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Brunch at Legends Dining Room [Painter's Lodge (Campbell River)]

Raul — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:00:41 +0000

Having enjoyed an amazing weekend at April Point Resort in Quadra Island, I stayed over one night at Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River, another resort from the Oak Bay Marine Group. I have a post forthcoming on the actual lodge, but I just wanted to showcase the brunch I had this past Sunday, because as I told a bunch of my fellow bloggers, “you know you’re a food blogger when you take photos of the food before even thinking of eating it”.

Yeah. I’ve blogged about food. Quite a lot. Even when I do travel writing, I always focus a lot on the food. For your sensory overload, here’s a sampler of what I had at the Legends Dining Room at the Painter’s Lodge in Campbell River this weekend. Happy Travel Tuesday!

Disclosure: I was invited to stay over at the Painter’s Lodge and enjoy a complimentary brunch as a guest of Tastes of April Point 2011. I flew into and from Campbell River compliments of my hosts, the Oak Bay Marine Group. This post was neither paid for nor expected, but I do think that Tastes of April Point is an excellent event and so do the numerous people I interviewed while on site. As always, all views are mine, and I retain editorial control on anything I publish on my site. You can read more of my coverage of Tastes of April Point 2011 in Quadra Island here

Biercraft (Cambie Street)

Raul — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:00:57 +0000

While I’m totally happy that there are many businesses flourishing on Cambie Street (apparently, Biercraft being one of them), I’m not that happy when the establishment has really expensive beer. Maybe because (a) I’m not a beer drinker (b) I’m not a beer snob and (c) I am there just primarily for the food. And while the strawberry beer (Fruli) was pretty good, I’m totally flabbergasted at $7.50 for ONE beer. Regardless of whether it’s a specialty beer or not.

The decor at Biercraft is pretty good. Actually I came here once with Susie Gardner to have a beer, but wasn’t impressed with their drinks assortment. This time I had brunch with Cisco Grajales III and we had a pretty enjoyable brunch, although again, I’m not totally impressed with brunch places where they don’t have my usual staples (hot sauce that isn’t Tabasco, etc.) – but that’s totally my own bias.

I ordered a Biercraft brunch (scrambled eggs, potatoes and toast, $9.50). Since they didn’t have hot sauce that wasn’t Tabasco, I had to order a side order of salsa (which, while generous, I was still charged with). And then I got overcharged with one more pop than I ordered (while the server swiftly reimbursed me, I was less than impressed). I can’t fault her as she was incredibly sweet, but the beer being so expensive and the fact that I had to pay for something I usually get free other places (a hot sauce that I like) sort of tarnished my experience. I have had better brunch at The Nice Café for half the price. My scrambled eggs were fluffy and well done, but the potatoes were hard to chew and without much flavour, although I will admit the rye bread was pretty nice.

Overall, I’m glad Biercraft is doing well, I’m glad we have a good place for an extensive selection of specialty beers and decent food, but for what I ordered, I can easily name 5 places on Main Street that are (a) closer to me and (b) less expensive than Biercraft. Visited, checked it out, tried it out, not coming back unless it’s for beers with my friends. And hanging out with Cisco made it all worth it.

Disclosure: I paid for my brunch ($27) on my own dime.

Moodyville’s (North Vancouver)

Raul — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:49:49 +0000

I make it a rule of mine to spend time with my close friends on a regular basis, and I think I’m pretty damn good at it. Also, as you may remember, I love the North Shore, especially the city of North Vancouver and the area around Lower Lonsdale. I also have always had a soft spot for Mom-and-Pop-run, small hole-in-the-wall kind of places, and brunch is pretty much my favorite meal of the day. Given that earlier this year, I spent a full 2 weeks in North Vancouver (house-sitting for Ianiv and Arieanna), I thought of coming back to Moodyvilles for brunch. Earlier this year, I had brunch there with Arieanna and we both enjoyed it a lot. The place is small enough to be cozy, yet big enough to hold about 30 people seated comfortably. I ordered scrambled eggs with hashbrowns and toast, which is as always, comfort food.

Comparatively speaking, Moodyvilles is sort of the North Shore equivalent to the Nice Cafe. Small, cozy, warm, comfort food. I have to admit, though, that just walking through the Lonsdale area (not the Quay, but the area around 1st and 5th Streets, and surrounding perimeter) there are a LOT of great-looking restaurants just waiting for me to visit for brunch. If only I had that kind of cash to just spend my time having dinner to review restaurants!

If you live in the North Shore, I’d seriously recommend Moodyvilles. Even if you’re not in the actual Lonsdale area, it’s a small little place that should provide you with a sense of home and a respite from the craziness of day-to-day life.

Restaurant review – The Edge Cafe (Broadway and Cambie)

Raul — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:29:21 +0000

I had the pleasure of meeting with Julie Wright, Gus and Russ for brunch at The Edge Cafe this past weekend. I had previously reviewed The Edge Cafe on Ianiv and Arieanna’s Vancouver Coffee.

