Meadowlark Dairy

After ordering nearly the whole menu at Elia, we were both satisfied and stuffed.  Now that didn't mean we were forgoing dessert.  Sure, we skipped that part at Elia, but we quickly transitioned to a few blocks away with Meadowlark Dairy.  With its unmistakable "Milk" signage, Meadowlark started off as the first certified dairy in California.  It was eventually sold and the new owner's son started making ice cream and selling it as a drive through and walk up in the 80s's.  It continues to operate today as such and we walked up for some soft-serve.

We made it just before closing and despite the rain, we happily waited our turn to order some soft serve.  For the day, we found 5 regular flavors and 2 special Christmas ones.  The first picture that you see here is Pineapple in a small cup.  That can also be had in a cone (more on that later) as well.  I wouldn't say the soft-serve was the creamiest I've ever had, but it certainly had some weight to it.  Hence, it ate like ice cream.  Yet at the same time, it was still refreshing, partly due to the sweet pineapple.  I would've loved to see more tang, but it had some Dole-whip vibes.  Surprisingly, this was a vegan flavor and it really didn't eat as such.

Now for the cone, we actually returned to Pleasanton so that we could explore the sights and sounds of the area.  Really enjoyed the small museum with the history of the place.  We then strolled over to Meadowlark and I went for a small Chocolate cone.  I felt this was somewhat like a malt that had Wendy's frosty vibes but with more chocolate flavor.  It was rich and creamy but not heavy at the same time.  Best of all, I thought it was only purposefully sweet.  Since this was one of the non-vegan flavors I tried, it was definitely creamier.

On the first visit, I went big with the large cone with Strawberry (Vegan), Egg Nog, Orange (Vegan) and Pineapple (Vegan).  Yah, for the large, they really pile it on!  If the weather was warmer, I would've struggled to eat this without it melting all over me.  Luckily it was December and I was able to mostly finish it, especially with the help of putting it upside down into a cup.  I thought the vegan flavors were pretty good with balanced sweetness and decent creaminess.   Overall, Meadowlark Dairy is what I would call a nostalgic experience.  The soft-serve is good, but the everything else about the place makes it worthwhile.  If you are every out in Pleasanton, go check it out!

The Good:

- Surprisingly good vegan flavors

- They don't skimp on the portion size

- Cool overall experience

The Bad:

- Gets pretty busy, so be prepared to wait, whether it be walk-up or drive-thru

Yummy BBQ

You have probably heard me go on and on about the cost of food these days.  Believe me, I am acutely aware how lucky I am that I can afford to eat out.  Even with that, I have noticed the high cost of food, whether it be buying groceries or visiting a restaurant.  I mean, it is almost impossible to find a meal for under $10.00 that doesn't involve something burger and fries (even that is hard to find).  Enter Yummy BBQ located in the Central at Garden City shopping complex.  They are the newest entry into the Chinese BBQ game and they offer specials that are just a smidge under $10.00.  I recently checked it out with Lesley.

To get a sense of all the available meats, we strategically ordered something a bit different from each other.  The first combo consisted of BBQ Duck and Roast Pork on Rice.  I thought the duck was quite good where the skin was rendered and had crispy parts.  It was in an appealing shade of golden mahogany.  As for the meat, it was tender (both the breast and the leg meat) with the dark meat benefitting from the brine more than the breast.  

The next combo featured Roast Pork and Soy Chicken on Rice.  The cuts of roast pork for all the combos we had were on the leaner side with not a lot of fat.  Despite this, the meat was still moist and tender.  However, the lack of fat did mean it wasn't as succulent.  The brine on the meat was sufficient and the crackling was crispy and light.  As for the soy chicken, it had lacquered skin that was flavourful without being salty.  The meat was juicy and mild-tasting.  The scallion ginger condiment was mostly scallion though.  Could've used more ginger, but I do realize that it would be more costly to make.

