Dixie's BBQ

I'm a big fan of American BBQ, specifically Texas-style.  So when Dixie's BBQ opened up on East Hastings, I planned on heading out there after hockey one night.  However, due to our constant late night league times on Fridays, the place closed before we could ever hope to get there.  Finally, I couldn't hold on anymore and wait for an early game.  Rather, I just decided to hit up the place with the family.  Hey, I wanted the kids to get jacked up about BBQ as much as I do!

But before we got the festivities, I was confident that the kiddies would destroy the Frito-Pie.  That they did since it was covered with a meaty chili consisting of chunks of brisket, tomato, onions and beans.  The spice level was at a low-rumble and accented with a certain smokiness.  Okay, the corn chips weren't Frito-Lay, but whatever, Old Dutch worked for us.  I particularly loved the big chunks of tender brisket.

Seeing how we wanted to try everything, we went for The Bubba with smoked brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork, hot sausage link, fried chicken, country gravy, white bread, pickles and 2 sides for $35.00 each (for Viv and myself).  Just by eyeballing the meats, we knew they were on point.  The brisket was fairly moist with a rich smokiness and a flavourful bark that was peppery and purposefully salty.  Served in big chunks, the pulled pork was tender and juicy on its own without the need for any sauce.  The same could be said about the pork ribs as they were actually juicy while sporting a smoky and peppery bark.  I thought the sausage was pretty good too being meaty and firm with a definite hit of cumin.  Lastly, the fried chicken was succulent while featuring crispy rendered skin that was also peppery and lightly salty.  The side of country gravy was packed with sausage, making it robust and sinfully tasty.

For our sides, we chose Tatar Tots, Brisket & Beans, Mac n' Cheese and Corn Bread (2 were part of The Bubba and we added 2 more).  Of course, white bread and house-made pickles were included as well.  Our favourite (especially with my son) was the mac n' cheese as it was creamy and had a nice sharp finish.  The noodles were al dente too.  Aggressively peppered, the tots were firmly crunchy while not super greasy.  Similar to the chili but with less spice, the brisket and beans was hearty and had depth.  We thought the corn bread was average not because it wasn't moist or flavourful, rather, it lacked a baked aroma.  I often lament over the fact we can't get really good BBQ up in Vancity, but for me at least, Dixie's does Texas-style BBQ justice.

The Good:
- Meats were not dry
- Sides were solid
- Reasonable pricing with all things considered

The Bad:
- Corn bread was so-so
- Not the best outside surroundings, but I didn't mind it  

Sushi Den

It seems like every neighbourhood has a community centre, a supermarket, drug store, McD's, Tim's and a sushi joint.  That's right, it is as common as the rest and in fact, would probably be the one constant compared to the others.  That's why there are over 600 Japanese restaurants in the GVRD.  Therefore, it also means that these spots are generally not Miku-killers (if we used that as one of the gold standards), but do serve a purpose where takeout is one of their biggest money-makers.  Take Sushi Den for instance.  With so many high rises and Rogers Arena nearby, there is rarely a time when it isn't busy.  We finally decided to check it out since we were in the area.

If you ever wondered why we always seem to order Assorted Sashimi, it's not solely for Viv and myself.  Rather, my daughter demands it (she will be high-maintenance in the future, I pity the boy who dates her...).  Well, this plate here consisted of Atlantic salmon, sockeye salmon, tuna, tai, toro, tako, ika and amaebi.  Pretty good value for $15.00 and it was more than acceptable.  Then only thing I didn't particularly care for was the toro as was strangely textured.  For my son, his demands was for his usual Tamago Nigiri (we added some Unagi Nigiri so there was some variety).  This was rather average with inconsistently sliced egg, yet at the same time, the rice was minimal.

We asked for the most popular specialty roll and it happened to be the Out of Controll.  Ah, so whimsically-named...  This was only $10.00 and consisted of 12 large pieces.  Why so cheap?  Think of it as the "scraps" roll where anything goes including both types of salmon, tuna and tamago.  Yes, the bits of fish in there were practically falling out, but if you aren't picky, it works.  We found the rice to be a little dry, but okay.  Another dish for my daughter was the Pork Gyoza, which was deep fried (not my personal preference).  Despite that, it was actually not bad as the skin was only moderately thick while crispy.  The best part was the tender and juicy pork filling which was a nice balance between meat and cabbage.

