About Follow Me Foodie - Vancouver Restaurant Guide

I originally started Follow Me Foodie as a blog to show off my food pictures that I've accumulated over the last couple years. However as time goes by I realize that most of my posts are restaurant reviews. Specifically - Vancouver restaurant reviews. Vancouver is my home and also where I was born and raised so trust me when I say I've tried A LOT of restaurants in Vancouver.

I hope that diners, readers, or followers of my blog will find Follow Me Foodie as a useful restaurant guide for finding or trying restaurants in Vancouver and the lower mainland. I love to cook and bake so occasionally I will post a recipe. Traveling is also on my list so if you plan to travel check my site to see if I have restaurant reviews or recommendations for that destination.

Vancouver is a major city for foodies. Downtown Vancouver is a hub for international cuisines. With so much diversity and multi-culturalism there's so many places to eat and different foods to try in Vancouver. Whether you live in Vancouver or plan to travel to Vancouver I hope that you find my Vancouver restaurant reviews useful. I rate the restaurant overall as well as each individual item so I'm able to make the best restaurant recommendations.

I'm always looking for the best restaurants in Vancouver, best foods, fantastic hole-in-the-walls, local gems and fine dining restaurants. Use Follow Me Foodie as an eating guide for the best Vancouver dining experience.

I am a Vancouver foodie, but also take it seriously as a restaurant reviewer and "critic". I write for the interest of my readers and not for the interests of the restaurant. So have faith that I am honest about the food I try and what I recommend. If I get something free or if I know the owner, be sure that I will mention it in my review. I try to remain as neutral as possible.

Besides Vancouver restaurant reviews I will write restaurant reviews while I'm traveling. So you will also find restaurant reviews from around the world. No matter where I am, I am always looking for the best food (cheap eats or fine dining), the best places to eat, the local hole-in-the-walls, neighbourhood gems and the new restaurants to try in that area. I envy Food Network's Rachael Ray because she does this for a living...I hope to do the same one day...I'm going to eat my way to this dream and I hope you will follow me on my adventure. I'm only excited to where it will lead me. All I know is that it's some place tasty.

My rating system

Just want to explain my rating system...again it's all to do with personal preference, so this is just my personal opinion according to my dining experience and taste buds.

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

1: Poor = poor, either the dish was inedible or quite disappointing
2: OK = it was ok, not bad just "meh"...probably wouldn't order it again. I'll eat it b/c I'm hungry.
3: Good = it was good, nothing really wrong with it, but nothing too spectacular. Standard. I'd go again out of convenience.
4: Very good = I was impressed and would come here/order it again.
5: Excellent = I would make plans to order/come again and recommend it.
6: Tres Excellent!! = I still talk about it weeks/months/years after and I still dream about it. I may try and make it myself or relive the experience through my photos.

RauDZ Regional Table

Restaurant: RauDZ Regional Table
Cuisine: Contemporary/West coast/Seafood
Last visited: August 14, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
1560 Water Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5, mainly b/c of history and concept
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• To locals and tourists it's one of the best restaurant in Kelowna
• Reincarnation of a 4 diamond, award-winning fine dining restaurant - still same owner/chef
• All time favourites from Fresco are still on the menu
  
• Focus on organic, fresh, natural, all regional food
• Everything is from local bakeries/farms etc. in Kelowna
• Homemade sauces/condiments/dressings
• Very unique flavours and chef creations - but everything was missing a little salt and came across as a tad bland - yes, fresh ingredients, but when it all came together it was missing that punch
• Simple ingredients, but unique recipes and combination of flavours
  
• Excellent presentation with really decent portions - not huge, and not small
  
• Very reasonable prices for what you are getting - a gourmet bargain, however overall experience impressed me more than the food
• They offer a sample menu, but they don't advertise it and you need to ask your server
  
• They don't take reservations and open 5pm daily
• Drink specialties: Fresh fruit martinis
• Complimentary gourmet housemade lollipops when you get your bill eg: Tangerine & Thyme lollipop

**Recommendation: Crab Cappuccino, BLT, Arctic Char, Signature dessert, fresh fruit martinis

How I discovered this restaurant was completely by chance, luck was on my side...so I'm glad I fell upon it. If I were in Kelowna again I would go back to this restaurant to try other things are their menu.

I walked by the restaurant at around 5pm and stopped to take a look at their menu posted outside. There was a couple from Seattle waiting outside the restaurant for it to open and they strongly recommended us to try this restaurant. They said it was their favourite and that they dine here everytime they are in Kelowna. They said they come especially for their Crab Cappuccino which enticed my immediately. I took a quick look over their menu and saw the most creative dishes eg: hot dog with lavender mustard - right then and there I knew I had found my dinner spot for the night.

