Banana Leaf (Fairview)

We don’t make it down to Broadway too often but when we do, we always hear the beckoning of Banana Leaf.  There are a lot of great things on the menu but the best deal is to start off with the Appetizer Platter for 2:

Cactus Club Cafe – Kingsway

We’ve stayed away from this Cactus Club Cafe for a long time… mainly because it always looks so busy and the parking lot is always full.  I remember eating at this location years ago before they made their changes… back when they used to have cows all over the place.  Big improvement (but I think I still miss the cows).

Pappa Joe’s – Butter Chicken Pizza?

The Pappa Joe’s on 4520 East Hastings in Burnaby has been around since 1993 and we always used to enjoy both the pizza and the pasta that they had.  Even though we didn’t live near the place, any time we were in the neighbourhood, we would make sure to pick up their Masterpiece Pizza and tasty lasagna.  There was something really special about the meat sauce in their lasagna that we’ve never tasted elsewhere.

Boston Pizza… more than just pizza?

Haven’t eaten at Boston Pizza for quite a while – partly because we’ve been trying to cut back on pasta lately and from what I remembered, they mostly served pizza and pasta. Being unable to decide what to have for lunch, we remembered that Boston Pizza gives bonus Air Miles (I know… kind of a silly reason but free stuff is still free stuff).

It wasn’t very busy for Sunday lunch and the hostess sat us in a quiet area near the bar… which was kind of nice because a family with noisy kids came in later and was seated in the main dining area.

Unassuming Korean Restaurant: Cho Sun BBQ Korean Restaurant

I’ve seen Cho Sun before many, many, many times but never had the urge to go in. Don’t get me wrong, I like Korean food… it’s just that the restaurant is a little unassuming from the exterior. I’ve shopped at the nearby Safeway quite frequently. I’ve eaten at the nearby Samosa Garden too. I’ve even ordered take-out from the small-hole-in-the-wall-but-extremely-tasty-and-long-named-restaurant Mezbaan Fine Indian Fusion. But for some reason or another, we’ve never taken the time to try the place out…that is, until today.

It’s the weekend. The sun was out (a little – but in Vancouver, we’ll take any sunshine we can get), spring was in the air… Which can only mean one thing… spring yard work… uggh! Inevitably, that always means a trip down to Rona’s to pick up a bunch of stuff (and usually a trip back because we forget something the first time around).

Sun Sui Wah – King Crab 2.0

King Crab at Sun Sui Wah – Round 2.

If you’ve read my previous blog, you’ll recall that we had some set backs with our King Crab Feast when we went on a weekend… This time around, we chose wisely and went on a weekday (hoping it would be slower and, therefore, better service).  Here’s a link the the last King Crab post: All Hail the King (Crab)!

Before and After: Sunday Brunch at Reflect Social Dining + Lounge

As Craigy Ferg always says, “tomorrow’s just your future yesterday”.  Why do I bring this up?  I’ll get to that later.

Tucked away in the the Hilton Vancouver Metrotown (which is a little misleading since it’s actually located at The Crystal Mall in Burnaby) lies a little unassuming restaurant.  If you’re never been here before, you couldn’t be blamed for passing it by or missing it completely.  It seems as if they have done everything in their power to make it difficult for people to find the place. 

All Hail the King (Crab)!

First off, let me apologize for the cell phone photos… they really don’t do justice to the food.

Now I know that we live in Vancouver and you can get King Crab at most good seafood restaurants any time of the year… but there’s just something different about eating it during King Crab season.  Every year, we look forward to March and enjoying these tasty crustaceans.  I’ve only seen Deadliest Catch once – never really got interested in how these mighty beasts get caught, just happy to eat them!

Benny’s Market

Anyone who lives/lived in the Strathcona area of Vancouver knows Benny’s Market. Located at the corner of Union and Princess, Benny’s Market is an Italian speciality food store… but more importantly, a great little deli that serves their signature sandwich… the Benny Burger.

Now you might be wondering exactly what a Benny Burger is… well, it’s not really a “burger”.  A few years ago when I first visited the place, the owner explained that the origins of the Benny Burger started many years before.  Located a few blocks away from Strathcona Elementary, they noticed that kids would come by during lunch time and buy chips or other junk food with thier lunch money.  Wanting to see these kids get a more nutritious meal, they started offering a small sandwich to these kids at a very low cost. 

Potter’s Garden

Okay, here goes our first post…

Potter’s Garden is one of our “go to” places for Korean food.  Partly because it’s close to where we live, partly because the food is good, and partly because we enjoy seeing what’s playing on the large flatscreen tv.  Even though we don’t speak Korean, we find the various programs playing (either some form of Korean variety show or trailers for Korean soap operas) to be very entertaining.

First up is the seafood pancake… one of the better ones we’ve had.  Some restaurants have too much batter and not enough seafood but this was really good and we almost always have it when we eat here.

Hello world!

Welcome to Penny and Rusty’s Food Blog! Stay tuned for more fodder!