Foodbuzz Blogger Festival Mixer & Street Food

Alright, after posts on Showdogs and The Burger Bar, you might be wondering why I'm in San Francisco. I do have quite a few relatives in the Bay Area and I do visit every 3 years or so; but the main reason was due to the 1st ever Foodbuzz Blogger Festival. For featured publishers, all the programming food and booze was comped. The only catch was that we needed to arrange our own airfare and accommodations. I originally hesitated on attending; but my inner foodie overtook me and in no time, I was booking my airfare and hotel. Thank goodness I have an understanding wife because I actually extended my stay by 3 days to visit my relatives.

The day I left for San Fran didn't start off very well though. I found out that my flight had been delayed by 30 minutes (cutting into my eating time!). However, the actual plane was a treat. Apparently, it was the chartered tour plane for U2; thus all the seating was business class! Score! The fun all ended when I arrived at SFO, the BART was shut down due to some moron on the tracks. I had to resort to taking a shuttle instead which wasted another hour of my time. By the time I got to the hotel, it was 1:00pm - I was supposed to arrive at 10:45am! Being very hungry, I decided to grab something quick. One problem, it was pouring rain and I had left my umbrella at home after seeing the weather reports saying otherwise. Thus, I walked a good 20 minutes for a hot dog in the rain. I'm committed or I should be committed.

Thankfully, the rain subsided for our 8th floor rooftop soiree at the Hotel Vitale. Although, it was a bit chilly despite the heaters. There were fantastic views of the Bay Bridge and the Ferry Building. It was nice to mingle with fellow bloggers and Foodbuzz staff. Skyy Vodka was available (score!) and I ended up trying the Autumn Apple cocktail. It was pretty balanced, not being too sweet; yet not overly strong either. Michelle Mah of Midi prepared the Pork Rillettes Crostini and Gruyere, Bacon & Marscapone Gougeres for us to sample. Plus, Eddie Blyden of Henry's presented his Angry Mac 'n Cheese Poppers. I liked the crostini, it was crunchy with plenty of meat. I just didn't like the pickled onions on top. They were a bit overwhelming. I really didn't like the Gougeres. The texture was way too dry and the filling was overwhelmed by bacon (and I love bacon!). However, I really liked the mac 'n cheese. Infused with a spicy kick, it was a fine departure from the usual.

After awhile, we noticed people were heading over to the Ferry Building for the "street food" tasting. A closed off section was open only for us to sample items from an impressive array of vendors. The first thing to greet us was Speakeasy Beer. I didn't actually get to try the beer; but everyone seemed quite happy with it or was it they were happy because of it? Before I even got a chance to head over to a vendor, someone from 4505 Meats brought over some Chicharrones. That was a welcomed sight! Perfectly crisp pork rinds that were airy and flavourful. There was a nice kick at the end. Starting with dessert first, I tried the Pink Grapefruit mini cupcake from Mission Minis. Light and not too sweet, these minis were the perfect one-bite snack. Then heading over to where the crowd was, I had a very tasty Braised Shortrib Soft Taco from Tacolicious. I gotta tell you, this was one yummy taco with tender short rib and choice of sauces. I could've eaten many more of these. The biggest lineup of all was at Roli Roti. They were serving "Mini" Rotisserie Porchetta on an Acme Roll with curly cress and onion marmalade. The fatty pork was absolutely divine. Chomping down on the sandwich revealed crunchy treasures of which can only come from a pig. The Rosemary Roasted French Fingerling Potatoes were cooked directly below the rotisserie pork and its drippings. Believe me, they were very good. However, I wasn't fond of the roll, it was a bit hard and every bite forced the pork to slide out of the sandwich.