My first impression of The Edge Cafe hasn’t changed. It is spacious, comfortable, pretty cool. The food we had was pretty good, actually in regards to my order, it was spectacularly good. I ordered a Yukon breakfast ($ 12.00) which came with a double side of ham (pretty good, filling, the quality and taste were very good too). The coffee is from 49th Parallel which is also a very tasty brand of coffee (and it’s bottomless, so you get frequent refills).

For the price, it’s good value for your money. However, I’d have to say that as far as brunch goes, the Edge Cafe is on the higher-ish end of the scale. I’ve had brunch at Crave and it’s less expensive (and of course, the greasy spoon places are even LESS expensive). But as I mentioned, the food was great and I can’t complain. The place filled up rather quickly after we arrived, but the service was prompt, friendly and the staff were very attentive.

Restaurant review – Theresa’s (Denman Street, West End)

Raul — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:52:23 +0000

My friend ML and I hadn’t done brunch in a while so we headed down to Theresa’s on Denman Street. I hadn’t realized this place was so incredibly popular until we got there (admittedly, after 1pm). The service was prompt and friendly, and the prices are substantially cheaper than any other brunch place I’ve been to recently.

I ordered a C (Charlie) – 2 eggs scrambled with white toast and 2 sausages ($ 4.50) and a soft drink ($ 1.00), which was good in portion size and flavor. It’s funny though – the sausages here are better than at other greasyspoon joints I’ve been to.

Our bill combined wasn’t even over $ 10.00 (before tip) so I can definitely attest to the fact that Theresa’s is indeed a very inexpensive brunch place.

Restaurant review – The Reef (Main Street)

Raul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:16:19 +0000

I have NO CLUE how I have managed NOT to write a restaurant review of The Reef (located on almost King Edward and Main Street). A Caribbean hangout, the food is really good (you can find anything with a Jamaican or Caribbean flavor) both for dinner and for brunch. For dinner, I always recommend the jerk chicken AND of course, jugs of mojito.

I’ve been visiting The Reef much more in recent weeks, particularly for brunch. The brunch menu is somewhat exotic, affordable, and tasty. I love their scrambled eggs with chorizo. The service is really good, and it is one of those rare places where you can have brunch on Sunday without having to line up (I damn sure hope I won’t be in a line up, I always have bad luck when I write good reviews for restaurants – they start to pack up!)

I had recently the pleasure of having brunch with Tanya, Gus and MJ one day and another day I went there with H, C, A and D (all of them civilian friends). Both days I had a wonderful time. I hope to be able to visit The Reef more often, since I do live in the neighbourhood.

I would strongly recommend The Reef to anybody who wants good lunch and/or good dinner. In many ways, it’s better positioned simply because it has a nice patio, great and friendly staff and wonderful food.

Restaurant review – The Alibi Room (Gastown)

Raul — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:31:03 +0000

It would be unfair for me to judge The Alibi Room in their dinner mode having not had dinner there for a long, long time. The last time I actually consumed anything there at night, I attended Global Metal with Rebecca, Trevor, Andy and Beth. We only had drinks so that doesn’t really count.

But I did have brunch there very recently with MJ and Dale, for the AIDS Benedict brunch. While I absolutely hate eggs Benedict, I wanted to participate in the event and so I sent out a Twitter invitation. I was very pleased and touched that both MJ and Dale accepted, as we had a really good time. Neither of them had met each other before, and I’m always happy when I help build connections amongst my friends from the Vancouver tech scene.

Both MJ and Dale ordered eggs Benedict while I ordered scrambled eggs with chorizo and toast. As far as the quality of food goes, it was really, really good. I did remember The Alibi Room being this good. The service was a mixed bag. Both our servers were incredibly sweet and nice and they went out of their way in keeping our coffee cups refilled. Both of those elements were highlights.

The very small downside? The servers seemed to struggle to keep up with everyone, and our food took a while to get to our table, but we didn’t mind as we were having a really good time.

My verdict? I will come back to The Alibi Room many, many times. It’s spacious, it’s well designed, it has good food (brunch is good and I remember dinner being good too. I’ll have to come back for that). Service is ok, and more than anything, it’s pretty strategically located. The Vancouver tech community visits The Alibi Room with frequency, and it’s close to my downtown office and to my home (well, if I take the bus anyways).

I’d definitely recommend The Alibi Room for brunch, although frankly, I still do love my Nice Cafe and Crave on Main. In my humble opinion, two of the best brunch places in town.

Have brunch for charity! AIDS Benedict brunch weekend

Raul — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:02:30 +0000

Vancouver’s 3rd Annual AIDS Benedict brunch weekend is happening this weekend (November 29th and 30th). Participating restaurants include the following (I would have done all the linking but I’m exhausted and have a ton of work to do). Hat tips to Raincoaster who informed me of this event.

I am a very big supporter of HIV/AIDS-related charities (as I demonstrated by doing a 24 hour Blogathon in 2007 to raise funds for A Loving Spoonful). Now I’d like to draw your attention to another charitable event: The AIDS Benedict brunch weekend.

