Jenkins and I went to Hawksworth one evening for a nice dinner out. Before I continue with this post, I have to say that I had been looking forward to checking out Hawksworth ever since I had found out that David Hawksworth had left West and was planning to open a restaurant in the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. When I found out that it was finally going to open this year, I was pleased (to say the least) and tried to figure out when was the best time to check it out for dinner.

I pretty much knew what I was going to order already but since Jenkins wasn’t as well prepared as I was, I ordered a drink while he diligently read the menu. I decided on a blueberry soda with a hint of lavender. I would say that the lavender was more than just a hint but it actually went quite well with the blueberries.

For my appetizer, I decided on the 48 hr beef shortrib. It came with some black pepper jam, cubed honeydew, shredded papaya, and a bit of peanuts and Thai basil. I had originally expected the shortrib to be quite rich and heavy but since the pieces were quite small, I found it to be a good start to my meal. The honeydew and green papaya also added some freshness to this dish and cut some of the fat from the shortrib. My favourite part of this dish was actually the honeydew, which was quite sweet and had a really interesting texture that I enjoyed – almost like it had been frozen and then slightly defrosted before serving.

I’m a bit embarrassed to say but I forgot to note down the name of the salad that Jenkins had. I only tried a little of the salad, which he quite enjoyed and noted that his favourite part was definitely the prosciutto. It was tender and moist, without being over dry and full of flavour.

I had originally thought that my short rib appetizer would be quite heavy so I wanted to go lighter with my main course. The roasted sablefish came in a tom yum broth, roasted spring vegetables, fried sushi rice, and a bit of black garlic. The sablefish was perfectly made with a crispy exterior that highlighted the moistness of the fish on the inside. I also liked the tom yum broth, which had just the right amount of tanginess and was full of lemongrass flavour. The crispy sushi rice was great for soaking up the tom yum broth and although it may seem to be plain, was actually quite tasty.

Jenkins decided on the Fraser Valley pork belly with red quinoa. The pork belly was tender and moist without being fatty at all. Jenkins said this was quite good and he enjoyed the quinoa and corn side as well. The lady at the next table ordered the same dish and added some pan-seared foie gras on top and told us that that combo was heavenly.

Finally, we were on to dessert. I had actually expected to be a little more full than I actually was by this point and had been hoping to share dessert with Jenkins. However, since we were both still a bit hungry, we decided to order a dessert each. I decided on the dark chocolate cremeux, which came with cherries and pistachios. It arrived in a deconstructed style so it was fairly easy for me to sample each thing on its own. The dark chocolate creme actually went quite well with the cherries and bits of crumbled pistachio cookies but I wasn’t a huge fan of the meringue or the pistachio sponge cake-like items on either end of the dish.

I actually enjoyed Jenkins’ kalamansi creme more, which came with some citrus slices, buttermilk ice cream, and cookie crumbles. The kalamansi creme was full of flavour and quite a bit on the tangy side, which I really liked. The buttermilk ice cream helped to mellow things out a bit and this turned out to be a really refreshing dessert and a great end to our meal.

Along with our bill, we were also presented with some champagne truffles and cassis pate de fruit. The cassis was quite flavourful but I’m not a huge fan of pate de fruit in general. The champagne truffles had just the right amount of champagne mixed with a really strong dark chocolate flavour, which was great.

Jenkins and I had a pretty nice time at Hawksworth. We did find the portion sizes to be a little on the small side but I think it’s somewhat to be expected at a place such as this. Surprisingly for me though, I enjoyed the appetizer and mains quite a bit more than the dessert though but I’m not sure if this was due to the dessert I ended up picking out. Because the dining room at Hawksworth is relatively open, it is quite noisy and Jenkins and I found it hard to hear one another even though we were just sitting across the table from each other. That’s probably my biggest complaint since it would be nice to hear your dining companion rather than the conversation of someone at the next table during dinner.

