Silvestre Deli and Bistro

Wandering around Gastown on Saturday morning around 9:30am. Not many restaurants were open serving a big breakfast. We originally wanted top try Calabash; however they did not open until 10:00am. We were hungry and ready for breakfast. Along  Water Street, a store that looks like a gelato shop was serving all day breakfast, sandwiches and their regular Peruvian menu.

Tortilla Ham Breakfast ($12) came with warm and crispy ciabatta bun and a choice of coffee or tea (English Breakfast). Tasted average and was not worth 12 bucks.

Side sauces: wow these three side hot sauce were delicious. They tasted homemade with distinct levels of hotness. We both thought that the sauce was lovely in addition to our meal.

Tortilla Chorizo Breakfast ($12). This omelette like dish was topped with lots of meat and garnished with parsley.This was really salty for veggie girl's palate. To make matters worse, it was a tad greasy underneath the dish. There are many other places we could check out if we waited until 10am.

The service felt rushed as a group of 6 was coming in. They wanted to combine our table of 5 with another 4 top.  We were waiting for the rest of our party to return from the restrooms, and while this was going on they started whiping our table while we were still sitting there, and the next group to arrive was standing awkwardly, and apologetically behind us waiting to sit down.  There were plenty of other tables available, and there was no request from the staff for us to move.  We would've been happy to move if requested, but we were not expecting the group to sit in our table, and felt this was not the best way the staff could've handled the situation.  Ultimately this experience will be tarnished by the events that occured at the end of the meal.

OVERALL:

+ Has dinner potential with authentic Peruvian menu
+ Good location for gelato and convenient to get to
+ Casual dining and funky decor

- Service was non existent: didn't get to ask about the hot sauce, did not get coffee or tea refills
- Expensive for breakfast and dinner options

Forty Ninth Parallel Café & Lucky's Doughnuts (West 4th)

Being the food trend whore that seems to represent Vancouver, Reuben was very excited to see all of the different doughnut opportunities the city has presented us with.  We've tried Voodoo (not local I know, but famous), Lee's, Cartem's, etc....

One of the places we hadn't yet tried was Lucky's Doughnuts, and on a beautiful June day a stroll to Kits was a great reason to give it a try.  Neither of us had been to either location, so this was our first time getting lucky.

Veggie Girl was exhausted from the walk/heat, as she did not grow up in the Okanagan desert.  Also, she was rehabing a broken bone, and starting to gain more mobility.  This meant that she would be in charged of finding a table in the packed restaurant while Reuben ordered.

A few things to mention about this Kitsilano location:

• Busy
• Nice patio with stools outside
• Tables really close together
• Fast paced ordering, service was friendly, but rushed
• Sitting spaces are at a premium

With the decision to choose two good doughnuts Reuben had his work cut out for him.  Being nuts for peanuts, the PB&J doughnut ($3.50) was an obvious choice.  This came with unconventional geometry with flat sides and a circular hole.  The doughnut was topped with Peanut Butter icing and crushed peanuts.  The inside was filled with a from-scratch jam.  This was both of our favorites, and the doughnut was huge and dense.  The flavours were well represented without being too sweet, and not being dry.

The other option took a little bit more decision making.  Split between the Salted Caramel, French Cruller, or the Apple Bacon Fritter ($3.50), Reuben went with his heart (or against it) and took the bacon.  This was not quite as big as the first doughnut, and was not nearly as sweet.  The doughnut was as expected dense, but also had good moisture once again.  We were however not blown away by the flavours.  In fact we were somewhat underwhelmed.  Despite a decent amount of toppings we could not really distinguish any of the apple or bacon.  Perhaps the PB&J numbed our tastebuds.

Overall we enjoyed our visit to Lucky's, and we hope to take advantage of some of there coffee and doughnut deals which sounds like a good deal at $4.  The interesting flavours, and cool atmosphere were worth the hype.  It does get busy, and not everyone likes the bustling dining room but I think it is a great option for doughnut cravers in town.  Both of us agree however that it is not quite at Cartem's level.