I went in to put my name down for a reservation but the hostess said it was so busy that reservations were not accepted...as if I wasn't convinced enough; now I knew I had to check out what the hype was all about. We basically ordered everything that was recommended on their menu, but I'll discuss the best out of those.

Overall, the experience was better than the food, although the food was by no means disappointing. It's comparable to great restaurants in Vancouver.

On the table:

• **Crab Cappuccino 4/6
• Dungeness crab, milk froth

• One of the most popular items on the menu. It actually originates from the old Fresco menu, the restaurant that came before RauDz...it's such a favourite it had to stay on.
• The presentation was lovely. It was good, but lacked a little bit of saltiness, it wasn't sweet either though...it was just a bit bland. The texture is not thick and creamy, it's the texture of a cappuccino made with whole milk, so it's not heavy or filling.
• It came with 2 larger pieces of dungeness crab which is a bit disappointing because I expected more. The dungeness crab flavour wasn't brewed into the cappuccino broth...it was more just 2 pieces of crab found in the broth. I found they should have chopped it up a bit more rather than just putting in 2 big chunks. I understand that they did this because it's called a "cappuccino" not a "soup"...but still.
• A nice subtle hint of cappuccino flavour and I think I tasted a little saffron which was great. It came with a nice frothy foam on top, and it's actually good as an appetizer or even order it for the end of your meal.
• It is a must try because it's unique and you can't find it anywhere, but I wouldn't need to order it again or anything. For $12 I found it on the expensive side, but because everyone orders it they can afford to keep it there.
• Calamari 4/6
• Another favourite item from the Fresco menu.
• Fresh calamari stuffed with sundried olive stuffing on a bed of roasted cauliflower salad.

• This calamari was very fresh and not the deep fried kind that you typically get served when you order a Calamari. You could really taste the freshness of these beautiful squids. Eat these little guys in one bite otherwise the stuffing oozes out and your ratio of calamari to stuffing is off. The stuffing is fabulous! Nice and salty, a great texture where you can taste the olives and the hint of sundried tomatoes. The squids don't taste salted, you get the saltiness from the olive stuffing. The olive stuffing was almost a spread - I would love to eat it with crostini or warm baguette.
• The cauliflower salad was very nice. Small pieces of roasted cauliflower, I think it could have used some capers in there because again it was a tad bland.
• ** BLT 5/6
• Grilled salmon, pancetta, fig anise toast, baked fries

• The fig anise toast made this sandwich! They order this fig & anise bread from the local bakery in Kelowna called The Bread Company - see my review on this bread and on this cafe because we tried it the next morning.
• Nice piece of fresh and moist salmon, you get a bit of saltiness from the pancetta and the sweetness of the figs. The taste is in the quality of ingredients.
• Fries - the fries they use made of Yukon Gold potatoes, and they aren't cut in house but they do bake them in house with their special infrared oven - these fries are really good and taste deep-fried...but they're not!
• I liked the little dish of salad it came with - that was actually not bland
  
• Fish & Chips 3/6
• Baked chickpea batter pacific rockfish, fennel spiced chips, cucumber tartar
• The picture for this was too blurry, so I didn't realize it at the time...so I apologize for having no picture.

• Nothing too spectacular, big pieces of fish and the fennel spiced chips are fries
  
• I'll repeat my fry message above - it's made of Yukon Gold potatoes and they're baked and are genuinely as good as deep fried ones.
• **Arctic Char 6/6
  
• Oat crusted, maple butter, potato, bacon & spinach sautee

• This was my favourite entree of the bunch. Another signature entree form the Fresco menu.
• For me the feature of your entree also known as the protein should be the stand out of your entree, for this dish - it was! The oat crust was amazing - I would order this again for sure.
• Halibut 4/6
• Raudz spice rub, grilled potato, and walla walla onion salad, blueberry and nectarine salsa

• Very good, but not excellent. What made this dish was the blueberry and nectarine salsa - I wish it was the halibut...but it wasn't. The Arctic char was better. The halibut was on the dry side for me and because it was such a thick piece and it was coated in this dry rub it became even more dry. I had to enjoy every bite with the salsa, and I think you should be able to enjoy your protein with or without condiments if it's done really well.
• Blueberry and nectarine salsa was excellent! Fresh local fruit, very well composed and great texture. You can see the quality and freshness. Could have used a squeeze of lime or maybe some lime zest to really bring out that fruity flavour. I'd ask for lime and do it myself next time. But I may not order this again, I would rather try something else.
• Best presentation out of all the entrees
• Lamb 5/6
• Bbq double chop and tenderloin, homemade gnocchi, oyster mushroom and arugula saute, tomato and molasses BBQ sauce

