five things to eat before you die (yikes!)

I was tagged by Linda of Kayak Soup for the food meme that's been making the blog rounds: 5 things to eat before you die. Melissa at the Traveller's Lunchbox notes that the five items "should definitely be things you know and love and couldn't imagine not having tasted". Just five things?! Well, it was a tough job, but I think I've come up with a few good things. Read on.

1. Chicken & Waffles from Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles in Long Beach, CA. I had this for breakfast last year on our honeymoon and somehow the combination of awesomely delicious waffles with syrup meld so nicely with the salty crispy fried chicken. Seriously good.

2. Biscuits and Gravy at the Dish Cafe in Seattle. Mmmmm, I do love a good breakfast and the first time I had biscuits and gravy was at the Dish Cafe in the lovely Ballard 'hood of Seattle. Light biscuits and tasty gravy definitely make for a wonderful breakfast treat. And a treat it is since I've never seen biscuits and gravy at a menu in Vancouver (or all of Canada, really).

3. Lamb Popsicles at Vij's in Vancouver. Last year's birthday dinner was at Vij's and it's where I had these incredible flavourful lamb "popsicles" that sat in a lovely fenugreek cream curry sauce. Mmmmmm. Apparently, the recipe is here.

4. The Hedge House Salad served at the Hedge House Pub in Portland, OR. This salad with beets, hazelnuts, blue cheese, greens, and a balsamic dressing that I can't seem to replicate is hands-down my most favourite salad. True, I do make grandiose claims from time to time, but really, the combo of salty-sweet, creamy and crunchy is just too damn dreamy. This salad is a nice accompaniment to the seriously strong IPA they brew there and I MUST have this again. Note: if you follow it up with a fleur de sel caramel from next door's Pix Patisserie, well, then you can die right then and there with a smile on your face.

5. A tart, crisp, fresh, bright green Granny Smith apple. Really, there is nothing more delightful and refreshing than the perfect Granny Smith apple. My favourite fruit, hands down.

And although I hate tagging others, here I go! Please feel free to ignore or go right ahead! I'd love to know what you all think (plus anyone else who feels like doing it):
poco-cocoa
the urban repast
messy cucina
lobstersquad
tales from a veggie kitchen