Autostrada Osteria Downtown

"Let's go somewhere to celebrate our birthdays!", exclaimed Jacqueline one day.  Well, that certainly seemed like a good idea since our birthdays are only 2 days apart.  The bigger question is where would we go?  She really wanted to try Autostrada in Downtown, but she also knew I had visited the Main Street location before.  However, that wasn't a big deal to me because it isn't all about the food (it's a big part).  Rather, the company is equally important.  Furthermore, not all locations are made equal because at the end of the day, there is a different chef (even if they are cooking the same menu).  The best example of this is Kirin, where each location seems to have their own personality.

Just like the last time I ate at Autostrada, we started with the same appies including the Anchovy on Focaccia as well as the Vitello Tonnato.   They weren't fooling around with the white anchovies as they were large and completely covered the foccacia.  As such, there was no shortage of briny salty tanginess to go with the ample amount of fresh dill, pickled cucumber, radish and herb butter.  Loved the textures at play from the crusty toast to the crunch of the cucumber and radish.  The dill really came through with a bright herbaceousness.    Similar to the last time I had it at the Main Street location, the vitello tonnato was excellent.  Sliced thin, the veal was medium and buttery tender.  On top, the tuna mayo had a nice viscosity where it was neither too thick nor runny.  It was creamy with plenty of seasoning and tuna flavour.

We ended up sharing some pastas including the Rigantoni alla Norma with eggplant, pomodoro and chili.  As simple as this was, I actually really enjoyed it due to the bright and tangy tomato sauce.  There was enough saltiness for impact without being reliant as the main flavouring agent.   Although there was chili in the description, the sauce only had a slight kick.  I liked how the eggplant was cooked through while still retaining a certain firmness.  As for the pasta, it was al dente with a good bite.   My favourite pasta of the night was the Strozzapreti with duck & anchovy ragu.  The pasta itself was texturally a delight with a firm springiness.  Unlike the version I had at the Main Street location, the ragu was perfect.  It was moist while tender with some meatiness. I could definitely taste the duck as well as the saltiness of the anchovy.

Our last pasta was Tagliatelle Bolognese which was also very good.  I found the pasta to have a good rebound when chewed.  It was firmly al dente while cooked through.  The bolognese was rich and meaty with deep tomato flavour.  I would say this was a close second to the strozzapreti for best pasta of the night in my opinion.  But really, all of the food was on point and delicious.  Maybe my eyes deceived me here, I swear these portions were slightly bigger than the Main Street location.  Therefore, we were quite full from the meal.

The Good:
- Well-prepared food
- Attentive service
- Legit pastas

The Bad:
- Seating can be a bit squished, but not bad when less busy

Billy Button

Although we have plenty of dessert options in the GVRD, most of them are Asian.  Hey, nothing against Asian desserts because I personally love them, especially Bingsoo.  However, when I want to grab something like a slice of cake or a French patisserie, it gets really limited.  This is especially challenging late at night.  Ironically, you can find plenty of Asian-style cakes late at night!  LOL...  Now Billy Button, one of the newer spots in town, is offering creative desserts that...  have an Asian influence.  Yah, just can't get away from that!

Perfectly exemplifying their creativeness, the first 2 desserts appear to be an Orange and a large Strawberry (looked more like a tomato, but we got the idea).  When accidentally smashed (instead of cut open, my bad...), the orange revealed a centre consisting of marmalade and white chocolate whipped ganache.  As sweet as this sounded, it was really mild and almost bland.  The same could be said about the insides of the strawberry sporting house-made sorbet jam with fresh strawberry white chocolate ganache.  The hits of strawberry were so muted, the missing tang and sweetness were further exacerbated by the expected flavours from its appearance.  Now to be fair, these desserts are "Asian-style", so the sweetness is supposed to be mild.  Even with that in mind, we thought it was lacking.

Looking more like a fruity noodle soup, the Osmanthus Udon was actually noodles made from panna cotta sitting in a berry sauce with crumble and fresh berries.  Yes, this was another "light" tasting dessert, yet at the same time this was probably the intention.  Therefore, it was refreshing, fruity and only as sweet as the natural flavours of the berries.  I found the noodles to slippery and delicate with very little sweetness.  One of the prettiest plates we had was The Garden with cucumber, yogurt mousse, yuzu creameux, raspberry powder and house made crostini.  Sorry, this looked way better than it ate.  For me, it ate like a strange tzatziki rather than dessert.  Yes, when I dug into a bit further, I did get sweetness from yuzu creameaux, but the yogurt and cucumber was all tzatziki for me.

