Martini's

Like an old friend who we haven't seen in some time, Martini's can sometimes be lost in the options of late night eats.  There was a time where we'd visit the place weekly as it was still open after our late night activities.  So in an attempt to relive my youth, I suggested to my hockey team that we visit that ol' friend after our game.  My "reliving" was quickly halted as I was almost too tired to eat.  That never happened 10 years ago!

Milhouse and Lionel Hutz ended up agreeing to share a few items with me starting with the Chicken Tenders.  Yes, you read it correctly.  Normally, this dish is reserved for the kiddies, but it looked so good at the table next to us, we gave it a shot.  With a super crunchy panko-coating and relatively moist white meat, these were as good as they looked.  On the other hand, the plain ol' Miracle Whip-like dip sucked.  Well-known for their Whole Wheat Pizza, we were obliged to order one being the chorizo, sundried tomato and salami.  Naturally, the crust was firmer and slightly dry.  It was crunchy though and the abundance of toppings ensured it was flavourful.  We found the tomato sauce to be quite mild though.

For some odd reason, we ordered the Burger and it was pretty average.  The patty was absolutely obliterated by the cooking process.  It was dry and chewy.  Milhouse thought that the rest of the ingredients did help masked the dryness to a degree.  As for the fries, they were pretty typical.  They were crispy though. Ginger opted for the Pulled Pork Tacos and for a non-Mexican joint, they did a decent job.  I wouldn't say the pork was particularly flavourful, but it was moist (a touch greasy) and we were glad they didn't use a hard taco.  Furthermore, the condiments of cilantro, diced onions and lime offered up some authenticity (if that matters to you).

Emilicious wanted to share an order of the Mussels with someone and naturally I volunteered.  These were pretty solid with plump just cooked mussels.  Of note, all of them were open.  The classic white wine broth with garlic and shallots was flavourful and properly reduced.  With Sweet Tooth in attendance, it was only natural that some desserts hit the table.  We weren't sure if the Cheesecake was made in-house or not, yet whatever the case, it was super rich and creamy.  It wasn't overly sweet, but then again, the strawberry sauce was.  She also shared a slice of Apple Pie a la mode and I thought it was pretty decent.  Packed with big chunks of tender apples, I found the flavours to be muted with a touch of cinnamon.  The crust was pretty flaky in spots and naturally more moist in the middle.

On another visit, Milhouse and I shared the Baked Spaghetti & Meatballs and Veal Parmesan. Sadly, the spaghetti was practically stone cold as they probably only melted the cheese without actually heating up the dish.  Otherwise, it was okay with a mild tomato sauce and lean firm meatballs.  With a large meaty veal cutlet, our second dish was a generous portion.  Everyone was a bit confused with the ham on top, but if my memory serves me right, they eat it this way in Australia.  Anyways, Emilicious thought the tomato sauce (including the side of linguine) was very "Chef Boyardee-like".  Well, I wouldn't go as far as that, but it was closer to that than being zesty and/or tart. That pretty much summed up our experience here as the food is mostly middle-of-the-road.  Hence, Martini's continues to do what they've been doing since 1973 - decent eats for the late night crowd at a reasonable price.

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Okay service
- Open late

The Bad:
- Even though it is decent, it can be hit and miss with some items

La Mezcaleria

At one point, when locations of Taco Bell and Taco Time had outnumbered true Mexican restaurants, it exemplified the sad state of the cuisine in Vancouver.  Fortunately, those days seemed to be in the rear-view mirror, much like a car tailgating along #3 Road. With the increasing number of "as-authentic-as-can-be for Vancouver" joints opening up, we no longer have to accept tatar tots as Mexi-fries.  One of the newest places is La Mezcaleria on Commercial, brought to you by the same people as La Taqueria.

Due to a mix-up on the first visit, I was ultimately treated to 2 meals with Miss Y as my trusty eating companion. So I'll merely bunch everything into one post.  We started with the Pacific Snapper Ceviche consisting of tomato, lime, red onion, serrano peppers and cilantro with a side of freshly-fried tortilla chips.  We found the fish tender while still firm.  There was a good amount of lime as well as a low rumble of heat. Ultimately, it was light and refreshing.  At first, we were wanting some more seasoning, but the salt on the crunchy chips provided that balance.  Accompanied by the same chips, our side of Guacamole with ripe avocado, lime, cilantro, onions, jalapeno and tomato was good.  Since it was made-to-order, everything was vibrant and fresh.  I liked how it wasn't over mixed where there was still some chunkiness. I would've liked to see more acidity though (but there was a wedge of lime).

