How to eat a hamburger in 3 easy steps at MODERNE BURGER!

1.  You arrive at an art-deco seafoam green diner world of fun, fab food offerings.
2.  Choose from a menu that is simple, sophisticated and preservative-free.
3.  Eat like a mad woman (or man) and enjoy yourself silly...

At Moderne Burger (2507 West Broadway, Vancouver) you are treated to a refreshing Mom and Pop shop of old, complete with milkshakes that overflow and smiling and attentive servers.  I witnessed more than once Randi, our fantastic server, offer her help to other diners when most servers nowadays would have let the diners down.  We were coached by Peter (the owner)'s gentle directions on how to eat a hamburger without it separating and succeeded (truth be told: more by my fellow diners than by yours truly!).  We ordered two burger platters, there were three of us and the hand-cut fries portions are plenty to share, a burger on its own and two creamsicle milkshakes.  Yes, that's right, the orange-encrusted, cream-filled goodness as a drink.  The steak burgers were cooked well through and its adornments simple to have the meat's flavour shine through.  Vegetarians and Fish eaters are more than welcome with their offerings of veggie and salmon burgers all served on a warm brioche bun.   Thank you Kathy, Peter and Randi and the staff for some fun in the sun.

Well worth the drive to Kitsilano...  check out their link here: http://www.moderneburger.com/

The fantastic palm-tree fringed sign beckons you in complete with bright brushed metal.  There is also a palm tree INSIDE the diner.

Glass windows, we were lucky enough to take the booth to your right.

Clean art-deco decor and roadster memorabilia to boot displayed in the cases.

Orange creamsicle milkshakes at $4.45 a pop.  Made with real ice cream!

The piece de resistance: the Steak Burger platter with a generous portion of hand-cut fries at $10.95

Look at this mouth-watering morsel of goodness.

On its own at $7.45, garnished with a cute little olive on top.

And the leftovers of the shake, served in its overflow cup is enough for ANOTHER milkshake, thumbs-up!

Guu Guu Guuuuuuud!

Guu is an experience!  With Hot Tamale, Rude Jude and co. Tucked in a little nook off of Robson, the buzz is ablaze with servers screaming orders to the cook, chefs sizzling the grills with creative concoctions from the plate to the drink this is sure to entertain and fill your tummy with gorgeous and delectable Japanese Tapas.  Good Guu Eats!  Check out their link at: 

 http://www.guu-izakaya.com/index.html

Left: Japanese pumpkin balls, mashed and hiding hard-boiled eggs.  Zucchini leaves adorn the top.

Right: Salmon Tataki, seared salmon served on daikon garnished with fish flakes & green onions.

The walls adorned with old Japanese prints and lighted chopsticks in various colours for only 7.99, hehe, gotto love expanding the merchandise.Grilled octopus served with a sweet mayonnaise marinated in soy sauce.

Here we have oysters, scallops and mushrooms a la coquille st-jacques but in a ramekin oozing with marble. cheese.... Beef sashimi, seared beef served on daikon with some diluted form of teriyaki sauce with lemon and green onions.  The texture was chewy to say the least, something a blue steak lover would definitely enjoy eating I'm sure....

Fantastiche!  Sign me up to hit the one in Toronto... stay tuned!

Granville galavanting...

Accompanied by my fantastic friend Greg, we scooted down Hornby to the aquabus ferry and enjoyed a sweet, little island hop to Granville Island's Public Market where at A la Mode we enjoyed one of their ultimate masterworks: clam chowder under puff pastry. At $10.62 with HST... darn government combined taxes. Just in time to see The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee at the Art Club Theatre for only 25 buckaroos we were in the first two rows! This Tony award winning show is not one to disappoint, check out the link here: http://www.artsclub.com/
 and click on The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee 

A loverly aftahnooon, darn, forgot to spell check...

Astro Boy gonna' knock you out at The Eatery.. kaboom!

Vancouver installment 2: Hanging amidst the raucous "amusements" as they mention in their website, The Excellent Eatery (3431 West Broadway, Kitsilano in Vancouver) hosts a marvel in innovative restaurant decor coupled with an eclectic brand of creative Japanese sushi offerings sure to tickle your tastebuds. The music is an odd blend of top 40 and raunchy rock fare. This is an experience to be had with friends or a romantic bite as I spied on numerous couples in the venue. A great place to celebrate what was Canada Day with explosive rolls. The menu offers a thorough array of traditional fare and street fare direct from Japan, of note the Okonomiyaki offerings (Japanese omelette) prepared traditionally just like in Tokyo! A feast for the eyes and mouth; the comic book decor quirkily plays off the palate of this creative sushi joint... kapow! bam! pop! Holy Fireballs Batman... it's sushi! The website is fantastical and quite user-friendly, check it out at: http://www.theeatery.ca/

Neon signs aglow...