• This was better than the halibut, but not as good as the arctic char. Really decent sized portion and the lamb was very tender.
• The stand out of this dish was the homemade gnocchi, you could really taste the potato in it - best part of the dish, and one of the best gnocchi I've tried. It's easy to get the oyster mushrooms confused with the gnocchi though because they look the same and are same in size. The BBQ sauce was more tomato based, and it did have a unique homemade flavour - can really tell they put care into their sauces and the texture was perfect! - Not too runny and not too thick and bold enough to stand up to lamb, but subtle enough to not overpower the main ingredient.

Dessert

• **Signature 6/6
  
• Double chocolate mashed potato brioche, raspberry sorbet, warm chocolate sauce

• Holy crap...this was soooo good! We literally consumed it in under 45 seconds. This is a dessert I would dream about and what to go back for. This is SO their signature dessert and SHOULD NOT BE MISSED.
  
• It was $10 and I'd pay more for it.
  
• This potato brioche is amazing, it's so moist and decadent. The raspberry sorbet is made in house and was the perfect accompaniment to this dish.
• Blueberry Tart 4/6
  
• Apricot salad and sour cream ice cream

• This was good, but not the best tart I've had. The apricot salad was 2 apricots cut in half and I think they should have really chopped it up into smaller pieces. It would have been better and the apricots would have been more tender. The blueberries and apricots were all from local farmers and were fresh - so I think they wanted to let them stand out on their own...but they didn't. If I order it as a dessert I would prefer them to be used more creatively and then have them fresh as a garnish.
• Sour cream ice cream - homemade...and a great choice to match with this tart. This was my favourite part, you could tell that it was sour cream ice cream but it wasn't too sour or too pungent. Quality ice cream that was a perfect match for fruit.
• Hands down the Signature dessert was better

Drinks

• Must try their fresh fruit martinis - they have an extensive drink/wine menu, but their specials are their fresh fruit martinis.
  
• We tried their Blackberry martini made with a fresh blackberry puree and aloe - great texture and you can taste the aloe - brilliant ingredient to use with fresh fruit I have now discovered

The Bread Company - Bread review

Fig & Anise Bread - Loaf
Cranberry & Pumpkin Seed - Mini bun

Restaurant: The Bread Company - Bread review
Cuisine: Bakery/Breads
Last visited: August 15, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
363 Bernard Ave
Price Range: $10-20

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

Additional comments:

• All breads made on site daily
  
• No refined sugars added
  
• Vegetable/Olive oil only
• Made with filtered water
  
• Breads are aged 16-24 hours before baking
• Hearth baking
• Organic bread available
  
• Each day features a new bread
• Weekly/Daily menu for breads found on website
• Sturdy/chewy breads - not the fluffy buttery type
  

**Recommendation: Fig and Anise Bread, Multigrain, all breads are better toasted

I have dedicated a separate blog just to talk about the different types of breads I tried.

On the table:

• **Fig & Anise Bread 6/6
  
• Flour, rye, whole wheat flour, water, sea salt, toasted walnuts, raisins, figs, anise

• My favourite! You MUST try it! I discovered it at Raudz, one of the best restaurants in Kelowna. They used this bread for their BLT and let me tell you it set the tone for the whole sandwich. I didn't know the bread was from The Bread Company until I went here for lunch the next day...then of course I had to take a loaf home.
• This bread has generous amounts of figs throughout the bread. A lot of figs! Every bite has some figs or some raisins. It was more figs than raisins and figs are more expensive. I didn't taste or see any walnuts though....I don't think they were in there. I couldn't really taste the anise either...but it doesn't matter, this is a great bread! Keep in mind it is bread though - not pastry bread, so don't let the figs fool you into thinking this is a sweeter pastry bread.
• It's best eaten toasted - no need for butter, but you can if you want. The figs just plump up wihen you toast it and the flavour is so much better.
• A bit expensive for almost $5, but the ingredients are high in quality so it works.

• Tasty Twist Ideas:
• Toast it and spread a layer of maple walnut ice cream on top...to die for! Makes a nice dessert.
• Toast it and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Delicious!..if you like goat's cheese, melt a thin slice on the bread before the balsamic glaze.
  
• **Multi Grain Bread 5/6
  
• My next favourite after the Fig & Anise bread

• Flour, whole wheat flour, rye, water, sea salt, flax seed, sunflower seed, oats
• Organic
  
• Great toasted with butter.
  
