To those who do not know yet, last Friday was   the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games. During the next two weeks, in addition to my regular food/restaurant blog posts, I will try to do photo essays of the city, specially of the Downtown Vancouver/Yaletown area and probably some of the other installations across town. Sorry, no Cypress or Whistler… I mean, you can watch the sport events themselves in TV and news you might not necessarily see the rest that Vancouver has to offer. And that brings the topic of this post…

In the last week or so, I have been receiving emails asking for suggestions on places to eat, things they have to try, restaurant they should visit and so on. And it goes all ways, some for cheap, something they should spare no expense and so on. The commonality of the request is the Downtown/Yaletown area of town. I tried my best answering those emails but, as explained in my response, in my opinion, Yaletown is full of expensive restaurants where the focus is not always in good food. Instead, I suggested expand a little bit more. Based on the couple of emails I have replied, I thought I should compile what I have written and put it in a post.

Update: The topic of price gouging has popped up in the comments section. I thought I should include some links here, as a caveat emptor for out of town customers. I love Vancouver but despise that restaurant owners is taking advantage of the Olympics to obtain additional revenues.

• An article in The Globe and Mail from Alexandra Gill, the newspaper’s food critic.
• A site maintaining a naughty or nice list of restaurants.
• An article (and video) from CTV.

Now, although I am an auditor by trade, at one time, I was also a network admin. One of the things you “learn” in this field is the concept of laziness. Specifically, if you had to put the effort on doing something, make it good enough so it can be reused at a later time. What this has to do with this post? Well, I could start with some suggestions already provided by fellow food bloggers.

Melody Fury (of Gourmet Fury) has been asking us Vancouver local food bloggers for suggestions on different best eats and has compiled as series of posts for Serious Eats.

Top 10 Grab and Go
Top 10 Ethnic Specialties
Top 10 Breakfast and Lunch
Top 10 Dessert Destinations
Top 10 Sips and Bites
Top 10 of City’s Best

Likewise, Michelle (of Cheap Eats 2010), has written some posts on restaurants in the area as well.

It is possible I will repeating some of those suggestions so bare with me, OK?

One more thing before we continue…! Depending on your accommodations or if you will be renting a car, the best way to move around town will be public transit. There are people who say the local transit system sucks but, believe me, it is not as bad as it sounds. Putting politics aside, if you know you will be travelling around, I highly suggest you get a Faresaver booklet, if not a 2010 Game Transit Pass (specially if you will be for a long period of time in town – I should have purchased one myself! >_< ). If you are only in Vancouver, a one zone pass/ticket will work fine. If you will be going to North/West Vancouver, Burnaby or Richmond, you will need a two zone pass/ticket (and some of the suggestions are not in Downtown Vancouver!). So, without further ado…

Things/Food types you should try:

• Poutine: If there is a Canadian dish in some straigh sense of the word, I think this should be it. This fries plus cheese curds plus gravy concoction might sound gross but, believe me, it tastes better than it sounds.
• Timbits: If you are Canadian, feel free to skip this one, you know what to expect. For non-Canadians, it is not the fact you should try these donut holes. Rather is that you should go there, order a double double and a pack of 20 timbits. Don’t ask, just do it.
• Seafood: Pacific Northwest is known for seafood so, if you can, give it a try. From Ocean Wise program down to Fish and Chips, you should be able to find something.
• Dim sum: I am skeptical about this but will take it anyway: Traveller’s magazine Conde Nast said Vancouver has the best Chinese food in the world. While dim sum served here is more on the Cantonese style (more often than not, with some flare and, to quote fellow blogger Sherman “more modern”), it is a good starting point. Aside from the usual pork and shrimp dumplings check if they have xiao long bao.
• Sushi: Similar to what is being said about Chinese food, it is also said that, outside of Japan, Vancouver has really good sushi. Once, again, I have doubts about this. Sure, a lot of sushi places; the problem is that there are a lot of run off the mill, mass produced sushi ones and the task is to separate the good ones from the bad ones without blowing a hole in your pocket.
• Izakaya: This is one of the current trends in Vancouver. Though the concept is similar to that of a small bar serving snacks, it has turned around into establishment serving both food and alcohol, often with more emphasis on food.
• Beers and wines: Despite what Stephen Colbert says about us Canadians being (maple) syrup suckers, not much maple syrup is produced in here in BC. However, there are microbreweries and local wineries. After all, the Okanagan Valley is sometimes referred to the Napa of the North. If you are a wine enthusiast, try the ice wine produced here in BC. On that note, if you are looking for wines, make sure they have VQA stamp (Vintners Quality Alliance), the entity that regulates wines in Canada.

Having said all that, the question now is, given that much time, which places should you go? This list is long and, despite some of them I have not visited myself, I trust the opinion given by fellow bloggers and I think it is worth mentioning (even on instances I have visited myself!). Of course, since budget is always an issue, I will add notes to indicate how cheap/expensive that place might be. So, without further ado and in no specific order, places you might want to visit if you are in the Downtown/Yaletown/Gastown area of Vancouver…

• Market by Jean-Georges: My blog post here. A celebrity chef restaurant in the Shangri-La hotel in Downtown Vancouver. If the Prix Fixe Olympic menu is too high ($95), you can always try lunch ($29).
• Le Crocodile: While not as “celebrity” as the previous one, if you want to splurge in classic French restaurant, this might be the place. Just check what Jessica (of Yum-o-Rama), Gigi (of Ho Yummy) and ET and Christina (of Doesn’t Tazte Like Chicken) have to say!
• Guu: One of the best known izakaya in Vancouver, it is better to go in a small group to be able to share several dishes. Out of their locations, I have visited the one in Gastown but, as for the other ones, you can check Gigi’s thoughts on its Thurlow location and Sherman’s (of Sherman’s Food Adventures) thoughts of its Robson location.
• Kingyo: Another izakaya. I have been there for lunch and, while good, for the better stuff, you should go for dinner. The same principle as Guu applies here: It is better to go in a small party. For thoughts about their afterhours fare, check Mijune’s thoughts.
• Hapa Izakaya: Out of all the izakaya, I have the feeling this is the most westernized. It is not that it is bad but it is not that good. However, I am aware some people like it. Just ask Victoria (of Victoria’s Food Secrets)!

I think I can keep on and on about izakaya but I think I can defer the other izakaya places to Melody, who did a crawl of such places… Brave girl I must say.

