Pico Bello Trattoria

*This restaurant is now closed*

I can't believe that I've never seen Pico Bello before. I drive by it every day and I have specifically looked at this strip mall, in the hopes of finding more good eats. Yes, Pico Bello is located in the strangest of locations. It's tucked in a corner of the strip mall on Scott Road in between 82nd and 84th. Moreover, Pico Bello seems to have nothing in common with any of the other stores nearby. However, I guess quite a few people know about this gem because there is a banner proudly displayed outside indicating that it was voted #1 by Surrey and North Delta Now readers.

We arrived just as it opened and of course the restaurant was empty. I like this, since I can take a picture of the restaurant with nobody in it. We looked over the menu and it's pretty simple. There are some appies, salads and pasta. The pizzas were crossed off and our server explained they are in the process of hiring another pizza chef. The server was very friendly and she took her time to explain the daily specials. I struggled deciding what to eat and eventually settled on a standard: Spaghetti and Meatballs. Tash had the Fettuccine Alfredo (another classic).

We were started off with some bread and it was really good! I wanted to save some for my pasta, so I stopped eating it and then it got cold. I guess it was a no-win situation. Our pastas arrived pretty quickly and I knew I was going to like it. One look and there were big chunks of fresh tomatoes and ground beef mixed in with fresh slivers of basil. The pasta was done a perfect al dente. Unlike Anton's, there was just enough sauce to coat the pasta. The meatballs were excellent. They were moist on the inside; yet browned on the outside. The flavours were delicate and did not overpower the sauce. The sauce itself was a good balance of tang, sweet and salty.

The same could be said about the Fettuccine Alfredo except it had a bit more sauce. However, the sauce was rich and it successfully adhered to the pasta. So, in the end, it was the right amount . The sauce was a perfect balance of creaminess and delicate flavour. The pasta was also al dente. It appears they really know what they are doing. This is quite perplexing to me. How can a small Italian restaurant in a very strange location make such good pasta? I mean, I thought it was superior to Marcello. Well, I ain't complaining! The more authentic places for me to eat, the better!

The Good:
- Pasta was cooked correctly
- Food looks the part and tastes the part
- Good service

The Bad:
- It ain't cheap here
- Very odd location

Pico Bello Trattoria
#101 - 8556 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-591-5559

Business Hours:
11:30am - 10:00pm (Tue - Fri)
5:00pm - 10:00pm (Sat & Sun)

Hanwoori

So, what do you think most people were doing tonight? It was game 3 of the 2nd round series for the Canucks. If you said watching the game at home or at the bar, you would be correct. Guess where I was? No I was neither at home or at a bar. Why??? Well, the clutch on Viv's car was on the fritz and we had to take the car in for servicing. Therefore, we headed over to our mechanic to drop off her car. Since we were out and hungry, we went to a nearby restaurant. Wait! Why not just get takeout and head home to watch the rest of the game? Okay, the reason why I didn't do that is because I'm superstitious. You see, I play ice hockey and in fact, I'm a goalie. If you know hockey, goalies are the most superstitious (and crazy) people. I am no exception (except for the crazy part...). It seems every time I miss a Canucks game, they win. My reasoning was: If I don't watch it, they will win.

Okay, let's stop this discussion of my goalie craziness (I'm not crazy!). The restaurant that we went to was Hanwoori. I haven't been here in awhile; but I remember that there is good, authentic Korean food to be had here. We decided to order a few standard items: Bibimbap and Japchae. I decided to order one item I've never had before: Gori Gomtang (Oxtail Soup). We started off with the complimentary Banchan which consisted of marinated bean sprouts, kimchi , stewed potatoes, pickled daikon and kimchi-style romaine lettuce. All of the Banchan were fresh looking and tasted as such too.

The Bibimbap arrived first and there were so many ingredients, you wouldn't know there was rice in the bowl. There was a generous amount of fresh carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, beef, fern brakes, shiitake mushrooms and fried egg. Mixed together with Kochujang (red pepper paste), the rice was fantastic. It's amazing something this simple can taste so good. Next, we had the Japchae and it was absolutely enormous. Well, for $16, it'd better be enormous. While I was eating, I had a short chat on the phone with Ben, who writes Chow Times. He first questioned why I was not watching the Canucks game. Then he remarked that Korean food is expensive. Well, I can't disagree with him there. $16 for some noodles is a bit steep! However, the Japchae was really good. It was done perfectly. The flavours were subtle and the dish was not oily. Moreover, the noodles were soft; yet still chewy and there was no shortage of ingredients in the dish.

