The Eatery

The Eatery is probably one of the most fun places to get sushi that I know of in Vancouver. I found this little sushi joint about two years when some of my classmates invited me out for dinner. I thought the place was very wild and funky. Something I don't often see at a typical sushi place.

The second time I visited The Eatery was not too long ago with some co-workers, I had ordered the avocado crunch and I was just obsessed and I asked Michael to come with me for a second round of that decadent little roll.

Funky.

The Eatery at 3431 West Broadway is funky. There are lava lamps above the bar area and there are almost life sized super hero figures hanging on the wall. There's also a DJ spinning in the corner. Add in quirky little quotes posted throughout the restaurant and on the menu and you have a hell of an unusual dining experience. But we're here for the food, and we didn't leave disappointed.

Michael and I aren't great believers in fusion food but the Eatery is somewhere that has mastered fusion sushi and transformed it in to something fun. They've really done their research on how to do "fusion" properly, I don't see that too often.

The owners have a sense of humour :)

First thing first. Get a reservation in advance. They tend to get you to play the waiting game and it's not fun. The restaurant is not too big and you can see people eating right in front of you while you wait and starve. You have been warned.

Another factor is I don't feel that The Eatery is somewhere I'd go to eat and get really good service. I feel that from my experiences I felt a lot of the servers were a little rude and took very little in regards of the diners needs. But oh well, the place makes pretty good food, what more could I ask for. 

Since it was Michael's first time at the place he let me take control of ordering the rolls. Oh man, I love ordering their rolls because of their funny names. Sometimes I try not to get too carried away and order too much. Also when you let me take control of rolls, you will begin to nice a pattern.

Our plethora of rolls

Of course I ordered the avocado crunch ($5.50) which is avocado and cream cheese fried in to a tempura batter. I loved that there was crunch from the tempura and the mild creaminess of the avocado that's molded in to one ball. But then there is the slight cream cheese that hits you unexpectedly with a tang.  Michael thought it was extremely creamy, almost like a cream puff with a marshmallow filling. He thought there was a little sweetness in there too that the avocado gives you when you bite in to it.

Our second roll was the erotica roll ($6.95) which was avocado, salmon, tuna with roe, with crab, cucumber, and mayo. Michael both agree that it tasted very much like a California roll. I thought the crab's taste over powered a lot of the other mild ingredients and I could only taste the crab. Which I think that's what's giving the California roll type of feel.  Michael feels there was a good amount of the fish and roe which also tasted very fresh. The salmon tasted similar to the tuna one but there wasn't a lot of that mayo taste coming through.

Our last and final roll was the Viva Las Vegas ($7.95) which the menu claimed that this is what killed Elvis! I thought it was very delicious,  the roll is decked with crab, eel, avocado, cream cheese, and spicy mayo. I was looking for something with packed a lot of heat. The Vegas one had a fair amount of heat but I wish there was more. Maybe I would have gotten the heat if I ordered the X - rated roll. But overall I thought there wasa. Lot of elements to the Vegas. There was eel and there was the crab which I kind of thought it was a little lost in there because maybe there was also the cream cheese and the spicy mayo.  Michael thought the same that we're a lot of components in there and he referenced it to a chowder soup. Since there was a lot of ingredients happening its hard to differentiate them apart. He could taste the crab and the eel, and the avocado came throughout it mixed in with all the other ingredients in there eventually. 

Did you notice the pattern? All three rolls that I ordered contained avocado, well I just love my avocado!

Salmon tar tar

Another dish we ordered was the smoked salmon tar tar ($9.50) it had three types of salmon with black sesame, chives, and creme fraiche. There were wonton chips on the side made out like nachos which we thought was pretty cool, Michael thought it added a real nice touch.  I couldn't really make out the creme fraiche but I could definitly taste the smokiness. Everything just molded together ever so nicely. The salmon was just to die for, it was so good it was like my whole body just melted. There was also a little green salad on the side which Michael capped on to his salmon with the wonton chips. He thought it added an extra freshness to the mushiness of the salmon. I didn't really bother too much with the greens because it looked really dry that made it look not too appetizing.

Cheap wings

We also ordered half a dozen of wings ($0.35 each) and we got the salt and pepper flavor one. We didn't really have much of an opinion on those wings. We felt that there wasn't anything special to them, Michael purely got them was because they were so cheap. It was practically a steal.