• Cactus Club Cafe: One of the many local chain restaurants where one of selling points is the view of girls in skimpy dresses. However, unlike other similar restaurants (which shall be left unnamed), the food here is actually good. Though the dishes are expensive on the expensive side, some of them are worth it. Check specially those “inspired” by Rob Feenie, a local celebrity chef.
• La Belle Patate: I mentioned poutine at the very beginning and it is something you can find in pretty much any restaurant that serves french fries. However, for a more “authentic” version, go to this place. Although I blogged about it, I think Mijune did a better job by actually doing a vlog! Check it here.
• Japadog, The DogFather and DougieDog: If you want hot dog, these are the places to go. Pretty much every blogger has written about Japadog and, for the most part, they liked it. As for the other two places, check my posts here and here.
• Raincity Grill: They have something for every budget, from $10 fish and chip lunch (from their take out window, my post here), to brunches (Victoria’s thoughts) to fine dining dinner (and Sherman’s thoughts).
• Provence Marinaside: I was asked a couple of times about brunch and, in addition of Raincity Grill, this is another suggestion. I haven’t been there myself by I will defer thoughts to, once again, Victoria and Sherman.
• Cafe Medina and Chambar: Located next to each other, the former offers breakfast and brunch (also well known for its waffles) while the later offers late night. I don’t like either one for personal reasons but I am sure there are people who will appreciate them, like Jessica (for Cafe Medina) and Joyce (of Vanfoodies, for Chambar)
• Ganache Patisserie: If you are up for sweets, this is one of the best locations in the Downtown area. Just ask Elaine (of Parker Pages)!
• The Irish Heather: I have only been to their Long Table Series, a dinner in a communal table, which requires reservation (sometimes there are cancellations so you might as well give them a last minute call). If you can score one, you can get a meal for cheap with beer for ~$15! I organized a food bloggers gathering there in the past (check here, with links to other bloggers posts) and Mijune (of Follow Me Foodie) did a “tw-EAT-up“.
• Kirin: A couple of weeks ago, traveller magazine Conde Nast Traveler wrote Vancouver has the best Chinese food in the world. I have issues with that statement but, still, if you are in Downtown Vancouver and want Chinese, specifically, dim sum, this might be the best place to go (though it did not really “wow” me – feel free to call it different standards). For different thoughts, check with Jenny (of My Secret Eden), hehehehe.
• Joe Fortes: Pretentious, over-rehearsed service and expensive, this is one of the best known seafood restaurants in Downtown. I did not necessarily like it but I am sure it has its crowd.
• H-Mart: OK, this is not the name of a restaurant but the name of a Korean supermarket. However, their food court serves quite good (and cheap!) Korean and Japanese food. Check Degan’s (of Ethnic Eats) thoughts about this place.
• Update! In addition to H-Mart, in the same block, there are a couple of small restaurants that might be worth for you to visit, specially if you are looking for cheap eats. They include GyuDonYa (soon to be open, as of Feb 14th), Kushi Box (just opened, thoughts from Gigi, here!), Beard Papa’s and Viet Sub (thoughts from Tana of Cheap Appetite, here)

By no means this list is inclusive – there are a lot of other good eats and trying to list them all will take me forever. Furthermore, Downtown Vancouver is not necessarily the best place for good eats. If you are willing to go around town (accessible by transit), here are some places you might want to consider:

• Vij’s/Rangoli: I haven’t been myself but it is said to be one of the best Indian food in town (modernized, thouhg). Since Vij’s does not take reservations, there seems to be always a line and despite being considered fine dining, Rangoli’s might be the backup plan (they have the same owners). Some thoughts of Vij’s by fellow blogger Jenny and Sherman.
• Thomas Haas: A lot of people believe the best pastries in Vancouver are done in either Ganache Patisserie (mentioned above) or Thomas Haas (and some people squeeze Kreation Artisan Cake in that mix as well, check Mijune’s post). In addition to me, Mijune believes it is good as well! (Note, they have two locations, one in Vancouver West Side and another in North Vancouver).
• DB Bistro Moderne: Another celebrity chef “run” restaurant located in Vancouver West Side. I haven’t been there myself but you can check Sherman’s post, here. It is not cheap so you might want to check also for some deals from Let’s Go for Dinner.
• Salade de Fruits Cafe: A French restaurant located in the Centre Culturel Francophone de Vancouver (remember, Canada is bilingual!). Overall decent prices and, as for the food itself, here are Polly’s (of Deeelish!) thoughts.
• Commercial Drive: Once again, not a restaurant per se but an area of Vancouver. If you are taking Skytrain, get off at Broadway Skytrain station and walk north (the direction of the mountains). There, you can find several type of restaurants, from African (Harambe, my thoughts here), Pastries (Fratelli Bakery, Jessica’s comments here), sandwiches (La Grotta del Formaggio, you can get cheese here, as well! Sherman’s thoughts about their sandwiches here) or even Salvadorean (Rinconcito Salvadoreño, my thoughts here). This is a really multi-cultural neighbourhood and chances are you will find something that will fit your bill.
• Three Lions Cafe: If you are British, this might be the place for you to go. And fellow blogger Tre (of Noshwell) seems to agree (check here)!
• Granville Island: Similar to Commercial Drive, Granville Island is an area but, this time, a market. When you have a market, good eats are expected; however, one of the bests in the area is Go Fish (as the name suggests, fish and chips). Check Sherman’s thoughts.
• Shanghai River and Shanghai Wonderful: If you are in Richmond (say, for the O Zone for skating events), these might be good places for Chinese. Notice the Shanghai part of the name; that means, if you are there for dim sum, you must order xiao long bao (a soup filled dumplings). For thoughts about Shanghai River, Mijune wrote three different posts (check here with appropriate links to the other two) and, for Shanghai Wonderful, check Jessica’s thoughts here.
• Yaohan Centre and Aberdeen Mall: Two malls located in Richmond, next to Aberdeen Skytrain Station, again, not that far from the O Zone. I am certain that most of you think “food court food sucks”. While that is true for the most part, these are not any food court. Instead, these are mostly Asian style; think a hawker centre.
• Main Street: For the third time, another area, rather than a specific restaurant. Similar to Commercial Drive, mentioned previously, you can find a bit of everything, from Chinese (dim sum) with Sun Sui Wah (though, a lot of bloggers, including the Foodosophy team, believe it has declined), Hawker’s Delight (for really cheap eats, once again, Foodosophy team’s thoughts) and some bagels rom Solly’s Bakery (again, thoughts from the Noshwell team, this time, Case)
• Chinatown: Vancouver’s Chinatown is one of the largest historical Chinatowns. Just east of BC place, it might look run down to some people (not surprising, considering that it is next to the infamous Vancouver Downtown Eastside). If you choose to venture, really good eats can be found in Phnom Penh (go for their chicken wings and butter beef, as per Foodosophy team’s suggestion)

I will have to abruptly stop here because there are still a lot of places to check/visit. For example, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, etc. If I kept on going, I wouldn’t finish writing this until after the Olympics! So, instead, just give these places a try. Or, if you find an interesting one you want to share, let me know!

