While trying to decide on which Omakase we were going to try while in Portland, I briefly considered Nimblefish and Nodoguro, however after reading up on Reddit, we narrowed in on Hamono Sushi in Downtown Portland.  Besides the Omakase course, the one thing that makes Hamono unique is that they offer an AYCE menu once the Omakase has been served.  Yes, that is a strange concept, but something we were willing to try especially for their reasonable $110.00 price tag.  The place is pretty intimate with only 4 bar seats and around 7/8 tables. We started with some small side dishes including a Potato Salad, Imitation Crab Salad and a Cucumber Salad.  As much as these were pretty simple and basic, I enjoyed them.  Potato salad was creamy and sweet with chunks of tender potato and shredded imitation crab.  The crab salad had a great bounce texture and the savoriness was tasty.  Cucumbers were crunchy, sweet and a bit tangy.  Appetizing.  As for the Miso Soup, it was mild and had a rich saltiness.  Loved the fresh snow crab hidden on the bottom.  It was fluffy and briny. So our Omakase featured a large wooden board with 15 pieces of Nigiri and a fried shrimp head.  By looks alone, all of the fish had a nice sheen and things smelled right.  As much as the uni looked a bit dark in color (could be a male), it tasted fine.  My favorite bites from this was the A5 Wagyu, Bluefin Otoro, Hotate and King Salmon (with delicious chili crunch).  This was a nice plate of nigiri but they were a little overzealous with the scallions.  Maybe change it up with the condiments instead of using it 9 times. Our last course before the AYCE portion of the meal was the Seafood Chawamushi.  This was very delicate and maybe a touch too watery.  However, it ate with a silky texture and mild dashi notes.  The prawn hidden underneath was still buttery with a meaty texture.  It was briny and sweet.  The piece of snow crab was fluffy, briny and also sweet. Now that we were at the AYCE portion of the meal, we got some more Nigiri in the form of King Salmon and Hotate.  We asked that the salmon be served plain without the garlic crunch on top.  Turns out that it actually needed it as the salmon wasn't that flavorful on its own.  It was buttery soft though.  The hotate was large and soft with natural briny sweetness.  Just like I said before, it didn't need any of the green onions on top. We got a few smaller bites in the Yellowtail Jalapeno and the Uni Toro Tartare.  Although not the most attractive thing, the hamachi was fresh, buttery and sweet.  Nice kick from the jalapeno.  As for the tartare, it featured buttery tuna belly that had a nice tinge of the sea along with pops of brininess from the ikura.  Once again, the color of the uni wasn't the best, but it did eat well adding a creamy sweetness.  It sat atop a fried tortilla chip that added crunch. Even though I knew it would put me over the edge, I had to get one of their specialty rolls.  I went for the Bluefin Tuna Roll that had a tempura ebi in the middle with imitation crab and cucumber.  On top, there was bluefin akami, scallion, fried onion, eel and ponzu.  Yes, this was quite the hefty roll with warm sushi rice that was a touch soft but still had a chew.  I though this roll was good but was a bit too big.  Also, they overused scallions quite a bit here. One of the best things we ate was their Grilled Beef Shortrib.  Unlike other AYCE spots, these were good quality (as in more meat than fat) being tender and meaty.  The marinade was great being sweet and savory while the char on them was on point.  Although the batter on the Tempura was a bit thick, it ate crispy and fairly light.  Things were cooked right including the buttery ebi, sweet potato and zucchini.  Surprisingly, there was a piece of snow crab leg (not imitation crab) in the mix. There were a few options for dessert, but we were stuffed at this point, so we opted for the Mochi Ice Cream in the form of matcha, passionfruit and mango.  We particularly enjoyed the passionfruit as it was flavorful with a soft mochi exterior.  Overall, we rather enjoyed this meal.  However, we thought this would be better named "higher-end AYCE" rather than Omakase.  Sure, the nigiri portion was good quality and reasonably-priced for $110.00.  Yet, it didn't feel like most other Omakase meals we've had elsewhere (as in not in Portland). The Good: - Ingredients are high-quality - Preparation is quite good - Price is reasonable for what you get The Bad: - Not really Omakase, but rather high-end AYCE - Overuse of scallions on almost everything

