The Library Square Pub

The Library Square Pub has been around since 1995 and at one point, was part of the Donnelly Group and subsequent Freehouse Collective.  They are now an independent outfit and still offer up a killer location for those wanting to grab a bite before or after events at the nearby stadiums and theatres.  We were there recently for the Superbowl party and watched the Seahawks capture their second Vince Lombardi trophy.  Atmosphere was electric and the food was reasonably-priced.  This time around, we were here for their Sunday specials, in particular, their Steak & Lobster for only $25.00.  Yes, you read that right.  Steak & Fries are only $13.00!

Let's get right to the point of this blog post - the Steak & Lobster!  So just because it costs only $25.00, we weren't getting something crappy.  Resting on a bed of crispy Cavendish fries, we found a 6oz NY steak prepared medium-rare.  It was actually quite tender despite the low price tag.  On top, there was a decent sized broiled lobster tail.  The meat was bouncy and sweet.  Pretty good with all things considered.

Now if you want to get a bit more spendy, for $30.00 you get a 6oz NY Steak with Lobster and Snow Crab Legs.  Things were the same with the steak but it was topped with some caramelized onions and sautéed mushrooms.  That in itself added more umami to each bite of steak.  The snow crab was pretty typical where the meat was briny with sweetness.  

We tried other items from the Sunday Feature Menu including the Fresh Shucked Oysters.  These local Pa'aje oysters are famed by the Tla'amin Nation in the waters of Okeover Inlet.  Rather than being briny, these had a subtle melon finish.  There was still sweetness and they were fresh.  We didn't find any shell fragments and the oyster shells themselves were presented nicely.  This came with mignonette and creamy horseradish.

Served in a toasted bread bowl, the Seafood Chowder was thick and rich.  It started off a bit more brothy, but then settled into a denser viscosity since it started to soak into the bread.  Not a bad thing though as we tore off the bread and it was delicious.  The chowder itself had some brininess to got with appealing sweetness.  Lots of chunky ingredients and this was definitely filling.

Staying with the seafood theme of the menu, there was also the 1/2 lb of Mussels in a chorizo & white wine sauce.  Really enjoyed this as the mussels were plump and cooked just enough.  That broth was so packed with flavour that was part spicy, a little sweet and plenty garlicky.  Those grape tomatoes provided some brightness and tang.

We got 2 cheesy dishes in the Baked Smoked Oysters and the Escargots.  Both were served with crostinis and that was critical because we definitely needed something to balance out the richness.  For the smoked oysters, they were the typical ones you would find in a can (hence the serving vessel), but were topped with a inordinate amount of cheese.  As for the escargots, they were their usual bouncy-textured self while spiked with a lot of cheese and garlic.  Very aromatic and yah, needed that bread.

We couldn't come to a pub without having some drinks right?  From left-to-right, we had the Sangria, Cocktail Tower and a Caesar with prawns and a crab claw.  Naturally, the cocktail tower would be best shared and it consisted of fruity flavours mixed with tequila.  Loved the sangria as it was refreshing but still had enough wine in it.  Caesar was at its tomatoey and briny best with the bite from Vodka.

We ended things off with their rendition of PNE Mini-Donuts.  Hey, I've worked at the actual stand at the PNE and in comparison, these were pretty darn good.  With the sugar and cinnamon crusted onto each soft and fluffy donut, these were legit.  A side of dulce de leche dip added even more sweetness.  As you can see, the food here on the Sunday Feature Menu at The Library Square is both affordable with more-than-acceptable eats.  You really can't beat that.  I would recommend that you try it out for yourself.

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

The Good:

- Incredible pricing

- Good food quality for that price point

- Generous portion sizes

The Bad:

- It can get busy, due to the pricing, so you need to be patient

Burger Bender @ Match Eatery & Public House (Delta)

There are many things I look forward to each year.  These include Summer holidays (and usually a trip somewhere), taking off my winter rims and switching to Summer rims, Birthday dinner(s) and Match's Burger Bender (from Jan 16th to Feb 23rd) .  Wait.  Really???  Yes, as I've said many times, I enjoy the burgers at Match (also their wings) and I honestly look forward to their new burger creations every year.  This time around, they have 5 offerings with 2 hold-overs and one that has been voted by customers as the best for 2 years - the French Onion Big Dipper.

