Commercial Drive : Tiny Bites

On the 5th day of Christmas, I’m craving a Memphis Feast from Memphis Blues BBQ House

1 Comment Karen HamiltonDecember 14, 2011

On the fifth day of Christmas, Foodsters drove to me
Five Memphis Feasts!
Four poutines
Three Peking Ducks
Two Japadogs
And a steaming bowl of chicken congee.

The Hamilton household loves its meat, particularly in the form of pulled pork or brisket slathered in BBQ sauce. And this is why we love Memphis Blues.

Any of the Feasts offered by Memphis Blues makes for great game day fare. The Memphis Feast–the smallest of the options but by no means meagre–contains enough pulled pork, brisket, beef ribs, riblets, sausage, and BBQ chicken to feed four or a very hungry duo. Comes with all the fixins’, too: fries, cornbread, coleslaw, baked BBQ beans, and a cupful of BBQ sauce for dunking. If you didn’t stock up on booze ahead of time, add on the Bucket O’Beer for $9.95.

Memphis Blues does their own delivery out of the Commercial Drive, South Surrey, Hillcrest Village, and Kelowna locations, between 5-9pm at $2 a pop with a $20-25 order minimum. Outside of those time zones and locations or below that budget, ask Foodsters to help out. They may even grab you the Bucket O’Beer as long as you can produce your ID at the door.

From December 10-22nd, I’m a media sponsor for Foodsters’ 12 Days of Christmas Food Drive. Follow along as I share what my top 12 food and restaurant cravings are this season (with some poetic license to boot).

Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Broadway, Commercial Drive, Food, Food Purveyors, Restaurants

Divino on the Drive

3 Comments Degan BeleySeptember 14, 2009

When Divino opened on the Drive, I was so excited. I went ito check it out immediately and then never went back. Not because there was anything at all wrong with it – I love their zebrawood tables, bright windows and delectable wine list – but I lived only a block away from it and while I’m sometimes lacking in groceries, I always have wine and cheese. So it’s been a while since I’ve been in. Now that Commercial Drive is a destination for me, I think I’ll be back a lot more.

I settled on a glass of the 2004 Muga Rioja Reserva, a peppery, almost chewy Spanish red that was perfect for an overcast afternoon. To eat, we had a bruscetta sampler plate – five different bruscettas all with different toppings, from caramelized onion and brie to carpaccio – and antipasto. The antipasto, pictured above, was a picnic-like plate of soppressatta, proscuitto, olives, gherkins, peppers, mustard and a litle jar of salad. It was all very tasty and summery and while the wine would have paired better with red meat, I certainly had no complaints.

Divino Wine Bar
1590 Commercial Drive | Vancouver
(604) 258-0005
www.divinovancouver.com

Categories: Commercial Drive, Food, Restaurants, Wine

Visual Bites: Café Kathmandu

4 Comments Karen HamiltonFebruary 12, 2009

Degan of Ethnic Eats recently organized a night of food worship at the temple of Café Kathmandu.

In attendance were like-minded Vancouver food lovers: David of Loud Murmurs, Roland of VanEats, Eagranie of The Well-Tempered Chocolatier, and Raul of Hummingbird604 (even though his broken tooth prevented him from partaking in the nibbles – mon pauvre).

I sat back with camera at the ready while the rest of the group ravaged the menu for the choiciest items.

Selection of 3 tipan tipan (small plates), served with hot sauce and chiuraa – a crunchy beaten rice, lightly toasted.

Left: Choilaa, $7. Pork simmered with a distinctively Kathmandu-style spice mix with lemon, garlic, onion, and fresh coriander.

Middle: Aaloo achaar, $6. Chilled sesame-lemon potato salad flavored with timmur (Himalayan peppercorns) and fenugree.

Right: Bhatmaas, $6. Toasted soybeans, quick-fried with fresh ginger, garlic and chili and garnished with fresh coriander. By far the favourite of the table. The crunch could wake the dead; the beans felt hollowed out. Never encountered a texture quite like this.

This month features the momo for $9. We ordered a plate each of vegetable and pork steamed dumplings, served with hot sauce, tomato sauce, and cilantro chutney. I made the mistake of dolloping a teaspoon of hot sauce on half a momo. Luckily, this searing off of my tastebuds occurred at the end of the meal, after we all had our fill of Nepali cuisine.

Gently fried soft tofu curry sautéed and cooked with green beans in tomato sauce. $10 for a cereal-bowl serving, spiced at medium.

Khasiko massu for $12 – goat meat in curry sauce whose heat was also set to medium.

Medium spcied daal jhaneko for $10. It’s a lentil puree accented with caramelized onions, ginger and roasted red chili seeds.

I was feeling cold from the winter weather, so I opted for Nepali tea served with milk and steeped with fennel seed. Reminds me very much of chai, but despite the unlimited refills that I was privy to, my lactose intolerance didn’t trigger. Hooray!

The rest of the group ordered thick and frothy mahee. Looked like a mango lassi to me.

We exchanged food pleasantries and delved into topics gastronomic and tech well beyond the last bite. Eagranie even provided dessert in the highly appropriate form of mini chocolates.

If you’d like to see what Himalayan food can offer your palate, make sure to come down to Café Kathmandu the next time you are on The Drive.

Café Kathmandu
2779 Commercial Drive | Vancouver
(604) 879-9909
cafekathmandu.com