Great Bear Pub
175 – 5665 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC

Almost a month ago, on my way back from Seattle/Tukwila, I was in delivery mode after crossing the border. I ended up delivering goodies to different people and, knowing that Sherman and his hockey team was playing that night, I decided to bring some stuff for them as well. That’s because, well, they were good to me as well since they let me join them for after game dinners (in this case, Pattaya Thai and Tenhachi). The place they were supposed to meet was Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub. Bear… Bear… For some reason, at first, I thought it was in Kingsway, as in THIS Great Bear Pub, instead, that place was in North Van. OK, it was a long drive but, hey, when you see people with happy faces, that’s what matters the most. But, that “bear” thing stuck in my head and one night, I decided to go to Great Bear Pub…

I guess this is the reason why it is called “Great Bear”?

Aside from the fact I happened to drive in this area a lot, there is also a post written by Kevin of 604 Foodtography. His emphasis was on the specials, including things like steak and crab for $11. Alas, it was only available from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. – The day I went, it was way past 9:00 p.m. I guess, no special for me so I will stick with the regular menu instead… Assuming I could get a table first…

See, it is not that the place was full (there were several empty tables and the bar plus the patio, though they were people smoking), instead I have embedded that mentality that I should be waiting to be seated rather than grabbing a table by myself. Probably it is fault of my own but I could have easily spent a couple of minutes standing there while waitresses were walking by back and forth. Eventually, one “spotted” me and told me I could sit anywhere. Way to go… So, which is the “best” approach? If there is no sign, do you grab a table by yourself or you wait to be seated??? :-/

After I was seated (or rather sat myself) at a table and given the menu, I bounced back and forth as to what to order. Again, the special was not available at that time of the day so was debating between some “safe” pub dishes like the Sheppard’s pie or sandwiches. In the end, I went for a burger. In this case, their Smoky Mountain Burger - Lean buffalo patty, bacon, bbq sauce, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, $11.50. In what seems to be an odd choice lately, I went for the salad rather than fries. Needless to say, there was bacon! Did I say bacon?

I will have to admit the bacon was well cooked – crunchy with still some pork goodness in it. The burger itself was… Average? The truth is that it just felt like a regular burger. Now, I know both buffalo and beef aren’t that different and that buffalo (or bison if you prefer) tends to be leaner than beef. And I will admit it was juicy but, past that, there wasn’t that much of a meaty taste. In a way, if it wasn’t because I ordered (or was described as) buffalo, I won’t have been able to tell them apart. Regardless, it was a decent burger in its own ways, as the mushroom and bacon compensated for any shortcomings.

Overall, I wasn’t necessarily wowed by this burger and the service, something I seldom make reference to, was something to be desired. But, then again, this is a pub and expectations must be at par to that fact. If it is more for entertainment factor, then it is there. In fact, that night, there was a live band playing and a large screen TV almost anywhere you look, well, it just adds up to it. So, for food alone, I won’t necessarily go back but, if it is to hang with others to watch sports, well, that’s its purpose and, from what I saw from other customers, it seems to be a good place to do so.

Fogg N’ Suds
10720 Cambie Road, Richmond, BC
1323 Robson Street (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC

Unless you are living under the rock, or probably an American or Canadian without any too much connection outside of North-America, the Football World Cup is currently going on in South Africa. Yes, football, as in that sports that you actually use your feet to kick a ball 90% of the time, unlike *ahem* American football. Go ahead, we can have a discussion about naming conventions and what not but, unlike, NBA, NFL, MLB or even NHL, where the “championship” is local (read: North-American minus Mexico), the FIFA World Cup is a global event. It is a simple sport and, if you want to play, you only need a team and some open space. Hell, at times you can even “improvise” a ball and some sticks to mark the goal. Rules are quite simple and, unlike the before mentioned sports, what is called on the field sticks. No instant replay, no fancy technology. (Sorry, England, you got your Wimbley Goal 30+ years ago…).

Now, putting all those issues aside, given the time difference and, in part due broadcasting, one of the games were scheduled around noon our time, which means going for lunch to watch the game! Going to a fancy type restaurant for lunch to watch a game sounds a really bad idea so, instead, PO and I went to more adequate places to watch the football games: a pub. In this case, we went to Fogg N’ Suds, located in the same block as Hon’s in Robson. In fact, it is right in front of Dea Bak Bon Ga on the second story!

The day we went it was still the initial round so, oh, well, the games might not have been as exciting as the ones playing this week in the round of 16/round of 8. Still there was your share of customers going there for drinks and pub fare. In PO and my case, food and drinks as well.

In PO’s case, let’s just say he can handle alcohol way better than me so he started with some beer. Feel free to call me wimp for ordering just pop but, hey, you don’t want to see me do my work while tipsy! Anyway, they have quite a long list of beer including some specials so variety might not be an issue. As for PO’s beer, he didn’t quite like it but, as he mentioned, he should have asked for more details – the beer was wheat based and he does not quite like that type…

We decided to share an appetizer so we ordered chicken wings, specifically, buffalo wings. I will have to say these wings look bad, as it they were quite small. Furthermore, it didn’t have much in term of spiciness. If I have to compare them to the ones from Wings Pub & Grill or House of Wings, these were definitely subpar. The only saving grace was that they were cooked nicely but, then again, how difficult it would have been to do so?

