Bitter Tasting Room

First it was Whipping Girl complaining that we hadn't eaten together for awhile, now it was Miss Y's turn. Gawd, guess I shouldn't be complaining eh? Attractive women wanting to go eat with me? Why didn't I have this problem in High School??? Oh right... The glasses and appearing "too smart" probably didn't help (see the emphasis on appearing). Seeing how I was one day removed from my birthday, Miss Y offered to take me out for eats. As per usual, she left it up to me as to our eating destination. It may seem like a simple task, but finding an interesting place to dine is sometimes tricky. After a bit of thought, which really hurt my head (where are those glasses?), I remembered the newest addition of Sean Heather's "restaurants in weird locations". Bitter Tasting Room is located right smack dab in the Downtown Eastside. Roughly across the street from Army and Navy, it appears the redevelopment of the area is beginning to creep Eastward from Woodward's. I was so not expecting the restaurant to be located on Hastings at Carrall. So much so, I drove right past it.

Once we got in the place, the layout actually made it look spacious. They could probably cram a few more tables in there if they wanted to. We chose a corner seat and went about deciding what to order. Of course beverages were a must, especially with the great beer selection. I had their Milk Stout and Miss Y opted for a white wine. We shared a couple of small bites starting with the Pork Scratchings, Cracklings, Rind or Chicharron. Yes, that is what they called it on the menu. I guess they wanted to cover all the possible names. Well, one thing we do know, it is essentially fried pork rinds. We only found these to be okay. They sure were crunchy, but a touch hard. I've had many versions of fried pork rinds and these were not as light and airy as it could've been. It could be attributed to personal tastes though. We did like the "just enough" amount of seasoning which consisted of salt, pepper, citrus and chili.

Our second little bite was a Scotch Egg consisting of a free-range Rabbit River Farm egg wrapped in garlic sausage coated with breadcrumbs and fried. It was served on a bed of grainy mustard and topped with parsley. This was pretty good with a perfectly hard-boiled egg (notice there was no dark ring) and a tasty layer of sausage. The sausage was a bit chewy while still moist. The crunchy crumb coating was a nice textural contrast and wasn't greasy. This was probably the best thing we had in terms of food. We ended up ordering 1 of the available 3 larger dishes since the menu wasn't exactly full of choices. The most intriguing of the mains was the Cassoulet with duck confit, pork belly, Toulouse sausage and braised beans. The protein components of the cassoulet were done quite well with the duck confit being moist and tender (a bit salty though). The pork belly was also moist and surprisingly lean while the Toulouse sausage was fatty and meaty. However, the beans weren't as successful. There was nothing particularly wrong with them texturally, but the tomato sauce was not really all that memorable in flavour. It lacked any defining taste and in fact, was not balanced.

For our second bigger item, we had the Krainer Sausage accompanied by 3 condiments including a mustard ragu, pickled veggies and sauerkraut. We originally tried to order the Weisswurst, but they were out of it. The Krainer was their special of the day, so it is not on the regular menu. This dish was meant to be shared and well honestly, Miss Y and I could not finish it. Maybe we need to bring a few friends to help us with the sausagefest. Miss Y ended up taking a sausage home with her... er... The sausages themselves had a nice snap casing while the meat inside had a good bounce and was really juicy (well, a good amount of fat helped that). I thought all of the condiments went well with the sausages due to the abundance of acidity which helped cut through the richness of the meat.

After all this, we were pretty stuffed with meat but Miss Y pulled a Mijune and decided to go with dessert anyways. From the 2 available on the menu, we had the "Chocolate" as described on the menu: layers of chocolate cream mousse, carmelised hazelnuts, chocolate ganache, waffle cone bits laced with dried cherries. Not the most refined dessert, yet still enjoyable to eat, it had it all - crunchy, nutty, tart, sweet, chocolatey and chewy. They covered all the bases and it was balanced. Although our visit to Bitter was hardly outstanding, it was a whole lot better than we thought it would be. Consider it a great place to grab a drink with a few bites on the menu to accompany it.

The Good:
- Lots of beers to choose from
- Seating isn't exactly spacious, but the room is
- The service we got was friendly

The Bad:
- Food is secondary to the drinks
- Area is improving, but the location is still shady

Safari Snack House

Having gone back to work after a day off, I quickly figured out that I should've stayed home for another day. Feeling fine in the morning, I decided to drag myself into work to only find out my body was working against me. So the very next morning, I made the decision to stay home for a second day. Great. Boooooring again. And what about lunch? Egads, no more crappy North American Chinese food please. I had that 2 days ago and am still not getting over it. Wait, that could just be my cold... So I headed out to get takeout once more. This time, it would be different and hopefully more tasty.

