Mr. Brownstone Bar & Grill

Went to Mr. Brownstone on Main for a friend's birthday. I was invited there once for another birthday, but never got to try the food - this time I got to try plenty.

We first had the spicy teriyaki chicken wings because we were so hungry, and our friend hadn't arrived yet. Though advertised as spicy, they actually weren't spicy. But the flavours were good and the skin was crunchy. The size was also decent.

When our friend arrived, we ordered two more appies and two main courses.

We had a truffle oil poutine and spinach dip. The truffle oil was strong, which made the poutine very flavourful. The cheese and gravy were generously well spread out. Every bite was delicious.

Spinach dip is spinach dip. You really can't go wrong with it. We liked that it was served with different types of bread. Although it may look small, it was plenty and we had to take some home.

Our friend had the shepherd's pie, which was well seasoned and the potato on top was really fluffy.

We had the special of the day - vegetarian risotto, made with asparagus, mushrooms, cherry tomato, and goat cheese. Although it was well made, I think our home made three-mushroom risotto was better. Maybe the dish needed just a little bit more seasoning.

Overall, we enjoyed the meal, everything was prepared well. The service was good and we actually packed a bit of everything to take home because they were so big. We will recommend but not sure if we will return for a while.

Baked Cod with Pineapple Avocado Salsa

Another recipe from myfitnesspal - Baked Cod with Pineapple Avocado Salsa.

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless Cod fillets
• 1 cup pineapple, diced
• 1 cup avocado, diced
• 1/2 cup cucumber, diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (we ran out of lime so we used a leftover lemon)
• salt and pepper
• quick rice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. In a small bowl, combine pineapple, avocado, cucumber, red onion, 1 tbsp lime juice and pinch of salt and mix until well incorporated. Set aside to allow flavours to meld (we did this the night before to save time the next day - onions help prevent avocados from turning brown).
3. Place fish on baking sheet (cover with aluminium foil to help with clean up) and sprinkle with salt and pepper (we didn't have lime or lemon to sprinkle with).
4. Bake until cod is opaque and flakes easily with a fork, about 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. (Here's a little information on undercooked fish and worms - don't be alarmed if you find worms on your cod)
5. Remove from pan and top with salsa. We served with a side of brown rice and lots of sriracha, as it was a little bland.

Although the salsa was tasty, the cod was bland - we probably won't be making this again.

Thai Beef Kabobs with garden vegetable saute

Another dinner recipe from Fitness Pal - what can I say, it takes too much effort to surf different sites for just one week's worth of dinner. We also could've used the barbecue, but it just seemed easier to use and wash everything indoors.

Ingredients
Marinade

• 2 tbsp lemon juice (we used lime because they were on sale at the grocery store)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 5 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 lb beef chuck, cut into smaller cubes

Vegetables

• 2 cup julienned zucchini
• 1 cup chopped scallions (we used green onions, apparently google says they're the same thing)
• 1 cup corn kernels (we forgot to use this)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (we used grape tomatoes because we couldn't find any cherry tomatoes at the market)
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (I think we may have used 4 tbsp, we really like cilantro)

Directions

1. Mix marinade and beef in a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate at least 2 hours (we marinaded it overnight)
2. Preheat broiler (or grill).
3. Thread beef onto 8 skewers (reserve marinade) and grill or broil 4" from the heat for 12-15 minutes, or until beef is lightly browned on all sides and no longer pink in the centre (it's beef though, so you can probably cook less)
4. While beef is cooking, heat skillet with oil and add zucchini, scallions, (corn), and beans. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the beans are crisp-tender. Add the tomatoes and 2 tbsp of the reserved marinade (more if you like it more saucy); cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add cilantro. Serve with the beef.

We really enjoyed this recipe and will definitely make it again. If you precut / pre-chop all the vegetables beforehand, it's really quick to make.

Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai

We were organized enough to make this Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai from the myfitnesspal website after returning from a camping trip. We have a new found love for squash of all types. They're so healthy and make such great replacements for pasta (which makes me lethargic).