For my combo, I went for 3 meats including Roast Pork, BBQ Pork and BBQ Duck (the duck was underneath the pork).  The BBQ pork was a mix of lean portions with some fattier pieces.  As expected, the ones with more fat had a softer buttery chew to them.  I thought the flavour was a bit lacking other than the bark.  Even with that, I would've liked some extra dextrose/honey glaze on the outside and/or drizzled over the pork.

I also got their Daily Soup which was Pork & Lotus Root.  It had some depth which meant it had been cooked for a length of time.  The meat was fall-apart tender while the lotus root had softened.  There was enough seasoning in the soup too.  Also in the picture, you will notice that we had tea.  We could serve ourselves to that as well as napkins and chopsticks.  In general, the stuff at Yummy BBQ is above average and very well-priced.  Really can't go wrong for $10.00 or so.  Not sure how long the promos run for, but this is the place to get a filling and tasty meal on the cheap.

The Good:
- Above average
- Well-portioned
- Cheap

The Bad:
- If you want to eat-in, there are literally only 4 tables
- Parking in the complex sucks

TV Dinner Market & Cafe

Boy, haven't met up with Mijune in awhile, she is always travelling!  So before we headed to our dinner destination, we made a pit stop at TV Dinner Market & Cafe for a quick pre-dinner bite (and to catch up).  For those who aren't familiar, TV Dinner Market & Cafe is a quaint little spot on West 3rd at Burrard that offers a variety of ready-to-heat meals from some of the best vendors in the city.  In addition to that, they also have sandwiches (breakfast and lunch), cookies and coffee for those who want a quick meal to go or dine-in.  

Despite having dinner plans already, we couldn't resist ordering lots including a few breakfast sammies.  The Brisket Breakfast Sandwich featured a soft brioche bun with an over easy egg, beef brisket, pickled onion, garlic aioli and aged cheddar.  Sure, this was "only" a breakfast sandwich, but believe me, it was fantastic.  House-made and practically melted in my mouth, the brisket was meaty while not all that fatty.  Hence, it was even more impressive that it was so tender and soft.  The free-range egg was so perfect being custardy and runny.  Crunch and acidity were provided by the pickled onions.

As much as the brisket breakfast sammie was delicious and textually-pleasing, the Longanisa Breakfast Sandwich was even better.  The sweet and meaty patty was tender and nicely grilled.  I think the silky custardy texture of the egg yolk went even better with the Longanisa.  Some meats just go better with runny eggs right?  This had the same aged cheddar, soft brioche bun and garlic aioli, but instead of pickled onions, we found caramelized ones.  Although you might think that sweet on sweet may have not worked, I thought it did.  It was a different kind of sweetness from the onions, it had more richness and some smokiness.

For ours sandwiches, we had a couple where I tried the Rueben first.  This was a classic combination of house-made corned beef and sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and thousand islands dressing on Point Grey Bread.  Again not rocket science, but another well-constructed sandwich with quality ingredients.  The bread was beautifully toasted while the corned beef was buttery and meaty with restrained saltiness.  The sauerkraut added some crunch with a balancing tanginess.  Those house-made chips were super light and nutty.

We also had the Bulgogi Cheesesteak which was packed with thick-sliced sirloin, gochujang mayo, provolone and sauteed kimchi/onions/peppers.  As you can imagine, this was one robust and zesty-tasting sandwich.  We had the meatiness of the bulgogi that had sweetness while complimented by the creamy spice and tang from the mayo.  Add in the extra tang, spice and aromatics from the veggies and kimchi, there was a lot going on.  This all sat on a grilled tellara bun that held up to all of the ingredients and provided a firm crunchiness.

Also prominently featured at the counter is Cookies by John.  Of course we had to get the Monster Cookie as well as the Chai-Spiced Zucchini Loaf.  That monster cookie was pretty good with a crispy exterior and a soft chewy interior.  It was sweet, but purposeful and that brownie on top was chewy and chocolatey.  However, the best thing was the zucchini bread.  It was touted as looking like a "6" but tasting like a "10".  I would agree with that as it was super moist and fluffy with measured sweetness and fall spices.  Would definitely have this again.  In fact, everything we had was pretty solid, so I would have everything again if I was nearby.

