Let’s play catch-up
Where were we? Oh yeah.
As previously mentioned, on Thursday, (oh my god, these blueberries are so good) June 14th, Lesley came to visit. As anticipated, we spent most of our weekend together shopping and eating.
That night, after I got off work and we dumped our collective luggage and gear at my apartment, we went to dinner at Bin 942.
Last summer when she visited, we went to Bin 941 (found on the same website, if you haven’t clicked yet.) We checked the website and the menu’s and decided to hit the one on Broadway. Partly because we’d already been to the one on Davie, partly because this one is closer and partly because the menu’s vary. The cab we called dropped us off pretty quickly, if a little unsteady – ever heard of brakes, dude?
We were seated really quickly, and our waitresses – Dawn and Sarah – were totally adorable and attentive. Maybe that’s because we settled in and made it clear: We’re not fucking around, we’re here to eat. And drink. A bottle of relatively local Riesling (Chateau St. Michelle – Washington, reasonable at $35/bottle) settled on our table, some splashed in our glasses and we were happily ready to partake of the offerings.
On to the important bit, the food:
To start, we had the Bin Made grilled focaccia. At three dollars, the flavour sensation is phenomenal. It’s just bread! But not just any bread. Four slices of perfectly toasted focaccia – crunchy on the outside, still tender and soft on the inside. They’re served – beautifully plated – with chili-infused olive oil (could stand to be a bit hotter), basil olive oil (it blew my mind, and I promptly asked for the recipe. And they gave it to me, how awesome is that?) and the most delicious balsamic vinegar I think I’ve ever tasted. You know it was well-aged because it was syrupy and viscous and sooo sweetly tangy.
Let me interrupt myself for a moment to wax ecstatic about the prices. Because seriously, people, this is good stuff at great prices. You might think it’s expensive, but really – you should treat yourself. I’m including the prices in my ‘trip report’ so you can add it up and go ‘oh, that’s not so bad’. And then visit. It’s worth it.
After that taste of happiness, we decided to order something that we’ve tried before and loved: The “Angus Beef Tenderloin phyllo wellington, pecorino parmesan, portabello, chive roast garlic whipped potato, grainy mustard marsala glace”. As usual, it’s delicious. It comes as two triangles of the phyllo-wrapped filet on a fluffy mound of those delectable mashed potatos with a little moat of the marsala glace. The ultimate in comfort food. I don’t think I’d try to split this plate into more than two servings, but that might be because I’m selfish. I’m comfortable with that. ($15)
Next we ordered the Baked Double Creme Brie (the particular version we had isn’t listed anymore – that is how often they change the menu. I love that!) with frozen concord grapes and balsamic vinegar and some lemon pepper crostini. Who knows what it was served with – it was cheese. Delicious cheese! I went nuts over the grapes and balsamic. I love fruit and balsamic vinegar these days. Someone remind me to post my delicious dessert recipe that will knock your tastebuds down and then pick them back up again and kiss their boo-boos. I think that dish was nine dollars.
I also need to interject about the quality of service in both the back and front of the house. We never went more than a couple of minutes without a glance from one of the lovely servers – never hovering or intruding, just ‘being available’ as they were doing their jobs. They were friendly without being annoying, they were attentive without being pushy. The kitchen was amazing – I think we timed our orders pretty well in terms of when we were ready to eat, but I have to say that even with a full house we never felt like we had to ‘wait’ for our food to arrive. It was always well presented, super fresh and on our table within moments of being plated. What more can you ask for?
Moving on. We ordered the “Hawaiin coconut salt crusted fresh Queen Charlotte Halibut, BC spot prawn mint snap pea Israeli cous cous, curried mango sauce, pickled green papaya salad”. There’s a mouthful. And it was a mouthful. A delicious one. The halibut was amazing – so perfectly cooked and the salt crusting wasn’t as salty as you might be given to think. It enhanced the flavour of the fish instead of being…well, salty. I have to admit, the couscous wasn’t my personal favourite. I’m not a huge fan, and the overall flavour was a bit confusing with the curry and the mint and the pickled green papaya and the green peas. The spot prawns were delicious in the sauce, but I left the rest for Lesley. I’m not sure she liked it either. Overall, though, I gave the dish my support – the important flavours were amazing. ($15)
Finishing up our well-rounded experience on the ‘main dish’ menu, we sampled the “Cinnamon chili rub Texas Flank Steak, maple syrup chipolte glaze, with black pepper pommes frites”. Oh. My. God. I would say it was like an orgasm in my mouth, but that sounds too dirty. But I said it anyway, just because it sounded fun. The first thing that came to mind when I took one bite of the steak and glaze was: “Oh yum! It’s like spicy pancake flavoured steak!” And while I know that sounds totally not delicious – it was. Especially if you like spicy, pancakes and steak. Hands down, my favourite dish of the night – and I haven’t even described dessert yet. I’d like to make this at home for my husband. Or, I could take him to Bin. That might work. At fifteen dollars, we could probably put down five of them and go home happy.