Last to arrive was the Gori Gomtang. It was accompanied by a bowl of rice and seasoned salt. The salt is necessary for this dish, since it is quite bland. The soup is pretty simple, with barely detectable hints of garlic and ginger (and oxtail of course). However, with the addition of the salt, all the flavours come alive. Despite the broth being light tasting, it still has a richness to it, due to the fatty oxtail. The oxtail itself was very tender.

I really like the food at Hanwoori, you can see it is made with care. However, you definitely pay accordingly since it isn't cheap. The service was actually quite friendly, although when it started to get a bit busier, it was very sparse. But in my experience, this is quite typical in Korean restaurants. As for the Canucks game, they won. You see, I'm not crazy after all!

The Good:
- Great looking and tasting food
- Clean restaurant
- Friendly, if not hectic service

The Bad:
- Pricey
- Hectic, if not friendly service

Hanwoori
5740 Imperial Street
Burnaby, B.C.
604-439-0815

Pepperoni Cafe

*Restaurant is closed permanently*

Having eaten Indian food for lunch yesterday, I needed to eat something else. As mentioned before, there are a plethora of good Indian restaurants in North Delta and Surrey. Therefore, I needed to look real hard to find non-Indian food. Well, I really had to look hard for this one because I ended up driving all the way to Scott Road and 64th. That's 20 blocks from where I work! Nestled in the strip mall on the Southeast corner of the intersection is Pepperoni Cafe. Normally, people come here for the pizza (which I heard is pretty good); however, I was here to try one of their sub sandwiches.

Yes, I really didn't feel like ordering a whole pizza for myself, despite the fact there is an individual size available. I don't know if it's just me, but I find that individual size pizzas have more dough than toppings. I much prefer getting a pizza slice. I decided to go for the Smoked Chicken sub with lettuce, provolone cheese, ranch, mayo, spices & tomato. You might be wondering why I put tomato last when I listed the ingredients... Well, I'm not really a big fan of raw tomatoes and I actually decided eat them in my sandwich. Yes, that's as adventurous as I got today.

If the pizza at the Pepperoni Cafe is as good as people have indicated, then it's a good thing. Why? I honestly didn't think much of my sub. It wasn't terrible, but it was nothing special. For the same price I could get a much tastier sub from Quizno's or Subway. The sub at Pepperoni Cafe was lacking substance. There was meat and veggies in there, but I couldn't taste them. The overwhelmingly dense and thick bread prevented me from even tasting much of the tomatoes! And I thought it was a breakthrough for me to eat raw tomatoes! Well, I'll try their pizza someday and update this post. Hopefully it lives up to the hype.

The Good:
- Heard they have good pizza (will update this when I do)
- Pretty nice interior for a pizza joint
- Staff was nice

The Bad:
- If I crave Quizno's and Subway over this sub, there is a problem
- A bit pricey

Pepperoni Cafe
#140 - 6388 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-594-7777
pepperonicafe.com

Business Hours:
9:30am - 9:00pm (Mon - Thu)
9:30am - 10:00pm (Fri & Sat)
10:00am - 9:00pm (Sun)

Burgoo (Pt. Grey)

Well, today was another manic Monday. There was a staff meeting that went to about 4:45 and I had to get to my softball game by 6:45. You might think 2 hours would be plenty of time for that; however, I was in North Delta and had to get home to North Burnaby. Then, I had to get to my game at Lord Byng in Vancouver. I actually made it early to the game; but Miss Y (who was with me at the meeting) barely made it on time. The team has agreed that we should just get Miss Y a GPS. The game itself was really high-scoring, our team won 28-14. I had a second straight solid game and some team members thought I on the juice a la Alex Rodriguez. I just surmised that all my eating had given me strength (at least that's what I believe...).