Fraser Park Restaurant
4663 Byrne Road
Burnaby, BC

A lot of times, accessibility to a restaurant is an issue. If it is near main roads or near transit, chances are people will go there rather than a place located in the middle of nowhere – literally. One day, I was running some errands in Market Crossing, a mall in South Burnaby, almost New Westminster when hunger stroke. Sure, there is White Spot and some other restaurants but they weren’t that inspiring. That’s when I remember a post from Karl (of The Friday Lunch) of a cafe nearby: Fraser Park Restaurant.

Now nearby might be a somewhat wacky description: It was ~1Km away from Market Crossing in a sort of industrial area, basically middle of nowhere. That brings the question: what the hell is a restaurant doing there? I guess if there is a need, there will be business. The oddity was that, on the day I went, most of the patrons could easily be one those you could find in any restaurant in Metro Vancouver. Interesting…

After queueing up to make my order, I encounter one issue. All the tables were taken, including several sits in a semi-communal table.Oh, well, that means sitting outside which have the advantage of having natural light (with the caveat it might be cold). Fortunately, one sit opened and decided to stay inside. Although lightning would be an issue, at least, there was music inside; that lunch in the form of a live band (amateur band?). And now that brings the food…

The restaurant has a mix of breakfast items (pancakes? french toast?) and some sandwiches. However, knowing the German background of this restaurant, I went for something on that side of the world: schnitzels. OK, this is not 100% German but close enough for me. And the one item that had schnitzel is their sandwich which includes an option of salad or soup.

The soup ended up being beans, corn and tomato. Wacky combination but it worked! It was savoury had a savoury start but then the sweetness of the corn kicked in. The beans served as a filler and, at the same time, thickened the soup. The tomato provided a slight hint of acidity that rounded up the soup. To a certain extent, I finished to soup first and almost forgot I was there for the schnitzel! And that brings…

The sandwich itself. There were two pieces of breaded pork cutlet and some lettuce and tomato to go along. The cutlet was crispy, though slightly dry. Now, it wasn’t necessarily bad because it is a thin piece of meat, cooked well, after all. What matters is that it kept some of that pork goodness taste.

While the cutlet was good, the other parts could have been better. The lettuce was barely noticeable, almost a token for greens. Something similar with the tomato. The bread was soft and generic; the fact it was oily outside was, well, unnecessary. Still, these faults did not hamper the main part of the sandwich.

During the meal, the chef walked out and started to play with the band, something I thought was funny in its own way. More importantly was the customers. As mentioned above, they could be from almost anywhere from town but is the fact they take this trip just to have some breakfast and lunch (Fraser Park is only open until 2:00 p.m.) means something. And, from that perspective, I am good with it. Would I come back? If it wasn’t because it is in the middle of nowhere, I would for breakfast…

OK, here is something I am not afraid of admiting: I used to like to eat breakfast sandwiches in McDonald’s. Specifically, I liked the folded egg with sausage in a biscuit (just in case – the American definition of biscuit). However, they phased that one in favour of the Egg McMuffin. Not that it is not good, I just preferred the other version. In a way, it was a good thing, as ever since, I stopped going and started to prepare breakfast myself. Enter Tim Hortons Breakfast Sandwich. For the most part, it was almost example the same as that breakfast sandwich I used to like; however, because I changed my diet, rather than jumping directly to have it every single day, I would have it once in a while, specially when I am in Vancouver International prior to a flight. Since comparing a discontinued product (or, at least, not available here, as far as I could see) is unfair, I thought it would be a good thing. That is… Until Tim Hortons released their new breakfast sandwich: instead of using a biscuit, it was made of an English muffin. So I couldn’t help it… The battle of Breakfast Sandwiches… (And borrowing that line from Iron Chef:) Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

I am no food stylists, nor I will try to make it look as good as shown in ads!

Tim Hortons Breakfast Sandwich with Sausage in English Muffin	McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich
CDN $1.99 (current promo)/CDN $2.59	CDN $2.49
410 calories	440 calories
Options: no sausage (the basic version), or bacon	Options: You can pretty much add whatever you want in the menu to it

The initial challenge was to find a place where there will be a Tim Hortons and a McDonald’s side by side. That place ended up being the Save-On-Foods in Metrotown. However, I still had to drive home which meant, by the time I got home, there will be a compromise on what will be consumed. So, caveat emptor!

I will start off with Tim Hortons. The muffin was lightly toasted and was cut to order. Now, there was a funny incident when I was ordering it: they were about to run out! It seems they underestimated the demand for this sandwich! Now, I am not sure how you guys like yours but, in my case, I prefer it chewy to the initial bite and this one accomplished it. The egg was obviously pre-cooked but, somehow, I like it. Probably because it has an almost soft tofu/custard texture. Now, it had some strange, almost un-egg non-egg taste to it and couldn’t really pinpoint what it was… The sausage had a really light pork taste, which was a good thing because it did not conflicted with the egg, despite that odd flavour I mentioned.

Of course, since the actual “cooking” in McDonald’s is behind the scenes, I can’t tell if the muffin were just cut. However, one thing is pretty evident: it is almost charred. I am not sure if this works for me. Toast, yes; muffin… only slightly toasted. The notable item of the McMuffin would be the egg: You can at least tell it came from an egg! Now, what I wonder is the size of the egg, though, as it barely covered the whole sandwich and it was almost flat; unlike the ones I have had in the past where it was slightly “higher”. The sausage was seared and had a stronger meat taste than that of Timmy’s. However, it was also a good thing because the egg in this sandwich by itself wasn’t as flavourful.

At this point, some might argue: But, wait, you can’t do a straight comparison because of the way the eggs are cooked! Well, actually… I remember a couple of weeks ago when Raidar (of Eating is the Hard Part) in a post made reference to a beast of sandwich in McDonald’s: Basically, you can request to add anything to a sandwich. So, if you wanted to, you can take a Quarter Pounder as a base, add a grilled chicken breast, a fried chicken breast, the fish filet (of the filet-o-fish) and so on. In this case, I asked to have a sausage McMuffin with the folded egg…

In this case, it was an epic fail. It was far from the folded egg/omelette I used to love couple of years ago. It did not have that custard texture. In fact, it tasted almost like an overdone fried egg.

So, is there one that is better than the other? Well, if it was for me, I think I will go for Timmy’s. I know that cracked egg from the McMuffin is better but it is that custardy texture that won me. However, if nutrition is an issue, either version sans bacon or sausage are good options.

