Big Daddy's Pizza

It's pretty obvious I try to make it Downtown as often as I can for eats.  As much as there are good things to munch on in the burbs, there is no denying there are some things that are worth traveling into town for.  Hence, I have my usual routes in and out of the land of traffic and expensive parking.  One of which is down Dundas which eventually becomes Powell.  Now, driving down that street time after time has allowed me to keep an eye on restaurants opening up.  Yes, I know it ain't the sexiest place for a place of culinary treats, but that doesn't bother me.  More often than not, I'd rather try to find a diamond in the rough rather than fight for parking.

One place that I have spied with my little eye is Big Daddy's Pizza.  Upon further inspection, they serve much more than that, and made in-house to boot. I decided to hit the place up for some eats that didn't include pizza.  No I wasn't doing my best impression of Miss Y, there were just more interesting things to try. So, when they boast things are made from scratch, they weren't kidding.  The Fried Chicken Tenders were indeed home-made, not exhibiting that classic uniform size and shape that characterizes Sysco/GFS stuff.  They were crispy and not dry in the middle.  I liked the chipotle dipping sauce as it was well-balanced with a touch of spice.  I also got a 1/2 pound of BBQ Ribs and they were "alright".  I found them to be meaty and somewhat moist.  They weren't chewy by any stretch of the imagination, but were slightly dry.  The drizzle of BBQ sauce was just enough, but I found it to be lacking in pop.  It was sweet with only the slightest of zip.  I think a bit more spice and smokiness would've been nice.  

The star of the show had to be the Pulled Pork Sandwich.  At a miniscule cost of $3.95, the darn thing was massive with lots of moist pulled pork.  There was just enough sauce to keep from being dry, yet not creating a bloody messy either.  I liked how the coleslaw had enough acidity for some zing as well as not being the mayonnaisey type.  This ensured the sammie would not be soggy.  The whole thing was encased in a wonderful soft bun that held up until the last bite.  This has to be one of the best deals in town hands down.  Interestingly, I regretted not at least getting a slice of pizza to try, but whatever, I'll go back - to get the pulled pork sandwich that is...

The Good:
- Pretty cheap eats
- Friendly folks
- Decent pulled pork sandwich

The Bad:
- Area looks a bit sketch, but it's really not that bad
- It's strictly takeout

Pink Peppercorn

For the longest time, The Cannery was one of the most popular seafood joints in town.  Sure, the decor was a bit rustic (and so was the food to a degree), but who could forget their Lobster Oil, Seafood Platter, Salmon Wellington and Lobster Bisque?  Before "trendy" was a word in Vancouver, The Cannery was an ol' standby.  Sadly, with the expansion of the port and post 9-11, there were security concerns that led to the closure of The Cannery at its unique and scenic location.  Instead of resurrecting it at another spot, it was left to live out its last days at the very location that stood since 1971.  But a few years ago, Edward Geekiyanage, who was the lunch chef at The Cannery, opened up The Pink Peppercorn out on Kingsway & Knight.  And yes,  you guessed it, he brought all the favourites (including the lobster oil and a few former employees) to the place. I originally wanted to hit up the place 2 years ago, but somehow it just never happened.  So with Costanza treating for dinner, I suggested we head there (although he was thinking along the lines of McD's  LOL...).

Now if you were looking for a tricked out modern abode, please move along to the closest Glowbal Group restaurant instead. This place has a 70's charm about it.  We were greeted by our server, who was decked out with a Cannery apron and tie clip.  Shortly after, we were presented with what I consider as one of the top 40 things to eat in Vancouver - their signature Lobster Oil with balsamic vinegar.  Super aromatic and just downright yummy, I've never wanted to soak my bread in so much fat in my life.  It made me want to do a Joey in Friends where he only ate the bread and drank water at a fancy restaurant.  No, we didn't leave after the bread, rather, we started with some appies including the Warm Spinach, Prawn & Papaya Salad with cilantro, chili garlic dressing.  There was no way anyone could use the word bland with this offering.  It was zesty and spicy.  The prawns were cooked beautifully where they had a firm snap and a natural sweetness.  Where the salad fell flat, figuratively and literally, was the obscene amount of dressing.  It wilted the spinach excessively and there may have been too much flavour.  

