Vancouver Restaurant - Trattoria Burnaby

One evening after dinner and a bike ride, I went to Trattoria Burnaby for drinks and a snack.  Living in Burnaby, Trattoria is a convenient restaurant with a cozy atmosphere and a wood burning oven.  On Thursdays their signature cocktails had a discount so I decided to try their Limoncello Peach Mojito.  This was a nice refreshing drink for a summer's night and made my cheeks rosy.  Of course it doesn't take much for that to happen.  Some drinks just go down a little too easy.  

For our snack, we shared a Squash pizza and it was a burst of unique flavours that I never imagined would go so well together and look so picturesque.  It almost makes me want to be a vegetarian if meals were this delicious.  The squash pizza had pesto, roasted squash and hazelnuts and tallegio.  Even if you are not a vegetarian, it is worth tasting and so much more adventurous than boring pepperoni pizza which does not exist on Trattoria Burnaby's menu.

If you're in the neighbourhood, check out Trattoria Burnaby's Menu.  They also have a Cocktail hour from 2:30-5:30pm and 9:30-close everyday.  Trattoria Burnaby is so close to home that I know I'll be back to try more.  

Trattoria Burnaby Blog Posts:  Brunch or Breakfast and Weekend Brunch

Vancouver Foodie Event - Tasting Plates Fraserhood Recap

Hello Everyone!

Last Sunday I talked about Tasting Plates Fraserhood so I wanted to recap for everyone how Tasting Plates Fraserhood went.  There are a few things that consistently happen to me when I am so exciting about having a Tasting Plates event in the evening.  I try hard to remember to charge my phone, however, I was not successful at remembering.  Luckily I was with Carolyn whose reliable iPhone takes amazing photos and I have those to share with you today.  It was a sunny evening perfect for walking around and trying different types of restaurants and smoothies.  Let's take a look at our journey.

1.  Main Street Honey Shoppe - Since this was the registration, it was pretty busy and packed but we were able to find the appetizer honey treat and then move towards the next stop.  

2.  Nanno's Estiatoria Greek Restaurant - This was a nice start for dinner with the spanikopita, grilled octopus and beef noodle.  The octopus by far was everyone's favourite.  

3.  Commodity Juicery - There was one fellow making the different smoothies and iced tea for everyone to try.  The smoothies have unique flavours that are filling and delicious.  Makes my banana berry smoothies so old school and boring.  Golden Mylkshake is worth a try.  Check out their menu here:  http://commodityjuicery.com/menu/

4.  Brooklyn New York Pizzeria - New York style pizza that is foldable.  I had the spicy, margarita and white.  In the photo is the white and pepperoni.

5-6.  Fairy Cakes and Chomper - Joint venture of vegan food and desserts.  Points for presentation.

Vancouver Foodie Event: Tasting Plates Fraserhood

We are so excited because on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 we are going to Tasting Plates Fraserhood.  It has been so long since I last attended a Tasting Plate adventure.  You can read about my tasting journey from last year with Tasting Plates New Westminister, and Tasting Plates Cambie Village.  

So what is Tasting Plates?  It is a foodie adventure.  There are usually six different types of restaurants, bakeries, and this case even a juicery that joins the adventure.  First is the registration where you pick up the tasting plates card that you bring to each restaurant.  The restaurant will have essentially a "tasting plate" for you so you can try different food from six different places.  

I was pretty excited with Fraserhood because of some of the familiar places that will be in the adventure such as Commodity Juice, and Straight Outta Brooklyn Pizzeria.  The full details of who is included is here:  Tasting Plates Fraserhood.

Now when I buy the early bird tickets for Tasting Plates each adventure is about $32 which is a real steal for being able to try different drinks, food, dessert and have a walking adventure in a new neighbourhood while you are at it.  