The Good:
- Many of the components are made in-house
- Simple done right
- Also many take-away meals available

The Bad:
- Parking is hard to find if you drove
- Fairly limited dine-in menu, but keep things simple right?

 

Red Burrito (Cambie)

Wow, this is a Vancouver classic isn't it?  I'm sure all of you are familiar with The Red Burrito that graces the corner of Commercial Drive and 1st Ave.  They have been there since 2006 and have kept to their mission simple, offer quality food at reasonable prices.  To be honest, I haven't been there for quite some time, despite the fact I drive by it all the time on my way home.  Well, it was time we got reacquainted with an invite to try out their Cambie Street location.  It is a small counter service outfit that is great for a quick meal or take-out.

Of course, we need to get their most popular item on the menu with the Red Burrito.  This thing is huge with a choice of red, white or whole wheat tortilla.  If you want to be authentic, you chose the red one of course!  It is filled with rice, beans, choice of meat (or meat substitute), an array of veggies and choice of salsa.  This one has chicken with all the veggies (including onions, cilantro, cabbage, lettuce etc...) and tomatillo salsa.  Looking at the picture, see how they completely load it up and it is a plenty filling.  The chicken is moist with enough seasoning.  If you want a "drowned burrito", you can go for the Burrito Ahogado.  This is essentially a Red Burrito with extra hot tomato salsa, cheese, and sour cream.  Instead of chicken, we had beef with this.

There are six different meat/veggie options for all of their burritos, bowls and Tacos.  What better way to get a sense of all of them?  The available choices include spicy beef, grilled chicken, tinga chicken, pasilla pork, vegan meat and vegetarian.  If you want your tacos to be traditional, they only top them with onion and cilantro.  However, you can have all the veggies on top too if you want it that way.  They aren't shy about loading them up with meat either.  I find that all of their meats are generally moist and tender.  My favourite of the bunch is the spicy beef as well as the pasilla pork.

So another item that features much of the same items, but without the tortilla, is the Burrito Bowl.   Despite the same ingredients (with spicy beef this time), the bowl eats different than the burrito.  Obviously without the tortilla, it is more rice and meat focused.  Personally, I prefer this as it is easier to manage.  Also large and containing lots of meat, their Tamale Ahogado iw plenty hearty and delicious.  I find the masa to be a bit on the firmer side with a considerable amount of tender and spiced meat in the middle.  It is topped with all the sauces and sour cream.

One of the more under-the-radar items is the Nachos with queso, pork, sour cream, onions and cilantro.  What really makes this dish is the crispy and fresh tortilla chips.  Also the cheese and meat add the necessary flavour and body.  These same crispy tortillas make the Tortilla Soup quite good too.  It has a tangy spiciness to it with melted cheese and crunchy fried tortilla pieces.  There is also a bright cilantro hit too.

Lastly, how about a few drinks in the Horchata, Jamaica and Cherry Blossom Horchata.  I think the horchata is purposefully sweet and aromatic with cinnamon notes.  The Jamaica is tangy and fruity from the hibiscus while only mildly sweet.  As for the last item in the picture, it is a Cherry Blossom Rice Pudding.  This is floral and pretty sweet with firm rice.  A nice end to a delicious sampling of their food!  I have forgotten how good the meats are at Red Burrito and they are definitely the star of the dishes.  You can't go wrong with any of them in the burrito, bowls, tacos and nachos!

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

The Good:

- Moist and flavourful meats

- Loaded burritos, tacos and bowls

- Affordable

The Bad:

- Limited seating, so better for take out

Zhengxin Chicken Steak

I don't think there is a more universally loved dish as fried chicken.  Almost every culture has their own version and for all that I've tried, they have all been awesome.  So we are all familiar with Southern Fried Chicken and more recently, the ever popular KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).  However, one type of fried chicken that is gaining traction, especially locally, is Chinese-style fried chicken.  Now, I'm not talking about the Cantonese-style crispy chicken.  Rather, it is the Northern Chinese one that incorporates a savoury seasoning that usually includes Szechuan peppercorns.  The first location of Zhengzin Chicken Steak (out of China) has set up shop in Burnaby on Kingsway near Metrotown.

