The Good Eats and The Bad...

Hey Guys, I know it's been far too long since I've posted but for many reasons! Major reason is that to my surprise, I've been very uninspired to boast about ANY food I've had lately-and that's not good! I love the experience of dining, it could be anything from fancy to fast food but if it ain't good well it just ain't good! So anyway, I feel it's my duty to let you know which place to stay away from also if the experience was horrendous.

Here we go-

The other day I decided to stop at Moxie's downtown on West Georgia for their advertised $3 Margarita Thursdays. So i'm like "Ok, it's a good deal let's go see what they have to offer on the side of this Margarita." I entered the place at a very non busy hour. However there was no greeting, no hostess, no one acknowledging there were guests to be seated. So we decided after a good 7 mins of being invisible to seat ourselves in the booth section. We placed our order and the Margaritas were great, super tasty and refreshing just like one should be. We had the Hawaiian Honey and Mango Margarita.

We then got our food, I had the Grilled Cheese and Lobster Sandwich. Looked really good and the first bite was actually great...except for then I turned the sandwich around and see a section of mold on the grilled bread. I notify the waiter (who was very courteous) and his face just turned red in embarrassment as he offered to bring the menu back to me to select something else. I declined respectfully since I had lost my appetite. I'm a pretty reasonable client in a restaurant, though I have never worked in the industry I understand it can be a difficult job and never gave them a hard time but C'MON! Mold? Completely unacceptable standards!

Behold- The Grilled Cheese, Lobster & Mold Sandwich- Mmmm!

Wasabi Tuna Tartar

What's really too bad is that they have a pretty great dish called Wasabi Tuna Tartar. It's Tuna sashimi bits mixed with a bit of wasabi and other ingredients like avocado, served with crisp thin baguette chips. My thoughts were immediately how could I ever return to a place that served me moldy bread for anything? Especially a raw dish like the Tartar! It was really good but after that awful experience I think I will get my Tartar fix elsewhere seeing as I do not have a lack of choice in this city. I'll let you guys decide, although I'm sure you're with me on this one!


On to the GOOD EATS!

I was running errands downtown last week and needed something quick, fast and for whatever reason I was really craving a good hot dog. I look around and saw this place that I had yet to try called Dougie Dog on Granville Street. Supposedly this place is good as per all these celebrity endorsers posted on their wall. Celebrities like Zach Efron and Jason Alexander love the joint and I had to see what the hype was about.

I ordered their specialty house made Butterscotch Root Beer (pictured above). It is sooo good. The best root beer I've had. It's got this sweet butterscotch aroma to it with a crisp, peppy finish. Really different for a softdrink, but good different. For the dog, I ordered the Coney Island Dog, which is their signature dog topped with house made chili, onions and mustard. I thought it was really tasty and nothing like I've had here in Vancouver...it's more like American food. As much I liked the Coney Island Dog, I think next time I'll take it the traditional way without all the toppings because their sausage dog itself, is really delicious...almost like a breakfast sausage but still more savory like a hot dog should be. The owner of the place is a very passionate guy who rocks this bleach blond hair do (you can't miss it). He's very hands on with his business and interacts with his clients the way an owner should. Awesome service, and although he was very busy he still made sure to waive us off as we left and thanked us for coming in. Now that's a good way to ensure returning business! Good service but most importantly- Good food!

PS- They've got a dog dedicated to our hometown boys- The Kanucks Dog which is:

"This delicious and colorful creation, inspired by the Canucks logo, includes 2 strips of bacon, an all natural wiener, melted cheese, neon green relish, and mustard - plus a healthy sprinkling of ketchup chips." Go get yours while the Nucks are in the Finals! If they win the cup it will remain on their permanent menu!

The Coney Island Dog with a side of homemade fries.

www.dougiedog.com
1011 Granville Street

Awesome Vietnamese Food at Joyeux Cafe

Im a huge fan of Vietnamese food, especially Pho which is a brothy, usually beef soup with rice noodles. Ever since moving downtown, my Pho consumption went on the decline lol...I suddenly stopped going to my old favorite spot called Pho Tam, in Surrey because it was too far.

Eventually after a few disappointing visits to other so called Vietnamase restaurants in the downtown area, I came across Joyeux Cafe. Well it's no wonder I've never been there for Viet food, the name sounds more like a French Cafe! The menu will truly surprise you with its eclectic range of choices. There's almost something for everyone. Western breakfasts are served along with fresh fruit juices blended right from their fruit bar. The long list of Vietnamese dishes is great. They've got different kinds of Pho, Vermicelli and Grilled Meat dishes, Spring Rolls, Salad Rolls and more. They also serve Spicy Crispy Wings and ones with Tamarin sauce as well as unexpected dishes like fish and chips! I haven't yet ventured into their non-Vietnamese foods yet. I'm sure I will be a regular there though since I'm so stoked to find a great Vietnamese Soup place. They come few and far between in the downtown core! I'm glad I don't have to commute to Kingsway to get a good bowl of Pho anymore.

