Black + Blue

Guest Writer: Gloria T.

The long anticipated Black & Blue restaurant has finally opened! The swanky, modern, and warming atmosphere brings a new life to the city. From their cozy lounges to their more intimate private booths and rooms, this is a place to be if you are looking for a nice night out with friends and family.  The decor is quite  glamorous with a feeling that you are in a mansion.

In terms of their appetizers, the feature is on their Black & Blue mini (beef) burgers topped with a soft homemade bun. Other notable appetizers on their menu (dinner) are their creamy lobster bisque with a hint of mushroom, as well as their oysters which are topped with chopped spinach, butter, and hollandaise. The Mac and cheese in a fried batter that is dipped in a light creamy sauce. A favorite appetizer is the roasted beef on a homemade bun, with the beef being cooked for over 10 hours. It was extra tender and flavourful! The night ended with a mini sundae which was nice and smooth with a fruity taste topped with a candy crunch.

>>> MORE PICTURES <<<

*Please note, this review is based on a media event and may not depict actual serving sizes or day-to-day quality and customer experience.

Location: 1032 Alberni Street Map Vancouver, BC (map)

SkyTrain Stop: Burrard Stn

Price: $15-$35+

More Info? www.blackandblue.ca

The long anticipated Black & Blue restaurant has finally opened! The swanky, modern, and warming atmosphere brings a new life to the city. From their cozy lounges to their more intimate private booths and rooms, this is a place to be if you are looking for a nice night out with friends and family.  The decor is quite  glamorous with a feeling that you are in a mansion. In terms of their appetizers, the feature is on their Black & Blue (beef) mini burgers topped with a soft homemade bun. Other notable appetizers are their creamy lobster bisque with a hint of mushroom, as well as their oysters which are topped with chopped spinach, butter, and hollandaise. The Mac and cheese in a fried batter that is dipped in a light creamy sauce. My favorite appetizer is the roasted beef on a homemade bun with the beef being cooked for over 10 hours. It was extra tender and flavourful! I ended the night having a mini sundae which was nice and smooth with a fruity taste topped with some candy crunch.

Black + Blue on Urbanspoon

Brunch at La Brasserie

La Brasserie is open for brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm and they do not take reservations. It is a small 35-seat Franco-German restaurant on Davie Street in Vancouver’s West End. The restaurant has a selection of classic comfort foods and carries over 30 European beers. If you walk by on a weekend evening, the restaurant will be fully packed. The brunch menu has about 12 items you can choose from, including buck a schuck osyters! The menu includes regular brunch items and some dishes you would not find at your neighborhood restaurant, which is why La Brasserie is a must try for brunch. Their menu also includes an eggs of the day, omlette of the day, and quiche of the day.

The Breakfast Poutine was a favourite, which included bacon with a pouched egg on top; the pork gravy was a perfect consistency and wasn’t too heavy for brunch. The Brasserie Burger is also a popular item – we saw so many people order it, so we had to try it. The burger included bacon, aged white cheddar, truffle oil, and crispy onions. The crispy onions made the burger extra tasty. More recently, La Brasserie opened La Brasserie Street, which features their rotisserie chicken sandwich that is served with crispy onions on a buttermilk bun. The food cart is located in front of Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station at Granville and West Georgia and they sell out quite often. If you are looking for brunch with a French-German twist, La Brasserie is where to go. If you don’t get a chance to visit the restaurant, then try their Brass Chicken Sandwich from their food cart.

Location: 1091 Davie Street, Vancouver, BC (map)

SkyTrain Stop: Yaletown Roundhouse Stn

Price: $10 – $15 (Brunch)

La Brasserie on Urbanspoon

Nice Cafe: Cheap Breakfast at Main & Broadway

Nice Cafe is a small neighborhood cafe at East 8th Avenue and Main Street. It is open for breakfast and lunch and they serve a variety of breakfast meals including soups, sandwiches and burgers. The prices are very reasonable for the food and the hash browns are great! They have daily specials and the smoked salmon eggs Benedict is only $7.35! The shape of the eggs are perfectly poached and the portions are very generous. The breakfast dishes were not greasy and the meal will definitely have you return for the great prices (menu page 1, page 2). Nice Cafe is a well-known gem in the area, so go early or you may need to wait for a table in the small restaurant.

