Big Lou's Butcher Shop

Big Lou's Butcher Shop is one of new restaurants that opened up in the new year; the restaurant is located in a couple of blocks from Chinatown, and is from the owners of the nearby Two Chefs and a Table. While the food is similar to Meat & Bread, in terms of being a sandwich joint, the place is unique because it is primarily a butcher shop first and foremost.

The space and design of the restaurant and shop has a charmingly old-fashioned, yet graphically modern feel. The meat display is wonderfully attractive, with meat laid out in a most pleasing way. The meat itself is locally sourced.

There is also a selection of pickles (asparagus, bean), and various spice rubs.

While the store is quite spacious, the eat-in dining area is quite minimal, consisting of just a bar facing the wall and some (quite uncomfortable) stools. The butcher art is quite a nice touch.

Here's the porchetta sandwich ($9), with a Boylan Black Cherry soda, which Brigid ordered. The sandwiches came attractively wrapped in custom printed paper and white string. The pork itself was very flavourful - juicy and well-seasoned. While the sandwiches had bits of crackling, the pieces that were included where quite hard, nearly teeth-breakingly so. In comparison with the porchetta sandwich at Meat & Bread, Big Lou's version is not as good, due to many tiny reasons; however, it is still a pretty good sandwich.

Amanda got the Bulgogi chicken ($9), which didn't look like what you would find in a Korean restaurant. However, Amanda reported that this was pretty tasty, although she wasn't fond of the grilled long stalks of green onion that was in the sandwich, which were stringy and hard to bite off. To be honest, I'm not sure about the 'Bulgogi' and the 'Bahn Mi' on the menu - it seems a little out of place, especially considering there are a few really amazing & cheap bahn mi places just a few blocks away.

I had Big Lou's Chicago Style sausage sandwich ($7.50), with house made sausage, pickles, mayo, pickled peppers and mustard. This had some problems. While the sausage itself was tasty, with hints of fennel, the outside didn't have that crunch and pop that a well seared sausage has - it was instead really chewy. There was also way too much mayo and pickled peppers. These elements, along with the mustard and pickles, made the sandwich taste really unbalanced.

While the location is a little out of the way, Big Lou's is certainly worth a visit. The store's commitment to local food and product is certainly admirable, and hopefully there will be a few tweaks here and there to make the space more inviting and the food a little more refined.

Shaktea

I love teas. It's one of my favourite drinks, and I love especially the sheer variety of teas - you can try tons of teas and still be astounded at a new flavour that you didn't even know existed. Somehow, there doesn't seem to be many tea places on the East Side of Vancouver, so when Shaktea opened up a few years ago, it was pretty unique. Now, we've visited here a few times - most of the time to get some loose tea; but we hadn't gone there for tea service in a long while.

The interior of Shaktea is filled with warm colours and had a cozy feeling. Aside from a few choice seats near the window, there is not much seating at all. However, the display of jars of tea is pretty neat.

They also always have three pots of tea to sample: usually an herbal one, a rooibus  or honeybush one, and a black tea, all sitting in three glass teapots.

It was moderately busy when we arrived, and we managed to snag one of the last couple of free tables. We were given the menu right away, but it took almost 15 minutes to actually place our order. Even though other people all around us were placing orders, the servers seemed to forget about us. In the end, we actually had to flag someone and ask her if we could order.

From the time we were there, service seemed to be a problem; people would sit there without menus, without having orders taken, and given 'reserved' tables with a warning that they couldn't stay very long. The service wasn't too joyful.

I got the matcha latte, which arrived in a unique ceramic bowl (around $4). This was delicious - creamy and with a nice green tea flavour. One of the nice things about this place is that they always give you a few mini gingersnaps with your tea. It's a really great touch.

Shane had the Earl Grey latte ($4.25), which arrived in a small tea pot. The tea was unsweetened and had a very aromatic and wonderful Earl Gray flavour. The amount of creaminess was perfect. The teas did take a very long time to arrive though.

We also ordered a chocolate pistachio cookie ($1.95). Unfortunately this was very dry and lacked a distinct pistachio flavour.

The teas at Shaktea are great. And if you can find a time when they're not busy, so much the better. However, they do need to improve on the customer service aspect if they want to garner customer support.