• Very nice crust and you can bite into and see all the seeds, oats and flax - great texture! You can really taste the ingredients and the quality of this bread.
• Better than Good Hearth
  
• Walnut Raisin - mini bun 2/6
  
• Flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, water, salt, levain, walnuts, raisins

• I had this in a mini bun form and it was better toasted.
  
• It was actually more salty than sweet in flavour which is unexpected. A nice amount of raisins, but not enough walnuts. Not my favourite, and not spectacular, but still good.
  
• Cranberry Pumpkin Seed - mini bun 1/6
  
• Flour, whole wheat flour, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, water, salt, yeast

• I had this in mini bun form and I was really dissappointed. I wouldn't order it again. I expected it to be bursting with cranberries like the figs, but it wasn't. It hardly had any cranberries or pumpkin seeds - just look at the picture.
• I thought this would be more tart, but it was actually sweeter than the walnut raisin. I think they could have purposely added less cranberries to make it not as tart. But I think if you're ordering this, you like the tartness cranberries add and thus they should have been liberal with them. It's still not a sweet bread, but it was sweeter than expected.
• I also tried Good Hearth (Multi Grain is better) and the Sourdough, but it was nothing really special or different than what I could find at other bakeries.

• All their breads are chewy with a tougher crust, all taste the best toasted...brings out the flavour of the ingredients.
  

The Bread Company

Restaurant: The Bread Company
Cuisine: Bakery/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/American
Last visited: August 15, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
363 Bernard Ave
Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 3
Overall: 5
Additional comments:

• Serves breakfast and light lunches
• Order and pay at cashier, food brought to your table
  
• Cafe and catering
• Casual cafe, but more gourmet than The Bohemian Bagel across the street
  
• Focus on freshly baked breads and pastries
• Artisan breads
• No refined sugars in breads
• Only vegetable/olive oil used in breads
• Loaves to go
• Familiar to locals, line-ups, busy
  
• Toonie Tuesday Lattes

**Recommendation: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes, Fig & Anise Loaf, stuffed French toast is popular too, but I didn't try it.

So I tried this restaurant for brunch the next day. It's across the street from The Bohemian Bagel, and it's casual but not as laid back. The baked breads are definitely more artisan breads and better than the homemade bread baked at The Bohemian Bagel. You don't get as much of that "home cooked" feel as you do at The Bohemian Bagel, but I thought overall their food was a bit better. The Bohemian Bagel offers food lighter than pub food, but heartier than The Bread Company. The breads at The Bread Company look amazing and they taste great! I wish you could sample them before buying them though. All baked goods are in the display cases so you can seen everything and order/pay at the cashier. For hot food, they give you a number after you pay and serve you at your table.

On the table:

• **Lemon Ricotta Pancakes 6/6
  
• One of their signature items! Signature pancakes made with lemon and ricotta cheese, served with fresh blueberry compote and maple syrup.

• These were so good! I enjoyed them a bit more than the oatmeal blueberry pancakes I had at The Bohemian Bagel. They were the same style pancakes though, 3 mini pancakes that are nice and moist - not the thick traditional kind. The ricotta cheese is very light in the pancake batter and it adds more in terms of texture than it does in flavour.
  
• Adding ricotta to pancakes makes them really tender and delicious! This pancake has a nice weight and is not heavy - the lemon and lemon zest added a great dimension of flavour and lightened up the whole dish. You can really taste the subtle hint of lemon zest, it brightened everything up. The blueberry compote was also great! Naturally sweet and thick - a good amount was served on top of the pancakes. Not too much, and not too little - just enough to not make your pancakes soggy and just enough to balance out all the flavours so that nothing was overpowering.
• Banana Walnut Pancakes 2/6
  
• Signature pancakes made with banana and walnuts served with banana compote (more like mashed bananas) and maple syrup.

• The ricotta lemon pancakes were better. The banana compote served on top was a little like baby food to me. It was mushed up bananas served on top, which means it turned brown in colour and ruined the presentation. You could tell it was fresh and nothing was added, but it just didn't look that appetizing. The bananas were really ripe too, so the whole dish was a bit sweet. The pancakes have a really subtle banana flavour - not like banana bread or anything - good pieces of walnuts in them too, which it really needed otherwise everything just tasted too mushy and you get sick of it quickly.
• *Honey-Cured Ham & Havarti Frittata 4/6
  
• eggs, ham, Havarti, sauteed apples, sage and leeks, served with hashbrowns or "home fries" and buttered toast

• This was good but they should call it an omelette rather than a frittata. It tasted like an omelette. It was heavy on the honey ham and Havarti. The Harvarti was just slices melted all over the top instead of incorporated in - so yes it was good becuase you can see how much you're getting, but I think it would have been better if it was incorporated into the eggs, as well as a little on top for presentation sake.
  
