Category Archives: Italian

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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Cuisine European Italian Location Pizza Seattle Type United States of America Washington

Serious Pie (Downtown Seattle)

November 13, 2012 – 15:51

Val and I made a short weekend trip to Seattle at the end of September to do some shopping and eating, something of which I rarely do outside of the Vancouver area. As such, I had to do some research and crowd sourcing of where to eat, and came up with a LOT of suggestions. I of course had to pare it down, and eventually I decided on Serious Pie.

For one reason, I was really craving pizza and the second reason being that I wanted something that would be more casual, as many of the suggested restaurants were fancy sit down pair with wine types. So after finding parking in the area, Val and I waited for 30 minutes, of which I was sorely tempted to just go right on over to the Dahlia Lounge next door.

I couldn’t resist ordering a pint of elliott bay brewing 3.14 ale for $6. Just a regular ale, I can’t remember much from it, but it’s the name that gets me, and apparently it’s also brewed exclusively for the restaurant. read more »

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British Columbia Canada Cuisine European Italian Location Pizza Type Vancouver

Pizzeria Barbarella

June 4, 2012 – 00:00

Recently, I was a tour guide for a day as a favour for James, and dinner was already preplanned for Pizzeria Barbarella. See, James has a bit of a man crush on Terry, the owner of this place. He makes great pizza, starting from his days out at Ah-Beetz in Abbotsford. In the days since his opening, I visited once but then never got around to making another visit until now, but from the looks of it, it’s constantly busy in here.

The decor here is simple, black walls, exposed bulbs, plastic chairs and beautiful reclaimed wooden tables. The focus here is on the pizza, ambience will naturally build itself. With Daniel Jeff and Andy tagging along, we decided to order 4 different pizzas in order to maximize the experience and get some variety. This worked out well, as each pizza is sliced into 4, each about the size of a small plate. Fold it like a sandwich, let it droop, or eat it with a fork and knife like Daniel and Andy do. read more »

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British Columbia Canada Complimentary Cuisine European Events Gelato Italian Location Media Pizza Type Vancouver

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria

April 24, 2012 – 02:27

Famoso began in 2005 back in Calgary after a trip to Italy left Justin, 1 of 3 partners, spellbound by the simple eloquence of the Margherita pizza. Inspired to learn more about Italian pizzas and its flavorful culture, Famoso was born. Now also residing in Commercial Drive’s ‘Little Italy‘, Famoso “brings Naples a little closer” to us Vancouverties with their fresh ingredients and passion for authenticity and artisan roots.

Since Kevin was out of town, I got to take his place and took @nuwen with me to explore all that Famoso had to offer during their grand opening. read more »

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British Columbia Canada Complimentary Cuisine European Italian Location Media Vancouver

Verace Pizzeria and Enoteca – VANEATS.ca “VERACE AMORE” Preview

February 21, 2012 – 15:50

Verace Pizzeria is a cozy Italian joint tucked into Keefer Place by Stadium Station. Exhibiting the key essence of pizzerias, Verace features a beautiful wood-burning stove and elegant/contemporary decor.

Verace Pizzeria Napoletana and Enoteca-08.jpg

As the next restaurant to be introduced on VANEATS.ca, they’re offering a 4 course dinner for the VERACE AMORE package – all for $15 (seriously, what a deal!)…

Salati Assortiti, daily selection of cured meats and cheese, vegetables, and marinated olives. Accompanied by warm rosemary pizza bread
Burrata, burrata cheese finished with balsamic reduction and lemon oil and served with warm rosemary pizza bread
8-inch Brick Oven Baked Pizza, 100% handmade with naturally leavened dough
- ½ Prosciutto e Rucola – plum tomato sauce, fior di latte mozzarella topped with prosciutto, fresh arugula, grana padano and evoo
- ½ Funghi – mushroom cream, cipollini balsamic onions, mixed crimini, portabella, and oyster mushrooms. Topped with fresh oregano, grana padano and evoo
Lemoncello Layer Cake, limoncello infused lady fingers layered with lemon curd and mascarpone cream

Alright, let’s talk food.

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British Columbia Canada Cuisine European Events Italian Location Media Vancouver

La Rocca Ristorante Italiano – VANEATS.ca “VIVA LA ROCCA!” Preview

December 6, 2011 – 23:32

The boys at VANEATS.ca are banging out these package deals out like nobody’s business. Actually, it is their business. See what I did there? Ha. Ha. I’m sorry you have to read my blog sometimes. Only sometimes.

La Rocca Ristorante-VANEATS VIVA LA ROCCA-01.jpg

Anyways, once again, before I had even gone to Kingyo for the KINGYO CRAZE! there was another email sitting in my inbox saying “Please eat me” courtesy of La Rocca.

A 4-Course, $28 Dining Pass from December 8th, 2011 – January 15th, 2012:

Prosciutto Marinato e Arancia Italian ham marinated in herbs, with orange and thinly sliced garlic, delicately drizzled
Pollo Ripieno al Marsala chicken breast stuffed with sundried tomatoes and basil, in the famous sweet Marsala wine sauce and sided with a nice wedge of grilled Radiccio Rosso
Fettuccine con Gamberi tiger prawns in a light cream sauce
Homemade Tiramisu espresso drenched cake layers with a mouth watering Mascarpone cheese mousse, topped with a dusting of cocoa sugar

This time around, I invited an old dining companion whom I see every 6 months or so. Far too much time between our meals in my opinion, and as such, pleasantries and catch up dominated the majority of this late lunch. read more »

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Cuisine European Events Italian Media Pizza Type

The BiBo Restaurant Grand Opening

March 16, 2011 – 09:00

I attended The BiBo Italian Restaurant grand opening party yesterday, thanks to an invite from Krystle Sivorot of Peak Communicators.