Follow Vancity Girlfriends on Twitter as we sample away and see the pictures.  Afterwards I'll blog so come back to see the foodie photos.  Then you can decide if you want to do Tasting Plates Westend which is the next food adventure that has been announced by Tasting Plates.  These are tons of fun and I'm so happy I get to go on Tasting Plates Fraserhood with my Vancity Girlfriend!  

Vancouver Restaurant - Tap and Barrel Olympic Village

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

It was two years ago in 2014 when we first visited Tap and Barrel Coal Harbour and we loved their cocktails and shared plates.  

Now let's fast forward to 2016 when we discover that Tap and Barrel Olympic Village has sparkling wine on tap.  Tap and Barrel Olympic Village is a short walk away from Main Street/Science World skytrain station.  It's a beautiful short walk along the seaside and then you are at Tap and Barrel.  

We met on a sunny Wednesday evening and even though it was Happy Hour when we arrived at 5:30pm with house wines for $4 and Wine Wednesdays with wine flights on special at $1 discount, my heart was set on trying their new sparkling wine on tap for $9 a glass.

Carolyn ordered the Orchard Hill cider and when I ordered the sparkling wine the server said he needed to check if it was available.  Oh no!  My heart sank and I was browsing the menu to see what my second choice would be if he was to truly disappoint me.  Luckily he returned with a champagne flute topped with Tap and Barrel sparkling wine.  The sparkling wine was delicious, light and bubbly.  We enjoyed our drinks with an appetizer of deep fried pickles while we waited for our girlfriend to arrive.  

Tap and Barrel is a great place for sharing tapas style which is exactly what we did.  We ordered the Maui Wowie pizza, pulled bacon poutine and handmade guac and salsa.  I loved being able to try different dishes with my glass of sparkling wine.  Perfect evening combination with girlfriends.

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Pulled Bacon Poutine

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Handmade Guac and Salsa

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Maui Wowie Pizza

Breakfast or Brunch in Burnaby #AtoZChallenge

Breakfast or Brunch

Breakfast is as many say the most important part of the day and it is the work day that we mostly refer to.  It is also the meal that can easily get skipped.  

I've made yogurt parfaits at home the night before to have a quick breakfast in the morning when I wake up at 6am.  As you can imagine on those busy weekday mornings, the last thing I want to do is make breakfast.  If I don't have breakfast at home, I eat breakfast at the cafeteria at work.  So I can literally get up and go.  Breakfast is rushed but fast and easy. 

Brunch is usually on the weekends and is a combination of breakfast and lunch.  It is the best of both worlds depending on your taste buds.  On the weekends, we sleep in and we don't need to have a quick breakfast on the go.  Instead we can take our time and luxuriate with coffee (for those who drink it) and enjoy brunch over a few hours.  There is no work week rush.  

Burnaby Trattoria opens at 11am for their weekend brunch.  Most of the time when we go, we are greeted at our table with a complimentary bread pudding with chantilly whipped cream.  Such a nice appetizer to start off the day before we order our meal.  They have a small select number of brunch items which I am slowing tasting through the menu with each visit.  

Breakfast Pizza

What's on the menu?  

Breakfast pizza as pictured is topped with double smoked bacon, egg, and tomatoes.  WOW!  It comes full size so I could only eat half.  If you want a savory meal and are hungry, order this one.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict or Traditional Eggs Benedict which comes with hashbrowns and a green salad.  Both are what you would expect from a morning brunch.  Eggs benedict as always are topped with hollandaise sauce.  

I'm curious to try their Truffled Mushroom Frittata next.



