Earning a Spot on a Dodgeball Team

Joey Burnaby

2012-11-16T03:00:00.000-08:00

HOURS:

Sun to Wed 11am to midnight

Thu 11am to 1am

Fri & Sat 11am to 2am

Ambiance: Clean and modern with a choice between two seating areas.

The Bar: TV’s, alcoholic beverages, more lively, lots of shouting.

Dining Area: More relaxed, conversational, and comfortable.

Deciding which area to sit in, depends on your mood and if there is a game or fight going on.

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Lunch Rotisserie Chicken

Fries and Coleslaw

$19.00

Personal Remarks:

My default meal at Joey’s is always the Ahi Tuna Burger. My friend said I was predictable and boring, always eating the Ahi Tuna Burger. So, to prove to him that I am capable of trying different items I ordered the Rotisserie Chicken.

I don’t normally order chicken at restaurants because they cook the chickens dry. I hate dry chicken and it usually ends with me hating my meal.

My favourite part to eat of the chicken is the skin. It is not healthy but it is so tasty.

Despite having a great workout in the morning, the temptation was just too great. My mind was made up on the chicken, and the chicken was what I was going to eat.

When the chicken came out it looked better than I imaged and it was a full dish. My initial thought was if this is the lunch portion, then dinner portion must be huge!

The sides were tasty; the fries lost its crunch quickly but the coleslaw was good. I would recommend you substitute the fries for a salad instead.

Chicken was juicy and not dry. It wasn't overcooked either and the skin was amazing. This is an awesome guy dish and a great protein lunch.

Taste and overall experience was great. However, the price tag of $19 is a little bit much for lunch. It’s a great “I got a raise today” or “I think I deserve it” meal.

Maybe pack your lunch for 4 days then come here on the Friday to try the chicken!

Value: 2/5 Overall: 4/5

The Reef (Commercial)

2012-11-14T23:13:00.004-08:00

Hours
Monday to Friday 11:00 a.m. ~ til late
Saturday & Sunday 10:00 a.m. ~ til late

Awesome Halloween Decorations!

Ambiance: Very cool, they decorated like a Caribbean shack. Really gets you in the mood as you walk right through the doors.

Seating/Wait time: Reservations recommended.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody
Meal:

Complementary Scones

Plantain Chips

$6.00

Ackee and Saltfish

$17.00

Personal Remarks:

Plantain Chips are so good! I recommended this as a share plate. The best part was the mayo sauce. The mayo is a tangy and spicy. It is a wonderful complement to the crunchy plantain chips. We had six people at the table and one order was great to share between everyone.

I was so excited to try the fish. When it came out, the presentation could have been better. It looked pretty messy.

The fish was cooked well plus it was boneless. But that doesn't mean you should not watch out for it.

My favorite part of the dish was not the fish. It was actually the coleslaw. My friends and I were all complementing the coleslaw because it was a side that a lot of us had.

The rice was okay. But after adding a bit of their house made sauce in that red jar. The rice went from blah to amazing. Their house made sauce is really spicy, so a little goes a long way.

There are so many items on the menu that I want to try. I am already looking forward to my next visit. The next time I definitely intend to try the Jerk Chicken.

Value: 5/5 Overall: 4/5

Kalvin's Szechuan Restaurant 松林居

2012-11-07T04:30:00.000-08:00

Hours:

Mon - Tue: 11AM - 2:30PM & 5PM - 9:30PM
Wed: Closed
Thu - Sun: 11AM - 2:30PM & 5PM - 9:30PM

Ambiance: Like a western restaurant diner, old large tables and chairs. Not pretty.

Seating/Wait time: Not that many seats, could get busy at times.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Beef Noodle Soup

Personal Remarks:

Didn't enjoy the slow service, but I did enjoy the food.

Not the place to go when you have a 1 hour lunch break.

This is one of the more expensive restaurants in the neighborhood of the Victoria Drive area. From the exterior it doesn't look like a place that could cost you more than $5.00 for a decent meal. However, this is a $10-$15 per entree place.

This place could use some updates and renovations. The decor is not welcoming at all and is not a place to bring someone for a first date. This is a place to go with your friends when you want to fill your stomach.

If you don't judge the food based on the appearance of the restaurant and decor. This restaurant is very tasty. The broth is very flavourful and there was plenty of noodles. The meal was very filling.

Beef - It was flavourful and did not break apart too easily. It was a little too hard in terms of texture but it wasn't so hard that you would have trouble grinding the meat with your teeth.

Noodles - thick noodles, very tasty.

Brooth - Very flavourful, not oily.

We had a table of three people and we had a 1 hour lunch break. It took a while for the server to take our order. Also, the food took a long time to come out. None of us could finish our food in time. We all had half of our meal left that we had to pack to go. At the time there were only 3 other tables in the restaurant with no more than 3 people at each table.

Evaluating this restaurant based on taste and value it definitely rates well in my books. The promptness does need to improve. Very hard to get back to work on time if the food takes so long to come out. Or, I would recommend you come when you are not restricted by time.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Urban Fare

2012-11-06T16:16:00.003-08:00

Ambiance: It's just the front area of the super market

Seating/Wait time: Surprisingly quite a bit of seating.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Prosciutto Melon

Personal Remarks:

Tip! - Ask for your sandwich to be toasted. It will taste better.

I was in Downtown alone. Making a bank deposit across the street. I Did not have lunch yet and I did not want to eat at a sit down restaurant alone. I looked across the street and saw Urban Fare. So, I decided on the spot that I would try what they had to offer.

For those that don't know, Urban Fare is a really posh/expensive grocery store. They also serve hot food and ready to eat food.

I was able to buy the sandwich and a drink for under $10.00. For a quick meal in the area and you are in a hurry to get back to work. This is the place to go.

The sandwich tasted as good as it looked!