Location: 154 E 8th Ave Vancouver, BC (map)

SkyTrain Stop: Main Station

Price:  $5 – $10

Nice Cafe on Urbanspoon

Happy Hour in Vancouver: Daily Food & Drink Specials

Happy Hour Wings and Fried Shrimp at Ebisu

 The following restaurants offer food and drink specials during the week, either daily or between specific hours.

The Atlantic Trap & Gill
www.atlantictrapandgill.com/vancouver/
612 Davie Street
(604) 806-6393

Boathouse Restaurants
www.boathouserestaurants.ca
Various Locations

Coast Restaurant
www.coastrestaurant.ca
1054 Alberni Street
(604) 685-5010

Donnelly Group Restaurants
http://www.donnellygroup.ca
Various Locations

Ebisu
www.ebisu.ca
827 Bute Street
(604) 689-8266

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen
www.goldfishkitchen.com
1118 Mainland Street
(604) 689-8318

Hub Restaurant and Lounge
www.hubrestaurant.ca
1165 Mainland Street
(604) 696-0400

Joe Fortes
www.joefortes.ca
777 Thurlow Street
(604) 669-1940

Kingston Taphouse & Grille
www.kingstontaphouse.com
755 Richards Street
(604) 681-7011

New Bohemian
thenewbohemian.ca
3162 West Broadway
(604) 736-7576

Ocean West Coast Japanese Bistro
http://www.oceanwestcoast.com/
3121 Granville St
(604) 736-3121

Rodney’s Oyster House
www.rodneysosyterhouse.com
1228 Hamilton Street #405
(604) 609-0080

Sandbar
www.vancouverdine.com
1535 Johnston Street
(604) 669-9030

The Teahouse in Stanley Park
www.vancouverdine.com
Ferguson Point, Stanley Park
(604) 669-3281

Yew Restaurant and Lounge
www.yewrestaurant.com/
The Four Seasons Vancouver
791 West Georgia Street
(604) 692-4939

Cooking with Rodrigo at the Startlight Casino + Contest for Dinner for 2

Cooking with Rodrigo is one of the Starlight Casino’s monthly shows that occurs on the last Tuesday of every month with limited seating for up to 60 people. Chef Rodrigo Fereira has been the executive chef at Redbar Lounge restaurant at the Casino for the last two years and has worked in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Bahamas, United States. You may have seen him on Celebrity Cruises as well. I had the opportunity to get a taste of the show last month on April 26, 2011, thanks to the Starlight Casino.

The dinner and show is approximately 1.5 to 2 hours in length and combines cooking demonstration and food plating while you enjoy a 5 course meal with BC wine pairings. Parts of the meal can also be prepared easily at home, which is demonstrated by Chef Rodrigo, who is comical and entertaining, but also personal as he walks around and speaks with guests between dishes. He also explained that they cannot predict anything that goes wrong once the show starts, because the cooking and the plating are all performed in front of the audience - one of the portable burners did not work right off the bat.

 

  

Menu

Starters

Cream of Tomato Soup with Roasted Mozzarella Croutons

White Asparagus and Truffles

Entrees

Lobster Thermidor

Kids Style Rocca Priora (Italian Rack of Lamb)

Dessert

Mini Mousse Cake & Peach Mascarpone Tart

The food, including wine pairings and entertainment is well worth the $50 ticket price for this event. The White Asparagus with Truffles was not a favourite and the dessert was premade or mass produced. However, the two entrees were delicious. The Lobster Thermidor was a lobster tail tossed in a bechamel sauce and served with spinach and tomatoes, that were sauteed on stage. The lobster was cooked perfectly and the portion was a good size. The rack of lamb was also cooked to perfection. Chef Rodrigo taught the audience how to sear the lamb and cook creamy polenta, while the dish was plated. The menu changes on a monthly basis, so please check with event website for more information.

MORE PICTURES >>

Enter to win 2 tickets to Cooking with Rodrigo (May 31, 2011)!

How to Enter: Tweet or Retweet on Twitter

 ”I’ve entered to win Dinner for 2 at Cooking with Rodrigo @StarlightCasino via @VancouverSavvy http://bit.ly/mGYAxR #StarlightCasino”

Contest Closes: Monday May 23, 2011 (11:59 PST)

Winner must be 19 years of age or older and tickets have no cash value.

Location: 350 Gifford Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 7A3 (map)

More Info? http://www.starlightcasino.ca

Related Posts with Thumbnails