Vera's Burger Shack - Main St

I always have mixed feelings returning to the Main Street area. One reason is that when I lived there about five years ago, it was not so trendy and hipster-y as it is now. It's become a little too popular these days. But I also have pangs of jealousy because there is so much cool new stuff that wasn't there before, like the new community centre and library, and all sorts of up-and-coming restaurants.  Vera's Burger Shack is one of those places that wasn't there when we were around. So when we were in the neighbourhood and after unsuccessful attempts to visit Benkei Ramen on 5th (closed) and Lucy's Eastside Diner (too busy), we ended up at Vera's for lunch.

Now we had gone to another Vera's years ago but never actually been back for a while.

The restaurant occupies a place that used to be a cafe, as I recall (Pedro's Coffee?), and the interior feels a little like a worn old shoe. Not that the place isn't clean or anything (well, there were crumbs at our table...), but it had the feeling of being used too many times. However, the seats were comfortable enough.

The menu is pretty extensive, ranging from basic burgers, to specialty burgers, to hot dogs and sandwiches. The choice is pretty dizzying at first. Of course, the price of the burgers is just for the burger itself; the sides are not included.

I went for The Natural Burger ($7.89), which features organic beef. The good thing at Vera's is that you can customize your burger with whatever toppings you want; this time, I went for pickles, tomato, lettuce, hot peppers, and mustard. All in all the burger was good: the bun was soft but toasted, and the meat itself had a good flavour. The patty was juicy, if a little overdone and lacking in seasoning.

Shane got the Power Burger ($8.69), which featured a fried egg, fried onions, and cheese.  This one was pretty good; the egg had an appropriately gooey yolk, and the whole thing was a yummy mess. Of course, with this kind of burger, the patty becomes second fiddle, which may be a good thing in this case.

Both of us shared a side of fries ($3.99 for the combo with drink). This was a disappointment. The fries were dry and had an unappetizing puddle of oil at the bottom of the basket. It just wasn't good, and it may speak to a lack of care in the preparation of the food. I mean the reason that a person would choose Vera's over McDonald's or some other joint is that they care about the quality of the burger, right? I'm not sure if we felt that difference, to be honest with you.

Will we return to Vera's? Maybe.

But would it be our first choice? No.

Crow & Gate Pub (outside Nanaimo)

Although we have family in Nanaimo, Shane and I rarely eat out in the area. However, we did hear about this English style pub called the Crow & Gate pub that was nearby, so we decided to pay a visit when we were out their with my mom.  The restaurant itself is outside of the Nanaimo area, and is actually located in Cedar. It's definitely located in the middle of nowhere, and the entrance is not very noticeable. The pub itself is impressive; it's almost like you were driving into a Tudor estate, with immaculately green lawns, and distinctive white and dark-beamed buildings.

Surprisingly for a mid-afternoon, the place was packed. The interiors were what you may expect in an old English pub: lots of beams, dark wood, benches, and a real crackling fireplace. Very cozy.

The menu itself was small and written on a chalkboard. Like a lot of pubs, you seat yourself and order at the bar. The food then will be brought to your table. The menu items were reasonable, though not cheap; soups were under $8 and mains were from $10 - $14. I was disappointed to see non-traditional English stuff on their menu, but I suppose this reflects what the people demand.

My mom ordered the Boston clam chowder, which arrived in a large, flat bowl with a couple of slices of bread and butter. This soup was really good - creamy, rich, and with a really nice clam flavour.

Shane ordered the quiche of the day, which arrived with a side of green salad, potato salad, and some bread. The quiche was pretty good - creamy and cheesy, with a tender though somewhat limp crust, it certainly wasn't the best quiche either of us had ever had.

I ordered the bratwurst pub plate, which had two sausages, the same side salad and potato salad, roll, and inexplicably, a long strip of cheese. I wasn't bowled over by the sausages, to be honest. It was a tad salty and plain tasting. I am not a fan of sweet salad dressings, so did not like their house dressing at all. The potato salad was also heavy on the mayo and a tad sweet as well.

I was also bothered a little by the fact that everyone had the exact same plate (side salad, potato salad, roll), despite the difference in the orders. This probably eases the work of the kitchen, but it would be nice if they put in a little more effort.

That being said, we would definitely come back, just because of the setting and environment of the pub. The place has a wonderful feel. Plus, they do sell the most wonderful beer and ciders on tap.

