Coco Rico Cafe
1290 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Way back to June/July last year, during the World Cup 2010, PO and I went to some of the sport bars in the Robson/Denman area of Downtown Vancouver to have lunch and, well, watch some games. One of the places we tried to go was Coco Rico Cafe, given their emphasis on TVs to watch sports. However, on the day we went, something really odd happened: despite they are even open for breakfast, when we arrived, we were told the kitchen was closed and, given we were there for lunch, basically we were turned around. Ever since, we have mentioned it again and again, wondering if it was worth visiting. When we were running out of places nearby to visit, we decided to drop by. It might as well be as good as any time, ain’t it?

Upon walking in, it is pretty obvious they have their share of TVs. However, given the small space and layout, some people might have to turn around to be able to watch the games. But, hey, when you are watching the game! However, we weren’t there to watch any games but for the food and, after some discussion back and forth…

We started off with a pizza – their Coco pizza. While they had entree type dishes (namely pasta and some steak/beef dishes), we ordered dishes that would be on the lines of what would be ordered if you were there for a game. And, I guess pizza sort of fit that profile. When it arrived, I made a funny remark, on the lines of “doesn’t this look like Delissio/DiGiorno/frozen pizza?” As soon as we took a bite, that remark wasn’t that funny anymore. If you have had their crispy pizza, you then have a very good idea of what to expect. If not, let’s say that it felt as a cracker with some savoury ingredients on top. Was it really a frozen pizza? Let’s just say I am not sure I want to find out…

Since we ordered a dish that can be considered an entree, we could order 10 wings for $2.50. Take THAT, Zabu Chicken!!! OK, you might wonder what is that container on the side. For some strange reason, we chose to order the sauce on the side and that’s where it went. On that note, among the sauces they had, we went for the honey garlic. While some of the wings were on the small side, at least, it wasn’t fried to crisp to the point the meat was almost jerky/non-existant. So, from that perspective, it was good.

To make up our last dish in this meal, we ordered their seafood platter, which has sauteed shrimp, fish and chips and mussels. Depending on your perspective of what it should be here, it can go both ways. Shrimps felt more on the lines of cocktail shrimp (i.e., cold shrimp with cocktail sauce), while the mussles were cold with some salsa. The fish, unlike a lot of restaurants, had a thin batter, though, alas, the pieces themselves were small and resulted in a bit of overcooking. Still, as fish and chips, it was good in its own ways, specially considering their tartar sauce was thick and a bit acidic. In fact, at one point, we were starting to dip the fries in that sauce!

Overall, the food was just OK at best with some small highlights. However, let’s face this: it is a pub/sports bar. Should we expect better? If it was really good, that might already be a surprise by itself. But, in this case, it wasn’t. In fact, if I were looking for a sports bar, I can think of other places nearby, like Fogg N’ Sudds across the street.

Elephant & Castle
Chain restaurant, several locations
385 Burrard Street (location visited)
Vancouver, BC

A small reminder from 11 months ago: During the Winter Olympic Games, due to what was perceived as “difference in culture”, some restaurants imposed a mandatory gratuities to the final bill. As a result of that, I banned myself from some restaurants. Whether I will continue not supporting them, well, that might be up in the air; however, for this post, I ended up with PO in Elephant & Castle, one of those restaurants in that said list, for convenience purposes out of all things. Damn me…

I arrived first because PO had to make a small detour (part of the reason why we ended up here). Walking in… Well, you could easily tell it is not a restaurant similar to, say, Earl’s or Cactus Club or similar kin. The feeling was different. I would have said “British pub!”; however, since I haven’t been in a real one, saying that might be wrong. The restaurant itself was larger than what you can imagine from outside. In fact, there was a second level, which is where we ended up seated.

Here is something that we had to crack a joke at. When was the last time you were served Guinness with a straw?! Nah, actually, I just ordered pop but we couldn’t help but laugh at the fact it was served in a glass with the Guinness logo in it! Now, also as a note, see the far back to the right? Well, it is not soy sauce nor Worcestershire sauce; rather that is a bottle of malt vinegar. Did I say it was a British pub???

