Hello faithful readers and visitors,
My sincere apologies for not blogging for the past few months. I work six and/or seven days a week, so my down time has been rare and valuable. That being said, I have still been eating, so these are some reviews to come in the near future:
Lao Vientiane
Big Wheel Burger
Fernwood Inn
Fat Burger
Bin 941 ( Vancouver)
Seven Valleys
Heron Rock Bistro
The Blue Nile East African Restaurant
Stay tuned:)
-E.V.
It’s an epic challenge, but it would most definitely be an experience of a lifetime!
Perhaps some of you foodies out there have heard about what the City of Richmond is proposing to the masses. Essentially, Richmond is holding a month-long open audition for foodies and bloggers alike to cover the staggering amount of restaurants in Steveston and Richmond.
The deal: As sweet as it gets. A salary, a stipend for the restaurants, a gym membership and accomodations whilst you eat your way through the city. As a food blogger myself, my skin is crawling with excitement at the mere thought of being a paid food-blogger. I have faithfully written this blog for almost two years now without any hand-outs. All the meals I reviewed came out of my own pocket, fueled by my inexhaustible passion for food of course.
The successful applicant will be sharing each restaurant experience rather than critiquing. This can be done through video, photography, stories, and any other creative delivery method you can think of. The position also requires a strong connection with social media channels. Am I describing you right now?
This type of opportunity does not come around every day, so I encourage other writers and food enthusiasts to apply!
Bonne chance!
Trini To D Bone
650 West Burnside Rd.
778-440-6755
I welcome Trini to D Bone to the neighbourhood! I work nearby, and I have been a few times already. The people running the restaurant are very friendly and warm. Every day they have a special, whether it is chicken and macaroni salad, chicken curry, or doubles on weekends, it is always tasty.
On my first visit, I had a veggie roti. The roti tasted authentic. It had crushed dried lentils so it gave the roti an interesting texture. The filling was nice, flavourful indeed but a bit on the salty side. I really hope this small restaurant will succeed. If you live or work around the Burnside area, definitely check it out.
The only ‘con’ or constructive feedback for the owners,I would suggest to stay true to your restaurant theme. I was confused that you have shrimp and fries, and burger and fries on the menu. Is that to satisfy people that don’t want curry, or are those traditional meals in Trinidad and Tobago? If I see that a restaurant is Trinidadian, then I expect to see only Trinidadian food, otherwise it’s a bit confusing. That being said the Trinidadian food you serve is delicious, and I will definitely come back!
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
This year, my family chose to do something a bit different for the Winter holidays. Instead of gathering around a tree and opening presents Christmas morning, we went to indulge in none other than Sin City herself, Las Vegas.
We only ate two meals a day, I always find that heat makes me less hungry. We ate at our hotel ( The Mirage) for a brunch buffet named ” Cravings”. There were many different stations with themes such as Latin, Italian and Japanese. The food was O.K., the servers brought around orange juice and coffee. I left feeling a bit ill from the amount of food I consumed. The scale of the buffet is impressive, but I don’t think the quality was outstanding.
Also within our hotel, BLT Burger, branded by Laurent Tourondel, made a great lunch one of our first days on our holiday. I have never eaten a burger in Canada that is medium, most likely because of the fear of food-poisoning, or more specifically, restaurants not using good cuts of meat to grind for burgers. I had the wagyu burger (I think it was close to 20 dollars). You have to buy all the sides separately, so for lunch it can get a bit pricy. But the more classic burgers were around 11-13 dollars. The meat was juicy and succulent, I enjoyed having a pink burger. There is such a stigma against pink beef in Canada, so I have learned that if you start with a piece of meat that you could serve medium, then it will be safe for you to eat it in a burger!
I took my family out for a nice dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s baby, Spago, located within Caesars Palace. The space is beautiful and modern. The service initially was interesting, as the server was being “shadowed”. I felt like the server was talking a bit too much, but perhaps that is what expected of him at this establishment. The bread service was delicious with foccacia, lavash, sourdough and some type of nut bread, fresh butter and rosemary olive oil. The amuse bouche was a mushroom soup, and it was served piping hot. Nice and salty and bags of mushroom flavour.
My father ordered the Diver Scallops with corn and crab succotash. I had the duck breast with cabbage puree onions and huckleberries. My sister had the roasted chicken with wild mushrooms and potatoes. My brother had the short ribs with horseradish, ricotta gnocchi and shallots. We were all pleased with the food, and especially with the portion size. The plates were all about 30 dollars each. The food was very Classic American, with a couple of new additions. I enjoyed the meal, but I think next time I visit Las Vegas, I might try something more “out of the box”.
