Zakkushi

After a relatively ho-hum experience at Kushi Box, you'd think I was not really all that interested in trying out Zakkushi (which happens to be the full service version). Well, I didn't dislike the food at Kushi Box, I just thought it was pricey for what I got. Thus, after softball, as we were discussing eating destinations, I agreed into giving it a try. The closest location for us was the one at Main & King Ed in the same plaza as Beefy Beef. Now if you weren't specifically looking for the place, you won't necessarily find it. Hidden in the south corner of the plaza and masked by a wooden fence, it doesn't even look like a restaurant. Alas, it is indeed, in a very Izakaya-type form. The specialty here are the Kushi or charcoal-grilled meats on skewers. Mixed into the menu are Izakaya-type items, sashimi, sushi, rice and noodles. Joining me were Bear, Silent Bob, Milhouse and Boss Woman.

While not exactly spacious, this particular location can be considered enormous when compared to the other Zakkushis. We ended up with the "share" table at the front; but for the time, we never had to share it. This was probably due to Boss Woman occupying 3 spots to herself... So the meal began to go sideways before we even got a chance to order. We waited for about 10 minutes before we could flag someone down for the menu. It was probably another 5 minutes for the tea. Other than the Kushi, one item in the menu really caught my attention - Bukkake Soba. Wow, that sounded really interesting. I wonder if it is creamy and salty??? At this point Silent Bob was not very silent. He wanted nothing to do with this or be associated with the dish. Well, I just had to have it. Not every day you get a Bukkake! In addition to that, I got one each of the Gyu-Tan, P-Toro, G-Beef, Goma and Chicken Hearts. Unfortunately, they ran out of chicken hearts, so I got another skewer of Gyu-Tan (more tongue, how can anyone not like that?). Milhouse was getting a bit uncomfortable with the talk of Bukkake and tongue. To change topics, I suggested we share an Ebi-Mayo. He looked at me strangely. I guess that didn't sound too good either...

So Bear started off with the Appetizer Trio for $5.80. He got a double order of Gomae and a Goma Tofu. Unlike most "Japanese" restaurants out there, the gomae was not drenched in a candy sweet sesame sauce. Rather, we have perfectly tender spinach mixed with shoyu, toasted sesame and black sesame. Much richer and delicate flavours at work here. The tofu was smooth while not falling apart. Plated on black sesame dressing, the flavour was nutty and understated. Boss Woman wasn't all that hungry and went for the Japanese Calamari served with plum mayo. She liked the dip while the calamari itself was not that crispy. Much like foreshadowing my soba, the Ebi-Mayo arrived drenched in chili mayo. Lightly battered, the shrimp were quite good, if not a bit greasy. For some odd reason, Bear and Milhouse got their Zakkushi Savory Bowls next, while I was still waiting for my kushis and soba. I say odd because as you can clearly see, the bowls consist of rice, egg, mayo, teriyaki chicken and 2 skewers. We weren't exactly sure why they got their skewers while the ones that Silent Bob and I ordered didn't arrive at the same time. As for the bowls, both seemed to enjoy it with all items cooked the way it should be. The bowls looked very much like the one I got from Kushi Box, except plated more nicely.

Silent Bob decided to give the Triple Salmon Roll a go. It is named as such since there is salmon inside, salmon on the outside, topped with salmon roe. I didn't get to try the roll; however, Silent Bob enjoyed it. He thought the rice was prepared correctly. For me at least, the roll seemed too heavy on the rice. Okay, finally after a few complaints about my food taking so very long, I got my Bukkake... er... my Bukkake Soba I mean. Bear and Milhouse figured the reason for the delay was that the chefs were working really hard in the kitchen to produce this dish. I think Silent Bob wanted to just leave us at that point. The very al dente cold soba was topped with 2 fried shrimp, grated radish, green onion, tobiko, bonito, nori and a soft-poached egg. Essentially, this is Zaru Soba on steriods. Soba tsuyu (which consists of mirin, dashi and kaeshi) was served on the side. Being quite hungry from all the waiting since everyone had practically finished, I hastily mixed the whole thing together and ended up with what you see in the picture. At this point, everyone was quite relieved that they had already finished their food. Seeing that it was Bukkake Soba, they were quite troubled by the visual. Milhouse bravely proclaimed that it looked a bit "chunky". Heck, I didn't care, I was so hungry, I scoffed it down quickly and got it all over my face. What a messy bukkake soba!

