A Kettle of Fish

I went to this place for a friend's birthday dinner and was looking pretty forward to checking this place out for its seafood. Parking for the restaurant is pretty much along any of the side hill streets and it's free which makes it awesome.

Dirty stuff out of the way, here's the washroom for those who based restaurant quality on the kitchen... err.. I meant washroom. Plain, standard, ugly... definitely not top-tier. You walk down a staircase through a fancy stairway and then it goes downhill (literally). If you ever became disoriented, you'd think you were at Knight and Day if you ever came to in here. But I can't complain, you are able to do your business in here just fine and everything seems to work.

So this is the lounge where you can either wait or go for some drinks here. I really like the decor and the chairs are super comfortable. From what I saw, the bar is next to it and it consisted of about five bar stools and a small TV with no sound so I'd definitely skip the bar if possible.
So I had been hearing about how this place was of this great infusion between upscale dining room plus nature garden, and lo and behold, we have a tree in the middle of the whole area. The restaurant was actually quite packed but I was able to snag this picture when we were the last table left. I think it's a nice touch and it looks pretty nice. Service was a little lacking as we told them that we had two more guests to arrive so we weren't ready to order but that doesn't mean we wouldn't still appreciate some water or some follow-up. For a place like this, I shouldn't really need to expect to flag for water or extra menus when guests arrive. (Okay, once everyone had arrived, service was good).

Sea Prawn Cocktail ~ $11 - I think you get about 8 okay-sized prawns with 3 sauces (curried mayo, ginger orange ketchup and caramelized tomato rouille - my fave). It was pretty good and a good starting appetizer.
Calamari ~ $10 - you can't just not go to a seafood restaurant and not try their calamari, and for what it's worth, I liked it; very good but not the best - that I've yet to find.
Fish n Chips ~ $18 - as you can see, a lot of fries which comes with the same dipping sauces at the prawn cocktail and what looks like two pieces of fish. i don't know what kind cause it's based on the daily catch. The guy said it sucked and wasn't worth it. I didn't get to validate his opinion since that would involve swapping morsels in exchange and his dish didn't look appealing. I was pondering the fish n chips - thanks goodness I didn't get it.

Sablefish Pappardelle alla Carbonara ~ $25. 25 - it looked good and tasted great. but as you can see, it's pretty eye-popping small for a whopping $25. For what it's worth, it did come with a little bit of baby squash and zucchini.

Local Paella ~ $28.50 - the menu listed a lot of things like sablefish, coho salmon, albacore tuna, spot prawns, saltspring island mussels, qualicum baby scallop, chorizo sausage and carnaroli rice. So what you get is a small bit of everything. In the end, I guess you get like 3 bites of a seafood delicacy for $4 each plus the carnaroli rice which must mean super salty.

Albacore tuna ~$24 - I checked their menu and don't see this item anymore so I guess it's no longer in season... I really enjoyed this dish which just so happened to be mine. You get a few baby vegetables, the super salty rice and 3 pretty fair pieces of seared albacore tuna which was also topped off with some sort of chocolate glaze which actually complemented each other very well.

Cheesecake with spiced pears and almond oat crumble ~ $6.50 - very good since I like pears. As for the size, hmm... think about the opening of a standard size mug. However, I really wanted to try the rocky road but was too full. This just so happened to be someone else's dish that I mooched off of.

Overall rating ~ 7.5 - I'm willing to go back for a celebration or a suggested dinner but this wouldn't necessarily be my first choice. Given that I'm not a fan of crustaceans and mollusks, that doesn't leave me with my variety which is no fault of their restaurant's but the other items just don't seem appealing. When I picking my dish, it wasn't a matter of "oh, I don't know what to get, they all look so good!", but "oh, I don't know what to get - which one offers the biggest portions for the cheapest price?" Well... now that I think about it, bang for your buck is a reasonable way to make food decisions.



A Kettle of Fish

900 Pacific Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2E3

Tel: 604-682-6661

The Naam

Located on the outskirts of the posh areas of Kitsilano lies this little hole in the wall known as the Naam. Personally, this place looks like it belongs on Hastings & Main. Anyway, it's open 24 hours, usually has lineups and is all vegetarian all the time. I'm for all eating healthy so I was a little intrigued by what this place had to offer. As with most other Kits restaurants, parking is on the streets but since it's not as commercialized, parking is free. After waiting 45 minutes, we finally got in and there isn't much room to stand in line inside the place so make sure you assign a designated spot holder. From the outside, the place looks a little sketchy and it's not much better inside. It was packed and busy so I didn't want to take any pics but picture yourself sitting inside a rustic European house in the countryside with strange pictures and fabrics hanging on the wall... kinda like the gypsies. Alternatively, I also thought I was in a hippie's house. So the waitress took our order and 45 minutes later......

