Campagnolo
1020 Main Street
Vancouver, BC

What is better than a food blogger visiting another food blogger for dinner in another city? How about having a mini gathering of sorts? When Chris (Eating is the Hard Part) told me about his trip, I sent an email to some of the local bloggers here but, between bad timing and other reasons, only Sherman managed to join us. As to where, while in Edmonton, Chris and I visited Corso 32, a newly opened Italian eatery there and, in my post, I mentioned “the best way would to visit a somewhat similar/related restaurant here and compare!”. That restaurant I had in mind the whole time was Campagnolo.

There is a lot of “interesting” features of Campagnolo, one of them is its pedigree – related to Refuel – and another is its location. Between Main Skytrain Station and Chinatown, it is not necessarily a “pretty” area. However, people believe this is a part of town that seems to have attracted some restaurants recently, for example, London Pub. How it turns out in the future, well, if I only knew… Anyway, we were then and for food it was!

We arrived early… Quite early, to the point we (actually Sherman and Viv) arrived first to an empty restaurant and, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to take the picture above. Now, this is not the whole dining area. It seems there is an additional area in the back. Alas, to be able to use it, we had to make reservations and we were short by two (in our party, it was Sherman and Viv, Bin, Chris and Sarah, and myself). While we couldn’t make reservations, we did manage to do something else: go “alla famigla” or “family style”. Actually, this is not listed as such in the menu; instead, it says that for party of 3 or more, “the kitchen can cook for you”. There are two price points: $35 and $45. I guess, after travelling this far, there was no way we would go easy and, in the end, we went for the $45 price point. And here are the courses:

Out of the anti-pasti course, the one I liked the most was the crispy ceci – chickpeas, chilies, mint, citrus. These were fried chickpeas and then the remaining ingredients added as a form of dressing. As for the texture, think of them as pop corn but with a paste-like consistency in the inside. Of the other ingredients in the “dressing”, I couldn’t really taste the chilies but it didn’t matter to me: These were darn addictive as is! From there, the beet salad – shaved vegetables, olive oil, ricotta, mint – worked quite well for me, as it was simple, though a bit more of ricotta would have certainly helped. The “cure” was OK… For some reason, there was something amiss; something partially shared by the beef carpaccio – salsa verde, herb and lemon focaccia. It was certainly good, just that it felt slightly loss by the salsa verde and the other dressings. Probably because the beef felt it was sliced way too thin? Looking back, I think we should have asked for the burrata mozzarella – castelvetrano olives, sea salt, olive oil – or the seared octopus – nugget potatoes, olives, lardo, frisee lettuce – but, oh, well, we were too busy chatting and not paying enough attention to the menu…

I will have to admit this one caught us of guard. For a moment, I thought we were going to get the primi course, aka, the pasta course; however, we got pizza first. The first one was the margherita – flor di latte mozzarella, tomato, basil – and the second one was the carbonara – smoked provolone, bacon, crimini mushroom, onion, egg. Because the carbonara was on my side, I ate that one first and, as a white pizza, it felt as eating crispy flatbread with some creaminess thanks to me dipping the corner of my slice into the egg. Think dipping a piece of toast into a sunny side up egg. A bit more of that provolone would have been appreciated but that would be personal preference. However, here is the oddball that followed: while the carbonara was crispy, I thought the margherita was too chewy – an opinion that the rest didn’t necessarily share. My thoughts was that, because I had it second, the texture of the baked dough has changed by the time I bit into it. As for the sauce, it felt slightly acidic but did a good job. Alas, the basil, despite it was added after it was baked wasn’t “felt”.

And now, the proper primi course. The ricotta and spinachi gnudi – tomato sauce and fresh basil – was quite soft and fluffy. I would have certainly love to eat a plateful of this, if it wasn’t because I would have been eating way too much ricotta. The tagliatelle – pork ragú, basil, pecorino romano cheese – was a winner for me. The meat felt almost like pulled pork, something that I always appreciate. As for the sauce, there was just enough to cover it and, it certainly worked for me, as the sauce (in a way similar to the past sauce used above) provided enough “punch” to the pasta. The one oddity was that the pasta itself felt too bundled together, i.e., I had a hard time picking up the noodle strands without pulling almost the whole plate. Now, this is not a bad thing, just difficulty in serving myself. Else, the pasta had a nice bite to it. As for the linguini – BC mussels, white wine, lemon, butter, parsley, was the best one of the bunch for me and it was a case of simplicity at its best. While barely with any excess sauce, what was “served” clung into the pasta quite well and, in each bite, you could tell there was some seafood and some buttery taste in it. If I had to be nit picky, my one issue would be the consistency of the pasta: I thought it was quite al dente, probably a bit underdone.

At this point, not sure if it was due to the pacing or because we were eating more than we should (not unusual) but we were pretty full. But then… We realize we still had secondi AND side dishes AND dessert. First, the side dishes:

Broccoli, anchovies, garlic, chilies was a bit of a misnomer. I couldn’t taste much of the other ingredients as much as the broccoli and the parmesan on top. However, these were cooked quite nicely, in the sense the florets as well as the stem parts were all tender. So, if you like broccoli, you will like these. Now, I thought it was a bit strange to have both broccoli and cauliflower but there you go – fried cauliflower florets, fresh bacon, parsley. However, it was still good because, unlike the broccoli, the cauliflower were fried and had a crispy texture to it. Alas, the bacon didn’t really come out… Still, it was the texture that made it. Now, if you are at home and want to replicate it but don’t want to fry, just cut some florets and bake it until golden. Finally, the third side dish was smashed potatoes, lemon, chives. These was indeed a winner. It combined several form of well prepared potato goodness into one: some crispiness outside, yet still soft and a fluffy inside. Unlike the other side dishes, there was some light lemon-y taste. Indeed, a winner for me…

Yes, the secondi… Red wine braised beef – soft polenta, kale, marrow, salsa verde – suffered from the same issue as the flat steak at Corso 32: the meat felt overcooked and a bit dry. It wasn’t bad, just that it just didn’t make justice to almost any cut of beef. However, one part of this dish won me over: the soft polenta. If I could replicate the polenta again, I would be golden… (yes, I am experimenting at home making grits and polenta lately). The Il Pesce del Giorno – fish of the day – ended up being trout on a bed of farro with salsa verde. This was a well prepared dish and have nothing else to say. OK, if I was nitpicky, I would have preferred some form of seared type salmon-like dish but, then again, that’s preference. As is, it worked well. But, the winner was the polderside chicken – black lentils, parsnip, red swiss chard. This is the second time that, despite there are fancier dishes, it was the chicken dish that won the day (the previous instance was Incanto in San Francisco). In this case, this chicken roulade was juicy inside and the exterior had that feeling texture. And, ah… The lentils. Me being a sucker for legumes, made me enjoy it even more.

