Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Restaurant: Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar

Cuisine: Pizza/Mediterranean/Italian
Last visited: March 9, 2010
Area: Vancouver, BC (Yaletown/Downtown)
1265 Hamilton Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 3.5
Service: n/a (Media dinner)
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 3.5 (food is on generally good, but not worth it)
Additional comments:

• Chef Brian Ritchot
• Chef from Montreal, one from Spain
• DJ’s/live music on weekends
• Contemporary, sleek, posh atmosphere
• Great for groups
• Specializes in gourmet pizzas
• Mediterranean/Italian options
• Longue like atmosphere
• One large projection screen TV
• Open late
• Pizzas available for take out
• Dinner service only

**Recommendation: Short Rib Pizza, prosciutto di Parma 18 Month, Duck Pizza, Banoffee Pie

I was invited to a media dinner at Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar so the food served this evening was complimentary. However there were no expectations from Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar and the review represents my true and honest opinions.

Overall the evening was very pleasant and the food was good. However if I were to imagine myself as a regular diner I would probably think great atmosphere, good food, but over priced. It’s “Yaletown Pizza”. Better than Opus Bar pizza for sure. Nothing tasted bad, but when you’re paying for it you get more critical. There are things in the recipe or cooking method that could be improved. I would have liked to see smaller sized pizzas at a reasonable price…which they may consider. I just don’t want to share 1 14 inch pizza if I’m having dinner with one other person…and if we order more we’re looking at a steep bill with lots of leftovers.

They offer pastas and a couple mains but their focus is pizza. I liked the thin crust and made in house aspects but it was at times inconsistent and some were crispier than others. I'm not being too picky either - it was a significant difference. However the pizza crust has a slight garlic powder flavour which is great! Also there’s decent leopparding on the bottom of all the crusts – sign of pizza crust cooked properly.

Soggier crust on 1st pizza.

Crisp crust on last pizza!

I attended the evening with Victoria from Victoria’s Food Secrets. 9 courses later and we still had room for one more dessert…so we just reached for the unfinished dessert down the table. ;)

Oh and no – that is not Charlie and the owner’s name is not Charlie…Charlie is a fictional character the restaurant and food is inspired by.

The dessert portion of dinner at Charlie's Restaurant + Bar.

On the table:

House Marinated Olives 4/6

• Citrus & fresh herbs $6
• Olives are olives and there were a variety which I liked.
  
• I like olives so I liked them. The marinade was good, but also standard.

Grappa Cured Salmon 3.5/6

• Cream fraiche, cucumber, mint, salmon roe and lemon zest $15
• Very fresh and big piece of salmon. Quite a simple dish that sounds more interesting. A sharing appy.
  
• I liked the levels of saltiness from this – the salty bite of salmon roe, fresh sea salt on top of the salmon and then the fresh caper berry. The cream fraiche helped to balance and round out the flavours.
• The cucumber, mint and lemon zest was more for décor and not enough to actually add to the dish.
• Not sure how much this appy suits the restaurant, but it’s still good.

Prosciutto di Parma 18 Month 5.5/6

• With pea mousse, snow pea tendrils, a poached egg, two crostini, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
• Not on current menu, but will be added at end of month. Price TBC. I would hope $12-14.
  
• Great combo of flavours and loved the plating. Prosciutto roses!
  
• I loved the pea mousse. Its very light and fluffy. I recommended them to add Mascarpone to the mousse to give it creaminess and richness. Drool.
• I could taste some tuffle oil on the prosciutto – great touch!

• The poached egg could have been even softer and there were fresh green peas underneath it all. Loved the textures of it altogether.
• It definitely needs a few more crostini for the portion.

Meatball Pizza 2/6

• Spicy tomato sugo, pork meatballs, fontina, smoked speck and fresh oregano $23
• It was good, but for $23 I wouldn’t order it. It’s a bit too basic for me anyways so I wouldn’t have ordered it on a regular basis.
• The best part was the Fontina, except it made the pizza extra greasy which eventually made the thin crust a bit soggy.
• It was homemade Italian Sausage meatballs. They were ok but a bit dry and not a highlight. The pizza also wasn’t spicy to me and there wasn’t much oregano. Maybe they should shred them up and spread them around.