• I couldn't taste the apples at all. I wish I did though because it would have added a sweet note that would really make this "fritatta" a stand out! The leeks were really nice and I actually even bit into some zucchini (found in their Feta & roasted vegetable frittata), which is weird because zucchini isn't meant to be an ingredient for this frittata. I still liked it though. If I went in knowing it would be an omelette and if I could have tasted the apples which would have enhanced the leek and sage flavour more this would make it as one of my recommendations...too bad it didn't...so I gave it one star.
• The "home fries" were just fried up diced potatoes - so a fancy hashbrown.
• We had this with multi-grain toast - their multi-grain is great! You can really taste the grains and it has this amazing crust. Nice and chewy with great texture! Can eat this on its own - doesn't need anything else on it.
• Pumpkin & Pecan soup 5/6
  
• A gourmet soup that is delicious! Nice pieces of pecans in it, I'm surprised they didn't sink to the bottom - small enough to float and big enough to see. Great flavour and homemade...WAY better than the soups offered at The Bohemian Bagel.
  
• **Fig & Anise Bread 6/6
  
• I won't say much about it here because it's so good I'm giving it its own review. I even bought a loaf home at around $5. But it is worth it because you can taste the quality.

The Bohemian Bagel

Restaurant: The Bohemian Bagel - Brunch review
Cuisine: Eclectic/American/Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch
Last visited: August 14, 09

Area: Kelowna, BC
524 Bernard Ave
Price Range: $10-20

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

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

• Open Wednesday - Sunday
• Serves breakfast and lunches
• Lighter than pub food, not gourmet, but home cooked style
  
• Cafe and catering
• Focus on homemade sausage, bacon, dressings, soups
• Freshly baked goods
• Each table has this homemade fruit jam, a great added touch!
  
• Healthy & tasty options
• Homestyle, casual/laid back feel
• Attracts all ages/families
• Popular to locals, quite busy
  
• Daily specials
  

**Recommendation: Blueberry oatmeal pancakes, homemade sausage/bacon, apparently the Huevos Rancheros is good (although I didn't try this)

So we got this recommendation from the front desk at the hotel. He's a self-acclaimed foodie and seemed trustworthy. It was a great recommendation, although he did warn us that the hollandaise sauce was not homemade...which I beleive, otherwise they would advertise it like they do with everything else that is homemade. The bread was baked in house, but I prefer the bread from across the street at The Bread Company. It was a young staff, with laid-back service. We had 4 servers for brunch so it was a bit disorganized, but not hectic - just sllooww.

On the table:

• **Blueberry Oatmeal Pancakes 5/6
• One of their most popular items! Topped with icing sugar, lots of warm blueberries and served with maple syrup.

• I really enjoyed these! They were delicious. It's served in 4 mini pancakes - the oatmeal is ground into the pancake batter so it's a smooth texture and not gritty or anything. Nice and moist, not really fluffy though. They're not your thick and hearty style pancakes though. They're thinner and quite moist becuase of that; completely different than the giant pancake I had from The Grizzly Manor in LA - I like both styles of pancakes though. The blueberries are fresh and added a natural sweetness to the pancakes. Nice, simple, and very enjoyable. $11.50, so a bit more expensive than usual, but worth it for the quality.
• **BOH Combo (Select 4 favs) 5/6
  
• 2 eggs, hashbrowns, homemade sausage, homemade back bacon

• Must try the homemade sausage and bacon - the back bacon and bacon strip are all made in house in the back. It's very fresh and not the cured bacon most people serve. This is gourmet bacon. The sausage and bacon were were both quite lean and not oily, both were very flavourful and juicy. Quality meat, so there's no need to add anything to enjoy them.
• Classic Eggs Benedict 2/6
  
• With the homemade back bacon and English muffin (don't think the English muffin is made in house though)

• This was good, but also just a standard eggs benedict. I came in biased to this item because I knew that the hollandaise sauce was from a powder and not homemade. Therefore it tastes like a benny you've probably had before. This is actually one of their popular items, but that doesn't surprise me because most people are used to that packaged hollandaise sauce rather than the real deal. You can even order the hollandaise as a side people like it so much - I wonder what brand they're using...
• Spinach and Fresh Cherry Salad 4/6
  
• Quite creative. Spinach, fresh Okanagan (local) cherries, Goat's feta, tomato, and carrots with you choice of dressing. We had the mustard-soy dressing which is made in house and tastes great! Really nice dressing, more like a vinaigrette, it would go well with any salad.
  
