The Point Grill

Instead of going to the student-run Pit Pub for the upteenth time, today we decided to go to Point Grill. It was sunny out for a change, and no one was interested in sitting in a divey, aptly named Pit in a dark dank basement. The Point Grill is on the pricier side of campus eats, and just a shy less expensive than dining at the Sage Bistro.

I've never been here before, and was recommended to go for the Berber Chicken Burger, or one of their gourmet thin crust pizzas. I haven't had a burger in quite a while, so I decided on this plus a gluttonous side of their famous garlic fries instead of a healthy salad.

The burger "patty" is several slices chicken of boneless, skin-on chicken thighs marinated with "berber" sauce and topped with vegies and avocado salsa. Berber sauce is apparently a sauce of north African origin, and it was very mild here. The thigh, while moist and barbequed to a nice crisp skin, wasn't very flavorful on its own, and the sauce and salsa was a bit to mild and didn't quite work for me. I ended up having to add a couple of shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce to kick up burger up a bit; It wasn't very tasty on its own. There also wasn't a lot of thigh meat on the burger, and it was definitely less meat than you typically get with a chicken breast patty. I find this odd since thighs are usually cheaper than breasts.

The Garlic Fries, however, were a great side. They were fried to a good crispness but not oily to the taste, and tossed in a generous amount of aromatic garlic salt. There were also a good portion served with the burger, and I had to pass some around as I just couldn't finish it all. Despite the generous portion of delicious fries, I would rather have had more meat on the burger instead.

The other burger they are famous for is the Canadian AAA Prime Rib Burger. This is a 6oz patty topped with cheddar, bacon, onion marmalade, mustardy  mayo, and greens. Mr. Production practically inhaled this burger and accompanying fries without chewing. He  loved the burger and was fully satisfied and fully stuffed. I probably should have ordered this instead :P


The third burger we had at our table was the Veggie Burger. It's a brown rice and soy patty topped with gruyere and avocado salsa. Few people who order a veggie burger get it with fries, and of course, Bookworm opted for a side of Farmer's Green Salad instead, which again was a very generous portion. She had no complaints about the burger.


Point Grill is also remarked for their thin crust pizzas, and the one represented at our table was the Prawn & Crab. This was adorned with large chunks of prawns and real crab, feta, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and onions. This also looked very delicious and something that I want to try when I come back.

A unique item on their menu is the High Fiber and Protein Wrap, described as "Vancouver Island smoked tofu, bulgur wheat, Colusari red rice, quinoa flakes, brown flax seeds, alfalfa spouts, & tomato salsa, all wrapped in a jalapeño tortilla." Booties loved the smoked tofu and remarked that this is probably the "whitest" tofu you can get. She's probably right since I don't think I've ever seen "smoked" tofu served at any asian restaurant. As with the veggie burger, fries wouldn't be on the mind of anyone who orders a high fiber tofu wrap, and Booties too opted for a side salad.

One of our party had already eaten lunch, and so ordered just a dessert. She choose the Chocolate Marquise, which is described as a "chocolate paté" garnished with heavy cream and fruit coulis. She didn't really enjoy the paté, indicating that it had the consistency of a very hard fudge.

The last item at our table was a side Classic Caesar Salad. This again was a very generous portion for a side salad.

Although I didn't really enjoy my burger, the fries were very good and most everyone else seemed to be happy with their meals.  I was told that the food would take a long time to arrive, and it was indeed a long wait after we ordered before we received our food. The decor was sharp and wait staff was very attentive, constantly  refilling our waters. It is more than twice as expensive as the burgers we normally get at the Pit Pub, but the quality of the burger and fries were definitely a few notches up. The locale is also well-designed with large sunlit windows on every wall. A great contrast to the dark dank pit that is, well, the Pit Pub.

The point grill is decent place to go when you are at UBC and want a good dining experience that doesn't break the bank, but if I wanted a good burger, I would go to Vera's Burger Shack at the UBC Village Complex. I will, however, have to come back sometime to try their prime rib burger, and the high fiber protein wrap.


Pros:
-new restaurant with modern pleasing decor and well sun-lit dining room
-attentive staff
-a place to eat at UBC that isn't a cafeteria, franchise, or hole in the wall.
-large side portions

Cons:
-food takes a while to prepare
-a tiny bit on the pricey side for what you get
-parking on campus is pricey and limited unless you are already there for the day.


Notes:
-parking available across the street at West Parkade

Website and Menu: http://www.food.ubc.ca/locations-and-hours/campus-restaurants/the-point-grill

Aqua Riva

For Dine Out Vancouver 2011, we decided to go to Aqua Riva, simply because they were the only restaurant that could accommodate our group at the time everyone was available. It started out pretty terrible, and stayed that way. Half of us couldn't find the damn place. The address is listed as 200 Granville St, but the restaurant is actually on Howe... This is because it's part of a complex called Granville Square that spans several blocks. For those looking to find the place, it's on Howe right next to Canada Place.

Aqua Riva is usually ridiculously expensive, but the $28 Dine Out menu brings them into affordable territory. The restaurant itself was impressive large, and most impressively, completely packed at 8pm on a weekday. We were lucky enough to be seated window side and had a gorgeous view of Canada Place and Vancouver harbor.

We received the usual complimentary baskets of bread after we made our orders. Instead of your usual sourdough, there was french bread and slices of focaccia. These were served with the usual whipped butter, but also some mild salsa, which complimented the bread very well. The breads themselves were very fresh, with a crisp crust and soft, moist interior. This was a very pleasant start to the meal, but it wouldn't last.

