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

Lucia on Main

Awhile back, I was getting my hair cut at my hairdresser when I looked across the street to see that Smitty's had closed.  A few more visits to my hairdresser and I noticed that it was being replaced by an Italian restaurant called Lucia.  Taking a closer look at what it is all about, the place seeks to be unpretentious and welcoming while Chef Zach Steele combines traditional Italian with Westcoast influences.  This sounded like the place to go when the hockey crew wanted to meet up for a Monday dinner.

For a Monday, the place was hopping and was definitely inviting and we never felt pressured to rush through our dinner.  We decided to do our meal "alla famiglia" with a selection of dishes including the Sourdough Focaccia with a delicious butter.  Honestly, we weren't paying attention to what the creamy butter was, but it was fantastic on the appealingly chewy bread with a beautiful crust.

We really enjoyed the Polenta Fritters as they were a whole lot lighter than most other versions I've had.  Encased in seasoned bread crumbs, the polenta was creamy and well-seasoned without being dense.  They were crunchy on the outside and topped with grana padano.  Underneath, we found a tasty pesto aioli that was creamy and well-blended.  Hence, we got nuttiness as well as herbaceousness.

Probably the most popular appie we had was the Calabrian Cheese Dip served with house-made flat bread.  Honestly, we could've put this dip on shoe leather and it would've tasted good.  It was creamy, appealingly salty and cheesy.  However, it was not merely one note as we could pick out the tangy nuttiness of the manchego.  The fluffy bread was the perfect match for this dip.  But again, we put that on other things at the table too!

We decided to order a couple of pizzas including the Capicola and the Wild Mushrooms.  As you can see, the pizzas weren't exactly traditional Neapolitan, but it worked for us just fine.  It was thin, uniformly crispy and had a shattering crunchiness.  I enjoyed the properly salted dough as well as the chewiness of the crust.  With a combination of spicy capicola, roasted peppers and confit garlic, there was not absence of impact.  As for the mushrooms, it was more subtle but still there was plenty of woodsiness and earthy truffle.  I enjoyed the simplicity of this pizza more.

Moving onto the pastas, we tried all of them starting with the Fregola Sarda.  The sweet pops from the charred corn was a nice counterbalance to the salty pancetta. There was rich cheesiness provided by the ricotta salata as well as from the cheese on top.  The little fregola pasta was delicate but still had texture.  Not to be forgotten, the charred zucchini was tender but not mushy.  It had some natural sweetness with a bit of bitterness from the skin.

The best pasta according to everyone hands down was the Spinach & Mascarpone Tortelli.  These precious little pockets contained a considerable amount of filling which was creamy but not runny.  The pasta itself was thin and still fairly al dente (especially for a fresh pasta).  This was all tossed in brown butter, which was nutty and seasoned just enough.  Adding some cheesy saltiness, we had some grana padano on top.

We had some differing opinions about the Lumache with Italian sausage in a vodka sauce.  Some thought it was salty while others thought it was fine.  For me, there were pockets of saltiness, especially from the sausage, but not enough to be "too salty".  The pasta itself was tender and just a bit past al dente.  I loved the vodka sauce as it was creamy with a mild tanginess.

Other than the tortelli, the Bucatini Bolognese was also really good.  Featuring fresh bucatini, there was a more gentle texture than the dry version.  It was tossed in a hearty bolognese that was rich and meaty with a background creaminess.  It was plenty savoury with a balancing sweetness as well.  The generous amount of grana padano provided plenty of nuttiness.  I would come back for this dish alone.

We only ordered one meat dish in the Squid that was grilled and served with salmoriglio.  The exterior of the squid was quite nice being nicely charred and appealingly chewy.  However, the inside was rather soft and mushy.  It would've been better that they butterflied the squid and grilled it for a more uniformed preparation.  As for the salmoriglio, it was a nice compliment to the squid being tangy and bright.

For good measure, we added some sides including the Broccolini and the Potatoes.  We really enjoyed the perfectly prepared broccolini as it was crunchy but cooked all the way through.  Nice char that offered smokiness and caramelization.  We didn't enjoy the potatoes that much as they were not crispy and quite dry.  As much as there was plenty of cheese and herbs on top, it didn't season the potaotoes effectively.  Overall, our meal at Lucia was good and we thought the pricing was completely reasonable.  Service was great and we never felt rushed.  Would come back.

