Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

After a painfully pricey dinner at Fresh , going to The Reef on Commercial Drive just made my experience at Fresh all the worse because of its great value. For just over half what I paid at Fresh, my friend and I had a very filling dinner for two. The main drawback of The Reef is that it is sadly sort of a rather lousy place for dessert. They really only have the one fried banana dessert, plus maybe one more that varies. When I went last Saturday, it was mini dark chocolate ganache pie with coconut cream. We were pretty full anyway, so we gave it a pass. Depending on what time you drop by, it can also be busy enough that you will have to wait for a table. Here's how our dinner broke down: Johnny Cakes (complimentary) Free with your order is one Johnny Cake per person. This ping-pong sized donut needs to be remembered as part of your meal because in general the portions you get at The Reef are good for what you pay. Tuxpan Tacos ($9)  Two soft corn tortillas with island...

When just one or two things go wrong with the food, it's very easy for the disappointments to overshadow an entire meal, and it becomes harder to be objective about it. That's what happened to me at Fresh last Friday. There's actually lots to like about Fresh: Date night - Every Friday at Fresh has a special attached to it. Last Friday, being the 4th Friday of the month, was "Date Night Friday", where buying their $48 set menu also netted you a free movie ticket worth about $11. It's a ticket for Empire Theatres, of which there are only four in all of BC . But free is free, the nearest theatre isn't too far from the restaurant itself (big plus!), and they aren't some no-name theatre that only shows old reruns. You can also order the items individually, in which case watch for differences from the regular menu. For example, the Beef Tenderloin which was featured as last Friday's (Sept-27) Date Night main course was $2 more than on the regular...

Hastings Racecourse  is having a  Customer Appreciation Day  on Sunday, October 6th, 2013 that will include a "Beef On A Bun Eating Contest" involving a specially made one kilogram (1 kg) Beef on a Bun. For online registration, waiver, and more event details, click here .

I recently came into a couple of awesome coupons (as in, get-it-for-free) for Janes Family Foods , courtesy of Food Bloggers of Canada . Coupons like these are really great for conservative shoppers like my mom. She pretty much NEVER buys anything "new" -- that is, once she figures out a brand or product she likes, she'll buy it forever. A coupon with substantial savings is just the sort of thing that encourages her to try something new. I could have sworn that Superstore  used to carry more Janes products, but to my mom's dismay, they only had chicken. Chicken Burgers, Chicken Nuggets, and Chicken Breast Strips. She had me double-check, and yes indeed, there was just one narrow freezer section with chicken products. She saved one coupon for later in the year, in the hopes that more Janes products would show up. In the meantime, we tried the Breast Strips. Normally my mom would never have picked it up from Superstore, because of the price. For her, things like t...

Yves Original Veggie Ground Round is vegan and kosher, so it falls in that helpful category of being a lowest-common-denominator can-feed-anyone ingredient. As meat substitutes go, in look and texture it is quite good. The bits are a bit too smooth-looking to pass for real ground meat, but it's unlikely that anyone will look that closely. The taste is bland, so it definitely needs to be just an ingredient rather than the sole ingredient. Adding something else to it also helps with the unfortunate sticky/slimy feeling in the mouth that this product has. Using it in a pasta sauce or chili should hide that nicely. The package is actually deceptively small. The cardboard box holds four shrink-wrapped packs that don't look very big, but which somehow blossom into enough for 4-6 Sloppy Joe burgers , depending on how much you want to stuff into a burger. And that's before any additions you may prepare it with, such as onion, garlic, potato, peas, green pepper, and corn. ...

When I dropped by Lux Lounge fairly early last Friday (around 5pm), it was still too early for any sort of after-work bar crowd, and I think I was the only person to order any food at the time (this will be important later). The "Veggie option" for the burger was not on the printed menu, and I was told that they were in the process of changing the menu, and the veggie burger wasn't being phased out. There were a few veggie patties left, however, so it was still available. De-Lux Burger $14.50 (Veggie option $12.50) House Made Beef Patty, Lettuce, Tomato, Sautéed Onions, Mushrooms, Bacon & Cheddsar Cheese topped off with House Mayo & a side of Crunchy House Cut Fries or Crispy Garden Salad The burger itself was decently put together. Two things jumped out at me right away: One, it was just lukewarm. I think mine was the only food order at the time, I guess I really had hoped for a bit more attention. Like, how about a freshly hot patty? Two, if the patty...