The Lodge Steakhouse

Did you know, one of the least known steakhouses in the GVRD is located in a facility that hosts both an ice and curling rink?  Yah, that in itself would make it a bit obscure.  To top it off, it is found in the Brookswood in Langley.  For those who live in the area or nearby, The Lodge Steakhouse might be actually familiar.  However, to everyone that doesn't live there, they never know what the heck I'm talking about when I rave about the place.  I've blogged about the place before and have been back many times after that.  After my latest visit, I decided to combine 2 dinners into one post.

I normally do not order a lot of appies because their steak and main dishes are large and include sides.  I did end up trying their Calamari though and the best way to describe them was "fine".  They were uniformly crispy and the the squid itself was tender with a slight chew.  Batter was a bit bland though and the light drizzle of yuzu sambal aioli was not enough to flavour the dish.  It was tasty though with a tangy spice.  I think the solution would be to ask for it be served on the side.

We always get the ribeye here since it is always prepared right and it is reasonably-priced.  Well for our most current visit, they replaced that with a 14oz PEI Ribeye for $85.00.  I guess the 12oz for $56.00 is long gone...  However, I felt the PEI ribeye was worth it as the meat was tender with an appealing meatiness.  The steak was charred and prepared a perfect medium-rare.  This was served with vibrant crunchy veggies and creamy mashed potatoes.  We added the Peppercorn Sauce on the side for $3.50.  It was creamy, salty enough and slightly peppery.

For the previous visit, we got the Lobster Flambee prepared tableside.  This was seared in brandy along with white wine, cream, garlic and herbs.  The lobster was fresh and cooked to perfection maintaining its moisture and being at its bouncy best.  The natural brininess was well-accented by the creamy sauce that was aromatic with a touch of brandy.

Back to the current visit, we tried their Maple Bacon Scallops, also prepared tableside (and flambeed).  Despite being seared and prepared properly, the scallops themselves were the reformed variety.  No, these scallops didn't go to the big house and come out for the better.  Rather, these were a selection of smaller scallops formed into perfectly and uniformly-shaped "scallops".  Personally, I'm not a fan of these and wished the menu would've indicated this.  With that being said, they did taste great though with a smoky and salty sweetness.

Although the Lodge Bacon Cheddar Burger is one of the least expensive items on the menu, don't sleep on it.  Sporting a well-charred fresh beef patty with all the produce and charred onion relish on brioche, this ate really well.  There was a good combination of smokiness, meatiness, saltiness and fresh crunch from the veggies.  On the side, we got the Truffle Fries and they were crispy and nicely seasoned.

We also had the Chicken & Gnocchi sporting a blackened chicken breast.  As the picture illustrates, the chicken was nicely seared but not truly blackened.  Despite that, it had a smokiness and earthiness.  Chicken was tender and not dry.  Underneath, the large gnocchi were pillowy soft and light.  It sat in a creamy sauce that was not overly heavy with hits of herbs.  Some fresh ricotta helped add extra creaminess.

One of our favourite dishes at The Lodge is the Brown Butter Sablefish.  We had this dish on both visits and the first time was definitely better than the second.  For some reason or another, the flakes of salt that usually finishes the dish was either missing or there wasn't enough of it.  Hence, the dish ate a bit too mild.  However, the sablefish was still excellent being buttery and flaky.  We actually had to ask for more brown butter since you can see that the plate was lacking it.  That totally makes the dish as it provides a aromatic nuttiness and saltiness.

As for sides, we got the Creamed Corn and the Scalloped Potatoes.   Either I'm dreaming things up or they changed the recipe for the creamed corn.  I found it was still sweet and lightly creamy, but we found chunks of garlic in it that made it a bit different in texture and taste.  Still decent though.  As for the scalloped potatoes, it was more like a potato pavé in my opinion.  Definitely could see the layers of potato with butter and cream in between.  Pretty decent if not a bit dense.

Had 2 different desserts for the both visits with the Warm Brownie coming up first.  This featured a soft and chewy brownie with salted caramel chocolate ice cream on top.  Sure, a pretty simple dessert, but a well-prepared one at that.  The brownie was rich, but not incredibly dense.  Lots of chocolate flavour which was enhanced by the salted caramel.