The Good:

- Generally tasty food

- Reasonable prices

- Nice vibe

The Bad:

- Those potatoes were not very good

- I didn't think so, but many at the table thought some things were salty 

Jz's Pizza

It has been nearly 8 years since we've last been in Toronto.  Finally, we returned but it wasn't our first choice.  Normally, we would head to a warmer destination during Spring Break, but we wanted to stay within Canada for a variety of reasons.  So here we are back in TO!  After arriving at Pearson, we made our way to Downtown on the UP Express to Union Station.  Making our frigid walk (this was March) to our hotel, we noticed JZ's Pizza across the street.  It looked busy and we were not in the mood for travelling far for food.

We started with some appies on the form of the Apple Pecan Salad.  Okay, I'm not usually the type to order a salad, but we need some greens and it did sound tasty.  Consisting of romaine, candied pecans, dried cherries, apple and gorgonzola, this was actually delicious.   Loved the play of different crunchy textures with the sweetness of the cherries and creamy mild sharpness of the cheese.  We dusted this off pretty quickly.

Next, we had the Eggplant Parmigiana which arrived in a large portion.   Topped with a considerable amount of melted and browned mozzarella, the dish was fulfilling and robust.  Underneath, the large slices of eggplant were tender while not being completely mush.  It was bathed in a tangy and lightly sweet tomato sauce.  It was bright and flavourful while giving off some earthy vibes.  Loved the crostinis that came with the dish.  We could've used more of them!

Of course we had to order a pizza, so we got the heartiest of the bunch in the Quattro Carne.  This think crust pizza was not exactly Neopolitan-style.  Rather, it was flatter and less raised on the edges.  However, it was still good with an appealing chew and being well-seasoned.  Nice char on the bottom and it was topped with a tangy sauce.   The amount of meat on this was substantial consisting of pepperoni, sopprasata, salami, hot Italian sausage and smoked apple wood bacon.  Suffice to say, this was not lacking salt nor spice.

We also had the Linguine Jambalaya with tiger prawns, hot Italian sausage and sliced chicken breast in a Cajun-spiced tomato sauce.   This was a pleasing pasta where the linguine was al dente and the flavours were slightly spicy, due to the sausage.  The sundried tomatoes added an extra layer of tanginess.  Amazingly, the chicken breast was moist and tender while the prawns had a meaty and sweet snap.  Overall, the food at Jz's was solid and we came away satisfied.  It won't set the world on fire, but fits the bill for most, especially late-night.

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Friendly people
- Open late

The Bad:
- Don't expect gourmet, but it isn't trying to be either

 

Rise Woodfire San Mateo

After a delicious meal at Elia the night before, I wanted to treat Cable Car Guy and fam to lunch.  You see, trying to fight for the bill with him can be futile since he uses every trick in the book.  I've been desperate enough to give my credit card to the server before we order so I can have the pleasure of paying!!!   Anyways, upon his suggestion, we traveled across the Bay over to Rise Woodfire in San Mateo.  This location is in addition to the Santa Clara store, both are locally owned.  Entering the place, we were greeted to high ceilings and a spacious dining room.  The menu focuses on wood fire pizza and rotisserie.

As such, we started with the Woodfired Chicken Wings in Chipotle BBQ and Buffalo.  Since these were not fried, the skin was not as rendered.  However, that also meant the wings were not dry nor too crunchy.  With that being said, the skin wasn't flabby either.  A bit vinegary with mild heat, the buffalo wings were best dunked into the side of peppercorn ranch.  As for the chipotle BBQ, they were a bit more saucy being sweet and tangy with a decent amount of spice.  The chicken meat itself was tender and almost juicy.

Continuing on with poultry, we tried their whole Pitman Family Farms Local Chicken.  This slow-roasted rotisserie chicken had a beautifully roasted exterior with rendered and flavorful skin.  The meat itself was on the drier side while lacking seasoning.  As you can see, the chicken was large and wasn't lacking in meat.  In addition to the charred half lemon, we had a choice of sauce where we went for the slightly spicy chipotle BBQ.  It had a nice tangy sweetness.

Included with the whole bird, we had a choice of two sides.  It was without a doubt we'd go for the Mac & Cheese with applewood smoked bacon (+$3.00) and the Parmesan Truffle Fries.  Both were good where the mac & cheese was super saucy and cheesy.  It wasn't really all that salty though but the addition of crispy (and not overly fatty) bacon took care of business.  Noodles were not too soft either.  As for the fries, they were crispy with plenty of creamy potatoness left.  I think there needed to be more parm though, but the truffle was evident.

