Mystery seasonal soup; We don’t remember what was in it.

Phil selected Refuel Restaurant for this month’s Dinner Club outing. Its website motto is “honest food relaxed atmosphere” and I don’t agree with either of those statements. The restaurant seemed to be suffering from an identity crisis; flipping between glorified dishes that all “taste beautiful” according to our server who was sporting a low-cut shirt displaying her breast tattoo, and over-priced bottled sodas paired with miniature dishes that were either over-salted, over-cooked, or tasted like broccoli (even though there was none in it). Based on taste alone, the dishes should’ve been served in take-out containers and with double the amount for half the price.

We started with seasonal vegetable soups, wild arugula salad, and warm spinach and mushroom salad. The salads didn’t taste beautiful or ugly, but they also didn’t garner much feedback either. They were ordinary salads on pretty white plates. Nobody remembers what was supposed to be in the soup, but nobody could tell either. Phil’s initial reaction was “tastes like broccoli” but we were certain the server did not mention any broccoli. Morten and I thought the soup was too watery and while Ang liked the croutons that garnished the plate, I thought they could’ve been crunchier.

Confit duck leg

For mains we ordered dry aged beef burgers, mushroom and crème fraiche ravioli, a foie gras croquette, and confit duck legs. Phil ordered the fois gras croquette on top of his burger and was very happy with it. Morten didn’t have a fois gras croquette but burned his tongue on the first bite of his burger when the oil from it squirted out. Ang, Kenny and I all thought the confit duck legs were overly salty and too skinny. It was as if they cooked duck legs in a pan and added salt thinking it would be the same as curing the duck, washing off the spices and then cooking the duck in its own fat (a proper duck confit). These ducks were probably on a diet before they were overcooked. Morten’s taste buds were muted from his cold, but he still complained that his fries were over-salted. For me, the final straw was the pickled apples that were served with the duck but didn’t taste pickled or fully cooked; they tasted like thin apple pieces that were added to a pan as an afterthought and added to the dish as little more than a weak garnish alongside mini onions taken straight from the jar.

Refuel Restaurant: 2.5 out of 6

There’s not much worth writing about at Refuel Restaurant so I’ll stop here. If you want honest food served with an unpretentious atmosphere, try another restaurant.

Overall Food Group Rating: 2.5 out of 6

The Good: The dishes and décor looked good.

The Bad: Nothing tasted great.

The Ugly: Unless the restaurant is a super casual place with homey hearty food served with paper napkins, or even a really hip joint with fantastic well-prepared dishes that are so great nothing else matters, patrons shouldn’t be able to see the server’s breast tattoo.

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Standing outside Sushi Kimura admiring their decor

Morten hates fish. He also doesn’t drink tea. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then to find out that he’s not a fan of Japanese restaurants. But it was Ann’s turn to pick a restaurant for Dinner Club and Sushi Kimura was her choice.

Our reservation was for 6pm when the restaurant opens its doors for dinner service. Ang insists on having dinner when the seniors come out to dine. It’s been a decent plan so far though because we’ve found that oftentimes the food doesn’t arrive until the staff has had enough time to hunt for the meats and fondle the vegetables before actually cooking.

Raise your hand if you don’t like ordering food at a Japanese restaurant? *raises hand* (Ang raises her hand too) There are simply too many options. How many pieces should I get? If I want sashimi and sushi, should I just get a combo box? But I don’t want tempura and they always have tempura. Should I order tofu? Or a sunomono? What goes with what? Does that even matter? I just want to eat, damnit!

Ann and her Tempura Udon

In the end, Ang, Kenny and Phil all decided to save themselves the headache and ordered the Black Cod Special which had been advertised on the front of each menu with a handwritten note. There weren’t that many options to choose from for Morten, so he ordered a chicken curry. What surprised me the most though, was Ann’s order of a Tempura Udon, California Cone, Cucumber Sunomono and Black Sesame Ice Cream. Whaa? Udon? California Cone?

I decided to opt for my usual food-ordering strategy: pick whatever sounds the most interesting. Unfortunately, I had to place my order in three chunks because our server kept having to inform me that what I wanted wasn’t available and I would have to review the menu again. By the time she came around for the last time I gave up and decided to order a few regular sushi pieces so I’d have something to compare with other Japanese restaurants. The things that I had wanted to order but weren’t available include Renkon (spicy sauteed lotus root), Horse Mackerel, Fresh Water Eel, Spotted Shad, and Gobou (spicy sauteed burdock). In the end, our table order looked like this:

Ang, Kenny and Phil: Black Cod Special (Grilled Black Cod, Assorted Tempura, Assorted Sashimi, Yakitori, Kobachi, Rice and Miso Soup); Phil also ordered Chicken Gizzard Yakitori
Ann: Tempura Udon, California Cone, Cucumber Sunomo, Black Sesame Ice Cream
Anny: Chicken Skin Yakitori, Spicy Tuna Sashimi on Crispy Rice, Yaki Onigiri with Salmon Flakes, Eel Avocado Roll, 1 pc Albacore Tuna, 1 pc Uni, 1 pc Hotate (scallop)
Morten: Chicken Curry

Sushi Kimura

Black Cod Special: Assorted Sashimi

We’ll start with a dissection of the Black Cod Special. Miso soup? Good. But then again, how do you go wrong with miso soup? The sashimi slices looked like they had been lovingly rolled, but a little sad all the same with only two pieces per plate that looked a bit mushier than normal. Nobody said anything about it though, so I guessed it had been decent. The tempura was nothing to brag about, and nobody did. The Yakitori included one skewer or veggies and one skewer of chicken. Slightly charred. The Grilled Black Cod was the only thing that received a unanimous nod of approval. I tried a bit of Ang’s Black Cod and it was well prepared, but I was glad I didn’t order it.