I tried their Shrimp Wonton with Egg Noodle Soup. Delicious! Perfect for the cold May days, especially on the day I went. The broth is full of flavour and the wontons are wrapped with big pieces of shrimps. I also got their iced drip coffee with condensed milk which was very tasty.

Another dish of theirs that's really great is the Vermicelli with Grilled Lemon Grass Pork (see image below). It's super fresh and tastes amazing. The price range is good, coming in at about $8- $10 per dish. The service is also great, servers are polite and quick. I definitely recommend this place to the Vietnamese Food lover. Oh and by the way, they deliver! How dangerous...

551 Howe St, Vancouver BC
(604)-681-9168
www.joyeaux-cafe-restaurant.com

The Ultimate Asian Fried Rice

So I call this creation The Ultimate, the mother of all asian fried rice because it's seriously the best fried rice I've ever tasted. Now it may be a conflict of interest that I say this since I did make it LOL...but honestly I think I'm a damn good food critic and this rice wont dissapoint.

The reason why I call it The Ultimate Asian Fried Rice is because it borrows the influence of many different asian cuisines like Chinese, Thai and Cambodian etc.

So what you do is first cook the rice and have that ready. Then you begin making the sauce from scratch by grinding galangal which is a very aromatic root in the same family as ginger. Grind it finely with a clove of garlic, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and red thai chilis. This gives you this delicious smelling blend of herbs.

The image above shows the galangal, lemon grass and red chilis I used for the blend, the store ran out of kaffir lime leaves so I used lime zest instead this time.

After, you take the blend of herbs and fry it in some peanut or canola oil (8 tablespoons or so), add a heaping tablespoon of paprika for color and smoke, also add some oyster sauce, a bit of sugar, pepper and soy sauce. Add the small pieces of prawns, diced white onion and snap peas in the mix and stir until its all cooked. Add the white rice in and stir. The rice will take the color of the paprika blend. If you like you can add diced BBQ pork for a full meal. I did that this time and it was really good.

At the end of your hard work and labour you get this amazing fresh tasting fried rice that you can't get anywhere. When you take every bite you taste the different ingredients pulled together to make this one tantalizing rice dish.

Fish and Chips @ Pivo Public House

The other day I was craving Fish and Chips and happened to have found it right near my place at a spot called Pivo. It's a cute little pub on Abbott St in Tinseltown, right in the heart of Canuck Nation. It gets busy when there's a hockey game and their food doesn't disappoint. Check out their version of Fish and Chips! It's so cute and creative. It's true when they say your eyes feast first and I definitely appreciate a well presented dish.

As you can see they serve the bite sized battered fish pieces on a stick. Its presented with their "Kennebec Fries" (they're good!) and roasted lemon.

Pivo Public House offers an array of other pub foods that you might expect to find but the great part is that they add a contemporary modern twist on all of them. The staff is friendly and the environment is cozy, almost like you're walking into a friend's house to watch the game and nosh on some good grub. Try it out, prices are decent too, between $8-$15.

www.pivopublichouse.com

Sanpachi Ramen Japanese Noodle Bar

I tried a new Ramen house on Bute St. There's not many that serve decent bowls of Japanese broth goodness, but this one does. It's called Sanpachi Ramen Japanese Boodle Bar. I got the Miso Ramen with a side of Mayo Nori. The service is very good, the waitresses are super polite and courteous, always on the ball with your drinks. The Miso Ramen was delicious, the noodles were perfectly chewy. They add toppings such as bamboo, chop suey, corn and butter. Yes butter. No wonder it's so tasty! The pork slices that are served in the rich broth are tender and juicy. I didn't care too much for the Mayo Nori, it was shredded pork in mayo wrapped in seaweed and rice. It was kind of dry and I found it irrelevant on the side of the very delicious Miso Ramen bowl.

If you get a chance stop by Sanpachi Ramen for a hot bowl of Ramen done right, It's awesome on these cold days that are still lingering around...(where the heck is the good spring weather?). It's definetly a comfort food/dish in my books. Only $8.25 on my tab, minus tax and tip.

Sanpachi Ramen Japanese Noodle Bar
770 Bute Street
604-609-9938