The best of the 2 desserts was definitely the Salted Caramel Cold Brew Bar.  Yes, we found the flakes of salt here and it definitely elevated the flavours of the coffee (and coffee crisp).  Some dulce de leche added some creamy sweetness.  Really balanced dessert and we dusted this off quite quickly.  Overall, these 2 visits further reinforces my belief that The Lodge is a sneaky well-priced steakhouse hidden in an ice rink in Langley.  If you are in the area, go check it out!

The Good:

- Well-priced for what you get

- Excellent service everytime

- Overall solid eats

The Bad:

- Um, those scallops were "reformed", need to say that on the menu

- Too bad they got rid of the $56.00 ribeye, but things are expensive these days... 

Elem

Saying that restaurants are facing an uphill battle these days is a huge understatement.  With the state of the economy and rampant inflation, it is tough go for most businesses.  So when I heard that there was a break-in at Elem, I just had to go back and support them.  I went twice within a month and this particular post is a combination of both dinners.  On a happier note, Elem has recently won Vanmag's "Best New Restaurant".  Truly deserving and congrats to Chef Vish and the Elem team!

For the longest time, the featured bread on the menu was the rye parker rolls.  Well, they now have Milk Brioche Buns now and for this dinner, it was served with whipped butter topped by serrano & lime butter and lime salt.  Loved the fluffiness and butteriness of the buns.  The butter was super light and airy while having a brightness from the serrano.  It really wasn't spicy either.

If you don't already know, Elem is also known for their cocktail program and we went for the Anar and Mango Rasmalai.  For the anar, it was a light mix of gin, pomegranate and cardamomo.  Definitely floral and mildly sweet.  Along the same lines, the mango rasmalai was also comprised of gin mixed with mango and cardamomo.  With the addition of clarified saffron milk and saffron white chocolate paint, we had even more floral notes.

Believe it or not, this is only the 2nd time I've had the Yellowfin Tuna Bhel!  It wasn't because I didn't like it, but rather, no one I ate with ever wanted to order it.  Well, this time I did and yep, I know now what I was missing.  Beyond the buttery pieces of tuna, we found the classic flavours of a Bhel being herbaceous, tangy and bright.  Love the added crunch as it needed it.

One of their newer dishes was the Elk Tartare.  Not gamy (to me at least), the lean elk was surprisingly buttery and tender.  It was well-seasoned and beautifully topped with edible flowers.  What put this dish over the top was it rested on bone marrow.  The generous amount of buttery and sinful bone marrow only added to the luxuriousness of the dish.  Completing things was the crunchy housemade chips.

Normally, I'm not one to order a salad for any meal, but since I've had the Glorious Organics Salad before, we got it.  Despite its basic plating, you wouldn't have guessed that it consisted of a bevy of greens, 

elderflower-tahini dressing, walnuts and ricotta salata.  Just something refreshing and light as an interlude between heavier dishes.  The mix of greens afforded bitterness, pepperiness and sweetness to go with the floral and nutty dressing.

Hitting some featured cocktails, we had the Milo/Corn and the Elderflower Highball.  With a small piece of fresh corn on the cob, there was no mistaking what the milo/corn was about.  This was a combination of cognac, Nestle Milo and milk-washed corn.  Slightly strong due to the cognac, but also malty due to the milo and sweet from the corn.  I though this was a creative drink for sure.  As for the elderflower, it was floral as expected, but also not weak due to the fermented rice vodka.  With some peppercorn, there was a slight bite at the end.

For my past 2 visits, I was able to enjoy one of their classic dishes in the Dungeness Crab Toast.  Loved that they brought this back on to the menu with a slight twist.  For the aerated sauce underneath, it was Tom Yum and that added classic lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf aromatics to already briny and "crabby" flavours.  The generous amount of fluffy crab sat atop a soft slice of milk bread.  Best to order more of the brioche to soak up all that delicious sauce!

Another dish I do not get to order often at Elem is the Grilled Lamb Skewers.  Yes, once again, nobody that eats with me loves lamb.  Well, I decided to order it anyways and eat them by myself!  These pieces of lamb were super fatty, which in turn, made the meat buttery and soft.  However, due to the charring, there were some crispy and smoky bits on the outside.  Due to the fat, there was no mistaking it was lamb as it was gamy (which I love).  Providing a carmelized sweetness, the medjool date glaze was also syrupy and thick.  This all sat on ginger labneh which was creamy, tangy and bright.

