Blue Water Cafe

I procrastinated for way too long on this post. Blue Water Cafe became part of my top 10 after leaving the restaurant that night. What I remember liking most was the service. Once you have been seated at your table, they cater to your every need. Blue Water is a must-try in Yaletown, Vancouver.

Oysters are a must if they are are on the menu. We ordered 2 orders of the 6 featured oyster types: Beach Angel, Kusshi, Glacier, Reed Island, Satori, Sawmill Bay.

BC Tasting for 2 $16.50 per person. Dungeness crab salad, scallop ceviche, albacore tuna tartare, smoked sockeye salmon terrine. All amazingly prepared but my favourite was the salmon terrine. (Excuse my horrible camera skills, my screen was half broken that night)

Halibut and Prawns $30. This was a special for the week. What can I say, I have absolutely nothing bad to critique about this. You know they put a lot of tlc into preparing everything on the menu.

Qualicum Bay Scallops $33.50. Ill probably remember this for the rest of my blogging life. The best and biggest portion of scallops I have ever ordered. However, it comes with a wild rice griddle cake which I didn't really find appetizing.

Kalamansi Cheesecake $11. We were never into citrusy cheesecakes but I really wanted cheesecake that night. I ended up setting myself up for disappointment. Don't get me wrong this was amazing (if you like citrus flavour in your cheesecake).

Warm Dark Cuban Chocolate Cake $12.5. Can you really go wrong with a brandy truffle melted inside of a light, crispy cake? I think not.

This was NOT big enough to share.



Website: bluewatercafe.net
Address:
1095 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC

Society

I had heard so many bad reviews about this place but, as a food blogger, decided to try it out anyways. All my friends that have already been to Society told me that the place was nice, girly and loungy. This was true. They also told me that the food here sucks. Also true.

I called this a good start to a bad night.. Buffalo Jumbo Prawns. They have taken this off the menu.. too bad because they were very good and fresh! The chef probably doesn't like to have tasty things on the menu.

Hawaiian Pizza for one. I did not like this at all. I'd pick Pizza Hut over this any day. The dough was undercooked and burnt at the same time. The crust was dry and hard, and there wasn't enough sauce.

Spaghetti and Kobe Meatballs. I don't understand how Italian Kitchen and Society are the both part of Glowbal, but can have completely opposite Kobe meatballs. How hard is it to make Kobe meatballs!? Let me tell you how these tasted: like over processed ground beef. The pasta was well over done, the goat cheese was watery and the bread was inedible.

All in all, this is more of a drinking after a real dinner place, NOT a place to have a good meal. I do not recommend Society for their food what so ever. However, I am willing to give it another shot so look out for my second post on this restaurant


Address:
1257 Hamilton Street
Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.glowbalgroup.com/society

Ouisi Bistro: First Time Trying Gator Meat!

"The Ouisi Bistro is a New Orleans style restaurant, which incorporates two styles of cooking; Creole and Cajun."

First of all, excuse the horrible photography in this one. It was extremely dark and I had to use the flash on my iPhone. I should really invest in a real camera but I like having all my pictures in one place! My boyfriend brought me here, just for the gator meat. He had been here once and loved it, so we made our way down to Granville Street. I wish it wasn't so dark because I couldn't get a good picture of the restaurant. My first impression was that it felt very welcoming and homey, a place you can go to, grab a beer and relax with your buddies for the night. Somewhere you can find real soul food. It is a bistro, but they serve brunch (weekends), lunch and dinner. There are so many other restaurants in this area that I would like to try to look out for those posts soon.

Gator Bites $14.50. This was the only thing on our minds as we sat down. We ordered this before we even got our water, then looked at the menu for more. It came out minutes later and I almost forgot to take the picture. As you can tell, it looks delicious and nothing like alligator meat at all. I really cannot describe the texture of alligator meat, it is something else. My first thought, was that it tastes something between chicken and fish, a cod perhaps. Anyway, it was good, and what made this even better was how amazing they seasoned this dish. You've really got to try it for yourself, I am NOT joking.

Cajun Style Crab Cakes $11. Although this was seasoned well, with many Cajun flavours, I thought it was very very doughy and did not have anywhere near enough crab. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want CRAB in my CRAB CAKES!

Fresh P.E.I. Mussels Lafayette $15. Aside from that amazing plate of Gator Bites, this was my favorite. I devoured these mussels. The white wine and cream was amazing, and the mussels were very large.

