Posted by It’s been quiet here are NFB HQ, but we do have a few interesting takeout joints to let you know about.
Seadrift Seafood Market
Long have we wanted to visit Seadrift. This little shop makes up part of the cool little Terminal Park shopping row, along with Nesvog Meats and Cobs Bakery. We’d heard they had good poutine too, which is obviously relevant to our interests. Along with that, we ordered a cod burger, and a salmon burger for lunch.
Ups
We were pleasantly surprised that instead of the typical single lettuce leaf and heap of tartar sauce that are part of the usual fish burger, Seadrift’s were more unique with a bell-pepper salsa fresca instead. The fish was well cooked and the batter was crispy, if a bit oily.
Downs
The salsa was great on the salmon burger, but it completely took over the more delicate flavour of the cod. All we could taste in that burger was onion and bell pepper. The poutine was a disappointment. The fries were overcooked to our taste, and under-salted. The cheese and gravy were great, but there wasn’t enough of either. If you get to the bottom of a poutine and the dish is dry, that’s a problem! We found the price for these three things – about $45 – to be too steep for what we got.
Conclusion
We wanted to like Seadrift. Even is the poutine was meh, the burgers were decent, and a little different from what else is out there. But with the high price also considered, it will take some convincing for us to head back soon.
Papa’s Burgers (Parksville)
Just on the right as you enter Parksville from the south, Papa’s Burgers is a tiny little burger shop with a parking lot patio and a drive through(!?) We felt like a couple of burgers on our way to the park and wowowow let us tell you this place is LEGIT.
Ups
Just like the food, this is simple. The taste is delicious. Papa’s Burgers doesn’t overcomplicate their food, and they don’t get fancy. What do you want? A burger? A cheeseburger? A mushroom burger? How about fries? Both our burgers tasted great and had a homestyle sense to them – like your uncle had just made them at his annual BBQ. This, paired with the entirely reasonable menu prices means we have a clear top choice for a good meal.
Downs
If you’re taking out, we’d say literally nothing. If you want to eat there, we didn’t love the patio. It’s better than nothing, but its unenclosed in a hot parking lot with plenty of highway noise.
Conclusion
Papa’s really caught us by surprise. This might become a mandatory stop for us each time we’re in Pville from now on.
Nanay Mo’s Cuisine
There was a ton of excitement when this place opened up. It’s Nanaimo’s only Filipino kitchen! As usual, we waited for the hype to simmer down before checking it out so we could give it a fair shake. While we *really* wanted it to be awesome, results were mixed.
Ups
Having a proper Filipino kitchen is really exciting. Their menu has all kinds of options that simply aren’t available anywhere else. The flavours were huge with big hits of pork and onion and celery. This is super savoury and “comfy” food and we really liked it. The pancit canton (pictured up top) was a particular star.
Downs
Despite having been open for quite some time now, the kitchen is was disorganized. Multiple menu items we wanted to order were not available. For one of those, pork sisig, we were offered a “very similar” replacement called dinakdakan. While this dish tasted good, we discovered while eating that it wasn’t so much pork meat that was in it, but pork parts. We’re ok with that, but that kind of switcheroo might not go down with people who find –parts– unappetizing.
The bigger issue we ran into though was the fact that our takeout wasn’t ready at the time we requested, which resulted in us waiting 15 minutes to pick it up. That would be a small issue, except that it turned out the order had been ready the whole time. They opted to simply handed it to us (cold) and send us on our way. This meant that it was up to us to microwave the food to get it back up to temperature. 😐
Conclusion
So we didn’t have a particularly great experience the first time around, despite the food itself being quite good. If Nanay Mo’s can get their operations in order, we think the food is special enough that they could be great. It’s worth a second try for us and you should try them too!