So let's talk about the French Onion Big Dipper first as it is also my favourite as well!  That might shock some people since they know my aversion to raw onions.  If you know me well, I actually don't mind onions, when they are cooked right.  For this burger, they are completely caramelized and for the ones in the dip, they are super delicious and add depth and sweetness.  The burger itself features their thick moist patty that is evenly seared.  This adds nuttiness and smokiness.  They put a large breaded onion ring into it as well as melted slices of Swiss.  The key to this burger is the French onion soup dip on the side.  It is not overly salty and has all of the rich flavors of sweet onion.  One dunk of the burger and the toasted brioche soaks it up and it becomes a flavor bomb of umaminess.  Delicious.

Now for the other returning burger, it is the Mighty Mushroom.  This is a pretty classic mushroom burger with the same 6oz chuck beef smashed patty.  It is not the thin type of patty you might be thinking of as it is thick and plenty juicy inside.  However, it does have the crispy edges of a typical smash patty.  I find that they properly season the meat while not making it super salty, so you can taste the meatiness.  They top this patty with sauteed crimini and button mushrooms along with Boursin cheese.  As you can imagine, this is plenty strong with bursts of umaminess.  A touch of dijonnaise helps add a bit of zing to keep things from being too bogged down with heaviness.

One of the new burgers that I think will be a fan favourite is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Yes, that is quite the mouthful and in fact, literally as well.  It is hard to fit this thing into my mouth!  The base of this burger is the fried chicken breast which I'm happy to report is moist and not dry.  The batter is relatively thin, properly seasoned and crispy.  Topped that off with crispy smoky bacon and some non-offensive mac n' cheese, we have a tasty concoction.  Now let me clarify what I mean by "non-offensive".  Sometimes, when people shove more carbs into a carb heavy sandwich already, it bogs everything down.  They put just enough of it that you know it is there without thinking you are actually eating the dish.

Okay, when I first looked at the Mr. Rib, it gave me some McRib vibes.  However, it is nothing like the McD's versions as the piece of rib is actually pork ribs without the bones!  So no formed ground pork patty here, it is real meat. Furthermore, it is tender fall-off-the-bone meat (hence no bone) which is very easy to eat and a bit smoky.  I think a bit more tangy and smoky BBQ sauce is needed to give it that messy deliciousness.  There are the obligatory sliced onions and pickles to give some bite and zing to the heaviness of the pork.  As much as the toasted bun is fine, I think a softer roll is necessary to keep the sandwich from being too dense.

Lastly, the Brooklyn Deli is really a burger with a corned beef sandwich surrounding it.  So same 6oz patty with corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss on an "everything bagel" brioche bun.  This is pretty solid with the corned beef sammie vibes coming through.  I think that it needs more corned beef because it got a bit lost in the smoky meatiness of the charred burger patty.  Otherwise, still very good, especially with some mustard!  So there you have it, another year of Burger Bender with the excellent French Onion Big Dipper and Mighty Mushroom.  I think the best of the new ones is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  That is a massive burger which is hits all of the high notes.  Get them before February 23rd!  Oh get some wings too, they are great as well!

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

The Good:
- The French Onion Big Dipper
- Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese
- For the sides, get the Breaded Onion Rings or Tater Tots!

The Bad:
- Maybe the bun could be softer for the Mr. Rib
- More corned beef for the Brooklyn Deli?

Match Eatery & Public House Delta (Game Day Wings)

You've probably heard me yammering on about how good the wings are at Match Eatery all the time.  Sure, you might chalk that up to me being invited to eat there every now and then.  Well, for those who read this blog often, they will know that I put my money where my mouth is!  I've dined just as many times at Match on my own coin because I genuinely like the place!  So when they invited me out to try their Game Day Wings menu, they didn't have to ask twice!!!

