Overpriced tastiness at Globe @ YVR

Globe @ YVR is a pricey place just to get to if you're driving. You're either paying parking at airport prices, or you're parking elsewhere (say, the casino at Bridgeport) to Skytrain in -- only to pay the $5 surcharge when you Skytrain back out (unless you have a pass or Faresaver).
Nevertheless it typically has a sell-out 2pm Afternoon Tea seating so popular that sometimes diners will book a late afternoon lunch to sneak in early when it's sold out.

Price-wise, it's a pricey place for what you get. But quality can be good. It was strangely difficult to lure the Food Bloggers and Fine Dining Meetup out to Richmond for lunch, so there were just three of us and we ordered our own meals (except my dessert, which I shared with my dining companions). I was tempted to try the raw food menu from their "Lifestyle Cuisine" menu, but went with the Signature Burger instead for my first time at Globe @ YVR.

• A generous basket of three types of bread came to the table after we ordered, plus very soft butter (pic)
• Two types of chewy buns. I tried just one, with had flavourful bits of fried shallots.
• One "flatbread", which was large sheets of cracker-like something. Very thin and garnished on one side with rosemary and coarse salt.
• Jetside Signature Burger ($20) - ½ pound pure beef patty, FVA signature seasoning spice, double-smoked bacon, aged white cheddar, crispy onions; choice of signature greens, french fries, or seasonal salad (pic)
• This came to the table very freshly made. Still hot, with hot crispy fries. Probably because of the patty right at the bottom, the bottom piece of bun was starting to get soggy from condensation.
• Very moist patty. Good flavour contribution from the bacon.
• Stylish looking addition of crispy-looking deep-fried shredded curls of onion, but they turned out to be chewy possibly because they got steamed by the hot patty. The onion-ring style done by Loving Hut Express works better, but isn't as classy looking.
• Fries were very crispy on the outside. Salted enough to not need any additional condiments, but as a result some people may find that too salty. If you're watching your sodium, inquire about this and maybe ask them to hold the salt or go easy on it.
• It's a big burger, possibly close to twice the size of a McDonalds burger. Still not worth the full $20, though, but close, considering you get a generous portion of fries and a burger that's really tasty.
• Molten S'mores Cake ($12) - housemade marshmellow, toasted graham cracker, chocolate ganache cake, dolce ice cream, sticky toffee sauce (pic)
• This sounded like a lava cake, but it wasn't. I think I was more disappointed at not finding "lava" chocolate inside than anything else.
• It's a two-part dessert, with a single thick graham "cracker" (more like a slightly soft biscuit) with a scoop of ice cream on top; and a chunk of chocolate cake with a large square of toasted marshmellow on top.
• The graham cracker part was boring, sorry to say.
• The chocolate cake was deeply chocolatey, very moist with a wet centre. Delicious with minimal contribution from the marshmellow. Quite sweet too.
• Had a bit of fruit and chocolate cream on the side.
• At $12 this is pricey. Maybe $6-$8, but that is probably because I'm discounting the graham cracker as being a tasty presence on the plate.
• Elixir ($7) - FVA Honey, Ginger Puree, Lemon & Hot Water
• This is from the Lifestyle Cuisine Plus menu, under "Beverages".
• It's basically lemon and a lot of ginger steeped in hot water. The server recommended it if "you are fighting off something". A cold or flu, maybe? It's strong stuff.
• The honey came separately in those little glass jars, as some people don't like it sweet.
• It's a bit weird but worked for me as a palate-cleansing "tea".
• At $7, this felt super overpriced for what it was.

Overall quite pricey. But if you factor in the basket of bread to start, it sort-of works out (and adds up to a filling meal) if you have just one entree.

Service is courteous and very professional, as can be expected in a hotel that sits right in the airport and is therefore BC's host to people from all over the world.

If you like watching planes or just need to kill time at the airport, you can't go wrong here. How busy the place is depends on the flow of air traffic, but you can expect a quiet and private dining experience until closer to Afternoon Tea at 2pm.