Chez Max

Sometimes, we just want to keep things simple and really, when on vacation in a foreign  place, it takes some of the stress away.  This is especially true after driving around and touristing all day.  I did have some ideas for dinner but they were either too far away or was much too formal of a place.  Hence, we did a quick google of what was casual and ultimately decent to eat nearby.  It lead us to Chez Max where the menu items were very familiar: burgers!

We ended up sitting outside across the street (yes, the server had to cross the road!), because it was far too hot inside.  For myself I was all over their All-You-Can-Eat Moules et Frites!  I could pick one of 3 flavours and decided on the basic mussels mariniere with white wine, butter, garlic, parsley and onions.  I would say this was acceptable.  Nothing amazing, but definitely serviceable.  The mussels were a tad overdone, but the broth was tasty and well-seasoned.  The side of frites were crispy and I enjoyed them.

Everyone else went for burgers and Viv ended up with the Jack Daniels with of a shot of JD.  This was served on a freshly toasted bun but the way they cut it was rather strange with so much more bun on the bottom than the top.  The meat patty was thick and rather juicy.  There was a good amount of BBQ sauce that would naturally go well with the JD.  You know what, this was a satisfying American-style burger North of Nice!  Who'd knew?  

My son went for the Royal with greens, tomato, cheddar, onions and burger sauce.  Hey, isn't this a Royale with cheese (see Pulp Fiction)???  Well, this also featured an aggressively toasted bun that was cut like the last one.  The fresh ground beef was moist and nicely seared.  Having burger sauce rather than BBQ sauce, this tasted more along the lines of a Big Mac, but with better meat.  Very strange that the burger ate well despite having more bun on the bottom.

My daughter went for the Madame with greens, tomato, cheese, pickles, sunny side egg and burger sauce.  The bun on this one was cut a bit more evenly.  It featured all of the same ingredients as the royal except with the addition of the egg.  This made things messier and also more wet, but in a good way!  In actuality, this meal was rather good and prepared properly.  A taste of North America in between all the other food we were having.  

The Good:
- Burgers are good
- Made with fresh beef
- AYCE Moules & Frites available

The Bad:
- Maybe a little pricey, but there isn't anything cheap around

Swiss Chalet (Burnaby)

Oh wow, have we reached the very end or are we scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel?  Can you believe this, I've never eaten at Swiss Chalet.  No joke!  Now that isn't that much of a oddity as I've never seen the need to dine at this blast from the past.  In fact, I think the bulk of the clientele are from a certain vintage.  Viv has been there a few times and has actively urged me not to visit the place.  Hence, this is probably the main reason it has taken that long to blog about it.  I literally had to drag her and the kids out there for dinner!

So to start things off, we ordered the 4-Cheese Spinach Dip with tortilla chips.  I've often wondered why restaurants never give enough chips for the amount of dips (maybe they fear wastage?).  Well, this was the case here too.  Positive note, there was plenty of dip...  It was pretty standard being creamy and cheese with soft bits of spinach strewn throughout.  Nothing special, but at the same time, totally fine as well.  For Viv, she didn't go for the chicken nor ribs, rather, she had the Chicken Pot Pie with a side of green salad.  Not trying to sound completely indifferent, this was a standard chicken pot pie.  There were chunks of tender chicken in a thick chicken gravy with the usual veggies.  This was topped off with a piece of puffed pastry.  Once again, it did the job with very little fanfare.

For myself, I decided to go for the classic Half-Chicken Dinner with fries, roll and Chalet sauce.  In terms of roast chicken go, this was decent.  The skin was attractively hued and well-rendered.  I thought the meat was past the point of being juicy though.  Costco chicken has a better texture in my opinion.  With that being said the Chalet chicken was far from being dry.  As much as Viv doesn't like the Chalet sauce, I thought it was fine and helped provide moisture and flavour.  The best part of the dish was actually the fries, nicely crispy and potatoey.  My son went big and had the 1/3 Ribs and 1/4 Chicken with fries.  Once again, the ribs weren't necessary something super memorable, but for a standard chain restaurant par-boiled then flame-grilled version, this was fine.  The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and well-sauced.

