Salmon n' Bannock

Salmon n' Bannock isn't a new restaurant. It's been around for a couple of years and I've been wanting to check it out. It's a small restaurant on Broadway, a subtle neighbour to the loud signage of Toys R Us (Broadway and Alder). They are a First Nations restaurant- definitely a branch of ethnic food I had never explored.

My pal T Mc had been wanting to check it out as well, and she was working in the area that evening,  so it was an easy decision for a dinner venue. The space is cozy (seats 20?), dimly lit, spotless, and there was only one other party of two dining when we arrived for our 7pm meal. It was decorated with a few framed aboriginal art and there was even a beautiful painted canoe hanging from the season. Service throughout was pleasant, friendly, and prompt. The menu has a wide variety of appetizer, entree, and dessert options- either traditional First Nations (Deer Stew n' bannock) or popular dishes with a First Nations twist (Wild Boar Hot Dog on Bannockette, Bison Indian Tacos.)

I ordered the Red Seafood Chowder n' Bannock ($11). It arrived and I was impressed with the bright, fresh red colour, and the smell. Unfortunately, this dish didn't deliver. Although the ingredients (veggies and seafood) tasted fresh, I found this dish quite flavourless and completely one note. I was really looking forward to the bannock. I liked the harder biscuit-like texture, but again found it really bland and boring. Perhaps a flavoured butter could've saved this for me.

TMc ordered the Salmon n' Bannock Burger ($16); 6oz wild salmon fillet with caper mayo, red onions, and fennel slaw- served with sweet potatoe wedges. She liked the burger ok and thought the bannock bun was an interesting twist. I thought the burger seemed a bit small for $16....it was about the size of a english muffin breakfast sandwich. Interesting to note: when they say sweet potatoe wedges, they actually mean sweet potatoes and not yam fries.


I'm glad that I tried Salmon and Bannock and I might recommend it to someone who was looking to try a completely different type of cuisine, but I won't go out of my way to eat here again. My tastebuds need more flavour.

Early January Brunch in Yaletown at Cache Bistro & Lounge

My buddy Jobin got in touch right after the holidays to invite me for brunch. He bought a Groupon for Cache Bistro & Lounge that was getting close to due that needed using. I was only too happy to oblige. A "need to use this coupon" meal is always a good reason to get together and eat. This Groupon was a Brunch for 2 for $20. This consisted of a coffee, a choice of 4 of their brunch entrees & a Belgian waffle with topping.

I liked the feel of this place. On the classy side, but definitely not pretentious or too fancy and upscale. Service throughout the meal was really friendly and efficient, and our food came out extremely quick.

Our Belgian waffles came out first (regularly $3.50). We misunderstood the wording on the groupon deal and ordered all 4 toppings to try them. The groupon only allowed for one topping. We tried to explain that we had been confused but our server just kind of shrugged his shoulders and said that it would only be an additional $2 ($1 per topping.) The waffles were quite light, with a nice exterior crunch, and they weren't too sweet. I thought they were okay- but Jobin really liked his and to quote him "I'm not usually a waffle guy." Our favourite toppings were the rum caramel and the vanilla whipped cream.

Jobin ordered the Bacon Benedict (regular $12); Back Bacon, croissant with country style potato hash and seasonal fruit. Nice presentation when it arrived and generous portion of hashbrowns. Unfortunately, the "back bacon" really just seemed like thinly sliced ham lunchmeat. Overall, he enjoyed the dish and liked croissant spin on the benedict. We both liked that they used the hollandaise sauce a bit sparingly, many places completely drown eggs benny with the 'daise.

I ordered the Vegetarian Frittata (regular $13); Sun-dried tomato, gouda, spinach and caramelized onion, choice of toast, yam hash, fresh seasonal fruit. I've never seen a frittata look like this before. This was served in a small ramekin and more like an baked omelette souffle. It was light and fluffy. The vegetables were hidden and not very generous in this dish. The flavour was really mellow and dominated by the cheese, egg, and perhaps cream. I was able to get some dijon mustard on the side which really perked up the dish and made it enjoyable. The toast was pretty standard grocery store load style. I LOVED their yam hashbrowns. They were well seasoned and cooked perfectly.

All in all this was a nice meal in a nice place. I wasn't blown away, but especially with the Groupon, the price point was fair for a tasty meal that filled me up and friendly service.

Soaking up the winter sun at Havana

Some great friend's were in town from Montreal over the holidays. I visited them in Sept and they made sure we had some truly awesome eating experiences.

It was their last day in Vancouver and before they headed to the airport, a group of us planned a lunch. Picking a location was a challenge, but we ended up choosing Red Wagon, hoping it wouldn't be too busy on a Tuesday. Wrong. The place was packed and we were looking at a minimum 45 minute wait for our group of seven. Dang! I was pumped and started to drool as I peered through the window at happy people being delivered platters of pulled pork pancakes. We decided to hit Nuba the Waldorf nearby and drove east on Hastings. I've tried three of their other locations and loved them, but have yet to visit the Waldorf location. Unfortunately, they weren't open for lunch. Since my friend used to live in the Commercial drive area, we decided to head to Havana, one of the most popular restaurants on the Drive. 