Did I say there was still dessert pending? Truth is, at that point, I just had some and threw in the towel. In fact, I don’t even recall these very well, aside from the fact the pannacotta being quite smooth and the pear torte (?) shell felt dry. Then again, I am not a dessert person so I didn’t care more.

Afterwards, we spent quite some time chatting and, needless to say, having different opinions, specially that from different cities was a really good thing. As for the food itself, it was darn too much food. In fact, we had some double servings for some (again, family size serving with enough for everybody). Was it good? I think it was a bit of hit and miss but, above average overall. For example, I liked some of the anti-pasti, some of the primi and some of the secondi. The pizza… Well, if I were to have it by myself, I might enjoy only the first or second slice but might have difficulty with the rest (this is considering they have pizza specials late night). It might be a matter of choosing the “correct” ones more than anything else.

Now, as for comparison with Corso 32, alas, I will have to give this one to Corso 32. The reasons include the size of the menu: in Corso’s case, having a small menu make things more easily manageable and, in Campagnolo’s case, we say some of the sauces being used over and over again (for example, salsa verde used in more than one dish). Still, from a Vancouver perspective, it is a good offering. Would I come back? Well, may be but, iff, I can do it family style. Though… That also open the doors to other Italian eateries like La Quercia (check this post by Sherman when he went there and had a meal in such way).

Famoso
4 Locations in Edmonton
1 Location in Calgary
11750 Jasper Ave NW (Location visited)
Edmonton, AB

OK, I made a big blunder for this post. In a way, I got carried away with some details that I completely overlook the bigger picture. One night, for dinner, I was planning to go for Italian with Dumbfries (*), which sort of ended up in a coin toss between Famoso and Violino Gastronomia Italiana. Yes, as you can see for the title of this post, Famoso was the “winner” that night. But, of course, there is one other question: why Famoso was one of the options? (Violino was based on a suggestion). As mentioned, it was a case where I got carried away…

(*) Technically Dumfries but Dumbfries stuck!

See, there is a soon-to-be-open restaurant in Vancouver called Nicli Antica Pizza. The interesting selling point of this restaurant is that it would be the second pizzeria in Canada that will be certified by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), the first one being Pizzeria Libretto in Toronto. So what that has to do with Famoso? Well, it has happens that, according to their site, the ingredients and methodology they use to make their pizza are pretty much the same established by the AVPN, except for one major detail – something I had to double check and found out after the visit: while they seem to do everything by the book (?), they are not certified. But, as o-toro of the Foodosophy team wrote: “For Famoso, this could possibly be difficult due to the franchise structure of this organization“, I think this would make sense. The question is whether, without this certification, how good would their final product be? (Of course, with the caveat that I haven’t had the “real thing” and will have to compare it to what I like… Until Nicli open, that is). Or even a simpler question: is their pizza good regardless of that certification?

Anyway, Dumbfries and I went, it was middle of the week; however, despite that, the restaurant was packed. If fact, I think we got the last table! Now, the restaurant itself isn’t that big but, at least, it seemed to be a well oiled running machine – though I wish our waitress wasn’t as stiff/unemotional. I know, I seldom make mention of things like this but, at the same time, I couldn’t help notice that. Fortunately (?), the order is done at the cashier, not at the table… And we started with:

Hummus plus flat bread wedges. OK, I will have to openly say this is one of the strangest pricing I have seen plus I will admit I should have asked for more details before ordering this. What is the pricing issue? Well, we were not given complimentary bread (not an issue per se) and the small dish of hummus was $1, while the wedges were $3. Normally, I would expect it to be the other way around or would have expected something larger, specially considering that they use a lot of flour. Anyway, had I known more about our second dish, we might have skipped the wedges. But, back to this, the hummus was a bit on the dry, chunkier side and I wished it had a bit more garlic in it. Otherwise, it wasn’t that bad but, otherwise, something I can do at home. As for the flat bread, it had an oily feeling and I wish there was something else. That is, it felt a bit… Simple?

Given we will be ordering pizza later, we ordered a salad to have our share of vegetables for the day. As for which salad, I left that to Dumbfries; the salad ended up being the Gorgonzola Walnut Salad – Crisp romaine lettuce, tossed in our Gorgonzola walnut dressing topped with crushed walnuts, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and semi-dried cranberries.. Dumbfries asked for the dressing to be on the side, something I consider to be a smart move considering a lot of restaurants overdress their salads. Now, notice there are two wedges in the salad? Yes, had I known they included wedges in the salad as well… No, it is not a case of me being cheap, just that it won’t have been necessary for $3. :/

But back to the salad. I am not sure but, for $12, I was expecting something else. In this case, it is just that it was too simple; in fact, this is something I would have done myself – dressing aside. Heck, you can get a chicken, pecan, apple, chicken salad at Costco “cafeteria” for $6! And, on the topic of the dressing, we were trying to guess what was in the dressing and it somehow felt like a pesto at first but, after tasting some Gorgonzola, I wasn’t sure. So, with this, we had our share of vegetables but the salad as such wasn’t too exciting. But now, moving to the pizzas…

We ordered two pizzas: Margherita and prosciutto arugula, the later from their white pizzas (aka, pizza bianca). As you can see from the pictures, it indeed has that leoparding. Past that… Well, disappointment for the most part. Let me break it down:

In the case of the Margherita, while the tomato “sauce” had some tomato characteristics, it felt, well, too basic. How so? It lacked some sweetness or some acidic notes. Then there was the basil. I was disappointed it was added before it was baked rather than after. Of course, some recipes will tell you it is added before, just that, in this case, I couldn’t really “taste” the basil so I would have preferred it after. Details, details.

In the case of the arugula… I don’t know… It felt it was just a piece of dough baked with some bocconcini (which I couldn’t really feel/taste in this case) and olive oil, then topped with the arugula and the prosciutto. If that was the general intent, it didn’t work for me as there was no “integration” of the ingredients. Granted, baking the greens and the prosciutto would have been heresy for some but, still, the end result didn’t work. But, as is, I thought there were a bit too much bitterness in this dough. Before you say “hey, it is the arugula!”, no, that was when I didn’t have some of it on top but eating the baked dough by itself.

