The Willows Inn Restaurant – Lummi Island

Friday, September 6th, 2013 :: 4:00 pm

After fellow foodie friends posted about their experience to this amazing restaurant just an hour and half away from Vancouver (plus a short ferry ride), I knew I had to dine there some time. In fact, it was featured in 2011 by New York Times as “10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride” and again in 2013 as “The Top 10 Food Lover’s Hotels in The United States“. I’m pretty certain it would be rated on the Michelin guide, except they don’t do Michelin ratings in Washington state. The chef is Blaine Wetzel, who has worked at Noma, #1 on the World’s Top 50 restaurant.

When the opportunity arose a couple months ago to make a reservation at the restaurant for this past long weekend, our friends invited 6 of us to join as well – you can say it’s been a good 2 months worth of anticipation! The tasting menu consisted of 4 main dishes and roughly 10 “snacks”, and a few “dessert” dishes. The price is $150 per person, $60 extra for wine pairing, and $40 extra for juice pairing (or you can do half-half). I personally had the juice pairing which were very different than what you would make yourself at home with the same ingredients (Sorrel, Cucumber, Carrot, Currant, Elderflower). I would probably have opted for the half-half if I didn’t have to drive afterwards.

Most of the ingredients are sourced locally right on the island, with a lot of the vegetables being planted right behind the Inn. It’s always interesting to see very simple ingredients being used as enhancements for these dishes, but without them, it would taste completely different. They also had their own smoke house, which they used to smoke and prepare a lot of the meat and seafood.

The service was excellent and fast, although if you are thinking of splitting the bill in different ways, you may encounter some delays in the end. The meal itself would not be complete without foodies taking a lot of photos of the dishes itself – which were often decorated very beautifully + precisely. Sorry, photos do not convey the smell and taste of the food!

Definitely reserve many months in advance, and enjoy the rest of the island before your meal, especially if the weather turns out great!

Bright sunset

Willows Inn

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Willows Inn

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Serving a starter wine

Willows Inn Starter Wine

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Cute centerpiece

Willows Inn

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Tablesetting

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Menu and initial few words from the chef

Willows Inn Menu

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Samish Bay Smoked Mussel – the smoky smell was like nothing I’ve tasted before

Samish Bay Smoked Mussel

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Halibut skin

Halibut skin

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Crispy Crepe with Salmon Roe – “OMFG” goodness

Crispy Crepe with Salmon Roe

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Kale with Black Truffle and Rye – best kale chips ever?

Kale with Black Truffle and Rye

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Goat Tartare with Rye Bread and Herbs

Goat Tartare with Rye Bread and Herbs

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Delicious and very pretty colour coordination

Goat Tartare with Rye Bread and Herbs

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Albacore Tuna Scraped by a Scallop Shell

Albacore Tuna Scraped by a Scallop Shell

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Grilled Shiitake – “OMFG” juicy!

Grilled Shiitake

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Cucumber juice pairing – very smooth and subtle

Cucumber juice

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Ancient grains with local chanterelles and elderberries

Ancient grains with local chanterelles and elderberries

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Looks can be deceiving.. this was quite amazing.

Smoked Sockeye – smoked 5 hours over green alderwood

Smoked Sockeye

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Wild seaweeds braised with dungeness crab and brown butter

Wild seaweeds braised with dungeness crab

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Made me want to eat the bread over and over again…

Hearth Bread with roasted chicken pan drippings

Hearth Bread

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Summer salad of baisil and nasturtiums

Summer salad of baisil and nasturtiums

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Red currant juice pairing

Red currant juice

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Dried beets glazed with black currants and salted bone marrow

Dried beets glazed with black currants

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Blackberries with Wild Grasses

Blackberries with Wild Grasses

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Huckleberries with woodruff and malted barley

Huckleberries with woodruff and malted barley

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Another one of those “looks can be deceiving”. Just the right amount of chewiness and sweetness!

