59 Bottles, Bday, and Bikinis

Hello loves! I know it's been a while since I've written. In between watching hockey and planning my Europe trip, I haven't found the time. I really wanted to take some outfit pics over the weekend but the weather wasn't cooperating.

Last week, I came into about 60 bottles of vintage wine. FOR FREE. Someone we knew (immensely wealthy, multimillionaire) just sold his mansion which had a stocked wine cellar. He doesn't actually live here, and he wanted us to get rid of his goods. So away we went and carted out boxes after boxes of wine, some dating back to the mid 80's. I'm not sure how much of it is still "good", since half of it was white wines, but I know there's definitely a bottle or two that might be worth something. I will be documenting my journey through these mystery bottles over at The Unreserved, a wine, foodie, and lifestyle publication and community (I'm one of the editors). So come check it out if you're interested. I should be posting the first bottle over the weekend.

Above: Me marveling at all those cases of wine at a winery in South Africa.

I also had a great bday celebration on the town with my closest besties. We headed to Judas Goat, a small Spanish tapas bar with a great wine list on the recommendations from my friends at Noshwell (review here) and Senses and Style. It didn't disappoint, and we were fully stuffed. I didn't take very good pictures but here's a sampling of what we ate: mini bruschettas (mushrooms and melted cheese, chorizo and onion, roasted pepper), brisket meatballs with tomato sauce, slow cooked sablefish with Israeli couscous, and cured salmon pastrami.

Now something completely off-topic - my new Reef bikinis arrived! Although it hasn't exactly been beach weather here, I can't help but be excited about the two mix-and-match tops and bottoms I got (especially when I could be wearing them in the South of France...).

I got this above top but in dark purple and black so the reef label isn't quite so loud. Then the matching bottoms below but in black. In "cheeky" fit too =D.

I couldn't resist this beautiful multi-coloured triangle top - love the hippie vibe.


The detailed braiding on the sides of this pair was so unique so I picked that up too.

I bought everything from Spyder Surf and they were great about the order. I was a bit apprehensive about ordering swimwear online but everything turned out great! I can't wait to test them out, even if I have to wear them underneath my thick "seal suit" (aka wetsuit) when I'm in Tofino in a couple of weeks.

Meat on a Stick

I promised you some food porn from the long weekend, so here it is. I took these snaps with my iPhone, not really expecting them to turn out, but some of them weren't too bad.

Zakkushi on Main Street is the third location of its kind in Vancouver. A robata restaurant (Japanese charcoal grill) well known for it's meat on a stick, it also dishes out a fair amount of yummy rolls and sushi. All this washes down very well with a cold Asahi. And located conveniently on Main and open late (til midnight), it was a perfect place for a Friday night.

We ordered a Kushi Set, which came with the above assortment of chicken, beef and pork kebabs as well as a skewer of very nicely grilled asparagus. In addition, we had a grilled corn on the cob (covered in butter and oh-so sweet), smoky shitake mushrooms, and a nori mayo tsukune (a chicken meatball around a stick - seen below). The nori mayo definitely took it to another level, and I can see how adding that stuff to a plain old weiner Japadog style can make even street-meat most addictive. What's nice about Zakkushi is the variety of kebabs they have, and of course, the lovely grilled flavour from the charcoal. All the meats were tender and juicy, and in perfect two bite sizes.

We had some rolls too, including a Triple Salmon roll and the below Unagi California roll.

We finished off with one of my favourite desserts, doryaki, which is two small pancakes stuffed with red bean paste. The pancake on its own was nothing special, but Zakkushi's version had matcha ice-cream inside, which made it to die for.

The sign outside Zakkushi is a glowing beacon in the dark for late-night hungry hipsters, and I'll be back for more delectable bites soon.

Seafood Spectacular at Coast Restaurant

Seafood is one of my favorite things to eat and as far as seafood platters go, they can be hit or miss.  Freshness is obviously key, but equally important is delicate preparation.  I can't stand rubbery crustacians and chewy bivalve mollusks, and once over cooked, there's no going back.  

I was at Coast Restaurant on the weekend, and I had one of the most impressively prepared and presented seafood platters in a long time.   We ordered three of these gigantic platters between 12 of us, and the whole table oohed and aahed when they arrived.  Complete with smoking dry ice underneath the platters, the arrangement consisted of prawns larger than my hand span, a lobster, Alaskan king crab, Dungeness crab, mussells, clams, oysters, and a tempura tuna roll.  We girls wasted no time polishing the plates clean!  I think I was more than half full before I started the main course.

A sampling for dessert followed: a baked banana pudding with creme anglais, a peanut butter bar (tasted like a fancy Reese's peanut butter!), mini sweet crepe, and a molten chocolate brownie.   Everyone had a bite of each, and a perfect way to finish up a very fine meal.

I Love a Good Banger

A good banger and mash, I mean.  And that's exactly what I got a taste of last weekend at the Three Lions Cafe and I can't stop thinking about it.

I won't do a full review here or post any pics, since my dear friend Tre at Noshwell has done such a nice job already.  All I can say is whomever thought of making a large, pancake like yorkie and drowning it with buttermilk mashed potatoes, gravy and topping it with two Cumberland sausages is genius. I also had the perfectly seared hangar steak and chips, and I cleaned the plate.  Washed down with their lovely microbrews, and I will keep coming for more.  

The Three Lions Cafe

1 East Broadway, Vancouver

Dining Out for Life is Back

Dining Out For Life, an annual event organized by A Loving Spoonful, is happening again on March 12 at various Vancouver and Whistler restaurants. 25% of all revenues generated on meals on this day will go towards AIDS charities around the Lower Mainland, including A Lovin Spoonful and Friends for Life.

Participating restaurants include Bin 941 and 942, Chambar, Fraiche, Voya and Gastropod.

A very worthwhile cause and I should be out on the town for a bite on this occasion.