ALOHA!

Well the hubby and I are off to some fun in the sun on Hawaii, Maui and Kauai! I earned the trip through Pampered Chef and can't wait to see some friends and most importantly: RELAX!!! It's been a very busy year and I'm excited to tune out for a bit.... I cannot wait to share with you all of the great EATS that I have reserved, planned and can't wait to experience... SEAFOOD and SUSHI and MUCH MORE!!! WOOO! Thanks for following and inspiring me to keep writing :)

The Red Fox

Sometimes the smallest hole-in-the-wall looking dives can be the most unassuming gems right in front of your nose. The shady looking Red Fox pub located at 708 8th Avenue SW  is a prime example of this! My co-worker Kevin, featured in the photo above, heard about this place from a few friends and has been there a few times since.. First of all: the all-you-can-eat roast beef buffet is only $12 and the yorkshire puddings were AMAZING! $12?!?!?! They also had a salad bar, buns, chicken, and veg. I will be back! Here are some photos. The place was PACKED and obviously not that unknown- our waitress said we were lucky to arrive at 11:30 on a Friday, by noon it was standing room only. Yummm these might make you hungry:

I was lucky enough to snap a shot before it was carved. WOW!

Salad bar- I made the mistake of filling my plate with two much lettuce the first go around.. After plate #1 it was straight up yorkie, gravy and roast. MmmMmm! Salads were still really good and homemade though!

Yorkies, jus and a mushroom gravy... SO GOOD! Who doesn't like all you can eat yorkies?!

Half way through lunch.. They apparently slow roast this slab of meat ALL night and change the temperature at certain cooking points etc. What a beautiful piece of meat- not fatty at all either.

Potatoes and chicken which was a tad dry but flavorful

After plate #1 I went up for about three of these plates... YUMMM!

Vin Room for Chanty's birthdayyy!

Happy Birthday Chanty!!! <3

On Tuesday it was the birthday celebration for one of my very best friends, Chantalle! She managed to score some hockey tickets through work and we treated her to a super yummy dinner at Vin Room first. I have to say though, I've never done tapas with more than 5 people and I think I would keep it to 4 people maximum next time. There were 7 of us and we found that we had to order A LOT of tapas. We did leave full and tipsy though! Love Vin Room's selection of bubbly, wine and oysters. They are located at 2310 4th Street SW. Here are some highlights from our night!

Starting the night off right- with some bubbly! 20% off between 4 -7 pm

Oysters for $3 with hot sauce, lemon and an apple mignonette

These east coast oysters were super briny which Chanty loves!

Lobster nachos!!! We ordered these last time but these had even more lobster meat than usual. Amazing for $12!!!

Mmmm this was one of my favorite dishes.. Just hard to be split a number of ways so we ended up getting two orders and split them. These BC seared scallops with brussel sprouts and lemon honey were $12

"Pura Vida Beef Carpaccio" aka thinly sliced, rare slices of beef with a brassica mustard (a genus of the mustard family) for $10

Yum! This seared chorizo with baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes and fresh oregano was delicious. It was great for sharing for $12 and although I was looking forward to a big bite of sausage, the thinly sliced chorizo had a great charred flavor. Yummmm!

Mmmm. my girlfriend Courtney LOVES Mexican food and this Oaxacan Mole Chicken was so tender and DELICIOUS! We tore bits of chicken and mole into a grilled tortilla and topped with the mint cream sauce. $12

This dish was a real hit at the table. Grilled calamari, fresh mint, sweet potato, bacon and peas. It was ALL about the sweet potato and bacon. Love this dish.

Each night Vin Room has a "flight and bite" which is a tapa and a paired wine and a "Vin Plate" for $40 which is the chef's daily selection of four tapas. We ordered the Vin Plate and clockwise from the top left there was Israeli couscous with smoked mushrooms in a tomato sauce with grana padano cheese... omg DEFINITELY one of the best dishes. Israeli couscous has larger grains and I love the texture, almost like pasta. To the right of that were some fried chickpeas that didn't really do anything for me, calamari in the bottom right and this DELICIOUS "squash dahl" in the bottom left made out of lentils and squash. Who would have guessed?!

This. Was. FRicken. AMAZINGGGG! I WANT ANOTHER ONE RIGHT NOW! At the last minute... And when we were all full we decided to order one last dish.. of DUCK. I don't know how I missed this on the menu and I am so glad someone pointed it out. The duck breast was served with a brown butter squash and Saskatoon berry gastrique.Think amazing sweet potato pie combined with uber-juicy duck with a crisp skin. YAAA MAMA!

Pretty amazing row 5 seats! WOO!

Partying at the Whiskey in the Dome

Family Portrait! Meet my wolf pack! ;)

After party at Jaro Blue on 17th Avenue SW... I had so many unique martinis. Thanks James!... A little rough around the edges the next day but a super fun night.

Four words: ICE CREAM BROWNIE SANDWICHES... Why didn't I think of that? Delicious!

Ryan & Jess got marriedddd!

The Fairmont Banff Springs is an enchanting place to get married. What a wedding!

On Saturday we were lucky enough to get an invite to an amazing wedding at the Banff Springs. Ryan and James grew up in the same hometown and throughout the years Jessica and I have become friends and a few of us even traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2008. The only word to describe a wedding at the "castle in the Rockies" is magical. From the mountain backdrop to where the ceremony took place, to the candle lit reception which was reminiscent of medieval times- we were swept away! It was one of those nights where you reconnect with people you didn't expect to and have more fun than you were anticipating. Here are some highlights! Congrats Ryan and Jess- what a great wedding!:

James and I before the ceremony

Beautiful bride! LOVED her dress!

Drinks and a bite to eat at the overpriced Rundle Lounge at the hotel... Loved how the caesar came with cheese stuffed olives, a pearl onion and a pickled asparagus though! NUMMM!

Ever wonder what a $25 champagne cocktail looks like? Now you know! We asked the waitress who said the "average cocktail was $16"... got the bill and ... $25 EACH! It was delicious though! HA!

For some nibbles we decided on this $20 charcuterie platter with raclette melted cheese, smoked local meats, potatoes (randomly) and "pickled vegetables" although the menu mentioned pickles so we were a tad disappointed on this one.

Margarita pizza was really delicious! These used to be my favorite and I haven't ordered one in a while.. I think I am re-converted.

Gorgeous cake and SO yummy!

Dinner time! We had such a fun table- party table! :)

Cuties! Had a blast with these two!

and these twooo..

Told ya we had a fun table!

How beautiful are all of the candles and the rose petals?! The lighting was so romantic.

Course #1: deconstructed caesar salad. Love the full hearts of romaine and the sweet, roasted garlic on the plate. This was a DELICIOUS dish!

Lobster bisque as course #2

Chicken entree

Or beef.. Now THAT is a steak ;)

First dance!

Served wedding cake. Thought it was great that they presented each piece with such care.

Cameras and friends lost and found ;)

Bride & Groom

Party timeeee!

Things got a bit wildddd

After party #1

After party #2... Gotta love the white jacket ;)