To get a full rundown of the menu, we ended up with both of their Combos for Two including the Double Package A consisting of a Spicy Chicken Steak, Spicy Chicken Leg Burger, 6 Hot Wings, Fries and 2 drinks.  This was a fantastic value at only $36.95.  The wings were crispy while sporting juicy meat inside.  It was mildly spiced while seasoned completely.  Chicken steak was cut up for us and it was fairly tender with also a slight spiciness.  As for the burger, the deboned chicken leg was succulent and juicy.  It was also mildly spicy with some tingle on our tastebuds.  The bun was really thin and almost not there.  It was like a jiang beng but fluffier.

The Double Package B featured even more food with the Hawaiian Grilled Burger, Spicy Chicken Burger, Boneless Chicken Strips, 6 Orleans Wings, Fries and 2 drinks.  I thought the thin bun did not stand up to the wet ingredients of the Hawaiian burger very well.  However, the chicken was fantastic though being super juicy.  The addition of pineapple did give it plenty of sweetness and tang.  The chicken strips were very crunchy and a touch dry.  However, they were well-seasoned with the usual spices such as 5-spice, cumin and Szechuan peppercorns.  The Orleans wings were quite different as they were grilled.  Hence, they were a little less juicy, but still plenty tender.  Skin was fairly well-rendered and slightly sweet.  Fries were great being hot, crispy and plenty potatoey inside.

Last item was the Deep Fried Chicken Legs.  These were split down the middle and fried aggressively.  Hence, the outside was super crispy and the meat was on the drier side.  However, that worked as the texture was remarkably different than the juicy wings and leg in the burgers.  It helped concentrate the spices more so with its fall flavours having an earthy, licorice and spicy notes.  Overall, the fried chicken at Zhengxin was great with many different options that were unique in their own way.  Naturally, the seasoning is typical of Chinese fried chicken with its earthy, sweet and fall flavours.  Pricing is reasonable where the combos being a steal in my opinion.  Great for both take out and dine-in.

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

The Good:
- Solid fried chicken that is a different than the local version
- Large portions
- Combos are a great deal

The Bad:
- Some items are not exactly juicy, but they work in their own way
- The thin bun doesn't stand up to wet ingredients  

Mainichi Sushi

As if the economy needed any other shock waves to make it worse, the prevailing situation in the world events have made things even more unstable.  With all this uncertainty, the threat of a recession seems more and more probable.  Hence, it was already tough to do any discretionary spending on things that would be best saved.  It brings me to the problem of eating out, where it really is one of the first things to be cut from the household budget.  Therefore, any really great deals (that involves actually good food) needs to be celebrated.  That is the case at Mainichi Sushi where their "Build Your Own Combos" are coming in at $14.95 for 2 items and $19.95 for 3 items.  If you want to be a bit more deluxe, there are supplemental charges for higher priced items.  

We actually visited Mainichi twice trying almost everything available for building your own combo.  The first visit, we ended up trying 2 combos including the first one with Seafood Udon (+$2.00), Mentaiko Cream Udon (+$1.50) and Salmon Don (+$3.00).  So this actually cost $26.45 in the end, but this was very filling due to the generous size of the "mini" portions.  The food was also great as the salmon was buttery and the rice was nicely seasoned and firm.  

Next combo consisted of Prawn & Yam Tempura, Chicken Katsu Curry (+$2.00) and Unagi Don (+$5.00).  So this one ended up to be $26.95.  Sure, it cost more, but this was super filling with 2 rice dishes that weren't exactly small despite being mini.  We packed some home!  The curry was flavourful with earthiness and sweetness.  Chicken was tender with a crispy coating.  Unagi was plentiful and buttery with sweet sauce drizzled on top.

