Last week I wanted to go out for a family celebration with my mother and sister and we agreed upon the Cactus Club restaurant on Kingsway across from Metrotown. As it turned out, our choice was a good choice.
I have not been in a Cactus Club restaurant for quite some time and I was pleased to see the influence that Rob Feenie, Canada’s first Iron Chef and current Executive Chef of the Cactus Club chain of restaurants has had on the Cactus Club restaurants.
The menu items created by Chef Feenie all have an RF listed on the the menu – and that is what influenced my choices. That, and the information that our very informed server brought to our table.
For starters we ordered four items from the Cactus Club Happy Hour menu: Szechuan Green Beans, Crispy Dry Ribs, Sea Salted French Fries and Crispy Yam Fries.
Schezuan Green BeansThe Szechuan Green Beans are flash fried so they are cooked until crispy and then drizzled with a wickedly delicious balsamic-hoisin-sesame oil glaze. The super thin slices of jalapeno, fresh cilantro and sesame seeds are an added flavour bonus.
Crispy Dry RibsI’m not usually a fan of Crispy Dry Ribs but my sister loves them so we ordered them in spite of my voiced concern. Each rib had a generous piece of meat that was nicely seasoned with sea salt and black pepper. I would actually order these again.
Yam FriesThe Sea Salted French Fries and Yam Fries were good but a little boring. The little side dishes of aioli with a hint of chipotle seasoning were the awesome part of these appies.
For mains we ordered the Rob’s Hunter Chicken, the Peppercorn Sirloin, and a Cheddar Bacon Burger.
Rob’s Hunter ChickenRob’s Hunter Chicken has shiitake, portabello, button and crimini mushrooms with a demi-glace drizzled over and around the entire meal. The chicken is grilled skin-on making it just that little bit more sinfully delicious. Under the grilled chicken breast were more crispy green beans and Yukon Gold potatoes.
This was the meal that our server told us is her favourite and I now understand why.
Peppercorn SirloinWe asked for the 9 oz Peppercorn Sirloin cooked medium rare and I was impressed to see it was cooked perfectly medium rare. It was a bit tougher than I was expecting but the pernod peppercorn demi-glace, buttered mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus were all lovely. The asparagus spears, like the green beans on my plate were cooked so that they were a bright green but no further. My favourite.
Cheddar Bacon BurgerMy sister’s Cheddar Bacon Burger on a gluten-free bun looked amazing. Unfortunately I only had a little taste of the burger patty and not enough to say anything from an informed point of view. I can say that the gluten-free bun was light and crispy. You wouldn’t know that you were eating gluten-free buns if you didn’t know it.
Honestly, my favourite part of the burger was the massive slice of a dill pickle that came with it. Super crisp.
Overall, the meal was beautifully presented, perfectly cooked, and a wonderful celebration for our family. We will definitely return to the Cactus Club restaurant.
Beautiful margerhita pizza from @wildflourpizzaco in Burnaby.
I love my sourdough so when @beyondtherhetoric told me these guys are doing a sourdough pizza crust - I knew I had to try it.
In brief, I loved it. I loved it so much I wrote a blog post about it! Blog will go up Friday morning.
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#pizza #sourdough #burnaby #nomnom #margerhitapizza #delicious
Last week the kids and I went back to @kumsheenrafting and did another half day on the Thompson River.
We hit some epic waves and definitely got wet on this river run!
Something people may not be aware of - the river is way more fun when there’s a lower volume of water in it - like there is in August and early September.
So many people think the river is “wild” during the big water of the spring run-off. Surprise! The best runs are NOW!
Definitely a good time on the river AGAIN.
Photo credit @kumsheenrafting seeing as I was on the raft loving every minute of it.
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#kumsheen #kumsheenraftingresort #whitewaterrafting #hellobc #getoutside #explorebc #summer2022 #summervibes
In life, timing is everything. I popped into @doughnutlove.ca today just as they were closing up and they had one last ice cream sandwich doughnut left. So of course I said yes!
They slice open a doughnut and carefully place a scoop of @rockypointicecream between the slices of doughnut.
These special treats are an “in the moment” kinda thing. The ice cream softens up really quickly making it a perfectly squishable sandwich.
Just what I needed on this ridiculously hot day. An ice cream sandwich doughnut.
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#doughnut #icecream #coquitlam #yummy #food #nomnom #sweet #icecreamsandwich
I finally made it to the Sugar Shack in 70 Mile House! I first tried their poutine from their food truck a couple of years ago and now today, I’m back.
I had the Montreal Smoked meat sandwich and a full order of poutine. When it first arrived at the table I thought it looked small. And then I started eating. And eating. And eating.
It’s a lot of good! A lot of GOOD food. I don’t know when I’ll be back only because it is a long way off my usual travels but know that when I do travel this way again, I’ll be eating at the Sugar Shack in 70 Mile House.
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#poutine #smokedmeat #montrealsmokedmeat #sugarshack #clintonbc #70milehouse #cariboolife #nomnom #food
Well we did it. Blonde Bear and I went to Lytton and visited our friends @kumsheenrafting for an afternoon of fun on the Thompson River.
Our river guide did not disappoint! He took us into the big water so that we all got thoroughly soaked making everyone happy.
The waves on the Thompson are getting better everyday as the water drops. Big holes are starting to really open up making for some exciting rides.
If you be want to have some summer fun and support a Lytton business, check @kumsheenrafting for available dates.
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#riverrafting #whitewater #lyttonbc #lytton #kumsheenraftingresort #kumsheenrafting #getoutside #explorebc #travelthecanyon #thompsonriver #summer2022