As for the rest of my Vegas trip, I enjoyed playing poker tournaments, the odd slot machine, and a great quality experience with my family.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
Teaopia
616 Fort St.
250-381-4099
I’ll make this short and sweet. I love tea. I love places that sell good tea. Teaopia has some decent tea. I had a Groupon to spend so I bought two different types of tea. I bought the Sideritis syriatica tea and it has almost a minty flavour and it tastes great. I also bought a couple of tea cups that looked nice, but unfortunately they are difficult to drink tea out of because the ceramic is so thin that it burns your hand when you try to pick it up. The teas seem like decent quality so there is hope. I do not really like the way of purchasing the tea. You have to fill up their tins, so it is pretty much a flat rate. Anyways, it is a clean space, nice and bright, so check out if they have anything you might like!
Spoons Diner
2915 Douglas St.
250-382-5111
I have always been curious about Spoons Diner. I go by it on the bus every day on my way to work. I tend to avoid restaurants inside of hotels with the exception of a few hotels downtown. BUT, I had a Groupon for Spoons, so I invited a colleague of mine to come for brunch/lunch with me last month.
Spoons has a Floyd’s-ish influence, and it definitely fits in with the whole diner theme. It was very casual. The servers were both women, and a bit rough around the edges, but I like that. Straight-shooters, down to business, and a bit of crass humour. Love it. Great coffee off the bat, and they filled it up without us asking.
I asked her what the special was for the day, and it sounded intriguing. Sufferin’ succotash eggs benedict. I’ve heard the term succotash dropped on tv food shows but I didn’t know what they were referring to. Essentially a succotash is beans and corn. Succotash most typically is lima beans with roasted corn, originating from the Narragansett language , msickquatash, meaning ‘boiled corn kernels’. Beans and corn are definitely not something I would have thought of pairing with eggs so I was excited to try it. SB tried the steak benny. While we waited for our food, we passed the time by with a few games of Trivial Pursuit trivia cards that were on our table, filthy but whimsical.
The food arrived and they were huge portions. The eggs were poached just how I like them. The hollandaise was better than most I’ve tried. The beans and corn were genius, I’m going to have to try that at home.
This is a no-frills diner, but I would definitely come back for breakfast. It felt welcoming and I was pleasantly surprised by the food.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
Ric’s Grill
910 Government St.
250-381-7427
Ric’s Grill is hot real estate on Government St, stumbling distance to the Empress and the rest of downtown. A friend of mine was visiting from Vancouver and he suggested we go to Ric’s because he had some gift cards to use up. I had eaten meat a couple days beforehand (on Christmas Day), so I wasn’t opposed to going to a steak house. The restaurant is massive inside, but it wasn’t too busy, we went around 7:30. Our server didn’t exactly match the steakhouse vibe. She was socially awkward and didn’t seem to have much menu knowledge, two things that aren’t exactly qualities one looks for in a server. Regardless, I wasn’t there to nitpick on every detail, okay, maybe just a bit. What can I say? I’ve been involved in the food industry for close to 10 years now, so it’s second nature to point out things that could be improved upon.
I was pleased to see that there was a somewhat ethical beef choice for steaks on the menu. For seafood, the majority of the offerings are Oceanwise, which I commend Ric’s for supporting. I ordered the Spring Creek Ranch ” Natural” NY steak medium, roast potatoes and veggies. All of us ordered steaks, and we waited patiently for our food amidst enjoyable and much-needed catching up.
The portion size was generous, but for over 30 dollars, it’s to be expected. The meat was not how I requested, it was more on the rare/med-rare side when I asked for medium. My friend ordered his medium rare so perhaps they switched up the plates. It would be easy to do, because all three plates had the same vegetables. Those said vegetables were delicious. I’ve never eaten squash with the skin on before, I thought it was a mistake in preparation but my friend says he eats squash like that all the time. Learn something new every day eh? The maitre’d butter on top of the steak was packed with flavour, a compound butter of sorts. A little extra fat never hurts in the flavour department 
Even though the steak wasn’t prepared how I requested, I still enjoyed it very much. It was juicy, flavourful and who knows, maybe I’ll start ordering my steaks medium rare from now on. I wasn’t paying for the meal, so I was very happy to order a steak for over 30 dollars. But I definitely couldn’t afford that on a regular basis. I would go back for the food, but the service was kind of a miss. The ambiance was a bit dark and the room felt sparse. But then again, there goes my nit-picking again.
Cheers
-Eating Victoria
