Migz BBQ

Not exactly the trendy place it tries to be, Migz BBQ is just a regular bar in a fancy wrapper.  In terms of service and quality of food, it's comparable with The Pit Pub at UBC.

We ordered a sampler platter that looked like it should have been served on a paper plate.  Anyway, it included a couple of hot wings, french fries, onion rings, and some cheese bread.

Someone thought they would be clever and ordered a veggie platter.  It looked absolutely unappetizing, but veggies are veggies.

The calamari was mediocre at best, but the tiny bits of fried squid didn't do anything for me.  It was practically the same price as say, Stepho's calamari dinner, but this one didn't taste good.

BBQ pork ribs?  What, heated on the grill for a few minutes and drowned in sauce?  These were tough and hard to swallow.  I don't know how Migz has the nerve to include the word BBQ in their name when they don't know the first thing about BBQ.  My recomendation for Migz - don't waste your money.  Even if there's nothing else open in the neighborhood, it's better to waste more gas by driving to a better place to eat.

Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna

I've been going to Stepho's for years, almost as long as I've been going to Anton's.  If you're looking for a cheap place to get really, really full on decent food, check this place out.  Though since I discovered Kisamo's in Richmond, I hardly ever come out to DT for Greek food.  On occasion though, I'll find myself downtown and craving something greasy and in large proportions.  Lunch is probably the best time to hit Stepho's because there's alomost no line up.

Ah, the Cheese Balls.  The one thing I sometimes crave that's not on Kisamo's menu is Stepho's Cheese Balls.  Well, Kisamo's has a pretty good Cheese Dish, but it's a bit expensive for a hunk of cheese cookedin a frying pan.  Stepho's Cheese Balls is just that, deep fried cheese balls with a nice crisp coating, served with some beats (palet cleanser?) and this garlic dip that's out of this world.  I mean, the cheese balls are incredibly awesome on their own, but paired with this garlic dip, that's it, you're done.

The Chicken Pita is served with French Fries....why, I have no idea.  The fries at Stepho's is not their best item on the menu.  They tasted like they were either over-fried, or refried in really old oil.  If it's possible to swap out the fries for anything but, do it. 

Our pita came right before our meal.  Since our meals were so massive (well, mine was anyway), we didn't even touch the pita and ended up taking them home.  What can you do with leftover pita?

A Greek Salad came with the vegetarian lasagna below.

I personally would not order this, simply because it's Vegetarian.  It was loaded with cheese and overall tasted okay, but there was something missing....I think it was meat.

When I go for Greek, I crave roast lamb, but my experience with Stepho's roast lamb is that it's a bit dry and the meat is too lean.  Once you've tried Kisamo's Roast Lamb Dinner, you really can't eat any other.  So, I ordered Stepho's famous Calamari dinner....for lunch.  Like I said, the portions are epic, and I literally got a mountain of calamari on top of maybe some rice, potatoes and Greek Salad.  The calamari is nice and crisp, not too greasy, not soggy at all.  The greek salad came with loads of feta cheese, and the rice and potatoes were seasoned beautifully.  But by the end of the meal though, I think I was suffering from garlic and onion overdose....ok, I admit, I kept the garlic dip from the Cheese Balls and used them for the rest of my meal.  Between the Garlic Dip, the tzatziki sauce, and all the onions in the Calamari and Greek Salad, I was smelling pretty ripe.  In fact, I stank for days, and no amount of toothpaste, mouthwash, soap and deoderant would help.

I think my friend ate two French fries from her dish.....

Stepho's is still a great place to grab a cheap bite to eat, and if you can avoid the line ups, all the better.  But around dinner, you'll be facing at least an hour wait, just like Anton's Pasta Bar in Burnaby.  For me, Cheese Balls, Calamari, and only if I was downtown already.

Here's a shot of what Stepho's typically looks like during peak periods.

Kelsey's

If you're looking for an semi-affordable place to eat that's a little better than Boston Pizza try out Kelsey's. To be honest, I don't think I would voluntarily go there again. They're definitely better than Boston Pizza, but not quite there when compared to places like Cactus Club, Moxie's, or even Milestone's.


Popcorn Shrimp $9.99 - The portions were decent, the coating wasn't too thick, and the dipping sauces were not too bad.

Calamari $9.49 This was downright awful, and for $9.49, we were definitely ripped off. The coating was thick and partially uncooked. For nearly the same price, I would have gladly lined up for an hour outside of Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna in downtown Vancouver.


Side Caesar Salad $3.99 This and the popcorn shrimp were probably the best things I had.


Classic Caesar - forgot the price, but it's pretty hard to screw up this drink. I give this one a pass.


Classic Shrimp Alfredo $15.99 - My friend had this one said it was watery, flavorless, and the noodles were way overcooked. I tried some and to be honest, for a similar price point, I would rather have gone to someplace like Anton's or Italian Tomato


11 oz. AAA New York Strip loin Steak $20.99 - The quality of the meat was A+, and mash potato and side veg were decently cooked, even though it doesn't look particularly appetizing. Only one thing I would have added - salt. There was almost no seasoning whatsoever and everything was extremely bland. I found myself making my own spice rub with the table salt and pepper. For $21 bucks, I paid for a quality peice of meat heated to my liking....self-serve for the flavor.


Molten Lava Cake $6.49 - this dessert didn't taste too bad, and it wasn't horrendously overpriced for what it is. It was simple.....but I wouldn't order it again.

Someone said they didn't understand why Kelsey's has such negative ratings...haha, I read the same thing about another restaurant as well (Little Japan), hilarious.  Simply put, if the ratings are bad, that means a lot of people don't like the place.  Take Kelsey's for example, the rating on Urban Spoon is 29% like it...that means the place sucks - it's not that hard to understand. 

Now, someone commented on my personal feelings about Kelsey's.  They even went to say that even I liked it more than Boston Pizza.....have you read my review on Boston Pizza?  Saying I like Kelsey's more than Boston Pizza isn't really saying much at all.  Why do I loathe Kelsey's?  Well, the calamari was a rip-off, the $16 pasta was watery, flavourless and overcooked, and cost more than a half-decent dish from Anton's or Italian Tomato, and my steak was not seasoned...how's that? 

You want a good meal, don't go to Kelsey's.