The container they use, it is not recommended that you bring this back to the office to eat. It will get soggy. You should eat this at the seating area they have. Otherwise, you will not have an enjoyable sandwich experience.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 3/5

Enoteca Cotto Pizzeria

2012-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hours of Operation

Monday – Thursday 11:30am – 9:30pm
Friday 11:30am – 10:30pm
Saturday 11:00am – 10:30pm
Sunday 11:00am – 9:30pm

Ambiance: Casual/Family

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seating, not very busy

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Complimentary Bread Dip

Calimari Fritto

Crispy fried squid, marinated roma tomato, salsa verde

$11.00

Pizza Salmone

Cold smoked steelhead salmon, fonduta, crispy capers, 63° egg, chives, hollandaise sauce

$16.00

Pizza Polpetti

Crushed Cotto meatballs, ricotta cheese, grana padano, spinach, tomato sauce, basil

$15.00

Personal Remarks:

This is my second time here. Last time we ordered the "Pizza Prociutto e Uova". It was forgetful, so this time it was time to try something different. We had 3 people and we came here for brunch. Their brunch menu is quite ingenious, the toppings for the pizzas were ingredients that you would normally eat during brunch.

Their complimentary bread dip was very tasty and we kept trying to guess what it was made of. We were not able to figure out what it was made of because we finished it so fast.

Ordering 2 pizza's to share between one guy and two girls was too much. We ordered too much food. If you have three, an appetizer plus one pizza is enough for brunch.

The dough and crust is the thin crust style. They try to keep things authentic here. The taste of the crust is great at first but as the meal went on the dough became difficult to eat. It became chewy and you had to give it a few extra bites and pull. We do not eat slow either, it just seemed like the food got cold very quick. Other than that the taste of the pizza toppings was decent. The distribution of the toppings could have been more generous.

While we were pulling the salmon pizza apart, there were a couple of occasions that we noticed not every slice got salmon. So, some slices were just the sauce underneath and dough.

The Calamari was not spectacular for $11.00. You could do without it.

The Polpetti was not great or memorable. I would tell you to order something else. The salmon was good an unique that it is worth a recommendation.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 3/5

I Am Back

2012-10-31T14:35:00.002-07:00

Blogging about food does not pay the bills.

I apologize for taking such a long vacation. Thanks for all the emails and support asking me to start writing again.

Just to let you know, while I was away I did not stop taking pictures and writing. I've made a lot of notes and am happy to start writing again. I have scheduled a writing block and picture editing block to make sure that I will be consistently posting again.

Looking forward to giving some more guy style, guy eats, and some nutrition tips in the upcoming articles.

Thanks again for your support!

P.S. We were unable to form a dodgeball team. Despite my efforts, we just did not have enough people that were committed to forming a team.

Dine Out Vancouver 2012 $28 Menu Recommendations

2012-02-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

Crispy Ling Cod from Maenam Dine Out 2012

With only 5 days left of Dine Out Vancouver 2012. I want to let you know my top $28 menu recommendations. My selection is based on the menu's presented by the restaurant itself relative to the next best choice.

Other blogger's reviews into consideration and the opinions and my friends' experience.

When people see the pamphlet no one considers the chain restaurants and immediately crosses out the Boathouse Restaurant and The Keg.

Dine out is an opportunity for restaurants to put their best foot forward to entice you to come back and eat at their restaurant on non-dine out days. There is no point enjoying a dine out menu at a fancy restaurant when they serve you their "low end" food just to get you in the door.

I wouldn't waste my money and time at those places and I don't think you should either.

As there are 120 restaurants in the $28.00 menu my top recommendations in no particular order are the following:

1. Hapa Izakaya - Kitsilano/Robson/Yaletown
Menu: here
Location: 1516 Yew Street / 1479 Robson St / 1193 Hamilton Street
Phone Number: (604) 738-4272 / (604) 689-4272 / (604) 681-4272
Urban Spoon Rating: 85%/82%/82%

Everything looks beautiful and a creative dine out menu, even though they have multiple restaurants, it's a great place to go to.

2. Baru Latino
Menu: here
Location: 2535 Alma St
Phone Number: (604) 222-9171
Urban Spoon Rating: 88%

There's a good variety on their entree's, halibut, slow braised beef short ribs (usually lots of bones), and seafood mix

3. Maenam
Menu: here
Location: 1938 4th Ave West
Phone Number: (604) 730-5579
Urban Spoon Rating: 84%

Pro: Menu is really unique.
Con: Group of 2 only get to choose 1 dish from each category. Disappointing because you want to try other stuff too.

4. Edible Canada at the Market
Menu: here
Location: 1596 Johnston St
Phone Number: (604) 662-3606
Urban Spoon Rating: 87%

Pro: Rabbit Terrine and Elk! What a great chance to try something different.
Warning: Elk is a really tough meat for those that haven't tried it.

5. Xi Shi Lounge
Menu: here
Location: 1128 W. Georgia St
Phone Number: (604) 689-1120
Urban Spoon Rating: 100%

Pro: Dine out at a posh hotel, high standard of quality
Con: No variety on the menu.

The One Restaurant 美味關係

2012-01-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Just like every other "newer" dine in bubble tea restaurant

Seating/Wait time: Pretty busy at night. Expect to wait. Bad service experience story below (experienced by someone else).

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

If you have seen pictures of bubble tea oversized slush's on Facebook or Twitter and wondered where to get them, this is the place that serves them.

Strawberry Slush

$5.50

Disappointing that there was only 1/4 of a strawberry. The way they stack it up, I wonder if it is equal in cc to a takeout cup. They make it look like they're serving you two cups for the price of one.

Lychee Slush + Pearls

$5.50 + $0.50

Pearls were just the same as anywhere else.

Shaved Ice

Mango, Red Bean, Condensed Milk, and Purple Plum (not actual plum, only sauce)

$6.95 + $0.50

The portion size is great. Much more generous than other restaurants I know in the area.

Personal Remarks:

Bad Service Story: While we were waiting to be seated, a group of 3 people was also waiting for a table. I was in a group of 6 and they immediately had a table for us. 10 minutes later, a group of 4 people arrived. So, the group of 3 and group of 4 are obviously waiting for the same table. Another 10 minutes later, the server approached the group of 4 and said their table was ready. Then group of 3 had the expression, WTF! They were very upset about the situation and the server didn't do anything to rectify the situation.

I have no idea how long those 3 were waiting because they arrived before us, but I felt very bad for them.

I felt the manager should have offered them some free drinks or just told the group of 4 to give up their table because the other group was obviously there before them. The manager and servers did nothing about the situation and just let them sit and wait.

They waited another 5 minutes, then group of 3 just got angry and decided to leave.

