Ensemble Tap

For Flowerbunny's birthday, we decided to check out Dale McKay's new pub style restaurant, Ensemble Tap!  Located in the spot where Azia used to be, near the Scotiabank Theatre, Ensemble Tap is a lot bigger than his other restaurant, Ensemble.  There are two levels, and plenty of TVs, so this would be a good spot to watch the game at.

We had reservations and were seated immediately in the upstairs section.  Our waitress was super friendly, and did a great job throughout our entire meal there.

Read more - Om nom nom

Joey - Burnaby

Hungry after an evening of skating at Killarney ice rink with some friends, we all decided to go out for dinner.  No one was really in the mood for Asian food, so we headed over to Joey's on Lougheed.  I haven't been to Joey's in awhile, as I typically prefer Milestones, so I was looking forward to giving it another shot.  When we arrived we were told there would be a 45 minute wait, which I wasn't too surprised about as it was Saturday night and there were 7 of us.  However I guess some party wasn't using one of the tables allocated to them so we actually were seated within 5 minutes of arrival.  The decor was very modern, but very typical of these types of restaurants.

Read more - Om nom nom

The Lynn Canyon Cafe

A friend of mine from out of town was visiting and wanted to go hike around Lynn Canyon to see what that was all about.  When we arrived, we decided to indulge in a pre-hike lunch to supply us with hiking fuel.  There appeared to be only one option there, the Lynn Canyon Cafe, so we went with that. The menu was a bit expensive, but we didn't really have much of a choice.  The menu they have posted on their site is different from what we  had available to us.  I ordered the organic cheeseburger which didn't come with fries or anything.  This was actually pretty good.  The beef had a nice flavour to it and the toppings seemed fresh.  The cheese wasn't melted on top, but I kind of like my cheeseburgers better that way for some reason.  My friend ordered a piece of fried cod which she thought was ok, and we split some onion rings which weren't great - in fact they tasted like they'd been frozen.

Overall Impressions: As there are no other options, you're kind of stuck with the food here, and while it's a bit expensive, it's at least edible, and in the case of the burger, actually pretty decent.

The Lynn Canyon Cafe 

3690A Park Rd.

North Vancouver, BC

604.984.9311

http://www.lynnvalleycentre.ca/LynnCanyonCafe.htm

Milestones Grill and Bar

Out of all of the chain restaurants at this level (Earls, Cactus Club, Moxies, etc.) Milestones is probably my favourite.  Their burgers are exceptional and far better than the competition, and they actually serve a really decent prime rib.  In this case, Flowerbunny and I went to the Yaletown location for dinner after work on a Friday night.  She started with a belini.  Milestones makes great belinis, they're super fruity and delicious.

Read more - Om nom nom

ABC Country Restaurant

While we were in North Burnaby, we found ourselves needing something to eat for lunch.  As we had just eaten some cheesecake at Pappagallo's , we decided to go somewhere close for something quick.  That place ended up being ABC Country Restaurant.

I had their Bacon Cheddar Burger with a caesar salad instead of fries.  The burger was pretty much tasteless, but the caesar salad tasted like I remembered it.

Flowerbunny had the B.L.T. with wedge fries.  She didn't really like it either, but the fries weren't bad.  In addition to the food not being very good, the service was slow and the wait staff was dressed rather sloppily. 

Overall Impressions: Unless you're going for dessert, this isn't really the place to go for good food.  I'm honestly not sure how it's still in business, other than the fact that there are no restaurants serving similar cuisine in the immediate area.

ABC Country Restaurant

6500 Hastings St.

Burnaby, BC

http://www.abccountry.ca/

Stackhouse Burger Bar

Stackhouse Burger Bar is a newly opened burger joint located on Granville and Drake. Back in January, I saw their "Opening Soon" sign and I made a note that I would like to try their burgers when they opened. After much debating of what to eat on Friday, my boyfriend and I decided to try Stackhouse.

The types of burgers that Stackhouse serves aren't your normal run of the mill beef burgers that you will find at other burger joints (like Veras or Fat Burger). The burgers are made with freshly ground Alberta AAA prime rib and are topped with specialty toppings like pancetta (instead of bacon!), portabellini mushrooms, Guinness cheddar cheese, Camberet cheese, fried fennel, and many other toppings. The types of toppings on the burgers depends on what type of burger you order. There are many different types of burgers here: beef burgers, lamb burgers, chicken burgers, ahi tuna burgers, veggie burgers, dungeness crab burgers, and venison burgers! All burgers are served on a brioche bun with butter lettuce and tomatoes.

I arrived first at the restaurant and decided to wait inside for my boyfriend. When I entered Stackhouse, I was greeted and they let me have a choice of where to seat. I decided to sit at one of the tables by the window. The restaurant had high ceilings and the decor was simple, and nice. After I sat down, the waiter handed me paper menus. I looked through the menus, contemplating what to eat while I waited for my boyfriend to arrive.

Menu

Read more - Om nom nom

Moderne Burger

We have passed by Moderne Burger several times while heading to D.B. Bistro, and finally had a chance to try it out after a friend invited us to dinner there.  The decor is that of a 50's diner, simple and well lit.  It's a fairly small restaurant, so they won't sit you until your entire party is there.  That meant we had to wait a bit as one of our party was late, but they were really great about it.  In fact, the service here was really fast and friendly.  The guy on the left in the picture below who I assume is the owner, even helped clear our plates and told some amusing horror stories about people trying to park out front of the restaurant after our friend's car was backed into by some idiot lady who couldn't drive.

Read more - Om nom nom

DB Bistro - Brunch

We've been to DB Bistro many times for brunch, but have yet to blog about it, so last Saturday we decided to rectify that and headed over to West Broadway.  The restaurant was decently busy, but we got a table immediately and got coffee.

Read more - Om nom nom

Yaletown Brew Pub

My co-workers and I decided to go to the Yaletown Brew Pub for lunch this week since it was close by and also because our manager raved about how the feature burger he ate there was the best burger he ever had. In his words, "This is so f[beep]ing good!". He said that if we were ever going to try it, we must try it with the bacon and egg.

We all headed downstairs to the restaurant and were seated right away. We all knew what we were going to order, the Brewer's Burger with the bacon and egg. I had fries with my burger while my co-workers had onion rings. I must say that this is one pricey burger! $15.99 for the burger and an additional $3 for the bacon and egg and another $3 for onion rings.

Read more - Om nom nom

Romer's Burger Bar

I had a friend who was back in Vancouver for a visit and he really really wanted a burger because he hasn't had a good burger since he left for China. I've seen Romer's Burger Bar on West 4th and was curious to try it. The steak house, Pinky's, used to be at the location that Romer's is at currently. I've never gotten a chance to try Pinky's before they closed all their locations =( I'm guessing it wasn't that good if both their locations closed.

At Romer's Burger, they serve all natural Angus beef, Fraser Valley pork, turkey, free-range chicken or wild salmon all grilled on a flat-top, served on a brioche bun with pepperoncinis and olives on the side. When ordering at Romer's, the price you see is just the price of the burger. You will need to order your sides separately. They have a variety of sides and salads that you can choose from. One side of fries is enough for 2 people to share if you also order a side salad.

Magic Mushroom Burger with Organic Roasted Baby Beets Salad

Read more - Om nom nom