Okay, after that, I was still hungry since my kushi hadn't arrived yet. After nearly 1.5 hours since we had arrived at the restaurant, we got our kushi. Okay, I understand that the place was busy and many people had ordered kushi. But honestly, if this is their specialty, there needs to be more resources in place to keep up with the demand. There is absolutely no excuse to keep patrons waiting for over an hour for meat on a stick. Other than the requisite apology when I had complained a few times of the wait time for my food, there was no other concession made. It could only be me; but if you make a customer wait over an hour for something that is equivalent of an appetizer, there is something horribly wrong.

Alright, was it worth the wait? Um, not really. Don't get me wrong, I liked the yakitori especially the Tsukune Goma (chicken meatball skewer with black sesame). The meat was really moist and the subtle nuttiness of the black sesame made for a simple; yet very clean tasting product. I was also quite happy with my Gyu-Tan, P-Toro and G-Beef. All were pleasant to eat; however, if you consider that the 5 skewers cost me $11.20 in total, it's not exactly cheap. In fact, most of the food at Zakkushi is a bit pricey considering what you get. It's not crazy expensive by no means; yet it's not a cheap eat for sure. In terms of the food, I actually enjoyed it. I'm just not sure that I'm dying to pay a return visit considering the slow service and the even slower food delivery. Well, at the very least, I got to try the Bukkake Soba, even though it's not a good idea to boast about it...

The Good:
- Generally, the food is quite good
- It fills a niche
- A decent array of different items on the menu
- A place where you can get a Bukkake... Soba...

The Bad:
- A bit pricey for what you get
- Slow service
- Kushi shouldn't take over 1 hour

Bert's

*Restaurant is now closed*

Finally. We get to play our very first softball game of the season. You see, last week, it was raining much like it does during the spring in Vancouver. Thus, the game was postponed. That didn't stop us from eating at Grand Honour though! This time, it looked quite contentious until around noon when the weather began to clear up. One problem. It was both cold and very windy. Furthermore, threatening skies lay above as I drove towards the ball field. When we got out to the field, I cursed my decision not to bring a fleece. It was #$)*#$)# cold with gale force winds. Well, not really; but honestly, how do you play softball when a pop fly suddenly becomes a home run? It made for some precariously difficult pitching. Imagine a ball appearing to head right over the plate, just to be blown a full foot to the right. Talk about a curveball! Whatever the case, we were there and we were going to play. Moreover, I really wanted to use my new composite bat! Yes, I was excited about something else other than eating for once. But that didn't mean food wasn't on my mind during the game either. We sure played like it was the first game of the season. I don't think we were able to make a play for 3 innings. Either that or our hands were just too cold to be useful. Luckily we made a late comeback and won it on a walk off double in the final inning. Dramatic, yes. Excited? No. You see, we were all freezing and just wanted to get the heck outta there. We were not really in the mood to debate about where to eat and ultimately settled on Bert's.

Now let me get this out of the way first. Bert's is a diner. It has been at its current location since 1948. It doesn't look much like it did in 1948; but is sure does a good job replicating the 70's! Yes, they kick it ol' skool here. No Ahi Tuna spring rolls with lime ponzu dressing here! Here you'll find all the diner classics, including all day breakfast. With that in mind, Boss Woman had the Breakfast #1, which included 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and sausages. Hey, nothing amazing here; but the pancakes were fluffy, eggs sunny side up and links were good. Solid breakfast for $5.50. Bear, after a long hibernation (welcome back!), had the Hot Beef Sandwich. With the roast beef being a bit dry, the gravy saved the dish. Having the right consistency and not being overly salty, this is your prototypical diner gravy. Silent Bob and Miss Y both had burgers. She went for the Deluxe Mushroom and he opted for the Deluxe Bacon Cheeseburger. The consensus was that both burgers were decent. With Vera's right next door, these burgers probably don't compete; however, for the price, they did the job. As for the fries, they were your generic french fries. Miss Y remarked that her onions could've been sauteed a bit longer. There were some more cooked pieces; but I dropped them on the table as I was taking a photo. She kept reminding me of that all throughout the meal...