For our “main”, PO went for a burger, specifically, the American burger – BBQ sauce, side bacon and cheddar. It is quite large, it had all the fat components and will set you back $13. Will keep the rest of the details as I ordered a similar one but a small twist…

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a tweet saying “Is this burger “shameless” enough to be called a shameless burger?“. Well, that is exactly what I ordered, their “Famous Shameless Burger”, which has mushroom, cheddar, bacon and an all-beef wiener ($15). I was so ashamed to order this that I ask for a side salad rather than fries! (Of course, the waitress had a confused look when I wanted that side of greens).

As mentioned above, it had your share of fat intake for the day. It put my previous experience with the wiener in a burger experience to shame (OK, that didn’t sound right…) Anyway, all the fact did add up to something as the meat patty was actually acceptable. It wasn’t undercooked nor burnt and, in fact, it was still moist to a degree. The bacon was also good as it was quite crispy. The cheddar was meh but I wonder if it was real cheddar rather than some form of processed cheese… As for the wiener, unfortunately, it was the worst part of the burger. While I was given the suggestion to take it out before eating it, I went to eat it as is. From a structural perspective, there was a challenge but that wasn’t something I cared much about. Instead, is that the taste of the wiener didn’t complement the burger. In fact, it tasted like an over-sized cheap sausage… (OK, once again, it didn’t sound correct…). Probably had they used a different version? Like a wurst?

Had I scaled back and went for something similar to the American burger, I think it would have been an interesting experience. But, overall, the food is what you would expect from a pub. Nothing fancy and not necessarily exciting either. While the wings were subpar, the burger was decent (though, the question is whether it is worth the $12/$15). But, if you go to a pub for the reason most people go for, i.e., drinks, Fogg N’ Sudd seem to provide a good alternative. However, in my case, since I am not much of a drinker, that partially answers the question.

Red Mill Burgers
1613 West Dravus Street
312 North 67th Street (Location visited)
Seattle, WA

Just prior to my trip to Seattle, I checked with Mijune and Sherman to ask “Hey, Mijune, Sherman, I will be down in Seattle, what restaurants do you recommend I visit?” While she didn’t really say it, I knew Mijune wanted to say “Bakery Nouveau!” After all, is is one of the few places she has ranked it “6/6″! And, yes, I indeed brought Bakery Nouveau goods on my way back – so much, in fact they threw me a baguette for free! As for Sherman, well, he actually stuck with some new places and, among them, Red Mill Burgers, mainly because he has been there previously. So, no reason why I shouldn’t go!

Before I continue, wacky question: how many of you trust GPS or Google Maps? For me, I use Google Maps quite often (iPhone!!!); however, while in the US, unless I switch off data roaming, I am basically on my own. However, I printed the driving instructions in advance so, in theory, it was a matter of following instructions. This time, while following instructions, I noticed something… Strange. Suddenly, I was going east of a highway (the sun was behind me), while I knew the restaurant was west of that said highway. So, I stopped and was starting to debate, enable data roaming or ask somebody? Then I remember that a couple of years ago I was in Seattle and bought a map! So, I pulled it out and started searching that map. Yes, people, reading map is a quite useful skill even when GPS is readily available. *Shakes fist!!!!*

Anyway, after driving through some really wacky streets, which included hilly ones (some easily over 45 degree) and some extremely narrow (US standard) streets, I arrived at Red Mill… Just to find it was packed full! OK, that got me worried as I arrived by 8:00 p.m. and they close at 9:00 p.m. Would I be able to order before they close? Fortunately, I was early enough to make my order (though it took ~15 minutes in the queue)… And the waiting game started… Well, I guess there is a reason why they have a sign saying something on the lines of “if you haven’t heard your name is because your order is not ready yet”. In the end, I had to wait for another ~15 minutes. Seriously? At that point, better the burger be good! But, of course, that begs the question… What did I order???

Last time, Sherman ordered their Bleu Cheese ‘n Bacon Burger. I was about to order that as well but I changed my mind and ordered their Bacon Deluxe w/Cheese instead. More about that in a moment; however, one thing was for certain: I had to order something with bacon. Why? because they had a pile of bacon near the iron griddle where they cook their patties! Sorry, I didn’t take a picture of that because there were some impatient people behind me waiting to make their orders (plus lightning conditions were wacky). However, Sherman took a picture of it, so you might want to check his post! So, how was this? The answer is that the bacon was great… (drool). It was really crispy and crunchy and loaded of pork flavour. I could easily eat plates and plates of this! It was a good thing it was that good because the burger, for the most part, was just above average. I know that sounds strange, just that for the (currently, as of June 2010) #8 restaurant in Seattle according to Urbanspoon, I thought it was a lot better than what I had. Don’t get me wrong, the beef patty was cooked well (though I wished it was juicier) and the ingredients between the buns were fresh and good. Just that, at that point, I was expecting a better bun that the one used. It is a case where an average at best bun wrecks the burger as a whole as it detracts the rest.

