Palki Restaurant

I've been in the market for a good Indian place nearby for a while now, so when Palki Restaurant invited me to try them out, I told them I'd stop by the next time I had a craving for curry.

My family is nuts for Indian food, so when they arrived on Thursday, we headed pretty much straight to Palki. The facade is rather dark and unassuming, which explains why I've never noticed it before. It used to be a Turkish place called Rime, which I remember visiting in my pre-blogging days. Palki's interior, done up in shades of purple, has a lovely feel which belies the reasonable prices on the menu.

Said menu has the usual suspects, along with an impressive array of other options. We all enjoyed everything we tasted. Our only complaint was that some of the naan was a bit overcooked. My sister thought the bathroom was a bit unkempt, and not in keeping with the rest of the place. I forgot to check it myself, but they may want to keep a closer eye on it. The service was super friendly and prompt.

The five of us were absolutely stuffed, some of us were tipsy, and we had substantial leftovers, so we were surprised that the bill came to less than $200 including tax and tip. I am all about cheap and delicious eats in my neighbourhood, so I'll definitely be back to Palki!

St. Augustine's

I am what I describe to servers as an entry-level beer drinker. Becoming a beer drinker has even been one of my New Year's resolutions. That same year I vowed to train myself to do the splits. Sadly I am still not very flexible, but my taste for beer has slowly but surely begun to take off. And in what better time and place than 2011 Vancouver, with its beyond burgeoning craft beer scene?

Near the front of the charge is St. Augustine's Craft Brew House and Kitchen, named after the patron saint of beer. I've been to this temple of barley and hops in many contexts now: lunch with friends, game night with a group, on a date, and even for a volunteer envelope stuffing event. A live beer menu listing their rotating selection of forty taps is on the website, and on screens in the pub itself.

I can't say that I enjoy the proliferation of televisions beyond the beer menu screens, but St. Aug's is a sports pub, so it's not really a legitimate complaint.

The focus is on the brews of course, but in my experience, the food is nothing to sneeze at either. The servers are friendly and patient with my likely inane questions about the "intensity" of certain beers. I won't be enjoying a Storm Black Plague Stout anytime soon, but I definitely like me some Howe Sound Pumpkineater to go with those incredibly delicious fries and garlic aioli!