As for my meal, I went for one of their daily specials being the Veal Cutlets. Included was a vegetable soup and rice pudding for dessert. Smothered with the same gravy as Bear's beef sandwich, it made for an okay dish. I thought the veal was quite dry and flavourless. If it weren't for the gravy, I probably would've not liked it at all. Furthermore, the limp vegetables were bringing back memories of Knight & Day. Yes, not a compliment. I did like the mash potatoes though, it did well with the gravy. Milhouse also had breakfast in the form of a Spanish Omelet. To me, it looked quite overdone; but he seemed to enjoy it. I guess we have to be realistic here. Bert's is not the type of restaurant to see or to be seen. It's ol' skool and almost defiantly un-modern. The presentation is lacking and the food is not ground-breaking. However, these types of places have their clientele and retain a certain charm. For me, it's okay eats given the situation. The food is plentiful, prices are right and the service still comes with a personable smile.

The Good:
- Pricing ain't bad, except for some of their larger entrees
- Service that really is friendly
- You know what you're gonna get

The Bad:
- Don't expect modern food here
- Nothing great, nothing terrible

Golden Oscar

After falling behind 2-0 in our Friday night hockey game, we were able to come back to tie the game and send it into a shootout. For me, anytime we head into a shootout, it is truly nerve-wracking. I'll admit it, the fact that the outcome of the game falls on my shoulders can be stressful. Fortunately for me, I didn't suddenly envision a crab cake flying towards me rather than a puck; thus we ended up winning. Phew! Now I can concentrate on eating! With 7 of us heading out for late night eats, we had to pick a place that was open late, could accommodate all of us and provide a variety of food. My idea was Golden Oscar, which happens to be the good ol' Hong Kong-style cafe. When I made the suggestion, Silent Bob remarked that he didn't even know what that really meant. To tell you the truth, it is a interesting concept. Imagine unique interpretations of Asian and Western food all in a Chinese cafe.

Located in a somewhat random corner mall, Golden Oscar and its neighbouring businesses are in predominantly residential area. By maximizing the little that they have for a parking lot, it is a recipe for disaster. Narrow spots, even narrower driving lanes coupled with crappy drivers, it leaves most people praying that nothing happens to their car. Luckily it was late in the evening and we could park crooked if we wanted to. Mind you, that happens all the time here anyways... Usually, at a HK-style cafe, there are a whole lot of options when it comes to food. However, I usually try to go for their set meals since I like meat. Unlike Angel Cafe and Alleluia, there is no option for picking 3 meats as a meal. Therefore, I thought that the Mixed Grill would provide me with all the meats I wanted. However, when it arrived, it looked like I got Chicken Steak instead. Well, it was indeed chicken steak. Uh, how the hell does "mixed grill" sound like "chicken steak"??? Serves me right, I should order in Cantonese next time. Everyone encouraged me to send it back; but honestly, I didn't want to take that chance. I might get back a mixed grill alright... but who knows what that would entail! Well, the dish that I ended up with was quite good. Essentially 2 deboned chicken legs that are pan-fried, they were juicy and the black pepper sauce was flavourful.

Boss Woman picked two items from the mini-set menu and also ended up with 2 beverages (each item includes one drink). When both dishes arrived, she admitted to being a bit greedy since there was too much food. Oh really? It seems she orders 2 dishes almost every time at HK-style cafes! Anyways, she started with the Fried Flat Rice Noodle which is essentially Singapore fried noodles without the vermicelli. She liked this dish since the noodles were soft while retaining their shape and plenty flavourful without being too greasy. Her 2nd dish, which is evidently her favourite was Shrimp Egg Swirl on Rice. With big crunchy shrimp in a scrambled egg sauce, this was another good dish. However, she didn't
prefer the rice and stated it would've been better without it. I'm not sure why she didn't order the Shrimp and Eggs like she usually does instead; but I didn't really go further with it. After all, she's Boss Woman...

