For any sushi lover that lives in or near Vancouver, The Eatery is a holy, holy place. I mean, I recently made a journey across the ocean from Victoria to eat there, thinly veiled as a "shopping trip" (I bought one top.)
I don't even know where to begin with The Eatery. The decor is kooky and eye-catching enough that if you're on a bad date you'll barely need to converse, the ambience is casual-fun with a student crowd and DJs spinning on weekend nights, the drinks are delicious and the sushi is crazy creative (and cheap!) HOW DOES THIS PLACE EXIST?
Anyways, before I get scarily excited here, I'll cut to the food. I don't know who is responsible for dreaming up some of the ridiculous creations this place spits out, but I like them. Bacon, prosciutto, papaya, fried chicken or tempura banana in your roll, anyone? (Not altogether, obviously... I'm not that insane.) While these ingredients might seem a little out-there, they're always put together in a way that works, and there are tons of options for the tamer sushi-lover, too.
We ordered an outrageous amount of sushi during our last visit to the mainland, and took almost as many pictures.
Tuna tempura was an amazing start to the meal - arguably one of the best parts of it. Morsels of delicate seared tuna, lightly tempura-fried, drizzled with unagi mayo and sweet ponzu sauce and topped with green onions and toasted sesame seeds. We tasted our first batch and immediately ordered another.
Cool pose, Dad!
The Japanese Fortress roll came next. Spicy tuna and cucumber, topped with yam fries and spicy mayo. Completely impractical to eat, but absolutely gorgeous to gaze at.
The Tex Mex roll is think-about-it-for-weeks-afterwards good. A basic california with a creamy tomato-avo-salmon topping. Love the unexpected texture the tomatoes add to the roll. Love everything about the roll.
What a task to finish! Life is tough sometimes.
The Fantasy Roll: tempura prawns, avocado, cream cheese and mango wrapped in a soybean sheet.
The Figa Roll is an example of the craziness I'm talking about. Figs, blue cheese and tempura bits draped in prosciutto and drizzled with more blue cheese sauce. While it had all the aspects of a roll I love - tempura, creamy sauce and a kooky fruit addition - I wasn't sure if I loved or hated this... I managed to eat them all though...
More Figa Roll (such a camera hog!) and in the background: the Panama Roll, which was avocado and cream cheese topped with tempura plantain banana and drizzled in dragon sauce (LOVED the just-sweet-enough addition of the tempura banana) and the Devil's Tail roll; tempura shrimp and avocado topped with slices of spicy tuna.
We ate early (looosers!) to catch the 7 ferry and thus, the place was pretty empty when I tried to snap some pics of the decor. But it's not normally, I swear. Grab some friends (or your parents, if they're as fun as mine) sip some funky mojitos and order some crazy stuff. Bottom line: go, go, GO!
The Eatery
3431 West Broadway
Vancouver, B.C.
V6R 2B4
(604) 738-5298
umm, ummm,ummmm!
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