The Mexican Corner

By in Eateries, Whistler No Comments

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We were in Whistler over my birthday. Every time I go, I make a point to visit the Mexican Corner.  I absolutely love Mexican food and this restaurant is also just all around good vibes.  I always have fun here.

In my experience, The Mexican Corner can get pretty busy so we decided to go for a late lunch thinking it might be a little easier to get in.  It ended up being a good decision.  We arrived around 2:30 p.m. and the wait was minimal.  It can be a bit tricky to find as it’s upstairs and not eye level, but you should definitely look for it.

This spot has beautiful, colorful art up, their walls are a mix of brick and bright shades of blue.  It’s so vibrant.

We had:

Drinks –

  • charred jalapeno pineapple margarita
  • oaxacan old fashioned
  • la casa mini flight of tequila

Chris loved his old fashioned.  I had the margarita and it was more bitter than sweet.  The pineapple didn’t come through as strong on it, but the charred jalapeno did.  To be honest, it wasn’t my favorite.  I have had other margarita’s here in the past and they’ve been delicious.  I was being a bit adventurous and I think it just wasn’t to my taste.

I thought the mini flight of tequila was fun.  It definitely hyped up my afternoon lol.

Food –

  • Blackened Ahi Tuna Tostadas
  • Steak Fajitas
  • Tacos (choice of three) – chicken, beef and baja fish
  • Side of Mexican Rice
  • Side of Refried Black Beans

The food is amazing.  Authentic!  I get the ahi tuna tostadas every time I go and I dream of this dish.  They’ve changed the presentation a bit, but the taste remains as delectable as ever.  They use wagyu flank steak in their fajitas and so much melted cheese!  My hubby loved it.  The tacos were delish and filling and I love that you can mix and match.  I recently ate at a popular Mexican restaurant in Montreal where this wasn’t the case and I was so disappointed because I love variety.  I love that the Mexican Corner let’s us try a bit of everything off their delicious menu.

The service was fine.  Nothing bad, but nothing too memorable. In the past, I’ve had amazing service here so I think it may be just based on who you get, the time you go, etc.

Can’t wait to try more dishes next time I go.  I will not visit Whistler without coming here.  It just won’t happen.  You should check it out too!

https://themexicancorner.ca/

 

 

YVR Cookie – Strawberry Pop Tart

By in Eateries Tags: , ,

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YVR Cookie has come out with a new limited addition flavour and oh my, it is a goodie!  Sugar cookie dough with freeze dried strawberries, yogurt chips and white chocolate.  They stuff each cookie with a strawberry pop tart and strawberry jam.  It’s then topped with a vanilla glaze and rainbow sugar crystals.  It’s even better than you can imagine!

Pop tarts fill me with nostalgia.  They were one of my favorite snacks back in the 90s.  How did YVR Cookie even think to stuff one of their cookies with them?  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – they are cookie geniuses!  You gotta try it!

Get 10% off your order using the code “getsprinkled10”.

www.yvrcookie.com

 

Clove – The Art of Dining

By in Eateries Tags: , , ,

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I took my sister and her kids to Clove – The Art of Dining to celebrate her birthday.

The restaurant is quite spacious with high ceilings, gold accents and a large bar right at the entrance.  It’s a sophisticated restaurant that offers a unique dining experience.  We all really enjoyed ourselves.

One thing that stood out to me was their cocktail menu.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  Each cocktail literally tells a story.  They call them “cocktail fables”.  It’s so fun.  I ordered “the gateway to heaven”.  They brought it out with a class cover on it, kinda like the Beauty and the Beast rose.  They lifted it up and released tons of smoke.  Once the smoke cleared what was left was a bright red drink in a dainty acorn shaped glass.  The drink was delicious and presentation was very impressive!  I wish I could have tried all of the cocktail fables.

My sister ordered sangria off their regular cocktail menu and my niece and nephew went with some mocktails, opting to try out one called blue mavi.  They were all very pretty.

For dinner we had:

  • Assorted Papad – served with 3 different types of chutneys.  It was great to be able to try the different kinds in one appy.  It was good.
  • Gunpowder Fries – my sister was expecting this to be spicier, but the way I see it is that usually people getting fries at an indian restaurant are maybe looking for something not so spicy.  I thought the fries were seasoned well
  • New Delhi Butter Chicken –  the star of our dinner.  I’ve never had butter chicken presented so beautifully before.  They poured out the butter sauce onto the chicken right in front of us.  This dish was my by far my fave of the night.
  • Afghani Lamb Masala – unfortunately, the consensus at our table was that this dish wasn’t for us.
  • Onion Tomato Raita – delish!
  • A Mix of Plain and Garlic Naan – very yummy also.

