good:
- Cheap
- Cheery and attentive service
- Decent burger

The Bad:
- Food was not hot
- We got Rick Roll'd (LOL)