Now, here is the reason why I didn’t order the Bleu Cheese n’ Bacon Burger… Yup, I ordered a second burger! In this case, Verde Chicken Burger. The twist of this burger? It includes a fire roasted pepper in it! I will admit that was genius because that pepper gave this chicken sandwich a really interesting twist, not to mention that unique cooked pepper taste. The piece of chicken, here, from the breast could have been better had it been from the thigh/dark meat. I guess American prefer chicken breast… But, unfortunately, similar to what happened to the burger, the bread hit once again in not necessarily a good way…

I went for broke here and ordered onion rings as well. It was good in its own ways but, unfortunately, I won’t order it again. The reason is that what seems to be a cornmeal based batter detracted the unique taste of the onions. Furthermore, the side tartar sauce was bleh.

Did I mention I went for broke? Rather than diet soda, I asked for a shake, here, gooseberry shake. At first, I thought it would be one made out of some excessively sweet syrup (from what I saw, this seems to be partially the case). But, those suspicions were put to rest when I sucked some of the dairy goodness: it had some fruit chunks in it. However, that was about it, as the rest was just pure sugar. Not necessarily the best but not necessarily the worst. Next time, given all the calories you might be consuming by now, I will stick with (diet) pop or just ice water.

Now, I didn’t finish both burgers, I ate a grand total of one and a third at most. Hey, I do try to show some respect for my own body, you know! Both burgers had good points but there is still a lot of room for improvement. For example, I would add to the menu a club sandwich inspired burger (i.e., bacon, chicken, roasted peppers, et al) given the individual ingredients worked really well, not to mention they are side by side the whole time! But, in the end, I have mixed feelings about it. In a way, it has its high points; the trouble of getting there plus the wait to get one of their burgers just for a fix… Well, it does not work for me. However, if you are in Seattle (specially if you are a local) and you know how to easily get there, for sure, it is a good option. In the meantime, next time I am down in Seattle, there are still other burger shops I want to visit….

Prestons
1177 West Pender Street
Vancouver, BC

Here is something I usually don’t like to mention because I do not believe is an issue: I get a lot of invites to events. The reason it is a non-issue is that I seldom, if ever, I go to one. I will admit I have been to them when it is a fellow blogger who ask me to go along or it is not necessarily a restaurant event. Furthermore, I make no promise I will blog about it. For example, just prior to the Olympics, I attended an event organized by Tourism Vancouver Island, which was blogged by fellow bloggers – I was only there to take pictures.

So, it was quite interesting that I received an invite from Kate of Urbanspoon for an opening, rather than the restaurant itself. This is because I am a (somewhat?) active member of Urbanspoon and, well, I thought there is a reason why I was sent that invite. I was borderline choosing not to but I sense a level of obligation to do so, that is, the “why me” factor. Furthermore, when I asked if Sherman or Mijune if they were going, there was a flip-flop going on and, in the end, my decision was sealed when I said “if one of you are going”. So, which restaurant is this opening for? Preston’s.

Back to this invite. That’s where other reasons why I choose not to attend these events kicked in: The “vulture” mentality of some participants in these events and that the food is not representative of an actual dinner. See, if it is not something that a regular dinner can experience, why should I blog about it? This is of, course, barring issues like price (after all, not everybody – at times, me included – is willing to fork big bucks for some meals), location (not everybody is willing to walk the Downtown Eastside or, sorry, my mom’s kitchen is open only to selected fews! ) or timing (festivals, et al). In those cases, I make a judgement call.

I arrived around the time of the event and Sherman was already there. Sometimes I wonder… Does he even work??? I sat with him at some couches when one of the waitresses asked what would be our drink of choice. I just asked for ice water, while Sherman asked for the drink of the night – something that ends with ini but wasn’t martini. (The joke is that the only drink that should end with “ini” should be martini). When putting the glass of water on the “coffee” table… Let’s just say the waitress showed a little bit too much… Now, it might have been a fluke (as, otherwise, the rest of the night it was quite professional) but, at that moment, that parallel of “Earl’s girl” could have been easily drawn… Eventually Mijune arrived to join us and, I am willing to bet she has some inside knowledge because, at that exact moment, the restaurant started to serve the food. Rather than me going through the inner details of each dish, here is what was served that night.

While sampling their food, except for a couple of dishes, I can’t say it really wowed me, which, fits almost exactly what I had thought before. The low ones were the sushi dessert (in an attempt to make it to make things “fusion”), the burger (too thick of a bun, not to mention, an average looking patty) and the pad thai, which was bland. The better dishes were the mussels (though, oddly, the fries they were served with was awful and the sweet potatoes, which was a good idea, were quite sweet compared to the mussels, which ended up overpowering them), the squid and the crab cakes (though, it was somewhat dry inside).

