enrichi's Profile

As a vacationer from Ontario, I came to Vancouver excited about sushi. And then I went to Lime.

I had read about Lime beforehand in some magazines and websites where they claimed it to be one of the best sushi spots in the city. People raved about the fresh ingredients and high quality. Having been there myself, I really don’t get it.

The Good
-There’s no problem getting a reservation when you’re literally the only two people eating in the place.
-Service was prompt and polite
-The dynamite roll gets top marks for including asparagus. It’s weird but it works.

The Bad
-The meal was very expensive for what it was. The sushi was not outstanding in any way whatsoever. When you pay top dollar for sashimi, you want it to be something worth remembering. Unfortunately the most memorable thing about our night was the bill.
-It’s weird and awkward when you’re the only two people eating in a restaurant.

The Ugly
-At one point a young guy walked up to our table and asked if we liked magic tricks. Seriously. He is the “in house” magician. After letting him do a trick we set him free to talk to his friends out front of the restaurant.
-When you drop triple digits on a meal, you shouldn’t walk away hungry.

Here’s what we ordered:

Miso Soup $3: This was okay, but hey, it’s miso soup. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be.
Edamame $5: Not the freshest I’ve ever had, but the portion size was decent.
Assorted Sashimi $26: This was just sort of… eh. It included 12 pieces, and we were expecting wild salmon to be better than it is in Toronto. Sadly, it just wasn’t. Higher price, lower quality.
Lobster Roll $16: This was okay, but the cucumber used in the wrapping wasn’t fresh. It had been cut previously and let dry. It was also flavorless.
Dynamite Roll $8: Best part of the meal for me. I love dynamite rolls, and this one included asparagus, something I’ve never had before. It was great! Top marks on this one!
Crispy Avocado $8: Ordered this on round two of still being hungry. Didn’t solve the problem. It was a weird mix of mashed avocado with a tiny bit of mozzarella mixed in, then made into a patty with panko breadcrumbs and fried. Then it was served with what tasted like shrimp cocktail sauce out of a jar. Not firm enough to be like avocado, not gooey enough to be like a cheese stick. Just an amorphous green gob on a stick. With cocktail sauce.
Cod $20ish: Don’t remember the exact price of the cod dish we ordered, but it was a little filet of cod cooked in some sort of glaze. We had asked the waiter what he recommended off the menu, and this was what he came up with. Seriously, if a tepid glazed filet is the best offering at a sushi joint, something simply isn’t right.

Went for lunch with a coworker, was very pleasantly surprised! I gave the honor of "Best $10 Lunch Downtown" to a Thai place before, but I have to take it back and award it to Boo's!

Cesar Salad
-large leaves of Romaine dressed and reassembled on the plate. Not overdressed, not underdressed, perfect!

Chicken Shwarma
-best I've ever had. And I've had plenty!

Best in its class!

Shoeless Joe's is a fantastic restaurant, and that's not something I say easily. Competing with restaurants like Kelsey's or Casey's, Shoeless puts all of them to shame.

The Food
The food at Shoeless Joe's is some of the best offerings I've ever seen at a sports bar. The quality is just amazing, much more inline with a bistro-style restaurant than the outside would suggest. Everything is made fresh and in-house, even the thinly sliced turkey from the turkey club salad comes from a freshly roasted turkey breast. The sandwiches are all amazing, and I'm seriously addicted to the Shanghai Salad. I'm not sure about the experience the other reviewer had at Shoeless, since I've gone about 10 times since it opened and everytime I have been 100% satisfied with my visit.

The Drinks
If you like Cesars, you have to try theirs. They offer several varieties, and each one can be made as mild or wild as you like it.

The Service
The staff are always incredibly helpful, polite, and attentive. I have never had any mistakes with my order or anything forgotten. Refills on sodas are quick, and the staff are always welcoming & friendly.

The Atmosphere
Shoeless is a sports bar. There's memorabilia on the walls and in displays, a long bar, and one of the biggest HD screens I've ever seen. The screen is actually made up of 9 hd tvs, so when you put it all together it's pretty awesome! Now even though it's a sports bar, it does have a quieter dining section, and booths are big and plush.