At the end of our meal we got the gulab jamun cheesecake.  They brought it out with a candle and happy birthday writing for my sister and it just made our experience all the more magical.  The cheesecake was yummy, although I was pretty happily stuffed at this point so I only had a couple bites.  My sister loved it.

Our server, Ashman, was fantastic.  She was attentive, answered our very many questions and was impeccable with presenting dishes and cocktails to us.

I loved this place.  They really do show you the art of dining.

I normally don’t give 5 stars when there is even a single dish that I’m not crazy about.  This is my first exception because even though we didn’t care for that one particular dish, it didn’t take away from our dining experience.  I was excited to tell all my friends about it.  Great restaurant.  I highly recommend this place!

Catamaran to Isla Mujeres

By in Playa del Carmen, Travel Tags: , , ,

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After we booked our vacation to Playa del Carmen, we booked a catamaran excursion to Isla Mujeres or the Island of Women through Viator.

The booking process was pretty easy, but our hotel was not one that was listed so I picked the option where it said they would contact us to get our hotel information.  As we got closer, they still hadn’t contacted us so I reached out to them via email and they confirmed our pick up time and details.

The morning of the excursion, we were picked up in front of our hotel by a van. The seats in the van were quite close to one another and each seat was filled.  From Playa del Carmen, the drive was well over an hour and it felt claustrophobic pretty much the whole time.

Once we arrived at the site, we were separated from who we came with.  One person goes into the office to pay the admin fee and the rest of your party goes onto the beach to wait.  For the person going into the office you need a mask.  If you do not have one, you can purchase one for $1.00.  You’re asked to get into a line and I found it to be disorganized.  Someone told me to go “talk to the guy with the hat” so I walked ahead looking for a guy with a hat, but no one knew what I was talking about.  I returned to speak to the woman who said that to me and she was confused, but I did not make up that up.  She said those words to me.  I had to go to the back of the line and wait which was frustrating.

After paying, we walked onto the beach to meet up with the rest of our party.  We waited for a bit until the name of our boat was called, then walked with our group onto our catamaran.

The catamaran was pretty large with lots of space to sit.  There were a couple netting sections in the front that people could sit or lay on.  The staff introduced themselves and began handing out snorkeling gear for those wanting to snorkel.  We began sailing for about 20 minutes or so until we got to the spot that the Captain said was the best place for snorkeling.  I’m not a strong swimmer and you have to be one to snorkel here.  My hubby went out and enjoyed himself.  He saw some fish.  There were a group of women that came back onto the boat and said that the water was choppy and it was difficult to swim.

After that, they opened up the bar.  The staff was great at walking around and making sure everyone had a drink in their hands.  They were playing lively music – a mix of upbeat top 40 and reggaeton.  At this point, the group was much more comfortable with one another.  People were dancing, drinking, tanning, taking photographs, etc.  The hubby and I both had a feeling of “It doesn’t get better than this” while we ere having the time of our lives while sailing through the open ocean.

They had a photographer on the boat that was coming around and doing full on photoshoots with couples and groups – placing people in different poses, etc.

We eventually got ready to leave the boat and were told that we would get off and be led to the “beach club” where we would have lunch and then we would have some spare time here.

The lunch was awful.  Food that was sitting out in buffet style, tasteless and combos that made no sense.  For instance, spaghetti, but no sauce.  I struggled finding something to eat here and I was starving.  I was really disappointed.  We barely ate anything and then once we were done we were left with about half an hour so we went out to the water and did some swimming.

I think we either missed some of the commentary or perhaps were just confused, but we thought that we were at our destination and then we were headed back.  We were hungry and didn’t think we had enough exploring time.  That’s when we learned that was just where we were for some lunch and free time so we were still headed to Isla Mujeres (haha!).

Once we arrived at Isla Mujeres, it was clear we had arrived.  Beautiful beach, little town with more to do and a lot of tourists.  We chose to go eat at one of the beach front restaurants and got some delicious food and cocktails.  So so happy we did that.  Actually, if you do this excursion I would recommend skipping the beach club meal altogether – spend that time swimming or getting henna tattoos or exploring.  Don’t even bother eating there and then, although you’ll have to pay out of pocket, get some real food once you’ve arrived to Isla Mujeres.  The beach here is busy, but gorgeous.  We had much more free time here and spent the rest of it at the beach.  We had a great time.

