pub food Archives - Curiously Carmen

Elephant and Castle Pub

June 28, 2014

It was another beautiful sunny Vancouver afternoon, and luckily, I had the day off to spend it in downtown with friends. This time, we decided to try Elephant and Castle because it was close to Stanley Park, and I have heard good things about this place.

There was a strong British influence on this pub, and it was located inside the beautiful, heritage Marine building. It was definitely a pretty place to stop and fill our stomaches before exploring our beautiful city and the seawall.
For drinks, I decided to get my favourite beer of all time. Kronenbourg Blanc! This beer is very refreshing, and has a strong citrusy flavour to it. If you’re a big fan of citrus and in the mood for a light beer, this is the way to go.

I liked how they included an orange with it too because other places that I’ve ordered this did not include one. Also, please excuse the 24 in the corner, I took this picture off my Snapchat because I realized I forgot to take an actual picture. =.=”
I haven’t had chicken tenders for a long time, so I decided to try theirs that day which came with honey mustard dipping sauce. Was I ever glad I did! The chicken came piping hot, and was super tender, but crispy on the outside. It was also very juicy, seasoned well, and tasted really fresh.

My favourite place to get chicken tenders is Red Robins, but since they’ve closed a couple of the locations I normally go to, I haven’t really found a place that matched their deliciousness. Oh wait, IHOP at Brentwood had amazing chicken tenders but that shut down too.

Anyways, the chicken tenders here are probably my new favourite, since they both shut down. I love my chicken tenders so if you know a great place for them, please let me know in the comments!
The Somersby apple cider was one of the seasonal drink specials that day. Both my friends ordered it, and they fell in love with how crisp and refreshing it tasted. I had a sip and I loved it too! I actually ended up ordering this the next night at Milestones (Might do a post on that as well, we shall see!)
This was my friend’s mini stuffed yorkie pie ($8), with a side of fries. Two of my friends ordered this, and they both thought it tasted pretty good. However, they were disappointed with the size of the pies. Yes, they’re mini pies but my friend said that after two bites, it was finished and not worth the $8 she paid for! It’s a good thing she had the side of fries to fill her up.
Up next were the deep fried pickles with roasted red pepper aioli. I thought that these were fried perfectly, and the pickles were crunchy and delicious too. The aioli dipping sauce was very delicious and had a hint of garlic and spice.

Behind it was “the works” poutine that came with sour cream, bacon, tomato, and green onions. It was also pretty good and had a generous serving of fries and toppings. My other friends also ordered three plates of poutine which I forgot to take a picture of ~~(probably because I was too busy reuniting with my delicious chicken tenders).~~

Anyways, to conclude, we had a great first experience here and definitely wouldn’t mind coming back. Service was friendly and attentive as well.

-Carmen

Score on Davie Sports Bar, Denman

May 3, 2014

I was invited by my friend to go to Score on Davie, because our mutual friend saw an article on it and really wanted to try their
“checkmate” Caesar which is a Caesar topped with a whole chicken, burger, hot dog, brownie, and more! Although I love spice and tomato juice, I’ve never ordered Caesars because I prefer beer much more. After trying out Score on Davie, I think I will be ordering Caesars much more. The place was packed by 8pm on a lovely Vancouver evening, and they were at overcapacity.
One thing I really liked about Score was their music. They had such good hip hop beats going all night long! This was their menu. We decided on sharing a couple of food items, drinks, and of course, the checkmate.
These are some of their other specialty Caesars as well. We thought that these were pretty impressive, but we did not know what the checkmate had in store for us… I should also mention that the checkmate is not on the menu, probably because it would annoy the hell out of the workers to make it if everyone knew about it. We had to ask our server for it!
Some of my friends decided to share a pitcher of sangria ($25). You are given the option to chose between red or white wine, and it also comes with a big metal spoon to help with getting the frozen fruits easier. They really enjoyed the sangria.
I ordered the Mill St. Vanilla Porter ($4)! It was delicious. It was a dark and thick beer, with hints of chocolate but with the smoothness of vanilla. So good!
We decided on getting some nachos to share ($16 approx). These were pretty decent, and came with salsa, sour creme, and beans for dipping. I would have liked it if there was more cheese, I found a lot of the chips didn’t have any melted cheese on them. To compare it with my visit at St. Augustine’s pub, St Aug’s had more nachos but Score has more dipping sides and ingredients in their nachos.
We also decided on sharing some honey garlic chicken wings ($12 approx). The chicken was hot and juicy, with the perfect amount of honey garlic.
And finally, our checkmate Caesar came and as you can see, it is truly a mouth and eyeful! Ready to hear what it came with? An order of onion rings, buffalo chicken wings, a whole juicy burger, a mini slider burger, a hot dog with pulled pork, a brownie for dessert, and OH YEAH, A WHOLE CHICKEN UNDERNEATH. The drink came to $60, WHICH, before you complain and leave this page, was a good deal because you got full sized portions of all the food. If you ordered all that food individually, plus a large Caesar, you would be paying the same amount anyways. We also split the bill 6 ways so it only came to $10 each.