• This salad was on their specials board, so it's seasonal due to the fact that there's fresh cherries in it.
• Pineapple Peach Cornmeal Muffin $2.50 3/6
  
• Another creative item on their specials board! I love how they take advantage of the seasonal fruit that is so abundant throughout the Okanagan. Fresh local peaches and pineapple (not sure if the pineapple was fresh though) go into this cornmeal muffin. I tasted more cornmeal in the muffin than the fruits though - I think the cornmeal overpowered the fruit flavour. You can actually bite into and see the pieces of fruit, but I found the flavours lost in the cornmeal. I could taste the fruit in the first couple bites and then I couldn't taste it after that.
  
• Remember to ask them to warm up the muffins - it tastes better. Also try their muffins or homemade breads with the homemade fruit preserves served at every table. Really bold and fruity in flavour.
• Mandarin-Apple Streusel Muffin $2.50 4/6
• This was a slightly better muffin, but it tasted like a coffee cake with the nutty brown sugar topping. It's hard to compete with a muffin that has a crunchy streusel topping. It sounds like a really creative and unique muffin, but again you couldn't really taste the mandarin or apple. If anything the apple flavour came out more than the mandarin flavour.
• Nice and moist on the inside, this is a good muffin - it's just that it doesn't taste like what it was supposed to be. Again remember to ask them to warm up the muffins - it tastes better.
• Soups 1/6
  
• All the soups are made in house and change daily.
  
• We tried the gazpacho and the corn chowder.
• Just because it's made in house doesn't always mean it's good. Yes, it's fresh and homemade, but that doesn't mean the recipe is good. The recipes for the soup were unfortunately not good. We happened to try both becuase the original order the gazpacho was so disappointing. It tasted like canned tomato sauce that was watered down with veggies in it. So the waitress traded it and gave us the corn chowder - which was also disappointing. It was better than the gazpacho, but still had that watered down taste and texture. The corn was definitely from the cob, but it didn't matter becuase the soup base itself just wasn't good. Rarely do I ever ask the server to take something back, but in this case it was necessary because it really was that bad.
• Homemade preserves available at each table - full of real fruit flavour

Green Basil Thai

Restaurant: Green Thai Basil
Cuisine: Thai
Last visited: August 1, 09

Area: Burnaby
4326 Kingsway
Price Range: $10-20

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

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

• Not the best Thai in Vancouver, it's ok
• I'm not Thai, neither was the clientele
• More Chinese Thai food than authentic Thai food
• Nothing looks like the pictures on the menu
• No presentation
  
• Lunch specials available M-F: 11-3pm @ $6.95
  
• Spiciness levels are pre-set
• Food comes quickly

**Recommendation: I can't really recommend anything because it was all ok, but out of the things I had, the Khaoo Phat Sap-Bpa-Roht (Fried rice with pineapples, peanuts, raisins & pork floss) was the best...actually quite tasty.

Alright so I'm not Thai and neither was the clientele. I have Thai friends and they've never heard of this restaurant, so I really question its authenticity to traditional Thia food. I felt like it was more on the Chinese side. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. Just average Thai food, and if I was in the area and really craving Thai food I would go here. But I wouldn't plan a dinner just to go here again. The owner/waiter was also kind of rude, but the rest of the staff was ok. The food also came very fast, which usually means it's all pre-made sitting on heaters or stove tops in the back all day. Because you can't adjust the spiciness to your liking, you know it's all somewhat pre-made and reheated. Yes, some curries cannot be adjusted because the curry paste is spicy on its own - but you can just tell it's probably a buffet style set-up in the kitchen...which is out of sight.

On the table:

• Tom Yum - Soup 2/6
• Hot and sour soup with mushroom, tomato, lemongrass, and Thai herbs.
• I had it with prawns. I've had better, this was actually kind of disappointing. it doesn't look like the picture and they could have been more generous with the ingredients. The care wasn't there, everything was more or less just thrown in.
• The waiter/owner was really poor at serving the soup equally - some people had no prawns, some has no mushrooms, some had more soup...bad job.
• Gaaeng Ka-Ri - Yellow Thai curry in a hot pot 3/6
  
• Yellow curry paste with carrots, potato, pineapple and coconut milk
• I ordered it with seafood and it did come with a reasonable amount of seafood for $14.50. Good amount of seafood to sauce ratio. It was better than the green Thai curry we ordered. It was more flavourful and their were some fresh green and red peppers that were probably sauteed in before serving. I feel that the potatoes, carrots and curry sauce were all precooked though.
• Gaaeng Kiew Waan - Green Thai curry 2/6
• Green curry paste with basil, eggplant, green beans and coconut milk
  