On our last day in NYC before an evening flight, we made the trek out into midtown searching for some bagels.  The first stop was at Utopia Bagels out on East 34th Street.  Founded in 1980 at its original Queens location, Utopia is known for its hand-made bagels.  We made it rather early on a Sunday, so the place was only a bit busy.  We ended up grabbing a selection of bagels to bring home. The most basic one in our bag of bagels was the Sesame.  After being toasted, the bagel exhibited classic NYC-style texture and density.  The exterior was crunchy, yet wasn't hard nor dense.  Inside, we found the desired chew, but it was still soft at the same time.  In terms of taste, the bagel was savory and not sweet (like the ones we had in Montreal at Fairmount).  The nuttiness of the sesame was very apparent. Of course we went for the Everything Bagel as well (it is our favorite!).  Naturally, with sesame seeds, there was similar elements to the previous bagel, but adding poppy seeds (not very many), onion and garlic meant we had more complexity.  Be careful toasting this one up though since you do not want to burn the garlic. Something a bit different was the Jalapeno Cheddar.  As you can see, this was almost completely covered with cheese.  As a result, the salty and nutty cheesiness was at the forefront.  Furthermore, this made the bagel a bit more moist and less crunchy on the outside (in particular, the side with the cheese.  Some tangy spice was provided by the jalapenos. Moving over to the sweeter bagels, we tried the Cinnamon Raisin.  This was definitely sweeter and especially with pops of flavor from the raisins, it was great with some basic cream cheese or even good quality butter.  This could all be said about the Blueberry Bagel as well, except with a more muted sweetness.  A little bit more moisture from the blueberries though.  After toasting, both had the same crunchy exterior like the other bagels while being chewy, yet soft inside.   Our last bagel in our order was the French Toast Bagel.  Yes, this was mapley-sweet with hits of cinnamon and a bit more sweetness from the powdered sugar.  Texturally, it was still classic bagel with a soft chewiness.  Really enjoyed this one, but I highly recommend that you get this in a separate bag because it took on all the essence of the everything bagel. Overall, the bagels at Utopia were exactly what we prefer - soft but chewy with a nice crunchy exterior after being toasted.  They also have a wide selection of flavors too. The Good: - Classic bagel texture - Lots of options - Manageable size The Bad: - Lines can be a little long

It's been almost 9 whole years I've been trying to dine at Orto.  Even since they opened in 2017, I've received recommendations from friends about the place.  From its beautiful garden to their handmade pastas, this was apparently the new hot place to go in North Van.  Well, it is no longer new, but still a popular place amongst the locals and those willing to drive out to the North Shore.  We finally got the opportunity to hit them up since we were in nearby Downtown Vancouver.  Since we had an early reservation, we secured prime seating amongst the foliage in an almost private dining-esque table for 2. Being neighbouring businesses and sharing the same ethos of artisanal eats, Orto serves Bad Dog Bread on their menu.  Of course we didn't hesitate to have some for our meal.  This came with 6 toasted slices accompanied by tapenade, EVOO and caramelized onion butter.  Bread was fantastic having a heartiness to it without being dense.  It had a nuttiness and went really well with the sweet butter.  Tapenade was great too having the classic briny saltiness of the olives.  We also got the Green Leaf Lettuce Salad as well and it was organic and fresh while being tossed in a tangy and bright vinaigrette.  It was topped with plenty of shaved parmesan. Onto some appies, we went for one of the features of the night being the Calamari.  These were in generally little pieces which were coated in a uniformly crispy batter.  We thought it was properly seasoned and none too greasy.  The squid itself had a chew while still being tender.  Best part was the housemade tartar sauce.  It featured fresh mayo that was made with free-range eggs with a combination of dill, capers and onions.  Really bright and tangy with rich creaminess. We also had the Mussels Poulette with a huge side of frites.  Sitting in a white wine and cream sauce, the plump honey mussels were cooked beautifully.  We found them buttery soft with the usual chew from the mantle while having an appealing sweet brininess.  The broth was a bit sweet and bright, but could've used just a bit more aromatics.  Really enjoyed the frites as they were super crispy while light and airy on the inside.  Despite the large portion, we dusted it off. Onto our pastas, we went for the Spaghetti Carbonara.  Featuring firmly al dente pasta, there was some real texture with every bite.  Really well done since fresh pasta can be finicky to work with.  There was a real cheesy richness to the dish without having the egg curdle.  Plenty of lardons in the mix providing the fattiness as well as the saltiness for the dish.  It also provided a meaty texture intermittently between bites of pasta.  A final topping of parm on top provided extra nuttiness. For some reason, the Squid Ink Spaghetti was a little less al dente than the carbonara.  