High Tea

I went for High Tea with my mother in law and her sister today...

It was a small place in White Rock, and was small, but cute and cozy. The tea was nice -- I had a Creamy Earl Grey that is actually as good as the one I buy in North Vancouver. And the food was plentiful and really good!

brunch

We had brunch today at the Bacchus Bistro. It's part of a winery in south Langley.

It was amazing! We sat outside on the patio (yes, it was raining!), but it was so cozy and warm with their outdoor heaters.

The food and the service was excellent. One of the guys we were with ordered the best bottle of wine too! I'm not eating meat on Fridays for Lent, so I ordered the seafood chowder (YUM!!) and the braised cod. It was so good!

Dinner Coupon

We went out to grab a quick dinner at White Spot tonight - and as we walked up the stairs to the front door, someone stopped us and gave us a coupon...

Thank you, whoever you were!! We enjoyed our dinner just a little more knowing it cost us $10 less then we thought it would.

Paper straws

Paper straws are back at A&W. And it tastes just like my childhood.

Smoke and Bones

One of the guys from Head Office is in town this week, and to thank everyone for all their hard work last year, he brought in real BBQ from a local restaurant called Smoke and Bones.

OMG, it was so good! My only complaint... I've been sick for so long, and don't have much of an appetite, so I wasn't able to eat too much! But maybe that's a good thing!

White Spot

We like to go out for breakfast - usually once or twice a month. We've tried a lot of places (IHOP, Denny's, DeDutch, etc.) over the years, but we usually end up at White Spot in the end. They seem to have the best breakfasts! Even if they don't serve French Toast anymore.

This is a pic of my first breakfast of 2019.

I was too late

Tim Horton's released a new breakfast sandwich. The Belgian Waffle breakfast sandwich. I love Tim Horton's breakfast sandwiches, so I was looking forward to trying this one.

However, the first time I went through the drive through, they were sold out of waffles. So I go my usual croissant instead. Today, I tried again. Only to find out that the "limited time offer" had expired, and they were no longer selling them.
They did get mixed reviews (I heard someone say that they were too sweet). But I still wanted to try one. Maybe next time...

Dim Sum

I went for dim sum with some old friends. It was a wonderful lunch, and we talked and chatted for over 3 hours!

Happy Anniversary

For our Anniversary today, hubby cut the last of the apricot roses from the garden...

And then took me out for brunch to Pat Quinn's Restaurant. We got a seat overlooking the golf course, and it was a beautiful view despite the rain and cloudy weather.

It felt so cozy inside, and the clam chowder was sooooo good!

Dinner out

Today, I flew into Calgary for a work meeting tomorrow. We got in around 6:30, and headed straight for a restaurant to meet the rest of our group, and to have dinner before checking into the hotel. Because it was getting late, and we had to be up so early tomorrow, I ordered a 1/2 order of the Braised Beef Ravioli...

OMG, it was so good! And despite it looking like it wasn't much of a portion, it was very filling, so it was the perfect portion size for me.
I can't remember the restaurant, because I just kind of followed the boss around. He knew where he was going, so I just sat back and enjoyed the trip, and the dinner conversation. Although, everyone was interested in my story of the Tesla!

Dinner at The Keg

We had dinner out tonight with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. We went to The Keg, and Hubby and I both had steak and seafood...

It was really good although it was quite a bit pricier than I thought it would be. I like the Keg, and they are close to home, so we don't have to worry about driving. But, with the prices, I'm not sure we will be going back there again anytime soon.

90 years young

White Spot turns 90 this year!

It has always been the place to go for us.
When we were kids, we loved getting the Pirate Packs.
When I was in my teens, and early twenties, it was the place to hang out for burgers, fries and a shake.
In my 30's it was a nice place to meet friends for a quick bite.
And when I met my husband, it became our place to go for breakfast/brunch on the weekends.
Tonight we stopped in for Chicken in the Straw. An old favourite that they brought back for their 90th birthday.

Super good!

Louisiana Day Four

Today was work in the morning, and then myself and two coworkers headed down to New Orleans for the weekend. Because it was all the rental agency had, we dubbed this part of the trip "3 girls in a mini-van"!
We checked into the hotel, got our bearings, and went for a walk before dinner...

Then we went to Muriel's for dinner... It's in the French Quarter near Jackson Square, and is in a very old house. The décor and food was great...

