Foodster98683

Mexican Villa is a small cafe on the northeast side of Vancouver. Located in a strip center, the small place only has six tables. It’s very clean inside; you can tell from the furnishings the cafe has been there a long time; their menu says 1973. Mexican Villa does not have separate menus for lunch and dinner.

There were photos on the wall behind the register with pictures of their menu items. My order looked just like the photo on the wall.

Service, after I got my menu, was fast, friendly, and efficient. There weren’t but two other tables occupied and there appeared to be another waitress on duty so I expect service is always good. After placing my order, I was served my food in under five minutes.

I would have given Mexican Villa another half star if it was allowed. There were just enough quirks to keep it out of the 4 star rating. Quirk number one (and I have encountered this only in an extremely small number of Mexican restaurants), there were no salsa and chips delivered to the table. You can order them but it costs extra. There are two squeeze bottles, one with crema and the other with a fairly spicy salsa at the table. It was obvious the bottles were intended for plated food – there were no empty bowls on the table. Quirk number two, the menu. On entering you are expected to grab a menu from a stack near the cash register. Not knowing this, I sat at my table while the waitress hovered expectantly, waiting to take my order. After I’d explained I had never been here before she got a menu for me and also showed me a tabletop menu for the specials of the day.

It was, overall, a pleasant dining experience but there are other places I would go before choosing Mexican Villa.

Woody’s Tacos is located in downtown Vancouver. If you use a GPS to locate the place go one block further than it tells you and turn right. I’ve heard other people say the same thing. You won’t be sorry for looking – it’s worth the visit.

As I’ve mentioned in other reviews, I’m from Texas and I’m always on the lookout for good Mexican food. Woody’s kitchen knows good Mexican food. From the homemade tortillas (a big plus) to the fresh ingredients, Woody takes great pride and care in his food.

Woody’s isn’t very big on the inside but there is a large dining area if you exit from the back of his place. Everything looked very clean. There are several menus – the regular menu, a happy hour menu with specials on food and drinks (yes, they have a full bar although I didn’t have anything from it), and a brunch menu with several egg dishes, pancakes, and that old reliable hangover cure, menudo.

Service is fast with two ordering stations although I suspect things slow down a little as customers stack up while food is being delivered. I was there slightly before the lunch rush and the wait was what you would expect for food made fresh to order.

If you want soda or tea it is self serve. There are several vegetarian choices. If you order two tacos, be hungry – these aren’t your anemic fast food tacos.

Having read the two 5 star reviews on Menuism, I decided to give Duck Tales Kitchen a try. The short version is – the other reviewers were right. Here’s my review.

Duck Tales Kitchen is a small restaurant in a strip mall. When I walked in I was immediately impressed by the artwork on the walls and the general overall nice decor. You would not feel out of place either dressed up or casually attired. I was also impressed by the number of customers. It was around 12:30 and the place was packed. There are booths, tables, and a bar. I opted for the booth after a short wait.

I will offer only good impressions here – there just weren’t any bad ones. The menu was well thought out, the food was prepared perfectly, the quality ingredients reflected the overall philosophy of the owners, and the price was below what you would expect to pay for that level of quality. The owners were on premises, not only overseeing the help but cleaning tables and taking food orders too – always a good sign. Not to say the staff was incompetent – they weren’t – it was just a busy lunch rush. My waitress was there with menu suggestions, my food, and refills whenever I needed it.

Overall, I’d say this is one of those few places that gets everything right. Hard work and dedication from the owners on down make the DuckTales Kitchen a place I’ll definitely be going back to try.

Chutneys is an Indian restaurant hidden in a strip center facing away from SE 164th Avenue. Except for a sign on the back of their building facing 164th you’d pass by without noticing it as I did. It’s well worth taking the time to find Chutneys and, spurred by an ad in a coupon book, I did.

I must have missed the lunch crowd as I was the only customer. Friday is the only day they are open for lunch – a real shame considering their offerings.

The restaurant is tastefully but casually decorated and the Indian music playing over the sound system enhances the experience without being obtrusive. There are both booths and tables in two separate dining areas, one of which faces a picture window looking out on the street. Although the traffic level was high the sound did not intrude.

Even though I was the only customer, my waitperson gave me perfectly balanced service – always there when I needed something, leaving me to enjoy my lunch, but quick with an explanation or recommendation.

I admit that I have very little experience with Indian food and, truth be told, it has been exclusively from buffets. Chutneys has no buffet so I did depend on my waitress to guide me through the unfamiliar menu. When she didn’t know the answer to one of my questions she went back to the kitchen and asked.

My overall impression of the food was very favorable. I chose a platter consisting of six small bowls of food and one larger bowl of rice and tandoori chicken. It was a good choice as I was able to try several different items. Unlike a buffet, my food had not been sitting on a steam table for who knows how long.

By the way, if you go try the chai – another good recommendation from my waitress – a hot tea made from tea leaves, milk, sugar, and cardamom. It is very soothing and, like the food, involves layering many subtle flavors.

