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.

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Phnom Penh

Having never tried Phnom Penh, but heard much about it, Flowerbunny and I finally decided to go check it out with three of our friends. As soon as we arrived we were greeted with an enormous line.  The restaurant was super crowded, and from what I hear it's pretty much always this way.  The restaurant is looks like a typical Chinese restaurant; kind of dirty, a few decorations, but nothing fancy.  This place is far more emblematic of a dive than a few of the places that Guy Fieri visited while in Vancouver.  It's strange that he didn't come here, especially given that they have some signature dishes for him to try.

While waiting we got the chance to look at the many awards on the wall.  There's actually a menu signed by Anthony Bourdain up there too. 

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Carver's Steakhouse

A couple of friends of ours wanted to go for out for steak and as we were all in Richmond, it came down to either Chop or Carver's.  We'd never tried Carver's so we decided to give it a shot.  When we got there, the restaurant was completely dead.  Not a great sign for a Friday night.  The decor is nice, and very steakhouse-y.  I think maybe this is just the wrong neighborhood for this type of restaurant.

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Roaming Dragon

I've wanted to try Roaming Dragon since I saw them featured on Eat St.  A friend from work and I have been talking about going to visit their truck up at Robson and Burrard for the last few weeks, but they've been off the street so much that we hadn't had the chance until now.  Luckily, she agreed to take the pictures, as I only had my iPhone with me. 

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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.

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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

Nu Greek

Having already had a great dinner at Nu, I decided to check out their take out store on robson.  I went for their Chicken Souvlaki wrap and was disappointed when I got it, as for $6.25 there's not much in there.

  

The meat to bread ratio is way off, and they're very skimpy with the toppings (tomatoes, onions, tzatziki).  That being said, what was there tasted quite good.  The chicken was juicy and flavourful, and the pita had a great texture to it, slightly crispy on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside.  Overall, while pretty tasty, Nu is not very good value at all.  If this were priced more reasonably at, say $4 then it might be worth it, but as it stands I will not be returning.

Nu Greek

542 Robson St

Vancouver, BC

La Brasserie Street

Having enjoyed brunch at La Brasserie, I was excited to see what their food truck incarnation had to offer.  Turns out, they only offer one item, the Brass Chicken Sandwich.  

 

It has beer-brined rotisserie chicken in gravy on a buttermilk bun with crispy onions.  The sandwich tasted great.  The gravy made it quite messy but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The crispy onions didn't have a lot of texture by the time I got back to the office, but I imagine if you ate it right away they would add a nice crunch.  The chicken and gravy together tasted like an amazing roast chicken, and the bun was nice and soft.  For $6.25, it's a pretty good deal, I just wish they offered a couple of sides to go with it.  Overall, a good option for lunch if you're not too hungry.

La Brasserie Street

Corner of West Georgia and Granville

Vancouver, BC

http://www.labrasserievancouver.com/street-food.html

Suika - Lunch

Suika ("Watermelon" in English) is the sister restaurant to Kingyo. I've always been a fan of Kingyo and couldn't wait to try Suika. The restaurant is located on West Broadway and Fir and is open for both lunch and dinner. For lunch, they have a variety of lunch sets and for dinner, the dishes are more izakaya-like, small tapas dishes that people can share. I have been here for both lunch and dinner and I prefer the lunch over the dinner.

My co-workers and I really like this place and we frequently come here for lunch when we are craving Japanese food. Reservations are recommended for lunch and dinner as this restaurant fills up quite quickly. Without a reservation, you'll be waiting for about 20 minutes or so for a table for 4 people. The prices here are about average for lunch and a bit more for dinner. The food is great and you get a lot of it at lunch. All the dishes at lunch come with a miso soup, a small side dish and rice. For dinner, the plates are definitely smaller, but there is a lot more variety of things to try.

Fresh Ginger Ale

This is my favourite drink here and I always order it! It's refreshing, made from fresh ginger and not overly sweet.

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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.

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