Of course we couldn't eat at a place named La Mezcaleria without trying the Mezcal Flight. I'm not too familiar with Mezcal, so don't expect an in-depth analysis. What I do know is that Mezcal and Tequila are both made from the agave plant, yet with Mezcal, it is roasted (which imparts a smokier flavour). So from left to right, I had Mezcal from Coyoacan, Espadin and lastly an Aged Mezcal.  It was served with spiced orange wedges, sangrita and lime.  You're not supposed to "shoot" the drinks, rather, it is best to sip with alternating samples from the sangrita and lime.  I quite liked experimenting to create different flavours.  Probably the most interesting dish we tried was the Queso Fundido with chorizo.  Essentially a cheese fondue, it was served in a volcanic rock molcajete and accompanied by soft tortillas.  Suffice to say, this was extremely cheesy and stringy.  And yes, by the visuals, it was pretty greasy too with the moist and flavourful chorizo.

Onto some other mains, we had the Pirillada consisting of grilled short-ribs marinated in a home-made pasilla chili sauce, chorizo, nopalitos, toreado peppers and green onions.  The moist and flavourful short ribs exhibited a nice char and was quite mild, salty and slightly sweet.  Miss Y remarked it tasted like somewhat like a smokier Korean short ribs.  The side of nopalitos (or cactus) was remarkably not slimy and had a nice hit of lime and spice.  We liked the meaty and mildly spicy chorizo on the side.  We also sampled the Chicken Enchilada topped with red tomato salsa, onion, cream and Mexican cheese.  The star of the dish was the wonderful roja as it was slightly smoky, zesty and layered with flavour.  It started off sweet and ended with a low rumble of spice.  The chicken itself was moist and lightly seasoned.

Saving the best for last, we really enjoyed the Tostadas de Pato made with duck confit, guava, fruit mole sauce, chayote and radish.  These were very good with a crunch from both the corn tortilla and veggies.  The duck itself was smoky, sweet and mildly spicy.  It was suggested we eat them by hand, but there was so much stuff on top, it was pretty difficult.  The fruit mole added a nice creaminess which brightened up the flavours.  And of course we had to try some Tacos (since they are the same people as La Taqueria).  From left to right, we had the Lengua (tongue), Carnitas (pork confit), Asada (flank steak) and Cachete (beef cheeks).  The tongue was moist and fatty while the carnitas was tender with depth and nicely accented by the pickled onions.  The asada was smoky with caramelized flavours.  Lastly, the beef cheek was also moist exhibiting natural flavours from the braise.

For dessert, we shared the Flan which was made with condensed and evaporated milk, hence the dulce de leche-type consistency and sweetness.  Although it was on the denser side, we enjoyed it nonetheless for its richness and controlled sweetness.  Even the caramel on the bottom wasn't stingingly sweet, rather, it was smoky and a touch bitter.  Overall, for all the dishes we tried, the meal(s) were good. The thing we noticed the most was the freshness of all the ingredients (which never hurts).  And also, if you are a fan of Mezcal, there is probably no other place in Vancouver that can rival La Mezcaleria.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped except for a 2 items and gratuities

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Fresh ingredients
- Well-executed proteins

The Bad:
- Room is cozy, but that also means a bit cramped too

24/7 Thai

*Renamed Pho 24/7*

It's been a long time since we have visited 24/7 Thai.  I guess our experiences there were not exactly memorable.  By virtue of eating there past 2:00am, our recollection would be probably fuzzy anyways... But with 3 expiring Entertainment coupons, it was a good enough reason to go back.  With a name like 24/7, one would assume the place is open all-the-time.  Apparently, they changed their minds and kept the name as they close at 4:00am.

Despite the fact we were sharing 6 dishes, I ordered a Pho Dac Biet for myself because I was hungry (but I seem to do this anyways at all times).  I found the broth to be light with a mild sweetness.  It wasn't meaty nor inundated with MSG either.  The noodles were on the softer side while the meats were not bad, yet were in small pieces. With a lack of pickled turnip, the Pad Thai had a light tinge of ketchup which was okay in my books.  It was so well-hidden, that neither the colour nor overall flavour profile was predominantly ketchupy.  Chalk that up to good wok heat and enough palm sugar.  We did wish the noodles were less soft though.

