Chewies Steam & Oyster Bar

A friend from out of town had come to visit and wanted to get some fried chicken, so Flowerbunny recommended Chewies, as they had fried chicken on their menu, and we've wanted to try them out since they opened.

There were 9 of us who came out to this dinner and they don't really have seating for a party that big so we had to cram into a smaller table.

We started with some Louisiana Rock Crab Cakes.  These came with mixed greens and a creole remoulade.  These were pretty tasty, lots of meat, and nicely spicy.  The remoulade added an additional layer of spicy flavour.

Our other appy was the Pan Seared Calamari.  The squid was very tender and not chewy at all.  The aioli had a nice kick to it that gave it a welcome level of spiciness.

For her main, Flowerbunny had the Gumbo.  It had chicken, andouille sausage, and prawns.  She thought this was really comforting and tasty.  The prawns were quite big and had a good snap to them, and the sausage added a nice level of heat.

One of our friends had the Oyster Po'Boy.  This had lettuce, tomato, and a pickle, and came with fries. I didn't try this but he said he enjoyed it.  I did have some of the fries and they were decent, but I would've liked them a little crispier.

Another of our friends had the Seafood Pan Roast.  This had lobster, crab, scallops, and prawns.  I didn't try this but she found the wine flavour a bit too strong.

I had the Southern Fried Chicken.  This was marinated in buttermilk for two days, and comes with a cajun honey drizzle, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  The honey added a nice touch of sweetness to it.  The breading was very light, but still nice and crispy, and the meat was super moist, even though it was white meat.  The mashed potatoes were super light and creamy and actually quite flavourful.  The green beans were cooked really well and still slightly crunchy.

Flowerbunny and I also split an order of the Buttermilk Biscuits with herb butter.  They were drizzled with honey which made them a little sticky to eat.  They tasted quite good though, and were great for dipping in the gumbo.

Overall Impressions:   

• Very tasty southern comfort food options.  
• The fried chicken is excellent, better than Refuel's famous version, and their seafood is nice and fresh.  
• There's a nice level of spice to everything and the service is very friendly. 
• The venue is a bit small for big parties.
• Might be a bit pricey for some. 

Chewie's Steam & Oyster Bar

2201 W 1st Ave.

Vancouver, BC

604.558.4448

http://www.chewies.ca/index.html