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Max’s Burgers – Sneak Preview (Opening Jan 23)

Posted in By Invitations, Casual, Dinner, Food Bloggers, Joyce, Lunch, Quick Service, Vancouver, tagged Cambie Street, Chicken Thigh Burger, King Crab, Max's Burgers, Po'Boy, Poutine, Redpath Foods, Sloppy Joe on January 19, 2012| 1 Comment »

We were invited to the media event for Max’s Burgers, which is opening next Monday, January 23. The restaurant is at Cambie and 8th, the location that was formerly the Max’s Deli. Owners Bruce and David transformed it into this burger concept and invited Chef Connor Butler to come onboard.

At this event we were served several items from its regular menu, as well as beverages, only in smaller size (e.g. slider vs burger). Since the portion is smaller, this may not necessarily reflect the true quality of the food, but I think it serves as a good indication of what you could expect at Max’s.

Staff hard at work preparing food

Food

I admit that I’m not a burger person, especially when it comes to beef burgers (I know, I’m weird in many ways), but I know when food tastes good. Overall, I was very happy with the food. I’m a sucker for brioche, so the fact that the burgers are on house-baked brioche buns is already a +1 for me. Here are the 4 sliders I tried, in the order of my most favourite to my least favourite. Keep in mind, there were no bad burgers on that day, in my book anyway. I just preferred some over the others. I’ll explain it below.

Rooster on a Tailgate (Chicken)

I’m probably biased, because I think this burger is created for me, but this was by far my favourite burger of the evening. Why? It uses chicken thigh meat instead of chicken breast! I am not a white-meat person and I often find chicken (breast) burgers dry if not cooked properly. This one was more moist and fattier compared to chicken breast, more flavourful, and the crispy onion ring was a great addition. I enjoyed the sweetness from the red onion ring and the BBQ sauce, as well as the little kick from the chipotle mayo.

Rooster on a Tailgate Slider (Chicken)

The British Columbia (Beef)

You’re probably surprised that the beef one would rank higher than the next one, but on that evening, I did like the beef one more. (more…)

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Prestons – A Taste of the Fall Menu

Posted in By Invitations, Dinner, Food Bloggers, Joyce, Lisa, Pan Asian, Tapas, Vancouver, tagged Coal Harbour, Creme Brulee, Facebox, Poutine, Prestons, ribs, Sliders on October 25, 2011| 5 Comments »

Joyce and I attended the media launch event at Prestons for its fall menu — my first food blogger-type event. Socializing and Lisa equals: out of comfort zone plus awkward, which also equals to complete social misfit. Nevertheless, still had a good time, met some really cool people, some really flamboyant people, and a couple of drinks.

One of those occasions where cameras are definitely allowed

Menu at the event included a selection of its fall menu items, served appetizer style. Preston states on their menus that they are a West Coast style restaurant with Mediterranean and Asian influence. I’m definitely not an expert in Mediterranean food, but the Asian influence on the dishes was present on many items served that night.

Our first item was the Thai Red Curry. I loved the colour of the dish and the flavour of the curry was pretty spot on, until the heat kicks in at the end. The vegetables were overcooked as well as the rice. The presentation in the tiny glass cup was adorable, until I realized I had to eat it with a giant Chinese porcelain spoon.

Mini Thai Red Curry

My favourite for the night was the Gyoza, described in their menu as seared shrimp and vegetable dumplings with miso vinaigrette. This was definitely not your traditional gyoza, but the presentation couldn’t be better. Each gyoza was served in a bamboo steamer on a leaf, with the vinaigrette drizzled over. (Note: This is a tasting event so items were served/plated in cute, miniature fashion. Chances are you won’t get the same presentation when you dine off the regular menu.) The gyoza itself gave a nice, light finish, but the “vinaigrette” was very heavy and creamy, almost like the consistency of mayonnaise. I’m a sucker for creamy food, so I felt like the pairing was in harmony, light finish from gyoza with the drizzle of heavy cream sauce.

Gyoza

Their Asian-influenced Baby Back Ribs had a decent texture. The meat was tender, fall off the bone, and didn’t leave that nasty fatty feeling in your mouth like some ribs do. The hoisin sauce on it was oddly sweet, but the ginger component was definitely lacking. Would love to come back to try it again, as I think the idea of having an Asian style rib sounds really interesting.