Habit

Habit has been on my list of restaurants to go to for a very long time. Most of my restaurant eating is done at lunch time, so it had remained on the wish list until one Saturday night when Wendy and Gabs were able to get a babysitter for baby Rocket. Then it was off to Main Street for a double date night! Habit was not our original destination, but after the awesome night that we had, it will be on my go-to list from now on!



I am going to start with the drinks. I usually don't post about booze as I am not much of a drinker, but I am so in love with what they call the "REINVENTED RETRO COCKTAILS $9" that I had to try all four of them. Their description from the menu: "We have then deconstructed each recipe and laid out the components ‘bento box’ style, along with shaker and glass, so that you can shake and pour your own cocktail. WHY? Because drinking is fun!" Agreed.

The Manhattan


The Sloe Gin Fizz


The Tequila Sunrise


We did try the 'Not So Blue' Hawaiian as well, but after 3 cocktails, I forgot to take a picture. I loved the bento box style and mixing the drinks myself. Sure it is a gimmick, but I had so much fun. My favorite was the Tequila Sunrise.

The boys enjoyed another cool drink special, the "DAILY BEER ‘N’ WHISKY SHOT!" $8.00 (1oz feature whisky shot, plus 20oz daily feature beer. The beer and whisky change daily.

I was going through a grilled cheese obsession recently and ordered the:
"Grilled Cheese- aged white cheddar,brie $11" They really got me with this next line: "Want some truffle oil on your grilled cheese? Just ask!". The answer to that question is always yes. All burgers/sandwiches are served with choice of soup, fries or salad. I asked for half fries, half salad and they said yes, hooray!



The cheesy/truffle aroma from this sandwich was so amazing. It was while I was sniffing my dinner that I realized there were three half pieces of sandwich. I asked my server if I was missing a piece, but he said it comes with three. Two was too little so they added another piece. I asked what happens to the fourth piece. Do they hold onto it and serve it to the next person? Do the cooks get really excited when someone orders the grilled cheese because then they get to eat a piece? I think I may have freaked out the waiter a bit with the intensity of my curiosity. In the end, he didn't know. It will remain one of the great mysteries, unless someone can tell me.

Plating aside, this was a damn fine grilled cheese sandwich. The bread was perfectly toasted and the aged cheddar added a nice sharp taste to the cheese. I would put truffle oil on everything, given the chance, and I loved a truffled grilled cheese. Excellent ratio of fries to salad. This is my favorite type of fries, thin and crispy. I don't eat ketchup so I like when fries come with mayonnaise or aioli. The salad was flavourful and well dressed. I really enjoyed this meal. It will be hard to get me to order anything else on return visits.

Michael chose the burger with an all fries side: "Habit Burger
Pemberton Meadows beef & Fraser Valley pork, bacon, caramelized onions $13.



That was a nice looking burger! The patty was homemade and really juicy. Michael really liked the caramelized onions and bacon on the burger.

Wendy chose the other menu item that I was considering the "Pork Tenderloin
hazelnut & pork stuffed baked apple, swiss chard, matchstick-potatoes, mustard demi-glace $19.



The plating was so impressive, it looked so delicious. If I hadn't loved my sandwich I would have regretted not ordering this. I wish I would have taken the picture from the other side so you could see the stuffed baked apple. I will blame the 3 cocktails... Wendy really enjoyed this dish.

Gabriel went with a "Rainbow Trout- scalloped potato, spinach, tomato-leek sauce, crispy capers $18" *Note all the fish on the menu are Ocean Wise.



This was the smallest portion of all the dishes, but Gabs said it tasted really good. I loved the colours on the plate. For a casual dining restaurant, I was so impressed with all the food that we received.

We didn't want the night to end so we ordered some dessert. For me, it is always pie:



I love apple pie and this was huge and delicious.

Wendy and Gabs went with a chocolate brownie, walnut dish:



Wow. This was as decadent as it looked. They couldn't finish it so Big M stepped up to the plate and polished it off. To be fair, I ate most of the pie so he probably had the room.

We had such an amazing night at Habit. I wish I remembered our waiter's name because he was fantastic. I love the atmosphere of this restaurant. II used to collect those type of lamps so I felt right at home. Habit is now my favorite Main Street restaurant. See you there, I will be the one drinking the Tequila Sunrises.