The last time we were in Montreal, we didn’t get an opportunity to check out two of the city’s most famous bagel institutions. They were a little out of the way from where we were staying and the weather wasn’t very cooperative so we just never made the trip. I would have to say that it was one of my biggest regrets from that trip so this time around, I knew I’d have to pay a special visit to at least Fairmount or St Viateur to check out their bagels.

We decided to check out St Viateur first.

We arrived just as they were pulling fresh bagels out of the oven and the delicious smell filled up the entire shop. Jenkins and I picked up a bag of sesame bagels and were directed by the lady at the counter to eat our bagels at a coffee shop down the block.

The coffee shop was filled with like-minded people like us and many were enjoying bagels that they must have picked up at either St Viateur or Fairmount (which was just a couple of blocks away as well). I ordered a couple of lattes for Jenkins and I and we opened our bag of bagels.

I had noticed that St Viateur had some Liberté cream cheese in their fridge so we bought a tub to go with our fresh bagels.

It’s hard to beat a freshly made bagel and the sesame bagels at St Viateur were generously coated with toasted sesame seeds on both sides. The outside was lightly crispy and the inside yielded a slightly chewy and warm centre. It may sound a little crazy but Jenkins and I ate two bagels each for breakfast with a generous dollop of cream cheese and scarfed down another bagel en route to our next stop. That’s how good they were!

The next day, Jenkins and I made the trip out to the same neighbourhood again, this time to Faimount Bagel.

We ordered another bag of sesame bagels so we could do a proper comparison with the St Viateur bagels from the day before. To keep things consistent, we also went to the same coffee shop and ordered a couple of lattes to go with our bagels and cream cheese.

I’ve spoken to many Montreal friends who ardently support either Fairmount or St Viateur bagels but in my layperson’s opinion, I thought both bagels tasted quite similar. I thought the St Viateur bagels were a tad chewier, which I liked so if I really had to pick, I would prefer the St Viateur bagels more due to their texture but taste-wise, they were basically the same to me. In any case, I would have nothing to complain about if I had access to freshly made Fairmount or St Viateur bagels in Vancouver, which I think are the best bagels I’ve ever had.

One interesting thing to note is that when I went to Toronto a few days later, we picked up a bag of St Viateur bagels from a local grocery store. Although still tasty, they were not as good as the fresh ones in Montreal so I have a feeling that even if I order some from Montreal to ship to Vancouver (which they actually do), something will be lost during transport. It also didn’t occur to me until I left Montreal, but I think these bagels and cream cheese would have tasted fantastic with some smoked salmon so I will need to remember that the next time I’m in Montreal!

Details:
St. Viateur Bagel:
263 Rue Saint Viateur Ouest, Montreal
Tel: 514-276-8044

Fairmount Bagel:
74 Ave Fairmount Ouest, Montreal
Tel: 514-272-0667

Summary:
Both places were so similar to me that I rated them pretty much equally.
Food: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Before our trip to Montreal, I canvassed a few friends who grew up there to ask them about some of their favourite places to eat. The first time Jenkins and I went to Montreal, we tried poutine at several places, including La Banquise, which was rated quite highly in many of the reviews that I had read. I mentioned this to Carl and he said that La Banquise was definitely a good poutine place but his favourite was Fameux, which was actually across the street from where he used to live.

Jenkins, Grick, Snoopy, and I ended up at Fameux for a late lunch one afternoon. I actually remembered this place from my last visit when we were in the Rue St-Denis area and I had no idea that it housed a poutine institution. We perused the menu and decided to share a poutine and a pizza.

Carl told me that poutine is best enjoyed out of a takeout tin but we decided to eat in the restaurant that day. We ordered his favourite, which was the bacon poutine. This was definitely the best poutine that I had tried in recent memory, if not one of the best. The fries were perfectly cooked, being crispy on the outside but still soaking up the flavourful gravy, which was not too salty. The cheese curds weren’t too melted by the gravy and still had a bit of a squeak, which contrasted with the salty and crispy bacon. We gobbled this up in record time and would have ordered a second plate if we weren’t totally stuffed already.

We probably should just just ordered two orders of the bacon poutine but we decided to opt for variety instead, and ordered a mushroom pizza for our second dish. The pizza turned out to be surprisingly good although the poutine was definitely the better dish. The dough was a little thick but it was still crispy on the bottom and not too greasy. There was also an abundance of mushroom and mozzarella cheese, that worked pretty well with a pizza made in this style.