• I ordered it with chicken - which was slices of chicken breasts. It doesn't look like the picture and I feel like they could have gone heavier on the green curry paste. For 3 chili peppers, it wasn't that spicy either. Nothing really rave about, it wasn't bad it wasn't really good...just meh.
• Khaoo Phat Sap-Bpa-Roht - Thai fried rice 5/6
  
• Fried rice with fresh pineapple, peanuts, and raisins topped with dried pork floss
• Does not look like the pictures again! But it's pretty good, so I guess it's ok. It needed more cashews and raisins, we barely had any. It also had no dried pork floss when it was served, so we told the waiter and his excuse was lame. He tried to convince us that they purposely don't serve it with pork floss because we already ordered it with chicken and that most people don't like pork floss on it etc. It was a stupid excuse.
• The pineapples were fresh, plentiful and there were pretty big chunks of them which is nice. The chef did a good job frying the rice as well - each rice grain is separate (a skill to master) and it took longer to come out, which means it was made upon order. I like the sweet, salty, tangy and hint of spicy flavour this rice has. Hits all the taste buds in the right way.
  
• It was the best thing out of everything we ordered. I like it with the dried pork floss, even though it was the cheap kind...which is still good though. The pork floss, to me, is a Chinese influence, Thai style fried rice anywhere else doesn't come with this. I liked it though, even if it made it less Thai...I'd call this a Thai/Chinese style fried rice for sure. The chef is probably Chinese, hence why this was the best dish - I'm only assuming though so don't take my word for it!
  

Meinhardt Coconut Cake Review

Coconut Buttercream Cake

Coconut Buttercream Cake - from top and edge angle

Restaurant: Meinhardt bakery - Coconut Buttercream Cake review
Cuisine: Dessert
Last visited: August 11, 09

Area: Multiple, Vancouver
Price Range: $10 or less

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

On the table:

• Coconut Buttercream Cake 6/6
  
• Ok for me this is one of the better coconut cakes I've found in Vancouver - technically my friend found it, brought it over to my house...and we indulged. We both love it! It's better than the coconut cake that True Confections was offering for a limited of time.
• Layers of thick & rich buttercream frosting sandwiched between yellow cake. It's not light and airy, this cake carries some weight. It's moist, dense and rich and covered with big curls of dried coconut shavings, not the cheap shredded kind. This is what makes this cake a stand out. It adds great texture and flavour, but I wish the coconut flavour was throughout the cake part as well. It could have been easily incorporated into the cake batter as well as the buttercream. Another thing is if they had toasted some of the dried coconut shavings - that would have really brought out the flavour. Overall it's still delicious and it's available as a single slice from the Meindhart bakery section.

Zankou Chicken

Restaurant: Zankou Chicken
Cuisine: Mediterranean/American
Last visited: August 9, 09

Area: Multiple, California
Price Range: $10 or less

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

Food: 6
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Only available in California
• Fresh, natural, healthy, super casual fast food chain
• No cans, freezers, microwaves, or preservatives
• Freshly baked daily pita
• Really juicy and flavourful chicken
  
• Famous for chicken with their homemade garlic spread - must try!!
  
• Homemade hummus and falafels
• Garlic flavour in everything, simple recipes
  
• Voted "Best Fast Food" "Best Cheap Eats" etc.
• Since 1962

**Recommendation: Any chicken plate WITH garlic spread, Chicken Tarna wrap

Ok so healthy fast food is hard to find - but this place is great and yes it's pretty healthy. I mean there's still oil, but its not super greasy or anything. Really good, fresh and natural ingredients. Hole in the wall feel, but it's a chain and it's always busy. Famous for their secret family recipe garlic spread and chicken, don't miss out on this fast food eatery!

On the table:

• **1/2 White Chicken Plate - 6.99USD 6/6
  
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken, served with hummus, diced tomatoes, garlic spread, pickles & pita bread
• The chicken is juicy, tender, flavorful, and moist with a crispy golden brown skin - cooked to perfection
• Chicken is all natural and delivered daily
• **Garlic Spread 6/6
  
• This gets its own review because its so delicious!
  
• Secret family recipe it comes in a simple little white sealed plastic container
• It looks, bland and boring, but its AMAZING!
• It looks like finely minced garlic, almost looks clear - it's not really a butter even though there's butter in it, but more of a spread...SOOO good! It doesn't have that spiciness fresh garlic has though, it is fresh garlic, but it's not so fresh that it still carries that spicy flavour. Use it on your pita, chicken - on everything!
  