Rebar Modern Food (Victoria)

On a recent visit to Victoria we visited Rebar Modern Food, one of the most famous vegetarian eateries on the West Coast (heck, they even have a cookbook!). I have heard many raves about the place from people I know. Despite the fact that I'm a die-hard omnivore, I do appreciate vegetarian cooking.

The restaurant is located right downtown Victoria, in the Bastion Square area. It's a little hidden because the restaurant is somewhat below ground. Inside, the surroundings are quite lovely and warm with bright walls, colourful tablecloths, and various knick knacks (plastic godzilla, anyone?). We were greeted warmly at the door and we were free to choose any table we liked.

For breakfast, I chose the 'Migas' ($13), which was eggs scrambled with peppers, cilantro and topped with tortilla strips and a salsa verde. The scramble came with pan-fried red potatoes, toast, and homemade jam and ketchup. This was just okay - it needed a bit more seasoning, and could have used quite a bit more kick to the salsa and scramble itself. The potatoes didn't have the best texture and could have used a dash of salt. However, the bread, jam and spicy ketchup were fantastic.

To be honest, I was much more impressed by what Shane ordered. He got the wild mushroom omelette with spinach and chevre ($12), which came with the same potatoes, toast, jam, and ketchup. This was delicious; the mushrooms had a perfect earthly flavour, and was complemented by the tart creaminess of the goat cheese.

For the first time at Rebar, it was a pretty enjoyable experience. The atmosphere is great, and while the food is a little pricey, the quality ingredients definitely make up for it. We will have to come back for a deeper look at the menu.

Meat & Bread

Sigh. There are a million blog reviews of Meat & Bread on Urbanspoon, so why even bother writing about the place?

Well...because it's really damn good! Meat & Bread is one of those new restaurants with a really simple concept: really good sandwiches, and quality ingredients. Their location at Hastings and Cambie is utterly perfect for me - literally a five minute walk from work, which is a good and bad thing. So this review is cobbled together from three separate visits, and these occasions made me like the place even more.

First of all, how cool is the menu? Small menu, with limited choices, which is a really good thing (they do have two staples: the porchetta sandwich and the grilled cheese). The whole restaurant has a modern / retro feel that makes one feel a little nostalgic.

Look at those wooden floors! There is very limited seating here; aside from a few tables near the front of the restaurant, the place features a big, stainless steel communal table (hi, neighbour!).

Along the side are water jugs, glasses and napkins, along with an impressive wall of condiments for sale: mustard, sambal, and salt. The whole thing is beautifully composed.

This the beauty shot. That is the porchetta - free-range pork rolled with herbs and topped with golden crackling, surrounded by piles of ciabatta buns.

Here is the porchetta sandwich ($8), pork with salsa verde and bits of crackling. The first bite was heavenly, and heaven just went on and on, with tender, well-seasoned, juicy pork and the surprise crunch of fatty skin. Can I confess that I would like to munch on a bag of those cracklings?

The salsa verde didn't do much for me, however, and it made the bun a little soggy at times.  The sandwich  is served with a dollop of delicious mustard, and a surprisingly tasty sambal sauce. To be honest, the sandwich reminded me exactly of the one I had at a Tuscan market in Italy, which I remember as one of the best meals I've ever had.

On another visit, I tried the meatball sandwich ($7), which didn't consist of whole meatballs, but more of crushed variety. While the meat wasn't spectacularly flavourful, the sauce had a nice spiciness and the sandwich had a nice layer of Romano (?) cheese. It was a comforting dish.

A friend of mine had the grilled cheese ($7), consisting of Gruyere (I think the cheese changes) and onions. She liked it a lot. She also had a side of tomato soup, which she also liked. However, I must say that the sides, at $4 for a small bowl, is not the best deal.

The restaurant also boasts quite an unusual dessert: maple bacon ice cream sandwich. It's served between two thin waffle wafers. It was quite good, though not mind-blowing. The bacon goes surprisingly well with ice cream and lends a chewy texture amidst the creaminess.

Meat & Bread is a great addition to the neighbourhood. The focus of the menu is impressive, and so is the whole look and feel of the place. I must, however, refrain from visiting too often. Porchetta is not a friend to my health!

Bo Laksa King's Bubbles and Bits

Since last year or so, we have heard lots about Bo Laksa King, ever since Chowtimes reviewed their first location on Joyce Street. Chowtimes raved about the food and many bloggers followed with great praise and many reviews. A visit to Bo Laska had been on my list for quite a while, especially since we learned that the chef and owner is from Burma, which is where my family is originally from.

