Golden Boot Cafe

When I was growing up in Coquitlam, I used to pass by The Golden Boot Cafe every once in a while, but I never actually tried the food there. We always flocked to Vancouver to eat out, 'cause it was...Coquitlam, you know?

Anyway, we finally paid the Golden Boot a visit. I'd heard that the place was family-run, that the food was good, but that it was really small. Apparently it's deemed to be pretty authentic, with everything handmade.

The restaurant is located right in the middle of the nowhere, on a side street parallel to Austin Avenue, right across from the Safeway parking lot. The atmosphere is friendly, with the baseball game on the large screen TV and wooden tables and chairs. According to the website, the restaurant expanded earlier in March to make the space a lot bigger.

Arriving at 6pm, we were seated right away. It became a lot busier later on that night, especially on a weekday. We also saw a handful of people get take out. There seems to be quite a few regulars there as well.

After we sat down, we were given a basket of warm, toasted foccacia bread. There were bottles of balsamic and olive oil on the table, so we were able to make a little dip. After we were done, we were even asked if we wanted some more bread. Even though we declined, I thought that was really nice of them to offer.

We decided to share the Antipasto Salad ($18), which was a huge platter filled with Genoa salami, proscuitto, mortadella, prawns, olives, roasted peppers, marinated artichokes, goat cheese, bocconcini, and Parmigiano cheese. Under all this was a bed of lettuce. This was large and tasty. The meats and goat cheese were the highlight. We were sort of full after this platter.

We shared the mains. This is the large Pizza Modenese ($14), with proscuitto, Parmigiano, and arugula. The pizza really reminded me of the pizzas I had when I was in Italy--thin crust, and really straightforward toppings. The pizza tasted really good--the proscuitto gave the pizza a nice saltiness, and the tomato sauce was fresh tasting. The arugula gave the pizza a nice fresh bite. The only minor thing was that the crust could have been a little bit more crispy.

We also shared the large size Spaghetti alla Carbonara ($13). I swear, this was the most delicious Spaghetti Carbonara I've ever had. It was really rich, cheesy and creamy, with a prominent proscuitto flavour. Every bite was sinful and luxurious. And the pasta! The handmade spaghetti had a beautiful texture: cooked but still a little chewy. It felt good in your mouth, if that makes any sense. It truly emphasized the differences between fresh pasta and store bought ones. It was a revelation. We both loved this.

We were quite full after all this, and even had half a pizza to take home. I was so happy when we left, because it was one of those moment where you're full of the most delicious food, and you feel like you've made such a discovery. It makes you wonder what other treasures lie in your own backyard.

We will definitely come here again and again. It is a heartbeat of a restaurant.