Ladies who Brunch at The Homer St. Cafe and Bar

Early in the new year, a dear friend just rang in an early January birthday and after the chaos of the holiday season, decided to keep things low key and celebrate with a ladies brunch at Homer St. Café. I believe she chose this venue because she had heard great things (as had I) and they took reservations. I have to say that I kinda done with brunches that require a wait of over 30 minutes to be seated. Must be getting old…

The Homer St Café and Bar is absolutely charming. This location is connected to a heritage building and its embraced the old school feeling to create what feels like an upscale 1930’s French bistro with hints of farmhouse chic. The space is beautiful and classy without feeling pretentious. This is big space with high ceilings, three separate sections for dining and two bars.

Service is excellent. Love their aprons and wardrobe but more importantly everyone was personable, attentive, and knowledgeable.

Now for the food! Their brunch menu is pretty small (9 items) but all of the items sound interesting. One thing to note…this is definitely an upscale brunch and the portion sizes are quite “dainty” so you won’t leave stuffed full (but if you have a big appetite, you might still be hungry) and many items don’t come with roasted potatoes or toast…you’d need to order them as sides.

Jill ordered the Omelet with Gruyere Cheese and kale ($12). This comes with a side of toast and she added a side of bacon. She really enjoyed the flavours and gave a shout out to the tasty crispy bacon and good bread.

Ashley, the birthday girl, ordered their Blackstone Eggs Benedict with roasted tomato, hollandaise ($14). This looked beautiful… but tiny! For $14 I would expect to see a little more on my plate (a side of potatoes perhaps or small side salad) but she loved it and felt it was the perfect portion for her.  All of the elements looked wonderful and clearly they put a lot of love into this dish: perfectly poached and oozing eggs, crisp bacon, and instead of a standard English muffin, they bake their own crumpet-looking biscuits.

Tacia and I both went for the Rotisserie Plate, pork sausage and pork belly, 2 eggs, potatoes, choice of rye and sourdough ($14). We both weren’t feeling into the pork belly that morning so we both subbed pork belly for bacon. Eggs were lovely- nicely poached with a gorgeous runny orange yolk. Bacon was nice and smoky and crisp. Sausage was a bit dry and unremarkable. Potatoes were nice, fully roasted with skin on, served in a mini cast iron. I loved the rye toast….I can’t remember the last time that toast was a stand out element to my brunch.

I would say that even though my food was just “okay”(and for me, its usually all about the food) overall, I loved the atmosphere, service, décor and great chatter with my girlfriends and I left with a nice impression of the Homer St. Café and Bar.

Yolk's Restaurant Commissary

In early December of 2013, Yolk’s Restaurant and Commissary opened at Clark and Hastings in the old Brave Bull House of Steaks location.

I’ve been wanting to try Yolk’s food cart for at least a year but the few times we’ve crossed paths, I’ve been stymied by uber long line ups and wait times because this cart is soooo popular.

I heard about the Yolk’s restaurant opening…and I also heard that the cart’s existing popularity meant that their fans had followed them to the new restaurant- resulting in long line ups and wait times over an hour on weekends. Yikes. After the holidays, I had first week of January off so some girlfriends and I thought we’d try to avoid the line ups and hit Yolk’s on a weekday. Success! On a Thursday, we met at 10am and although the place was fairly full, we were seated right away.

The space is clean and quite sunny but it feels like they are still in transition or reno mode because rather than fresh and new… it feels a bit dingy and dated with some unused space on a second level. 

Yolk’s has stuck to their same food truck menu model revolved around their egg sandwiches and a few sides  and daily special- with a few additions like baked breakfast muffins, beignets, pancakes, waffles, granola, and oatmeal.

Our server was absolutely lovely. Friendly, enthusiastic, and clearly she loves the food here. She was great at explaining the menu and offering up recommendations. I’ve been drooling over photos of their egg sandwiches for far too long…so obviously I was going to order and egg sandwich. But their menu does create many options for twists on this creation and allows for some creativity and “choose your own adventure” type of fun. 

I would say we waited about 20-30 minutes for our food to arrive.

