Bamiyan Kabob - Mississauga

Bamiyan Kabob says its a contemporary Afghan restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere and service that will exceed your expectations transporting you thousands of mile for an exotic experience. Well lets just say I went 2.6 Kilometers from my hotel and found my self in front of the very busy restaurant in a parking lot as I was trying to figure out what to eat for supper. Bamiyan was by far the busiest on the block, so I had to give it a try there must be a reason for all the customers sitting down and standing in line.

I walked inside and stood in line looking at the menu board that offers some main stream middle eastern food, meat/rice/vegetable and naan. I decided on the Tandoori Dinner that came with rice, tandoori chicken kabob, salad, and a Peice of naan bread. I paid $13.99 and sat down at a table and waited for them to call my number, as I was sitting down the location was filled with customers  and they kept coming in this was a busy place indeed. It took about 10 minutes for them to call out my number I went up to the counter and was offered my meal staff were polite but not service that blew me away kind of on the boarder line of impersonal. However if they knew you you may get a smile and hand shake but that's it, the food came out in a fairly good time and lots of seating for the amount of customers coming in.

The food portioning is quite large you get a good amount of rice and chicken that tastes pretty good for a middle eastern fast food concept. The naan bread you can tell its not freshly made in store but over all was fine. I really enjoyed my meal I left satified and would definately go back for the meal it self, so it is worth a try.

Burger Bar - Roy, Utah

This episode of Triple D featured Burger Bar in Roy, Utah I had to check out the best burger in Salt Lake and see for myself. I pulled up and walked up to the window small place but very busy, after making my choice you pay than go find a spot on a bench and wait for your name to be called. I waited in anticipation thinking about the episode wondering if it will be as good, the pictures looked very yummy.

This is the store front that gives you loads of options, looks like a drive up burger joint minus the servers on roller skates, definite ma and pa looking establishment.

French fries with Utah's famous fry sauce made of mayo, wasn't too bad but a hit with the locals.

This is the Milk shake I'm sure in the US a milkshake is served so thick you need the spoon as you can see no straw required or capable of drinking. I've been to a number of US locations and this is how most of the milk shakes are made super thick. However the freshness of Burger Bars milk shake is fantastic I got the Strawberry and loads of flavor puts you over the edge trying to finish 1/4 of this one.

OK now for the star of the show the burger with a bun as big as my hand and  looks like a plate let alone a bun. Light and soft very nice bun, lots of shredded lettuce and fry sauce on the top with pickles I do recommend at least 2 patties as they are thin and you need more meat. I was only able to eat half of this monster as it was just too big and was worth the drive.

August 8 - Hamilton, ON

All you can eat sushi if you have never attempted before this might be a fantastic plan to eat a great deal of sushi for roughly $20 in most restaurants. That's what got me intrested but talk to some who have been to the all you can eat will tell you, if you order too much and and do not Finnish some items the restaurant will charge you full price of that item. Now that you understand the concept and opportunity for the restaurant to charge you more you are a little more prepared.

 When I arrived to August 8 my server was very quick to suggest multiple menu items more than can be eaten at the table, I looked over the items and only selected a few. This was not acceptable by the waitress she was insistant on having more items selected but I stuck to my plan and and if I was still hungry I would order more and I suggest you do the same.
 First I ordered the Shrimp Tempura and Pumpkin Tempura both came out very quickly and plated very well, the Tempura batter was beautifully and lightly colored, very crispy and cooked in fresh oil. I liked the Shrimp but thought the Pumpkin was amazing crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.

Deep Fried Shrimp

Deep Fried Pumpkin

Next was the Mango chicken and Supreme Shrimp dim sum, The Shrimp was recommended by my waitress and said was the customer favorite and I will have to agree the soft doughy texture with a pipping hot shrimp in the middle lightly salty was great.

Mango Chicken

Supreme Shrimp Dim Sum

Now the House Deep Fried roll and the Spicy Tuna roll presentation was done very well and if it tastes as good as the look I'm in for a treat. The spicy tuna roll rice was nicely seasoned and the deep fried panko in the centre provided nice texture and light flavor, I'm a fan of this roll!

