Fat on a Stick Report.
My addiction to chicken wings.

Milestones, Langley BC. Canada

Spicy Thai Chicken DrummettesToasted sesame-cucumber mayonnaise, peanut sauce

Rating: 8.5/10

These would have been 9/10 but a bit on the salty side. Milestones have been serving these wings for ever. And rightfully so. Why change something that works. Great flavours. Big juicy drummettes. The toasted sesame-cucumber dipping sauce is a great cooling balance to the spicy wings. Awesome. I usually order hot wings at bars and restaurants. Becouse, usually when a restaurant try’s to get fancy with wings it doesn’t work. The Lure Bar in Victoria is a good example (on the blog May 25th). Here it works and it works in spades. I hope they never take it off the menu.

http://www.milestonesrestaurants.com

The 2abpsSlcpoOasSb Report

Cactus Club Café. Nanaimo. BC Canada
Bacon Cheeseburger 7/10

One of the best burgers in town (Vancouver BC, Canada) was at the now defunct Feenies. Feenies was the casual dining establishment of iron chef Rob Feenie (yes he did beat Morimoto). Now that Feenie is the food consultant, guru or whatever you call him at Cactus Club, I expected a pretty awesome burger coming my way. What came my way was a pretty average burger. The beef was tasteless. The red pepper relish had potential but it was spread too thin to be a player.
Hey Rob, take this off your signature list. I had a burger a few days later at Milestones. It was on nobody’s signature list and it kicked ass. Sorry.

And also, sorry to say this burger did not meet expectations.

http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/

Vij's Restaurant Vancouver, BC

Vij’s Restaurant.

Vancouver BC
Rating: A

I’ve heard a lot about Vij’s. Mostly glowing reviews, some calling Vij’s the best East Indian restaurant in North America. I’m always a bit sceptical of the “best” designation. How does one judge something like this? None the less glowing reviews always peaks my interest so I must visit.

Right of the top, let me say that I am not an expert on East Indian cuisine. I like it. I’ve been to many East Indian restaurants. I cook East Indian at home occasionally with varying success. East Indian food is something that is not innate to my senses.
Unlike Mediterranean or North American cuisine, were I can pretty much imagine what something should taste like given the spices herbs and other ingredients. I do not have this ability with Indian Cuisine.

This was our menu for the evening:
(There were four of us and we all decided to share. Highly recommended)
Sounds great, even if I have no idea what the taste will be like.
Mutton Kabob with Bengali Style Curry
Punjabi Heart Attack (Spicy cashews, raw sugar, panear and ghe) chased with quinoa salad in lemon dressing.
Garam Masala sautéed Portobello mushrooms in porchini cream curry
Coconut curried vegetables with Cholia rice pilaf
Grilled pork tenderloin (naturally raised) with pistachio, dates and glazed orange split pea, spinach and garlic mash.
Beef Short Ribs in Cinnamon and red wine curry with warm greens
Lamb marinated popsicles in fenugreek cream curry on turmeric spinach potatoes.

I may not know what everything should taste like. But I do know this.
I liked it. I like it a lot.

The standout for me was the Mutton Kabob. Soft, moist, loaded with good old lamby goodness. I would just go back have that as a snack with a cold beer. Oh my. In fact, talk about perfect bar food. I would skip the chicken wings for this. And that’s a hell of a statement from somebody that has never skipped chicken wings in his life.

The food at Vij’s is all about the sauce. And the sauces are absolutely outstanding. Deeply layered flavours, nothing overpowering, just layer upon layer of flavour. It seems strange, but the best way to describe it is to compare the food to a deeply layered full bodied red wine. In both cases the flavours hit your taste buds like a brick and then linger and develop over time.
To me, this is the biggest difference between Vij’s and other East Indian restaurants. Others overpower with heat and curry. Here the flavours are intense yet subtle. I know it sounds contradictory, but try it you’ll see.

So the question then, what is real East Indian cuisine? Are other East Indian restaurants tweaked to North American tastes? Or is Vij’s really authentic East Indian cuisine. I suspect that Vij’s is really an East Indian fusion restaurant. OK, more East Indian less fusion. But tell me, were in India do they make a “red wine curry? I don’t know. In the big scheme of things it doesn’t really matter. The taste was outstanding.