The Dinner Belle $20. This was my least favorite, as you can probably tell already. The description the the menu, read "crab stuffed chicken breasts with a citrus-beurre blanc and roasted new potatoes" and now, thinking back when eating this, all I remember was the potatoes, NOT the crab. Once again, crab from the menu disappoints and I am left with a crabless chicken and potatoes. The potatoes were awesome, by the way. Nicely cooked and spiced. I thought their chicken tasted very frozen as if it was one of those from a frozen dinner box you buy at the grocery store. At least it wasn't dry. At this point, I am really appreciating the makers of this menu. I'm realizing that everything I have ordered did not lack in flavor, and they did not have to be spicy to do so!

Sauteed Gulf Prawns $18. I don't have much to say about this order, other than the "prawns" were tiny, and the dish was a little boring in appearance. Otherwise, they tasted very good.

Before I get to dessert, I want to mention their delicious corn bread, which I forgot to take a photo of. I never knew how much I love corn bread until I tried their home made ones. It comes, complimentary with your dinner and oh, is it good. I'll be taking some home next time.

Blueberry Cheesecake. I'd have to say this is one of the BEST cheesecakes I have ever consumed in my life. They have a special every day, with a different fruit, baked inside in the cheesecake. This tasted extremely wholesome, home made, and rich. Just how I like my cheesecake to be.

I had a great experience here and I will be coming back to try other things on the menu. Highly recommend this restaurant, although the service was HORRIBLE. Just for the food, and the gator bites, I will be back!

Address: 3014 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.ouisibistro.com

Coast

After eating at small bistro's, sushi joints, pho restaurants and food chains, my boyfriend decided to take me out to Coast for a nice dinner. I had wanted to try Coast for a while but wanted to wait for a special occasion, or whenever we don't mind spending this much on one night. 

Crab Cake $16.95. There was a pretty funny story about this one. The minute before it came to our table, I kept rambling on about how absolutely nothing, nothing at all could beat the crab cake we had in Kelowna at Raudz. I was going on and on and on till I had the first bite of this one. OH, how satisfied I was. It was definitely comparable. I would come back just for this. It was seasoned and seared perfectly. Highly recommended and SO very worth the money.

Chef's Amuse: Tuna Tartar was a complimentary bite which we each received. I guess they saw how fast we scarfed down that crab cake! This was amazing and so well prepared and detailed for such a little dish.

Lobster $59. I really regretted ordering this. It came out exacter how it looks in the picture. I patiently waited for them to come back and open it up for me, which they didn't. How are you supposed to eat this without getting your hands dirty!? And so I send it back and our server was happy to crack my lobster open for me. She was a sweet heart by the way and catered to our every need.

What I thought about this dish: boring. Yes, it was very well seasoned and was extremely flavorful. Yes, the lobster was huge, a lot bigger than expected. However, the beans and broccoli was not enough for me. I never realized how boring lobster can get when you're just eating a whole one to yourself, especially when it's buttered like this one. Overall, a good lobster but I'll probably order something with a little more variety next time.

8 Ounce Beef Tenderloin $37, with Blue Cheese $3.50 A simple and delicious steak. You can tell they put some major TLC into these steaks. It was not as tender as we would`ve liked it to be, but all in all a good piece of meat! The Danish blue cheese added just the right touch to the tenderloin and was mild enough to eat with every bite.

Side if Asparagus $9. These were some quality asparagus! They were all tender baby asparagus which I love. I wish they would have gave us more of that sauce though!

Prawn Mac and Cheese $10. I would probably eat this everyday if carbs were non-existent. This was filled with sage leaves and gave it a very different taste, a good different. It was also full of fresh, big pieces of prawn.

Complimentary Truffle Fries. We were stuffed by the time they brought this out, but it was SO good we couldn't help but dive in. The truffle was perfect and so was the aioli.

Vitamin C Drop Shots $16.

Molten Banana Coconut Cake $10. Baked to order. Recommended to us by our server, this cake was extremely sweet but so addicting. All the flavours came out separately but came together very well. Its a very sticky cake since the coconut cream (with the consistency of condensed milk) is poured onto the cake after being brought to our table. The aroma of this freshly baked dessert made my mouth water!

This had been my favourite Glowbal location so far and I will, without a doubt, come back for that crab cake and those fries!

Address:
1054 Alberni St
Vancouver, BC
Website: http://www.glowbalgroup.com/coast

Ebisu

Ebisu and Daimasu are 2 places I will probably never stop coming back to. I know, it really isn't anything special but its such a go-to place for me, especially during happy hour. And have I told you guys how much I love the lighting in this place? My iPhone pictures turn out amazing!