For dessert, we got the Mini Cinnamon Sugar Donuts to share.  I wasn't a huge fan of these as they were completely oil-soaked.  It was like eating an oily sponge that tasted of old oil.  Not even the sugar or chocolate sauce could do anything to mask it.  Donuts withstanding, the rest of the food was fine, but nothing particularly special.  I must admit it was better than I expected and the fries were on point.  Yet, as I soaked in the 90's decor and atmosphere, I couldn't help but think that Swiss Chalet needs a complete overhaul in order to attract a younger demographic.

The Good:
- Fries are on point
- Kid-friendly
- Predictable

The Bad:
- Nothing special to set it apart
- Decor is woefully in need of a refresh
- Not as inexpensive as they advertise to be

Smoke and Bones BBQ

Ever since Smoke and Bones BBQ was only a food cart and catering company, I've always wanted to try it.  However, it just became another place on my list that I just never got to.  Could it be that my trip to Texas that has spoiled me for BBQ?  Not sure, but even with the opening of their actual B&M restaurant on Marine Drive (in the old Hurricane Grill location) didn't elicit a visit.  Finally, we made plans to visit the place after late-night hockey on Friday at North Shore Ice Sports.  Unfortunately, they ran out of ribs the first time and that just meant we had to make 2 consecutive visits!

On our first go around, we decided to try their BBQ Brisket Chili with a blend of smoked brisket and sausage, beans and spices.  This was super hearty and thick where the smokiness of the brisket really coming through.  We didn't think the chili was particularly spicy, but it did have layers of flavour which were balanced.  Not that it wasn't heavy enough already, but they dumped a considerable amount of melted cheese on top as well.  The most surprising item we had was the Smokehouse Pulled Pork Nachos layered with melted cheese, roasted corn, black beans, jalapenos and green onion.  The ample amount of tender pulled pork made this hearty and noticeably smoky.  They weren't kidding about the layering as each tortilla chip yielded a bite of something.  One of the best nachos I've had in town recently.

Onto the main event, we got the BBQ Platter featuring pulled pork, chicken, sausage, double order of beef brisket (ran out of ribs), coleslaw, fries, corn bread, pit beans, hot potato salad, pickles and white bread.  Being that we were practically there at last call, some of the brisket was on the drier side.  However, it was still good with a smoky bark that gave way to fatty meat.  The pulled pork was just as good as in the nachos while the sausage was tender and smoky with a beautiful snap casing.  Chicken wasn't as dry as it appeared and had well-rendered skin.  I thought the sides were excellent where the fries were crispy with a fluffy centre.  The hot potato salad was killer featuring fried potatoes tossed in sour cream, bacon, corn and green onion.

On our return visit, we had the nachos again (so good!) and also tried their BBQ Pit Wings with sauce on the side including buffalo hot sauce, sweet and spicy glaze and ranch dressing.  These were really large and executed flawlessly.  The skin was well-rendered while the meat was juicy and moist.  They ate well all by themselves, but the dips further enhanced them.  Loved the hot sauce mixed with the dressing.  Since we didn't get ribs the first time, we got a full rack of Pork Back Ribs with fries, cornbread, beans and colesalw.  Charred and smoky, the ribs also featured a beautiful bark.  The ribs themselves were fall-off-the-bone tender, but at the same time retaining enough meatiness.   There was a significant char on the outside creating an even smokier caramelization.  With a heavy BBQ sauce glaze, there was plenty of moisture and tangy sweetness.  From these 2 visits, we convinced that Smoke and Bones is one of the better BBQs in town.  We will be back from some nachos real soon!