I ordered a Poached Free-Range Egg Sandwich with Portobello Mushroom with aioli and fresh arugula (I nixed the aioli), one egg, on an English muffin, with real hollandaise (on the side so I could drizzle as I wanted) for $7.50 with an side of Truffle Lemon Hashbrowns for an additional $3.50. Right of the bat, this sandwich is gorgeous and smells fantastic. The egg is perfectly poached and soft with a round shape that held its structure until I broke into it and let the rich, bright yellow yolk ooze out. I think I’m a pretty good home cook, but I still have not even come close to mastering the perfect poached egg, so when I see one, I’m always so thrilled and a little dazzled. Their hollandaise was delicious too- with bright flavours that tasted like hints of lemon and Dijon mustard…a bright and light sauce compared to most hollandaise sauces that I’ve tasted. The English muffin is tasty vessel but nothing amazing, the Portobello added a nice earthy flavour and meaty bite, and the arugula added a nice bit of freshness to this sandwich. Overall, this sandwich is just heavenly….a messy wonderful creation that I savoured with a fork and knife and ate more eggs benny style.

 I’m frugal and quite practical so I was hesitant about ordering a side of hashbrowns for $3.50. But these are no ordinary hashbrowns and I definitely feel they are a worth addition to any Yolk’s breakfast. They are bursting with big, bold flavour and a wonderful crispy texture on the exterior skin and soft buttery insides. The hits of lemon provide some freshness against the richness of the truffle oil and I just loved the sea salt and hits of green onion. The spicy ketchup that comes with it is nice too.

Side note: Bravo to Yolk’s for its wonderful assortment of hot sauces available for garnish and dipping! 

The other gals each ordered the daily special, the Avocado Fritter but instead of having it in an egg sandwich they opted for the menu option of a de-constructed egg sandwich with no english muffin, served on a bed of truffle lemon hashbrowns for $1 more ($8.50 total). They both echoed my adoration for these delicious spuds and the artfully poached egg. I think they liked the avocado fritter but weren't overly excited about it. 

Thumbs up for Yolks! I'm so glad I finally got to taste the egg sammy deliciousness.

Vegan Supper Club "Plate Invaders"

My sister is a vegan...not only does she live a meat and dairy and animal product free life, she is also a vegan educator and activist. She hosts a radio program on Vancouver Co-op Radio called "Animal Voices." The show covers topics and interviews people from the world of animal advocacy and vegan lifestyle. One of her colleagues on the show, Alissa and her partner, Tim, a vegan chef, run a monthly vegan supper club out, Plate Invaders, out of their East Van suite. My sister and her wife are regulars at these dinners and I've been talking about joining them for a supper club meal for a long time... and finally, I was able to attend an event in late November.

Plate Invaders hosts two seatings on event events; 5:45pm and 8:30pm. We made reservations for the late seating. The dinner takes place in the upper suite of a East Van duplex in a cozy, retro-styled living room that is transformed into a casual dining room with a ten-person long table, dinner music, and soft lighting. You can bring your own wine (which we did) and throughout the evening, our mason jar glasses were refilled with refreshing lemon water. I was there with my sister and her wife and it was nice to spend time chatting with them and getting to know our fellow supper club diners. The four course menu was handwritten on a small whiteboard on the wall and Tim, the chef, came out to introduce himself and the meal. It was really wonderful to have Tim present each course and provide an explanation of the dish and giving details about where the ingredients were sourced.

The first course was a Gem Squash Chowder. The presentation got a lot of ooohs and aaaahs from the table. Who doesn't love eating out of a gourd? It was actually quite amazing because although the gem squash skin seemed really thin, it was sturdy and a wonderful vessel for the chowder. This chowder was mild but full bodied. At first scoop, I felt like it might be too mild for me and need a kick, but the flavours developed in my mouth and the nice blend of squash, potato, and leek were quite pleasant and hearty.

The second course was Roasted Beet, Red Wine Tempeh, Marinated Black Kale.
The beets were so earthy and robust. The tempeh was full of flavour; red wine and thyme. But my favourite element of this dish was the Black Kale with Japanese sea salt, which gave it almost a seaweed taste. Orange segments added a nice fresh bite, adding some acidity and sweetness.

The third coarse was Marina di Chioggia gnocchi, fennel, pear gremolata. Tim explained the gnocchi was made of a blend of marina di chioggia (a sweet, dry, dark heirloom winter squash) and yukon gold potatoes from Helmer Organic's farm in Pemberton (they grow the most amazing potatoes EVER! look for them at a Vancouver farmer's market near you). This dish smelled amazing, probably from the bold gremolata, punchy with plenty of garlic, parsley, lemon and slivers of pear and fennel to mellow those bold flavours slightly. The soft, pillowy gnocchi and the bold gremolata made for a satisfying and memorable dish.

Dessert was prepared by a pastry chef that works regularly with Plate Invaders, Kishino Watari. Mont Blanc aux Marrons, traditionally a dessert of pureed, sweetened chestnuts topped with whipped cream. The base was more like a nutty, dense cake base and I believe this light, creamy topping was some delicious, light cashew cream creation. The whole dish had a delightful, refreshing, warm citrus flavour and a candied dried orange garnish.