I know if that happened to me, I would be very upset. But it didn't. I wanted to mention that story because I don't know if their story will be told. I think it's fair for the public to know that this restaurants service can be inconsistent.

The great thing about this place is the portion size. Also, there is good variety on their menu.

The service is quite slow for food, from order time to actually being served.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 3/5

Dine Out Vancouver 2012 $18 Menu Recommendations

2012-01-25T12:16:00.000-08:00

With so many choices for Dine Out 2012, it's a bit overwhelming to know which restaurant to go to. There's no "shuffle" button to let you randomly choose a restaurant if you don't know or simply don't want to go back and forth bantering, "you decide", "I don't care, I'm okay with anything", "okay then you just pick one".

Meanwhile deep in our minds, our opportunity cost is another better restaurant. If you're having trouble deciding, let me give you my top 3 picks in each price range category (Dinner Only).

$18 (52 restaurants available)

1. Dunn's Famous Montreal Smoked Meat Restaurant
Menu: here
Location: 827 Seymour Street
Phone Number: (604) 682-8938
UrbanSpoon Rating: 91%

2. Suika Snackbar
Menu: here
Location: 1626 West Broadway
Phone Number: (604) 730-1678
UrbanSpoon Rating: 88%

3. Bistro 101
Menu: here
Location: 1505 2nd Ave West
Phone Number: (604) 734-0101
UrbanSpoon Rating: 96%

Bonus
For $18 Menu's you can't go wrong with an extra restaurant

Urban Thai Bistro
Menu: here
Location: 1119 Hamilton St
Phone Number: (604) 408-7788
UrbanSpoon Rating: 82%

Remember Dine Out Vancouver Ends February 5, 2012!

True Confections (Broadway)

2012-01-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Romantic-ish, seats too close together for any intimate conversation.

Seating/Wait time: Not that big, available seating varies depending on the time of day you come. When people get a seat they don't leave immediately, there is a long waiting when people settle down because they just sit and chat.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Chocolate Hazelnut Cake

$8.75

This was actually more sweet than I can handle, I can handle a lot of sweet. I take like 2 splenda's in my coffee and eat a lot of candy, I'm the only Asian that doesn't ask for "less sweet" in my drinks when eating out. Every time my mom see's me she asks if diabetes found me yet. This was so sweet that we couldn't even finish it.

Strawberry Cheesecake

$6.75

The strawberry cheesecake was a lot better. I don't like the fact that it doesn't have a breadcrumb crust. The strawberry tasted more like jelly (made from concentrate) than jam (made from real strawberry's). Texture wise, it could have been mixed longer. It wasn't clumpy and it wasn't as smooth as it should be for a cheesecake.

Size wise and quality wise, this is more like a $4.00 cheesecake and I think store bought ones do a better job.

Coffee

$2.45

Compare with Starbucks Tall House Coffee - $1.75.

Personal Remarks:

Granted the size Height x Width is as big as the plates themselves, but the lack of Depth was disappointing. The great thing about True Confections is the display of cakes, everything in there looks so delicious.

I wish it was gelato restaurant style and they gave you a spoon to sample the cakes before choosing one.

This is one of the most expensive desert shops I've been to and they just under delivered in terms of quality. If they increased the volume then this would be a great place to go. Then this place would actually give value even thought their quality is sub-par. However, just because this restaurant is on the west side of Vancouver it doesn't mean their quality is good.

This would not be a good place to bring a date for an after dinner chat. This place does not impress anyone. Their coffee is bad and you're way better off finding a Starbucks.

Value: 2/5 Overall: 3/5

Ding Hao Noodle House 頂好牛肉麵

2012-01-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Clean and simple, looks a lot like the other Taiwanese BBT places around town.

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

A13 Crispy Chicken w/ Noodle Soup

TW popcorn chicken, green & fried onion, clear broth

$7.95

They gave a good amount of noodles for a small. The portion was not obscenely small in size and obviously not as generous as a large. I weigh 135lbs and it was enough for me.

The chicken was not burned and each piece was not small. The oil they used was decent, if the chicken came out too dark that means they overuse their oil too much and are too cheap to use new oil. I didn't get any pieces that was just batter which is a good thing. Overall, the popcorn chicken is a 3/5. Not really bad, not really great.

Personal Remarks:

Initial Expectations: My friends and I were supposed to go to the sushi restaurant in the same complex, but they were very busy and we didn't want to wait for a seat there. They've been here before and this was my first time here.

I appreciate that the bowls are clean, but I prefer not to taste bleach when eating. Before devouring the noodles, I like to take a spoonful of the soup and taste it. The broth wasn't special (water+oil), but the after taste of bleach was bothersome. It's great that this lets the customers know their food is being served in a clean bowl. But no one wants to taste bleach in their food.

The bleach taste could have been on the spoon and not the bowl. Regardless, this is not a big deal, but there are alternatives out there, and restaurants should use them.

Other than the bleach thing, the price and portion size is good enough to keep me coming back.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 3/5

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka 火頭山

2012-01-13T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Casual, Japanese

Seating/Wait time: Line up's out the door! Turn over rate for patrons is pretty good. People rarely sit and linger. Eat and Go.

Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service! Very Casual
Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Choice Pork Ramen)
Large $13.45

Soup is very rich in flavour, it is a bit on the oily side and after you finish eating your noodles and drink the soup, it' definitely going to fill you up. I couldn't finish drinking all the soup.

There wasn't anything special or different about the ramen noodles here compared to any other restaurant.

Tip: Put all the stuff from this plate into the noodle except the Pork (there's green onion, sea weed, bamboo shoot, and a Naruto ninja star).

The menu says "Toroniku Cha-shu is simmered pork cheek (jowl) meat. Pork cheek meat is very rare and only 200-300 g can be taken from each pig. It has a very rich flavour and it is tender like fatty tuna.

Did this dish live up to the description? YES! It definitely did! I recommend this dish to everyone! The pork is very tender, I can't say it was like fatty tuna because in my opinion it wasn't.

When you put the pork in your mouth, let it sit on your tongue and just let your salivary amylase attack the pork. The pork is so soft that it just melts into tiny pieces and the flavour or the pork releases into your taste buds. *Sensation for each individual may vary.

