1366 replies to this topic

[Beebs]

La Buca - Had the family style meal yesterday. The six of us had caprese salad, prosciutto slices with pickled veg, puttanesca pasta, green pea agnolotti with shortrib sauce, spinach & mixed mushroom risotto with truffle oil (my favourite), battered & deep-fried white fish (don't remember what kind of fish), albacore tuna, grilled bison, side veggies, tiramisu, cinnamon sugar doughnuts, plus a bottle of prosecco and another of red wine. It was so good, one of the best meals I've had in a long time.

A Vietnamese restaurant on Fraser and 49th-ish that I don't remember the name of - Went for a quick dinner of pho and springrolls.

Breka Bakery & Cafe - Excellent coffee and these tasty little pastries called Kuffles, which are like rugelach filled with ground nuts and spices.

[PaoPao]

La Brasserie, 1091 Davie Street. Went for Dinner on a Friday night and arrived at 7:30 PM to a packed house. No problem, we had a great selection of wines and beer to choose from while waiting about 20 min. Very nice and cozy atmosphere with great food. We had the Suckling Pig and the Hanger Steak. Perfectly cooked and delicious. Looking forward to going back and trying other things on the menu

Voya, 1177 Melville St. Drinks. We had some amazing concoction that Jay made. Fantastic place to hang out and let Jay make up some creative drinks for you.

Twisted Fork, 1147 Granville Street. Sunday Brunch we had spicy Ceasers, fresh squeezed OJ, baked scrambled eggs with gruyere and a meat pie (tortierre?). Excellent food and value with very friendly service. We went again for dinner the following week and ordered the Mussels & Fries, Snails, Strip loin, Lamb shank, and Crème Brule. Everything excellent.

Duffins, 1391 41st Avenue East. This place makes 2 things that I love. 1) the Spicy Fried Chicken rocks, best I have had in the city by far. 2) The Vietnamese chicken and cold cut sandwiches are delicious. If you can put up with the sticky floor and construction workers driving their backhoe's into the lot to park for a cup of coffee and like the above 2 things, this place is great.

Earls, Mainland Street. We really like the decor of the place. The food is alright, it's Earls. We had the Crispy Rib ends, Hamburger, and Beef Dip. Tasty but nothing memorable.

On the radar for the near future:

The Refinery
Ping's
Wang's
Fatburger
Two chef's and a table
Crime Lab

[Knightafter]

I avoid all chain restaurants/franchises and anywhere that has a line up (the ultimate in uncool)
Last 3 places
Golden Phoenix
Co Do
Mistral

I walked by La Brasserie , it looked good , but it was packed , I'll try again midweek

[George Baugh]

I avoid all chain restaurants/franchises  and anywhere that has a line up (the ultimate in uncool)
Last 3 places
Golden Phoenix
Co Do
Mistral

I walked by La Brasserie , it looked good , but it was packed , I'll try again midweek 

Try La Brasserie after 8:30. It seems to empty around then.
La Brasserie (7pm standing room only, 7:30 seated, 9:30 last table in the place)
Cibo
La Terrazza

[Knightafter]

Thanks I'll do that

[makanmakan]

I avoid all chain restaurants/franchises  and anywhere that has a line up (the ultimate in uncool)
Last 3 places
Golden Phoenix
Co Do
Mistral

I walked by La Brasserie , it looked good , but it was packed , I'll try again midweek  

Try La Brasserie after 8:30. It seems to empty around then.
La Brasserie (7pm standing room only, 7:30 seated, 9:30 last table in the place)
Cibo
La Terrazza

We got to the Brasserie tonight around 8:30 and only waited about 20 mins...and with a glass of wine in hand.

[eatrustic]

As luck had it I had back to back evenings out this week. First up was Cafe Boulud. This is my second visit, the first being just before Christmas. I intended to give the famous burger a shot but when I found out the Dine Out menu was being extended I had to go for the value.
I had the Moroccan spiced (I think that's the name) Tuna Tartare, it was tasty but lacked any zing (I had to ask for salt). Next up was the Pot au Feu - poached beef with winter vegetables and beef marrow in broth. Again it was nice but lacked any real depth of flavour. The accompanying mustard and more salt helped but both dishes really needed more pizazz. The dessert was the Dark Chocolate Mousse (which also contained a sort of rice crispy and other goodies) and it was outstanding. For the price I have no complaints but at the regular menu pricing (and portions are the same size) I would have been a bit disappointed. I tried the Pork Duo before Christmas and it rocked.

The next night I met a friend for dinner at MonBella. I've been critical of the in and out chef situation and the menu style changes up until Brian arrived but the menu looked interesting and we were absolutely not disappointed!
Again, they had carried over their version of a Dine Out deal... except that instead of three courses we got six for $38.! We went from a cream soup with horseradish mousse, to mini salad Nicoise, to a slow cooked Tuna in Proscuitto, to a veal dish and then a beef dish (if memory serves me) with fresh strawberry crepes to finish.
Honestly, every dish had interesting things going on and most importantly a nice depth of flavour.
The room is cosy, the wine list is interesting and they are well on the way to being a great neighbourhood restaurant. I was really impressed with what I had and it was hands down better than Boulud.

[merlin]

Divino Wine and Cheese, Calgary

Outstanding [as always] Butter poached lobster with a grilled scallop on a reversed ravioli with truffled sauce.

Buffalo tartar

Numerous glasses of wine and tastings complements of Divino's excellent waistaff and Bin 902.

Tribune, Calgary

Risotto fritters with gorgonzola.

Catch, Calgary

1/2 dozen malpeques and a 1/2 dozen St. Simon oysters from N.B.

Mediocre pinot gris.

Home this evening, back to Calgary Sunday.

