Feeding a Soccer Team....Mostly Thumbs up for Pub Fare at "The Wicklow"

Last week, it was my job to organize a farewell dinner for a member and captain of my soccer team. Not too tricky of a job- but it's always hard to please everyone in a big group. I was given the guidelines that we needed a fairly central vancouver location with a extensive menu where we could watch the Canucks game.

After calling a few of the large chain restaurants and not being able to successfully make a large group reservation (approx 12-14) with surrounding TV's to watch the game, I remembered The Wicklow, a pub on the false creek seawall, near Monk McQueens, where I've had a few yummy lunches and one of the best burgers I can remember in 2010.
I called to inquire and staff were amazing over the phone and booked us into a private room with large TVs and a pool table without hesitation.
The Canucks lost, the game was actually pretty boring, but it was great to hang out with all the girls and our coaches off the field.
With a big group, we covered a lot of The Wicklow's menu which is pretty massive- classic pub appies (some with an ethnic flavour or creative twist), salads, burgers and sandwiches, british pub classics, pasta bowls and curries, and meaty entrees.
On the table and the team member/coaches review:

yam fries (7)lightly seasoned with salt, pepper, chinese five spice and fennel. served with chipotle aioli.

*awesome- up there with the best yam fries I’ve ever had, tasty dip too!

crab and artichoke dip (11)rock crab, spinach and artichokes blended with cream cheese, topped with cheddar and jack. baked golden and served with corn tortilla chips.

*didn't like this...it was burnt and too cheesy. The constistency was too thick and chunky.

lamb sausage and wild mushroom salad  (14)sautéed seasonal wild mushrooms and grilled spicy lamb sausage served on fresh mixed greens and topped with bocconcini and mint aioli.  

*a good salad. the sausage was really nice but all in all, it was a bit too rich with the lamb and boccocini cheese

sante fe chicken burger (12)

grilled cajun chicken breast topped with cheddar and served on a fresh kaiser with chipotle aioli, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and red onion.
*really tasty and fresh- awesome toppings....LOVED the guacamole and cheddar

jalapeño burger (14)grilled chopped steak burger topped with peppered jack cheese, fried jalapeños and fried onions. served on a fresh kaiser with mayo, lettuce, tomato and red onion.

*was disappointed because he was expecting a lot of spice and strong flavour from the jalapenos…it didn’t deliver and the flavour was pretty average....

<!!!!!!!!I can't believe I forgot to take a photo of my own meal!!!!!!>
grilled lamb burger (13)grilled lamb burger topped with feta and sautéed mushrooms served on a fresh kaiser with roasted garlic and rosemary aioli, lettuce, tomato and red onion. 

*This was my meal and I loved every juicy, mouth-watering bite. I've had this burger before, and couldn't really think about ordering anything else.

* An awesome burger: really amazing lamb, mushrooms were rich and juicy, ordered the feta on the side because I wanted to only add a little (didn't want to overpower the burger patty), and got a little side of hot sauce for an added kick.

*Bun was nice and light, didn't take away from everything going on inside
*they do 1/2 salad, 1/2 fries on the side....love that

veggie cheese burger (12)grilled garden patty topped with jack cheese and served on a fresh kaiser with peppercorn chive aioli, lettuce, tomato and red onion.

*slight curry flavour was nice on the patty

*yummy fries!

tiger prawn gnocchi (15)sautéed tiger prawns, shallots, artichoke hearts and roasted garlic finished with sundried tomato cream sauce and topped with parmesan.

*Nice sauce, yummy toppings, definitely not stingy with the prawns

rock crab sandwich (12)golden fried rock crab cake on a fresh kaiser dressed with tartar sauce, homemade coleslaw, lettuce, tomato, red onion and havarti.  

*really didn’t like this…thought it tasted like nail polish remover

chipotle chicken club (12)grilled chicken breast, crisp bacon and cheddar served on toasted sourdough with lettuce, tomato and chipotle aioli. 

*was pretty average, but loved the chipotle aioli!

*didn’t like her side soup (a tomato vegetable), found it too stewy with over-cooked veggies

 

bbq baby back ribs (20)a full rack of braised pork ribs grilled and basted with guinness bbq sauce and served falling off the bone.

*polished this off and loved every bit of falling of the bone goodness

*served with a side of snap peas and parmesan spaghetti squash

kentucky bourbon brownie (7)warm chocolate brownie served with kentucky bourbon caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream.  

*Amazing texture- a light crispy exterior with a warm gooey inside

*Mint garnish was a nice touch and tasted great with the ice cream

We had an awesome, extremely attentive server who was prompt and efficient and kept our glasses full all night with constant re-fills. Even though not every dish was a hit with those in our group, I would still give this pub a thumbs up for grub, service, and accomodating large groups.