Deep Fried House Roll

Spicy Tuna Roll

My plan worked as you can see there is a great deal of food for $20 and I was full, they kept trying hard to have me order more items than I could eat but stick to the plan of 1 to 2 items at a time and you will be fine. The service was very good they were super friendly even though they try to sell you more, however at the end of the meal my waitress said "you didn't eat too much so I insist you come back again". I will the food was fantastic and I got great value for my meal.

IHOP For Breakfast

Well today is the IHOP experience thought I would try the American classic and just see what it's all about. I ordered the special basic eggs, hash browns, bacon and the granola peach pancakes. Maybe this location is a bit dated on the decor, old but clean and the service was friendly. My breakfast wasn't super extraordinary, but overall the meal was pretty good they were fast and the pancake special was good.

Hamps 101 - South Bend

Hamps 101 in South Point was recommended by the coffee shop across the street, it was either the BBQ down the street or Hamps. The recommendation was based on the BBQ not being able to handle volume if it gets busy, so off I went to Hamps 101 should have went to the BBQ.

I went with the fried oysters thinking this is a fishing community and should try the local flair and the award winning clam chowder noted in the menu. Well the fried clams were soggy and fishy so not recommended I took one bite and that was enough.

Next was the clam chowder that tasted like it came from a pouch or can not sure what award this one was a winner from.

Food was not great, service was rustic very small town If I was able to take a do over I would have passed on through and not have stopped in.

Red Mill Burger - Seattle

Voted one of the burgers you must eat before you die, one the best burgers in America I had to check this one out. Located just minutes from the space needle small little restaurant with little seating but customers seem to find a spot inside or on the benches out front.

Once inside place your order quickly find a spot to sit and wait patiently for your name to be called and look at all the nik nak decor around to pass the time, the original menu on the wall is nostalgic seeing what the prices use to be.

Looking at the grill from the counter you see the stack of bacon which one of their signature pieces and what customers have come to expect.

I ordered the single patty bacon burger and from experience I should have got more than 1 patty, the US burgers are thin and you need more patties for substance. The burger was good but does not fit in the category of one of the best ever, in the US so far the Green Chili buger in New Mexico is one of my favorites.

I also bought the Onion Rings and were not too bad, as the fries were good too....

Over all the burger was good and worth another visit I can see why this is a must eat place in Seattle, If you have never been its worth a visit and must stop by. On to the next best food in America let's see what I can find.

South St. Burger Co. - Cross Iron Mills

South St. Burger Co. - Cross Iron Mills

Cross Iron Mills the newest mall just north of Calgary in Balzac has South St. Burger Co. a Franchise associated with the New York Fries restaurants. Their spin on the hamburger that has no hormone, antibiotics, or preservatives all natural beef like their fries. I wasn't hungry enough to try the burger itself but did have the fries that you guessed it is just like the food court NY Fries wow eh who would have thought. The cost for fries is pretty steep 1 medium fries, 1 double poutine and 2 small drinks came to $16.42 ouch, should have got the burger to make it worth while right.

Med Fries, Double Poutine, and 2 small pop for $16.42

Burgers being made

Mambo Pizza - Nanaimo

Mambo Pizza

I looked up who had the best Pizza in Nanaimo and found this small place by the University that was given awards for best Pizza. They claim the crust and quality toppings set them apart from the others around town so I had to check them out. They have very little seating inside so primarily take out or delivery the wait time was only 15 min from fresh so the wait was bearable. The decor is unique to spots closely located by Universities and students, I visited during the summer when school was out and it still was a busy spot with pick up orders. It's funny how from region to region the Pizza will vary crust, dough, cheese, sauce, or toppings. This location says the crust sets them apart I couldn't see any areas on the crust that would show it was baked with lots of oil but very little. The color was pail in comparison to crust baked with oil or that distinctive crunch. The crust was more crispy that a crunch with hints of color. The Pizza of choice for me was the Vegetarian Delight with little Mozzarella cheese and lots of Feta cheese, the tomato sauce had a very good flavor with basil. Overall the pizza was pretty good still not my favorite all time pizza or one that I would vote best but I have not tried any other in Nanaimo to compare. The price is up there to premium with a 14" coming to $21.50 kinda steep, if you have never been here before its worth a visit at least once an compare for yourself.

