Les Faux Bourgeois

We finally made it to the French restaurant! Michael and I have been looking to try this place out for a few weeks now, but every time reservations were fully booked. I'll admit, I wasn't sure until I tried the food whether Les Faux Bourgeois was overrated. It wasn't.

Decor is nice, with a relaxing, dim atmosphere

FauxBo is on 663 E.15th avenue in Vancouver, right across the street from where Michael works. I felt so-so about coming to this restaurant, but I knew Michael was really excited about it since somebody had given a raving review of it at work. My mind was changed the moment I walked inside. There was a whiff of Paris scent, tough to explain, but it felt like I was going back to France. A quick look around show a small, but trendy restaurant, with a bar and rows of dining tables dimly lit by candles and soft tungsten ceiling lights. The decor featured black chalkboards scattered about, describing the specials of the day. Very cute.

The French onion soup

It reminded me of when I went to Paris for the first time, I was young and didn't appreciate the European culture like I do now. It was then that I had my first authentic French onion soup at a cafe near the Palais Royale. Tonight, we decided the Soupe à L'oignon Gratinée ($8) would be the perfect dish to start off. It arrived covered with cheese, the gruyère and mozzarella was just spot on. Pure ooey gooey goodness. But I'm sad to report the broth was just a little bland tasting. It was perfect otherwise.

Classic steak and fries

I had originally planned on ordering the Moules Marinière, mussles in white wine and frittes. The the La fausse niçoise, their take of the classic Niçoise salad, looked delightful. The Le Steak Frites ($19), a classic steak and fries, was what I finally settled on. Though I rarely eat beef, steak et frites is one of my favourite French dishes. The beef at Les Faux Bourgeois melted in my mouth, being so juicy and tender with the scallions and red wine sauce, which was beautifully paired with the steak. The fries were well seasoned and crisped to perfection, and arrived with aoli for dipping. How French!

Trout

Michael had the Truite meunière ($18), a Ruby trout with green beans, fingerling potatoes and lemon parsley sauce. Michael said the fish was very flavourful, especially complimenting the sauce, which tasted like a melange of ingredients. It was fresh and tasted refreshing too, improving the overall taste of the dish by vast measures. The dish also came with two fillets of trout, more than he had expected. Not to mention, the potatos and beans that came on the side played an integral part. Michael could tell that a lot of effort and thought was put in to making the veggies, despite it being just the side dish. Magnificent.

Overall, we really enjoyed coming here, I hope we'll be back. The price wasn't bad for the quality of food we got today, we could really tell the chefs are passionate for what they do and put in a lot of effort in to their work. Aside from the food, I was really curious to see if any of the staff members were French, but ended up being too scared to say anything. Maybe next time?

With appetizers, mains, and a beer and cocktail, the bill came $82 including tip. Bon Appétite.

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Hyde Restaurant

The wall pictures range from pasted clothes, guns and flowers, to funky clocks.

Straddle up your skinny jeans and American Apparel hoodie because we're going to Main St! 2960 Main St., Hyde Restaurant was where we ended up. We were looking for a cool burger joint and we stumbled across this restaurant, Michael has been before for a work event, but he didn't think much of it.

Pound of BBQ wings with ranch sauce

Hyde is a funky little restaurant with a paintings tacked throughout the walls and funky decorations behind the wall. The decor reminds me of Urban Outfitters, one of my favourite places to shop, and I think this is what it would look like if it was a restaurant. Michael and I shared the starter pound of wings with BBQ sauce and ranch dripping sauce for $9. I've had quite a few wings, and must admit, these were pretty good. Not only were they juicy - with lots of meat - the sauce just gave the right touch to it and the creamy ranch dipping was great. They weren't too dry either, but sure was a mess to eat!

The White Rabbit burger - rabbit not included

Hyde's burger selections allowed a choice of chicken, beef or veggie patty. I liked that they give you an option on what kind of patty you get, especially because they don't leave out non-meat eaters. Michael had The White Rabbit burger - no rabbits inside - for $12 which had bacon, cheddar, and BBQ sauce, encasing a delicious a beef patty, with fries on the side. Michael especially liked the homemade patty, describing it as a fall-apart goodness. It was exactly how he wanted it.