The Wicklow Pub
610 Stamps Landing

A smelly Valentine's Day Feast

This Valentine's Day, I cooked a special middle-eastern dinner for the "Sous-Chef" and I.
I got swept away in the excitement of cooking new foods and following new recipes to create a menu inspired by one of my favourite restaurants Nuba that I didn't seem to notice that pretty much every dish was loaded with onion and garlic. Of course, I also put quite a bit of spice in the food too because, well.... I gotta be me!
As a result, we ended up with a pretty delicious dinner that had us reeking of onions and garlic and a little bit sweaty from the high spice level. Pretty romantic!

The menu was based around the idea of making my own falafel.

I worked off a pretty basic falafel recipe from one of my favourite recipe blogs Budget Bytes.

Pretty basic stuff. Chickpeas, fresh herbs, garlic, red onion...thicken with baking powder and flour. I've pretty much given up on my magic bullet for food processing needs and started using an electric hand-mixer/blender. I whipped up the dough around lunch time, let it sit in the fridge for the afternoon and it was ready for pan-frying in the evening.

I also made pita toasts with chili/olive oil/sea salt, lemon and garlic crispy oven roasted cauliflower, and tabouleh (which has mint in it but doesn't even begin to cancel out all of the onion going on).

**The sous-chef gets credit for the heart shaped napkins......what a romantic! For dessert....we had a lot of mints and gum!!!!

Creme de la Crumb for Custom Beverages

The other day, I met up with my one of my food blog idols in Vancouver, Follow Me Foodie. She is a dynamo with a passion and enthusiasm for food that is simply infectious....we worked together a bit last fall on a project and she is one of my favourite gals to gab about food with.
She suggested that we meet up at Creme de la Crumb so I could try some custom drinks that she designed/created for their menu. This new-ish bakery/cafe is tucked in the CBC Plaza at Hamilton and Georgia.

Of her three drinks, we had:

Pear and Almond Matte

"A concoction of real pear puree, almond milk and a hint of vanilla bean"

For me this drink was all about a mellow mix of subtle flavours. I used to drink steamed almond milk when I was 10, and this is a real sophisticated twist on that. The pear and vanilla worked really well together- aromatically and taste-wise. Smooth and luxourious.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

"A frozen malt of premium dark chocolates and cocoa topped with whipped cream"

I was impressed because it was lighter tasting than it looks and not as heavy and filling as many other cold chocolate drinks. You definitely get more malt and cocoa than the syrupy sweet "yo-hoo" flavour that I usually get with iced chocolate drinks.

700 Hamilton St
Vancouver, BC V6B6G5www.cremedelacrumb.com

Overall, I was really impressed with this café/bakery. The interior was clean and bright, the deli counter case was full of tasty looking entrees, salads and baked goods. Two small things I loved: SAMPLES of their scones at the cash register (I tried a yummy, flaky one with coconut) and a pitcher of water garnished and infused with orange slices (so refreshing and an easy way to make the customer feel special.)

Creme De La Crumb Bakeshop

A taste of summer patio flava' on a cold and rainy day: The Roughrider

I'm usually a beer or vodka/tonic kinda girl...but when I met an old friend for a post-work bevvy and she said she had been craving one of these all day, I had to try one.

The Roughrider ($8) is Canadian Rye Whiskey shaken with pureed raspberries, black raspberry liqueur & fresh lime juice juice topped with ginger beer, served tall.

Holy crap- this drink goes down easy. Not too sweet, a little dry, with a slight bite, and sooooo refreshing. I could drink about 6 of these on a perfect summer patio afternoon.......

The Greedy Pig

307 Cordova St, Vancouver BC

http://thegreedypig.ca/

Cross Border Road Trip Eats with the Ladies

I went away to Seattle for the weekend with my BCIT ladies to celebrate a 30^th birthday. What did we do this weekend? We shopped and we ATE!

We left on the Friday evening and on our way to Tulalip, we decided to stop for dinner. The ladies wanted something classic and very “American”, so I suggested we hit Bob’s Burgers and Brew just over the border, right off the highway, around Bellingham. The place was packed and after a short wait, we were seated at a comfy booth, ordered and devoured our food. Our server was awesome- friendly, polite, enthusiastic, with a little bit of sass….we all agreed that if we lived there, we’d want to be her friend.  

Where's the lettuce?

K and S each ordered the Southwest Chicken Salad (10.99)- Romaine Lettuce with parmesan cheese and southwest dressing. Topped with slices of grilled chicken breast, black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, red onion and crispy tortilla chips. These ladies were impressed with their meals- they marvelled at the overflowing salad plate, and were pleasantly surprised at all of the fresh ingredients – especially the corn. They both ordered dressing on the side, and although it looked a little sketchy, they both were surprised at how much they both liked the sweet, subtle flavour.

