Friday, May 07, 2010

May 6th - Grape Juice Fundraiser and BBQues - Yaletown

D and I went to the Grape Juice Vancouver fundraiser for the Vancouver Lower Mainland Big Sister Little Sister foundation. It was a Silent Wine auction at he Earl's in Yaletown. It was a fantastic event. It was surprisingly well developed and well attended given its grassroots beginnings.  Virtually all the auctions went over value and several donations to sponsor a match were made.  It takes approximately $2000 in effort to match a little girl to a big sister.  Well done!  I bid on nearly a dozen lots but lost most of them by the end.  I only had one left that was live by the time we left but I have not heard back yet.  Fingers crossed!


There some some great wines to taste as well as little nibbles that I have never seen on the Earl's menu.  The standout were the mini Tuna Sliders with an Onion reduction.  MMMMM  My favourite wine from the tasting was the Stella Maestro Merlot.  Fantastic!  A tad on the pricey side as I have had just as nice French or Californian Merlots for considerably less but it is a very nice wine in any case.

Afterwards, we stopped for food because D did not eat enough of the nibbles.  It was a very crowded event and it was rather difficult for the servers to circulate so the sushi tended to not travel further in the room than the doorways.  Oh well.  D stopped cold at the new BBQues when he saw the deal on the sandwich board outside.  There was a special for Half Price on a Full or Half side of Ribs with two sides to choose from.

There used to be a nice upscale Mexican there but it only lasted a year.  It is a shame because the location is right and the food was nice.  I don't think this one will last given last night's experience.  It seemed promising because it smelled right and there were nearly a dozen sides to choose from: Mac and Cheese, Slaw, Veg, Cornbread.... There is a nice covered patio out front and the centre of the room is now dominated by a large sit around bar.  The package was piping hot and we rushed home to eat it.  I suggested to D that we sit but we were bushed and he preferred eating at home.

What a disappointment it was when D opened the large carry-out box to find finger sized ribs with a small slab of Mac and Cheese.  The ribs were lean on meat and very small.  All D could say was "Thank Goodness I only paid half price.  Can you imaging paying 16$ for this!?".  The Mac and Cheese was okay, slightly greasy and it was a sad looking portion.  The Slaw was pretty good as well though quite watery.  It was strange though because I had ordered the Cornbread and not the Slaw.  Oh well.  There was not alot of sauce on the ribs either.  I do not expect we will be going back.  Given the big box joints surrounding them that do offer 'American' sized ribs, I do not know how well they will stack up.

Cost: $$-$$$
Staff: Nice
Location: Yaletown

BBQues
1043 Mainland - Yaletown
Vancouver, BC
(604) 603-5574




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