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

La Terraza (Happy Hour)

As mentioned in my previous post, many people are looking for value these days when it comes to dining out.  Hence we see the increasing popularity of all-you-can-eat (AYCE) as well as the veritable Happy Hour.  There are quite a few options in the GVRD with many being at chain restaurants.  However, did you know that a fine dining spot has a rather affordable Happy Hour that features some appealing items?  La Terrazza has been a Yaletown staple since it opened in 1998 and yes, they have a Happy Hour menu from 5:00pm - 7:00pm.  Only 19+ as it is only served in the bar area.

Jackie and I dropped by prior to a concert at Rogers Arena.  We began with the 1/2 Dozen Oysters.  Totally wasn't paying attention to what was the type, but they were definitely Westcoast.  Small like kusshis, these were clean-tasting, a bit briny and pretty sweet.  They were shucked properly with no shell fragments.  Condiments included yuzu pink peppercorn vinaigrette, horseradish, hot sauce and lemon.

Staying with cold, we also had the Chilled Tiger Prawn Cocktail.  These were prepared well being cooked just enough where the bounciness of the prawns were cold-water crunchy.  This was served with a horseradish rose sauce that was tangy and slightly sweet with a bite at the end.  Now if that wasn't your fancy, there was also a seared half-lemon too.

Still with the cold appies, we had the Beef Carpaccio served with a side of freshly-baked fontina flatbread.  This was a competent version where the Angus Reserved beef tenderloin was tender and moist.  Possibly, there could've been a bit more condiments to this, but the black truffle vinaigrette did have impact with its tangy woodsiness.  Loved the flatbread as it was warm and slightly crispy.  Plenty of nuttiness as well.

We moved onto some pastas including the Gnocchi al Forno.  Baked with plenty of mozzarella on top, this was plenty cheesy and robust.  We found the gnocchi to be good where they were soft, but not too much so that there wasn't any texture.  As for the San Marzano tomato sauce, it was nicely balanced where it was naturally sweet with only a bit of tanginess.  Lots of depth and it was bright.

Our favourite dish of this Happy Hour menu was the Strozzapretti Bolognese.  Starting with the pasta, the shaped held onto the sauce effectively.  On top of that, the texture was spot on where it was tender, but had a firm bite as well.  Oh and the bolognese, it was so delicious.  Just slightly creamy, but plenty tomatoey, the cooked down meat was tender and full of umami.  I could eat a few of these myself!

Just to round out our meal, I just had to get the Truffle Parmesan Fries.  Yah, probably other things to order off the menu, but I just love fries!  These were serviceable being crispy and well-salted.  The star of the dish was indeed the truffle aioli.  super creamy and nutty.  Overall, the Happy Hour menu at La Terrazza is a steal in my opinion.  In this economy, it is nice to see we can still have a meal with quality ingredients for an affordable price.  Located in Yaletown too!

The Good:

- Affordable, especially for Downtown

- Lovely setting and service

- High-quality food

The Bad:

- Only in the bar area, so pretty dark and limited in space

Alchemy (Happy Hour)

Considering the state of the economy, dining out is now considered a real luxury (if it wasn't before).  Hence, that is one of the first things that is cut out of people's budgets.  Yet, there are ways to save some money and still dine out - taking advantage of Happy Hour menus.  We've seen many of them including those at chain restaurants such as Cactus Club, Earls and Tap & Barrel.  We also find them at many independent restaurants too and that brought us to Alchemy in Yaletown.  Located at the end of Mainland, it is a bit hidden as compared to the rest of the businesses.

What drew me to their happy hour menu was the fair pricing especially for Yaletown.  We started off with the Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip served in a beautiful tree trunk platter.  Surrounded by multi-coloured tortilla chips, we found a ramekin filled with dip.  They delivered on the promise of cheesy where it was stringy and fairly thick.  Really solid cheese dip and we actually needed more chips to dust it off.

For $15.95, we felt the Beef Carpaccio was a good value.  It came with a large piece of pizza bread that was soft with an appealing chew.  The thinly-sliced beef tenderloin was tender and dressed with arugula, shaved Grana Padano, capers, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.  Nice balance of acidity, tang, saltiness and nuttiness.  Solid dish.

One dish that was just okay was the Smoked Salmon Bruschetta.  I'm not even sure if this is on the menu anymore either.  In actuality, there was nothing wrong with the individual components as the crostinis were crunchy, yet not too hard while the tomato and basil mix was tangy, sweet and bright.  I just didn't think it went particularly well with the salmon.

The best deal and also the best thing on the Happy Hour menu in my opinion is the Classic Cheeseburger for $15.95.  Even though it was on special, the burger was still a good size and it included crispy fries.  We found the beef patty to be juicy and tender with a nice sear on the surface.  The tomato and lettuce was fresh and the brioche bun was soft.  Solid burger.