Details:
801 West Georgia Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-673-7000

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

I have to say that I’ve been a little late to the whole foot cart scene. It’s not that I’m not interested in trying them out but they’re not always easy to get to even though I work downtown. In addition, actually do try to bring my lunch from home so I don’t eat out for lunch as often as it may seem on this blog. In any case, Erika and I made plans to go out for lunch one day and we decided to take advantage of the nice weather out by grabbing some lunch at Kaboom Box.

I didn’t have a great experience the last time I was at Kaboom Box but that was because I was trying their poutine rather than their actual sandwiches. Since I felt that the poutine was more of a side dish rather than what seemed to be their main specialty of sandwiches, I felt that I should give them a fair chance by going back to actually try out the sandwiches.

I recalled from my last visit that Andy, the owner had given us a quick background about Kaboom Box and had also pointed out the on-site (on-truck?) smoker that they used to make the smoked salmon used for their World Famous Hot Smoked Salmon Sandwich so that was what I decided to order.

It came on a toasted whole wheat bun that absorbed the juices from the smoked salmon and the crunchy maple mustard coleslaw nicely. I really liked how the salmon was very moist and flavourful although I would have liked the smoked flavour to be slightly stronger. The crunch of the slaw provided a nice contrast and I didn’t think the spicy mayo was actually necessary in this case, especially since I couldn’t taste too much of the spiciness.

At first, I thought my sandwich looked a little small but it turned out to be quite filling and it was more than enough as a lunch portion. The piece of salmon is actually quite generous and I was duly satisfied. Although I’m not a fan of their poutine, I think the sandwich I tried was quite tasty and I’d like to go back and try their oyster po’boy the next time I’m trolling for lunch.

Details:
Granville by Robson Street, Vancouver (in front of Sears)
Tel: 604-788-6367
Note: As with most food carts, hours can vary so check their website if you’re unsure.

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

Jenkins and I were invited on Saturday to preview the latest offering from Vancouver’s Foodie Tour: food carts. I had gone to one of Michelle’s tours last year along Granville Street and quite enjoyed it so I didn’t see why this time would be any different. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try some of the food cart offerings around the downtown area as I had definitely been to less than I would have liked. We met at 10:30 in front of the Granville Canada Line station but it was around 11 before the tour actually started going.

As I had suspected earlier, our first stop was the La Brasserie Street food cart. They were running a little behind that morning, which was why it took a while for us to get started.

I had been to La Brasserie Street a few times before and really enjoyed it each time so I was looking forward to this, even though it was not new to me. The chicken sandwich was just as good as the other times with the crispy fried onions adding a nice crunch to the otherwise soft and moist sandwich. Jenkins noted that he would have liked for some of the larger chicken chunks to be shredded even more so it could soak up more of the house-made rosemary beer sauce.

Since it was the first stop of the tour and the day was particularly sunny, I was glad that La Brasserie Street also gave us each a drink with our sandwiches. In addition, we were also given a butter tart each. Jenkins was pretty smart in getting us to share one since we needed to pace ourselves for the remaining carts. At first, I objected but this ended up being some good foresight on his part. As with the last time I had the butter tarts, I thought the crust was nice and buttery but the filling was a little too sweet for my taste. I also would have preferred some nuts to give the tart a little bit of crunch.

Our next stop was one of Vancouver’s oldest food carts, Japa Dog. I had first reviewed Japa Dog in the early days of Ho Yummy and then again when they opened their Pender Street location so it was definitely another food cart that I was quite familiar with.

We each got half of a Terimayo dog, which is one of Japa Dog’s original offerings. As usual, I added some wasabi mayo to the already present regular Japanese mayo, seaweed, and teriyaki sauce. I quite enjoyed this and it was nice to try one of the original flavours since I usually opt to try the newer creations.

Our next stop was finally to a location that was new to me: Bun Me. To be honest, I had walked past this place a couple of times but never checked out what they had because I’m pretty particular about my banh mi and I honestly did not know what to expect. The baguettes at Bun Me are baked fresh daily and made using a special recipe that its owners had developed.

