June 21, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Culinary Tours & Schools
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Sometimes the kitchen just needs a night off.
Last night was one of those nights.
My mother and I didn’t feel like firing up the stove so we wandered over to Fort St. John’s Irish restaurant and pub: Egan’s.
Upon arrival, we were seated in a comfortable booth in the attractively decorated restaurant side. Modern decorative light fixtures hang from the ceiling and cast a warm glow on the dark wood and warm yellow painted walls, the old fashioned decor pieces and the rich, darkly toned tables and seats. I will, however, own that, given the number of windows in the restaurant and the length of the daylight here in the North in the summer, a rather strange lighting effect was created; somehow it was both dim and bright.
Despite the strange condition of the lighting the food was prompt and delicious. In under 15 minutes (from the time we ordered) we were served steaming hot meals which were satisfying and tasty. I had the “Our Very Own Egan’s Burger” with a house salad. So it wasn’t Irish, but it was still to die for! The patty was big and thick and savoury (without being too much) and all of the vegetables on the burger and in the salad were crispy and fresh. I would even dare to suggest that the salad was NOT from a bag! Pretty rare for your average restaurant pub.
My mother got the steak sandwich which, she reported, was perfectly cooked and very pleasantly seasoned. She found the bread that it came on a bit too well buttered but then, she is quite picky about butter content in her food.
Overall it was a very tasty supper and, with a 2 for 1 coupon from a local fundraiser the meal (for both of us) cost under fifteen dollars. So next time you need some fresh hearty fare in Fort St. John, stop by Egan’s and enjoy fabulous (and fairly priced) food!
Photo shows the Pub side of Egan’s.
June 20, 2009 | Tips from Travellers >
Fort St. John, Culinary Tours & Schools
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It may strike some as strange but Fort St. John has more sushi restaurants than Tim Horton’s-es. For the sushi lover in all of us, there are three great places to go: Masataro Sushi, Little Tokyo, or Sushi Heaven. They all serve surprisingly good sushi given how far the fish has to be shipped to reach our northerly (and inland) location, but there is one that holds a special place in my heart: Sushi Heaven.
I first stumbled across Sushi Heaven shortly after Fort St. John was inundated with the sushi craze when I decided that it was high time for small-town-girl-Brittney to try a taste of this strange Japanese meal replete with raw fish. I was mildly apprehensive but almost instantly fell in love with the fishy dish.
Sushi Heaven offers a delectable selection of inside-out rolls, maki rolls, dons, sashimi, and nigiri sushi. My personal favourite is the Dynamite combo (six pieces of dynamite roll and three pieces of nigiri sushi) which I found myself savouring a few nights ago with friends.
It tends to be quiet in the evenings (being more of a lunch venue) and so, we waited mere minutes for our meals to emerge. As expected the food was fantastic and the service was positively excellent. We chatted the evening away at a simple table beneath one of the many painted Japanese paper lanterns suspended from the ceiling, whilst periodically amusing ourselves with the Japanese quotes and wall hangings enrobing the walls around us. I probably consumed a good 3 cups of complimentary green tea before we trooped out of Sushi Heaven and slowly drifted back to earth.
If you happen to be in Fort St. John the next time you get a sushi craving or just need a taste of heaven manifested as a simple but charming Japanese restaurant, check out Sushi Heaven; it is a touch of paradise in seaweed and sticky rice.