As an appetizer, we were debating between several options until we spotted the “Curry Chips”. Of course, the “chips” here are in reference to fries. These were crispy on the outside while fluffy in the inside; however, that fluffiness was a bit flat. Instead of that starchy texture, it simply collapsed. It wasn’t bad but I have had better thick cut fries. As for the curry sauce, it still had chunks of tomato and onions (both cooked through) which would indicate good curry, but that didn’t translate very well into the sauce itself as it had a powdery like feeling to it. Yes, I know, curry is made from different grind spices to form a paste so there could be an explanation. Well, no, that powdery feeling was more on the lines of a powder mix. It did complement the chips but it could definitely been better.

PO went for the blue cheese and bacon burger. Now, the description in the menu was a bit strange, specifically, that of melted blue cheese. I can’t imagine the blue cheese being melted unless in a sauce form, but oh, well… Past that, PO thought the burger was juicy and not bad at the posted $10.50 price range. The soup, which I sampled a little, was a corn chowder. Unlike the one I had in Havana Cafe, this one was on the creamy side but, similar to the one from Havana, it had its layer of sweetness.

As for myself, originally I wanted to go for the kidney and steak pie; however, I was told they might not have it (something on the lines of only that many prepared per day). Since it took them quite a while to get our orders, I told the waitress to get me a Shepperd’s pie if the kidney one wasn’t available. Yup, that’s what I got. Right from the get go, it was quite evident they weren’t holding back in terms of gravy. It was quite thick but, similar to the curry, I was wondering if this was whipped out from a powder pack due to that consistency. As for the mash on top, when I hit my fork, it was quite smooth and was starting to wonder, likewise, if this was made from dehydrated potato. That question was answered when I hit a chunk of the tuber. As for the ground meat, well, it was just OK. In a way, it was the gravy which took over almost everything. And, as a result, it was OK but not much for me. In fact, I didn’t finish this!

Overall, some of the dishes seems better than others but, in the end, it was average/decent at best. Given it is a pub, should I have expected more? Of course, if you are for beer, that might be more suitable, probably not for the food. And, as a result, for me, not in a hurry to go back.

Central City Brewing
13450 102 Ave
Surrey, BC

Bacon… Let’s face it, almost everything taste better with bacon (assuming it was prepared correctly, that is). In fact, I don’t know anybody who, after eating a well prepared piece hasn’t gone back for more. Yes, it is fatty, it might not be the healthiest of options. But, with some moderation, ahem, it is a thing of beauty. With that in mind, a couple of weeks ago, when I went to Pho Tam, Sherman made mention that Central City Brewing Co. had a bacon tasting menu. However, on that day, it was not to come true so I mulliganed it for a while. Until three weeks ago, that is. Since it was a monthly special (as in September, which means it is no longer available. However, we ordered other dishes!), I thought it was a now or never situation. In a try to get others to join, I dropped an invite to fellow bloggers; however, due to short notice, only Elaine and Sherman ended up joining me on this bacon adventure, huahahahahhaa!

Update: Elaine post here and Sherman’s post here.

Technically, I arrived first and was walking around the Surrey Central Mall when I ran into Elaine who was also in the mall doing some shopping. While walking around, I found an “interesting shop” which I decided to take a detour (with the caveat that I was going to be late for Central City Brewing). Since Elaine had plans to do some additional shopping, I guess it worked fine for us. Yeah, the organizer being late at the event…

When I arrived, one thing struck me right away. If you changed the name of the place from Central City Brewing Co to “Cactus Club” Or “Earl’s” or any of those infamous “casual fine dining” restaurants, it might have not made a difference. The high booths plus, ahem, uniform of the waitresses, plus the ambiance and so on. Had there been more customers (it wasn’t packed on the Saturday night we were there), you won’t have been able to tell at all!

When I arrived (late), Elaine and Sherman more or less had an idea of what to order and I was, basically, catching up. Originally, we thought to share a tasting menu and order other dishes to supplement. Since we have been breaking bread with each other so often, there are somethings that need not to be mentioned and we sort of had an idea of the other dishes to order. Feel free to call it freaky…

After we made our order, Sherman mentioned that his work colleagues were seated at a different table and suggested us to drop by to take a picture of *their* orders. At that point I couldn’t help myself think: (1) Has Sherman “trained” them so well that, even when he is not eating together, they ask him to take the pictures first? and (2) Do we have no shame on taking pictures of food of the *other* tables??? In my case, “me don’t know the meaning of shame!” Anyway, here are some of the dishes they ordered.