While standing there and sampling some of these dishes, I overheard some other (not necessarily food) bloggers really excited about the dishes served. To those who have known me personally long enough shouldn’t be surprised by what followed: I turned around, interrupted their conversation and asked (not the exact same question but on the lines of): “But would you be willing to pay for it?” Of course, that completely caught them off guard. The argument was on the lines of how much $$ and portion size and what not. Regardless, the end question was still the same: had you had to fork the $$, would you pay for what was served? At that point, there was the attempt of changing subjects so I just let it go.

After that event, I wrote back to Kate about my experience on that event and wrote quite a long letter with inner details of the event itself. (This was a request from her, if I chose to accept the invite). To make things event more “odd”, I received an email from Preston’s PR person inquiring if I will write about the event. The truth is, had I chose to do so, I would have end up bashing it. To make it even more obfuscated, Preston’s PR person added the note of the food served is not representative of a regular meal. So, why the #$^%$! I should write about it then??? At that point, I was semi-conspiring with Sherman on going back there just so that we have enough materials to, well, actually bash them.

But, given that Sherman has a *cough* busy schedule, I ended up going with PO for lunch, whom, as I have mentioned a lot of times, is a coworker whom I quite often go for lunch on Friday. When we arrived, the restaurant wasn’t that full – a couple of booths. In what I believe was in hindsight, I should have asked for a tall table with natural light rather than sit inside where a lamp was behind me. You know what I usually say about lightning and pictures…

After going back and forth in the menu, we started off with…

Mussels. Here is something that really confused me: To my understanding, Preston’s follows the OceanWise program, which means that the mussels used are usually Pacific Ocean mussels, which translates into really plum mussels. But, the ones here where far from it. To make things even worst, one of the pieces that PO was about to had had a somewhat strange smell. The waitress check with the kitchen and asked if we wanted another dish fire up for us but we declined, as it was an isolated incident. Regardless, it was starting off with the wrong foot. Anyway, there wasn’t that much broth and there wasn’t any of the coconut-y qualities as mentioned in the menu description. This is a far cry from what was served on opening night (seeing a trend here???).

In what I might call bad timing, after we made our initial order, we told the waitress we wanted also a side order of fries. PO and I were both expecting it to be served either with the mussels or part of the meal (more below). But, nope, it was served individually! OK, I don’t know about the rest of the world but to me potatoes is, for the most part, a filler, not something you necessarily eat by itself. Probably that’s the reason I wasn’t too enthusiastic about it… But, that aside, it had a nice slight crispiness outside and fluffiness inside plus lightly seasoned, which was quite different from the ones served at the opening. Now, some extra non-salt seasoning would have done wonders.

Now, moving to entrees, PO and I ended up going for sandwiches – in his case, an open steak sandwich (which, in the menu, wasn’t mentioned as open). The twist was the fact it had hoisin sauce. Now, I would like to paraphrase Sherman on the issue of fusion: if things go south, you can use it as an excuse. For this sandwich, the components by themselves didn’t work very well as they were too strong; however, when combined, it worked in a way similar to that of Mr. Burns (The Simpsons), i.e., the interaction resulted in something more edible. And, truth is, the steak was actually quite nice. Not sure if it is worth the $13 price tag, though.

As for me, I went for the burger. I semi demanded PO not order that, after all, I wanted to draw comparison with what was served during the opening. But, before going there, for my side, I went for a white bean soup. I am not sure if it was because I was taking pictures or what not but… This is a @#!@#$ large serving for a side! (It was about the same size as the burger). The soup itself was enjoyable to eat as it was hearty and mixed well with the other parts of the soup (of course, there is that part of me liking legumes so no surprise here).

Again, I went for the burger. No options were given, i.e., if I wanted cheese, bacon, etc. Well, it just happens these are “by default”. I will have to admit the bacon, while it could have been crispier, was a decent size piece of pork. The rest of the burger was OK. Given it was a ciabatta bread instead of a bun, I was expecting something else but, in the end, it worked just like a regular bun. The patty was decent but not mindblowing. At least it was an “upgrade” compared to the slider version. However, similar to the steak sandwich, not sure if I will be willing to for the $13…

Despite the food didn’t really wowed me, I must given them credit for one thing: some of the dishes were actually better than what I had in the opening; though, at the same time, one of the dishes went south. This, unfortunately, confirms what I have been mentioning all along – food served at openings are not representative of an actual meal. Since it is specially catered for the event, saying it was great is misleading if not borderline BS. Of course, that is another reason I tip my hat to Mijune, since she is brutally honest on her visits to openings and won’t hold back if something is bad.

As for Preston’s, unfortunately, what I said previously still applies: it is a restaurant that follows the same formula as those other well established chains in Downtown Vancouver and couldn’t spot anything outside of the ordinary that makes them stand out – unless you count the washroom, which is not in the restaurant itself (you have to walk inside the building). If you are up for chain restaurant food, by all means. As for me, since I don’t go to those by myself, I see no particular reason to come here.

