Om Nom

How can you sum up Anton’s Pasta Bar in sentence? Well, lets give it a try: Decent food, great value and long lines.

Anton’s Pasta Bar has made a name for itself in Vancouver as a pasta place where you’ll end up leaving with your belly full and half your meal in your hands and that’s usually a good thing. In reality the food is average quality, the portions are comically large and the price is right. The menu is quite extensive and you should easily find something that interests you.

Anton’s has three different menus which include Lunch, Dinner and take out. There are some variations for each menu, lunch has smaller portions and a reduced price compared to the dinner menu and the take out menu is a beast of it’s own. I live close by so the take out option is a vary attractive idea when comparing it to standing outside for a long period of time waiting for a seat during the dinner time rush. However there are draw backs, during the dinner rush Anton’s takes the priority of those who sit in over those who take out. Valid idea as most people who take out do not purchase drinks or anything extra. However when you order for takeout the portions are noticeably smaller but still carry the dinner menu rates and you may end up waiting an hour to an hour and a half before you can pick up your meal. So my advice? Go for lunch at Anton’s Pasta Bar. You will avoid the dinner time lineup and the comically large portions. The lunch portions are large enough where you still end up taking food home but you’ll end up saving yourself a few dollars and the ever so exciting thrill of standing outside for pasta.

Penne Antonio

For my latest visit (during lunch) I ordered the Penne Antonio ($10.95 lunch/$14.95 dinner) which came with a good amount of chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes and feta cheese in a dill pesto sauce. The chicken was a little over done and had a bit of chewiness to it but the tomatoes and mushrooms were perfect. Unfortunately the sauce was a big downfall of the dish. Pringles should of used the sauce as the inspiration for their “Extreme Dill” chips because the sauce had a massive amount of dill that overpowered everything to a point where it just didn’t work out too well. The sauce was also extremely salty which was probably due to the amount of feta cheese included in the dish. Overall I was kind of disappointed by the dish, all of the ingredients that make up this dish I love but the combination in this meal failed epically.

I’ve had great meals in the past at Anton’s Pasta Bar but that’s because of the large portions and the relatively cheap price you pay. The pasta itself is quite average so go with an empty stomach and you’ll leave satisfied.

Anton’s Pasta Bar
4260 Hastings St Burnaby
Telephone: 604-299-1610
www.antonspastabar.com

You could say I discovered Bombay Bhel one day by accident. At the time of discovery I was on my way to Anton’s Pasta Bar which of course ended of course ended up having a long lineup. So instead of standing in line we kept walking and entered Bombay Bhel which is next door where no lineup awaited me.

Appetizer at Bombay Bhel

Admittedly Indian food is somewhat new to me. Up until about six months ago my knowledge of Indian food was limited to Butter Chicken. So discovering Bombay Bhel turned out to be a good thing. My first impression is that the restaurant tries to hard to be a cool and hip place to eat, the Earl’s of the Indian food world one could say. During the day the front windows brings a large amount of light into the front half of the restaurant but at night the restaurant is plunged into darkness and filled with a hybrid offspring of Indian techno music.

The food however is quite good. I have yet to be disappointed by any of the dishes I’ve tried in the last three visits to Bombay Bhel. The chicken has always been done perfectly, the lamb dishes are nice and tender and during one visit I had to try goat curry which threw me off since it included bones but was good as well. Value wise, the dishes are priced fairly well and the portions are large.

Overall Bombay Bhel delivers a good meal and is never super busy to the point where you have to wait for a seat for very long. I would definitely recommend it if you find yourself stuck in line for it’s neighbour Anton’s Pasta Bar.

Bombay Bhel
4266 Hastings St Burnaby
Telephone: 604-299-2500
www.bombaybhelrestaurant.com

Heavenly Bites, aka the new kid on the block, is a small Indian restaurant located in the Burnaby Height’s area. This restaurant I must say has peaked my interest as it took a really, really long time to open but in the end it was worth the wait.

Inside Heavenly Bites

Heavenly Bites focuses on an Indian tradition called Tiffen Boxes which as I just recently found out are small metal pots that fasten together with a handle.

My knowledge of Indian restaurants is some what limited so I can’t quite compare Heavenly Bites with other Indian places and get away with sounding smart. What I do know is I like their style. The restaurant itself is small and minimalistic other than one or two art pieces you’d never know you walked into an Indian restaurant. There is no separate menu if you chose to stay so they hand you the take out menu.

For the appetizer we ordered Pakora ($4.45) which was amazing. I could not stop eating it the pieces were cooked perfectly and the sauce they provided for our meal (not sure what it was but came in a Jones Soda bottle) went well with it. For my Tiffen Box ($9.95) I chose Karai Chicken to accompany my random vegetable curry and rice.  If you prefer not to have the Tiffen Box you save $2 but miss out on the vegetable curry of the day.

Karai Chicken Tiffen Box

The Karai Chicken had a great flavor, tasted very fresh and the chicken was perfectly done. As for the vegetable curry  it was a bit cold in places but still very tasty.

Will I be going back to Heavenly Bites? Why yes, yes I will. The quality of food, the friendliness of the staff, the feeling of home cooking in the food all adds up to a very nice meal. The only downfall for this place is that it closes early. 7pm cuts the dinner time window short and maybe one day they’ll extend their hours as business picks up. But for now, Heavenly Bites will be a very strong contender for a great tasting lunch.

Heavenly Bites
4016 Hastings Street Burnaby BC
Telephone:
www.heavenlybite.ca

Every once in a while I crave breakfast it’s a rarity but how can I say no to the urge? So my search began for a good restaurant that offers a great value for what you get. Typically restaurants seem to overcharge for something as simple as pancakes and my search lead me to Jane’s Restaurant a small place located in the Burnaby Heights area.

Jane's restaurant

This place has style that has been unchanged since probably the first days of it’s existence. Red vinyl booths, wood paneled walls and black velvet paintings welcome you and for me brings back childhood memories of friend’s parent’s basements.

Jane’s is one of those hole in a wall type restaurants that seem to be popular with the local university crowd. Weekends fill the restaurant with people looking for a good meal that’s good quality cheap food and Jane’s deliver. For $3.95 ($1 more for another pancake) you can get two large, and I do mean really large, pancakes and for an additional $2 you can add either bacon or homemade potato chunks. The pancakes were surprisingly on par with IHOP so this makes for a filling meal that’s cheap and leaves you satisfied. They also offer a breakfast special that offers a typical meal of 2 eggs, homemade potatoes, toast and a choice of 3 sausages, 3 strips of bacon or a slice of ham for $3.50.

Jane’s is one of those family run places that also offers Chinese food which splits the menu into those two styles. Typical North American diner food takes care of the first half of the menu and Chinese food makes up the second half. If their breakfast is any indication of the rest of the menu this place is a clear winner (won ton soup was pretty good). I’ll definitely will be going back soon.

Jane’s Restaurant
4217 Hastings St Burnaby
(604) 293-1343