Milhouse and Mr. Blueberry ordered practically the same dish albeit with different meats. One had the Chicken Fried Noodle and the other had the Pork Fried Noodle. Since they looked practically alike, I only posted a picture of the pork fried noodle (well, it also turned out to be a better picture too!). Although the 2 fried noodles appeared to be quite saucy, they both liked it since there was no absence of ingredients. Personally, I wasn't that impressed with the pool of sauce once all the noodles had been eaten. I guess it's personal preference in this case. Gadget Girl did her best impression of Miss Y and ordered something out of left field. Usually something you'd order at a wonton noodle house, she had the Fish Cake Lai Fun (fish mousse with rice noodles). There wasn't much to comment on this bowl of noodle since both the noodles and fish cake are not made in house. She did remark that the soup was a bit bland.

Silent Bob couldn't find anything really that he wanted and settled on the Portuguese Chicken with rice. Honestly, I'm not even sure if he knew what it was since he looked confused when it arrived. In reality, it's essentially a light coconut curry with chicken. He ate most of it so I suppose it was good? I didn't get a chance to find out, he didn't say anything about it... Polka King went for the Cream of Corn and Chicken Rice. Now, if this looks like someone took a can of Green Giant creamed corn and added chicken and egg to it and dumped it on top of steamed rice, you are absolutely right. Nothing amazing with this dish; but at the very least it looked and tasted alright. If it weren't enough, Milhouse copied Boss Woman and ordered a second dish - Fried Wontons. Well, they were crunchy and quite light. Surprisingly good really. Although I'm not sure why he was having an appetizer last. Whatever the case, the food is generally quite decent here at a reasonable price. Nothing ground-breaking here and honestly, the random movie posters on the wall trying to tie in the restaurant name is quite laughable. But it's not the ambiance that matters really.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent eats
- Lots of options

The Bad:
- Parking lot only fit for Honda Fits
- Nasty tasting soft drinks (as observed by Mr. Blueberry)

Swallow Tail Supper Club

Admit it. We all like sticking it to the establishment. Whether it be by protesting on the steps on the VAG (Vancouver Art Gallery! Get your heads outta the gutter!) or merely bitching about it while sitting in front of the TV, we all like to somehow get back at the Government. After all, we elect them with certain promises and expectations hoping to be fulfilled. What ultimately transpires is that we bend over and take it. Much like the new HST. I'm not going to get into a political debate over that here, after all, this is a food blog. However, with the growing number of underground restaurants popping up, we really can stick it to the MAN (not trying to be sexist here, but the current Premier is a man...). Having already given NFA (No Fixed Address) a shot, I was ready for another. Once again, Jonathan graciously took the reigns of organizing another meal. This time it was the Swallow Tail Supper Club. Proudly proclaiming themselves as "an underground supper club... sleuthing out wild BC foods and smuggling them to the table", it gives me the gratification that in some way, we are revolting against high prices and taxes. Yah, it's pathetic. Speeding and eating at underground restaurants - that is the extent of my lawlessness...

As we (Kim & Anita) arrived at the location, we were ushered outside to the deck since it was such a nice day. There, we met up with Victoria, Joyce, Frank and Jonathan. Mijune, Jenny & Ricky and Ben & Suanne arrived later. We were served an amuse bouche consisting of Farmhouse BC Gruyere & Sour Apple Tart on handmade puff pastry with apple reduction. At first, I thought the large piece of gruyere might have been too much for the other ingredients; but it turned out to be well balanced. A good mix of sweet, tart, savory and nuttiness. After that, we were ushered to the basement or the "dining room". Walls adorned with wine welcomed us to a cozy, if not "That 70's Show" decor with a table consisting of 2 separate sections and a mish-mash of chairs. Hey, that really didn't matter to me since it's the food that counts!

