Gallery 2.0

The AMS finally opened another Gallery in the Nest - honestly, they should've done that in the first place instead of trying something fancy. Don't mess with what works!

Obviously it looks better and cleaner than the original Gallery, but the layout is awkward for what they do. Since they don't have any "servers" waiting on particular tables / sections, they request that you take a menu and order at the bar before finding yourself a table. Kind of like eating at a food court. The POS was really slow, so the line up to order built quite quickly. After waiting in line for a bit, they opened up a second line for orders so the guy behind us jumped the queue and ordered first. We ordered a little after that and found ourselves a table. The manager was quite on the ball and brought us cutlery right away, but we didn't get water until we asked for it when the food arrived. There wasn't a station for us to pour our own water like we used to be able to at the original Gallery.

I had the Po' boy with a side salad. The Po' boy was pretty good. The chicken was tender and moist and the breading was still crispy despite being sandwiched between sauce and tomatoes. The salad was only lightly dressed, which was perfect for me. The only downside to the salad was the huge slices of pepper that doesn't really fit in your mouth in one bite. Whoever prepared it needs to work on their knife skills.

My friend had the fish and chips. She said the fish was well seasoned and well prepared. The fish was moist and cooked well and the breading was crispy. There were a couple negatives to her plate: the fries were too soft and didn't have any texture; and the plate only came with mayonnaise and ketchup, no tartar sauce at all.

The food came out relatively quickly after we ordered and a couple guys came to check up on us during the meal, so service was generally better than expected. I would probably come back here over koerner's simply because I can actually finish a meal and get back to work on time.

Grand Noodle Emporium

Had lunch at the nest today and decided to try out the Grand Noodle Emporium. For food court food, I "guess" you could say it's okay. Anywhere else and this place should be out of business.

We had the Crispy BBQ Duck Spring Rolls to start. They were okay. We wish the daikon was cut thinner and included inside the spring roll, as he spring roll was quite bland without it - like it was missing something. The reason the daikon and carrots would have helped was because they were soaked in vinegar and helped cut the richness of the sauce and the fattiness of the duck.

We also had the Hunan Pork because we heard the person in front of us say it was "really good". It was a disappointment. The pork was probably frozen as we had notes that were cold and bites that were hot. It tastes a bit like domburi with the egg and all, but lacking all the seasoning of a domburi. At least adding hot sauce and soy sauce seems to help.

Overall, did not enjoy waiting in line and in anticipation only to be disappointed. Mediocre food. At least sushi seems a better deal. Won't return.

BierCraft Wesbrook

Locations do make a difference. While we thought BierCraft on Cambie was overrated and too "hipster", BierCraft Wesbrook was a pleasant surprise. We went as part of an office Christmas lunch.

I ordered the Muffaletta Pannini, which came with two sides for only $12. I chose the Belgian Frites and the Seasonal Squash Soup. I also ordered the Bomber Seasonal (Cinder Block).

The pannini was a little on the salty side, probably from the prosciutto, but also probably because everything in the pannini (aside from the provolone cheese) tended to be salty. It probably would've been a bit less salty if they had more sauce. I also would've appreciated it if the cheese was melted.

The soup was fantastic. It had the right balance of saltiness, sweetness, and spiciness. All the flavours at once stood out and blended together very well.

Frites were frites. I liked the aioli dip.

My companions ordered chicken wings, Marinier mussels, Orleans mussels, and Caesar Salad with chicken. They said that the risk about ordering mussels is that sometimes the mussels are really small and you get really disappointed. That did not happen. They were very happy with the size and taste of their mussels.

Overall, good experience. Portion size were a little big, I only ate the soup and half the pannini, didn't finish my beer, and was stuffed full. I'm so glad I have a standing desk.

Our server was sweet and fun. Really accommodating and down to earth. We had a really great time. Service was not slow at all - probably because all the students have gone home for Christmas and the place was only half full.

Would recommend and probably return if I were EVER in the Wesbrook area.