Grick still talks about the poutine we had here even though it’s been quite a few months since our trip. During our meal here, Snoopy said she had an epiphany as she didn’t see what the fuss was about when it came to poutine until she tried it at Fameux. As you can see, we really enjoyed the poutine at Fameux. Too bad we weren’t in Montreal long enough for a repeat visit.

Details:
4500 Rue St-Denis, Montreal
Tel: 514-845-8732

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

In Save-On-Meats’ original incarnation, I had always wanted to go and check out their burgers and steaks but for some reason, their hours never jived with my schedule. Every time I wandered over there, they happened to be closed for one reason or another so when they announced that they were closing, I was a little disappointed that I would never get my chance to check it out. When I heard that the owners of Boneta were going to re-open Save-On-Meats, I was pretty excited that I would get my chance to check it out again…even though it may not be exactly the same as the original restaurant.

One sunny afternoon, Jenkins and I walked over to Save-On-Meats and saw that many people had the same idea to check it out for lunch that day. It was pretty busy but we were able to snag a seat after a 10 minute wait.

We decided to order a coffee triple thick shake to share. Flavourwise, the coffee flavour was really evident but I would have liked the shake to be a little thicker. I also thought this shake was on the small side as there was hardly anything left in the metal cup. As far as shakes go, I would say that I prefer the ones at White Spot or Moderne Burger more.

I had checked out the menu beforehand so I knew what I wanted to order but was briefly swayed by their daily special of a BLT with egg sandwich. In the end, I went back to the Save-On-Meats Burger, which came with bacon and cheese. I also decided to order a side of coleslaw rather than fries in an attempt to be healthy. I found the burger patty to be on the dry side although the cheese helped to hide the dryness a little. The burger was also a tad small and at $6, I think you pretty much get what you paid for. The purple cabbage slaw was quite tasty and full of crunch and not too much vinaigrette dressing. In a way, I actually preferred the coleslaw to the burger.

Jenkins decided to have the clubhouse, which came with roasted chicken, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes. The clubhouse turned out to be much smaller than we expected, with only two slices of bread rather than the usual three slices. He said the roast chicken was a little dry and lacked flavour so it was helpful that there was bacon in this sandwich. Jenkins ordered mashed potatoes with his side and similar to my coleslaw, he preferred the potatoes more than the actual sandwich. He said these weren’t healthy mashed potatoes at all and he could really taste the creamy buttery goodness mixed in with the potatoes.

Save-On-Meats is a neat little diner with a throwback menu. Although they obviously tried to keep the prices low, the trade-off came in the form of portion sizes and in some cases, the quality of the food wasn’t exactly what we expected. Since I’ve never been to the original Save-On-Meats, it’s hard for me to make a comparison but I heard from other people that they enjoyed the food at the original more. It was really busy on the day that we went so service was also pretty slow. As long as you’re not in a rush and not too hungry, the wait is bearable.

Details:
43 East Hastings Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-569-3568

Summary:
Food: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $

One of the restaurants that I was really happy about scoring a reservation for in Montreal was Au Pied de Cochon. I’ve been a fan (without actually trying the food) for quite a while and seeing the restaurant featured in various No Reservations episodes and hearing stories from friends only piqued my interest even more. We arrived around 8pm or so and after a bit of a wait, we were shown to our table at the back.

After settling down with some bevvies, we perused the menu. I pretty much knew what I was going to order but my dining companions weren’t as well prepared as I was.

Snoopy really enjoyed the tomato tartlet and so did I. The tomatoes were fresh and very sweet with hardly any acidity to them. Small sprinkles of thyme highlighted the flavour somewhat but the tomatoes were definitely the star of the show. The light yet buttery puff pastry shell served as a really tasty base and added some nice richness to the tart.

Grick decided to order some pork rinds for us to share. To me, this was like a gourmet version of the pork rinds that you buy from the supermarket. It was a bit indulgent and I couldn’t eat more then a couple of pieces but Grick enjoyed this quite a bit.

Jenkins and I decided to split the crispy PDC salad.  It was my attempt at eating healthy before I really started digging into the mains. The salad had a really nice mixture of greens, tomatoes, and crispy onions and pork rind-type bits. In a salad, I thought the rinds were a lot more successful than on their own. This probably wasn’t the healthiest salad but was definitely one of the tastiest that I had. The lemony vinaigrette did a nice job of melding the flavours together and adding some nice acidity.