One issue that was shared by both pizzas was the texture of the dough. I don’t know about you but it was really chewy, to the point Dumbfries was thinking it was an exercise itself eating this. And I will have to agree. Unless, that is, that’s how it is supposed to be. If so, I prefer more the bread-y texture from other places, or even the almost cracker texture from places like Ah-Beetz. But, of course, to “solve” this debate, will have to wait for Nicli…

With all the disappointments, Dumbfries thought we should give a try to their dessert which ended up being their “Authentic Tiramisu”, which, according to their menu, it is imported from Milan. If your expressing is one of “WTF”, yes, we were having some serious doubts as well. Now, as for this one, it was actually good: moist and loaded with coffee taste. Now, whether it is actually imported from Milan, I won’t argue to much; however, I have had similar tiramisu in other places which does not make such claim…

In the end, I will have to say I wasn’t particularly impressed by Famoso. The concept of the ingredients source might be good; however, it is the final result that didn’t work for me. As a result, I will have to give it a pass. Now, does that mean Edmonton pizza picture is behind Vancouver? Well, not exactly. Unlike in Vancouver, I don’t think I saw that many (if any) pizza by the slice places; in fact, after leaving Famoso, I learned of pizza places that were at par or “better” than Famoso. But, until I try those other places, that point is still up in the air. I just won’t use Famoso as reference.

Corso 32
10345 Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB

In a way, food bloggers are seldom restricted by boundaries. For those of us who are lucky enough to travel, chances are we will contact local ones for suggestions and what not. For example, last year, Phyllis of me Hungry! visited us in Vancouver and we were happy to be her host for some local eats (despite she is originally from Vancouver). And while none of us where local, something similar happened when Sherman, Mijune and I visited San Francisco for FoodBuzz Food Blogger’s festival (here and here), where we ended up meeting with Naomi who writes The Gastrognome at Incanto. And, of course, Chris in Edmonton who writes Eating is the Hard Part, whom, along with Sarah, I met personally when I visited Edmonton last year (restaurant visit here). Since I was back in town, I though I should check with him again for dinner! Of course, me being the one visiting, I thought I should let the locals decide. And Chris’ suggestion? Corso 32 in Downtown Edmonton.

I usually try to be punctual; however, due to a small snafu in the address, I arrived a couple of minutes late. OK, that shouldn’t be a big deal but I don’t want to make people wait! However, finding it was a bit problematic in its own ways as well. See, there is no actual sign outside other than on the window. Given it wasn’t really lighted, I could have walked by a couple of times without realizing! But, I eventually found it and there were Chris and Sarah waiting for me.

After pleasantries, we started with the usual food bloggers chit-chat; however, that’s when the waitress drop by our table. Woopppssss! Sorry, not decided on which dishes to order yet! As a result, we switched topics and to the one of deciding what to order went on full gear. You know, this is one of those things about food bloggers: since we want to try as many dishes as possible, there is a lot of going back and forth. In the end, we went for…

Smoked arancini, mushrooms, mozzarella, which was one of the specials for the day. When it was served, I had to smirk and tell Chris and Sarah it reminded me of The Cheesecake Factory. OK, I might be insulting somebody here, but, once you have had Cheesecake Factory’s fried mac and cheese, you won’t deny this statement! As for the arancini, it had a nice crispiness at first and a somewhat starchy and creamy inside, due to the almost risotto like rice. It could have been better had it been served with a ragu/tomato sauce as a dip but, by itself, is still good.

While the arancini was good, it was this that knocked it out of the park: whipped goat ricotta, maldon sea salt, crostini. I didn’t care much about the sea salt part (if there was any, didn’t really taste it) but, otherwise, this was one of the best ricotta I ever had. It was creamy, it was almost a spread. Topped into the crostini, it had a nice contrast of soft and crunchy, dry and creamy. And, oh, a really light hint of garlic to complement the overall dish. I would have easily eaten the whole plate by myself…

The third appetizer we had to share was the crispy short rib terrine, barlett pear salad. Out of the three, this was the one that disappointed me a little bit. Oh, sorry about the picture, where it does not really show the short rib. That was because the setup of the restaurant didn’t provide much in terms of privacy and I was a bit worried the Speedlight would have either (a) catch too much attention from other customers or (b) blind other people. Interestingly, the table behind us were even more camera happy than us (though they were using an iPhone 4 rather than a Speedlight). Anyway, back to the dish, the reason why I was disappointed was that the rib itself was not that much of a terrine (more on the lines of a braised ribs dish) and, as a rib dish, it was a bit disappointing, as it was somewhat dry. So much potential, yet, execution was subpar… As for the salad, it had some bitterness and crunchiness due to the ingredients. However, that salad is not something I would have liked to eat by itself. There are a lot of ways the overall dish can be improved, but, as is, there might still be some people would like it. As for me… Nah, the others were better.

Moving to entrees, once again, we were juggling with the options and the first one ended up being their 48 hours chuck flat steak, shaved celery root and black garlic vinaigrette. At first, we were wondering what 48 hours meant. Cut 48 hours ago? Cooked for 48 hours? I don’t think we got an answer for that one but we sort of assumed it was cooked for that period of time. Having said that… Before I continue, I will put a statement out: prepared correctly, a cooked through piece of meat could be a thing of beauty. If you are used to North American style of cooking it, namely usually suggested to be served as rare, medium rare or medium, it is because you don’t want the steak to be dry. However, Argentinians have master the art of cooking it through and, served with some chimichurri, it can be good as well. As for this one, cooking it for a long period of time allows the meat to be cooked through. If that was the concept/intent, it worked; however, the end result was a bit of a let down. It wasn’t bad, just that in this case, having it cooked inside didn’t contribute much. Now, it is not that the steak was chewy (it wasn’t), rather there wasn’t much taste inside. That contrasted with the outside, as it had some crust/charred which contributed to the flavour. As for the salad, oh, well, it was a salad. Sorry, not much to say here!

Next entree was braised meatballs, crispy bread crumbs, wild arugula. Now, it is a case of a simple dish where, even a small deviation, can make a dish subpar. In this case, the meat was good but one thing was missing: I wish the meatballs were seared before tossed into the sauce/ragu. I know some people might disagree here but, for meatballs, I prefer it that way. Don’t get me wrong, it was good; just that I believe I could have been better. The arugula, unlike the pear salad, provided a good, bitter contrast. And going back to the ragu/tomato sauce, it had a spicy tone which contrasted the rest. So, despite I would have preferred it to be prepared differently, still, it is a dish I would eat no problem.