So you can get this menu on "NFL game days" as the name suggests.  We were here for a Sunday morning to catch the football action and to enjoy the wings!   The first one I'll discuss is a favourite of mine in the Nashville Hot Spiced.  Now, this time around, they toned down the spice with less dry rub.  For me, I would ask for more of it, but I get that they have to appeal to a wider audience.  So, if you eat it like I do, you will get some sweet heat to go with the pickles.  If you can take spice, highly recommend you ask for more rub!

One of their new flavours is the Buffalo Blues featuring a hot sauce laced with real blue cheese.  Normally, the dip on the side is the blue cheese, but in this case, it was garlic ranch dip.  Hence, the blue cheese pungency was all in the real chunks of cheese.  The hot sauce itself was mild with some tanginess.  The wings themselves were not dry and the skin was completely rendered and crispy.  Instead of carrot and celery sticks, we found matchstick versions.

One of my favourites of this tasting was the What's the Dill Yo?  This featured crispy wings tossed in dill pickle seasoning.  Hence, the wings were tangy and mildly salty.  There was also some sweetness.  To drive the point home in terms of impact, we found sour dill pickles and dill pickle chips.  If that wasn't enough flavour bomb for us, we also dipped everything into the spicy dill dip.  This was like a chunky tartar sauce that had a kick.  Would love this on my fish sandwich!

The absolutely most tasty dish was the Rising Sun Togarashi with a soy drizzle that was both sweet, salty and tangy while accented by the aromatic sesame seeds.  This was perfectly complimented by the creamy and sweet nori-kewpie mayo.  This had some vibes related to a blast from the past in the Thai wings from Milestone's in their heyday.  Definitely a must order and it really does the Asian fusion justice in its flavour profile and execution. 

Last wing creation was the Stadium Nacho with wings tossed in taco seasoning and served with a nacho cheese sauce topped with salsa.  We also found some tortilla chips and pickled jalapenos.  So this was essentially nachos with some chicken.  However, this worked as a the flavour profile was cohesive.  I enjoyed dipping both the wings and chips into the nacho cheese.  The taco seasoning was definitely there but not enough to make things salty.

So if you see in the background, we also had a the Game Day Beer in the Gridiron 24oz Budweiser for a great price of $10.50!  You can have this as a Bud Light for the same price.  It was served ice cold and naturally went well with the wings.  I think it particularly paired best with the hot wings and taco wings.  For those who can't finish so much beer, there is an $8.00 option for a 16oz.  But honestly, go for the 24oz, it is a better deal!

We ended up ordering a few more items including the Blackened Chicken Sandwich with Jack cheese, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and house mayo.  This was fantastic as the chicken was truly blackened giving off nutty smokiness.  At the same time, the meat was still moist and tender.  Crispy bacon and melted cheese added texture and more flavour.  It was served on a perfectly toasted potato roll.  

We also had our usual in the Game, Set, Match... Burger with all the same fixin's as well as pickles on toasted brioche.  As per usual, the smashed beef patty was nicely seared while still moist and tender.  The bacon was crispy, so each bite wasn't a struggle (with flabby bacon).  Also, the texture was appealing.  The brioche bun was soft, but toasted enough to hold everything together.  We got the side of breaded onion rings and they were great!  

Since we were there during brunch, our dessert was the Sweet French Toast Bites.  We've had this dish before, but this time around, it was perfect!  The cubes of brioche were crispy on the outside (while not being greasy) and the inside was still soft and fluffy.  They tasted great on their own with aroma, but the side of Kentucky Bourbon Caramel Dip was money.  So rich and sweet.  Another tasty visit to Match and we overloaded on the wings.  Not a bad thing to happen to us!  Come for the games on the big screens and order the wings as well as some inexpensive beer!

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

The Good:

- New wing flavours are great, especially the Rising Sun and What's the Dill Yo?

