Wednesday, April 18, 2012

LIFE CHANGER: Vancouver's Best Nachos (The Foundation)

There are many things I miss about my town of 3 1/2 years - the water, the mountains, the greenery...

However, there is one part of Vancouver that I'm truly looking forward to revisiting next week, where I am heading to say a final goodbye to my friends before I head over to London.

FOUNDATION NACHOS.


The Foundation is a vegetarian restaurant on Main Street, where you will see many plaid-clad, toque-wearing folk lining up out the door to chow down. Coming back to Alberta, it has crinkled many a nose when I have mentioned these glorious nachos being housed in a veggie restaurant; the most popular response being "Where's the ground beef?!".

Fear not, carnivores.

These nachos are the most filling, satisfying and tasty you may ever come across. The dish's success relies on a few key elements:
1. A multi-layered approach, where each chip has every topping adorning it
2. A schmorg of corn, black beans, jalapenos, melted cheddar, overflowing bowls of house-made guac and salsa, and a big pile of sour cream
3. Portions that will leave a table of four feeling full after sharing a MEDIUM plate (student budget heaven!) For the incredibly reasonable price of $16 for a medium plate, and $3 for the MANDATORY guac, you find yourself with an incredibly well-priced meal. Wash it all down with frosty pints of beer, which always seem to be on special.

It all sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
There IS a price that comes with partaking in Vancouver's best (and to me, the best anywhere) nachos. The Foundation is equally as famous for their mediocre-at-best service and blasting rap music as they are for their food fare. With Vancouver hosting a large veggie community, it is a sad fact that some restaurants can keep packed strictly due to the fact that they cater to this crowd. However, after declaring multiple times that after poor service, I'd NEVER go back, on principle - I couldn't help but crawl back to get "nach'd" again and again.

So, I invite you to accept a challenge: Get a pack of friends together, prep your vocal cords to yell over the music, and prepare to enjoy eachother's company (for an indefinite amount of time) while you salivate watching the plates of nachos go by.
I promise you - it'll be worth the wait.

The Foundation - 2301 Main Street - Vancouver, BC

Sunday, April 15, 2012

If I Worked For Flight Centre...


Some of you will remember last year, when I applied for a Flight Centre Social Media Specialist Job. Thanks to your overwhelming support, I secured an interview on a global posting. While I did not get the job, I promised myself I would throw myself into Social Media and Travel further than I ever had before.

The time has come where I need your support again. I am moving to London, England, and I am applying (once again) for the same job I applied for last year - but from LONDON! The task was to create a video from the perspective that I already obtained the job. Please view it - comment, like, and share with your family and friends.

If I have given you travel advice, helped plan a trip, or impacted you in any way through Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, my blog, Pinterest, MySpace, LinkedIn) It would mean the world to me to have you express that I've done so.

Thanks for watching - Cheers to all you travel fanatics!

PINTEREST

The site, which allows users to pin images of products they like on online scrapbooks, has seen its traffic grow almost sevenfold in five months and is ranked by one research firm as the No. 3 social network behind Facebook and Twitter. - The Chicago Tribune


If you haven't been engulfed by this phenomenal website yet, I suggest you take a look. Think of Pinterest as the ultimate storage space for anything and everything you find interesting online.

Follow Me on Pinterest

Thursday, April 12, 2012

ANIMAL - LOS ANGELES

There are restaurants that sometimes generate so much buzz, that no matter where you are, you put it on your 'to go' list. Animal, in Los Angeles, was one of those places. The name itself serves as a good disclaimer - generally every dish on the menu has meat in it. We are not talking just about "ham" or "chicken" - think more along the lines of liver, marrow, tongue... you get the idea.

Leah and I walked in with an open mind and some reservations - as a person that didn't eat any meat that wasn't swimming in the ocean for 4 1/2 years, I can say this was a bit of a leap.  I couldn't help but feel a bit like I was paying to be on Fear Factor before I got to the restaurant.

Right away, the room knocked my socks off. LA restaurants have a panache for design and making an overall experience for the client - the long, narrow room was very minimalistic, with natural wood furniture and floors, and neutral colouring throughout the room. Fabric soundboard installments were placed along the walls, as otherwise I'm assuming the room would have quite an echo to it.

Grazing over the menu, Leah and I decided we would order half veggie dishes and half meat dishes - we were determined to try something out of our comfort zone.  Our server recommended anywhere from 5-6 dishes to share.  We started by looking at what we were comfortable with.

"Pig head?"
Scratch that.
"Oh! Salads!!"
Two salads ordered -
1. baby kale, pecorino, lemon chili vinaigrette, breadcrumbs 10
2. radicchio, cara cara, pistachio, ginger buttermilk dressing 10
"Sweetbreads - that sounds good, right?"
"Oh - not what it sounds like. Maybe not."

After quite a few eliminations (including marrow bone, pig tails and veal brains), we had the remainder of our choices:

3. shrimp & rabbit sausage spring roll, eggplant, sprouts, green curry 14
4. poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar 18
5. flat iron, artichoke hash, truffle parmesan fondue 28

All feelings of reservation melted away as we dove into our salads - the flavor of each was so intense and the ingredients so fresh, it was like a gentle hint that if we were going to eat something out of the ordinary, this would be the place to do it. Every bite of the salads was better than the last - the kale salad, packed with sharp pecorino and strong lemony citrus flavor, started out cool and fresh and had end notes of heat from the chili flakes.


We realized quickly, that 5 dishes was likely going to be pushing our limits. Both salads were by no means a "starter" - if a person got one to themselves, they would be close to full.  However - it was clear that we would want to be consuming every morsel of food brought to our table, as everything tasted so good.

