#poutinechallenge
Posted: 04/30/2012 Filed under: Food | Tags: #poutinechallenge, between two buns, bob likes thai food, calabash bistro, coast, dunn's, hidden tasting bar, la belle patate, poutine, preston's, red card, rogue, society, the charlatan, the five point, the flying pig, the fray, vancouver foodster Leave a commentIf you keep up with me on my social media streams, you’ve probably noticed the hashtag, #poutinechallenge, popping up quite frequently in the past week. What the hell is poutine challenge, you ask? Um… well it’s practically a gluttony contest created by the Vancouver Foodster for poutine-obsessed folk such as myself. Basically, he wants to know where the best poutine is in Vancouver and invited all of Vancouver to participate in the hunt during the past week at 29 different restaurants.
So what exactly makes a poutine? Traditionally, french fries, cheese curds, and gravy. Now, if you’ve looked at all the listed flavours on the website, it’s no joke that they strayed far off from the norm. Some didn’t even have cheese curds in it and, well, that just ain’t a poutine in my eyes. And the fries on some were just too thick, too starchy. Yuck. And the gravy? One of them tasted like it came out of a can. Not joking.
And besides finding out which restaurant has the best poutine, there was also a very tempting challenge part to the week-long poutine festivities: winning a prize. Not only was the an excellent opportunity to try as many different poutines as possible, it was now a competition. And you all know how competitive I am. Winning is everything. Here is a picture documentary of my #poutinechallenge — let’s see if you can try to keep up!
Preston’s – traditional poutine
The Charlatan – poutine grilled cheese
Rogue Kitchen & Wetbar – poutine trio
Coast – dungeness crab poutine
Hidden Tasting Bar – butter poached lobster poutine
Dunn’s – quebecois poutine
Society – ultimate poutine supreme
Between Two Buns – kennebec kahuna poutine
La Belle Patate – traditional poutine
Red Card – curry poutine
The Five Point – carolina poutine
The Fray – duck poutine
Bob Likes Thai Food – thai poutine
Calabash – jerk poutine
The Flying Pig – pulled pork poutine
…which brings me to a whopping grand total of 15 out of 29 poutines tried!!! What up. More than halfway down the list! Yay. $100+ later. And possibly gained the 3lbs that I lost in the past 3-4 weeks all right back. And a gut. My favourite(s)? Coast, hands down. Can’t go wrong with hollandaise, crab, and a fried egg on top. The Fray was a close second and would’ve won if their potatoes weren’t cut so thickly. The Charlatan comes third because, um, hello? Poutined grilled cheese? Yes please. And The Flying Pig and The Five Point are tied for pulled pork. Both so damn good. And lastly, La Belle Patate for traditionality. Between Two Buns gets an honourable mention but no cheese curds!!! What a deliciously fattening week.
Hope some of you guys got to try some of the fabulous and creative poutines we have in this city. Can’t wait til the next food challenge!
My F*** Valentine’s Day excursion.
Posted: 02/15/2011 Filed under: Events, Personal | Tags: fairmont pacific rim, glowbal, rogue, six acres, society, valentine's day 1 Comment
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I got a text from gym guy saying “Happy Valentine’s Day”. How thoughtful! I got that text from atleast 5 other people…thanks! Talk about incredibly annoying, eh? To celebrate my profound singleness, I gathered up my girlfriends and headed downtown in search for single men in the same boat as us.
After downing half a 2 6 of vodka, we headed to Six Acres for some nibbles and draaankz. I won a $40 giftcard from my winnings at the 2nd Annual Cupcake Throwdown so we used that up and ordered the Sweet & Spicy Wings, Sausage Plate, and the Charcuterie Plate. All was fabulous choices. Out of the three dishes, I would say that charcuterie platter was my favourite. Cured meats, caramelized onions, sundried feta spread, pickles, and the like — so delish. Food is really great for sharing there as well. Wish I snapped a pic but oh well! After downing some fruity whisky, it was time for the next joint.
We were on our way to the Fairmont Pacific Rim for the Plenty of Fish Singles Party but hey, Rogue Wet Bar was on the way so we thought “Hey, why not?”. Straight to the bar. We asked for someting sweet, hard, and on the fruity side. What did the bartender give us? Red dragons. Is it because we’re Asian? Oh well. Did the trick. So… POF party? Um, yes, because it was just so hilarious. The lobby lounge was PACKED…with desperate, old people. I actually felt really bad. There were so many people that had that glimmer of hope in their eyes that they would find someone. I vow to never ever become like that when I’m 40. We stole some apples and decided to bounce. Next!
I knew there was a F*** Valentine’s Day party at Society in Yaletown so we decided to head there. Greeted by the lovely GM Dennis, we headed upstairs for the party. To our surprise (and dismay), everyone upstairs were young…and COUPLED. Absolutely shocked. So what did we do? Headed straight to the bar. Ordered a round of their famous Tom Collins Cotton Candy cocktail and received a generous glass of bubbly and Mac ‘n Cheese Balls, courtesy of Dennis (thanks!). They also had this amazing drink special… pureed strawberries topped with champagne. So good. As always.
After that, we headed to Glowbal for a bottle of bubbly (hey, it’s a celebration), some satays, and fondue. I think this is when the drunkeness started to kick in because I really don’t know what happened after that. All I remember is a couple VIPs and me trying to get my mack on because well… my favourite VIP came in! Fate? I think so. Apparently we were all supposed to head to 100 Days afterwards in this guy’s Rolls Royce but that never happened. Crazy drunkeness. I don’t even remember how/when I got home. Good times? Quite possibly one of the best Valentine’s Days I’ve ever had. Thanks girlies!
*likeaPHATkidlovescake 