After the game, we had the usual discussion as where to eat. Bear suggested that we go to Burgoo since it was nearby. Having never been to Burgoo, I was still thinking of other places to go. However, Judes pipes up and confirms that Burgoo is really good, especially on this cold and wet day. Bear was a bit miffed that I listened to Judes and not him. Well, Judes is better looking than Bear! So you might be wondering what a place like Burgoo serves for food. Well, Burgoo is a term that refers to a stew made with whatever is on hand. But, Bear insists that his explanation is better - Burgoo is just roadkill. Now you know why I was skeptical of his ideas! In addition to stews, Burgoo serves up soups and sandwiches as well.

Being a bit boring, 3 people ordered the Irish Stew. However, after trying it, I understood why they ordered it. The well-portioned stew was packed with vegetables, dumplings and tender lamb (that had been braised in Guinness). In addition to the stew, there were 2 large scoops of mash potatoes. I really liked the simplicity of the stew, right down to it's natural colour. Judes had the Sunset Corn & Chicken soup with a Chicken Caesar Club. I tried the soup and it was fabulous. The sweet corn and spicy chipotle was tempered by the creme fraiche. Also, the addition of lime and cilantro gave the soup some zing and aroma.

Boss Woman had the Pacific Chowder and I didn't get to taste it. Boss Woman described the soup as creamy with plenty of salmon and veggies. Moreover, there was just enough hits of fish flavour to give it an overall seafood taste. By the way, the pictures are not a good representation as to how big these soups really are. These large cups are sufficient as a meal in itself! And this is a great segue to my meal. I already had my mind set on the Kentucky Burgoo (since I am at Burgoo); but I noticed that there was a Lobster Bisque on the fresh sheet. I absolutely love Lobster Bisque, so I ordered it as well. Of course this was before I knew how big the soups were here. Unlike most bisque's I've had, the one at Burgoo was not all that creamy. Rather, it was predominantly a tomato-based soup with some cream. Thus, the lobster was cast in more of a supporting role. The tartness of the tomato masked some of the other flavours in the soup. They should have called it Tomato Soup with Aroma of Lobster. With that being said I thoroughly enjoyed the soup - it just wasn't Lobster Bisque.

Now to the signature dish - the Kentucky Burgoo. This is what the whole thing is about; a hodgepodge of meats and veggies in a stew. I believe there was lamb and beef in the stew with Lima beans, corn, tomatoes, cabbage and okra. All of this was served over 2 Burgoo biscuits (you can get mashed potatoes instead). The stew was quite a bit different than the Irish Stew. It was much more savory and tangy. With the addition of tomatoes (and possibly tomato paste), the stew was richer and had more depth of flavour. Not sure why but the meats in my stew were a bit drier than that of the Irish Stew. In the end, I only finished half my stew, partly because I was full from the soup and the stew itself was quite hearty.

Bear and Milhouse went a bit further than all of us and decided to have dessert! They both ordered a Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding each!!! Again, the picture does not do it justice. The thing was just massive and it was topped off with a scoop of ice cream! Since both of them were begging us to try some (they couldn't finish it), I took a bite. I must say this dessert is a winner. Despite the fact it should've been very sweet due to all the ingredients, it wasn't too bad. The soft banana bread was delicate and it went really well with the ice cream. This was definitely a comfort dessert. In fact, the whole menu and restaurant is based on the concept of comfort food. If food could actually give you a hug, that's how it feels to eat at Burgoo (if getting a hug from roadkill is your thing).

The Good:
- Pretty good stews and soups
- Pretty good portions
- Good service

The Bad:
- Menu is focused primarily on soups and stews, if you don't like that, this is not the place for you
- Despite being a good value, prices are not cheap

Burgoo
4434 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.
604-221-7839
www.burgoo.ca

Business Hours:
11:00am - 10:00pm (7 days a week)

Mehfil

*Restaurant is permanently closed*

Okay, I finally did it. I went to try the Indian buffet at Mehfil. I know, I know, some of my friends have warned me to avoid it like the plague. On the other hand, I've heard others say it's pretty good. One particular review that I read online indicated that someone was actually vomiting while eating the food. The food can't be that bad, can it??? Well, no matter what, I was going on an adventure apparently! I got to the restaurant right when it opened. One quick look at the buffet and it reminded me of the movie Vegas Vacation. There is a scene where Clark Griswold goes to the cheapest buffet ($1.49) with cousin Eddie and the food looks all the same; but only in different colours. If you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, go here to see it. Well, if you look at the pictures, the food is merely sauces in different colours much like the movie. However, unlike the movie, the food is actually edible. Moreover, Indian food can be sauce-dominant; therefore, the buffet will look like Vegas Vacation.