Bun Me had a couple of offerings and the one we had that day was the lemongrass chicken banh mi. Although we had only a third of a baguette, it was quite a generous portion and seemed to be larger than most other banh mi I’ve tried around Vancouver. The lemongrass chicken was quite juicy and flavourful and if you like your baguette to be crispier and crunchier, then the one at Bun Me would be right up your alley. I was pretty impressed with the banh mi here and wouldn’t mind trying it again the next time I need to buy lunch.

By this point, I was starting to fill up but we still had two more stops to make. Our next cart was Kaboom Box, another cart that I had walked past several times but never tried any of their offerings.

We each got a generous portion of Kaboom Box’s poutine. I’m not sure if this is their regular size or if it was smaller for the tour, but I thought it was a pretty large portion nonetheless. Unlike traditional poutine, Kaboom Box’s version uses a vegetable gravy with miso and is topped with mushrooms and green onions. Having gone to Montreal quite recently, both Jenkins and I didn’t think this was very comparable. I would have liked for the fries to be crispier and although I appreciated Kaboom Box’s attempt to make the gravy more universally appealing, I felt that a regular beef stock has a stronger flavour that allows the gravy to hold up against the fries and cheese. Lastly, and I’m not sure if it was due to the hot day, I found the cheese curds a bit on the soft side and would have liked some more texture and bounciness to it. All that being said, I wouldn’t mind coming back another day to try out some of the sandwiches, especially the in-cart smoked salmon sandwich.

Our last stop was at Nu Greek Street. I was surprised to hear that this was the street cart offering from Nu Restaurant and even more surprised to hear that Nu had recently changed its offering from West Coast to Greek food. To be honest, I had not been all that impressed with Nu previously so I was hoping that their foray into Greek food would be more successful.

We each got mini versions of Nu Greek Street’s chicken souvlaki pita, which came with tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki sauce. The tzatziki sauce was actually made with owner Harry Kambolis’ grandma’s recipe and I liked how it was quite thick and tangy, which went quite well with the moist chicken. Although the pita was a bit bready for my liking, it did a good job of soaking up all the juices from the chicken, tomatoes, and tzaziki sauce.

Jenkins and I had a great time at the Food Cart Foodie Tour. It was nice to revisit some carts we had been to previously but what we really enjoyed was sampling the new ones. The carts that are visited on each tour vary depending on the day. Tours are held each Saturday starting at 10:45AM and end about 1:30PM. They cost $50 per person and tickets can be purchased via Foodis Tour’s website. Be prepared to be stuffed and even though you walk from cart to cart, you definitely don’t walk enough to shed the calories you consumed. Jenkins and I were so full afterwards that we didn’t eat dinner until quite late!

Details:
Time: Saturdays from 10:45AM to 1:30PM
Cost: $50/person
Tickets: http://foodietour.ca

I’ve blogged about brunch at Twisted Fork Bistro previously but what I didn’t realise was that I’ve actually only been to Twisted Fork for brunch. I had been wanting to try their Mussel Tuesdays special for quite a while now and it was just a matter of finding the time to go and someone to go with. Complicating things a little more was the fact that Twisted Fork does not take reservations so I had to time my visit carefully. Luckily for me, Mabel was also interested in checking out Twisted Fork Bistro so we arranged to meet up for dinner one Tuesday evening.

For my starter, I decided to go with the wild mushroom tart, which came with goat cheese and caramelized onions in a buttery, flaky crust. I’m a big mushroom fan so I really enjoyed the strong mushroom flavour in my tart. The tart came with a small scoop of spiced pear chutney, which added a hint of sweetness to the rich tart but I did not taste much spiciness.

