Phoenix in August ...and Grubstak

What kind of idiot takes a week off in August and goes to Phoenix? The kind who does not understand the true implications of the phrase, "Today's high temperature will be 46 degrees Celsius!", that's who! As we stepped outside Sky Harbor Airport at 8 pm into the heat, Marie and I could only look at each other and laugh! It's not unlike the blast of heat that comes at you when you are too quick reaching into the oven. But its a dry heat!
Don't worry though. We are not really that stupid. We knew it was going to be hot and we have a plan. The plan involves a lot of pool time and air conditioning. Over the next few days, I will be regaling you with tales of how the locals (both flora and fauna) function in this heat. Plus we'll be eating some because that's what we really do best!
As just a random example of that last thing, today we went to Grubstack for lunch.

I was pretty sure that I had seen Grubstak on some food show or other and sure enough, their menu confirmed that they had been on Triple D. This turned out to be an inspired choice for eats on our first day in town. The whole concept of Grubstak is in the name. Your grub comes...in a stack...Well its a little more impressive than that. 

We tried their 'as seen on TV', Sweet Lou's BBQ which starts with your choice of base. We chose a combination of regular and sweet potato fries on which was stacked BBQ braised beef, apple-wood bacon and coleslaw (get it now?). Every element of this dish had us making happy noises starting with crispy fries that, even as the BBQ flavour seeped down, were still amazing! (Attention White Spot.This place might be worth a field trip!) There was a generous amount of very tasty tender beef and the bacon with thick cut and crispy. And great coleslaw! 

We also had their Gold Rush. As a base, in an effort lean in a healthy direction, we chose quinoa and roasted vegetables (of the bases you can stick with one or combine any two).On top were crispy chicken pieces and 'golden sauce' (a mustard based slightly sweet sauce), bleu cheese (which we asked for on the side) and a shaved carrot and celery garnish. 

I want to draw your attention to the vegetables. These roasted purple potatoes, parsnips, carrot and broccoli were excellent and a rare item on menus. I kind of feel like its a high effort item for the restaurant to prepare and with more health benefits than all the smoothies and wheat grass and antioxidant stuff that some places push at a premium price. Plus, I just love roasted vegetables! The chicken was crispy and very good also.

At $6.50, we assumed the Mac and Cheese with Jalapeno and Bacon would be just a taste but it turned out to be another decent serving. Marie declared them the best mac and cheese that we have had. High praise from a tough judge who never would have given White Spot 3 stars. 

I loved all these serving dishes. They are built like $120 stainless steel skillets with heavy steel and bases.

I also love the fact that you could eat healthy here everyday if you chose with vegetarian choices on quinoa or roasted vegetables, or with decent salads. Each of the mains were in the area of $10 to $12.

This is a nice, comfortable sleek place with lots of light, with booths, tables and some bar seating. I wish it was in my neighbourhood.

For what its worth, we give Grubstak 4 1/2 out of 5.

White Spot - Aldergrove

White Spot is a bit of an iconic British Columbia place to eat. I'm sure that you have heard of it. I have eaten there many times over the years but almost always either on my employer's dime or with a gift card (also usually my employer's dime) and so wasn't as conscious of the prices as I came to be this weekend.

I was surprised to learn that my partner had never been to WS and so with national pride (well, provincial pride anyway), suggested it as a lunch destination for ourselves and her kids after camping at Allouette Lake (beautiful) and an hour or so of halfhearted blueberry picking (under forced labour conditions in the heat).In Aldergrove, White Spot is located in the Best Western Hotel at Fraser Hwy and 264th. So we arrived en masse (eight of us) and were accommodated in fairly short order.

The eight of us ordered and the food kind of took its time about arriving. In their defence, all the food arrived roughly at the same time rather than in bits and pieces. No one had to sit around wondering if it would be rude to start eating while others were waiting. I had the Legendary Burger without a lot of extra stuff (lettuce and tomato) which turned out to be less than legendary. I had fully believed that the Triple O Sauce would be all I needed but some cheese and bacon might have picked things up. The meat was beefy but other than that, not amazing. Sorry! A scoop of coleslaw (not bad), tasty but distinctly un crispy fries, and a soft drink rounded out the meal at $14.49

Marie had the Fish and Chips. She likewise was not blown away. The tartar sauce was very good but the fish seemed to be all batter. Her fries also suffered from a lack of crispy and all at $16.49. So we kind of came away less than dazzled on that occasion but I had pirate pack day marked on my calendar.

So come Wednesday the 14th, and anxious to relive a treat from my childhood, I ordered a couple of Pirate Packs to go!

This time I ordered the Beef Dip which turned out to be an inspired choice. There was a generous amount of tender flavourful beef and the 'jus' was garlicky and rich. I would definitely order this again and it went a long way towards redeeming White Spot in my view!

Marie had the Bacon - Cheddar Burger. This is what my Legendary Burger of the previous visit needed. As I tasted her burger I was much more aware of the Triple O sauce as well. Did they forget it last time? I can't imagine that could happen. Coleslaw...still decent. Ice cream with the Pirate Pack...just ice cream. And the same plague of soggy-ish fries. White Spot definitely needs to work on their fries.

