I’m full of Bacon and Regret at Edible Canada

I finally think I overdid it with the breakfast bacon. But what can I say, my eyes are bigger than my stomach and my stomach was full of bacon and bacon related goodness. Edible Canada, touché.

As always, we ordered drinks to start, the $5 cocktail feature and a coffee which came with its own press! Very cute.

It was a well crafted caesar with horseradish for spice, a chilled slice of bacon and a bacon salt rim. I was intrigued by the combination of cheap liquor and bacon, but it was very rich and salty. That bacon salt was no joke.

Phil tried the Canadian Rockies Beef Burger for $13.00. It didn’t come with fries, so that was an extra $5.00. The burger came with double smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, caramelized onions, house-made pickle & house ketchup.

Great burger, we really liked it. The meat was juicy and not over seasoned, you could really taste the beef. The strong flavours from the smoked cheddar and caramelized onions complimented it well. Very filling, even Phil had to brace himself to finish it. The side of duck fat fries came with a bacon aioli which was okay, but didn’t live up to the urbanspoon rave reviews.

I ordered the Edible Canada Breakfast for $12.00: Scrambled free range eggs, Sloping Hills pork & apple sausage, double smoked bacon, smoked tomatoes, crispy duck fat fried hashbrowns, fresh herbs. It also came with the house “ketchup”. The meal was well presented, and the perfect serving size. It was richer and more filling that it appeared.

Two thick slices of perfectly cooked bacon, not charred to a crumbling crisp like most breakfast joints. I was very impressed. The Sloping Hills apple pork sausage was alright, the eggs were very dense, and I didn’t enjoy the smoked tomatoes – which had a smoked bacon flavour.

We disagreed about the house made “ketchup”. Phil liked it because it was real ketchup and not the sugary Heinz stuff; I hated it ( but kept eating it just incase the next bite was the one that changed my mind…) It really didn’t add anything to the meal except a lack of flavour. It was bland and unexciting.

My friend Dom tried the Gluten-free Fish and Chips, $15, made with rice flour tempura. This looked pretty amazing, and in hindsight I regretted not ordering it. Go read her blog for the review and  food photos! theglutenfreedom

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

I thought it was only okay. I’d like to go back and try some of their dinner items and enjoy the evening ambiance, sans whimpering children. The price of my breakfast was right, and I was stuffed …. but it was too salty and I felt bloated afterwards. This is partially the fault of the bacon salt caesar, however the rich creamy eggs and the duck fat hash browns were both heavily salted, the fries so much so that it was hard to finish them. But everyone else really enjoyed their less salty meals, so I give this place a 3 out of 5 stars.

Brunching it at Milestones

Milestones Grill and Bar
2966 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6K
(604) 734-8616

Working in the service industry rarely affords me with the opportunity of actually being a customer instead of  just serving one. That all changed last Saturday when my manager called to tell me not to come into work, and to instead go out and enjoy the sunshine ( her actual words!). With a skip to my step and a ridiculous smile on my face I set about my glorious day off. We gathered some of the besties and decided to try Milestones for brunch.

The first thing I noticed was the architecture of the restaurant: the sunlight streaming through the solarium seating area was very cool. We got there at 1pm and the place wasn’t too busy. Immediately we ordered caesars and alcoholic coffees (Hey man, this was a celebration).

The first of only two complaints was that the waiter seemed, at times, to be in LaLa Land. Phil asked for a coffee with no whipped cream, and mango sauce on the side of his french toast. The coffee arrived with whipped cream and the french toast drizzled in mango sauce. We’re a pretty easy-going bunch so we didn’t make a fuss about it. It just seemed odd since our waiter was overly competent with everything else. Then again, maybe he just didn’t like Phil!

My ex-vegetarian gluten-intolerant friend ordered off the comprehensive gluten-free menu: A burger with bacon, and a side salad with lemon chardonnay vinaigrette for $12.99. She said it was amazing to eat a real hamburger again and that it tasted great. Glad you enjoyed it, and welcome back to the club!

Phil had the Strawberry French Toast for $12.99

Thick cut cinnamon vanilla French toast, fresh strawberries, agave syrup and mango cream garnish.

Phil is Mango-phobic, and avoids dishes that come with the exotic fruit. Despite asking for the mango cream garnish on the side  (to dip each bite into, he claimed),it came drizzled all over the plate. But Phil found it surprisingly delicious! I’m happy he enjoyed this breakfast treat, and it looks just as good as it tasted. Using baguette slices instead of bread was a heartier and unique twist on a classic breakfast item.