Let me start by saying that there are apparently several restaurants with this name so be sure to check the address. Some are part of this local chain and others are not.

I’ve been searching all over Vancouver for good Tex-Mex and I think I’ve finally found it. Los Pepe’s is a spacious restaurant in a strip mall. The interior is cheery with lots of brightly painted carved wood. There are two separate dining areas and a full bar. I was there early on a Sunday afternoon and there weren’t many diners. The service was excellent.

Chips and salsa were brought to the table before I ordered. The chips were not exceptional (they looked store bought instead of made at the restaurant) but the salsa was very good. It’s hard to get a good balance with salsa. It’s either bland and tasteless or too spicy. Los Pepe’s salsa was spicy without being hot and had a nice texture.

Los Pepe’s menu is very extensive and leans toward seafood dishes although there is something there for everyone. I think the prices are about in line with other restaurants in the area.

You wouldn’t think it to look at the place from the outside but the Black Angus Restaurant is a great place to go for a steak. You can’t eat ambience but a dump can detract from the food. Black Angus is no dump. Despite the plain exterior, the interior is very nice. It isn’t elegant but then neither are the prices. I wouldn’t hesitate to take a spouse or a date here.

The waitstaff is friendly, courteous, and there when you need them without being overly attentive. They noticed birthday cards on our table and brought a large warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream and a candle without being asked.

Most of the restaurant seemed to run to booths but there were some tables. The lighting was subdued. A full bar is at the front of the restaurant.

Juliano’s Pizza has a lot going for it – good location, clean restaurant, helpful waitstaff, and reasonable prices. They have a very reasonably priced and varied selection of beer and wine. That being said, the pizza has too much going for it and I’m talking about the toppings.

A lot of people care about the crust and the sauce (I’m one of them) as they are the basic building blocks to a good pizza. I had to deconstruct their pizza to even find the crust or sauce so thick were the toppings.

I got my pizza to go and when they handed the box to me I almost dropped it. It was easily three times heavier than I expected.

After getting the pizza home (it smelled great in the car) I opened the lid to find a veritable mountain of toppings. I could have comfortably populated another three pizzas with the extra toppings and they would have been decent pizzas.

Provecho is an unassuming little restaurant near downtown Vancouver. Yes, there’s a sign on the wall that says “Be Nice or Leave”. It must work as everyone there including the waitstaff was nice the day I visited.

The interior is casually decorated – there are two rooms, one with a full bar. Outside, there is a small dining area. The waitstaff do seem a little concerned about matching bodies to tables, asking two customers to move to a two seat table from the four seat table they had picked. I suspect that’s necessary as they do get crowded and there are a limited number of tables.

Provecho’s menu is fairly minimal compared to other Mexican restaurants. There are not a lot of choices but what they do serve is fresh using top notch ingredients. I wouldn’t mind if Provecho branched out a little and served, say, enchiladas.

Overall, a pleasurable dining experience and I will try them again.

Twilight Pizza in downtown Camas is a pizza restaurant in downtown Camas. The parking is a little scarce but there is adequate parking around the corner.

The restaurant is nicely decorated and they provide games for children to play while waiting on their meal. The waitstaff is very friendly and helpful with suggestions.

They have other items besides pizza and an extensive beer and wine list.

I wanted a pizza “to go” on a Friday afternoon so I decided to go a little early to beat the crowds. Although I got there about 4:45 they were already half full with more to come behind me. Expect a significant wait for your food on a busy night but, hey, I’d rather have my food good instead of fast. Having said that, the only complaint I can muster against Twilight Pizza was a mixup on my order. Apparently, to go orders are shown to the customer when they are brought out. TP wants to know if the pizza looks okay and I commend them for this. When they showed me my pizza it was obviously not the one I ordered and I said so. The person who took my order remembered my order and admitted to accidently hitting an adjoining button on the touchscreen. They moved me to the front of the list and had my pizza out in about 20 minutes along with a complimentary order of breadsticks and dipping sauce as a way of apologizing for their mistake.

I wasn’t expecting great things from McGrath’s Fish House. It’s a chain and I usually try to eat at independent restaurants but I’d read their menu and decided to give them a try.

The restaurant is open and airy, decorated with fishing memorabilia. It isn’t tacky and contributes to a nicer than average ambience. There is a separate bar area and the dining area has a few tables and a lot of comfortable booths. Cloth napkins, sturdy silverware, and nicer than average plates combined to make the dining experience a pleasant one. McGrath’s would be a good place for a date, a casual business meeting, or a night out with the spouse.

As I was there for lunch, I decided to order something off the Value Menu. I wasn’t expecting much, considering how the low the prices were and I picked a basic appetizer and entree to see how they handled the bottom end of the menu. After all, if they can’t get the simple stuff right how can one expect them to do on the pricier items?

Service was cheerful, efficient, and attentive without being pushy.