Big Star Sandwich Co

Normally, the latest trends or fads get their start in Downtown or Vancouver proper (or with some Asian stuff, Richmond) such as the ramen craze, gourmet burgers and cupcakes.  With that, the 'burbs get shutout or at the very least get the trickle-down effect.  However, often something gets lost in translation as we move further and further away from the source.  Thankfully, this is not the case at Big Star Sandwich Company in New West.  After drooling over the pictures of their sammies on the internet, I swung by to sample their wares.

I decided to go for 3 half-size sammies for $5.00 each (full size are $9.00).  First, I tried the Roast Beef and Capocollo with provolone, lettuce, tomato and mustard first. The ample amount of roast beef was meaty and tender.  It had a nice natural roasted flavour which was accented by the spiciness of the capocollo.  Add in grainy mustard and the right amount of veggies, this was a hearty sandwich.  Normally, I complain about the hard buns most other places use.  Well not here.  The bun was soft, substantial and fresh.  It caressed all of the ingredients with every bite.  My only suggestion would be to lightly toast them so that it doesn't get spongy from the wet ingredients. Next up was the Turkey, Bacon and Avocado with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, mayo and honey mustard. Although the turkey was on the drier side (as it tends to be), it was surrounded by a good amount of mayo, veggies and avocado to moisten things up.  There was a generous amount of lean crispy bacon which added the necessary punch of flavour.

I also had an unnamed sandwich which we'll call The Royal.  It consisted of roast beef, bacon, avocado, cheddar, lettuce, tomato and chipotle aioli.  This was a savoury and spicy sandwich that had the smoothness of avocado and saltiness from the bacon.  I was only going to have a few bites, but I ended up finishing the whole thing.  In fact, half a sandwich was already quite filling and at $5.00, I'd rather hit up Big Star than Subway or Quizno's.

The Good:
- Quality ingredients
- Nice flavour combinations
- Soft bun (easy to eat)

The Bad:
- Interesting location, not enough walk-up traffic?
- Small place, mostly for take out (which works for most people)

Pho 36

Originally, with us being in the Seattle sans enfants, we were planning to hit up some restaurants that were not kid-friendly.  However, due to our power shopping and picking up goods from Goose, we didn't have a whole lot of time to eat.  We even ate the free breakfast at our hotel (which was not really blogable - the horror!).  Since we, wait, I mean Viv still had lots of shopping to do, we stopped for a quick lunch at Pho 36 in Lynnwood.

We had the Salad Roll first and it was quite good.  As evidenced in the picture, the rolls were large and properly constructed with vermicelli, lettuce, basil, sprouts, pork and shrimp. The rice wrapper was moist while still retaining a nice elasticity.  Furthermore, the dipping sauce was balanced between peanut and hoisin. Continuing on the large theme, the Grilled Pork Banh Mi was loaded with filling.  Being chewy, yet well charred, the pork had a nice smoky flavour.  There was too much mayonnaise for our liking as the sandwich was too saucy.  We felt the bun was far too large and dense despite the crustiness of the outside.

We shared a bowl of Pho Dac Biet which featured a pretty mild broth.  It was on the sweeter side with hints of daikon.  There was a sufficient amount of noodles as well as tender meats.  However, there could've been more of each.  Finally, we had the Lemongrass Chicken on Rice with a fried egg.  The sliced chicken was kissed nicely by the grill and exhibited plenty of sweetness and smokiness.  It was slightly dry but not terribly.  The rice was dry as well, but the runny egg yolk helped alleviate that.  As with most Vietnamese joints, Pho 36 did the job without incident.  A quick, cheap meal when shopping trumps eating.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay service

The Bad:
- Not that it is important, but it is worth noting the cluttered decor

Sonic

Viv and I decided to make an impromptu visit to Seattle for one night because we needed to do some shopping as well as picking up a bunch of things I had shipped to Goose's house.  That also meant we had to hightail it to the border after work on a Friday of a long weekend.  Thank goodness for Nexus!  Not having a whole lot of time to eat, we decided to stop by Sonic in Ferndale (as recommended by Yummy Mummy). For those who are not familiar, Sonic is a fast food drive-in with no indoor seating.  Ordering is done via a speaker and menu at your parking stall.  Even credit card processing can be done right in the comfort of your vehicle.