The Good:
- Legit BBQ
- Sides are also quite good
- Other items on the menu like the nachos and wings are well-executed

The Bad:
- Like any BBQ, better get the meats at the optimum time (not late like we did)

Big Daddy's Pizza

It's pretty obvious I try to make it Downtown as often as I can for eats.  As much as there are good things to munch on in the burbs, there is no denying there are some things that are worth traveling into town for.  Hence, I have my usual routes in and out of the land of traffic and expensive parking.  One of which is down Dundas which eventually becomes Powell.  Now, driving down that street time after time has allowed me to keep an eye on restaurants opening up.  Yes, I know it ain't the sexiest place for a place of culinary treats, but that doesn't bother me.  More often than not, I'd rather try to find a diamond in the rough rather than fight for parking.

One place that I have spied with my little eye is Big Daddy's Pizza.  Upon further inspection, they serve much more than that, and made in-house to boot. I decided to hit the place up for some eats that didn't include pizza.  No I wasn't doing my best impression of Miss Y, there were just more interesting things to try. So, when they boast things are made from scratch, they weren't kidding.  The Fried Chicken Tenders were indeed home-made, not exhibiting that classic uniform size and shape that characterizes Sysco/GFS stuff.  They were crispy and not dry in the middle.  I liked the chipotle dipping sauce as it was well-balanced with a touch of spice.  I also got a 1/2 pound of BBQ Ribs and they were "alright".  I found them to be meaty and somewhat moist.  They weren't chewy by any stretch of the imagination, but were slightly dry.  The drizzle of BBQ sauce was just enough, but I found it to be lacking in pop.  It was sweet with only the slightest of zip.  I think a bit more spice and smokiness would've been nice.  

The star of the show had to be the Pulled Pork Sandwich.  At a miniscule cost of $3.95, the darn thing was massive with lots of moist pulled pork.  There was just enough sauce to keep from being dry, yet not creating a bloody messy either.  I liked how the coleslaw had enough acidity for some zing as well as not being the mayonnaisey type.  This ensured the sammie would not be soggy.  The whole thing was encased in a wonderful soft bun that held up until the last bite.  This has to be one of the best deals in town hands down.  Interestingly, I regretted not at least getting a slice of pizza to try, but whatever, I'll go back - to get the pulled pork sandwich that is...

The Good:
- Pretty cheap eats
- Friendly folks
- Decent pulled pork sandwich

The Bad:
- Area looks a bit sketch, but it's really not that bad
- It's strictly takeout

The Ranch BBQ

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, it will come as no surprise to you when I say I hate eating alone. Call it some form of insecurity and/or the fact that a grown man sitting in a corner gleefully taking pictures of brussel sprouts may elicit stares as the reason for this. So when my lunch plans fell through with Whipping Girl, I went into panic mode. What should I do? Even a quick text to the ever-reliable Karl didn't result in a dining companion. Frack! Fine, I just needed to suck it up and eat alone again. So off I went to a spot where I could look more manly whilst snapping photos of my food - a BBQ (The Ranch BBQ in this case)! Yah, snapping pics of meat will solve the problem... NOT!

Anyways, I was hungry and since there were no other diners around, it was a "snap" (sorry for the pun). Not sure what the problem was, but the darn place was colder than a walk-in freezer. I think I was shaking throughout the meal. Didn't matter though, I was famished and decided to have 2 items for lunch (as if I haven't done that before). I started with a side of Chili first as it was included with my main. I found it to be very balanced in terms of ingredients. There was a good meat-to-bean-to-veggie ratio. All the textures were right while the consistency was a tad watery. One thing I would've liked to see was more spice, but that is my personal taste talking. For my first main, I had the BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich. The darn thing was pretty substantial and it looked good. One bite and it was quite obvious the meat required very little chewing, if at all. This could be partially attributed to the fattiness of the meat. I found the BBQ sauce to be on the vinegary side while the coleslaw added another layer of acidity and crunch. I loved the Portuguese bun, it was soft and stood up to the wet ingredients.

I also had the St. Louis-Style Ribs as my second main. They were smothered in the same vinegary BBQ sauce and for me, it could've been less so. I didn't get much in the way of smokiness or depth. The side ribs themselves were on the chewy side, but not terribly so. By the end, I was still quite cold. Not sure if the heat was not working or not. In terms of the food, it was not bad. There is better BBQ in Vancouver, yet not around where the Ranch BBQ is located.