Aside from the food, the feel of the restaurant was laid back, unpretentious. I like that staff bring around trays of appetizers for you to try while you are waiting for a table or waiting for your meal to arrive. Very homey. I love that Vikram Vij was actually there greeting guests. Let’s be clear, he probably doesn’t have to be. When was the last time anyone saw Bobby Flay in a kitchen restaurant? Sorry to pick on you Bobby. But as a celebrity chef/owner you almost don’t expect the star to be there. The fact that he is and is present regularly from what I understand, scores big points with me.

Fantastic food. Great restaurant. I’ll be back. But why do they not take reservations?

Wesite: www.vijs.ca

Minnoz Nanaimo BC

Minnoz – Nanaimo BC
BC Mussels in orange curry sauce

It looked good. It wasn’t. The mussels were old and smelly. Even the beer was served uncold. (Not exactly warm but then not cold either.)
So much potential for this restaurant. Great décor and great location overlooking the Nanaimo harbour. This was my second disappointing experience here. No more.
Although, there is a nice bar with a HD flat screen TV. Never say never. But then again, no chicken wings on the menu. Maybe never.

www.minnoz.com

Joeys Mediterranean Grill Coquitlam BC

The 2abpsSlcpoOasSb Report

Joeys Mediterranean Grill Coquitlam BC
Bacon Cheddar Cheese Burger
Rating 7/10

Yes it’s a burger. It’s an OK burger. Not great. Not bad. It’s just a middle of the road burger. The bacon was good. The bun was a bit dry. The fries, which are usually really good here, were cold. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day?
A question for the kitchen: What is up with the pickle on top of the burger? Is this a garnish? I eat it. I don’t open up the burger and put the pickle inside. How many people do? Now there is a 6 figure Canadian government education grant waiting to happen. This could be import.
Coming soon, my musings, on what to do with the orange wedge on the rim of your cocktail glass.
www.joeysmedgrill.com

Fuel Restaurant Vancouver BC

Fuel, Vancouver, BC
Rating: A

A quick bite at Feul. A seat at the bar in view of the open concept kitchen. Outside of a sushi restaurant, this is new to me. It was quite inspiring watching the cooks do their thing. There was calm. A way they moved. A sense of purpose. A sense that everyone knew exactly what they needed to do and they did it. No tension. No screaming. Did you hear that Mr. Gordon Ramsey? No screaming.
This professionalism translated into my appreciation what I ordered. In fact, I think, added to the whole feel of the restaurant.
Fuel describes itself as upscale regional fair. Chef Robert Belcham emphasises local, fresh seasonal foods. He also subscribes to the sustainable cooking model. I like this a lot. Chef Becham’s speciality is pork and he uses the whole animal nothing goes to waste. In fact in 2007, Vancouver magazine asked all of the local food writers and foodies what there most memorable plate was (they must have lost my number). The winner: Fuel with “Crispy Pig’s Brain”. I’m not entirely sure if I find that appealing. But I’d give it a try. You can read more about it here: http://www.vanmag.com/Restaurants/Best_Plates_of_2007

Back to the food. I was in just for a quick meal, a couple of appetizers and a couple of glasses of wine.

Terrine of Fous Gras with Duck
Awesome. Smooth velvety texture. Huge flavour. The greens and the onion chutney were OK, but this dish is all about the terrine. I will remember this flavour for quite some time. Outstanding. Paired nicely with a Selbach-Oster Reisling 06 from Germany.

The Cures Charcuterie, house preserves, dijon mustard, rye toast
Let’s face it. Anyone can chop up sausage, chorizo, and prosciutto, throw it on a plate. And generally speaking I’m happy. I’m pretty easy to please that way. The kicker at Fuel is that all of the meats are prepared in house from scratch. And it shows in the flavour. Everything was excellent but the standout on this plate was the lardon. Thinly sliced pieces of fat. I rapped the fat around the small crunchy rye toast. Fat never tasted so good. That’s right, it’s just fat and I loved it. Is that wrong? Paired nicely with the Montagu Cellars “Three Barrel” Merlot 05 from Naramata. Montagu Cellars is owned by Tom Doughty, the Fuel’s sommelier. That’s another thing I really appreciate. You make the food. You grow the grapes. You make the wine. It’s a nice circle. The next logical step would be to grow your own food, both vegetable and animal. Now that would be outstanding.

I can’t wait to go back for dinner. Or lunch on Fridays, rumour has it that they do a buttermilk fried chicken with biscuits and gravy. And not just any chickens. Redbro chickens from France, raised organically in Chilliwack.
More on Redbro Chickens: http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20090225/wlchicken25.html
Fuel: http://www.fuelrestaurant.ca/