Original Joe's Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant: Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar

Cuisine: American/Canadian/Pub food
Last visited: February 26, 2010
Area: Multiple locations - Richmond, BC (Ironwood)
1215 Davie Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4.5
Service: 4.5

Ambiance: 4

Overall: 4

Additional comments:

• Multiple locations (Canadian franchise)
• Offers traditional/classic bar food
• Made from scratch dishes
• Big portions
• Great for beer
• Lots of seating
• Daily drink/food specials
• Busy during game nights
• Very casual atmosphere
• Free parking
• Big screen tv’s
• Great for snacks/beer
• Wine available
• Small selection of desserts
• Mon-Sun 11am - midnight

**Recommendation: Joe’s Red Tractor Nachos, Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich, Sweet Potato Fries

Original Joe’s is a really casual restaurant/bar/pub serving up traditional pub food made from scratch! I actually wouldn’t have guessed from the looks of it, but it is! They have multiple locations in Canada and in Vancouver and the lower mainland. This one I visited is the newest location – it’s the Richmond location that opened in January 2010.

I came to watch the Olympics Canada VS Slovak hockey game and we won…so my good spirits and enthusiastic atmosphere may influence my review to be higher than normal. Having said that I also don’t feel like I’ve tried enough to give a proper review, but I would definitely go back to try more things because I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed everything for the most part. The food was much better than expected and very affordable with big portions. It’s not pretentious and similar to places like Kelsey’s – definitely more bar/pub then contemporary restaurant like Earls which is also bar-ish.

They have daily specials at a bargain price – so there’s always something going on.

On the table:

Crantini

• Medium $9.50 Large $11.50
  
• It was on special for $4.75.
  
• It had 1 oz of Vodka but I could barely taste any…it was pretty much cranberry juice.

**Joe’s Red Tractor Nachos 6/6

• Crisp tortilla chips piled high; layered with melted cheddar and mozzarella, roma tomatoes, red and green onions, black olives and jalapenos. Served with fresh tomato salsa and sour cream. Full 15.99 – Half 12.99
• Add spicy beef, chicken or pulled pork 3.99 Guacamole 2.99
• I ordered a half order with chicken and they are seriously ENORMOUS. The really wonder if a full size is twice as big for $3 more…seriously the half order could feed 4 and looks like a full order.

• These were delicious! Lots of cheese, really fresh ingredients and big pieces of vegetables.
• You can’t really screw up nachos, unless you cheap out and don’t give enough toppings or cheese.
• I added chicken and it was nice big slices of grilled chicken breast.
• The salsa had corn in it, which was awesome.

**Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich 4.5/6

• Slow roasted pork shoulder, pulled, then “mopped” in your choice of sweet onion mustard, cider pepper, or southern style BBQ sauce. Topped with honey slaw and served on a fresh white bun. Served with your choice of 2 sides.10.99 (They serve all the sauces on the side)
  

• This was piled high and loaded with pulled pork and lots of honey cole slaw.
• The pork wasn’t too juicy, but still good, and with the BBQ sauce it was fine.
• I asked for all 3 sauces, however the server forgot 2 of them. I think the sauce I ended up getting was southern style BBQ sauce. It was a very tangy BBQ sauce with a big kick! It was almost like there was Frank’s hot sauce in it and tons of Worcestershire.

• I really liked the cole slaw. It was very lightly dressed, not a gloppy mess so the veggies weren’t soggy. It was a tangy dressing and mildly sweet with a touch of honey. Nice and crunchy.
• The bun was just a regular burger bun. Nice and soft though.
• 

Mango Pasta Salad – Side 1.5/6

• I didn’t like this side. It was a very simple pasta salad with dill like mayo dressing. The dressing was light but I thought it would be a sweet mango dressing.
• There was pretty much zero mango taste. The mango was little bits of fresh mango tossed in the salad. I found 2 pieces the size of bacon bits in the entire bowl.
• It didn’t necessarily taste bad but because they called it mango pasta salad, I was left very disappointed.
• It tasted like a very lightly dressed regular pasta salad with some black pepper, red onions, and red bell pepper. There wasn’t much bell pepper either.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Gravy – Side 2/6

• This was the most traditional mashed potatoes I’ve had.
• The mashed potatoes are very smooth and quite creamy, and although they claim everything is made in house…the potatoes tasted like packaged mashed potatoes. No garlic or additional flavorings…it was just any old mashed potato.
• I’m pretty sure the gravy is packaged, it really tastes like it.
• They topped the mashed potatoes with fried onions or shallots – which were extremely soggy and not good.