For myself, I went for the classic Lobster Bisque with baby shrimp.  Rich, thick and full of lobster flavour, this was exactly how I remembered it.  However, there was a tad too much cognac, which overwhelmed the flavours somewhat.  But honestly, I really didn't care as I tried to eat every drop.  Costanza and Elaine shared the Panko Crust Pan Goat Cheese Salad with scallion, Dijon and balsamic dressing.  It was interestingly plated surrounded by a garden of mesclun greens.  The round of cheese was pan fried nicely with a golden exterior which was crunchy.  It contrasted well with the soft cheese.  Okay, I'm not going to delay this any further...  This visit was about the classics and we couldn't do without the Salmon Wellington.  This massive amount of food was The Cannery's signature item in terms of execution and quantity.  It consisted of local salmon, fresh baby shrimp & mushroom duxelle baked in a golden puff pastry served with a side of Pinot Noir Sauce.  I am happy to report that nothing has changed as the portion size could be only described as large.  The thick piece of salmon was still moist while the mushroom duxelle added a woodsy essence.  The whole thing was enveloped by a beautiful golden brown crispy puff pastry.  The heavily reduced pinot noir sauce was thick and rich.

For my main, I went for the chef's creation which was a filet of John Dory Fish with a lobster tarragon mushroom sauce.  The fish was prepared properly being flaky and moist.  The plethora of sauce was welcomed as it was flavourful with a nice mix of lobster, Earthy mushrooms and sweetness.  Costanza had our least favourite dish being the Pacific Rim Seafood Pasta Linguine.  Nothing wrong with the bounty of mussels, clam, smoked Alaskan black cod, Bay scallops toasted in pesto cream sauce, as they were cooked perfectly.  And there was nothing amiss with the pasta as it was al dente.  The problem was the sauce.  There was far too much of it and it was way too sweet.  Looking conspicuously like the aforementioned pasta, Viv's West Coast Bouillabaisse was infinitely better.  It consisted of fresh fish, shellfish & julienne vegetables, simmered in atomato saffron & fennel broth.  Once again, there was essence of lobster in there, yet we weren't complaining as it added a certain level of depth to the broth.  Viv is usually not a fan of anything licorice but the she liked how the fennel added another layer of flavour.  Once again, the seafood was prepared exquisitely where the fish was moist and flaky while the shellfish was just cooked. 

After the really large portions, were weren't all that hungry but forced ourselves to share 2 desserts starting with the Strawberry & Rhubarb Crumble (a la mode). Although the filling was a nice balance of sweet and tartness, we found the crumble on top too excessive and dry, it could've used a touch more moisture.  As for the Cheesecake, it was pretty standard. I found the edges to be slightly gummy, but the centre was creamy and dense.  Although the desserts were anti-climatic, the rest of the food was quite good in a non-modern kinda way (except for the pasta).  Plating was not really all that interesting and refinement might've been lacking, not to mention the high prices (considering the neighbourhood).  Yes, there are things that might lead me down the path of "not like" on Urbanspoon. However, the Pink Peppercorn brought us back to the days of The Cannery and that my friends, is what the place is all about.

The Good:
- Large portions
- Nicely executed seafood
- Professional service

The Bad:
- A little lacking in refinement
- Pricey, but worth it
- Cramped seating

Hanano Sushi & Grill

After a grueling hour of keeping order while the kids bowled or should I say chucked the ball and did all sorts of disconcerting behaviours, we headed for some eats.  Originally, we weren't aiming to travel all the way to North Road, but my daughter really wanted a clear princess balloon filled with helium.  Trying not to witness a 5-year old begin to cry, I hightailed it to Dollar Giant at Lougheed Mall to discover...  no helium!  Well, I tried!  So we went looking for food nearby and well, couldn't go South of Lougheed on North Road due to a police incident.  Therefore, I gave Sushi California a go to discover, surprise, surprise, no parking spaces!  Fine, a random food adventure this would be.  I proceed North and ended up at Hanano Sushi & Grill.  From the sparse clientele, I should've known this was going to be disappointing.

It started off on a good note as our server provided us with bowls, spoons and water for the kiddies complete with straws.  Very attentive and very astute.  Although the menu wasn't small per se, there was a limited amount of items available.  We started off with the Salmon Sashimi, which we thought was a good value at $11.00 for 15 pieces.  Well, it was too good to be true as each slice was half the size of most other Japanese restaurants.  So we essentially paid $11.00 for 7.5 pieces of sashimi.  At the very least, it was decent with a bouncy texture and a noticeable amount of sweetness.  The meal began to go downhill as the Tempura Udon arrived.  The tempura was soggy in parts and the yam was undercooked.  Furthermore, the udon itself was a bit too fishy due to the copious amount of bonito flakes.  Also, we asked for no onions (since the kiddies don't like them) and that seemed to go unheeded.