Yep, 5pm mojitos. Don't judge me.

Beef Short Ribs $4.99 during happy hour. I like how this comes with pickles on the side. I have got no complaints on flavour with this one.

Royal Miyagi 99 cents/pc. during happy hour.Now, this is what brings me back every time. We order 20 oysters for the 2 of us almost every time we visit. The ponzu is amazing, the oysters are so fresh, its addicting.

Oyster Motoyaki $6.80. The very first time I tried this, I thought it was really good. I no longer have the same opinion. I like how there is a lot of spinach and mushrooms in it, but this dish is quite oily. I'd still order and recommend it once in a while, however I have had better.

Cosmic Gate $18.95. The other combo next to this on the menu is called Above and Beyond, I thought it was kind of funny. I love ebisu for their HUGE menu with pictures with every item. If you're new to sushi or izakaya food, this is the place for beginners.

Link to my first post on Ebisu:
http://eatdrinkreeepeat.blogspot.ca/2012/03/ebisu-dirt-cheap-fresh-oysters.html
Address:
827 Bute Street
Vancouver, BC
Website: ebisu.ca

RauDZ: Saved the Best for Last

This was by far our best experience in Kelowna. The service was amazing and the food was even better. This place might even be the best I've tried in all of BC. I would come here over and over again.

 The room is very casual and welcoming but still a place you can go for any occasion, with a date or your girlfriends. I know it seems like I'm advertising this place but it really is great! I'm getting excited to even write about it.

 Our very friendly server recommended this bottle and man was he spot on what we wanted.

 Crab Cakes $13. Topped with a cabbage cole-slaw. I usually push the coleslaw over and go for the crab but this was was actually very good! Then we get to the crab cake and it was almost ALL CRAB MEAT. Enough said. We finished this in seconds... literally.

 Butchers cut Duck Breast over Gnocchi $25. This was a special for the week and wasn't on the menu. This is by far, the best duck I've ever had, and it probably will be for a very long time. The sauce was amazing and so was the gnocchi. They put so much TLC in their dishes, if you can't tell already. Combined in the sauce were 3 types of mushrooms. I was in heaven. If you look on their menu, they now have a duck breast with scalloped potatoes.

 Beef Tenderloin topped with Blue Cheese $28. Don't you love this place already!? This huge steak for $28. The steak was cooked perfectly. The blue cheese, which he ordered extra of, was the perfect softness and the peppercorn sauce was amazing. My mouth is watering as I am typing.

 Looking at the dessert menu, we really couldn't decide, so we went with 3! This one is the Double Chocolate Mashed Potato Brioche with a Raspberry Sorbet, their signature dessert $4.50. Yes, it is really made with mashed potatoes. You couldn't taste it if you weren't told what was in it. It was basically a chocolate cake, that's all. The concept is pretty cool though.

 My side order of ice cream $2 came with a homemade cookie! This has never happened before.

 Tiramisu $4.50. This one was my favorite. A classic made better.

 Pumpkin Cheesecake $4.50. The topping of this tasted a little like apple/pumpkin sauce but the actual cheesecake part was delicious and you can really taste the pumpkin in it.

As I've said, I would come here over and over again if I lived in Kelowna. This was was seriously amazing in all different ways.

Address:
1560 Water Street,
Kelowna, BC
Website:

http://www.raudz.com

The Vintage Room

Located in the Coast Capri Hotel in Kelowna. I had high hopes for the place after reading good reviews but it turned out to be a lot different than I thought it would be. I wish I would have taken a picture of the restaurant while I was still there. My first impression of the place was very bad. It basically was a square room with low ceilings, old carpets and nice table settings. Sort of like a banquet room. Yes, it was a hotel but this is supposed to be a restaurant.

Mushroom Dusted Qualicum Bay Scallops $18. Served with a mint risotto. The scallops were perfectly cooked and well seasoned. This risotto, I really didn't enjoy. It was very minty in the sense that I felt like I was eating risotto with gum in my mouth. They should really re-consider serving this dish. Props on the scallops though.

New York Cut Steak $24. A little over done but we didn't find anything special on this plate.

Bacon Wrapped Artic Char $29. This is what turned my night around. That tarragon remoulade (the sauce) was so good! The char was nice and moist and the bacon added a nice smokey-ness to the dish.

They're are way too many good restaurants in Kelowna to come back here for round 2. Especially at this price point, I will not be coming back.

Address:
1171 Harvey Avenue
Kelowna BC V1Y 6E8
Website:
The Vintage