Smoked Salmon Pizza 3/6

• Salsa verde, house-smoked salmon, red onion, capers, arugula preserve, lemon and goat cheese $25
• Lots of stuff going on here, but I did like it.
• I liked the big pieces of salmon and there was a decent amount of creamy goat cheese crumbles…a little goes a long way.
• It was salty, slightly peppery and the salsa verde got nicely baked in the oven so it gave off a nutty flavour and crispy texture. It was quite a herby salsa.
• It was almost like an arugula salad tossed on top so it was quite fresh tasting – the heaviness comes from the goat’s cheese. Some could like this idea and others might find the salad messy and distracting. I liked it.

Roast Potatoes – Side 3.5/6

• The potatoes were very flavourful, fluffy and buttery but the skins were not crispy enough.

• If we stopped here I would have been slightly underwhelmed...until...
  

Short Rib Pizza 5.5/6

• Tomato sugo, braised short ribs, caramelized onion, mozzarella, horseradish cream and green onions $25
• This was my favourite of the night!
  
• Lots of short rib, but it was a bit dry. I like how I can see it but this method dried out the meat during baking.
• The beef could have been more marinated to compensate for the drying out. There’s definitely some dried herb they cooked it with so there's still some flavour.
  
• I loved the fresh spicy horseradish cream! It’s spicy, but it tastes like they made it milder so it wouldn’t be overpowering. it also added some sauce/juice to the meat.
  

Duck Pizza 4/6

• Porcini sauce, smoked duck, roast portabellini mushrooms, tallegio, radicchio and truffle oil $25
• This had so much potential and it was very good but I was very bothered by the duck part…which is the main part. It had almost completely dried out during baking and it came off as roast beef. Since it was thin slices of duck it really came off as roast beef.

• You can see how the duck meat is dry and wrinkly. So it was good, but disappointing in that one aspect.
  
• I liked the mushroom flavour throughout though. Nice layers of mushroom flavour including the big slices of juicy Potabellini and truffle oil which I could taste.
• It was a bit on the salty side and I would have liked more shredded cabbage for more of a crunch.

Drinks

Keep in mind I’m not much of a drinker – watch this video to see why.

Champers Thyme 2/6

• Apple, cucumber, thyme smashed with agave syrup, Henrick’s, Prosecco crown $11
• A sparking cocktail to start the night. Couldn’t taste much apple, but cucumber and thyme stood out. Refreshing, but quite bitter (from Thyme) and tart.

Cocktail 1265 2.5/6

• Blood orange, grapefruit, juniper berries, pine nuts, basil, grapefruit bitters, Vodka $10
• I thought I would like this more than I did. Pretty strong drink. The pine nuts are pureed it so it has a very subtle nutty flavour. Bold, citrusy and slightly sweet, actually quite bitter.

Devil 4/6

• Sliced fennel, cloves, cherry syrup, Cazadores Reposado tequila, cherry bitters and ginger beer $11
• I don’t like Tequila, and this was the best drink. It’s surprisingly sweet because of the cherries and it just worked very well. It has a warm spice and slight licorice taste.

The dessert portion of dinner.

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen

Restaurant: Goldfish Pacific Kitchen - Restaurant Review
Cuisine: West Coast/Pacific Rim/Fusion
Last dined: December 8, 09

Area: Vancouver (Yaletown/Downtown)
1118 Mainland Street
Price Range: $20-30

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

Food: 3.5 (Based on lunch)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5.5
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Located in Yaletown
• Mostly Asian chefs/cooks – Chef William Tse (previous sous chef of Joe Fortes and Chop House)
• Asian fusion/Asian inspired menu
• Focus on seafood
• Sophisticated and creative food
• Extensive Wine Bar
• Contemporary, trendy & “Yaletown” atmosphere & décor
• Quite a large dinner menu
• Dining Room/Lounge/Patio
• Covered sun room with lounge couches
• Great for appies/drinks/late night
• M-F 11am-4pm “$10 Gold Plates”
• M-F 4pm-6pm Happy Hour – appies and drinks