Finally, a pasta dish in the form of pulled pork ravioli with fried sage. As a pasta dish it was good but, somehow, after Incanto, I thought they could have been more “creative”. For example, rather than just fat with the sage as “sauce”, add some other layers of flavour – for example, some sweetness from, say, raisins. But, then again, that could have worked against the pulled pork which, while with a light smokey taste, it also had some inherited sweetness into it. Again, it was good but I believe it could have been better!

Finally, to close, we ordered their only available dessert that night: chocolate torte with hazelnuts. While I wish there is an option B in the form of something acidic, say, a lemon tart, after a piece of this, I had to change my mind. Sure, it wasn’t acidic but creamy and nutty. It wasn’t too “dark” (as in dark chocolate like taste) but that might have been a detracting factor had they made it that way. In their as is form, I would have considered order a second serving.

After the meal, I had to wonder myself: How does it compare to offerings in Vancouver? Actually, it would be difficult for me to actually answer that question, not necessarily because I am not certain how Corso 32 represents Edmonton’s dining scene (for that purpose, I will defer responsibility to Chris!). Rather it is because we might be comparing apples to oranges. How so? I have the odd feeling that, probably due to the amount of restaurants available here, we might be a bit more demanding. It is not that I am saying what Corso 32 produced was bad; in fact, I thought it was good for that type of restaurant. There are things here and there that I didn’t particularly like but it was because of my particular preference. So, how to solve this epiphany? I guess the best way would to visit a somewhat similar/related restaurant here and compare! And, for that purpose, I hope Chris will be joining me, hehehe.

So, Chris, Sarah, thanks for joining me for dinner and hope to see you sometime soon in Vancouver!

White Tower
1359 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

If you are looking for Greek food in Vancouver, you can pretty much go anywhere. Probably you might have favourites but, if you go around town, there will be one every dozen or so blocks. In the case of Downtown Vancouver, for most people, there is even a “default”: Stepho’s, a restaurant that, in a way, has mastered the art of generating enough volume of customers to make it possible for them to lower there prices to an almost ridiculous level – to an extent that people are willing to queue up just for a plate of Greek food. But, then again, there is Takis Taverna a couple of doors from Stepho’s. If you move to Denman, there is Olympia Pizza and Pasta and Maria’s Taverna. After walking so many times in Robson, I thought there might not be any… That was until a day, PO and I were looking for something quick in the area and we ended up going to a place I believe has been there forever: White Tower.

When we walked in, the oddity was that the restaurant was empty! Probably because it was a sunny day? Regardless, after we sat down and as the meal went, there were some suited businessmen taking another table and a small family yet another table. As we looked at the menu, we ended up going for the easy way out: their lunch specials. In their case, they had two so PO ended up ordering one and I ordered the other one. First, the bread from each of us orders:

In PO’s case, his order came with a piece of toast, in my case, a piece of pita. The toast could have had a bit more of garlic (as in garlic toast?) but, otherwise, it was OK. As for the pita… Well, again it was OK. Come to think about it, it was just average at best but, oh, well, it is bread so we weren’t to picky about it.

PO chose special #1 ($9): lasagna. OK, OK, this does not necessarily shout Greek but Italian. But, you know what? Lasagna might have some Greek background, not to mention there is a similar Greek dish called pastitsio! In the end, if it is good, that is what matters the most. As for the one here, the sauce could have had a bit more spices but, otherwise, the pasta had a nice fresh texture to it. PO finished the whole plate, which, by then, I had to ask: how does it compare to the one from Ciao Bella? He thought it might be apple and oranges, in the case of White Tower’s, it had a bit more “home” feeling. And, from the sample I had, I will have to agree.

As for myself, I went for special #2 ($10), chicken souvlaki, served with rice, Greek salad, roasted potatoes and tzatziki, which I used mostly as a spread for the pita. The rice was almost the parboiled type but, at least, it had some seasoning hint in it. As for the salad… Well, it is quite similar to the ones you can find in almost all Greek places so I am not sure how to really separate them from the rest. The potatoes was OK; not the biggest fan of potatoes but, at least, it did what it was supposed to do. And, finally, the chicken souvlaki… I will have to admit it was nicely grilled but it was slightly dry. A slight squirt of the lemon did some wonders but not enough to counter the dryness.

I will have to admit that despite some issues, the food was good. Unfortunately, given it is walking distance from Stepho’s, there will be that comparison. But, if you let that go, not to mention if the consideration that “other” dishes are available here (including pasta and pizza), which can prove to be a plus if you have a party and people wants different dishes. In the end, the food is good in its own ways and that is what matters.

Giovane
1038 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC

For some reason, embedded in my head is that concept that most hotel restaurants are… Well, disappointed. Of course, given that I travel on a budget, the hotels I end up staying aren’t necessarily a five star hotel; instead, they are usually your regular hotel chains, i.e., Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton, et al. And, then again, even if they have fancy locations, I seldom end up staying in those. After all, why should I? If travelling on business, it is my customer’s money, not to mention I spend the whole day at the customer’s site; if it is leisure, chances are I am only there to sleep and some basic necessities.

But, even when I stay in the “fancier” locations of those hotel chains, more often than not, the food has been average at best. But, then again, Fairmont is a luxury hotel chain so comparing them to the other chains might be akin to comparing apples to oranges. With that in mind, I went to Giovane, the “cafeteria” located in the recently opened Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel and little sibling to Oru, the main restaurant in the hotel. Hey, I wasn’t in mood to fork big bucks to Oru, given the mixed feedback!

From what I have seen, Giovane can be “broken” down into three distinct sections: a coffee shop, a pastry/bakery shop and a deli. Now, deli might be stretching that definition, given they have salad, soups, pizza and sandwiches. Now, I will focus a little bit in the deli part given I am not much of a coffee drinker and I am not crazy about sweets. Having said that…

Instead, I am a tea drinker. Here, a cup of, you can guess it!, Earl Grey. I will have to say their leaves they use are actually quite good. A nice hint of bergamot oil yet not to “dry” to the taste. It was quite enjoyable. The only thing that puzzles me is the leaf strainer. It looks “barbaric”… I mean, how about getting me a small teapot? Hmmmmmm…. OK, being nitpicky here!

For this visit, I was there for breakfast and I ended up ordering their Italian Sausage Strata – onion, sausage, tomato, sweet pepper, parmigiano, croutons. The reason I went for this was that their breakfast sandwich didn’t look too exciting. Why? I had that odd feeling I would have gotten better value if I had gone to Timmie’s for the breakfast sandwich! And, while there was also their “Giovane” Breakfast – Soft poached eggs, asparagus, prosciutto, piave vecchio, toasted croutons, I had some wacky feelings about it and ended up ordering the strata instead.