We squeezed into the stall which was a tight fit, even for my compact hatchback.  This would make Richmond parking spots look spacious!  After a quick look at the menu, I decided to get the 1/4 Pound Cheeseburger with a side of Onion Rings.  The burger was pretty basic with a soft bun giving way to a somewhat dry patty.  However, with all the mayo, ketchup and mustard along with lettuce, pickles and tomato, the whole thing was saucy and messy to eat.  Not bad, but I'd gladly take an In-N-Out burger over this one (if they had a closer location than Redding, CA!).  The onion rings were coated with a crunchy breading and could've benefited from some seasoning, but they were pretty good.  I added a Strawberry Shake as my beverage and it was quite thick and sweet.  I liked how they used a lot of ice cream in it.

Viv went for the Asiago Chicken Club with Fries and it was pretty average.  The bun was a little too soft while the rest of the sandwich was typical, yet curiously bland.  The chicken was not too dry though.  We liked the fries though as they were hot and crispy.  Overall, our visit to Sonic was a neat experience, but not exactly memorable.  A few things left me wondering: why are the stalls so narrow and since it is a drive-in, why aren't there tables you hook onto your doors?  The experience would've been less awkward in our opinion.

The Good:
- Neat drive-in experience
- Food is acceptable

The Bad:
- Narrow spots and no place to put your food
- Not expensive, but not cheap either

Triple Triple @ Triple O's

There are some things in my childhood that I love no matter what others think.  Hey food is subjective and really, you can't tell someone that they don't like something.  One of my favourite things to eat while growing up was the Double Double at White Spot.  Consisting of 2 patties, 2 slices of cheese, Triple O sauce and double pickles, it was really satisfying.  Imagine my reaction when I was informed that there was a Triple Triple on their secret menu at Triple O locations.  Secret menu?  Sounds like an In-N-Out kinda thing.  Well, the good folks at White Spot sent me voucher to try this monstrosity, so of course I went!  

I brought the family along too because hey, they love White Spot (and subsequently Triple O's) too!  But before we get to that, let's talk about what they got to eat.  They both went for the Dippin' Chicken with fries, drink, the classic chocolate doubloons and crayons. They gobbled up the 2 crispy chicken strips quickly.  Strangely, the fries were pretty dense and not really all that crispy.  Viv had the Chipotle BBQ Bacon Melt Burger.  It was pretty substantial with plenty of ingredients.  She did remark that the onions were the dominant flavour though.  For her side, she had Onion Rings (next picture down) and they were the breaded type, which meant they were crunchy.

I was actually the one who ordered the Sweet Potato Fries which were pretty crispy and light.  I liked how the side of Chipotle mayo was enough for all of the fries.  Now the main event - The Triple Triple!  Nothing complex here, just 3 patties, 3 slices of cheese and 3 pickle slices.  Yes, this was filling and I barely finished it.  Only eat this if you are really hungry.  Nothing particularly ground-breaking, but consider it a bigger Double Double.  And that's what Triple O's is all about - nothing fancy and certainly nothing mind-blowing.  Yet it delivers what is expected.

The Good:
- A little bit more interesting than some of the other fast food burgers
- White Spot burgers in a fast food setting

The Bad:
- Pricier than other fast food joints
- Not a whole lot of seating

Beaucoup Bakery Cafe

After sharing 3 lunch specials at Jitlada Thai, we were pretty much full.  However, Choobee wanted to go for some dessert.  I immediately suggested Beaucoup Bakery due to its close proximity.  Great.  Now Choobee was doing her best impression of Mijune.  Such a dangerous way to live...  Eat til you drop...  I immediately tackled the Double Baked Almond Croissant.  It was heavenly with a flaky crisp shell which gave way to a soft, buttery and sugary interior.  The best way to describe it is that it was a in-depth sweetness rather than just plain sweet.  

The Pain au Chocolate was equally flaky and buttery with a semi-sweet chocolate hit.  It got really messy as Choobee got it all over her face and hair...  Ahem...The classic Butter Croissant was of course, crisp and flaky on the outside.  However, it wasn't as buttery and soft as I would've liked on the inside (was it baked too long?).  It's not to say it wasn't a good croissant, because it was, but I would've liked it to be less dry (however, I've been told that their croissants are usually not dry in the middle - could it be an anomoly?).  

Although the Raspberry Pistachio Macaron was easily the most attractive of all the pastries, it was only okay.  The macaron itself was very nice with a crisp delicate exterior and a soft chewy interior.  The pistachio cream filling was not all that impactful although it had a creamy texture. The Lemon Tart was very well crafted with a firm buttery crust.  Although the lemon curd was a touch on the runnier side, it had a nice tartness to it which tempered the sugar content.  I liked how it was small since that was probably all I could eat in one sitting.  Savoury and cheesy, the Cheese Scone had a nice contrast of crunch and softness.  Love the savoury elements.  Overall, we were impressed with the stuff we tried at Beaucoup -  these were some finely crafted pastries.