The restaurant in Aldergrove is comfortable and the staff are friendly and efficient and really, the prices are pretty decent I would not hesitate to take friend there but in the future, I won't build it up as a symbol of our province. It is just a decent place to eat.

For what it's worth, we give White Spot 3 out of 5.

Manny's Grill and Silog House

Silog is one of those words which has rendered Tagalog as not one of the 'romance' languages. However, being a combination of the words meaning 'fried rice' and 'egg', silog has certainly helped make the Filipino mother tongue one of the 'delicious' languages.

Filipino food is perhaps the most underrepresented of the cultural cuisines when compared to the size of the local population. And so we try to seek it out and give it some exposure (Like, oh sure. We're big influencers). Manny's is on 6th Street in New West and has a menu pleasing to the local Filipino population and easily accessible to people trying this food for the first time.

A silog is a breakfast, in case the meaning of the word did not give it away. An anytime breakfast in reality, always accompanied by white or garlic rice and a couple of sunny side up eggs. Marie will almost always choose milkfish if it is available. This deep-fried full fillet of flakey white fish was very tasty and always comes with a vinegary dipping sauce.

For Marie's daughter, the choice was Tocilog. This is sweet cured pork butt slices (Tocino) cooked on the flat top. When I try cooking Filipino sweet cured meats at home, burning is a problem because of the sugar but cooked just right, it has nice charred bits!

Marie's granddaughter and the smallest appetite in the group, had a skewer of barbeque pork with rice on the side (you know what rice looks like). The pork was tender and tasty enough with a nice little bit of char.

I had the Lechon Kawalli (deep fried pork belly) This is sort of bacon on steroids, and ridiculously delicious. While I grew up not ever having experienced pork belly, Marie uses it quite often in various dishes when she is cooking. It is readily available in the Asian grocery stores but not always in the big chain grocery stores. I am not sure you should eat it at every meal, but its a tasty treat on occasion.

Any way, check this place out. I read about folks having to wait for tables but I think maybe those were old reviews and they have expanded at some point. We were seated right away and the service was friendly and quick. Its a little bare bones here (folding chairs and some booths) but that is often the case with Filipino restaurants. The emphasis tends to be on the food and not the decor.

For what it's worth, we give Manny's Grill and Silog House 4 out of 5.

Prado Cafe - Whalley

Not sure how to start this one except to say that since I first saw Prado Cafe on Instagram, I've wanted to visit to experience the surroundings. If the coffee was decent, that would be a bonus.

Neither Marie nor I are enthusiastic breakfast people but we ended up at Prado on Sunday morning and so decided to try a couple of things in addition to coffee. 

They have what I think was an ongoing special of a coffee and bread pudding for $4. The bread pudding was tasty enough but a little on the dense side. We should have asked for it to be warmed up. Still, tasty and not a bad way to start your morning.

We also shared the Prado Breakfast and this was definitely worth having. A nicely poached egg on top of microgreens with a balsamic and grainy mustard dressing all on top of mashed avocado on sourdough! Not bad at all! My dark roast coffee had a bit of that bitter aftertaste. I am a Starbucks dark roast guy  (not an expert but not clueless either) and this did not quite do the trick for me.

Still, I love the high ceiling and windows (this is more or less the lobby of the Civic Hotel). The morning menu has a few other variations with poached eggs, toast etc not too mention a choice of baked goods. The furniture is sleek and comfortable while the staff were very friendly. I would come again for the breakfast and maybe try a speciality coffee or tea.

For what it's worth, we give Prado Cafe 3 1/2 out of 5.

Kamamarui Ramen and Don - Hastings Street

One day of inclement weather and we think that summer is over and flee to the comfort of ramen. In reality, everyone claims that ramen is good in the hot weather as hot food keeps us cool by making us sweat. This is only a good idea if there is somewhere nearby to take a shower, otherwise I will stick to cool food in the hot weather, and hot food in the cool weather!

Admittedly, I am not a hot weather fan so cool weather and a visit to Kamamarui Ramen was my idea of a delightful day. As soon as we began perusing the menu and ordered a couple of combos, we realized that we had been here before, or at least to their sister restaurant on Kingsway.

The Bombs were a dead giveaway as I had only previously seen them at the South Burnaby store. These tasty little balls of rice and nori are a slightly ocean flavoured treat and  we ended up ordering a couple more of them. 

Also as part of a combo, we enjoyed their hot and crispy Karaage Chicken. This wasn't the most earth shattering version that we've had but it's hard to go wrong when the  meat is moist and the dipping sauce is tasty.

On to the main event, I had the Black Garlic Oil Chasu Ramen. This seems to be a more recent addition as I don't see it on posted versions of their menu. It was rich and garlicky and for my money, a complete success. I also asked for the sous vide version of the chashu to compare to the regular. To be honest, I couldn't actually tell you if it was better or not. I think it has more to do with how it gets seared on the grill although I understand the advantages of sous vide. It was delicious either way.