To me, strata is a savoury version of a bread pudding but this one felt more on the lines of a quiche – or, to be more technically correct given this is “Italian”, a frittata. The reason is that I didn’t feel anything that had a bread texture. But, putting that aside, I didn’t particularly liked the combination of flavours. In a way, they didn’t really add up; instead, it felt like each component was fighting for supremacy over the other. Furthermore, that eggplant layer created a “divide” between the top and bottom layer: the top having the vegetables and the bottom having the sausage. The crouton, was actually quite interesting but, hey, I was there for the quiche, I mean, frittata… I mean, strata…

To go along, I also ordered a side salad, here, a tomato and bocconcini salad. I put it in that order because over half of the “salad” was bocconcini! Now, the day I went (over a month ago), tomato wasn’t really in “season” yet so they weren’t that sweet. Given the case, I won’t be too harsh on them. The one part that was odd was the basil. Notice it is staring to get brown? Well, it seems they had it prepared ahead of time and had the basil tossed by then. Probably I am being too demanding? :S

At this point, I will have to say I wasn’t particularly impressed by their breakfast options. But, at the same time, people was telling me that wasn’t necessarily their forte. OK, I thought. Let’s give them another chance. So, on another day, I was there again and debating what to order: either pizza or sandwich (and salad/soup).

Behold, their green onion, chorizo and corn soup with a porchetta sandwich – Braised pork, shaved fennel, garlic aioli, fontina. The reason I chose soup and sandwich over the pizza was because the pizza was prepared and left on top of a counter which would be reheated when order. I guess that’s what you get for $9… However, that wasn’t enough reason; instead, it was rather because they didn’t really look that good which lead me to go for the sandwich instead. Granted, the sandwiches are also in a cool display case rather than outside but I believe sandwiches can last longer than pizza under this condition…

Despite I shouldn’t, I was actually quite surprised by the soup! Well, corn is in season, right? Here, the corn wasn’t completely creamed, instead, you could still feel some texture of the corn kernels. It was sweet but not excessively so. That sweetness was “cut” by some spiciness from the chorizo. A really good combination. The green onion was somewhat odd, though. Given it was sweet and a bit spicy, the “freshness” of the green onion didn’t work that well. Fortunately, you could easily scoop it out.

Out of all sandwiches, I chose to go for porchetta. As a reminder, one of the best porchetta sandwiches I have ever had is from Salumi in Seattle (though the other sandwiches were just average…), not to mention I believe I can make a good enough oven version of a pulled pork. So, in a way, high expectations. In this case… It disappointed. For one, I thought the amount of pork was a let down. Furthermore, there wasn’t much of pork taste and the cheese, while there, didn’t help much in terms of flavour. The saving grace was the bread, which was quite good, as it was crispy but, c’mon, I am not here for the bread; I am here for the pork!!!

So, after having giving Giovane two chances, I believe there are better options. In fact, recently I went to Creme de la Crumb, a just opened pastry shop, and their similarly set up sandwich was better than this. However, I am also sure people will be saying something about pastry/bakery and coffee. If that’s what you want, by all means, go ahead. Since I am not much of a coffee drinker nor a sweets person, I had to go for the remaining option. In this case, their “deli” didn’t really work for me. And, with that, my thoughts of hotel restaurant/food. (I guess I have to go to hotels in Asia before this opinion change…)

Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant
703 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Alas, good things always seems to come to an end. After my trip to Panama, everything started to settle back to its usual routine, including lunch at work. In the past, PO has been my *cough*victim*cough*, I mean, partner in crime. However, for this lunch, I was able to gather another “recruit” – CN. With this “hobby” of visiting restaurants, there is always that element of expectation but also that element of discovery. So, with that in mind, we were settled for lunch. Then the usual question… Where? A couple of weeks prior, PO and I went to Le Bistro de Paris and mentioned the relationship with Ciao Bella Restaurant. So, we though “why not?”. And to Ciao Bella we went…

When we got there, we had the option to sit inside or the patio (which was partially covered). It was a bit cold but sunny at the same time so we (actually, I) chose the patio. Hey, that means better light conditions, you know! Anyway, going back and forth between different lunch options, we finally decided on our orders, just in time for…

Complimentary bread. Now, this being an Italian restaurant, I guess the expectation was olive oil and balsamic rather than butter. But, after the butter/balsamic of Tomate y Amor, well, let’s just say it would be difficult to top. At least, the bread was steaming when it arrived and replenish so, no complains about it.

CN and I both went for soup – here, minestrone soup. My expectations for this soup was low so, regardless of what was served, I won’t have complained at all. Anyway, as for what was served, there was your combination of vegetables, though one was lacking: beans. Whether this was good or bad, well, it does not really matter.

On the other hand, PO went for melanzana alla parmiggiano – baked eggplant, tomato basil sauce with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. At first we thought it was something else, namely, a lasagna (which, was what PO ordered). But, after “cutting it through”, it actually resembled a lasagna, in the sense it was layers of eggplants. As for the sauce, it was OK, though, oddly, neither too acidic or too sweet. But, the combination of cheeses made it savoury enough.

CN ordered fettuccini carbonara. In my opinion, something along with Fettucini Alfredo are dishes that years ago would have ordered but not nowadays. Too much cream, cheese and dairy! But, then again, it wasn’t me ordering it, hehehehe. I sampled one (literally) noodle and I thought it was a bit dry. However, that might be because I tasted it before CN tossed it (as part of the sauce have settled already). But, based on the noodle I tasted, it did have some heavy cream taste, something that I am sure a lot of people would like.

As mentioned above, PO went for lasagna della mama – layers of pasta, meat sauce, cheese & bechamel, mamma’s recipe. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it cut through. Had I done so, you would have seen layers of pasta and a really heavy meat sauce. How heavy? Well, there was about the same amount of pasta and meat sauce! I sampled a little bit and the “meatiness” was quite noticeable. PO managed to finish it in the end but barely so. I think PO was lethargic the rest of the afternoon…

As for me, I went for the special of the day, which was fresh BC salmon and pasta (had the option of vegetables), which came also with the minestrone soup mentioned above. I will have to admit the salmon was quite good: It was really dark orange colour to it and, best of all, some actual fish taste, not a bland piece of fish. However, the capers didn’t really add much to the salmon but, fortunately, it wasn’t too strong enough to get into the way.The penne (didn’t have option for pasta or sauce) was OK, though the sauce didn’t bind too well with the pasta. In a way, it felt too thin and, as you can see from the picture, almost a poodle of liquid.

