The Teahouse

Date Visited: Lunch on Friday Jul 3, 2015

Company: Walk-in for 4

This summer during the Canada Day long weekend, I finally got a chance to visit +Will's hometown of Vancouver, BC. I was especially excited to try their restaurants as I was told they had amazing fruits and fresh fish! We tried to plan our days and meals accordingly to try some local spots as well as his family's homemade dishes. We had one morning designated for tandem biking around Stanley Park and co-ordinated with his brother Sam and girlfriend Beth to meet-up for lunch at The Teahouse, situated within the park. They were hanging out the beach just down the road from the restaurant and we were lucky that they spotted us biking up a large hill to get to there. 

We didn't have a reservation so they had to give us a buzzer to wait for a table as it was really busy. Luckily, the view and surroundings is beautiful to check out while you wait. We got a table about 20 minutes later and I have to say that the decor inside is equally as beautiful... There were a ton of windows to bring in light and even a sun room section of the restaurant. Teahouse would definitely be a good way to describe it or even like a fancy garden party, the crowd was on the older, well-dressed side. 

To start, we got some non-alcoholic drinks as they sounded really good. I can't exactly remember what I got but it was a Strawberry and Pineapple drink rimmed with Cinnamon. It was so refreshing and delicious, +Will wanted to order his own after he tried mine.

We were also given some fresh bread to start which was great because we were starving after a morning of biking. We also saw that they had a Charcuterie Board on their specials menu and decided to have that as an appetizer. It came with some mustard, salami, prosciutto, pickles, mustard, and crisps. Everything was delicious and had it's own character. The mustard was a big hit and the meat was extremely fresh. The crisps had some raisins to give it some flavour.

For my main, I couldn't decide between the Salmon Burger or Caesar Salad, I knew I wanted to try salmon since I hadn't yet while in Vancouver. In the end I went for the Salmon Caesar since I knew I would get full from the starter and drink. Sam got the burger so at least I could see what it looked like also. I was a bit surprised how thin the salmon was, especially on the burger, I thought it would be more like a steak. On the salad was fine since it is a lighter dish. The flavour really stood out especially with the way they cooked it, really crispy on the outside. The flavour of the dressing was on point as well and they didn't put too much on it. They left their leaves long on the salad which I do enjoy being able to cut them yourself with the fresh salmon.

Overall, a lovely lunch in a beautiful restaurant. Definitely worth the visit if you're planning a trip to the park and don't mind paying for a fancier meal.

Food: 4/5 - Extremely fresh, my dish was pretty simple though.
Decor: 5/5 - Loved everything about how this place looked :D
Service: 3.5/5 - Great service, pretty friendly waiter from what I remember.
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Would definitely come back if I was in Stanley Park.
Overall: 4/5

Website: https://www.vancouverdine.com/teahouse

Cali Eats: Old Fisherman's Grotto

Date Visited: Lunch on Tuesday April 15, 2014

Company: Walk-in for 5

One of the most recommended stops people told me about for the drive along Hwy 1 in California was Monterey Bay. It's a small coastal city with tons of boats docked and a very popular pier, Fisherman's Warf. We parked by the Warf and decided to take a walk around and check out the views before grabbing lunch there. The day we went was pretty cloudy and a bit colder but there was still tons of people there. All the restaurants had displays of their seafood dishes outside and were giving out samples of clam chowder and yelling about their specials to compete with the other restaurants for patrons. It was kind of cool to get the first sample but literally every restaurant afterwards also had a sample, it was a bit unbelievable. Eventually we just picked a place to go into which happened to be Old Fisherman's Grotto which was a bit more of a up-scale place and even had a sign that no crying children were allowed.

There were tons of fresh seafood options, pastas, and meats alike. I ended up choosing one from the Daily Specials menu which had many variations of all their seafoods. I ordered the Seafood Combo because it had a variety of seafoods, and consisted of 1/2 Lobster Tail, Grilled Prawns, Glazed Salmon, Sweet Corn Risotto, and vegetables. While we waited, we got 2 types of bread to start one white and another sourdough.