He also ordered a side of bacon for us to share (thanks Phil!).

Torn between choices, I asked our waiter’s opinion and he suggested I try the Grilled Shrimp California Benedict for $13.99. This was not my first choice, – it sounded kinda weird, and honestly I was hoping he would recommend the Pear and Coconut Pancakes. Alas, his opinion was one of conviction, and I tend to trust staff recommendations.

THE BENNIES WERE AMAZING!

Grilled Shrimp, double-smoked bacon, and house-made avocado salsa over English muffin slices

The shrimps were big and juicy, and they gave you a fair deal of them. The avocado salsa was not over bearing and really complimented the dish. What really rounded out the meal was the Mediterranean salsa served over the breakfast potatoes. It was especially good with a mouthful of the avocado in the Bennie. The hollandaise was alright, not too thick and didn’t overpower the other flavours.

Our other friend ordered the classic Eggs Benedict for $10.99, it looked exactly like mine but less filling. Even if I had wanted to take a photo of it he had devoured half the plate before I got around to taking a picture.

OVERALL IMPRESSION:

The prices were reasonable but we all complained about still being hungry. The dishes were beautifully presented and everything tasted great, but we wanted more food! I mean, how much do breakfast potatoes cost to make, really? And only two pieces of fruit per plate? Unimpressed.

The thing about brunch is, you’re hungry enough for lunch but craving breakfast food. You want breakfast priced options but with lunch sized portions, and that was our second complaint about Milestones: tiny portions. Everyone felt this way except Phil, but he has the appetite of a small child, and we were ravenous bears just waking from hibernation.

Taste: 4.5/5
Portion: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5

Dine Out Vancouver: The Smoking Dog Bistro

So it was my first time participating in Dine Out Vancouver (yay!) and my friends and I decided to check out Smoking Dog Bistro as none of us had eaten here before and the $28.00 menu was unique and appealing. Our waitress was helpful, friendly, and  forthcoming about what her favourite dishes were and what we could expect. The whole process happened so fast, I would have liked to have sat, digested, and savoured the experience a little before the next dish was brought out.

I ordered the Smoked Salmon Terrine. I loved the red onion jam, as it really rounded out the saltines of the terrine. With the grilled baguette this was very satisfying for an appetizer.

Smoked Salmon Terrine with house made red onion jam, grilled french baguette and pickled golden beets

My friends ordered the Flank Steak with Ratatouille. The steak was tender and perfectly cooked, and I especially liked the slight char. The ratatouille was “flavoured perfectly”.  The portion was really small however.

Thinly sliced Flank steak with ratatouille and red wine glace de viand

We debated which entrée to order, each option sounded delicious, however we craved something hearty and ended up all ordering the lamb shank. I did see the salmon leaving the kitchen and felt a pang of regret because it looked very good – however, I was not disappointed with the lamb.

Braised Lamb Shank with sun-dried tomato soft polenta and sautéed haricot verts

The meat fell off the bone it was so succulent, and I loved the creamy polenta/sun-dried tomato flavour combo – that sauce was so good it could have been it’s own dish, I wish there had been more of it! I ordered a glass of the Sandhill Cabernet-Franc, the suggested pairing, and thought it went very well together.

We ordered all three desserts and decided unanimously that the French lemon pie with raspberry coulis and hazelnut whipped cream was the best. It had a tart, fresh (you can almost taste the individual lemons) citrus flavour which was refreshing after the richness of the lamb shank.

I’ve never had bacon in a dessert, so the candied bacon chocolate fudge cake (an important distinction, since the online menu states that this is a fudge, not a cake) sounded like something I should try. The chocolate fudge and hazelnut cream were great. However, I felt the bacon cooked into the cake, although tasty, was underwhelming overall. The pieces were a little too big, so you’d be left chewing on chunks of bacon in the end.

The wild berry parfait with raspberry coulis and white chocolate whipped cream was mediocre, and as my friend pointed out it’s still “just a parfait”. It was a really small portion, despite probably being the cheapest to produce, and only had a scant scattering of berries. It didn’t help that they put such a small portion into such a large cup. At the level of their other fare, if you are going to serve a fruit and yoghurt dessert, it better be amazing.

All in all this was a very enjoyable meal. I will definitely return to The Smoking Dog Bistro as I was impressed with the ambiance and most of the food.