Pike Place Chowder

Nothing beats a little sisterly love in my favourite city, Seattle. I was down in Seattle with Micheal and my best friend a little while ago as a farewell to summer. We went to walk around Pacific Mall, where my all time favorite department store is located. After shopping we went upstairs hoping we can get a light snack. Our trio came across a quaint little area called the Pike Place Chowder, it looked like they had the light snack we were looking for.

Pike Place Chowder

Michael got a chowder combo that came with a sandwich and a drink. Where my best friend shared a fish taco with nachos and pinco de gallo on the side. I had a few sips of Michael's chowder and we both really enjoyed it. Michael said that the next time we came back to Seattle, he would want to have a full on meal from the place.

Michael and I ended up coming back to the Pike Place Chowder a month later and we went to the actual chowder located at the famous Pike Place Market at 1530 Post Alley. It was a little confusing for us to find the place, we made a little walk in to the market before stumbling across the chowder place.

Just a place to grab a quick bite

Michael and I wouldn't call it an actual restaurant, it seemed like it was more of just a casual little place where people would get their food and go. We would line up and choose what kind of chowder we wanted and if you wanted a sandwich they would make it for you and it was pretty quick. No actual restaurant service we'd say.

Our chowders and the dungeness crab roll

Michael and I ordered combo #2 for $12.95 each, but we up-sized our chowder to large for $2 more.
Our combo consisted of a dungeness crab roll and a bottomless fountain drink. I got the salmon chowder and Michael got the seafood bisque. At first we were both scratching our heads which was who's soup because they both looked the same.

A salmon chowder consisted of salmon, capers, and cream cheese. But I didn't spot on any capers in there what did I see in my chowder was a lot of seafood bisque flavors. But to be honest I think the man who scooped our soup didn't hear us properly and gave us two seafood bisque instead. A seafood bisque contained pacific cod, salmon, shrimp, crab, with tomatoes, and basil. Even though it wasn't the chowder that I ordered, I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I quite liked my chowder, and even though there were a lot of heavy ingredients, it tasted light still with the creamy element in there. I thought there could've been more punch though because there weren't a lot of strong flavours that jumped out.

Michael had been waiting a while to come back ever since he tried the chowder the first time. What he likes to do is take dungeness crab meat from the crab roll sandwich into the chowder to add even more thickness to the chowder. I think he preferred the New England clam chowder that he ordered last time more than the seafood bisque. But he still thought every slurp was delicious and was really happy to find out that they sell chowder by take-home buckets as well. Unfortunately, we didn't have a cooler in the car this time to get it home.

Overflowing with crab meat

I would say that I enjoyed my crab roll much more, the crab tasted very fresh and chopped celery that gave it a kick of flavor. Of course all crabs needs a little citrus action somewhere in there. There was also a hint of lemon juice in there to emphasize the crabs fresh taste. Michael ordered this sandwich last time as well. He thinks the best part is they put loads of fresh crab on top of the roll, just piles and piles overflowing from the top. He also agrees the chopped celery was perfect with the crab, adds that extra bit of crunch and volume to the crab.

I would say Michael and I had enjoyed our time at the chowder place it was a casual and relaxing environment to be. Before we left I dropped in $3 in the tip jar and returned to my seat. Michael and I heard the man behind the counter say "wow three whole dollars!" in a sarcastic manner. Michael and I were quite uncomfortable with that comment that he made as we were sitting only a metre away from the counter. I felt our dining experience went about twenty five steps backwards and left a really sour taste in my mouth after what he said.

As I said in the beginning, there was no actual traditional restaurant, we didn't get a server that came to us and asked how our food was or asked if we wanted water. It's strictly a casual hang out spot where people sit and eat and then go. Our bill came out to be about $30 and I'd say $3 is pretty generous for us to give them as they didn't technically "serve" us. Also I felt it was extremely rude and disregarding to the customer for the man to say that in front of us. I don't know whether I'd go back to Pike Place Chowder again, and if I do I don't think I'd go any time soon.


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Meat and Bread

Michael had some errands to run around the Downtown area and got a little hungry. So he suggested we should go to Meat and Bread for a quick bite to eat. I was actually really surprised that Michael had come with that suggestion.

We had visited Meat and Bread a few years ago, and at the time we were quite disappointed with the sandwich joint, particularly Michael because we arrived to find out they'd run out of their signature dish. For myself I just got the grilled cheese, which was pretty mediocre. Ever since that day we had never been back until now..

Our sandwiches being made

It was such a hot day in Vancouver and it was brutal following Michael around in the heat. Since we were around the Gastown we were pretty close to one of the Meat and Bread locations at 370 Cambie Street in Vancouver. They have done pretty well over the years and have expanded to another location on Pender as well. Good thing there wasn't much people at the time, I was so hot I just wanted to sit down and enjoy a nice bottle of soda.