I was well aware of the huge portions at Au Pied du Cochon so Jenkins and I decided to share stuffed pied du cochon with fois gras. It’s a bit difficult to see just how ridiculous the portion size is from the picture below but the plate was large enough to comfortably hold two regular sized chickens. The lobe of fois gras you see on top there was about the size of my palm and Jenkins was nice enough to let me eat almost the entire thing. The creamy fois gras had a nice crispy sear on the inside and melted away to a flavourful and rich interior. The stuffed pig leg itself had a slightly breaded exterior and was generously stuffed inside with vegetables and mushrooms. Looking back, I don’t know how we managed but Jenkins and I finished this entire thing and it was definitely the best pig leg I’ve ever had.

Grick and Snoopy had their hearts set on the Pig’s Head for 2 but unfortunately, they had run out for the evening. Instead, our server recommended that they try the Guinea Hen for 2. Grick and Snoopy thought initially that this was just a regular hen but they ended up thoroughly enjoying the hen, where each part was cooked using a different preparation from the legs to the breast to the wings and then reassembled. The chicken was topped with a bunch of vegetables, which basically lost all their healthiness when they were cooked in the rich chicken gravy and soaked up all the delicious chicken fat.

My parents decided to share the PDC’s Melting Pot, which looked pretty unassuming compared to the other dishes we ordered but was a delicious stew of root vegetables, blood sausage, and various cuts of pork including pork belly. Similarly to the pied du cochon and the hen, the veggies soaked up all the delicious pork juices. We used the bread that was provided to soak up all the delicious juices from the dishes we ordered.

I forgot to take a picture of what my grandparents ordered but they decided to share the Happy Pork Chop. What the menu failed to mention was that this was basically equivalent to at least 5 thickly sliced pork chops for a normal person. My grandparents very happily shared this and despite the thick pork roast (because that was basically what it was), it was actually very juicy and flavourful despite being a bit leaner than some of the other dishes we ordered.

Even though we all shared our mains, we were still intent on ordering dessert. My parents and grandparents decided to bow out so between Snoopy, Grick, Jenkins, and me, we decided to share two items. The pouding chomeur was described as a maple syrup pudding and even if it didn’t look very enthusiastic, the pudding was buttery and moist and would appeal to any maple syrup fan. I was afraid that it would be too sweet but it worked for me.

We also wanted to try the sugar pie but unfortunately, they were also out of those. As you may know, I am a huge lemon dessert fan so we ordered the lemon meringue pie. The crust was quite light and the lemon flavour was quite prevalent but I felt that both the pie and the pudding took a backseat to the main dishes, which are clearly the stars at Au Pied du Cochon.

By now, it was starting to get late, especially for my grandparents so with quite a bit of effort, we got up from our table and slowly rolled ourselves out the front door. Despite the late hour and the fact that the restaurant was supposed to close in about half an hour, it was still packed with happy and stuffed patrons. We had a fabulous time at Au Pied du Cochon and we all admitted that we actually enjoyed the food and our meal here more than Garde Manger, even though it is difficult to really compare the two. I’m not sure when I’ll be back in Montreal again but if I am, Au Pied du Cochon will definitely be on my list, mainly so I can attempt to take on the pig’s head.

Details:
536 Avenue Duluth Est, Montreal, Quebec
Tel: 514-281-1114

Summary:
Food: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$$

While we were planning our trip to Montreal, one place we really wanted to check out for dinner was Garde Manger. My mom is a huge fan of Chuck Hughes and his show Chuck’s Day Off on Food TV so I tried to call in about a month before our trip to make reservations. Unfortunately, our visit coincided with a long weekend and the small size of the restaurant was also unable to accommodate our party of eight. However, once we arrived in Montreal, my parents happened to be wandering past the restaurant and my ever so persuasive dad wandered in and was able to finagle a reservation. The only caveat was that we’d have to split our party up and go on separate nights. It would have been nice if we could all go together but we decided that it would be an ok compromise to split up so we’d have an opportunity to eat at Garde Manger.

Jenkins, Grick, Snoopy, and I ended up visiting on the first evening and we almost walked past Garde Manger’s non-descript entrance (above). Luckily, there is a mini chalk board in the foyer that confirms you are at the right place.

While we perused the chalk board menu, both Snoopy and I decided to indulge in the (non-alcoholic) drink of the day, a fizzy ginger lemonade. It was pretty refreshing and had a nice balance of ginger and lemony flavour.

