Stackhouse Burger Bar

After spending a week out of town, it was nice to spend the day with Michael in Downtown Vancouver. We had a marvellous lunch and went on a brief shopping venture afterwards. I've passed by Stackhouse on my way to downtown many times, but never got the chance to stop and check it out.

We read the menu online and it looked like they serve their burgers in a chic way, and Michael got really excited after he read that they served deep fried ice cream. This trendy burger bar is located at the tip of party strip in downtown Vancouver on 1224 Granville St.

Bright walls bring out the natural lighting

Stackhouse looked like it belonged somewhere in Soho in New York. Similar to another Vancouver burger joint, this place had a look of modernness and hip feel to it, like a trendy loft warehouse type of place in NYC, decorated with funky pictures and decorations around the place. I would say they have about 15 tables or so, but the restaurant was pretty quiet when we got there.

Since getting off the plane earlier in the day I was pretty hungry, and I would say Michael was hungry as well, since he's always hungry. Michael and I were torn with so many options, and all their burger sounded so delicious. I was torn between ahi tuna burger, with avocado, miso aioli, and served on a brioche bun.

Chicken burger

But I changed my mind and went with the chicken burger ($15), free range meat served with camembert cheese, truffle aioli, butter lettuce and squished between brioche bun halves. The truffle aioli was perfect. Though it sounds creamy, the burger tasted really refreshing, and the tomatoes and butter lettuce taste really fresh and did overlap with the creaminess from the aioli and cheese. I think there was a pinch of sea salt added too, which provided an extra taste I didn't expect. The taste just came out time to time after a bite. I loved that my burger was served with Camembert cheese instead of regular cheese. My best friend first introcued me in to Camembert cheese awhile ago when we were in Paris together, so now whenever I eat Camembert I always think of her. Also I'd like to add the chicken was ever so juicy.

Stackhouse (prime rib) burger

 
Michael was torn with a decision, the Kobe burger or the Stackhouse Burger? He eventually went for the Stackhouse, a tasty little devil was served with 6.5 ounces of prime rib patty with panchetta, portabellini, Guinness cheddar, with chipotle aioli and butter lettuce, on a brioche bun. Michael especially liked how  a large mushroom was used instead of the usual smaller scatter. He thought the burger was really tasty but thought it was weird the standard pickle was missing.

A proper-sized side of tasty fries

Michael and I were both amazed at how juicy these burgers were, when we took our fist bites, a splash of juice kept running down to our plates. We both got fries on the side, and these fries tasted so fresh, all crispy on the outside fluffy in the inside. In the end we were so full we couldn't bare to think of that deep fried ice cream. Michael was a little disappointed though, but we will come back next time for sure.

I can't wait to come back with Michael already. And also on a side note, I walked a by a soon-to-open Smokies Poutinerie when we walked to some stores on the other end of Granville Street. We must go and try it when it opens, allez! allez!

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Treat Dessert House

Life is too short to not eat dessert, so why not spend a fine Thursday night and devour some dessert. We searched high and low for a decent dessert place in Richmond that was opened late. Michael and his sister Sharon came across Treat Dessert located at 8111 Anderson Rd. When we arrived, we were greeted by surprisingly a security guard.

When we walked in I felt it smelled like a sushi restaurant. Well I can't complain there, I love sushi. From the looks of the place, it seemed like a big restaurant but it a big part of the place was cut off. I wonder what's on the other side?

Iced mocha

Their menu is self explanatory, cakes, homemade gelato, cookies, a small selection of appetizers like fries and dumplings, and a drinks menu, with milkshakes, tea and coffees. Michael and I chose to have the iced mocha ($3.96). The iced mocha was thicker then I thought would be and was rather too sweet. Michael thought his mocha wasn't sweet and liked the thick texture.

Tiramisu

For dessert, Michael got his favourite, the Tiramisu ($5.26) served in a glass. It looked like a coffee. He thought it was creamy and enjoyed the hard crust layer at the bottom and the biscuit on top. He also liked the coffee powder sprinkled on top. I had a taste, but Tiramisu isn't my favourite dessert. Michael thought his Tiramisu tasted really good and would give it a sold 8.5 out of 10. I feel like I've had better Tiramisu before. Sharon also agreed with me, there was a little too much cream and not enough biscuits in there.

As for myself, Sharon and I decided to share something together. We were uncertain what we wanted and took awhile to decide. Finally we decided to get the Green Tea Chiffon Cake ($5.26). From my previous experience with a Green Tea Chiffon Cake at Berry Good, where I thought the chiffon cake was too heavy. I thought the same order here was moist and had a good strong green tea taste. The cream was light and balanced out with the moist cake itself.
 