Tokyo Burger

As for myself I had Tokyo Burger for $11 with added cheese for $1. The Tokyo Burger was a concoction of shoe string yam tempura, wasabi mayo, and chopped nori. I asked for the chicken patty. I thought the burger itself was quite the mouthful, I really had to work my way into the goodness in the center, but ended up being a little disappointed because I couldn't taste the wasabi mayo nor the chopped nori. They were both clearly visible though. Aside from that, the chicken patty was also a little bland tasting, especially with so much happening inside the burger. When I finally got to the yam tempura, it was bliss. There was a nice crunch to it and the sweetness of the yam was nice, not to mention it's something different to find in a burger. I took the fries on the side, which I later regretted - I wanted the salad instead. We both thought the fries were okay but it wasn't as well seasoned as it looked. On the outside it looked strongly seasoned with salt and pepper, but once it reaches your taste buds, there was the shocking realization they were regular fries.

A cute way to present the rising price of food :)

One of the highlights of our experience was, surprisingly, the bill. It came to us in the cutest way, instead of coming out of an average black cheque booklet, it came in a tea cup and saucer! How creative and how cute! The total came to $42 including tip. I actually wouldn't mind going back there to give their other things a try on the menu, especially a poutine that was taken pass me in the restaurant and looked to die for. Also the pizzas and ahi tuna melt really caught my eye on the menu. I'll see you later Hyde.


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Jang Mo Jib

Our evening took us to a Korean restaurant instead of French, as had we originally planned, since it was fully booked. But it was Friday night, C'est Dommage.

So traditional Korean BBQ and hot pot it was! Jang Mo Jib, located at 8320 Alexandra Rd., in the heart of Richmond by the Landsdowne Mall.

I remember visiting this restaurant a few years ago with a friend. The decor and environment remained the way I had remembered it, the outside showing off an exaggerated Asian architectural feel, no mistaking this place for a western steakhouse.

The menu is what really surprises you. With so many choices, it's difficult choosing, one of my favorites is a seafood pancake with onions, and the rice noodles with a veggies and soy sauce. Yum, but they come in such heaping portions that I'd never be able to finish it.

Michael and I both ordered from the claystone hot pot menu, dishes served with a tofu stew and a soup mix with assorted veggies and proteins. A bowl of rice held in signature Korean metal bowls accompanies its arrival.

Kim Chee Soon Doo Boo - long name, many ingredients.

I had the Kim Chee Soon Doo Boo, a medley of soy bean paste, kimchi, radish, egg, beef and tofu paste. The dish was a delight. The tofu was extremely smooth and paired well with the mildly spicy broth - you get to choose mild, medium or hot. My mild broth was delicious, it wasn't spicy enough to overwhelm, but was enough to give a nice kick of heat. I mixed it with the rice and it was Korean heaven, the tofu and broth mixes with the rice to add moisture, definitely a dish I was happy to try. The added bits of kimchi also gave the dish a nice crunch to counter the softness of tofu.

Those are my chopsticks on the top right. Mmmm, potatos.

One of the things I look forward to most at a Korean restaurant is having the side dishes presented to you before the meal, especially the sweet marinated potatos. We received generous portions of the usual four side dishes, potatos, radish marinated in a hot sauce, kimichi, and a seaweed veggie mix.

Ssuk Uh Soon Doo Boo - assorted seafood stew

Michael had the Ssuk Uh Soon Doo Boo, a similar bowl in the tofu hotpot menu, with assorted seafood, onions, radish, tofu, and egg in the signature broth. He ordered it with the medium spicy option, but complained it wasn't spicy enough. He loved it though. His bowl had enough seafood to quench his appetite, so much he couldn't finish all his rice.

Tohng Gahl Bee - AAA beef short ribs

Usually I don't eat beef, but Michael really wanted me to have some - since we were at a Korean BBQ restaurant. We both shared the Tohng Gahl Bee for $24.95, AAA traditionally cooked Korean short rib marinated in BBQ sauce and cooked on charcoal. The beef was pretty good. It was juicy, tender, and melted apart when it was your mouth. The sauce made it taste even better, sweet but not overwhelming. Topped with the smokiness from the charcoal, it really hit the spot. It just went so well with everything.

The tableware shows the restaurant takes its authentic feel seriously.

