Meet in Gastown

I am so behind on my food posts! That's part of the reason why I will be keeping this one fairly short. Just wanted to put that out there before I get started.

Meet in Gastown - probably best described as a restaurant where casual comfort meets modern hipsterness (I think I made that word up).

I first stumbled across this place by accident when I was wandering around in Gastown trying to find a place to have dinner. Although the address of the restaurant is on Water Street, the actual spot is a bit tucked away inside a corridor. The restaurant's inconspicuous location makes it a good place for a quiet and cozy meal. I am definitely a fan, even though the "patio" only offers glimpses of sunshine.

I came here with Cory (almost 3 weeks ago now) for dinner on a Thursday night. There was a good flow of people going in and out, but it wasn't too busy. I will confess that I didn't know much about the restaurant before coming. Neither Cory or I realized that the restaurant was known for its gluten-free and vegan menu selections. I've actually never been to a completely gluten-free / vegan restaurant. I guess there is a first for everything! 

Knowing my preferences, I (obviously) ordered their Mac N' Cheese .. with the add-on of chili!

Mac N' Cheese with chili.

Their Mac N' Cheese is made with their vegan cashew cheez sauce, scallions and smoked salt. I had a choice of brown rice macaroni or wheat penne. I picked brown rice macaroni. It actually bothers me when mac and cheese is not made with macaroni! How can it be "mac" and cheese ... 

And truth be told, it was actually very tasty! I will refrain from giving it a CAMCR (Cynthia Approved Mac and Cheese Rating) because although it tasted good, it didn't quite resemble your typical mac and cheese. It was more of a chili mac, if anything. I couldn't really make out the cashew cheez very well, so it's hard for me to comment on how it stacks up with real cheese. 

I do plan on coming back and trying their house chili though. I saw several people around me ordering it and it looked like straight comfort in a bowl. 

Burgoo

Burgoo. What a cute name??? I've wanted to try this place out ever since I drove by it on Main Street the first time.  I've since learned that there are two other locations in Vancouver - one on West 4th and one on Londsdale Avenue, in North Van. "Burgoo" sounds like a fictional baby-talk term. However, Google and Wikipedia tell me otherwise. Apparently, "burgoo" refers to a type of thick stew, often prepared communally as a social gathering.

The restaurant's slogan is, "food for comfort". Their menu seems to say the same thing. I recently read a Daily Hive article titled, "101 things to eat and drink in Vancouver before you die"...

"82. Mac and Cheese at Burgoo
Beloved for their comfort foods, Burgoo's Mac and Cheese always gets top nods for being among the best in the city."

MAC AND CHEESE??? BEST IN THE CITY??? YES PLEASE. (Yes, the capitalization and punctuation is absolutely necessary to properly convey my level of excitement.)

Sameer and I came here this past Sunday for a late lunch and was lucky enough to score a seat on the patio. It was already 3 pm by the time we still had to wait about 15 min to be seated. As usual, I was famished by the time we were seated. Luckily, I didn't have to waste any time deciding what to order ... because MAC AND CHEESE. I took a sneak peek at their menu anyway, just to see what other yummy selections they had to offer.

I made a mental note of the items I wanted to try on my next visit: Jambalaya, Chicken Pot Pie, Beef Bourguignon, Burgoo Biscuits, and Queso Fundido ... to name a few. And that's obviously subject to me being able to restrain myself from ordering the Mac and Cheese again.

Our waitress told us right off the bat that all of their cheese dishes were very popular. This made me very happy. I proudly ordered the Mac and Cheese and a Caesar (because why not? And because they have $6 Caesar specials on Sundays!). Sameer ordered the El Cubano Sandwich that was stuffed with braised pulled pork, spicy Capicollo ham, mix cheese, grainy mustard, and garlic pickle relish. It also came with a side of kale salad.

El Cubano Sandwich

I took a couple of bites of his sandwich to try it out. The meat was very flavourful and soft and the sandwich was good overall ... but didn't come close to my  Mac and Cheese.

Mac and Cheese - star of the show!

My Mac and Cheese was piping hot and fresh out of the oven ... just the way I like it! I like having Mac and Cheese while it's H-O-T (hot to the point where you could burn your tongue if you're not careful). That way, the cheese is ooey gooey and melted just right. This Mac and Cheese was loaded with aged white Cheddar; simple and classic. A common criticism I have for mac and cheese is that it's dry or it doesn't have enough cheese. The macaroni here was soft and very moist, but not mushy. There was just the right amount of cheese and the taste of cheddar was not too overpowering. I also loved that they had bottles of Sriracha sauce readily available. If you are a fan of mac and cheese, please do yourself a favour and try this one!

Cynthia Approved Mac and Cheese Rating (CAMCR*)

*Percentage weight of each factor in calculating the total CAMCR - Macaroni 20%; Cheese - 30%; Presentation - 5%; and Overall Taste - 45%.

Category: Gourmet**/Classic? - Classic

**Note: Toppings/Ingredients would have been a factor if it was categorized as "Gourmet".

Macaroni - 4/5

Cheese - 5/5

Presentation - 3.5/5

Overall Taste 4.5/5

X(perience) Factor*** - 2/2

***Click here (and scroll down to the bottom) for an explanation.

Burgoo gets a CAMCR of 92.0%