Dine out at Brix

I looked at this year's Dineout menu and one place I really wanted to try was Brix in Yaletown.  I also wanted to go to The Refinery but it was booked on the night we were planning to go.

For more information on Dineout 2012, please click here

Brix is a restaurant/ wine bar with modern cuisine using local ingredients.  It's located in a 1912 Heritage building in Yaletown.

  When we got there, it said at the front "Please come through the curtains".  At first we were super confused but when we open the curtains, it led us into the courtyard. The courtyard seemed like a place out of a fairytale with candles everywhere!  It's a perfect place to take your loved ones.

You can sit inside or outside.  The courtyard has a roof and a lot of heaters so you don't have to worry about getting cold.

There were two choices on the dineout menu.

Menu A and Menu B.

Menu A was $38 and menu B was $48.

We decided to get Menu A. 

We all got prosciutto wrapped scallops, barbeque duck fried risotto, scallions, crisp garlic and shallot for appetizer, and my friends both got 5 oz Alberta beef tenderloin, pomme puree, olive oil poached asparagus and I got mushroom risotto for main. 

Happy 2012!!-New Year's Eve at Lupo

I know this post is somewhat late but Happy 2012!  I can't believe it's already 2012.  The last 21 years of my life flew by and it's hard to believe that some of my friends will be graduating this year. 

 I was hoping to go to some kind of awesome New Year's eve party with awesome food and company but that didn't happen. I decided to grab a very pleasant dinner at Lupo with my boyfriend and went over to my boyfriend's house to chill to celebrate the end of 2011 and to welcome 2012.  Come to think of it, I totally forgot about New Year's resolution and did not think about it until recently.  I have decided that this year...

1. I really have to save up some money.  Mostly to travel so less shopping and less eating out for me this year.  I will try to cook more at home and save, save and save!
2. Eat healthier
3. Try to get better marks
4. Find a research opportunity
5. Start a new hobby - I would love to learn about video editing, InDesign, or illustrator (anything similar)
6. Treat other people as I wish to be treated
7. Go out with my camera more often
8. Blog more often
9. Read more often

I think this was about it... If I think of more, I will mention it on my next post.  To start off on the right side, I've already finished reading one book, "The Girl Who Played With Fire".  I've read the 1st book of the triology last year during the summer but I got too lazy with the 2nd book and didn't pick it up until recently.  I actually watched the English version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" yesterday but I personally enjoyed the Swedish version better because the Swedish version stayed with the original story and I thought Noomi Rapace did a better job portraying Lisbeth Salandar. 

Anyways, enough about me, I am going to talk about Lupo. 

I've only heard good things about this restaurant and I've been wanting to visit for a long time and when I was trying to make reservation for New Year's Eve last minute, 2 spots were available at Lupo. 

First, when you first look at Lupo, you will see this homey exterior with long stairs (obviously not accessible to people with wheelchairs).  When I walked in, I felt cozy and homey as if I was at a dinner party.  Since it was New Year's Eve, they decorateed the restaurant with balloons which added a festive feeling to the atmosphere.  (I apologize for the bad quality of the photos.  It was taken with my iphone)

As you can see, it was quite empty when we went at 5:30 but as we were leaving around 7:00, the restaurant was almost full.

We ordered "3 ways Crostini" for antipasti and this dish was $11.