Steak & Prawns 4/6

• 6 ounce grilled steak and a skewer of prawns (your choice of garlic or Cajun) served with your choice of 2 sides. Friday special for $15.99
  
• I don’t expect a supreme quality of beef and you have to take into consideration it is pub food – so lower your expectations a bit.
• It was decent, it had a coating of course rub with sea salt on it and it was grilled really well. The meat was tender – not steakhouse quality obviously, but still very good.

• The prawns were not made in house – I think they’re the pre seasoned frozen ones from Sysco Food distributor. I can’t confirm, but from appearance and the fact that you can chose the flavours I’m pretty sure they are the pre-prepared kind. They are still good, but just not made in house.
• They’re a bit small and obviously fresh ones would be better, but for $15.99 – they do the job.

**Sweet Potato Fries – Side 5/6

• Cut thin, fried crisp and seasoned with a house made spice blend. Served with our signature dill dip or chipotle sauce.
• Extra 1.99 as a side, or 6.99 as appetizer
• I thought they did a great job with these!
• They’re very lightly seasoned and not that salty at all, but still flavourful. They are cut thin so they were actually very crispy.
• I think they served it with the dill dip because the sauce wasn’t spicy at all…however it was orange so I’m not sure. It basically tasted like a yogurt based dip with dill flavour – so it was almost like a mixture of dill dip and chipotle yogurt dip…but not spicy.

Caesar Salad – Side 2/6

• This was just a standard quickly thrown together Caesar salad. Not much else to say here. A few bacon bits and croutons on top.

Los Tacos

Restaurant: Los Tacos
Cuisine: Authentic Mexican
Last visited: August 7, 09

Area: San Gabriel, California
504 W. Las Tunas Drive
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3
Service: 2
Ambiance: 1
Overall: 3
Additional comments:

• Located in San Gabriel, California
• Famous for "The World's Greatest Tacos"
• Cheap, but authentic Mexican
  
• Family owned and operated
• Hole in the wall - local favourite
• Serves big breakfast and lunch platters
• Big portions
• Nothing gourmet, super casual
  
• Offers authentic Mexican drinks and desserts

**Recommendation: Carnitas soft tacos, drink -Horchata. I bet their breakfast burritos are amazing, but I didn't get to order one, I saw some locals order the Tortas too, which looked delicious...and are very big.

The tortilla shells are all made in house and are really fresh. Each taco is double wrapped with these soft tortilla shells. Good tortilla to filling ratio. An authentic Mexican hole in the wall eatery that is familiar to locals. The tacos all come in miniature form - the traditional way - and its great! No sour cream or guacamole in these traditional tacos, just well-marinated and cooked meat. Cheap, good Mexican food - not the best, but it's real Mexican.

On the table:

• ** Carnitas soft taco 5/6
• Pulled pork
• This was my favourite taco out of the bunch. It was flavourful, tender and saucy.
  
• It was the first plate of tacos gone. Each plate comes with 4 miniature soft tacos, and each taco is double wrapped in their homemade tortilla shells. So your tortilla won't break while you're in mid-bite, although the filling might overflow and spill out the top.
• Barria soft taco 4/6
• Marinated beef
• This was my second favourite soft taco.
• Pretty good, but not the best. Nice pieces of marinated beef, its good with their chile verde salsa.
• Chicken Mole soft taco 2/6
  
• Pulled chicken smother with mole sauce and pablanos
• This was a close second. The mole aka sauce, is a rich deep brown colour and it had a smoky cumin flavour. It's made with ground chilies, but the chilies don't add heat, it just added an intense smoky taste.
• Al Pastor soft taco 1/6
  
• Marinated Pork
  
• This taco was my least favourite out of the bunch. It was the only one left over too, if they were good we could have finished them, but it wasn't really worth it. They were a bit dry, and bland and just had no kick.
  
