Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

It's been a long time since I've been to The Old Spaghetti Factory -- long enough that I really didn't remember anything about that. Wouldn't have gone except there was a group meet there, so keep in mind this review is based on large-party auto-gratuity service. Their mains come "It's All Included", meaning theoretically you get: Italian Sourdough Bread with Whipped Garlic and Plain Butter. This is not garlic bread. This is bread you cut yourself, and soft butter supposedly with garlic mixed in. We were in a group so they brought a few plates of this and sprinkled it about the long table. I specifically asked for it later in the evening when the bread had run out and never saw it. Maybe it was brought to the table elsewhere but it's a long table and as I specifically asked for it, I really did expect that it would land closer to me if not brought right to me. Soup OR salad Small bowl of Minestrone Soup, or upgrade to Clam Chowder or Fren

For being a part of the Red Robin Royalty program, every year Red Robin gives me a free birthday burger! I usually go with a friend who likes Red Robin burgers, and this year she ate my burger while I got a non-burger menu item from Red Robin. Last year my friend got a veggie fajita at the Red Robin downtown location and was quite pleased with it, so I gave it a go. Veggie Fajitas ($14.99) Seasoned vegetables, black beans, mushrooms, cabbage and carrots. Served with Cheddar, salsa, sour cream and warm flour tortillas. Tortilla filling come literally steaming hot to your table in a hot dish to help keep it hot. You assemble your own tortillas and when you run out you can ask for more. The kitchen does them in batches so you can't really ask for, say, exactly two more tortillas. Did they forget the seasoning? Tasted horrible and with a bitter aftertaste, probably from the bell peppers. Fortunately made palatable by the salsa, sour cream, cabbage, and cheddar cheese. Shr

A good friend of mine treated me to Bistro Wagon Rouge for my birthday this week. Lucky lucky! Lots of interesting neighbours nearby including The Pie Shoppe. Our waiter was really good at describing/selling the menu items, so you'll want to be careful actually not to get too carried away by ad copy. Complimentary Bread A nice retro touch you don't see much anymore. Warm, and butter softened for convenience. Really handy if you order moules frites (mussels and fries) to get at the tasty soup. House Burger ($18) Touted as the best in Vancouver so obviously I had to try it. Composition is nothing too adventurous. Sweet caramelized onions were a nice touch. Fries were great - hot and and fresh, very crispy on the outside. Could have used something more sour as a dip to balance the heaviness of the meal though. When they asked how I wanted my burger I went with medium rare and you can see from the pictures it did come out basically so though the center looks q