You’re probably wondering if it was worth it. The answer is YES!!! Even though all the food was piled on top of the mighty Caesar, it was all quality food. The buns for the burger and hot dog were toasted, making it super soft on the inside. The pulled pork was so tender and juicy like the one I had at Burgers Etc BBQ House. The onion rings were perfectly crispy and tasted really fresh, as well as the crispy buffalo chicken wings. The brownie was super soft, decadent, and rich and even came with whipped cream, which melted pretty fast since the brownie was warm. The whole chicken was very meaty, and seasoned really well too! Of course, the Caesar was made well too!

In conclusion, their atmosphere and service is really welcoming and attentive. Their checkmate Caesar is one of those drinks that you just have to try, put it on your summer bucket list if you have one. Their food tastes a lot better than the average pub, the quality, tenderness, and juiciness of all their meat dishes really show. I predict that this place will get a lot busier once people hear about the checkmate, so I’m glad I already got the chance to try it!

-Carmen

St. Augustine’s Pub

April 17, 2014

I am done with exams and school in general! Well, until the end of this month… but still, I’ll take a reason to celebrate with good company, beer, and nachos!

I love St. Augustine’s for their awesome beer selection and cheap paddles! For those who don’t know what their beer paddle is, keep on reading. St Aug’s is my go-to pub when I want some good beer. They offer over 60 beer taps, so you have a pretty huge selection, from IPAs, lagers, stouts, and pale ales, and more. Even if you don’t like beer, their food menu is pretty delicious as well.
I was pretty surprised at how busy St. Aug’s was on a weekday night. We had to move to a bigger table since more people ended up joining us, but thankfully, there was a table of nice customers who switched their seats so that we could combine two tables.
Their beer menu changes daily, even hourly. I almost always order the paddle when I come here, because I am so indecisive. The paddle consists of 4 tap beers of your choice. It is around $9 for four 4oz beer samples. I decided to split the paddle today with the boyfriend. The following beers are seen from left to right!

Steveston hefeweizen- This had some wheat, banana and cereal flavour in it. I liked how it was full-bodied and had some citrus aromas to it!
What the huck- I chose this one because it claimed to have a berry flavour (huckleberry-hah get it?) and aroma to it. Indeed, it did! The brewery added berry juice after filtration, which gives it its colour and sweetness. However, it wasn’t sweet enough to taste just solely of berry juice of course! I liked the sweet, slightly tart but smooth finish to it.
Old boy classic ale- Had a darker and roastier smell to it than the previous two. It was creamy, and had flavour hints of coffee and caramel. If you’re into dark and heavy flavours, this one is a good choice. I loved it!
Smooth criminal- Smooth criminal was very dark, malty, and creamy. There was notes of chocolate and coffee in this one. It was definitely very “smooth” like their name says. Out of all four, I enjoyed this one the most because it was so smooth and dark. I was craving an oatmeal stout for so long and this one really fulfilled my cravings.
We always order nachos to share when we come here because it’s such a large portion for $16. I was a bit disappointed with their nachos because there wasn’t that much cheese with it.

There was a lot of sour cream and I wish they had more cheese instead. It would also be nice to have a different variety of nacho chips. I have definitely had better nachos before, but these are alright. Tomatoes and onions on the top were pretty fresh, as were the peppers.
I was really hungry, and ordered their salami pizza ($9)! I was surprised at how big the dish was. This dish tasted a lot better than the nachos, and I fell in love! There was a generous portion of meat and jalapeno peppers.

It also wasn’t oily, and had a thin crust so it didn’t make me feel greasy afterwards. This pizza is also very spicy due to the amount of jalapenos based inside, so consider yourself warned!
Two of my friends ordered their classic burger ($15), which came with a choice of regular fries, yam fries, or salad.
My friend ordered the tea saison beer, which I was curious to try since it had rooibos tea in it?! I had mixed feelings and decided to give it a taste. I was oddly surprised at how well the flavours went together. The tea saison was more fruity,with notes of mangoes, apple, and papaya.
My other friend ordered the vaporizer. I didn’t try it, but the menu described it as “dry and hoppy”.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of everyone else’s beer/drinks but I hope you enjoyed the ones I managed to captured!

