[Quick Bite] Banff: The Fudgery February 19, 2013

The Fudgery is usually the place I go to in Banff to get some sweets. I remember once I got an ice-cream cone here, and the guy behind the counter made me gigantic, baseball sized scoops. Best memory ever.

Rows of sweets~

The bf got some sort of oat ball:

Sunflower seeds and dried cranberries?

Looks healthy, but it’s probably stuck together with mass amounts of sugar.

I got a good ‘ol caramel apple:

Ask them to cut it for you!

I know it doesn’t look too appetizing in a plastic bag, but soooooo much more convenient when they cut it for you. Not as messy too!

THE FUDGERY
215 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB T1L 1B4
(403) 762-3003

[Dine-Out] Calgary: Manuel Latruwe Belgian Patisserie & Bread Shop February 18, 2013

First thing first: I NEED to go back and have some of the baked goodies. I can’t believe I didn’t order any when I was there…what was I thinking?

Ok, on to lunch:

What could be hiding under all the greens?!

I got the ham and spinach quiche with a side of fresh garden salad.

Small Quiche $11.50

I don’t think I like quiches. The foamy eggy texture just doesn’t do it for me. Not that this one was bad or anything, I just don’t think I enjoy consuming quiches…

The bf got a baguette sandwich, which, by the way, is a way better deal than the quiche.

Baguette Sandwich $7.62

He got the Sourdough Baguette, which comes with Calabrese salami, aged Gruyere cheese, tomato confit, and black olives. Pretty decent sized sandwich for eight bucks, also, fresh baked bread!

Lovely salads though.

MANUEL LATRUWE BELGIAN PATISSERIE AND BREAD SHOP
1333 1 Street Southeast
Calgary, AB T2G 5L1
(403) 261-1092

[Quick Bite] Calgary: Crepe Avenue February 15, 2013

Speaking of me being an awful blogger. Crepe avenue is also now closed. But I’m pretty sure this place just recently closed down. So, not that bad (so I tell myself). The windows are now plastered with images of sandwiches. So new restaurant coming soon.

I like crepes just okay. They’re kind of good, sometimes. Depends on my mood. On this occasion, I got the sweet custard with blueberries. I’m a sucker for custard.

Custard with Blueberries

At the end, it was too sweet.

CREPE AVENUE
Suite 103, 330 10 Street Northwest
Calgary, AB T2N 1V8
(403) 452-6160

[Quick Bite] Calgary: Yamato Dessert Cafe February 6, 2013

I love Yamato’s. I love its delicious delicious desserts. It’s just a shame that it is so far away and inconvenient! Well, maybe not a shame, because if it was closer, I’d be 300 pounds…

I got the traditional Japanese cheesecake:

Cheeesssseeecakkkkeeee

Japanese cheesecake is more cake-like than western cheesecake. They have this cotton-y, billow-y soft texture, and a really mild cheese taste.

The bf got a fresh fruit flan. Which I don’t understand why you would do such a thing when there’s cheesecake to be had…

I love that there’s mango on here, yum

I think he convinced himself that this was kind of, sort of healthy, you know because of the fruits. He pretty much demolished this thing in two bites. So I guess it was pretty delicious.

Eating and Walking – takes serious skills…

YAMATO DESSERT CAFE
1322 Centre Street Northeast
Calgary, AB T2E 2R7
(403) 230-5313

[Quick Bite] Calgary: Village Ice Cream December 23, 2012

First of all, two scoops of ice cream = way too much ice cream. Was being way too gluttonous, wanted to try all the awesome flavours…

sdfsdf

Village Ice Cream is awesome, hand crafted ice cream, batch by batch, with seasonal and local ingredients. A little bit out of the way, but waaayy worth it.

The bf got maple pecan (top) and salted caramel.

He demolished this baby in record time

I got guide’s mint (top) and salted caramel as well.

Oh my gosh, chunks of minty cookie goodness!

I usually get my ice cream in a bowl. But, fresh made waffle cones?

Swoon.

VILLAGE ICE CREAM
431 10 Avenue Southeast
Calgary, AB T2G 0W3
(403) 261-7950

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Seattle Uwajimaya September 29, 2012

Stopped by Uwajimaya for some light browsing. But, of course, I had to grab something to eat as well.

Got a piece of spam musubi. Obviously this was nothing compared to the one at Marination Station. I realize that it looks kind of sad in the picture but it was actually not too bad.

$1.29

I also got a japanese bento box to supplement my lone spam musubi.

$5.99

It is food court food, so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away or anything, but it actually wasn’t too bad. The tempura shrimp was kind of limp and soggy, but the rest of it was good – especially for only $6. In the top left corner is a small salad. Going clockwise, there was a sushi roll type of thing wrapped around ham and tamago. Next to it is some beef and lotus root (FYI – I ❤ lotus root). Then there was the tempura shrimp and grilled shrimp. Under the grilled shrimp was tonkatsu.To the left of the broccoli was some chicken karaage. And finally in the bottom left corner – a couple pieces of salmon. I loved all the different types of food I got to eat for just 6 dollas.

The bf got some Korean grub from one of the little food court places around the parameter of the building.

Probably around $10

I definitely think what I got was better value for the money, especially because of the variety. The bf liked his choice though, it was hugely portioned and meaty. Top left going clockwise – kimchi, pickled bean sprouts, hot sauce, dumplings, a huge pile of meat (chicken…?), and delicious, delicious white rice.