The climax – ahem – of the night just behind us, we decided to have dessert anyway. We had a creme brulee that is – again – not what is listed on the website. But it was delicious. I LOVE when the crusty part on the top is super thick and you actually have to whack it kind of hard to get to the creme underneath and the creme is cool and the suger crust is warm and it’s just. so. delicious. *sigh* The creme brulee was seven or nine, I think.
The ultimate dessert – “Chocolate Luv Fondue for 2″ was well worth thirteen dollars. The chocolate could have been hotter, but I didn’t even really care at the time. Belgian milk chocolate ganache was served with a HUGE platter of goodies to dip: cassis poached pear (quite good), candied pecan stuffed marshmallows (really amazing), assorted fruits and – to be honest, this is the only thing I really noticed – house made cinnamon sugar doughnuts. For girls who LOVE sweets – this is the Ultimate. It’s like…porn. You have absolutely no idea. They were Still Warm. Even if you only go for dessert – try this. Mmmm.
I’m still hung up on the doughnuts. Still. All told, after a 30-something percent tip, we still spent less than $175. It was a fantastic dinner – spread over about three and a half hours – and completely worth the time and money spent. If you have a chance, and the empty stomach, go.
Filed under foodoo | Comments (2)oh. my. god. Vegas.
I’ve had 7 hours of not-very-restful sleep out of the last 62 hours. Three shots of espresso, seven chai tea lattes, a couple chai frapps and about 40 rye-and-gingers over the last couple of days, combined with energy-enhancing ‘diet’ pills, kept me awake and happily moving through my 48 hour stay in the City That Never Sleeps.
More later, must crash now.
Filed under life, whatnot | Comments OffWhat kind of parents *do* they have?
Today I spent most of the day on the bus. The day isn’t over, but this morning I logged so many hours back and forth, it was insane. Of course, it was due to my own forgetfulness – I forgot the keys to the nanny house this morning, then when the little one, Joshua, and I left to pick up his brother, Jacob, I forgot my phone.
Sigh.
We actually made it back to their house in time for lunch and a nap. Thank goodness! However, I had a hysterical moment on the bus ride TO my home the last time:
We’re seated in the far forward stroller/handicapped area – Jacob is on the seat next to me and Joshua was in the stroller in front of us where the seats flip up. There’s an odd, finger-sized hole beside one of the screws on the bottom of the seat unit. Joshua was poking his finger at the hole and I gave him ‘The Look’, and went back to looking for wet wipes in the under carriage. The next thing I know, he’s crying like he’s hurt himself.
I look up to see that he’s got his finger ‘stuck’ in the hole. It isn’t really stuck, I can see, but he bent his finger at the knuckle and thinks he can’t get it out. I unbend his finger, take it out and look at him. “Don’t put your finger there, Joshua.” I say. He’s 15 months – not talking yet, but he understands what you tell him, so I know he gets it.
A minute later, he’s making eye contact with me, moving that finger toward the hole again. I gently move his hand back into his lap and say “Look, little man, if you stick your finger in there again, I swear I’m going to leave it in that hole when we get off the bus. So, if you want to keep your finger, stop touching it.”
Toddlers get sarcasm, didn’t you know?
Apparently, Jacob, at three years old, doesn’t quite get sarcasm yet. Not a minute later, Joshua started putting his finger in that same hole and Jacob shouted “Noooo!” and slapped his hand away, totally freaked that I would actually leave his little brother’s finger on the bus.
You can’t not laugh at that. That is awesome. This kid must have parents like mine…