Will try to get back to River's Cafe, maybe Capo, Teatro, Centini or something knew depending upon how the wallet is holding up....

[merlin]

Divino Wine and Cheese, Calgary

Outstanding [as always] Butter poached lobster with a grilled scallop on a reversed ravioli with truffled sauce.

Buffalo tartar

Numerous glasses of wine and tastings complements of Divino's excellent waistaff and Bin 902.

Tribune, Calgary

Risotto fritters with gorgonzola.

Catch, Calgary

1/2 dozen malpeques and a 1/2 dozen St. Simon oysters from N.B.

Mediocre pinot gris.

Home this evening, back to Calgary Sunday.

Will try to get back to River's Cafe, maybe Capo, Teatro, Centini or something new depending upon how the wallet is holding up....

[bill_n_opus]

Wow, last reply was a long time ago. No one is eating anymore?

Anyways, went to Go Fish for the first time today (never got around to it)and was tempted to order the fish curry soup but instead I just wanted to try the codx2 and chips.

It was pretty good, the amount of cod you get compared to other standard fish/chip joints is impressive. Very substantial, meaty and filling. I was impressed with that.

Batter was good, a little different than what I was expecting. My initial bite into the cod tasted a little funny ... probably because of the amount of fish. My tastebuds righted themselves after a few mouthfuls. Chips were good, not earth-shattering but tasty. The coleslaw was nice, a hint of spice and more of a cole-chop. If you like the sauce-laden versions out there you may be disappointed.

I passed by Dona Cata but didn't stop. Next time.

[run2eat]

Not eating out as much these days but recent meals have been:

Au Petit Chauvignol
With Riesling at 25% off we indulged in some fine Kabinett with a grand platter, followed by raclette. Can't fault the food - superb selection of cheeses and meats, and duck rillettes to swoon over, but the music was too darn loud - they need to tone that down a bit so we can chat comfortably.

Irish Heather's long table "Chicken Little" dinner
That was no small chicken there. A heartily sized 1/2 cornish hen, really good coleslaw and decent hand-cut fries. Top it off with a pint of R&B pale (though I prefer the cask version), twas a superb deal and convivial atmosphere.

West
We were celebrating a special event - and what a meal. This was our first meal there in ages, and we were very, very pleased with every aspect of our dinner.

[Hestia]

r2e - glad to hear that West is doing better.

Hit Maenam recently. The room? Sweet! The service? Sa-weet! The food? Saaa-weet!!

Seriously, why does it seem like all Thai food is so sugary?

[Kentan]

Topanga Cafe - I hadn't been here in about 20 years so I thought I'd see how it was doing these days. Had a tamale and a Corona and I was back in high school. Topanga does a good Tex-Mex and doesn't seem to have changed a thing since they opened back in 1976. The only difference between now and then is that the menus that customers used to colour are now framed on the walls, and the current menus aren't colourable. The only negative was that the wait staff seemed completely indifferent to the customers. Just drop off the food and get outta there...

Le Gavroche - First time at this French resto that's been around since 1979. (maybe I'm on a 70s kick?) They're having a three course special featuring lobster at the moment. The consomme starter was nice, but the lobster thermador was exceptional. Rounded off with a creme brulee for dessert. A simple, quiet room with a mix of West Enders and tourists for some reason. Maybe Le Gavroche has been around so long that it's in all the guidebooks?

Rhizome Cafe - What a great neighbourhood place. It's equal parts cafe and meeting room. I hadn't been before so I didn't realize they have a full kitchen making great vegetarian food. Had a very tasty tomato baked polenta with salad.

[DylanK]

Latest to most recent:

Shanghai Village on Cambie, KN Pizza Souvlaki on 3 Road, Hue Cafe on 3 Road.

[bill_n_opus]

eGullet has slowed down these days ... but not my appetite. Haha.

Had the day off, family is out of town, so I decided to drop myself off in Vancouver to get some eats and play tourist for a change. Note that i'm not that picky, i'll eat almost anything and like it - well, mostly.

(Saturday)

Patisserie Lebeau on West 2nd for breakfast. Had the Liege Waffle with mixed fruit/custard/whipped cream. It was pretty tasty. Took the white chocolate/almond waffle to go. Pretty intense waffle.

Had some coffee from JJ Bean in Granville Island.

Went for lunch at Thai Basil on Thurlow, ordered the Green Curry with Chicken and it was nice. Perhaps a little "sweet"? I'm not a Thai expert ... but it was tasty nonetheless.

Walked all the way across town to check La Tacqueria. Had the Al Pastor, Fish, the beef tongue(?) and the one with the shredded pork, the Carnita? Anyways, the Al Pastor was alright. The Fish was decent but it was my last one so it was a bit soggy by that time. The Tongue was really nice ... or was it the Carnita?

Finished with Memphis Blues for supper with some family. Your usual Memphis Blues food, I was hungry so it was tasty! Otherwise, it's decent.

Hey, where is everyone!? Are there other forums i'm missing out on apart from CH? (and yes, I say tasty alot)

Edited by bill_n_opus, 16 July 2010 - 01:20 AM.

[mtigges]

Just got back from lunch at La Mariachi on Hastings near Boundary.

The only redeeming factor is they have Negro Modelo. It was ridiculously slow. The salsa verde looked like pea soup, and the tomato salsa looked like campbells tomato soup. Neither tasted very good either.

Strongly un-recommended.

[julixer]

Japas Bistro -- found the food very uninspiring compared to the lot available around every other street corner it seems.

Hapa Izakaya - Does the tako wasabi here change everytime? It always seems slightly "different" each time I return.

Richmond Night Market - Big mistake! Something about the bbl tea, worst stomacheache to my memory in years!

Patisserie Lebeau - Excited to try this place out for the first time today.