My Holiday Dinners and Feasts

Happy New Year!

So due to sleeping in and it being a holiday I didn't really update the blog this morning. I didn't know what to post and I wanted it to be a little different. So if you've been following my tweets I've had 8 or 9 Christmas dinners this year. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of all of them, but I did get a few. Just wanted to show you what I've been eating.

Some of the holiday meals were home cooked and some were dine outs. I don't review anything that is homemade by friends or family...because I still want to be invited for dinners! =p But to satisfy your curiosity everything was delicious and I'm so lucky to have friends and family who can cook.

Vancouver Food Blogger dinner at The Irish Heather...review posted tomorrow!
Duck leg with Mushroom & Foie Gras Jus

Christmas dinner with my best friend. We love cooking, we love eating, we love food! The dips we made for our crab cakes. 1) Pesto Cream sauce 2) Sweet Thai Chili with Edamame 3) Curry Pineapple Chutney with Coconut

The crab cakes we made. The only ingredient we prepared was crab meat...everything else was rummage around my kitchen and work with what we have.

1) Crab cake 1: Tropical East! Coconut Curry crab cake crusted with cashews, coconut, and coconut rice crackers. Served with curry pineapple chutney.

2) Crab cake 2: Asian style! Sweet Thai Chili crab cake crusted with peanuts and honey glazed sesame cashews. Topped with Sweet Thai Chili edamame beans.

3) Crab cake 3: Mediterranean style! Pesto and caper crab cakes with Pesto cream sauce.



Dessert after crab cakes was Egg Nog Cupcakes!...and Mochis! You can eat those whenever!


Christmas Eve dinner at Kirin - Peking Duck.
My appetizer. My own creation: Christmas all wrapped up! It was shredded turkey, stuffing, cranberries, mushrooms, purple potatoes wrapped up in filo. Served on home made cranberry sauce.

My friend's drunken risotto made with 2 bottles of Merlot! It also had Italian sausage, onions and spinach. Yum!

Sweet potato mash with toasted marshmallow bake..this was out "vegetable" dish.

Christmas dinner potluck with 6 friends. Sweet potato mash with toasted marshmallow bake, mac n' cheese 1, mac n' cheese with bacon 2, drunken risotto, and honey Dijon glazed ham.

Dessert from Kreation Artisan Cake Bakery

My New Year's Eve 2009 dinner at The Marriott hotel in Vancouver. Charred asparagus with papaya vinaigrette, steamed veggies, roast beef, roast chicken breast, wild mushroom and pearl onion ragout, ravioli with olives, artichokes, baby shrimp and radicchio, roast potatoes etc. etc.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

Restaurant: Romano's Macaroni Grill
Cuisine: American/Italian
Last visited: October 12, 09

Area: Multiple locations - Denver, Colorado
4627 S Timberline Road, Fort Collins, CO
Price Range: $10-20USD

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

Food: 2
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 2.5
Additional comments:

• American Chain restaurant
• American-Italian food
• Huge portions
• Freshly baked pizza crusts and breads
• Some housemade pastas
• Attracts families
• Kid-friendly - can draw on paper tablecloth
• Large selections of wines
• Casual and lively atmosphere
• Line-up/crowded at peak hours
• Complimentary freshly baked bread to start

**Recommendation: Roasted Veggies, Pesto Chicken Pizza

Alright - so most of us have been there. If you're looking for authentic Italian, you're at the wrong place...and I'm sure you know. This is a chain restaurant that serves American-Italian food. Everything is loaded with thick, rich and hearty sauces and the only thing authentic is the big portions they serve. Oh and the thin pizza crusts is pretty authentic too. With that being said, as an American chain serving American food it's not bad, but as REAL Italian it's negative.

I found a lot of the sauces taste similar or are just repeated throughout the menu with a different pasta. A good tip is to stick to the things with simple ingredients because they do those well. Since the recipe is so simple everything is really fresh. The sauces are really just mediocre standard recipes that they teach you in cooking 101 so nothing to rave about there.

