Minerva's

So my first visit to Minerva's was before Ryan Reynolds proclaimed it as his favourite restaurant in the world.  Fortunately I made a reservation for my next visit also before he shouted that out!  I'm sure the place is going to be pretty busy because of it.  Not that it wasn't popular before...   The place offers up classic Greco-Roman cuisine in large portions and most important of all, it is delicious.  I'm not sure if I had tried the place out in my youth because I don't quite remember, but we did live nearby at one point, so maybe?  Well Ophilia re-introduced me to Minerva's and I am so glad she did.

Now you might laugh at a picture of a House Salad and Caesar Salad.  I mean what is so interesting about salads that are included with an entrée?  Well first of all, the ingredients were fresh and of good quality.  Look at the ripe tomato (it was like this for both visits) and the crisp leafy greens.  Also, the house dressing is just plain delicious.  It is tangy and full-flavoured with plenty of herbs.  The Caesar dressing is on point too with a good balance of impactful hits of cheese, garlic, lemon and anchovy.

For an appie, we had the very generous portion of Calamari to start and it was well-executed.  Each piece was uniformly crispy with properly seasoned batter.  The non-greasy batter was light and stayed adhered to the squid.  About that squid, it was tender with a pleasing chewiness.  On the side, the Greek yogurt tzatziki was garlicky and had the classic thick viscosity.

Now if you know me, then it would be no surprise that I decided to order the Roast Lamb Shoulder with rice pilaf and roast potatoes (pita bread too, served on the side).  I gotta say this has been one of the better versions of this dish I've had in town.  The meat was super tender and fatty which melted-in-my-mouth.  I found the marinade to be impactful with plenty hits of salt, herbs and garlic.  Even though the oven reheating char on the outside was rather aggressive, it still ate well.

Another dish I wanted to try was the Moussaka which can be made with lamb or beef.  In this case it was layers of beef, eggplant, zucchini, potatoes and of course béchamel sauce on top.  I thought it was generally quite good with lots of tender meat and equally tender veggies.  There was the usual hints of cinnamon and nutmeg as well.  One thing that could've been better was the béchamel as it was rather stiff and dry.

Of course, with restaurants of this ilk, there is a section dedicated to pizza on the menu.  For those who are familiar, the type of pizza is closer to Roman-style (but not exactly) than the thin crust neapolitan we find everywhere.  We ended up with the Meat-Tastic sporting pepperoni, ham, salami, Italian sausage and ground beef.  As you can see, the amount of toppings was generous.  This made the pizza hearty and full of flavour.  There was also enough cheese.  As for the crust, it was crispy around the edges and the bottom while soft and chewy in the middle.

Believe it or not, one of their best dishes is the Baked Spaghetti with meat sauce (can be had as vegetarian as well), mushrooms and a bucketload of cheese on top.  Now will this ever be confused with "gourmet pasta"?  No, but that is not the point of this style of pasta anyways.  This version was so comforting, meaty, tomatoey and full of ooey gooey cheese.  We loved this so much, you will see that we substituted the rice and potatoes in the following dishes.

Yep, we got a side of baked spaghetti with the Beef Souvlaki ($5.00 upcharge but totally worth it IMO).  Nothing against the rice and potatoes (they are fine after all), but the side of spaghetti makes the meal so much more hearty and interesting.  As for the beef souvlaki, it was beautifully charred on the outside and the beneficiary of a proper marinade.  The chunks of meat were super tender and for me, I like to put some of that thick garlicky tzatziki it. 

If you were really hungry, I suggest you give the Beef BBQ Ribs a try.  The picture doesn't even do this justice as the ribs were gigantic with plenty of prime rib cap still on the bone.  The meat was fatty and tender with a good amount of char.  Tangy and sweet, the ample amount of BBQ sauce was all the flavour needed.  Oh and yes, the side of spaghetti was yums as usual.  So after reading this blog post, you might be wondering why Ryan Reynolds declared Minerva's as his favourite restaurant in the world right?  Well, I believe there is some childhood nostalgia on his part as well as the comforting nature of the food.  No, it isn't the most gourmet food nor is it the most expensive food either.  It truly is about well-executed eats that won't break your wallet and is presented in generous portions.  I guess it must remind Ryan of home.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Good portions
- People who care about the business and customers

The Bad:
- Can get busy, even with reservations (and this was before Ryan's shout out)

Socrates

A long time ago, in a neighbourhood not far away...  from me..  I had tried Socrates Greek Restaurant on Hastings in Burnaby.  To be frank, I don't really have lasting memories of that meal and I couldn't tell you if it was good or bad.  Then all of a sudden, the place closed up shop and popped up further West on Hastings in an ol' pizza joint.  If you can imagine, the storefront isn't big, so it is purely takeout (save for a few tables out front).  Perfect during Covid and actually still perfect now.  Why pay for all that dining space when you can do many more covers doing take out?  Besides, Greek food travels quite well.  So yes, I ordered it for takeout one night for dinner.