Inside the restaurant

Meat and Bread is laid out very simply. You order in the front and watch the sandwich team compose their works of art. We slide down to the end of the counter to pay after our order and our sandwich is at the end waiting for us. Just like a cafeteria. Up in the walls there are taxidermist-like animals hung up. Not my cup of tea but that's okay. Their theme is like modern day hip Brooklyn type of deli meets vintage butcher shop. There are pictures of cows lines drawn all over explaining the good cuts of the animal. Also not my cup of tea, but I try to go along with the theme.

Porchetta sandwich

Michael finally got his long awaited Porchetta sandwich ($8), first thing he said was when he took a bite was "delicious." There were bits of crispy pork skin and fat tucked into the buttery texture of the pork roast. It was literally one of the best sandwiches he's ever had. He thought each bite was super savoury, and even though it seemed like such a simple sandwich there was so much flavour. His enjoyment got me wondering how delicious it was and had to try it myself. I thought the meat was very soft and full of natural flavors that didn't take over one another.

Roasted chicken sandwich

For myself I got the roasted chicken ($9), it was such a pleasant sandwich. It was made out to be like a chicken ceasar sandwich but was much more tastefully done and had much more class. The chicken was roasted to perfection soft and tender. At first I thought there was a garlic taste somewhere in there, but it was actually capers.

It added a garlicy and salty taste to the sandwich. It was such a nice balance to the natural flavours and there was a light dressing to accompany the lettuce and the chicken as well. I liked that the dressing wasn't heavy and didn't have a overly strong taste that disrupted the garlic aroma of the capers. There were also croutons that came along in the sandwich to give it a more "ceasar" feel. I actually despise croutons because of the overly crunchiness, but the Meat and Bread version was soft and easy to chew but not in a stale kind of way. Fantastic.

Every sandwich that is served also comes a side of their mustard. Oh my gosh is it ever delicious! It doesn't matter what sandwich you order the mustard was absolutely yum together. It just adds an extra shot of tang in there.

I believe their menu does change day to day except for their porchetta. I am keen on returning to taste more of their sandwiches. Perhaps on a cold winter day, I can get myself a nice cup of tomato soup.


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Memphis Blues

Howdy blues brothers and sisters, it's been awhile since Michael and I have gone out to dine because we feel that our restaurant ideas are becoming  real stale lately. We past by Memphis Blues on the busy streets of Granville and Broadway. I have heard of this place once from a gal pal of mine, they claim they have gotten a lot of recognition for their meaty goodness.

Memphis Blues is located at 1465 West Broadway in Vancouver. When we walked in there was a strong smell of barbecue sauce, I think that would be a good thing since Im sure down south people really love their barbecue ribs. There was a lot of blues music type of theme happening in the restaurant, a lot of Southern pride thats for sure. Michael and I was really confused when we were ready to order, it turns out that we had to walk up to the counter to order and pay and someone will bring our food to the table afterwards.
 

BBQ Pit Wings

I wasn't sure I think maybe because everything was just smoked or barbecued. I think Michael was a little torn with choices as well. He started off with the BBQ Pit wings ($8.50) , which I also munched from of course. We both agree that the chicken wings were fried too long, leaving little amounts of juice in the chicken, but the the bright side was that the seasoning for the wings were pretty nice.  It had a herby, salty, and sugary sweetness which I thought it was unique taste to fried wings.

Oyster Po'Boy with fries

 I have been craving for an oyster burger so I decided to get the oyster po'boy ($9.95), it was suppose to be served with beans and coleslaw, but I'm not a beans kind of gal, so I substituted for fries instead. My thoughts on the po'boy is pretty mixed. I think the cook didn't go far enough with pimping out the sandwich with a lot of rowdy ingredients in there because the main focus is the oyster. So it was just tomatoes and lettuce and I believe some sort of ranch dressing sauce. My first few bites in to the oyster I thought, hey this sandwich isn't all that bad, the oyster was lightly battered and fried and the bun was soft. But when I got to the core of the oyster,  it was too much oyster flavour  for me to handle, lets just say I can still taste the sea. It was a little too much. My fries, on the other hand, was probably the best highlight of my dish. It was seasoned nicely exactly how the fried chicken were but towards the I think the seasoning got to heavy with heat that my lips were going to burn off. But other than that very strong flavours!