This was a really fun experience. The food was wonderful, creative, and I really appreciated- could taste the fresh quality ingredients that they used. Rather than charge a flat rate, they ask for a donation +/ - $40 on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. And they donate 10% of the proceeds from every Plate Invaders meal to a local animal charity.

To find out more about Plate Invaders and snag a reservation for an upcoming dinner, you can find them at:
https://twitter.com/PlateInvaders
https://www.facebook.com/plateinvaders
http://plateinvaders.tumblr.com/

White Spot Celebrates 85 years with a Cookbook!

White Spot recently launched a cookbook with many of their signature appetizers, salads, burgers, entrees and desserts.

White Spot is an icon in British Columbia and pretty much a “go to” for many BC classic family meals.

This is the restaurant’s first cookbook, celebrating 85 years of success, beloved dished and family-friendly service, featuring recipes for classic dishes like their signature Chicken Pot Pie and Teriyaki Rice Bowl, as well as contemporary feature entrées like their Prawn and Lentil Rice Bowl – all geared for the home cook.

I had the chance to chat with Danny Markowicz, the Executive Development Chef for White Spot and Triple O’s about the iconic brand, the cookbook, and his personal favourite dishes.

Lifebitesmm: Why do you think White Spot has not only survived but thrived amongst many other multi-location restaurant brands?

Chef Danny: We are a guest focused company that constantly check in with our guests, staff and conduct regular research to ensure we’re staying relevant to our guests and the market. We stay true to our roots and at the same time continue to evolve our menu offerings to keep up with the ever changing industry.

Lifebitesmm: What is your personal favourite recipe to cook from the book?

Chef Danny: From the cookbook, my favourite recipe is the Champagne Prawn Risotto.

Lifebitesmm: What is your personal favourite White Spot classic order?

Chef Danny: Double-Double, fries and a chocolate shake. Epic!

Lifebitesmm: What is your personal favourite New(er) menu dish?

Chef Danny: My favorite new dish is the Tandoori cauliflower quinoa salad. Healthy, delicious and packed full of flavour.

Lifebitesmm: Any “insider” order secrets……personal tweaks or food quirks that you make to a White Spot dish to please your taste-buds?

Chef Danny: I sometimes order a side of poutine gravy and dip my burger. So wrong, but so good. Guilty as charged!

Lifebites: Tell me about White Spot’s involvement in the community and giving back….Why partner with Variety- The Children’s Charity for this project?

Chef Danny: We support Variety – The Children’s Charity including their annual telethon and many other initiatives throughout the year. Variety is our longest standing charitable relationship and White Spot has been involved since the charity was formed here in BC in 1965. Variety does so much to help kids in need and it felt like a natural fit for our cookbook, especially around the holidays. We will be donating partial proceeds from every White Spot Cookbook sold before December 31st to Variety – The Children’s Charity. To learn more about Variety visit: www.variety.bc.ca OR www.facebook.com/variety.bc.ca

Here’s your chance to win a copy of the book!

For your chance to win a copy of the cookbook, 1) like White Spot’s Facebook page, 2) follow @White_Spot and leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post or on the Lifebitesmm facebook page about your very favourite White Spot dish. The winner will be announced on Dec 18!

Lunchin' at Tap and Barrel Olympic Villiage

With the TO Boss in town for a few days, he generously offered to take the "West Coast" division out for a holiday lunch. It was a beautiful, chilly, sunny day and we headed to Tap and Barrel on the False Creek seawall in the Olympic village area.

The view can't be beat, the space is cool, the decor is funky, with two levels, two massive patios (normally packed every day during the summer but vacant on this COLD December day. I've been to Tap and Barrel once before and thoroughly enjoyed their PB and J Burger.

This time around, I opted to try a new menu option. When I asked our friendly server about this dish, she smiled and told me with some enthusiasm that these were her new favourite menu item.

The Steelhead Salmon Tacos are served two for $15 in flour tortillas with crunchy cabbage, cilantro, avocado, chipotle crema and pico de gallo. I loved the seasoned chunks of fish; slightly crispy and loaded with a slightly spiced coating and pan-fried. I found this a bit overloaded with the heavy mayo crema sauce, so I did some scraping and added some Frank's hot sauce and really loved it. These are pretty sizeable tacos; Depending on your hunger level, this might not be enough to be a full on meal....so you can add a third for $5... or do what I did and order a side salad and "share" my fellow diners delicious herbed fries!

My fellow diners really enjoyed their meals, the setting, and the overall experience.