Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub (North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

 April 19, 2022

Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub, 1177 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada www.blackbearpub.com.  Located not too far from the world famous Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.  Check out the bridge, hike the trails then hit the Black Bear Pub.  A great pub and it is very comfortable as soon as you enter.  They have a nice 8 person sit-up bar.  There are 3 or do pub high round tables and numerous tables for 2 and 4. There is a great covered patio area with fire place and gas heaters above. Great selection of beer on tap, with 30 different types and a few rotating taps.  Happy Hour is Monday to Thursday 2 pm to 6 pm, Friday to Sunday 2 pm yo 5 pm.   They have $6.99 and $9.99 Appy selections on then.  There are also daily drink specials.  For lunch I had the Blue Cheese and Bacon burger with Onion rings.  This was an awesome burger and loved every bite.  My wife had the Taco Salad and said it was very delicious.  There are 6 TV's through out, Keno, Video Poker and Pull Tabs for your entertainment. The staff was very friendly, polite, prompt and helpful. It is well worth trying the Black Bear out, we really enjoyed it and can't wait to come back!

This place has won best pub in North Vancouver for 25 straight years running.  Unfortunately their lease is running out.  Bosa Developments wants to get rid of this wonderful pub and put in a 4 story Condo building as well as tearing down the Safeway grocery store next door in favour of putting in a 16 story Condo building.  There is a public hearing coming up.  It would be a shame to see this happen.  Get to it before it is gone!!  Fingers crossed.

Sammy J's Grill & Bar (South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada)

July 2021

Sammy J's Grill & Bar  15770 Croydon Drive, South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.  Located by "The Shops at Morgan Crossing" shopping area. www.sammyjs.ca  A few years back they upped their game and now this is one of the best places around.  The building is awesome with very high vaulted ceilings with beautiful laminated beams.  They have probably the best covered patio area.  It to has a high vaulted ceiling with laminated beams.  The west side has tall glass windows that all open up to let the fresh air in.  Along the west wall they have 3 tables for 4 and I think that they are the best tables to get.  They also have a larger table for larger groups.   The bar it self inside is a large square bar that seats 25 or so.  It is very popular.  The bar area inside is nicer then the restaurant area, but that is my personal preference.  They have 12 large screen tv's and are busy when big sports events are on. Happy hour runs3pm to 6pm and 9pm to close.  Happy Hour items include: $4 well Hi-balls, sleeve of Sammy's Lager.  $5 18 oz Sammy's Lager, Domestic bottle beer,  House Chardonnay and Merlot.  Some of the favorite food snacks are:  Cajun Tater Tots, Yam Fries (best anywhere) Panko Shrimp(darn good), (Jacked up Skins) (really good potato skins), Steak Bites (very good!)  There is ample parking here, which is important.  The Waitresses and bartenders are awesome, very attentive and friendly. One of my favorite places and I am very sure you won't be disappointed.  

Trading Post Fort Langley Eatery (Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada)

 July 2021

Trading Post, Fort Langley Eatery  9143 Glover Road, Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada.  www.tradingpostbrewing.com    A great place located in historic Fort Langley and not far from the Historic Fort Langley.  Small, quaint place with a 7 person sit-up bar and 2 pub high tables for 6 and 4 tables for 4.  The kitchen is open for all to see while seated.  Out back they have a nice covered area with 11 tables for 2-6.  But the best spot is where the parking lot used to be and right beside the covered area.  They covered the parking lot in Astro turf. They have 14 nice solid picnic tables and each with an umbrella in the middle.  There are 6 wine barrels through out with Japanese Maples growing in them.  We opted to sit out side and it was the best decision.  The staff is very friendly, helpful and attentive.  We had wine while there but they serve their own beer which is made at another location.  Beer they have on tap is: Hell's Lager, Amber Ale, Best Coast IPA, Smash Saison, Raspberry Wheat Ale, Dry Hopped Sour, Lemon Lime Gose and Golden Ale.  They also feature Guest Taps. Hard liquor is sold  here. For lunch we shared the  Beer Cheese Dip made with cream cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Amber Ale, Roasted jalapeños, bacon bits and chives with fresh tortilla chips.  This was quite good!  Then we had the Prawn Tacos (4) crushed avocado, 2 garlic prawns, red onion salsa and sour cream on a soft corn tortilla.  These were really good to but messy!!   We really enjoyed our time and just loved the outside patio area.  A couple of people had their dogs with them in the outside area. We can't wait to go back!  Maybe the Bison Tacos next time. 

Dominion Bar & Kitchen (Surrey British Columbia, Canada)

 