I haven't been to many Korean restaurants I could say the same for the food, except one. One of my fondest memories was going to the famous K-Town in New York City, and they really knew how to make good food. But I think my experience tonight at Jang Mo Jib could sit right up there with New York.

In total the bill came to $56 with tip.

As for the earlier mentioned French restaurant, a little place near Fraser Street and Kingsway in Vancouver. I'm stoked for several reasons, first, my fabulous aunt had recommended this restaurant, and I trust her opinion in many things. Second, Michael has never been to Europe and I think he never understood why I have a love affair with Europe. Visiting this restaurant would be a good experience for him.

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Save On Meats

It's the second place we visited through learning about it on Mr. Guy Feieri's Diners, Drive In's, and Dives.

Save On Meats is located on 43 West Hastings, there's usually street parking available in the block around the store, and the entrance is easy to find by the a row of patterned lights in front of the restaurant. The walk to the restaurant was interesting too, passing through the Downtown Eastside, I now can say that I walked through the crowded streets of East Hastings.

The decor of Save On Meats looked like a diner from the 1950's with the bar stools lining up, I can just already picture young people wearing suspenders and high waist skirts sitting along the bar stools eating their ice cream sundaes and fountain drinks. I really had trouble  deciding what to get at the menu but I tried to get something out of the ordinary for me. I had the Bangers and Mash for $9, which was two sausages with mashed potatoes drenched in gravy. I loved the mashed potatoes it was nice and creamy, it went really well with the gravy. As for the sausages, I wasn't sure what kind of sausage it was but I think it could have been pork. The sausage was good, but towards the end I think I got kind of sick of the taste, I ended up not finishing my plate.

Michael got the Open Faced Roast Chicken Sandwich with french fries on the side for $8. Michael said it was very good but he felt that there should have been more chicken. The gravy was very delightful, the gravy was everywhere. As for the fries, I have to agree with Michael they were quite good, crunchy, well seasoned, and cooked to perfection. Having said all that, the food did seem a bit too homemade and simple. I'm not sure if I enjoyed the food as much as when we went to go visit Jethros, another Vancouver restaurant Guy Feier' visited. Michael also thought the food at Jethros seemed to be made with more passion.

The bill came to a total of $25 with two cokes plus tip. Although the menu looks tasty I don't think it is tasty enough for me to return to the restaurant. Also the fact that the location seemed out of the way where me and Michael usually go when we are in downtown.  Sorry Guy Feieri, we'll look forward to the next location.

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Diner No. 1

Its been awhile since me and Michael have dined out, I have so many places that I would like to go and I just don't know where to begin. So tonight we ended up going to  a little diner place in Steveston Village called Diner No.1 on 12251 No.1 Road. It use to be a little Italian place, but the new restaurant took over around October last year.

Salt & Pepper Wings - a bit dry

To start, the ambiance of Diner No.1 was really modern for a place that served comfort food. When you first walk in to the restaurant you see a bar that looked very slick. I loved the funky pictures that were hung around by each of the tables, it gave a little vintage and cozy vibe to the restaurant. For the longest time I was determined to get the Mac and Cheese at the place, the sound of Mac and Cheese just seem so wonderful, creamy cheese, crunchy bread crumbs, sounds delightful doesn't it?

A poutine in everything but name

But when I got to the restaurant Michael convinced me otherwise, he saw that there was a 3 for $10 deal called the This and That. They offered 14 different choices,  I saw the Disco Fries and I just couldn't resist, cheese fries and gravy, my inner Montrealian was just screaming "take it!" So I did, but really struggled with my two other choices so I randomly just chose something. Chicken Fingers, and Salt and Pepper chicken wings with blue cheese dipping sauce. The Disco Fries wasn't bad, you can't go wrong with cheese and gravy. I found the chicken wings and chicken fingers a little dry though. Michael also got the This and That deal - ordering the Salt and  Pepper Chicken Wings, Meaty Dry Ribs which we both thought was very dry, and the Mini Fish and Chips. He thought that one was the best.

Mini Fish & Chips

I am not sure if I liked the 3 for $10 deal, but I am pretty determined to return to finally give that Mac and Cheese a try. Michael agrees with me, he would go back to try their other food on their menu, I know he had a beef sandwich he had his eye on. With the two This and That deal, the bill came to $22 plus tip.


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