Tempura Udon, California Cone, Cucumber Sunomono and Chicken Curry… not much to say about those. Ann had a tough time trying to finish her Udon and after we had all finished our meals she was still struggling with whether or not to eat the California Cone. I don’t remember if Kenny ended up helping her with that one. Morten didn’t seem pleased with his Chicken Curry, but it wasn’t because it was bad. It just wasn’t anything special.

Spicy Tuna Sashimi on Crispy Rice

And then my dishes: The Spicy Tuna Sashimi on Crispy Rice arrived first to our table where the majority had just consumed bowls of very ordinary miso soup. If I were them, I would’ve been jealous. The dish looked great! I took a bite and was so happy I ordered it. I hadn’t tried crispy rice before and they used all those condiments you find on a Japadog with the Japanese mayo mixing in with the spicy tuna sauce. Yum! Ang kept nibbling on pieces of the crispy rice.

The Yaki Onigiri arrived next and I discovered that they’re triangles of fried rice — not fried rice as in the type of rice you find at Chinese restaurants, but rice that had been fried in triangles! They were nice and hot, but it was just rice with salmon flakes. I ate one and waited for the other dishes to arrive so I’d have something to pair with it.

The Chicken Gizzard and Chicken Skin Yakitori arrived together so Phil and I split the order so we’d each get one of each type. Phil got the better end of the deal. My Chicken Skin was infinitely better than his Chicken Gizzard. The Chicken Skin was hot fatty goodness that went well with the Yaki Onigiri. The Chicken Gizzard was just chewy. Plain and chewy. Bleh.

When the Eel Avocado Roll arrived, I wished I hadn’t ordered it. It was so boring in comparison to everything so far and it looked like the sad unloved relative of a more popular Spicy Tuna Sashimi on Crispy Rice. If the roll had been packed tighter it would’ve been about 75% of the size, but instead it flopped on the chopsticks like an eel on its last breath. This was a filler roll (the kind you order because you just want to eat, and not because you enjoy eating).

Albacore Tuna, Hotate (scallop) and Uni

And then arrived the 1 pc Albacore Tuna, 1 pc Uni and 1 pc Hotate (scallop). I wasn’t sure I’d like the Uni because it looked rather unappetizing with its mushy orange liquidy topping. But the Hotate looked promising! It ended up being decent and relatively light, but unmemorable. Same with the Albacore Tuna. I was right about the Uni though. I discovered I really don’t like Uni. This is not the Uni’s fault though. I’m sure this was “good Uni” but the texture was just awful. It was like biting into liquid. Fishy orange liquid.

Ann and Phil had decided to share a Black Sesame Ice Cream (which is really something since Phil never shares! Haha). Everyone but Morten tried a bit too. This was the best black sesame ice cream we’d ever had. So good! The kind you get at T&T is all grainy with a wimpy sesame to ice cream ratio. This was an in-your-face-I’m-all-kinds-of-Asian kind of ice cream. It was like the Bruce Lee of ice creams; so good, that Phil asked whether they sold it for consumption at home and Ann tried to lick the bowl!

Sushi Kimura: 4.5 out of 6

While we were deliberating our votes at the end of the meal, I had a really hard time deciding. On the one hand, the dishes that I had ordered out of interest were really good and I had been pleased. On the other, the items that people would be more likely to order at a Japanese restaurant were not especially good looking or flavourful, and ordinary at best. But then again, Japanese-style dishes are often understated and appreciated for their subtlety. Tough call. Would I go again? Probably not. Is it worth the price point? Again, probably not (the menu items are only slightly more expensive than most other Japanese restaurants in the area). But did I enjoy my meal? Yes. In the end, I gave it a thumbs up.

Overall Food Group Rating: 4.5 out of 6

The Good: The few more atypical dishes on the menu were definitely worth trying.

The Bad: We didn’t try anything that we thought was “bad”. Just ordinary. Nothing special.

The Ugly: That Uni!

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Oink

If you see a faded sign at the side of the road that says
15 miles to the… Hoooog Shack! Hog Shack yeah yeah!
We headed down the 99 highwaaay,
lookin’ for the hooooog getaway
Heading for the hog getaway
We got us a car, it’s as big as a whale
and we’re headin’ on down
To the Hog Shack.
I got me a Honda, it seats about five
So hurry up and bring your hunger and fork!

The Hog Shack is a little old place
where we can eat togetherrrr
Hog Shack baby, Hog Shack bay-bee
Hog Shack, baby Hog Shack that’s where it’s at,
Ooo Hog Shack, that’s where it’s at!

Can you guess where we went for Dinner Club this month?

This installment of Dinner Club adventures comes courtesy of Phil’s love of meat, BBQ and Richmond. We drove out to Steveston, which is just about the cutest little area in Richmond to try out our second BBQ joint: Hog Shack.

Allan’s Mammoth Platter (Feeds 4 and a bit)

We ordered Allan’s Mammoth Platter to share, and it was just right for the six of us (mind you, some of us have smaller appetites than others). When it arrived, we could tell right away that this was going to be a good experience. The meat was hot, moist, well covered in sauce, and a beautiful BBQ brown colour.