I love oysters and when I saw that Hog Island Oyster Co. were shucking fresh ones, I was all over it. A little squeeze of lime, some vinegar and Tabasco, it was buttery sweet and flavourful. What a treat! Directly to the right was Pie Truck serving up a Gruyere and Meat Pie. Hot, flaky and bursting with meat, these little pies were sinful. Finished yet? No, there is more! Extremely thin crust pizza from Pizza Politana was waiting at the very end of the hall. Consisting of eggplant, olives, feta and parsley, this pizza was very easy to eat. I would've preferred a less limpy crust, but I guess it's difficult to cook in such mass quantities at this venue. Nearing the end, I gave the Fungi Vol au Vent from Spencer on the Go a try. There was plenty of delicious mushrooms in a rich cream sauce over hollowed-out puff pastry. Mercifully, I ended up at the last vendor, which was actually near the entrance (go figure), Straus Family Creamery for some Coffee Ice Cream. Rich and not too sweet, the ice cream was pretty good. The coffee flavour was a bit understated which I prefer since I'm not a big coffee drinker. Boy was I stuffed, an impressive event organized by Foodbuzz spoiled us all. Now would you believe I was headed to Absinthe after this???

The Burger Bar

It appears the simple burger has come back into fashion of late. You have In-n-Out and 5 Guys leading the way with quality fast food which is both fresh and inexpensive. Beyond that, many fine dining establishments offer some gourmet variation of the modest burger. Going a bit further with this concept is the devotion of restaurants solely to burgers. It's certainly interesting that Hurbert Keller embraced this concept and opened the Burger Bar in Las Vegas, then St. Louis. Now he has a location in San Francisco, which is where his flagship restaurant resides (Fleurs de Lys). Situated on the 6th floor of Macy's in Union Square, the Burger Bar is not much to look at inside. It's merely a functional restaurant which serves freshly ground meat which is cooked-to-order. This is probably the only safe way to under cook meat without a side of E-Coli.

Not feeling all that hungry after a Showdog and with the Foodbuzz welcome party 2 hours later, I still wanted to try these supposedly tasty burgers. I had previously discussed this intended visit with local food blogger Foodnut.com. This place has been open for only about a month and there were still some kinks that needed to be worked out - such as wait times for food and execution. There were only 2 burgers I considered ordering - the Rossini or the Hubert Keller. The HK burger won out because I didn't want to shell out $60.00 for a burger despite the addition of fois gras and shaved truffle. It appears they worked out the kinks because my burger arrived in less than 10 minutes. Impressively stacked high with blue cheese, caramelized onions and baby spinach on a ciabatta bun, the buffalo meat was cooked medium (a little closer to medium rare). This resulted in a very tender burger with plenty of meat flavour. Cooked any longer and the meat could've been dry since buffalo is quite lean. Despite the strong taste of blue cheese, it did not overwhelm the other components.

The accompanying Skinny fries were crispy and light. Nothing much else to say about them really. I added the Zucchini Fries to try them out and honestly, they were not very good. They were limp and overcooked on the inside and the batter was a bit soggy on the outside. I pulled some of them out of the batter and if they ever made Viagra for vegetables, this would be a good time to use it. So was my burger worth $22.00? I guess it depends if you like burgers. I personally do and I would do it again. Still not sure if I'd try the $60.00 one though. The table next to me had it and said it was like eating meat with butter. If you like fat running down your hand and arm, then the $60.00 is well worth it. The fat content is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of taste; but it certainly takes a few years off your life.

The Good:

- Freshly ground meat and cooked-to-order

- Creative ingredients including some really expensive ones

- Service was solid

The Bad:

- If you go beyond the basic burgers, it gets expensive

- The zucchini fries are terrible

- It's very busy, go early or late

Showdogs

What exactly is a "showdog"? Is it merely a dog that can trot elegantly for all the judges to see? Or is it a dog that can jump through hoops and do tricks on the Leno? How about a dog that "wants to be a dancer", but ends up as a Vegas casualty? Oh wait, that was Showgirls... How about none of the above? This Showdog is neither one that can jump through hoops nor trot majestically. In fact, there is no real refinement in its location on Market at Golden Gate Ave. No, it's not the most attractive of areas; but if you look past that, there is hot dog waiting for you.