Unfortunately, there are no pictures because we were too hungry.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast
• 1 large Spaghetti Squash
• 2 large Carrots, grated
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
• 4 Green Onions, thinly sliced + more for garnish
• 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup Cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1/3 cup chopped Unsalted Peanuts
• 2 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the sauce:

• 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
• 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar (or substitute White Vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons Lime Juice (if you roll the lime really hard before cutting in, you should be able to squeeze enough from one lime)
• 3 tablespoons Honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds and guts. Drizzle the flesh side with olive oil and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 45 minutes (until a fork slides in easily).
2. When the squash is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, use a fork to scrape out all of the spaghetti squash, until all you have left is the skin. Set the squash in a colander for about 10 minutes to drain all of the excess moisture.
3. Make the sauce by combining all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and warming over medium-low heat. It does not need to boil. Keep it warm while you prepare the rest of the meal.
4. Grate, slice, and chop the vegetables (peppers, carrots, green onions and garlic). If your peanuts are not chopped, chop them now, before you contaminate your cutting board with raw chicken.
5. Cut the chicken into small pieces and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Stir occasionally until the chicken is lightly brown.
6. Add the vegetables and saute for about 3-4 minutes, until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add the drained spaghetti squash and the sauce to the skillet and stir until evenly distributed.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the peanuts and cilantro.
8. Garnish with more green onions and cilantro.
9. And of course, add sriracha to taste.

Craft Beer Market Restaurant + Bar

Went to Craft to celebrate a friend's birthday.

First of all, they didn't take reservations, so we had to try to show up early - and the place wasn't full at any point during the evening - probably due to the Squamish Music Fest.

One of my friends ordered the "Around the World" beer sampler. As always, I never order them because there's always one or two that just really sucks. Lo and behold, the one from Quebec (forget the actual name) was really bad (according to my friend). The rest were decent though.

Apparently, my friends were full from lunch so they only ordered some appetizers. Below is the nacho barrel. We understood why it was a "barrel" after it arrived; it was huge - for $18, I guess it has to be. But really, is this WORTH $18? The nachos tasted average, nothing special. We didn't actually finish the whole thing and there were nine of us at the table.

The Crab Cake Sliders were pretty good, especially the aioli on the side. You could definitely taste the crab. $12 and it was gone in less than 5 minutes.

Some of us also ordered the salt and pepper wings and tacos. They were average and wasn't anything spectacular.

As my meal I had the Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger. Everyone was shocked at the colour of the bun - it looked like it was burnt, but tasted fine. The blue cheese oozed out as you cut into it. There was a decent amount of bacon so that every bite you take has some bacon in it. The onions, mustard, and mayo really helped balance the saltiness of the meat and cheese. The fries were well seasoned. Solid burger and fries for $16 - packed two-thirds of it to take home for lunch.

Some other dishes we ordered were the dark beer braised beef brisket, phillips beer can chicken, and brewmaster's chicken sandwich - all of which were decent. Nothing spectacular, but nothing upsetting either.

We ordered the Früli Float for the birthday boy as dessert. It tasted very strongly of strawberry with just a tiny hint of beer. You know it's good when the boys finished the whole thing - can't go wrong with ice cream. The server even brought it with multiple straws for everyone to partake in.

Speaking of server / service. The service was solid. We were sitting in the upstairs loft area but our server was attentive and friendly. My tiny glass of beer (0.45L glass of pilsner for $6.75) was never empty - my server checked in enough to make sure I always had something to drink.

The establishment also charges an automatic gratuity of 18% for large groups, which our server kindly pointed out to us when she brought out the cheque. I thought that was very professional as some servers at other establishments don't say anything and patrons end up just tipping on top of the tip.

Overall, it was a good place for a group of us to just hang out and shout funny stories at each other. I wouldn't go back as I thought everything was over priced but nothing was absolutely delicious or would make you think "Wow, this is great!" I could walk down the block to the Tap & Barrel for better food and more reasonably priced drinks. Probably won't be returning unless I have to go to another birthday or something - but if I had any say in the choice of venue, I'd probably choose somewhere else.

Shining Garden

Came here for dinner with the family. The "kids" table ordered hot and sour soup, two plates of salt and pepper chicken wings, fried pork with mayonnaise, Chinese sausage with gai lan, enoki mushroom and tofu on broccoli, ginger gai lan, and ginger scallop fried rice.

I guess we were a little hyped because it was sooooo busy. It was a good thing we made reservations.

The food came quick and the service was good enough for a Chinese restaurant.

The soup was only okay. The broth tasted like sausage and too salty. Definitely the weakest dish of the evening. Not our favourite soup.

The chicken wings were a little too salty and not spicy enough despite the mound of peppers on it. They were also abnormally big. It was crispy and the batter was nice and fluffy.

The pork was really good. It wasn't crispy, but it was nice and tender and the sauce went well with it. I don't have a picture of it because it went really quickly.

All three veggie dishes were well seasoned and cooked perfectly. They gai lan and broccoli had a good crispness to it. The Chinese sausage really added a lot to the balance.

The rice was also very well seasoned. There were baby scallops in every spoonful.

As dessert, we had pumpkin tapioca sweet soup. It wasn't too sweet and the shredded coconut added some good texture to it. Pretty tasty. Enjoyable.

Overall a decent experience. Would recommend making reservations before your visit.