Marie had the Chasu Tonkatsu Ramen ( we never veer far from the  basics) with the regular chasu. Both soups had the requisite wood ear mushrooms, egg and excellent noodles. I was happy not to have a bunch of decisions to make about noodles but happy that they offer regular or rich both. We both chose rich and it was! 

Finally, there was a Mini Mapo Tofu Don. Another little taste of rice with the mildly spicy tofu and pork mixture on top. At only $4, it added a bit of variety. 

Not surprisingly we left full and happy. This is a comfortable little place with pleasant staff. I'm sure it can get busier here but we did not have to wait on Saturday at noon and our food was delivered to us fairly quickly.

For what our opinion is worth, we give Kamamarui Ramen and Don, 4 out of 5.

Kook Korean BBQ

I'm not entirely sure how we ended up at Kook Korean BBQ. Marie wanted to take her kids and their partners (and me) out for lunch and the idea of Korean bbq seemed to work for everyone. I buzzed through a few reviews (Yes. I check reviews and you should too.) and the reports about Kook seemed decent and finally...the bbq combination for six on their menu, was tempting.

So, the next thing you know there were, all eight of us, at this sleek and modern Korean bbq restaurant at the corner of First and Renfrew.

One thing that impressed us early on was the extent of the banchan. I counted 15 items all lined up around the grill. Surprising to me was a taste of pasta salad and broccoli with a spicy sauce. None of these was really mind-blowing and I would not return just for that feature but at least there was something for everyone.

The above photo is of roughly half of the bbq items for the Combination for Six. We sat at 2 tables for four that were adjacent to each other. Tables can't be moved all over the place because each has a grill (and a very good and unimposing fan system) but they split the order between each table for us. The appeal of combinations is that it is hard to know otherwise, how much of the different meats for the grill to order. If you want the combo details you can check their website otherwise, you know, ribs, beef, pork, chicken...all pretty good.

This combo comes with a couple of additional dishes namely, Deep Fried Pork with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Seafood Pancake. The pork was as advertised. I am not a huge sweet and sour fan and the pork was a bit on the chewy side but at least there were some vegetables. My opinion may have been in the minority though as this dish was mostly finished off.

The seafood pancake came very hot and with a nice dipping sauce. It was quite good and curiously made up more of imitation crab then actual batter.

Rounding out the combo, there was Soft Tofu Soup and rice for everyone. In hindsight, the combo for six probably would have sufficed for all 8 of us (we have one young'un in our number). At $165, I consider this to be a pretty good deal. But as always we tend to follow the rule that too much is better than not enough (as if we have never heard of ordering an extra dish after if we are still hungry).

So we ordered Korean Deep Fried Chicken with Spicy Garlic Sauce. We asked for the sauce on the side which the folks were cooperative enough to arrange although it does not result in anything Instagram worthy. While the sauce was quite impressive the chicken was much more batter than bird and left me a little disappointed. I'm guessing that I would not have noticed if the dish was combined with sauce and protein together.

Overall our experience was fine. Cooking for yourself whether barbeque or hot pot or even fondue for that matter is more of a novelty than the path to really good eats. For my money, I like to leave the restaurant food to more talented cooks than myself. I will continue to practice my cooking at home for myself and Marie.

Nevertheless,  this was a comfortable experience and the staff were very accommodating.

For what it's worth and the Combo for Six, we give Kook Korean BBQ 3 1/2 out of 5.

Flip Side Desserts

According to some sources, Flip is a derogatory term but I see it on a food truck (Flip Top Fusion) and now on this Filipino dessert cafe. Could it be one of those terms that is racist if I say it but not if you say it? If so, I'm OK with that except that when I want to recommend the place, I may have to describe it rather than naming it. Or I could just chill out and worry less about being politically correct.

Located on Joyce just off Kingsway (more or less behind Seven Eleven) it looks a little rough on the outside but is nicely adorned inside.

Not a giant menu but they definitely give you a taste of what Filipinos (at least the ones I know) love for dessert, namely halo-halo and anything ube flavoured (purple yam). Available in the form of shave-ice, milkshakes, sundaes etc., don't be afraid of the yam thing. Think of pumpkin pie if you have trouble imagining something savoury becoming dessert. We chose their Master Monster Milkshake for $16.

It was certainly enough for two consisting of a milkshake, a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream. Enough purple that you could give it a guitar and call it Prince! Of course, there is food colouring but isn't food colouring everywhere? This was some seriously moist and tasty cake, nice ice cream and a wonderful milkshake! Next time we'll try the Halo-halo version (and we could eat the straws!).

Sure, it was quiet when we were there but we eat at odd times, so don't read anything into that. This was a decent experience and our host (who entirely disappeared but must have been keeping an eye on us to see if we needed anything) was friendly and shared our enthusiasm for the desserts.

For what its worth, we give Flip Side Desserts 3 1/2 out of 5.