Bijou Cafe

Originally, we were planning on paying Mother's a visit. No, not my mom nor Viv's mom. Rather, Mother's Bistro in Portland. However, I did not do my due diligence when organizing my eating schedule since Mother's is closed on Mondays. Okay, onto the backup plan. Since we were staying near Lloyd Center and were on our way to the Oregon Zoo, we needed something along the way. Well, right down the street from Voodoo Doughnut, we find Bijou Cafe. Last time, Viv had noticed this place while we were getting some coffee from Stumptown. This place fit the bill. It's along the way, accessible and kid-friendly. We found a parking space practically in front and made our way in. At first, we got the perfect table right beside the window. I was just remarking to Viv that it couldn't have worked out any better... when we were asked to move. A table of 8 was needed and our table was in the perfect location. The horror! Loss of perfect light for my pictures! Being the nice people that we are (at least we believe so), we obliged and for our troubles, beverages were comped. So if the lighting for the pictures don't look good, it's not my fault!

Despite the request to move tables, the service in general was very friendly and homey. We were made to feel comfortable and we were indeed so. Viv had one of their signature dishes in the Oyster Hash. I had remarked to Viv that this was their signature dish; but was corrected by our server that all their dishes were special. LOL. With 6 breaded oysters and a pile of cubed potatoes, this was not a small plate of food. Viv and I shared both of our meals and I was getting full on only half of the hash. I liked how the oysters were sweet with a nice cornmeal crust while the potatoes were laced with onions. Only thing I would change would be softer potatoes and maybe something savoury, like bacon in the hash.

Now, is it just me? Most of the omelets I've had are woefully overcooked with a tinge of brown that can rival any piece of toast. So, I need to applaud Bijou Cafe for making an excellent omelet. My Mushroom & Grafton Cheddar Omelet had eggs that were barely cooked. The result was a fluffiness only reserved for perfectly scrambled eggs. There were a mix of button and shiitake mushrooms combined with plenty of white cheddar. This was a delicate omelet in taste and texture. For my bread, I got a choice of a Blueberry Muffin or toast. Not sure why I also got toast, when I chose the muffin. More food, no complaints here! Hey, it was a good muffin. Not too sweet and with a nice top, my daughter practically ate it all. We also got one for the road at no charge. For the kiddies, we got the ol' standby - Buttermilk Pancakes. We were told that there are 2 pancakes for the regular order. What we didn't expect were 2 pancakes the size of rims you'd find on a car. Really large and really fluffy. Excellent pancakes. If you're not that hungry, just order one of them.

What is essentially a modern diner, Bijou Cafe is homey and welcoming. The staff made us feel comfortable while the food was solid all-around. Located right in Downtown, it is a great place to grab a bite before sight-seeing. The prices aren't exactly the cheapest; but fair considering its location. The place was bustling on a weekday morning and it was still bustling as we left. Whatever they are doing here, they are doing it right.

The Good:
- Friendly, homey service
- Good portions
- Solid food

The Bad:
- Seems to be very busy which will result in lineups
- Parking was easy for me, but could be difficult in this part of town

Edible BC Market Dinner

Over 3 months ago, I had paid for a meal that knew very little about. Frank (Vanfoodies) was gracious enough to take the reigns on organizing a group to try one of Edible B.C.'s Cooking with B.C.'s Best Dinner Series. Uniquely served in a makeshift dining room right in front of the Edible B.C. storefront in the Market at Granville Island, this is not your regular dinner. It reminds me of Outstanding in the Field, where they setup meals in the most unlikeliest of locations. With a varied and powerhouse lineup of guest chefs, we had chef Lee Parsons from Bacchus cooking for us. In addition to Frank and myself, Joyce, Mijune, Anita and Jonathan paid up front for this meal, which includes all wine pairings as well.

As I was walking up to the rear entrance of the market, Jonathan and Frank were already there waiting. Jonathan proceeded to "show & tell" what had transpired before my arrival. Apparently a seagull had attacked another bird, drowned it, decapitated it and started to eat it. Lovely. I really hoped that squab would not be on the menu tonight. Shortly after, we were let in and seated. The draw of these types of meals are not only in the venue. Rather, the whole process of the cooking is in plain view for everyone to watch. We were encouraged to get up close and personal with the chef and sous-chef as they were preparing each course. Lee Parsons provided everyone with a play-by-play rundown on the ingredients and procedure during the cooking process. I was amazed at his ability to multi-task. It shows what a real professional he truly is.