The Good:
- Service was courteous albeit sparse
- Brisket was super tender
- Prices are okay

The Bad:
- Place was freezing cold
- Again, service was friendly, but I only got one napkin... for eating ribs?

Embers BBQ House

For awhile now, I've had my eye on a little place in Mission that appeared to be a local favourite. One problem. I don't live in Mission, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford nor Langley. Being out in Burnaby does not make it easy to get out there. However, an email by a reader urging me to visit the place and the fact I'd be out in Abbotsford made it doable. So after another visit to Castle Fun Park (my son apparently loves mini-golf and wasting money on games which only yield an eraser as a prize), we took the leisurely drive on Hwy 11 over to Mission. At first, I was wondering where my GPS was leading me. There surely wasn't a restaurant down this street right??? Well yes it was tucked away in a corner behind a motel. Despite the location, the inside is inviting and so are the friendly staff.

Unfortunately, their lunch menu does not offer their rib dinners; but we weren't that hungry anyways. We ended up going for the Heidi Baked which is not, I repeat not the waitress smoking a fatty out back... Rather it was a fire-grilled chicken breast with mayo, tarragon sauce, pickled asparagus and melted Swiss cheese on house-baked bread. Viv and I thought this sandwich was a winner. The chicken was perfectly tender with tasty grill marks. The tarragon sauce added both a richness and je ne sais quoi flavour quotient. Loved the asparagus texturally and the slight tartness. The bread did taste fresh and was crusty. The side of Potato Salad has to be one of the better ones I've had of late. With each cube of perfectly cooked red potatoes, just the right amount of dill creaminess married to the crunch of pickles, this was a tasty salad. The addition of the pickling juices afforded a nice balance to the mayo. We also shared the Pulled Pork Sandwich which was also served on same awesome stone-baked bread. Unfortunately, this was not what we had envisioned. We found the pulled pork to be chewy and stringy. The BBQ sauce was definitely leaning towards the sweeter side with a touch of smoke. The coleslaw had a nice crunch and tang; but it was too wet and made the bottom part of the bread soggy. Not a great pulled pork sandwich, we liked the Heidi much more. Strangely, the side of Coleslaw was not as wet and was very good. Nice crunch, tang and just enough mayo.

For the kiddies, we got the BBQ Chicken meal which included a choice of one side and drink (a steal at $4.49!). I sampled it and it was very flavourful throughout. It was sufficiently tender with a nice BBQ taste to it. The Fries were fresh cut and quite crispy. Loved the pepper on them. Despite the disappointing pulled pork sandwich, Embers was inexpensive enough for us to leave satisfied. Sure, the food won't blow anyone away and probably would be hard-pressed to compete with the big boys in Vancouver, but it offers up something that is not readily available out in this neck of the woods.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Service we got was friendly

The Bad:
- There is better BBQ, but not nearby
- Portions are modest

Montana's (Langley Bypass)

It was roughly a year ago that I last visited Montana's out at Coquitlam Centre. I find that with most people, it is a love or hate relationship in regards to the food. Why such a polarizing sentiment? I guess it is partially due to the menu itself. After all, it is not a vegetarian-friendly place. With a giant moose head hanging from the wall, this is probably a vegetarian's worst nightmare (other than Samba). In fact, if it's your birthday, you'll be presented with a moose antler helmet while they sing "Happy Birthday" to you. So for those who are not meat lovers, it is quite obvious that the food needs to be outstanding for them to even tolerate it. Much like how a vegetarian meal must absolutely blow me away in order to not elicit gag-like reflexes. So I totally get where people are coming from. To further complicate matters, being a chain restaurant, Montana's doesn't have that "originality" factor. To many, it's a ho-hum place that serves up generic food. Now by virtue of being a chain restaurant, you'd assume there would be consistency. Yes and no. Definitely the decor is consistent, as well as the service and attire. However, from my personal experience (having eaten at Montana's a good dozen times), the star of the show - the ribs - can be hit and miss. Sometimes, they can be super tender and very meaty. And at other times, they can be charred beyond recognition and stringy. For their sake, I really hope they can fix that because it annoys me. Furthermore, for those who don't admire meat on bones, it could be the last time they visit Montana's if that was the case.