On our second visit, we were able to sample an array of items that are available as part of the Build Your Own Combo deal.  We went for some of the sashimi options including Hotate (+$3.00), Hamachi (+$3.00), Wild Salmon (+$2.00) and Toro (+$2.00).  If you are wondering what isn't extra charge, they are the Atlantic Salmon and Albacore Tuna Sashimi.  These were fresh and textures were on point.  Scallops were super sweet while the toro was buttery soft.

Some of the options for Sushi included Sushi Pizza (+$1.00), Unagi Roll, Wild Salmon, Chopped Scallop Nigiri, Dynamite Roll and Real Crab California Roll (+$5.00).  As you can see, the size of the rolls/nigiri were large with minimal sushi rice.  I particularly enjoyed the sushi pizza served on crispy rice.  Had good spice and crunch.  The dynamite roll was enormous and filled with imitation crab and ebi tempura.  Sure, the real crab Cali roll was $5.00 more, but it was full of briny snow crab.

We got a few udon dishes from that section of the menu.  They included the Seafood Yaki Udon (+$2.00) and Seafood Udon (+$2.00) once again as well as the Kimchi Mentaiko Udon (+$1.50).  As you can see, these were decent in size and were full of ingredients.  Really enjoyed the kimchi mentaiko udon as there was plenty of briny tangy spiciness.   The yaki udon was also good with plenty of savoury sweetness.  Also got the Hamachi Kama, I think?  It said Salmon Kama on the menu, but it didn't look or eat like salmon.  It was good nonetheless being buttery soft.

We had 7 examples of the rice dishes available.  We had the Chicken Teriyaki Don, Kimchi Fried Rice, Spicy Pork Don, Salmon Don (+$3.00), Unagi Don (+$3.00), LA Galbi Don (+$6.00) and Pork Katsu Don (+$2.00).  I really loved the spicy pork don as there was plenty of seared fatty pork that was definitely spicy and tasty.  Of course the galbi was great, but it did cost quite a bit more.  The pork katsu was juicy and topped with a sweet and tangy sauce.  So as you can see, there are many options to create your own meal.  We didn't even cover all of it.  There are quite a few choices that aren't extra charge and if you guessed these are more basic dishes, you are correct.  However, if you want to have your cake and eat it too, you totally can stick within the non-extra charge items and keep it to $14.95 or $19.95.  

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

 

The Good:

- Solid neighbourhood Japanese spot

- Generous portions, even for mini-size

- Affordable

 

The Bad:

- Yep, most of the more desirable dishes involve a supplemental charge, but hey, they need to make money right?

- Not a big place, gets busy 

+84 Vietnamese Bistro

Hey, another Vietnamese restaurant! - This is not something that usually gets people excited when it comes to new restaurant openings.  However, I recently visited +84 Vietnamese Bistro and I'm pretty excited about the place.  Now, let me be real here, it isn't fine dining, nor is it like another new Vietnamese spot in Madame Danh.  Rather, it is a family-own operation that puts out quality eats in large portions and with reasonable prices.  All of this located right on Robson Street in Downtown Vancouver no less.

We paid the place a visit recently and we started with the Grilled +84 Platter consisting of Beef Short Ribs, Sugar Cane Shrimp, Minced Pork, Prawns Skewer and Seafood Spring Roll with vermicelli, lettuce and pickled carrots/daikon.  This was quite a bit of food and was a great value at $34.00.  I enjoyed the all of the items including the one that wasn't listed.  It was a crispy triangle with what seemed like diced squid in it.  Short ribs were tender and nicely charred with sweet caramelization.  Sugar cane shrimp was removed from the sugar cane and it was sweet and bouncy.

Beyond the platter, we had a few more appies in the deep fried Soft Shell Crab as well as the deep fried Chicken Wings.  Featuring 2 large soft shell crabs, the dish was also served with a tamarind sauce.  Dipping the crispy battered crab into it really helped bring it alive with sweet tanginess.  As for the wings, they were crispy with rendered skin.  Meat was still juicy and well-marinated.  The outside was coated in a fish sauce caramel that was equal parts briny, salty and sweet.