Trattoria Burnaby Brunch Menu 

Vancouver Restaurants: Tap and Barrel Pub

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

Our night began with getting free tickets to the Christmas Market at Queen Elizabeth Park since I'm an Arts Club member.  The free tickets are only good for admission on Monday or Tuesday nights.  As I vaguely recall, last year when we was busy and we didn't know that we were VIP members.  This year I knew that we were VIP members and could go straight to the front of the line.  I forgot what it was like inside.  So I happily invited Carolyn to the Christmas Market this year because it was free and she agreed because she's a Vancity Girlfriend.  This year it seemed like everyone was waiting for this same exact day to go to the Christmas Market.   Imagine being on a cramped skytrain with nowhere to go but instead it's an outdoor cage.  There are lineups not just outside but inside as well.  It was at least twice as busy as last year.  I'm not sure if that's because it was the last Monday before Christmas.  We were like sardines in a can at the market the whole time we were there.  It was too packed to buy any tickets, food, or even walk.  That was enough for me to try to get through from the entrance to the exit door.  Phew!  How did I escape the zoo.  What a relief when we exited and were back on the street.  

Monday Sangaria Special - Red or White for $6 each

Luckily that was just the start of the night and we had also planned to go to Tap and Barrel Pub at the Vancouver Convention Center.  This truly was our main attraction of the night.  I had looked at Tap and Barrel's website before when I was researching wine flights but this time we went because of Carolyn's holiday gift card.  I love a good deal!  Even better when we are surprised with specials of the night.  Monday nights at Tap and Barrel have Sangarias on special for $6.  I got a white Sangaria and Carolyn got a red Sangaria.  Forget about wine flights when you can have Sangaria night.  The second special of the night was $10 pizzas because a football game was on TV (of course I'm not a sports fan so I didn't even know football was playing).  These specials made our ordering much easier.  Great!  We could share appetizers and pizza with our sangaria specials.  We ordered deep fried pickles and salmon tacos.  Perfect for the two of us!  

Tap and Barrel Lois Lake Steelhead Salmon Tacos

Tap and Barrel Appetizers - Deep Fried Pickles

Tap and Barrel Pizza - Pork Belly and Soft Egg

I loved our combination of drinks, appetizers, and pizza.  We were able to try a little bit of everything.  The shared tapas life of Tap and Barrel.  Tap and Barrel Daily drink specials are something to watch out for!  Wednesday Wine Flights are on special and Thursday Dark and Stormy Cocktails are on special.  The food specials occur when there are sports games such as football and hockey games.  In addition every night they have Happy Hour from 3-6pm.  With all of these great deals, Vancity Girlfriends will be sure to return to Tap and Barrel.   

Vancouver Restaurant: Bufala Pizzeria

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

The best way to discover restaurants is to ask your foodie friends!  They sent me to Bufala Pizzeria in Kerrisdale for our annual Christmas Cookie Swap.  Bufala Pizzeria specializes in thin wood oven pizza and italian appetizers.  The ingredients are fresh and as I enjoyed the company of my friends, I could see the casual kitchen staff hand tossing the pizza dough.  Bufala Pizzeria keeps it simple.  Fresh ingredients paired with unique combinations.  

We started with the Italian Burrata (cheese appetizer), and the Meatballs.  My favourite of the two appetizers we tried was definitely the meatballs.  I love savoury dishes and it was the homemade tomato sauce that really made it stand out.  

Bufala Pizzeria - Italian Burata

Bufala Pizzeria - Meatballs

Now you want to go to Bufala Pizzeria with a group of friends so you can try different pizzas and appetizers.  There were three of us and we ordered two appetizers and two pizzas.  The pizzas we chose were the Quattro Formaggi and the Funghi.  

For dessert I couldn't resist ordering the panne cotte for us to share.  I love this italian dessert and this was no exception at Bufala Pizzeria.  It had a unique blend of tastes with basil, strawberries, and a candied crunch.  Delicious!  

Bufala Pizzeria Website:  http://www.bufala.ca/

Vancouver Restaurant: Bellagio Cafe Italian Restaurant

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

Did you know that Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn loves pizza?  Well she does so it no surprise that we decided to go to an Italian restaurant when we had the chance.  It is also a bit of lack of organization and preparation in our part.  Some days we get together and forget to figure out where to eat so we wander around downtown and of course you can stumble across a lot of places to eat when you are downtown Vancouver.  