We decided to order a bunch of dishes to share. First came the jerk crab. The crab was sweet but it was actually a little hard to pick out the crab flavour since the jerk flavour was really strong. This was a really spicy and in-your-face dish which had us reaching for our drinks to wash down the spiciness. The all spice was really evident here and I think this seasoning would have went well with almost any type of meat but Jenkins felt that the jerk seasoning here overwhelmed the delicate flavour of the crab.

We also had to try that lobster poutine since that was one of Chuck’s winning dishes from the Iron Chef America show. The gravy here was slightly milder so it actually went well with the meaty lobster and the fries were crispy on the outside yet soaked up the gravy flavour. The cheese curds were all pretty melted but also went nicely with the lobster.

The duck breast was nicely seared and came medium trending medium rare.  To me, the real star of this dish was actually the creamed corn, which was buttery and creamy without overpowering the sweet and slightly crispy corn. The corn wasn’t really crispy but I liked how it was perfectly cooked without being mushy…you know what I mean. If I could have ordered the corn on its own, I definitely would have.

We also ordered a fried cod, which came with a vinegary coleslaw and some type of peach chutney. The breading on the cod was thicker than I was accustomed to but it made the exterior super crispy and protected some of the moisture in the fish. However, as with the duck breast, I actually enjoyed the coleslaw side more, which had a terrific crunch and a slightly mustardy vinaigrette dressing.

For dessert, we decided to share a couple of items as well. We had really wanted to order more but we had already spent the entire day stuffing our faces so there was only so much we could cram in at dinner. First came some cinnamon sugar doughnuts with some whipped cinnamon mascarpone cream and a hint of lemon. The doughnuts were fried perfectly and the crispy exterior gave way to a moist and airy inside. I dolloped healthy amounts of the delicious mascarpone cream onto my doughnut and thoroughly enjoyed each bite.

We also decided to indulge in a deep fried Mars bar, which also came with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. The batter on the Mars bar was similar to what we had in the cod but the thick crust seemed to work better with the chocolate bar than the fish. The crust actually tempered the extreme sweetness of the Mars bar, which was nicely melted inside but not searing hot, like I thought it would be. Compared to the chocolate bar, the vanilla ice cream didn’t seem sweet at all but I think that worked out well in this case.

We quite enjoyed our meal at Garde Manger but perhaps because we were so hyped to go, we were surprised to find that some of the dishes fell short of expectation. For me, I actually enjoyed my desserts much more than the appetizers and mains but I’m not sure if that’s attributed to the dishes we ordered. That being said, we were told that the jerk chicken and lobster poutine were some of the most popular items on the menu. Service was excellent and very attentive throughout the evening though. As a side note, when my parents went the following night, they reported that they enjoyed the dishes that the ordered and service was also great for them.

Details:
408 Rue St-Francois-Xavier, Montreal
Tel: 514-678-5044

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 4 out of 5 stars
Price: $$$$

I’m a huge grilled cheese sandwich fan. I remember when I was younger, my mom used to make these things for me all the time and once I was old enough, I started making my own grilled cheese sandwiches, experimenting with different breads and cheeses. When I had heard from Vancouver Slop that Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck had opened by the Art Gallery, I knew I had to check it out. Luckily for me, I was in a training course during the week and Krista and I took advantage of an hour-long lunch break to hike over the Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck. It turned out to be only Day 4 of their opening but you really couldn’t tell that from the huge line.

Since they had just opened, they were still figuring out things so I waited quite a while before even placing my order and after that, I had to wait some more before my food finally came. That gave us an opportunity to chat a bit with Cindy, the owner and grilled cheese sandwich maker. I had ordered a Havarti grilled cheese on multigrain with tomatoes and bacon. She said that they procured their bacon from a really great deli on Commercial Drive.

Since we ended up waiting a little longer than we expected, Cindy packed up my order in a box container so I could take it back to the office. My grilled cheese sandwich ended up costing $7.50 because of my adds of bacon and tomato but each grilled cheese order also comes with chips and a pickle slice.

I could smell the butter as soon as I opened my container and despite the travel time between the truck back to my office, the sandwich was still very crispy and had a great buttery flavour on the outside. The Havarti was melted and gooey and I liked how its richness was slightly cut by the tomato slices. The bacon added a nice element to the sandwich and to be honest, you really can’t lose with bacon in a sandwich. Overall, I thought the grilled cheese sandwich was really tasty and turned out to be very filling. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chips, which were a little on the greasy side for me but the pickle was really tasty and also helped to cut some of the heaviness from my sandwich.