For dessert I got this Cyrus O’Leary sour cream lemon pie:

$2.89

This was kind of expensive now that I think about it.

Kind of sort of line a cheesecake?

I wish we had a Uwajimaya in Calgary…

SEATTLE UWAJIMAYA
600 5th Avenue South
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 624-6248

[Quick Bite] Seattle: The Confectional August 30, 2012

I LOVE CHEESECAKE. There. I confessed my love for cheesecake. Seriously, I love this stuff. I have an internal argument with myself every time during dessert ordering time. Do I order the cheesecake, which is more often than not, plain and normal and boring, or do I order something new to try? Cheesecake wins this internal debate 90% of the time. On a side note – why do restaurants not put more interesting cheesecakes on their menu? I’m super sick of seeing white chocolate cheesecake everywhere, so not cool.

Signage at Pike Place

The display case:

Glorious, glorious cheesecakes

We bought 2 of the individual sized cheesecakes to try:

Single boxes seem a tad bit wasteful…

The bf got the Mexican Chocolate flavour. He loves anything that’s spicy. It’s basically a dark chocolate cheesecake with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. I tried a bite, I thought it was a little weird, I don’t get the spicy chocolate thing that seems to be all the rage right now. It had a crazy odd aftertaste. I also am not a fan of anything too chocolate-ty, so the dark chocolate on a thick chocolate crust did nothing for me. He liked it though.

Not my cup of tea. Fo sho.

I got the Seattle’s NY Style cheesecake. I know, I know, right after I go on forever on how restaurants don’t have any awesome cheesecake flavours, and I go and buy the classic style cheesecake. I’m a sucker for plain cheesecake, just not at restaurants, where I’m paying $9.00 for a slice.

According to The Confectional’s website, the Seattle version of the classic NY cheesecake is more hearty and has a hint of freshly zested lemon and real vanilla.

The plain ‘ol classic.

I don’t know if it’s because I had a bite of the Mexican Chocolate first or what, but this totally didn’t live up to expectations. As far as cakes go, it was a pretty good cake BUT for a cheesecake…? Not that great. Definitely not as creamy as most cheesecakes that I’ve had.

THE CONFECTIONAL
1530 Pike Place
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 257-6597

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Piroshky, Piroshky August 29, 2012

When in Seattle, GO TO Piroshky, Piroshky. Seriously, do it. If you only have one baked good while you’re in Seattle, make sure it’s from this cute little Russian bakery.

Adorably Rustic Signage

Ermahgerd…can I get one of each please?

Seriously: One. Each.

No? Whhhhhhyyyyy?

At the end, we decided to get one savoury and one sweet pastry.

It’s even in the shape of a fish! Sort of…

We got the smoked salmon pate meat piroshky:

So. Good.

Delicious, I probably could’ve eaten 8 of these. I loved the soft and mushy texture of the pate in between the layers of the crispy pastry dough.

But, dude. If you only get one thing, get this:

Whole Baked Apple

As creative as the name is, you know what you’re getting. You’re getting a WHOLE. BAKED. APPLE.

Oh Lawd.

Tender apples, sweet cream cheese, crispy pastry crust, and powdered sugar:

Could there be anything better? That’s a no, rhetorical question.

This baby is definitely delicious but it is also very rich. I would recommend sharing it, but hell, eat a whole one by yourself, no one will judge you.

PIROSHKY, PIROSHKY
1908 Pike Place
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 441-6068

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Jean Claude’s Belle Pastry August 29, 2012

When in Seattle, do not go to Jean Claude’s Belle Pastry. Well, at least don’t go there for meringues.

Fresh-made my ass

I, for some odd reason, have this odd obsession with meringues. But…I think I’ve gotten over it now. I always want to get this pastry whenever I see it, and have been, more often than not, been disappointed by it. It’s a whipped egg whites and sugar pastry that is most often associated with either the Swiss or the French.

Stale.

Also Stale.

I swear these were 10-day old meringues, I could instantly taste it from the first bite. Incremental bites did not make it any better. I’m pretty sure we threw both of these out after a couple of bites. Gross. Disgusting. Disappointing. Waste of money.

JEAN CLAUDE’S BELLE PASTRY
77 Spring Street
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-1983

[Quick Bite] Seattle: Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream Shop August 27, 2012

When in Seattle – go to Molly Moon’s. So, the bf and I trekked all the way to Molly Moon’s one of the days we were in town. Of course, half way there, it started to get cold and rainy. Since we had already spent 30+ minutes walking towards our destination, there was no way we weren’t going to get some ice-cream. So, even though it would have been nice to get the ice-cream and eat it in the sunshine, we ate our delicious ice-cream inside instead.

See the grey sky in the back? Sad face.

I tried the lavender flavour:

Lavender

Kind of florally, kind of mild – definitely would have picked another flavour if I was given the choice. Don’t really know what lavender is actually supposed to taste like though. It was still nice but not very exciting.

Of course, the bf never passes up the chance to get any thing that is salted caramel:

Salty Caramel

Soooo much better than the lavender – the perfect mix of salty and sweet = my cup of tea.

MOLLY MOON’S HOMEMADE ICE CREAM SHOP
1622 North 45th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 547-5105