HRD Coffee Shop (San Francisco) - Kimchi Burritos and Katsu Po' Boys

When Rae and I were touring San Francisco, we made it a point to hit up the ever famous HRD Coffee Shop in the SOMA district. Luckily, it was only a few blocks from the Airbnb we were staying at so we didn't have to bus. This place is located in a pretty unassuming neighbourhood with absolutely no flashy signage. It's definitely a hole in the wall alright.

HRD Coffee Shop was featured on Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives a while ago and right after it aired, this little family owned restaurant exploded with lunch hour line-ups down the block. 

We came right when they opened (10am) to avoid the lineups. Their menu is eccentric and is a combination of Mexican, Korean, Japanese, and American cuisine. You can get anything from Breaded Oyster Burritos to Japanese Curry Hamburg on rice.

We got two things to share which was a bad mistake. We could have easily shared one meal and be completely satisfied. Nevertheless, the food coma route was what we chose so we stuck with it and left nothing behind. This is the Kimchi Burrito with Spicy Pork ($9.95) and it's stuffed with spicy rice, kimchi marinated pork, cucumbers, kiwi (it weirdly worked!!), and daikon. This was absolutely delicious and I would recommend it in a heartbeat.

This is the Crispy Chicken Curry Platter ($11.25) with brown rice, wasabi apple coleslaw, and kimchi croquette. I've never had so many interesting flavours and textures on one plate before. I was especially surprised by the wasabi apple coleslaw. That thing was friggin delicious! Also, any place that serves brown rice over white rice is great in my books. ;)

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Happy Eating!


             My friend and I when we saw HRD

 

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McDonalds - McLobster is Here!!!

For the past month, McDonalds Canada has been running a campaign called "Great Canadian Taste Adventure" which features five 'regional flavours" of Canada including the maple and bacon poutine, a chocolate nanaimo sundae, McLobster, Western BBQ burger, and Cottage country chicken.


All of these items are only available for a limited time. I didn't care too much for the other products, but I was REALLY looking forward to the McLobster.


The McLobster is available from June 17th to June 30th and features 100% Canadian Atlantic lobster meat with celery, lemon flavoured mayo, and shredded lettuce on a bun. This version of the 'lobster roll' has been offered in Atlantic Canada for over 10 years and it's the first time it's been offered in all the McDonalds locations across the country.

 The sandwich alone is $7.49 so it's a little pricier than the other sandwiches on their menu. It's to be expected though, they are using real lobster meat.

The bun they use for the McLobster is not the traditional hot dog bun you'd see on a Maine Lobster roll. It was fluffy though and I thought it was a great choice of bun consider how delicate the the lobster mixture was.

As you can see, they don't pack your lobster roll full of the lobster mixture. It's just enough to coat most of the bun but not really.

I took it out of the box and toasted it in my conventional oven. It made a big difference and gave the roll a good crisp on the edges.

Halfway into my McLobster, I actually noticed quite a few large chunks of the crustacean!

At the end of the day, it is a average lobster roll for $7.50 CAD and a good snack (not meal, because it's too darn small!) from McDonalds. Since it's a specialty item and I normally can't find lobster rolls in Vancouver, I might try it once or twice more before it's gone forever. :P

Service Rating: N/A
Food Rating: 3/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 3/5

Happy Eating!


                                            Tee hee!

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Smokehouse Sandwich Co.- Damn That's a Good Sandwich

Great sandwiches are hard to come by. Sure, I can always get a good sandwich at Subway or a good sandwich at Earls, but rarely do I find ones that are special enough to make me crave it again the second I leave.

Smokehouse Sandwich Co. created one of my exceptions and I honestly think it's the bomb diggity. It's quite interesting that this little mom and pop shop is located in a residential area of Richmond close to Westminster and No.2 Road. I remember this property switching owners and businesses every year but somehow I feel like Smokehouse is here to stay. 

Their menu is plain and simple. 6 different types of burgers. 3 types of drinks. 1 side to choose from.

Rae and I shared two sandwiches, a side of crisps, and a Honey Ginger Lemon Drink. All in all it came up to about $10 per person.

This Samson ($7.99) sandwich is made with freshly baked bread, coffee crusted strawberry glazed beef brisket, peppers, butter lettuce, and aioli. If you are only getting one sandwich this one is THE ONE to get. The brisket was incredibly tender and flavourful, the bread was fluffy yet slightly crusty on the outside, and the aioli just melded all the flavours together beautifully.

Their side of crisps ($2) are fried in-house. I recommend adding their smoked salt (available on the counter) to give it more depth.

You can get their drinks hot or cold. We chose the latter even though it was freezing outside. They pre-make the drinks and store them in these cute mason jars so you have to give them a good shake before drinking. This drink was the bomb. I was afraid the ginger would overpower my tastebuds but it was the perfect amount of spicy and sweet.

I don't know about you but I for one don't like pulled pork smothered in BBQ sauce. Because of that, the Wilbur ($7.99) was perfect because it was pulled pork at its finest. No heavy sauce to drown the juiciness of the meat,. It's just pulled pork, its own meat juices, your mouth, and sweet glory.

It's hard to tell from this picture but they gave us massive amounts of pulled pork in that sandwich. Great restaurants never skimp on the meat.

I was impressed from start to finish at Smokehouse Sandwich Co. It's got a hipster feel to it (can you say mason jars?) and the interior is rusty yet cozy. The chefs/owners were also really nice and asked us how we liked our food. I can just tell that this restaurant has a lot of heart and that every sandwich is crafted with care.

