Dine Out Vancouver 2013: Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company ft. Stanley Park Brewery….plus GIVEAWAY!!!

How is this year’s Dine Out fest treating everyone so far??  If you’re having trouble deciding on a final one, or even ONE, Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company (RMFC) would be a great choice.  Extremely family-friendly (there’s a play area for the kiddies….and step stools in the washrooms too!!), it’s a break from the many other hoity-toity establishments around!

As with previous years, they are offering a great menu at $18 that includes an appy choice of either one of their salads or a soup of the day, an entree of either a pizza or flatbread creation from their regular menu, and a choice of dessert.  They were kind enough to extend an invite for Hitman and I to “dine out” at one of their locations and we took up this offer to visit their Main Street digs.

It just so happens that on the night of our visit, RMFC joined up with Stanley Park Brewery for a night of pizza making and beer tasting.  At first I didn’t pay much attention to the partnership, but as the night went along and after talking to both parties, we got an idea of how these two companies were such a great match…one word – Sustainability.

First and foremost, I really appreciated the fact that both companies are locally owned and operated.  As for the environmental side, in every step of the brewing process Stanley Park Brewery minimizes strain on the environment either by reducing energy consumption, reducing waste, or improving efficiency (more information here).  To up their cool factor, they have a specialty-built wind turbine for power to lessen their environmental impact!!  And this, my friends, is how they can boast themselves as Canada’s first sustainable brewery.

As for their beer itself, it’s free of preservatives and additives, which is why it takes them 21-28 days for a brew compared to the typical 7 days.  The result is a fresher, cleaner tasting beer.

Not to be outdone by the brewery, RMFC has maintained a green initiative since day one.  Their efforts include accomplishing a zero-waste integrated menu (use or reuse all components of what makes up their menu one way or another, including composting any waste generated, recycling etc.), using energy efficient lights, reclaimed wood, non-toxic paints, biodegradable take-out ware, efficient taps and toilets in the restaurants, utilizing green electricity, purchasing carbon offsets, and buying locally-sourced produce.  What a list huh?!

That’s all very impressive…but how does the food taste???

Dine Out Vancouver 2013!!

Hey Vancouver it’s that time of year again! Numerous restaurants around the city offers 3-course dinners for $18/$28/$38 each! Hitman and I will for sure do at least one restaurant this year… It’s just been so busy!

One of my favorite dine-out restaurants in recent years has got to be Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company (see post here).  First of all they’re a pizzaria…and who doesn’t love pizza??  But the qualities that sets them apart is that they utilize local organic products, have gluten-free options, and family-friendly, and both restaurants have an open-kitchen concept so you can watch your food being prepared!

Their $18 dine-out menu basically allows you to choose an appy, an entree and a dessert from their regular menu.  But there’s so much to choose from (82 different combinations in total!) you will not be disappointed.

To kick off Dine-Out Vancouver, Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company is hosting a contest on Facebook.  “Like” them on Facebook and you will be entered to win dine-out dinner for 2!

Mmmmmm pizza!!!

ChocolaTas – A holiday giveaway!!

Update Dec 18, 2012:  Amanda you’re the winner! Make sure you check your email for a message from ChocolaTas!!  Congrats!!

Ahh the holidays~ What better way to relax during this hectic time than to sit down with a box of gourmet chocolates all to yourself??  We were contacted by the local chocolate company Chocolatas to have a sample of their handmade gourmet belgian chocolates.  Not only that, they have also offered to send one of our readers a sample pack just for filling out an easy survey where all you have to do is answer whether you prefer dark or milk chocolate!  But more on that later…

Chocolatas is headed by belgian chocolatier Wim Tas and his wife, and have setup shop both at Granville Island and in Abbotsford.  They boast all natural ingredients and also no preservatives, so their chocolates come with a suggestion to consume within 7 days, which should be no problem!

The sample pack we received consists of the flavors Single Malt Whisky, Romana, Lavender, and Apple & Cinnamon.

First up was Single Malt Whisky.  Now I’ve never had whisky before, let alone know the difference between single or double or whatever amount malt.  However I can say that there was a noticeable amount of alcohol content aroma-wise in the dark chocolate ganache…Hitman said he could smell it as I was eating it.  Not enough to get tipsy off of of course, but it’s there.  Not saying it was bitter either.

Romana was supposed to be dark raspberry ganache enrobed in raspberry chocolate.  However there was little raspberry notes to speak of.  it was tart-ish but that’s about it.  Beautiful presentation though.

Winners!! Here are the winners!!!!

I guess it’s time to reveal the winners of the mcDonald’s giveaway!!

The grand prize winner of the $50 GC is X!!!

The 3 (yep! I’ve added one more winner!) winners of the BMG cards are Qwerty, Jono, and Emiley!!!

I’ve emailed you guys. Please reply by Monday Feb 28 with your mailing address as I will be out of town Starting Wednesday. I hope to get the gifts out before that!

Congratulations to all the winners!!

New at McDonalds! Plus a Giveaway!!

I’m sure McDonald’s is a guilty pleasure for a lot of people.  I personally enjoy them once in a while (perhaps more than once~!) and I honestly have no ill-will towards them.  After all, you KNOW what you are putting into your body when you go there.  And as long as you indulge within reason and logic, I really see no harm in visiting McD’s!

They’re recently released quite a few menu items that I really enjoyed.  2 of them are limited edition so you better get them quick if you want to try them.

First of the limited edition items is the Apple Crisp McFlurry.  Boy was this good.  I really didn’t think I would enjoy it that much since I’m really not a big fan of apple and cinnamon.  But this had ingredients such as granola and some crispy rice-bits along with bite-sized, real (albeit likely heavily processed) apple cinnamon chunks.

The small is still quite big for me.  I recommend freezing the uneaten portions for another time~!  It may not be soft-serve anymore but still very very good.

Also, I found that this really isn’t that readily available at McD locations so hopefully you will get a chance to try this out!!