- Great beer special for the 24oz

- The rest of the food is great too, especially the burgers

The Bad:

- Not really a bad, but you'll have to ask for more rub on the Nashville wings because the new version doesn't have enough

Match Public Eatery (Pitmaster BBQ Menu)

Yes, here I am at Match Public Eatery again (specifically at the Delta location in Ladner) for their Pitmaster BBQ Menu.  Honestly, I look forward in coming out to Match and the last few times, it was on my own coin.  They have really good wings (came for their wing night last time) and their burgers are also on point.  This time around I was invited to try their Pitmaster BBQ Menu that features 2 unique wing flavours and also some fried apple pies.

To begin, before we got to the food, we tried 2 of the featured beverages from the Pitmaster BBQ menu.  We had the Tennessee Lemonade as well as the Spicy Rosé.  I really enjoyed the refreshing lemonade that featured Jack Daniels, triple sec, lemon-lime soda and lemon juice.  Even though it was refreshing, that didn't mean the alcohol didn't come through.  It really did!  As for the Spicy Rosé, it consisted of BASK rosé and fresh jalapeño.  This was light and had a bit of spice.  We mashed the jalapeño to get an extra kick.

Onto the food, we started with the Southern BBQ Wings with BBQ sauce, white lightning sauce drizzle, pickled onions, cornbread crumble and cilantro.  Like many times before, the wings were a decent size and fried until the skin was well-rendered and crispy (even with sauce all over it).  We found the sauce to be sweet with a bit of tang.  Not sure why I ate all of the cornbread "croutons" (because they filled my stomach), but I liked them. As for the meat itself, it was still moist.

We also had the other wings on the menu in the Nashville Hot Spiced Wings featuring a Nashville rub, sweet honey toast, coleslaw and sour dill pickles.  As much as the BBQ wings were good, these were really good!  First of all, since it was a dry rub, the skin was super crispy.  As for the rub, it was impactful with lots of spice.  It was smoky, tangy and sweet.  I would so have these again if they had them on the regular menu (on wing Thursday of course!).

Off to the main event, the BBQ Pitmaster Platter, it sported roasted half chicken with white lightning sauce, half-rack BBQ back ribs, farmhouse sausage, mac & cheese, pitmaster baked beans, coleslaw, jalapeño cornbread and pickles.  I thought the ribs were quite good being tender and moist with lots of BBQ sauce cooked right into them.  The sausages were meaty and well-seared.  The dark meat for the roasted chicken was quite good but the breast was predictably a bit dry.  Sides were quite good where the cornbread was fairly moist and that spiced butter was delicious.  Mac & cheese was not overcooked while bathed in a creamy cheese sauce.  Beans were tender with some bite left while being deeply sweet.  Fresh and crunchy, the coleslaw was a nice break from the heaviness.

Just for kicks, I added the BBQ Ranch Hand Burger (on my own coin) for good measure since I love their burgers (and it is featured on that menu too).   This did not disappoint with a well-charred burger patty that was still moist inside.  With the addition of cheddar, coleslaw, onion ring, pulled pork and spicy BBQ sauce, this was full-flavoured and robust.  The pulled pork was tender and nicely sauced (not sure why they didn't include it in the platter, it would've been good!) and provided a real jolt of flavour and texture.  The pretzel bun was firm enough to keep everything together without actually being too dense.  As for the fresh-cut fries, they were crispy and hot.  Really good.

Onto dessert, we were served the Crispy Apple-Cinnamon Hand Pies with vanilla bean ice cream and Kentucky bourbon caramel.  Oh man, this was absolutely the bomb!  It may of looked heavy, but the puff pastry was super light and crispy.  Inside, the apple filling was delicate, just sweet enough and equally tangy.  Yes, the creamy ice cream complimented this well and I could've eaten another order of this!  Overall, the Pitmaster BBQ Menu sports some pretty tasty eats.  I would've added the pulled pork into the platter since it was so good.  I think maybe just having BBQ chicken legs would've been more consistent in texture.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Dry rub wings were money (their wings are usually quite good in general)
- OMG those pies!
- Burgers are typically really good

The Bad:
- Chicken breast was dry

Little Italy @ Match Public House (Delta)

Ever since my first visit to Match Public Eatery last year (yes, it took me that long to try it), I've liked the place.  I truly believe they have some of the best wings around and their burgers are consistently good.  However, I'm not going to talk about either of these things this time around (even though I did order them).  I was recently invited to try their Little Italy promotion that features a special menu with an appie, pastas and a dessert.  Naturally, I was here to try them all!