On the table:

• Complimentary Tuscan Bread 3.5/6
• This bread or Focaccia bread is good and baked daily in the kitchen. Some dried herbs and some sea salt on the crust. Simple enough for all your sauces.
  
• They serve it with just the olive oil on the table though. No balsamic.
  
• The olive oil is imported from Italy, but the grade is just ok. The colour and flavour isn't deep enough and the bread needs something more bold.
• 
• **Roasted Veggies 6/6
• Fresh zucchini, yellow and red peppers, eggplant and red onions slowly roasted with extra virgin olive oil and fresh rosemary.

• I know it sounds simple. That's why it's good.
• Fresh veggies and you get a ton! They cut them in big chunks and they're roasted until they're nice and juicy, tender and firm, and naturally sweet. They're a little charred too so there's a nutty flavour.
• They use dried oregano and rosemary so the flavour is really intense and sharp.
• 
• **Pesto Chicken Pizza 4/6
• Grilled chicken, pine nut pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses baked with garlic-olive oil.

• The is quite a salty and rich pizza because of the ingredients used, but it's really good. A little oily because of the pesto and sun dried tomatoes.
• They skimped on the chicken but give you a lot of everything else. I really likes the spoonfuls of ricotta they put on each slice. I spread mine on the slice before i ate it
• The pesto sauce is not bad, but they flavoured it with salt more than they do with pine-nuts. I don't even know if they make it in house (I doubt it), and it's not just basil but they mix it with spinach too. It's a pretty thick pesto that they kind of dollop around the pizza. There's also a lack of Parmesan in it.
• Sun-dried tomatoes aren't really sundried tomatoes, taste like preserved tomatoes in olive oil.
• The crust is one of the highlights. It's made in house and it's nice and thin. It's very crispy and yet flavourful and sturdy enough to hold the heavy toppings.
• Penne Rustica 2.5/6
  
• Shrimp, chicken and smoked prosciutto tossed with Parmesan cream sauce and imported penne pasta, then baked.

• It's good, but really rich, creamy, heavy and greasy.
  
• It's comfort food. They skimp on the shrimp and prosciutto though, which is kind of what would make this a bit special...without it it's just chicken penne with cream sauce. The sauce is just your standard cream sauce with some melted Parm cheese.
  
• This is something you could easily whip up at home. Nothing special, just a chicken alfredo.
• Lobster Ravioli 2/6
  
• Lobster-filled tarragon pasta topped with sauteed shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes and lemon butter sauce.

• I was pretty disappointed. The description sounds amazing but it was poorly executed and they jeopardized so many ingredients in order to meet the cost...and the cost of wasn't cheap at $15.99US. I could still eat it but it was not nearly as good as it should have and could have been. Even for a family style chain they could have done better and I expected more.
• The ravioli stuffing was a rough chop of ingredients and was really inconsistent. Some had lobster, some had crab, some had little stuffing. I don't even know what I was eating - it tastes like crab meat mixed with some other mushy filler ingredients. Once in a while you would hit a random ravioli with a random piece of lobster in it.
• The tarragon pasta tasted like regular pasta.
• Sauteed shrimps were frozen baby shrimps.
  
• The sauce tastes like melted butter thickened with cream. The recipe is probably that basic too.

Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.


Restaurant: Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery
Cuisine: American
Last visited: October 9, 09

Area: Multiple locations - Denver, Colorado
6025 Sky Pond Drive, Loveland
Price Range: $10-20USD

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

Food: 3.5
Service: 4
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Chain restaurant (I was unaware)
• Casual and lively atmosphere
• Line-up/crowded at peak hours
• Friday-Sunday $12.99 Prime Rib dinner available
• 3 course menu deals: $12-18USD
• 90% of menu made from scratch
• Known for beers and steaks
• Menu has a Tex-Mex flair
• From the creators of Chicago Pasta & Pizza chain
  
• Happy hour
• Offers mini desserts for under $3
• Lighting made it difficult to take pictures

