Tag Archives: cheap eats

The Dime Roundhouse- Everything on Menu $4.95

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-The owner of The Famous Warehouse & The Factory have recently opened The Dime. It’s only 3 months old and everything on the menu is $4.95. Yes, everything.

-The Dime replaces the once ” Rocco” Italian Restaurant on the busy strip of Commercial st.

-Prime location but lots and lots of surrounding competition. Although, at $4.95, I doubt competition will be a problem.

p.s I apologize for the quality of the photos in this post! I didn’t have my SLR, so bare with my phone-quality photos.

Small Girl BIG Plate Scale:

1.Don’t waste your money  2.Mediocre  3. Good  4.Very good  5.Nobel Prize Worthy

Items up for Review:

Maple Bacon Gnocchi $4.95
3/5 (Good)


-       Loved the flavor combination, or should I say the “sounding “of the flavor combination. I couldn’t taste either Maple or Bacon. But the Gnocchi was nicely prepared and the sauce was creamy and stuffed with fresh herbs—making it easy for me to give this dish a 3/5.

-       What would have stepped this dish up to a 4/5 would have been a touch more of maple syrup and perhaps some sprinkled bacon salt.

Pulled Pork Sandwich $4.95
3/5 (Good)

- The bun was soft and the pork was well prepared (slowly cooked until melt-in-mouth tender). The pork was marinated in curry spices.

-This sandwich tasted quite similar to Ensemble Taps $10.00 Pulled Pork Sandwich. However, I can guarantee that Etaps  quality of food is incomparable to whatever The Dime uses.

-The sandwich apparently had an apple & papaya slaw, but I couldn’t taste it. It was overpowered by the BBQ sauce, and there wasn’t enough of it to provide that desirable ”crunch”.  Shame.

The Dime Burger ; Canadian Beef, Cheddar, Toasted Bun, Roasted Pepper Mayo, all the fixings and a side of Fries. $4.95

3.5/5 (Good -Very Good)

-The burger patty was extremely juice. No, seriously—extremely juicy.  It was very good. However, the beef patty was perfectly round (suspiciously round)–which most of the time means it’s not made fresh in house. This may be a given at $4.95 though.

-Most restaurants state the grade of beef used in their burger, well, if they are using a high grade that is. So, I think “Canadian Beef” is our que here.  But, we still need to take a moment and realize that this meal is cheaper than Mcdonalds (and so much better in all aspects) .

- I loved the fries that accompanied both sandwiches. They were crispy and well seasoned. I have respect for restaurants that don’t over-salt their fries.

Many of you asked me to compare The Famous Warehouse and The Dime, so as requested—here is my two cents:

-The quality of food is much, much better at The Dime. Also, the menu is a lot more interesting. It was evident that more thought was put into the food.  Ex. The Dime Burger had Red Pepper Mayo rather than just regular mayo.

-The ambiance of The Famous Warehouse and The Dime are near identical. I would call these joints “bars” rather than “restaurants”. Both have extremely dim lighting and laid-back vibes.

-Both spots have a$4.95 menus (The Factory has a $5.95 menu). Many of you asked me how this is so, and from what I’ve heard, both restaurants take losses on food and make them up through alcohol. This doesn’t surprise me– as the drinks were quite overpriced.

-The service is equally terrible at both. You need to hunt a server to get your water refilled. But bottom line is that you pay what you get for. I don’t go to the Dime or the Warehouse for superior service but rather for a tasty and affordable meal.

Love always,
R x

The Dime on Urbanspoon

Sun Sushi: A Restaurant Review

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Conveniently located on 10th & Sasamat- Sun Sushi, is the perfect joint for UBC students who are looking for a cheap eat.

It’s perhaps the cheapest sushi restaurant I have found in Vancouver. Sun Sushi is your money’s worth- plus four more sides of Gommae.

Is the sushi high quality? No, but it’s not low quality either. Sun Sushi is the epitome of what I like to call cheap sushi; that addictive,mediocre, bang for the buck sushi.

Being a full time student on a tight budget- this restaurant has never disappointed me. One of the best deals they have to offer is a 18 piece Sushi Special (California Roll, Tuna Roll, Yam Roll) & miso soup for $5.95. Killer deal.

The rest of the menu is just as fair priced. My go-to meal is the Chicken Teriyaki & Sashimi Bento Box. For just $9.95- I get Chicken Teriyaki, a California Roll, Tempura, Salad & four slices of thick Salmon/Tuna Sashimi.

One thing I really appreciate about Sun Sushi is the leniency regarding roll substitutions. Yes, I confess, I’m that that annoying costumer that “hates” California rolls and want’s a Spicy Tuna Roll instead. Yet, I’m barely ever penalized for such a “drastic roll switch” (as many other sushi places make me feel). At most, I will be charged a $0.50 fee for both my roll substitution & my side of spicy sauce.