Today, we had a fairly large group visiting the Langley Bypass location. We weren't really planning on such a carnivore adventure for lunch; but Olive Garden was packed. I still really can't figure out why that is either... Maybe it has something to do with it being the only location of Olive Garden in BC? Anyways, Montana's was empty and that suited us fine. I guess a full rack of ribs for lunch may or may not be that attractive compared to a plate of pasta with AYCE salad and breadsticks. Honestly, I'd rather go to East Side Mario's instead. They have soup and choice of salad. I digress.

We started with the Beef Nachos to share. Not a really exciting dish to talk about; but they were good. The chips were thin and crispy, lots of beef and fresh toppings. However, they were a bit stingy with the cheese. So for this visit, I decided to do something different as in the Beef Short Ribs. Now, unlike the short ribs you'd normally see at a Korean restaurant, these big bones are not cut across the bone into thin slices. Rather, they are cut lengthwise with all the meat intact along the long rib bone. Thus, the meat is able to retain quite a bit of moisture and flavour. These bones were massive. Think the Flintstones. I felt like a barbarian eating those ribs. I got 2 and I swear each of them had at least 12 ounces of meat on them. As mentioned, the meat was extremely tender and moist. There was a good smoky char on the outside and just enough BBQ sauce to provide the necessary flavour (in this case, I go the Apple Butter). Either I'm completely losing it or I'm a wimp. I could only finished one of them.

Juan Valdez went for the 12oz Sirloin Steak prepared medium-rare (more to the rare). As you can see, there are perfect grill marks on the outside and absolutely flawless execution on the inside. It was tender, juicy and full of flavour. He devoured it so quickly, I'm amazed I even got a chance to take a picture of the cross-section. On a side note, the veggies on both my order and his were still crunchy while cooked completely through. Pomegranate went for the classic - Pork Baby Back Ribs. This time around, the ribs were tender, not overly fatty and nicely charred on the outside. I wish the ribs would turn out like this every time. Unlike the ribs at places such as Memphis Blues and Ozark's, the ribs here are precooked prior to BBQing. Thus, they are usually quite moist. Sacrilegious if you were to serve this to true Southern folk, it works for me at least since I don't prefer dry ribs.

On the topic of sacrilegious, Hot Mama opted for the Apple Pecan Harvest Salad. I am beginning to think that she can give Miss Y a run for her money in terms of ordering the wrong items at restaurants that specialize in a particular type of food. With that being said, everything was fresh and there was no absence of flavour and texture. She enjoyed it and didn't even want to eat meat! Fortunately, to exorcise the demons that possessed her to order a salad, Double H went for the Great Canadian Burger. With bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce, it was a pretty decent burger. Nothing ground-breaking; but it does the job if someone wanted a burger here. The fries were forgettable though. It was your standard frozen fries. Something that I've never had here are the Sizzling Chicken Fajitas. Probably since I come here for the ribs, I don't pay attention to anything else... I didn't get a chance to sample it, but it looked alright. No better or worse than any other chain restaurant fajita I've seen in the past. And of course that sums up Montana's quite nicely. Nothing ground-breaking; but it does satisfy the meat-cravings. I personally like the place; yet there have been times the food has not come out the way I would've liked.

The Good:
- If you like meat...
- Good family-friendly place
- If you want precooked meats prior to BBQing, this is it

The Bad:
- Can get expensive (due to the high cost of the ingredients)
- Sometimes inconsistent with food execution
- If you want true Southern BBQ, this isn't it

Boonies

*This location is now closed*

"Boonies? What? Are you saying we are going out to the boonies?" Yah, that's the response I got when I suggested we head out to Langley for some Southern eats. No one seemed to know what I was talking about. Even Hot Mama, who lives only minutes away wasn't aware of it. Mind you, she can get lost going from her car to the front door... I explained that Boonies used to be located in the Cloverdale curling rink. Predictably, it drew some more looks of confusion. At this point, I'm sure they thought I was committed or should be committed. Alright, it isn't the most logical location for a place that specializes in ribs, collard greens and black-eyed peas. When the lease ran out, Boonies was a restaurant without a home. Finally, we see the return of Bonnies in the Quality Inn Hotel right next to the Home Depot near 200th. No, that is not a misprint. It's inside the Quality Inn. Of course the response was: "So let's get this straight. You want us to head out to Langely, to the Quality Inn for some down home Southern cuisine?" I gotta hand it to them, everyone was game.