June 2021

Dominion Bar & Kitchen, 13475 Central Avenue, Unit D, Surrey, British Columbia Canada www.dominionkitchen.com.  A nice modern bar located in the lobby of the Civic Hotel which is a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel owned by Marriott, that occupies several floors of the 52 story building.  The square sit-up bar is quartz and very nice. and is in the middle of the bar.  There are 10 tv's around the bar. They have several bar height tables for 4 to 6 and are quite comfortable, to go with the standard table height tables and chairs that compliment the long bench seating along a couple of the walls  The ceiling has beautiful laminated beams.  The washrooms were clean and are all individual washrooms so there is no sharing a common area. There is a long narrow patio area but could be better, kind of tight.  They have a private room attached and looks like it could hold around 20 people comfortably. They have 8 mostly local beer on tap. Their happy hour runs 3-6 pm.  For dinner our group had the Honey Hot Pizza,  which is a thin crust pizza with, honey on the crust, Jalapenos, capicola, ham, rosemary, bocconcini and marinara sauce. Was very good! secondly was the Dominion Burger, Angus patty, Onion ring, Smoked bacon and smoked cheddar, red pepper relish, mayo, tomato, dill pickle, butter lettuce and had Yam fries.  This too was very good and will order again!  3rd was the  Cavatappiu Mac and Cheese, Italian spiral macaroni, Jalapeno infused Mornay sauce, 4 cheese blend, parmesans Bread crumbs. Very good, the Jalapeno infusion added a little snap to it but not much, it was quite good. and lastly we had the Pepperoni Pizza, traditional classic, mild pepperoni, bocconcci,  salami, Grana Padano and Marzano marinara sauce.  This too was very good.  The service was very goo, prompt and friendly.  There is under ground parking and the price was $3.00 and was good to 8 am the next day. We really enjoyed it here and look forward to coming back

Fets Whisky Kitchen (Vancouver B.C. Canada)

June 2021   Fets Whisky Kitchen bar and grill, 1230 Commercial Drive, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.  Located on Commercial Drive which is known as Little Italy, the street is eclectic, and lined with shops, restaurants, bars and the such.  For visitors that have never been there, from Downtown take a cab to East 1st and Commercial and get out and walk around.  It is well worth going there.  Fets is known as, "Vancouver's Premier Whisky Bar". The hostess told me that they have around 1,400 different kinds of Whisky.  Needless to say they have a nice cocktail list.  There is a 8 person sit-up bar and behind you can see the bottles of whisky on display, which is very impressive to say the least.  There are several tables for 4 in side, a narrow side walk patio area and another patio area on the street.  I don't know if the street one is going to stay or if it is only because of CVID-19.  We sat in the Patio area on the street and was great for people watching.  The service was very good and the staff very friendly.  For lunch we had the Southern Cobb Salad which had, BBQ chicken, blue cheese, corn, Egg, bacon, Tortilla, greens, baby tomatoes and blue cheese dressing.  This was one of the best Cobb Salads I have ever eaten.  We had wine and beer. Other things on the menu are, Makers Mac and Cheese, Pork and Bean Tacos, Smoked Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread, and Whiskey Pickle Jar just to name a few of the things they have.  I have been here before and I will be be back again for sure.  A great little treasure for sure!! 2 thumbs up!!

Brewster's Pub (Surrey, B.C., Canada)

October 21, 2020

 Brewster's Pub, 7380 King George Blvd. Surrey B.C. Canada.  www.brewsterspub.ca The first pub that I have added during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I have been here numerous times before the pandemic, so this visit was quite a bit different than normal times.  They have an extensive COVID-19 Safety Plan which is available on their website.  You must use hand sanitizer when you enter and they ensure you use it.  The tables have a card advising if it has been sanitized, so you know it has been looked after.  The staff wears face masks. They have a large island style sit up bar but the seating has been reduced.  numerous tables and chairs have been removed to ensure people are more than 6 feet apart.  They have numerous TV's through out covering most sports.  Denise is the manager here and she is such a breath of fresh air, very friendly and efficient.  she is good at remembering people when they come in and hasn't seen them for a long time.  They have all kinds of specials.  Happy Hour runs 2-5 pm every day and feature for $4.25 sleeves of Molson Canadian and Budweiser beer, highballs and wine. $9.00 Steak Bites, $8.00 Chicken Fingers, Dry Ribs, Thai Chicken and spring rolls.  $7.00 Mac and Cheese Squares and Poutine.  They have over 12 different types of beer on tap with assorted seasonal beer. Some of the different specials through out the day are: Monday Night Football, $8.00 dinner, $6.00 order of wings  (I have had their wings before and they are quite good) and $4.50 pints of Budweiser beer. Roast Beef Wednesday, Saturday Rib Dinner, Sunday $6.00 and $ 10.00 breakfast and Fish and Chips.  When we were there we had the Taco Salad with seasoned ground beef.  Came in a nice tortilla bowl, it was fresh and very good!!!  They have a large out door covered patio area but I am not sure if it is open to the public.  There is also an open air uncovered patio area.  Right beside the Pub it their Liquor Store. I sure hope this Virus gets controlled and life can get back to normal.  Stay safe and follow the rules!!

The Dirty Monkey (Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii USA)

March 13, 2020
The Dirty Monkey 844 Front Street, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii USA www.thedirtymonkey.com
They open at 1200 noon and is described as a sports and entertainment bar.They have a large granite L shaped sit-up bar that seats 26 people. The bar is on the second floor and over looks front street.  Over looking Front Street they have 5 tables for 2 and 2 tables for 4, these are great for people watching.  In the back room they have 2 plinko games, 2 shuffleboard games and a medium sized Jenga game.  There is lots of seating in this bar.  There are numerous TV's through out. You must order your drinks from the bar as there is no table service.|For lunch I had the 3 beef tacos, cheese, sour cream and red and green salsa.  they weren't bad but I have had better. My better half had the  Avocado Shrimp Salad.  It was a big portion and lots of decent sized shrimp. She said that it was very good. Their happy hour runs from  3 pm to 7 pm daily, and they have 6 food items running from $10.00 to $13.00.  Well drinks and Mai Tais $6.00- and $2.00 of select wine and draft beer. There is a large whiskey selection. 16 different types ob beer on tap. The staff was friendly and polite.
I don't know what the future holds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 2023 Destroyed by the Lahaina fire.