We ended up ordering 3 different maki sushi rolls and it turned out we should've done without any of it.  On one plate, we had the California Roll and Alaska Roll.  Um...  That did not look like any Alaska Roll we've ever had before.  Rather than salmon and imitation crab in the middle, there was only avocado.  On the outside, there was a small slice of salmon.  But the weirdest thing was the dousing of ginger soy dressing.  Not a good flavour combination.  And that sushi rice...  That was bad.  It was soft, wet and gummy.  A really poor attempt.  At the very least, the California Roll was fairly large and was okay, except for the rice.  Our last roll was a specialty one being the Tuna Tataki Roll.  We did like the smokiness and the drizzle of sweet sriraccha, yet again, the subpar sushi rice ruined it in terms of texture. Lastly, we had the Oyako Don which, yes came with onions despite our request.  In terms of the positives, the rice was properly sauced, but then again, it was too sweet.  The pieces of chicken were diced so small, there was no way it could maintain any moisture.  We didn't really dig this dish. Actually, as you can already figure out, we didn't enjoy our meal very much.  Yes, it is Korean-Japanese food, so we can't expect too much.  However, it was subpar even with that concession.  The only thing that made our experience somewhat acceptable was the friendly and attentive service.

The Good:
- Friendly and attentive service
- Spacious

The Bad:
- Food is neither prepared properly or tastes very good
- Not expensive, but not cheap either 

Noodle Mania presented by Vancouver Foodster

Alright!  Nothing planned for a Sunday!  Peace and quiet...  What?  A noodle thingy event?  Yup, Sean and Alvin were wondering if I'd like to join them for Noodle Mania (presented by Vancouver Foodster).  Um...  rest and relaxation versus eating lots of noodles...  Decisions, decisions...  Fine.  Eating wins (but doesn't that always win?).  I gotta admit, at first I was a bit hesitant to commit because these type of tasting events can be hit and/or miss.  After all, some restaurants take it seriously while others do not and it is the luck of the draw if the experience turns out to be good or bad.  But I went in with an open mind and an empty stomach and low blood sugar levels. (and thank goodness I did...).

We met up at Shak Tea, where all participants presented their vouchers for the event.  Single tickets went for $45.00, however, the cost was significantly lower when purchased in packs of 6 ($22.50).  The transportation to and from the participating restaurants (which was 10) would be up to each individual or group.  I was driving, so that made for speedy travel times, but parking would boil down to dumb luck (which we had).  I was supposed to receive a cup of tea to start, but we wanted to get a head start over everyone else, so we took off to our first destination - Hai Phong. There were 2 choices for noodles here, either the standard Pho or Shrimp & Crab Paste Noodle.  I had neither as Sean and Alvin pestered me to order off the regular menu.  So from my past experience the Pho is pretty solid with a fragrant broth and well made ingredients.  I had a similar item as the 2nd choice and the broth was indeed flavourful, aromatic and fishy (in a good way).

Looking over our plan of attack, it was prudent to head over to Chau Veggie Express since it was the Eastern-most destination.  We were given 2 items including the Soft Tropical Rainstorm (shredded beancurd, crispy shallots, peanuts, coconut creme, pickles and herbs) and Sliding Down the Sand Dunes (Lemongrass & ginger, peanut spiced broth, assorted tofu, lotus root & greens). As much as I am not thrilled at eating vegetarian cuisine, I found the 2 offerings to be flavourful and texturally pleasing.  The sweet coconut essence really shone in the tropical rainstorm while the sand dunes could've benefited from less salt.  We hit the last East Van eatery (Fet's) before heading into Downtown.  The offering here was a plate consisting of Cajun Cream Chicken on Linguini and Makers Mac n' Cheese.  I liked the toothsome linguine as it was spicier than we would've guessed. The mac n' cheese was cheesy, but due to the serving temperature, we couldn't gauge our opinions properly.  We understood that serving so many plates of mac n' cheese would make it impossible to make it to order.

