Sunday, February 6, 2011

Cactus Club Cafe - Downtown Location

Address:  588 Burrard Street, Vancouver, B.C.
Website:  http://www.cactusclubcafe.com/
Date Visited:  18 January 2011

This is my first time into this location of this popular restaurant chain.  In the other locations that I have visited, I have always found the service to be friendly and the food consistent in quality.  As well, another attractive quality of the chain is their hiring policy.  It seems that only the young and gorgeous need to apply!  Talk about eye candy!

On this occassion, we arrived for lunch and the restaurant was extremely busy.  Instead of taking a name for the next available table, we were told to go stand by a table that was about to leave in order to reserve it.  Awkward!  When the couple left, we made our move to the table just in time as another party was wanting the same table.  This also happened when we left as 2 parties were again vying for the table and 1 party had to back down.  Uncivilized!  They have to do something about this!

With regards to the food, I ordered a spinach salad made with italian prosciutto, cabbage, arugula, pickled beets, goat cheese, pears, candied pecans, parmesan, sherry vinaigrette and a balsamic glaze.  The ingrediants were fresh and the addition of arugula enhanced the flavours and textures of the salad.  I must admit that this is the best spinach salad that I have had in a long time!

Although the food was good and the decor modern, the unorganized approach to table reservations took the pleasure out of the experience!

Fronds Bistro on the Beach

Address:  14989 Marine Drive, White Rock, B.C.
Website:  None
Date Visited:  6 February 2011

We were looking for a place for breakfast along the White Rock beach area and noted that most restaurants were closed on a Sunday morning.  One place that was open was Fronds Bistro, so we decided to go in to try.  Not that we had a lot of choice!

Once inside, we found the place to be small but nice and clean.  However, the chairs need to be reupholstered as the seat portions were sagging.  We had to sit up straight in order to be high enough to enjoy our meal.

Meena, our server, was friendly and responsive, coming to greet us and to take our drink orders immediately upon arrival.  Thank goodness, as on this cold winter day, a cup of hot coffee was definitely needed!

Ordering breakfast, I wanted the crab cake eggs benedict but was told that they ran out of crab cakes.  I had to settle for the classic breakfast of eggs sunny side up, bacon, whole wheat toast and potato cubes.  The eggs were too well done for my liking.  Meena told us that they bake their own whole wheat bread, which tasted good.  Surprisingly, also tasty were the potato cubes.  Over all, breakfast was acceptable but the items selected do not require a lot of cooking skills.  I will have to return to try other items on the menu.