Sorry, I am not sure about the exact description (except of the last one, of course, being mussels). Back to our table, our dishes eventually started to arrive:

Bacon and corn cakes – part of the bacon tasting menu. Now, I am not sure if this is supposed to be regular size of an appetizer or, given they saw us taking pictures, it was served this way. If it is a regular size of the appetizer, I think it is quite a larger serving! Now, you might be asking, where is the bacon? There were some pieces of it in the corn cake; however, while it would have added some flavour, the key here wasn’t that much those pieces. Instead, we sort of agreed they use the fat rendered and added it to the corn cake mix because even the pieces without any bacon was full of smokey bacon taste. If you love bacon, this would be a thing of beauty… Except for one minor detail: had the corn cake not be so soft. Otherwise, we all thought it was a winner.

As an “appetizer” to share (overstating the obvious, we shared all the dishes), we thought about mussels, with the big question being *which* variation. In the end, the blue cheese one (may I say, with bacon???) was ordered. I will have to credit from several perspective here: only one mussel ended up un-opened, they used Pacific mussels, the blue cheese was there but did not over power, the bacon was there just to impart some flavour but not take away from the other ingredients and the use of fresh herb on top. There were some so-so points, like the use of bread rather than fries. I know, they didn’t call it mussels and fries but c’mon! Anyway, the bread wasn’t that bad – nicely toasted – but I have had better. For the most part, we thought this dish was a winner except for one small detail: $15. Had it been $12, I think I would have liked it a bit more but, at $15, not as much. Could it be because we are in Surrey?

The second dish of the bacon tasting menu was a real odd ball: country bacon terrine, served with bread, house pickled veg (sic) and condiments. I am not sure what was in the mind of this dish creator because: (1) a terrine is not something I would consider as an entree but an appetizer, (2) almost none of the characteristics of bacon came up. In fact, other than some bacon wrapping the terrine, I am not sure if it would be categorized as a “bacon” dish. But, moving on, the terrine was quite hard, not even “spreadable” by any means. At least the bread wasn’t really thin (as in crostini thing) which would have made these impossible to eat. Still, I am not convinced on this dish. I mean, rather than doing a terrine, how about braising some pork belly instead and serve it on top of mashed potatoes?

For our first entree to share, we ordered pizza. We sort of agree about this (without much talking about it); however, what we did not agree was which one. They gave me the option to select and I chose the Margherita (Sherman and Elaine were thinking of a “meaty” one). However, upon further consideration, they thought it might have been a good idea, given its simplicity and because it would have been the only dish without meat.

The pizza wasn’t that bad, I will admit. Now, I won’t compare it to, say, Ah-Beetz, but, if I had to compare it to Ragazzi, this was actually quite decent. The way the toppings were added was a little bit disappointing; however, it ended up being a case of not being that bad because I have had worst. Not sure if that is a good sign in the end.

Entree number two to share was one I suggested to “add” and mainly to try yet-another-dish in the menu: their fried chicken – half a boneless chicken stuffed with cream cheese, caramelized onion and mixed herbs, coated with a blend of 9 secret herbs and spices served with coleslaw and baked mac’n'cheese. If there was a dish with a juxtaposition of strange, wacky, surprising and unexpected, it would have been this one. When this arrived at the table, all of us looked at it with a “WTFH is this?!”. I don’t know but, visually, I thought a bucket of KFC chicken would have looked better…

Starting with the sides, the coleslaw was literally a slop, as it had way too much dressing. At least it wasn’t really overpowering. If you leave it aside for the dressing to drain itself a little bit, it wasn’t that bad of a coleslaw. The one that struck odd to Sherman and Elaine was the mac’n'cheese: according to them, it tasted as if it was made from a box of Kraft Dinner. Before anybody bash me for not realizing that, in my defence, I must say that I did NOT grow up eating Kraft Dinners. In fact, I have eaten it only once (which I even blogged! Check it here) and it wasn’t baked. I will have to agree with Sherman and Elaine’s assessment: it was grainy and tasted one-dimensional, i.e., other that the “cheddar” sauce flavour, there weren’t other cheese flavour in it.