The Mammoth platter includes baby back ribs, St. Louis side ribs, dino ribs, chicken quarters, smoked brisket, pulled pork, and a choice of six sides (they offer nine types). We chose mashed potatoes, coleslaw, yam fries, wedge fries, corn bread, and Spanish pilaf rice as our sides.

I don’t really like BBQ and given the choice of BBQ or something else, I’d probably choose something else. Even so, I can appreciate well prepared BBQ and know what’s good when I taste it. This was pretty good. The dish was the perfect temperature when it arrived with steam still rising off the plate, the meat on the ribs fell right off the bone when you gave it a light pull, and the brisket was moist and cooked to the right consistency. All in all, I’d give the meat an A.

Ang, Morten and I took a trip down to Memphis TN almost two years ago and they still stand by their statement that the BBQ they had there was the best they’d ever had in their lives. But how often are you going to visit Memphis? So far in our dining excursions around the Lower Mainland, Hog Shack is a clear winner in the BBQ department.

Corn bread, coleslaw, Spanish pilaf rice, mashed potatoes, yam fries, wedge fries (underneath the yam fries)

Though no one could find fault in the meat, the sides revealed some interesting tidbits about each of our personal preferences. Kenny for instance, doesn’t like yam fries. I know, who doesn’t like yam fries!? Ann needs veggies in her diet so she picked the coleslaw and really liked it. I thought it tasted a little strange for coleslaw — there’s some kind of vegetable in there that throws it off with a little kick of the kind of flavour you only notice when you breath out through your nostrils. Ang was a fan of the corn bread, which Kenny and I both thought was too sweet for corn bread. And I loved the mashed potatoes. I really appreciate the little things that make a simple side great, like a generous portion of garlic. Yum!

Next time I go to the Hog Shack though, I’m ordering the Flatline Burger! Now THAT sounds good: A double burger between two grilled cheese sandwiches. If you finish the entire plate in five minutes or less, it’s free (not a recommendation, just something to think about ).

Overall Group Food Rating: 6 out of 6

The Good: All the meats in the Mammoth Platter.

The Bad: The long drive out to Steveston in Richmond and lack of dessert places open after 8pm (tip: just have dessert at Hog Shack if you need something sweet to end the night).

The Ugly: The carnage left on the table at the end of the meal.

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Sprouted Walnut Roll

Is it Organic Lives (noun) or Organic Lives (verb)? I still don’t know.

Since it was my turn to choose a Dinner Club restaurant, I decided it would be a good time to go veg (I do this for one month each year, usually in the Spring). Instead of choosing the new Russian restaurant that I’ve been meaning to visit before it closes down, I went with Organic Lives on Quebec St.

Choosing a place that only serves raw organic food was definitely the most contentious decision in Dinner Club history. But hey, isn’t Dinner Club all about trying new things? We hadn’t gone to a vegetarian restaurant before — let alone a RAW organic restaurant, but we’ve had practically-all-meat meals at Memphis Blues and Old Bavaria Haus.

When we got there, I think we were all really pleasantly surprised. Their menu sounded delicious! It has everything from Chilli Sans Carne to a Sushi Platter with Sprouted Pecan, Sprouted Walnut and Sea Veggie & “Rice” rolls. If everything tasted as good as it sounded AND was healthy for you then we would’ve been happy campers.

We’re not happy campers.

Organic Lives

Phil during the first sip of his juice. The expression says it all.

We started by ordering juice (Deep Cleanse) and smoothies (Superexpialidelicious, Blue Flame and Body Builder with pear instead of banana). You can’t go wrong with juice and smoothies right? Oh, so wrong. Even though the smoothies had banana, blueberries, pear, berry extract etc., they weren’t sweet. I had the Body Builder and it tasted like someone took a bunch of nuts, ground it into pulp, added water and a dash of powdered medicine, and tried to serve it as a beverage. Phil had the Deep Cleanse and said it tasted like cucumber and celery. Ang and Morten shared the Superexpialidelicious and it reeked of banana so I didn’t go anywhere near that one, and Ann and Kenny shared the Blue Flame which looked super sweet with its bright purple hue but apparently its taste didn’t live up to its description.

Well, even if the juices and smoothies weren’t good, we could still look forward to the food. How are they going to make curry and sushi rolls if nothing they use can be heated? Answer: it doesn’t taste like proper curry or sushi rolls. In the case of the sushi rolls, it’s okay that they didn’t taste like sushi because they were still good in their own way. The sauce that came with the rolls was what took the Sprouted Walnut Roll from good to yummers. We all agreed this one was good. It was also the first thing that came out and the presentation was perfect. In fact, everything looked simply gorgeous. Props for presentation.

Then came the Lasagna with its zucchini substitute for pasta, Mexi Spirals, Aloo Tikki, Spring Roll, Thai Curry, and the remaining two rolls from the Sushi Platter.

Bland Lasagna

The Lasagna was bland but the side salad had a dressing that Kenny was impressed with because the taste was very close to a Caesar. The salad also had non-bread croutons that tasted like slightly bitter crushed nuts that simply weren’t a good substitute for the real thing — it was like biting down on bitter granola chunks.

The Mexi Spirals were popular with Ann and Ang. They were also served in sushi form with crisp veggies in the middle rolled together with a sundried tomato wrap that reminded me of fruit roll-ups. This one wasn’t horrible, but it would’ve been better with a tamer sundried tomato flavour and less of the hot sauce.