Wait, these are not the usual dogs. Unlike Elizabeth Berkeley, these dogs are dressed... to the tilt with not-your-usual toppings. With so many to choose from, I merely asked what is the best one if I had only one to eat? The confident answer was the Smoked Chicken Apple with Apple Chutney and Arugula. Actually, that sounded kind of good since I was planning on having a burger not too long after. I gotta say, it looked impressive when I picked it up from the counter. With a mound of apple chutney and arugula hiding the chicken frank, this is no ordinary dog. One bite into the darn thing and honestly, all I could taste was apple chutney. Boy, was it sweet. I immediately made a face similar to how I reacted while watching Showgirls. However, it wasn't one of disgust necessarily (for the movie yes). Rather, it was just the shock of so much sweet and tartness. Once I got past the initial shock, eating the hot dog was quite pleasant. The sweetness really went well with the juicy chicken dog. I also liked the bun, it was soft and a bit crispy on the outside. All-in-all, I liked the hot dog. I didn't love it; but at least the T & A in Showdogs is much less in-your-face than Showgirls.

The Good:

- Creative toppings

- Freshly made-to-order

- Decently comfortable restaurant

The Bad:

- Not the prettiest of areas

- These dogs are not cheap

Lee's Chicken

On our way to Ah-Beetz, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a Lee's Chicken. Yes, call it a 6th sense, "I can see restaurants!" I put forward the idea to Kim and Anita that we visit this Lee's after we eat pizza. The good thing about being with other foodies is that they are usually up for anything. Never pass up an opportunity to eat! So, despite being completely stuffed, we stopped at Lee's before getting back on the freeway. Initially, the other people waiting for their orders were quite perplexed at my picture-taking. At one point, I just had to tell the guy staring at me that, "I'm not Japanese". I explained what I was doing and everything seemed a bit more normal. It took a little while for our order; but we were not complaining. The reason is what makes Lee's Chicken so good is because they cook it to order, not like that "kept warm" chicken at KFC. This brings up an interesting story... The founder of Lee's Chicken was actually the nephew of Colonel Sanders and had helped run KFC. Another interesting fact is that LA Chicken used to be a Lee's Chicken. That probably explains the similarity between the two (down to the gravy).

I ended up getting half regular and half spicy. Kim and Anita dug into the regular and the skin was crispy and peppery. The tender, juicy meat billowed out steam since it was so freshly fried. This is how good fried chicken is supposed to be. Not like that shriveled up crap you get at KFC and the greasy, one-dimensional flavour you get at Churches (although I don't mind it). I ate a piece of spicy myself and honestly, it's not really all that spicy; but it's got a slight kick to it. Too bad there are no Lee's in Vancouver or Burnaby. The last one that's remotely close is in Port Coquitlam. It's probably for the best anyways, otherwise I'd be eating fried chicken everyday.

The Good:
- It's cooked fresh
- It tastes good with a good mix of spices and lots of pepper
- Ugly gravy, but it tastes good!

The Bad:
- None really near Vancouver
- You generally have to wait for your order, but it's worth it

No.1 Congee Noodle House

*Restaurant is closed*

Despite needing to wake up early Friday morning to catch a flight to San Francisco, I decided it would be wise to play late night hockey and eat out on Wednesday night - Thursday morning. Hey, who needs sleep anyways? Polka King and I were looking for some late night eats that weren't the same places over and over again. We headed over to Broadway looking for the 24 hour Pho restaurant across from Sport Mart. But, we noticed the new restaurant beside it. After a short discussion, we ended up going to No.1 Congee Noodle House. Don't confuse this with Congee Noodle House near Main, this is actually the old Lucky Noodle House.

I naturally decided to try both the congee and noodles here since they make the claim of being No.1. For some reason, I opted for the Teng Jie Jook (Seafood Congee). I never seem to order this very often; but I guess I've had too much preserved duck egg lately. Yes, it's the same one that was in Fear Factor. Being Chinese, there are very few foods that we actually fear! I gotta say, the congee was as thick as wallpaper paste. But that isn't a bad thing, I like my congee that way. Hidden within it was a bounty of large shrimp, scallops, squid, chicken, pork rinds and lettuce. The congee itself wasn't salty and had a great aroma from sesame oil. I also got the Wonton Noodles and honestly, it wasn't anything special. For a restaurant that prides itself on noodles, this was a bit of a disappointment. The noodles weren't overcooked; but lacked chewiness. The soup was a bit on the sweet side and the wontons were quite average. I was expecting all shrimp wontons; however this was not the case. I thought the filling was a bit on the mushy side.