I will have to say that I had mixed feelings towards some dishes. For example, the lasagna would be something I would definitely order, as well as the salmon (but not the pasta that came along). The fettucini carbonara not necessarily because, well, too much creaminess. However, the one saving grace overall is that the dishes weren’t that expensive. For example, CN lunch order was $10 (pasta and soup). I am not necessarily crazy about Italian food but still I have to admit this is a decent option. Would I come back? Despite those mixed feelings, I will have to admit I will.

Calabria Bakery
5036 Victoria Drive
Vancouver, BC

This is a case of me blaming somebody else for a post. In this case, I am blaming Jessica! Long time ago, she had a quest for the ultimate cannoli which, in a way, I took over but also dropped since I don’t have desserts that often. But, looking across the street of Lam Hoa Quan, there was Calabria Bakery…

One thing that did not necessarily attracted me was how dark it looks from outside. However, with enough goodies on display, I was curious to find out what they had. After going back and forth, I picked up some and took it home. And, to start off…

Haystack

Unfortunately, I did not have a piece of these so I can’t necessarily comment about it. What happened? Errrrr… Long story, let’s just leave it there, OK?

Tiramisu

Given that it is an Italian bakery, there was no way I won’t have a piece of tiramisu. Now, for some reason, I am not sure if I would call this a tiramisu. The top layer had a creamier consistency compared to what I am used to. When I was taking that piece out of the box, I held in on the side for a moment and rather than giving itself in (hence, making a mess), it retained the shape for a moment. Think almost the consistency of cream cheese. However, when I bit into it, it was actually softer than what I thought at first. I wasn’t that sweet; instead, I had more coffee overtones than sugary ones. As for the bottom layer, it had the texture of a light fluffy cake. I found this quite acceptable.

Cream horn

This might be a little bit of lost-in-translation. I was there for the cannoli and I indeed asked for one. However, I pointed them in the display and somehow it seems I pointed them to the cream horn instead. I didn’t catch this “error” until I got home.s Oh, well… The exterior was in lines of puff pastry and despite the big sugary crystals, they weren’t overwhelmingly sweet. The cream center was, well, a cream filling; I couldn’t taste anything interesting out of it.

At that point, I wasn’t that excited about the offerings but you must keep in mind that I am not THAT much into sweets anymore. However, the fact I didn’t have a cannoli would have meant a bigger epic fail. So, one day, I dropped by again…

Sicilian Cannoli

For some reason, there was an emphasis on the “Sicilian cannoli” portion so on my second visit, I explicitly said “Sicilian cannoli” without pointing anywhere. Now, I know lightning looks strange but I wasn’t going home anytime soon and was afraid of how the filling would react on a semi-long trip. Anyway, this is more on the lines of what I have had before and… I don’t know. The filling was not sweet, it felt it was just ricotta cheese without anything else to bring up a notch. But what really threw me off slightly was the shell: it had some oily parts, as if they were fried in low temperature (hence the dough soaked some of the oil). Notice in the second picture above how the paper bag “soaked” that a little bit, not to mention it is something noticeable on the top? I am willing to give them the benefit of doubt and say it might be the moisture of the filling; however, it didn’t taste that way.

While the cannoli didn’t really impress me, I will give them some credit for the rest of the desserts and breads. Sure, I didn’t buy any of those but, at least, they were enticing enough. They also have amaretto cookies which was mentioned as gluten free (this is for Peter and Darina!) and some whole pies which, well, if it wasn’t because I was by myself, I might have gotten one to share. Would I come back? I think it is a good possibility, specially considering that some of the pieces were relatively cheap and given the neighbourhood. Having a break for non-Chinese goodies might be a good thing!

Sciué
800 W Pender Street (Location visited)
126 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

Once again, it was during those hectic Winter Olympic days… Actually, they weren’t THAT bad because, thanks to arrangements from my workplace, I was able to finish work earlier which let me wander around the different houses and pavilions (and I blogged about them here). That arrangement also allowed me to go to Downtown core itself for lunch and, for today’s post, one of those places that seems to be close yet a bit too far: Sciué

Truth is, I am not sure what would be the best way to describe Sciué… Coffee shop? Sandwich shop? Restaurant? Sure, the entrance tells you it is also a bakery but, one thing is what they say it is, another is what they actually sell. One thing that you won’t miss is the fact they are Italian based as, well, they sell a lot of Italian goods, including what I ended up ordering for lunch…

Yup, that is pizza alright. But, wait… Why it looks like rectangles? Well, it just happens they don’t sell it by slice, as almost any other places nearby. Instead, think of ~17.5 cm/~7″ wide flat bread. You then tell them how much you want and they will cut a piece for you. That piece is then weighed (for cost) and reheated before it is served to you. Of course, you can’t tell them “I want 100g”; instead, you estimate how much before it is cut. While I am OK with this approach of guessing it yourself the same way you would when ordering cold cuts in a deli, I didn’t quite like the fact I could (easily) find the price per gram in the menu, nor have an idea of how many grams are the slice I am asking for, nor the fact they were quite “fast” at the weight scale (they just put it and removed it right away: I couldn’t really see how much it was that slice). Had I known in advance, I might have hesitated on ordering this for lunch…

As for the dough/base, it is of course, quite different from the one found in Ah-Beetz. The end result is more doughy and chewy, yet the more charred portions had a crunch bite to it. In a funny way, that worked well, as despite the “small” portion, it ended up quite filling due to all the chewing you had to go through. As for taste, I could swear it was somewhat similar to the taste of sourdough…

The toonie is for reference purposes

I will admit I am a fan of almost all form of edible fungi, even if it is the plain/simple button mushroom. In this case, it imparted a meatiness to the slice, which made meat unnecessary. I will admit I wasn’t paying too much attention to the cheese (chances are, it was mozzarella); however, what I will admit is that it wasn’t that milky substances found in other places – it actually tasted like cheese. From that perspective, I will give them some credit…

Slice #2 was one of the “salad” type pizzas. In this case, after the flat bread has been prepared, some garden salad and, in this case, salmon was added to the top. I will admit I got this one out of a whim because, well, it has salmon! The base had a creamy dressing which help the green salad – both complemented the smokiness of the salmon.

Now, this last one is dedicated to Jessica (of Yum-o-Rama). See, some long time ago, Jessica embarked on a quest for cannoli and, in a way, I took over that torch. Unfortunately, I dropped it because, I wasn’t really looking too hard. However, after noticing they have cannoli, I had to order one.

