We got a quick snack, mostly as a buffer against the copious amounts of alcohol heading down our gullets shortly.

Pork gyoza.

These are spicier than I remember. Also one of the few thjngs I can eat here. Honestly I don’t know how Brown’s is surviving with this menu. Of all the restaurants in the class (think Cactus, Earls) Brown’s has the worst menu, and it not even close. But these are nicely done, decent flavour, and a little kick.

We are starting our libations with a couple drinks of their summer drink specials

Guava basil crush

Tequila, lemon juice, guava and basil. Should be a great combination. However it was very disappointing. It was watery and had almost no flavour. I wonder if they forget something?

Passionfruit crush

This crush was better. Vodka, passionfruit, lime juice and Triple Sec. You could really taste the passionfruit. Very refreshing.

Caesar

A good version, but for me, could use a little more kick.

Pomegranate Basil Martini.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner. This drink was so good I had two!..

Vodka, pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, lime juice and basil come to together to create a vibrant, sweet yet tart cocktail that pairs great with the peppery basil.

Im very mixed about Brown’s. Come for the patio. Enjoy the drinks. Eat at home first.

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I walked by Sweet Talk on chance this afternoon (on my way to another bakery I thought I remembered around the corner) and only realized it existed when I saw a sandwich board advertising fresh donuts.

I don’t need a lot of arm twisting to get me in the door when I see a sign for fresh donuts.

They probably should do a better job of being visible. Had it not been for that sandwich board I would have walked right by and never ever known it existed.

It’s a lovely cafe, a great atmosphere, and apparently it turns into a cocktail lounge at night. I will definitely have to bring Merilynn and to check that out.

They also offer a small breakfast menu if you need more than just donuts.

They have a huge selection of donuts. From what I can gather only 10 varieties.Quality over quantity though right? The offerings I see in front of me do look pretty scrumptious though.

Since I’m not interested in getting diabetes today I’m only going to get two.

The Cinnamon Twist

And a raspberry stuffie.

While both donuts exceeded expectations, the raspberry stuffie really made an impression on me. The filling in particular. That has to be a homemade jam. It’s just too good. The flavour was absolutely bursting with raspberry, and I don’t mean that artificial raspberry flavour you see way too often. And such a light and fluffy donut that exquisite filling was in. Reminded me a lot of a Mello donut actually.

The Cinnamon Twist was also really well done. The sugar coating was balanced well with the cinnamon. Basic, but executed perfectly.

I didn’t grab a coffee this time, I had just finished one, but it looks like they have a proper machine so I’ll give that a try on my next visit.

With the quality of those donuts I’ll definitely be back.

10)10

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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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