Flax bites with caramel

Flax bites with caramel

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Amazing sunset over the islands midway through dinner

Lummi Island Sunset

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Lummi Island Sunset

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Rocanini

Sunday, June 2nd, 2013 :: 2:57 pm

Coffee roasters in Steveston, have a cup of coffee if you’re in the area!

It begins with a cup of latte

Latte Art

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Rocanini Menu Board

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Coffee Siphon

Rocanini Siphon

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Rocanini Croissant

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Rocanini Coffee Menu

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Rocanini Lights

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Rocanini

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Dine Out Vancouver 2013 – Central Bistro

Sunday, February 3rd, 2013 :: 9:34 pm

Central Bistro – 1072 Denman St, Vancouver – January 28
Price per person: $28

It was my friend’s birthday and we had planned an elaborate scheme to foil into thinking that it was only dining for two. I hadn’t been to this restaurant before but he had been here both years prior and said it was quite good. I will skip right into the food and dine out that’s the meat of the post (literally).

My selection:
Appetizer: Red Truck Salt Spring Island Mussels – chorizo, tomato, basil, garlic, onion, chipotle & Red Truck lager, grilled baguette
Entrée: 8oz Sterling Silver Steak & Frites – truffled café de Paris compound butter. Arugula and enoki mushroom salad
Dessert: Warm Mexican Chocolate Cake – salted caramel sauce and cinnamon vanilla bean ice cream

They didn’t have any bread to start with, so we had to wait a while before food was served. By the time appetizer rolled around I was naturally starving :-) The mussels were plenty big and portions were quite generous – the chirizo and the soup base was quite good, made for a good bread-dipping sauce. I had not tried the carpaccio but it looked like a good size too. Funny how both dishes reminded me of Chambar, which wasn’t on my dine out list this year, but it’s been a favourite of mine many years over. I must say for the steak entree, the presentation could be a bit better, as it looked like a steak from a bar restaurant. Fries were decent, however the steak was slightly different story. I usually ask for steaks to be cooked medium-rare and this time was no different, but maybe 4 or 5 bites into it, it tasted more like 2 out of 10 in terms of doneness. I don’t mind a bit of blood, but the more I ate the more raw it tasted (maybe because of the thickness). I asked the kitchen to cook it a bit more, but when it came back I was a bit disappointed that it was still quite rare, just warmer. Dessert time came, and the chocolate cake with caramel and ice cream was good.

Ambiance was typical “dark” but intimate, and service was ok (could be a bit faster in my opinion). Slightly disappointed by the food, so overall I’d give it a 6.5.

Central Bistro Dine Out

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Central Bistro Dine Out

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Tri Pepper Crusted Vancouver Island Venison Carpaccio

Vancouver Island Venison Carpaccio

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Red Truck Salt Spring Island Mussels

Red Truck Salt Spring Island Mussels

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Swiss Chard, Goat Cheese & Pine Nut Stuffed Free Range Chicken Breast

Free Range Chicken Breast

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Sterling Silver Steak & Frites

Sterling Silver Steak & Frites

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Satsuma Orange Cheesecake

Satsuma Orange Cheesecake

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Warm Mexican Chocolate Cake

Warm Mexican Chocolate Cake

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Dine Out Vancouver 2013 – Rocky Mountain Flatbread

Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 :: 9:00 am

Rocky Mountain Flatbread – 1876 W 1st Ave, Vancouver – January 25
Price per person: $18

This restaurant isn’t exactly on top of everyone’s list of Dine Out places, but it did fit the requirement for having a casual environment for good chats and also a budget Dine Out menu with tasty food. I’m sure a lot of people have eaten here before, but for me it was new!