But back to the chicken, although the menu mentions it is a boneless fried chicken dish, I can’t help but to ask how they came up with that. Here is the reason: the bones help it with the flavour! But, at least I must given them credit that, to compensate, a cream cheese mix was added. It wasn’t a bad combination actually, though it didn’t help much in the odd visuals side. In the end, though, while a nifty trick, I have had better (from not so reputable places, according to the general population).

Finally, to conclude, the dessert from the bacon tasting menu: Maple chocolate bacon cheese cake. OK, let me try that again: MAPLE, CHOCOLATE, CHEESE CAKE AND BACON combined together! Who knew! And I will have to admit, other than the chocolate which was hard to notice, the combination of maple, cheesecake and bacon actually worked! Some creaminess of the cheesecake, sweetness of the maple and savouryness/crunchiness of the bacon. If there was something to make me want to eat dessert, it would have been this!

One thing I didn’t mention but, for compleness sake, was that the $35 menu includes beer: one for each dish. Since Sherman was driving and I have a low alcohol tolerance, that meant that Elaine would end up drinking these. One thing we did notice from the first was the lack of bubbles, which seemed to indicate a flat beer. But, again, since I didn’t try them, I will it to Elaine to comment, hehehe.

Had I been there by myself (a possibility had nobody agreed to join me), I wouldn’t have thought much about this place. However, thanks to Sherman and Elaine, things were “more interesting”. As for the different dishes, it was a bit of hit and miss – if you are there for the sense of adventure, it might not have been that bad. Now, if I were to do a straight comparison with Cactus/Earl’s/Joey’s and similar types restaurants, Central City Brewing might not fare as well (in terms of food). However, considering this is Surrey, with SFU next to it and near a transit/Skytrain hub (though an infamous one), I will have to give them some credit.

The Swiss
1904 Jefferson Ave
Tacoma, WA

Unlike a lot of you, I seldom travel for pleasure. It is not that I don’t like it; rather, I need that extra push to do so. In fact, I recently went to one thanks for that “small” push… More details when the post goes up! But, back to the topic of travelling: More often than not, when I travel, I do so for business purposes and, given most of my clients are in the US, that means having to deal with border crossing and US Customs. I am sure all of you have had your share of experience. I am just going to summarize mine to almost six hours from Vancouver to Tacoma (border crossing included) on a trip that normally shouldn’t have taken more than 4 (even doable in 3. Just in case, Tacoma is ~30 minutes further south from Seattle in I-5). In my case, because it took me so long, by the time I arrived at the hotel it was already past 9:30 p.m. and, in my hurry just to get to Tacoma, I didn’t make any stop to eat something. Given my share of crappy experiences, by now, I should have learned by now that I should fill up my tank rather than rely on what I can find at the hotel… Anyway, “damage” by done and by ~10:00 p.m., I was looking for something to eat. Guess what? Nothing open nearby. Should I be surprised? “Fortunately”, still at a short walking distance from the hotel, I noticed The Swiss, a nearby pub was still open. Hungry? Tired? Hey, that works for me! (After all, that’s literally how I ended up going to Hooters!).

I will be the first to admit that I am not a drinker (I get tipsy really easily) so me going to a pub, even with friends, means I will be drink pop or be the designated driver. Hey, at least you guys know you can count on me for that one thing! However, I was hungry and even if that meant eating a bowl of peanuts or pretzels, I would have end up doing that. What did surprise me was that, when I was three steps away from the entrance, I was asked for ID. OK, if he assumed I was going there, that’s fine but, then again, that wasn’t difficult to guess: they were about the only place open at that time of the day and that I could see. But, c’mon? Me? Under 21?! Sure I have Chinese genes but there is no way I look like 21!! Anyway, after entering, I was asked if I was there for drinks or food and when I said food, I was told to go to the back to the kitchen.