Three Lions Cafe
1 E Broadway
Vancouver, BC

If you have noticed the trend of the posts this week, there was that chance that it would have been Asian after Asian after Asian post. While I could have (I have a post in the queue for Honolulu Cafe), I would rather switch and shuffle them around before anybody “complains”, hehehe. Again, during the end year break, I did something I seldom have the chance to do: go out for breakfast. I normally eat breakfast at home but this day, I woke up “late”. After going through the usual routine , it was already 10:00 a.m., which is way past my normal breakfast time and way too early for lunch. And while I have no particular love for brunch, I guess, by that time of the day, there is not much you can do (other than starve until lunchtime). While I could have gone anywhere open (keyword here: open!), I wanted something more particular. That was the reason I went to The Three Lions Cafe.

Located exactly where Broadway switch from East/West, the area where The Three Lions Cafe is located is interesting for the lack of a better word. It is in a process of gentrification (for good or for bad), if you cross the street, you can see differences. Not “colorful” as Downtown Eastside, not too quiet as the suburbs, but it has its own quirks. Not a place I would necessarily like to live but the question now is whether a place I would go for a bite.

Now, here is the reason I was interested in driving to this area (which, although centric, has its own quirks, parking being one of them): It is an English pub. As I have mentioned in several previous instances, I have a really low alcohol tolerance so chances I won’t go there by myself after hours (not even to watch a football game). Even if I go in a group, I might not be as merry as others. However, for the food, now, that is a different story. And, at around 11:00 a.m., there was one thing I should have ordered… An English Breakfast. But, before that…

I was offered this as an amuse-bouche. I must mention that, at that moment, I haven’t produced my camera yet (though me carrying it in my bag could have given hints) and the waiter had another similar plate whom he gave to another customer. So, I do not think it was an attempt to sway me. But, as for the amuse-bouche itself, I was just told it was a “bread”. Of course, it amused me (no pun intended) a little bit, as it is not a single bite item but a regular piece of bread. It could have been complimentary bread and I won’t have noticed any difference. That was until I tore a piece. It had a crumbly texture, in lines of a biscuit and had an interesting lemon-y hint. I thought I saw some herbs in it, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t tell exactly which one it was. A departure of the regular bread and an appreciated token.

As for drinks, I went for Earl Grey. Of course, being an English pub, I would expect some particularities when ordering tea. From an ordering perspective, I thought they should have included a slice of lemon. But, oh, well… As for myself, I drink the tea straight – no sugar, lemon, cream, milk, etc. However, I do appreciate the orange-y hint of Earl Grey.

Oh, yeah, this is their Traditional English Breakfast! According to their menu, it has Lincolnshire sausage, Wiltshire bacon, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, two eggs, hash browns and toast. For the egg, I initially thought of sunny-side up but then changed my mind to poached. As for the toast, I asked for brown.

Starting with the beans, since they aren’t really focused in the previous picture, it is quite similar to your canned pork-n-beans I used to eat while growing up. However, unlike those from a can, or at least those sold in Panama, it had a slightly sweeter taste than what I am used to and more tomato taste. The consistency, though, not that different. I must mention I am biased here as I like to eat these no problem at all. And just to the left of it, the Wiltshire bacon. To me, it looks like a thinly slice of back bacon so I am not sure if I missed anything from their description. Taste-wise… Well, almost the same as back bacon! So not much to talk about.

As mentioned, I asked the eggs to be poached. I will have to say they did quite a good job here: The egg yolk was still soft, while the white was hardened a bit. When I pierced it over the bread, the yellow gooey yolk started to ooze out. The mushroom gave some savoury tones but, otherwise, it was there as a token. The potatoes were good, though I am not sure if I would call it a hash – home fries, may be. In the case of the potatoes, it had a slight crunchy exterior, not oily in any way, followed by the soft starchy goodness of it. While I could see the salt crystals, I would have preferred it to be more seasoned with herbs or something similar.

And then, the sausage and the tomato. I won’t comment much about the tomato, given it is not in season, but the fact it was grilled took away some of its raw taste and sweetened it a little bit. As for the sausage… Well, I did not find any highlights to it. While I could “feel” some pork chunkiness in the sausage, I did not find it was seasoned enough. Sure, I could taste some slight herby/peppery tones but I had to concentrate a bit too much to “taste” it. Of course, there is also another possible reason: see the grill marks? Assuming it was grilled from the very get go, it wasn’t really exposed to as much fat as other cooking methods (not that the sausage did not have fat to begin with). Since fat == flavour… On that note, I noticed that the overall dish did not have a pool of fat after I finished!

I will have to mention that I did run into one disappointment that I did not notice until halfway through the meal. If you have checked their site on-line you will easily notice what/why: where is the black pudding? When I made my order, I am sure I mentioned “black pudding” but, somehow, that got lost. As a result, I wasn’t able to taste that “unique” dish. But, that shouldn’t be that much of an issue because, while some of the parts were under-seasoned, I quite liked what was produced and chances are I will come back. Heck, I could/want to eat this every morning! Oh, wait, probably not, unless I can scheduled quad-bypass every other week… ^_^;;

Hello, New Jersey! Yes, my business trip required me to travel to the US again, this time to its Garden State: New Jersey (EWR being the code of Newark Liberty International Airport). Since I am flying to the East Coast, there are your usual caveats: If you want to arrive “early” (as in late-afternoon, early night), you have to leave early from Vancouver. In my case, I usually try to catch the flights between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. In a way, that is a semi-sweet spot: It allows me to sleep almost normal hours and, depending on the destination, by the time I hit the hotel, it is dinner time.

Since I was at the airport at around 6:15 a.m. and the security check queue wasn’t that bad, I had plenty of time. In the past (depending on the gate), I would end up going to Tim Horton’s and get their breakfast sandwich. However, this time, I was in a different area – the “new” wing and it had a new assortment of food options. The bad? Too early and they weren’t open yet… So, I back traced and the one that caught my attention was Legends, aka, White Spot. Too early for burgers but, at least, it gives me the chance to finally try their breakfast!

OK, let me take that back. There wasn’t a full menu, something that can be expected given this is the airport, where you might not see that many customers. That is fine, provided what you produce is something good. With that in mind, I ordered the BC Sunny: Crispy bacon, melted Canadian cheddar, red ripe tomato on top of a fresh fried egg with our famous Triple “O” sauce on our toasted signature bun. Served with hashbrowns.