Now onto desserts I actually enjoyed, my favourite was the Salted Caramel Brioche with salted caramel sauce, brown sugar crumble, vanilla Chantilly cream and dark chocolate.  I found this ate like a coffee cake in some sense but lighter due to it being brioche.  Also, the noticeable sweetness made this the most dessert-like dish of the bunch.  Even with that, the caramel was only sweet enough.  Texturally, the brioche was on point being soft while retaining some chewiness.  My second favourite of the bunch was the Matcha Green Tea Tart featuring matcha souffle on top and a side of matcha sponge cake.  I found the tart shell to be firm enough while the souffle portion to be light and airy.  There was enough green tea flavour for impact, but once again, it was not very sweet.

The last 2 that I tried were more conventional looking desserts in the Blueberry Tart with blueberry jam, pastry cream and almond sponge cake.  With so many blueberries on top, this ate refreshing and light.  With blueberries being rather naturally mild-tasting, this was reliant on the jam for an extra kick of flavour.  Well, continuing the theme of low sugar, this was not really a flavour bomb.  Featuring a red wine poached pear, The Autumn also consisted of chocolate cake and red wine sauce.  Similarly to the blueberry tart, a poached pear isn't anything out-of-the-ordinary.  So it all came down to execution and I would say they succeeded.  It was tender while holding the pear texture while not inundated with red wine.  The cake was moist and chocolaty.  I think this worked because the expectation was mild-flavours and that it delivered.  That probably sums up the issue with Billy Button.  Desserts are creative and fun but the expectation of sweetness is never fulfilled.  Yes, it appeals to mostly an Asian-palate, but even for me (and yes I'm Asian), it wasn't sweet enough.  I guess everything is subjective and those who like really mild-tasting desserts will be fine with it.

The Good:
- Creative and visually-appealing desserts
- Great service
- Not overly sweet for those who want that

The Bad:
- Not sweet enough nor flavourful enough

La Forchetta

A long time ago, I had visited Da Mario out on Hastings near Holdom and came away unimpressed.   Not only was the place dated and in desperate need for renovations, the food was salty and not delicious.  It continued to operate up until recently where it suddenly closed and replaced by La Forchetta.  For all those renovations that should've been done before, has been accomplished by the new proprietors.  On the outside, the unsightly faded awning has been replaced by modern signage.  Inside, the place is clean and dare I say, trendy especially for North Burnaby.

We met up with Elaine and Costanza for dinner recently and found the place bustling with customers.   The first few plates to arrive were the Frittura Di Calamari and Polpette.  Although very pale in colour, the calamari was crispy, not greasy and light.  The squid itself was tender with a good rebound texture.  We would've liked to see more seasoning in the batter itself, but the side of pomodoro was more than enough to flavour the dish.  As for the meatballs, they were tender and almost airy.  It could've stood for more natural meat texture, yet at the same time, it wasn't a deal-breaker.  We went for the tomato sauce over the rose and it was tangy and decently-seasoned.

For our pizza, we chose the Capricciosa with tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, olives, artichokes and prosciutto cotto.  This pizza was loaded with toppings.  So much so, I think it had something to do with the overly soft crust on the bottom.  There was some charring underneath, so it wasn't as if the heat wasn't high enough.  With that being said, the crust itself was a bit dense in parts, yet it was well-seasoned.   For $35.00, we felt the Tagliata Di Entrocote (14 oz Certified Angus ribeye with baby arugula, parmigiano and balsamic reduction) was reasonably-priced.  We asked for it to be prepared medium-rare, but it came out rare.  Despite that, the steak was well-rested without any juices flowing onto the plate.  Moreover, it was charred nicely and was tender.