On Tuesdays, Twisted Fork offers up its mussels for only $10. The mussels are served in a cream sauce with herbs and fresh tomatoes and also comes with a mix of regular and yam fries and bread. The cream sauce was quite heavy and I would have liked to taste more herb flavour. Although it was ok overall, I prefer my mussel sauces to not be so heavy. I also found it a bit odd that the fries came on top of the mussels rather than in a separate vessel so towards the end of the dish, the fries on the bottom started to get soggy from the cream sauce. Although the yam fries were done well, I usually prefer regular fries over yam fries.

I was pretty full by the time it came for dessert but I really didn’t want to pass it up so I convinced Jenkins to share with me. This turned out to be a great idea because the chocolate terrine was huge. On the other side of the tuile you see below, is another slice of chocolate terrine so I essentially got a double serving! The frozen dark chocolate mousse was delicious and its rich sweetness went very well with the raspberry sorbet and coulis.

I quite enjoyed our meal at Twisted Fork Bistro. The food was well-prepared for the most part and service was very prompt despite the restaurant being a full house the entire evening. The Mussels Tuesdays deal is definitely a good deal and something to check out, especially if you are a mussels fan.

Details:
1147 Granville St, Vancouver
Tel: 604-568-0749

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
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: $$

It had been quite a while since I last met up with Mildred and Joyce. Mildred reminded me of this fact and decided it was up to me to figure out where we should meet. I walk past Commune Cafe on an almost daily basis when I work downtown so we decided to meet there for our dinner.

Jenkins, Mildred, and I arrived at the same time. The atmosphere at Commune Cafe is pretty casual and we weren’t sure if we should order at the counter or grab a seat. One of the servers noticed our confusion so told us to take a seat anywhere and she’d come by with some menus. We decided to sit at one end of the giant communal table and ordered some wine while we waited for Joyce to arrive.

I was waffling between ordering a dinner sandwich and a salad but I finally decided to go the healthy route and ordered the smoked sablefish, quinoa, cucumber, currants, mint, and lime salad. Size-wise, it was a bit small but since I wasn’t very hungry that day, it was ok for me. The smoked sablefish was delish and provided a nice smoky saltiness to the salad. The quinoa and cucumbers provided a bit of crunch and overall, I liked how all the flavours interacted with one another. As a lunch serving, I think the size would have been good but it was a bit small for dinner.

Jenkins and Mildred decided on the lemon roasted free range chicken with olives, tomatoes, feta, and orzo. Jenkins also felt it was a bit small but overall, he said the orzo was good while the chicken was on the dry side.

Joyce chose the roasted seasonal fish with gremolata butter and white bean onion confit. She noted that it was pretty good but since I didn’t get a chance to try it, I can’t really note how it tasted.

Finally, we were on to dessert. All of Commune Cafe’s desserts are brought in from bakeries and pastry stores from around the city. I decided to have the vanilla orange cheesecake.  I couldn’t really taste the orange but the vanilla flavour was very strong, as evidenced by the abundance of vanilla bean seeds you can see in the picture below. It was quite light, which I liked.

Mildred went with the lemon tart and this was definitely the better choice. The lemon curd was tart and not too sweet while the crust itself was actually quite crumbly and buttery.

Although I did enjoy our dinner at Commune Cafe, I did feel that the serving sizes were a bit on the small side for dinner. That being said, I would like to try some of their brunch options as that looked quite tasty. The ingredients were all quite fresh and seemed to be locally sourced and I’d be interested to see how their menu rotates as the season changes.

Details:
1002 Seymour Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-681-2551

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

Another guest post from Pick. Thanks Pick for sharing your experience at The Apron It looks like a pretty interesting place!

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I had the pleasure of attending the Apron at the Westin Wall Centre, Vancouver Airport for a small birthday gathering and again for another separate dinner. The chef at the Apron uses molecular gastronomy to create very detailed dishes filled with a variety of flavors. My first time eating there, I had a delicious butternut squash soup with apple pearls – something that would have been the product of food science. This time, however, I wanted to change my order up and try some new items.

First, I was presented with an amuse bouche of avocado purée foam vegetable garden with popcorn crumbles over it. This was a little bit sour in taste, but was a nice primer for the rest of my dishes.