• **Hummus & Pita 4/6
• The hummus is made of all natural ingredients: garbonzo beans, fresh garlic, sesame seeds and olive oil
• It's good! I could eat it on its own. It's so fresh and smooth in texture. Simple recipe, and simple tastes good!
• Pita - served warm. Baked fresh daily.
• Impressive for a fast food chain to actually take the time to bake and make these things that they could easily buy and serve.
• Tri-Tip Shawerma wrap - 4.99USD 2/6
• Marinated and flame broiled USDA choice tri-tip, diced tomatoes, and tahini wrapped in pita bread
• Good, but the other stuff was better - I found it a bit dry actually...which is surprising because usually it's easier to dry out a chicken when you cook it - but the chicken was so moist it made this one taste dry
• **Chicken Tarna Wrap - 4.99USD 6/6
  
• THIS was my favourite!! Marinated and flame broiled chicken, diced tomatoes, and garlic spread wrapped in pita bread.
• For me, it was better than chicken + garlic spread. Each bite was so full of flavour so it doesn't need anymore filler in the wrap, I really enjoyed this! The chicken is all shredded and the taste was a bit tangy. You couldn't pick out the exact flavours, but it had this tangy bite you'll crave for even after you leave.
• Falafel Plate 8.29USD 4/6
  
• 5 falafels served with hummus, tahini, diced tomatoes & shredded lettuce. Pickles and pita bread included.
• Yes it sounds a bit more expensive for a fast food chain, but these are homemade.
• Not a must try for me, because I've had better - Mona's Mezza Bistro in Vancouver. The BEST homemade falafels I've ever had. Zankou falafels are simple - made of natural garbonzo beans grounded up and then fried. I'm sure they use a very simple recipe and it comes with this tahini dip which is nice. You need it or the falafels may get boring after 3.

The Melting Pot

Restaurant: The Melting Pot
Cuisine: Dessert/American
Last visited: August 8, 09

Area: US - Multiple
Price Range: $20-30

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

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

• This entry focuses on dessert - chocolate fondue
• Specializes in fondue
• Variety of cheese and chocolate fondues
• Each table has its own melting pot in the centre
  
• Cooking style selections available
• Offers dinner, savoury fondues, salads etc.
• Tuesday - Ladies' Night Out - $25/per person
• Soon to be available in Edmonton and Vancouver
• Take-home products available

**Recommendation: Yin and Yang Martini

We came here strictly for dessert, so I'm curious to try their cheese fondue next time. Neat and fun idea, and great if you're into interactive dining. It was good, but fondue is fondue, so it was nothing spectacular, quite standard - felt and tasted like a chain restaurant, which it is, but it doesn't have to be so obvious. They should make their own chocolate...they actually do, but you can't tell! You're paying more for the experience than the food. You could probably throw this together at home. Pretty typical. unless you go for one of their specialty fondues featuring 4 different cooking style selections such as: Coq au Vin Fondue, Fondue Bourguignonne, Fondue Court Bouillon, or Mojo Fondue - a Caribbean- seasoned bouillon with fresh garlic and citrus flavours.

On the table:

• **Yin and Yang Martini 6/6
  
• Made with Godiva White Chocolate, Stoli Vanil Vodka, Creme de Cacao and a little ice cream.
• Voted "Best Signature Drink" - Cheers Magazine 2009
  
• This is worth it! A chocolate style martini with a white and milk chocolate mix.
  
• Great as a dessert cocktail. It tasted like a frothy chocolate milkshake and you couldn't really taste the alcohol. The presentation is nice as well with a yin yang design on top. The black part is done with shavings of dark chocolate. Yummy!

• Cookies n' Cream Marshmallow Dream (Small serves 1-2 $16USD) 2/6
  
• Dark chocolate topped with marshmallow cream, flambeed, swirled together and garnished with crushed Oreo cookies.
• Comes with:
• Fresh strawberries, bananas
• one piece of cheesecake - tasted like any cheesecake
• marshmallows coated with graham cracker crumbs, marshmallows coated with chocolate cookie crumbs
• Pound cake - tasted like the Sara Lee pound cake
• Rice Krispies - standard
  
• Brownie - the only one that could have been made in-house
  
• Nothing I didn't expect. Tasted almost like a s'more, but instead of graham crackers it was Oreos. I wish they made the chocolate into this falvour rather than melting dark chocolate and just mixing things into it...cause then I feel like I can do it at home.