The restaurant is very large with multiple rooms. We were seated in the one downstairs with a beautiful view over the Pacific ocean. The decor is very classy and chic, even upon entering you can tell it is a fancier restaurant compared to others on the pier. When our dishes came I thought the portion size was a bit small but expected I guess from this type of finer dining restaurant, beautiful presentation though. 

I wasn't blown away from my meal but it was definitely good still. It was the first time I had Risotto and I really enjoyed the texture and flavour of it. It was like mushy, creamy rice and full of flavour.  I thought that the Lobster tail was a bit hard and over-cooked, it was still easy to chew but grilled a bit too much. The Prawns were quite large and good. The Salmon filet was pretty small and I didn't think it was very fresh. There was a sweet sauce drizzled on half my plate which was extremely delicious paired with the salmon and vegetables.

Food: 2.5/5 - Overall not a bad plate but a few misses for the price I paid.

Decor: 3.5/5 - Beautiful view and classy decor.

Service: 3/5 - Very professional and decent wait time.

Willingness to go back: 1.5/5 - Would probably check out some other place on the pier unless we were looking for a fancy place to go to.

Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://www.oldfishermansgrotto.com/ 

Sinatra's Italian Sandwiches

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Oct 18, 2013
Company: Quick meal with +Will after work before heading to Toronto for the weekend

+Will had been telling me about Sinatra's ever since his team started ordering from there while working for a client in Oshawa. It's advertised to have 'the best veal sandwiches in town' and serves authentic Italian comfort food. I got to finally check it out when we were looking for a semi-quick meal on Friday before leaving Oshawa for the weekend. It's conveniently located about 5 minutes from my place but I never really noticed it until I met a friend who lives right beside it and mentioned it. It's a fair sized building located right on Simcoe St N with a huge yellow sign that's hard to miss. There's some abandoned buildings beside it, but otherwise looks like an average building in Oshawa you always pass by but never visit. Upon entering, the feeling is very diner-esque with booths along the front windows and a long counter for ordering with some visibility to the back kitchen. 


Checking out the menu, they have a couple of different options for sandwiches and a few toppings you can add for about a dollar more. I decided to go for the classic Veal Cutlet Sandwich with Provolone Cheese. After we ordered at the counter we grabbed a booth to wait for the order. The decor of the place is nothing too special, the booths were a bit uncomfortable and the decor seems extremely old. They do have a homey feel to the place though. They seem to get a lot of catering deals as there were a few people waiting for large pickup orders. Our food didn't take very long despite this factor.

Our sandwiches were wrapped with paper lined with tinfoil to keep the heat in and unwrapping it all to see the sandwich underneath was quite exciting. This thing was huge, there were about 4 layers of thin veal on the bun and topped with lots of sauce. You could even get free extra sauce on it! The sandwich was so delicious and fresh. The breading of the veal was crispy but the veal was still soft. The sauce was fantastic and had so much flavour, you could really tell it was homemade and authentic. The kaiser bun did a great job containing everything but the bottom did get soggy after a while.

I could only finish about half the sandwich and kept the rest for the next day... but it definitely wasn't the same as when it was just prepared. I have been craving for Sinatra's since this visit and can't wait to go back!

Food: 4.5/5 - Amazing and well worth the price.
Service: 3/5 - Nothing to spectacular but decent waiting time. 
Decor: 2/5 - Old-fashioned but doesn't really need to look fancy.
Willingness to go back: 5/5 - But the dilemma is... getting the same thing vs. something new! Either way I'm sure it'll be good!
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://www.sinatras.ca/

Great Burger Kitchen

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Sept 28, 2013
Company: Casual outing for a meal nearby with +Lilian, +Will, and his brother.