Following the amuse bouche came the pork puff. I really enjoyed the pork puff, and found each puff individually flavorful enough to eat on its own. The spicy mayo that came with it was far too salty though.

After the pork, we had truffle poprcorn. You couldn’t really taste the truffle flavor in the popcorn, and I admit that I’m not the biggest popcorn fan so I could be a poor judge of this dish. Regardless, at the very least, I can say that my photography skills are improving.

Next came our other appetizer, lobster globes served with gnocchi and a parmesan crisp. I loved this dish! There is no menu for the Apron online, so unfortunately I don’t have more details on what’s in it, but I felt everything balanced itself out well. The foam and sauce was salty, which paired itself nicely with the doughy gnocchi, while the lobster globe’s added a punch of meaty sustenance. Great combination!

After the appetizers, came our mains. The first to arrive was the beef flank steak. Although medium rare was requested, the beef came as a medium almost well. It was served with a sour foam (I think it was wasabi foam), and nicely plated with an assortment of vegetables. Good taste, could have done without the foam, but really, nothing to write home about.

And finally came my favorite main for the evening: the sablefish! Although the camera focuses perfectly on the fish skin and what looks like fish, it’s actually an onion in the middle. The perfectly crispy fish is the golden triangle located on the top right of the photo. This fish would probably be the biggest reason I’d return to the Apron. Everything else I could have done without, but this fish (and it’s crispy detached skin), amazing. So amazing, that my mind has blanked out exactly what else was served with it even though I’ve got the photo right in front of me.

After our mains, we ordered our desserts. We tried the stilton cheesecake first, which was served with rhubarb crisps and port balls. Earlier this season, I had a fantastic blue cheese cheesecake from Salt Tasting Room, which is now (unfortunately), my measuring stick for all other cheesecakes. This cheesecake fell short of the one I had at Salt, but was still decent. The port balls were fun to eat, and burst into flavor when chomped on. The cheesecake also had a brulee top, which was nice, but still, not one of the best cheesecakes out there.

Our last dessert was the chocolate bar served with salted caramel ice cream. I enjoyed this more than the cheesecake, but it still wasn’t fantastic. It may be unfortunate again, that just the week before, I had been treated with the chocolate bar dessert from Oru, which is just amazing. This chocolate bar, was less rich and less creamy as the one from Oru. I prefer rich and creamy – if I’m going to go all out, I might as well do it right! The ice cream that was served with it was also lackluster. The caramel flavor was subdued, and didn’t seem to do much with the chocolate cake.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the Apron, but felt that there was still more kinks in the work that needs to be combed out in the kitchen.

Details:
3099 Corvette Way, Richmond
604-568-0749

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

Earlier this summer, Jenkins and I got together with his brother and a bunch of his cousins to have dinner at 12b. There was quite a lot of hype surrounding 12b a while back due to it being one of Vancouver’s earlier underground kitchens, of which there are several which have popped up around the city since. One thing about 12b is that because there is only one table and one sitting each evening, you are required to “book out” the place with 8-12 of your friends. I wasn’t sure who would be willing to spend an evening of eating at a higher price point (recommended fee is $65/person) so when Jenkins’ cousins brought up the fact that they wanted to try it out, I was quite happy to be with likeminded company.

After arriving at Chef Todd’s apartment 12b “somewhere” in Vancouver, the 12 of us mingled around the apartment and surveyed the artwork that was hanging in each of the rooms and in the hallway. We also checked out the wines that each of us had brought and figured out what our plan of attack would be that evening. Shortly afterwards, the first course arrived, a albacore niçoise salad. The albacore tuna was perfectly seared on the outside and was very fresh and flavourful. It had the perfect texture, retaining its firmness slightly and not being mushy at all. I also enjoyed the deconstructed veggies in this salad, especially the roasted cherry tomato and the crispy yet fluffy potato pieces. It was simply seasoned but was a great start to our meal.

