Get! In! My! Belly!

I've been pretty lucky during this pregnancy. Hilariously, my two biggest complaints have been acid reflux and sciatic pain, thanks for the great genes Dad. No crazy cravings, no 4am corn dog runs, just the occasional bout of Hanger. And today I was on the verge of being a total spaz, so it was necessary to make a stop at Dinesty on Robson for some fried rice, spicy beans, and shrimp and pork pot stickers. Delicious!

FYI: Dinesty > Peaceful Noodle

La Bretagne Creperie

What makes a place special? Amazing food? A great first impression? A collection of nostalgic memories of hung-over mornings?

There's this unpretentious little crepe place at Robson and Jervis (don't confuse this with the horrendous Cafe Crepe franchise), that for whatever reason or combination of the right moments, is a place that I have come to love. It's called La Bretagne Creperie and it serves both sweet and savory crepes which range from $6-11. With a cup of tea on the patio, the sun shining, and adorable french accents within earshot, it's a great place to enjoy the last days of summer. This Creperie may not be perfect but I will forgive them for almost anything, including forgettful service. You can't really blame them, it's not their fault they're French.

Jody's Ham and Swiss Cheese. We were both dissipointed with the lunch meat ham, but the crepes are this lovely paper thin texture.

Being a creature of habit, my usual is the #3 Breakfast Special: Scrambled Eggs, Ratatouille, and Swiss Cheese; for a whopping $8.50 it also comes with tea or coffee.

Pork Belly Beer House!

Entirely unplanned, the theme of the week ended up being pork. First the spitroast pig, now the pork belly, my coronaries are thoroughly enjoying their fill of grease this summer.  

I have found my newest favorite neighborhood dive. Thankfully I randomly stumbled across a review of this place, otherwise I'd never have learned that the Pork Belly Beer House exists. This Korean BBQ joint at 814 Bidwell is tucked in between Robson and Haro. It has absolutely no storefront signage and I'm guessing a non-existant advertising budget. Even foot traffic would have no idea what they were walking into because this place is a greasy, messy little jewel, and that's why I love it.

So for ten bucks each you get a plate full of pork belly, or if you wanna go all out it's sixteen bucks for all you can eat. Then you split a bottle of soju and for relatively cheap you can get crackered while eatin' some cracklin'.

You carefully arrange the bacon and toppings on the grill.

Then you dick around with it, cut up the bacon with scissors, and try not to burn yourself as the soju kicks in.

Then you take all these toppings...

...and wrap them up with the crispy bacon in a lettuce sammich.

Was it as Guud for you as it was for me?

I can't say for sure, but this may not have been my first Guu experience. Upon entering the Thurlow location I had a vague flashback from one of my first visits to Vancouver while still super sheltered. All the shouting flooded back feelings of being scared and overwhelmed and totally weirded out by the food (reminder: I grew up in a town where dining out was a choice between DQ and A&W). Needless to say, my I hope that my palate and courage have grown up a little bit this time around.

The niche of Ikazayas is it's own little world, nothing is quite like it. The Guu crew understands that it's about so much more than just the food; it's about the busy atmosphere, the loud comraderie, the steady flow of cold beer in little cups, the cute japanese server girls, and small portions so that you never get bored. If you go back it's not only because of the unique food, but because you had an effing good time eating it. 

This always reminds me of the Little Mermaid

 Tuna Tartar. Pretty, but generally just meh.

Beef Carpachio.

Baked Shrimp and Avocado in Cheese. Surprisingly dissapointing.

Fried Eggplant. Tied for my favorite.

Black Cod. Tied for my favorite.

DEEP FRIED BRIE CHEESE!!!

Japadog: Everybody's doing it.

Yayaya! Oishi!

If you live in Vancouver and haven't heard of Japadog you're retarded.

It's old news that after spending several years building their street cred, the Japadog empire of street meat hot-dog carts have upgraded to a full-on store-front location at Robson and Richards.

After receiving some sage advice, I chose the Kurobuta Terimayo. Kurobuta being extra special fatty pork from Bershire pigs raised in Japan, and Terimayo is the oh-so-genius combination of terryaki and mayo sauce. This succulent tube steak is garnished with nori (dried seaweed), which I indifferently picked off after the first bite. As per usual, the Japanese raise the bar; this is next-level hot-dog.

It's worth the wait, just avoid the fries that taste like butter.

Kurobuta Terimayo = Happiness in a Hawt-dawg. 

Cinch on Robson

Sunny day lunch on the Cinch patio!

Pan-seared Prawns and Seasonal Greens Salad. Heck Yes.

Mattchew Fong's Braised Short-Rib Sammich.

I had to hold myself back from beating him up and stealing it.