Rib Ends Sandwich with salad

Michael on the hand got the rib ends sandwich with greens ($9.95). He substituted his side for a salad which I also got to taste, it was accompanied with a vinaigrette, I for one love my vinegar, for those who don't me I LOVE vinegar, but this vinaigrette was too strong for me. I just cringed when I tried and I got that unappealing scratchy feeling on my teeth. Yikes! Michael thought his sandwich was a little too dry as well. He thought the BBQ flavour was overpowering and he finished his coke and another glass of water before he was halfway done his sandwich.

On an unrelated note, Michael and I think Memphis Blues need a better ventilation system in the restaurant. It got so smokey in there I felt like I couldn't breath. We left the restaurant with that unappealing smokey after smell of the restaurant on our clothes. Both Michael and I are pretty sure we won't be returning to Memphis Blues anytime soon, there is nothing too special to their menu and we're not sure where all its recognition comes from. 


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Miss Delta

Howdy partners! Since we don't get much southern love in Vancouver, I like to try as much of it as possible in Portland.

Miss Delta restaurant

Miss Delta says that they make everything from scratch and the four of us that night were all so excited to try their food. The restaurant is located at 3950 North Mississippi Ave. in Portland. The area around the restaurant seemed very adorable and had a lot of fun restaurants around the place as well. Miss Delta is a decent size with about 10 tables or more. It had old black and white pictures that showed the restaurant's past as a butcher's shop. Modernized, the restaurant was rather hipster-esque with its adorable brick walls.

My fried chicken dish

When enjoying southern food I feel I must have fried chicken. I was lucky to be able to choose two sides with my combo dish ($14), and I chose mac and cheese and coleslaw. The portion of my dinner wasn't big as Screen Door and I would have to say Miss Delta isn't as tasty as the other restaurant. The chicken was too fried, the layers of the fried chicken were very thick. When I use my knife to cut the chicken it was just all crispiness and it wasn't as meaty as I would've liked inside. I thought the meat available was moist, however. The mac and cheese was simple and I was very happy with it. I could tell it was home made, it was cheesy and surprisingly didn't feel heavy. I felt that the coleslaw was tasty as well, the dressing was creamy like a traditional coleslaw should be like and had a light horseradish taste to it as well.

Steak of the day

Michael had the steak ($16) which was no surprise at all, there are daily cuts and Mondays was sliced flank steak. It was served with blue cheese butter on top, he got mashers on the side with greens with apple vinaigrette dressed on top. He wished there was more greens but the steak was absolutely so good. He said it was tender and tasted delicious with the butter on top. It was served at a decent portion, the outside of the meat was darkened just enough and the inside was slightly pink. The mashers tasted like any other mashed potatoes with gravy, except there was a slight peppery seasoning in there with a little heat. We thought it was a unique little surprise.

Pulled pork sandwich

My best friend has always wanted to eat some good southern food. She chose the pulled pork sandwich from the Monday special ($8). She thought the pork wasn't pulled enough because there were some pork bits that were a little too big. The barbeque sauce that was dressed on the pork was delicious but a little more on the spicy side. She didn't mind it though. This was definitely a messy dinner for her. She felt that her sandwich bread should have been more enclosed, like a hot dog bun. She said the bun was a bit rough, it scratched the roof of her mouth, but towards the middle of her sandwich the bun didn't seem to be that bad after all. She also got the mashers on the side for a small extra fee ($3 cup).

Mac and cheese with sausages

Last but not least, it was her boyfriend's first time in Portland eating southern food. He had the Trashy Mac which was also the Monday special ($8). It was the traditional mac and cheese served with ambrose sausages. He thought there was a lot of strong flavours to the sausage which was particularly memorable. He also said the mac and cheese had a lot of creamy texture and it beats instant mac and cheese out of a box any day.

We'll be back, Miss Delta

I thought Miss Delta was a fun place to go with all my friends and I am eager to come back to try other southern dishes since I felt that the fried chicken was mediocre. See ya later.

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Nooch

Nooch, we finally meet you. Michael and I found about this place from the Tourism Richmond blogger awhile ago and for the longest time we've wanted to try Nooch. But I guess they're only open for lunch hours since it was always closed when we came by. We nearly gave up.

Instead, we purposefully went out early to see Nooch, located at 6900 No. 3 road right across from Richmond City Hall, to find out what all the fuss is about. Nooch seemed more like it was a little cafe than a restaurant, offering soups, sandwiches, salads and a small selections of breakfast. Feels like a perfect summer place to hang out with your friends with its bright windows and simple paintings hung here around the eatery.

When Michael and I sat down, our waitress explained to us that Nooch offers fresh and local ingredients, but they ran out of a lot of supplies just before the long weekend. The menu was very limited. Michael and I was a little disappointed because it felt like there was nothing to choose from. We both got the Soup and Panini Combination ($10), with the Caribbean Yellow Lentils soup of the day. Michael got the Ham 'N' Swiss panini, served with thin sliced ham, lemon aioli and swiss cheese.

