Kessel&March

Went to Kessel&March for lunch today. My two friends ordered coffee, B ordered a lemonade and I ordered iced tea, which they actually didn't have, but was able to bring me a tea and a glass of ice- which worked out perfectly because I don't like my iced tea sweetened.

I ordered the Pate Sandwich. The sandwich was good, they mixed some cucumber into the pate, so it was fresher and not as heavy. I found the bread a little over toasted, and it kind of hurts when I bite into it. Otherwise, it was decent. I liked the minimal dressing for the side salad.

B ordered the Chorizo Hash. It was okay, he enjoyed it. The flavour was boring and he wished there were more chorizo, but it was good. The egg was cooked perfectly and the brown toast tasted fresh. You can tell it was made in house.

My friends ordered the Meat Skillet and the Benedict Royale (shown in order). I didn't get to taste it but they said it was really good. The eggs looked perfectly cooked too, nice and runny.

You may remember from a precious post that I am often disappointed by lava cakes that aren't runny and gooey. This Lava Cake at Kessel&March was made to perfection.

As soon as you put your spoon in it, the chocolate came flowing out. It was rich, chocolately, and not too sweet.

Unfortunately for Kessel&March, they're located right next to the Port Metro Vancouver container terminal so the neighbourhood stank. At first we couldn't smell it anymore when we stepped into the restaurant, but it crept in near the end.

Overall, it's worth a try, but I probably won't return because although the food was good, it was not worth the trip or the smell.

One-Pot Red Beans and Rice

As with the Tandoori Quinoa, we picked this recipe for the "one pot" aspect. We got this recipe from Southern Bite and just tweeked a little bit. We were able to split it into four generous dinners for two people, keeping mostly the same measurements.

Ingredients
From the Pantry (or market)

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 chicken bouillons
• 2 cups Uncle Ben's wholegrain brown rice

From the market

• 1.5 lbs (700g) Italian sausage,* sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 28oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

*Note: we used Italian sausage because it was the cheapest option available at the market

Instructions

1. Heat vegetable oil on a pan over medium heat.
2. Add sausage and cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add onion, green pepper, and celery, and cook 7 to 8 minutes or until onions are translucent.
4. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add chicken bouillons and 2.5 cups water and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
6. Stir in beans and rice.
7. Reduce heat to a simmer.
8. Cover and cook for 20 minutes (according to cooking instructions on rice packaging) or until rice is tender.

This recipe was really tasty and I don't think there's anything else we would change aside from perhaps adding some herbs to it next (i.e. parsley or thyme). I know we changed a lot already - went away from the cajun sausage and the creole seasoning, but the ingredients were good and the dish ended up being quite tasty.

One Pot Tandoori Quinoa

We got this recipe from Yup...it's Vegan! mostly because it said "One Pot" and it looked really quick and easy to make. As usual, just a few tweeks to the recipe, but all the measurements remained the same. We were able to have it for lunch Monday through Friday, for two people.

Ingredients
From the pantry (or market if you don't already have these)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 1 cube vegetable bouillon
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

From the market

• 1 sweet potato,* diced into small cubes (~ 1cm)
• 1 small onion,* finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 cup red quinoa
• 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained
• 2 on the vine tomatoes, diced
• 1 lime
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

* Note 1: the sweet potatoes in the Vancouver are white - the orange kind on the website are yams

* Note 2: we didn't use the red onions because they were really big and we didn't want to waste food

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
2. Add sweet potatoes, cook for about 6-8 minutes (until softened), stirring frequently.
3. Add onions, cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add garlic, jalepeno, and ginger, cook for another minute (until fragrant).
5. Stir in garam masala, cook for 30 seconds.
6. Add quinoa, vegetable bouillon, 1 and 1/4 cup water, chickpeas, tomatoes, and sugar, and stir to combine.
7. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
8. Cook until the quinoa and sweet potatoes are cooked through, about 20 minutes.
9. If there seems to be too much liquid, uncover for a few minutes to evaporate excess.
10. Add salt, pepper, and additional garam masala to taste.
11. Mix in lime juice and chopped cilantro.
12. Serve with Srirarcha.

I must admit splitting it into basically 10 servings was kind of on the smaller side. Next time, we will probably add a yam in and maybe multiply the quinoa by one-and-a-half. Otherwise, it was really easy and quick - tasty too if you're into Indian food.

West Restaurant

Went to West for another friend's birthday. I had no idea it was part of the Blue Water Cafe / Araxi / Cin Cin family. Had I known I probably wouldn't have visited- but I'm glad I did.

The decor was really nice - modern and clean. We sat by the kitchen window and witnessed the kitchen staff create pieces of art dish after dish. They were beautiful.

Everyone started with a salmon amuse Bouche. It was refreshing and had a great balance of texture.

I had the seasonal dish, which was butter roasted halibut cheeks with baby gem lettuce, castelvetrano olives and a spring garlic emulsion. The halibut cheeks were perfectly cooked- tender, melts in your mouth. The emulsion was a little bitter and balanced the lettuce really well.

Another dinner mate had the Rare Seared Albacore Tuna- which I had wanted at first, but as our fabulous server suggested, going for seasonal dishes is always a good idea. The tuna was delicious, the dish really showcases the natural taste of the tuna.

The star of the night had the pre-theatre fixed dinner, with the Side Striped Prawn Ceviche, Wild BC Salmon, and Chocolate Pot de Creme. The ceviche was refreshing. The citrus perfectly balanced the creaminess of the prawn. The prawn was so fresh.

The salmon was solid. The taste of dill was really strong and went really well with the salmon.

I'm not a fan of cranberry, but the pot de creme was quite tasty. My friend finished the plate.