The featured appetizer on the Little Italy menu is the Cheesy Fried Ravoili served with house-made spicy marinara and alfredo dipping sauces.  These crunchy little pockets were tossed in garlic butter and the aroma and flavour would've been enough.  However, the dipping sauces were on point.  Balanced and not too tangy, the spicy marinara had some background sweetness as well as a kick.  The creamy alfredo had a nice aroma and cheesiness.

Off to the pastas, we tried the Garlic Shrimp Alfredo first.  This was quite good with al dente tagliatelle pasta bathed in a creamy alfredo that was further amped by the bounty of garlic butter shrimp.  Hence, there was no absence of impact from the sauce even though it was the mildest of the 4 pastas we had.  The shrimp varied in size from small to fairly large ones.  They were cold-water crunchy and buttery in texture.

Our next pasta was the Chicken Pesto Cavatappi with grilled chicken breast with pesto, oven-roasted artichokes, sundried tomatoes and pesto cream.  This was pretty rich and delicious with the herbaceousness of pesto and of course a touch nutty too.  The pasta was firmly al dente while the chicken was nicely charred.  Adding in sundried tomatoes and artichokes afforded some tanginess to break up the richness.

Onto a tomato sauce-based pasta, we tried the Pappardelle with Italian Sausage Ragu.  These slippery ribbons of pasta were also al dente, yet a bit more tender.  We didn't mind that as it had good mouth-feel.  The sausage ragu was meaty and appealingly tomatoey.  There was also a background fennel finish due to the sausage. The addition of Boursin added a cheesy creaminess to the dish.  

Our last pasta was the most typical of the bunch being Nonna's Spaghettini & Meatballs.  I actually snuck a few strands of this first so I didn't get to it last. Yes, the pasta was al dente but due to it being thin, it became softer a bit later (eat it right away!).  The San Marzano tomato sauce was balanced with a good mix of tanginess and sweetness.  Adding in a parmesan cream helped cut the tomatoness of the dish.  To my surprise, we found 8 meatballs!  Even though they were small, the meat was juicy and tender while completely flavourful.

For dessert, we had the ginormous Tiramisu Cake.  So when they say cake, they really meant it.  Instead of lady fingers, we found moist and not-too-sweet coffee soaked sponge layered with mascarpone cream.  It was purposefully sweet with mild coffee notes.  The cream wasn't too heavy where the cake was fairly light.  Overall, the Little Italy menu at Match is delicious and they mean business with legit ingredients.  Prices are reasonable and portions are healthy.

The Good:

- Well-executed dishes

- Reasonably-priced

- Well-portioned

The Bad:

- Possibly another option for appetizer and dessert?

Burger Bender @ Match Eatery & Public House (Delta)

Last year, I visited the Queensborough Match Eatery and tried every option (including sides) in their Burger Bender menu.  All the burgers were really good and I absolutely loved the one with the house-made donuts.  Well, Burger Bender is back and with a few new options including some ol' favourites.  Since I've not visited the newly opened Math Eatery & Public House in the Cascades Casino out in Ladner, I selected that location when I was invited out to try all the burgers.

Love the new spot as it is modern, yet not overdone.  The casino itself is beautiful with plenty of parking.  Onto the burgers, we dug into one of the new creations in the Mighty Mushroom.  This huge burger sported a 6oz chuck smash patty, sauteed crimini and button mushrooms, Boursin, dijonaise, lettuce, tomato and onion on brioche.  Suffice to say, this was pretty messy and plenty flavourful with the cheesiness of Boursin and the plethora of mushrooms.  On the side, we had the Dirty Fries topped with Cajun butter, chip dip, hot sauce, parmesan and bacon.  Lots going on here including spice, tanginess, sweet, salty, smoky and cheesy.