Now if you have a GPS, it is unlikely that you will get an exact location on the place (at least it didn't show up on mine). The Quality Inn is located within the same complex as the Home Depot. So if you can find your way to the Home Depot parking lot, you'll find Boonies. They're still working on the actual signage. For now, a simple sandwich board will point you in the right direction. Being that the place is quite new, everything is spic and span. I guess this is quite the upgrade from the curling rink! I "encouraged" everyone to get something different and I was quite pleased that Ma got the Pulled Pork Sandwich. I got to try some and it was decent. I thought the pork was a tad on the stringy side; however, I did like the sweet honey bourbon BBQ sauce, it went well with the meat. She enjoyed her sandwich; but she liked her fries even more. They were very crispy and aggressively seasoned. I was somewhat dismayed that Pomegranate and L-Pete both had the Half Rack of Ribs. At the very least, they got different sides. Now, if you were expecting fall-off-the-bone tender ribs, go to Montana's. The true Southern method of cooking ribs does not involve a pot of boiling water. Thus, the ribs will be a tad drier and chewier. Pomegranate prefers the Montana's type and hey, I don't blame him. I know it's sacrilegious and probably would make Boonie cry... Yet, I'm not afraid to admit that I like that kind too. L-Pete loved the ribs, so you can chalk this up to a personal preference thing. However, it was a consensus that there was an ample amount of meaty ribs. Although dressed with the same honey bourbon BBQ sauce, I found it to be more on the tomatoey sweet side. It wasn't as smoky as I'd hope. I guess the sheer amount, compared to the pulled pork sandwich, made for a different taste. As for the sides, Pomegranate had the Southern Mac 'n Cheese and Red Beans & Rice. L-Pete had the Collard Greens and Coleslaw. We both thought that if the mac 'n cheese had a bit more salt, the side would sing. Every other side was solid with nothing amiss.

Hot Mama ended up with the Boonie Burger which was a monster of a sandwich. It consisted of 2 patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato and BBQ Louisiana hot links. She remarked that she really liked the sausage. I tried my hardest to refrain from an obscene comment... Alas, knowing me, I said it anyways. Back to the sausage... It really gave the burger a kick of flavour and spice. However, the patties themselves were on the drier side. I ended up with the BBQ Chicken because no one else ordered it. Presented in 2 large pieces with a side of Black-eyed Peas & Rice and cornbread, this was a lot more filling that it looked. I thought the chicken was quite tender considering the cooking method. Once again, the same honey bourbon sauce smothered the meat. For some reason or another, I find the sauce lacking a bit of depth. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad. For me, it's just missing something. I'm sure someone will disagree with me since the sauce is generally a personal preference kind of thing.

Ma was the only one of us with enough room to order dessert. Her choice was the Peach Cobbler with ice cream. We really enjoyed the flaky pasty, very nice. However, since peaches are not in season, canned were used. It didn't really detract from the dessert; but it's worth noting. I think the one thing that can sum up the meal at Boonies is "different". It is in a category by itself since there is not much like it around the GVRD. Sure, there is Montana's and Memphis Blues; but that's like comparing apples, oranges and peaches. None of them are exactly alike. There is Ozark's nearby and that is not really all that similar either. My conclusion? It can only be left up to each individual persons' personal preferences.

The Good:
- Definitely something different
- Fairly decent portions

The Bad:
- Depending on your preferences, the ribs are either too chewy or just right
- Again, depending on your preference, the BBQ sauce could be just right or too mild