So far, so good with the eats and the parking (as we were never more than 1/2 a block away).  However, in Yaletown, we had to take the first space available.  Luckily it was across the street from our next stop - Urban Thai.  Probably for logistical reasons, the 2 items  were kept in chaffing trays and hence, not in the best of shape.  The Pad Thai and Pad See-Iw were both lukewarm and a touch soft.  In terms of flavour, the pad Thai actually had a slight bite and some tang. It was a fairly bare bones version where I needed to add some hot sauce.  The pad see-iw, being a mild-tasting dish (normally), was pretty much flavoured with soy, but then again, I added hot sauce to that too. Leaving Urban Thai, we took the short stroll to Yaletown L'antipasto.  I've been here before and it can only be described as "small".  Great for a romantic dinner, but not-so-much for a food event.  We were able to snag a small table though and were served a "to-order" plate of Spaghetti in Pinot Grigio and Pappardelle Rosse.  This, my friends, was my favourite of the event.  By virtue of being prepared immediately, it was served hot and "the way it should be".  Therefore, the pasta was al dente while the flavours were pronounced.  I particularly liked the pappardelle as the meat sauce was full of depth, meatiness and body. 

After our 2 Downtown stops, we made our way to Soho Tea Room on Cambie. This bustling restaurant was a bit behind in their orders, thus we wasted more time than we would've liked here.  We covered the 2 choices which were Lobster Bisque Broth with Rice Noodles and Satay Veggie Ham & Enoki Fried Rice Noodles. Honestly, we weren't huge fans of the offerings here.  The lobster bisque broth didn't taste like its namesake while the ingredients were cold.  The stir-fried noodle was okay, but didn't taste like satay. Barely escaping the meter maid, we made the drive over to the new location of Bob Likes Thai Food (former location of Go Fish and Bin 942).  Once again, we were served items from a chaffing tray which included Kanom Jeen and Pad Thai.  I tried to make the Chinet plates look as sexy as I could in the pictures...  Anyways, the kanom jeen was almost refreshing with the mix of rice noodles, sprouts, onions and pickles with a peanutty sauce.  The pad thai was lukewarm, yet did have a nice spice level.

Continuing on with our almost perfect routing, we made the quick drive over to Novo Pizzeria & Wine Bar. Unlike the other restaurants, they decided to serve a "test" dish instead of a regular menu item.  In our opinion, the Spaghetti Campana (hand-made with EVOO, garlic, chili flakes and grape tomatoes) should be best left off the menu and/or rejigged.  Although the pasta was nicely al dente, there was practically no distinguishing flavours.  I was personally disappointed since from my last experience, the food should be better than the dish they served us.  And finally, our last stop was way, way out in Kerrisdale being the Mac Shack.  I was hoping that this visit would be better than my previous 2, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. Our 2 samples were Bacon Cheeseburger Mac and The Veggie.  Maybe it is personal preference, but I'm just not a fan of their mac n' cheese.  I find it wet and the flavours not really that developed.  However, the bacon cheeseburger was okay while I didn't really like the veggie (but then again, I'm biased). By now, we were in a carb coma that would make Atkin's look like a joke.  We were lucky with our parking spots as we got rockstar parking every time.  However, not everyone would be so lucky and people who took transit could never make it to all of the restaurants (only 4 hours for the whole event). But, in the end, I felt that for the price, there was more than enough food and novelty to make Noodle Mania a good value.

The Good:
- More food than you can imagine
- Novelty factor
- Make new friends

The Bad:
- If you don't have a car or you have bad luck with parking, don't expect to hit all of the restaurants
- Due to the nature of the event, some food is prepared ahead of time and thus, not representational of what it should be like
- With smaller restaurants, you might have to wait for a table which eats up valuable time

True Confections (Denman)

Now this food adventure was truly a walk down memory lane - a road that has now been overgrown with weeds because it has been that long.  Way back in our University days, Viv and I along with Costanza and Elaine would frequent True Confections for our late night dessert run.  Yes, there was not a whole lot of choice back then and in fact, there still is not much choice in terms of late night sweets. Our dessert reminiscing was a not a result of a planned visit, rather, we were just fresh from eating at Hapa Izakaya (which was another ol' hangout, albeit not as long ago!).

Seemingly like time never changed, Costanza had the Chocolate Cake (like he always did).  Too bad, time has passed and eating chocolate cake only adds to the beer gut...  Anyways, the cake was decently moist while chocolatey in a sweet kinda way.  It wasn't heavy despite the visuals.  For myself, I had the classic Cheesecake with strawberries.  This was a typical New York-style cheesecake where it was firm and dense.  I personally like this version, however, I found this one to be rather inconsistent in texture.  There were some hard parts mixed in with some fluffier portions.  Naturally, the top, bottom and side would be more stiff, but I already took that into account.  I did appreciate it wasn't too sweet nor was there a crust.  I like more cheesecake and less crust!