B fell in love with the menu description of the Stuffed Spud (13.99) and when it came out, it didn’t disappoint. It was a huge Washington grown bakers potato stuffed with swiss cheese, sautéed onions and hot grilled ham. Topped off with butter, real bacon, sour cream and chives. This massive meal also came with bread and a salad.

 T got a Classic 6oz Broiled Burger (8.99). This is Bob’s basic burger and T thought it was great: juicy, flavourful, it exceeded her expectations and she thought the fries were nice and crisp too. JB and I both got the Fresh Mushroom Burger (9.99), a 6oz juicy beef patty covered with cheese and smothered with a gargantuan amount of hot sautéed mushrooms on a bed of lettuce with sliced tomato, pickles, and savoury sauce.  The sautéed mushrooms were absolutely amazing,piled high on the bun, packed full of meaty, buttery, rich flavour. Thumbs up for giant portions of simple, classic, tasty, American comfort food.

The next morning our Holiday Inn provided a continental breakfast. It was pretty standard- 3 cereals, instant oatmeal, token pastries and muffins, toast and bagels, yogurt, coffee and juice- but for me, the bar has now been raised for all continental breakfasts with a MAKE YOUR OWN WAFFLE STATION (waffle batter and cast iron waffle iron). This was stellar and a great culinary start to the day. I topped mine with sliced banana, peanut butter, and a light maple syrup drizzle. B customized hers with a jam and cream cheese topping for a cheesecake style waffle.

The rest of the girls hit Nordstorm Café at Northgate Mall for a late lunch. I didn’t partake in this meal, but I’ve had lunch here in the past and loved it, in particular their tomato basil soup and Bistro Club Sandwich- sliced chicken breast, crisp bacon, tomato, avocado and French green beans with garlic aioli on toasted rustic bread.

The birthday girl got to late dinner spot and she had her heart set on PF Chang’s.  This place was like American-style Aasian fusion Earls/Cactus Club/Joey’s. We had a short wait at the upper bar area- service was fantastic and I enjoyed the bartender’s recommendation of Mac and Jack’s, a locally brewed beer. My first impression wasn’t that great- our service was kind of cranky and the strong smell of Lush cosmetics was impacting my taste buds (we were seated near the front of house and the restaurant was in a mall). Our server mixed up delicious dipping and hot sauces and warmed up a bit, was very helpful in helping JB order around her food allergies. The food came and it was good, but not great. Pretty much your basic Americanized Chinese food: saucy, without a real strong flavour.

For me, the stand-outs were the Chang’s Chicken/Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps- quickly cooked chicken/tofu with cool lettuce cups, and the stir-fried eggplant tossed with scallions in a savoury chili pepper sauce, the banana spring roll- warm, crispy bites with coconut-pineapple ice cream and drizzled with caramel and vanilla sauces- AND the plastic dessert models that our server brought out to show us what the desserts looked like.

The next morning, we took a stroll to Pike Place Market. I love Pike Place….the area is foodie paradise with soooo many amazing coffee shops, the crazy fish mongers, the aggressive produce vendors dishing out samples with sass, bakeries (Le Panier), ethnic foods (piroshkis), cheese shops (beecher’s), and much more.

My fantastic friend, Heather is a travel and food encyclopedia and for a previous trip she had recommended Etta’s for a proper “market brunch.” I saw its awning and large giant plate glass window that looks across to the bustle of Pike Place and the Seattle waterfront. The atmosphere is classy, yet laid back. Service was a little slow, but we all though our extremely earnest and knowlegible server was  fantastic from start to finish. He really impressed us by acknowledging any kind of delay or problem and being extremely apologetic, and being really friendly and nice.

K and S ordered house made granola, fresh fruit, willapa hills yogurt  12- they let me have a spoonful and the yogurt was out-of-this-world thick and creamy.

T, B and JB ordered etta's breakfast: two farm eggs, chicken sausage or bacon, home fries and artisan toast 14- I tried the hashbrowns (crispy, well-seasoned and delicious) the bacon (crispy, well-seasoned and delicious), and although I was eying JB’s chicken sausage, I didn’t want to interrupt because she was really enjoying it.

I ordered the Daily Special: Pozole- a tomato based mexican soup with braised pork butt, hominy (a type of corn), shredded cabbage and cilantro, topped with two poached eggs and shredded tortilla 14- This was a fantastic dish in terms of flavour, texture, and quality ingredients. The meat was tender and falling apart, the broth was rich and velvety, the hominy gave the dish an earthiness, the crunch of the fresh veg was a nice touch, and when the yolk from the eggs started oozing all over the other ingredients….well, it was a thing of beauty. Simple, yet complex, and all over delicious.

Other memorable food moments included trips to Albertson’s (Old Fashioned Glazed Donuts) and Walmart (Mammoth Cheez Balls and other atrocities).