It's been a long time since I visited Havana, and I remembered my last meal being delicious, so I was happy with this option (although I was still longing for those Red Wagon Pulled Pork Pancakes). I was even happier when we all decided to eat outside on their heated, sun-soaked patio. 

Our group ordered 

Tuna Nicoise $15.95- rare grilled Pacific Albacore tuna loin, green beans, olives, potatoes, boiled egg and avocado with lemon honey dressing *I thought this portion size seemed small

Jerk Chicken Wrap $14.95- grilled fresh jerk chicken breast, spicy mayo, salsa, lettuce, feta cheese in a grilled tortilla

Huevos Rancheros $13- three sunny eggs, black bean chili, salsa, sour cream, green onions, cheddar cheese over grilled tortilla (she eats G-free and they were able to substitute the tortilla for plantains)

Two Eggs your Way $9- choice of bacon or turkey sausage, hash browns or salad, brown toast *this is what I ordered, eggs perfectly poached, wonderful flavour to the sausage, and the bright citrus dressing on the salad was stand out tasty.

Veggie Benedict $12- avocado, goat's cheese, fresh tomato and hollandaise

Latin Breakfast $13- three scrambled eggs (subbed for poached), rice, red beans, grilled flour tortilla, salsa, sour cream, green onions.

Everyone was happy with their meals, atmosphere, service, and soaking up the winter sun outside (although the heat lamp was bordering on too hot believe it or not.) Love that when you ask for hot sauce, they bring you three options for mild, medium, and hot.

Ladies Brunch at Epicurean Caffe Bistro

Recently a group of girlfriends and I bought tickets to the Arts Club's "It's a Wonderful Life"and they suggested I pick a good place to go for lunch near Granville Island before. It didn't take me very long to suggest Epicurean Caffe Bistro. It had been a while since my last meal at The Epicurean, but I felt pretty confident that it was a good choice for this group of ladies.

It's a cafe/bistro/deli in Kitsilano on West 1st and Cypress, offering traditional homemade Italian meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They also offer up bakery and deli items for take out. I've only been for breakfast (LOVED it) but my friend Tacia says they make the best pizza.
It's a charming, cozy space, and quite popular. Luckily, they took a reservation for a group of 6 because it was quite busy. Their service is friendly and efficient and the food is mouth watering and beautiful to look at.

I ordered the Calazione Romana breakfast; scrambled eggs served with bocconcino, tomato and grilled eggplant flavoured with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, organic greens, toasted bread, butter and jam ($11.45) This is a beautifully balanced plate, everything tasted fresh, flavourful, and fantastic and all of the elements of the meal went so well together. The buttery, fluffy scrambled eggs, the fresh caprese style side salad, the crisp greens with slightly sweet and tart balsamic, the smoky, rich eggplant. For most of their breakfasts, you can choose your side bread- multigrain, rosemary foccacia, ciabatta. I went with the rosemary foccacia and loved it- great flavour, texture, and heavenly rosemary smell.

Other items at our table were:

Margherita Pizza; Bocconcini, Mozzarella, Tomato sauce & herbs $11

Prosciutto & Rughetta Pizza; Fresh Arugula, Prosciutto & Mozzarella (no tomato sauce) $11

Flavor and Color Panini; Fresh milky Bocconcino cheese draped with a delicate slice of smoked salmon and layered with tomato and sliced onions. Served with organic mixed greens. $11.95

Lunch Meeting at Ceili's in Kits

The boss and I took a meeting with some friends of mine. My boss had visited Ceili's Irish Pub (Burrard and 7th) recently for a fundraiser event and was blown away with their burger, so he recommended the pub for a meeting location.

Was really impressed with the big, open space, friendly service, casual vibe, and the great looking beer list. I had pretty low expectations for the food- figured it would just be typical heavy, greasy pub grub, but I very impressed when the food arrived at our table. It tasted as good as it looked. Definitely better than your typical pub grub, you can definitely taste that they use quality ingredients and are putting some effort and love into their food.

Fish Tacos- Soft flour tortillas, cajun Pacific cod, prawns, key lime chipotle aioli, pineapple mango salsa, melted Canadian monterey and cheddar, shredded lettuce, tortilla chips, valentina hot sauce $15.75

Short Rib Grilled Cheese- Shredded Guinness braised short rib, honey dijon, aged white cheddar, sourdough $15

Belfast Burger- Maple Peppered bacon, sauteed mushrooms,  stout & ale onion ring, melted aged Canadian white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli, roasted red pepper relish, pickle spear $16.75