I ordered the Chocolate Tasting plate. It came with lime cake ganache roll with matcha cookie crumb, matcha tea layered chocolate petit gateau, and dark chocolate semi-freddo, mint ice cream. I really enjoyed the two matcha desserts, after Japan, everything and anything with Matcha is delicious. I like the crunch on the cake roll and layered cake. I'm not a fan of mint with dessert, so I didn't like the semi-freddo. I can see people like B liking it though, for those of you who like mint chocolate.

Overall a great experience. Our server was engaging and attentive. He knew his dishes and wine well. We had a great time. I'd recommend for a special occasion where you're willing to spend some money for some great food. I may return for an anniversary or another big birthday.

Sushi Loku

Went to Sushi Loku with a few friends on Tuesday. For a Tuesday, the place was quite busy - luckily, we'd called ahead of time.

When we arrived, I was a bit turned off by the worn out benches and the weird smell. But my worry was for naught.

We were really early, so we ordered the Killer Tuna Tacos to start. It was daunting to eat at first, because I was afraid it would be messy - and it wasn't really "bite size" either. But because it was served fresh, the chips were still crispy and you were able to just bite off each portion without making too big of a mess. They were seasoned well with the vinegar balancing the creaminess of the tuna.

After our friends arrived, we ordered the Tuna & Salmon Sashimi, Philadelphia Roll, and Loku's Aburi nigiri collection.

I always love places that allow you to order the mixed Tuna & Salmon Sashimi platter instead of one order of each. I could eat four pieces of sashimi, not eight, and I'd like to have both. The sashimi was well treated, though Sushi Bella's sashimi were double the size.

As usual, B needs his cream cheese fix. The Philadelphia roll was solid - the Salmon was a little unevenly sliced and the roll itself was a little big, but overall, it was tasty as usual.

Last came the Aburi nigiri - it literally came last. It's a little difficult to make because you have to sear eight different types of fish, whereas if you ordered a single type of Aburi, it's quick. Our dinner companions were still eating by the time this dish arrived, so it wasn't too slow. It was just slow for us because we had finished all our dishes already. The fish was well treated and the season on each one balanced perfectly.

Overall, we really enjoyed our dinner at Sushi Loku and would definitely return in the future. It's wonderful to find another sushi place in our neighbourhood.

Andiamo

Had dinner at Andiamo Bellevue tonight- not a bad experience. After Assaggio, we were hesitant about Italian restaurants.

We made reservations for 8, but didn't find out until last minute that it had changed to 6. Our friends arrived first and told the host/ server that we only had 6, but they sat us at the table for 8 anyway. Then after we arrived and the server came to take our drink orders and found out that we had 6 people, he decided to move us to another table. The table for 6 was great, nice round table, but couldn't they have done that when we first told them it was a table of 6?

The food was good though- preceded by some nice warm fresh bread.

We ordered the Tagliatelle, Veal Scaloppini Saltimbocca, and panna cotta. The tagliatelle was cooked perfectly and the flavour of the mushroom was strong and yet well balanced. As usual in 'Merica, portions were huge.

The veal was a little over cooked and tougher than expected. I also think they burnt the prosciutto or something because it felt like I was eating a piece of cardboard. But the pasta that came with it was solid. Good flavour, nothing crazy.

Panna cotta was decent. The texture was not as creamy as I expected. The fruit sauce added a nice tartness to it.

Everything was okay most of the time, except near the end there was some high pitched whining sound coming from the kitchen. It was not pleasant and went on for about 5 minutes. I would think if you had a loud kitchen, you'd install doors to block out the noise- no such luck.

Overall, if you're looking for decently priced and solid food, I'd recommend it. I guess we were spoiled by the good food at Federico's and other Italian places in Vancouver. I don't think we will return next time we're in Seattle though.

Federico's Supper Club

Went to Federico's for Mother's Day Dinner. Usually I find that when a restaurant takes reservations on open table for a special day, it's a bad sign- I'm lucky I was wrong because Federico's was such a great experience.

We had a party of 11 and were charged automatic gratuity. Usually that would mean bad service, but our server Vladimir took great care of us.

As appetizer we shared the Fritelle di Baccala, Cozze e Fagioli, and Carpaccio Di Manzo.

I couldn't take a picture of the cod before the others dug into it. The dish was fine, the breading on the fish was crispy and not soggy at all- just wasn't a fan of the mint on the side.

The mussels were great. The sauce had lots of flavour and the mussels were cleaned and cooked well. The cannellini beans added great texture to it.

The carpaccio was also very good, although if you're not a fan of cheese you may not enjoy it. The truffle oil was pungent and so aromatic and enjoyable.

Some time between appetizers and main course, a guitarist set up camp on stage and started playing acoustic guitar covers of pop music. He was so good I actually noticed each song ending and start applauding. The live music really livened up the atmosphere and made talking to each other more enjoyable.

As our Primi, we picked the Pasta Challenge dish: Romagna Mia, pappardelle in beef and chicken liver ragu, accented with flavours of pancetta, vermouth, sage, tomatoes and Grana Padano shavings. It was so rich, but delicious. B thought it was "too" rich, but the liver was perfect for me. My advice, try it before the challenge is over (if you like liver)!

As our Secondi, I ordered the Bistecca alla Griglia, the flat iron steak, cooked rare. It was a decent sized piece of steak, but I think the chef erred on the side of MEDIUM rare instead of rare. It was still juicy and tender though. It was seasoned well and I loved the caprese tomato to lighten it up.

My brother had the Braciola di Maiale. He enjoyed it and said the pork was very tender.

Other dishes included the Merluzzo Arrostito and Scottadito. Both enjoyable.

Overall, the entire dinner was enjoyable and we would return again. Try it out before the pasta challenge ends!