Next, came our "leap of faith" dish: the shrimp and rabbit spring roll.  This was a delicious little treat - a much smaller portion than the salads that came beforehand.  All the flavors melded together, and it created something that could not be identified; you did not taste the shrimp, or the rabbit. As an avid foodie, it was very refreshing to come across a dish that could not be easily explained.
The poutine and flat iron steak put us close the edge - these rich dishes were modestly proportioned (luckily), and were delicious. The star of the poutine was not necessarily the oxtail gravy - the Yukon Gold fries were perfectly crisp, and piping hot. The flat iron steak was doused in a rich cheese fondue, but the flavors complemented each other and were not overpowering.
At this point, Leah and I were about to call someone to roll us out of the building. But - the desserts were too tempting. To top it all off, we shared a dish of dulce de leche - which, to be honest, I can barely remember in the heat of my food coma.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY:

Our choices were relatively safe - and incredibly enjoyable. I would recommend this restaurant as a place you hit more than once. Ease yourself in, and then perhaps be willing to take it a step further the next time. You are in good hands.
Now, I need to go lay down. I still feel full and it's been almost a month.

Monday, April 2, 2012

LAX

My friend Leah and I just got back from a serious food excursion in the USA's monster of a city, Los Angeles. Hosting almost 4 million people, this sprawling place manages to make you feel like you have only scratched the surface, after a full week of taking in all the sights and sounds.

While all the cafe's, lounges and restaurants Leah and I managed to hit up were amazing, I feel it is my duty to divulge the details of a particular culinary jaunt we went on.

The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel - Beverly Hills

You can read a lot about the chef, José Andrés - the dude is an international success - known for creating culinary experiences that really aren't comparable to anything else. José's restaurant took every aspect of dining out very seriously - they call a visit to the Bazaar "the experience" for a reason.

The food is tapas style - but with an avant garde twist that North Americans are not generally used to. The drinks are not your average walk in the park, either - our first drink, the "Magic Mojito", first came as a martini glass with a white pouf of cotton candy filling it. It was transformed when our server came and poured a concoction overtop - the cotton candy disappeared before our eyes, and shortly after so did our drinks... They were too delicious to put down! Think tart + sweet, and incredibly smooth.



Some of the dishes we got were devoured too fast to be captured. Some dishes on the menu sounded quite conventional - like the caprese & caesar salads, and the philly cheesesteak. When they were brought out, however, the presentation turned the food into something completely different than we'd ever seen before.


- "The Organized Caesar" - Quail Egg, Parmesan




- "The Philly Cheesesteak" - This little sandwich packed a lot of punch, and came with a warning: MESSY. The blown-up pita was filled with liquid cheese, which tasted like a very rich white cheddar. Beef Carpaccio, chives and rock salt laid atop the pita, and when it all came together, it made for one hell of a flavor explosion. I would highly recommend this to anyone going to the Bazaar.

Along with caprese salad (liquid cheese encapsulated in a cheese "bubble", with pesto and cherry tomatoes), chicken croquettes (think chicken pot pie in a deep fried stick form), gigantic scallops and another drink or two, Leah and I agreed this was a meal that would not be forgotten.


BUT - we were not done. We were then whisked off to the "dessert room" - yes, the desserts have their own room, with a display you can walk through and choose your poison from. I would say this is a must-do for all Bazaar visitors - the variety of candies, cakes, cookies and other decadent treats was overwhelming in a VERY good way. Leah and I went for panna cotta and chocolate mousse - a decadent ending to our incredible meal.




Thank you, to the Bazaar - I can say I have had "The Experience", and I want it again as soon as possible.


OTHER HONORABLE LA FOOD MENTIONS:
- Best Room & Patio: Eveleigh on Sunset Boulevard - The restaurant resembles a cottage in the front, and the back of the restaurant is a massive tent. This place serves drinks that pack a punch and the menu is made by an ethically-conscious chef, with all sustainable and organic items on the menu.

- Chic & Unique: Fig and Olive on La Cienega - A Greek restaurant of sorts - the menu is constructed entirely around variations of olive oil. The room is sleek, minimalistic and beautiful, hosting a single tree in the middle of the room.

- Best for Celebrity Sightings: Urth Caffe on Melrose - the original location of LA's best coffee, and word has gotten out. This cafe is constantly packed with locals, tourists, and celebs alike. Don't forget to order the chocolate pistachio croissant - you will not regret it.

a lot can happen in a few months

so - i have been on a serious blog hiatus for some time. i am happy to still have this outlet to document the adventure i have been preparing for and wasn't able to speak about for some time.

since i last wrote, i have moved away from vancouver, back to the prairies of alberta. it has been surprisingly easy, with the amount of good food i've managed to stumble across (see corso 32 and the wildflower grill, just to name a few of edmonton's finest restaurants). it's also been a good lesson in what i have taken for granted - things like constant sunshine, and chivalry (AMEN, ALBERTA MEN!).

i have also been on a trip to palm springs and los angeles, which i'll be writing about... talk about new culinary experiences (see: The Bazaar at SLS Hotel - Beverly Hills)!

however, this is is all leading to one final destination - I have been in the process of preparing to take advantage of a beautiful thing called the Youth Mobility Scheme, which is a 2 year visa available to us lucky commonwealth members. I am moving to LONDON, ENGLAND! i have learned a hell of a lot in this process - hopefully I can help someone along the way who wants to experience travel at another level. my takeoff date is may 28th - a good way to start my 26th year, as my birthday falls on the 27th.

so our documented journey begins...