New Years Resolution

Wow…this is seriously embarrassing. I have no excuse except that I am a lazy ass! I’ve been totally MIA for the past couple of weeks. Blame it on the holidays, the turkey and all the good food out there! I’m so sorry. I totally started out this project all gung-ho about it and wanting to keep it up. But my laziness got the best of me! But no more! I’m back! And I’ve been eating ;)

I don’t have the endurance to write a full-on review of all the restaurants that I’ve been to in the past while but I’ll just write a short blurb of the notables…cuz honestly, I don’t think I can remember all the places I’ve been lately! But as a new years resolution, I RESOLVE TO KEEP THIS BLOG UPDATED AS BEST I CAN!

Joe Fortes:
I think just about everyone knows about Joe Fortes in Vancouver. It’s been around for as long as I can remember. And there’s a reason that it’s been able to stay afloat in the cutthroat Vancouver scene-it’s really damn good! The selection of seafood is wide-ranging, wish a large selction of fresh fish on the menu. They also have a large oyster bar right in the center of the restaurant with a guy manning the station full time. For the blood-hungry carnivores out there, Joe’s also has some great cuts of meat on the menu. Surf and turf anyone?
The service here is also fantastic. The waiters are all very attentive and they just make you feel like a million bucks. No overly perky, in your face servers…just someone who knows to refill your drinks, put in a few nice words and makes sure you’re happy. And believe me…we were! Defiantly going back for more!

Mauyra:
I’ve been to Mauyra a long time ago when they first open. They were featured on the food network on an episode of opening soon and when you see a restaurant on the food network, you wanna go! I remembered having a great experience there with the most attentive service ever and so I was ready to head back for more.
I love Indian food and Mauyra was good. I mean it’s not a spectacular culinary experience but it was good. It’s the typical Indian food-butter chicken, dahl…etc. But the setting is defiantly very nice. High ceilings and gold detailing defiantly makes you feel like you’re in someplace important. However, our server was defiantly not on her game that night. I mean the service was fine but it was just like any old service. And she even got one of our orders wrong too! She asked if we’d like rice or naan with our meals (which, by the way, you had to pay extra for) and we said sure…naan would be good. And she brings out rice instead! The communication was defiantly a bit messy. But other than that, Mauyra is a nice place. I think it’ll be better in the summer when they open the patio and more light gets into the room. If you’re looking for a run-of-the-mill Indian place, Mauyra will defiantly suffice.

Nan-Chu:
Japanese izakayas are all over the place in this city but Nan-Chu in Richmond had defiantly been getting a lot of good buzz. I’ve been there a few times now and I would have to say the buzz is a bit perplexing to me. I mean yeah the food is good but it’s not anything out of the ordinary. They do have quite a wide selection to choose from and the prices are hard to beat but when it comes to creativity and taste, I think they’re just average.

Provence Mediterranean Grill:
This is the older sister to Provence Marinaside down in Yaletown and they both just ooze that French bistro charm. I went the Provence for brunch with a friend of mine and was waiting to be blown away. Provence has, arguably, one of the best brunches in the city and their French toast is supposedly quite legendary. However, given my own desire to be more health conscious, I skipped on the French toast and went with the granola. I know…it’s hard to give a review on a restaurant based on granola and I don’t pretend to be able to. But the atmosphere of the place is defiantly worth going for. My friend had a veggie omelet and she seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. My oatmeal with quite yummy but at $9 a pop, I think I was kinda taken for a ride. Damn me and my stupid health conscious kick!!!

Glowbal Grill and Satay Bar:
This is probably the most recognized place in Yaletown. Smack dab in the center of it all, Glowbal is the place to see and be seen. You may think that a place like this will just try to squeeze every last penny out of you in quest to be “hip” and “cool” but au contrair! They have a very reasonably price brunch that will keep your stomach and your wallets full. The best part of the meal tho was defiantly the fresh banana bread they give you, along with 3 kinds of spead. So yummy! It’s almost as good as the banana bread I bake!

American Grill at the Marriott Airport Hotel:
This is a place that we sometimes go if we feel like a decent western meal in Richmond. Located at the Marriott hotel on Westminster and Minoru, this place probably gets passed by a lot. But it’s defiantly worth checking out. The dining room is spacious and comfortable and an open kitchen allows you to keep on eye on all the action. The dinner is very good and very reasonably priced while the lunch is also very satisfying. Too bad it’s in a city where people get blindsided by the Asian-ness of it all. But if you want to find a nice quiet retreat from all the chow mien and fried rice, this is defiantly worth checking out.

Mortons Steakhouse:
Mortons is legendary of their steaks. This pricey chain has restaurants all over the world and I’m sure steak lovers everywhere has been to Morton’s. But I never really understood why steakhouses can be so expensive! I mean $50 for a piece of meat????? It’s just meat! And at Morton’s they literally just give you the meat and nothing else. If you want sides, you gotta pay extra. But even if you just want sauce, you gotta pay extra for that too!!! But their service is impeccable. You don’t get a menu perse. The wait staff works as a team and the head waiter will come by your table with a cart of basically the entire menu on a cart. They carefully show you every cut of meat they have (think an entire cow on a table), show you all the other types of food (the salmon and tuna are huge!), explain all the appies and sides and list off everything they have available from memory!! Say that fast 3 times! But before you think you have to have a memory of an elephant to order, they hand you a hard copy of the menu for you to pour over.
Now on to the food. Fine, their steaks are good….really really good…I’m talking tender, succulent pieces of meat. But still. Richard ordered a piece of medium rare porter house (a small portion…at 16oz!) and it was a bit undercooked, while I ordered crab cakes as a main. The crab cakes were crazy! They were literally CRAB cakes! No fillers or anything, just honkin’ chunks of crab. It was pretty good….that is until you hit your 3rd piece and by then, the crab had just gotten to be too much for me. We both weren’t able to finish our dishes but in our defense, we had ordered 2 sides of veggies. But alas, a meal at Morton’s would not be complete without dessert…specifically, the legendary Mortons chocolate lava cake. OMG! This dessert almost made the entire meal worthwhile. It’s a chocolate cake made with Godiva chocolate and it’s crispy on the outside but completely runny and gooey on the inside! Just perfect!
Verdict: maybe skip the pricey cow and go for the dessert.