Seeing how I love variety, I had to get the Greek Appy Platter with Keftedes, Kalamari, Tiropita, Spanakopita, Tzatziki, Hummus and Pita (last 3 items are not pictured).  I thought this was a fantastic deal for $35.00.  Crispy and tender, the kalamari was good especially with the fluffy tzatziki.  Both the tiropita and spanakopita featured crispy phyllo with a cheesy filling (spinach in the case of the spanakopita).  The only thing that could've been better was the keftedes as they are a bit dry.  They did taste good though with onion and spices.

Whenever I go for Greek food, there is no question I'm ordering the Roast Lamb.  The large piece of shoulder was extremely tender and well-seasoned (could definitely taste the garlic and rosemary). The meat practically fell apart on contact but still had texture when eaten.  This came with rice, potatoes, pita, taztzki and Greek salad that came in separate containers. 

Originally, we had ordered one each of the chicken and beef souvlaki.  However, something got mixed up and we ended up with 2 Beef Souvlaki dinners.  Wasn't a huge deal though as the beef was pretty darn good.  As you can see, it was nicely charred with a caramelized smokiness.  The meat itself was cooked to medium where it was tender.  It was also seasoned enough to stand on its own.  The rice underneath was a touch greasy, yet chewy and flavourful.  Potatoes were tender yet not mushy with plenty of lemon.

One of my other favourite Greek dishes is Moussaka and the one here was pretty massive, nearly taking up the entire take out container.  It featured tender layers of eggplant, zucchini and potato that tender, not mushy.  The beef was also tender and well-spiced.  We got plenty of nutmeg in every bite.  The béchamel on top was creamy without being too heavy.  This was delicious and a good value.

We know that Lasagna isn't exactly the thing to order at a Greek restaurant, but we don't mind these take out versions as we have reasonable expectations.  Besides, we could get 2 of them for $20.00.  This was a cut above the ones you find at pizza take out joints as it had some more cheese and meat in addition to sauce and noodles.  It was good for what it was with a tangy tomato sauce and plenty of cheese.  In fact, the Greek food was pretty darn solid, in large portions and well-priced.  No wonder they are so busy.  I'd order from here again.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Solid eats
- Large portions

The Bad:
- Only take out, so don't travel too far or it will get cold
- Wish they had an online ordering system (for more accuracy)  

Hydra Estiatorio Mediterranean & Bar

Sometimes, our lives get so busy and complicated, we do not get a chance to hang out with friends.  Okay, let me rephrase that.  We do meet up with friends, but it is usually with family (aka with the kiddies), so it really isn't a night out.  So when Chill and Bubbly wanted to grab some dinner in Downtown on a Friday night, this was something out-of-the-blue.  In fact, we hadn't had dinner without the kids since we last ate at the long gone Cru on Broadway.  That was like 10 years ago!  LOL.  This time around, we decided to try out the new Hydra Estiatorio Mediterranean & Bar out on Pender near Chill's office.

Despite being very tempting, we decided to order a la carte rather than share their family-style meals (maybe next time).  Before, that we got a few appies including 1/2 Dozen of Oysters with the usual accompaniments.  We had 3 each of Royal Miyagi and Kushi oysters which were shucked expertly without any shell fragments.  Both were fresh and I really liked how they included a wide variety of sauces such as mignonette, horseradish, cocktail sauce and aioli.  Looking like they forgot to plate the rest of the dish, the Grilled Octopus made up with quality over quantity.  Retaining an appealing firmness, the octopus was tender to the chew.  It was mildly seasoned with lemon and oregano while served with a fava bean puree.  This was pretty good, but for not a whole lot for $21.00.

Next, decided on one of their many spreads served with pita bread being the Menta.  As expected, there was a natural mint flavour to the spread as well as tangy creaminess.  At first, we thought the bread was oversalted, but on further inspection, it was in fact the dip that was salty.  It wasn't a huge deal in my opinion, but for those who want more balance, they might've disliked this.  We decided to get one side which was the Charred Cauliflower with grated mizithra and green herb oil.  We really loved this as the cauliflower was cooked all-the-way-through while still crunchy and vibrant.  It was charred just like its description where the smokiness came through.  Unlike the spread, this was not overseasoned which allowed the herb oil to come through.