We were presented first with a basket of bread sourced from La Baguette et l'Echalote, right outside the market. Served on the side was Spot Prawn-Infused Olive Oil with Pinot Noir Balsamic. OMG. Other than the lobster oil served at the former Cannery, this has got to be the best oil/vinegar mix I've had to date. So aromatic and flavourful, I wanted to drink it. Our first course was Chilled Essence of Vine Ripened Tomato paired with Pemberton Distillery Schramm Vodka Summer Cocktail. I'm not a big chilled soup guy; but I really liked this one. The sweet and slightly tart broth was accented nicely by cilantro and basil. I found the broth to be strong enough to stand up to the cilantro.

Next up was Olive Oil Poached Snowpass Coho Salmon with fennel salad and fennel cardamom puree paired with Gray Monk Odyssey Brut 2007. This was the absolute star of the show. The serving of salmon was exquisitely prepared. Buttery in texture and sweet in taste, we could've had many more portions of the salmon. I loved the crisp texture of the salad consisting of shaved fennel, frisee and chives. The puree was outstanding. It reminded me somewhat of a wakame salad, in that there was a certain umaminess to it. Savory, sweet and licoricey all at the same time.

Next up was the Tortellini of Grain Fed Rabbit with crushed sweet peas and mustard cream paired with 8th Generation Classic Riesling 2009. The pasta was perfectly al dente while the filling firm. The rabbit was predominantly sweet with some a bacon-ness. Combined with the sweet peas, the whole dish was quite sweet in an understated way. The mustard cream was very light and didn't really impact the rest of the dish much. Our last dish before dessert was the Roasted Bison Striploin with golden chantrelles, fava beans, braised red beets and juniper jus paired with See Ya Later Ranch Rover 2007. As you can see, the striploin was cooked perfectly and evenly. With all the nice accompaniments, the jus was lost somewhat. I loved the beets (nice texture and tartness) and the fava beans (firm). And of course, who doesn't like chantrelles, a nice addition to the dish.

Finally, we arrived at the last course, some 3 hours later. They take their time and so it should be. Our dessert ended up as a Orange & Cardamom Milk Risotto with lavender roasted peaches paired with Quail's Gate Optima 2007. This was an interesting offering; but personally I wasn't a fan. The risotto was not too sweet and there was a nice firm texture. I could definitely taste the cardamom and lavender. However, it was only okay. I probably was expecting a more standard dessert. Whatever the case, the whole premise behind these market dinners is for the complete experience. Based on that, I enjoyed my dinner. Despite the smallish portions, we must consider the fact that there is a wine paring for each course. Thus, the meal as a whole is a decent value. It's not something I'd do regularly; but it is definitely worth a shot if you've never done it before.

The Screen Door

While we were in Portland last summer, we got to sample some pretty good eats. However, there was not enough time or appetite (believe it or not) to try everything we planned to. Case in point, we never got to eat at the Screen Door. This time around, we were determined to give some good 'ol Southern cooking a go. However, with the kiddies, it upped the challenge quotient twofold. Not only were we faced with a 40 minute lineup with the kids, there might not be anything they'd want to eat. Oh, never fear when mac 'n cheese is near! Yes, prior to heading down to Portland, I scouted out all the menus for possible
eating destinations. The main criteria would be foods that my son is willing to eat. Yup, we're gonna eat at places with noodles, mac 'n cheese, grilled cheese or Doritos (Walmart counts right?). With the promise of cheesy noodles, we headed over to Burnside, right into a pretty imposing lineup. Luckily for us, we had purchased a really cool MagFormers set and the kiddies were so engrossed, 40 minutes blew by. Everyone else around us seemed quite mesmerized by these build-able magnets. Best $35.99 we every spent!