I must admit I had a mental gap. Instead of the hashbrowns (which looks more like home fries), I should have gone for fruits. Oh, well… Anyway, the sandwich itself was meh. The bun – basically the same burger bun – didn’t have that toasted feel it could have had; but, in addition to that, it had an odd texture, as if it had a bit too much air in it and too fluffy. That might work fine in a burger but I wasn’t eating a burger! I felt it would have been better had they used almost any other type of bread (Except probably white sliced bread). Not going to over emphasize on this small detail. As for the rest, there wasn’t even anything remotely that wanted to stand out. Then again, how much should I expect for a $7 breakfast? Oh, wait, Timmy’s breakfast sandwich is below $5. Darn!

After I arrived to New Jersey, I had to drive to the hotel. My final destination was somewhere near Interstate 287 and Highway 22. One big caveat: If we ever end up in the same car and I am the one driving, panic!!! While I have a decent sense of direction while standing on my two feet, when I am in a vehicle, forget about it. Of course, in the dark, driving on unknown roads at over 60 Km/h does not really help things. In my case, I got lost just after I left EWR and ended up driving circles in Newark and the nearby industrial areas. If it wasn’t for my iPhone GPS, I am not sure if I would have arrived to the hotel! Anyway, I got there eventually had my dinner (which will be the topic of the second post today) and to bed it was…

When I am on business trips, I usually ask my client if they have a preferred hotel. I was given several ones and the rest was left up to me. The one I ended up picking was based on location (not that it matter that much, there were several hotels in the area), cost (since I staying for a long period of time, $10 difference starts to add up!) and… breakfast! Don’t get me wrong, I did not make this one as a key criteria but, since I did not know the area, and to travel to my customer’s site required me to go through highways, I played safe and made sure I had something to start the day. As for the food itself, I am grateful they had options like hot oatmeal (plain), fruits (which might be stretching it as some fruits were bad) and yoghurt. They had hot items like sausages and scrambled eggs but, boy, they were nasty! It is one of those cases that in the name of cheapness, I wished there was a Bon’s Off nearby… No, I did not take picture of that because there was a decent amount of people in the mornings and it was an open area.

Now, to my last day… On my flight back from Newark to Vancouver, something similar happened: I arrived relatively early and had the opportunity to eat something before boarding. Once past security check, choices were limited to a stand and… TGI Friday’s. How “low” I have to fall for a meal… Again, breakfast it was and, out of the four breakfast options, I chose this:

A “Western omelette sandwich”: Ham, onions, green peppers and Cheddar cheese folded with two eggs, folded into bread and served with hash browns. To drink I asked for tea but, to no avail: they don’t serve that. I ended up ordering orange “juice” which tasted more like orange coloured flavoured water. No, it wasn’t Tropicana or Oasis… As for the sandwich, c’mon, white sliced bread? I ended up separating the sandwich into its components, i.e., bread on one side, the omelette on the other side. There was nothing spectacular with that omelette instead, too many criticism points. For instance, thinly sliced black forest as ham? I guess that would be functional but…

In the end, breakfast during this trip was a major disappointment. However, I shouldn’t be complaining as, in some cases, they were “free”. So, as it is said, you indeed get what you paid for…

Because I have a small queue of posts thanks to this trip, there will be two posts per day this week to “clear” it. For the second post, come back to check by noon!

Bacon
4175 North Goldwater Blvd
Scottsdale, AZ

Confession time: Depending on how far in advance I am aware of a customer engagement, I might do some on-line checks of the restaurant near the hotel/workplace. Sometimes, of course, it does not work that way. However, for this trip, while checking nearby restaurants, I found Bacon. At that point, I told myself: I HAVE to go there! I mean, I like pork and, with a restaurant name like this, why shouldn’t I?

Now, this place wasn’t that close to the hotel but still well inside my “walking distance” threshold. I did some scouting the previous night to have an idea of where it was located (as they were only open for breakfast and lunch but too far for lunch) and… I couldn’t find it. I was crushed/disappointed, as I really wanted to go there. When I went back to the hotel, I checked the address again – It happens that I missed a final turn. Yoohoo! Now there was no turning around, huahahahahaha!

Since I had to go back to the hotel to pick-up my stuff and then to work, I made sure I was there early enough. Translation: I arrived a couple of minutes after they opened and ended up being their first customer of the day. How do I know I was the first one? Well, they said it themselves! And, what seemed to be a common theme of restaurants in the area, I could sit anywhere and I chose the only table that was “outside”. Hey, natural light!

I apologize for the pictures above, it was mostly a cut and paste of the menu but I did so because there were two things I want to emphasise – from the bottom up…

• Do not mess recipe the chef will yell!. I love this one because, well, the recipe is how the chef intended it to be. So, if you want something different…
• The Canuck: Canadian bacon, Gruyere cheese, scrambled eggs and honey mustard on an English muffin served with home fries and baked beans. This is the dish I ended up ordering but, aside from the Canadian bacon (aka, back bacon in a lot of places), you might wonder where the Canadian part came from. Actually, it was one of the following dishes…
• The Hangover: French fries, gravy & cheese curds, 3 fried eggs & bacon. By now, I am sure a lot of people is smirking, specially if he/she happens to be Canadian. Can anybody say… Poutine???? (This was confirmed when I asked if the chef was Canadian). I was *this* tempted on ordering it but, no, it was too early and would be too heavy. Had I been hangover (almost impossible), I might be ordering this!

After making my order, the barista was passing some samples, in this case, sort of a banana shake which had a nutty taste. It wasn’t bad, unfortunately, I am not that into shakes and aside from a couple of sips, it was mostly untouched. However, I could see a lot of people ordering this.

And, oh, notice that big basket of sweeteners and jam? I guess people love their sweeteners! However, I did notice one sweetener that haven’t seen much (if at all) on this side of the border: stevia. Unlike most low calorie sweetener around – saccharine (aka, Sweet’N Low), aspartame (aka Nutrasweet), sucralose (aka Splenda), et al, stevia is natural. Now, I am not saying it is not sold here, rather, I haven’t seen it in coffee shops or as an option in restaurants.

As for my drink, I ordered Earl Grey tea but I was also given a glass of ice water. Now, here is something that I catch people off-guard when I order tea: no cream, no sugar, no anything. Basically, I drink it “as is”. I appreciate the fact they gave the honey and lemon, though. the interesting part was, rather than a small tea pot, I was given the whole jar! Not the best approach but.. However, the tea itself wasn’t as good as I wished but, then again, when I saw it was a regular tea bag, my expectations weren’t too high.