The Shrimp Green Curry was far too watery and mild tasting for us.  They could've done with half the amount of sauce.  We didn't get any heat, fermented shrimp paste or coconut essence that made any significance.  The one positive was the shrimp itself as they were big and cold-water crunchy.  The rest of the ingredients were still vibrant as they were not overcooked.  Another dish that I was indifferent with was the Thai Cashew Chicken.  For some odd reason, there were whole orange segments that watered down the dish.  Far too much liquid and not enough concentrated flavours.  The chewy pieces of chicken were not that impactful as the sauce did not penetrate nor adhere.

Although they used canned pineapples for the Pineapple Fried Rice, it did have enough wok heat as the rice was chewy and nutty.  However, there was an overall lack of pineapple essence and flavour (including other seasonings).  We thought the curry would somewhat help matters, but that only helped make it a watery mess.  Our favourite dish by far was the Thai Spicy Fish.  Each piece was deep fried until crisp while maintaining a nice moistness.  It was tossed in spicy and sweet seasoning that was impactful and full of depth.  Each piece of fish was still very crunchy even after being doused with sauce.

Trying to cover all the bases, we got the Spring Rolls and Lemongrass Chicken as well.  By virtue of being a hybird Thai/Vietnamese restaurant, we expected the use of wheat wrappers.  As such, the spring roll was a mix of both cuisines.  It was crunchy though.  As for the lemongrass chicken, the char was not a bit feeble as the skin was still fatty and pale.  It did taste okay though, yet wasn't as moist as we would've hoped.  As you can see, the food at 24/7 Thai ain't gonna knock anyone's socks off.  Yup, we left with our socks still firmly on our feet.  But considering the time of day and reasonable pricing, one can adequately dine on Thai/Vietnamese food here.

The Good:
- Open til 4:00am
- Friendly proprietors
- Diverse menu

The Bad:
- So-so food
- Parking lot is not free, even at 2:00am, but plenty of street parking though

White Spot (Hastings & Kensington)

To say the area around the Burnaby side of SFU is a black hole of good eats would be a huge understatement.  Why else would a location of ABC Country Restaurant survive for so long?  There is no way I can hide my feelings about the place - food with very little reason to leave the house for.  Finally and mercifully, the place closed only to be replaced by...  wait for it...  a White Spot (to my kids delight).  So guess what happened when it finally opened for business? Yup, we made our way down to a packed house.  Funny how empty it could be when it was an ABC...

Due to my son's fascination with fried prawns, we started with an order of their Nobashi Prawns.  Perfectly straight and strangely uniform in shape, these were super crunchy.  For all the times we've tried it, I find that the batter in between the exterior and the prawn seems to be too doughy.  Whatever the case, they were not bad with a buttery prawn inside.  Combining a second visit into one post, we had their classic Zoo Sticks.  These were cut larger and longer than I had remembered, but ultimately, they were good.  Each stick was cooked through while still being firm.  The breading was crunchy and exhibited minimal grease.  As an aside, did they think that amount of dip was sufficient?  Plated attractively on a bed of edamame and drizzled with hoisin sesame sauce, the Shrimp Gyoza were okay except I didn't quite like the use of tiny shrimp mixed in with mushy pork.  The flavours were fine (especially the spicy dipping sauce) as well as the dumpling skin, but the filling was texturally wrong.

For my main, I had to go for a classic being the Monty Mushroom with jack cheese and sauteed mushrooms.  As I have said all along, my love for White Spot burgers may not have anything to do with being the best.  It is mainly based on my childhood, where I must've consumed hundreds of their burgers (no wonder I was so fat back then...).  Doused with enough mayo to make a porno look tame, the burger was indeed messy to eat. Despite the fully cooked burger patty, the amount of wet ingredients made up for it.  Beyond that, what makes a White Spot burger complete, in my opinion, is the soft toasted bun.  On that note, the same could be said about the Wild Pacific Salmon Burger.  Therefore, the delicate salmon could stand on its own.  However, it was slightly overdone though.  Despite not being the crispiest out there, as per usual, the fries were a nice departure from the Sysco-type found at many other restaurants.  Viv had the Original Beef Dipper.  Nothing too fancy about this classic other than the use of tender real roast beef.  The bun was a bit dense for my liking, but by virtue of being dipped into au jus, it didn't matter so much.

Whenever we visit White Spot, my mom goes for her ol' standby being the CBC or Chicken Broccoli and Cheese.  Almost emulating a curry, but not, it works for most people.  I'm personally not a huge fan of it, but with tender morsels of chicken with mild flavours, it does the "chain restaurant" thing by being non-threatening.  On my other visit, I had the Spaghetti and Meatballs.  The pasta was a bit past al dente, yet not overly soft either.  I found the marinara sauce to be tangy and tomatoey.  Of course it didn't elicit images of a Italy, but it was acceptable.  As for the meatballs, they were large and meaty (which meant they weren't overprocessed).  They were not dry per se while not overly tender either.