Luck would have it that we would be seated outside. The lighting was pretty good, albeit getting a little chilly. No matter, the whole family sacrifices for the good of eating and pictures! We were famished after a day of traveling; thus we got 2 appies to start. The Shrimp & Grits was beautifully plated with 4 large shrimp bathed in garlic basil butter atop grits with a crayfish? reduction. At first, we thought the perfectly "snappy" shrimp were a bit too salty. Yet, that was the necessary flavour for the grits. The crayfish reduction provided a very nice aroma and aftertaste. Our second appy was a plate of perfectly-fried Hushpuppies with honey creole dipping sauce. Consisting of fried cornmeal, corn and chives, these little bites were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The dipping sauce was on the sweeter side; but tasty nonetheless. Now for the star of the show, well at least for the kids... The Mac 'n Cheese! And in fact, it was pretty darn good. Very cheddary and with a side of spicy kick, this was very flavourful. Moreover, the mac was amazingly al dente,

For our my main, I went for the Crispy Fried Buttermilk-battered Chicken with Tasso ham gravy, mashed potatoes and bacon & hock collard greens. I would say this is the best fried chicken I've had up to this posting. The batter was crunchy, well-seasoned with a nice kick while the chicken was super juicy and tender, including the white meat. So much so, I could still see the juices running through the meat as I ate it. I really enjoyed that the chicken was de-boned (probably easier to regulate cooking too), so eating it was very easy and no batter was wasted. The mash potatoes were pretty standard; but the gravy helped liven it up with full flavour. By virtue of using Tasso ham, the result was a salty and spicy gravy. The collard greens were spicy as well and with a bit of tang. I found it too tangy and little in the way of bacon flavour. It was only okay in my opinion.

Viv ordered the Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries. It consisted of house-smoked pork shoulder with a mound of creamy coleslaw on a toasted bun. The darn thing looked impressive when it first arrived. One bite into it and the meat was ever-so-tender and nicely moistened by the generous amount of smoky and spicy BBQ sauce. The crunchy coleslaw had a good creaminess that really added to the sandwich. The bun was soft enough to conform to the ingredients; thus it mostly kept things together. She substituted sweet potato fries for the regular fries. They ended up to be more like crisps than fries. That is actually a good thing though. They were sweet and very crunchy. Very easy to eat. Not bad, not bad at all. The food here at the Screen Door is pretty darn good. No real big issues with anything and it's one of those places I would love to visit over and over again. If it weren't for that big lineup and being located in Portland, I'd be really fat from that fried chicken.

The Good:
- The food is carefully prepared and is just plain good
- Great vibe
- No absence of spice or flavour

The Bad:
- A bit pricey
- Huge ass lineup (although you can call ahead)

Cafe Bonjour

*Restaurant is now closed*

Here I am heading to Portland once again for the third year in a row. Something about the place that entices us to make the 6 hour drive down. Could it be the clean greenness of the place? Big city, small town feel? Tasty food? Believe it or not, not the main reason. It's the shopping! The Woodburn Outlets + no tax = score! On our way to Portland, we had planned to stop at 5 Spot for some brunch. However, much like many popular restaurants, there was a huge ass lineup. With 2 hungry kids in tow, we were not about to wait any longer for food and a washroom break. We were already lucky that we made it this far without a "are we there yet?" We were not about to push our luck. As we were pulling away from the lineup at 5 Spot, I noticed a small little restaurant across the street named Cafe Bonjour.

This small unassuming bistro cannot seat more than 22 people, taking into account outdoor seating. With the amount of staff available, it wouldn't be a good idea for more than that amount of customers either. With that being said, we got warm service with a smile despite the sparseness of it all. Not knowing the portion sizes, we err on the side of caution and only ordered 2 breakfasts for the 4 of us. Trust me, the kids don't eat much and we really didn't want leftovers. Viv went for the Breakfast in Paris which consisted of a large crepe stuff with scrambled eggs, spinach & cheddar cheese with a side of Nutella toast. All breakfasts are accompanied by Bacon-Herbed Potatoes. She enjoyed the crepe and there was plenty of ingredients inside. The Nutella toast was more like crisp bread topped with an obscene amount of spread, caramel sauce and powdered sugar. But my son loved it, so it was good in that respect.