The next 2 items were attacked by my son not only because he was hungry, but also they are his favourites.  The Chicken Teri-Don was a bit heavy with the rice as there was only a modest amount of tender chicken.  It could've used more sear and sauce.  The rice was chewy, yet again, a bit dry (and in need of the aforementioned sauce).  Surprisingly, it came with tempura which was doubled-up with our order of Assorted Tempura.  We found the batter to be fairly thin and crispy, albeit a touch greasy.  The veggies were on point including asparagus, broccoli, yam, sweet potato and lotus root.  The ebi was meaty and cold-water buttery.  Overall, you can probably ascertain that the food was serviceable and with reasonable prices considering its location, Sushi Den will keep the locals coming back for more.

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Well-portioned
- Serviceable

The Bad:
- It's okay, but of course there is much better
- A bit cramped and crowded   

Shibuyatei Japanese Restaurant

If we had to present an award for "the strangest location for a ramen joint", it would go to Shibuyatei.  Off to the side of a car wash along Sea Island Way in Richmond, the place is small and is really a one-man operation.  The fellow greets, cooks, cleans, takes orders and scolds customers all in unison.  Yep, he is our version of the Soup Nazi.  This also happened to be our 3rd stop on the Dumpling Trail where we were in search of some Gyoza.  That we did order, but as with all of the other stops, we were going to do a full meal too.

We did indeed start with their dumplings in the Gyoza Combo featuring 2 each of Pork, Shrimp and Scallop.  These featured a thin and chewy skin that was a touch dry.  On the bottom, it was fairly well-seared, but it wasn't really that crispy.  My favourite of the bunch was the pork as it was tender, moist and a bit meaty.  It was mild-tasting though.  I found the scallop to be sweet, but a little mushy as the meat was diced up pretty small.  On the other hand, the shrimp had a meaty snap and was naturally sweet.  We decided to try their Pork Katsu Curry as well and I found it pretty solid.  The katsu was tender and meaty while the panko coating was not really all that crunchy.  I found the curry itself to be just sweet enough with a rich and deep spice. There was some beef in it though as it doubled as the beef curry as well.

Of course we also tried their Larmen in original form and also the Clam Larmen.  Both soup bases were really light and clean.  There was no fat to be found and we could really taste the shoyu.  Was it good?  I guess it is subjective as I'm sure some people love the Tokyo-style, but for us, we much prefer the rich tonkotsu broth.  Again, very subjective.  We liked the noodles as they were al dente and stayed as such even in the hot broth.  I found the chashu to be on the leaner side, but still tender.  The clams added a brininess and strong shellfish flavour to the broth.  For some, it was too strong and created an overwhelming fishiness to the bowl of noodles.  Personally, I liked it and it reminded me of the one at The Ramenman.

Lastly, we had the Deluxe Giff Don featuring fried chicken karaage pieces coated in a sweet soy atop rice.  Completing the dish was a soft yolk egg on top.  This was fairly pleasant where the chewy rice benefited from the runny and silky yolk.  The chicken sported rendered skin which wasn't crispy though.  There was enough sweeten soy to not only flavour the chicken, but the rice as well.  I wished the chicken had some inherent flavour of its own rather than just the outside.  Overall, I found the food at Shibuyatei quite good and a bit different.  I guess whether you like the larmen or not is purely subjective.

*Food paid for by Tourism Richmond*

The Good:
- A bit different (in a good way)
- Mostly decent eats
- It's got that strange location thing going

The Bad:
- One man show means slow service and slow food
- It's his shitck, but he can be rather abrupt

Szechuan House (Aberdeen Food Court)

On my second go-around on the Dumpling Trail in Richmond, it brought us to Aberdeen Centre, specifically, the food court.  Of course there are many dumplings to be found there, but the Dumpling Trail only consists of participating restaurants.  In other words, Tourism Richmond did not suddenly have a brain cramp and forget to include some of the obvious spots.  Instead, they chose not to participate (for those who are scratching their heads as to why some of their favourite places are conspicuously missing).  I digress.  So we headed over to the place that was participating in Szechuan House.