Ikura Gohan $5.45

Okay $5.45 is quite pricey for a bowl of rice, but it's a bowl of rice with bean sprouts and roe! Yeah on paper this thing is very expensive. So, split it with a friend just to try it out!

This is as fresh and delicious as it looks!

Personal Remarks: My best friend brought me here because he said the broth is amazing and I must try this place out. He said that even though this is a chain restaurant, the quality is maintained to a very high standard unlike Ajisen Ramen.

Deciding on what to order was easy because my friend ordered for me. I wish there is always someone to order food for me whenever I go to a restaurant I've never been to. Sometimes, you just want to go straight to eating without looking at the menu and just eat the best tasting item available.

Santouka is "Fine Dining Ramen" in terms of price. A bowl of ramen is $13.00 compared to some of the other restaurants charging between $7.00 - $9.00. But is it worth the $13.00 or are they just overcharging? From the line up outside that never seemed to end, if they are overcharging then you're not the only one falling for the hype. I find the taste is here but I wouldn't come here everyday because it is very expensive.

Ramen in Vancouver is hyped cross culture trend, just like Pizza in Shanghai. Pizza Hut in Shanghai is seen as "Fine Dining" where they would eat pizza with a fork and knife and drink wine too. However, in Vancouver, pizza is seen as fast food and is eaten with our hands and by no stretch of the imagination can we. "locals" regard Pizza Hut as "Fine Dining".

I enjoyed the ramen and the pork was amazing! My friend said it's so popular that they frequently actually sell out of the pork, which is a good thing to hear because it means that it's freshly made when there is a high turnover. The price won't bring me back often, but I will come back on days that I know I have some room in my budget to "treat" myself to a fine dining bowl of ramen.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 5/5

Chambar

2012-01-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: You know it's upscale, but it's not fine dining. The decor makes this place feel more like a "steak house" or a "casual chat room". It's hard to describe, but it definitely is not a fine dining feel.

Seating/Wait time: It looks like a small restaurant in the waiting area, but there's actually a very big seating area in the back. It's better to have a reservation when you come. Phone number: (604) 879-7119

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual. Definitely no suit and tie required.

Crowd: Everybody

Meal: Ordered off the "Set Menu 1 $60.00/Person"

Complementary Bread with Spread

This is a pleasant change from the "ordinary" olive oil or balsamic vinegar. I should have asked what the spread was, it was really tasty. It wasn't tangy, it wasn't sweet, it wasn't spicy, it was neutral in taste. Soft like butter. I didn't really care what I was eating, I was too busy enjoying it.

Thon et chorizo
Lightly seared toro, marinated sweet peppers, jalapeno vinaigrette, crispy chorizo, cilantro.

When you get the chance to eat toro, you take it!

It is very easy to over cook toro by searing it for too long because it still cooks while "off the heat", they did a great job because it wasn't cooked to the center, there is some rawness so you enjoy the true flavor of the toro. The sauce did not overwhelm the toro and was a nice complement.

Entrecote de Boeuf
9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge, roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

roasted mushroom & tomato bruschetta, truffle aioli.

I really liked how they put everything together as opposed to simply doing the mushrooms and tomato like a salad and the bruschetta as a "stand alone" on the side. It is great to get some veggies in a meat entree. This is a nice touch. There wasn't too much tomato to make this sour. The bread wasn't too hard or too soft so that it soaks in all the juice. This side was very enjoyable. By stacking the ingredients on top of the bruschetta, I like how the chef is telling you, "this is how I want you to eat my food"!

9oz ribeye steak, sun dried tomato, caper & pine nut sauce vierge

I asked for medium rare and I got medium rare. It really did not look like 9 oz. I weigh and package 9 oz of beef patties every month and this looked less than 9 oz.

Glad that it did come out medium rare, it was tender, happy there weren't any tendons or tough parts. The sun dried tomato and capers didn't really add to the steak. It was nice to have, but it wasn't necessary.

This dish as a whole is filling and satisfied my "fair portion size" expectations.

Le café belge
Espresso cheesecake with belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao gelée & crisp chocolate wafers.

I expected more cheesecake than just a square. I think all cheesecake should have a crust. This one is pure cheesecake, it is tasty and because there is so little of it, I nibbled at it to make it last longer. They didn't "skimp" out on the other dishes, and I wish they didn't do so on the cheesecake.

The best part of this was the espresso bean at the top and the chocolate wafers.

The white stuff is jelly and didn't really taste like anything even though it's said to be "belgian chocolate mousse crème de cacao". It would be better if they just didn't have the jelly and just give a bigger piece of cheesecake.

Personal Remarks: I've tried a lot of set menus and I often find myself disappointed not by the taste, but by the portion size. When I eat out, I tend not to care how others at the table may think of me. I would ask the waiter, what others view as embarrassing questions, because I know that if I don't ask then I'm going to regret it and have a bad mood later.

If you don't care how others may think of you, then please enjoy the following advice, if you share the same concerns as I do when ordering off a set menu at a restaurant you have never been to.

When restaurants design a set menu, there are items on there that help offset the price of other items. Which is why you often find a few choices to select from in the appetizers and entrees. They anticipate that if every other person selects something different this will "balance" the value of creating a set menu. However, if everyone orders the most expensive items, then the restaurant will loose money.

In the past, I've always found myself disappointed because I am usually the person who ordered the worst tasting item, or the smallest and under valued item. After eating at more restaurants and learning from those experiences, I now know what to do and can teach all of you.

Ask the waiter, "Which is the biggest in portion size of these choices, to get the best bang for your buck? and tastiest?"

When asking this question, you want to make sure that you are the last person at the table to order or among one of the last orders to be taken. Because if everyone ordered something different, when the food comes out, you can compare with the rest of your table. Conversely, if you ordered first, and everyone followed your order, then you'd have no other dishes to compare your order to.

I was very happy with the food. Everything tasted great! Here's some of the other stuff on the menu that the rest of my table ordered. I've tried them too and left my comments below each item.

Betterave & fenouil
Roasted baby beets, orange vraised fennel, pomegranate, whipped sheeps feta.

Not tasty at all. Yes, it is fresh, but nothing special. Just tasted like regular beets and fennel.

L'omble de l'Artique nicois
Crispy Arctic char, sea asparagus, pea shoots, bacalao, lemon & grana padano concasse, tapanades.