• Quesadillas 1/6
  
• Nothing special here. What you'd expect for a cheap fast food quesadilla. Just a generous amount of melted cheese on tortillas. But they use big tortillas, which are still really fresh.
• Hard Shell Tacos 2/6
  
• I prefer the soft tacos to the hard shell tacos. The soft ones just taste fresher. The shells are the best part and don't need to be deep fried. We had it with thin slices of roast beef aka asada and they top them off with cheese, tomato, and lettuce. Nothing out of the ordinary.
• Nachos with Asada 3/6
  
• A big plate of nachos covered with thin cuts of roasted beef, melted cheese, tomatoes, onions, and topped with heaping scoops of guacamole and sour cream.
  
• Super greasy, but pretty tasty...again not the best. But expected from a place like this.
• **Breakfast Burritos
• Didn't try it, but I will if I go back. They have a whole section just for breakfast burritos so I feel like they would be really good there. They're really really big too. Saw a lot of Mecxican families ordering these for lunch.
  
• ** Tortas
• Didn't try this either. But I saw a few local Mexicans guys ordering the "Torta" as I was leaving. It looked really delicious. It's a grilled roll with your choice of meat, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole.

Authentic homemade Mexican desserts

Drinks

• This place serves up authentic Mexican drinks: Horchata, Tamarindo & Jamaica
• The most authentic and best one is the: Horchata - made of rice milk, and has a nice almond flavour. Nice and sweet, it has a little cinnamon and vanilla flavour to round it all up.
  

The Foundation Lounge

Sesamum Satay Salad

Restaurant: The Foundation Lounge
Cuisine: Vegetarian/Vegan/Healthy
Last visited: Sept. 16, 09
Area: Vancouver - Main Street
2301 Main Street
Price Range: $10 or less

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 2...it looks like a dive, but it suits the image, so it's ok!
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Vegetarian/Vegan/Organic/Fresh/Healthy
  
• Famous for their nachos (Small $8) its huge!! - only served for dinner
• Flavourful vegetarian food, nice and hearty
• Crowded, line-ups
• Open late
• Attracts 20-30 age group
• Hipster/Hippie/Skater
• Retro feel, funky, laid back, liberal revolutionary quotes on the walls

** Recommendation: Nachos, Sesame Society, Sesamum Satay Salad

The Foundation has been around forever! I've been here a few times with non-vegetarians, and we have all gone back on our own to try new things. So that's a good thing! It serves all vegetarian food in a casual atmosphere, and most of it is really good! It's filling too because the portions are quite large and the flavours are bold. However they repeat a lot of their ingredients and sauces, so everything kind of tastes the same. It's kind of a variation of the same ingredients - I found things distinctly sweet or distinctly savoury - I'd prefer more of a balance. If it's sweet its mango/papaya based and if its savoury its sesame/peanut based. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do enjoy vegetarian food and The Foundation is still a great place to check out. Nothing fancy or gourmet, it is what it is - what it looks like on the outside is what it is in the inside.

On the table:

The infamous nachos - this is only a small, they're huge!

• **Nachos 5/6
  
• The small is big enough for 3-4 people! Its huge, and that's part of the hype.
• Huge plate, hot from the oven with tortilla chips covered in melted cheddar cheese black beans, and corn. Forget all the other toppings, these nachos are simple - yet delicious. To add guacamole is $2, but it's worth it because they give you a lot, but I bet it's from a container. You get a generous amount of sour cream, salsa, and guacamole - you'll have left over.
• The picture, doesn't really show how big it is. (Side note: The size of the condiments are inconsistent because the condiment dishes are all random - so it's kind of luck of the draw) But either way you'll always have enough. What's also great about these nachos is that the chips are well spread out in a nice layer, so each chip is covered with cheese. They don't just mound the tortilla chips so that the bottom layers don't have any toppings. They only serve them during dinner - so don't miss out!