Of course a salad wasn't enough in terms of veggies, so we had the Purple Broccolini.  The next time we were here (just 2 weeks later), they had replaced the broccolini with the New Potatoes.  Although simple in its preparation, the broccolini had a punch of brininess from the bagna cauda and white anchovy.  Some pecorino provided more saltiness and nuttiness.  As for the potatoes, they were still a bit firm yet still tender.  At the centre, there was a toma cheese fonduta that was creamy with just a bit of tang.

With a cute crab cracker on top, the Mezcal Sour was the best cocktail of the bunch.  It was smoky from the crab shell mezcal and also slightly tangy from the strawberry vinegar.  Add in the chili oil and there was a kick.  Definitely riding the line between savoury and sweet.  Topped with a spoon of sweet and nutty taro sorbet, the aptly named Taro also consisted of rum and coconut.  By itself, the cocktail was a bit aromatic with definite hits of rum.  I decided to mix the taro sorbet in and that balanced things off with some sweetness and the aforementioned taro notes.

 

Another variation of an OG dish we had was the Duck Fried Rice.  Featuring tender and flavourful pieces of confit duck, the rice ate quite meaty and rich.  Each grain of rice was discernible and nutty.  Adding in the side of chili crunch was imperative to add texture, aromatics and even more nuttiness.  It wasn't spicy per se, but added a background smokiness instead.  Herbs on top were more than garnish as it provided brightness and relief from the heaviness.

 

Gloriously green, the Spring Risotto was beautifully executed.  Spreading nicely on the plate while being creamy and rich, the rice was still chewy with a bite.  Yes, the whole thing did taste green with the brightness and sweetness of the peas as well as the earthiness of the nettles.  A soft poached egg on top added some silkiness from the yolk.

 

For both meals, I ended up ordering the BC Halibut.  Good call as each time, it was prepared well.  The fish featured a crispy hard sear which was seasoned properly.  The fish itself was flaky and moist.  It sat on top of a coconut curry that was creamy, earthy and of course aromatic.  There was also some crunchy bak choy and soft chunks of potato.

 

Prepared medium-rare, we had a beautiful Wagyu Bavette steak.  This was rather meaty, yet still wasn't difficult to chew.  The fat content ensured that the meat was flavourful on its own.  However, the smokiness from the salsa borracha was definitely evident and helped add depth-of-flavour and umami.  Some crunchy and vibrant gai lan was served on the side.

The last 2 cocktails I'll talk about are the Mai Tai and the Lemongrass Gimlet.  Topped with a spoon of passionfruit ice, the mai tai consisted of 3 types of rum and pistachio orgeat.  Hence, we had some floral sweetness as well as hits of rum.  The passionfuit helped make this fruity and light.  That lemongrass gimlet was so refreshing and dangerous.  The combination of Lebanese gin, pandan and yuzu was pretty sweet and fruity.  I could easily down 10 of these, no joke!  But then I would be out like a light too...

 

The first of these two recent visits, we had the Chocolate Tart to end our meal.  This was a substantial slice of rich chocolate cremeux that was only semi-sweet with an appealing bitter finish.  Texturally, this was smooth and silky where it melted on contact when put into our mouths.  Nice contrasting texture from the butter hazelnut crunch on the top.  we found a scoop of salted milk ice cream on the side.

One of their newest desserts is the PB & J with a disk of evaporated and condensed milk atop banana coffee.  We found crunchy peanuts and mixed berry jelly on the side.  This tasted like we thought it would and that in itself was a success.  That disk was so creamy and despite having condensed milk, it was purposefully sweet.  Definitely lots of peanut aroma and texture while the jelly was sweet with a slight tang.

