Mario's Kitchen

Ah. the water slide, a current of rushing water underneath your posterior; more fun than you can ever have with a bidet. Today, the whole family made the trek out to Splashdown Park out in Tsawwassen. My son seemed very excited to go; but after a few assisted runs down the kiddie slides, he decided it was time to go home. No way buddy, we didn't pay $15 for you to half-heartedly go down a few slides and call it a day. So we gave him his Nintendo DS and we ended up going on some runs. I've never been a big fan of water slides; but the inner tube river run was very fun. Too bad I accidentally elbowed Chill M's daughter in the head while going down that run. She didn't seem a bit worse for wear. Viv went down the blue slides and she said that they were slow and in fact she stopped dead in her tracks a few times. Gee, doesn't sound like that much fun. I could have been playing hockey instead since I was missing it for the water slides. No matter, family time is more important.

Since we don't make it out to Tsawwassen very often, I suggested we grab some late lunch at a favourite of mine - Mario's Kitchen. Luckily for us, we arrived well past lunch hour and snagged the only table that could accommodate 4 adults and 5 kids. Suffice to say, the restaurant is very kid friendly; from the kid's menu and crayons to the Popsicles or giant cookie for dessert. Once again, Bubbly M hijacked my camera and I am obliged to credit her with some of the photos. The kiddies ended up ordering the usual, pizza and chicken strips. Bubbly M ordered the Tuscan Linguine and it was pretty good. I've had the pasta here in the past and although it isn't spectacular, it's more than acceptable. Her pasta was al dente and the sauce was seasoned adequately. I had originally ordered the BBQ Glazed Half-Chicken; but what I really ended up with was BBQ Glazed Chicken Breasts. I really had no problem with it since the chicken was cooked perfectly tender and the sauce was quite good. However, I would've appreciated that they had asked me beforehand. The rice on the side was terrible, undercooked and bland. Viv and Chill M had the Cajun Chicken Cheddar Sandwich. Not much to say about a sandwich, but apparently the chicken was tender and well seasoned.

Since there were 5 kids, it took awhile to get out of the restaurant. Finally we made it outside and I had to open my big mouth and compliment Bubbly M's new Pumas. She went ahead and told Viv to join her at the shoe store which was having a sale. Great, now we have to wait for 2 women shoe shopping. What did I do to deserve this? Oh right, I complimented someone on their new shoes... Luckily it didn't take too long and we were on our way. Since we were sort of in the neighbourhood, I dropped by Danny's Market for another Screamer. At least the visit to Splashdown was not all for naught.

The Good:
- Reasonably priced
- Good portions
- Decent food

The Bad:
- Food came out a bit slow (maybe because we arrived well past lunch?)

Pajo's

Alright, after grabbing a Screamer from Danny's Market, we headed over to Steveston for some lunch. Yes, I got dessert before my meal. While driving along Williams and making a turn onto #3 Road, I ended up following a student driver. Great. I was following a student driver in the heart of Richmond. What did I do wrong to deserve this inhumane punishment. Luckily I was able to pass the student driver and carry on my merry way. My restaurant of choice today was Pajo's, which is known for their fish & chips. In fact, Pajo's can be seen as some sort of novelty since their location at Steveston is right on the pier (translation: tourist trap). However, despite this, I've always enjoyed Pajo's fish & chips.

Today, Viv and I decided we were only going to share a meal since we were planning to eat an early dinner. So that we could get a little of everything, we went for the One of Each, which included one piece each of halibut, salmon and cod. Included with this were fries, tartar sauce and lemon wedges. This set me back $13.00. Influenced by Kim (I'm Only Here for the Food!) I decided to take a picture of all the condiments while I was waiting for my order. If you look at the bottom right hand corner, there are 2 small cups of ketchup. Yes, they were mine. I decided to get the ketchup before I received my order because I knew I wouldn't be able to dispense the ketchup while holding a cone-shaped paper container. Well, for the first time in my life, as I turned around for a split second to get my order, someone jacked my ketchup! For only reasons known to the thief, they took ketchup that had already been dispensed. Suffice to say, I was a bit confounded and a bit ticked off because I had to go back for more ketchup (we were seated on the upper level of the pier).

If you look at the picture of the condiments again, you'll notice something is missing. Yes, it's the malt vinegar. Where was the malt vinegar? Well, it was actually at the table behind us. I can't believe they took the only malt vinegar and hogged it for themselves. First ketchup stealing, then malt vinegar hoarding? What has this world come to??? Despite it being quite easy, I'm not going to blame this on Richmond. In terms of the fish & chips, it's pretty decent. The fish is fresh and the batter is not too thick. Nicely fried, crispy and easy on the grease. Chips are crunchy without being oily. Not the best fish & chips I've ever had; but considering the venue, it's solid. I find the prices quite reasonable for what you get. It ain't cheap; yet not exactly gouging either. And yes, there is the novelty factor as well. You can't really beat the fact it's right on the water and especially on a nice day like today; the whole experience cannot be replicated in a restaurant.

The Good:
- Unique location
- Decent fish & chips
- Prices are reasonable considering it's a touristy location

The Bad:
- Not really enough places to sit when busy
- Aggressive crows and seagulls, do not leave your food unattended

Danny's Market

When you hear the name "Screamer", a few things might come to mind. A loud baby? A boisterous fan? A car peeling out? Miss Y? Well, the Screamer I'm referring to is the beverage and/or dessert which consists of a slushee and soft serve ice cream. Yes, it's quite a simple concoction, but oh so yummy and refreshing on a hot day. You'd think something so relatively easy to make readily available. Wrong. To the best of my knowledge, there are only a few places that you can obtain this tasty treat - Baguette Time (thanks to Five Loaves for the info) in Vancouver and Danny's Market in Richmond. Since I was heading to Richmond today, I targeted Danny's Market on my GPS as a necessary stop. The first time I had a Screamer was at the Calgary Zoo last year. I couldn't believe I hadn't tried one sooner, the thing is plain awesome. My favourite by far is Orange Crush slushee and soft serve. This is the closest thing to a Creamsicle. To give credit where credit is due, the only reason I knew of Danny's Market was because of other bloggers: Five Loaves, Yum-O-Rama and 604 Foodtography.

The Screamer itself is a bit hard to drink with a straw at first. It's best to let it melt a bit, mix it up a bit or use a spoon. Don't let it melt too much, then it becomes a mess. As Danny & Jeremy mentioned, the Screamer can be a meal in itself. Don't try this after you've eaten a really large meal. But, I do recommend that you try one, even if you live a distance away. It's that good. Add in that it's only a little over $4.00 for a large with extra ice cream, it's easy on the wallet too.

The Good:
- It takes a slushee to a whole new level
- It's reasonably priced
- They don't skimp on the soft serve

The Bad:
- It's actually quite filling, not really something you want to have if you're full
- Not really a negative, but there are not many places you can get this