I'd absolutely recommend Smokehouse Sandwich Co. to anyone wanting sandwiches on par or better than Meat and Bread. But just to forewarn you, their hours are quite limited. It's 7:45am-4pm Monday-Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturdays.

Service Rating: 5/5
Food Rating: 5/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!

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Coconut Kenny's- Hidden Gem in Bellingham

For all you Vancouverites who like to frequent Trader Joes... here's a hidden gem that you might not know existed in Bellingham. Not only is this local pizza joint located just a few blocks from the beloved natural & health focused grocery store, their deep-dish style pizzas will blow your mind.

A huge thank you to my friend C-Dubs for this awesome recommendation!!

The entire restaurant is Hawaiian themed. With their tiki torches, mounted surf boards, and indoor straw huts, it just feels like a place where you can relax, grab a quick bite, and head back to the beach.

You order and pay at the counter first so don't expect a hostess to seat you. Since it was our first time here, we weren't sure and just stood at the door like weirdos. :P On a completely different note, both Rae and I thought their playlist was off the hook (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, slow soulful tunes).

I think their pizza and sandwich prices are extremely reasonable. Pizzas range from $7-8 (S) to $16-20 (L) and their sandwiches are $4.79 (half) or $8.29 (full). Also make sure you look at their daily specials because they have some really good deals. We luckily came on a Sunday which meant $4 off any large pizza! Booyah!

We got a Large Pizza ($18.49) consisting of half Waikiki and half Kailua Kona. Rae is lactose intolerant so that's why half the pizza looks like there's no cheese.

The Waikiki is one of their most popular pizzas and consists of chicken, bacon, red onions, cilantro, and topped with a smokey chipotle sauce. Boy....two words. Hella delicious. I normally don't like eating any kind of pizza but this one takes the cake. It's served deep-dish style so the 'crust' is nice and thick. I put an apostrophe around crust because there actually isn't any crust. The toppings go all the way to the end which is friggin amazeballs in my opinion. Last but not least, they also crust up the cheese on the edges so it gets all burnt and crispy.

While the Waikiki was spicy, savoury, and salty, the Kailua Kona was creamy, muted, and fresh. It consists of  creamy garlic sauce, chicken, cilantro, artichoke hearts, and tomatoes.The flavour profile nicely hits the spot when you want something with a little less heat, but Rae and I thought this pizza was less flavourful and pronounced especially after eating the amazing Waikiki.

 A large pizza here can easily satisfy two to three appetites which makes this a steal. We paid $14.50 (not including taxes) for the whole pizza and still packed home three slices.

Oh just look at that cheesey goodness. I'm already planning my next trip here so I can taste their other offerings. While I'm at it... I should probably get a Nexus pass too. :P

Service Rating: 5/5
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $-$$

Overall Rating: 5/5

Happy Eating!

 

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Miura Waffle Milk Bar- Korean Fusion Sandos

Miura Waffle + Milk Bar used to be in Yaletown but it's now in a new location on Main Street!

 

They were on You Gotta Eat Here! (Food Network Show) which is a pretty big accomplishment. I came here with Meta Knight and we were both surprised to see no one else in the restaurant at 5pm.

The interior is clean and spacious. You pay at the counter first so there are no waitresses to serve you. It's a great place for snacks or quick lunches.

They seem to have raised their prices since my last visit. For just a waffle sandwich and yoggy milk, it came to around $14 per person which is pretty pricey for a quick sandwich joint.

I really enjoy the flavoured yoggy milk because it tastes like a fruity yogurt smoothie.

Meta Knight had the Bulgogi ($8.99) which is a waffle sandwich filled with kimchi, bulgogi beef, egg sauce, and bulgogi sauce. The waffle was a little soft for my liking but otherwise a very solid sandwich!

I had the Hoisin ($7.99) which consisted of hoisin pork sausage, cilantro, cucumber, pickled radish, and carrot. Mine didn't have as much meat as Meta Knights but I loved the flavour combination as it's similar to a banh mi.

The meat is cooked right inside the waffle!

Service Rating: N/A

Food Rating: 3/5

Price: $$

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Happy Eating!

 

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Basho Cafe - Quaint, Cozy, Delicious

After hearing SO MANY fantastic things about this new matcha-centric cafe on Hastings called "Basho Cafe", I finally got to check it out with Meta Knight. About time!

Basho Cafe is owned by a Japanese family and it is quite apparent when you step foot into the cafe. Their hours are quite limited though (M-F 9-5pm, S-S 9-4pm) so we almost didn't make it. We got here RIGHT at 3:45pm on a Sunday.

Basho is not close to any skytrain station so you'll have to purposely make your way here by car or bus if you want to try it out.

There were barely any goodies left but I managed to snag a pic of their mochi-mochi brownie, matcha white chocolate brownie, and miso madeline.

Their Afternoon Set ($5.00) contains three assorted sweets and a matcha latte. Great deal considering they use quality matcha not only in their drink but also in their desserts. This mochi-mochi brownie was oh so delicious! Tastes like a brownie with a mochi chewy consistency.

You get the real deal here when it comes to their Matcha Latte. Served in a traditional Japanese bowl the way its suppose to be (not cup), its not only fragrant but it has incredibly depth. Be forewarn, this latte isn't sweet. There is no additional pre-sweetened sugary stuff here.

The white chocolate matcha brownie was pretty sweet which paired nicely with the unsweetened matcha latte.

Overall, Basho is a quaint little cafe that I'd be happy to return again and again. Next time I'm going to get the tuna tataki!

Service Rating: 4/5
Food Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Happy Eating!

 

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