And here is my breakfast. Again, as mentioned above, Canadian bacon, Gruyere cheese, scrambled eggs and honey mustard on an English muffin served with home fries and baked beans. Let’s start with the fries. I won’t call them fries but it served their purpose. Not much to talk about. On the right side, partially cropped, was a small container with gravy. *Cough*Poutine?*cough*. Now, the beans, ah, beans. You know what, before I continue, let’s take a close-up look:

Do you see what is there? Specifically, to the middle-left (180 degrees)? Yes, that is a piece of pork! Yes, since I love pork, having that piece there, no matter how small it is, was just bonus. I mean, it must have been cooked with it, right? As for the bean itself, if you have had canned pork-n-beans, you should have a good idea of this dish – of course, this one was better. Not too sweet but sweet enough. There wasn’t a strong tomato taste which suits me fine but the “sauce” was thickened by the beans themselves. This is something I could eat the whole day!

Finally, the sandwich. When I saw it, the first thing that came to my mind was certain MickeyD’s sandwich. However, that similarity ended after the first bite. While the muffin and cheese did not add much, the rest made up the sandwich. The back bacon had a slight pork, meaty taste. If it had some more smoky flavour, it would have been a home run. What really make the sandwich was the egg, which had an almost custard-like consistency.

At this point I am not sure if it is necessary to say I love this breakfast. Certainly way better than what I had at the hotel and at The Breakfast Club. Heck, I thought it was even better than Cafe Medina and their cassoulet! Ah, if only somebody would make breakfast like this in Vancouver…

The Breakfast Club
4400 N Scottsdale Road
Scottsdale, AZ

Hello from Scottsdale, Arizona! As mention in my post last Friday, I was on a business trip and this is the place I went to. Weather-wise, it was an interesting change: since we are just starting to “feel” autumn and I went to a place that feels stuck in an eternal dry summer. Also, since we will be switching back to standard time, this trip gave me an early heads up for that switch (similar to Saskatchewan here in Canada, Arizona does not observe daylight savings). But, all this aside…

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. During the first couple of breakfast I had, it was a total disappointment. Now, there is a reason behind it (more in a moment) and, eventually, found “better” options. Today is about one of those options: The Breakfast Club (hereby referred to as “TBC”).

First, where I was having breakfast prior to going to TBC: the hotel’s complimentary breakfast. OK, let me back trace that… One of the advantages of travelling and book your own hotel is that you can decide which one to book and, as a result, rack up points in their rewards program. Having booked several times already on the same hotel chain, I was able to get a deal for free complimentary breakfast and free Internet access. Now, while I do have a meal budget, I have to be conscious on expense for my customer, too, so, I thought, hell, why not. But, let’s face it, when you are served this:

After my third day of eating this, I simply gave up. Notice that I am not lambasting the fact they offer free breakfast to those of us who qualify, after all, for budget travellers or those who are travelling with family, free meals can save you a lot. But, I couldn’t take it any more after that third day so I made the extra effort to wake up a bit earlier to have breakfast somewhere else. That somewhere else was TBC.

I will admit I was curious about this place mainly because of its name. Breakfast club? Isn’t that the title of a movie? Well, yes; however, I haven’t watched it, yet I found it was funny. Anyway, since you name the restaurant after such meal, it better be good, right? When I got there that morning, it was 2/3 full so that heightened my expectations. While I had the option to sit inside, I chose to sit outside instead. I was wondering if that was a good decision since I was fully suited for work and the temperature was already near the 30C. But, it was between sitting inside at the sight of all other customers and the staff or have a bit more space. But putting that aside, here is what I ended up ordering.

This is a dish called Bello Bene with Portabello mushrooms & Bordelaise & Hollandaise. Translation: it is an eggs Benedict dish but rather than having back bacon, it has the before mentioned portabello mushroom. And, instead of hash, it is served with potatoes O’Brien which is basically potatoes served with bell peppers. And, in an interesting twist, on the back, some fresh fruit.

The potatoes were quite decent, though some seasoning would have done wonders. As for the pieces of fruit, they were pineapple, watermelon and melon. These weren’t chilly cold but at room temperature. Regardless, I was glad it had these as it provided something to “refresh” the other components of the dish. Oh, on that note, the drink I was having was tea (a lavender variation of Earl Grey) which did not really work for me. Although it had that orange-y taste characteristic of this tea blend (thought partially muted by the lavender), it was a bit too dry for my liking.

Two pictures above, where it showed the full dish, there was one thing that made me have mixed feelings for this place. See, for a restaurant that (supposedly) emphasizes breakfast, I find it odd they have to rely on a mold/egg poacher to cook eggs for eggs Benedict. Shouldn’t they know how to cook it in a pan with boiling water and some vinegar? I would let me go with this sort-of substitution but I found it was a bit “cheap” they had to rely on this trick.

However, that wasn’t the killer of the dish: I couldn’t find/taste the hollandaise sauce nor the Bordelaise. Instead, that “dark” sauce tasted like balsamic vinegar but still on the acidic side. Past that, as expected from a good eggs benny, the yolk was still runny. The mushroom was as expected and gave it a good share of savoury goodness, though somewhat overpowered by the balsamic.

So, where does that put us? Unfortunately, I will have to say “pass”. Don’t get me wrong, the food was decent, specially if I compare it to the hotel’s breakfast. Just that, given their name, I expected a lot more from them. And the balsamic… Fortunately, I must say the *other* breakfast location was way better.

Cafe Medina
556 Beatty Street
Vancouver, BC

In my Bon’s Off Broadway post, I mentioned what I usually have for breakfast. I am sure writing about cereals is not too exciting so, on an odd day last week, I took it off and, well, as you can guess, go to a breakfast place. Oh, wait, take that back: I had my regular breakfast that day, instead, I chose go to Cafe Medina for an early lunch but ordering from their breakfast menu. And, as some of you might now, Cafe Medina is an offspring of Chambar, a well known restaurant in Vancouver, so it ought to be good, right?

While I had the day off, it was a regular work day to the rest so that meant it would be regular traffic. While I know that traffic in Downtown Vancouver is a pain (though this is regardless of the day of the week), the fact Cafe Medina is just half a block from a Skytrain station was a blessing. I could just hop into one and wait for the appropriate station (Stadium Skytrain Station, in this case). And I arrived there around a quarter before noon. What? Already 3/4 full? Could it be people was trying to be there early to beat the lunch rush? Actually, that was really odd because by the time it was noon, business started to wind down. Anyway, one of the supposedly good things about going to restaurant by yourself is that you can be easily accommodated if they have a bar section. I mean, when you have a party, you have to wait for a table large enough for your party to open and, in a lot of places, you can’t be seated until everybody in your party is there. But, enough of that, to the food!