Now, they didn’t fill up upon ordering so, purists, don’t bring your pitchforks, you were warned! As for taste… Well, it was good yet it was OK. The filling was creamy and not too sweet. The cocoa powder didn’t really add much, unfortunately. The part that went sideways was the pastry: think of it more on the lines of a soft (not chewy) cookie. While it kept its shape, after the first bite, everything started to crumble down. In a way, it wasn’t a pretty sight. However, I am sure others won’t mind this and will be happy with this otherwise messy cannoli.

For the most part, the food was above average but one thing wasn’t: price. I am all in for quality food but when I pay almost $10 for the flat bread/pizza plus $3.25 for the cannolo, well, it is a hard hit to the wallet. At the same price, I can think of better lunch options. OK, I will give them some break considering they are in Downtown core and their customer base might not care as much. On the same token, that is the reason I am not that interested in coming back…

Luca’s Ristorante
1 Walter East Foran Boulevard
2019 State Route 27 (Location visited)
Somerset, NJ

Back in my old days of computer gaming (early 1990s), there was a magazine called Computer Gaming World (CGW). Gaming in the old days… 256 colours in 640 x 480. I am digressing here… So, what that (now defunct) magazine has to do with food? It just happens that until the later days of the magazine, it never gave a rating. It gave the games highs, lows and a general thought of the game and the writers opinion, leaving up to the reader to then decide whether he/she should get the game or not. You can say that my writing style is heavily influenced by this magazine. OK, what that has to do with food, some of you might still ask. Again, one thing I tried to do on this trip was to try different cuisines. Short of East Asian (other than Ichi Umi) and African, I have bounced back and forth. Today, it is about Luca’s Ristorante. The reason I came here? Because of all the high marks given by people, which led up to it being the number 2 restaurant in New Jersey, according to Urbanspoon…

But that still does not explain the relationship between CGW, Urbanspoon and Luca’s Ristorante! OK, here is the explanation: If you look at the Urbanspoon page for Luca’s Ristorante, you will notice the amount of positive feedback; however, if you keep on looking closely, you will notice that most of the reader reviews are people who have written exactly one review. While I accept the fact some people might want to put only one review (probably because they do not eat out often or similar reason), when over half of them are exactly one review will raise some eyebrows. Still, I wanted to find out myself…

And that led to yet another getting-myself-lost-while-driving silly experience! Although this time I did not have to go through highways and missing exits, I was challenged by the rain and the darkness of the area. Unlike most of the roads taken previously, most of the driving was through a large section of residential area but, for some reason, it was poorly lit. Given that I was driving slightly below the max allowed speed (due to conditions), I made a couple of wrong turns and that set me back up for almost half an additional hour to my road trip there! Don’t believe me? I am sure that Sherman and Anita can attest to my lack of sense of direction on the roads!

When I arrived, I found it interesting this restaurant was located in a strip mall, not that different to those you can find in Richmond, BC – with the exception that, rather than having another strip mall next to it, it was mostly empty lot in the back (or, at least, as far as I could see which was less than 25m!). Yet, there was some multi-culturalism present: next to Luca’s Ristorante, there was a middle-Eastern/Indian type cafe. After I walked past the door, I was greeted by a “long” corridor to where the maitre’d station is and then it separates the dining room into two. Since it was empty at that moment, I was given the option to sit anywhere. I chose the very corner of the restaurant, as far away from any potential customers who might be arriving later. The reason? Lightning…

While it was serviceable to an extent (and not as bad as Baru Latino), it was far from ideal for a picture taking perspective. This meant that I had to use my Speedlight. It was a good thing, I thought, there weren’t any customers yet but, not long after, two couples took a table in the same area where I was. Fortunately, they were far enough. That also meant I shouldn’t take my chances and try to snap as many pictures as possible as fast as possible. Anyway, to the food!

After I made my order, I was given this bowl of complimentary bread. I will admit the bread was quite good. Three different types of bread, all of them still warm. It wasn’t that fluffy but it had a good consistency to it. The one I found somewhat out of place is the middle one which had some fruit in it (blueberry? raisins?). Since I was expecting something neutral or savoury, it caught me slightly off guard. Out of the two dips, I liked the pesto to the right which enhanced the savoury-ness of the bread. The left one… Well, I was still trying to figure out what it was. I thought it would be olive oil and balsamic with the twist of some herbs on top. However, it did not have that olive flavour. I did not bother to ask either because, overall, the bread was good on its own.

To start off with, I had the… Sorry but I do not remember the name exactly. (I tried to take a picture of the menu for reference purposes with my iPhone but it was too dark to make anything out of it). Yes, yes, the general idea is that of mozzarella di bufala caprese, i.e., tomato, mozzarella and basil but, in this case, it also had some capers, grilled red peppers, oil and balsamic vinegar. While simple, this dish was good, in fact, better than expected. I knew that the tomato would be a challenge, specially because they used what seems to be a beefsteak tomato and tomatoes in general weren’t “in season”. And while the tomato couldn’t hold to that creamy texture of the mozzarella, the grilled peppers shined and took over that complimentary role. The sweet pieces mixed really well with that herb taste of basil and the oil and vinegar. The capers were mostly for show and don’t think it added much (not even some saltiness).

With my pasta dish (more in a moment), I received a side salad. The truth is, I could have lived without it. OK, OK, I wouldn’t mind eating more greens just that, well, it wasn’t that much to comment about. They might have grabbed some mixed greens from a bag and added some tomatoes on top and call it a salad. The dressing (not pictured) was better, though, as it provided some savoury notes to the otherwise average salad. (And I am among those who can eat salads without dressing!).

As mentioned above, I had pasta. In the case of Luca’s Ristorante, they have fresh pasta and, well, pasta. Since they make that distinction, I thought I might as well go for the pasta fresca. In this case, Gnocchi di Spinaci Genovese or Spinach dumplings served with braised sirloin and caramelized onions in a white wine sauce (the last part not 100% accurate as the picture I took is extremely dark). When I was served this dish, the waiter first brought a cloth napkin and put it folded into a square the table. Then, he brought the tajine like pot (except it did not have a hole on top). I was wondering what I was supposed to do with it until he put his hand on top and, in a theatherical act, he makes me wait and wait and then uncover this dish. And, then, he asked if I wanted some “Parmesan cheese”. I said yes and, using a grater, he topped some (or “until you say stop”). Authentic Parmigianino? Uncertain, but I am not going to argue on that point.