Up next was the Aloo Tikki served with three chutnies (two of which were decent, one of which was disgusting). This is where it all went downhill for me. All the dishes seem to have a lot of cilantro, but this one had a chutney that was so heavy on the herbs and spices that I had to down some of the Body Builder to drown my wailing taste buds. The actual Aloo Tikki pieces tasted like soggy cardboard that had been packed into round molds with some nuttiness and it fell apart just as easily.

The Spring Roll was exceptionally bland, especially since it came immediately after the Aloo Tikki. The coconut and pear wrapper was mildly interesting on its own, but the kelp noodle was “sub-optimal” (as Morten would say) and the greens inside of the roll were about as interesting as wet sock. This wasn’t on anyone’s list of favourites.

“Thai Curry”

The Thai Curry was very controversial. It really shouldn’t be called Thai and it really shouldn’t be called curry. What is should be, is cooked. But it’s not. By this point in the meal, Morten was practically fuming with disgust. Without heat, the spices that are supposed to infuse the curry with flavour can’t work their magic so the “curry” ends up as an unfinished substitute for a sauce. Add that on top of a bitter vegetable slaw and you’ve got something that feels incomplete and closer to inedible than delectable. Out of the dishes that we ordered, this was on the top of the list for Phil and Ang (though neither really vouched for the authenticity of the dish), but definitely below the acceptable line for Morten. I was closer to Morten’s position on this one, but mostly because I was beginning to feel sick from the exorbitant amount of cilantro the chefs insisted on adding to everything. It’s as if they’ve never heard of other herbs!

Even though Ang and Phil thought the Thai Curry was the better of the evils we’d tried so far, we were all looking forward to the last two sushi rolls because nothing had been very good since the first sushi roll. These last rolls were still better than the Thai Curry, Spring Roll and Lasagna, but I was still so sick of cilantro that I couldn’t enjoy yet another dish with a mouthful of the stuff. I’d like to point out that I’ve never had anything against cilantro and whenever I include herbs and spices in my soups, pasta sauces etc, I almost always use it. But this was just way too much. Way, way too much. Bleh.

Worst cheesecake and pie EVER.

By the time I put the last bite in my mouth I felt like I just forced myself to finish an eating marathon but at the same time, I wasn’t full. We decided to order dessert as a last attempt to have a somewhat decent meal: an OMG (coconut cream pie) and a strawberry cheesecake. OMG how the eff can they charge $7 for such a tiny piece of frozen malt on top of crushed nuts? This was the worst excuse for pie and cheesecake I have ever had the displeasure of putting in my mouth!! SO disappointing.

After we left and paid the highest bill for a Dinner Club meal, Phil was the only one smiling (sidenote, he’s also the only one of us who eats gruel regularly — not oatmeal, gruel). Morten had a scowl on his face and the bite of a man left to starve for no good reason. Kenny and Ann were also still hungry and ended up going to A&W for full meals and a giant piece of cake. Ang was disappointed, and I was starting to feel ill from repulsion.

Organic Lives: 2.5 out of 6

Ang pointed out that for people who only eat raw organic food, Organic Lives would be an option. Not a good option, but an option. I think people are better off spending the money at the supermarket on a box of greens. They could eat the box and it would still taste better.

Overall Group Food Rating: 2.5 out of 6

The Good: Beautiful dishes. A+ on the presentation.

The Bad: The stuff on the plates.

The Ugly: The face you make when you eat the stuff on the plates.

Sidenote: After Kenny saw Phil’s thumbs up, he wanted to change his vote to a thumbs down to offset it but that’s against Dinner Club rules.

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Yummy Dishes

Kenny outside Acme Cafe with Ann’s take-out Chicken Pot Pie

Kenny began round two of our Dinner Club escapades and decided that Acme Cafe would be his saving grace in an attempt to wash out the stench of Memphis Blues. The usual suspects were present with the exception of Ann who was unable to make it to the restaurant but had take-out delivered to her (Chicken Pot Pie).

Acme Cafe sits on the fringe of sketch-ville Vancouver (aka East Van) and is just about the cutest little diner you ever did see. Fedoras and poodle skirts wouldn’t be out of place here. The menu is probably the only thing that doesn’t jive with the ’50’s vibe with its fancier items like their Local Cioppino and Wild Boar Sausage & Turkey Cassoule. They even have a “High-falutin’” take on the classic grilled cheese sandwich that uses cheddar, swiss, brie and cranberry-Grand Marnier relish on a grilled Ciabata panini. We were pleasantly surprised both by the decor and the food selection.

We normally order several items to share, but Acme Cafe is more of  a ‘to each his own’ type of establishment. Amongst our five present judges we ordered a High –falutin’ Grilled Cheese, Wild Boar Sausage & Turkey Cassoule, Chef’s Feature (goulash with a barley risotto), Local Cioppino and Meat Loaf for mains. The presentation for all of the dishes deserves mention because everything looked great. With the exception of Kenny’s barley risotto side dish, everything came out at once and at just the right temperature too. We were all so engrossed in taking photos of our dishes and sampling from each other’s plates that we didn’t even notice that the risotto was missing until our very attentive server stopped at our table and noticed something was missing on Kenny’s plate. Props for great service!

Local Cioppino

I was skeptical about how good Ang’s Local Cioppino (fresh BC seafood stew in a tomato fennel broth) was going to be since we were at a diner in East Van and there were no other seafood mains on the menu, but her dish was my favourite of the lot. The stew had a really nice flavour to it and having it served in a sourdough bread bowl was perfect.

