Every Day Is a Food Day

Last Thursday, I went to my last Dine Out! It was a spontaneous one, and we pretty much planned it the night before. We wanted a girls night out, and was looking for somewhere on Granville and was from the fixed price of either $18 or $28. SP suggested we go to The Refinery and off we went! A poor picture of the place, but The Refinery is basically next to Sip Resto Lounge, and you have to go up a flight of stairs. So really, it is on top of Sip Resto Lounge! It was a Thursday night, and the place was around 3/4 full. Not bad I guess.

Complementary Amuse Bouche - Salted Cucumber Sorbet

Shortly after placing our orders, our server brought us a complementary amuse bouche. She explained a bunch of stuff, but from what I remember, it was basically a cucumber sorbet that was salted. When I took a little nibble of it, I thought it was really salty! But I decided to take the whole spoon, and it became a mixture of salty and sour. It was supposed to cleanse our palettes before we ate, but we all felt that it just left our palettes salty and sour! It was definitely refreshing though, since it was an ice cold sorbet. Let’s just say it was interesting…

Albacore Tuna - confit tomato sauce, cannellini beans, basil oil, parsley

For my appetizer, I chose the Albacore Tuna. The portions were actually quite generous. There were probably around 7 slices, and each slice was quite thick. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the sauces. I’m not a parsley person, so the flavours didn’t really work for me. I have to say that the tuna was fresh, and seared well though. The cannellini beans reminded me of chickpeas, which also aren’t my favourite. I guess I’m just a picky eater…

Poached Pear Salad - white wine poached, arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, yellow beets, honey-dijon vinaigrette

SP and SK got the Poached Pear Salad. It was a large plate of arugula, and they felt that it was way too much. There was also parsley in it, which they weren’t too fond of.

Sablefish - roasted red pepper and potato stew

For their entree, they both got the Sablefish. I was tempted to get it too, but I wanted to try their other dishes too. I tried some of the fish, and it was delicious. Cooked perfectly and the fish was smooth. It’s definitely a small piece of fish though!

Stuffed Mushroom - a refinery classic, stuffed with our special house mixture

For myself, I decided to try the Stuffed Mushroom. I’m glad I got this since it was full of surprises! It was one large mushroom filled with their special house stuffing mixture. The top was something that I believe was similar to bread crumbs, but the inside had cashews in it! At first, I found it weird, but for some reason, when you keep eating it, it becomes highly addictive. The nutty flavour just worked so well with the rest of the mixture.On the side, there was also some pesto sauce which added some flavour to the mushroom. On the right was more salad, which was similar to the appetizer. Lots of arugula and parsley! So I didn’t really eat much of it.

Tiramisu - espresso soaked lady fingers, whipped marscapone, cocoa dust

My favourite part of the meal were the desserts! I got the Tiramisu which came with a biscotti. This was extremely delicious! They had a thick layer of whipped marscapone, and it was dusted with cocoa powder on the top. The lady fingers weren’t soaked with a lot of alcohol, or I barely even tasted it, but I didn’t mind it. Because of that, it ended up being on the sweeter side, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Flourless Chocolate Cake - chocolate ganache, raspberry compote, balsamic reduction coconut cream

The girls got the Flourless Chocolate Cake which had a raspberry compote underneath. It was full of chocolate goodness and my one bite satisfied my sudden chocolate cravings. The girls both agreed that it was way too much chocolate and therefore very sweet, but that’s how a flourless chocolate cake is supposed to be like!

When we got our bill, we were also given complementary Chili Truffles, which I forgot to snap a picture of. The truffles were not spicy at first, but once the outer cocoa powder dissolved, the spice hit! It was acutally quite spicy and the server explained that she felt that this batch was a lot spicier.

Overall, The Refinery was average. I don’t know if I would come here again, but this is soley based on their dine out menu. Service was great when our server checked up on us, but where we were seated was difficult to get her attention. It literally took us 10 minutes to get a different servers attention when we wanted a picture because our own server still didn’t notice us. I don’t think the food is bad, but it might be just a personal taste preference and the ingredients aren’t items I normally enjoy. However, I enjoyed their desserts, and the place also seems like a cool place to grab some drinks. Their bar looks really nice!

I’ve heard good things about Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and I finally got the chance to try it out. J and I went on the least busiest time ever. A weekday at around 2pm, and we were literally the only ones there.

The place has a bar so I’m guessing it might get lively on weekend nights.

We got to sit in the room with the oven! They literally put the pizza in that oven in the back, so it’s pretty neat. I got to see the pizza getting baked.