Polka King ordered the Scramble Eggs & Shrimp AGAIN. It's like when we used to go to Boston Pizza (Bleck!) and he would eat the Smokey Mountain Spaghetti & Meatballs every time. Well, he is an accountant... The portion size was quite decent for the price; however, it was seriously overcooked. Normally, the eggs are fluffy and runny. The one here had parts which were complete fried. A no no when it comes to this dish. I found it a bit salty too. Mind you, there was plenty of crunchy shrimp hidden within the egg.

The food in general was a bit disappointing. I mean if you are supposedly known for your congee and noodles, you'd better get both right. Unfortunately, only the congee was good. The prices were pretty reasonable factoring in the grand opening special of 10% off. It appears to be a family-run restaurant and the owners truly appreciated our business. I guess if it were late and we had the munchies, we'd give it a try again. However, the actual Congee Noodle House and Congee Noodle King are far superior.

The Good:
- Congee was thick and full of ingredients
- Prices seem reasonable
- Open late

The Bad:
- Wonton noodles were pretty average
- Cash only

Chili Pepper House (Surrey)

*Restaurant is now closed*

When you think of Chinese food in North America, I'm sure the first things that come to mind are Sweet & Sour Pork, Broccoli & Beef, Chicken Chow Mein and BBQ Pork Fried Rice. Hey, there is nothing wrong with that since I eat that occasionally as well. However, these types of dishes originated in the Canton region of China and that is only a small representation of Chinese cuisine. Add the fact that these dishes have become a bit watered down for North American tastes and you got something quite boring and bland. I personally like spicy food. Thus, I have a certain affection towards Indian-Style Chinese cuisine.

There aren't many of these types of restaurants in the GVRD; however, most of them are pretty good. Today, I finally made it out to the Surrey location of Chili Pepper House. There is a location in Vancouver as well on the corner of Rupert and Kingsway. With some may options, it was difficult to choose, especially since I was all by myself. Ultimately, I picked a dish which is one of my favs - Chili Beef. This time I got the "wet" version rather than the dry one at Green Lettuce. The tender slices of beef were coated with a deep coloured sauce which was a bit sweet, salty and slightly spicy. Personally, I can take more heat and I should've asked for it. In addition, I tried one of their lunch specials ($5.99), the Curry Fish which came with a bowl of rice. The fish was perfectly crispy and sat in a yellow-type curry sauce which was a bit sweet, garlicky and only slightly spicy. This sauce went really well with the rice. On a separate visit, I decided to double-up on their fantastically priced lunch specials starting with the Curry Shrimp. the shrimp had a cold-water snap and were coated with a very crispy tempura-like batter. With a yellow curry-type sauce very similar to the curry fish, this would've gone well with a bowl of plain rice. I didn't get a bowl of rice because for my second dish, I had the Masala Chicken & Shrimp Fried Rice. Oh I really loved this rice. It was the perfect texture being chewy with a nice bite. There was plenty of wok heat so that the flavours were able to mingle and caramelize. Strewn throughout the rice was tender pieces of chicken and cold-water shrimp. The curry seasoning gave the rice a very nice punch which made me want to eat more and more of it. I dusted it off very quickly. After both visits, it is clear that the food is well-balanced since it wasn't overly spicy to the point where I couldn't taste any of the other flavours. Personally, I could do with even more spice; but that can be arranged. The decor is nothing to look at and if you don't care, it shouldn't matter. Service was extremely friendly and the food came out really fast. Great value at $5.99 for their lunch specials.