We had one of their pizzas in the form of the Capricciosa with Tomato sauce, mushroom, mozzarella, smoked ham, artichoke, sliced black olives, bocconcini, oregano and grana padano.  This was fully loaded with not only all of the above ingredients, but the amount of cheese was generous.  That meant each slice was meaty, saucy, cheesy and flavourful.  The pizza crust was fairly crispy with a chewy interior.

Another item off the regular menu, we had the Spaghetti Carbonara.  This was also quite good with lots of rendered bacon and nutty parm.  Hence, this was bordering on salty, but didn't go over that line.  Pasta was al dente and was fully coated.  Overall, the food at Alchemy was pretty solid, especially for the price.  Given its Downtown location, the Happy Hour menu is a good value and features some appealing items such as the burger and artichoke dip.  Would come here again.

The Good:

- Well-priced

- Solid eats

- Decent portion sizes

The Bad:

- Location is at the far West end of Yaletown, so far from the action (could be good for some people though)

Happy Hour @ Trattoria (Burnaby)

After a delicious and well-priced Happy Hour at Italian Kitchen in Downtown, I planned to visit Trattoria in Burnaby for a similar experience.  For those who do not know, Trattoria belongs to the Glowbal Group, much like its older sibling, Italian Kitchen.  It is a bit more casual and relaxed compared to the higher-end Italian Kitchen.  Originally, I tried to make a reservation for Happy Hour (from 3:00pm to 5:00pm everyday), but apparently, they only take walk-ins during that time.  No worries though as we didn't have any difficultly finding a table.  Also, for those worried about parking, especially since Happy Hour happens during rush hour, they have underground parking (albeit not validated) available.

Seeing how we had 5 people, I really dove into the menu and ordered a bunch of dishes, but they started us off with an Amuse Bouche (Arancini).  These were crispy with medium-soft risotto in the middle with melted cheese.  Our first actual dish was the Baked Meatballs.  These large meatballs were soft and tender with natural meat texture still hanging around.  They were well-seasoned with the herbs coming through.  It was topped with a tangy tomato sauce as well as melted cheese.

Next up was the Shrimp & Calamari Fritto Misto.  This was a generous portion of tender, yet with a bite, squid.  It was buttery and not dry despite the batter being crispy and staying adhered to each piece.  It was also properly seasoned too.  As for the shrimp, it had a buttery snap.  Some shishitos were added to the mix and they were good too being tender but still intact.  Some calabrian chili aioli was served on the side.

Unlike the Bruschetta found at Italian Kitchen, the ones here were constructed using pizza bread.  Hence, they were a whole lot larger and ate differently.  We had the Tomato & Basil as well as the Zucchini & Stracciatella.  With classic tomato sweetness and tang to go with the fresh basil and EVOO, the original was the best in our opinion.  Pizza bread was chewy with some crispy parts and soft insides.  I thought the hummus on the latter made things a bit heavy and when combined with the zucchini, asparagus and stracciatella, the whole thing was wet.

One of the best deals on the Happy Hour menu has to be the Beef Carpaccio.  Sure, it consists of extremely thin slices of beef, but the plate was pretty huge.  The beef had a nice colour to it and was buttery and tender.  The mustard dressing was creamy with a bite while the amount of shaved pecorino added the right amount of salt.  Crunch and more salt came in the form of fried capers and some peppery brightness was provided by the baby arugula.  Brushed with EVOO, the pizza bread triangles were nutty, crispy and a good compliment to the beef.

Accompanied by the same delicious pizza bread triangles, the Sicilian Mussels was another solid dish.  Loved the large and plump mussels in this dish as opposed to the often scrawny PEI mussels (although they do taste great!).  I found these ones to be more briny than sweet.  They were just barely cooked through and bathed in broth consisting of olives, capers, nduja sausage, white wine and lemon.  Due to the sausage, it was plenty spicy and salty.  Nice acidity to balance though.

We ended up with two of their pizzas.  For only $15.00, they were a good deal, especially the fully loaded Funghi.   As you can see, there was a good amount of smoked pancetta, mushrooms, 

creamed leeks, sprouts and provolone.  Hence, we had salty smokiness to go with the woodsiness of the mushrooms.  Nice charring on the crust too.  We also went for the basic Margherita and due to less components on top, the crust was crispier.  Tomato sauce was tangy while the fresh basil (placed on top after the pizza was done) was impactful.

There are two pastas on the Happy Hour menu and we got both of them.  The first was the Bolognese with house-made penne.  I thought this was a competent pasta where the penne was al dente with a nice chew.  As for the sauce, it was definitely meaty with a proper viscosity.  It was thick with a mild tomato flavour while somewhat creamy due to the proper amount of milk/cream.  There was balancing amount of sweetness.