My personal favourite was the French Onion Big Dipper that featured a side of French onion soup.  Beyond the already delicious combination of beef patty, onion ring, double Swiss, caramelized onions, arugula and dijonnaise on a toasted brioche bun, the trick was to dip it into the soup.  One might think that that's just too much onion for one burger, but it was just right.  The sweetness of the caramelized onions were nicely complimented by the mild saltiness of the soup (that had slivered onions in it as well).  Add in the crunchy and slightly more sharp onion, we found layers of onion flavour.  On the side, there was a Caesar Salad that had plenty of parmesan and a house-made creamy dressing.

Also featured on the previous Burger Bender menu, the BBQ Ranch Hand is one monster of a burger with a steak spice beef patty, pulled pork, fried onion ring, cheddar cheese, coleslaw and spicy BBQ sauce on a pretzel bun.  This was bold and full-flavoured with spice, tang and sweetness.  Naturally, will 2 types of meat, it was also quite filling.  Love the use of a pretzel bun as it stood up well to the rest of the ingredients.  The side for this burger was the Hand-Cut Fries.  These were crispy with plenty of potato goodness inside.

Onto something without beef, the Filet-O-Crispy Fish featured a beer-battered haddock filet that was twice the size of the bun.  The batter was crispy and light while the fish was flaky and moist.  Being a brioche bun, it was soft enough to not impede the delicate texture of the fish.  Add in the shredded lettuce, tartar sauce, Old Bay mayo, pickles and coleslaw this was a much more deluxe version of a similarly named sandwich.  Plus there was much more fish!  On the side, the breaded Onion Rings were crunchy where the onion was not mushy. 

So of course we also found the Nashville Hot Chicken on the menu too.  It sported a double-breaded chicken thigh with coleslaw and pickles on a soft potato roll.  As you can see in the picture, the chicken was legit dipped into spiced oil (like it should be, rather than merely drizzled with sauce).  I could taste the spices, but could've done with more heat.  I would suggest you ask for spicier (if you can handle it that is).  The chicken was super juicy and moist while having a crunchy exterior.  Bun was a perfect match for this sandwich as it was soft with some density unlike a brioche.  Crunchy coleslaw with a sweet tang completed this sammie.  This came with a side salad that was full of different veggies and featured raisins as well. 

Now onto something with no meat at all in the Veg Head.  This consisted of a wild rice and black bean patty with avocado, red onion, Jack cheese, spouts, lettuce, tomato and house mayo on a multi-grain bun.  To be honest, I normally do not order veggie burgers, but this one wasn't bad.  The patty was not as dense as I expected and it had a bite even though it was made of beans.  I thought the choice of bun was good as it added more body and density to the burger.  The side for this was the Tater Tots and really, who doesn't like crunchy tater tots?

The last burger was sneakily one of the best being the Green Goddess.  This featured a grilled chicken breast with avocado, goat's cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion, sprout and green goddess dressing on a multi-grain bun.  If you wanted something a bit lighter and "healthier", this would be your best bet.  However, it was also delicious with a slightly smoky (from the grill) chicken breast that was still moist.  Lots of impact came from the creamy goat's cheese where the richness was cut by the pickled red onion.  This came with crispy Curly Fries which was great to dip into the side of ketchup, but also the creamy dip that came with the onion rings.  So as you can see, the burgers at Match during their Burger Bender event are not only creative, but quite large.  You need to bring your appetite and maybe a bunch of friends to try them all.  My personal favourites were the French Onion Big Dipper and Mighty Mushroom.  The others were good too, but these 2 new offerings on the menu are real winners.

*All food and beverages were complimentary*

The Good:
- Beautiful location (nothing like this in the area too)
- Burgers are huge and well-priced
- Lots of parking

The Bad:
- A little hard to get to during rush-hour
- Nashville Hot Chicken could've been spicier (but I understand that they need to keep it approachable for everyone)