Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

All this week, Red Robin Royalty members got a promotion every day -- Tuesday was a free Tavern Burger (your choice from their Tavern Burger lineup, comes with bottomless fries as usual) with $10 purchase. Didn't want to overeat, so I dragged my burger buddy along! For our purchase, their limited time Bee's Knees Finest Chicken caught my eye and of course I had to try a burger made with Belgian Waffles! The Bee's Knees ($14.69, served with bottomless steak fries) all-natural, crispy, tempura-fried chicken breast glazed in Angry Orchard® honey, spicy jalapeño relish, citrus-marinated tomatoes and onions with shredded romaine on a Belgian waffle bun Smallish looking burger but stacked tall -- watch out as it may be tricky to actually pick up and eat. Generously thick chicken breast was nicely done, came hot and meat was moist. Jalapeno is actually spicy-hot but doesn't linger on the tongue, so take a chance on it. If you don't like it, you probably just...

Not using a grill for delicious steak? Atrocity! Unless you've heard of sous vide -- and if you watched the movie Burnt , you'd have had it slapped in your face as the modern way of cooking meat in a scene of overt product placement. News: Searing meat to cook it is primitive. Not too sure what sous vide is? I came across a great article on sous vide that doesn't just tell you why you might want to try it  but handholds you if you want to get started. Check it out at Sous Vide Wizard !

After Kishimoto my dining buddy and I went for a walk and detoured here aftetr -- no lie -- seeing one of the Strange Fellows Brewery cars. My friend was thinking of a beer, and voila! the car appears and we figured it might be going to a brewery nearby. I'm not a drinker, so take that into account when I review the strange eats here. They offer a Caramelized Cheese Bread that's really more cheese than bread. The veggie one has token veggie (one shrivelled stick of asparagus you can't even taste). My friend and her beer agree the saltiness helps with the beer. For me, this was two parts -- cheese cracker and token bread. Cheese part was salty salty salty. Bread was a sort of croissant? Puff pasty? Anyway, really light and flaky. Don't try to tear chunks off. Trim the cheese around it then pick it up and eat it. Sweet chili sauce here made it edible. For $5.25 this is more of a pricey novelty and to have some cheese crackers. Don't buy a couple hoping i...

Been a long time since I went to Kishimoto on Commercial, long enough to have forgotten what I had there. There's still a perpetual lineup so try to get there shortly before opening if possible. Sauteed Mushrooms (daily special; $11) hon-shimeji, king oyster, maitake, shiitake, and crimini sauteed in tamari butter First bites strangely delicious. When it was down to the tiny bits, butteriness was of course faint. Maybe try to eat this in large bites using a spoon instead of having to finish with boring small bits on the plate. Mamenoki Roll ($10.95) edamame, carrot, asparagus, cornflakes, wrapped in avocado I was intrigued by this because of the cornflakes, which I'd hoped would give a good crunch. Sadly, it barely registered. Overall quite bland tasting. for once I used some soy on a sushi roll. Salmon Oshisushi ($13.95) wild salmon, jalapeno, creamy sauce, cracked black pepper, torch seared Watch out for that jalapeno slice on top because it pac...