Onto the mains, I ordered the Lamb Chops with aged vinegar drizzle over oven-fried potatoes.  I personally love lamb and since Viv doesn't really eat it, I tend to get it whenever I have the chance.  This was a good decision as the 3 portions of lamb rack were cooked to medium and well-seared on the outside.  Again, the seasoning was mild while the aged vinegar was also not very apparent.  Moving away from the red meats, Viv decided on the pan-roasted Pacific Salmon with lemon dill sauce.  This was a simple creation that was executed quite well.  Featuring well-seasoned crispy skin, the salmon itself was flaky and moist except for the thinner section.  The lemon dill wasn't exactly super impactful, but it was there.  Once again, the protein rested on the same over-fried potatoes.

Chill didn't stray far from the regular and had the Beef Tenderloin.  He asked for it to be prepared medium rare and it was char-grilled perfectly.  The meat was moist, well-rested and tender.  This was finished with a braised garlic sauce which was either subtle tasting or possibly there was just wasn't enough of it.  Hence, the fairly well-seasoned meat stood on its own. The most impressive-looking plate was the Grilled Angus NY Steak Skewer ordered by Bubbly.  This mostly had to do with the side of fire-roasted veggies served on the same plate.  For everyone else, it was served separately.  We really enjoyed the layered dish of potatoes, onion, green pepper, eggplant and tomatoes.  However, it was overly greasy.  As for her skewer, it was prepared medium and sported a delicious char.  Meat was moist and completely tender. The tangy yogurt added a refreshing bite to the dish.

No one was really interested in dessert, but Viv and I decided to get the Cream of the Crop anyways.  It was beautifully plated and didn't eat as sweet as it appeared.  Lots of tanginess provided by the lemon curd hidden within the meringue flower.  It was surrounded by praline sponge, more lemon curd, berries and a side of mandarin & blood orange caramel.  Even after dousing the meringue with the caramel, the dessert was balanced where the various flavours were not dominated by sweetness.  Overall, we felt that the meal was pleasant where it was served in a gorgeous dining space.  Service was top-notch as well.  Price point is a bit high for the type of food though.

The Good:
- Nice dining space
- On point service
- Proteins prepared properly

The Bad:
- Prices are high for the type of food
- Some portion sizes could be slightly bigger

O'Love Greek Kitchen

Easily mistakened for "Olive", O'Love Greek Kitchen opened up recently in the old Subway location on Hastings near Zeta and Sushi Town.  Viv already has had lunch there and thought the food was pretty good.  I took that in and made a note to return for dinner.  Well, that didn't happen as things got busy and I totally forgot about it.  I guess taking actual notes rather than mental notes would be more useful!  Finally, with no predetermined restaurant to visit on a weekend night, we didn't have to go far to try out O'Love.

Since it was only a Subway before, the restaurant itself isn't very big, but they make good use of the space.  As for the food, we began with the Hummus and Taramasalata with grilled pita.  Smooth with some chunky bits, the hummus was aromatic due to the garlic while the amount of tang could've been more pronounced.  Loved the creamy richness of the taramasalata as it was blended well.  There was the unmistakable brininess of the roe combined with a balanced amount of saltiness.  Sure, the dips were the star of the show, but in reality, the seared pita was probably just as important.  They were fluffy and warm where they were cut into strips.  Perfect for dipping!  Next, the order of Calamari was rather generous . Furthermore, it was also well-executed with a light and crunchy batter (that was mildly seasoned).  The squid was tender with a bite and the tzatziki was plenty tangy and garlicky.

Onto the mains, my mom had the Roast Lamb Shoulder garbonzo beans and carrots as well as Greek chips.  Normally, I'm more partial to the plain ol' roast lamb with spices and no sauce.  I find the ones with sauce to be too wet and muddled in flavour.  I wouldn't say this one would fit into that category, but at the same time, my personal preference would be something simpler.   With that being said, the lamb was tender and moist with a mix of flavours that ranged from tangy to sweet to aromatic.  Viv chose the Mousaka as her main and it was a good combination of organic beef, eggplant, zuchinni, potato and graviera-beshemel.  Neatly prepared and presented in its own ramekin, the mousaka was utterly delicious.  Nutmeg, cinnamon and the creaminess of the bechemel were the dominant flavours and textures beyond the soften ground beef.  It ate really rich with quite the oil slick at the bottom, but in reality, it wasn't a huge issue.