Next came a herb crusted salmon with asparagus, morrels, garbanzo beans, and crème fraiche. I was a bit skeptical because the salmon seamed a bit pale when it arrived but it was actually packed full of flavour from the herbs and very moist. The morrels had a lot of great mushroom-y flavour to them and the crème fraiche provided just the right amount of slight tang.

The thyme roast quail with maple jus, red quinoa, corn, yam, and smoked bacon was one of my favourite dishes of the evening. The quail was nicely roasted and the thyme and maple jus went together very well without the maple syrup being too overwhelming. The veggies were also perfectly roasted and the quinoa added a slight hint of crunch while the bacon added a nice smoky flavour.

The duck breast with wild rice, saffron-infused cous cous with pomegranite braised cabage and pesto zucchini was another delicious dish. The Israeli cous cous was quite large and the chef had made the zucchini the same size as the cous cous and pomegranite seeds. It was quite interesting to eat these together with the juicy duck breast.

I was starting to get quite full by this time so I guess it was a good thing that there were only two dishes left! The grilled venison with blueberry jus, parsnip purée, artichoke, and Wu-Tang honey-glazed carrots was our last savoury dish of the evening. Tough venison is never any fun to eat and I’m happy to say that the grilled venison at 12b was quite moist but still very flavourful. The sweet roasted veggies went quite well with the blueberry jus and you would have thought this dish overall would have been too sweet but it turned out quite nicely. I especially enjoyed the parsnip purée actually and I think I may try to make it at home.

And finally, it was on to dessert. The mango sorbet with anise panna cotta, raspberry coulis, and rosewater caramel macaron was quite unique and interesting. The mango sorbet was actually packed full of flavour and its sweetness was offset by the tanginess of the raspberry coulis. I felt that the panna cotta was a bit lumpy and had less anise flavour than I would have liked though. The large caramel macaron was definitely a hit though and I liked how its crispy exterior gave way to a sweet interior that was full of coconut flavour.

We all quite enjoyed our dinner at 12b. It was definitely an interesting experience and I was super impressed by how Chef Todd was able to juggle cooking and serving as a one-man show. I liked how each of the dishes we had were all very different from one another and yet, they all complemented each other quite well. There were also a few awkward moments just because we weren’t sure what we should do next at times but Chef Todd was fairly patient with us. However, now that I’ve been exposed to the world of underground kitchens (finally!), I can’t wait to try my next one!

Details:
For reservations, email Todd at 12breservations@gmail.com
You also bring your own alcohol (and as much as you’d like!)

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars although I must say that it’s difficult for Chef Todd to be doing everything at once so this may seem a bit unfair
Price: $$$

Vancouver Foodie Tour, Part 1

When we last left off, I was pondering my dilemma as to how I was going sample three more stops on the Foodie Tour when I was starting to get full. What kind of food person was I?

I was first introduced to ShuRaku a few years back by one of Jenkins’ friends. I liked how it was conveniently located and also enjoyed their food, which featured more than just your usual sushi offerings.

As soon as we walked through the door, we were treated to a Calpis cocktail.

Little Angus Beef Wraps were served with some mashed potato and sweet corn. The beef was nicely marinated but I found the mushy mashed potato a bit of an odd pairing and did not exactly go.

The Zuke Aburi was one of my favourite items here. The lightly seared tuna was very fresh and the chives and sea salt highlighted the delicate flavour of the tuna. This was one of the most popular items with our group as the tuna disappeared quite quickly.

The Ebi Mayo Harumaki was another dish I really enjoyed. The spring rolls were nicely fried and the chili mayo was a great accompaniment to the ebi.

Our next stop was Culinaria, a restaurant operated by the Art Institute of Vancouver. I had actually wanted to check out Culinaria a while ago but they had some odd hours and it never worked out for me.

Already on our tables when we arrived was some wine to go with the dishes we were about to sample.

