Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Very crispy chicken! But also not your typical crispy fried chicken, so if you're used to KFC, be careful about assuming you'll like The Fried Chicken Works . I figured I'd want to eat it piping hot so I opted for their handy boneless option. If you've ever held a drumstick that had only minutes before come out of the fryer, hoping to eat the chicken while it's still hot and juicy, you'll know what a literal pain it is to hold onto the heat-retaining bone. Price for portion is a bit scary at around $1.50 per chunk of chicken but you get a drink with that, a not insignificant amount of really decently done fries, and there's more filling meat here than a gourmet burger for the same price. Apparently fried to order, and I got to eat it hot and juicy. The crispiness appears to mainly come from the skin-on chicken. The chicken skin/fat is fried to literally a crisp and there's nothing fatty or chewy left about it. It is, however, definitely crispy ...

White Spot's offerings for vegetarians are slim, but what they do have is actually really decent. It's a bit pricier than fast food burgers, but if you compare them, the extra bucks are well worth the extra quality. Plus all those free fries you get are very filling. I'd stumbled into trying various portobello burgers (at Meet in Gastown and a really nice one at Caliburger so far) so I was glad the veggie burger option at White Spot was also a portobello. Pot of "Premium" Tea ($3.25) Instead of asking what I wanted they suggested one. Not sure if this is the new trend as I experienced the same at a Starbucks recently. Sriracha Portobello Veggie Burger ($13.99) Our chargrilled veggie burger with Sriracha goat cheese, sauteed Portobello mushrooms, pickled onions, tomatoes, lettuce & mayo. Comes with Endless Fries and choice of Cesar Salad, The Spot's Salad, or Creamy Coleslaw) I do not remember being asked which side I wanted. Just came with t...

Lemon Ginger Magic ($4) is a 12oz hot drink using cold-pressed juices combined with hot water. Apparently unlimited honey (self-serve) is available at the counter. I found the drink somewhat bitter and also lacking ginger bite. I tried some honey but probably put too much because it then tasted like lemonade with ginger notes. Anyway the concoction is supposed to be good for you. Safe to try if you're worried about too much ginger heat I really liked having the cover for the mug/glass to keep things hot!

Jägerhof Looks really narrow out front but it's quite spacious inside. Also looks like a hunting lodge with no shortage of stuffed and mounted animals, so if you have vegan friends you don't like, definitely try tricking them into going in for a scream. Price for what you get is pretty tough to judge here but probably the main thing that lets them get away with charging over $20 for modestly sided mains is the fact that when you are tasked to think of Germanic restaurants, your mind will probably go blank. That and their being in North Vancouver. If neither of these are good reasons for you, then you will likely be wondering why they are priced like Yaletown restaurants when they are not in Yaletown. And no, it's not the quality of the food (heck, even many Yaletown restaurants don't have the food quality to warrant the prices they demand). Just about everything comes with a fluffy pile of arugula with what appeared to be fresh parmesan (i.e., the flakes, not ...

You may remember my post on Soft Peaks  and how to properly evaluate what you get for the price you pay. Vegan Pudding & Co. is going to be another of those posts. If you are not vegan, there is not much reason to go. Price for portion is absolutely atrocious. Yeah, it's organic. But you get how much? A half cup for $4 after tax? (And by the way, thanks ever so much for using plastic containers that remind me of urine sample containers at BC Biomedical Laboratories). BUT... If you are vegan, beggars can't be choosers. Does Vegan Pudding & Co. have a tasty product? Yes. Can you get more donut at Cartems Donuterie for your money. Yes. But you wanted dessert and you insisted on what omnivores can have but you cannot. So cough up $4. At least you won't be disappointed. I got to try Vanilla (weak flavour), Strawberry (decently clear flavour but watery), and Matcha (interesting flavour! -- try this). TIP: If you see their foldable cardboard spoons, ask fo...

It's always nice to find lowest-common-denominator food that is tasty. In this case, vegan with gluten-free option food from Gypsy Trunk Gourmet Fare , which I tried at the Shipyards Night Market. They are pretty much the only clearly vegan cart around. For dessert, go into the big warehouse behind the live band and check to see if Vegan Pudding & Co. is there. The Gypsy Burrito ($12) tortilla (whole grain or rice), Field Roast grain sausage (apple sage, italian, or chipotle), black beans, fresh cooked brown rice, grilled red onion, guacamole, cilantro, Daiya mozzarella, Frank's Hot Sauce, and either dried cranberries or tomatoes Your choice of sausage. With the apple sage, to keep the sweet theme, they ask if you want to sub your tomatoes with dried cranberries. I recommend you ask for this instead of boring tomato, for all your sausage options. Cranberries gives the whole thing an interesting light sweetness that juxtaposes the otherwise savoury item. The wrap i...

Tried two appetizers from the Malay Family food cart at the Shipyards Night Market . Before I go into my review, it bears reminding that every restaurant (and food cart) probably has gems and duds. And yes, sometimes you get two duds in a row. That does not mean the whole establishment needs to be slammed with 1/5 stars on Yelp or what not. It just means someone (like me) has saved you from ordering the wrong thing. Spring Rolls (5 for $6.30) These were almost as narrow as an El Monterey Taquito , and shorter. The result is a fairly thick layer of spring roll skin (over 2 mm?) and therefore only a narrow amount of vegetarian filling. Basically all you taste is cabbage. The provided sauce is sweet and barely has any spicy kick to it. Nevertheless you will want some so as to have some flavour other than cabbage. Nicely fried -- not oily on the outside. Curry Puffs (5 for $6.30) A bit smallish. Maybe two = 1 cup in volume. Vegetarian potato curry filling was really decent. No ...

Continuing my tour of MealShare restaurants, last Friday I went with a couple of diners to Anatoli Souvlaki in North Vancouver. It is basically across the street from the very well attended Twilight Market at the Shipyards , and perhaps for that reason it was busy till past 9 PM. Despite the width of the store front, it is a large and deep restaurant, so chances are even on a seemingly busy night, while you might not get a patio seat, you will probably still get a seat somewhere. Service is friendly and attentive: I was intercepted almost immediately by a server and led to a table for my reservation. Water is regularly topped up. It felt like there was a sincere desire for you to have a good experience, which helped to make up for some of the unfortunate shortfalls in the restaurant: For example, our two square tables were wobbly. The apparent fix were old-looking pieces of cardboard shoved under one of the legs. While a older wobbly table could be said to add to the old-fas...

El Matador is a tiny and rather busy place. If you sit at the long and startlingly narrow bar-height community table, you may well wonder how you will possibly have enough room to have dinner. But somehow, it works out because of the small plate concept. It's cozy-small and rather dimly lit. I guess you could say it's good for dates. The dishes seemed to be really hit-or-miss, which may make you think it's not all that great, but that's actually a fallacy. It's not fair to expect every dish to be tasty to your palate. Dining at El Matador is very much like going for dim sum: If your friend orders chicken feet or duck tongue and you go "yuck!", before you give them 1-star on Yelp, try to remember if you ordered something that you liked. Unlike dim sum where they demand you make ONE order at the start of your meal and they get upset when you try to order more stuff because it screws up their billing, you just keep ordering stuff and stuff comes to the...