It was quite possibly due to the residual moisture from the seafood at the bottom of the plate.  No matter, as that was where some of the brininess and bright wine flavour resided.  There was a good amount of garlickiness from the garlic and garlic scapes.  However, as a whole, the pasta was quite bland.  It was lacking in salt and could've used much more chili for some kick.  As for the scallops, they were buttery soft and cooked beautifully.  The prawns were also good being cooked first and added to the pasta after.  Nice meatiness to them. In addition to our pastas, we added the Risotto with crab meat for good measure.  This was rather tasty with the definite sweet aromatics of lobster.  It quite possibly obscured the brininess of the crab, but we did get some hits of it with the bits and pieces of meat.  With the addition of mushrooms, we got another hit of umami and depth.  The rice itself was chewy and cooked right. Despite being rather full and having to pack most of the pastas, we saved room for dessert.  We ended up with the Affogato and we were surprised it came with 2 scoops of gelato.  Combined with the espresso, there was an aromatic caramel flavour.  However, with so much gelato, it did dilute the coffee a bit.  No matter, we still enjoyed this and it was great on a hot day. Our second dessert was the Cherry Pannacotta.  It was refreshing and light, but the pannacotta wasn't completely set.  I personally didn't mind it that much as I prefer that over an overly firm texture.  The cherry compote on top was only semi-sweet with some tartness.  Overall, the meal at Orto was mostly good with some things that could be better.  Service was fantastic and the garden setting elevates the experience.  Pricing is completely fair where it fairly accessible. The Good: - That garden is fabulous - Excellent service - Generous portions The Bad: - A few things could be better - If you are stuck sitting inside, it is unbearably warm during the Summer

Many years ago, I would visit Song Huong out on Nanaimo for their Vietnamese fare, in particularly, their Bò 7 Món.  For those who are not familiar, this is seven courses of beef that is usually served during celebrations.  So when they opened a second location near me, I knew I had to go.  I actually went twice with the second visit being the one I had their Bò 4 Món.  Yes, they no longer have the 7 courses, but hey, I'll take 4 courses! But before, we got to the 4 courses of beef, we had the Bánh Cuốn Chả Lụa Bánh Cống on our initial visit.  This consisted of steamed rice rolls with ground pork and wood ear mushroom as well as deep fried fish cake and Vietnamese ham.  I thought the sheets of rice noodle were a bit firm, but still soft enough.  Filling was tender with the crunch of the wood ear.  Fish cake was crispy and soft in the middle. Of course we have to try the Phở Tái Nạm Gân and this featured a broth that was fairly clean and not overly fatty.   I would say the overall impact and flavour of the broth were good where we had some meatiness and I also could taste some of the usual components including star anise, daikon and charred onion.  Noodles were al dente while the meats were tender.  However, the portion size was concerning.  Sure, I do have a bigger appetite, but really, this would be more of snack for me.  At least maybe offer the option of an XL and I would gladly pay the higher price. As for the Bún Bò Huế, there was definitely spice and a touch of brininess, but as for depth, it didn't have the hit of lemongrass that I would've liked.  It was there and not strong enough, or not there at all.  Even the brininess could've been dialed up by 3 times.  Also, the portion size, like the Pho, was pretty small with a limited amount of noodles and only just enough meat.  Again, an optional larger size would've been appreciated. Moving away from noodle soups, we had the Lemongrass Chicken and Spring Roll Vermicelli Bowl.  There are pros and cons about bone-in chicken, but for me personally, I'm not a fan of bone-in as it makes it really difficult to eat.  With that being said, the chicken was moist and flavourful though.  Spring roll was great with a crunchy rice paper wrapper.  Pork and veggies in this was sweet and briny while being juicy. Here we are with the Bò 4 Món with the first course being the Sliced Beef in vinegar hot pot.  All the fixin's were there including rice paper and the hot water to dip them into (you only need to dip it for a few seconds!).  Rice noodles, herbs, pickled veg, bean sprouts, onions and anchovy sauce were also there to wrap inside the rice paper along with the beef.  There was a small amount of lemongrass, peanuts (on the side because my daughter has sensitivities) and chili sauce as well. The next 3 courses consisted of Grilled Beef Rolls (Satay Beef, Beef wrapped in La Lot Leaves and Beef wrapped in Caul Fat).  Naturally, these were all very similar where the ground beef was juicy and tender.  They were well-seasoned being a bit sweetness while nicely charred and caramelized.  We enjoyed wrapping the meats and making our own salad rolls.  I really wished they still had the 7 courses, but I guess it might not have been a big seller, so it is understandable.  Overall, the food is pretty solid at Song Huong, but portions are either too small or just average in size. The Good: - Decent eats - They have Bò 4 Món - This location is spacious and clean The Bad: - Portions are too small (should offer larger portions for an extra charge) - Service is good, but sparse