Chicken Noodle Soup - Housemade chicken broth loaded with organic pasta, shredded carrots, chicken & topped with three herb pesto

I already ate, so I wasn’t too hungry. I chose to get the Chicken Noodle Soup. I didn’t think it was anything amazing. It was basically just broth with pasta, chicken and some veggies. I thought that the pesto on the top actually threw the soup off a bit. The soup also came with something like pita bread. It was pretty tough, so I had to dip it in the soup, except the soup was really just broth, so it didn’t work so well together.

All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza - Organic tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, organic beef pepperoni, crimini mushrooms, shaved red onion & sliced roma tomatoes; Topped with fresh chopped herbs

J got the All Beef Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza. They are basically famous for their flatbreads, and they are actually really good! Thin crust and full of toppings. We did find that they were a little burnt at the bottom, but it wasn’t too bad.

I also found out that they were having a special dine out event that night, but we totally missed it! You could make your own pizza and put it in the oven. Sounds so neat! Hopefully, they’ll have these events again even after dine out.

Beautiful Gastown at night!

Complementary Bread

Caesar Salad - romaine lettuce, fresh grated parmesan, anchovies and garlic

Sunshine Coast Seafood and Corn Chowder

Fanny Bay Oysters - sautéed with smoked chipotle peppers, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan gratinée

Baked Portobello Mushroom - topped with grilled vegetables, cream cheese and parmesan gratinée

West Coast Crab Cakes - Dungeness and blue crab, Pacific shrimp with a roasted corn salsa and garlic aioli

Potato Gnocchi - hand rolled potato dumplings, prosciutto, fresh Pacific shrimp and a butternut squash with sage sauce

Duck Confit - with a balsamic and pineapple chutney glaze on garlic mashed potatoes

Tiramisu - classic Italian trifle

Flourless Double Chocolate Espresso Cake - Served with a black cherry compote

Gastown is so gorgeous at night! I love the historic brick buildings and flooring! Makes me feel as if I’m walking in Europe or something! During the weekend, I went to Water St. Cafe for Dine Out with my girlfriends for a girls night out dinner. We each chose a different appetizer and I  had the fanny bay oysters. I have to say they didn’t look too appetizing but it tasted really good! The sundried tomatoes were a great complement to it. I also took a  bite from my friend’s stuffed portabello mushroom and it was delicious too! Next, I had the duck confit for my entree. I kind of wanted to try the crab cakes too but I wanted to see what everything else looked like! The duck confit was quite tender, and the pineapple chuntney glaze gave it a nice flavour. I took some of my friend’s crab cake and it was delicious! I really liked the bread crumb coating and you could taste a lot of the crab and shrimp in it. The gnocchi was also quite good, with a very nice sauce and was the right chewiness. Last but not least, the desserts! The tiramisu was very good! One of my favourites. It was quite strong in alcohol, but something about the right amount of cream and all was perfect. The chocolate cake was also pretty good, but I found it a little too fudge-like. But I guess that’s why it’s flourless! Overall, this dine out was quite delicious! It was only $28 and it was actually very filling! Service was okay, but not superb or anything. The ambiance is quite nice though. It’s a very cozy place; a very nice place to talk and to enjoy some food. It’s also directly in front of the steam clock which is beautiful to look at at night while enjoying dinner.

RISOTTO DI MARE
Italian Rice with Prawns, Squid, Sea Scallops, white wine, fresh herbs

COZZE ALLA MARINARA
Fresh mussels, steamed with butter garlic and white wine, touch of tomato sauce

FUNGO PORTOBELLO GRATINATO  Portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs, fresh herbs  Served with roasted red pepper sauce
 Amaretto Di Saronno crème brulee

Torta di Nocciola
Hazelnut chocolate Cheese cake

Portobello Ristorante is said to be hidden gem in the neighbourhood when you have a look at the reviews online! So of course, I decided to go try it out! I had imagined it to be a very fancy restaurant, but it was actually quite family-oriented. It is apparently an Italian family owned restaurant and therefore, the food is quite authentic. Both the risotto and mussels were very delicious! It had great flavour. The portobello mushroom stuffed with bread crumbs was my favourite. I’m guessing this is their signature dish since the restaurant has the word portobello in its name! It was extremely moist and juicy, and crispy at the top. The hazelnut chocolate cheesecake and creme brulee were also exceptional! Definitely need to check this restaurant out! It’s casual, but the ambiance is lovely!

Cocktails

Risotto Sample

Linguine Carbonara - pancetta, scallions, free range egg, parmesan

Penne Arrabbiata - crispy pancetta, peperoncino, basil, tomatoes

Went to Italian Kitchen in Downtown Vancouver for a girl’s night out dinner. Somehow, we ended up there really late, almost at 9, but the place was still packed and luckily, they were still serving dinner.   Atmosphere is very nice and modern and a perfect place to get a little dressy. We were also given a sample of risotto for free and it was very creamy and delicious! Lots of pastas to choose from, and I had the linguini carbonara and it was very good. Service was also wonderful. Great place for a night out!