**Recommendation: Chicken satays, tuna tartare, short rib sliders, bacon fried rice (very popular but I haven’t tried), Trio of West Coast Sushi Pizza, Shiitake mushroom meatloaf

I posted my resstaurant review for Goldfish’s Happy Hour yesterday so this review focuses on the lunch I had there. For more details on the restaurant and overall review please see my post from yesterday: http://tinyurl.com/yfqzr6l

I came for a late lunch at 3pm and it was almost empty. Therefore I think the food I had was actually probably better because they could take the time to prepare it and do it well. It’s not always the case, but just my thoughts…

On the table:

• Flash Seared Ahi Tuna Sandwich 2.5/6
• Sweet onion marmalade, mustard greens $14

• 

• I love ahi tuna and when I see it on the menu I’m likely to order it. There was nothing really wrong with this one, but I expected more from it. The ahi tuna was slices of ahi tuna rather than an ahi tuna filet. I felt like they used their tuna tataki appetizer and made it into a sandwich by serving it on toasted white bread. There wasn’t that many pieces of tuna, but just enough slices to cover the bottom layer of bread. I think it could have used more ponzu sauce. It was more sweet than tangy because of the marmalade.
• 
• The sweet onion marmalade was basically a red onion relish – it was tangy, sweet and savoury and went well with the tuna, however there was a little too much of it and not enough tuna.
• I wish they used better sandwich bread – they either used Wonder Bread white bread or the white bread from T&T Supermarket. I think they used a combo of butter and garlic aioli before toasting it. It was nice and crispy, but boring at the same time.

• It came with fries which were I think are hand-cut. They were quite starchy but were really good with the garlic ginger aioli. The aioli is made in house and you can really taste the ginger – it’s so aromatic. It came with ketchup too – I really think they should start making their own ketchup. The new restaurant Society also in Yaletown does and it’s great. I really like the sauces at Goldfish so I think they should really make their own.

• **Shiitake Mushroom Meatloaf 4/6

• Tomato Hoisin jam, confit of whole shallots, roasted garlic jus $10
• This is their Tuesday Gold Plate – basically the Goldfish lunch special of the day for $10
• It was a bit small, but that was somewhat expected. It was only $10 anyways.
  
• 
• The meatloaf was actually really good. It was made of pork, shiitake, white pieces of bread (not crumbs), onions, garlic, Hoisin sauce, and some other spices. It was really tender, soft and moist. It was almost like bread pudding, but in a good way. There was a decent amount of pork pieces, almost chunks and I was surprised they didn’t use ground pork. This made it more gourmet and I appreciated that. I loved the addition of shiitake mushrooms. It absorbed so many juices they were all plump and juicy and gave the meatloaf a whole other level of sweetness and moistness.

• • 
• The meatloaf was baked and maybe even pan-fried to the point where the glaze became charred. I liked it though. I was scared it was going to be dry, but it wasn't. It had a crispy crust and was very well marinated and coated with a deep and rich tomato Hoisin jam. The Hoisin jam tasted like it was made with a cranberry jam. It was sweet, tangy, savoury and tart. I would have appreciated more roasted garlic jus though. There wasn’t enough sauce for both the meat and the rice.
• 
• I didn’t like the rice, it was really dry and needed sauce. The whole shallots were amazing though. They were really really soft and basically melted in your mouth.

• **Trio of West Coast Sushi Pizza 3.5/6
• Hokkaido scallop, salmon, albacore tuna, wasabi tobiko $10

• This is their Thursday Gold Plate. I actually tried it on September 10 when I went for happy hour – but I’m including it in this review because it’s a main dish.When I ordered it they had it as a special, so you would choose 1 of the 3. Now they offer it as a sampler. I tried the salmon and the albacore tuna pizza. Those were the 2 the waitress recommended so I just went with that.
  