Heading not too far from home, it was as good as any time to finally stop by Safari Snack House - another one of those "pass by often, but never eat at" establishments. According to the literature posted on the wall, they have the "best samosas in Burnaby". So I got an order of the Beef Samosas and really, they were pretty good. The exterior was thin and crispy while being packed with moist ground beef, onions and spices. The accompanying cilantro chutney didn't look very flavourful considering the colour, yet it really did have a nice kick. Since Safari is mainly a catering business, they do not have a set menu when it comes to entrees. Rather, they feature 3 different items daily as it coincides with what they are already making. This way, you know it is fresh, rather than something sitting in the fridge and being merely warmed up. Of the 3 features for the day, I opted for the Chicken Curry served with rice. Although not cheap at $10.95, the portion size was quite substantial. There was 2 large pieces of chicken (one dark and one white) with potatoes in a light curry. I say "light" because it was extremely mild with only subtle hints of spice. Now that is not saying I didn't enjoy it though. The potatoes were soft and the chicken was not too dry, even the white meat. Personally, I would've liked more kick, but that is just me.

Seeing how this was just a small sample of what they offer, I returned the very next day on my way home to try one of their daily features. Actually, I had already spotted what it was going to be and made plans in my head to come back. What was it? Well, none else than Butter Chicken! Oh I love butter chicken. Yes, it is over-represented sometimes since you can find it on so many menus everywhere including chain restaurants. But for me, I wanted to see their take on it, especially since they are not an Indian restaurant. Being such, their version was definitely different. Lighter in colour and chunky, there was a moderate amount of spice combined with some tang and crunchy bits strewn throughout. Since I eat butter chicken all-the-time, this took time to get used to. After a few bites, I couldn't stop. It was pretty darn good. So much so, I overlooked the slightly dry pieces of chicken and the pita bread passing a Naan. To be fair, I wasn't expecting tandoori-made naan. So when it came out looking like the picture you see, it was alright. Yes, the naan was dense and not crispy at all on the outside. Personally, I should've gotten the rice instead since I like the Indian-style of naan. Ah whatever. the place has this certain level of charm, including the chatty staff. Not exactly the greatest food I ever ate, yet solid nonetheless. At the very least, they offer up something different and considering the location, that is a good thing.

The Good:
- Good portions
- Friendly personable staff
- Interesting food

The Bad:
- Not as cheap as you would think
- Limited menu (but also good since it means freshness)

Oriental Kitchen

Being sick at home is not something that I look forward to. Sure, for some it represents a day-off from their job. For me, it means a full day of boooooring, not to mention the hacking, sneezing and wheezing. I guess I could blog, but then my head hurts. TV? If I wanted to watch soap operas. Wonder what Bo & Hope are up to... er... I mean I could watch a movie... So it becomes a day of aimlessly wandering around what to do with myself. Then comes lunch. Due to a low energy level, cooking something doesn't even enter my mind. Go out to eat? Nope, unless other patrons want my cold. So the only other option is takeout. I could go for fast food... Nah, that's not very exciting. Then, on my way to Safeway, I remembered a Chinese takeout spot next door. It wasn't very good last time, yet it was at the end of the day. So why not give it another chance?

I decided to go for their biggest combo which gave me a selection of 3 items with noodle or rice. Totally ignoring the veggies, I got 3 meats: Sweet 'n Sour Pork, Sesame Chicken and Honey Garlic Pork. Gosh this was a large amount of food. Trust me, I didn't finish this. And it was probably for the best because the stuff was the same as last time. The Sweet 'n Sour Pork was a radioactive red and was predominantly sweet. The biggest issue I had was with the meat, it was dry and chewy. The same could be said about the Honey Garlic Pork which was again, very sweet. The Sesame Chicken was only slightly better. For good measure, I added a side order of Fried Squid. Boy, these were greasy and some were quite overcooked. The batter was flaking off and not crispy. I did like the seasoning though, it was salty and had a bit of spice from the chili flakes. Well, what can I say? This second visit confirms that the food is pretty mediocre, even for North American Chinese food...