+Lilian and I had just come up from Oshawa, and were going to meet up with +Will and his brother for lunch near his place before heading out for our separate plans in the afternoon. We had originally planned to get Thai, but +Will wasn't exactly sure where the restaurant was located so ended up wandering and finding out that it was closed. We were at Church and Front so I suggested Great Burger Kitchen for lunch. I had only gone once before, late at night after St Patty's Day and really enjoyed their poutine, so I wanted to try it again to see if it was as good as I thought it was.

GBK is a promoter of organic and locally sourced food, the beef they use is also from naturally raised cows in Ontario. Their prices are pretty decent considering this. They have a range of different burgers and poutines to satisfy anyone's  preferences. For me, all of options looked delicious. Their menu is right on the wall beside where you order in large font which makes things easy for customers to read, but not so much decide what they want. They also offer a Burger/Poutine of the Day which is written on a blackboard below the menu and outside the restaurant that always looks appealing every time I walk by.

After we placed our orders at the counter, we found a booth to sit at. The restaurant isn't huge but it has enough space as only about 1 out of 5 tables has been occupied both times I've been here. Ours orders were made at a reasonable time by the one server at the counter, and we were called up one by one for our various foods. I ordered the Greek Burger with Feta, Tomato, Red Onion, and Tzatsiki. The bun was grilled lightly and the patty was cooked perfectly, it was just a classic and simple burger (with Greek toppings). The burger tasted great and the toppings were refreshingly fresh. In addition to the burger, we also got poutines to share. We got the Mexican Poutine with Salsa, Cheddar, Guacamole, & Sour Cream. This was basically having nachos, but with fries instead of chips. +Lilian pointed out that this was probably the healthiest poutine ever... due to the lack of gravy. There was a nice surplus of toppings for the fries but they still remained crispy. We also got the Poutine of the Day which had Bacon, Jalapeno, Salsa, & Cheddar. This was somewhat similar to the Mexican Poutine but with more of a kick of flavour. Both were good, but I probably wouldn't get them again in the future, need some sauciness to the poutine IMO.

Overall, this is a great place to come if you want something more than just a fast food burger, and are willing to spend a bit more time and money. I think it's still a great deal for what you're getting here because it's definitely cheaper than going to a sit-down restaurant. It supports the local farming culture and you can tell that a lot of work as gone into making your food for such a small place.

Food: 4/5 - Fresh, natural, and organic! Delicious AND you don't feel as bad eating it. 
Decor: 3.5/5 - Small but local favourite feel to the place.
Service: 3/5 - Good wait time.
Willingness to come back: 5/5 - I'm totally a fan of GBK, definitely would come back! So much more to try.
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://greatburger.ca/

St-Viateur Bagel

Date Visited: Lunch on Friday Aug 2, 2013

Company: Take-out for myself during my lunch work break

I'm a huge bagel fan and I was so excited to have Montreal bagels during my visit on the weekend. While working from +Elliott's on Friday, he recommended St-Viateur Bagel for my lunch and I was more than happy that it was a bagel shop. Nothing better then getting a food item straight from where it's named after, especially when it's hand-made, wood-fire baked, circles of bagel-y goodness. It was 10 minute walk from his place so I ventured down with my Google Maps to find it. Mount Royal is quite a happenin' street and there's a lot of food options all around, it was hard not to stop before I reached it. That's one great thing about Montreal, I find that in Toronto you get so many fast-food chains on the busy streets and less of the unique shops that you have to know where to go to get what you want, as there's less choices all around.

I passed it the first time I walked by because I read the sign as 'Bagel and Cafe', I happened to missed seeing the St Viateur at the top. Upon entering, there was a line to the door but not too many people in the line, so it's a pretty small cafe. The greeter explained to me that you can order bagels on one side and order sandwiches on the other. There's a small sit down area also which was full. I looked on the menu displayed and it was in french so I had to take quite some time to see what I wanted. I didn't think I wanted a sandwich because they looked very filling, I just wanted something simple like a bagel with cream cheese. But after seeing all the sandwiches they were making at the counter, I was definitely debating getting one, but it was hard to just stand there and try to translate what all the ingredients were. So when I ordered, there was some confusion here and there but I ended up getting an All-Dressed Bagel with Pineapple Cream Cheese. They use Philadelphia cream cheese here which is the best but it would be awesome if they had additional flavours because I love those crazy flavoured cream cheeses! I also ordered a side of Macaroni Salad because all the sides looked really fresh and somewhat healthy. These were separate orders so it came out to be a bit less than ordering a sandwich at just under $10. So once I got my order in its container, I headed back to enjoy my lunch while working.