Here we go with another restaurant on my "to eat at" list but it has taken me until now to actually pay them a visit.  When Bluebeard and Nikita wanted to meet up for dinner, it was as good as any time to suggest Selene Aegean Bistro out on Pentiction at Hastings.  Not be confused with Chez Celine out on Fraser, this place features a Mediterranean menu as its name suggests.  We really loved the front facade of the place as it created the right atmosphere even before we set foot inside.  After discussing what to have on the menu, we ended up with their Tasting Menu for $80.00 per person. Things got off on the right foot with a trio of items including Babaganoush.  We found the eggplant to be silky smooth and quite pleasant with a touch of earthiness.  We would've liked to see a bit more smokiness though.  It went really well with the fresh pita as it contrasted the crispiness of the pita (where it was fluffy inside).   With much more impact, the Tirosalata had plenty of kick from the fermented red chilis as well as a balancing amount of tanginess.  It was also slightly creamy from the feta and of course nuttiness from the walnuts.  Although not as prominent in size, the small cup of Stuffed Olives was impactful.  Beyond the initial briny and tangy notes, the creaminess of the feta really came through.   Lastly, the Amberjack Crudo was a pleasant dish with meaty slices of fish in a strawberry ouzo broth.  Nice sweetness with only a touch of licorice.  As amberjack can typically be, it started off with a fairly firm texture, but it got much softer as I chewed it.  The slices of jalapeno were thin and did not overwhelm the fish.  Rather it gave the necessary bite for impact. Second course featured Horiatiki and Mussels.  As you may already know, I rarely fawn over a salad.  However, the tomato-forward horiatiki was magnificent.  The fresh tomatoes were plump and the marinated ones were sweet like candy.  These were balanced off by the pickled onions and some olives as well as some creamy red wine feta.  Consisting of plump out-of-the-shell mussels, these sat in a spicy loukaniko butter.  So many layers of flavour here including briny, sweet, nutty and of course spiciness.  Some freshly-shaved fennel added crunch and brightness. The toasted and oiled olive focaccia was the perfect thing to sop up all of the sauce.    Since Nikita cannot have any gluten, they were able to make the Kalamari with potato starch for the Kalamari to accommodate.  Honestly, if no one told me this was gluten-free, I would've accepted it as the standard dish.  I found it really good with tender squid with a nice bite while the coating was firmly crispy.  That tzatziki was money with notable dill hits and purposeful tanginess. Third course had the bigger dishes in the Arctic Char and Bavette Steak.  This set of dishes were okay, but not as good as the the first two courses.  We found the Arctic Char to have a uniformly crispy skin that was well-seasoned, but the fish itself was a bit overdone.  It wasn't dry though, so still pretty good.  Underneath, we found spinach sitting in an avgolemono which had a nice viscosity and brightness.  As much as I enjoyed the ezme underneath (which was tangy, mildly spicy and earthy), the Bavette Steak was not as tender as we would've liked.  It was prepared a perfect medium-rare though and properly rested.  Loved the white anchovies and pickled pearl onions on top as it added some brininess to the dish. The side of triple cooked Patatas were super crunchy and nutty with creamy potatoey insides.  Loved the creamy feta mayo on the side.  Smoky with slight bitterness, the Oyster Mushroom Souvlaki was sitting on a bed of walnut skordalia, which was thick (from the bread), nutty and tangy.  I didn't mind it, but others at the table thought it tasted off. Onto dessert, we were served the Mahalepi and Amygdalota Ice Cream Sandwich.  We really enjoyed the ice cream sandwich as the tahini ice cream was nutty, sweet and nicely sweetened by the honey caramel.  The almond cookie had a crumbly crunch and of course nuttiness.  The fig-infused pannacotta to be smooth and silky with just the right consistency.  The macerated strawberries add a sweet tanginess while the brown sugar kataifi (served on the side) added crunchiness.  Overall, it was a pleasant meal at Selene.  We felt the prices were reasonable for the amount and quality of food we were served. The Good: - Generally delicious food - Well-priced - The calamari The Bad: - Steak was not as tender as we would've liked