Nimby Burger
2210 Cornwall Avenue
Vancouver, BC

What? Another burger place post? Well, true, I wrote about Five Guys Burgers and Fries last week but, considering that the rest of the posts for this week would have ended up being that of Asian restaurants, I thought, nah, this might be “worth it”…

Now, Nimby Burger (as in… Not In My Back Yard?) has made some noise in the last couple of weeks, including what I believe is the best method of testing if the restaurant (as set up) works: serve their food free. I mean, why should I pay a restaurant if they are still tweaking things? Aside from that is the fact it imitates principles similar to that of a well known burger shop in the US, In-n-Out Burger. While I haven’t been to In-n-Out, at least I know how I like my burger. With that in mind, I went there the weekend after they opened.

I arrived about 15 or so minutes after noon. It was a drizzling that day but not enough to discourage me from ordering outside. Yup, you order outside and have fun finding a place to eat them! But, of course, before I even consider it, is the process of ordering and wait for your order.

My order of fries being, well, fried!

I ordered a dooblay, which is two patties and two slices of cheese, along with some fries and a drink. I wanted to go overkill and order the milk shake as well; however, I was a bit too early and they weren’t ready to dish those out. After almost ten minutes, which I consider was somewhat long, I got my order and walked to the nearby beach. As in *this* beach…

Yes, alas, it was cloudy…

As mentioned, a dooblay and fries. Some noticeable things right away: Unlike a lot of burger shops, the burger wasn’t completely wrapped. That is double-edge sword: if you are not planning to eat it right away, it gets cold really easily; however, since it is not fully wrapped, it does not get “steamed” inside by the heat of the beef patty. I would assume most people would buy it and eat it right away so that won’t be an issue.

Before moving to the burger, let’s go to the fries. When Sherman visited Nimby Burger, he made mentioned they were “limp, oil-soaked and lifeless, they need to be better”. After he made mention of it, Nimby Burger’s management mentioned they had “fixed” it. So, did they fix it? Well, it wasn’t limp nor oil-soaked or lifeless. Instead, it was just starchy and devoid of any taste… Part of the problem is that, since they are made to order, it can’t really achieve that fluffy inside, crispy outside texture. Furthermore, it seems they held back some seasoning so… No.

Now, back to the burger, it wasn’t as heavy as the one I had at Five Guys. The meat had a soft texture while also showing some slight char taste. From that perspective, it was good. Since the patties were thin, I wasn’t expecting too much in term of juices; however, in the end, other condiments made it slightly damp. Not necessarily something I would have expected; instead, it had mixed feelings. It add some more taste but too much liquid detracted the overall eating experience. On that note, I didn’t see a bacon option and no mention was made about lettuce or tomatoes so I assume these are “by default”.

While I want to compare it to Five Guys, reality is that I can’t. Part of the reason is the price difference, as each dooblay is $5.50. On its own, it is decent, just you have to answer the question of whether this small, somewhat light burger is worth that price. However, the rest… Not necessarily so. Did I mention the fries were $2.50 and pop was $2.75? ($3 for milk shake). If we keep that in mind, suddenly the price gets closer to what I paid at Five Guys which would make Nimby a loser from that perspective. So, to me, in the bigger scheme, while it has some qualities of its own, in the end, I believe there are better options. Burger Burger anybody?

Favor Eat
Beijing Restaurant
4500 Kingsway
Crystal Mall
Burnaby, BC

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my visit Huaxi Noodle in Crystal Mall. Being such a good eats place (or at least above average), I decided to visit yet another couple of stall in the same food court. Hey, not all food court are bad/below average! (Specially our concept of western food court).

While walking around the different stalls, I noted Favor Eat and, in a vein similar to that of Lao Shan Dong, their claim to fame includes it being a branch of a location in Taiwan, which is in operation since 1950. Since this is a case of us taking their word of it, I guess it would be a matter of seeing how good is that claim. And, to do so, I ordered what seems to be their signature dish: beef & tendon noodles in soup.

For an additional $0.25, I had to option to add extra noodles, which I did. So, yes, this is not your usual “regular” serving. As for the broth type, I had the option for regular and spicy; I went for the later. What I found really odd was the serving of carrots. It is not that I don’t eat carrots; just that I found it strange in this type of soup. The mustard, though, wasn’t as good as it could be; it didn’t had that acidic/bitter taste.

The noodles had a chewy texture but I wished it was starchier. It felt as if they washed the noodles after it was boiled. Not necessarily wrong but it could have been better had it been left. Going back to the broth, it wasn’t that spicy at first until I was halfway. At that point, it started to kick me, as I started to sweat heavily at that point. Of course, adding some chili oil pushed that effect even further. The meats were OK – that’s because I thought it could have been more tender. But, given it is $6.50 (and plus $0.25 for extra noodles), price seems to be right.