If you are confused by that statement, so was I. Do you mean I have to go literally to the kitchen and scoop some food and serve it myself? I went to the back and it was quite non-descript. So I turned around to the second section of the bar and asked again. That’s when I was pointed to a cashier at the back. Oh… Won’t have it been easier to put a sign saying “Kitchen”? Or am I being too demanding? I mean, after all, on my way back, I did notice a sign saying if I wanted to order food go directly to the kitchen. I guess it is a case where most of the patrons are locals and already know the procedure.

So, know armed with that knowledge, I stand there and look at the menu. Their fare is mostly burgers, sandwiches and some fried items. Well, given it is a pub, I guess it would have worked fine. Then suddenly this elder person wearing a baseball cap and an apron – which I can easily add “greasy” – approaches me asking what I wanted. I am not sure if it was because I was tired, too hungry or the appearance but it felt… Strange. Now, I have encountered my share of interesting characters in the past, it was just that I wasn’t expecting such person. A new definition of greasy spoon? After making my order, I was given a number and to choose a table. It was a good thing they have free Wi-Fi because, otherwise, funny things might have had happened…

Eventually, the food arrive and here is their calamari. OK, sorry about the pictures but I don’t think bringing out the flash would have been a good idea given it has high ceiling, not to mention some of the other patrons outside. As for the calamari itself… Darn, it felt it was fried and then overfried. Fortunately (?) they weren’t rubbery but it was so fried that it started to have a crispy texture of its own. If that isn’t scary when it comes to calamari, I don’t know what it would be then…

I also ordered a sandwich and had an option for soup or salad to go along. Not wanting to test how fresh their veggies would have been, I ended up choosing the soup. Bad mistake… The soup here is supposed to be a “Swiss Made Soup” (the theme of the restaurant: you could have called it a cantina and it would have worked exactly the same) but it had the taste and feeling of a gumbo, i.e., a rice, tomato-ey soup. I barely managed to had two or three spoonfuls because it was almost cold. I don’t know how they managed to mess it up but they did… As for the couple of spoonfuls I did have, if you have had similar soups in your local supermarket (not the canned ones but the ones made “in-store”), then you have a good idea of what to expect.

And here is the sandwich, called “Today’s” (Today’s special? Today’s super duper sandwich? I don’t know…). According to their menu: Turkey, ham, Swiss and cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, lettuce and onion hot and melty on Italian Herb bread. $7.95. It is needless to say the description of the sandwich sounds better than what was served. From a pure sandwich perspective, I will have to say it was quite decent (though not sure how much is due to the hunger factor); however, this is not that different from what you would be able to make yourself at home using cold cuts. Furthermore, the promised “hot and melty” was anything but; nevertheless, I ended up eating the whole thing. Again, because I was hungry?

I won’t make any further judgement about this place because, let’s face it, I might be the only exception in the sense I was only there for the food. For the rest, I am sure they were there for the drinks or other forms of entertainment. After all, there were billiard tables and a stage. As for the food itself, I found them to be average at best (and I might be too generous) and, given I am not a drinker, chances of me returning are zero… Unless I am back to Tacoma at ~10:00 p.m. and need something to eat…

Checkers Bar & Grill
1755 Davie Street
Vancouver, BC

OK, OK, the World Cup is over but I still have posts in the queue from those days… Sorry? ^_^;;; So, similar to my posts to Fogg N’ Suds and Dover Arms Pub, PO and I chose to go to pubs to watch the games – except that day there was no game. Despite that, PO was fine to visit a pub just for kicks (or drinks). At first, we were planning to go to some pubs in English Bay but, guess what? When we arrived, despite it had a sandwich board outside and the doors weren’t locked, there was absolutely nobody there! We took a peek around and there was absolutely nobody. So, without further hesitation, we just turned around and look for the closest pub and, among the several ones, we ended up going to Checkers Bar & Grill.

At first, we were confused as to where we ended up walking into. It wasn’t until we realized the entrance was shared with the Best Western hotel. Oh, boy, hotel food? Anyway, we turned left after the entrance and that’s where it leads to the “pub”.