Summary:

+ Great location

+ Large, moist doughnuts with great variety

+ Good combo deal (we didn't try this)

- Expensive

- Can get busy

Lorenzo in Bellingham

 Lorenzo's 
This place is colourful and vibrant just like a being in Mexico. 
http://lorenzosmexicanrestaurant.com/menu.php


The meal started almost instantly with a generous bowl of taco chips, and a tasty red salsa.  The spice level was moderate, as it was meant to please the masses, but overall this is one of our favorite parts of Mexican restaurants in the US.  I wish that they would do this more often in Canada.  We did notice that the server, while very friendly, was overextended with the arrival of large parties.


Tacos de Carnitas (Back)Shredded port marinated and stuffing to to three corn tortillas. 
Reuben ate this so fast. Not sure if it was delicious or he was hungry. I got a taste of it and it was much better than the carnitas Racheras as it was tender with a decent amount of flavour, and ingredients in the make it yourself tacos.  The ingredients included chopped white onions, cilantro and lime wedges.

Carnitas Rancheras (Front)

Sliced sirloin steak cooked with green peppers and onions. Served with guacamole. Decent meal.The steak was on the tougher and drier side. My rice was bland and simply appeared orangey with little seasons. My salad as very simple and very poor quality. I was disappointed in the 'healthier' alternative.

Coronita or (Mexican Bulldog as we call it in Canada) $8.00
Delicious lime maragarita served with an upside-down 7oz bottle of Corona! Should have asked for it slushed. Didn't even taste the beer flavour.

OVERALL:
+ large portions 
+ very close to the border
+ good deals

Bad:
+ Service was meh; didn't refill our chips
+ Average flavours

Wonderful Buffet @ Bellingham

ENTER THE AMERICA!

Under 25 minutes border wait, we have finally crossed the border on the Saturday morning. Our first pit stop was Bellingham to pick up a couple of snacks for the road at Traders' Joe and Deals Only. Another destination of our trip was seeing the Skagit Tulip Valley. Even on a rainy and windy day the traffic was backed up. It took us another 20 minutes to get to the parking lots. After an hour of walking in the muddy fields, we were starving. Feeling hungry and stoked for a weekend of indulgence we decided to make our first foodie trip at Wonderful Buffet located in Marysville. I have been here once with my family and was satisfied with the selection and decided to come back by it was Reuben first time! Get ready to put on those stretchy pants and unbutton those jeans.

Wonderful Buffet 

A Chinese owned buffet with wide selection from hot and sour soup, fruit bar, coleslaw, broccoli slaw drenched cream sauce,  iceberg salad bar (no spinach or romaine lettuce), sweet and sour pork, fries, deep fried wings to steamed clams (the highlight of my meal). The steamed clams were extremely popular. People were lining up to fill their empty plates with several scoops of steamed clams. There was a sushi bar where the chef was rolling up California rolls, tuna and salmon maki, and other simple rolls with imitated crab meat. There were mussels, small shrimps, baked mushrooms, fried rice, fried noodles, various pork and meats with sweet and savoury sauce. 

Dessert was disappointing. With a prepackaged butter cookies, cream puffs, jellos and soft serve ice cream it did not it provide a much selection as I had hoped. 

Good:

+ CHEAP->Under $10 for Adult Lunch Buffet!!

+ wide selection 

+ Accepts Card

Bad:

- desserts were disappointing

- greasy spoon
- soup was flavourless, and very starchy

Pear Delicatessen

On our Easter Long Weekend trip to Seattle we took the train to downtown, and were quite hungry after looking for breakfast on Easter Sunday.  Not surprisingly (although at the time to us it was) there wasn't very much open, even in downtown.  We thought our best luck would be around Pike Place, so that is where we headed.