Krista actually brought her own lunch that day so she decided to order the Sweet Little Vals for dessert. What neither of us realized was that this also came in a sandwich form. In between the grilled brioche was caramelized apples, candied pecans, and cinnamon mascarpone. Krista noted that she enjoyed this quite a bit even though she would have liked for there to be more mascarpone. For $3.50, I thought this was pretty reasonable for dessert.

There are a bunch of other things at Mom’s Grilled Truck that I’d like to go back and try, including the meatloaf grilled cheese sandwich and the roasted tomato soup. Unfortunately, it’s a little hard to find Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck these days due to its proximity to the Occupy Vancouver tents but they are open so definitely check them out if you are in the area!

Details:
Corner of Howe Street and West Georgia, Vancouver (by the Art Gallery)

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Although my go-to burger place is usually White Spot, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good burger from other restaurants. While the Triple-O sauce will always hold a special place in my heart, one of my other favourite burger places is Moderne Burger. I pretty much like everything from their cool diner decor to the friendly service, and of course, the delicious burgers. Jenkins and I decided to go to Moderne Burger for dinner one day as our last day of unhealthy eating before we started to try eating healthier for the fall.

I drink pretty much the same thing every time I go to Moderne Burger and that’s the Cherry Coke. I remember drinking copious amounts of Cherry Coke when I was young and although it probably wasn’t the best thing for me, I also wasn’t sure why Coke stopped making it. The version here is just Coke with cherry syrup added and I actually like how they put quite a bit of ice in it because I don’t like my Coke to be too syrupy sweet.

Jenkins was feeling pretty indulgent that day as well so he ordered the chocolate milkshake. It had a great chocolatey flavour and was thick enough to be substantial but thin enough to go up the straw easily. It was basically a perfect milkshake in my mind.

The portions at Moderne Burger are always more than generous so Jenkins and I ordered one burger with fries and one on its own since the amount of fries you do get is more than enough for two moderately hungry people to share. I ordered my Moderne Steak burger plain, which meant it came with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayo, and house sauce. I couldn’t taste the house sauce as much as I would have liked but I really enjoyed my burger nonetheless. The patty was basically well done but still quite juicy and the dense bun did a good job of soaking up all the yummy meat juices. The fries were also delicious, being double fried so they were crispy on the outside and just mealy enough inside. We just ate our fries with ketchup but sometimes, we also like to order extra house sauce for dipping our fries.

Jenkins ordered the wild salmon burger, which came with the same fixings as my Moderne steak burger. Jenkins really liked that he got an entire salmon fillet, rather than the minced salmon patty that some other places offer. The salmon was moist and flavourful and Jenkins remarked that he liked the salmon much more than the turkey burger he had the last time he was here.

Yet another enjoyable meal at Moderne Burger. I sometimes wish they don’t close until later but they are usually so busy that I guess they really don’t need to stay open longer than they currently do. The service is always super friendly and the food is consistently delicious. It’s definitely a place to check out if you want a taste of the 50s in the 2000s.

Details:
2507 West Broadway, Vancouver
Tel: 604-739-0005

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 4 out of 5 stars
Price: $

I’m a big sandwich fiend and with the proliferation of fancy sandwich shops opening in the Vancouver area lately, I have to count myself as being quite lucky. One such place that I really wanted to try out was Big Lou’s Butcher Shop, a half butcher shop, half sandwich shop place that opened up right at the edge of Chinatown. Jenkins and I do a lot of our grocery shopping in Chinatown so we figured we would stop at Big Lou’s one day before our shopping expedition.

Once inside, I was offered some samples of meat loaf, which I graciously accepted. Too bad we had dinner plans already that weekend or I definitely would have liked to try out some of the offerings from the butcher shop side. I guess that will just need to wait for my next visit!

As usual, I had already figured out what to get prior to arriving but I was still swayed by all the offerings on the menu. After deciding to go with my original choice, Jenkins and I snagged a couple of counter seats and waited for our sandwiches to be made. First, we had some black cherry soda from Boylan’s. I never noticed this flavour before but I think it’s going to be one of my favourites from now on.

Jenkins went for the porchetta sandwich. I was really glad he got this because it had been one of my top choices as well. The juicy pieces of porchetta were generously piled onto the ciabatta loaf and drizzled with some chimmichurri sauce. I found the size of this sandwich as well as the amount of pork quite a bit more abundant than the version from Meat & Bread but I did find Meat & Brad’s cracklings to be slightly more crunchy. Other than that minor criticism, I really liked this sandwich and would definitely order it again in the future.

