604 Foodtography

Wineries of Oliver, BC

April 24, 2013 – 09:00

After a filling breakfast at Crucetti’s Family Restaurant, I figured we should probably drive around and see if any of the wineries were open at 10am on Sunday. The first thing I usually do in a new city is drop by the Visitors Centre, but unfortunately the one here in Oliver is closed on the weekends.

That’s no worry though, there are some handy maps available to look at.

I decided to take a drive along the outskirts of the city, instead of driving along Main street in the middle of town. The first winery we happened upon was Oliver Twist Estate Winery, where I immensely enjoying their Oliver’s Choice, made with Kerner grapes (so much that I bought a bottle…for my sister).

After this, we made our way over to Hester Creek Estate Winery. It was here that we saw a little pamphlet called the Winery passport contest, held by the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association. This gave us a bit of additional motivation and reason to visit the numerous wineries in Oliver. read more »

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British Columbia Canada Cuisine European Greek Italian Location Oliver

Savvios Family Restaurant, Oliver, BC

April 24, 2013 – 00:13

Midway through our Winery tour, we were famished for lunch and needed something to eat, but there was nothing else around except for 7-11, A&W or some Chinese food. So…we ended up here, at Savvios Family Restaurant, where they serve Greek AND Italian cuisine. It’s weird how these two cuisines are always lumped together as a restaurant offering.

Entering shortly after noon, we were the only customers in here aside from some old man playing a foreign instrument sitting with who we would later find out to be the guy cooking our food. Now when I say this place is old and dated, I mean they’ve got old school wooden beams, dim lighting and red and green velvet tablecloths. It’s garish, it makes you cringe and smile at the same time at how messy yet “homey” the decoration is.

The menu is pretty standard, prices are on par with what you’d see in Vancouver for a restaurant of this kind. Val ordered the Chicken souvlaki, but there was no chicken left..so they asked her if she was okay with lamb. Sure, why not. How do you want it done? What do you mean? Flavour or doneness? We had no clue what our server meant so we said whatever’s best. Turns out that meant well done like rubber. For $12.95 it was okay I guess, lots of rice, lots of salad, lemon-baked potato and pita bread.

As for me, I had one of the specials of the day (I’m daring, I know), a beef donair with a side of Italian wedding soup. Heavy tzaziki sauce, loads of red onions dominated the donair itself, but it was filling and did the job.

Overall, it was food, it was edible..I mean, what can you say? It’s a family restaurant, it’s old, dated and in a small town. There’s not much else..

Savvios Family Restaurant
34646 97th Street, Oliver, BC
1 – (250) 498-4418

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American Breakfast British Columbia Canada Cuisine Location Oliver Type

Crucetti’s Family Restaurant, Oliver, BC

April 17, 2013 – 16:00

Looking for some food to eat other than Tim Horton’s for breakfast (thanks for the Wi-Fi and coffee), I quickly scanned through Foursquare and Yelp (had no choice) for some options. It was either Crucetti’s, Cock and Bull or Cantaloupe Annie’s (closed?) and so since we were closest to the Oliver Centre Mall, we headed to Crucetti’s.

Crucetti's Family Restaurant, Oliver, BC

The interior is dated, probably to the 1950′s. The patrons at the time of our visit around 9am were definitely all born then, if not earlier. By dated, I mean that the walls consist of a lower half panel of slatted wood and an upper half of floral wallpaper, complete with old black and white pictures of past Oliver baseball teams.

The menu is a single sheet of paper and contains all the basic breakfast items; two eggs any style, steak and eggs, eggs benny, omelettes, French toast, hotcakes, and some lighter options and add ons. Basically Crucetti’s is your classic breakfast diner. read more »

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Alcohol Beer British Columbia Canada Complimentary Location Media Richmond

Pumphouse Pub – Beer Cocktails Long Table Dinner

April 11, 2013 – 00:00

At the relatively quiet intersection of Blundell & No. 2 Road in Richmond, BC is a pub that serves up an amazing craft beer selection. Really, it’s a pretty cool place to be in as it’s got actual personable history, not some cookie cutter pub layout.

Of course, their beer selection is helped as they’ve got a working relationship with Beerthirst.

I was invited out to one of their longtable dinners, usually they are just a pour of beer paired with a dish, but this time it was beer cocktails. read more »

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Asian British Columbia Canada Location Vancouver Vietnamese

Bún chả cá Hoàng Yến

April 9, 2013 – 16:10

Hoàng Yến is a fairly new restaurant on Victoria Drive, having taken over what used to be the Mayflower Cafe, a Chinese Canadian restaurant. They’ve kept the “-Canadian” part, but replaced the Chinese with Vietnamese.