Once we returned to the boat, we were tuckered out.  The staff did an amazing job getting us all back up and dancing.  It was a whole party.  We were having the time of our lives.  At this time the photographer came around with prints that he took of everyone.

We were put back into the vans to head back to our hotels.  This was even more awful on the way back.  The alcohol on the boats are free flowing and we had a young guy in the back vomit (discreetly, but a bunch of us noticed) and we were all sitting in a small space.  The stench was awful for a very long ride.  It was not pleasant and we could not wait to get out of that van.

The good, the bad, the ugly – so the good is the boat.  We loved every single second on that boat.  We had the time of our lives!  We also loved all the beach time we had.  We seriously felt like we were living the life.  It was amazing.  The bad – online it said that we would be offered a chance to do a spinnaker from the boat.  This wasn’t even mentioned.  The ugly – the “delicious” lunch that they reference in the tour description is very, very bad.  The transportation to and from your hotel is uncomfortable.  Would have been great if they had a big air conditioned tour bus instead – dual seats.

The tour needs some work, but overall we had such a lovely day and made some wonderful memories.

IslaMujeresTour

 

Sing Sing Beer Bar

By in Eateries Tags: , ,

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My friend and I went to check this place out after work one day.  To be honest, I hadn’t heard of it before.  It’s got such a mix of cuisines from pizza to pho.

My first impression was that this place is full of all the cuteness!  The neon sign on display is a bit of an art piece with cans labelled “Sing Sing” all around it. The space is beautiful – full windows bringing in natural light, modern decor and lots of plants and greenery.  The mirrors spell out Sing Sing and there’s a section in the corner with old vintage beer cans lined up.  Very cool.

We were there for some drinks and appies.

We had:

  • Margaritas – can’t go wrong with a good Margarita and Sing Sing knows how to make ’em.
  • Calamari – addictive!  Spiced just right and served with a salsa verde.
  • Lemongrass Cumin Beef – oh wow, slow braised beef.  Each bite with such a burse of flavor.

Service was fantastic, food was delicious.  I’ll be back.

https://freehouse.co/sing-sing/

 

 

 

Tacomio – new summer menu items

By in Eateries

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Tacomio has added a few new menu items for the summer.  I got to try them out and they’ve done it again!  Delish!

  • Hibinade drink – I was so excited when I saw this drink!  It’s colorful, fun and super instagrammable.  It’s a slushy lemonade drink with their house made cane sugar syrup and hibiscus foam.  They serve it with a rainbow candy belt wrapped around the straw!  Ca-uuuute!  It’s very refreshing.  The perfect summer treat on a hot day.
  • Pollo a las brasas taco – the most flavorful grilled chicken thighs in a grilled flour tortilla, with a jalapeno slaw, full green onions and salsa.  I really enjoyed these tacos.  It just screams summertime for me with all those grill marks on them.  They are a bit on the spicy side.  My hubby thought they were tasty, but couldn’t quite handle the heat.  If you like spicy foods like I do, you gotta try it out.
  • Crispy Churritos – Don’t judge me, but I ate them in one sitting.  They are so delicious and addictive.  They’re crunchy, crispy and covered in cinnamon and sugar.  Tacomio serves them with a side of a kahlua dulce de leche sauce that I could chug.  Sooo goood!

My hubby and I were recently in Mexico.  While we were there we did this taco tour (review coming soon) and tried out the best local eats.  At every stop we found ourselves bringing up Tacomio.  We felt it was comparable or better than the dishes we tried.  It is truly authentic, but they put their own elevated spin on everything.  It is my favorite Mexican restaurant in all of Vancouver.  If you haven’t tried them out yet, you definitely should!  I highly recommend it!

https://tacomio.ca/

 

O’Byrne’s Irish Pub

By in Eateries, Edmonton Tags: , , , , ,

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We arrived in Edmonton and O’Byrne’s Irish Pub was the first place we walked into after we checked into our hotel.

I loved the look of this spot, felt like a proper Irish pub.  It has low ceilings, dark wood, flags hanging, screens playing sporting events.  I loved the atmosphere.

They have a pretty great selection of beers and traditional pub fare on the menu.  We had the following:

  • Fish and Chips – they were fantastic.  Large pieces of fish with tartar sauce, crispy fries and coleslaw.  I was very impressed.  Sometimes pub fish can be a bit on the greasy side.  I did not find that to be the case here.  Delicious.
  • Shepherds Pie – so amazing!  I was getting pretty stuffed and could not stop eating this.   Absolutely delectable!