Gold Dragon bowl ~ $9.95 - Naam fries, cheese, miso gravy, steamed vegetables, sprouts, carrots and deep fried tofu. The fries and tofu were on the very bottom and were soggy and gross by the time I got to them. The miso gravy is good in moderation but when your whole bowl is drenched in it, it's not that good. I felt like a sheep while I was munching on my alfalfa sprouts and raw vegetables. Except that for a sheep, it's free to eat grass. I can't believe I waited 45 minutes for raw vegetables and soggy potatoes.
Cashew & Avocado Enchilada ~ $10.95 - grilled veggies, cashews and avocado wrapped in an organic corn tortilla with salsa, yogurt and cheese. When I saw this dish, I wish I had ordered it cause it reminded me of lasagna and sure looked more appetizing than my dish. To the right of it is the Naam salad, a cornucopia of raw vegetables which is $6 on the menu....

Maui-Maui Burger ~ $8.95 - comes with mushrooms, water chestnuts and pineapple with teriyaki sauce and Naam fries. I didn't get to actually try this but my friend said it was good. This was my second choice and I wish I got it too... only because I didn't like my dish. Also, when dry, the Naam fries are alright. Well... I guess they taste like any other unsalted potato wedge.

Thai noodles ~ $11.50 - green & red peppers, onion, tofu, sprouts, red cabbage, garlic, ginger, peanuts and stir-fried noodles. This was an okay dish but I personally wouldn't order Asian food from a non-Asian place (unless it's the tuna tataki from Cactus Club). Also, since this is a vegetarian place, it's not as tasty or flavorful compared to if you ordered it elsewhere.

So overall, it was quite the experience but I can't say that I'm itching to go back. The service was up (they constantly filled our water glasses) and down (too few servers for such a busy establishment). My friend also ordered a fruit smoothie and specifically asked for the fruit contents. Once she got it, she had a sip and said she tasted kiwi and asked the waitress cause she was allergic to kiwi. The waitress said she forgot and acted nonchalant about it and took it away. At least she didn't charge her for it but not cool. The food? Well, the portions were quite large but yet, you probably wouldn't feel satisfied. Upon finishing our meal, we usually have dessert but this time, all I really wanted was some meat.

Rating - 5. It's probably because I couldn't fathom the idea of being a vegan so I am extremely bias but I won't be returning anytime soon. I feel like I'm in a barn being fed like a farm animal except I am paying for it.

The Naam

2724 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6K1R1

Tel: 604-738-7151
The Naam

Refuel

As you approach Refuel, the first thing you'll probably notice is the chef working in the window facing the street. I thought it was pretty interesting but it'd be weird if I took a picture of him. Refuel is located in Kits so you just have to look for street parking although just on the same block, there is a parking lot for the Salvation Army and yes, you have to pay, but it's $1 for the whole night, score!


As you walk down the bar, you'll note the open environment and how the chefs are easily accessible to the patrons but I guess that's if you sit at the bar. It's quite welcoming and cozy with enough seating at the tables for maybe 40 people. The waitress that we had was very nice even though I couldn't use the Visa perks coupon cause it was listed under "Fuel" even though it's the same owners. Just a heads-up if that's the sole reason you are going there. Some of the food I'm gonna show isn't even on the menu on Refuel's website so I guess a lot has changed in 2 months or perhaps it was just their Olympics menu.


Creamy onion soup - no longer appears on the menu and seems to have been replaced with the creamy broccoli which I think I'd like more. This dish was very salty... probably why I liked it.


Lemon risotto - no longer a staple on their menu either. Not really much to say about this dish. It was lemon-y... not bad but not great.


The cure's salami ~ $17 - This is their salami dish where you can pick 3 different types of meat with some dips. I can't really what the meats we picked were but it's a nice sharing dish. It came with 3 dips and some really hard bread.


Buttermilk fried polderside chicken ~ $18 - my buddy kept raving about how this was the best fried chicken in all of Vancouver and seeing other people in the restaurant enjoying it probably made the dish taste better than it would have. The dish comes with coleslaw (eww), a jalapeno biscuit (awesome) and three pieces of chicken bigger than your average KFC so it is filling. The fried skin was great but to my horror, right underneath the fried goodness was the rubbery white skin that you get with Hainan chicken. I dislike that slippery, rubbery texture so that kinda ruined the chicken for me. Other than that, the meat was very tasty.


Dry aged beef burger ~ $14.50 - I didn't get to try this but my friend seemed to like my chicken more than his burger. It just doesn't seem any different from other (and cheaper) burgers that you could get elsewhere. He totally regretted it, I know.


A special on the night was the massive 18oz. ribeye steak. I can't recall the price exactly but it was close to $50. All I can tell you is that it was great!

As for my rating... would I go back?

Rating: 7.5 - I'd go back. I enjoyed my time and the meal. The waitress was nice as was the atmosphere and decor. I only wish that the dishes weren't all so darn salty. Ironically, I'd also get the fried chicken again despite what I said above. I need to give it another chance before I agree that it has dethroned Church's as the best chicken in town.

Refuel neighbourhood restaurant & bar

1944 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC V6J1M5

Tel: (604) 288-7905
http://www.refuelrestaurant.com/

P.S. So I'm back to writing blogs and yes, I was kinda lazy on this one, but it's hard to remember things from 2 months back.