Morten’s Wild Boar Sausage & Turkey Cassoule was similar to chili (which he loves) but a little bit lighter and also a touch classier with its ingredients. He was quite happy with his choice. Phil inhaled his High-falutin’ Grilled Cheese with its side of barley soup quite contentedly, but I’ll admit I wasn’t watching him the whole time since I was busy scarfing down my own Meat Loaf dish. The Meat Loaf was a little on the drier side, but the sauce, multi-coloured potatoes and side salad worked well together to balance out the moisture in each subsequent bite.

Meat Loaf

Kenny was also pleased with his goulash and piping hot barley risotto, and I received an update from Ann about her Chicken Pot Pie that reads “pleasantly surprised. Chicken was tender, flavour was yummy, and the sauce was very creamy. It was baked right in the foil take-out container.” All in all, the entire Dinner Club gang was pretty happy with the mains.

In addition to the mains, we also ordered two Vanilla Milkshakes with double-espresso shots, one Chocolate Milkshake and one Americano. We had never tried coffee-infused milkshakes before and I’m surprised that more establishments don’t offer them! The Vanilla Milkshakes with double-espresso shots were delicious! Ang thinks they should’ve been colder and I’m sure they would’ve been even better if they were, but I thought the actual taste was really very good. You know how a lot of milkshakes taste like they’re made with powdered flavouring and milk mixed into a thick slush? This wasn’t like that. It was more like real milk and espresso infused with vanilla and whipped up into a thicker milkshake consistency. I tried Morten’s Chocolate Milkshake too to make sure it wasn’t just the espresso covering up some not-so-great flavours but his non-espresso milkshake was also lip-smacking yumminess.

Peach Pie — the only one that was good

Since we were on such a roll with the mains and the drinks (and also because I’m a sucker for pie), we ordered four desserts: Lemon Pie, Apple Pie, Peach Pie and Boston Cream Cake. And this is when things went downhill… There’s nobody I know who loves pie as much as I do (wait, maybe Phil — see 2 am Cravings below), but these pies were on the bleh end of the yumminess spectrum. The Lemon Pie was bitter from an excess of lemon zest the length of large porcupine hairs, the Apple Pie was drowned in cinnamon and covered with enough crumble to carpet the floor, and the Boston Cream Cake was no better than an afternoon donut (not quite as fresh as when they’re first made but not stale enough to chuck). The only decent dessert was the Peach Pie and even that had more crust than filling. We contemplated voting separately on the mains and the desserts (I suspect the desserts would’ve gotten a 1 / 5 at most), but decided it would be against Dinner Club rules.

Acme Cafe: 5 out of 5

Overall Food Group Rating: 5  out of 5

The Good: Great selection of mains from simple sandwiches to seafood bowls you could eat with one pinky up. Flavourful and original spins on traditionally simple dishes.

The Bad: The desserts. Get a milkshake instead.

The Ugly: The area isn’t exactly a family friendly district. If you’ve ever walked through Vancouver, you’d know exactly where East Van begins and ends. There is a very distinct border around the blocks where the majority of Vancouver’s homeless people live and Acme Cafe sits right on top of that line.

Silly Photos

Pain and a Consolation Cookie

In addition to a review this month, I’ve also got a rather embarrassing story and a few accompanying bruises to go along with it. You know how we’re a snap happy bunch at Dinner Club? Well, after we finished dinner and were chatting outside Ang told me to go inside and pose on one of the stools by the window so she could take a picture. I walked in, took a right turn towards the stools and immediately tripped over a step. I landed with a thunderous “kaboom” on the edge of the counter and floor. I fell so hard that the counter edge left a dent in my arm and I had to take a moment to let the pain in my hip subside before I could get up. I was SO embarrassed that I didn’t look up when our sever ran over to help, and walked straight back out with my head down. If I had a tail it would’ve been between my legs. SO EMBARRASSING (and painful)! When I made my exit, our server followed me out and gave me a little bag. Inside the bag was a consolation cookie and as he handed it to me he compared the act with giving a child a cookie when s/he hurt himself. SOOOOOO EMBARRASSING!!! I would totally go back to Acme Cafe for the food, but I don’t know if I can bring myself to show my face there anymore! *palm meets face*

2 am Cravings

While we were chatting away during dinner we discovered how desperate Phil can get at two in the morning when he has a craving for pie. We were talking about battle scars and food cravings when Kenny said we should ask Phil how he got the scar on his hand. Apparently one night at about two in the morning, Phil just had to have the pie that was sitting in his freezer but didn’t have the patience to let it thaw out in the oven. So, he began chipping away at it with a knife and put all his weight into one stab in an attempt to break it that his hand slipped down the blade and sliced right through to the bone! Ouch, right? Lesson: never leave a pie in the freezer. LOL

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And that concludes this edition of Dinner Club!

Lalibela Platter

Ann put a lot of thought into this month’s Dinner Club selection and with only three days to go, she announced tonight’s restaurant: Lalibela. While Phil is off riding his bike in Vietnam, Angela, Ann, Kenny, Morten, and myself drove to North Burnaby to see what Lalibela has to offer. Although most of us have tried Ethiopian dishes, we were all new to the restaurant (which in case you were wondering, is named after a holy city in Ethiopia known for its stone-embedded churches carved below ground level).

Most Vancouverites who have tried Ethiopian cuisine have paid a visit to Fassil on East Broadway. When it comes to customer attention, Fassil wins hands down over any of the African restaurants I’ve tried. I still remember our lunch there a few years back where the owner spent a ridiculous amount of time explaining everything you’d need or want to know about Ethiopian food, cooking, and coffee. Our server today was courteous, but trying to get him to recommend a dish was like trying to pull teeth from a pitbull. If we’re being completely honest though, service alone isn’t enough to generate repeat business. I haven’t gone back to Fassil since my first visit. And when it comes to food, Lalibela takes the prize.