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Sharon thought the cake's cream had a good green tea taste. There was also red bean in the middle, but she wasn't sure if that was a good pairing for two. We had a fun night bonding with each other tonight and Michael thought the prices are pretty good for what they serve. But all three of us agree it's not a must return location.


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Bimini's

We dropped by Bimini's for a quick bite while running errands near this Kitsilano gem the other week. I've always wanted to try the place out ever since its reopening late last year.

That slick, bright atmosphere seems always present.

This modern-looking pub at 2010 W 4th Ave is actually decades old and known as Vancouver's first licenced neighbourhood watering hole. It was burned down in an accident a few years ago, just days before its grand-reopening. The story goes, workers were going through the final touches of some extensive renovations and had taken a quick break. Nobody noticed, but some of the brand new lighting was too close to a set of plastic construction drapes. The plastic caught fire, and a dream was nearly crushed.

More renovations ensued. I was told by its 2011 opening, the latest owner - the Donnelly Group - had spent about $3 million on the place. Its charms also stack to its expense. I didn't see any advertisements for it, but I was told an underground creek, still flowing, runs directly underneath the building and could threaten to collapse a weak foundation. Remedying that added to the cost.

A little bit about the restaurant

For our snack, Allison and I ordered a simple light lunch of Pub Burgers and Yam Fries. Though they were neatly presented, I ended up wishing I'd ordered the more adventurous options, such as the Grilled Flat Iron Steak Sandwich or the Oyama York Ham and Swiss Cheese "croque madame" Sandwich. Next time, perhaps.

Pub Sliders

The pub burgers were a delight. Grass fed chuck steak patties, butter lettuce, tomato, crispy pancetta, B.C. farmstead cheddar and caramelized onion all topped with mini buns. What's not to like? Even the pickles were delicious.

Yam Fries

The yam fries appeared to be seasoned with real salt from the sea, always a bonus to taste that good stuff. It came with a chipotle lime dip that wasn't too spicy but added a little bit of fire to the sweet potatoes. Some pubs tend to overcook their fries, but these were well-made, juicy and thick cut. The dish was also presented with style, giving Bimini's a very gastro-pub kind of feel.

Michael
Blog photographer

Portland Craft

You know when you're eating on Main Street when they play Postal Service music. Michael and I ate at Portland Craft at 3835 Main St., since we decided to put off a real trip to Oregon - we just had to go to Portland in a different way.

Organic beer

The restaurant has a Portland vibe, I am not sure how I could explain that but it certainly does a give a relaxed-pub kind of feeling. Their drinks is up on a wall that overlooks the restaurant and many of their beers are Oregon classics, I don't have much of a beer knowledge but I certainly think it was pretty cool. Michael got a pale ale, his favourite, and I got an organic beer. How healthy.

Portland Craft's drinks selection

Their menu really gave off the Oregon vibe, many of their selection reminded us of food carts, a Portland specialty, and served tasties like sugar dusted doughnuts. There were so many goodies on the menu, but in the end we decided to just order some appetizers to share together. That way, we get a taste of everything.

Salt n Pepper wings

We shared Salt n Pepper wings ($10) which was served with salt and pepper of course. But we really couldn't taste the pepper and the saltiness was really faint. The wings weren't greasy at all though, which was fabulous. And we got a Caribbean-inspired dipping sauce on the side, but it was so hot it I was reaching for the water the whole time. On the side it came with a slaw made of  carrots with habanero hot sauce. Such a delight to eat, crunchy from the carrots and refreshing from the sauce, making for a sweet and tangy flavour, what a delight to eat on a hot summer day.

House Frites

Next, I was dying to try the House Frites ($6) since it was fries seasoned with smoked paprika with a roasted garlic aioli on the side for dipping. Michaels thoughts were that it tasted a bit too herby. But I felt a little disappointed since I thought they were going to taste super-seasoned from the paprika, but found out that perhaps they could've used a dash more.

Sausage and green tomato pizza

Last, we shared the Daily Pizza ($9) there was a choice between meat or veggie, of course Michael chose meat. I really liked the pizza, the one thing I miss the most from Italy is pizza and I have been searching high and low for pizza that has been close enough to what I ate in Italy. Well let me say Portland Craft almost reached a full 10/10 for me. The pizza was nice and thin, served with sausage and green tomatoes. The sausages tasted really fresh there was a slight crunch noise when I bite in to it and the green tomatoes tasted really sweet. Just a little bit tomato sauce and thicker cheese would've made it perfect.


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