We ended up getting 4 items including the Spicy Wontons and Boiled Dumplings.  In terms of overall flavour and impact, the spicy wontons were not lacking.  The spicy and tongue-numbing chili oil-based sauce was definitely at the forefront.  At the same time, it wasn't so spicy that we couldn't taste some saltiness to go with the background sweetness and a touch of tang.  The wontons featured a fairly dry skin that was semi-thick.  I found the filling to be a touch mealy where it lacked actual texture.  The boiled dumplings were pretty good despite looking rather sad.  I found the dumpling skin to be medium thickness, yet tender at the same time.  The filling was surprisingly balanced despite the plethora of green onions.  We just wished there was more of it.

One of the more surprising items was the Dan Dan Noodles.  By appearance alone, we weren't holding out much hope.  However, once we mixed in the ground pork sauce, the chewy noodles were completely seasoned and tasty.  There was a good balance of savoury and spicy elements to go with an aromatic essence.  I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was a bit smoky and incredibly savoury.  I would've finished the whole thing myself if I didn't have to pace myself.  Our last dish was the Mouth-Watering Chicken which was tossed rather aggressively in the chili-oil based sauce.  Although not particularly aesthetically-pleasing, the chicken was well-seasoned being salty and spicy.  However, the chicken itself was a bit dry and not flavourful on its own.  For food court eats, Szechuan House did the job and surprised with the Dan Dan Noodles.

*Food paid for by Tourism Richmond*

The Good:
- Inexpensive (it's a food court after all)
- Friendly lady but limited English
- Dan Dan Noodles good despite visuals

The Bad:
- Food was a bit awkward to eat with all the sauces (especially with the foam plates) 
- Dumplings could use more filling   

Venetis Restaurant

You'd think finding a place would be easy right?  Driving around Langley (why were we in Langley again???), Emily and I were out-of-ideas (or maybe we were just being picky).  Then I remembered I had an Entertainment coupon for Ignite Cafe which was around the corner from where we were.  However, by the time we got there (8:00pm), they were closing.  Who closes at 8:00pm???  So with only chain restaurants staring us down, Emily suggested we go to Venetis Restaurant.

One of their daily specials was the Escargot for $4.99 with cheese (w/o cheese would be only $3.99.  This was a fairly decent version with lots of goey cheese on top.  However, the seasoning was rather weak with a lack of garlic and butter.  Hence, the escargot was more about texture rather than flavour.  Our meals included the basic Salad Bar that featured green leaf mix, pasta salad, potato salad, beets, baby corn and dressings.  I got a bit of everything and although there was a lack of variety, I was impressed with the freshness of the items.  Besides, I didn't want to waste any of my appetite on veggies where there is steak to be had...

For my main, I had the King Cut Prime Rib with fries.  This massive amount of meat was prepared medium-rare, but more on the rare side.  That is my personal preference, hence, it suited me just fine.  The cap was tender and fatty while the mid-section was more meaty and a touch chewy.  However, it was not difficult to eat at all.  I wasn't all that fond of the gravy on top as I would've enjoyed an au jus instead.  Surprisingly, the fries were house-cut and prepared expertly.  They were crispy and fresh with a natural potato texture inside.  

Unfortunately, the New York Strip was uneven in thickness which also meant the doneness was inconsistent.  One end was past medium while the rest of it was medium-rare.  The small portion that was medium-rare was tender and delicious while most of the steak was dry and overdone.  I did like the smoky and appealing char on the exterior.  Although not the star of the plate, the baked potato was solid being creamy soft inside and loaded with all the usual toppings.

We also got the Veal Oscar featuring Bearnaise with baby shrimp.  Although the breading was a bit thick and lacking in crispiness, the meat inside was tender and exhibited a natural texture.  The sauce was thick and not overly rich while being flavourful with a butteriness and some sweet brininess from the shrimp.  As you can probably guess, Venetis is a restaurant from yesteryear (like circa 1970s) where the decor is dim and full of wood and vinyl.  The menu is traditional and so is the preparation of the food.  Not the sexiest option out there, but solid food for a reasonable price.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Decent eats
- Well-portioned

The Bad:
- Decor that would fit in with 3's Company (if you know what that is)
- Food is basic