So the bolognese was good, but the Tagliatelle Ghiottone was even better in our opinion.  It featured firm pasta that was bathed in a delicious cream sauce.  I thought it was just rich enough that each strand of pasta was coated without it being heavy.  Little nuggets of tender chicken were plentiful while the slight hint of brandy was in the background.  Some parm added the necessary saltiness.

Although desserts are not part of the Happy Hour menu, we decided to get two of them anyways.  The first was the Torta di Cioccolato (or flourless chocolate torte).  This was rich and chocolatey while not dry (even though it looks it in the picture).  Really enjoyed the nutty hazelnut cream and the particularly the crunchy and sweet candied hazelnuts.  Even though some might view it as gimmick, the Signature Tableside Tiramisu is worth ordering.  I've had it before and it was quite good.  This was prepared tableside and in reality, there wasn't that much of a show.  Yet, since was made-to-order, it had not been sitting around in a fridge all day.  Hence, the espresso-soaked lady fingers were fluffy and not overly wet.  The mascarpone was creamy and stable (not separating) with just enough sweetness.  A good helping of freshly shaved chocolate completed the dessert.  Overall, the Happy Hour at Trattoria was good and featured a good amount of dishes.  We felt it was good value and worth a return visit.

The Good:

- Generally tasty food

- Excellent service

- Well-priced

The Bad:

- Would've preferred the bruschetta on crostinis rather than pizza bread

- Wished parking was validated

Skye Avenue - Kitchen & Lounge

For awhile, I knew that Skye Avenue had replaced the long-standing Central City Brewing at Surrey Central.  However, I just never made it out there to see what it was all about.  It wasn't until Executive Chef Bal (of Desi Lounge in Downtown Vancouver) raved about the burger at Skye Avenue, that piqued my interest.  So when Nikita and Bluebeard wanted to meet up for some eats and they suggested that Skye Avenue be one of the options, I totally agreed to meet them there. 

We arrived in time for their Happy Hour and in addition to getting some drink specials, we also started with a few food specials as well.  Instead of the usual ball shape, the Mushroom Arancini arrived as a rectangle slab.  I thought it was nicely crispy, but the inside was rather mushy.  It did have good flavour in the earthiness of mushroom and smokiness of eggplant puree.  In actual balls, the Smoked Salmon Croquettes were also a bit mushy inside too.  Yet, most croquettes are made with potato, so that was to be expected.  There was a smoky saltines to them and there was a bit of tartar sauce in the middle.

We got 2 more specials in the Wagyu Carpaccio and Prime Rib Slider.  We found the carpaccio to be a competent plate with thinly sliced and tender beef.  It was topped with flaked salt, aged pecorino, truffle aioli, arugula and some aged balsamic.  Again, it as pleasant enough but the focaccia that came with it was horrible.  It was hard and very dense.  As for the slider, it was excellent with a soft toasted bun, horseradish aioli, fontina cheese, crispy onions and au jus.  The beef itself was super tender and there was no absence of flavour and texture.  Should've gotten a few of these!

Onto the mains, Bluebeard and I shared the Lobster Cobb Salad as well as the burger.  As you can see with the salad, there was no absence of lobster meat.  It was at its bouncy and springy best with natural sweetness and brininess.  It featured tender butter lettuce, ripe avocado, cherry tomatoes, custardy soft-boiled egg and gorgonzola cheese.  I thought this was a very good salad with excellent components.

Now for the Chef's Burger, it was comprised of an 8oz organic grass fed house-ground patty.  That way, it could be prepared so it wasn't cooked to a crisp.  It was super juicy, meaty in flavour and of course tender.  It was topped with fontina, truffle aioli and crunchy onions all on a brioche bun.  Chef Bal was right, this burger had it all, a juicy patty, texture from the onions and a soft brioche bun.  Even the side of fries were really good being crispy with lots of creamy potatoness inside.

Viv wasn't very creative and also ordered a burger in the Fresh Sockeye Burger.  This featured a 5oz chermoula-marinated salmon patty with mango salsa, pickled coleslaw and tartare sauce on a charred leek bun.  So with all those tasty ingredients, the flavours were impactful.  We had sweetness, tanginess and brightness on the crispy and smoky bun.  However, the main ingredient, which was the salmon, was rather dry.  Being sockeye, I wasn't surprised as the meat is leaner and would dry out easier.  It did taste good though.

Lastly, Nikita had the Gluten-Free Margherita Flat Bread.  For a gluten-free crust, it was pretty good being crispy and not too dense.  The tomato sauce was bright and tangy while there was more than enough fior di latte on top for impact.  We also found some fresh basil, but would've preferred it added after the fact.  Overall, Skye Avenue is a competent restaurant with some real highlights.  The decor is quite nice and the service is top-notch.  I do believe a few refinements are here and there.

The Good:

- That burger!

- Nice decor

- Great service

The Bad:

- A few refinements needed