The Good:
- Pastries made with care
- Textures were on point except for the regular croissant
- We liked the high ceilings and bright space

The Bad:
- Well, like any good patisserie, it's gonna cost you
- The regular croissant was dry for some reason

Jitlada Thai

Every now and then, Choobee pesters me to have lunch with her.  Hey, I'm not trying to avoid her (well, actually that's probably true...), but with our busy schedules, it's just hard to coordinate a time to meet up and eat.  Finally, the planets aligned and her persistent texts paid off. In fact, by sheer coincidence, we were roughly around the same area when she texted her usual lunch request.  Her suggestion was Jitlada Thai, which was formerly the location of CRU.

We started with a Spring Roll plated nicely as an appetizer.  I know it's a small detail, but we liked how it wasn't served on the same plate as our mains.  The spring roll itself was light where the filling of cabbage and cellophane noodles were not packed too tightly.  It was certainly crispy but slightly greasy.  The first dish to arrive was the Pad Thai and it had all the requisite ingredients such as pickled turnip, pressed tofu, sprouts, crushed peanuts and egg.  However, we found it a touch too sweet with a liberal use of palm sugar. It needed tartness in the form of more tamarind.  This was alleviated somewhat when we requested some lime wedges.

The Green Curry arrived sporting a stunningly vibrant colour as they must've used a good amount of fresh cilantro and basil in the paste.  Visuals aside, the curry itself was lacking some pop even though it had a good spice level.  It was missing that pungency from fish sauce and shrimp paste.  However, the flavours were quite bright, which went along with the colour.  Lastly, we had the Basil Pork Stir-fry.  I thought this was prepared very nicely as the pork was caramelized with plenty of sweetness from the palm sugar.  Naturally, there was also a nice hit from the ample amount of fresh basil.  "Not bad" was our opinion of the place.  Certainly deserves another look sometime, possibly for dinner.

The Good:
- Food appears to relatively authentic
- Nice digs
- Attentive service

The Bad:
- Some of the flavours could've been more powerful

Duotian Fish Noodle Soup Restaurant

Apprehensive as I was, returning for Sunday morning hockey.  It ended poorly for me last year as I was hit 3 consecutive weeks leading to my concussion.  Was I going to be back?  Was it worth the risk?  Was something going to change?  Oh who am I kidding...  Would I pass up Sunday eats???  Besides, the culprit, who gave me my concussion, didn't even sign up for this year.  After our game, the usual suspects, Milhouse and Kaiser Soze joined me at Duotian Fish Noodle Soup (think Deer Garden Signatures...).

Arriving in a huge bowl, the Fish Noodle Soup with rice noodles, brisket and fish was a substantial portion (not merely being a big bowl of soup and nothing else).  I found the soup flavourful in a MSG kinda way, but I did pick out some natural fish flavour.  The noodles were still chewy while there was a good amount of napa cabbage.  I found the fish to be moist and not overcooked, but the brisket was pretty chewy.  Not bad, however, Deer Garden is better (and with that being said, Deer Garden is only okay in my books).  I got the maximum 2 sides which were Fried Chicken Wings and Maggi Pork Chop.  The wings were fried golden brown and juicy on the inside.  It was brined just enough to remain tender and flavourful.  As for the pork chop, it was moist, yet a touch salty from all that Maggi.

Milhouse had the Satay Beef Rice Noodles and it was also a massive portion.  Lots of beef, peppers and pineapple atop soft, yet not mushy flat rice noodles.  The sauce itself was not all that spicy, rather it was mostly sweet.  The beef was fairly tender, but certain pieces were not tenderized enough.  Kaiser Soze opted for the Frog Legs Hot Pot Rice which was also a decent portion with plenty of toppings.  They didn't skimp on the frog legs which were moist and tender.  The abundance of Chinese sausage and pickled mustard greens added additional flavour and texture.  As for the rice, it was chewy and there was a nice crust on the bottom of the hot pot.  Overall, it was an acceptable meal at fairly okay prices.  Sure, there were some deficiencies, but we weren't sure why the place is rated so low on Urbanspoon.


The Good:
- Decent portions
- Acceptable eats


The Bad:
- Not bad, but not great either
- Parking lot sucks