For myself, I ordered their largest offering in the Meatlover's Brekfast. It came with 2 sausages, 2 bacon strips, a big slice of ham atop the same spinach, egg and cheddar stuffed crepe. In addition to the bacon-herbed potatoes, country gravy was served on the side as well. I loved the bacon strips, they were cooked perfectly crispy and weren't too fatty. I found the sausages to be pretty standard. As for the ham, it was alright, a bit too thin for my tastes. I did like the potatoes, very starchy and a nice flavour from the bacon. As for the crepe, much like Viv's, the eggs were fluffy with a good amount of cheese and spinach. The crepe itself was not exactly thin; yet it was soft enough.

A pretty good random find in my books. It was a whole lot less crazy than 5 Spot. We enjoyed our breakfast in peaceful serenity and didn't have to spend a fortune. The Queen Anne neighbourhood is filled with pricey places to eat; but Cafe Bonjour serves up good portions for a reasonable price. The fact that the food was decent is an added bonus.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Good portions
- Quaint little place

The Bad:
- Friendly albeit sparse service
- Really small place with small tables

Yuji's Japanese Tapas

*Restaurant is now closed*

Quite a few months ago, Costanza and I helped Krazi move from her parent's house to a place of her very own. Yes, she has all grown up! Honestly, there wasn't a huge amount of items to move. That probably had to do with all the help I suppose. While I was moving stuff into one of the bedrooms, I managed to scratch her wall. Doh! Some help I turned out to be. Despite this, she still wanted to treat us to dinner for our troubles. I insisted that it was nothing and she didn't need to do so. She was quite persistent and really, am I nuts for turning down food??? Originally, we were set to go to Bombay Behl for some fine Indian food. Alas, after some discussion, we figured that would be both too fatty and carby. I know, I know, why are we worrying about that right? Well, with all this eating, nutritional considerations must be acknowledged. Thus, we settled on Japanese. Not the usual Japanese that is. I started throwing out ideas until Krazi agreed on Yuji's Japanese Tapas. Part sushi and part Izakaya, this at the very least would be portion control. No big plates of food here! Mind you, we ordered a bunch of fried stuff, so I'm not sure if we were eating healthier or not...

So by virtue of being Japanese tapas, we already knew that it would be expensive and not very filling. Lucky for me, Milhouse had spotted me a pack of the Traveller's Deck, which incidentally had a card for 15% off. Much like Kevin's visit, this really helps the bottom line. Knowing this, we set out ordering several dishes to be satisfied without completely taking advantage of Krazi's generosity. We started with one of her choices, the Papaya Roll which consisted of papaya, crab cake, cucumber, lettuce, avocado and mayo. I'm not a huge fan of papaya; but this roll was quite good. All of the other ingredients worked together to temper the papaya taste. Nothing particularly interesting about this roll. The rice was pretty good though being chewy with some flavour. Arriving next was the Maguro Avocado Crepe. Although I liked the understated sweet taste of the roll itself, it was a ball of mush in my mouth. The sweet and spicy sauce on the plate added some flavour to the otherwise mild tasting roll.

The King Oyster Mushroom Salad was a fine choice by Costanza. Originally, Krazi and I thought the balsamic dressing might be too salty; however, as we ate it, that was exactly what the salad needed. Lots of flavour and mushroom taste to accent the spring mix. The Beef Tataki is a pretty standard dish offered in most Japanese restaurants. It is a tricky thing to execute even though it seems quite easy. Well, I've had my share of chewy tataki, so it is not as easy as it seems. Essentially barely-seared beef sliced thin, this version rested on a bed of julienned Fuji apple and dressed with a ponzu citrus sauce. I liked the combination of the salty and tart from the sauce mingling with the apple; however, the star of the show failed. The beef was quite chewy and tough. The meat was actually well-marbled and I could only hypothesize that the uncooked fat was making it chewy.