My son went for the Chicken Souvlaki with spinach risotto and Greek chips.  In fact, my daughter had the exact same dish but as the appetizer version (she can't possibly eat 2 skewers).  These were beautifully grilled with char marks that not only looked legit, they added the necessary smokiness and caramelization.  Although not aggressively seasoned, the souvlaki was still aromatic from the hot grill.  When my dad ordered the Salmon Souvlaki, I was concerned that it would be overcooked (because many places do that).  However, it was absolutely perfect despite not appearing to be. Beyond the grill marks on the outside, the fish was tender, medium-rare and tender on the inside.  Although it was mildly seasoned like the chicken, it was still delicious with natural sweetness and of course the dunk into the side of tzatziki.

For myself, I had the 1/2 Roast Chicken with Greek Chips (in reality, these were fresh cut fries).  Nicely rendered and golden brown (also charred), the skin was well-seasoned where it added plenty of flavour to the chicken.  I found the breast meat to be a little over the line between moist and dry, but it wasn't bad.  Of course the dark meat fared better.  Overall, it was a decent roast chicken.  As much as I loved the fresh cut fries, I was longing for some lemon roasted potatoes.  On the other hand, I know that these fries are classic additions to Gyros, so it wasn't completely out of left field either.  In general, O'Love is a solid neighbourhood restaurant that offers up good food, fair portions and best of all, great service.  We will return.

The Good:
- Solid food
- Personable service
- Fair portions 

The Bad:
- Not the most spacious place
- Loved the fries, but also would like a lemon potato option

Royal Oak Restaurant

I'm sure you've noticed all the newer restaurants that I have blogged about recently.  Well, let's be honest here - people like reading about the latest spots to open because they want to know if they are worth going to.  But what about the long-standing joints that have been around for decades?  It goes without saying that people have either heard of them or have already eaten there.  So yah, not the sexiest places to blog about.  Yet, they always remain somewhere in the back of my mind and are an option when the situation presents itself.  Yep, that was the case when we needed a family-friendly spot to celebrate Girl Smiley's birthday as it was also close by to her house.

It's not like I haven't wanted to try the place out over the past decade and beyond, but recent reviews have indicated that it has gone downhill and things weren't the same as before.  I try to ignore those to find out myself.   As part of what the dishes ordered, we were served both Greek and Caesar Salads to start.  They featured fresh veggies where the Caesar was dressed just enough.  We found the Greek salad to be under dressed though.  To get a taste of the menu, we got a medium half and half Pizza consisting of the Royal Oak and the Meat Lovers.  Underneath the considerable amount of melted cheese was layers upon layers of meat.  It was more like a pizza sandwich or a quasi-deep dish.

For the kiddies, they wanted pasta so we got the Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs as well as the Baked Penne Carbonara.  These were both the large size, but the portions were rather modest in my opinion, especially for the price.  However, the spaghetti was acceptable though being just a touch soft while bathed in a balanced tomato sauce.  We added meatballs and they were meaty and moist (yet small).  When it came to the carbonara, the penne was pretty much cooked to death.  Think soft and then one more level past that.  Hence, it was our least favourite dish despite the ample bacon and flavourful creaminess (yes, not an authentic carbonara, but that is not what they serve here).  As with both pastas, there was a layer of ooey gooey melted cheese on top.

Okay, onto the main event, the Greek Dinner for 2 consisted of spanakopita, calamari, lamb chops, moussaka, chicken souvlaki, rice, lemon potatoes, tzatziki and pita bread.  Although it was $52.99, this was more than enough food for 4 people, let alone 2.  Beyond the portion size, the food was quite good.  I particularly enjoyed the moussaka as the meat was tender and well-seasoned while the bechamel was creamy and not too firm.  The souvlaki was charred and tender.  One thing that stood out was the thick and garlicky tzatziki - perfect for dunking the crispy and tender calamari into. For good measure, we also had the Roast Lamb which came in a generous portion.  It was fatty and succulent while well-seasoned.  On a side note, the lemon potato was really tangy which didn't bother me one bit.  Ultimately, this dish along with the platter and pizza won me over.  I thought they were all well-executed and a good value.  On the other hand, the pastas lagged behind.  But I would come back for the Greek food.