**Recommendation: Classic Mac n' Chicken, Overnight Braised Short Rib, Steaks, Stout BBQ Ribs (didn't get to try), handmade beer bread (served with Asiago dip, didn't get to try)

This wasn't the original choice for dinner, but it started snowing and out of convenience it was the first thing we saw that looked good. Being from Vancouver, I didn't know Rock Bottom was a chain restaurant although it could have been easily assumed from the exterior and interior design/set-up. It had that big chain restaurant feel: large space located in a strip mall with other chain restaurants, crowded bar, energetic atmosphere, large advertisements and promotional materials. Nonetheless I was still excited to try it, after all 90% of their food is made in house and that is something to salivate about.

The menu consisted of standard chain restaurant items: BBQ meats, steaks, pasta all they typical stuff, so naturally my eyes kept coming to items with the words "homemade", "famous for", and "signature". I was actually quite impressed with the standard of food for what we were paying - it was moderately priced, homemade and made upon order. The food wasn't outstanding or really creative, but I do appreciate a chain with a focus on homemade food without being overpriced...I'd say it's a pretty solid choice.

On the table:

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• **Classic Mac n' Chicken 6/6
• This is their famous Mac n' Cheese. It's your classic homestyle mac n' cheese except loaded with chicken!

• I made a special request to order it as a side because I didn't want it as an entree - they happily honoured the request.
• The cheese sauce was homecooked and really good! It's creamy instead of stringy so you could tell the cheese was cooked into the sauce rather than thrown in last minute. I think they used a combo of sharp White and Orange Cheddar cheese. It was rich and decadent and there were chunks of juicy baked chicken throughout, not one piece was dry. They used a good amount of freshly cracked black pepper in the sauce so it really enhanced the cheesiness.
• It also had this baked Parmesan breadcrumb crust that was almost nutty and very very cripsy! It was saucy from top to bottom and not dry at all.
  
• One of the best traditional mac n' cheeses I've had.

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• **Overnight Braised Short Rib 4/6
• Slow-roasted boneless short rib on a bed of White Cheddar mashed potatoes (can't tell in the picture because it's too bright), fire-roasted tomatoes, peal onions with roasted mushroom sauce.

• The rib was really tender and it was obvious that it was well marinated and slow roasted because it was falling apart.
• The roasted mushroom sauce was really hearty and rich. It was a little heavy on the balsamic vinegar and with the added fire-roasted tomatoes it was a bit too tangy for my liking. However, together with the White Cheddar mashed potatoes and ribs it all came together quite well...especially since the potatoes were dry. They definitely needed the mushroom gravy.
• They used fresh parsley to garnish it, but I think they should have used something else because it didn't go with the sauce or flavours of the dish very well.
• 
• Mahi Mahi Tacos 1.5/6
• Mahi Mahi, pineapple slaw and cilantro wrapped in white flour corn tortillas served with pico de gallo, black beans, and rice.

• This was really disappointing. It sounds really good on the menu and it was recommended, but it wasn't good. They were going in all sorts of wrong directions with the flavours.
• Mahi is a sturdy fish, almost like halibut so it tastes like chicken. It's also a tropical fish so it's good with tropical flavours. Therefore the pineapple was a good idea, but making it a slaw was not. They should have kept it nice and light and served it with pineapple salsa if they wanted to keep it fusion.

Lighting made it difficult to take pictures.

• The "pineapple slaw" was plain old cole slaw. I didn't see or taste one piece of pineapple. It was too rich and creamy because they went overboard with the mayo.

• Then they decided to serve it with Mexican condiments and sides.
• So you had the creamy cole slaw and then pico de gallo - which tasted like relish instead of fresh tomatoes, onions, limes & chillies. They also added pickled jalapenos so it wasn't as spicy, but it made it taste very preserved or a couple days old...maybe it was. It tasted even more preserved because they put capers in it too...for I guess a Mediterranean twist? It was weird. The whole thing was wrong and didn't go well with the tacos at all. It was creamy cole slaw with pickled salsa...ick.
• Was it Hawaiian? Mexican? Mediterranean? They were fusing a bunch of flavours together and all in the wrong way. The only good thing was each taco came with 2 big pieces of Mahi Mahi.
  
