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

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

Gotham Steakhouse

My boyfriend and I hadn't had a nice meal in a while. I was feeling steak that night so we ended up at Gotham. The first thing that caught my eye was the ipad wine menu. How cool is that!?

I only like to drink white wines so we ordered a couple glasses, even though we both we eating steak. Oh well.

This was my biggest regret of the night. The complimentary bread. And you'll see why later. We were starved by the time this came. It got to our table less than a minute after ordering but we were so hungry! We shared almost all of it between the 2 of us. And it was delish.

Fresh Oysters $18.50. The most I have ever paid for oysters. You can probably tell this place is over priced due to the name "Gotham". It wasn't anything special. Fresh oysters are always good.

Steak and Lobster $56. Sorry, I didn't realize how blurry it was till I got home. This is what my boyfriend ordered. The lobster was huge and the filet was nicely cooked and tender.

I had a whole Porterhouse Steak to myself $54. What this is, is a T-bone steak which contains 2 types of meat. On the right you get the filet, and the left is the new york. I did NOT realize it would come out this big. Aside from that, I loved how you get to have both sides and really taste the difference. I liked the filet side better. It tasted very buttery and was so easy to cut. The New York was almost there, but a little dryer. Now don't get me wrong, if I was eating just the New York, I would say it was delicious. I'm just comparing  the 2. The meat was very well-seasoned and makes me excited just to take the next bite.

We ordered 2 sides: Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions $10 and Garlic Mashed Potatoes $5.50. They were both very good and came in a large portion. I think it is a little strange how you have to order your own side, which comes in 2 servings. What if you're eating alone? What if you just want a spoonful of 3 different sides? And if you don't want any sides, you just get a steak with nothing? I would much rather have the sides picked out for me or have the option of choosing small portions of sides. We barely ate half of these ones.

AAND this is why I regretted eating all that bread. This is all I finished in the end! I probably would've eaten the whole filet and half the new york if it wasn't for all that bread! Anyway, I took this home, left it in the fridge for a whole night and ate it the next evening. All I did was fry it up as it was and basically continued my meal. It tasted almost the same as it did at the restaurant. The meat was still very tender and I gobbled all of it up in minutes. My parents had a bite and they couldn't help but ask for more. I didn't tell them it was a $54 steak. They'd probably kill me.

New York Cheese Cake $10. All the desserts on the menu were equally $10. Nothing really seemed to catch our eyes so we went the safe route. We didn't like it. The textures were nice and so was the crust but it had a very strong lemon flavor. We both are no fans of lemon in our desserts.

Overall, I think it was an exceptional experience. Our server was very kind, informative and on his game. The atmosphere was very nice and I would come here again. Probably not for a very long time though cause this place is damn expensive! \

Address:
615 Seymour St
Vancouver BC
Website:
http://www.gothamsteakhouse.com/

Brownstone

Apparently, this is one of the best fine dining restaurants in Kamloops. We wanted to try the best here since we weren't going to be there for long.

This place used to be a bank back in the day. They kept the bank feel to it on the outside but on the inside, it  looks like this. The red really sets the mooood.

Dungeonous Crab Cakes $12. The best thing of the night. This was amazing. All crab, no extra fillers. The sauce was also amazing. It had a citrus taste to it and the spinach and shallots weren't a bad addition either!

Duck 2 Ways $27. Braised and Confit. The braised was really good and the confit was kinda salty. I wouldn't order this again. It came with these flour balls which were so addicting! If I come back, I'd probably order I side of that stuff.

Venison $32. Not worth the money but still good! Loved the tomato risotto. I'm gonna try making this at home! The sauce was good, but the venison was a little tough. Nothing special.

White Chocolate Panna Cotta with a Cranberry Gelee. The panna cotta part was nice and creamy. I had never had anything like this before and the texture was quite interesting. To me, it tastes like a yogurt flan without the caramel aftertaste. The gelee however had a funny, sanded texture which I didn't like.