My selection:
Appetizer: Basil Blackberry Salad – Assorted greens, crimini mushrooms, mango & roasted red bell peppers, tossed in a basil & blackberry dressing
Entrée: Naturally Meaty – Organic tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh spinach, spicy certified organic ground beef, Italian sausage, shaved red onions & sliced roma tomatoes. Topped with fresh herbs & asiago cheese
Dessert: Wine-poached BC pear with ice cream

Getting right into the courses, for appetizers, we had a choice between any of the salads they offered or the soup of the day, which was cauliflower. The basil blackberry salad was very tasty, had quite a bit of different vegetables in it, and I liked having the mangos in there. For the main, we had a variety to order from off their dinner menu, then we all shared a slice of different flavours. In the end most of us concluded that the special Farmer’s Market one was the best tasting, as was the Naturally Meaty. The desserts were choice between chocolate brownie, cheesecake, or wine-poached pear with ice cream. The pear was a light one to finish with, though I had hope they left off the orange slice garnishing (as it reminds me of Chinese restaurants…)

Overall I’d give it a 7.5.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Dineout

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Specials menu

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Menu

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Rocky Mountain Flatbread Oven

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Cauliflower soup

Cauliflower soup

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Basil Blackberry Salad

Basil Blackberry Salad

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Farmer’s Market Pizza

Farmer's Market Pizza

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Country Harvest Pizza

Country Harvest Pizza

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Assorted slices

Assorted Pizzas

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Warm Double Chocolate Brownie with Ice Cream

Chocolate Brownie

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Almost Famous Cheesecake

Almost Famous Cheesecake

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Wine-poached pear with Ice Cream

Wine-poached pear

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Dine Out Vancouver 2013 – Catch 122

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 :: 11:23 pm

Catch 122 Cafe & Bistro – 122 West Hastings St, Vancouver – January 22
Price per person: $28

My second Dine Out experience, and this time it was on my birthday! I’ve passed by Catch 122 before but never ate there before. Apparently their brunch and coffee is pretty good, definitely will come back to this part of Gastown to check out their menu next time.

The atmosphere was quite dark overall, except for the pocket of light from the kitchen and back tables. Other than that, it looks like a normal coffee shop by day.

Their bread was what you’d normally get at a French restaurant. For appetizer, I got the Avocado Tequila Sorbet, and a Sorbet it was. I actually didn’t know what to expect but having avocado icy was new but fresh to me. The Prawn bisque with the scallop looked really good to me too. Did not get to taste the ravioli but heard it was good too. Onto the entree – really like how they cooked the trout, it still had a lot of the moisture in it without being overcooked or too dry. What did it for me was the maple butter on the side – absolutely great with the fish. Had a bite of the ribs, a bit drier than previous ones I’ve tasted. For dessert, all I could hear for the sticky toffee pudding was “mmmmm…” (in a good way), and an interesting twist to peanut butter jelly sandwich. Another icy dish (although it does make the meal taste refreshing overall).

My selection:
Appetizer: Avocado Tequila Sorbet, Salmon Tartare – house-made avocado Tequila sorbet
Entrée: Pan-seared Steelhead Trout, Maple Butter – asparagus risotto
Dessert: PBJ ice-cream sandwich – House-made peanut butter ice-cream, raspberry sorbet, chocolate chip cookie

My friends brought a cake for me, and surprised me with a burger-shaped cake. How awesome is that?? For those that are wondering, no, you cannot eat the lettuce, but everything else is edible. From T&T supermarket!

They were quite patient with us throughout the night, and was nice enough to cut the cake in the back for us! Overall, I’d give it a 9.0!

Catch 122 Dineout

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Will definitely need to come back here for brunch and coffee soon!

Catch 122 Dineout

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Their menu was different – came in filing folders

Catch 122 Dineout Menu

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Catch 122 Dineout Bread

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Prawn bisque – with seared scallop

Prawn bisque

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Duck confit ravioli – house-made duck confit ravioli, ricotta, sage butter

Duck confit ravioli

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Avocado Tequila Sorbet, Salmon Tartare

Avocado Tequila Sorbet, Salmon Tartare

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Beef side ribs – smoked and braised in house-made barbecue sauce, bone marrow mashed potato

Beef side ribs

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Pan-seared Steelhead Trout

Pan-seared Steelhead Trout

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Sticky toffee pudding – hazelnut Baileys cream

Sticky toffee pudding

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PBJ ice-cream sandwich

PBJ ice-cream sandwich

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Hamburger birthday cake!

Hamburger Cake

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Great dineout thanks to my awesome friends :)

Catch 122 Dineout