For most people, the drink of choice in the morning is coffee. While I drink coffee once in a while (preferably cafe con leche otherwise, latte – no sugar), my drink of choice would be tea. No, no green tea for me, instead, I went for Earl Grey. It was interesting though that, instead of giving you a bag, like a lot of places, Cafe Medina serves tea from loose leaves. And, rather than using a tea infuser, it was provided in a French press. Past that, I will admit the tea here was quite good. I will not even try to compare it to a bagged version, other than say it was quite smooth (no strong dry taste at the end) while the orange-y taste associated to this tea blend was strong yet not overpowering. And, as for the food…

Ever since Sherman wrote about Cafe Medina, I have wanted to have that bean stew/casserole called cassoulet. I mean, I have been saying I am a sucker for bean dishes! As a result, I saw absolutely no reason not to order it. And, as for the rest of what is in this cassoulet, I will just copy-n-paste from their menu: “2 fried eggs on baked beans, Saussison de Paris (sp), double smoked bacon, and andouille. Grilled foccacia“. Hey, that sounds really good, what could go wrong with this dish, right? Unfortunately, a lot went wrong…

Let’s start with the picture above. Do you see anything strange with the picture above? No? How about that bay leaf to the left? I know that a lot of people cook with bay leaf and leave it there. However, I think it is a bit sloppy for them to leave it under the dish (it was at the bottom but noticed it right away). See, technically there is nothing wrong with bay leaves, itself, it is not poisonous or anything like that (that honor will go to a similar relative of the bay leaf). However, it is the fact it is still really hard/stiff after cooking that pose a danger if swollen. I know that, given such a large piece, I won’t swallow it but it was the fact it was left there (not to mention what would have happened if that piece was broken into something smaller).

The second part that disappointed me (sort of) was the sausage. While I don’t remember ever having the Parisian sausage, I have had andouille and I like that coarseness and smokiness associated with this sausage type (plus, in some cases, a bit of spiciness). While I admit I might not identify it correctly in a blind test, if you tell me there is andouille, I would have certain expectations. The problem here is that I did not encounter any of those characteristics. Either they gave me two pieces of Parisian sausages or the andouille was quite different from what I was expecting.

The beans went a bit sideways. True, it was cooked soft but there was something on the sauce, something lacking. Actually, I found it a bit runny and acidic, which is odd for stews. I was expecting more of a hearty taste, almost a broth/stock but, instead, I felt the dish was cooked separately and the assembled when ordered rather than cooked as a stew. As for the remaining components, the eggs were cooked perfectly (yolk still runny inside), the foccacia could have been of the crusty type but being slightly “fluffy” was good to soak the yolk, and the bacon… Ah, the bacon. Notice this is not the American interpretation of bacon so it was meaty rather than fatty. But, ah, the bacon… That smoked taste… Ah, bacon… OK, I will stop there with the bacon!

At this point, most of you would assume the meal was below average. Yes, it was, which did not really help given my high hopes. However… There was one thing that might have affected this. All what I have written so far has been as unbiased as possible. I mention this because I had a big problem with service on that day. Based on the name of this blog, you should have a really good idea of what I try to focus: what ends up on the plate. But, at the same time, will give kudos to the staff when deserved and extremely critical when service is bad. In this case, I had a big problem with the initial service. As mentioned initially, after being seated in an area that would be technically considered a bar (though stretching that definition a little bit too much), I was given a menu. That was ~11:45 a.m. (add/take a couple of minutes if you wish). However, I was ignored for the next 20 minutes. OK, let me try that again: After I was given the menu, I open it, take a look at it, close it and put it down. In my experience, that is an almost universal sign meaning “I am ready to order” – the exception being Chinese places where they want you to order while you are still looking at the menu. In the meantime, the waiting staff was walking back and forth trying to accomodate a party where not everybody had arrived, sitting other people in the “bar” as well, taking orders from other tables (meaning more than one cover), taking payments and so on. I thought “OK, a couple of minutes is fine” so I started “browsing” some articles with my cell phone. However, at a certain point I started to wonder what happened to everybody. Again, they were still walking back and forth and, in something akin to some Chinese restaurants, as if they were trying to avoid me. While there was a glass “barrier” separating the “bar” area from the drink prep area, there was almost absolutely no way they won’t have noticed me. Finally, one of the waitresses noticed me at the 20th minute and, because it was past noon, had to ask if I could still order the cassoulet (as it is listed as a breakfast item). Afterwards, things were smoother, though the rush was mostly gone and there were several empty tables. Oh, one of the tables that was seated about the same time as me was already paying their bill…

Before I arrived that day, I also wanted to order one of their signature items, a waffle. However, after all the problem I went through, I desisted, despite I wasn’t completely full. I just wanted to pay and leave (in fact, I was tempted to just leave the cash so I did not even had to “bother” them with the bill). So, it might be almost redundant to say but will do it nevertheless: Given all the hype around Cafe Medina, it was completely thumbs down for me…

The Original Pancake House
6605 Dykes Road
Pembroke Pines, FL

As mentioned in yesterday’s post, one of the disadvantages of flying from Vancouver, specially if you are flying to the east of the US or Canada is that your flight will most likely arrive late night (local time). There is sort of an opposite issue as well, though: there might no be late flights in the case you want to fly back that evening and some flights leave relatively early (as early as 7:00 a.m.). Of course, that means you will end up at an early time in Vancouver (as early as noon). On my way back from Miramar, I chose to fly “late” as I was able to find a flight via Pearson in Toronto leaving around noon (local time). Why? Hey, breakfast time! And, for breakfast, for no particular reason, I chose to go to The Original Pancake House (hereby referred to as OPHS).

Yes, it was cloudy when I was there but, similar to Atlantic Canada, you can just wait five minutes and, chances are, the weather will change…

As soon as I walked in, it was quite evident that OPHS is a family restaurant. You could see kids around and, most importantly, drawings like the ones below.

Caveat Emptor, picture taken with my cell phone…

Since I was on my own, rather than asking for a table (in the middle of the dining room, open for everybody to “stare” at me!), I sat on a stool by myself on the “bar” (for the lack of a better word). Fortunately, nobody cared much I had my DSLR out; in fact, the staff was amused I was taking pictures of the food. And, talking about food, I first started with my drink: tea.

Call it wacky expectations, call it unfamiliar with local customs: When I was asked for my drink, I just said tea. It seems they default to orange pekoe. OK, let me take that back: it defaults to orange pekoe even here in Canada; however, I have been asked several times which one I want (which usually ends up being Earl Grey). Oh, well… At least I wasn’t served iced tea… And, now, my breakfast:

Wow! What is this? This is called Apple Baby, a variant of another dish called Dutch Baby, which OPHS is known for. There you go, I went for their “signature” dish! As for the chicken, I ordered something savoury to balance the sweet dish. Yes, the Apple Baby is sweet, extremely sweet… And I am not talking about sweetness from the apples, I am talking about the caramel created by the sugar they used, plus the sugar in the batter itself. In fact, if it wasn’t for the chicken which, again, provided some savoury, I might have had a sugar shock! Yes, it was that sweet…

Aside from the sweet side, what about the texture? The best way to describe it would be something on the lines of a custard. Hmmmm…. Actually, if I said a softer, oilier version of a clafoutis, it would be more accurate. But, unlike the clafoutis where the cherry gave it a both sweet and slightly bitter, the apple and sugar was just sweet. Did I mention sweet? Again, that was manageable thanks to the savoury-ness of the chicken (which, otherwise, was a dry piece of meat).