We ordered Lalibela’s signature dish Qey Doro Wot (spicy beef stew), Dereq Tibs (lamb sautee), and a Lalibela Platter to share. The Platter included five vegetarian dishes, and four meats including a lamb wot, chicken tibs, and two beef tibs, served on a mild injera.

Word of warning, this post contains a lot of foreign terms. In case you’ve never been properly introduced to Ethiopian cuisine, here’s a quick brief: Ethiopian dishes are served on and with a spongy warm flatbread the size of a large pizza (injera). It’s soft, squishy, slightly sour, and can come in a light tan, brownish, or grey colour depending on the restaurant’s method of preparation. You eat the dishes much like you would eat Indian food, by tearing a piece of injera and using it to pick up some tibs (vegetarian or meat dish), wot (stew), or (if you really trust the restaurant) kitfo (raw marinated beef). There are no utensils and it’s more fun to go with friends, so make sure you have friends with good hygiene.

The vegetarian dishes in the Platter consisted of Misir Wot (lentil), Shiro (chickpeas), Kosta (spinach), Tikil Gomen (cabbage), and Fasolia (potato, green bean and carrot gumbo). Kenny and I found the Misir Wot to have a rough and less enjoyable texture than the Shiro, but Ann was in denial and favoured her seasoned lentil puree. The Kosta was a popular choice, but only two of us placed it in our top three picks. I found the sour Tikil Gomen and Fasolia to be boring at best, but Ann’s quote of the night “Cabbage — it’s like eating dessert!” was worth having them included in the Platter.

Qey Doro Wot

When it comes to the meat dishes that were included in the Platter, I’m afraid I simply don’t know for certain what we were eating! Our server pointed out which one was chicken (which was pretty evident from the drumstick sitting in the middle of it), lamb, and which two were beef. But, he probably thought it’d be a waste of time to describe each in detail and so he didn’t. Of these four dishes, the lamb was the most popular for its unique blend of spices. One of the beef dishes had chunks of notably overcooked meat that left a dry aftertaste, while the other was made of ground beef and had an interesting mildly spicy kick. The drumstick in the chicken dish proved to be a bit of a challenge to split without the use of utensils, and was less memorable than the other meat dishes.

Finally, the Qey Doro Wot (beef) and Dereq Tibs (lamb) were by far the most popular choices tonight. It’s no wonder the Qey Doro Wot is their signature dish. The wot is spicy with an almost liquid texture that seeps through the injera faster than you can pop it into your mouth which makes for a very messy meal especially since plates are not offered at Lalibela (definitely not a date-friendly venue). The Dereq Tibs didn’t make my top three list because the lamb was annoyingly chewy. Ang noted that the lamb was fatty in addition to being chewy, but still thought it was good enough to make the top three cut — as did Kenny and Morten. Go figure.

Lalibela: 5 / 5

At just over $10 per person, our dinner was cheap compared to past Dinner Club meals and we all agreed that Lalibela was worth a repeat visit.

Overall Food Group Rating: 5 out of 5

The Good: Great flavour in the meat dishes, and I highly recommend the Qey Doro Wot and Kosta. The Qey Doro Wot is their signature dish for a reason, and you won’t find a better Kosta anywhere else. If you like lamb, you should also try the Dereq Tibs which was very popular tonight.

The Bad: No cutlery and no plates in combination with lots of runny sauces makes for a very messy meal. Don’t wear white.

The Ugly: My photos of the food. It looks terrible in pictures, but it’s yummy in your tummy!

Before beginning this month’s Dinner Club review, I’d like to take a moment to dedicate all my deliciously fatty morsels of burgers, fries, cake, cookies, chocolate, and everything else that’s chubbifying to the douchy louche Kenneth Tong. This bite’s for you!

You can see our jaw muscles working as Morten and I try to take our first bites. These are single patties. There was one guy who ordered FOUR patties in his burger.

Phil chose our first Dinner Club destination this year and he set his stomach on Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Park Royal.

We drove around the mall for a bit trying to find this place (Google Maps is a bit off the mark for this one), and when we did I was surprised to see a red and white fast food joint. It looks like it ought to be a Checkers, but it’s not. Checkers has a much bigger menu selection.

The Five Guys menu consists of burgers and fries (can’t say they have a misleading name), hot dogs, and sandwiches. You don’t have the option of choosing chicken, or vegetarian for your burger patty, but you do get to choose what ingredients you want slapped on. We ordered five burgers with just about every topping, one sandwich, Five Guys Style and Cajun fries, and soft drinks.

Ann had ordered a “Little” burger, but I’m pretty sure she got a regular sized burger instead. Kenny ordered a bacon cheeseburger but he’s “pretty sure they forgot the bacon”. And Ang ordered a Veggie and Grilled Cheese sandwich, but was pretty sure they forgot what food is.

When it comes to the actual burgers, Ann, Kenny, Phil and Morten all thought they were “good” even though there was an “um..” followed by a long pause from Kenny before he decided he liked his meal. I thought the burger was alright, but there was nothing special about it and I got so bored half way through that I decided to stop eating. Though the burger patties were decent (not great, but not inedible), it bothered me that someone else’s bits of bacon had obviously burned on the grill before attaching to my bacon strips and bringing up thoughts of cancer as I took my bites. But, the thick cut pickle slices and grilled onions did make up for a bit of the bad burnt taste. Poor Ann was struggling with her waterfall of a burger that was literally pouring out of its wrapper and onto her lap. I still can’t figure out why hers was so soggy. Finally, I think everyone made a comment at some point along the lines of the burgers being “ugly as hell”, “disgusting to look at” etc.