The buffet is actually quite comprehensive for the price. The carbs included Naan, Papadoms, potatoes and rice. Inexplicably for an Indian buffet, there was chow mein and spring rolls (I didn't touch those). I did try the Vegetable Pakora and although they were fried up nicely and tasted pretty good, they were a bit too dense. Naturally, I had to try the Butter Chicken and the chicken was quite tender. However, the sauce itself was not really that good. It was runny and not creamy enough. I think there was not enough cream in the sauce. With that being said, it did taste okay; however, with a lack of cream, it had more of a tomato taste. On the other hand, the Goat Curry was pretty good. The pieces of goat were generally quite tender. The sauce was mild and delicately flavoured.

The Chicken Curry was also pretty good. There were big, tender pieces of chicken nestled in a curry that had predominant hints of cilantro and ginger. I personally thought that this was the best of the curries. I tried a bit of the Zucchini curry as well and it was alright. I'm not a big fan of vegetarian curries, so I guess I'm a bit biased. Since Zucchini becomes quite mushy when cooked, the whole curry was just a gooey mess. Speaking of gooey messes, the Palak Paneer was not that great either. There was practically no paneer in it; therefore, the dish was essentially just mushy spinach (which was kinda bland too). I like Palak Paneer, but I didn't like this one.

The lunch buffet cost me $8.95 and to be fair, it is actually okay. Naturally a buffet is never as good as a made-to-order meal. If you are hungry or in a rush, the buffet does the job. However, for $8.95, I can also easily get a lunch special from Mahek, Mirch Masala, Desi Junction, Tasty Sweets or Sohi's. All of which are better than Mehfil. Yet, my visit to Mehfil debunks the idea that it is gross; it was actually acceptable. But, I am still amused by the similarities it shares with the buffet in Vegas Vacation.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Good selection

The Bad:
- Food is pretty average
- Desserts are weak

Mehfil
9570 120th Street
Surrey, B.C.
604-587-3200

Business Hours:
11:30am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu)
11:30am - 11:00pm (Fri & Sat)

Simba`s Grill

*Restaurant has moved to 3300 Boundary Road*

Viv and I needed to go run some errands at Metrotown, so we dropped the kiddies with the grandparents. But I was starving after playing floor hockey. I was originally thinking of going for some Vietnamese pho or wonton noodles. However, I'm not sure if that would've satisfy my hunger pains. I started flipping through the Entertainment book for some ideas. At first we were going to go for some Greek food; but I then noticed a lonely coupon sitting in a drawer Viv just cleaned out. Simba's Grill! I've been looking for that coupon for months. I originally ripped it out planning to use it; but we never ended up going. This was the perfect opportunity to go, since the kiddies probably wouldn't be too keen on African food. Hey, I'm up for African food! Well, I'm up for any kind of food actually...

So we head over to Edmonds at 4:00pm for dinner. Yes, we were the only ones there at 4:00pm. Well, less people to stare at me when I'm busily snapping away with my camera! We were greeted by the server and she informed us of the daily special, which was a Fish Red Curry on Saffron Rice. Viv thought that sounded good and decided to go with it. One look of the menu and it's quite simple. You essentially have grilled meat on the first page and then curries on the second. Since Viv was having curry already, I went for the Grilled Beef Skewers. We also went for the Grilled Chicken Livers to start.

Arriving the same time as our chicken livers was a plate of condiments. There was sour cream, coconut slivers, hot sauce and tamarind sauce. You can experiment with different combinations with your food. I found that the hot sauce with sour cream worked really well together on meat. The chicken livers had really good colour and charring. However, they were not overcooked. They were still moist on the inside. This was supposed to be our appetizer, but it was really large and all livers! We were kind of full after this.