However, I wasn’t completely full at that point so I went for something extra. While a lot of these places will sell some sort of snacks for less than $5, now is the question of which stand? Out of all places, I chose Beijing Restaurant. That is because I had some personal history with it, in the sense the food didn’t really deliver. So why go back? Well, second chance, anybody? With that in mind, I ordered some burgers…

Of course, I knew it won’t be a burger similar to the one you can find in McD’s but a Chinese type burger with a twist. The “bun” wasn’t that much of a bun but more on the lines of a (English) muffin. That worked fine to me. What didn’t really work for me was the burger “patty”

I was asked what type of patty I wanted and, between beef, lamb (for an additional loonie) or pork, I chose pork. What can I say! Furthermore, I asked for spicy. And, despite that chili there, it wasn’t spicy at all. As for the “patty”, it was more on the lines of a dry version of pulled pork than ground meat. Overall, a disappointment…

So, while Crystal Mall’s food court has better options compared to other malls, it does not automatically means all the stands are good: There are “dubious” ones as well. It is a matter of trying them and weed them out…

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
Park Royal Shopping Centre (South side)
2002 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC

To those who can only speak English, let me tell you: English is an odd language and can be twisted in really odd ways. From being a language where there are more exceptions than rules, to things times where spelling makes no sense (read vs read, in its present vs past tense), pronunciation isn’t straight forwards (tomato vs tomato) and where you can create words overnight, like malamanteau (and the hilarity it ensued afterwards). However, that does not mean I can’t use it in its own odd ways as well. A week or so ago, I wrote a tweet on the lines of (which I have deleted since):

“Getting messy with Five Guys”

Of course, I initially meant “Having a mess in Five Guys”, though, I knew that typing it differently would have raised a lot of eyebrows. But, then again, a lot of people don’t know/want to remember/are aware that “mess” can also refer to a meal, plus the fact that Five Guys was capitalized should have given a hint I was referring to something else, as in Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Of course, at times, being politically correct detracts from some jokes… Anyway, back to the restaurant and food theme, my visit to Five Guys Burgers and Fries…

Now, to those who haven’t heard/read about Five Guys, one of their biggest claim to fame includes that of current US president Barack Obama visiting their restaurant in Washington, DC. However, similar to what I wrote about Ezell’s Chicken and Oprah, just because they have $$$ and power does not mean what they like is necessarily good. If you are a long time reader, you should know that I am not a lemming jumping into any bandwagon: If it is good, it is good by its own rights. So, have all the hype surrounding this restaurant, it was time to try their goods…

There are several things that strikes me odd right from the beginning: its location. Out of all places in Metro Vancouver, they chose one that is not necessarily accessible to everybody: West Vancouver. Sure, you can get there by taking transit but, c’mon, there ought to be better and more accessible spots! The other one is, as you see above, peanuts. Now, I am not allergic to most food (as far as I know) but I have started to understand when people can’t eat some things because they can’t and not because they are not willing to. But, in the case of Five Guys, they seem to be clear that peanuts are there to stay. Oh, wait, did I mention these are free peanuts you can munch while you wait for your order? Now, it isn’t the greatest of the world but, at times, you can’t argue with free…

And what seems to be a trend nowadays, open kitchen. Here, you can see them prepare the burgers and so on. But, alas…

They do not cut their fries to order but have them stacked around the restaurant. Now, given it is a franchise, I do understand their need for standardization but, at the same time, I would guess they should consider finding local alternatives… Regardless, the proof is the final product.

In this case, I ordered their bacon burger. But, wait, did I mention a regular bacon burger but it comes with two patties? Well, it just happens that the regular burger does have two patties by default; if you want a burger with a single patty, you have to order the “little” version. Size-wise, it would about the size of two hockey pucks stacked one on top of the other. Darn, how times have changed… It seems that now everything is supersized by default… >_< Anyway, to make it a “meal”, I went for a side of fries and a drink. And, speaking of fries…

In the end, the fries were a bit disappointing. It wasn’t bad, just that it wasn’t good by any stretch of the imagination. It had a dry starchy texture and fried a bit too long. It has been one of the few instances that I had to add catsup in a wacky attempt to salvage it. Furthermore, this is their regular fries – this portion can easily feed two or three…

Back to the burger, you do not have an option of the doneness of the patties: in their case, well done (as in meat doneness) is the only way. At times, I don’t argue about it: if it is well done (as it skillfully done), it should taste great. As for condiments, I went “all in” as in “mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, Bar-B-Q sauce and hot sauce”. While some of the condiments are noticeable there, some are somewhat absent. For instance, I couldn’t taste any of the sauces (either that or they conflicted with each other in such a way they were working against each other)… And, as for the patties themselves… Well, there was some beef taste in it but it felt quite generic. It is as if you just threw some grounded meat and cook it through. If I had to compare it to a BK Whopper, it is that far away…

I won’t say that it is necessarily bad; however, there are a couple of things that prevent me from going back: price. The burger by itself is already in the $8 range. Once you add a drink and fries, it can easily balloon to $13 (though, of course, if it is two, they can share the fries). Furthermore, having it as takeout does not seem to be much of an option: in my case, after a couple of minutes to take pictures of the fries (while the burger was still wrapped) and the bun was starting already to get somewhat soft – hence, the reason I made almost no comment about it. As a result, I believe there are better options, including your more friendly White Spot (gasp!) or, given you have to drive all the way, Burger Burger (though, alas, its hours aren’t the best either). Could it be that something was lost in translation when it left Washington? Probably next time I am in the US I might found out but, based on this experience, not in any hurry.

