Abigail’s Party

Have you ever gone somewhere, walked in the door and said to yourself “If I owned a restaurant it would be just like this.”? Abigail’s Party oozes cool, it’s small and intimate and has great atmosphere and the food holds up against its visual appeal. Located at 1685 Yew street in Kits, right across the street from the (in)famous Kingshead Pub this little section of Yew street is as cool a block as you will find anywhere in Vancouver.

Being Jersey Shore fans Lyndsey and I had to try the Deep Fried Pickles served with paprika aioli which were as good as Snooki promised they would be. We also tried the Tuna Tartare which was cured in grapefruit and served with avocado and cucumber with sesame wonton crisps. Very light and fresh, I could have eaten a lot more of this dish. Apologies for the picture quality in this post, it’s time for an iPhone, sorry Blackberry, we had a good run.

For our mains we shared the Aged Cheddar Mac and Cheese which was so good I’ve had dreams about it. The aged cheddar was very sharp and kicked what is normally a sad letdown at restaurants in to a winner. Lyndsey had the Herb Crusted Halibut with asparagus, clams and fingerling potatoes in a curry cream sauce. The fish was great judging from the small bite I had. The herb crust was made up of almond, basil, italian parsley, chervil and tarragon.

I had the Steak Frites, a staple of French Cuisine in North America. It consisted of a medium rare flat iron steak from Pemberton Meadows served sliced over triple fried Kennebec fries with an arugula salad. Everything about this dish was great, the steak, the fries, the peppery arugula salad, everything.

I’ve been told that I can be too positive in my reviews, I will say this once, I give praise where praise is due and I’m not in the business of going to eat at restaurants where I have heard others had poor service or bad food. I will always tell you straight up if I enjoyed my experience or if there were areas that needed improvement. Abigail’s Party is the real deal, go there and find out for yourself. Follow them on twitter too, they’re good times.

Scott.

Booze Reviews! Cocktails in a can

It’s a good thing when 2 days after a conversation about whether cocktails in a can exist they show up on your kitchen counter. They may not be the exact kind I was looking for but Jack Daniels and cola along with Jack Daniels and lemonade are close enough to the rum and cola that I was searching for. Why haven’t these pre-made drinks in a can existed until now? I don’t know but I’m glad they’re here.

Jack Daniels, as I’m sure most of you know, is a Tennessee Whiskey which is a type of bourbon made in…wait for it…Tennessee!! The Jack Daniels brand is arguably the most well known type of Tennessee Whisky and is very popular among the mixed drink crowd. The canned version of the popular JD and cola tastes just like it would if you mixed it yourself and a can comes in at a healthy 6% abv. There are 2 minor issues I have with this beverage, the first being that it was a little flat. I’m not sure what would cause the lack of carbonation but it would do this drink wonders. The second issue is that back when I was a young lad, in my early 20’s, I got sloppy drunk on JD and cola at the now defunct Marble Arch Gentleman’s Club and ever since I’ve had a problem with JD in general. The fact that I enjoyed this drink means that my aversion is weakening or I’m getting old.

The JD and lemonade was flat as well but that’s ok because lemonade is supposed to be flat. Overall these canned drinks surprised me with their apparent quality and lack of the chemical taste that plagues coolers and “hard” lemonades. I could see this replacing beer in my cooler on hot days at the cabin or playing softball because it’s more refreshing and less filling.

Yay for Booze Reviews!!!

Scott.

Funding Transit, why is it so hard?

I saw a post on Twitter this morning about the TTC, Toronto’s equivalent to Translink, selling the naming rights to its stations. What a fantastic idea! Translink is always talking about being under funded and constantly imposes taxes and levy’s on the public along with adding tolls to fund new projects. The issue of an unelected body imposing taxes is a debate for another day but a simple solution seems to be selling naming rights.

Would it really affect the public if, for instance, Waterfront Station was called Bell Waterfront station? We already have Rogers Arena, the Scotia Bank Theater etc so why not use big business to fund transit improvements?

It strikes me as odd that in 2011 no one at Translink has thought of this? Maybe they have and it’s just easier to impose taxes on the public without any of us having a say.

Anyways that’s my 2 cents. What do you think?

Scott.