Hitfar Trip to Vancouver

Thank you Hitfar for sending my wife and I to Vancouver, BC for a few days! Had a blast hanging out with Glenn and Troy. The tour of your facility was really interesting. The little Italian restaurant, Cotto Enoteca Pizzeria was a wonderful place to eat lunch. Glenn was then kind enough to drive my wife and I around Vancouver and show us some spots we may want to check out in Stanley Park. As the week progresses and I have time, I will post up photos of the trip as a highlight. I will also put a bunch on my Facebook group, Tony Alexander Photography.

Cardero's Restaurant Review

Cardero's Restaurant Vancouver, BC

Located on the southern end of Stanley Park, this fish joint was a pleasant place to eat. The menu had a decent variety of food. The atmosphere was very busy and loud, only because there are so many people in the restaurant and out on the patio. We had to wait to be seated, which is usually a good sign, though it was not an overly long wait. The decor was comprised of a bunch of fun and intriguing items, all with local ties, to look at. The waiter was attentive and saw to all of our needs in a prompt and timely manner. As far as the most important factor, the food, we have mixed opinions on this. The steak that my wife ate, though perfectly cooked, had a huge chunk of gristle running down the center, making it really hard to eat. For the money paid for it, I would have expected better. My food, on the other hand, was quite delicious. I had a Miso-Sake Sablefish. The grill was perfectly charred on both the skin side and the flesh side, and the seasoning/marinade was packed full of flavor. When you cut into the meat, it oozed juices and was very tender. Probably the best fish I have ever eaten. I guess when visiting this fish restaurant, eat the fish and you will leave quite happy. I would eat here again, and confidently recommend it. 

Yellow Door Bistro

Pork Tenderloin with Spelt and Sweet Potato-Apple Puree

Chamomile Duck Breast With Mushroom-Split Pea Risotto

Apple Fritters and Gingersnaps with Rum Caramel and Vanilla Cream

My wife and I decided to take a short trip to Calgary for our 10th anniversary. The Yellow Door Bistro in Calgary, was our first downtown restaurant stop. This restaurant was very modern and provided a quiet spot to enjoy an evening out. The service was excellent, very friendly and prompt. My wife had the 3 Course Chef's Choice, which entailed an appetizer of Split Pea Ricotta Filled Pasta, entree Pork Tenderloin with Apple Sweet Potato Puree and Spelt, with a dessert of Apple Fritter and Ginger Snaps on a bed of Vanilla Cream and Rum Caramel. My meal was Chamomile Duck Breast with Mushroom-Split Pea Risotto. I must admit I had never had either duck, nor risotto before; I am definitely sold after eating it at this restaurant, it was absolutely delicious. My wife loved every course of her dinner and having sampled them myself, I must say her food was excellent as well. The fritters melted in your mouth, they were so light and airy. Was impressed with everything about the Yellow Door Bistro and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in downtown Calgary.

Heidi's Burgers

In Kyle, Saskatchewan, there is a small diner. They have Chinese and Canadian food. We fled here after starving at the restaurant in White Bear, Saskatchewan. We were greeted/seated immediately, the waitress did not understand a lot of english, but was very freindly. We pointed out what we wanted on the menu, and it worked out fine. The decor was neat and tidy, and the atmosphere was pleasantly small townish. We even had our food within fifteen minutes of ordering. It tasted good, with fresh vegetables on the burger, and my wife's chicken fingers were tasty, with good onion rings. It wasn't fine dining by any means, but after the bad experience before, anything was welcome.

Rating: 3/10 Stars

Kid Friendly: Very

White Bear Hotel/Restaurant

My wife and I thought that it would be fun to go for a drive and stop in a small town diner for food. Well this turned out to be a less than fun experience. We had been told that the restaurant had good tasting food, I wish that we had gotten the chance to judge that for ourselves. We walked in and my eyes had to adjust as it was so dark in there. There were no windows and not enough lights to make it so you could see very well. There were Christmas lights streamed everywhere(not even Christmas), radios lined the walls, as well as random pictures, butterflies/plastic flowers. Our tables were decorated by a beer bottle wrapped in tin foil, with a plastic sunflower in it, and the washroom door was right behind my wife. Inside the washroom it was old/grungy, and not too private. Overall it had the appearance of being grungy and cluttered. It took the waitress ten minutes to get to our table and bring us our menus. At this point I was starting to get a little annoyed, but we were told the food was good so we were willing to wait. We then ordered our waters and were waiting for her to return to take our orders, but it took a long time. We were just about to get up and leave when she took our orders, but not before taking the orders of a table that had come in after us. Then we waited, waited, and still waited. After being at the restaurant for an hour and fourty-five minutes, and receiving no food OR water in that time we got up and left. They must have only had one chef and one waitress working in the whole restaurant, even though when we called to ask if they were open, they told us they were busy, so we should be there by around five to beat the rush.

Understanding why we waited that long, takes a knowledge of small towns. It was a Sunday evening, so we were not sure if the restaurant in the nearest town was going to be open, and we kept thinking that surely our food would get to us. We did leave quite angrily and found a restaurant open in the next town thirty minutes away.

Rating 0/10

Kid Friendly: Only if you want your children to starve, also not much room for high chairs around the tables.