Wally’s Burgers
4141 Dollarton Hwy (Cates Park)
2611 East 49th Avenue (Location visited)
Vancouver, BC

Last week, reader Ryan wrote a comment in my Wally’s Burger (Cates Park) post saying there was a new location in Killarney Market in the Victoria Drive/Fraserview area. While I wasn’t necessarily impressed in my visit to its North Vancouver location, I still had some willingness to give it a try but, of course, this time with lower expectations. (Of course, the fact I did not have to cross any bridge helps!).

While Ryan mentioned it just opened, I did not realize he meant they *literally* just opened. When I went, they said they were just open for a couple of days! Not sure if it was as a result of it being just opened or it is intended, they had not tables in the straight sense of the word. No, it wasn’t intended to be take-out only; instead, they had some stools near the wall. However, the fact it was given to me in a bag (i.e., takeout)… Well, it was odd.

Sorry for the fuzziness of the pictures. Lightning conditions were a bit odd for these shots…

Unlike last time where I ordered their combo burger, I went the burger route this time. And here it is their deluxe chuck wagon combo where I switched the fries for onion rings. The reason I didn’t go for yam fries (like last time) was that I was planning to bake some yams for dinner hence, avoiding some level of redundancy. So why not regular fries? Come to think of it, I think I should have but, nah, onion rings suits me better!

While they are far from being the perfect onion rings, at least I will have to give them some credit for making decent rings. First of all, they were rested, though this can also be attributed to the fact I had to go home first. However, on the flip side, they were quite greasy. Once again, the fact I had to go home first allowed the paper bag to “soak” all that excess oil… But, back to the rings, once you bite into it, you could easily notice that the batter/onion ratio was relatively balanced and that you won’t grab the whole onion piece on the first bite. Some seasoning might have helped but, I guess, that was the purpose of that dipping sauce. On that note, that roasted pepper dipping sauce was a complete flop compared to the one I had originally in my first visit. In this case, it was bland and had a really odd chunkiness in it.

Back to the burger… In addition to the regular burger, I asked for extra mushrooms. They are not quite visible here but, let me reassure you, there were mushrooms. I did not add cheese due to the transit time but I don’t think that would have matter much.

One thing that is quite evident about this burger is that eating it would be a mess. Now, there are good mess and bad mess. In the first case, it is due to juiciness of the burger; while the second case is due to everything falling apart. In this case, it was a combination of both but mostly from the “good” mess. OK, in reality, it ended up being condiments dripping out while I took different bites. While it was not as juicy as it could have been, it did had a little bit of fat into it, which made that mess, well, messier. (Sorry about all the messy way that was written! ). And, yes, it did have some beef flavour, despite that elliptic hockey puck looks. As for the condiments and sides, for the most part, they were forgettable, except for the mushroom which did add some savouryness to the burger.

In the end, I will have to say it is a huge improvement compared to its Cates Park location. As for a comparison against other burgers… Well, it might be better than MickeyD’s (slightly more expensive, though) but, against Burger Burger, it faces an uphill battle. As for me, been there, not sure if I am in a hurry to go back as, in the same complex, I think I might rather go for Chinese BBQ

Fatburger
Several locations
4-4461 Lougheed Highway – location visited
Burnaby, BC

If you checked my posts last week, I mentioned I visited a lot of Asian restaurants during that Christmas/New Year stretch. While i mentioned Honolulu (for HK Cafe food), there is also a Korean place (which will be blogged later). For the most part, that is all good; except that you want to break from that Asian fare and want something else. Sometimes even something mundane… Something like a burger. So, once again, I was driving around and ended up in the newest location of Fatburger in Metro Vancouver.

Upon arrival, there was one thing that caught my attention: Here in Vancouver, while a lot of people prefer Japanese food over burgers, in an odd reversal, there was a Japanese restaurant two doors away, yet it was empty, and Fatburger was fully packed. Now, whether this trend continues when Sushi Garden open its new location will remain to be seen.

