$100 Giveaway to The Heather Hospitality Group Restaurants!

SORRY! CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

$100 Giveaway to The Heather Hospitality Group Restaurants!

What a week it’s been, and it’s only just begun too! With the new release of another Follow Me Foodie Quickie in Las Vegas (video) and the announcement of Vancouver’s 1st Annual Foodie Feast all yesterday, it only made sense to continue the fun! I really appreciate the support and I want you to enjoy the ride along with me. So, here’s another contest for yours and my enjoyment!

I’m hosting a contest for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate to any one of the following The Heather Hospitality Group Restaurants: The Irish Heather, Salt Tasting Room, Judas Goat, The Salty Tongue Cafe, and Everything Cafe all located in Gastown in Vancouver, BC. Sorry guys, but this contest is only for Twitter users. Hurry up! Go get your account, you’re missing out!

How to enter:

Copy and paste one of the following on Twitter to win:

• RT & Follow @EverythingCafe to win $100 GC to any @TheHeatherGroup resto via @followmefoodie #FMF http://bit.ly/ff6U4X #HHGBigBadGiveaway

• RT & Follow @TheIrishHeather to win $100 GC to any @TheHeatherGroup resto via @followmefoodie #FMF http://bit.ly/ff6U4X #HHGBigBadGiveaway

• RT & Follow @SaltTastingRoom to win $100 GC to any @TheHeatherGroup resto via @followmefoodie #FMF http://bit.ly/ff6U4X #HHGBigBadGiveaway

• RT & Follow @Judas_Goat to win $100 GC to any @TheHeatherGroup resto via @followmefoodie #FMF http://bit.ly/ff6U4X #HHGBigBadGiveaway

• RT & Follow @SaltyTongueCafe to win a $100 GC to any @TheHeatherGroup resto via @followmefoodie #FMF http://bit.ly/ff6U4X #HHGBigBadGiveaway

Contest starts Tuesday March 8, 2011 until Friday March 11, 2011 at 8pm. The winner will be selected by random number generator and announced Saturday March 12, 2011 at 10am.

To be honest guys, I’ve only tried the Long Table Series at The Irish Heather, so I can’t make recommendations for any of their other restaurants. However if you win, then maybe I can follow YOU foodie! 😉 (Update! I’ve now tried Judas Goat – see here)

The Long Table Series (LTS) is an event that happens a few times a week. It’s a casual “dinner party” situated around a long 40 foot communal table where people can socialize, mix, and pick up, *ahem*… I mean mingle, with friends and randoms. All this happens with a hearty home cooked meal and a beer for only $16. It’s a good deal if you’re not too picky and enjoy beer, however they do offer a non-alcoholic drink and a wine option sometimes. For the weekly menu see here.

So the upside to winning the $100, besides winning, is that you don’t have to “budget eat” and do a Long Table Series, although they’re still very fun and I do like the concept. And the upside to not winning, is hey, you can always do a Long Table Series! 😉

I actually tried 2 Long Table Series on my own with some friends just over a year ago see here and here, but since then they’ve changed chefs and of course the menu. It also used to be only $15, so that’s increased as well… but it’s only by a buck, and you still get quite the bang. I was invited to the Long Table Series last night, so here is my experience. In regards to the food, I’ve enjoyed better LTS meals than this one, although this one was still good. It also helps if you enjoy beer, in which case it’s a wicked deal.

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

On the LONG TABLE:

Pork Schnitzel, Spaetzle, Sautéed Mushrooms & Mustard Cream Sauce – 3/6

• $16 + beer
• It was a big portion and you’ll get full for sure, and you won’t be stuffed… well I wasn’t stuffed. It’s good, but I’ve enjoyed better Long Table Series meals – see here and here.
• The pork schnitzel was pounded nice and thin and then breaded with cornmeal and flour, which was a bit thick for me. It was pretty crispy, nicely fried and not greasy, but at times the pork was a bit dry and chewy.
• It was a tangy whole grain mustard cream sauce and the spaetzle was also a mustard spaetzle, so it was all quite mustardy and tangy in flavour.
• The spaetzle (type of Eastern European pasta or egg noodle) was kind of a lazy spaetzle, so if you’ve never tried it this is a good place to start, but also not the standard you should set for spaetzle.
• This spaetzle was more like flat balls of chewy dough that were panfried so they were quite crispy as well, which that part I liked. The technique for making it was off, but that doesn’t really bother me considering the price.
• It was just enough sauce and nothing was too complex about this dish, not even onion or garlic flavours.
• The cream sauce wasn’t too creamy and it held up nicely with the spaetzle and mushroom mixture, but it didn’t hold onto the pork as well. However the speatzle and mushroom used as a “sauce” for the pork did end up working well. Much better eaten all together.
• It was good, I’m glad I tried it, but I wouldn’t care to try it again.

16 oz Pint Of Driftwood Ale

• I’m not really a beer drinker, so I don’t know much about them. They also have this on tap.
• It was sweet in the beginning so it was a nice balance to the tangy mustard sauce, but then it had this really bitter aftertaste that was a bit like dandelions. Yes, I’ve actually tried dandelions… when I was kid… and I remember the flavour for the wrong reasons.
• All the other beer drinkers seemed to be drinking it though, so hey what do I know? Like I said, I don’t really know…

Vanilla Pot de Creme with Blueberry Compote – 3.5/6

• This is something I do know about! Dessert!
• I think this is an extra $5 and it’s optional. It’s big enough to be shared especially since it’s pot de creme.
• I don’t normally order pot de creme, but this one was quite good and I liked it. It’s pretty much creme brulee without the brulee crust.
• There were no real vanilla beans used in the custard though. The custard itself was creamy, rich and almost pudding like in flavour.
• It was topped with a blueberry compote that wasn’t sweetened which was fine since the pot de creme was sweet enough to balance it out.
• I loved the addition of almonds on top because it added a contrasting nutty crunch to the creamy pot de creme. That’s what made the difference for me, although the texture of the creme was great.
• After this I head to Bella Gelateria for some Mixed Fruit and Nut, Hazelnut and Earl Grey Tea gelato… not a bad sign, but back to back desserts are quite the Follow Me Foodie way of doing things ;).