Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Casual get-together with a friend at The Festal Cafe today, during a weird limbo dead time between lunch and dinner so there were just a couple of patrons in the otherwise spacious diner of communal benches. The food was actually surprisingly good, and not much to complain about for the price, especially considering it's downtown location. Spicy Chicken & Waffles ($14.55) local free-range chicken breast, wild boar bacon, real maple syrup, no grain waffle bread, coleslaw, side of cassava chips I would really have liked to know it was going to be a cold sandwich. Not skimpy with the slab of chicken, and for all white meat chicken breast, it was actually fairly moist and tender. Overall I thought this was really not that great in composition. If you deconstruct it you do find a nice slab of chicken sitting in coleslaw. Those cassava chips are winners. Really good crunch to them without any oil. Butternut Lasagna ($14.95) local grass-fed beef, butternut squash, spin...

Walked in to Cardero's shortly before the start of their happy hour. Basically there for a snack and a break in between my friend's sightseeing. Given the hour being firmly between lunch and dinner I didn't really think anyone would necessarily expect us to be there for either lunch or dinner. Restaurant was pretty quiet as expected, with maybe three tables occupied in total. Nevertheless we got a pretty condescending server who seemed to look down on us not ordering drinks (neither of us were drinkers) and ordering only lightly (no I wasn't there for either lunch or dinner). God knows what sort of attitude we'd have gotten if we arrived later and asked for the Happy Hour menu. Obviously that's for cheap people, right? In any case, the more attitude I get the less I'm inclined to order. And speaking of the Happy Hour menu, I saw an avocado salad (?) on it that wasn't on the regular menu so I asked about it. And got a pointed reply that it was onl...

You may remember I got the opportunity to attend a Yelp Elite garden party at H2 Rotisserie and Bar . They gave attendees an extremely generous $50 voucher to come back, obviously with the intent to be reviewed on Yelp. As it would be gauche to go back solo and eat practically free because of the voucher, I rustled up a few friends to come along. Was also hoping to go undercover, but I was immediately busted. It was probably naive of me to expect otherwise because the voucher could only be redeemed by contacting someone specific and using a code that included the word "YELP". Still, when I arrived early and my server said I looked familiar, I tried to deflect it by saying it was my first time here. When she brought over a complimentary salmon tartare however, we figured I'd been made. This was further reinforced later in the evening when the chef and various higher-ranking staff dropped by to check on us. Oh. My. Gawd. This was basically the first time any restau...

Came to H2 Rotisserie tonight for a Yelp Elite garden party , so obviously the two big things you need to know for this review are: You are in a sit-down restaurant, not a garden party. The preparation is different so likely what you'll get will differ in various ways from this review. Like rotisserie chicken that'd been kept warm for 20 minutes because everyone wanted cuts from the steak instead. Food and three drinks were free. Freebies typically tilt reviews, though I'd like to think I'm gonna give you a straight-up honest opinion and tips that aren't too contaminated. H2 Rotisserie is more than just the food, however. There's really good evening ambiance here. The interior space is beautiful but until fall and winter, the outdoor space has great potential, especially as a romantic venue. In particular: Live music every night and during weekend brunch. Swimming pool nearby. Roasting marshmallows is a possibility at their somewhat secluded away-...