El Loco Taco

A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I had the pleasure of visiting Salt Spring Island! I didn’t anticipate to be food blogging again so there aren’t many photos of the other places I ate at. I’ll just briefly mention them at the end.

After a long journey from the mainland to here we were famished and very hot from the unanticipated summer weather. During our drive we spotted El Loco Taco, a small food truck situated in the downtown center with a seating area and some much appreciated umbrellas for shade.

I ordered the pollo asada (chicken) and mahi mahi beer battered fish taco. Overall the taco was solid but was missing something special. The first bite of the chicken was great, but the consecutive bites afterwards were not brilliant and a bit monotone. Some of the vegetables in the mahi fish taco were too sour and overpowered everything else. It’s also quite possible that the tacos at La Taqueria have ruined my taco palate as they have the best tacos I’ve ever tasted. Who knows.

During our visit we also had food at the Tree House Cafe and Salt Spring Gelato. Those two places were absolutely delicious, highly recommended if you visit Salt Spring! Tree House Cafe also has a giant tree in the middle of the cafe so how cool is that.

Service: 3.8/5 Person at the truck was friendly, food took a little while to get here though. I was also very hungry at the time to be fair.
Taste: 3/5 Solid taco to satisfy your hunger but could be better.
Price: $ ($4 a taco)

Anatolia’s Gate Restaurant

I have to admit, it feels a little cheap to be writing a review for this place because it is one of my all-time favourite places to go to for Turkish food. A bit of a warning, this post is mostly me just raving about how amazing this restaurant is. Please excuse is poorly taken photo! I’ll stop being lazy and get my nice camera out to take some better food shots.

Alright where do I start. I’ve been coming to this place for years now and am so happy the flavours have stayed the same. Most of the meals come with a delicious, chewy bread called lavash that’s baked in the large stone oven they have. The bread, with your choice of white (my guilty recommendation) or wheat, comes to your table all puffed up so I usually use a fork to stab it down before consuming it with the delicious yogurt sauce. Definitely Instagram photo worthy. Today I ordered the Chicken Curry ($15.95) and my cousin got the lamb tandur ($18.95). The curry was the right amount of spicy with succulent, juicy chicken pieces. The side dishes were a great accompaniment to give my palate some variety and encouragement to consume more food. The lamb tandur was also delicious, cooked perfectly as the exterior was crisp and the interior was juicy and tender. Everything here is so great, I’m drooling just writing about it.

More of my favourites include their pides, pizzas, and iskenders. I’ve yet to try their durums but that’s definitely next on the list. You really can’t go wrong with this place! The service here is also great because it’s a small place with a ton of servers. They’re all friendly and happy to give recommendations. The restaurant is also filled with pretty Turkish decor and music, it’s a very authentic feel.

There’s honestly nothing very bad I can say about this place, except for the unfortunate fact that my small budget can’t sustain me having frequent meals here.

Service: 4/5 Friendly staff, excellent service. They do get a bit bored and I wish they stopped starting at us so much.
Taste: 4.8/5 Some of the side dishes are a little too sour for my liking but that’s probably a preference issue.
Price: $$

Nero Belgian Waffle Bar

Hello world! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Life has finally given me some time to breathe so you know what that means… More food adventures! A summer filled with delicious food is yet to come.

After going to The Warehouse for lunch, my friend and I decided to stop by at Nero’s for dessert. This is my second time being here and I always have trouble choosing which waffle to get. In the end I opted for the bresilienne (caramel, hazelnuts and vanilla icecream) on a liege waffle while she got the orange mousse (pieces of orange with dark chocolate) on a brussels waffle. The waffles were $8.90 each and were hefty enough for two to share over some coffees. They also had a vast selection of coffee, teas, and alcoholic beverages making it a great location for a evening meet up.

I’m a big fan of liege waffles and this one definitely hit the spot. It was sweet, but not overly sweet, dense, and chewy. The waffles paired up with the cold ice cream, fragrant caramel and light whipped cream makes it a very indulgent dessert. Definitely one of my favourites in Vancouver, I’ll have to try the brussels next time!

Service: 4/5 No long waits, staff was friendly.
Taste: 4.5/5 Some of the best waffles I’ve had yet!
Price: $

Stepho’s Souvlaki Greek Taverna

I’ve heard a lot about this place.

Legendary portions, long lineups and happy customers were part of the package.

Small lamb souvlaki.

After feeling famished from some hard shopping at the Aritiza Warehouse sale, I stopped by Stepho’s on Robson street for some comforting Greek cuisine. The inside looked like your typical Greek restaurant, beautiful whites and blues combined with an abundance of plants filling the outdoors and indoors. I came at around 4 p.m. so there wasn’t a line at all (lucky for me).  Since it was such a great day out, I decided to sit outside with the pigeons and the bees. The bees weren’t too annoying and the pigeons made excellent dining companions (very polite birds).

I had the Kalamaria Dinner ($11.95, as shown in feature photo) and my friend ordered the small lamb souvlaki ($8.95). From what the menus showed, prices were definitely lower than your typical Greek restaurant.

When the food came, or should I say when the calamari arrived, I tried not to gape too much. This was the largest portion of deep fried squid I have ever seen, I couldn’t even see the rice or the salad underneath. Although portion sizes scored a thumbs up on my books, the taste was another matter. The squid was extremely overcooked as the texture was chewy, bordering rubbery and difficult to eat. The large fast food chain Opa! at the food courts have better calamari. It was seasoned weakly so the tzatziki was very much needed. The potatoes on the other hand were lemony all the way through. Salad was okay, and rice wasn’t too seasoned either.

The lamb on the other hand was still larger than average and quite tender. Having a large portion of sides (rice, salad and potatoes) was very nice.

Next time I would probably order the small souvlakis, but the food isn’t completely stellar enough for me to visit again. If you’re looking for a okay and filling meal for a cheap price, Stepho’s is your place.

OVERALL
Service: 3/5 The waitress was very friendly but we had to wait about 15 minutes for her to get us the check (zombie walk outside helped distract us).
Taste: 2.5/5 I don’t like rubbery squid. The table next to me had some lamb dish that looked alright, but just don’t get the calamari.
Decor: 3/5 Typical greek place, nice and clean.
Portions: 5/5 The squid was literally falling off the plate because there was so much.

Basic Crepe Recipe

Crepes are just one of those things that are so simple to the point where you bless the earth for finally giving you something you can actually do (I swear, at work using Adobe InDesign is like playing with a jigsaw puzzle that hates you, anyways…). I love them best when they’re served with fresh chantilly cream, homemade strawberry sauce and a light coating of powdered sugar. But for this photo I made a savoury crepe with goat cheese, leftover roast chicken and various other veggies. Crepes are wonderful and will always reign over their less lovelier cousin, the pancake.

Goat cheese and leftover roast chicken with fresh tomatoes and stuff make an excellent team.

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RECIPE
(makes enough for around 2-3 servings)
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of water
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of melted butter

1. Place your butter in a medium bowl and microwave if it is not melted yet.
2. Add the egg, flour and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
3. Gradually add the milk and water. Mix well and make sure there are no flour clumps.
4. Heat a pan over a medium heat and scoop a ladle-full of batter into the hot pan.
5. Move your pan around and use your ladle to get a nice, flat crepe. Remove crepe from heat when both sides are slightly golden brown