Amazing chicken shawarma atop a Greek salad from the Babylon Cafe in the West End. Omm nom nom, meat salad.
Tag Archives: Restaurant Review
Burger Heaven at Max’s Burger
Fantastic burger (The Max) from Max’s Burger on 8th and Cambie, this place is a hidden gem. There’s really no comparison to grass-fed beef, and these guys know how to make a proper burger. Best of all, the variety of bun options, whole wheat, gluten free, vegan, and regular ol’ hamburger bun! We all agreed the gluten-free bun was one of the best gluten-free bread products we’ve tasted in a restaurant. Yam fries were tasty too! Overall nothing was too heavily salted or over seasoned, just fresh ingredients done right. Move over Vera’s, I’m all about Max.
Oh, and then we had the cheesecake. Scrumtrulescent. The crust was nothing special, but the cheesecake part was creamy and tasted homemade. We’re going back for sure.
Memphis Blues BBQ
Brisket
My BBQ dreams came true last week with a trip to Memphis Blues BBQ on Granville and Broadway. Heavenly fall-of-the-bone ribs and tender brisket accompanied with some mediocre sides, but damn that meat was good.
Ribs
As Guy Fieri loves to point out, look at the bark on those ribs! We used a lot of the signature Memphis Blues mustard BBQ sauce on the ribs, great flavour combo!
Rib Meal with coleslaw, fries, cornbread, baked beans and BBQ sauce. $17.95
Sliced Beef Brisket Meal with disappointing potato salad, $17.95
The brisket was fantastic, so moist and delicious. The potato salad was the only let down of the meal. It was over salted so we couldn’t taste anything else, but really there was nothing impressive about it anyways. The fries, however, were perfectly seasoned and not too salty or greasy. There was nothing special about the coleslaw either, but it didn’t take anything away from the meal so we didn’t mind it.
Smokey baked beans. Again, not my favourite part of the meal but Phil loved them and they were a nice addition to the meal overall.
The cornbread was pretty good too, although I was the only one who thought it would have been nicer warmed up! Overall, great dinner and the best BBQ in Vancouver I’ve tried. They don’t stinge on portions either, so we had enough food the next day for a full lunch. Next time we’re getting the Memphis Feast ($47), a smorgasbord of all the meat Memphis has to offer, plus the fixin’s. I definitely recommend going with friends so you can chow down on this option, as it will be cheaper than getting a bunch of individual meals.
Church’s Chicken
Okay, so we all have those cravings… the guilty pleasure ones you have to indulge in every so often… this was one of them.
We got 4 pieces of chicken and three large sides for just under $20.00. Other than the heaping box of fries, the sides aren’t big, nor were they anything to boast about, except the French fries got an A+ for being thick, fluffy, and not greasy. The chicken was perfect, crispy and well seasoned on the outside (and not too salty!), juicy and tender underneath. I really liked the crispy skin, it’s my favourite part about fried chicken (shame!) but seriously don’t judge me, I know you love it too.
We ordered two spicy and two regular pieces, however we only got the regular (to Phil’s disappointment. Don’t worry, he smothered them in hot sauce anyways)
We were disappointed with the macaroni because on the menu it was described as macaroni and cheese, you know, warm steamy cheesy goodness. It was a cold mayo/relish macaroni salad. Booo-ring. The coleslaw was okay, I preferred it to the macaroni and I’d probably get it again. The ladies at the counter were both very nice, but they couldn’t coordinate our order and the whole process was far more complicated than it needed to be. Obviously there was a communication issue because we didn’t get exactly what we ordered, but they were patient and answered all our questions. Like, did you know Church’s has a “Wild West Rice”? Whats in that, you ask. Well, it’s sliced up chicken and vegetables, all mixed together with ketchup. Ya, no thanks, but good to know.
Overall Impression
Go for the fried chicken and french fries, avoid the macaroni salad and wild west rice. The Churches Chicken on Main and 18th is open 24 hr for late night munchies.
Dining Out for Life at Thai Away Home
Last night was Dining Out For Life, an annual fundraiser taking place across North America where participating restaurants donate 25% of their profits from the evening to AIDS and HIV service organizations. I thought this would be the perfect guilt-free opportunity to enjoy a night out on my limited budget. Thai Away Home is one of my go-to local Thai restaurants because you get a good amount of food for your money.
I ordered the Pad Thai Combo, which came with tom yum soup, spring roll, and a salad for $10.69. It’s a lot of food and I always have leftovers. The soup is good, a little oily but the flavour is okay. I love the house salad dressing, it’s sweet and acidic and they give you a heaping pile of lettuce. Also, I love their spring rolls dipped in the plum sauce. It’s the totally unhealthy for you fried spring roll, but whatever, once in a while you have to throw caution to the wind.
Last night the pad thai was sweeter and saucier than usual. I couldn’t help thinking, is this made with ketchup? Generally, the Pad Thai here is not the most authentic tasting recipe in town, but it’s quick and they give you a lot of food. I’ve eaten here countless time, sometimes the food is spot on, other times it’s just okay. The yellow curry is another favourite of mine. They have good lunch specials and if you’re in the area don’t hesitate to give them a try.
Slickity Jim’s Chat ‘n’ Chew
This was an impromptu lunch at Slickity Jim’s on Monday after an impromptu night of drinking on Sunday. It is a cute little joint with a quirky interior and unique menu titles. There was only one – but very friendly - waitress working and one cook. The food took as long to come out with only one person cooking it all.
Our waitress informed us that they had a very busy weekend, and were out of the pulled pork. THE HORROR and disappointment in Phil’s eyes was almost too much to handle on an empty stomach. He settled for his second choice, a grilled chicken and brie sandwich called Watching The Angels Fall, $10.50. It came with his choice of soup, roasted potatoes, salad, or coleslaw.
The chicken was extremely tender, despite how lack luster the sandwich looks. But overall I thought it was just okay, kind of missed the mark somewhere.
When I asked Emilie what she liked about her Artichoke Heart Brie Burger, $11.50, she said “What didn’t I like. It was brie.” Well said Emilie, well said.
But in all seriousness, she said eating this burger didn’t feel unhealthy. The bun was quite substantial, and the vegetables fresh. It was like a homemade burger, filling without being unfulfilled. She opted for a lean ground beef patty but you could also choose from turkey, chicken, or a house made veggie patty.
I had The Breakfast of Broken Dreams for $9.50. Two easy poached eggs over an English muffin with caramelized onions, spinach, and warm gorgonzola sauce. I found it very satisfactory and only somewhat broken, as the “warm” gorgonzola sauce was actually stone cold. Like, ugggghhh, really?
Caramelized onions harmonized in TRIUMPH with the gorgonzola sauce, which despite being luke-warm at best actually tasted good. I was surprised by the uncooked spinach; it was interesting, definitely not bad but I assumed based on the menu description that it would be steamed or something.
Phil also ordered a mocha milkshake which took for-ever to arrive (granted the ice cream had been frozen like a rock according to our server) but when it arrived it was good. And topped with whipped cream. So worth the wait. However, I didn’t think it was as good as my fresh fruit smoothie!
Will I go back? Yes. Why? Because I’m just too damn hungry not to, and the dishes were intriguing enough to warrant a second sitting. Also, Slickity Jim’s has really cute plates. Oh, and Phil wants to try the pulled pork. And I hear they have a good dinner menu with chicken pot pie. And a fried egg and cheddar burger, one of my Bucket List meals. Ugh, I’m so hungry.