We started with the Stinging Nettle Soup with arugula, sweet peas and garden rosemary finished with a radicchio cream garnish. Served on the side were BC stout bread cubes. Having a consistency similar to pea soup with spinach, I enjoyed the smoothness. Flavours were subtle with a hint of bitterness from the radicchio. My only wish would be that the soup be hotter. Next up was the Cedar Smoked Romaine with pecorino/parmesan, portugese olive oil vinaigrette and garlic croutons. A bit similar to the Caesar at the Sandbar, the romaine heart is served as is. The smoky cedar flavour was really apparent while the romaine retained all of its crunch. Combined with the vinaigrette and the cheeses, this resembled a Caesar; yet by virtue of a lighter dressing, it allowed the smoked flavour to shine.

Following the salad was the Baked Live Dungeness Crab with Averill Creek BC Pinot Gris, with red pepper and star fruit. Garlic and crab butter was served on the side. For me, the natural sweet and saltiness of dungeness crab combined with plenty of garlic and a perfect amount of wine made for a tasty eat. Translation: the baked crab was in its natural state (baking retains more of the flavour rather than boiling or steaming). Adding the crab butter only further enhanced the already flavourful dish. We actually used the remaining croutons to soak it up. I only wished that my portion of crab was cooked a little less since the body meat was slightly overdone. Our meat dish consisted of BC Bison Tenderloin with red onion jam (braised in noble ridge meritage), creamed parsnips with garden rhubbarb, sauteed leeks with cattails in BC chardonnay, cleavers and chive flowers. We thought that the tender bison was masterfully grilled with a nice charred exterior. I was not a big fan of the jam since it was quite sweet and detracted from the natural bison flavour. The creamed parsnips were nice but for me, there were too many ingredients accompanying it.

For our dessert, we had the Beer Battered Crepe Blintz with (Limbert Mountain Farm) cream, Earl Grey tea creme anglais, apples & huckleberries and Amontillado Sherry reduction (consisting of pepper, lemon rind, vanilla bean). Under the dark lighting, I didn't even realize it was a blintz. There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the dessert; but for some reason or another, something seemed to be missing. The blintz was slightly crispy and the cream was certainly creamy. There was a understated tart and sweetness as well. Maybe it was too light of a dessert?

Lastly, we were served Limbert Mountain Farm double cream with Earl Grey tea. I'm not much of a tea connoisseur; but combined with the rich cream, I enjoyed the hot beverage. It was a nice end to a relatively good meal. It started off quite strong and weakened slightly after that. For $49.00, I thought it was a good value despite the fact I was craving a Filet-O-Fish afterwards (if you don't get this reference, click on the link). If I had to make a comparison, I found the NFA dinner more filling with slightly better ambiance. With that being said, I still think it's definitely worth checking out.

The Good:
- Some interesting uses of different ingredients
- Friendly proprietors
- Locally-sourced fresh ingredients

The Bad:
- For me at least, the portion size was too small
- Table arrangements could've been a bit better (didn't like the bench without backing)

Earl's (Strawberry Hill)

Here I am again, at Earl's. Now you might be wondering why I am subjecting myself to generic, underwhelming and generally expensive chain restaurant food? Well, there are a few reasons. First of all, Ma had $100.00 worth of gift cards to spend and I was actually moderately pleased with my food the last time at Earl's. After all, it's really hard to turn down free food! Initially, Ma joked that we would not need to use all of the gift cards for our meal. However, with 3 of us and knowing full well of Earl's pricing, I was pretty confident we'd spend it all. On that note, it is increasingly difficult to find reasonable pricing at places like Milestone's, Cactus Club, Joey's, Moxies and Earl's these days. It seems that you can't get out of there without spending at least $20.00 per person. However, I can understand this from a business point of view. The operating costs in terms of food, staff, rent and the such need to be covered. Hey, when I was in University, most people I hung out with would regularly eat at these places without hesitation. Once again, these types of chain restaurants serve a purpose and usually do it quite well.

