eh! Restaurant

eh! Restaurant
1050 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC

Had you walked the two blocks in Alberni Street between Burrard and Bute last year and compare it to this year, you won’t believe the shift it has occured. Where it used to host a series of stores, it has now shifted to restaurants. Coast, Italian Kitchen, Saltlik (which was closed and now re-opened as Townhall) and Market by Jean-Georges . However, at the same time, some places closed, like the food fair in the corner of Alberni and Thurlow and Kaplan’s Star Deli have closed. However, there was one place – eh! Restaurant – that I have walked by a couple dozen times already and did not pay to much attention but suddenly became really curious for other reasons – name aside, that is, eh.

The fact it is not in the main floor might detract a lot of customers. Another detail that might detract potential customers? The fact it seems to cater students from the nearby schools rather than nearby office worker patrons, which, more likely will go to some of the popular yet over-priced, over-promising, under-delivering restaurants. But, then again, me being me, when was the last time those distracting factors stopped me from visiting a restaurant, eh!

I recall there used to be a sushi bar in the past which name escapes me. Chihiro? Regardless, you can see its legacy in the bar you see in the background of the image above. At least, instead of removing it, they adapted it for better use. In fact, in some instances, they just write part of the menu in the column. In a funny way, though, we caught up with a mistake they made: Notice the price of the Brahma (on Wednesdays)? It was soon fixed after we told them about it… And now, to the food, eh!

I have mentioned previously about PO and he being a partner in crime when I visit restaurants. This time was not that much of a difference. After browsing through the menu, he decided for their BBQ ribs as a starter, which was served with onion rings. This is a started that could have easily served two (starter portion, that is). The onion rings were nicely prepared: the batter didn’t fully “coat” the rings, which, in turn, did not make it too heavy. The ribs were not barbequed as suggested in the menu. It tasted more on the lines of parboiled, grilled and then coated with some sauce. They weren’t bad but weren’t fall-off-the-bones good either.

Me wanting to go from something “strange” started off with pozole, a Mexican soup. Why the !@#^!@#$ order this if I have a bias against Mexican?! Well, it is because it has been the first time I have seen it and couldn’t help myself order it, eh! Because I wasn’t sure what to expect, I had it “as is”. And how it was “as is”? The broth was light but far from bland. You could taste it had a delicate chicken flavour in it. The corn in it was just OK, as it provided mostly texture. The “funny” thing is that you could add the side spices and adjust it to suit your taste.

PO went for one of the items I had my sights on: their steak sandwich. Notice that, depending on the day, some items might be as a special – in the case of Fridays, this sandwich. I must admit it looked *really* good visually. Tastewise? While not perfect, PO enjoyed it a lot. As for the soup, his comments were on the lines of chunky, i.e., at least you know it still has tomato in it, unlike a completely blended version. And, tastewise, it was good. That sounds like a winner, eh?

As for myself, I pushed the boundaries of what they have available and went overkill with the dish above: lamb chops. I will be straight to the point here: this lamb chop kicks the ass of a lot of places I have been. They were cooked medium rare and had its good share of lamb taste still. The sauce did not add much but, in a way, it wasn’t really needed either. The potatoes had some crunchiness on its exterior and soft interior, something that higher end restaurants fails to execute. The other veggies were as expected, not much to comment about. The one side comment would be the small portion (for me, at least) but, otherwise, it was better than expected.

Now, while I admit the comments seem lackluster, there is one small… Wait, let’s call it *big* detail everybody must keep in mind: None of the dishes above were over $10. Yup, not even the lamb chops was $10 (it was $9). However, because of that, we ended up over-ordering, as the total meal per person was over $20 (drinks included). Still, does not sound like a bad deal, eh?

During that lunch, one thing we noticed people ordering burgers, something we failed to order. So, for “investigation” purposes, on another day, I went solo and ordered exactly that. Here is their Great Canadian Eh! Burger with salad instead of fries. If somebody tells me that looks disappointing… Well, I will have to agree with you. I would even say the patty looks like a dressed up hockey puck! It was beyond overcooked to the point it was borderline crispy. Not something I would necessarily order again. However, I must mention it was just $7. A case of you get what you paid for, eh.

During the meals, it was pretty evident students (and faculty!) dropped by for their meals. And, if you happen to have a student ID, you might get a discount. Of course, me not be a studet, had to pay full price. If you keep that in mind, the place is actually not that bad. In the end, I must say I was surprised (in both ways) at some of the dishes. Not every one was a hit but the ones that worked for me were way better than expected, specially when price is taken into consideration. Because of that one detail, I think I will come back.

Tagged under: BBQ • Downtown • Lamb • Lunch • Vancouver