Of course we would have some pizzas too right?  Instead of getting the usual baseline pie in the Margherita, we opted for the Burrata.  This was pretty much like a Margherita with crushed tomato sauce, sea salt, parmesan, torn basil, EVOO and of course di Stefano burrata.  Although the crust didn't look like it had much charring, it still ate very well.  There was some smoky leoparding on the bottom and the dough was properly salted.  There was a nice chew to it while the exterior was crispy.  Although you might think that there was far too much sauce on top, it worked well due to the robust nature of the crust as well as the limited amount of toppings.  It was a nice contrast to the creamy burrata.

As good as the burrata pizza was, the table favorite happened to be The Brunch pizza.  It was liberally topped with mozzarella, applewood smoked bacon, Yukon potato, organic egg, red onion, thyme, sea salt and parmesan on white panna sauce.  This was a hearty concoction where the breakfast nature of the components really came through.  The salty smokiness of the bacon obviously went well with the tender sliced potatoes as well as the egg.  There was a good amount of mozzarella that was stringy where it melded with the creamy sauce underneath.

Personally, the pizza that was the most impactful was the Calabrese + Honey with crushed tomato sauce, mozzarella, spicy salami, fire-roasted jalapeño, parmesan, torn basil and drizzled with Calabrian chili infused honey.  Beyond the crispy chewy crust, the combination of sweet, salty and heat worked our taste buds.  Furthermore, the amount of toppings and sauce made this pizza not-so-dry, which was great in my opinion.  

We also ordered a couple of gluten-free crust pizzas including the Pesto Lemon Shrimp with basil pesto sauce, mozzarella, seasoned shrimp, roasted garlic, housemade dried lemon, red chili flakes, chives and parmesan.  Despite all of the components, the flavors were harmonious and focused.  We had an herbaceous cheesiness going on with some acidity and spice.  The briny sweetness of the juicy prawns still stood out.  As for the gluten-free crust, it was thin and almost cracker-like.  Not bad.

The other gluten-free crust pizza was the Prosciutto di Parma + Arugula with crushed tomato sauce, mozzarella, sea salt, parmesan, torn basil, EVOO, topped with freshly sliced prosciutto + fresh organic baby arugula.  Sitting on the same crunchy and well-charred gluten-free crust, the plethora of tangy tomato sauce helped provide moisture.  The saltiness of the prosciutto was tempered by the peppery and bright arugula.  There was a proper amount of cheese to compliment without making the pizza heavy.

Onto dessert, we had the Basque Cheesecake with cherry sauce as well as the Flourless Chocolate Cake.  On appearance alone, the cheesecake looked dense.  In reality, it was actually decently airy and light (typical of this type of cheesecake).  It had a caramel-taste to it due to the aggressively browned top.  As for the chocolate cake, it was like a rich ganache where the sweetness was muted, giving way to an appealing bitter finish.  Overall, the food at Rise Woodfire is quite good and served in large portions.  Great for a group of friends and family alike.

The Good:

- Solid pizzas

- Rotisserie items are great too

- Large portions

The Bad:

- Chicken could be more moist

Gupshup Social Lounge

For all of the Indian restaurants I've tried recently (and there have been many), they have been pretty good, if not a bit repetitive.  Not that I'm complaining because it is really #firstworldproblems that we get to eat delicious food!  However, there was some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as Jackie and I headed out to Gupshup Social Lounge in Surrey.  Upon entering the place, we knew we weren't in Kansas anymore.  The place was swanky, but not in a high-end way.  Rather, it was modern, hip and definitely appealing for both the younger crowd and families.

Looking over the menu, it was clear that they are trying to be accessible to all with only 2 items over $20.00.  Also, there are plenty of creative dishes that I've never seen anywhere else before.  That was exemplified by the first item we had in the Doritos Bag.  Yes, this was nacho cheese Doritos served in its own bag with melted cheese sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and onions.  Something so simple, yet utterly delicious.  It was like having something like a Frito Pie but more like the a better version of nachos you get at BC Place.  They said this is popular with the kids, but I think it would go well with a beer or cocktail.