So off we headed over to the Strawberry Hill location and it looked pretty much like any other Earl's. Again, the familiarity and consistency are real draws for some people. And yes, the "staff" were pretty much consistent as well. Let's just say the food ain't the only attraction here, at least for some people. We started off with the Dry Ribs, which seems to be a staple of most menus these days. Fried, tossed in salt and fresh cracked pepper, these ribs were good. Crispy on the outside while still moist on the inside, the only thing the ribs needed was more salt. For myself, I decided to go for the Prawn & Scallop Linguine. Prepared with a citrus white wine cream sauce with scallops, prawns, grape tomatoes, basil, arugula, toasted pine nuts and grated Parmesan, it was quite good. The pasta itself was slightly on the softer side; but not extremely so. It did soak up all of the flavour from the sauce and I found it balanced without being too creamy.

Ma had the Certified Angus Beef Top Sirloin Sandwich which consists of 5oz sliced sirloin, sauteed onions, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard on ciabatta. The good thing about the sandwich was the perfectly cooked steak (rare). The bad thing was that it was chewy and tough. That was quite peculiar since technically the steak should have been tender despite its rareness since it's not a fatty cut. Otherwise, Ma enjoyed the flavours and thought it was pretty good. Another dish at our table was the Cedar Planked Salmon which was served with a tropical fruit salsa consisting of chopped pineapple, mango, red onions, fresh cilantro and mint. Also on the plate were garlic butter fingerling mashed potatoes and asparagus. The salmon was cooked perfectly where it was just beyond uncooked and the salsa was a nice fruity addition.

The last dish was the Jamaican Jerk Oven Roasted Chicken which consisted of 2 boneless pieces of jerk marinaded chicken topped with a mango and pineapple salsa. Roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus rounded out the dish. The jerk spices were quite mild while the chicken itself was quite tender. Nothing remarkable about the dish; yet nothing bad about it either. I must admit, this visit to Earl's was actually quite good. I was impressed with the decent portion sizes and the level of execution. I guess this time around, I got to sample the more "expensive" entrees unlike last time. The fact that everything was pretty good, albeit not cheap, may have softened my stance on Earl's.

The Good:
- Perfectly executed proteins and veggies
- Decent amount of food
- Great service

The Bad:
- Still not cheap to eat here
- More cleavage than you can imagine (well, this is certainly a good thing for some people)

Japadog (The Store)

When people look at the culinary scene in Vancouver, there are the usual suspects such as Bishop's, Blue Water, Cioppino's, CinCin, Il Giardino and Market. However, the one place that most tourists end up lining up for is the infamous Japadog. That's right, our gastronomical legacy (for now) happens to be a hot dog cart. Yup, we are known for tubes of mystery meat topped with Japanese ingredients served roadside whether it rains or shines (mostly rain unfortunately...) Hey, don't laugh. When the Olympics were here, Japadog got worldwide exposure and literally captured the imagination of many visitors. Watch the franchise expand all over North America! But first things first. The Japadog store located on Robson near Richards has been a long time coming. However, it was an epic fail that it did not open prior to the Olympics since that part of Robson became the hub of activity. Imagine the money they could've made! No matter, they did pretty well at their cart locations despite this. Finally, after what has seemed like an eternity, Japadog, the store, has gone live.

Early last year, I had visited the original Japadog cart on the corner of Burrard and Smythe in front of the Sutton Place Hotel. I gave both the Terimayo and Okonomi a try. As much as I wanted to dismiss it as merely a dressed-up hot dog, I really liked it (especially the Terimayo). Something about the combination of Japanese ingredients combined with the lowly hot dog made it work. A subsequent visit yielded the Misomayo and although it was good too, the Terimayo held a place in my heart. Today, I braved the threat of a lineup to give some of the new items at the Japadog store a go. There was a small lineup and it only took about 10 minutes before I was in. There were a few items on the menu that piqued my interest including the Love Meat; but honestly, it wasn't Japanese enough for me to try (despite its easy to ridicule name...). I settled on 2 items with the first being the Tonkatsu. Much like the name implies, it is a fried piece of pork slathered in tonkatsu sauce topped off with shredded cabbage and mayo inside a soft roll. Well, I liked this one. How could you not? Look at it. It was crispy, saucy with a nice crunch and smooth mayo.

