Au Petit Chavignol

I went here the other night with one of my friends. It's located on Hastings Street and Hawke Avenue, a block down from the infamous Astoria pub. Au Petit Chavignol is located right beside Les Amis du Fromage, it's sister company, which means if you like something on the menu, you can go right next door after your meal and buy it! :)

The first thing I noticed about this place was its extensive list of aperatifs and digestifs, which I of course indulged in! I ordered a glass of Ricard pastis to sip at while Lucy and I waited for our spinach and chevre salad. This salad was amazing - spinach, deep-fried chevre, sliced almonds and strawberries in a raspberry vinagrette.

For my entree, I ordered the four cheese macaroni and cheese which was oozing with cheeeeeese. They use a very eclectic mix of cheese: gruyere, white cheddar, orange cheddar and stilton blue.

Overall, a very cheeeeeesy experience.

Belgian Fries!

Belgian Fries is located at Commercial and 3rd Street.

It's best enjoyed when you feel a little bit under the weather and need some lovely grease to perk you up!

The beer is really cheap - $4.25 for a sleeve of granville island!

And they have fourteen different types of dips!

Next up on the list to try there: deep-fried pecan ice cream.

HAVANA RESTAURANT

Havana is a Cuban restaurant located on commercial drive across from Grandview Park. This place makes delicious food and to-die-for cocktails (especially the strawberry-ginger mojitos!). It also has a huge patio, a theatre/gallery/art space and an overall coooool feeling.

We ordered the calamari as a starter, and then I had the shrimp tacos as my main, which were nicely jazzed up with cumin, bean puree, avocado and pineapple salsa !... om nom nom.

Everyone should go here!

http://www.havanarestaurant.ca/

Rhizome Cafe

This little cafe is located on Broadway, a couple of blocks east of Main street. This is a very interesting space; the decor creates a very warm atmosphere that makes you feel at home.

The food is terrific too~I love love love the kamut-banana pancakes! Add a side of veggie breakfast patties and I'm smiling.

Words of warning: do not go to this place if you are pressed for time. They like to make you wait to earn your delicious meal!

Check it out ~ http://www.rhizomecafe.ca/index.html

SUSHI TIME

My friend and I took a sushi class a few weeks back and attempted to make some of the delicious dishes we learned this past wednesday...

Shrimp Sunomono Salad

1 pack vermicelli noodles

rice vinegar

sugar

white wine (we used barefoot's pinot grigio)

grapefruit juice

cucumber

shrimp

Yakiudon

1 pack udon noodles

1 pack udon sauce

dry seaweed

oil, for frying

Maki

rice

nori

cucumber

avacado

crabmeat

shrimp tempura

yam tempura

Tempura Batter

1 cup flour

1 cup ice water

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 egg

I think our teacher would be very proud! ^_^

Cafe Deux Soleils - Part II

I know I've previously written about this place before, but that was about breakfast.

This time it's about dinner.

This place makes the best veggie burger in town. I've had some argumentative debates about this topic - as some people believe the Naam's got the claim to fame in the veggie burger category - but cafe deux soleils' soft, chewy, fluffy patty has a special place in my heart.

They have lots of other delicious bites on their dinner menu as well!

Cowboy Cookies

I don't know why these cookies are called "cowboy cookies," I like to think it's because they are WILD with flavor. A mix of coconut, pecans, oats and chocolate chips is enough to keep me from singing the blues.

Cowboy Cookies

(adapted from Martha Stewart)

3/4 cup pecans

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups rolling oats

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

2. In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder.

3. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

4. Gradually add flour mixture to the electric mixer, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans and coconut until just combined.

5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and drop dough onto sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, 16 to 18 minutes.