And of course the kiddies had the Pirate Paks.  My daughter had the Cheeseburger with fries, yet was eying the gold doubloon the whole time.  Pretty standard stuff served in a paper pirate ship.  Ah the memories.  At least they don't put the ice cream in there anymore - it would melt before the end of the meal!  With his ol' standby, my son had the Mac n' Cheese which was not exactly super cheesy, but did the job.  And really...  White Spot does the job for a relatively reasonable price.  If you avoid the "specialty" items and stick with the classics, there isn't much that is offensive. 

The Good:
- Predictable
- Kid-friendly
- Other than the "specialty" items, prices are fair

The Bad:
- Nothing particularly Earth-shattering
- Must they use so much mayo?
- Everything other than the classics can be hit and miss

Tasting Plates East Village

More often than not, there is rarely any love for neighbourhoods out of the usual areas (such as Downtown, Kits, Main Street and Commercial Drive) in terms of food events and tours.  Hence, it is refreshing to see Vanfoodster doing a Tasting Plates in the East Village along Hastings Street.  Once again, we lucked out with the weather as it was not raining nor very cold (for a November).  Joining me for this event was Adrian & Jeremy, Sean, Darina, Amy and Alvin.

We started off at Platform 7 Coffee where we were treated to a choice of Espresso, Americano or Cortado.  Darina had an Espresso (made with Stumptown Hair Blender Espresso Beans) and although I didn't try it, I've had Stumptown products before and I personally think they're a step above Starbucks.  The available treats included Double Chocolate Salted Espresso Cookie, Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie and an Italian Cookies. These were all pretty good especially the chocolate espresso since it was flavourful in many ways and not overly sweet.  It was aromatic and with the salt, it came alive.

We moved onto Steam Tea House next, which was covertly hidden in Donald's Market.  An interesting place for sure due to its location right at the exit which made for an interesting hangout spot. We sampled 3 teas including Organic Yunshancha, Organic Hathikuli Assam and Winter Walnut.  I personally liked the latter because there was discernible aromatic flavours.  Onto our next stop, Sweet Tooth Cafe, we were presented with Doichaang Coffee, Cinnamon Roll, Banana Coconut Bread and Tom Yum Soup.  Yes, that was one eclectic mix of items.  Nothing particularly stood out (but was decent) and we thought the Tom Yum was a bit too tart.

Heading over to Windsor Meat Co., we were treated to a sandwich made with roasted Heritage Pork carved directly from a whole hog roast.  Suffice to say, this was fatty, moist and plenty flavourful.  On the side, there was Irish Stout Chicken Sausage and Asado NY Striploin Kabob.  Across the street, we made our way to Saltenas which specializes in Bolivian fare.  We were presented with a plate that included a Beef or Veggie Saltena, Quinoa Salad and an Alfajor.  I chose the beef saltena consisting of beef, veggies, potato and raisins.  Somewhat similar to an empanada, this was satisfying, although I found the shell slightly overdone.  Moreover, the quinoa was somewhat mushy.

Then we made the fairly long walk (I actually drove...) to Odd Society Spirits where they make small batch craft spirits such as the first drink we tried - East Van Vodka.  This was some strong stuff which went down nicely.  Next we sampled the Creme de Cassis (which goes into a Kir Royale) which was sweet and very good.  Right next door was our next stop being the newly opened Kessel & March.  Their tasting plate of Parsnip Soup, Sardines on Toast and Beets & Apples on Endive highlight their focus on European fare.  I found the soup to be mild while lightly Earthy and creamy.  I really liked the toast as it displayed a myriad of flavours in addition to textures.  This is one of the places that I plan to do a return visit.

Our last stop was at Parallel 49 Brewing Company. Despite the picture of the beer flight, we actually only selected one to sample.  I went with the Hoparazzi which was refreshing and citrusy.  If I didn't have to drive home, I would've had more!  Despite the fact I had lots of fun (as these are great social events) with the people I was with, this particular tour ranks below other Tasting Plates.  The fact of the matter - there was just not enough food.  But if you like drinks and desserts, there was enough of that.  However, to be fair, these events are highly dependent on the participants.

*Note - this was an invited dinner where all food was comped

The Good:
- Socializing as per usual
- Interesting and fun
- Touring a neighbourhood usually forgotten

The Bad:
- Not enough savoury items
- Too many beverages