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.