Sunday, April 15, 2007

Joey's on Broadway, George in Yaletown, Kyung Bok Palace

Joey's

I finally had a chance to check out Joey's on Broadway. They don't take reservations and we ended up waiting about 40 minutes (there were five of us). We were really hungry so it helped that they gave out samples of food and drink (non-alcoholic) while you wait!
I ordered the Forbidden Fruit martini which did not taste good (it's way better at the Joey's in Coquitlam). Too much lime. I had the ahi tuna tacos, which was decent, but I wouldn't order it again. Maybe it was an off night, but I think the Joey's in Coquitlam is a lot better. On the other hand our waitress was fantastic! Despite how busy it was, she was attentive, helpful, and just an all round great server. The hostesses were nice enough, but a couple of them seemed like they were just there to chat with each other which comes across unprofessional. I had a couple other drinks including the pomegranate mojito which is nothing to write home about, (but I guess blog-worthy).
Although the food and drink wasn't exceptional, I would go back again for the ambiance. I'm not a big fan of having to take the stairs to go to the bathroom, but it was a pretty cool bathroom. I love the paper towels they provide, and the oil paintings in the bathroom stalls is a nice touch.
It's pretty much a Cactus Club atmosphere, so as for dress code anything goes.


George Bar in Yaletown

I went last week and the drinks are very good. I especially like the Old-Fashioned (bourbon, brown sugar and some citrus) which I think is the very first thing on the vast drink menu. Tried some appies as well which were equally impressive. I thought I saw Gary Busey there. The cocktails range from $8-12.
If you haven't been, you can just walk in and sit wherever which anyone can probably figure out, except we stood at the door waiting to be seated.. We got there about 9 so pretty much 90% of the seats were full. Around ten the place was really happening. I did not like the bathrooms which is shared with Capone's restaurant out in the hallway.
I'd come here again, but next time I'll make sure I'm wearing some stiletto heels and a smaller top to fit in with all the other beautiful people. Oh, and ladies, there are definitely more guys than girls here.


Kyung Bok Palace

This Korean restaurant in North Vancouver has gotten a couple of awards for best Korean restaurant. In addition, numerous Koreans have recommended this place, so I went quite a few times until they opened a second location in Richmond (Lansdowne Mall) which is actually more convenient for me. I happened to be in North Vancouver recently so I went in for lunch but was I ever disappointed. First of all the service was horrible (it used to be decent), when we asked for extra bowls for the soup, she brought us plates (?!?) and on top of that, one of them had kimchi looking red spice specks all over it and the other one had brown sauce on it. To top it off, the waitresses hands were dripping wet! and she was holding the plates with her thumb on the middle of the plate dripping water onto it. It was not very busy, and when she wasn't serving (which was hardly ever), she sat at a table eating food and watching TV.. The waitresses never came around to refill tea, and I never got my drink order on top of that. The menu pages were stuck together which is so gross. I worked at a restaurant before and when it wasn't busy, we were wiping menu pages.
The tea was lukewarm and tasted like they used the same leaves all day. The noodles were overcooked, but the side dishes and bibimbap still rocked.
The waitress was only attentive when it came time to pay and she stood there to see the tip. How utterly tacky.
It seems like the majority of Korean restaurants in Vancouver are hit or miss and if it's a hit, it's often inconsistent. The only place that's been consistent everytime is Kyung Bok Palace in Lansdowne and a restaurant in Coquitlam but I don't know the name. There's one on broadway that's good but the name escapes me.
Other than that, the best Korean restaurants in North America seem to be in Cali or New York.
I haven't been to many Coquitlam Korean restaurants, if you know any good ones, let me know! I love kimchi, seafood pancakes and kalbi.

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