One item that caught most people's attention was the Panko Fried Halibut Cheeks wrapped in Bacon. C'mon, its wrapped in bacon and fried! Who wouldn't like that? Oh darn, we were supposed to eat healthy right? Ah screw it! So the dish was comprised of 3 fried cheeks resting on a spicy tomato sauce with tartar sauce drizzled on top. Probably due to the small size of "balls", the halibut was a tad overcooked. By its very nature, halibut cheeks (as with most cheeks of anything) are slightly chewy. This was no different and in fact, the bacon made it even chewier (not really a detriment in this case). I found the tomato sauce to be rather bland and not spicy at all. I did like the tartar sauce though. A good ol' standby is the Grilled Sablefish. It is a very forgiving fish and to mess it up is quite difficult to do (however, I've seen it). This particular version was marinated in miso, sake & mirin. In the menu, it states "grilled to perfection" and I can't disagree with that. The fish was moist, maintained its integrity and flavoured just enough.

To further deteriorate our 'healthier" meal, I decided to order Yuji's Fish & Chips which consisted of fried white fish and sweet potato fries. This was a fairly large dish comparatively to the others with 5 pieces of fish. It was accompanied by 3 dipping sauces - spicy ketchup, tartar & soy ginger. I thought the light tempura coating was fried perfectly. It gave a nice crunch to the tender fish and soft sweet potatoes. Of the 3 sauces, I liked the tartar the best. I wasn't a huge fan of the soy ginger. It was too powerful (salty) and even a small dab would overwhelm anything dipped into it. I guess when I selected the Sweet Potato Tempura Sticks, it didn't dawn on me that those would be the same "chips" found in the fish & chips. With what was essentially a few more fries than the fish & chips order and only being $2.00 less, you figure out which was a better deal. With that being said, these tempura fries were very good - crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.

Another winner of a dish was chosen by Costanza which was the Spicy Curry Calamari. In addition to being fried perfectly with tender squid and a crisp exterior, I really liked the addition of nori in the batter. I noticed that flavour more so than the curry. It really wasn't spicy at all; rather it was sweet and seaweedy (not really a word, I know...). Another pretty standard item found at these types of places is the Ebi Mayo. However, Yuji's twist on this is the Corn Flaked Prawn Karaage. So rather than a tempura batter, we have corn flakes which makes the fried prawn appreciably crunchier. These were fried perfectly with a moist prawn on the inside and the aforementioned crunchy coating. A mushy potato salad was plated underneath the prawns. This was mostly an afterthought. A mild-tasting sesame mayo was drizzled on the plate.

At this point, the food in general was pretty solid, if not unexciting. Then, the Baked Eggplant "Yuzu" Miso Mozzarella Cheese arrived. Presented as half of a large eggplant, it sure looked impressive. After one spoonful of the soft flesh, I was hooked. The flavours soaked up by the eggplant were strong and assertive. I got good hits of salty from the miso, slight tartness from the yuzu and the natural sweetness of the eggplant. Of course the cheese added some body to the dish and a bunch of oil too... The Grilled Duck Breast arrived much later. Probably almost 10 minutes after the eggplant. We nearly forgot about it. Thank goodness they didn't because it was pretty darn good. Slightly on the more cooked side, the duck was still very moist and tender. It was dressed with a balsamic reduction and cooked leeks. We thought the sweet balsamic combined with the leeks offered up a really nice rich and fresh (at the same time) flavour to the meaty duck (and skin).

While not exactly inexpensive, I didn't find the prices to be out of line for a tapas/Izakaya-type joint. Sure, some portions were smaller than others; but that is to be expected. In terms of overall food execution, it was more than acceptable with some highlights. It really helped that we had the 15% discount as well. I know it isn't exactly an equal comparison to places such as Guu and Hapa (possibly more with Kingyo); yet Yuji's is indeed more expensive. In terms of overall execution and care, Yuji's has the edge. Hence, once again, it really would be what you value more in terms of picking one or the other.

The Good:
- Carefully-made small plates
- A few unique twists
- Excellent service

The Bad:
- Slightly expensive for the portion size
- Parking in the area sucks

Trattoria

"Let's have a softball practice!" That is what Boss Woman proposed for BC Day since we didn't have a scheduled game that evening. Hey, that sounded great. We get to eat afterwards! For awhile there, I was lamenting the fact we'd miss an eating opportunity due to the holiday. But, as circumstances presented itself, we were practicing! Even better in my books. No need to play a whole game and infringe on any eating time. Practice was alright; but I wasn't really in the mood for it since I had played a full round of golf earlier in the day. Furthermore, the mosquitos were eating me up alive! I swear, the bug spray attracts them more then they repel!

