Eat Your Heart Out (Fundraiser for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation)

Eat Your Heart Out is an event that runs from February 18th to the 23rd. Six restaurants in the Tri-Cities area are offering $35.00 three-course meals that benefit Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.  $10 from each meal is donated directly back to the ERHF.  These restaurants include The Boathouse, St. James's Well, Mr. Mikes Steakhouse, Onyx Steakhouse & Lounge, Staint St Grill and Browns Socialhouse.  I was invited to the kick-off event on the 17th to check out some of these restaurants.  We met at Port Moody City Hall where we were treated to drinks before we hopped aboard trollies that would shuttle us to each of the locations.

Our first stop would be The Boathouse at Rocky Point.  We were treated to a plate consisting of Lobster, Shrimp and Salmon.  I thought the lobster was a touch on the softer side with a combination of natural flavours and enough seasoning.  The shrimp had a buttery snap while also kissed with plenty of salt.  I found the salmon to be still moist despite being cooked all the way through.  It was sauced with a zippy lemon thyme beurre blanc.  At Mr Mikes, we were served a plate consisting of a dried cranberry and feta salad, AAA Sirloin Steak and mashed potatoes.  This was a bit small considering I could eat the steak in 2 bites.  It was cooked medium and was mostly tender.  It had plenty of natural meat flavour whereby the gravy on the mashed potatoes was a bit too salty.

Our last stop was St James's Well where we had the most substantial offering consisting of a Mini-Slider, Parmesan Fries, Ribs and Crab & Salmon Cake.  I liked the acidic and sweet mango pineapple salsa on top of the crab & salmon cake.  The cake itself was rather dense and hard, but it did taste good though with a hint of curry.  I found the ribs to be meaty and sufficiently tender with a sweet smoky BBQ sauce. The mini-slider was pretty typical with a soft airy bun.  After this, we were taken back to city hall where we were treated to a variety of desserts.  At each location pop was on the house while one alcoholic beverage was complimentary with each ticket.  If you are in the Tri-Cities area or even if you are not, support a good cause and eat at the same time!

*Note - this was an invited event where all food was comped

The Good:
- Support a good cause
- For the kick-off event, the trolly transportation was nice
 - Drinks are included (with one alcoholic beverage)

The Bad:
- Most of the items we tried were not on the actual 3-course menu
- The sampler at Mr. Mikes was kinda small, but it's for charity right?