Sad Veggie and Cheese Sandwich

Ang’s sandwich deserves a paragraph all on its own. That was one saaaaad something — I hesitate to even call it a sandwich. The “cheese” was that kind of liquid fake crap that you find in those little cheese and cracker dippers you get as a kid, but watered down. The vegetables were the same that we had in our burgers, but in a cold bun with fake liquid cheese, which leaves me wondering where the “Grilled” part of her “Veggie and Grilled Cheese Sandwich” was supposed to be. It’s pretty sad when the diner is happy to see peanuts (self-serve and free for patrons) after eating the worst meal in Dinner Club history.

I was satisfied at least with my Cajun fries until I tried Kenny’s Five Guys Style fries and immediately noticed that his were ten times fresher! I got stale fries. Then, I didn’t like them as much.

Not only was the service and food quality unreliable, but the place isn’t a cheap burger joint either — comparable to Red Robin at about $13 per meal. I won’t be going back.

Overall Group Food Rating: 4 out of 6

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: 4/6

The Good: Free peanuts and drink refills, generous scoops of fries, edible burger patties

The Bad: Unreliable service and food quality, and a lot of leftovers under the tables including a pickle that Ang kept stepping on.

The Ugly: The burgers. My goodness were they ever ugly. I’m sure a lot has to do with their tight wrapping of their mushy buns. Knowing that though still doesn’t make it look any better.

Sidenote: Phil wanted to give a little more than a half vote, but that’s not allowed according to Dinner Club rules. If it was, I would’ve given a little less than a half vote. So, we end up balancing out.

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Posing in front of the Hollywood sign

LA has the scariest freeway / highway system I’ve ever come across (worse than driving in Russia!). We came so close to being hit by tailgaters, non-signalers, and crazy weavers in the six to eight lane concrete monstrosities that less than 10 minutes in, I knew I could never live in Los Angeles. We actually considered leaving LA right after dropping Kim off at his hotel for his conference.

The city of angels is stupidly large. It’s really a bunch of big cities meshed into one that takes two to three hours to drive across. I’m sure there are lots of people who love the hustle and bustle of LA, but I’m not one of them. The idea of driving through that concrete jungle to get to work each day is just sheer madness in my books. SHEER MADNESS!

Unfortunately, LA’s metro system isn’t the best in the world and when it takes over an hour to drive from one major attraction to the next, we weren’t about to spend even more time trying to commute it. Our AAA guidebook both warns of the dangers of driving in LA while saying that it’s the best way to get around in the same paragraph.

The crowd at the 4th Annual Taste of Soul in LA

When we stopped at the AAA office for information, we stumbled across a street festival called Taste of Soul. Apparently it’s the largest street festival in LA so we were really lucky to have come across it. We may have stuck out quite a bit (Morten in particular since there was only one other caucasian person in the entire crowd) but no one seemed to care. Everyone was friendly and the food was uber-good!

We walked through the festival for a while before deciding on which food booth to buy from. As soon as I saw the booth advertising authentic Jamaican food, my mind was made up! I haven’t come across any good Jamaican food in Vancouver and I remember how delicious my first Jamaican patty was. It was my last semester at SFU and my professor for International Marketing (June Francis — sidenote: if you’re an SFU Biz student, take BUS 447 with her. Great class!) brought in a few boxes of Jamaican patties for us to try. I LOVED them but haven’t found anything that even comes close to their yumminess since. The Jamaican patties at Taste of Soul were less than adequate. But, we also ordered jerk chicken and it was ridiculously good. The meat was tender, the sauce was flavourful and the outside was perfectly barbequed and smokey.

Posing in front of the famous Kodak Theatre

After Taste of Soul, we drove over to Hollywood and did the Walk of Fame. It was over 30 degrees outside and I didn’t have any shorts so I was melting away under the scorching sun in my jeans and coated with SPF 85 sunblock. I couldn’t take it anymore so I bought a pair of shorts at Zara.

The Walk of Fame is a bit of a joke since practically everyone has a star (including Godzilla) and for the most part the star impersonators look like ordinary folk dressed for Halloween (the Marilyn Monroe we saw was about 50 years too old for the part) — we did see a good pirate and a decent Superman though. We did a bit of window shopping along Hollywood Boulevard, saw some unsuspecting Japanese tourists get mobbed by a group of Zombie walkers, took some cheesy photos, and left for Santa Monica.

Santa Monica pier looks a lot bigger in the movies than it does in real life. It’s still a nice place for an evening stroll though and a refreshing getaway from the traffic congested city. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and played Forrest Gump trivia with our waiter. The service there is fabulous by the way. Our waiter was very charismatic, funny and went out of his way to make sure we were happy. We tipped well.

Before we left the next morning, we made sure to visit a lookout point for the Hollywood sign to take one last dorky photo. Visit Morten’s post (when he gets around to it) for directions to the best lookout point.

Bubba Gump Trivia

Ang playing with the drink menu at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

(Answers are on the bottom of this post)

1. What was the colour of Jenny’s shoes when she got married?
2. What is the name of Forrest Gump’s home town?
3. Is Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. a real company?
4. Other than running, name two sports that Forrest played.
5. Forrest made two really good friends in the army. What are their names?