While dining at Romer's the previous week, the thought of visiting Trattoria (once Chianti) snuck into my mind. I've been to Italian Kitchen before, so I knew what to expect. Once again, we were the worst dressed patrons. One of these days, we're going to be denied a table! Our server suggested that since we had 6 people; we should get one each of the Antipasto Misto, Classic Pasta and Carne & Pesce Platters. Sounded good to us. That would work out to be roughly $14.00 per person after the Let's Go for Dinner discount. In fact, the prices for the a la carte items are reasonably-priced as well (nothing over $20.00).

The Anitpasto Misto Platter arrived first (but barely first, as everything else came lightning quick). It consists of Prosciutto & Melon, Forno Eggplant & Goat Cheese, Kobe Meatballs, Polenta Bolognese, Grilled Tiger Prawns, Tuna Arancini, Charred Octopus, Caprese Salad and Grilled Radicchio & Cacciocavallo. I found the baked eggplant to be quite good. It was not overcooked; thus retaining some texture. For me at least, I loved the copious amount of goat cheese on top, it was all the flavour the eggplant needed. I've had the Kobe meatballs before and these were no different. They are a looser and softer meatball comparatively. For me, I like them; yet not necessarily love them. Although the Bolognese sauce was tasty, the overly watery polenta made it an overall fail. It became just a goopy mess. The octopus was probably the biggest flop in the platter. Completely overcooked and chewy, we didn't enjoy eating it. I loved the tuna arancini, especially the nicely cooked risotto. The chewiness was a nice contrast to the crispy exterior.

Next up, we shared the Classic Pasta Platter. On the plate was Lasagna, Penne Pomodoro, Gnocchi Pesto and Spaghetti & Kobe Meatballs with Tomato Fonduta. The star of the plate was the gnocchi, specifically the pesto. It was very well-balanced with clean flavours. Furthermore, the gnocchi itself was soft with a nice "bite". The penne was also very good. Pefectly al dente and dressed in a pomodoro sauce that was a good balance of tomato, garlic and fresh basil. The spaghetti & meatballs were solid; but it was a really small portion. So was the lasagna. It was not bad; difficult to "taste" with such a miniscule portion. The Carne & Pesce Platter consisted of Chicken Saltimbocca, Veal Milanese, Tiger Prawns, Roasted Potatoes and Rapini. Of the 3, I liked the veal the most since it was crisp while still tender inside. Flavourwise, it was muted with only a hint of cheese and oregano. Although I enjoyed the flavours of the chicken being slightly salty, it was slightly dry (due to being white meat). Much like the prawns from the appetizer platter, they were grilled nicely. The rapini was cooked perfectly still exhibiting a firm texture.

Much like our meal at Romer's, we shared a few orders of donuts, specifically the Zeppole al Cioccolato which are fritters filled with chocolate. Vanilla Anglaise was served on the side. I actually had these at the Italian Kitchen last time and they were pretty good. This time around, we shared 3 orders and for some reason or another, they seemed to decrease in size from the first order to the last. I know it's comparing apples to oranges, but the donuts from Romer's are better. It's not to say these weren't good either. They were just chewier and more understated tastewise. As we prepared to pay, something strange happened. I presented my Let's Go for Dinner card and somehow it didn't register in their system that I had any credits left. However, a quick look at my account on the LGFD website on my iPhone revealed that a discount was redeemed from Trattoria. Computer glitch? No idea. But I must give the Manager kudos for taking care of the problem by merely taking off the discount manually. They would have to deal with LGFD later concerning the missing credit. So with the discount and the already reasonable prices, I thought that Trattoria is solid place to dine on 4th Ave. Service was excellent, ambiance was lively and food was acceptable.

The Good:
- Reasonable prices combined with LGFD discount
- Attentive service
- Lots of choice on the menu

The Bad:
- Food is a bit hit and miss
- Although sharing platters are awesome, they could stand to be a bit bigger