• 
  
• 
• **Filet Mignon 4/6 (If they don't overcook it!)
• Centre hand-cut aged 8oz filet rubbed in in house seasonings and topped with creamy roasted garlic butter.
  

• I ordered mine medium rare with the White Cheddar mashed potatoes, veggies and a side of roasted mushrooms. The veggies were the frozen kind....not impressed.
• The roasted mushrooms were more like sauteed mushrooms. They were heavy on the black pepper and tasted like they were reduced with balsamic vinegar...just like the sauce that was served with the braised short rib. It worked with the steak more than the ribs.
• My steak was cooked medium and not medium rare like I requested..that was a real bummer! However my friend's was cooked to medium rare and his was really good. The dry rub was not bad, but also not memorable. The filet was served on a giant onion ring which was a nice surprise. It was only for presentation though and it got really soggy so I didn't even eat it.
• The steak itself isn't a stand out, but I also couldn't complain.
  
• It was quite good for a brewery, but also not nearly as good as a steakhouse steak.
  
• White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes 2/6
  
• Mashed potatoes were really dry and sturdy. They really emphasize it as a restaurant favourite, but I don't know why. I could stick my fork it in and it would hold straight up. They weren't creamy, fluffy, or cheesy. They make it with cream, White Cheddar cheese and sour cream, but I didn't taste the richness of any of those.
• Genovese Pasta 3/6 (soon to be off the menu)
  
• Grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes, walnut pesto, fresh basil, Parmesan cheese on penne.

• I couldn't get a picture because it was too far down the table.
  
• I was very intrigued by the walnut pesto...but I think this was "too weird" for most, that's why they're taking it off the menu.
• Unfortunately it didn't taste like walnuts at all. It looked and tasted like plain old pesto. As pesto, it was good. But as a "walnut pesto" it was not.
• The pasta was very pesto-y. I really like pesto so it didn't bother me. It was kind of oily so the tartness of the sundried tomatoes and freshness of the basil was good.
  
• 
• Asian Ahi Tuna Salad 4/6
• Seared sashimi grade ahi tuna with cabbage, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, carrots, spinach, baby corn, edamame and crunchy noodles. Served with light ginger citrus dressing.

• I have to say I was quite impressed with this! The ingredients were nice and crunchy and fresh. The tuna was really top quality. It was a bright red colour and they seared it perfectly! The garnish was green sesame seeds (I've never seen before) and I think it was a sea salt/lemon pepper crust...? It was really good!
• 
• Blackened Salmon Caesar 4/6
• A Caesar salad topped with a Cajun-spiced salmon and Parmesan Caesar dressing.

• It had real Parmesan curls instead of the shredded kind so that was nice.
• The star was really the salmon though. It had this really flavourful dry rub that was spicy but not overly spicy...it was just right.
• It wasn't overly charred and it was seared perfectly with a juicy and moist centre. It's so easy to overcook salmon and they didn't do it with this one - it was such a thick piece I was almost sure it was going to be too.
• Side Garden Salad

The Dish

Restaurant: The Dish
Cuisine: American/Breakfast/Lunch/Healthy

Last visited: September 25, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC

1068 Davie Street

Price Range: $10 or less

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

Food: 3.5 (I need to try more items though)

Service: 3

Ambiance: 2

Overall: 3.5

Additional comments:

• Healthy fast food
• Breakfast/Soups/Salads/Sandwiches/Wraps/Mains
• Extensive menu; some culturally inspired wraps & mains
  
• Fresh juices/Healthy smoothies
• Self-service, pay upon order
• Made upon order wraps
• Big wraps
  
• Daily specials available
• Vegetarian options
• Homemade soups
• Store bought sauces
  