We ended up with 2 pastas including the Pappardelle with spicy Italian sausage, mushrooms and rosé sauce.  Although the house-made pasta was close to al dente, the amount of sauce made the dish sloppy and ultimately softened the pasta as we ate.  It did taste good though with a balanced spiciness.  That was further enhanced by the meaty and spicy sausage.  With that being said, more salt was needed to give the dish some impact rather than just relying on the spice alone.  Our next pasta was a house-specialty in the Maltagliati La Forchetta with pancetta, zucchini, cream and crushed pistachio.  This was really good with tender sheets of pasta where it was enveloped with just the right amount of cream.  There was nuttiness from the pistachios as well as the seared pancetta.  This is apparently one of their signature dishes and it showed.  However, the meal as a whole was a hit and miss.  You experience here would highly depend on which dishes you order.

The Good:
- Modern inviting space
- Excellent service
- Some good dishes

The Bad:
- Refinement is needed with some dishes

Sushi Mori (Langley)

Meeting up with Bluebeard and Nikita always results in a good time.  Also, the fact I can travel into Langley where I can visit some of the lesser known restaurants in the GVRD is also a plus.  I'm sure they are rather confused with this as they prefer leaving Langley for more interesting eats.  For me, good food can be found anywhere if given the chance.  This is why when they suggested Sushi Mori across from Willowbrook Mall, I was game.  I've been to the Coquitlam location before (prior to the fire and now they rebuilt) and it was good.  Moreover, I thought the unique decor with all the cherry blossoms was something you won't find anywhere else.

Indeed, the Langley location continues the theme with the same decor, but we ended up sitting in a booth due to our large party size (had the kiddies with us).  We ended up ordering our own food and for us, we started with the Fried Gyoza.  Normally, I'm not a huge fan of the fried version due to the overly firm and generally greasy dumpling skin.  This was not the case here as it was rather delicate except for the crunchier top portion.  Inside, the pork and cabbage filling was airy and light while lightly seasoned.  We ended up with a very large order of Deluxe Assorted Tempura consisting of yam, broccoli, golden squash, ebi and tuna.  As you can see in the picture, the batter was pretty thin especially on the fish.  Hence, it was lightly crispy and not overly greasy.  My only wish would be that they didn't overcook the fish as it was a bit too firm.

We decided to order both the Assorted Sashimi as well as the Spicy Salmon Sashimi.  The kiddies tend to devour all of the fish anyways leaving Viv and I with the scraps, so we had to get our own order.  As evidenced in the picture, the hamachi was quite appealing in terms of colour.  It was also texturally on point being buttery and with impactful sweetness.  We weren't expecting that truthfully.  The rest of the bunch including Atlantic and sockeye salmon, albacore tuna and toro were more than acceptable.  As for the spicy salmon sashimi, most of the pieces were actually quality chunks unlike some other places that feature scraps and ends (which are typically less tender).  There was quite a bit of cucumber though (which acts as a filler).  It was not over-sauced so it was spicy and slightly sweet without being goopy.

My son did his usual with an assortment of Nigiri including tamago, tuna, salmon, chopped scallop and unagi.  These were decent being neatly prepared and sporting chewy sushi rice.  It was mildly seasoned where it could've used a bit more rice vinegar.  Toppings were good, specifically the buttery baby scallops with minimal mayo.  It is pretty much understood that Miku/Minami are the gold standard when it comes to aburi oshi in the GVRD, so it was a bit of a risk that we ordered the Aburi Salmon Battera.  Well, it is safe to say that Miku/Minami have nothing to worry about if we had to compare this version to theirs.  With that being said, the one here was actually decent with chewy rice and a substantial layer of buttery salmon on top.  The problem was the excess amount of sauce and overly thick slice of jalapeno.

One of the strangest rolls we've seen lately was the Lady Mango Roll as we really couldn't see anything other than mango, red beet and greens.  It looked more like a salad than anything else.  Knowing that fresh mango was not a reality considering it was Winter, it was no surprise what we got was frozen.  No matter, it was still sweet and tender.  Underneath, the roll sported prawn & yam tempura and avocado.  Not bad, but we should've ordered something else.  For our filler dish, we got the Chicken Yakisoba and it was pretty standard.  Plenty of chicken and veggies that pretty much outnumbered the noodles.  It was a bit on the milder side and there was definitely a bit too much moisture which detracted from the caramelization.  Overall, the food at Sushi Mori did the job and in some cases, was better than average.  However, some dishes could benefit from some refinement.