Viv went for the Flan and it was more of a cake with whipped cream and strawberries.  Again, we appreciated that it wasn't too sweet.  It was light and pretty refreshing as a dessert.  Despite not being a "deluxe" dessert joint, True Confections pretty much satisfies most people because frankly, they are not that picky.  However, for those dessert aficionados, the offerings at True Confections could be classified as plain and unrefined.  For me, it did the job and it wasn't too expensive.

The Good:
- Decent selection
- It does the job (without much fanfare)

The Bad:
- A little plain (not that exciting)
- A bit pricey

Hapa Izakaya (Robson)

For those who know, I don't hide my love for Hapa Izakaya.  Call it what you want, but for me, I think the combination of style, food, service and price makes it a reliable destination for small plates to go with your beverage.  Sure, there are other worthy spots such as Guu, Kingyo/Suika and Gyoza King, which I like in different ways.  But I seem to always come back to Hapa. And really, it is about the food, I swear!  I've been to all 4 of their locations in the GVRD and it was about time I returned to where it all started - the original Robson store. Well and also the fact that Costanza had some expiring Groupons as well!

So we met up without the kiddies, which felt really strange.  I had the urge to go clubbing after!  No, not really, but it was nostalgic for sure.  We started with the Beef Tataki which was neatly arranged around a mix of daikon, fried onions and green onions.  The vibrant rare beef was moist and practically melted in our mouths.  The sesame-chili sauce was conservatively drizzled on top which helped add some aromatic spice, yet did not overwhelm the delicate beef.  Next up was the Negitoro served with toasted garlic bread.  I've always liked the version here at Hapa because of the right mix of tuna belly, sesame oil and green onions smeared on crunchy garlicky toast.  This was mostly the case here except the toast could've been more toasty this time around.

Despite my carnivorous tendencies, I love polenta.   I really do!  So I lobbied for us to try the Polenta Fries.  These tempura battered beauties were dressed with a soy-balsamic reduction and arugula gel.  The tempura batter was light, airy and crispy without being greasy.  As for the polenta, it was soft with enough firmness to maintain its shape. The sauces had it all: sweetness, acidity, saltiness and a touch of bitterness from the gel.  For Costanza and myself, we could not let a visit at Hapa go without an order of Ebi Mayo.  In fact, we didn't want to share with the girls, so we got 2 orders.  One for us and one for them.  Now there are many good versions of Ebi Mayo in town, but for me, Hapa produces consistently one of the best.  And it was no exception this time around with nicely fried ebi which exhibited a snap and meatiness.  The natural ebi flavour was accented by just the right amount of chili mayo which had a nice balance of sweet, salty and a slight spice.

Another must-order item at Hapa is the Spicy Pork Ishi-Yaki, which is both good and a great filler item (to get you full, if that was your intention).  The picture you see was after they mixed the rice and squished along the sides of the hot stone bowl (to create a rice crust).  It consisted of rice, minced pork, garlic sprouts, egg, tomato, lettuce and spicy miso. Usually, the rice crust that forms on the sides is crispy and nutty.  However, the rice was a bit more wet than usual this time, hence, the crust was pretty minimal.  Despite this, it was still pleasant to eat since there was no absence of flavour including the salty miso and spice from the pork.  Moving onto another fried item (thank goodness we had a large Asahi), we had the Chicken Karaage dressed in a soy ginger sauce.  Each boneless piece of dark meat was fried just right with a crispy exterior yielding to a moist and tender interior.  The soy ginger sauce had a nice balance between salty and sweet with a hit of ginger.

For no explicable reason, we ordered the Agedashi Tofu.  Normally, I personally wouldn't choose this at an Izakaya, but we were trying to avoid raw items because Elaine doesn't really prefer it.  So yes, we had fried tofu.  Well, this was pretty decent with silky tofu fried lightly and dressed with the usual grated daikon and green onions in a dashi sauce. Lastly, we had the Hapa Hot Wings with a spicy serrano chili sauce.  These were meaty and juicy wings with a decent kick.  Again, really good with beer (much like the other items, it's an Izakaya!).  Once again, Hapa met our expectations and it was good to reacquaint ourselves to some of our favourite dishes, even if we weren't going clubbing afterwards...

The Good:
- Predictable and consistent
- Reasonably-priced
- Decent service

The Bad:
- This location needs a makeover
- Although predictable and consistent, menu might need some refreshing