The Good:
- Large portions
- Reasonable pricing

The Bad:
- Food is meh

Nuba (Hastings)

Being out at the West Van Rec Centre for a meeting was nice. The place is a sight to behold. Big flat screens everywhere! I guess that is what money can buy in this neighbourhood. Now the bad thing about being in West Van late on a weeknight - it is not conducive for good eats. We tried to find something open in nearby Dundarave... no dice. West Van becomes a ghost town of sorts after 9:00pm. So we had no choice but to head across Lion's Gate over to Downtown Vancouver. Originally we considered going for a pulled pork sandwich at the Greedy Pig; but apparently arriving slightly before 9:30 (closes at 10:00), we had already missed last call. Hence, we decided to walk over to something nearby which turned out to be Nuba.

We weren't incredibly hungry so we essentially ordered 4 smaller plates to share. Besides, this is what they're known for anyways. We started with the Hummus with pita bread. A generous amount of smooth hummus arrived on a good-sized plate. I thought there was ample flavour, although Viv wanted a bit more tartness. For me, it was still good nonetheless. Of course, no visit to Nuba would be complete without their signature dish - Najib's Special. As simple dish consisting of fried cauliflower or what they term as crispy cauliflower, it is a interesting combination of crunchy cauliflower with several layers of textures. The taste is unmistakably pungent in a cauliflower type of way naturally with a touch of lemon. For me, I'm not a huge fan of Falafels. I am, by nature, a "meatatarian". But that is not the reason I don't like falafels. I don't particularly like the dense filling and the overly crunchy exterior. I did enjoy the ones at Ben Laila and that made me crave some more. That is probably why I ordered it here. Bad idea. They were exactly what I don't like about falafels. Very heavy filling and too crusty on the outside. Call it a personal dislike.

Lastly, we had the Chicken Shish Tawook consisting of Mount Leeman chicken marinated with spices and grilled served with hummus and avocado. Much like the last time I had this, the chicken wasn't exactly moist; but it wasn't too dry either. Not extremely flavourful; but there was an underlying combination of spices. By now, we were all hummus'd out; but that was our fault for ordering hummus when practically every plate had it. Since we weren't that hungry, we didn't get the bigger plates and that is really too bad. The appies were okay, not much to write home about other than their famous crispy cauliflower. But they must be doing something right as they have expanded to 4 locations.

The Good:
- Funky dining space
- Interesting food

The Bad:
- A bit pricey

The Ranch BBQ

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, it will come as no surprise to you when I say I hate eating alone. Call it some form of insecurity and/or the fact that a grown man sitting in a corner gleefully taking pictures of brussel sprouts may elicit stares as the reason for this. So when my lunch plans fell through with Whipping Girl, I went into panic mode. What should I do? Even a quick text to the ever-reliable Karl didn't result in a dining companion. Frack! Fine, I just needed to suck it up and eat alone again. So off I went to a spot where I could look more manly whilst snapping photos of my food - a BBQ (The Ranch BBQ in this case)! Yah, snapping pics of meat will solve the problem... NOT!

Anyways, I was hungry and since there were no other diners around, it was a "snap" (sorry for the pun). Not sure what the problem was, but the darn place was colder than a walk-in freezer. I think I was shaking throughout the meal. Didn't matter though, I was famished and decided to have 2 items for lunch (as if I haven't done that before). I started with a side of Chili first as it was included with my main. I found it to be very balanced in terms of ingredients. There was a good meat-to-bean-to-veggie ratio. All the textures were right while the consistency was a tad watery. One thing I would've liked to see was more spice, but that is my personal taste talking. For my first main, I had the BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich. The darn thing was pretty substantial and it looked good. One bite and it was quite obvious the meat required very little chewing, if at all. This could be partially attributed to the fattiness of the meat. I found the BBQ sauce to be on the vinegary side while the coleslaw added another layer of acidity and crunch. I loved the Portuguese bun, it was soft and stood up to the wet ingredients.

I also had the St. Louis-Style Ribs as my second main. They were smothered in the same vinegary BBQ sauce and for me, it could've been less so. I didn't get much in the way of smokiness or depth. The side ribs themselves were on the chewy side, but not terribly so. By the end, I was still quite cold. Not sure if the heat was not working or not. In terms of the food, it was not bad. There is better BBQ in Vancouver, yet not around where the Ranch BBQ is located.

The Good:
- Service was courteous albeit sparse
- Brisket was super tender
- Prices are okay

The Bad:
- Place was freezing cold
- Again, service was friendly, but I only got one napkin... for eating ribs?