The "amusements" hanging all over the darn place...

Appetizers: Tempura Tuna with Unagi sauce and Japanese Mayonaise ($7.50)

Starting off with: The Volcano Roll ($8.95)
an explosion of tuna, salmon, advocado tempura-style on a bed of crab meat... oh man.

In order from left to right: Green Hornet:tempura prawns, avocado and mango ($6.95) , Captain Crunch: california roll with unagi mayo tempura style ($5.95), Butterfly avocado draped over unagi and cucumber ($5.95) and Cali Mango Roll, ode to the Philippines: crabmeat, avocado and mango ($5.75)

These were all washed down with Peach and Strawberry margaritas ladies and gents... cheap and cheerful, a must-see treat!

Twisted, baked, scrambled Fork...

This morning was the first instalment of The Vancouver Chronicles as Rude Jude is taking me around the city. Our first brunch stop is Twisted Fork on Granville Whoever thought of baked eggs should be shot... in a ramekin filled with 5 eggs that looked smushed and mixed-in with Kraft single-esque gruyere cheese ($11). Thankfully it was accompanied by baked beans, a quarter of a pre-heated rosti and some bacon. Its saving grace was the sourdough bread and crack-addictive homemade rhubarb jam. The proprietors of Twisted Fork make it to sell by the jar at $8 a pop. However, the quaint atmosphere dotted with blacksmith influenced fork mobiles, clipboard twisted forks on the menu and the indie jazz music add to the cool Granville vibe. Asparagus scrambled eggs are a plus, also belonging to the $11 offerings. Note to self: if you're a coffee drinker, a french press serves your liquid gold and is oh-so-good. Check out their website at: http://www.twistedforkbistro.ca/


The asparagus scrambled eggs accompanied with the crack-addicted rhubarb homemade jam.

The aforementioned baked eggs.... don't judge a book by its molten butter-encrusted cover...

Jack Shmack....

Cookie Sundae.. Sugary, sliding goodness.. yum, period.

So I sold out tonight and ate at Jack Astor's in my old 'hood (Progress Ave. in front of Scarborough Town Centre's The Bay) and expected to be bamboozled by extroardinarily orbitant prices of the usually uninspired offerings of pizza, a burger and every other deep-fried meat imaginable.... however, I was wrong (insert shame here). Amongst the backdrop of a lovely birthday (insert teenage-esque shout-outs to Ge Diza here) I was greeted with a perky server who came with my caesar pronto... yes, I drink caesars, lots of them... and was refreshed by a spiced pickle/bean/pepper/onion spear and the stalk of celery, lobster cheese dip with warm pita triangles and homemade tortilla chips (12.95). Upon first glance at my buffalo tenders saturated in medium, buttery goodness (12.95) I thought they had forgotten the rest of my tenders, however upon searching underneath the golden carb fry-fest were the rest of these "fingers". However, that wasn't the only the only surprise, Hot Tamale had the Seafood Papardelle (17.95) and I must say, was well worth every penny. And of course, let's hear it for the dessert, a white chocolate chip macadamia nut (Hawaii's nut export business should be untouched by this recession) cookie sundae that oddly resembles a beige cow patty... with 5 berries bizarrely pressed into the vanilla ice cream. At 5.95, compared to the dessert bonanzas at Cafe Mirage (another Scarborough offering), the price can't be beat. Just focus on breaking up that cookie and not missing your mouth.

Celebrating at The Bedford Academy!

After a grueling, well, that's too dramatic.... full-fledged schedule for the last 3 months due to taking a course twice a week and working full-time, the sweet taste of liberation (or was it the Stella?) was a welcome night out at The Bedford Academy. A staple on the U of T pub crawl circuit in a beautifully restored Victorian mansion on Prince Arthur, this institution offers a wide range of drink, food and not to mention a gorgeous patio. Our fine company, including an expert ex-server, was quick to point out that alas, although we were in a large group and quite forgiving, our servings of simple sweet potato fries, nachos and a tuna melt, took an eternity to arrive at our table. The cheese was not as lightly golden as they had described in the menu and I was a tad disappointed that they had a haunting resemblance to Kraft Singles. Was it me or did the english muffin that was described in the menu transform into foccacia by the time it came? It remains a mystery... Still, definitely worth the visit nonetheless! Check them out at: http://www.thebedfordacademy.com/