Overall, St. Augstine’s offers a great selection of beer and I would definitely recommend this place if you like beer. Nachos are average, but their pizza and burgers are a lot better.

It is always busy here, which I take as a good sign. Service is either a hit or miss. We’ve had times where we had great service, but we’ve also had rude and sporadic service. I guess it just depends on who is working that day, but their service has seen both ends of the spectrum.

-Carmen

A Canadian’s take on Moose’s Down Under! (Australian pub)

February 16, 2014

Hi everyone!

Last month, I was invited to Australia Day by one of my good friends, Hayley, who is living in Vancouver on a working holiday visa. I have never celebrated Australia Day, so I was quite excited and curious to check it out!

I have heard my other friends say great things about Moose’s Down Under, and it was time to see for myself how it was like! Of course, when an Australian tells you this place is legit, you know you gotta check it out.
The boyfriend and I could hear the music from Moose’s a block away, so we knew it was going to be busy and packed! When we got in, we could tell it was crazily packed. There was a lot of great Australian music blasting, and literally a sea of Australians (Well, not literally, but you know 😛 ).

For Australia Day, it is tradition to play the hottest 100 songs on the radio station, Triple J. The countdown ends when the number one song is played.

It was my first time listening to Australin pop/rap/rock, but I was thoroughly impressed and enjoyed all the songs they played! Aside from the music, the screens were also playing Australian television- most of it was cricket, which is as popular as hockey in Canada!

Also, at one point, the owner of the restaurant stopped the music and everyone stood up to sing the Australian anthem. It was so great seeing such patriotic people being united in one place, yet at the same time, loving Vancouver. There was lots of (drunk) cheering and hugging to be found as well. I admired and respected the staff working that day, but service was pretty decent seeing how busy they were.

Also, I learned that the term sheila is slang for a female! Many other Australian slang words were learned that night!
Now comes the food! I was quite excited to try the food after my coworker told me about the kangaroo burger. Naturally, as a foodie, I was intrigued- I’ve never been to a place not recognizing more than half of the menu. I saw many different items on the menu that I’ve never heard of before, and it took me awhile to decide what I wanted to eat.

For drinks, the boyfriend and I decided on trying Australian beer. We ordered Coopers which was a type of pale ale and Toohey’s extra dry based on the recommendation from Hayley. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t like Toohey’s since it’s extra dry, but it was really good.

I was very intrigued by this “chicken parmie” on the menu. Basically, it is a grilled breaded chicken that is slathered in tomato paste sauce, with melted cheese on top. I really enjoyed this! It was breaded really nicely and the chicken portion was very generous.

The tomato paste tasted really fresh, and wasn’t overly sweet to the point where it tasted fake. It came with a side of salad and on a bed of fries which were both decent, nothing too special. I will definitely be ordering another “parmie” soon! They also had special “super parmies” menu which included outback jack (smokey BBQ, carmelized onion, bacon, cheddar) and parmie gonzalez (salsa, guacamole, jalapeno, corn chips, nacho cheese).

The burger in the back is the roo burger. Yup, you guessed it.. kangaroo meat patty! I had mixed feelings about this dish, and was hesitant to try it. I’ve heard that kangaroo meat isn’t as good, and I kept having an image of a cute little kangaroo hopping around….

Anyways, I found that the patty is definitely not as juicy as a beef patty. It is a lot more drier and also a lot more leaner. I prefer my patties juicier so I wouldn’t order the roo burger again but it was definitely an interesting experience.
Behold, the roo poutine. Basically like a regular Canadian poutine, but with kangaroo meat. Again, I found the kangaroo meat a tad too dry for my liking, but I would definitely suggest giving this a try. They were pretty generous with the portion of kangaroo which is always a plus!

In conclusion, I really enjoyed Moose’s Down Under and had a great time celebrating Australia Day.

On a side note, Hayley has her own blog which you can find here – Hayley on Holiday. ! Hayley is never afraid to take chances and explore the world on her own, and attempting to visit 25 countries by 25- she is only one away from that! Somehow, she balances working two jobs in Vancouver while exploring the city and working on her website! Read all about her travel adventures and her experiences living in Vancouver so far! I promise you, her adventures are awesome and will make you want to travel the world alone, too.