The company fantastic...

Then it was a trip down Bourbon Street...

And a stop at the Carousel Bar, Hotel Monteleone, for drinks and some jazz...

And a chance to meet some really cool people!

 It's been a long, eventful day!

Shameful Tiki Room

Have you ever been to the Shameful Tiki Room in Vancouver?

If not, you should. No, it's not a great restaurant. But you should check it out, just for the experience. It was very dark, and a little humid inside. My glasses fogged up the minute I walked in, and it took a minute or two to adjust to the very low lighting. And I definitely didn't need my winter sweater on, that's for sure.

The drinks were plentiful, very strong, and definitely the focus of the place. In fact, the drinks menu was 3 times larger than the food menu. Some where "shared" drinks, and some came lit on fire. If you are a non-drinker, perhaps this isn't the place for you.

The food was mediocre. It was good, but the portions were small, and definitely not worth the price.
Overall, it was worth it for the experience, and to say I've been there. The fact that we went with a group of people helped. I couldn't imagine going there for a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us. And I don't think I would go back anytime soon. Unless I was looking to get drunk with a bunch of friends. It's that kind of place.

Dinner out

We have people at work in from out of town this week. So tonight, we took them out for dinner. I chose a restaurant close to the hotel that they were staying at. And had a varied menu, as some of our guests had dietary restrictions. We ended up at Burgoo's.

I had the mac and cheese with everything (peas, bacon, cheese, onions, etc.) and it was sooooo good! The restaurant was small, and wasn't really a great place for a party of 10. But the staff was great, and accommodated us well. I think I might be back. I would like to try their French toast breakfast!

New lunch experience

Today, Black Friday, we decided to go to the mall for lunch. Yeah, crazy, right? And while Black Friday is probably a bigger deal in the US than it is in Canada, it probably wasn't the best thing to do today. Parking was insane. But, the girls in the office wanted to go to Nando's for lunch, and I tagged along. Once we found parking, we put in our orders, and went our separate ways. I decided to hang around at Nando's and just wait, and watch all the people go by. I'm glad I did. It was so busy! And I don't like crowds. It was a new experience for me too... I hadn't been to Nando's before.

With a little help from the girls behind the counter, I ordered 1/4 chicken with fries. And it was actually better than I expected! Especially for a fast food joint. It takes a bit to cook, so it takes a while for the order to be ready. So, I'll be back, because phoning it in at Noon, going shopping, and then picking it up at 12:45 and heading back to the office to eat... well, that just sounds like a great option. Although, I won't be doing it again on Black Friday anytime soon.

Birthday Dinner

For my birthday dinner this year, we finally got a chance to go to a new restaurant in the neighbourhood. It opened under a year ago, and we've been watching the reviews and waiting for the perfect excuse to go. Pat Quinn's Restaurant

Our appetizers were huge. Almost too much...

We both ordered the special that night (Prime Rib). It was really good.
Then for dessert. We split the cheesecake, which was a little different looking but still really good.

All in all, we had a great experience. The food (although a little too much food) was really good. The service was great early on in the dinner. But, later on, as the restaurant became busier, the service wasn't as great. We had to wait a long time for our coffees with the dessert. But, I think we'll be back again.

New things

What is Panzanella?
That was the question I asked our waitress on our anniversary dinner.
Here is the description from Google:

Mine had apricots and cheese in it too.

And it was so good! I'm glad I took the chance to order something different!

Ordering Chinese Food

About a month ago, we had a real craving for Chinese food take out. But our usual place has stopped delivering, and really wasn't all that good the last time we went there. So, we surfed the internet until we found a place close by, that does delivery, that got high ratings on various web-sites.
We wrote out our order, made sure we had cash in hand, and picked up the phone.
The recording on the other end said something about a family emergency and that the place was closed. So much for that.
Today, we had another craving. So, we did the same thing... and after about 1/2 hour of surfing, and deciding on what we wanted to order, we picked up the phone. Only to have yet another recording say that the place was closed for vacations.
I guess Chinese food just isn't in the cards for us.

Dinner Date

I left work early today, so I got home early. A rare treat. Hubby decided he wanted to go out for dinner, but our favourite sushi place was closed. So, we decided to try the new "Comfort Foods" menu at our local White Spot.

We shared a beer sampler, and I ordered the chicken pot pie. It was really good!