The French Table

Have you ever wanted to check out a restaurant to only see it close before you had the chance? One of these such places was the Purple Crab. Yah, I know, I know... The place wasn't exactly highly rated, but for some reason or another, I liked the name. I guess the fact it is now out-of-business pretty much says it all. Maybe it was for the best that I did not go. Now, in its place resides the French Table which is a bit of old and new at the same time. The restaurant is new, from its cozy, tastefully decorated dining room to the custom made tables bearing its name. However, the old is the proprietor - former Master Executive Chef Herve Martin of Hermitage.

Originally, we were planning to visit the place after taking my son for a haircut (since it is nearby). However, he didn't feel like French food (when does he ever?) and we ended up doing Dim Sum instead. The very next day, I made an executive decision and we all went including the Grandparents. Their lunch menu is relatively simple with only a few appies. The one that stood out in my mind was the Toulouse Sausage served with warm potato salad. We went for the large order (which I presume to have 2 sausages opposed to one) to share. These meaty links were pan fried perfectly with good colour and caramelization. However, the star of the plate had to be the warm potato salad. The slices of potato were perfect - soft while still intact. When hitting all the flavouring agents (shallot, capers and olive oil), the salad had a nice tang.

For myself, I had the Croque Monsieur (which is a sandwich of ham & Gruyere topped with bechamel). Unlike some past versions I've had, this one had only a light bechamel on top. Hence, it wasn't smothered in sauce. I actually liked this since it accentuated the crisp bread. There was just enough creamy bechamel for moisture without creating a soggy mess. Again, the star of the plate had to be the green salad. What? Yes, you heard me, the green salad had this tasty
dressing which gave hints of acidity (which I thought was lemon?) and was creamy too. The accompanying frites were pretty good as well. Fresh-cut and double-fried, these were crispy and starchy at the same time. Just the right amount of salt made these addictive. Viv went for another classic in the Beef Bourguignon topped with lardons. The braising liquid naturally had a red wine slant to the taste, yet it was quite subtle and not overpowering. For some, this could be seen as being bland or too mild. We were okay with it, especially with the lardons providing another layer of flavour. The best part of the dish had to be the chunks of moist beef. Normally, whenever beef is stewed, it could result in dry, stringy meat. Not here, it was very good.

My mom loves steak, so it was only a given she would choose the Marinated Grilled Flat Iron Steak with shallot butter and frites. The first thing we noticed was the irregular shape of the steak itself. As such, the medium-rare steak was a bit uneven in parts. From the picture, it is quite obvious that some of the thinner portions were more cooked than the thicker parts. With that being said, the nice char on the outside was actually quite nice texturally and flavourwise. As a whole, the steak was essentially medium-rare and tender. We loved the shallot butter, it added a nice sweetness in a onion kind-of-way while not being as sharp. For the kiddies, they shared the Omelette with Swiss cheese & mushrooms. Okay, we loved the mushrooms and the subtle flavours of the eggs itself. However, the omelette was overcooked and not fluffy at all. The kids didn't mind, but we were a bit disappointed.

Lastly, my dad had the Pan-Seared Steelhead Salmon Sandwich. This piece of salmon couldn't have been prepared any better. Nicely crisp on the bottom and completely moist and flaky throughout, my dad enjoyed this very much. In general, we liked our meal. I wouldn't go as far as to rave about it though since there are so many other better French bistros in town. However, the French Table is a decent option along Main Street.

The Good:
- Lovely, warm decor
- Friendly service
- Well-executed proteins

The Bad:
- Food was not bad, but there is better (ie. Les Faux Bourgeois, Pied-a-Terre, Mistral, Bistrot Bistro etc...)
- Pricing is touch high for the neighbourhood

Osaka Sushi (Burnaby)

Friday nights have not been the same lately due to my knee injury. Not only do I miss playing hockey with my team, I don't get to eat out afterwards! However, Gadget Girl wanted the whole gang together after the last game before the Christmas break for dinner. She suggested I come out despite not being able to play. Now that works for me! No hockey, yet still get to eat. Since location was of prime importance (everyone lives in a different area in the GVRD), we ended up going to Osaka Sushi in North Burnaby. Located in the former location of Yummy Yummy Sushi, this was as central of a location we could decide on. With some subtle tweaks in the decor and the addition of booth seating, the place has gone somewhat more upscale. Yet, the menu prices seemed quite reasonable at the same time. Because we had a group of 18, we pretty much took over the whole restaurant (the place is not very big).