To illustrate their attempts at keeping up with the times, the Fiery Cheese Pulls were exactly what Gen Z wants in their IG reel.  Take something as simple as fried cheese, but make it a bigger and coat it with Nashville hot sauce.  Yep, these were IG-worthy with a cheese pull that would make the next table look over.  Coated with a crunchy breading, the mozzarella was ooey gooey delicious.  Add in the spice from the sauce and it was tasty in addition to the obvious viral-nature of the dish.

Something that seemed like an obvious fusion crossover dish was the Butter Chicken Mac & Cheese.  I honestly think you can put butter chicken on anything and it will taste better.  I wonder when they will have butter chicken gelato?  Just a thought...  Anyways, this was as good as expected with a cheesy base mac & cheese.  I thought the noodles were nicely al dente despite all the sauce.  About that sauce, the butter chicken was fantastic.  It had a good balance of tangy and creamy (or should I say buttery) to go with the cheese.  Sure, this was heavy, yet nicely spiced.  Best to share this!

Absolutely huge, the Kurkure Sliders featured 2 mini burgers with a choice of aloo tikki or paneer.  We went for the paneer for this one.  As if sliders aren't already quite filling, they deep fried the buns in a crispy breading first.  Hence, this was one crunchy slider where the bun was still soft inside.  It wasn't as greasy as it appeared, but make no mistake, it ate quite rich and heavy.  I personally would order something else from the large menu that was lighter.

Another heavy dish, we had the Baked Veggie Momos topped with cheese and tandoori sauce.  These fried momos were crispy with a veggie filling that was still vibrant having a crunch.  By themselves, the momos were good and could've been simply served with a tamarind and/or mint chutney.  But at Gupshup, they like to take it further so they baked them with a wealth of cheese.  Again, this became a pretty heavy dish.  I would've like to see just the momos, but I get they are trying to be different and more progressive.

Moving onto somthing that was more typical was Cockney Singh's Fish and Chips.  I absolutely love the play on words here because it is a nod to "Cockney Kings".  Well, I am happy to report that Cockney Singh's version was straight up on point.  The breaded basa was really good.  Normally, I'm not a fan of fish & chips made with basa, but the fish was so moist and flaky without the usual over-soft texture.  Breading was crunchy and stayed as such throughout.  Even the fries were good being crispy with a touch of potatoness left.

From the tandoor, we selected the Lamb Chops.  This was plated a bit haphazardly, but hey, it didn't really matter as Gupshup isn't about being high-end.  It fit completely with their laid-back casual atmosphere.   Besides, these lamb chops were excellent!  Evenly charred, there was smokiness and a certain intensity to the spices.  Lots of earthiness and muted heat to go with the natural lamb flavour.  Texturally, the lamb was tender and meaty.

So we went for something more traditional in the Gupshup Chicken Biryani.  This was fairly typical with big pieces of bone-in tandoori chicken leg hidden within the basmati rice.  I found the rice a little on the dry side, but I much prefer that over something wet or too saucy.  Flavours were a bit muted and could've been more spiced or spicy, but all-in-all, it was a serviceable biryani.  The best part was the chicken though as it was flavourful and tender.

From here, we continued with the usual and the aforementioned delicious Butter Chicken.  I have to say it was pretty darn good with a good amount of tomato tanginess balanced off by enough creamy butteriness.  The spices in the butter chicken did come through after the initial tang with earthiness and spice.  With the chicken itself, the medium-sized cubes were tender and not dry at all despite being breast meat.

To get some veggies (in spirit) into our diet, we also had the Palak Paneer.  This was pretty creamy with the spinach being cooked down well.  Definitely got the earthiness of the spices as well as the ginger.  This was fairly bright and not heavy.  As you can clearly see, there was a plethora of paneer that was squishy (in a good way) and soft.

Of course we had some Garlic Naan too as well as some drinks.  The naan was pretty good with a crispy charred bottom and the rest was fluffy with elasticity.  Would've liked to see more garlic though.  As for the drinks, we had the Mango Lassi, Parrots Paradise and Tiramisu Shake.  As you can see, they really try to be modern and fun with their drinks.  That is really the point of Gupshup as they are truly catering to the young and young-at-heart.  Food may not be as refined, but they aren't trying to be.  Prices are very reasonable and definitely a place where you can hang out with friends and family.  More fun times ahead because they have pizza coming soon too!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Modern and trendy
- Reasonable-pricing
- Fun dishes and drinks

The Bad:
- Maybe lacking in refinement but they aren't trying to be
- Some dishes can be quite heavy