Chain's new Test Kitchen opens as milestone for 11 B.C. restaurants

Coquitlam's new-look Milestones Test Kitchen is cooking up a taste of what could be coming to the chain's 45 restaurants across Canada and B.C., including Guildford Town Centre and Southpoint locations in Surrey. The September launch on Barnet Highway was, yes, a milestone moment for Milestones, first opened in Vancouver in 1989. Today, dishes of food created in the Test Kitchen, if successful, "will propel new menu options and the expansion of the Fraser Bar concept to other cities and locations across the country," according to a news release. Created by head chef Jeff Dell, the menu is split between best-selling Milestones favourites (Sweet Chili Chicken Bites, Wham-Bam Shrimp) and new recipes including Samosa Poutine, Kettle Chip Nachos, five different forno pizzas, Lobster Frites and also weekend-brunch dishes (the Pear & Coconut Waffle sounds amazing). New to the second floor is Fraser Bar, an intimate, prohibition era-style cocktail bar that boasts a menu even more exclusive and interesting than the downstairs Test Kitchen, with several pages of bites and cocktails. Get there for $5 drinks during Happy Hours from 3 to 6 p.m., then 9 til close. Special days include Meet-up Mondays (four bellinis and two starters for $40) and Date Night Wednesdays (menu for two starting at $75). “I’ve been entrusted with a very special role,” Dell says. “I can assure you we’re not taking this trust lightly. Our team is working intensely to find the right new recipes, and to gather feedback from the people whose opinion matters most to us — our local patrons.” In B.C., Milestone restaurants are open in Langley, Abbotsford, Surrey (two locations), Coquitlam, Kelowna, Langford, Tsawwassen, Victoria and West Vancouver; the Whistler location is closed for renovations, according to a post on milestonesrestaurants.com/locations [https://milestonesrestaurants.com/locations/]. Milestones Test Kitchen is operated by Pacific Rose Hospitality Group in partnership with Foodtastic, the company behind Milestones and more than 20 other brands including Freshii, Pita Pit and Second Cup.