We were in the neighbourhood of their second (and now only) location on Hastings Street, and decided to finally pop in. I must say, the exterior did nothing for the place, with the broken 'Open' neon sign and many pictures of bubble tea. In fact, without knowledge of Bo Laksa, I would hardly know that real food was actually served there.

The interior is simple and utilitarian, with black plastic tables and chairs and dark teal walls. When we arrived for an early lunch, we were the only customers there and this felt a little awkward.

We were pleased to see a number of Burmese dishes on the menu, but we decided to go the non-Burmese route, to save comparisons with my mother's cooking. We ordered the chicken satay, which arrived in a rather impressive arrangement, with 3 skewers arranged tee-pee style on the plate with sides of rice and peanut sauce. The chicken itself was pretty good, with a nice grilled taste. However, the peanut sauce was a little on the sweet side, without the balance of spicy and savory. As an appetizer, we were very impressed by the size of the dish.

Here is their famous laksa ($7.50). This came in a huge bowl filled with tofu puffs, shrimp, fishball, chicken, beansprouts, and a whole boiled egg. You had a choice of yellow egg noodles or the rice vermicelli, and I got the vermicelli. The noodles were well cooked, not too soft, and the soup had a nice coconut creaminess. However, I felt that it was lacking a little in spice; the soup was very mild. I also though that the soup could have used a bit more salt, because it tasted a little bland.

Shane ordered the Mee Goreng, a Malaysian fried noodle dish. I heard that the owner's wife was Malaysian, so we had great expectations of this. Unfortunately, this was the weirdest Mee Goreng I'd ever tasted. The noodles had a sauce all over it, and it was extremely sweet. I'm not sure what happened, but it was really bad.

So our first experience with Bo Laksa was a rather mixed one; I must confess that I left the restaurant a little let down. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Nevertheless, we are willing to return, if only to try the Burmese dishes, which will be the ultimate test.

South Castle Korean Restaurant

Our Korean friends, Ana and Kay, took us to a new Korean restaurant called South Castle that had recently opened up on Austin  Avenue in Coquitlam. The original restaurant of the same name is in North Vancouver, and apparently the Coquitlam location is the second branch of this restaurant (around Austin Heights Pizza area - I didn't take down the address, and somehow there is no trace of this location in the internet!).

Our friends warned us that the restaurant is very specialized and caters to mostly Korean customers.

The restaurant is on Austin Avenue, and is the location of a string of failed restaurants. The decor is very typical for a Korean restaurant, with lots of wood, and booths. However, the first thing I noticed about this place as we walked in was how busy it was; all of the tables were nearly filled, and the servers were running around.  As a consequence, our service wasn't that great and was quite rushed.

There isn't your typical menu at this restaurant; in fact, the only menu they had was on one wall, and it was entirely in Korean. However, this doesn't seem to be a huge deal because the menu consists on variations of one dish - sausage encased in intestine, and soup with lots of intestines.

As usual, we were presented with an array of Korean side dishes. They were good, though not remarkable.

The only thing that didn't have intestines in it was the bulgogi soup, which is what Shane got ($8.99). This arrived in an impressive stone pot type vessel in full boil. In addition to the slices of marinated beef, the soup had lots of green onion, veggies,  a few strands of potato noodles. Shane enjoyed this, although for me, the soup had a bit too much sugary sweetness.

The rest of us went for their specialty, which is the intestine soup with sausage ($10.49). According to our friends, this is 'soul food' and the ultimate comfort food for Koreans. Apparently South Castle does a near gourmet version of the dish and is of a quality that you would unlikely find in Korea.  Like the other dish, it arrived in a rollicking boil. This too, was filled with onions, bean sprouts, and green onions. I was very surprised at the amount of pepper that was in the soup; it tasted overpoweringly peppery, which was a very different flavour than I'm used to.  Some of the intestines were enjoyable, and the sausage was pretty interesting, though the thick intestine casing made it a little too chewy. However, the dish had too much intestine for me. Near the end I couldn't really eat any more. 

I was very pleased that I was able to try this specialty dish. I definitely would try this again, though it's not a dish that I would crave on a regular basis. Judging from the number of customers, this restaurant seems here to stay.