On the menu, there are featured dishes as Chef's Special.  We ended up with a few of them including the Chicken Curry and the Flushing Fat Chicken.  The coconut curry was fragrant and pure-tasting.  I would've liked to see a bit more salt used in this, but it was great with the accompanying rice.  The dark meat chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender.  As for the other chicken dish, it sported a chicken leg and a half that was fried until golden brown.  The skin was super crispy and seriously rendered.  The chicken was a touch dry, but still tender and flavourful.  It was served with a delicious fried rice on the side. 

Another chef's special dish was the Sizzling Beef Hot Plate or a version of Bo Ne.  I really enjoyed the rich savoury meat flavour of the "gravy" that was great for dipping the toasted baguette.  Of course the sunny side egg didn't hurt either.  The tender morsels of beef were tender and plenty meaty-tasting with garlic and onion notes.  Somewhat of a "regular dish" was the Grilled Prawn Vermicelli Bowl.  Prawns were briny and sweet with heighten impact due to the grilling.  The spring roll was wrapped with rice paper, which meat it was flaky crispy.  Inside, the pork filling was juicy and well-seasoned.

We got a pair of noodle soups including the Bún Bò Huế and Bún Riêu.  The one I enjoyed most was the crab noodles as the briny sweetness was super concentrated with tanginess.  It was also chock full of sliced fish cake, fried tofu and of course the fluffy crab/pork/egg meatballs.  As for the BBH, it was a close second with a fragrant broth that also had balanced spice.  There was plenty of meat in the form of meatballs, Vietnamese ham and brisket.

We also tried some drinks including the Matcha Coconut, Fresh Lime Soda, Salted Cream Vietnamese Coffee and Jackfruit Smoothie.  My favourite of the bunch was the jackfruit as it featured bits of fruit and was refreshing and just sweet enough.  The lime soda was also refreshing and purposefully sweet.  We ended off with the Spicy Beef Sate Bánh Mi.  This had some good heat to go with the aromatics of the tender beef.  This was all served on a crusty baguette with an airy centre.  On this note, they are offering all Bánh Mi and drinks for 50% off this coming weekend (March 22nd and 23rd) with a limit of 2 per person.  If you can make it in by March 20th, they are offering 20% off your entire bill.  I would take advantage of this if I were you!

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

The Good:
- Solid eats
- Large portions
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Limited seating
- Some refinement on a few dishes needed

Big Star Sandwich Co.

It has been some time since I've been back to Big Star Sandwich Co.  It was way back when their original location in New West when it first opened.  Despite enjoying their fully-loaded sammies, especially the ones filled with Hickory Sticks, I never actually made it back.  They are now up to 9 locations and their newest is on Broadway at Willow in Vancouver.  Perfectly situated for all the hospital staff and visitors!  Jackie and I made our way down there to check things out.

We ended up ordering a variety of sandwiches that featured different proteins.  Also, we had all 3 sizes including snack, regular and large (so that we can compare the difference).  For our first, we went for The OG (#4) in snack size.  This had roast beef, bacon, cheddar, hickory sticks (missing in this one for some reason), lettuce and tomato.  What you see here was the snack size and it was more than enough for small appetites.  If you were a bit more hungry, a regular would be the best choice.  A large might be hard to finish unless you were famished.

Next, we had the Corned Beef on Marble Rye (#12)  with Swiss and deli mustard.  This would be considered a regular-sized sandwich in comparison to the fresh rustic filone.  In terms of texture, the light rye was fluffy with some bite.  It was aromatic and slightly sweet.  Of course it was a great match for the corned beef and mustard.  Totally a classic deli sandwich done right.  Other than the tender slices of meaty corned beef, the bread made this sandwich.