Now, similar to all the meals I had on this trip, the portion size was ridiculous. I barely managed to eat half of it and I had to throw in the towel. It was so bad that, when I asked for the bill, the waiter looked at me with a face of “are you *really* done? You just made a dent to it!”. I think that, in addition to the “it takes 30 minutes to prepare” note for this dish (it only took 15, though), they should have added a note on the lines of “this is for two people”…

Overall, I have the odd hunch OPHS caters the same public White Spot caters in Western Canada (as in a family restaurant), though, in this case, it would emphasis mostly on breakfast. As for myself, it falls into the category of “been there, done that” but without any willingness to go back. It is just that the food was a bit uni-dimensional (did I say “sweet”?); however, given their long menu, I am sure there is something for everybody.

A lot of things happened on my trip to Miami/Miramar. As mentioned in a previous post, for the most part, it was good despite some wacky things happened/mentioned. For today’s post, a somewhat random mix of other places I went to eat which I could have put into individual posts. So, why not? It is just that I wasn’t sure if there was enough material (not to mention the quality of that material) so, as a result, I thought it would be better to have a single large post. Hope it works!

One of the very few issues with traveling from Vancouver to somewhere on the east side of North America, sometimes even on Central time zone is that you leave somewhat early (before 8:00 a.m.) and you arrive already in late afternoon/early night. Despite Miami is on the far south-east of the United States, it was a good thing there was an easy connection path there. In my case, my connection was through Houston which allowed me to arrive at Miami at around 7:30 p.m. Compared that to my trip to Baltimore, where I arrived at 9:00 p.m., via Toronto, aka, Pearson.

Now, not that that matters that much other than you “lose” most of the day; however, I do have one personal problem: jet lag. I am really sensitive to it and every time I have travelled to the east, I simply can’t sleep well until my third night – more or less by then I have to prepare to fly back. I am sure most of you will have a solution, some of them involving drugs, but it is not something I want to use unless absolutely necessary. However, somebody told me of an odd alternative: to force your body to adapt to the destination time zone, change your eating times by skipping a meal. That way, when you arrive at your destination, you will most likely eat something and hit the bed. Of course, since I have to take Gravol, I would most likely be sleeping during most of the flight…

Anyway, after I arrived, I had to drive to the hotel. Let’s just say that I hate highways specially when I easily miss the exits and, as a result, I don’t know where I end up. That has happened to me… A LOT. On this trip… Yes, it happened but fortunately it wasn’t that bad. However, since I didn’t really plan for this trip and where to eat, on my first night I ended up going to that one place everybody “hates”… MickeyD’s. OK, don’t kill me! I think that MickeyD’s have a place in our society obsessed with large, fast, cheap and familiar east; and that is what they provide. However, people ought to deserve better. Once there, though, rather than get something I (think I) would be able to get here (hey, I haven’t been there in ages, how would I know!), I got this:

This is their Angus Third Pounder with Mushroom and Swiss (Cheese?). I won’t try to make any comparison to, say, Burger Heaven or even Burger Burger. As for the burger itself, despite the (uncooked) weight of the patty, it was dry. However there was a redeeming quality: the umami/savoury-ness that the mushroom gave to the sandwich was really good. Each bite had that unique bottom mushroom taste. But, despite that fact, $$$-wise in no way this meal was worth it, specially considering it was about the same, if not slightly more expensive than others meals I would have on this trip and they were better in a lot of ways…. But, wait, my adventures with MickeyD’s did not finish that night! Unfortunately, next morning, again, since I wasn’t sure where was what yet, I had two options: buffet breakfast at the hotel (for a charge) or going to MickeyD’s again. Out of sheer curiosity, I went to MickeyD’s again and, after looking at the menu, I went for broke and got this:

Just for the record, I did NOT finish this. I got it mainly for curiosity, i.e., how large servings would be – something that ended up being a constant on this trip. As for taste, if you choose to go to MickeyD’s next time for breakfast, skip this and go for a single Egg McMuffin instead. And, now, talking about other meals in fast food places…

That is Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chain that, as far as I know, there are no locations in Canada – or, at least, not in Vancouver. I have had previous chances to go there in other locations but for some reason decided not to. Before anybody start bashing me with going to yet another fast food chain, I must admit that while driving around, I missed the exits to the other restaurants I would end up going for lunch (La Carreta, Cancun Grill, et al). Did I mention something about driving fast? (On their defence, the road layout and signaling in the US is way better than what we have here).

As for the food itself, I got one of their combo sandwiches, here their chargrilled chicken club sandwich with waffle french fries as a side (there were other sides available like salads and coleslaw but, oh, well… The fries will have to admit disappointed a little bit. Given they were sliced this way, I would have hoped it would be on the crunchy side; however, it wasn’t either crunchy nor fluffy inside. Instead, it was almost a mush. The honey mustard sauce given for the sandwich helped but I think I should have gone for the salad or coleslaw instead… -_- The sandwich, on the other hand, was good, as it was a piece of “grilled” chicken breast rather than breaded and fried (KFC?). Furthermore, it was moist, something that is always a problem with this piece of meat. Had they added some more condiments in the sandwich, it would have been better. Oh, wait, I used the honey mustard on the fries…

On my way back to the I noticed one place that where my experience has been go so far: Panera Bread. I blogged about it once previously on my trip to Jefferson City – check it here. So, I though, do I want to go to MickeyD’s again for breakfast? Nah…

On the morning, they have several breakfast goodies, like bagels, pastries, breakfast yoghurt, and some breakfast sandwiches et al. However, while that is good, I wanted something different, in this case, I got:

That is a turkey sausage and potato egg souffle. While the serving isn’t really large (specially comparing to the mammoth size servings of some of the dishes), taste-wise, it was really good – not to mention filling without being bloating. It had some layers of savoury-ness in the turkey, sweetness in the crust and a blank palette of sorts in the egg. It was a nice balance of ingredients. And, to go along, I had a nice cup of Earl Grey.

Finally, to close this mix-match, I wrote previously about a place I went but won’t blog. To “tease” everybody, here is what I had on that restaurant visit, hehehehe…