Unlike the Great Bear Pub where, despite there was no sign of whether we should sit ourselves or wait, not long after we walked in, a waitress spotted us and told us to take any table. That meant a table that has some good light source, which translated into one near the window… And here is the “oddity”. Staff aside, I think we being in the restaurant brought down the average age of the dinners by over a decade! I guess it “helps” the restaurant has a special menu designated specially for customers of a certain age group…

After we got the table, here comes the “usual” question: What to order? In the case of Checkers, it had some usual suspects but we decided to go for their specials. In PO’s case, that ended up being one of the daily specials in the form of…

Grandma’s Meatloaf Sandwich – Fresh meatloaf served with sourdough bread topped with sauteed mushroom and gravy. Served with the option of salad or fries. I am not sure what is the general though of the gravy, whether it should look similar to a demi-glace or that brownish colour; regardless, to me it looked really odd… But, as for the sandwich, it came with two large pieces of meatloaf, which was a bit too grounded for my liking, not to mentioned it desperately needed seasoning. Wonder if it was targeted specifically to the group we observed?

As for me, I went with the other special that requires a purchase of a drink: their steak sandwich – A 6 oz. sirloin steak smothered in mushrooms and served on garlic toast. Normally, had I ordered it by itself, I would have been $16. During certain times of the day, with a purchase of a drink, it will be ~$13. Suddenly, it sounds like buy the sandwich, get the pop for free?

But, back to the sandwich. I wasn’t expecting any form of melt-in-your-mouth type meat. I mean, after all, this isn’t fine dining… The done-ness level was good enough for what is being paid. Tastewise, there was some noticeable beef but, past that, it is pretty much similar to most of such sandwiches of this type you can find. As for the rest… Well, that’s where some question marks kick in. What’s up with the same mushroom served over both the meat loaf sandwich and this sandwich? Where is the top bun??? The bread actually managed to soak whatever was falling down from that perspective, it did its job.

In the end, the food served here was… Average at best, considering the fact this is a restaurant in a hotel? Even if it wasn’t it wasn’t exciting at all and, for the same price, I might as well go to another nearby restaurants as the price range is about the same and, in a lot of other cases, better food. However, given the age group of the customers, that also means something, just that that something does not apply to me.

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.

Dover Arms Pub
961 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

Following my post on Wednesday on Fogg N’ Suds, on another day, PO and I were out for lunch and, once again, we chose to go to a place were you could watch the football games. Of course, in the West End, that translated into a pub. Instead of going to a place in Robson, we chose to Denman and that resulted in Dover Arms Pub, an English theme restaurant/pub. With such a large exterior location, I can’t help wonder myself why it has taken me so long to visit it!

When we arrived, the game has already started and there were a lot of customer seated on one side of the pub. I chose to seat on the other end because, well, I wanted some sunlight! One thing that became quite evident is that you have to be patient. The waitress took her time to come over to do anything, from bringing the menu, to drinks and the food. But, then again, probably the other customers were keeping her busy and didn’t really focus much on our side of the restaurant (which, until the end of the meal, it was pretty much PO and I).

We started up with an appetizer, which ended up being something not necessarily English: hummus (and, at the same time, some drinks, which, were Molson Canadian and pop). I will have to say the full description of this dish was quite interesting: Roasted garlic and spinach hummus. What arrived was somewhat unexpected.

First the pita bread: I was of the thick variety (if actual such thing exists, just look at the picture above). To an extent, it felt more like a filler than anything else! I would have certainly preferred the regular flat variation. The other “problem” is that it was quite bland but, hey, it is just bread so I won’t comment too much about it. As for the hummus… Well, that is the part that confused us quite a bit. Probably my expectations is a smooth paste, which I could then scoop with the pita bread. Obviously, we couldn’t do it with this thick, chunky paste. And when I mean chunky, I do mean chunky: there were still pieces of chick pea as we went through the dip. On that note, we ended up using a knife and then spread it on top of the “pita bread”. Flavourwise, it didn’t work in anyway. I mean, it was fine, just that I could taste either the garlic nor the spinach….

PO chose to go for the pulled pork sandwich, the dish I would have order as my second option. Visually, I will have to admit it does look quite good. I am not sure if serving the coleslaw on top was a good idea. It is just that it being a wet “salad”, plus the fact they added sauce to the pulled pork, it ended up being quite wet. I think it being served as a side would have worked better. As for the fries, meh, it was the generic version. I tried a piece of the pork form the exterior and it was quite… saucy. I think there was too much sauce but still decent. However, I found out a reason why: while the pieces from the outside were partially moist, the pieces from the inside weren’t so. In the end, I think I wasn’t so excited about it as I can do better…

Given I was in an English eatery, I thought I should order something English as well. Yup, that’s bangers and mash. One odd thing you will notice immediately is the carrot. Yup, that is baby-cut carrots. I won’t hold anything against them for using this. After all, this is a pub, I won’t expect much in terms of vegetables… As a result, the broccoli was OK, not much to comment about.

