Sunday, February 6, 2011

Dine Out Vancouver - 100 Days

Our second Dine Out experience together was at 100 Days.  100 Days is a pop-up restaurant located in the OPUS Hotel and is open only for 100 days. When I walked in, my first impression of the decor was: interesting and funky. There was unique graffiti art sprayed over the walls, empty spray paint cans lining the windowsill, and the menu was written on giant chalk boards on the walls with different colour fluorescent lights illuminating them and the room.  The folding chairs give the restaurant a sense of temporary-ness which makes sense given that its time is limited, and I suppose makes it easier to redecorate as they are doing constantly throughout the restaurant's life cycle.  However they are not terribly comfortable to sit on.


We started with cocktails.  They were featuring 3 on their dine out menu, and since there were three of us, we decided to try all of them.



First up is the Iced Teaquila.  This was my favourite of the three, as it was very light and refreshing.  The apple juice added a nice sweetness to it.

Iced Teaquila - Iced tea, pressed 
apple juice and tequila

I had the Green Honey which was also refreshing, and the flowery taste from the lavender was not overpowering.

Green Honey - Green tea, lavender
soda, and honey

FlowerBunny had the Pink Ginger.  It was gingery and good.

Pink Ginger - Fresh pink 
grapefruit juice, ginger juice

For our appies we had the onion soup and the risotto.  The onion soup was the better of the two.  It was nice and hearty, although after awhile it started to become too salty.  

Italian Onion Soup - Osso bucco broth, 
wild mushrooms, cippolini onions, fontina and mozzarella crust

The risotto was a bit undercooked, and I'm not a fan of crunchy rice, but the flavours were good.

Bianco Truffle Risotto - Creamy 
Parmesan risotto with sliced Oregon truffles

For our mains we went with the Steak Diane and the Lobster mac and cheese.  The steak was cooked perfectly and the brandy sauce was lovely.  The garlic mashed was super creamy.  However the peas and carrots seemed like an afterthought and didn't add much to the dish (although with this dish having roots in the 70s, I suppose they went well with it from that perspective).

‘Steak Diane’ - Sirloin of Angus Beef, brandy
and button mushroom gravy, carrots and peas

The lobster mac and cheese was very tasty, especially the lobster bisque that they poured over top.

Lobster & Crab ‘Mac & Cheese’ - 
Atlantic lobster, Dungeoness crab, gratin 
cheese crust and Hennessy lobster bisque

Being a sucker for fried brussels sprouts (and the fact that the other person we were dining with had never tried them), we ordered a plate for the table.  They were crispy and delicious as fried brussels sprouts always are.  A little parmesan cheese would've made them perfect.

Fried Brussels Sprouts

For our desserts we sampled both of the options, the chocolate chip cookie, and the apple pie.  The cookie was nice but nothing really special.

Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie and Milk -
Baked to order ‘allow 15 minutes’

The pastry for the apple pie was really light and fluffy, and the apples were seasoned well.  I couldn't taste any of the cheddar cheese that was supposed to be in the ice cream, but the dish was probably the better for it as I'm not a big fan of that combination.

Baked Apple Pie à la mode 
Individual apple pie, house made 
cheddar cheese ice cream

Our bill came in a glass with some lollipops.


Overall Impressions: The concept is interesting, but the space felt cramped and the chairs were very uncomfortable.  That being said, the food was quite good and the service was decent.  It sounded like they were thinking of turning it into a permanent restaurant and if so, I'd be happy to go back for the food.  I just hope they get some new chairs.

100 Days
350 Davie St.
Vancouver, BC
604.642.0557
http://onehundreddays.ca/
100 Days on Urbanspoon

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