I, along with several others opted to start with the Sesame Crusted Scallops with Spinach and Cous Cous Salad and Orange Sesame Vinaigrette. The scallops were supposed to be seared but they turned out to be cooked on one side and raw on the other. The raw portion was also very gummy and rubbery, and not very appetizing. The cous cous, on the other hand, was a great appetizer. Dressed in a mildly tart orange sesame vinaigrette, it was a very good way to whet one's appetite for the entree.

Others in my party had the Manhattan Seafood Chowder with Chorizo Sausage and Saffron. I'm not a fan of soups, but everyone who had the soup enjoyed it. I guess I should have had the soup instead. No one opted for the third appie option, which was Baby Green Salad with Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon and Grilled White and Green Asparagus and Sherry Dijon Vinaigrette.

For the main, I choose the Ginger Potato Crusted Wild Salmon with Grilled Asparagus Risotto, Corn and Black Bean Salsa and Basil Butter Sauce. Everyone enjoyed the deliciously crisp potato crust, and found the salmon well-seasoned, but all agreed the filet was a bit dry. The corn and black bean salsa was bland and detracted from the flavorful fish. I could have done without it.


Those that ended up with the Wood Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Cajun Jumbo Fries and Salsa Verde weren't too happy with their meals. Nobody had their steak cooked to the degree they wanted. Medium became medium rare, and medium became a bloody chewy piece of rubber. Nobody sent their steaks back to the kitchen but they really should have. The "cajun jumbo fries" turned out to be greek style baked potatoes, but the cajun spice was so mild they tasted practically like plain baked potatos.

The Orecchiette Pasta with Grilled Prawns, Shiitake Mushrooms, Spinach, Ancho Chilies and Basil Pesto Cream Sauce turned out to be the entree to get, as everyone who had the pasta thoroughly enjoyed their dish. Unfortunately I didn't get an acceptable photo of this dish. As you can see from the blurry pics above, I'm still struggling with my new camera :-(

For dessert, I had the Banana Chocolate Mousse Cake. This was garnished with a fried banana and fruit coulis. Neither the fried banana nor cake was very successful. The banana wasn't fried to a good crispness, and wasn't sweetened. This piece of banana wasn't very naturally sweet either, and this made for a very soft, yet chalky slice of banana. The cake also had a serious lack of sugar. The chocolate ganache had a rough texture and the cake was very dry. The middle layer was just a blended banana paste, and the whole thing felt like a chore to eat. I had McDonald's new baked banana chocolate pie just a few days prior, and enjoyed it much more than this, and that only costs 70 cents. I guess this might be suitable for someone who likes a very mild dessert, but for a guy with a sweet tooth, this was a failure.


Conversely, the folks who had the Apple and Cranberry Crisp complained that it was too sugary. To put it into perspective, one said that you needed to mix the ice cream to drown out the sweetness of the rest of the dish. I ended up taking some apple crisp to sweeten and moisten up my dull, dry cake.

Given the asking price, the food here definitely wasn't worth it. If you're going to be asking $25-30+ for an entree, serving dry fish and undercooked steak isn't acceptable. This Dine Out experience certainly didn't entice us to return for their regular menu. I'm quite surprised that there were such glaring mistakes with each course that was served. Given the price and locale, Aqua Riva seems like a tourist trap, so I guess we'll be leaving it to the tourists.

Pros:
-great ambiance and view
-attentive, friendly service

Cons:
-expensive
-underwhelming food
-hard to locate

Notes:
-easily accessible by skytrain

Website and Menu: www.aquariva.com

Cactus Club Cafe (Metrotown)

After getting a request for "no Asian food today", we headed down to the Cactus Club Cafe chain restaurant across from Metropolis.

We started out with the calamari appetizer. This was a huge serving. The picture doesn't do it justice since we ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture. For $11, this could have been a meal in and of itself. The calamari was lightly battered and fried with sweet jalepenos, carrots and dill. The calamari meat was very tender but the batter was not quite crisp enough. It was very soggy, yet not oily. It might have needed more time in the fryer. It was served with both tzaziki and chipotle aioli dipping sauces. The chipotle was by far the favorite and ran out almost immediately. For such a large portion, they didn't really include enough dipping sauce.

3 of us decided to try the prawn + scallop spaghettini. This was a Rob Feenie signature dish, and Mr. Iron Chef Champion sure lived up to his reputation. The pasta was al-dente and tossed in a deliciously sweet and tangy tomato sauce. It was served with a generous amount of scallops and prawns as its namesake suggests. Both were incredibly fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly tender. On the side, were 2 parmesan crostinis which I didn't really care for. It was kind of soggy again, and I couldn't taste the parmesan. This was served in a very high bowl, so the picture doesn't adequately show the portion size, which was decent, but not large.

Others in the party decided to get the 7oz steak blackened with creole butter, and J.D. BBQ burger. These were eaten quickly and I forgot to snap pictures. I could tell by how fast these were inhaled though that they were tasty. The steak was medium-rare as requested and served with seasonal veggies and mash. The burger was decently sized, running with juice and sauces, and served with a side of sea-salted fries.

It was hard to get wait staff attention at times since we were out on the patio, but they did check in often enough to not leave us in the lurch.

 Pros:
-well executed food

Cons:
-pricey

Notes: 
-small parking lot next to entrance, can also park at Metropolis or Save-on-Foods across the street

Menu: http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/2007/pdf/bc/ccMenu-burnaby-kingsway.pdf