Well made, very soft, not over cooked, nice crisp to the skin. Overall, nothing special, the only thing unique were the sauces around the fish. The person that ate this said they were not full after eating it. I tasted it, and this is a dish that you can easily make at home.

Tarte aux griottes
Sour cherry tart, vanilla ice cream & lemon crème.

This was tasty, however, even with the ice cream it was still too sour for my taste.

Before coming to Chambar I had a lot of expectations because of what everyone was say about this restaurant. My advice to you, don't come here with any expectations. If you do, your dining experience will not be as enjoyable.

They use fresh ingredients, the food plated well. In terms of creativity and being different, as you can see from above there isn't anything they do differently from other top restaurants. They don't serve anything on the menu that you can't get elsewhere for a cheaper price.

It would have been great to see things on the menu that you can't get anywhere else to make this a unique dining experience. Besides the seared toro, there isn't much on the menu that wow's. Simply, this restaurant makes what a lot of other restaurant makes and charges a bit more.

You do get what you pay for, which is food that is cooked well. It is better than paying for food that you "expect" to be cooked well, but is not. Chambar delivers in execution, but the menu lacks in creativity and does not give anything new in terms of a food experience.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Latitude

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Hipster, Main Street and Commercial Drive Modern

Seating/Wait time: Not a big restaurant, small bar area and seems like a 30 seat restaurant

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Atun Tiradito
ancho seared albacore tuna, vegetable escabeche, mango mojo, tortilla strip$11.00

This is an appetizer course, it's well made and the flavors are there individually. This dish is made with very fresh ingredients. However, the sauce and the tuna just did not pair well. I wish they put the sauce on the side so that you can have the option to have the tuna with or without the sauce. Preferably, without is better.

Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic)
Grace Bros (Jamaica)
$3.50

This was is what we call "Ginger Ale". There are places that make this fresh, I was surprised to see that this came from a bottle. I do appreciate that they gave me the bottle. This drink tastes like a VERY gingerly tasting soda water. If you're really interested in trying this, you can find a Jamaican supermarket and try it there first. For $3.50 this was not mind blowing enough.

Chickpea Fries
with smoked paprika mayo
$7.00

I eyed it as it was placed on the table and when everyone had the chance to eat one, they really looked like they enjoyed it. After eating one myself. I now know why. The chickpea fries on its own was good and with the mayo it was good too. Either way, I can totally see myself sitting in front of the TV and scarfing these down on a movie night. It was not too oily and it had a nice crunch as you eat it. They gave a fair portion for $7.00 worth, I could see more people ordering this if they were more generous on their portions.

Peruvian Causa
chilled aji Amarillo potatoes layered with shrimp salad, spicy tuna, crispy prawns and huancaina
$9.00

This dish is totally NOT WORTH IT! 3 fried shrimp, mashed potatoes, and 1.5 half grape tomatoes. The shrimp came out looking burned and cooked in days old oil. For $9.00, this dish is a disappointment.

Arepas
chicken, creamy tomatillo salsa, pickled jalapenos
$5.00

This is another disappointing dish. For the price of $5.00, I did not expect it to the the size of 2 toonies and a loonie in a cluster together either. Even though they stuff the insides, and it looks jam packed with goodness, it's really not. 2 Bites and it's gone. For $5.00, it's nothing more than a loaf of bread with some stuff. You can buy a bigger and better sandwich elsewhere for $5.00.

Chicken Leg Confit
creamy humita, sauté of kale and oyster mushrooms
$17.00

Finally, a decent sized meal for an acceptable price. Seeing the serving size of this dish gave me relief. Honestly, from the size of all the other things ordered and the fact that it seemed everything else was overpriced. I was worried they would cheap out on the entree too.

The meat fell off the bone which was great. The exterior was not tough or hard which is common when they put this in the oven and over cook it. The exterior wasn't completely perfect, there were some parts which were tough (8%), which is acceptable to me. The corn, spinach, and mushrooms were seasoned well and there is a generous portion size. I recommend this dish over all the other appetizers.

Personal Remarks: An invite for a going away party brought me here. I am so happy I was invited, because if I wasn't, it would have been a while before I would be introduced to this restaurant.

I came here for dinner and it was pretty dark, but there is enough light to read the menu which is good. It made taking pictures difficult because I don't prefer using flash as it would bother me if I were sitting at the next table and every 3 seconds or so I'd see a flash of light going off.

This restaurant is very easy to miss with a very subtle store front that blends in with the rest of the block. The awning or name doesn't tell you that it's a restaurant from the outside, but once the food is served. You can tell that they do take pride in their food.

I would recommend coming here, but don't bother with the appetizers. Just come here for the entrees and atmosphere.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 4/5

Suika

2011-12-29T12:00:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Dim light dining, Bar, Light Dining, Clean

Seating/Wait time: Don't come here without a reservation! Otherwise you'll be waiting a LONG TIME, for your convenience here's there phone number: (604) 730-1678

Dress Code: Casual, but could be Dressy Casual, I noticed a lot of people did do dressy casual.

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Torotoro Cha-Shu
$6.80Very soft, yummy, but nothing special so you can do without this

Tako Karaage
$8.80Great and different, better than the average calamari

Three Kinds of Sashimi
(3 tuna, 3 wild salmon, 3 Ebi)
$12.80
I like how they serve wild salmon, as opposed to the cheap quality salmon

If you order this, you don't need to order the Amaebi Kimchi to try the sweet prawns

Amaebi Kimchi (4)
$5.00
It looks tasty, but the kimchi overpowers the sweetness of the natural flavour of the shrimp

Negitoro Battera (6pcs)
$9.80
This was not a good sushi, it was kind of bitter because of the scallions, it looks nice, but order the Aburi "Shime-Saba" Sushi, maybe that one is better. This one is not tasty at all.

Personal Remarks: Lots of buzz from friends about this restaurant and it's been Number 1 on Urbanspoon for quite some time, it's hard to resist the urge to try this place out. Especially, with that photo on the front page all the time taken by Benny of the kim chi spot prawns.

This restaurant does not have any pictures of their food and their description doesn't help much. Ordering food off the menu took a lot of time because I like to see what I am about to eat. When restaurants don't have pictures on their menu, it's hard to decide on what to order or even try "new things".

But if I don't try new things, I won't know if the food is good or bad. Before sitting down I already knew that I wanted to order the Amaebi Kimchi as for the rest of the other stuff I ordered, I had no expectations whatsoever.

When the Amaebi Kimchi came out, it was A LOT smaller than what I expected from Benny's picture. They were only about 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch in length. And I thought there would be more than just 4.

The comments about the rest of food ordered are captioned under the pictures.

Sushi wise, they only have 2 sushi rolls on the menu, this is NOT the everyday sushi restaurant. This is a Japanese Tapas restaurant. When you come in, there is a huge bar and that is the place to be sitting if you want to get the authentic Japanese feel.

These kind of Tapas bars are very popular in Japan. After a hard day at work you would find a lot of business men at these Tapas bars enjoying these small snacks with beer and their colleagues. However, customizing this restaurant to Canadian tastes, they've included tables for your dining pleasure.

All items on the menu are small plates and there are no entrées, but Vancouver, we eat these like share plates. This is another great way to enjoy this restaurant and try everything on the menu.

If you come here, don't be the designated driver, to get full pleasure out of the food you definitely need to order the Sapporo Beer to complement the food. Don't sissy out with water~! In Japan, train stations are close and convenient so everyone can get drink and eat. However, in Vancouver, our heavy drinking and driving laws, Suika's sort of in the middle of nowhere and it's hard for everybody "tank" out and drink -OH(alcohol) with your meal.

The items here are quite expensive, but you're paying for the ambiance, because when you're in here you feel like you're not in Vancouver anymore with the Japanese waitress and decor.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Stonegrill at the Met

2011-12-13T11:12:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Clean, feels like a diner or a Red Robbins

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats, no wait time.

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Lobster Chipotle Panini
$11.00

Stone Grill Lobster
Vegetables sides and Potato
$26.00

Personal Remarks: Waste of time, Waste of Money! This is a poser fine dining restaurant.

I'm going to get right onto reviewing the food. The Panini and side yam fries was disgusting. The yam fries were cold and stale the panini itself was just so bare bones. It was like frozen seafood from Costco or Superstore with some cheese. It was not good. Biggest waste of $11.00.

The "Stone" gimmick is so overrated. The cheapness of the sides made this so unappetizing. Powder mashed potatoes and the cheapest assortment of vegetables made this so disgusting. The stupid garnish did nothing for me.

The thing that frustrated me the most is that all the sides seemed like they were fresh out the microwave and the lobster is going to be cooked in front of me. But it took nearly 30 minutes for the food to reach the table. In fact the restaurant was not busy at all either. My assumption is it took them 5 minutes to get everything ready but they dragged on the time so it seems like they actually prepare the food fresh or they're just waiting for the food to defrost.

Nothing about the food made me want to come back. I'm glad that the stone does work and the lobster got cooked. After feeling so ripped off, next time I want lobster, I'm going to T&T and buy a fresh one from the tank then grill that baby in front of me. It will only cost me $13.00 only and I don't just get the tail.

Value: 0/5 Overall: 1/5

The Red Wagon

2011-12-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Hipster, downplayed vibe, like an "I don't care" basic feel

Seating/Wait time: Busy during lunch, there is a communal table for singles, not many seats in the restaurant

Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service!

Crowd: Anyone

Meal:

Crispy Pork Belly Sandwich
Pickled vegetables, jalapeno, cilantro, mayo, baguette, chips
$10.50

Personal Remarks: With the spectacular reviews and recommendations I was expecting to have my mind BLOWN***. Instead, it was just ~meh! But don't hate me Red Wagon, I'll be back to try something else, hopefully, I'll get mind F***** the second time around.

It was the boys day, and we decided to come here and see what all the buzz was about. It was recommended that there is nothing worth trying here unless it had pork on it. There were only 2 choices, this crispy pork sandwich or the pancakes. We came here at 2:00pm. It felt too late for pancakes so we all ordered a crispy pork sandwich.

The menu didn't have pictures so we had no idea what to expect. It turns out a western crispy pork belly sandwich means the same thing as a Vietnamese bun. Not impressed!

Paying $10.50 for a Vietnamese sandwich, it better be freaking amazing. It just wasn't, I could have went next door and ordered 3 and got a discount on the 3rd sandwich for the same price.

The crispy pork belly is what you would get at a Chinese butcher shop up the street at John's Market . Except here they cut the meat away and you just get the skin and fat.

This is a simplified Vietnamese sandwich, the only difference is, they use "crispy pork belly". The bun wasn't toasted like a Vietnamese sandwich and by the time the chips came out, they were cold.

This dish was extremely fatty and when you're eating it you can feel the fat drip down your hands. The taste is there, but it's definitely not worth $10.50.

I would not order this dish again, and I don't recommend you trying it either. The ingredients are so simple that you're better off making this yourself at home. For the same price you can re-create this dish yourself.

Let's do the math, you order the Vietnamese sandwich next door for $3.75, go to John's Market to buy the crispy pork belly for $5.00. You go home and replace the meat from the Vietnamese sandwich, cut out only the skin and fat and stick that into your Vietnamese sandwich. You not only saved money, but you have leftover meat for later. The chips here are nothing special anyways. You can use the left over money to buy yourself a drink up too.

You are better off trying another dish on the menu.

Value: 2/5 Overall: 3/5

Hida Takayama Ramen

2011-12-10T23:34:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Food Court

Seating/Wait time: Food Court

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Spicy Pork Ramen with Vegetables

$9.50

Soy Sauce Ramen

$7.50

Personal Remarks: 2 hour free parking in Downtown! This is the only good thing going for this restaurant. I have never been to Hida, Japan, so I don't know how ramen in that region should taste like. I can only comment from my perspective and taste, which is a Canadian taste.

There is a story about their broth and how there's and why it is so rich in flavor. I agree that you can immediately taste the broth's rich flavor. However, I didn't notice much difference from this place and the one on Denman and Robson.

I felt that the noodles itself were overly salty. I don't know if it's supposed to taste like that but for Canadian taste, it was too salty. I thought the soy sauce may have contributed to that, but it's actually the noodles, this was upsetting for me.

For the value, there wasn't a lot of noodles, and for the same price or a bit more, your dollar and cents are able to get you more elsewhere. The disappointing thing is, I don't eat a lot and I wasn't very hungry when I came here, but even after finishing the ramen and soup, my stomach still felt a bit empty.

As for the spicy pork; it is more expensive, so you get an option for more noodles at the same price. Marketing wise, the extra noodle cost is already included into the price, so it would be dumb not to say yes to more noodles when you're already paying for it.

The broth for this again did not disappoint. The amount of vegetables wasn't as generous as he described for the extra $1.50. So, I wouldn't advise on the vegetables.

Overall, I came here so you don't have to, even with the 2 hour free parking, you're better off doing street parking and eating at another ramen restaurant nearby. The portion size is smaller than other ramen places, so the extra money you would be spending on parking is included in the meal anyways.

If this place gave more (portion wise) at their current price, made the ramen less salty, this would be an ideal place. But it does not and it isn't.

Value: 1/5 Overall: 1/5

10 Gift Ideas for Your Guy! and 5 Bad Ones

2011-12-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

What to Buy a Guy for a Christmas Gift in Vancouver BC?

I've polled a lot of my guy friends and here are 10 suggestions!

Read a few internet articles, which gave some really bad ideas like this one, which is only good if he has friends to enjoy the gift you're going to get him. "Suggestions good if he has friends to use the gift with him"

Links are to the product page if you want to see what the product looks like. Not those spam ads/adsense.

1. Belt
Burberry (Lower Price Point $290-$350)
Louis Vuitton (Mid Range $450-$550)
Hermes (Uber Love Range $650-$850)

2. Wallet go for luxury brands like
Gucci ($250-$450)
Salvatore Ferragamo ($300-$350) <BEST VALUE!!!!

3. A shit load of underwear and socks!
Go to Winners and buy $100.00 worth!

4. A One year gym pass, tell him to get you the same so both of you can go together
Trevor Linden ($270/year)
Community Center Flex Pass ($350/year)
Steve Nash ($720/year)

5. New Cell Phone
iPhone 4s
Samsung Galaxy S II

6. IPad 2

7. Canada Goose Jacket

8. Messenger bag or satchel
Gucci ($600-$1,500)
Burberry ($900-$1,500)

9. Sports Equipment
If he's into sports, maybe a new hockey stick or a badminton racquet

10. Camera DSLR
Nikon D3000 ($480 on Sale ATM)
Canon T2i ($680 on Sale ATM)

Also, I've listed 5 things that you should NOT give!

1. Scarf, tuks, or beanies!
December is ending in 5 days, this is a great gift if you gave it to him in the middle of November, but with 5 days left until the end of the year, this is not a good gift, for either a guy or girl.

2. Gift Cards
Were just going to spend it back on you. Like your birthday or anniversary. Guys take this as a "hint" from you that you like this place you're getting the gift card from.

3. Jewelry, ie brackelets, rings, necklaces
No!

4. A home cooked meal from you
If you've never or seldom cook for your guy, don't start on a special occasion.

5. Cuff-links
Unless you're prepared to buy him at least 5 pairs of French Cuff shirts, or he has a closet full of French Cuff dress shirts, cuff links are utterly useless.
We can't use cuff links on a shirt that already has buttons.

Bonus: Could be good/bad

Cologne
The problem is, the cologne may smell nice in the store, but a guys normal flora plus the cologne may not produce a complementary sent. Personally, I've tried a few different cologne before I found one that works for me. Places like Sephora have samples, spray it on your guy, take a walk around the mall. Then after some perspiration, see which one compliments him.

If you have not tried a cologne on him, it's good to stay away from buying cologne for him. Otherwise, when he starts stinking and you find out it's because of the cologne you bought him, you're the one that has to smell it.

If you have other suggestions, please leave a comment or know of other great gift ideas please keep adding. Or if you have other bad ideas leave a comment.

Vina Vietnamese (Metrotown)

2011-12-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Food Court

Seating/Wait time: Food Court

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Buen Rieu
S2
Small $5.75

Personal Remarks: With so many choices at the Metrotown food court, it's hard to decide on what to eat. You rely a lot on pictures, or eat what you're usually accustomed to eating. But a food court is actually a great place to try new things.

Food court food is expensive because of convenience, but compared to eating in a restaurant it's actually cheaper. On this day, I wanted to get away from the normal A&W and NY Fries, eventually it was either a beef ball noodle soup and this the Buen Rieu. I noticed the owner did not have a picture of the beef ball noodle soup and reasoned that if the owner felt this dish is worthy enough to advertise, then it must be worth trying.

This dish looks spicy because it's red, but it's actually not. If you read some of my previous ventures at Vietnamese restaurants, I do tend to try the tomato based broth more than the normal chicken stock broth noodles. So, I thought I give this one a try and see how it compares to the other restaurants.

This broth is not as rich as the ones you would enjoy in a restaurant, it does taste a bit watered down. The portion I ordered was a small and there is substantially a lot less noodles compared to the "small's" you'd get in a restaurant.

The noodles were normal rice noodles. The protein that you see is either pork or beef, to be honest I didn't give it much thought. I just ate it. Sometimes, it's best not to know. The only veggies was bean sprout, cilantro, chives, and tomato. They don't give a lot of meat and most of this is just noodle. So, if you're really hungry you might have to order the large.

In terms of just having something to fill you up for a decent price, based on food court standards, this is will do. It's simply average. It wasn't great for it's value, but it isn't bad either. So, if you're just wanting something different, this is a "something different" dish to order.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 3/5

Uncle Fatih's Pizza (East Broadway) and (Abbott)

2011-12-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Clean-ish

Seating/Wait time: A few seats, but more of a take out place

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

XL Pizza
1/2 Beef and Blue Cheese
1/2 Hawaiian
Pick Up $17.95

Personal Remarks: I have their number on my speed dial! When you order an XL Pizza you get to choose 2 different toppings! Not only that, it's going to be warm and fresh when you eat it because it's made especially for you!

There are 12 slices in an XL, so it breaks down to $1.50/slice. People usually order the 2 slices and a pop which is $4.50, so relative to that, the XL is a way better deal. You can always hit up the Safeway to get your soft drink fix.

This place is indeed yummy, it's more expensive than Fresh Slice, but they have better taste and variety. Uncle Faiths is the better choice. If you're in Vancouver, this is definitely the place to visit to try what Vancouver's pizza tastes like.