Making a cameo appearance was Polka King, who was able to escape the grip of marriage to join us for dinner. He ended up with a Salmon Tuna Sushi Combo that included maki and nigiri. I was able to try one piece of the tuna nigiri and I have to say it was pretty good. The rice had a good chewy texture and some hint of sweetness while the tuna on top was fresh and soft in a good way. He also had the Dragon Eel Roll and it was very reasonably-priced at $6.95. Normally, specialty rolls run in the neighbourhood of $10.00+. He was pretty happy with it. Mr. Blueberry decided on Combo 10 (yes, there are a lot of combos here) which included a small Unagi Don. This was the star of the box with chewy rice and an abundance of unagi. He liked it so much, he ordered a 2nd box! Gordo decided to share the Sushi Boat for 2 with Emilicious, however, he got a few single items for himself including an Ebi Sunomono. As you can clearly see in the picture, this was not a crappy sunomono you'd find at most other Japanese restaurants. Large cold water ebi lay atop chewy noodles in a balanced dressing. The Sushi Boat for 2 was pretty impressive when it arrived. It was visually appealing and the items were fresh including the uni. Emilicious and Gordo were pleased with their order. I tried one piece of the Rainbow Roll and Uni. I would have to agree that the food was well-made.

For myself, I ordered 3 things starting with the Appetizer Sashimi. When it arrived, we were impressed with the size of the slices. Furthermore, the salmon had a nice texture and tasted quite sweet. As mentioned, the tuna was fresh. For my main, I opted for the Tonkatsu served on top of rice with a side of green salad. This was a really large pork chop which literally covered all of the rice. Look, you can't see the rice! Moreover, it was fried perfectly crisp and was not greasy at all. What I liked best was the meat itself. It was moist and tenderized enough that it was easy to chew while not losing any meat texture. The tonkatsu sauce served on the side was thick and flavourful (probably the jarred stuff, which is fine by me). Lastly, I had the Assorted Tempura which consisted of ebi, yam, squash, carrot, broccoli and an imitation crab stick. Although it was fairly dark in colour, the tempura was crisp and not too oily. The veggies and shrimp were cooked properly with nothing overdone nor soggy. However, when I got to the crab stick, this is where it all went wrong. One bite and... hey, why is it so hard to chew? Is there a seaweed wrap around this? Wait. No. Can it be? They friggin' forgot to remove the plastic wrap around the crab stick! They fried the damn thing in its plastic!!! So I pondered for a moment. Honestly, I'm not the type to make a big fuss in a restaurant. Typically, I like to eat and then leave as discreetly as possible. Yet, I really needed to let them know on this one. I waved a waitress down and showed her the large piece of plastic. She apologized and then took off. Uh... Then, another waitress comes by and asks how was our food. Emilicious took it upon herself to indicate that there was plastic in my food. She also apologizes and asks if I want something else. I really didn't want something else since I practically finished my tempura already. In my mind, what I really wanted was for the tempura to be taken off the bill. Guess what? It wasn't. When I was up paying my bill, I showed my displeasure and they still didn't clue in. Whatever, I left it at that.

It's really too bad about the plastic and the non-response by the staff. Overall, the food was actually pretty decent and reasonably-priced. If we don't look at the plastic incident for a moment, the staff was actually very friendly and did their best to accommodate us (especially for such a big group). The food came out in a relatively expeditious manner and everyone was pretty much satisfied. I realize that nothing can be perfect and in fact, with such large group, I thought that the restaurant did a very good job. So the "plastic" incident was the only real blemish. To be fair, the staff did apologize. However, by not taking it off the bill was not acceptable. I don't really care about the $6.95, it is all about the principle. Whoever made the tempura was not careful with the prep and fried a crabstick still in its plastic. It is akin to making a grilled cheese without removing the cheese from its wrap. Not good. Either they train their staff better to deal with such situations or have a policy in place. Osaka is a smaller operation, so it is pretty obvious they do not have any protocol in place. In the end, it was all about bad luck. It was bad luck that I got the plastic and that it ever happened at all. If the plastic thing never happened, I would be singing the praises of an above-average Japanese restaurant in North Burnaby. Yet, what happened - happened. It left a bad taste in my mouth literally and figuratively.

The Good:
- Above-average food
- Well-priced
- Good portions

The Bad:
- Tight seating if not in a booth
- The plastic in my tempura incident was and is still troubling