Rather than wait inline at some of the more popular venues (Piroshky Piroshky, or Le Panier) we chose to go somewhere that would fill our food needs quickly.  This lead us to the Pear Delicatessen along Pike Place.  Pear Deli was inside of a shop that had a lot of local foods and drinks, so there was plenty to look at while you waited.

Reuben decided to go with the Salmon Lox on a Pumpernickle Bagel.  This was a satisfying choice as it had plenty of cream cheese, smoked salmon, red onion and capers.  The bagel was also excellent.
Veggie Girl went for the Ham and Cheese Croissant.  The croissant was still soft despite being toasted, and the cheese seemed to be processed.  The flavours were on point, and this was a satisfying choice.

Although this choice came out of desperation it ended up being a good decision, and in my mind was a better option than waiting inline at the tourist traps down the street.

Summary:
+ Great alternative to the busier restaurants in the area
+ Delicious food
+ Interesting shop
- Not a lot of seating, better for takeout

Chef Hung at Aberdeen Mall

A perfect rainy day to enjoy noodle in soup.  Its hard to make a decision of where to eat in Richmond, but in this case it helps that this is one of the few restaurants that takes cards in Richmond.  Most of the food court upstairs is cash only, and we couldn't find a nearby ATM.

Menu had plenty of bubble tea, full leaf tea, shaved ice from Frappe, many side dish options. The restaurant has locations in Canada, US, Taiwan and China.  This one was located on the second floor of the Aberdeen Centre Mall, near Dinesty.

 Beef Brisket with 5 kind of vegetables noodles in soup. $8.45

- not enough veggies

- half the portions of meats

- broth was bland, but did exhibit mild sweetness

Braised Beef Shank noodle in soup $8.45

- beef was awesome full of flavour and tender

Summary:

+ Loved the texture of the chewy noodles

+ Good Service - Server was timely refilling tea 

+ Not cash only!

- Smaller portions that most noodle in soup places with higher price

- can get busy = line ups

Marmalade Cat Cafe

A long hungover drive to Reuben's old stomping grounds of Kelowna yielded good weather, beach visits, and senior citizens.  As this was one of Veggie Girl's first visits to the sunny okanagan, Reuben wanted to show off the beauty of the valley.  This started with a beach day in Peachland kayaking and swimming, followed the next morning by a bike ride in East Kelowna through the orchards and vineyards.

After working up an appetite on our orchard velo tour, we had a short time frame to eat before heading to the pool (lots of swimming in the Okanagan eh?)  With Reuben's keen sense of direction, and knowledge of his hometown he suggested the quaint Marmalade Cat Cafe, which has become a local landmark in the Pandosy neighbourhood.

Reuben, being powerless to the combination of chicken and cranberries went for the Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Sandwich (8.25).  This came on your choice of bread with sliced chicken, cranberry sauce, honey mustard, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers, red onion & cheddar cheese.  This also came with a mixed greens salad.  The sandwich was good, but not as flavourful as would've been expected.  Overall, it did hit the spot though, and was a decent value in an area not known for cheap food.

Veggie girl opted for the Grilled Pesto Chicken Panini with Cat Coleslaw (9.25).  This came with oven roasted chicken breast, artichokes, roasted red pepper, monterey jack cheese & pesto mayo.  This was tasty, and savoury, but the portion did not impress.  The value of the sandwich did not seem to extend to the panini. The slaw was simple, yet good, but again was not as much as we expected.  

Overall we would not rush to go back.  The Marmalade Cat Cafe is a really cool place in a nice area, but I feel the forte is on the pastries, snacks and drinks.  I feel that for a better meal I would venture elsewhere, perhaps Soy, or Hector's Casa nearby.  It should be mentioned that we were both very hungry when we arrived, and this may have influenced our opinions of the cafe.

Summary:
+ Patio is perfect in the Okanagan Summers 
+ Good for a light meal
+ Cozy, and good ambience

- Small portions
- Food was basic, and seemed like a side show