YouthCO AIDS Society and Camp Moomba, two non-profit organizations that support and empower children and youth impacted by HIV and AIDS, have teamed up for Vancouver’s 3rd Annual AIDS Benedict brunch weekend. Collectively sponsored by local restaurants, this “eggsellent” event blends scrumptious eggs benedict with public education to help raise awareness about children and youth in BC impacted by HIV and AIDS.

Donations from participating restaurants will give children and youth impacted by HIV and AIDS access to year-long programs and supports that they might not otherwise have access to. Participation in the two-day eggs-travaganza is eggstremely simple: fill your belly with eggs benedict or other promotional items at one (or more!) of the participating establishments on November 29th and November 30th.

Abigail’s Party 1685 Yew Street www.abigailsparty.ca
Alibi Room 157 Alexander Street www.alibi.ca
Bayside Lounge 1755 Davie Street www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com
Checker’s 1755 Davie Street www.bestwesternsandshotelvancouver.com
Chopper’s 3298 East 1st Avenue no website
Elixir 350 Davie Street www.elixirvancouver.ca
Fish House 8901 Stanley Park Drive www.fishhousestanleypark.com
Fountainhead 1025 Davie Street .www.thefountainheadpub.com
Hell’s Kitchen 2041 4th Avenue www.hells-kitchen.ca
Main Cafe 4210 Main Street www.themainonmain.com
Marmalade 3-1010 Beach Avenue www.marmaladekb.com
Nu 1661 Granville Street www.whatisnu.com
Ocean’s 6 Seventeen 617 Stamps Landing www.oceans617.com
Provence Marinaside 1177 Marinaside Crescent www.provencevancouver.com
Provence Mediterranean Grill 4473 West 10th Avenue www.provencevancouver.com
Raincity Grill 1193 Denman Street www.raincitygrill.com
Seb’s Market cafe 592 East Broadway www.hotstuffcatering.com
Slickity Jim’s 2513 Main Street www.findmycraving.com/icrave/slickity
So.cial at Le Magasin 332 Water Street www.socialatlemagasin.com
Subeez 891 Homer Street www.subeez.com
Twisted Fork 1147 Granville Street no website
WaaZuBee 1622 Commercial Drive www.waazubee.com/main.php
The Whip 209 East 6th Avenue www.thewhiprestaurant.com

I’ve decided that I haven’t tried The Alibi Room for brunch in like, forever. So, if you want to participate, drop me a comment, send me an email or a tweet and let me know so that I can make reservations. PLEASE NOTE I CHANGED THE DATE TO SUNDAY!

WHAT – AIDS Benedict brunch
WHY - Because I am a firm supporter of AIDS/HIV charities.
WHERE - The Alibi Room (157 Alexander)
WHEN - Sunday November 30th, 11:00am

Be there or be square. Even if you can’t attend brunch at The Alibi Room on Saturday (for example, if you’re doing DotComPho or some other event), I’d encourage you to do brunch at any other of the participating restaurants. It’s for a good cause.

Restaurant review – Provence Marinaside (Yaletown)

Raul — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:13:23 +0000

Spending time with good friends over brunch is always fantastic. I had never done brunch with Monica nor with Tanya and thus I jumped at the possibility of hanging out with two of my favorite gals for brunch. We met at Provence Marinaside, at the foot of Davie Street, in Yaletown. I have had dinner at Provence before, but (as you may have noticed by the fact that I do not have a restaurant review of it), dinner there was anything but memorable. And this time, Provence Marinaside didn’t make an impression on me either. The saving grace was, of course, the company. I love both Tanya and Monica and we had such a great time that the food and service at Provence was somewhat irrelevant.

The added bonus was seeing Michael Weatherly (of NCIS and Dark Angel fame). Weatherly is an actor I’ve always liked a lot, and from what I could see, he didn’t seem conceited at all. I was *this* close to say “hey Michael” but refrained myself. Geez, after all these years living in Canada AND living in Vancouver, I can still get a bit star-struck.

The food was really nothing to write home about, it was decently good breakfast, but honestly, screwing up breakfast is rather hard. I ordered scrambled eggs with fruit, toast and veal sausage. Perhaps not the best choice. The veal sausage was WAY too strong and it looked really pretty ridiculous. For about half the price, I could have gotten better scrambled eggs and sausage at an equally sophisticated restaurant (Crave on Main). I would rate the level of service and pricing at Provence Marinaside with the same of Figmint on 12th and Cambie (whom, if you recall, I didn’t like either).

Again, this wasn’t a BAD breakfast in terms of food, but it wasn’t something I would write home about or a rave review. The company was really what made it all worth it, because the service was pretty appaling. We didn’t get refills for our water, nor for our coffee, and I had to ask THREE times for jam. I am NOT impressed. If you’re charging high-end-ish prices, you should give me high-end-ish service.

Hanging out with Monica and Tanya, was just unbelievably awesome, and I got a lot of really important and useful advice in regards to my life in social media and also, in regards to the job search. It was very calming to hear them both reassuring me that I’ll be getting a good job. We also laughed a lot Good times, indeed. Although next time, I’ll probably suggest we change venues for brunch. I am not coming back to Provence Marinaside. Not until they have fixed their level of service