If you love craft beers, this is the place to be! They have over 50 different kinds on tap and their food isn't bad either. The only thing is, don't come in big groups and if you don't have reservations before 7pm. Otherwise, please expect to wait.
We started off with a Frat Bat, that's $11 for a tasting flight of four kinds of beer. On the menu, one side has all the lighter beers, and the other side are the darker ones. We started with the light side first. The second one from the left was our favorite, that's the Ephemere Belgian Apple Beer.
I had the pork belly sandwich, it came with fries and a jalapeno slaw. I'm not a big fan of coleslaw, but this was a good one! It wasn't the usual stuff with a lot of messy dressing, it had cilantro and obviously spicy from the jalapenos. As for the pork belly, it was crispy and it tasted like it was marinated in balsamic vinegar. Not bad for food that is made to pair with beers.
Ended the night off with another Frat Bat! This time it was the darker beers. The Farmhand was on the hoppy side, the Winterale was heavy as it should, the Milkstout tasted like espresso and the Longboat tasted like chocolate. Who knew beer could taste like dessert?!
We were supposed to go get some meat and cheese afterwards at Notturno, but we were much too full so we saved it for another night.
Saturday @ La Casita (101 West Cordova).
The original plan that night was to go eat at Notturno. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived they were expecting a 16 person party. Seeing that the place is super tiny and there is only standing space. We opted out and figured we'd go back another night. Gastown has so many choices, and we were joined by our friends Russ and Danielle. We tried to eat at L'abbatoir since it was right across the street, but they were sold out (as usual).
After perusing the streets of Gastown, we went to La Casita. If you are craving Mexican food, this is where you want to go. I don't think it gets any more authentic than this. The food, the ambiance and the environment reminded us of our vacation in Los Cabos. Will had the beef fajitas. He played it safe. It came with tortilla, rice, refried beans and all the necessary dressings.
I had the chipotle prawns. This also came with refried beans, rice and tortillas. You could choose your sizes. If you are hungry you can go for the large, but the small was more than enough for myself. The flavours were tangy and spicy, It was hot enough that I felt like I could breathe fire after (but in a good way of course).
Sunday Afternoon @ Food Truck Festival
I read on Twitter that there would be a food truck festival at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown on Sunday. There were 17 food trucks in total. What better way to spend Sunday than try out what the streets have to offer?
I've been dying to try Roaming Dragon. They seem to be pretty popular and seem to get a lot of catering gigs since they started their business. I ordered the Messy Duck Sandwich. Essentially, it was pulled duck meat on a brioche bun topped with some pickled cabbage. It reminds me of a banh mi due to the Vietnamese flare. Did I like what I ate? It wasn't bad, but to me, it didn't meet the hype.
Will ventured off to get some food from Street Meet. The first thing we tried was the Risotto Balls. they were a little bit on the salty side and whatever dressing they used, may be they should have stuck with marinara sauce....
The Crispy Pork Belly was the best thing we had!! It far exceeded our expectations and it was so delicious. Despite being covered in sauce, the pork remained crispy. It also came with some home made potato chips. Those were quite delightful as well and we'll definitely eat from Street Meet again!
We also had some meat in a cup from JJ's Trucketeria. They weren't the most amazing food ever, but it does hit the spot (stomach and wallet wise). Can't really go wrong with something that is $3/cup.
Sunday Night @ Kitanoya Guu in Gastown.
Third attempt at Notturno was a fail!! Third time isn't always a charm. We were so disappointed to drive all the way out there only to discover they were closed for the night!! Their stupid website said they're open on Sundays from 5pm till late. That was not true, we were there at 8! So once again, we had to walk around and decide where to eat.
We stumbled across this place called House Guest. From the outside, it looked pretty interesting, but when we got inside, it looks as if it was a place where vampires gather. Browsing through the menu, it wasn't really going to hit the spot either so on to the next. Guu is always a safe spot.
I wasn't too hungry so I let Will take the reins on the food ordering. Of course he has to order Takowasabi....(baby octopus in wasabi sauce).
And more baby octopus followed, this time they were deep fried. This, I will eat with a splash of lemon and a bit of Japanese mayo.
Crab and shrimp croquette was on their fresh sheet. This was pretty good with a creamy texture, think crap and shrimp cakes, just Japanese style.
The Daikon Seaweed salad was my favorite dish of the night. The daikon was nice and crisp. The dressing was a black sesame vinaigrette. All together, the ingredients were a good combination.
We also had the enoki mushrooms wrapped scallop and kimchi udon. Since we were busy eating, we forgot to take pictures of those. Will finished his dinner with deep fried bananas and coconut ice cream, another pictureless dish...
Lots of eating this weekend.. the next event will be Thursday, we'll be going to Blue Canoe's Craftbeer dinner! So excited!
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