We walked into Bellagio Cafe which was packed full but people were shuffling and many were ending their meals.  It was perfect timing for us!  We were seated by the window and the sun was shining.  I was surprised that inside the Bellagio Restaurant the decor was similar to Italian restaurants on Commercial Drive, but we were instead on Hornby Street across from the Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver.  There was an old style Italian decor that filled the air and a menu with traditional Italian food such as appetizers, salads, pastas, and pizza.  We decided to share an appetizer, salad, and pizza.  A little bit of everything.  

We started with the Truffle Parmesan Fries which was an absolute delight!  This was the best part of the meal for me and my favourite.  It is served with a side of chipolte sauce.  The fries are thin and well seasoned with truffle and parmesan.  Delicous!

Next we shared a caesar salad which was crisp and fresh. Our table was right beside the window which had perfect lighting for food photography.  

Lastly we shared a small pizza with chicken, sundried tomato, brie and arugula. The pizza was made with a nice thin crust from the wood burning oven.  

Bellagio Cafe Website:  http://www.bellaggiocafe.com/

Surrey Morgan Crossing Restaurant: Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria

Hello Vancity Girlfriends!

On our summer shopping day, we decided to venture out to South Surrey at Morgan Crossing.  Before an afternoon of shopping you have to get ready with a good meal.  Since Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn LOVES pizza, it's not a surprise that we went to Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria.

Wood burning oven, fast casual pizzas, fun atmosphere, what more can you ask for.  Now they have over the top service, you will have to ask them to stop serving you ;)  First you have a seat and then you order your pizza and drinks and write them down on a notepad, and then bring up your order to the counter when you're ready.  You don't have to pay at this point.  After you bring up your initial order, then you have servers who bring drinks, food, and can add anything else that you might have missed.

Famoso Trimosa Heaven

Now they have amazing drinks specials!  On Saturday it was $1 off mimosas so we decided to try one of each mimosas - they call this the trimosa.  You get 3 small servings of each of their different mimosas.  You have original with orange juice, raspberry, and blackberry.  WOW!  I discovered that I'm still an original gal so I gave my cassis mimosa to Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn.  

We shared a salad and two pizzas!  They were GREAT!  I loved the service, fun light atmosphere, and fast service.  Couldn't really ask for anything more!  I got my fix of being a server by being able to write on the notepad and even though I almost ran into one of the Famoso servers, she always had a smile on her face and friendly service.  Enough said!  We loved Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria!  

Famoso White Pizza

Famoso Red Pizza

Famoso Salad

Vancouver's Pizza Barbarella

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Now when you want to celebrate a birthday, you must do it in style!  What did Vancity Girlfriend want?  She was hunting for a GOOD PIZZA joint and of course you must celebrate with sparkling wine.  

We found Vancouver's East Side's Pizza Barbarella!  Pizza and wine are the perfect combination.  Since this is a hip joint, they don't take reservations on Friday nights.  We met there at 7pm and had no problems getting a table for the four of us.

It's a quaint casual restaurant with the wood burning oven in the back for their famous thin crust pizza.  It's casual but yet elegant at the same time.  When you open up the wine list, you will be amazed at the affordable prices!  A bottle of sparkling wine was only $25!  I'd go back just for that.  

We started with the bottle of sparkling wine and the antipasto appetizer.  Then for the main course we ordered two pizzas for the four of us which was perfect to share.  We had told the server that we were there for a birthday celebration so at the end of our meal she brought over a banoffee pie with a candle on top for dessert.  YUM!  

The thin crust pizzas were fresh and delicious.  There's something about the flames of wood burning oven that gives the pizza the earthy taste and with the fresh organic ingredients on top, it's not a surprise that we devoured it!  

Check out this Vancouver pizza joint at  Pizza Barbarella

It was the perfect way to celebrate Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn's big day!

Happy Birthday!