The Good:
- Spicy, yet not to the point of insane
- Good lunch specials
- Friendly staff

The Bad:
- Not much in the way of ambiance
- Not really a bad, but if you were looking for tame Chinese food, you won't find it here

Fortune Court

*Restaurant is now Golden Lake*

Alright, why do the kids have to wake up so freakin' early on a Sunday? In my half daze while lying in bed; I heard the door open and instantly I knew that it was time to get up. Who needs alarm clocks when you got kids? They don't make snooze buttons on kids. Still trying to recover from an early morning as a result of hockey and eating on Saturday, the last thing I wanted to do was give up my warm cozy bed. Since we were up anyways, I figured it would be a good idea to go for Dim Sum. At 9:00am, there are usually plenty of parking spaces and no lineups. I'm not even sure when was the last time I had Dim Sum that early! Not feeling quite that chipper, we decided to go to a nearby place. Sometimes, these small Chinese restaurants serve some pretty solid Dim Sum on the cheap. Of course, one of the main differences between these places and the big guys is decor, service, ingredient quality and care put into the preparation of the food. If you can overlook some of the compromises, Dim Sum can be an inexpensive meal.

We hadn't been to Fortune Court for about 2 years and I suppose it was about time we checked it out again. Since we were there so early, we snagged a parking spot right in front and got a table right away. Apparently, they don't feel the need to have much staff present this early. At one point, there were only 2 servers for the whole restaurant. Don't you love smaller Asian restaurants? As long as there is at least one person, that can be considered "service". You get what you pay for... Believe it or not, Fortune Court still employs the classic Dim Sum push cart. It's both a treat and frustrating at the same time. On one hand, you can take a look at the food before you order it. On the other, it always seems like by the time the cart gets to you, all the Haw Gow are gone! Oh, on that note, look at the picture! The Haw Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) are massive. The dumpling skin was a bit thick and chewy for my liking; however, the delicately seasoned shrimp had good colour and were crunchy. The same could be said about the Scallop and Shrimp Dumpling; but the scallop was a bit on the fishy side. Obviously they were frozen scallops and the fishiness overwhelmed the rest of the dumpling.

We ended up getting both Shrimp and Beef Rice Noodle Rolls. The kiddies love this stuff and predictably, they ate quite a lot of it. The rice noodle itself was a bit on the thick side; but it was not chewy. There was plenty of shrimp and beef in their respective rolls. The Dim Sum cart lady talked us into trying the Fish Sui Mai and it was a mistake. Rather than the usual seasoned pork and shrimp, the Sui Mai was consisted of pureed dace. Texture-wise, it resembled fish mousse and flavour-wise, it was fishy. Not something I would necessarily order again. We got a "safe" dish to counteract it in the form of Black Bean Spareribs. There was a good amount of tender meat on the bones; but it resided on a big pool of oil. Not the most appetizing visual. I can only imagine how much fat the pieces of pumpkin soaked up underneath the spare ribs.

For curiosity sake, I decided to give the Soup Dumpling a go, even though I fully expected it to suck. Why? Well, usually the smaller Chinese restaurants don't put really good ingredients into the dumpling; thus it ends up to be ground pork in chicken broth. However, to my surprise, the dumpling was mostly comprised of shrimp and dried scallops. Moreover, there were 2 large shrimp and 2 scallops hiding in the broth. The broth itself was quite light and not salty at all. I gotta admit it was pretty decent. Only thing that I didn't like was once again the scallops. They were fishy. The final dish of the meal was the Shrimp Spring Rolls. Yes, usually this should be the first dish; but I guess they didn't fry them up until the restaurant got a little busier. These looked and tasted pretty good. They were crispy, not too oily and full of shrimp. Funny thing, my son only eats the crispy roll wrapper and my daughter prefers the shrimp. I guess it all worked out in the end.

For a smaller Chinese restaurant, I must admit the Dim Sum is pretty decent. They did not skimp on the ingredients or the portion sizes. Except for the fish sui mai, most of the dishes were more than acceptable. Of course, good service is not something one would expect at this type of restaurant; but they were doing their best under the circumstances. They weren't rude or anything. Table arrangements are a bit tight, due to the odd shape of the restaurant. But, for the price, compromises must be made.

The Good:
- Dim Sum is decent
- Inexpensive
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Not enough servers
- Tight seating
- Tight parking lot