Once inside, I took a look at the menu first. While straight forward for the most part, as usual, I wasn’t sure what to order! However, in the end, I made my mind and made my order (which ended up being a “combo”). Now, there is one thing I am not sure if it falls in the category of gimmick or plain annoyance – while paying with the credit card, I was handled the POS unit so I can “verify” the transaction. After that, I was given the option for tips – Either 0, a specific amount or a percentage, to which I entered 15%. When the cashier noticed that, she shouted “Fat tip!”. Now, was that really necessary? It seems to be the case, as every order was shouted (and, to make it worst, repeated in the back). C’mon, can’t you just print what was order and keep some peace and calm? I can stand the first 5 instances (at most) but, past that, it starts to get annoying…

Another detail I am not sure if it falls into the category of gimmick is seen in the picture above. Now, this is only on the “bar” section of the restaurant (which faces outside) rather than the tables. I guess they want to keep solo diners distracted. If that is the case, it worked for me! While I did not switch through all the channels, it seems it uses the Shaw Cable signal so you have enough options. However, I wasn’t there to watch TV; I can do that at home. Instead…

I was there for a burger and here it is, the double burger (?). And, as I have done a lot of times, I added mushroom to the sandwich. Now, before we go to the burger, let’s go to the side, which was “skinny fries”. In the same fashion I mentioned it, I will get skip it – it was almost your frozen fries. While it was slightly crispy (not enough, though) and starchy inside, past that, there is not much to comment about. And, as for the burger…

I must first make memory about the first time I went to Fatburger some time ago… I will have to go straight to the point: This one was miles away from the one I had previously. Similar to last time, it had its good share of condiments (relish, lettuce, et al); in fact, they made sure there were enough mushroom in it! While that is all good, they play second fiddle to the main component, the beef patties.

And, in this case, as mentioned above, they were quite different from the ones I had in its Denman location. Here, they were quite moist, almost to the point I can call it “juicy”. However, that came with one problem: the beef patties were not charred enough. They were cooked fine as meat, just that I wanted some more of that burnt beef taste.

I have to admit I had to eat the burger in pieces, i.e., munch the bottom, then munch the top with some of the condiments and so on. It is because the way it was assembled resulted in a really large sandwich. For the most part, it was executed well. However… While for the most part it was good, there wasn’t anything that outshine the one from Burger Burger or Burger Heaven. It feels like a good option, yet, being that expensive, I expected something more. As a result, in the meantime, I will leave it as a coin-toss, not in a hurry, but an option.

Score on Davie
1262 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

There was I again on the look for good eats. Sure, there are still a lot of restaurants in the Robson and Denman area I haven’t visited yet but, for some other reasons, some of these places, well, I am not that interested in going. Milestone’s? Cactus Club? Bread Garden? The list is still somewhat long but time will tell…

For today’s post, it is about a burger place in Davie. While I had known of its existence, I haven’t visited it previously because… Well, there was no reason! It is just that I completely overlook it. Most likely because I do not walk to this area from English Bay; rather, I take one of the side streets from Robson street. However, I have sort of a reason why I ended up to Score: I was looking for Sushi Sky but it was closed. Why Sushi Sky. Ask Mijune! Anyway, not wanting to walk back and forth, I said to myself, oh, well, there is Score on Davie…

Actually, there is another reason I wanted to try Score: I remember somebody saying they have some killer burgers. If that was the case, it was a matter of verifying if it was indeed true. Sushi Sky closed? Another excuse, hehehehe. For good or for bad, when I arrived it was almost empty, though you must keep in mind it was close to the buying shopping season. That works for me because I can take pictures like this:

Let me ask you: if you hear the word “score”, would you somehow associate it with sports? Well, I guess that was part of the idea when the owners re-opened it as Score (it was previously known as “Sugar Daddy”). There were several flat screen TVs showing different sport shows. I guess that would be an ideal spot to go to if you are interested in watching a BC Lions or Vancouver Canucks game. Or, hang outside in their outside patio, as it seems to have a really interesting one (which was covered, as seen in my first picture – heck it is winter!). Anyway, this post is about this specific visit and, on the topic of food…

I was debating what to order, as they had some interesting lunch items; however, I ended up going for the basic burger. As mentioned, some people consider their burger is quite good and I was about to put it up to the test. I had the option for fries, salads, Caesar salad, yam fries or onion rings (extra for the last two) and out of these options, I went for the Caesar salad. Normally I would have gone for fries but wanted to try something “different”. At first, it looks under-dressed but, actually, most of the dressing and Parmesan was in the middle. Feel free to call it mixed unevenly. While it is mostly your regular Caesar salad, it was quite decent. “Blame” it mostly to the Parmesan which imparted some savouriness to the otherwise bland romaine lettuce. The odd ball ended up being the croutons, as it did not add anything to the overall salad. Still, if I had to debate between fries and this salad, I might go for the later.

As I have done almost every single time when ordering burgers, I added some mushrooms to it (for an additional $1). There wasn’t as much mushroom as I would have preferred; this is because the end result could have used a bit more of it. How so? While not burnt, the beef patty was slightly passed the “done” level. No, it wasn’t dry; in fact, it still had some beef taste but it wasn’t too juicy which was a bit of a disappointment. As for the rest of the burger, it was mostly a text-book type burger, except the bread which wasn’t your regular kaiser bun or burger bun; instead, the bread was similar to that of a potato or olive bread (in shape, not taste). This was a good thing as it provided some chewiness.

This brings back the original assessment: is this as good as it says? My answer would be no. It is a decent burger; however, there are other places (some even “nearby”) that produce better end result. For example, despite it wasn’t necessarily the best either, Roxy Burger‘s was better. But, to watch a game it might be the place; just that it isn’t my type of place.