Visual Bites: The Eatery
4 Comments
Karen Hamilton
July 25, 2009
A few years ago, Bruce introduced me to the existence of The Eatery by way of linking me to its very-Astroboy website. Upon first glimpse, I had to try it. God only knows how much I loved my fill of Astroboy on the CBC cartoon slate.
The place was dark, loud, and crowded, with anime-pop blaring from every speaker and Art Deco-ness bursting from every corner. The lounge had space-age display cabinets proudly boasting its Astroboy figurine collection. From the ceiling hung a giant lizard of styrofoam, every inch covered in 80′s toy memorabilia. The Kits crowd was there in full force, with several large groups and one particularly rowdy birthday party. Near the storefront, the windows were covered by a screen with a very cheesy samurai film projected onto it. Above the movie was a neon-blue sign: “cool since 1983″. A TV in the upper corner was dedicated to an acid trip of “The Eatery” vignettes. I loved it!
Flash forward to present day. We’ve been to The Eatery at least a dozen times since our first visit and have consistently been impressed with the rolls we ordered. Similar to Alpha, one of my favourite japanese tapas bars, Eatery rolls do not need the usual accompaniment of soy sauce and wasabi. Whatever sauces it came drizzled with were more than enough. In fact, despite the unusual combinations of ingredients, each dish has its own cohesive flavour. It’s hard to describe.
In the dragon roll, for example, one doesn’t taste the eel and prawn tempura separately; the flavour and texture melded together so well that it just tastes like…well, “dragon roll”. I’m probably not helping you much with this description, but this place is definitely something you should experience if you love sushi as we do.
Here are some of the other dishes we’ve tried over the years. You can tell how long we’ve been enjoying them by the quality of the photo (I didn’t always have an SLR, you know).
Pepperjack Sesame Chicken Gyoza – $4.95 (5pcs) or $9.45 (10pcs)
Compared to the sushi, which were amazing, this was only so-so. I’ve had better gyoza at Ebi Ten (which isn’t saying much). Wouldn’t order this again unless we’re really craving gyoza, and if so, I’d go with the normal pork variety. The one thing I did like about it was that it was just swimming in gyoza sauce; mmm, sauce.
Dragon Roll – $7.75
BBQ eel over tempura prawns, avocado, and cucumber
I ordered this out of sheer curiosity and was very pleased by the outcome. It was my favourite of the three that we ordered. You have to try it yourself–it’s indescribably good.
Rock’N'Roll – $5.95
Crab, scallop, mayo, roe, cucumber, tempura crisps
Mild and light, with a crispy texture resulting from the mound of tempura topping. Nice complement to the super-spicy Volcano and the super-savoury Dragon roll. The mayo and roe helped to combine all the separate ingredients into one moist and lip-smacking bite.
The Volcano – $8.50
Tuna, scallops, salmon, avocado–tempura style–on a bed of spicy crab
This dish is less sushi and more of an entree. Four or five large pieces of tempura-ed sushi containing all of the above, topped with what seems to be a spicy red sauce (called dragon sauce, I think) and some sort of mayo. They aren’t stingy at all with the crab bed, which was absolutely delicious. We usually have to alternate between eating one of these pieces and the other rolls, as the spice level is cumulative.
We almost always order this dish when we visit.
Erotica Roll – $6.95
Avocado, salmon, tuna with roe and mayo over crab and cucumber
One of our regular orders for its colour, bite-by-bite contrast, and roe/mayo goodness.
Tataki Attack – $6.95
Crab, scallop, avocado and mayo wrapped with seared albacore tuna
On returning to this place with Bruce last month, this roll has replaced the Dragon Roll as my favourite. Buttery texture, light and smooth.
Fat Elvis – $6.75
Slices of tempura avocado topped with tomatoes, green onions and unagi mayo
I am addicted to avocado so this was a natural menu selection. Would have liked more seasoning on the avocado. Perhaps it needed more salt? Other than that, it was fatty and melt-in-your-mouth good like only avocado can be.
Zen Maki – $6.95
Crab, tuna, salmon, prawn, unagi, scallop, cucumber, asparagus, avocado, roe
Ginormous roll that you have to eat in several bites (me), or risk chewing with an overstuffed mouth for 5 minutes (Bruce). Not bad–I probably would have liked it better if I could have had all the ingredients on my palate at the same time.
Miss Piggy Roll – $6.50
Bacon, scallops, asparagus, roe, unagi sauce
Salty for a maki, considering all the bacon, but it was pretty good. I had focussed more on the other stuff we ordered, though.