• 

• Sweet Basil Curry Soup 1/6
• Really disappointing, but it looked and smelled so good!!! It had so much potential. It was hearty with potatoes and full of veggies....but not good at all. It was served luke warm from this crock pot set up in the front. It was bland and not flavourful at all. I actually sent it back, and I rarely ever do that.
  

• Mingling Yams 3/6
  
• This is a fluffy yam dip - a yam puree. Again you get a lot! It comes with warm pita which they call "horizontal bread" - it's like a flatbread. It also comes with tortilla chips. The dip is savoury and sweet at the same time - I found it more sweet though, but then again its made up of yams. It was enjoyable, but not a must or something I would crave.

• **Sesamum Salad 6/6
  
• This is a warm sesame satay veggie salad. It's greens topped with sauteed veggies like big chunks of broccoli, firm brown and sticky tofu, and chick peas. You definitely get your needed protein. It's hearty and filling and just tasty. I love the sesame sauce! The cold salad with the warm veggies makes for a perfect meal.
  
• Upper East Side 4/6
• Black beans and mangoes served on rice.
• It's .75 cents to change the rice to quinoa, and I think its worth it. The mangoes are from a can, but its ok because its only $7 with taxes. Again, its on the sweeter side, so I would order it with something savoury to break it up, or the flavour gets a little boring. The mangoes create a natural sauce, and the beans are a great thickening agent so its not runny and your rice or quinoa won't taste dry.
• Molton Tofu 5/6
  
• Broccoli and tofu served on rice.
• They say it's spicy, but I didn't think it was. They kind of showcase it in the appetizer section - but I found it more of an entree. You can order is as part of their appetizer platter - which is weird, because its not finger food. Again it was big and filling. Big pieces of broccoli and they use the firm brown tofu - which makes this dish hearty. I enjoyed this more than the Upper East Side. The sauce is a sesame-like sauce so the flavours and textures are nice and bold.
• Tight Spin 2.5/6
  
• Grain fed spinach, pear, sheep's cheese, sunflower seeds and a lime & mango dressing.
• This salad was ok. I wish they had used a pear that wasn't as ripe. It made the salad a bit mushy, and the crunchiness you want in a salad was lost. The sheep's cheese was also really strong, but went well with the pear. The dressing is a thicker dressing - not a vinaigrette. The dressing is heavy on the mango flavour - I think they puree canned mangoes to make it - so again the salad was a bit sweet for me. The pears have a natural sweetness so I think they could have gone more tart on the dressing to break up the flavours.

  

• Mango Forte 2/6
  
• Broccoli, zucchini, mango, and jalapenos in coco sauce tossed with round pasta aka rotini.
• Again not spicy, more sweet. The mangoes make the sauce again, so you don't taste the coconut very much. It almost tasted like a sweeter version of the mango-lime dressing from the salad. They don't skimp on the ingredients though, but again I needed some savoury to break up the flavours. Texture is there, but it needs something savoury.
• **Sesame Society 5/6
  
• Broccoli, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, firm brown tofu, and maple tahini sauce. Served on quinoa and spinach.
• This had the balance of sweet and salty that I was looking for! It's because it had a maple tahini sauce - this was one of my favs. A great variety of vegetables, and big pieces too, so they don't overcook and get mushy. The spinach kind of wilts underneath the layer of hot veggies and this comes with quinoa so it's a great deal at $9.75. I would go back for this!

Desserts:

• My Sugar Pie 1/6
  
• The say it's their best dessert - originates from Quebec. They offer a vegan version as well.
• This was WAY too sweet - and I have a major sweet tooth!! I need dessert after a meal and this was uber sweet. I'm sure it's how it's supposed to be, but I just didn't enjoy it. A couple bites and your sweet tooth is satisfied...and hurting.