The Good:
- More than acceptable
- Love the decor
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Some dishes could use some refinement

Le Crocodile

Here we are continuing on with my series of re-visiting some of the finest restaurants (and in most cases, most long-standing) in the city.  This time around, the food adventure brought me to one of the classics in Le Crocodile (which has been in business for over 30 years).  It was about time I returned as my last visit was nearly 10 years ago!  Coinciding with my birthday, we decided this would be the place I would celebrate my increasing age.  Unlike many of the new glitzier spots in Downtown, Le Crocodile still maintains an elegance that is evident from the decor to the service.  This is something to keep in mind as we often are enticed by the newest restaurants in town.

Prior to our appies, we were served an amuse bouche consisting of a Mushroom Risotto Arancini.  Yes, this was not a French dish, but they do offer up French food with Westcoast influences (yes, I know this is Italian, but they also have pastas on the menu too...).  This was executed beautifully where the exterior featured a thin crumb coating that was firmly crispy and not greasy at all.  Inside, the risotto was somewhat tightly packed featuring rice that was still slightly chewy.  Plenty of mushroomy earthiness to go with some cheesiness as well.  Onto one of the featured appies of the night, we had the Octopus Salad featuring .  The octopus itself was tender while still being firm with an appealing chewiness.  Loved the combination of acidity and spice to the dish as it wasn't bland in the least.  There was varied textures including the crunch of the veggies which helped not only brighten the dish, it 

One our favourite appies was the Duo of Foie Gras Tasting featuring a foie gras terrine, foie gras créme brulée, ice wine gelée and toast.  On the surface, this looked simple, but that also meant that there was nowhere to hide if it wasn't executed properly.  This certainly was the case where the terrine was rich, dense and buttery smooth.  It was mild-tasting on its own, but when we added the gelée, all the flavours were activated where the sweetness of the ice wine brought out the natural sweetness of the terrine.  As for the créme brulée, it was airy like a mousse where the crunchy burnt sugar topping added a big hit of sweetness combined with smokiness.  We had yet another one of their daily features in the Crab Cake atop a spinach and garlic cream.  Crispy on the outside and full of fluffy crab on the inside, the crab cake was so delicate and cooked just enough.  That meant the crab was not overdone and kept the texture light.  Ever-so-subtle, the spinach and garlic cream underneath were aromatic and did not interfere with the crab.

The daily appetizers seemed so tasty by description, we got one more in the Truffled Pasta with lobster tail.  Once again, this looked to be ever-so-simple and indeed it was.  This was essentially tagliatelle tossed in olive oil and topped with shaved black truffle.  Just like I mentioned above, there is nowhere to hide with a dish like this.  With this being said, there wasn't any need for hiding as this was our favourite appie of the bunch where the flavours were focused and apparent.  The woodsiness of the truffle was definitely highlighted and the pasta was perfectly al dente.  Even the small lobster tail was expertly prepared being buttery, bouncy and sweet.  Our last starter was the Beef Tenderloin Steak Tartare.  Although the colour of the tartare was a little darker than I would've like to see, it ate better than it appeared.  I wouldn't say the meat was "buttery" as it was more robust than that, yet at the same time, it was definitely tender.  

With our larger dishes, my son predictably went for the Grilled Beef Tenderloin with peppercorn sauce.   He asked for it to be prepared medium-rare and it came out as such with even cooking on all sides and since it was properly rested, there was very little juice leaking out when cut.  The meat itself was beautiful as it was buttery soft with appealing meatiness.  As for the sauce, it was creamy with a nice balance between the brandy and bite from the peppercorns.  The side of veggies were perfectly prepared as they still had plenty of natural texture while cooked through.  My dad decided on the Grilled Sablefish with sweet pea velouté and quinoa râgout.  Even though sablefish can be very forgiving, it still is an achievement to cook it optimally.   This was achieved here as it was cooked through while being delicate, buttery and flaky.  Smooth and bright, the velouté was a good mild compliment to the sablefish.