Vegetarian Delight 12" 21.50

Sisho Sushi - Red Deer

Gyoza

I've read online that Sisho was a good place to have sushi in Red Deer so I thought I would give it a try, easy place to find perched up on the corner of the hill. The outside was dated but typical small city Asian restaurants and the inside closely resembles with dated decor. The service was alright kinda slow but there was only 2 staff serving the large seating area.

Beef Roll

The beef roll was OK but wasn't a fan of the teriyaki beef inside, roast beef flavor and kind of chewy texture, I wouldn't order this one again.

Sisho Maki Platter

The sushi quality at Sisho was average compared to other locations I have been to, the rice was OK not as seasoned to my liking, and a bit cold which means its not as fresh. Overall I think it's good and would visit again as the service was OK and quality was fine.

Subway - Nanaimo Metral

Spicy Italian

I had to go out to eat this evening and didn't feel like anything greasy so I opted on Subway in Nanaimo on Metral. I need to stay away from calorie packed foods and this fits, Honey oat toasted bread loaded with vegetables. This location loaded my sub with vegetables which some other Subways in the chain are a bit more cheap and sparse. I asked for extra vegetables and they had no problem loading the sub, the service was very good, quick and my sub was fantastic and guilt free.

Kasira Fine Thai Cusine

The more I visit restaurants that are in ugly strip mall that I would typically never visit I'm reminded of the Food Network program that indicated some of the best meals come from ugly strip malls. This is very true about Kasaira Fine Thai Cuisine in Nanaimo British Columbia, the outside is unattractive and the inside is not too bad. Small seating area I would have to say it seats 30 tops so not a large dining area, but tastefully decorated.
The menu has a number of items that look very good my selection tonight was the red curry with prawns, the meal does take some time to come out but obviously worth the wait because it look fantastic. good portion sizes here some of the plate going to the other tables I was in awe and thought "maybe I should have ordered that". The curry was very tasty not too hot and went well with coconut milk, the prawns were cooked perfect not over cooked. The aroma's of all the meals though out were so good you just don't have room to eat everything in one siting.
I would recommend Kasaira for the good customer service and fantastic meals, and I will have to return again this will be one restaurant I will have to revisit.

Red Curry with Prawns

Edo Japan - Red Deer - Olds | Urbanspoon

Edo Japan - Red Deer - Olds Urbanspoon

Edo Japan Olds, Alberta

Edo Japan Olds, Alberta

Japanese quick service restaurant in Alberta you would think Edmonton, Calgary city's that first come to mind right? Well what about rural Central Alberta and what if I tell you not only is there Japanese Tepanyaki in the middle of the prarie but some of the best you will find with in the Edo Japan Franchise. Olds, Alberta has found it self some of the best Edo I have ever tasted, fantastic customer service, and some of the best Sushi I have tried with this style of restaurant.
First off the Loretta the Franchise owner of this location worked in the Head Office for Edo Japan for a number of years, the customer service is very personable. Walking into the restaurant your greeted right away from the staff, all are smiling and seemed to really enjoy what they are doing. The location is clean and inviting, smaller restaurant but you can easily find seating.
Billy is behind the grill and I'm told he has been with Edo Japan for over 20 years! You can tell there is experience behind the food when you get your meal. The meal is hot and quick, the flavor brings me back to eating Edo Japan as a kid growing up in Calgary and visiting the malls. Edo Japan was predominately in Mall Food Courts but have been popping up Street locations over the past 5 years. My favorite is the Sukiyaki beef but the Olds location puts out some incredible sushi! Yes that's right sushi, the rice here is warm and seasoned right, there is no pre made sushi here all is made to order and very high quality and attention is made. I enjoy the Kami Platter cause it has 2 of my all time favorites Spicy Tuna and Spicy Salmon roll!

Shrimp Roll