The fish curry was quite the dish. There was massive amount of long grain saffron rice accompanying the 2 large fish fillets (we think it was Tilapia). Viv asked for the curry to medium and it was indeed very mild. One good thing about it being so mild was that it didn't overpower the delicate flavours of the fish. I found that using the coconut and tamarind on the fish worked the best.

The grilled beef skewers came on an equally large plate of rice. Viv and I agreed that it would be hard for one person to eat all that rice. It was equivalent to around 3 large bowls. Moreover, there 5 skewers of beef; also more than enough for one person. The beef was quite charred; but I didn't mind it, it added a lot of flavour. However, you might want to eat some broccoli after this, since it's carcinogen-heaven. Again, sour cream and hot sauce were good compliments to the charred beef. Viv also had the naan to go with her curry. Too bad the curry was not served separately from the rice because she couldn't dip the naan into the curry very much. Mind you, the naan was pretty good. It was very light and the generous amount of butter made it taste good on its own.

We enjoyed our visit to Simba's. Although it is considered a fusion restaurant (not everything is really African), it still felt like an African experience. The decor was unique and the African music playing in the background really adds to the overall experience. One particular song had the phrase "Hakuna Matata", made famous by the movie The Lion King. I guess it's appropriate since the restaurant is named Simba! And we really didn't have any worries (that's what hakuna matata means), good service, good food, big portions and reasonable prices!

The Good:
- Something a little bit different
- Big portions
- Cool decor

The Bad:
- Limited menu items
- Really small restaurant

Crave

Viv and I both had to get haircuts today. Last time I got a haircut, I was considering going to Splitz Grill since it is fairly close to my salon. However, I changed my mind and went to Moderne Burger instead. This time, I was also thinking of going to Splitz Grill to try their burgers; but alas, there was a change of plan again. Driving up Main street, on my way to get some cash from the bank, I spotted Crave bistro. Hmmm... This is a fairly popular restaurant and since I'm in the neighbourhood - oh why not? Well, maybe some day I'll actually end up going to Splitz!

It was pretty busy at Crave, even though it was well past lunch hour. We were lucky to get a table; however it was inside. Since it was a nice and sunny day, the back patio was packed. Looking over the menu, the prices were extremely reasonable. It's nice to see good food for reasonable prices these days! We decided to start with the Ahi Tuna Tempura Roll. Although Crave is not a Japanese restaurant, the roll was done quite well. The tuna was fresh and there was only a very thin layer of tempura batter on the outside of the roll. It was served with ponzu and it was just enough flavour for the delicate roll. Only complaint is that the rice was a bit mushy. Viv had the Shorty Rigatoni and it was a winner. The rigatoni was done al dente (more on the chewy side) and they were not shy on the amount of shredded short rib. There must've been more meat than pasta (Viv actually thought there should have been more pasta). You can't see it in the picture, but trust me, the meat is all under that pasta! Flavours were good, the sauce was sweeter than tart. Moreover, there was just enough sauce to coat everything.

I had the Pulled Pork and Slaw Sandwich. Yes, I have no respect for the Swine Flu that's been going around. Besides, it has nothing to do with pork itself anyways! The pulled pork was extremely tender and the coleslaw gave the sandwich a bit of texture and zing. The sauce itself for the pulled pork was a bit sweet; yet it went well with the sandwich. Only complaint was that the bread was a bit soggy on the bottom. However, I did think that since the bread was soft, it made the sandwich easier to eat. I can't stand sandwiches on hard bread, it's so hard to chew! The fries are worth mentioning since they were very good. Quite crispy on the outside; yet still potato texture and flavour on the inside. They were very similar to the ones at Salade de Fruits. I got the garlic mayo on the side and that was a nice compliment to the fries (I don't like ketchup with my fries). We thought the service was very good at Crave. It was efficient and friendly. Moreover, we enjoyed the quaintness of the restaurant; it's definitely worth checking out.

The Good:
- Food is tasty
- Service is good
- Prices are reasonable
- Portions are good

The Bad:
- It is tight in there, you feel like canned fish
- Parking can be hard to come by during the day

Crave
3941 Main Street
Vancouver, B.C.
604-872-3633
www.craverestaurants.com