We were served basically a full-sized meal at Culinaria, which was quite a bit considering we had stopped at five other restaurants already! The first item I sampled was the crab ravioli with smoked salmon sauce located at the bottom of my picture below. The crab ravioli was quite nice but I felt that the smoked salmon was a bit dry and perhaps slightly overcooked. One challenge with the Foodie Tour was that it was sometimes difficult to time our arrival with some of the food so they may not always be presented as they normally would be in a typical setting.

The duck confit with Szechuan pepper jus was quite nice but I couldn’t really taste the Szechuan peppercorns. One thing I did like about the duck was how it was accompanied with some toasted hazelnuts, whose nutty flavour went quite well with the duck.

To top everything off, we were served a chocolate decadence cake, a homemade lady finger, and some strawberries on top of a rhubarb compote. The chocolate cake had a mild chocolate flavour but I would have preferred it if the cake was more chocolate-y. I also think the rhubarb compote would have been nice if it had more tanginess to it because then it may have been a nice contrast to the chocolate cake.

I would have been quite satisfied and full if we had stopped after Culinaria but we had one more stop on our tour. Mijune told me that Creme de la Crumb was actually opened by a couple of her friends, who quit their jobs as financial planners to open a bakery.

Lydia from Creme de la Crumb must have read my mind because as I was figuring out how I would sample all her delicious goodies, she told us that she had provided us with some bags to take home the items we couldn’t finish.

The carrot cake with vanilla bean cream cheese was a very well-made carrot cake. The cake itself was moist and full of flavour from the carrots and spices while the vanilla bean cream cheese gave the cake some sweetness. The cream cheese topping was a bit dense and although I like my frosting to be more airy, I thought the vanilla flavour gave the carrot cake a nice twist on the traditional version.

The scones were definitely my favourite item at Creme de la Crumb. One version was with pears (and I think with nuts) and the other version was coconut and lime. Although they were both delicious and full of flavour, I liked the coconut and lime more just because it is one of my favourite flavour combos. The scones were slightly crispy on the outside and very moist on the inside. They would have gone wonderfully with a nice cup of coffee or tea for breakfast.

Lydia had some freshly baked cinnamon buns prepared for our visit. The cinnamon buns were still warm and sticky, just the way cinnamon buns should be. The buns themselves were moist and the sugary cinnamon filling went very nicely with the vanilla cream cheese on top. As cinnamon buns usually are, these are quite sweet so they would definitely go well with a strong cup of coffee.

As you would probably expect, I was extremely full after this eating extravaganza and was very glad that I had to walk home that day. I’m not sure if our version of the Foodie Tour is the same as the regular one they offer on their website, but I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on the Granville Food Tour. The groups are a good size and it’s a great opportunity to meet other food-minded individuals. It was also nice to visit so many new restaurants and get a sampling of some of their featured menu items. Another thing I liked about the Foodie Tour was how the restaurants were all reasonably priced so I could see myself going back for a meal. My only slight gripe was that some of our stops were a bit rushed and I would have liked to have more time to enjoy the food, but given the many stops we made and the fact that we were already pushing three hours on a tour that was originally scheduled for two hours, I really shouldn’t complain.

Check out Foodie Tour’s website for more details. Right now, they have Foodie Tours for Downtown Vancouver and Richmond priced at $40 and the Granville Street tour priced at $10 because it is subsidized by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association. It’s definitely a nice treat for yourself and also makes a great present for a friend.

Details:
Vancouver Foodie Tour

A couple of weeks ago, Michelle Ng, founder of Foodie Tour, invited me attend the Granville Foodie Tour. I had heard about food tours in other cities so I thought it was a great idea that something similar had finally started up in Vancouver. From what I understand, Michelle started the Foodie Tour a little while back but I was attending a media launch that she had organized. Foodie Tour currently has organized restaurant tours that concentrate on Granville Street downtown, Downtown in general, and Richmond. Originally, I was under the impression that we were going to four or five restaurants during the two hour duration of the tour. So I was pretty surprised when I arrived at our first destination and found out we were actually going to seven locations!