 

Beautifully plated, the Lemon and Rhubarb consisted of house-made lemon ice cream with elderflower, poached rhubarb, bee pollen, butterscotch, hazelnut crumble and a ginger almond disk with shiso glaze.   I would say this would be one of the best composed desserts I've had at Elem.  A good combination of floral, tangy, sweetness and slight herbaceousness to go with the contrast in textures.  So there you have it, 2 of my recent visits to Elem.  I think by revisiting some of their greatest hits, with a twist, is a good move for the menu.  Also, they seemed to have leveled up with their desserts.  They are more composed and dare I say, more "normal".  I'm happy for them winning best new restaurant by Vancouver Magazine.  I'm looking forward to what is coming next!

The Good:

- They brought back some classics (but with a twist)

- More composed desserts

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- Maybe due to the limitations from the break-in, they didn't have any daily features

Folietta

I've always been a fan of the family of restaurants run by the Wentworth Hospitality Group.  These include Tableau, Maxine's and Homer St Cafe.  So when I heard they opened Folietta Italian restaurant out on Nanaimo Street, I was anxious to try it out.  Turns out that Viv beat me to the punch and went for their Happy Hour first.  With positive feedback, I decided to book it for my mom's birthday dinner.  Since it was an early reservation, we were able to order some items off the Happy Hour menu as well.

As such, I ordered quite a few things off of that menu including the Focaccia with Ricotta.  We enjoyed the creaminess of the ricotta combined with the black truffle and olive oil.  The flavours were not strong but definitely there to provide some aromatics.  The focaccia itself had a firm crispy exterior giving way to a softer almost airy interior.  We also ordered a plain focaccia with EVOO and balsamic.  That was great with the pastas.

Also part of the happy hour menu, the Wagyu Beef Carpaccio was sliced paper-thin.  As such it was also super buttery and tender.  The fact there was only a modest amount of fat helped its cause as too much would make it chewy.  On top, we found pickled mushroom, bagna cauda, smoked egg yolk and shaved reggiano.  The combined flavours resulted in acidity, brininess and nuttiness.  Didn't get a lot of smokiness from the egg yolk though, but loved the texture.

When Viv suggested we go for the Insalata Mista, I thought she was joking.  When she pointed out that there was cubes of salumi and crispy pieces too, I was sold.  That itself gave the salad plenty of robust saltiness to compliment the tanginess of the dressing and the pickled peppers/olives.  Greens were crisp and fresh while the generous amount of sharp provolone afforded extra body to the salad.

From salad to all meat, we had the Polpette e Sugo.  These meatballs consisted of veal and pork.  They were soft and moist with an almost fluffy texture, but while retaining a certain meatiness.  The slow-roasted sugo was bright and very tomatoey.  Nice tanginess and balancing sweetness.  That toasted focaccia was great with the sauce as it had a smoky crispiness.

Up until this point, the appies were quite good, yet the Calamaro was my favourite.  Each strip of Humboldt squid was soft and tender while having a slight chew.  Exterior was crispy and light as the coating wasn't too thick.  Yet what really made this dish was the Puttanesca underneath.  It was intensely flavourful with hits of brininess, salty tanginess and slight spice.

Rounding out our appies, that were all from the happy hour menu, was the Parmesan Crocchette.  These were $3.00 per piece.  I thought they were tasty with a crispy shell that revealed a soft and creamy mochi-like texture.  Definitely could taste the salty nuttiness of the parmesan.  With grated prosciutto di parma and reggiano on top, we got an extra hit of saltiness.

Onto our mid-course, we had some pastas including the Bigoli with Venetian duck ragu.  This was absolutely fantastic with firm strands of thick bigoli.  The texture of the pasta held onto the ragu well and each bite was impactful with rich meaty notes and sweetness.  Extra body and nuttiness was provided by the cheese. Loved the texture of the crispy skin pangrattato.

As great as the first pasta was, the Linguine was equally delicious.  It featured Zeke's spot prawns and the briny sweetness combined with the shellfish jus made this pasta memorable.  The natural shellfish flavours created a connection with the prawns.  Quite often, a seafood pasta is disconnected from the components as there is no seafood flavour.  Not the case here.

We moved onto the main dishes starting with the Pollo e Crostone.  As much as its appearance was fantastic, the chicken itself was rather dry.  However, the piece of charred focaccia with garlic jus was super tasty.  On the side, we had the Piselli Grigliati.  I wanted to like the grilled spring peas but they were so limp and overdone, there was no texture left.  On the other hand, the lemon ricotta at the bottom was creamy and tangy.