My pick was the whole roast beef sandwich, which was definitely a hit for me. Thin slices of medium rare roast beef were piled onto the baguette, topped with onions, and just the right amount of red wine sauce and mayo. I felt that the crunchy pickles in this sandwich really gave it an extra kick that made a great sandwich fantastic. The pickles were so good that I probably would have just eaten them straight out of the jar on its own and added some vinegary acid to the sweet red wine sauce.

Given Big Lou’s proximity to my weekend grocery shopping route, I’ll definitely be back and hopefully will be able to stray away from the porchetta and roast beef sandwiches long enough to try their other offerings. The sandwiches ($7.50-9) are fairly priced in my opinion for the quality of what you get.

Details:
269 Powell Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-566-9229

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

As I have said many times before, I am not a huge fan of chain restaurants like Earl’s, Milestones, or Cactus Club. I just find the prices too high to justify the type of food I’m eating. Perhaps I am dating myself but I remember a time when the prices at these places were much more reasonable.

I don’t always get to choose where our eating outings are though and someone arranged for a recognition dinner at Earl’s on Kingsway after we finished a major milestone in one of the projects I’m on at work.

I actually like the clam chowder at Earl’s quite a bit. It has been on the menu for quite a while and comes with baby clams, veggies, and bacon. The bacon makes the clam chowder really flavourful and I definitely tasted it much more than the clams themselves. The chowder is quite creamy so it can be very filling.

For my entree, I chose the pecan chicken maple spinach salad. There were a few candied pecans in my salad and although the salad was also supposed to be maple-based, I couldn’t taste the maple flavour at all. My chicken breast was also supposedly crusted with porcini mushrooms but it was so over-fried that I couldn’t taste any hint of mushroom flavour. For $15, I definitely expected a lot more. The flavours in this salad just did not seem to go together even though it had several of my favourite things in it, including mushrooms, bacon, and brie cheese.

Due to a mix-up where someone thought it was my birthday, I was also present with a molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. The dessert was quite large and since I wasn’t expecting to have dessert, I ended up sharing this with two other people. The chocolate cake had a lot of chocolate flavour but was too sweet for my taste.

Overall, the food at Earl’s was ok but I still stand by my opinion that the food is overpriced and you just don’t get the value when compared to some independently owned restaurants out there. My meal here cost about $30 not including drinks and for that price, I can definitely find another place where the food tastes much better (at least to me). However, if you’re trying to find a place that suits a large variety of tastes and has a nice environment to hang out in, this is not a bad option.

Details:
4361 Kingsway, Burnaby
Tel: 604-432-7329

Summary:
Food: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

I remember my first visit ever to PHAT Deli several years ago. I was drawn in by their claim to have real Montreal smoked meat so I went there for lunch with a few friends. I ordered the smoked meat eggs Benny and still remember how tasty it was to this day. Funnily enough, it was quite a while before I went back and so when Jenkins and I were trying to decide where to go for lunch one day, I decided to take him there.

Despite the fact that I really like their smoked meat sandwiches, I had actually eaten it a few weeks prior so I decided to order something else. Jenkins and I were both interested in the club sandwiches they had to offer so we decided to order one of each and split it.

The regular turkey club house sandwich came on whole wheat bread and in addition to the regular filling of turkey, tomatoes, and lettuce, it also came with avocados. I felt that the fresh and crunchy veggies really made the sandwich and the avocado added a nice creamy texture. As a big fan of poppy seed, I also liked that the bread was crusted with it, which added some additional crunchiness. The small coleslaw salad that came with the sandwich was pretty good as well, with not too much dressing.

Of the two club sandwiches we ordered, I preferred the shrimp & avocado club house. Instead of the regular turkey, this one was made with shrimp salad along with the regular fixings of lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. Because of the mayo in the shirmp salad, the bread in this sandwich got soggy pretty quickly so you had to eat it pretty fast.  The abundance of lettuce provided the requisite crunch though.

The sandwiches were probably more than enough for me but I was feeling a bit indulgent that day and also added a side of PHAT fries ($3.95). The thick cut fries were double fried so had a great crispiness to them.

Another sold offering at PHAT Deli. I like how their sandwiches are all made fresh to order and you get to choose what fixings you want if you’d like. It is a tad on the pricy side with our sandwiches being $8.99 each but everything is fresh and well-made. I bought a Groupon for PHAT Deli recently so I’ll be using my coupon to come back and have some more sandwiches. Or maybe I’ll come back for something from their breakfast menu….there are just too many things to try out!

Details:
1055 Mainland Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-684-6239

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $