Going to have a quick snack of the Sticky Thai Chicken bites happy hour special.

Sweet and savoury, it has some nice crunch to it. The Thai basil adds a very nice element.

I could do without those plain noodles though. Would be better with rice.

Goid value for happy hour. $14. Hard to beat that.

8/10

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Another long day at work.

Another day I have no energy to cook.

Another day it’s looking to be pizza time.

Since I’m passing through Port Moody after missing my usual bus Emilio Finatti seems like a good choice.

This is a 10″ thin crust Pepperoni and Pepperoni, (that’s two kinds of pepperoni) with Capicollo added. There’s a tasty hot honey on the crust.

Crispy undercarriage and lots of protein. A really great pizza. A perfect size for $23. Pretty good deal for the quality.

One bite everyone knows the rules….

9.2

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Located in Newport Village, Browns is not my favorite. Never been all that impressed with the food.

But this patio is great. No view to speak of. Unless you like looking at all the cars going by. But a very good vibe.

I am trying a new menu item tonight. The Teriyaki Salmon bowl.

My take on this is……it’s ok.

The food itself is good. The best in the dish is the rice, a cashew coconut rice that is actually excellent. The fish was tasty, a teriyaki glaze that isn’t too sweet, often the case. Perhaps slightly overcooked. If I made that I’d be upset with myself. But in an establishmentt such as this I wouldn’t be undercooking my fish slightly either.

The veggies were fine, once I got the broccoli out of the bowl. The overall presentation was nice and all the elements worked very well together.

The problem with this dish?

That is not worth $30. In any restaurant.

If I payed $20, or maybe even $22 for that I’d be more than happy.

but at $30 you are going to have to deliver better.

I don’t know what the executive chef at Brown’s is doing, but if you are going to compete with the likes of Cactus Club, Earl’s or Joey you must do better.

5/10

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Inside you will find a warm, inviting interior with lots of wood and a big fireplace. They also have a patio outside with seating overlooking the parking lot, but still a pleasant place to sit.

We are here for a quick snack after checking out the new patio at the Brown’s across the way. While the patio is a lively and enjoyable place to while away the hours, the food there leaves much to be be desired.

Check out my review here.

The food here at St James Well is generally better. I’m going to try mini Yorkshire puddings. And a Guinness of course. When in Rome…

The question is, how many Yorkies? There’s no set amount on the menu. Order a minimum of two and as many as you want. Three is good for me tonight.

i skip the horseradish, it ruins it for me.

Now I’m pretty sure these aren’t made in house, too perfect. But they are rather difficult to master. Regardless they are pretty tasty. The batter could use a little more salt. Which the gravy adds, too bad they are a little chintzy with it. The prime rib was very good, very tender.

Overall very good.

I certainly make them better at home, but in a pinch these are pretty good.

7/10

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Well okay, I’m not actually going to wait, let’s get this party started.

So this is a gin and tonic, with Empress Indigo gin. Crafted in Victoria, Empress not only gives it a beautiful purplish hue, it also has great traditional notes of citrus that makes a great gin, complemented with warm herbal undertones.

But if I don’t get some food in me before the real drinking starts I’m gonna be in trouble.

Some protein sounds like a great idea.

Quick question, does it look like there’s one missing here?

I don’t know, it just looks funny to serve it like that.

The meatballs himself okay but they should have been a bit softer.

There was a mildly disconcerting feeling to the meatballs when trying to cut through with a fork. Like the skin didn’t want to give way at first, almost a rubbery feeling. I wonder if they have been the the coler too long?

What you got through that the flavor of meatball was quite good. However I did find the marainara a little too reminiscent that’s something that comes out of a jar. Not fresh enough. Not alive enough.

Does that garlic bread didn’t look over toasted to you? It didn’t look like it to me. It was very crunchy, almost crostini like. Not anything I’d want to eat plain, but once dipped in the marinara I didn’t feel like it was going to break my teeth.

Did it satiate my hunger and prepare my stomach for the onslaught of alcohol to come?

Yes

Was I overly impressed with it as a meal?

Nope.

5/10

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We have been here once before and thought it was pretty good.

Dinner tonight includes 2 and a half courses for $70 each. On the menu are three appetizers, three mains and one dessert.

Only one dessert? Seems a bit lazy to me. At least it’s something I like.

To get it started tonight Merilynn had a gin based cocktail. Frankly I don’t recall the name and it wasn’t really anything worth remembering. It was fine though.

I kicked things off with a personalized wine flight.

The Phantom Creek Cabernet Franc from BC was very good. I’ve had this wine a couple times and it’s excellent. Vanilla and cherry on the palate.

I also had a Penley Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. Australia does those big Reds really well. Dark berries and subtle flavours of herbs.

The most interesting of the three though was the Marachel Foch from Quails Gate. BC as well.

This is an old vines grape from BC that predates the great pull out of 1988 when the BC wine industry tried to turn their reputation around, successfully I might add.

If you’ve ever had a crummy to mediocre red wine from BC way back in the day this’ll bring back memories.

Interesting to try, but it doesn’t live up to modern day grape varietals.

We chose the garlic shrimp and beef tartare for our appetizers.

These were great, well seasoned and garlicky. But the 80s called and wants it’s garnish back. Ease off on the parsley guys.

The beef tartare was very tasty, though a bigger portion than you need I feel.

The mustard and Parmesan complemented the beef very well.

That’s the second plate I’ve had Focaccia on by the way.

As far as Focaccia bread goes this was all right. Personally I prefer a higher hydration version of this Italian staple. But in a restaurant I get it. This takes a lot less time.

With the beef tartar it came toasted, costini like, which you could use to eat the tartare with. Honestly though I didn’t really need a second helping of it.

For my main I had the Hake.

This was the winner tonight.

If you aren’t familiar with this fish it’s in the same family as cod and haddock. I prefer haddock over cod as it’s less fishy but this was a nice compromise in between the two. Flakier and not quite as fishy tasting. The white wine reduction was beautiful. And the vegetables, zucchini, beans and peppers made a well-rounded complete dish.

Marilyn went with the rack of lamb.

While it looks good it did not live up to the appearance.

While it was cooked very well it was very chewy. Which of course just takes away from the enjoyment of what should be a very good dish. It was lacking in flavour as well.

The mashed potatoes were nice though. Not Joel Robuchon nice, but still very good.

Three bites and we sent it back

Now on to the finale, the chocolate cake.

It was moist and delicious. I should have asked if it was made in house though. I’d be surprised if it was.

Whoever did make it did a very good job in my professional opinion.

As we wrap up the meal tonight we cannot be but disappointed. While the appetizers and the Hake were very good, the lamb was such a let down it spoiled what otherwise would have been a very nice meal.

But though we will look at the positives I’m not sure we will be visiting again any time soon.

6/10

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You don’t have to ask me twice.

That’s the 100.

100 pieces of pepperoni on a 14 inch large pizza with a hot honey drizzle.

That’s a magnificent pie.

One bite review 9.1

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And in the Coquitlam/Port Moody there is no shortage of them.

Tonight is my first time at Mariner.

It’s a nice little spotbut maybe not the best location. I much prefer brewery row.

At any rate, to the beer!

I started with a dark lager.

It may look heavy but it’s not.

This is such a great beer. Chocolate and caramel flavours but in a light, refreshing beer.

I also had a Mango Ale.

This is a perfect summer Ale. Even in December.

The mango comes flavour come through perfectly. And apparently it’s low carb. It certainly doesn’t taste it

Then the pineapple coconut sour.

I did get some coconut but the pineapple was so subtle you wouldn’t know it’s there if it wasn’t on the menu description.

Not ok sour either.

Some breweries really take the “sour” to an extreme. And make their beer undrinkable. This was just sour enough to be good.

Got a Smash burger to go with all that beer from the food truck parked outside

Smash burgers are not my favorite. I prefer a thick, juicy burger. But it did the job.

The beer was good, the burger was fine, the atmosphere is nice, but the location sucks. I really prefer brewery row by Rocky Point.

7/10

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Here for brunch on this long weekend. We had heard good about it. Best restaurant in Port Moody apparently.

The place is a pretty cool vibe. It’s new and has some cool artwork on the walls. There’s a nice patio outside but I think we’re past patio weather for the most part now in Vancouver. 

They also have a date night, $78 3 course meal for two here on Tuesday nights which we do plan to try.

As for today we were here for brunch.

My usual go to for brunch is Eggs Benedict. Now I am not one that usually enjoys any alternative to the  standard English muffin for the base of an Eggs Benedict. So I wasn’t very happy to see the options on the menu this morning.

Option one used toasted focaccia as it’s base. I had this once my eggs Benedict in a New West restaurant and it was by far the worst Benedict I’ve ever had. Next.

Option two was on a waffle. I actually like waffles but the idea of an Eggs Benedict on one didn’t thrill of me.

But much to my surprise I really enjoyed it.

The salad on the side didn’t impress though. The lettuce was rather soggy. And pickled apples? Definitely not in my list of things I like. But the candied pecans added a nice touch. I’m getting potatoes next time

Merilynn had a Albacore tuna salad.

By the time I tried it I found the salad the same as mine, soggy.  However she said when she is started eating it it was fine. I didn’t care for the preparation of the tuna. I’m guessing Sous Vide. That ring around the edge is just too perfect to be seared. Quick dip in hot water methinks. It was pretty bland. Salad  overall was okay. But Brown’s is better. Honestly I can’t believe I’m saying anything positive about Browns but there you go.

The atmosphere here is nice. It’s pretty new and I like the vibe.

The service was good, but it wasn’t busy.

We do plan to come back for date night.

Food 6/10

Ambiance 8/10

Overall 7/10

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If you’re going out specifically for chicken flappers Wings would not be my first choice.

I’ve been a couple times I the past and it was mediocre at best.

Tonight was no exception.

I ordered the Maple Bourbon and Salt and Pepper.

First off, the wings were overcooked. Not by a lot but enough to notice.

The salt and pepper flavor was decent, but when I do them at home I really wrap the pepper up. These weren’t at that level.

The maple bourbons flavor was okay. But I found the sugar granules a little disconcerting. I think the brown sugar idea is right but it would be better served in a maple bourbon sauce rather than sprinkled on.

Of the Wings locations I’ve been to this is one of the better ones. A nice bar with lots of TVs. Decent selection of beer on tap

So overall I think you’ll do better at Wild Wings. They have a better selection and you can get them oven roasted instead of fried.

But it will do if you just need a beer

5/10

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