• This was a sushi rice patty pan-fried until crispy and topped with chopped sashimi. I liked the salmon better than the tuna, but both were good.To make it better they should marinated them in a little bit of ponzu or something. Give it more flavour becuase they don't have too much going on. It's a very simple recipe.
• It’s not too greasy and the patty is nice and thin so you really taste a nice ratio of ingredients. The fry the rice up very nicely to the point where it’s a bit charred so it’s all nutty and crispy on the outside, but still soft on the inside. They drizzled a teriyaki citrus glaze or reduction before serving it. The wasabi tobiko tastes like regular tobiko to me – I missed that spiciness.

• I liked it better than the sushi pizza I had at Sushi Sky. I liked the rice patty here better, but I liked the addition of avocado at Sushi Sky. Ideally I would want to have a drizzle of teriyaki glaze and wasabi mayo. They use Teriyaki glaze at Goldfish and Japanese mayo at Sushi Sky, but it’s not wasabi mayo. To see my review: http://tinyurl.com/yefvj9r

Opus Bar & Restaurant

Restaurant: Opus Bar & Restaurant

Cuisine: Tapas/Global/Contemporary

Last visited: November 10, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Downtown/Yaletown)
350 Davie Street
Price Range: $10-20

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

Food: 1.5 (for the 2 things I tried)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 5
Overall: 2
Additional comments:

• The Opus Hotel Bar/Lounge
• Offers gourmet bar food/tapas
• Savoury and Sweet small bites
• Trendy
• Very nice, but pretentious atmosphere
• Offers bigger tapas/smaller tapas
• Banks on the name to carry the food
• Go for drinks/atmosphere

**Recommendation: n/a

Opus Bar & Restaurant is more for drinks and atmosphere than food. I came here for one of their parties and we decided to order some small bites. The restaurant is kind of split into thirds - a section for the bar, a smaller and more private room for dining (the restaurant), and then half the space is for their the lounge. I find Opus more of a lounge than anything else though.

It definitely has that Yaletown feel and attracts the yuppies that live in the area. With its impressive interior and upscale decor you would expect the food to match to some degree...but it didn't and I was so disappointed. The food came across as "you don't really order food at Opus Lounge". Does that make sense? I felt like they used the Opus name to carry them and the food did not come up to standards of what they aim for.

On the table:

• Empanadas De Mole 1/6
• Corn tortilla stuffed with chicken, corn and mole served with guacamole and salsa $8
• It was pretty much a battered corn tortilla. They were so small! Maybe the size of a gyoza. Empandas can either be deep-fried or baked...depending on what kind of Empanada you are making. These ones were deep-fried and not authentic at all. They were "American" Empanadas - not Spanish, not Latin, not Chilean, Portuguese or anything.
• Even if Opus was going for a fusion thing rather than an authentic thing they did a poor job. There was barely any stuffing. No chicken, maybe only a couple shreds that were dry and no sauce inside. No mole, nothing. Maybe 2 corn kernels, and I couldn't even taste any sauteed onions, which is a must in any type of Empanada. I was shocked that they would serve these.
• The only good thing was the sauce underneath it. I guess it was their twist on guacamole. It tasted like a thick yogurt dip made with pureed green peas, jalapeno, and avocado. It was really interesting and I would have enjoyed that with a bowl of tortilla chips 100 times more than the Empanadas.
  

• "O" Pizza 2/6
• Daily creation $10
• The positive: thin crust and a decent size, I expected smaller.
• It was a thin crust pizza with housemade marinara sauce, salami, cheddar cheese an chopped fresh basil.
• This was one of the oiliest pizza's I've ever had. No joke. I don't know if the salami made it extra oily. It wasn't even necessarily greasy or heavy, but just oily. Literally oil everywhere. My whole plate was oily, my lips were slippery and that's hard to do with a thin crust pizza. They needed to let the oil absorb on something before plating it. It was really gross.
• They also need to adjust their oven temperature because the pizza crust was and tasted a bit burnt. The marinara was just pureed tomatoes. They didn't flavour it much, but they didn't really need to. At least I could taste the fresh tomatoes.

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.