Goat's Cheesecake with Lemon Sabayon and Hazelnut Paraline. The best dessert ever! You can really taste the difference between goat cheese and regular cheesecake. The lemon is VERY tart but compliments the cheesecake if you eat it in small portions. The hazel paraline adds a very nice crunch and nuttyness to the dish. I liked the nice and simple plating.

I ordered a couple scoops of Ice Cream on the side and it costed me a whooping $6! What the HECK.. It was delicious though. I'm guessing the reason for the price was that it was made in-house. It better be for $6!

I would probably not come back here just because I really don't think it is worth the money. It was a nice place to eat and the service was great but my dollar is worth more elsewhere.

Milestones!

I've only been here once in my whole life and that was when I was a kid. I was really surprised that I wanted basically everything on the menu! And if my stomach could fit it, I would've.. seriously. They have such a good selection! In my eyes, anyways.

Roasted Garlic Caesar. This came with both our meals and they are HUGE! If you're a big fan of garlic, don't forget to order this next time. It's really creamy with a very strong taste of garlic. I'm not a big fan of garlic but still found this good. Yep, I ate it all.

I was really feeling steak that night over everything else so I went for the Top Sirloin with Crab and Shrimp $28. I always gotta have shrimp one way or the other. It came out just the right size to fit all into my belly. I was starving. Everything was just the way I liked it, cooked exactly medium rare, the mash potatoes were nice and chunky and just the right amount of shrimp and crab so that almost every bite of steak would be followed by either one.  My favorite part was the sauce. OH how amazing it was… There was literally NO sauce left by the time I was done. Not only did it compliment the steak, but it did everything else too. I will absolutely come back for this… after I’m done trying everything else on the menu first of course.

 T ordered the Slow Roasted AAA Prime Rib $23. This was HUGE. If I had ordered this, I would've probably left half of it on the plate. This one was a different story for me.. Yes, it was tender but it didn't really have much flavor. You’re supposed to eat it with their house made horseradish but I can’t eat that stuff!! I thought it was a really good deal for that big of a steak! I would've ordered it with a black peppercorn or something.

We finished off our meal with a new addition on their menu, the Decadent Duo $11. A White Chocolate Cheesecake beside a Pecan Pie. Aside from the fact that they were super sweet, these were freaking good. My side of Ice Cream $3 sorta evened out the sweetness.. kinda. I liked the Cheesecake the most. This is a really good deal if you like sharing since the cheesecake alone is $8. 

Price: 

Exceptional. You get huge portions for what you are paying. 

Comments: 

Great place to have a girls/guys night out

Service was really good.

Rating: 8/10

Joe Fortes: Dine Out Vancouver #2

So for round 2, we ended up at Joe Fortes downtown. This place feels very welcoming and their style is old French which T and I both like. We made reservations only 30 mins prior to arrival but they still gave us a really nice booth in the corner away from all the crazyness. The restaurant was still crazy busy at 10:00.

 Jumbo Prawn Cocktail. SO GOOD. I want more.

 Caesar Salad. I really liked their dressing. It was really garlic-ey but the lemon soothed it down and made a delicious dressing! Yay!

 Scallop and Prawn Pasta. No complaints. Im a little on the fence about whether I like it or not. As much as I loved those little peas, I don't think they went well with this dish. Feels like something I could've made at home. Not that it was bad though, cause I gobbled this thing up in minutes!

 New York Steak. This sauce was AH-mazing! So were the mashed potatoes. I would've preferred a tenderloin but this was still awesome and well made.

 Don't you love the plating of this? Other than the fact that it looked nice, it was equally yummy! I would order this again, with extra ice cream.

This is almost as comparable to the Tiramisu at the Sicillian in Emonton. Not AS good, but still awesome. I also gobbled this thing up.

Both 3 course dinners were $38. I think it was an okay deal. Obviously $28 would be better but what can you really say. I would come here again for their regular menu. Overall a great dinner.