An Added Bonus
Shoeless is a huge supporter in the community for local sports. I just found out, but now I feel even better about picking Shoeless for a night out!

This is the best cheap sushi joint I've found in Hamilton. The combo of Chinese & Japanese is a bit weird, but since neither option is really authentic, it works.

The shrimp & chive dimsum was a fave, but I'd avoid the house roll (the fried roll featuring corn,) not the best option. The sashimi is also of middline quality, but with so many options on the menu, I don't rely on it.

I went back again, and the place was jumping! I've never seen it so full, but I guess word is getting out about how great Real Sushi is.

We had a couple of "blank areas" where things we ordered were forgotten and the waitresses were too busy for us to re-order right away, but their service was still great.

summary of what we ordered:
seaweed salad: too fishy for my taste
miso soup: meh, it was alright
crab tempura rolls: hot and delicious!
green dragon rolls: good
grilled calamari: would pass on this, it was pretty tough
chicken skewers: for some weird reason, I love these!
calamari skewers: this was mediocre. Mine had a crunchy bit, so I didn't go for more than one bite.
white tuna sashimi: I just found out how bad this is for the environment/fish stocks, so I guess that's it for me and the white tuna. It was good, though...
salmon sashimi: my favorite!
salmon nigiri: nice sour rice mix

parking can be an issue at this restaurant, luckily we got the last space in the lot.

kalamari - I was pleasantly surprised to find that the kalamari was delicious! Properly cooked, lightly breaded, on a par with some I've had in high-end restaurants.
lamb kabob on a pita - my date ordered this, said it was very good
chicken souvlaki on a pita - I ordered this and didn't like the chicken. It's hard to describe the actual meat. It was processed meat, in long slices. Like a thickly sliced lunch meat crossed with chicken bacon. It was very salty, and the texture was suspicious. I ended up removing the wad of meat from my pita and enjoying the rest of the dinner. The potatoes, rice, salad, garlic bread, etc were all great. I'd go again, but I would definately stay away from that souvlaki.

Went to 1010 again last night, loved it as usual.

heirloom tomato & boccocino salad - a simple salad that requires the freshest ingredients. perfect.

grilled calamari - slightly less impressed than last visit. It had a touch of chewiness, but it's been good every other time. On a note, even with the chewiness it was as good as anywhere else I've had it.

duck two ways - my date had this on the server's recommendation. was quite pleased with it.

seafood fettuccine - delicious! I've never met a scallop I liked until last night.

belgian chocolate spring rolls - perfect

creme brulle - perfect

the staff were polite, courteous and accomodating. I suppose any restaurant that brings you fresh silverware after each course could be called pretentious, but I appreciate those small touches.

This restaurant is in a state of disrepair. It's dirty, the service is slow, and the food is mediocre.

I keep coming back to this place, and with good reason. This is the best all you can eat sushi I've ever found.

The Good
sashimi - highly recommend the salmon and white tuna. We usually get a few of each and then decide which one seems better that day. I've found that some of the cuts aren't as good as others, it depends on who is working. Having said that, even when they're bad, they're at least as good as other ayce sushi places.
green dragon roll - one of my favorites! the avacado is always fresh and the shrimp tempura inside is perfect
crab meat tempura roll - this can be hit and miss. some days the tempura is barely there, last night it was a lot heavier. Guess it depends on the chef.
edamame - always delicious, nice and salty
dumplings - fried crispy and filled with pork. decent!
pan fried flank steak - I'm not big on red meat, but my partner said it was good

The Less Impressive
fried octopus tentacles - a bit greasy, and coated in what I suspect is cajun seasoning. But okay for what it is.
spring rolls - one of the few bad things. heavy, greasy, and gross.
chicken cutlet - not recommended. fried hunk of breaded chicken, colour indeterminate.
noodles - these are all soups. Just in case you thought you were ordering something else.

A $50 dinner that left me wishing I'd stayed in to cook instead.

spring rolls - best part of the meal, they were actually pretty good if a little greasy. But hey, it's fried.
pizza - mediocre at best
salad - drowning in dressing
soda - Staff kept the glass full, so points for that.