crafty for the holiday

Unfortunately, I had to work on Christmas Eve, but at least it was only a half day. Spent the rest of the day having an early dinner with coworkers and friends at Craft Beer Market, a cool restaurant inside the historic Salt building in the Olympic Village on a friend's recommendation. Delicious juicy burgers, a huge selection of beers (domestic and international) and yummy salads in a gorgeous building. Needless to say, we will definitely be coming back to try more items from their menu.

Inside the historic Salt building. Love the high ceilings and exposed duct work. 

A friend ordered the BC beer flights to sample. 

You'll find at least one beer here that you'll like. 

We started off with appetizers and ordered the Fast Food Sushi (Cheeseburger and fries wrapped in bacon and presented sushi style) and poutine (Hand cut fries seasoned with beer salt, fresh cheese curds and rich gravy - shown below). The "sushi" was delicious but I have to say, I'm quite partial to poutine. Especially on a cold winter day. 

I ordered the classic hamburger (8oz burger, house made pickles, lettuce, tomato and onion) with a spinach salad with strawberry and feta cheese. I love a good spinach salad. 

The beer canisters next to our table behind a glass wall. Craft also brew their own beer, surprise, surprise. 

This was too cute. I feel like if I actually liked the taste of beer, I might enjoy this brand. 

In the centre of the Olympic Village are these art installations of these massive giant birds. 

Outside the Craft restaurant. 

And right across the restaurant is this lovely view of downtown Vancouver, the mountains and the False Creek. The glowing orb is Science World, which has been renovated and looks even cooler than when I remember it as a kid. 

jumping on the red (band) wagon

Nothing like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen in years over a nice meal. My co-worker was the one the who suggested the Red Wagon Cafe, located on East Hastings. This little gem of a cafe is serving up delicious stick-to-your-ribs comfort food with a twist. I ordered the pulled pork pancakes (yay for having breakfast for dinner!) which also comes with an optional side of 2 eggs, and my dining buddies ordered the pulled pork sandwich and the croque monsieur.

Pulled pork pancakes: three buttermilk pancakes layered with pulled pork and served with Jack Daniels maple syrup. 

Look at how fluffy and airy the buttermilk pancakes in contrast with the sweet BBQ pulled pork crammed in between the layers... SO GOOD.

Pulled pork sandwich on a Portegeuse bun and served with a side of fries. This is a messy sandwich to eat, so make sure to have plenty of extra napkins

The blurry picture of a gooey croque monsieur: grilled ham and cheese sandwich with bechamel served with fries or salad (my co-worker ordered the salad with her meal) . Perfectly gooey and creamy with a nice outer crunch.

Doodles that previous customers have done on their placemats. My favourite is the octopus in the red wagon. 

I would totally come here again, if only for the pulled pork pancakes, but I'd also try some of the other items on the menu (pulled tofu sandwich, anyone?). I've heard that it gets super busy on Sunday mornings, with the line snaking out the door, but it's totally worth the wait.

broccoli and corn chowder

Also, as a side note: does anyone remember this episode from the Simpsons?

if you've ever wondered why the squid population has decreased drastically...

... is because they were selling squid left, right and center at the Richmond Night Market. You can even get a whole grilled squid for like $6, if you really, REALLY like seafood.

Anyway, a friend was in town, visiting her family after spending three years in the southern United States of America, (specifically in Oklahoma and South Carolina) and of course, we had to make a stop at the Richmond Night Market for some good Asian food. The southern states might have some good BBQ but you can't beat delicious Asian street food.

Started off our food adventure with the classic takoyaki (octopus) balls with a drizzle of mayo, seaweed and bonito flakes. These have to cool down to the appropriate temperature before you can shovel them into your pie hole, or else you'll end up burning your tongue, the roof of your mouth, and your taste buds will be shot for the rest of the night.

We saw this food truck and we're very curious about trying the deep fried cheesecake (the deep fried Mars bar was $5!) but decided to come back to it later because it would have been too much, too early. 

Wishing tree with lots of wishes tied to its branches. When the wish falls off the tree, it will come true. 

Okonoiyaki or Japanese pizza with chicken, teriyaki sauce, mayo and bonito flakes. Very tasty, but they skimped on the chicken, or at least on my half of the pizza. 

Angry Birds have come to life! 

Here we go... We chose classic cheesecake with strawberry syrup because everything else sounds too sickly sweet. 

As if a deep fried Mars bar wasn't bad enough, let's throw in some BACON. Because bacon goes with everything, right?

Here it is! Deep friend cheesecake with strawberry syrup, whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries. 

And here is the aftermath. It was messy to eat because after being fried, the cheesecake was all gooey inside. Still very tasty though and the batter was thin and not oily or greasy at all.