Categories: Blogathon 2009, Blogging for Social Change, Food, Kitsilano, Restaurants
An anthology of the 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival
3 Comments Karen HamiltonMarch 25, 2009
Wednesday is my breather from the frenzy of the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. I’ll be back in the scene in some way, shape, or form on Thursday and Friday. Till then, please enjoy this collection of Wine Fest recaps from the official and alternative presses, which I will continue to update as new stuff comes in.
From the wire
Reports from TV, radio, mags, and rags:
- Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival is just around the corner (Anthony Gismondi, The Vancouver Sun)
- BC wines face homecoming test (Alexandra Gill, The Globe and Mail)
- Good Eats: B.C. wines take centre stage at Vancouver Playhouse Int. Wine Festival (Bruce Stephen, North Shore Outlook)
- Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival Launches (Anya Levykh, Metro Vancouver)
- Reality Check in Vancouver (Peter Mitham, Wines & Vines)
- Playhouse Wine Fest Cheat Sheet (David Scholefield, Vancouver Magazine)
From the blogosphere
What bloggers and online publications have been saying:
- How to Survive the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival 2009 (The Blog According to Buzz)
- International Wine Fest 2009: live coverage of BC wines at Earls and West (Tiny Bites)
- Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival – Day 1 (Wine Bard)
- Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival Begins! (Full-Bodied)
- Winefest Blog #269: The 1st Day In The Big Shoes Of Sid Cross (Scout Magazine)
- WineFest Blog #628: Dinner At Bishop’s And 17 Again At Boneta (Scout Magazine)
- Wine Festival Kick Off (Urban Diner)
- Joy in a Glass (Urban Diner)
- The 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival Kicks Off (Vinifico)
- WineFest Blog #270: Heidi Noble As Globe & Mail “Flashpoint” (Scout Magazine)
- International Wine Fest 2009: live coverage of Caymus Vineyards at CinCin (Tiny Bites)
- WineFest Blog #271: Sid Cross Shares His CinCin Tasting Notes (Scout Magazine)
- 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival – Brunello, Barolo and Beyond… event (Vinifico)
- WineFest Blog #272: 2 Wines And 20 Vintages With Sid Cross (Scout Magazine)
- WineFest Blog #273: The Trade Tasting & Mike Bernardo’s Shoe (Scout Magazine, with a gallery containing my photography)
- CedarCreek Winemaker Dinner at Bishops (City Food Magazine)
- Make Wine She Said: Divas at the Met (City Food Magazine)
- New Wines to Try at the Festival: Pink Elephant Sparkling (City Food Magazine)
- Vancouver WineFest Thursday Trade Tasting Report (Full-Bodied)
- Andrea Vescovi Named Sommelier of the Year (Urban Diner)
- Caymus Wine Dinner At Cincin (Urban Diner)
- 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival – Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical Tasting (Vinifico)
- 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival – Wine folks talk about their wines and the value of social media (Vinifico)
- WineFest Blog #274: Spit Bucket Barricades & Fashionistas (Scout Magazine)
- *News Flash* 2010 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (Wine Bard)
- WineFest Blog #295: Five Days And Nights & Still Going Strong (Scout Magazine)
- Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival – Summary (Wine Bard)
From the Twitterverse
Trying out yet more fun tech. Below is a feed of the most recent Twitter musings that have been tagged by the official hashtag of the event, #vpiwf.
If you’d like to see the full collection of #vpiwf commentary, you can look it up on Twemes, which has the added benefit of showing you all Flickr photos (like mine) tagged with vpiwf.
Update: Wine Fest personalities on Twitter
Would you like to know which participating wineries to follow after the Wine Fest winds down? Here’s a list to start you off.
- @township7 – Township 7, BC
- @blackcloudwine – Black Cloud Wine, BC
- @dfwinery – Dunham & Froese, BC
- @stoneboat – Stoneboat Vineyards, BC
- @road13vineyards – Road 13 Vineyards, BC
- @prospectwinery – Prospect Winery, BC
- @tinhorncreek – Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, BC
- @sokolblosser – Sokol Blosser Winery, Oregon
I had a heck of a time finding many participants on Twitter from outside of BC, although there are at least 60 wineries on Twitter from around the world. Please help me flag down any wineries that you follow that were represented at this year’s Wine Fest.
Share Wine Fest news with me
Help me add to this Wine Fest round-up by dropping a comment with related articles on the interwebs.
Festival Gallery
Here is my share of visual documentation of this week’s festivities. Click on a thumbnail and use the Prev and Next buttons to navigate through the rest.