The staff here is awesome – funny, friendly and attentive.

We had a great experience.  If you’re headed to Edmonton, it’s a great place to grab some drinks and eats.

http://obyrnes.com/

YVR Cookie – Double chocolate brownie, salted chocolate chunk, caramel macadamia

By in Eateries Tags: , , , ,

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I was so excited to get to try these three flavours from YVR Cookie.  I love the classics – chocolate, caramel, etc.  The combos that YVR Cookie comes up with are always mind blowing and these were absolutely no exception.

  • Double chocolate brownie – this cookie is stuffed with chocolate ganache!  When you heat it up the center gets ooey and gooey like the middle of a chocolate lava cake.  Incredible!
  • Salted chocolate chunk – I loved the addition of salt to one of the YVR classic cookies.  I love salted desserts!
  • Caramel macadamia – so I don’t know if you’re a fan of Subway cookies, but the white chocolate macadamia is my favorite of their cookies.  When i heard YVR Cookie had their own take on it, I cannot even explain how excited I was to try them.  They delivered!  Once heated, the melted caramel in the middle of the cookie is to die for!

Another great tasting from YVR Cookie!  Always such a treat to try them out.  If you have not put in an order yet, what are you waiting for?  You’ll thank me!  You can get 10% off your order using the coupon code getsprinkled10.

https://yvrcookie.com/

Jinya Ramen Bar

By in Eateries Tags: , ,

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My hubby had been wanting to try Jinya Ramen Bar for quite some time.  While strolling through downtown Vancouver, we finally ended up here one night.

When we arrived there was a bit of a line up outside.  We waited for about 15 minutes for a table.

The restaurant is sleek and sexy with dark wood and modern lighting.  It’s definitely a different vibe from most more humble ramen spots in Vancouver.

I had:

  • Impossible Gyozas – this was my first time trying a beyond meat option.  I’m generally not big on gyoza’s, but these were good!
  • Spicy Creamy Shrimp Tempura – this is essentially ebi mayo.  So, so, so, so good.  I could eat a million of these.
  • Spicy Chicken Ramen – so flavorful.  You can tell them if you want it mild, medium or hot.  I thought it was delicious.  I usually like to try different things on the menu when returning to a restaurant, but I can’t wait to order this again next time I go back.

I enjoyed my experience here.  It was a perfect date night with delicious food.

https://www.jinyaramenbar.com/

Escondite – Vieux Port

By in Eateries, Montreal Tags: , ,

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My friends and I love mexican food, especially tacos!  I mean…who doesn’t?  Two of us girls were planning an evening out for my friend’s birthday and after reaching out to a Montreal influencer who recommended it, we made reservations for us at Escondite in Vieux Port.

On first impression, it wasn’t what it looked to be online.  It’s a bit of a hole in the wall type of restaurant – there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, some of the best restaurants are.  It’s just that in this case, we were looking to take her some place nicer and online the photos made it look like a glossy, funky little spot with great art and neon lights that would have been Instagrammable.  It was small and dark.  We ended up choosing to eat outside on the terrace as it had a cuter backdrop and it was less confined.

We were all craving pop and tried to order Jarritos, but they were out of the flavors that we wanted.

I tried:

  • Nachos 2.0 – their spin on nachos is made with cheese gyoza.  The presentation wasn’t the best, but this just worked!  It was delish.
  • Ceviche de Camarones – so shrimp ceviche is a fave for us and something that we often order as an appetizer when we’re all dining together.  The offering here was not good.  I’m going to go as far as saying it was the worst ceviche I’ve ever had.  I was not a fan.
  • Tacos – so first the menu says that it is 2 tacos for $10.95.  I misunderstood and took this to mean that I could mix and match.  I ordered the fried chicken and the steak.  I received 4 tacos.  Of the two the fried chicken was my preference, but I was underwhelmed by all of them.  My friends tried some different tacos and felt the same.  I’m not sure if it’s because we’re used to the likes of terrific taco spots like Tacomio. Tacofino or La Taqueria.  Maybe our expectations are just through the roof?  Either way, we were not happy.  Perhaps my first time ever at a restaurant not finishing my tacos.  The presentation was just super messy as well.

Lastly, although our server was kind, service was super slow.  It seemed like there was only one person for the whole terrace.

Overall I was embarrassed that we surprised my friend with this restaurant for her birthday.  It was not a good experience and next time I’m in Montreal I will be sure to avoid this spot.

https://www.escondite.ca/

 

 

 

 

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