Northern Cafe & Grill: Serious Hole-In-The-Wall Diner Eats

I’ve been known to frequent hole-in-the-wall joints. In fact, some of my favourite places to visit are down-to-earth eateries where the owners love what they do and are unpretentious about it. Well, I’m happy to say that I’ve found a new place that meets these standards. I suppose “found” really isn’t the right word as Northern Cafe has been around since 1949. But I can hardly be blamed for not visiting until now… tucked away on the second floor of a building supply store – you seriously are not going to come across this place unless you were intentionally trying to find this place (or if you happen to work in the trades).

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Sapperton District Taphouse: Gastropub Eats

Driving through the historic Sapperton area of New Westminster one day, I noticed Sapperton District Taphouse and made a mental note to visit them one day when I had the chance.

In-N-Out Burger – The Linq (Las Vegas 2019): No So Secret Menu

It’s been years since we last visited Vegas and one spot that we’ve always meant to try is In-N-Out Burger. Back in the day, the closest location was at Tropicana across from the freeway (not exactly walking distance from The Strip – especially in the middle of the desert heat and with all the traffic on the freeway). We did try years ago but gave up quickly after we noticed the lack of safe sidewalks and crossing areas.

Kelly O’Bryan’s Restaurant: Average Bar Food

Back in the day, the iconic former CPR station located at the convergence of Front and Columbia streets in New Westminster used to be home of The Keg. That is, until The Keg closed these doors in 2013. For years, it sat idly by until recently a new tenant, Kelly O’Bryan’s, decided to call this place home. Interestingly, the founders of Kelly O’Bryan’s worked in The Keg at this location back in the 70’s.

Shake Shack (Chiyoda): Tokyo 2017

Okay, it might seem strange that our first visit to Shake Shack is in Japan. This New York based hamburger chain started out as a simple food cart back in 2004 but has expanded to over 100 locations around the world (and yet none in Vancouver).

Red Robin (Coquitlam): Bottomless Fries and Root Beer Floats

I’ve mentioned previously on a number of posts… there was a time when Red Robin was the place to go if you wanted to find “gourmet” burgers. Now, “gourmet” typically meant anything other than a regular cheeseburger and it was also a few decades before all of the newer burger joints started opening up. Still, Red Robin, services a fairly broad demographic looking for a family-friendly atmosphere at relatively fair prices.

IT Char Burger: Have You Got IT?

Have you got IT?

Cats Socialhouse – The Pub Burger

There’s lots of options for eats when you head down to Granville Island. Until this point, I’ve steered clear of Cats Socialhouse… mainly because the name evokes a hipster-ish place to me and I’m far from being a social person.

Red Robin (Robson) – Wild Pacific Crab Cake Burger

There was a time, many moons ago, when Red Robin dominated the casual burger establishment in Vancouver… mainly because there was no competition. Since then, many of the Red Robin franchises in the Lower Mainland have shut down while newer, fresher, restaurants have taken their place.

White Spot (Central Burnaby) – Comfort Foods

What’s your idea of comfort food? I’m sure macaroni and cheese is near the top of the list for many people… like me for instance.

White Spot (New West) – Pirate Pak Day

This is a bit of an old post as I’m catching up on some backlogged entries. I figured since today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day, it’s fitting to begin here. So… Avast, ye mateys! Sit back and pull up a plank and enjoy the read…

Back on August 12th, it was Adult Pirate Pak Day at White Spot (for every Adult Pirate Pak sold, White Spot was going to donate $2 to the Zajac Ranch for Kids). I’ve had fond memories of enjoying pirate paks when I was a kid so this was the perfect excuse to reminisce and enjoy some food.

Red Robin (Guildford Town Centre)

There used to be a time back in the 80’s when going out for gourmet burgers meant heading out to Red Robin. Many of the locations have closed over the years (probably due to the competition nowadays). We were starving and passing by the Guildford area so we stopped by for some grub. The decor in here looks exactly like how all of the other locations looked 25 years ago. Maybe it’s the sameness that some people like.