Inside, it’s quite stereotypical of a Vietnamese restaurant with the tight table seatings, mirrored wall and a TV playing some Vietnamese channel, except…it’s really clean and bright! Service is pretty good too, even though it was super busy when we went at peak dinner time (630pm).

The prices are very reasonable and even include tax. Add-ons to any main (noodle or rice) are also very cheap ($1.50 for spring or salad rolls, $2.00 for coffee or 3 bean ice). read more »

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Cooking

Roast Garlic

March 28, 2013 – 07:00

Roasted garlic is so easy and simple, you can prep a large batch at once and reap the benefits months later.

Take a bunch of garlic heads and lop off the top. Not too much, but just enough to expose some surface area. Keep the skin, it’ll help with the removal later on.

Put the garlic cut side down in a oven safe dish and drown it in olive oil. You’ll want to roast it at 350-400 for maybe 20-30minutes.

When it’s done, you’ll know. Your kitchen will smell absolutely glorious, the garlic will be this nice medium brown colour. Take it out and let it cool slightly and remove the garlic heads. As for the oil, strain it to get rid of any bits and save it, for now it’s infused with that garlicky goodness.

Now, carefully squeeze the cloves of garlic out. They’ll pop just like pimples, except that’s gross and this is delicious. There’s a multitude of options with your now slightly sweet-soft-browned cloves of garlic. Mash it in with your potatoes, add to your pasta sauce.. or do as I did, mixed it in with some butter. Thoroughly mix it in, and then spread it out on some saran wrap. Roll it up and wrap it, throw it in the freezer to reform. Now you’ve got garlic butter whenever you want!

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Alcohol American Bar Barbecue Beer British Columbia Burgers Canada Complimentary Cuisine Location Media Pub Type Vancouver

Falconetti’s East Side Grill – VANEATS.ca “Falconetti’s Fix” Preview

March 18, 2013 – 16:15

I’ve only ever had great experiences at Falconetti’s and so with an opportunity to visit my old friend on the Drive, I was pretty darn jaunty. (Wait, what adjective did I just use?!)

For $16, this package from VANEATS.ca includes:
1. Mini Poutine, freshly made pepper gravy drizzled over real Quebec cheese curds
2. Slow Smoked Pork Ribs, smoked in-house with our special rub then slathered in our Tequila BBQ sauce
3. Falconetti’s Famous Sausauges, choose 1 of any of their gourmet, home made sausages
4. Phillips Beer’s Blue Buck, two 4oz glasses of a deep amber coloured beer with a crisp finish featuring a delicate hop aroma

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Asian British Columbia Canada Cuisine Japanese Location Vancouver

Sushi by Yuji

March 18, 2013 – 09:00

After seeing multiple posts raving about the quality, price, and sheer unknownness of this recently opened (mid January 2013) sushi restaurant online, I paid a visit on the weekend. Located in a newly built development on Kingsway just before Nanaimo, it’s a bit nondescript, small and easily passed by.

However..you should really go try. Here’s the menu, front and back.

Most of the reviews online said they ordered omakase from Yuji, with the price being around $65 for two people. So of course, no time wasted looking at the menu, we did just that and this is what we were served. read more »

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Cooking

Peking Duck Congee

March 18, 2013 – 00:00

Remember at the end of the Hot Chefs Cool Jazz post I put up the picture of Grace posing with a Peking duck like it’s her baby? I made good on my promise to make some Peking duck congee with it, as I had taken not one, but TWO ducks.

First order of business, break down the duck as much as possible. Start with removing the skin, meat, and then breaking up any joints. Reserve the meat for nibbling, topping, stir fry, whatever.

Next, I grabbed some secondary items, some sliced ginger and Chinese mushrooms for flavour.

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Asian British Columbia Canada Cuisine Japanese Location Richmond

Tokyo Joe Ramen Okawari – Richmond, BC

March 15, 2013 – 08:00

Starving after a morning spent at Starbucks studying, I ventured out to find some late lunch. As there was a nip in the air, I decided I wanted something soupy, specifically ramen. Not pho, not Taiwanese beef noodle, but ramen. Fortunately, I was right across the street from Tokyo Joe Ramen, one of the few restaurants in Richmond that offer ramen. Curious, I figured I would give it a try. Looking at the regular menu didn’t really inspire me, so I ordered off the Special Menu since it offered a better deal.

I had the Traditional Combo for $14.95, which includes Miso Sapporo Ramen [$8.95], Jumbo Pork Gyoza [$4.95] and a pint of Asahi draft [$6.95]. If individually ordered, this would have cost $20.85! read more »