The Good:
- Greek food was on point and well-portioned
- Service was friendly for us (unlike the online reviews)
- Lots of toppings on the pizza

The Bad:
- Pastas were meh and overpriced

My Greek Taverna (Surrey)

For as long as I can remember, I've had My Greek Taverna on the list of to-eat-at-restaurants.  It really didn't matter which location either as they have one each in Coquitlam and Surrey.  Every time I've had a chance to visit the place, something else came up or the place was closed.  So it got forgotten for like the last 8 years (almost the life of the blog).  Finally, I got chance to check the place out despite some varied reports from others.  I happened to be in Surrey, so we headed towards Scott Road at 64th.  On that note, the place isn't the easiest to get access if one was traveling southbound on 120th.

Things got off on a relatively good start with the Calamari.  It was a generous portion of large rings of squid.  It was fried golden brown being lightly crispy and easy on the grease.  The squid itself was tender while retaining an appealing bite and chewiness.  On the side, the tzatziki was airy and garlicky with dill.  However, they were over-zealous with the seasoning as some pieces were stingingly salty.   The same could be said about the Chicken Souvlaki as each nugget of chicken breast tasted purely of salt.  Such a shame as it was grilled almost to perfection with a beautiful charred exterior and being relatively moist for white meat.

As much as it wasn't as salty, the Roast Lamb was not immune to the same issue.  Although it was pleasantly garlicky, it was still overseasoned in our opinion.  We were pretty excited that the portion size which was generous, but ultimately, it was disappointingly dry and chewy.  The desired gelatinous, moist and tender texture was missing.  On the positive side, the rice was one of the best we've ever had being chewy, well-seasoned and nutty.  The best dish of the bunch had to be the Moussaka where it had a delicious and texturally-appealing layer of bechamel.  The meat was moist and well-seasoned while not being salty emitting the classic nutmeg essence.  Overall, this visit to My Greek Taverna could've been good if not for the overuse of salt and the chewiness of the lamb.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Excellent rice
- Except for the lamb, proteins were on point

The Bad:
- Overuse of salt
- Lamb was dry

Best Neighbours Restaurant & Pizza House

Despite being a rec softball team that has played many seasons and tourneys, I've never witnessed any teammates drinking beer...  Yes, we actually go out to play softball rather than getting smashed.  Go figure...  Well, after a game at nearby Montgomery Park, it was decided that we would not go for Asian food and yes, we were going to drink beer!  So we made the short drive over to Best Neighbours that seemed like the right place to do it (with food of course).  I guess it was since another softball team was already there grabbing a bite and beverage.

Sens Fan and Miss Y both had a few orders of Chicken Wings (flavours included Thai, Hot and Salt & Pepper).  Although the wings were rather small in size, they were not overcooked.  Therefore, the meat was fairly moist.  By the same token, the skin wasn't as rendered as I would've liked.  As for the Thai wings, they were aggressively sauced which meant they were pretty sweet with a touch of spice.  Miss Y also had the Calamari which actually appeared larger than it was.  There was more batter than actual squid.  With that being said, the calamari was decently tender while the batter was lightly crispy.  I found the tzatziki more creamy than rich, but it was definitely garlicky.

Miss Y must've been hungry since she also got the Spanakopita (which R2D2, Bear and I got an order as well).  We liked how this was prepared as a large piece rather than small little triangles.  This way, there was much more filling, making the spanakopita more flavourful and cheesy.  The large amount of spinach and cheese wasn't overly wet though and did not affect the crunchy phyllo pastry.  For that table, we got a large Pizza with half consisting of Italian sausage, hot pepperoni and capicolla and the other half with pepperoni, peppers and mushrooms.  We weren't overly enthused with the crust as it was dry and dense being almost "cardboard-like".  There was plenty of toppings and cheese though as well as a mild-tasting tomato sauce.

R2D2, Bear and I couldn't only share an appie and pizza, so we got an order of the Baked Lasagna as well.  This was loaded with melted cheese on top and just the right amount of meat sauce with the not overdone noodles.  For this type of lasagna, it was pretty good as the sauce had a nice consistency and was well-balanced in flavour as well as sporting tender nuggets of beef.  Seeing this was still not enough, we got the Platter for 2 which included Roast Lamb, Dolamades, Chicken Souvlaki, roast potato, rice, salad and pita bread.  We enjoyed the tender and fatty roast lamb which was well-marinated, yet the chicken souvlaki was a little on the drier side (but not too bad).  It was well-charred and marinated though.  When it was all said and done, we were pretty stuffed from the generous portions of decent eats.  Prices were not exactly cheap though.

The Good:
- Fairly solid eats
- Large portions
- Decent service

The Bad:
- On the pricier side
- Pizza crust could use some work