Once I got back, everything had shifted in the large container and it definitely didn't look as good as the plates they were serving the people who were dining in. I put it all on a plate to take a nice pic and then I could finally eat! Though it wasn't as warm and fresh as it might have been if I didn't to have to walk that extra 15 minutes, it was still a delicious bagel. It was probably not the best decision to mix the sweet with the savoury on this one as it was a weird taste combination. Despite that, the bagel was very flavourful and just has that Montreal aroma that you can't get anywhere else. It was toasted nicely and had a mix of different seeds on it. The Macaroni Salad was simple and light, not too much mayo and fresh veggies were mixed in. I liked the shell macaroni pieces and how the onions, corn and carrots were a similar size. Overall, a nice lunch!

Food: 3.5/5 - Fresh salad and home-made bagel, wish I could've enjoyed it right when it was prepared though.

Decor: 4.5/5 - Cutest little cafe with awesome rustic decor, size was my only issue.

Service: 2/5 - A bit trouble with the language barrier but they're really good with moving people in and out of the store.

Willingness to come back: 4.5/5 - I need to try one of those sandwiches and I'm so sad I didn't grab a few bagels to bring home!

Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.stviateurbagel.com/

Big Boy's Burgers

Date Visited: Dinner on Tuesday Jul 2, 2013

Company: Take-out for myself

Big Boy's opened in Whitby about a year ago and its kind of made an impression as it really sticks out amongst its surroundings. It's just off the highway at Thickson near the gas stations and just along the way is the Empire Theatre complex, where it would look a little more fitting, but still not really fit in. Everyone passes it to get to the highway and it looks a bit ridiculous as I'm pretty sure the owner has a hummer which is always parked right in front. At first, we thought it was just part of the decor and added effect. Eventually, I heard a lot of good things about their burgers and thought it was about time for me to try it out this lonely night I was home alone.

I arrived just at 6PM and was the first customer for the dinner rush. I ordered the Big Boy Burger (1/2 lb) Combo that includes fries and a small refillable drink and came up to $10. The owner was very friendly, and really enjoys interacting with his customers. The cooks were also very nice, he asks you what toppings you want on the burger and I had everything except for relish. They have just the standard toppings with some banana peppers. The wait wasn't very long, about 10 minutes and a few customers filled in during this time. There's a self-serve drink counter and condiments for your fries as well. It's quite spacious and bright in the restaurant, I think every table is beside a window, and it has a colourful racetrack theme. 

I headed home with my take-out and snacked on some fries on the way. You can tell that their fries are extremely fresh, they have that taste of potato skin like you get from chip trucks. When I finally got home and took some pictures of my food, I finally got to try the burger! It was a great first bite I must say, the burger was so flavourful and aromatic. I could hardly taste any condiments the whole time because the burger was so overpowering. I can see why they stick to the simple ingredients because the burger really speaks for itself. I was a bit turned off by how white the bun is and thought they could have grilled it a bit more but I couldn't taste it anyway. The fries were lightly salted but they gave me a bunch of condiments to go which was nice. I enjoyed that most of them were very thick but some were the sides which were thin and crunchy, a nice variety. It was a lot of food in the end as it was hard not to finish everything... for future reference, I would definitely go for a smaller patty.

Food: 4/5 - Great classic burger, nothing fancy.
Decor: 3/5 - Bright inside and out, really sticks out.
Service: 4/5 - Friendly & fast customer service, but I was first one there.
Willingness to come back: 4.5/5 - There's a lot on the menu I'd like to try
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://bigboysburgers.com/