At first, the liquid was still bubbling, so I knew I had to proceed with care to avoid burning myself. After “mixing” it around, I took my first bite. Now, I know that pasta is a tricky business, specially if you bring it up to an Italian. Most people like it al dente, some others like it mushy. I won’t condemn anybody about this because, well, it is personal preference. In the case of gnocchi, I like it light and fluffy, though if it has a slight bite to it, I think I can live with it. In this case, I found its texture to be slightly chewy. While it did not have to chew hard (as in, say, a bowl of tong yuen, aka, Chinese glutinous rice ball soup), it had a chewier consistency than what I expected. The sauce, which, as mentioned above, started as bubbling liquid, started to thicken as it started to cool down. However, because the gnocchi was mostly smooth (baring that indentation, as if made with a thumb), the sauce did not really “cling” into it. As a result, I ended up eating this dish with a spoon rather than a fork, which I felt somewhat odd. Finally, the meat was an epic fail: partially thanks to the cut, it ended up dry, which did not help much to the beef taste as it was struggling to begin with. Size wise, I will have to say this would have been better to share rather than eat it by myself. Heck, I barely made past half the tajine!

On the way back to the hotel, I couldn’t help wonder… Why was everybody raving about this place? Did I order something wrong? While there were hits, the pasta dish, what a lot of Italians considers (or, at least, it is said) to be the key dish failed. If you fail on that, the rest of the meal will be incomplete. Of course, I did not have the dinner Italian style, still, I can’t help how I would have reacted if I was given that as second dish (after the antipasto) and I did not like it. Overall, I think it has good points but not high enough, specially to the extent some “reviewers” mentioned. Because of that, I don’t think I would come back if I am in there area again.

The Wine Bar
Calle Eusebio A. Morales, El Cangrejo
Panama City, Panama

In life, there are friends and there are FRIENDS. When I moved to Canada, I did not tell to almost any of my friends. Before anybody jumps into any conclusion, you must understand that moving into a new country on your own is not necessarily easy and emotional attachments to your previous country might detract you from your new home. However, even then, there were FRIENDS who, despite I severed almost all contact, had faith in me (how they found out, I don’t know). One of these FRIENDS is GN, whom I met way back from high school. So, when went to Panama a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to treat GN for lunch/dinner. Of course, it would be GN’s choice. And the place we ended up was The Wine Bar.

Sure, there were tables outside but, down there, being so hot, almost nobody uses them!

I must mention this was not the first choice; instead, it was Benningan’s. Yes, that “casual dining” US chain. However, I asked GN if we could go for “something else”, hinting a Panamanian type restaurant. Alas, my argument was not enough; however, at least, we did not end up there. The Wine Bar was the GN’s next option.

The Wine Bar is part of a group of restaurants from a Swiss chef who moved to Panama long time ago. His flagship restaurant is french, while others include Swiss, Italian and, in this case, a wine bar/casual gourmet.

We arrived around noon and seated quickly. During out meal, the amount of customers was inconsistent. For a while, there were only a couple of customers. 15 minutes later, it was 3/4 full and so on. In a way, it did not really help the fact our meal lasted for around 2 hours (not that I ordered that many dishes; however, we had a lot to catch-up which was fine). One thing I wished though was a table closer to the window. No, it was not that much for the sight, rather for lightning. Unfortunately, those were already taken…

My usual (infamous?) shot of condiments at the table. Yes, that’s a bottle of oil and balsamic!

I had a bit of problem with the menu. I have not been to this particular location; I have been to one of their sister restaurant – and only once long time ago, so I was not sure what to order. Most of the dishes were Italian. In fact, you could customize your own pasta dish. Choose the sauce type (tomato based or cream based), meat and pasta and they will prepare it for you. However, GN has been there a lot of times so I let GN do most of the ordering.

After our order, the bread arrived and the waiter poured the oil and balsamic in a small saucer. I won’t say I was really thrilled with the bread. Even if I overlook that, it felt it was sitting there for a while. Sure, it was warm, just that I was expecting something fresh out of the oven (as, I did not “feel” that fresh bread elasticity). Or at least buns that won’t dry up so easily as sliced bread. As for the balsamic/oil, while it did help slightly, it wasn’t the best I have had.

This would be my contribution to the meal. I insisted we should order some starter and this was what we agreed upon: Funghi Aglio (USD $8), mushroom with garlic and a good dose of oil as well. I really liked this dish. It had a strong garlic taste, yet not overpowering. Also, it was salty, yet not too salty. The only part that disappointed to a certain extent was the selection of mushroom, in this case, button mushroom. Now, I must admit there might have been a bit of lost in translation. While I do know that funghi is the generic term for mushroom, I am not sure if Italians would call button mushroom funghi. At this point, I did manage to find a good use of the bread, hehehe.

Oh, the drinks! I personally did not order any; however, GN did order a glass of sangría (USD $3.50). I had a small sip and found it a bit too sweet for my usual liking of alcohol (and that is even considering I like Riesling and Gewürztraminer).

While we were having a really good time, we did notice that the food took awfully long to arrive – about 30 minutes or so long… But, it eventually arrived.

First, GN’s dish, Cannelloni Cardinale (USD $7). I am not sure how to describe it other than, well, it was like most of the cannelloni I had in the past. In GN’s opinion, it was not long enough under the broiler/salamander to “burn”/caramelize the cheese on the top. The filling itself… Well, I don’t think I remember very well. It was creamy, yes, just that it had a lot more potential that did not come to fruition.

This was my dish or “GN’s other option”. The dish name is Frutti de Mare (USD $11) with white sauce on fusilli, meaning seafood in a creamy sauce. For the seafood portion, I easily detected clams, shrimp, (mini) scallops and I think there were some pieces of fish (which one, I am not sure). Just in case, let’s take a closer look at the dish:

Again, creamy it was, though a dash of olive oil (oh, my heart!) would have been a really good addition. Sure, it was on the table; however, it was one of those instances were you wanted to taste the dish “as the chef intended”. I found the seafood slightly disappointing, as if they were not fresh enough. I must make emphasis on this comment, as there is a lot of seafood in Panama. If you can’t procure fresh seafood there, you are doing something wrong. When I though I was over-critical, GN agreed…

After clearing the plates, we debated if we should order a dessert to share. And, sure, we did that and here is what we got:

No, it is not a piece of cake (though it could have easily been that). Instead, this is a piece of flan or crème caramel or egg custard or… (you get the gist – USD $4.25). In my head, flan ought to be soft. However, in this case, it was a bit too dense for my liking. It was sweet but not overpowering. Had it been softer, I would have liked it a lot more.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed and GN agreed. Who am I to argue with somebody who frequents this place? ^_^;