Tim Horton's New Find

S'mores Donut

I first saw the s'mores donut on the menu screens in Tim Hortons when I was waiting in line.  The ad in the menu screen makes it look so yummy so I told myself I've to try it!  I was so happy to found that the donut was in stock while I was ordering, so I ordered a soup meal with the donut and a steeped tea. 

I thought it would be an overwhelingly sweet donut but actually wasn't as sweet as it looks.  It has small, chewie marsmallows, crushed nuts, and with some chocolate and caramel syrup on top of the chocolate donut.  It is a great treat with coffee/tea! 

Would I buy it again?  Probably!  I like the fact that it is not as sweet as the other donuts that Tim Hortons have.  If you are heading to Timmy's next time, give this donut a try!

Jethro's Fine Grub

3420 Dunbar Street

Vancouver, BC

(604)569-3441

Mon-Sun: 8am-4pm

www.jethrosfinegrub.com

Date of visit: May 17, 2011

My friend learned about this restaurant from Urbanspoon, and we were really excited to try this highly rated restaurant.  It is located in the Dunbar neigbhourhood, which makes it a great visit as we can scroll West 4th Ave after the meal.  If you were driving, there is a one-hour free parking on the street in front of the restaurant.  We got there at around 1:30 pm, and the place was filled with people finishing up their lunch.

Ambience * * *

It is a plain, straight-forward environment with wooden chairs and tables.  I was expecting more Jethro and Grub decoration.  Also, the place is not really big, so try to aviod busy hours.  Nonetheless, the place is clean, and it is a comfortable place to catch up with a friend.

Service * * * * *

The service was fast and friendly!  Although there were only one or two people serving food, they were very quick to serve drinks, and the server checked on us twice to see how we were doing with the food.  I believe there were only two cooks, so the food come out a little slow, but it was still within reasonable amount of time.

  

Food * * * * 1/2



 

All Hail The Cuban ($10)

It has pulled pork, Swiss cheese, ham, dills, and pickles in fresh Caioti bread.  The bread was very nice and soft, and it was really fresh.  Although the pulled pork wasn't marinated (as I thought it would be), it still tasted good in combination with the other ingredients.  I think the sandwich would taste better if the taste of the pull pork stands out a bit more.  Sauces in the sandwich, thousand island and mustard, and the Swiss cheese gave the sandwich a creamy, smooth texture.  The sandwich comes free with salad or fries.  The portion of salad and sandwich was very generous.

 Crab Cake Benedict ($11)

My friend ordered the crab cake benedict and it was so nice of her to offer me to try her benedict.  It was so good!  It had a generous amount of crab meat in the crab cake, and it tasted great with the poached egg and hollandaise sauce.  You can choose different kinds of toasts to go with the benedict, and my friend chose the rye bread.  Out of the two dished that we ordered, I think the crab cake benedict wins over the sandwich.

Value * * * *

I think it is an average price for a brunch/lunch, and I am very happy to see a satisfying portion of food on each plate.  We were both really full after the meal, and my friend couldn't finish her plate :P

Overall * * * *

I would definately go again if I were in the neighborhood and I would recommend my friends to go there.  We both had a very satisfying meal!  I saw the lady from another table who ordered a grandma pancake.  The pancake was huge!  I would love to try the pancake next time.

Point Zero Restaurant and Lounge

                      

1149 Granville Street

604-440-1149

Hours:

Mon-Thurs 4:30pm - 12pm

Fri- Sat 4:30pm- 12am

Sun 4:30pm - 11pm

Date of visit: April 30, 2011

This restaurant was featured in Groupon back in March 2011, with the $20 for $40 deal.  Since I am a big fan of Japanese food, I took advantage of this deal to try out a Japanese restaurant that I haven't try before.  It is interesting how this restaurant is only open for dinner and late night, so I did a bit of shopping before heading to the restaurant.  If you are taking the Skytrain, it is close to the Yaletown- Roundhouse station. 



 

Ambience * * * * *

This is a cozy restaurant with sofa seats and chairs.  The place is clean and the sofa seats are comfortable.  There are three projector screens on the wall that play sports programs, which makes it a great place to watch the games.  As the restaurant does not have a lot of tables, reservation is highly recommended if you wish to watch the games there.  There is also a music station at the front of the restaurant and a disco ball on the ceilling, which can easily convert the restaurant to a dancing lounge. 

  

Food * * * *

There are soo many choices to choose from!  We spent 20 minutes deciding what to eat!  There are appentizers, signature rolls, simple rolls, veggie rolls, roll combos, sashimi, rolls, sashimi combos, salads, donuri, noodles, desserts, etc.  The picture above features the chef specials.

Lamb Skewers ($5.95)

The lamb skewers are really tasty.  It is nicely marinated such that it is not too salty, and the lemon and green onion nicely compliment with the lamb.  It would be better if there are four skewers instead of three.

69 Roll ($8.95)

I'm not sure why it is called 69 roll, but sure it is a tasty (and sexy) roll.  It has smoked salmon and eel on the top with avocado and crab meat inside.  This combination is soft and yummy, especially the smoked salmon and smoky mayo gave the roll a bit of a smoky, salty taste.  Because of the name of the roll, my boyfriend and I have decided to try it.  However, I don't think I'll order it again as it seems like a common roll that other Japanese restaurants would have. 

Dragon Roll ($9.95)

On top of the roll, fish roe lays on top of tempera eel with mayo and eel sauce.  Tempura shrimp and cucumber are wrapped inside the roll.  The fried eel and tempura shrimp make the roll really flavourful.  Overall, it is a delightful roll with just the right amount of crunchiness.  However, due to the price, I don't think I'll order it again.

Found memo ($8.50)

It is the best of the four rolls I have tried.  It contains soft shell crab, lettuce, cucumber, and avocado inside the roll and has smeared salmon on top.  I have tried soft shell crab rolls at other restaurants but this one is the best one I've ever tasted!  The soft shell crab in the roll is large enough to actually taste the crab meat (not just the shell).  Also, the crab was warm when it was served, which made it really soft and flavorful.  I will order it again if I go back to the restaurant.

Caterpilla Roll ($7.50)

It is a delightful roll for people who loves avocado (like me)!  It has layers of avocado on top of the roll with cucumber and eel inside.  It tasted nice and soft, though nothing really special about the roll.  I don't think I'll order it again. 

Service * * * * *

There were two lady servers when we were there, one takes orders and the other serves dishes.  Since there were only three tables occupied, we got right amount of attention from the servers.  Water was filled quickly and the food came quickly as well.  The server asked us if we were watching the game, so she'll place us at a table that has a good view of the projector screens.  The lady that served the dishes told us what the rolls were and also asked us how's the dinner.  Both ladies are really responsive and friendly.



Value * * * 1/2

The price is around average for Japanese tapas.  I wish the price is a bit lower so that I can try more different kinds of rolls.  Normally I won't spend $40 on Japanese food unless it is all you can eat.  Regardless, my boyfriend and I were really stuffed after the meal.

Overall * * * *

I will go there again and will recommend my friend to go there.  I had a good time at the restaurant, and I enjoyed the food.  I didn't know about this place until it was featured on groupon.  $20 for $40 was a great deal as I have tried five different dishes and they all tasted good.  I wish I had tried other chef special rolls instead of the caterpilla roll.