Did I also mention that the food comes out extremely fast? Careful though, this place is not a secret gem! It gets jam packed at dinner time and the service is not top quality. Expect no water or tea refills if it’s busy. Though, at the prices Sun Sushi is charging- no complaints are allowed!

xo romina

 

Jethro’s Fine Grub- A Resturant Review

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Jethro’s Fine Grub is a 22 seater local gem in the heart of Dunbar, Vancouver. It is a fairly new restaurant ( less than one year )and has already been filmed by Guy Feri on his well known Food Network Show Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.

I had only heard about people literally praising this place- so I was beyond excited to go try it out a few weekends ago.  Plus It was located on 16th and Dunbar- convenient location for all you UBC students!

As soon as I stepped into the resturant the first thing I noticed was the warm and comforting home-like ambiance this place had. The next thing I noticed was the one hour line up- yes, one hour. No complaints though, this demand should only be expected from a resturant which has only seven tables and offers massive portions at cheap prices.

 

The wait was well worth it. I was still thinking about the breakfast that same night..and even the next two nights after that. It was a happy moment and this happy moment was surpassed by even a happier moment when I woke up the next morning with massive amounts of leftovers in my fridge. It was beautiful.

Here are all the incredible little  big things I had tried

1. Crab Eggs Benedict
House made crab cakes with poached eggs and hollandaise. $11

Whoever Einstein was in the back kitchen thought it was a good idea to replace an eggs benedict’s typical english muffin with a crab cake;simply, genius! It was the best eggs  benendict I have ever had and huge credit is given for originality. The crab cake had a ton of filler in it- but heck, what can you expect at $11. I can’t even order two crab cakes at a restaurant for this price- nevertheless one which is topped with eggs, hollandaise, breakfast potatoes and toast.

The hollandaise was extremely rich and creamy. The only bad part of this dish was the seasoning for the potatoes. They were extremely bland and in great need of a dash of cayenne, paprika and maybe some oregeno. I was also hoping that the potoatoes would have a crispy skin- but as my friend Sanaz says ” beggers can’t be choosers“. Regardless-whoever invented this dish is in need of a noble prize.

 2. South of Denver Omelet

Smokey pulled pork, sauteed onions, peppers, smoked gouda, and jalapenos. Served with hasbrowns and toast. add avocado ($1.50)  $10

Wow. Ok. Where do I even begin? This was one amazing omelet- who would have thought that pulled pork, avocado & smoked gouda would have been so successful! I was in love with the flavor combination. I highly recommend to give in and pay the extra for the avocado it made a big difference and just melted in your mouth along with the pulled pork.

This was eggselent. 

3.  Two Eggs & Meat

Eggs any style with double smoked bacon, sausage, grilled chorizo or ham steak. Served with hasbrowns and toast. $10

If you are in the mood for a classic breakfast then go for this. My friend stated that it was her first breakfast of this sort that she had ever eaten without feeling sick after. I took a bite of her sausage and it was perfectly cooked and not loaded with grease like Denny’s or IHop. Success!

4. Chocolate- Chip Banana Bread French Toast

Topped with caramelized bananas and whipped butter $9

Nope you did not read it wrong. It was banana bread french toast and it was love at first bite.I highly recommend getting a half order of this if you are ordering it just for yourself- It is an extremely heavy dish and my sister and I had troubles finishing it all.

One little food wish I had while I was eating this was for the whipped butter to be replaced with whipped cream. Light and fluffy whipped cream would have been much more satisfying as this dish was already so heavy. I found the thick whipped butter to only make it worse and ate my meal without it.

p.s did I mention is was only 9 dollars?

5. The Gold Rush
Banana pancakes stuffed with caramel, pecans and streusel.
Topped with more caramel, pecans and streusel and whipped butter $10

This is the biggest pancake I have ever seen in my life- and let me tell you it was a beautiful site. This pancake had amazing flavor combinations ! However, I would suggest to ask your server to add extra toppings because the ratio to the amount of pancake was off.

P.S this 10 dollar meal will also feed you breakfast for the next few days.

6. The Rooster

A shot of espresso and dark chocolate chips folded into our buttermilk recipe. Topped with whipped cream  $10

This pancake was good but should have and could have been much better. You need to be careful about the shot of espresso that was poured in the batter- it gave a hint of a burnt taste . I actually at first thought it was burnt and tried flipping the bottom of the pancake over to confirm.  I highly recommend paying the extra $1.50 and getting the chocolate gravy with this- it made all the difference. I give credit for getting the whipped cream right in this dish ! It was decadent with the chocolate gravy on top.

Sadly though- I will probably not order this dish again.

 

Finally, the end result. Jethros Resturant: 1 point..Sanaz & Katie :0 points

Defeated!

xo romina