For myself, I went for one of the featured dishes in the Beef Wellington with a side of asparagus topped by béarnaise.  Although the puff pastry on the outside was a little on the doughier side (forgivable since it needs to be prepared ahead of time), the exterior portion was crispy and light.  Inside, the beef tenderloin was exquisite.  I literally didn't chew more than 2 or 3 times as it was so buttery soft.  With that in mind, the meat still retained its natural texture so it wasn't mushy either.  There was a good amount of mushroom duxelle to add the usual rich woodsiness.  Unlike her usual MO, my daughter didn't go for fish and had the Roasted Fraser Valley Duck Breast with pan-seared foie gras and apple cider reduction.  As much as this didn't look like much in portion size, it actually was quite a bit of meat.  The duck breast was tender and appealingly gamy with rendered skin.  Loved the sweetness of the reduction in addition to the bits of apple.  Lastly, the seared foie was buttery and sported a light crispy sear on the outside.

Viv went the pasta route and ordered the Fresh Fettuccine with lobster and grilled tiger prawns, brunoise of vegetables, olive oil and fresh basil.  Attractively green, the dish was surprisingly flavourful and impactful.  If we had to describe the flavours, it would be that the dish tasted like the colour - fresh, bright and herbaceous.  The pasta itself was a touch thick, but plenty chewy (in a good way).  Meaty with a firm snap, the tiger prawns were perfect as well as the fluffy and moist chunks of lobster meat.  My mom stayed on a similar note and had the Grilled Tiger Prawns and Sea Scallops served over angel hair pasta with fresh mussel “velouté”.  Once again, the prawns were beautifully prepared, but the scallops were even better being buttery and sweet with a caramelized sear on the outside.  We found the velouté to be creamy and rich with a kiss from the sea.  The angel hair was a great compliment to the ingredients as it was light where it was completely coated by the sauce.

Of course we cannot forget the classic Shoestring Frites that are served at every meal (complimentary) at Le Croc.  As seen in the picture, we were given 2 of these plates and that was a good thing.  You see, the kids devoured one of them while my mom ate the second.  We were able to scrounge some and they were crispy and light as they have always been.  Prior to our desserts, we had a palate cleanser in the form of Pear Sorbet drizzled with pear brandy.  Don't worry, the kiddos didn't get any of the brandy!  As for the sorbet itself, it was just sweet enough and had the unmistakable aroma of pear.  It was smooth and creamy despite the lack of any dairy products.  We actually preferred the non-boozy version, but with that being said, it did add a real kick.

We weren't really going to have many desserts since we had a cake at home to cut, but we went ahead with 4 of them anyways starting with the Sun Burnt Lemon Tart with passion fruit sorbet.  Impactfully tangy, the lemon tart wasn't as smooth as we would've liked, but that didn't detract from the flavour.   Firm, but with some give, the tart shell was buttery and tasty on its own.  As if the lemon curd wasn't tangy enough on its own, the passion fruit sorbet added some refreshing tartness as well.  With the same flavour profile, we had one of the featured desserts in the Passion Fruit Créme Brulée.  Creamy and appealingly tart, the passion fruit really came through.  Perfectly caramelized on the top, the bits of sugar added bursts of sweetness to balance the tang.

Our last 2 desserts had a chocolate theme going on (and yes, we didn't order the souffle, but no one wanted it either).  My son basically devoured the Profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream topped with hot Belgian chocolate.  As you can clearly see, there was a significant amount of creamy smooth dark chocolate on top.  It didn't eat very sweet, where it let the smooth ice cream do the heavy lifting.  The choux pastry was airy and light with firm enough exterior to hold up to the chocolate and ice cream.  My favourite of the bunch was the Warm Soft Chocolate Cake with orange reduction & nougatine ice cream.  With an almost lava cake texture, the chocolate cake was moist without being liquidy.  It was semi-sweet and the orange reduction underneath wasn't too strong.  I loved the crunch from the ice cream on top as it provided some texture to the dish.

Now we couldn't end the meal without another Le Croc classic!  Yes, we did get the Chocolate Crocodiles in both dark and milk. Interestingly and not surprisingly, the kiddies went straight for the dark chocolate because they prefer it being not as sweet with a bitter finish.  Hmm...  I think their palates are becoming more refined...  Anyways, this was an excellent finish to a beautiful meal.  Professional service within a classy dining room.  Le Crocodile continues to excel as one of the premier dining destinations in Vancouver.

The Good:
- Professional service
- Consistent preparation
- Adequate portions

The Bad:
- Pricey
- May not be sexy compared to the newer spots (but I personally do not care)