The mashed potatoes was good and bad. While it was smooth, it was still stiff and lacked some liquid, either milk or broth. At that point, I was wondering if this was made out of a pack… (There were some pieces of skins so, at that point, I didn’t care much). Furthermore, some spice was badly needed, as there wasn’t much taste at all. I guess that’s why it had a heavy serving of gravy… On that note, I will admit the gravy was quite good. It wasn’t salty and had a slight hint of fried goodness. I can’t pinpoint if it was beef or pork, though. Regardless, it was good. And, finally, the sausage… I won’t say it was spectacular or anything, it was just OK. It was pork based and the meat wasn’t too smooth but there weren’t much chunks either. It was crispy on the outside and, when cut, it had a slight snap on it. So, the cooking method was good, the sausage wasn’t the best.

In the end, the food wasn’t spectacular by any means but, then again, this is a pub, where food might not be the main focus. If we look from that perspective, I would call it is quite decent – the caveat, of course, is that I am not much of a drinker. Now, if I were to compare this to Fogg N’ Suds, for some reason, I prefer the later.

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.

Mick O’Shea’s Irish Pub
328 N Charles St
Baltimore, MD 21201

I arrived at Baltimore Washing International airport (BWI) at around 7:00 p.m. but did not get to the hotel until 8:20 p.m. It wasn’t because it was far but rather the confusing directions in the airport. It took me a while to find the baggage area and after that find the appropriate way around to get transportation to the hotel. In the end, I managed to find an information kiosk and, as per their suggestion, I ended up taking a shuttle. It was $14, which is not bad considering I paid over $40 in cab fares on my way back from the hotel to the airport on my last day…

Anyway, after checking in, I was wasted. I hadn’t had anything to eat since a scone I had almost 11 hours earlier. I was willing to walk a bit to find a good place to eat however, given the time and the weather (it was quite windy and raining lightly), I had to settle for anything close by. And that place close by was Mick O’Shea’s, a pub a block away from the hotel.

Now, I must admit I walked to other places in the same block to ensure that I least ended up in a decent place. Compared to other places, this was a bit more packed than the others. The fact they had the World Series running might have been a factor. Anyway, it took a while to catch their attention and get a table, but once I was seated, everything went smoothly.

I did not take a picture of the bar area itself as it was packed full and didn’t want to take my chances of getting myself kicked out of there. Anyway, their Monday’s special was burger, fries and a draft for $7. Although there were quite interesting items in their menu, I was too tired to think and ordered that. As for the draft, I had…

Sorry for the fuzzy picture. I am sure that in an Irish place, this is a no brainer: Yes, it was a Guinness. As for the food…

I also asked for a spinach salad ($4.50 for a small). Again, sorry for the fuzzy picture. It was quite good, as it had a quite interesting mix of flavours: slightly sweet from the cranberries, crunchy from the carrot and onion, buttery from the walnuts and bitter/pungent from blue cheese. And then, the burger.

At this point, I decided to use the flash as, given the light conditions, I knew it was darn impossible to take a decent picture without it. Fortunately, nobody was bothered by that and took my time to take and re-take it. Still the fact I was tired, messed things up a little bit and the picture did not come up as focused as I wished.

The fries were decent, not exceptional. The fact it was a spear pickle was interesting but I was not crazy about it. As for the burger itself, it was decent but not superb. As seen in the picture above, it was still pink; however, it was a bit dry, i.e., no running juices.

Overall, it was not bad but is not good either. Had the burger being juicier (i.e., running juices), I would have had enjoyed it a lot more. However, I must keep in mind it was only $7. I would go there again if it happens to be under the same conditions (i.e., windy and rainy), otherwise, I think I would rather go to Harbourplace. But, for a cheap meal, this place is nice.