Sunday, March 28, 2010

Mar 27th - Subeez Cafe for a Birthday on Earth Hour, Vancouver

  Subeez Tuna Burger (taken with Mobile phone)
Everyone was born this weekend! My sister and my friend S's birthdays are today and P' birthday is on the 28th but he was celebrating on the 27th. P chose Subeez Cafe because it is one of the easier place to get a large table for a group. I have eaten or had drinks here a few times and it has consistently been underwhelming. The highlight is Saturday Sangria special and the large tables for groups.

Subeez is dark, dark, dark. This can be done without the eye straining obscurity that is done here with plain ol darkness. I realise they are trying to make it their thing with all the Jesus candles everywhere. You gotta wonder what they are trying to cover up. I could barely see my food which can be annoying when you order something like a Tuna steak.

The candles were doubled up tonight because of Earth Hour. P is a 'Green' guy it is his passion and his job, lucky him. So it probably was not a coincidence that his Birthday dinner was scheduled for Earth Hour. Thankfully Subeez left the lights on in the kitchen but I cannot be sure for the Bar. I started off with a nice, light Poachers Semillon/Sauvignon blend but thought I would try their Feature Hillside Estate Gerwurztraminer. Well, I do not know if the it was the lights or the bartender assuming the regular clientele could not tell the difference between a dry Riesling and a Goo but it was rather insulting. I mean, sometimes I do not mind a substitute on like for like wine. I have had to send back Port at Sanafir when they try to sneak in a cheap LBV for what I ordered. And to me this was the same. You cannot mistake a Gerwurtztraminer. The server was cute though, she tried to pretend that shew knew what she was smelling when I asked her to try but really did not know. She brought me back another Poachers instead without apology or explanation.

The menu here is rather disappointing. When you see the decor and the funky artwork, you expect something more creative. The whole menu is fairly run of the mill, very Earl's or Whitespot. When you accept that is what it is, it could be okay though there is an imbalance with the attitude. Last time I was here a few months ago I had a pretty nice Seafood Green Curry and was planning on ordering that to avoid the fuss of studying the menu like I do but they took it off. The vegetarian and seafood selection is limited.

We ordered a couple of cheese plates for the table and Yam fries. The cheese plate was okay though the amount of cheese vs grapes and cornichon was a let down. The chili cheese was nice and I would look for that at the market. The Yam fries were gross and I was disappointed that I had ordered them with my Tuna burger. They were piping hot but soggy, greasy and mushy.

 Subeez Cheese Plate (take with phone in the dark!)

Most of the table ordered the BBQ Pork Ribs. The portions were huge and it smelled great though and they did pick the bones clean. C ordered a Salmon Linguine which looked nice though the pasta did look store bought. I do not order store bought pasta out in a restaurant. Store bought Linguine, well the really box standard stuff, is easy to spot. It wants to be straight. Sometimes you can buy higher quality Linguine it is homier and comes in nests. Harder to spot.

My Tuna Burger benefited from the low lighting. It came on a sad little Ciabatta which was really closer to a standard burger than any Ciabatta I have ever seen. What I could make out of the Tuna looked like a greyish slab. It was a good size tough. It was not very hot. It was cooked well, nice and rare in the middle. There is nothing worse than a dry over cooked tuna burger. The next sin is cold when it is not supposed to be. It was room temperature at best. It probably sat at the pass waiting for the Pork Ribs because my soggy Yam Fries were cool too. It was a big group though so I did not send it back. I normally would have. The Wasabi mayo was a nice touch but there was an orange slice inside I did not see in the dark I would have pulled out. I would not recommend it.

Cost:$$-$$$
Ambience: DARK and loud
Staff: Friendly, efficient but not very knowledgeable
Food: Underwhelming to disappointing
Location: Edge of Yaletown

Subeez Cafe and Bar
891 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 2W2‎
(604) 687-6107‎



Subeez Cafe on Urbanspoon

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