Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

There aren't many New Orleans restaurants to choose from in Vancouver, so it was doubly fortunate that during my trip to Berkeley in 2015-April I got to visit one, and it was rated highly on Urbanspoon and Yelp. In the still sunny-bright evening, the curtains were drawn, leaving the restaurant dim and cool on the inside. For a place that was pretty busy, table spacing was good -- they aren't sardine-ing you in here. There were two-person tables left, but to help them with the almost constant stream of people coming in the door, I opted for the bar, which proved to have a wide table comfortable for having dinner. Normally they weren't quite so busy in the early evening, but it was Monday, and on Mondays and Tuesdays they have half off all red wines. According to the bartender, their top three items were Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish, and Jambalaya. I'd only had catfish twice ( the second time at Ouisi Bistro in Vancouver and it was undercooked ), so th...

CrepeVine was another "curious cuisine" recommendation by my local friend while I was in Berkeley in 2015-April . It's a fairly large place but pretty much dead quiet in the morning. According to the server, they are typically not busy till the 11:30 AM+ lunch rush, except Fri-Sun mornings. Gluten free option. Tons of crepe and sandwich options, but it looked like the same core ingredients organized in different combinations. They also have salads and pasta. So many choices, so little time, and so little space in my stomach for food. Alas. Nobody lives forever so I went with a dessert crepe for breakfast, plus chai. Chai ($3.25) Sort of weak but ok. Santorini Sweet Crepe ($7.95) walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon, and mascarpone; served with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream Nothing weird about the crepe despite having asked for the gluten free option. Honestly I didn't think they used mascarpone here (isn't it supposed to be cr...

Bette's Oceanview Diner  is a bright, clean, retro-looking diner with retro fixtures. While waiting for your food, things to look for include "Bette's First Dollar", a Seeburg Wall-O-Matic , and free postcards. It's a very popular place -- I was there 7:30 AM on a Friday morning and it was already almost at capacity. They are also dangerously close to smelling like a tourist trap with their cookbooks and souvenir mugs . Even so, prices are not bad. Special breakfasts come in at more than $10, but there's lots under $10. House blend coffee $2.75 in a rather thick mug (so there's less than you think) but it's apparently endless so the possibly long wait for your breakfast isn't completely boring. Bring a newspaper or something and sip on your coffee. I had been recommended their Tuna Melt by friends who used to live in San Francisco, but my schedule on my 2015-April trip to San Francisco / Berkeley didn't let me linger till 11 AM to order ...

The LongBranch Saloon offers prettily plated food, which will be a pleasant surprise if you are used to just the mom-and-pop restaurants nearby. It feels out of place, like it should really be somewhere on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. In its immediate neighbourhood, for late night drinks it is basically the only game in town and you will find the pub area pretty busy. For the late night small-bites menu, the kitchen closes 11pm or 11.30pm on weekends. I don't drink, so I was obviously in the wrong place -- remember that as you read this review. But I had spotted "fried cheese curds" on the menu and was curious enough to try that and the other items during my 2015-April trip to San Francisco / Berkeley . Grapefruit Juice ($4) A rocks glass (?) of grapefruit juice not fresh-squeezed and obviously with ice in the tumbler. Felt stupidly expensive. Fried Cheese Curds ($5) fresno chile jam, tomato chile sauce A mere four pieces of what looked and t...

In search of interesting eats, while I was in Berkeley in early 2015-April , my friend in Berkeley directed me to Café Leila for breakfast because of their signature "spicy chai". Chai ($?) It's just listed as chai on the menu, and you can have it hot or cold. I recommend hot. The cold one isn't (fluke mistake?) mixed for you and obviously comes with ice. The hot one tastes better -- you get more of the experience of flavours including chai spices, hot-spiciness, and sweetness. You can also apparently have varying degrees of "spicy", which may be independent of the 11 secret spices used. The hot-spiciness of the chai is not a burning on the tongue, but a peppery bite at the back of the throat. If you like ginger beer, you'll probably like this a lot. There is also quite a sweet aftertaste (from honey as a sweetener, I think). Date Omelette ($10.95) fancy medjool dates, feta cheese, toast, fries It came with what appeared to be squashed a...

While I was in Berkeley, CA in early April-2015 , my friend took me to Off The Grid at San Pablo Avenue and Fairmount  -- a food cart fest featuring a rotation of 10 food trucks. One of the food trucks we tried was Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen . Drewski's has an interesting menu with fusion creations and some use of fruits in their sandwiches. At Off The Grid , they had a "Special" ($9): Tri-tip in a French roll, with pickled daikon, apple, carrots, cilantro, chili serrano , and aioli. The use of chili could blow it for some people, so watch out if you are not good with hot-spicy foods. Instead of picking out the chilis, ask them if they can hold the chili because some chili seeds may still remain in the roll after you pick out the pieces. There was sadly just an OK amount of what was really tasty tri-tip -- tender, moist, and in a sweet sauce. Pretty decent value for $9 -- this price considering that food trucks tend to be more expensive but you do not have to...