The area is kind of sketchy if you're a tourist, you might get harassed by some homeless people asking you for change (they don't want change for pizza). If you're a local, you'll probably still be harassed. But that should not deter you from visiting this place.

If you're a girl, planning to visit this place alone, please bring someone with you!

Value: 5/5 Overall: 4/5

Green Lemongrass

2011-12-03T23:10:00.000-08:00

Ambiance: Clean-ish, like a lot of other Vietnamese restaurants

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

"T23" Hu Tieu Do Bien Chua Cay

Seafood, tomato and pineapple in a spicy tamarind soup
(non-spicy)

Large $8.00

"G1" Vietnamese Drip coffee
$3.50

Personal Remarks: I've been looking all over town for "Bien Chua" because my mom only makes this when her sister visits Vancouver. So, when my aunt isn't in town, and I want to eat this, I can't.

It wasn't until a few months ago that I finally ate at Green Lemongrass. My friends come here after badminton, but the one time they came, I couldn't go. A couple of weeks later, I decided to come here myself and found Bien Chua on the menu and I was so excited. Sadly, I had no one to share my excitement with.

So far I've only found Joyeaux Cafe and here to serve Bien Chua.

This dish is so full of goodies, it's really hard for me to try other dishes on the menu because I can't think of another dish that I want to try. The broth is drinkable and flavourful. There's an abundance of seafood and noodles. This is more expensive than Joyeaux, but the portion is bigger here.

The Vietnamese coffee drip coffee is just the same as it is anywhere else. After ordering it, I wish I had actually saved my $3.50 because I could have went to Starbucks for a $2.00 coffee instead. I didn't expect the soup to be so tasty, I actually didn't need to order the coffee here.

Value: 4/5 Overall: 4/5

Cafe Montmartre

2011-12-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

YUCK! ~CASH ONLY~

Ambiance: Rustic, very casual and bohemian, relaxed hipster vibe

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats

Dress Code: Casual

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Crepes served with a side green salad
Divine
Slices of baked chicken breast, Bechamel sauce, herbs and melted mozzarella cheese

$12.95

Cannelle
Butter, Sugar, and Cinnamon

$4.50

Personal Remarks: Unique and interesting. There's live music which was interesting and different. Is this a first date place?

Having a conversation is hard, especially when there's a live band. You're going to be competing to talk over them, or you're going to be watching them perform. Depending on why you come, this may or may not be the right place for you.

I have never been to France and the décor seems like what I imagine a small French bistro in a small village of the countryside would be like.

The Divine was tasty! The chicken was wrapped in what tasted like phyllo dough. It did not taste like it was wrapped in a desert crepe, the dough was more full and not thin.

This dish is TOO overpriced!!!! The salad was served on the same plate making the plate look more full but I felt there should have gave me one more of the chicken wrapped in phyllo dough to make this dish worth it. If this dish was $9.95 then this would have been more reasonable.

I was actually expecting a lot more from the desert crepe, size wise. For $4.50 meaning $2.25/roll. This was actually one big crepe cut in half. I totally expected a lot more, I was thinking where the rest of it was, my first thought was wow French egg rolls!

There wasn't a lot of filling and for it's price this was definitely a rip off.

The water was just tap water which was a disappointment. Even though Vancouver has clean water, Main Street is one of the older districts and the taste of tap water really ruins the experience they are trying to present. It just made the whole experience cheap.

The vibe here is nice if you're looking for some place different to lounge at.

I wouldn't order any food here, it's just not worth it. This restaurant seems to have a few loyal patrons to keep this restaurant in business for now. But they definitely need to improve.

Another big problem was the menu had no pictures of their actual dishes. The pictures were all web generated images which made ordering confusing.

Value: 1/5 Overall: 3/5

Kita Sushi

2011-12-01T17:46:00.001-08:00

Ambiance: Clean, neutral

Seating/Wait time: Plenty of seats, more of a take out.

Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service!

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Salmon Sashimi

$8.95

California Roll

$2.95

Personal Remarks: It felt like a family owned restaurant. They take great pride in their work.

I felt like the two guys working there at the register were the sons and the sushi chef was their mother. If it is, that's great. The guys were nice and that was pleasant. I ordered take out because I was visiting a friend living in the condo above.

The sushi here is very normal, there's nothing outstanding about this place and it wasn't poor either. The size and the portions were fair.

If you feel lazy and don't want to walk/drive to Sushi Garden which is 2 minutes away then this is the place to go. Here, it's all about convenience.

The price for the above items are the same as Sushi Garden, but Sushi Garden gives you a bigger portion.

I think this place lost a lot of their business to Sushi Garden. Rightfully so too. This place isn't cheaper than Sushi Garden, the quality isn't better than Sushi Garden either. I think they both have the same supplier.

If you are purely into getting the most for your money, go to Sushi Garden.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 3/5

Starbucks (The First Starbucks at Pike Place)

2011-11-30T23:17:00.001-08:00

Ambiance: A take out place, no place to sit, more of a tourist attraction

Seating/Wait time: No seats. Extremely long line-ups.

Dress Code: No shoes, no shirt, no service!

Crowd: Everybody

Meal:

Personal Remarks: It's just the name! This flagship location is not going anywhere, and others, as well as myself come here for the sake of saying that we did.

The coffee here isn't made with magic ferry dust compared to other Starbucks. The only difference is this place get's more foot traffic and tourists.

This place has great unique cups as souvenirs which aren't over priced, most of the cups were under $10.00, which is not bad.

Even though this place has non-stop line up's, you will order a drink here. It's the same as going to Disneyland, you don't like the 3 hour line up, but you always find yourself in one.
The most annoying thing about this experience is that after being in one line for 30 minutes waiting for someone to take your drink order, you'll shimmy over to the next line up which was just as long to wait another 20 or so minutes to pick up your drink. OH JOY!!!!

This location has no seating. Simple reason, they're so busy, they don't want you to stay longer than you have to. Besides, the entire store is a line up or people browsing the wall of souvenirs.

What did I order? My usual, a Peppermint Mocha, I indulged and ordered a "Venti" because we drove all the way here and it seemed stupid not to order the Venti after all that waiting.

Value: 3/5 Overall: 3/5