We weren't a fan of the chicken, but the Maiale was on point.  The spiced pork chop was cooked beautifully where it was slightly pink inside, but fully cooked.  Sporting a cheesy taleggio crust, there was some tanginess already, but the fennel sausage soffritto was money.  It was meaty, salty and tangy.  Really complimented the pork with brightness and umaminess.

Onto the sweets, we only shared 2 because we had a Trafiq cake waiting at home!   With the marscapone crema poured on top table side, the Tiramisu was quite good.  I found the ladyfingers to be soaked until moist while not being mushy.  There was a balanced espresso hit while the marscapone itself was creamy and purposefully sweet.  I thought the presentation was an interesting touch.

The other dessert we had was Dolci al Cioccolato Trio featuring dark chocolate terrine, chocolate salami and chocolate torte.  This was a chocolate lovers dream!  I loved the salami as the pistachios added crunch and nuttiness.  Torte was rich and smooth with an appealing density.  Nice sheen on the ganache in the terrine.  Those candied hazelnuts added crunch.  Overall, our meal at Folietta was good.  I'd skip the chicken and snap peas though.  Service was excellent and we would be open to a return visit.

The Good:

- Loved the pastas

- Lots of selection with the happy hour menu

- Excellent service

The Bad:

- It was busy, so food came out a bit slow

- Skip the chicken and snap peas

Haliná Modern Filipino Kitchen + Bar

Remember when they said Filipino cuisine would be the next big thing?  That was back in 2012 and then re-stated again in 2017.  I don't know about you, but it didn't catch on as much as it should have.  I mean, there are more Filipino restaurants now and many of them are quite good, yet it is almost a surprise when we see a new one.  Halina Modern Filipino Kitchen & Bar has been around for about one year and as the name suggests, they dish up Filipino food.  Eileen, Jackie and I decided to check it out.

Normally, we don't do that many drinks at brunch, but when Eileen wants drinks, she goes for it!  We tried the Araw Araw, Pandan Fizz, El Nido and Tita 'Be-By.  These were right up my alley since all were fruity and refreshing.  Sweetness was definitely there, but not so much I couldn't drink them.  I particularly enjoyed the pineapple juice in the El Nido as it was tangy from the calamansi and lemon juice.

One of my favourite Filipino dishes is Sizzling Sisig.  It can be made with pig's face meat or pork belly.  In this case, it was pork belly.  I personally like the pig's face more as the meat is gelatinous and fatty.  But no matter, they did a good job here with crispy crackling and buttery tender meat.  Definitely rich especially with the chicken liver sauce and the silky egg.  There was a touch of spice from the serrano peppers and a quick squeeze of the calamansi added tangy sweetness.

Continuing with pork belly, we had the Inihaw na Liempo served with garlic rice and salad.  There was a good amount of grilled pork belly that was meaty with some fat.  Nice tang from the calamansi and caramelized sweetness from the cane sugar.  We found some atchara (pickled green papaya) and toyomansi (soy & calamansi dip) on the side.

Since we were here for brunch, we had a classic Filipino item in the Tapsilog.  This consisted cured beef, garlic rice, salad and 2 sunny side eggs.  I thought this was solid where the beef was tender while not dry (despite being cured).  I thought the flavours were balanced and not overly salty nor sweet.  Of course, the toyomansi helped provide that extra kick.  Combining the garlic rice, tapa and egg yolk, it was a delicious bite.

Also on the table was the Grilled Chicken Inasal featuring charred lemongrass chicken leg.  This was smoky, sweet and aromatic.   Charring was substantial and it really added depth-of-flavour as well as fully rendering the skin.  Underneath, the meat was succulent and juicy.   Really went well with the garlic rice, especially when combined with the toyomansi.

Onto dessert, we shared a few orders of the Ube Cassava Cake.  These were topped with ice cream, caramel and cheddar toasted coconut.  Moist and slightly dense, the cake was sweet, but not overly so.  The ice cream and caramel did the heavy lifting for the sweetness.  Overall, we enjoyed the food at Haliná and the people there are super nice.  Would definitely come back!

The Good:

- Solid eats

- Nice people

- Cool space

The Bad:

- Food comes out a bit slow