Categories: Downtown, Events, Food, Gastown, Kitsilano, Restaurants, South Granville, Wine
Dine Out for Life with me at Tomato Fresh Food Cafe
5 Comments Karen HamiltonMarch 6, 2009
After much back and forth, I’ve decided to simply link you to the page where the originally embedded Global BC video invite lives. I hate clips that autoplay, no matter how great an overview this video may be for Dining Out for Life.
It occurred to me that I’d never paid attention to Dining Out for Life. One day each year, over 200 restaurants in the Lower Mainland are patronized by thousands of diners for the express purpose of “filling their plates to fight AIDS”. 25% of all proceeds goes to A Loving Spoonful and Friends for Life: local charities that support people living with HIV / AIDS.
While the event has certainly not gone unnoticed by our household, I can’t recall ever making a point to participate; we dine out fairly often, after all. My sense of social responsibility grabbed me by the ear this time. My ear was pulled even further when Eagranie of The Well-Tempered Chocolatier declared her early commitment to the cause (bravo, my dear). I decided to follow her lead by also volunteering my pen, lens, and time as a Dining Out for Life Restaurant Ambassador.
The DOFL planning team acquiesced to my request to help at a restaurant that I’ve never eaten at before. They wound up assigning me to Tomato Fresh Food Cafe–once an institution on the Cambie corridor and now a neighbourhood contender on the Broadway strip of Kitsilano.
Now, I wouldn’t ask you to come out to Tomato Cafe without scouting it out for you in advance, so here are my notes, scribbled at said Cafe from 4pm to 7pm tonight, t-minus 1 week to the start of Dining Out for Life.
4pm at Tomato Fresh Food Cafe – Arrival and first tastes
Soon after I settled into a booth with a good view of the open kitchen, I was greeted by chef James Campbell, who had noticed my photo documentation and came to say hello. I introduced myself as their Restaurant Ambassador and proceeded to peruse the menu for something good to try.
My visit could have been better timed. Between 3 and 5, the kitchen grills shut down to prep for dinner service. I had to make do with the afternoon menu, which was described by my server as a selection of cold sandwiches and salads. Sandwiches are pretty far down on my list of food favourites, so I was a little disheartened. My countenance brightened, however, at the presence of soup on the menu.
Today’s soups were a Manhattan clam chowder and a Thai chickpea curry. I opted for a cup of the latter. It was gone in literally a minute; I was hooked after the first few bites. It was like some entity had possessed my being and threw the soup into my mouth in rapid-fire swallows.
My sadness at the soup’s quick demise was washed away by a glass of the Heavenly Cleanse: a juice medley of carrot, apple, lemon, and ginger. It was at once harmonious and distinct – the flavours worked well together without losing their identities completely. It is also an unusual blend; not my first choice for diners that do not tend to eat out of the box.
4:30pm – Round 2
While I waited for the grills to fire, I skipped ahead and ordered one of Tomato Cafe’s desserts: a warm Banana Foster cake. The mascarpone ice cream was eager to slide off the top of the cake. I rushed to snap a photo while it was still upright.
Loved the small details. There were curlicues of caramel sauce and a ring of miniscule banana slices that were intermediary between cake and ice cream. A leaf of coconut tuile poked out from the mascarpone in defiance of gravity.
5:30pm – Round 3
Now that the kitchen was afire for dinner, I placed my order for one of the many personal favourites pointed out to me by my new server, Khristine.
The seared bay scallops were my choice for winding down my taste test. This $13 starter was served on a bed of pea and asparagus risotto. The portion I received would have been suitable for a standalone light meal; after soup, juice, and cake, my belly could barely take this much more. But I managed to eat every last bite.
Had I not prefaced my dinner with an abundance of snacks, I would have likely tried the Bouillabaisse du Pacifique or the tagliatelle with wild sea prawns and long stem artichokes. Both are Ocean Wise – bonus. Ah well…it gives me something to try on subsequent visits, including next week on Thursday, March 12th.
Will you drop by for dinner on March 12, 2009?
If I’ve gotten you interested in Tomato Cafe, please consider joining me on Thursday in support of Dining Out for Life. It’d be lovely to meet you!
Tomato Fresh Food Cafe
2486 Bayswater Street (at Broadway) | Kitsilano
Reserve by phone: (604) 874-6020
Reserve by email: info@tomatofreshfoodcafe.com
(If Tomato Cafe is not your thing, check out where Eagranie is stationed or peruse the full list of participating restaurants for a place that you can endorse.)
Categories: Blogging for Social Change, Events, Food, Kitsilano, Restaurants
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Articles by Karen Hamilton
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