Tips for Travellers to LA

1. A GPS is a must if you’re planning on driving in LA. LA has a complicated freeway system — so complicated in fact that AAA has a map just for the freeways.
2. You can find cheap parking in Hollywood at the Kodak Theatre. It’s $2 for the first four hours with validation. You can get your ticket validated if you buy something at any of the stores and I believe the cheapest item is a piece of fruit ($1) from the coffee stand on the parking level one floor below the ticket payment office. They also sell coffee, cold beverages, and a few small snacks at the stand.
3. The cheapest parking near Santa Monica pier is about a block before you reach it coming from Hollywood (just before McDonald’s on your right) — $3 flat fee after 6pm.
4. It’s best to go to LA when you have a reason to go (ex. conference, concert etc). Although LA has many small touristy spots, they’re very far apart so if you don’t have another reason to be in that area, you may be disappointed at how little there is to see or how long it takes you to get from one place to the next.
5. If you plan on going to any of the theme parks or major attractions around the area (ex. Universal Studios — which is fun; I went as a kid), check your hotel / motel lobby beforehand for flyers. They usually have coupons for up to $10 off per admission.

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Answers to Bubba Gump Trivia

1. Jenny wasn’t wearing any shoes at her wedding.
2. Greenbow, Alabama.
3. No. The restaurant chain was made after the movie and is Forrest Gump themed.
4. Football and ping pong.
5. Lieutenant Dan & Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue.

Rosella crusted scallop with strawberry and grapefruit dressing at Tukka

I wrote a list of all the blog posts I wanted to write from my Wicked Road Trip and it was a really long list (in blog post time I’m only on September 21st). So, I’m jumping forward a bit to the present to tell you about my dining experience with Sarah last night before I forget what everything tasted like.

I was telling Sarah about how I wanted to try kangaroo again because I suspected that the chef was the reason it wasn’t good last time. She did her usual “Oh!” thing when she gets a bright idea and said we should go to Tukka for dinner. Tukka is one of those trendy restaurants in the West End. Yes, that’s right Vancouverites, not only does Brisbane have the same “Translink” system, skytrains that they call either “citytrains” or the “airtrain”, but they also have a trendy bohemian West End very similar to our own West End. It’s no wonder Brisbane feels like a second home to me.

The Native Platter for Two (minimum order is for 2)

You know you’re at a fancy restaurant when the portions are literally bite size. LOL Tukka takes bush tucker (traditional Australian bush food) and makes it gourmet by serving it in slivers with unusual bush-inspired sauces.

Sarah and I both ordered the native platter entree (note: in Australia, an “entree” is an appetizer and a “main” is an entree) because it comes with an assortment of native berries, home-made damper (a heavy herb bread — I think it was thyme), native dips, kangaroo, emu and crocodile. We also asked to have a bit of Tasmanian possum thrown in as well.

Before our entrees came out, everyone received complimentary appetizers: rosella crusted scallops served on top of strawberry and with a grapefruit dressing. Each plate was really well presented and the scallop was yummy but I wasn’t a big fan of the grapefruit dressing. I know this is a terrible thing to say about food at a fancy restaurant, but you know that sort of sour gaggy taste you get when you’re just about to throw up from too much tequila? That’s what the grapefruit dressing reminded me of. Terrible eh? I’m obviously not cut out to review fancy restaurants…

Sarah hesitant to try the roo

Our entrees came out on one big wooden platter — sushi boat style. Again, the food was very well presented. We started off by trying each of the berries. A couple were on the blander side, one was sour and had the worst bitter aftertaste, the big purple one started off ok like a bland grape and then quickly turned to tasting like a bad grape, and by the end we decided we didn’t like any of them.

Time for kangaroo. Sarah was hesitant about trying this because she’s not a fan of rare meats and the roo was still pink in the middle. Because the meat was so rare, its texture reminded me of sashimi but it tasted like beef jerky and was tender, flavourful and mild. This was much better than the roo I tried at Undara.

Next up: emu. I definitely preferred the roo to the emu. The emu was tougher and I think there was a little bit of tendon to it because it was difficult to cut and chew. The meat had a smokey flavour to it but neither of us could quite put our finger on how to describe the taste of the actual meat. Nothing special, but just slightly different than your usual meats.

The roo and emu also came with little roo and emu sausages. The roo sausage was so good! It was full of spices and had just the right consistency. I was a big fan. The emu sausage was good (you can’t really go wrong with sausages), but it felt more packed than the roo sausage and I didn’t like it as much.

Trying to cut the emu sliver

Crocodile time! *sigh* No croc will ever beat the croc burger I had at Daintree Village! The croc here was a little fishy again and also a little bit on the drier side. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t nearly as good. I wish Sarah could’ve tried the burger at Daintree too.

Finally it was time for Tasmanian possum. I haven’t seen possum on any other menu in Australia, and I think I know why: it’s not good. Possum tastes like day old chicken McNuggets. It’s a bit chewy, reminds you of whatever is the opposite of fresh, and you actually feel like you’re eating road kill. Sarah said it reminded her of that scene in Shrek where he’s roasting rats. I guess neither of us are cut out to be food critics. LOL

We finished off with some lemon myrtle tea which was a lot calmer and soothing than I expected. When I think ‘lemon’ tea, I think of a tea with a little kick. This was more like a tea you’d have in front of a fireplace with some heavy cookies just before heading off to bed. A nice ending to an unusual dinner.

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