Sandwiched in between the same fluffy marble rye, we found roast beef, cheddar, lettuce, pickles, onions & Mack Sauce, the Big Mack (#14) did live up to its namesake.  Look at the amount of stuff in this!  Try to open your mouth wide enough for a bite.  With the addition of Hickory Sticks, there was crunchy salty smokiness to go with the real roast beef and cheddar.  Loved the soft bread as it helped accentuate the other textures.

Something along the same lines, we found the Tony Montana (#21) on the same rye bread with Pulled Pork, Ham, Swiss, Hickory Sticks, Lettuce, Pickles & Smoky Mustard.  This was a touch more salty due to the use of ham.  Texturally, it was a bit more tender due to the brined meat as opposed to the real roast beef.  With Swiss, there was a mustier flavour rather than the mild cheddar.  Once again, the Hickory Sticks provided crunch, saltiness and smokiness.

 

So the most surprising sandwich had to be the Beef Dip.  Okay, a beef dip isn't necessarily anything special,  but this one was legitimately delicious.  First off, we had the use of real roast beef that was tender and well, tasted like roast beef (not that salty brined Arby's stuff).  Then, we had the dip itself.  It was meaty and impactful with a slightly thick viscosity.  Hence, it not only soaked the bread, it also clung onto the meat as well.  This created a super saucy and savoury treat that I didn't want to stop eating.

 

Something that seemed rather familiar was the Turkey Day (#1) with its combination of real turkey, house-made stuffing, cranberry sauce & cranberry mayo.  I said familiar because it reminded me of a turkey dinner, but also it resembled something I've had at another sandwich place.  The one big difference was the lack of gravy in the sandwich.  In that sense, the bread didn't become soggy while the other ingredients stood out more.  I think the best way to do this sandwich would be a gravy dip on the side much like the beef dip (but with turkey gravy of course).  Otherwise, the turkey had a moist natural texture and the stuffing was nicely seasoned.  Would've liked to see more cranberry though.

 

With all of the fully-stuffed sandwich creations we had tried so far, the Santa Monica (#2) was more on the simpler side.  We got it in the snack size and it featured turkey, bacon, cheddar, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and creamy honey mustard.  Again, really appreciated the use of real turkey meat that was moist and tender.  The addition of bacon was key as it provided the necessary saltiness for the mild turkey meat.  Guac added a bright creaminess while the honey mustard provided sweetness and extra moisture.

 

Completely the opposite of the previous sandwich, the Inferno (#9) offered up plenty of impact with ham, capocollo, bacon, habanero jack, lettuce, tomato, pepperoncini and chipotle mayo.  Despite its namesake, this sandwich wasn't super spicy.  Rather, it was flavourful with hits of spice from the capocollo and jack cheese, but then had equal parts saltiness, smokiness and brightness.  Once again, this was in snack size, but still was fufilling.

 

Back to the overstuffed sammies, we had the Mack Daddy (#25) that sported turkey, bacon, provolone, crispy onions, lettuce, tomato and Mack sauce,  This was a bit similar to the Big Mack, but with turkey and provolone instead of roast beef and cheddar.  Hence, this was not as heavy in terms of the meat, but with the more robust bread compared to the fluffy rye, it was still filling.  The combination of crispy onions and Hickory Sticks made for lots of texture and added flavour.

Lastly, we had the Neeson (#28) that crammed roast beef, bacon, habanero jack, hickory sticks, lettuce, tomato, onions, chipotle mayo and bold BBQ sauce.  This was named after the Liam Neeson as he was filming in New West back in 2017.  He was offered a free meal and he showed up!  So this sandwich does live up to its namesake with a robust amount of meat (since Liam plays macho revenge-type characters) within a hearty sandwich.  Overall, all the sammies we tried were all stuffed full of meat (that was weighed, so the pictures are legitimate representations) and were not longing for flavour.  Sure, they cost more than Subway, but the quality of the meats and bread are superior.  In reality, it isn't even a comparison.  I think I need to visit Big Star more often because I like myself a good sandwich, especially with real meat.

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

The Good:

- Quality ingredients

- Real meat

- Hickory sticks!

The Bad:

- Will cost you more, but worth it IMO