Patricia and I arrived early, just a tad too early so we sat down and took in the interior. The red walls and off white bricks dominated the interior in a post modern Gastown loft style, but still conveyed a sense of warmth. I briefly spoke with co-owner Lorenzo Bottazzi, and I was immediately taken back by how Italian he was, from his manner of speech, fashion, and mannerisms. In fact, everything about the place invoked Italy, from the decorations and smells.

An array of antipasto’s were laid out while the crowd trickled in, ranging from olives, artichokes, mushrooms and various veggies. Definitely a step up from the antipasto’s I learned to make in highschool…which I’m thankful for.

BiBo Bresaola Platter $16.00
Powerful flavor of Italian cured beef dressed with Arugula, specific parmesan flakes and premium extra virgin crafted olive oil

BiBo Tagliere Cheeses $15.00
Wooden platter of selected premium italian cheeses paired with home made bread

After the crowd had settled in with plenty of appetizers and wine, co-owner Lorenzo Bottazzi took the stage and gave a welcome speech, and a backstory as to how BiBo came to be. By importing quality ingredients for the restaurant, enforced by both family in Italy and previous shipping industry relations, BiBo aims to bring the true taste of Italy to the diners of Vancouver.

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Italian Location New Westminster

Old Spaghetti Factory, New Westminster

September 11, 2010 – 07:00

While many would not agree with my views, I like Old Spaghetti Factory. They’re simple and with a menu that probably hasn’t changed much in my short 21 years of existence, you know that it’s pretty much a formulaic restaurant. My memory is a little hazy but I can recall eating here with relatives visiting from far flung Taiwan when I was much younger. I’ve been to Gastown, Whistler, Richmond and Edmonton.

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With some errands to run in New Westminster with my parents, we dropped by here for some lunch before heading home. The location is extremely convenient, especially by public transit as it’s right beside the New Westminster Skytrain Station (which is also where 57 Below is)

Did you know that New Westminster is Western Canada’s oldest city? It was the first capital of the COLONY of British Columbia. Originally it was to be called Queensborough but the Queen didn’t like it so it was named after Westminster (a region in London). As a result of this, the city also gained the nickname of “The Royal City”.

..anyways enough history! Every OSF has a paper menu with a little blurb about their location and history. My mom ordered from the lunch menu while my dad and I ordered from the normal menu. The lunch menu portions are just slightly smaller but the prices are lower as well.

Regardless of what meal you order, you are always given four things. Sourdough bread with whipped plain butter or garlic butter, house salad, tea or coffee, and ice cream. The sourdough bread is a guilty pleasure of mine, and I can easily finish a loaf or two before my entree reaches the table. I have even resorted to asking friends working at OSF to take some home for me so I could enjoy it at home…

Tags $$, pasta, spaghetti | Permalink | Comment (0)

Greek Italian Location Vancouver

Neighbour’s Restaurant & Pizza House

May 25, 2009 – 08:09

Located at the corner of Victoria & 49th is Neighbours Restaurant & Pizza House, a landmark of the neighbourhood for over 25 years. The prices are moderate, the interior probably not updated since their opening, and the staff are friendly. Came here for dinner straight after dodgeball playoffs.

Most dishes cost around $13, and the dishes are either Greek or Italian, ranging from pasta, pizza, souvlaki, and roast lamb. Monday is pasta specials, all dishes are $8.95! There’s also something for Tuesday, but I can’t recall right now. For Wednesdays, a pitcher of beer and wings goes for $15.99, wonder how good they are..wings are $0.39 each (Wed only). I may have to check this out soon, especially since it’s so close to me.

Not exclusive to a certain day, their special for $12.95 includes a 6 ounce steak with spaghetti, garlic mushrooms, garlic bread and a house salad. This is probably the best price-value on the menu, especially when I compared it to the other food my teammates ordered. The steak was juicy, and the little garlic mushrooms were bursting with flavor. I would have liked more spaghetti though. Click more to see the pictures

Tags calamari, Greek, Italian, lasagna, neighbour's restaurant, neighbours, pasta, pizza, restaurant, roast lamb, south vancouver, souvlaki, steak | Permalink | Comments (3)

Burnaby Italian Location

Anton's Pasta Bar

May 15, 2009 – 13:01

I’ve never been to Anton’s, even though the earliest I’ve heard about it was probably Gr.9..so that’s about 5 years ago. Yesterday night, for our last week of dodgeball, we were somewhat in the area (near Hastings) so our team went for dinner after. Yes, our team name is Condiments.

They close at 1030, we arrived at 930 and they made a good effort to seat us. Probably because of the time we came in, we didn’t get the complimentary Portuguese buns I saw on other tables and read about on Sherman’s post. I’m not sure if I can fault the restaurant or not, because of the time, but it is definitely something that should be taken note of. I think they just forgot, or thought we wouldn’t notice.

So the menu is very extensive, you can see it on their site. Every pasta dish is $14.95 unless listed and baked dishes is an additional $2.

Too many choices makes it hard for a customer to choose, and it also makes one think about the quality. Anyways..food pictures first.

Sarita got a drink, and I can’t remember what it’s called.