Our first stop and initial meeting location was at Twisted Fork on Granville Street. Twisted Fork was actually on my list of places I wanted to check out because Sherman had recommended it to me a while back. We were served a couple of items on toast. First was a cured duck breast on brioche crouton. The duck went quite well with the sweet jam (I think blueberry?) and the green bean on top provided a nice crunch. The other appie I sampled was a roasted beet, grilled pear, goat cheese, and arugula on a baguette crouton. I This was a classic combination of ingredients and the slight sweetness from the pear and beet went nicely with the creamy tartness of the goat cheese.

Our dessert tasting was a frozen chocolate terrine with house-made raspberry sorbet and fresh wild mint. The dessert sampling was just enough to leave me wanting more…I should have grabbed a second sample! The chocolate flavour was very rich and the raspberry cut the richness of the terrine. I would be a happy camper if I had a full-sized version of this dessert.

I was too engrossed in the tasty treats to hear what this drink was, but it tasted like a strawberry mojito. In any case, it was quite a refreshing drink on a sunny day.

We were rushed out of Twisted Fork after what seemed like only a short period of time and walked briskly to our next stop, The Refinery.

We were treated to a combo meal made by the staff at The Refinery and Sip Resto Lounge, which was located downstairs from The Refinery. Our drink here was The Refinery’s twist on ginger beer, which was made with their house-made bitters. It was full of great ginger flavour, which really gave this drink a nice kick.

To go with our drink, we were served Sip Resto’s take on eggs benny, the Southwest Kickass Benny.  A deep-fried poached egg was perched on top of cornbread with chorizo, jalapenos, and a drizzling of BBQ sauce and hollandaise. The poached egg was crispy on the outside and softly poached on the inside and the chorizo and jalapeno gave the eggs benny a nice kick. This turned out to be one of my favourite dishes of the tour and my only complaint was that the cornbread was too crumbly. Sherman noted that this may have gone better with a brioche, which I think may have worked.

Our next stop was at The Edge Social Grille, a place I didn’t even know existed. One thing I liked about the Foodie Tour was that it exposed me to a bunch of new restaurants, some I had never heard of and others that I had wanted to try for quite a while.

We had quite a selection of treats at The Edge. I sampled a couple of flat breads, one with beef tenderloin and blue cheese and another with smoked salmon and goat cheese. I preferred the beef tenderloin version more but both were tasty. The bread was still crispy and the blue cheese actually enhanced the flavour of the beef. The grilled vegetable gazpacho was pretty run of the mill but was a nice refreshing soup for a sunny day. My favourite item at The Edge was definitely the Chocolate and Van Gogh Espresso Vodka Truffles though. The truffles were quite soft and had a lot of great chocolate flavour to it. I couldn’t totally taste the vodka but I still really enjoyed the flavour and consistency of the truffles.

Along with all these treats, we were served some white sangria. This was another delicious and refreshing drink for a sunny day and I liked how they loaded the sangria with a lot of fruit.

Our next stop was the Granville Room.

First, we were served a glass of their Mr. Pink, which was vodka with muddled watermelon, mint syrup, and lime juice. This was one of my favourite drinks on the tour and definitely a great drink to have while hanging out on a patio on a sunny day.

We were also served some sesame crusted tuna with some salsa on top of some multi-grain crisps. I’m not sure if these had been prepared quite a bit in advanced but the crisps were soggy by the time we arrived. The sesame also didn’t appear to be toasted, which made these nibbles a bit lacklustre.

By this point, I was starting to get full so I was quite glad we were walking from location to location, which gave us a slight opportunity to walk off all the food we were eating. With three more locations to go, I was suddenly starting to wonder if I would even have an appetite for dinner later that evening…

I should note before I sign off in today’s post that attending this event gave me a great opportunity to meet a bunch of really cool people, from writers for the West Ender and Georgia Straight to other bloggers, including Mijune and Karra!

…to be continued in my next post!

Details:
http://www.foodietour.ca/