I wasn't as enthused with the Yakiniku which is a hot dog topped with beef sandwiched in between a "rice" bun. It wasn't exactly the easiest thing to eat with things falling out all over the place. The sauce made it even messier as the rice did not hold up. The rice itself was somewhere between sticky rice and sushi rice. I did like the hot dog itself. It was quite meaty and had a nice snap. The whole thing didn't taste bad per se; it would be best eaten with a knife and fork. Another new item on the menu is the addition of fries. These "Shaked Fries" are exactly that. Fresh from the fryer, they are placed in a paper bag and shook with the selected seasoning. Choices include Aonori, Teriyaki, Japa Shio and Butter & Shoyu. I went for the latter. Although the seasoning itself was pretty flavourful and unique, the fries were quite average. They were very generic and lacked any real crunchiness despite being crispy (if that makes any sense).

Depending on your personal preferences, the new items will either be a hit or a miss. However, they have the favourites on the menu which will still attract new and old customers. At the very least now, people don't have to stand out in the rain (unless the line is long) and they actually have somewhere to eat it other than the sidewalk.

The Good:
- Menu still has the favourites: Terimayo, Okonomi and Oroshi
- Has an actual eating area
- Food is expedited much more efficiently than the cart

The Bad:
- Not sure about the fries, they need some work

Bandidas Taqueria

"I want to eat meat" is what Father D proclaimed as we were leaving Downtown. For a fleeting moment, I thought of heading to Samba; but we weren't that hungry. Besides, I was already robbed by the parking meter of all my spare change. I wanted to leave Downtown pronto! I figured we could go to the Brave Bull; yet it was not open for lunch. So there we were driving down Commercial Drive looking for eats. We drove right past Memphis Blues, Vera's and ended up at Bandidas. Uh... isn't that a vegetarian joint? Yup, I brought Father D to a veggie place when he wanted meat. And worst of all, I had to park at a meter. Scrounging up all the loose change I had left, which were mostly dimes, I fed the meter enough for 40 minutes. Well, we'd have to eat fast.

As mentioned, Bandidas is a vegetarian restaurant specializing in Mexican food. So instead of ground beef, we find tofu. That didn't sound all that appetizing to Father D. I'm not even sure if I did a good job in making tofu look good. I think I mentioned that it tasted like linoleum... Hey, I'm into tofu and wasn't all that concerned. We started sharing 4 soft tacos - 2 each of the Leona Gayle and the Camillo. Consisting of smoky-sweet chipotle organic tofu, pinto beans, cheese, roasted red salsa, romaine lettuce & sour cream, the Leona Gayle was okay, but not as flavourful as the ingredients would suggest. I personally wasn't a big fan of the corn tortilla, it was dry and hard. However, I really liked the Camillo with its spicy breaded walnuts, pinto beans, cheese, purple cabbage, fresh red salsa and sour cream. For me, it was the crunchy walnuts that made the taco. Just the texture and sweetness was all it needed.

For my main, I had Dave's Enchilada filled with jack cheese and sweet chipotle tofu topped by a house-made mole. From what I could taste of the mole, it was slightly smoky and sweet. The flavour from the tofu detracted from the mole; but not in a bad way. I really enjoyed the tofu (didn't miss the meat). Father D had the Heuvas Rancheros which consisted of 2 free range eggs on corn tortillas with ranchera sauce, sour cream, pinto beans, roasted yams and potatoes. Although everything on the plate was good, he wasn't a huge fan of the sauce. The whole thing became a bit watery. Like me, he wasn't a big fan of the tortilla; but he did really like the potatoes. By virtue of being meat fans, we were okay with the meal; yet slightly indifferent. We could see why Bandidas is so popular with its big portions, creative use of veggie ingredients and energetic vibe.

The Good:
- Healthy portions
- The place has a nice vibe
- Creative uses of non-meat items

The Bad:
- Not as flavourful as we would've hoped
- Service is a bit sparse
- A bit unrefined (and it really isn't supposed to be either)