Yaki-tori

We then got the yaki-tori ($5.25) which was three chicken skewers with a honey soy sauce. Michael loves anything that's served on a stick. I'm not sure why but I wasn't surprised that he wanted to order that. We both agree that the chicken skewer tasted extremely tender just fell off the stick practically. Michael thought the teriyaki sauce was very tastefully done, like the ones you would get at a fancy Japanese restaurant. Michael thought it was salty too, a little more salty than sweet but he ended up liking it anyway. I felt it a little too salty. 

Michael and I left the restaurant feeling super stuffed. We were about to fall in to a deep food coma. The eatery is somewhere that I would recommend if they are looking for somewhere to fun to eat at. The Eatery definitely has great energy and great food. It such a delight always just walking in to the restaurant because of their wild decor. 

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Little Bird Bistro

The leaves have turned golden brown and fallen off the trees, the wind blowing, and rainy days. Fall is definitely here. So what do Michael and I do? Run away to Portland again. Visiting the Oregon city has become something Michael and I really enjoy, a yearly routine for us. One of the biggest reasons is the great dining in Portland.

When we were looking for somewhere to eat dinner, everything we came across sounded so wonderful but unfortunately we arrived in to Portland late, and we could only dine out for only one of the nights we were there.

Because of our minor delay we got up bright and early to make up for the lost time in Portland. I did my usual stops in downtown, and of course Michael sat in his boyfriend chairs and waited for me. While he sat there patiently he did some research on where we could dine at. Michael has always had a fascination with birds since he was a child and when we came across Little Bird Bistro he got pretty excited. Since the bird bistro served French cuisine, he thought this place had something to offer for the both of us.

Luckily, we got a table after a short wait

When the evening approached us we were starting to get second thoughts of the place. What if there's a lot of people? Was it too late to make a reservation? Michael went back to the drawing board but we still went back to the bird. We made our way down to the restaurant on that cold night, it was a long walk from our hotel but we finally made it to the restaurant. Good thing there wasn't much of a wait.

Little Bird Bistro is a two story restaurant. I felt that it looked really cozy and the restaurant reminded me of cafes in southern France. There were blackboards up above in the wall that showed the specials and a big window where diners could watch the city goers walk by.

Gnocchi

 
Michael and I were seated on the main floor and our tables were pretty tucked in there side by side with other diners. I got hungry during my shopping day so I got tempted by a pretzel from the mall, but Michael suggested that we would get an appetizer to share. Michael knew that I love gnocchis  and decided to order the goat cheese gnocchi with ox tail, served with caramelized orange jus and peppers ($14). Yummy!

Biting into the gnocchi was like chewing in to lumps of clouds. There were such strong aromatic flavours from the ox tail with a lighter balance from the jus. I didn't try any of the ox tail myself but eating just the gnocchi's were just amazing. I loved that there was sprinkles of goat cheese to the dish, which added a nuttiness to the light flavours. Michael said that the ox tail was like melt in your mouth good. There such natural flavours in the ox tail with a touch of light seasoning.

Chicken fried trout

Michael was feeling a little ill that day and wanted to eat something light and easy on his stomach. He wanted to get the chicken fried trout with herbs, pickled vegetables, gribiche, and radishes ($22), but I thought that sounded pretty delicious and I wanted to eat that. Michael was nice enough to let me order it and he would order something else. Unfortunately, the chicken fried trout was completely different from what I thought it would be. I thought the dish was really heavy because the trout was fried, and now come to think of it the title makes sense now. There was a creaminess present from the gribiche that tamed a little bit of the friedness. I really liked that there was sprigs of dill and different herbs on the plate. Not only did it make the dish have an additional flavour but it also added interesting presentation. It was a bonus that beneath the batter the fish was very soft, smooth and silky. I decided it was a bad idea to have the mall pretzel in the end, I regretfully didn't finish the fish.

Pork pot au feu

Michael, meanwhile, got the light dish he was looking for. He ordered the pork pot au feu, which a stew with bone marrow and potatoes on a broth ($28). Michael just gobbled that sucker up because it was soupy, non greasy and not fried. Exactly the kind of fancy for-sick-people dinner he was looking for. He has never had bone marrow before so it was definitely an adventure for him. He was the pork itself was very soft another melt and he loved dipping the morsels in the broth and marrow. 

Even though I was really full from my fried trout I kept stealing Michael's potatoes. They were so tasty. I love that the seasoning on the potatoes wasn't overpowering and it was just prepared very simply. Michael's broth added the perfect amount of flavour. So very tasty.

Macaroons

Even though I didn't get the dish that I had anticipated on, I would be more that happy to return to the bird bistro to try other dishes off their menu. The kitchen definitely knows how to cook and I am super eager to return to try their other dishes. The server also gave us small macaroons with the bill, which was a nice touch.

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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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