• Short line-ups during lunch hours, quick service
  
• Serves breakfast until 11am and 2pm on weekends

**Recommendation: The Eggs Sophia Wrap, Indonesian Wrap (Soups are supposed to be great, but I haven't tried)

I've been here a couple times and the food is not outstanding or anything, but it is still enjoyable. If you're looking for healthy fast food options, then try this place out. Even though it's healthy the menu still offers a lot of traditional sandwiches and comfort food mains. It's nothing gourmet, but everything is quite fresh and made upon order. Some of the ingredients like cooked/grilled veggies are pre-cooked though and then the wraps are quickly assembled. They are popular for their wraps, mainly because they're substantial in size - they don't hold out on the stuffing at all. They're wraps that you could more or less make at home, they're very simple recipes, store bought sauces. They're healthy wraps - it's good, but also expected.

I was however impressed with their menu selection because I was expecting standard wraps like chicken salad, chicken Caesar, BLT, etc. so it was nice to see something like the "Indonesian wrap" to switch things up a bit. They also offer mains like "Teriyaki Chicken" and "Curry Chicken" but they're probably far from authentic. Overall, if you're looking for affordable, healthy fast food downtown, The Dish is a solid option.

On the table:

• **Indonesian Chicken Wrap 3.5/6
  
• White chicken breast, red and green cabbage, romaine lettuce, brown rice & peanut sauce. $6.10

• This is good, but nothing out of the ordinary when you think of a Southeast Asian style wrap. You have your peanut sauce and you're there. I'm pretty sure the peanut sauce isn't made in house though. It's just your standard peanut sauce, not spicy or anything. Maybe even a bit on the runny side. No peanut texture. However, I am pleased to say that the wrap wasn't big because of the rice - they don't cheap out on the ingredients and actually load it up with chicken and veggies. Lots of chicken!
• The veggies were really fresh and crunchy, but the brown rice was a bit hard and dry. There wasn't a lot of rice though so it didn't bother me. It tasted exactly like the description so if you like those ingredients you'll like this wrap. It's served cold - warm may be better.
  

  

• Pesto Parmesan Chicken Wrap 1.5/6
  
• White chicken breast, romaine lettuce, sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, tomato, Parmesan and Pesto sauce. $6.10

• Sounds better than it tastes. Oh boy they really sacrificed on the quality of ingredients and the whole thing was pretty bland. If you're going to put Parmesan in the name of the sandwich I expect actual Parmesan cheese. Unfortunately this was the powdered Parmesan cheese! As disappointed as you are in reading that imagine how disappointed I was in eating it. I wouldn't have minded paying $1 extra if they used the real deal. The powdered Parm gave the wrap a really dry quality and I felt like I was eating a cheap Caesar salad. Even a Caesar Salad at a grocery store gives shredded Parm.
• The pesto sauce is also not made in house. I bet anything it's the pesto sauce supplied by Sysco Food Services - it's this standard pesto that restaurants will order to save time and money from making it themselves. This isn't a bad thing - but the Pesto is just not good. There's better brands out there for sure. This pesto isn't made with pine nuts, it's nut free which also means it lacks a lot of flavour! It's really runny and tastes like blended up spinach and parsley - no/little basil. Needless to say, I was really disappointed.
• I also didn't get many sauteed mushrooms or veggies. I got one mushroom (really just one, which may have gotten in there by accident) and maybe 2 tomatoes and 4 zucchini cubes? I think all the veggies are sauteed, but they taste steamed. I don't think they add any salt or pepper when they sautee it - so they're very healthy tasting. I didn't mind, but some might. It's also served warm.
  
• **The Eggs Sophia Wrap 3.5/6
  
• Eggs, sundried tomato basil spread, jack cheese, sauteed mushrooms.

• This was my favourite one of the 3. I don't have a picture because I tried it on a previous visit. For me, a breakfast wrap is more standard because you can't really change up breakfast ingredients as much as you can with lunch/dinner ingredients. You know what breakfast items taste like and what to expect - so all in all this is a hearty great tasting vegetarian wrap.