Pesto turkey sandwich with soup

For myself, I wanted to get the spaghetti bolognaise with parmesan but no surprise, they weren't serving it. So I went with Michael's choice, the Soup and Panini combination. I got the Pesto Turkey which was served with mozzarella, and because they didn't have spinach that day, they substituted for lettuce instead.  I thought the panini was light, it wasn't filling for a hot summer day. The mozzarella wasn't overwhelming, and was just enough with the ooey gooeniess. The Turkey was thinly sliced and served nice and warm. I wouldn't say that the pesto was as flavourful as I wanted to be though.

I thought the soup wasn't too heavy and had all the natural flavors happening from the corn and lentils. But it was a little too natural and bland, so I loaded up with the salt and pepper. Michael thought the soup had a delicious blend of flavours even though it was just vegetables in the bowl.

Ham 'N' Swiss sandwich combo

Michael and I both agree that we were disappointed with Nooch, we waited for all this time to go and the menu was just not up to par when we finally got there. The menu also doesn't call out for me to return for as well. Farewell Nooch. 

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Burgoo Bistro

For the longest time Michael and I thought Burgoo was a hipster burger joint, but we were really wrong. I really considered going to Burgoo after an art buddy of mine had recommended the place to me since she told me she works there. Why not.

We began at the Burgoo on the Main Street location, but it was such a long wait and I was super duper hungry. So Michael decided to search for their other location at 4434 W. 10th in Vancouver. It was smaller and quieter inside, but the ambiance was so cozy with their fireplace and wooden walls. It was like going to grandmas house for dinner, and a hip grandma at that too. The pleasant smell of food when we walked inside was enough to make us hungry, very inviting and not overwhelming at all.

The restaurant has a small bar section too

I discovered that Burgoo was voted "the best place to hang out on a rainy day" by the Georgia Straight, and I agree since Burgoo is known for the bowls of soup, all you want to do is snuggle up to  nice hot soup on a rainy cold Vancouver day. Michael also thought their menu was interesting, it notes exactly which country every dish originates from.

Crab croquette

For starters, Michael and I shared the crab croquette ($8), originating from France. It's similar to a crab cake - a clump of fried goodness, filled with crab, cheese, potato bits and served with a tomato jam. Michael thought the croquette was the best part of the meal. Not only was it a good price for what was served to us, there was a generous amount of moist crab and he really liked the dipping sauce. I have to agree with him, it was very juicy and flavourful, especially with the cheese inside. I thought the dipping sauce was mediocre though. It was a nice sauce but it was just a little too sweet that it over powered the nice flavours the crab and cheese had to offer together. Why hide their natural flavours?

Dos Diablos

For entrees, I really had a hard time deciding what I wanted: sandwiches, soups, salads? Decisions, decisions, decisions! I went with the soup and sandwich ($15) and contemplated between the vegetarian - a sandwich with hummus, bell peppers, cucumbers, feta, artichoke and a vinaigrette dressing - or my other choice, the Dos Diablos, two slices of bread with melted spicy cheddar, chorizo sausage, and roasted bell peppers. Since Michael and I are going away together soon for somewhere with a decent beach, I have been really watching with what I eat. But faced with my weakness and kryptonite, ooey gooey cheese, I decided to go with the Dos Diablos. I loved that ooey gooey goodness and the crunchiness from the grilled sandwich was a nice bonus. I guess my diet will start tomorrow.

Tomato soup

I paired my sandwich with the tomato soup, my favourite. Tomatoes, garlic and a drizzle of olive oil, it was so rich in flavour and I could clearly taste the tanginess from the tomato. It wasn't too sour either, spot on.

Beef bouguignon

Michael got the classic French dish, the beef bourguignon ($18), when Michael told me he was going to order that,  for some reason I thought of Julia Child. Michael thought there was lots of meat on his plate and the beef was easy to chew. The sauce was nice and wasn't overwhelming. But I thought the mashed potatoes was a little underdone.

Strawberry lemonade

To wash everything down Michael had the Burgoo Brew ($5) and I had the strawberry lemonade ($3).

Yet another clever way to present the bill :)

The portions at Burgoo was so big that we weren't able to finish. Michael and I can't wait to come back to Burgoo and try the other selections on the menu. Everything sounds so good, we just want a taste of everything. Another thing I like about Burgoo is that after chatting with our waitress, I learned that Burgoo offers to a wide range of eaters, they offer gluten free, vegan, and vegetarians. How thoughtful.


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