westside yuppie

Good question. I agree about the Moroccan and Lebanese food, the choices seem very slim in Vancouver. I would add Ethiopian ( I can only think of Nyala), Caribbean( is there anything besides The Reef?), South American (Baru is great, but are there any more?), Tex-Mex, Portuguese or Brazilian,some good Mexican choices would be nice, and is there a single good Persian place in town?

We are going to Bluewater and I am certainly looking forward to the experience. I always liked Pastis when Pabst was there, since then it just hasn't been the quite the same. Has anyone seen an improvement in the service at Bluewater lately? I heard a few service horror stories when it first opened, but I'm hoping that is now a thing of the past. BTW I went back recently to experience the "new" "casual" Bistro Pastis and was amazed at how little it had changed. Aside from a few token moves downmarket, the menu and the price point hadn't changed that much. The food was very good as usual, but the service wasn't just chilly, it was frosty. Its hard to enjoy a casual, affordable bistro when there is no atmosphere. Still trying to pick another couple of places to try, except of course for Quattro, which is on my never under any circumstances list.

Hey Johnathan, Bang on with the pain au chocolat from La Petite France. Its so good!! And we live dangerously close by, so it requires a lot of discipline to avoid loading up every weekend.

Yuji huh? I will have to give it a try. Agree with Shellback, I used to love Haru and it was such a shame when it closed down. I haven't heard of anyone doing what they used to do. Also, never heard of Japone either, another place to explore.

I'm definitely no sushi expert, but I never experienced the wasabi overkill during my visits to Japan. Usually you run in to the problem here in Vancouver when you are a fake sushi joint and they don't really know what they are doing or in less classy establishments when they are trying to feed the not so fresh fish to the dumb gaijin and masking any taste the fish may have with wasabi. I do remember a couple of years ago my wife (who is japanese) took me for an amazing sushi meal in Tokyo at Midori Sushi, where the wasabi was used very sparingly and the flavour of the rice and the fish just burst in your mouth.

Thanks for the response Coop, but hey no cheating with the out of town experiences We had a great trip to New York in the Spring with meals at Daniel, Nobu and Balthazar. If I have to include those too, my top pick gets really complicated. Btw Gyoza King was a great dinner choice after Lost in Translation. When I saw the movie, which I loved, it reminded me of this tiny chinese place that my mother in law took us when we were in Shinjuku in Toyko that made these amazing giant gyoza, mmmmmmmmm. I'm still not exactly sure what they were called but damn they were good. I must overdue for another visit to Gyoza King.

Thanks Coop, Maybe I should have been more explicit: does anyone know if its possible for a lazy foodie like me to buy rendered duck fat here in Vancouver ?

I read an interesting article recently about the many benefits of duck fat and I was wondering if its possible to buy it in Vancouver. Perhaps at the Stockmarket in Granville Island?

I have to say I didn't really mourn the passing of Taka sushi on 4th Avenue. I had a couple of meals there which were good, but not special, if that makes any sense. In a way it makes my meal at Dan even more of a pleasant surprise to hear that the owners used to work at Taka. I liked my meal at Dan much more than any of the meals I had at Taka. Just my highly subjective assessment.

Just came back from another superb meal at West and as the end of the year is fast approaching I was thinking about the highs and lows of my local dining experiences this year. The high for me this year is a tough pick - so many good meals at Wabi Sabi, Feenie's, Au Petit Cafe, Cru, L'emotion, Diva and Le Crocodile - but eventually I decided it had to be having the mushroom tasting menu at West a few months ago. I was a little concerned about devoting the whole evening to a series of mushroom dishes, but the menu was full of variety and delights and as usual the wine pairings, the presentation and the service were impeccable. Worst experience had to be going to Monk McQueens with some friends from out of town to enjoy a summer evening and having expensive cafeteria food - tasteless fish and vegetables that were either raw or mushy. So what were your local dining high and low points this year?

Has anyone noticed the new Japanese restaurant, Dan ( it means warmth) that opened up last week in the 2500 block of West Broadway? Its on the same block as Lumiere, Feenie's and Moderne Burger - just a couple of doors away from the latter. My wife, Tokyogurumegal, spotted it last week when we popped into Moderne for a quick burger. She has a keen eye for authentic Japanese restaurants, so we dropped in for dinner last night and had a lovely meal. Its a small cozy place with about 30 seats on two levels and simple, tasteful decor. The staff is attentive and friendly. Dan offers the usual range of japanese food - appetizers, salads, sunomono, soups, sashimi, nigiri sushi, maki etc - all very fresh and very well executed. We had a spinach gomaae, ebi shiso tempura (wrapping the prawn in a shiso leaf was a nice touch), grilled marinated sablefish in saikyo miso sauce (as good as the black cod at Chiyoda, which is wonderful), some really good nigiri sushi - anago, maguro and hotate - and a tasty maki of chopped scallops and flying fish roe. Good food, good service and decent prices, we'll definitely be going back to sample more of the menu. Its great to have a Japanese place of the calibre of Chiyoda (my pick for the best place downtown) on the westside. While Dan maybe isn't in the same class as Wabi Sabi (my pick for the best japanese restaurant in town), it is more affordable and in my view is a notch above its competition in Kits, Kerrisdale and elsewhere on the westside. Check it out before it gets busy.

Good topic idea! We go to Bosa's for all of our Italian food stuff. Cioffi's is great but its a little far for us to go and we don't eat that much meat. Any suggestions for a Cioffi's quality butchers on the Westside of Vancouver? For cheese we go to Les Amis du Fromage on West 2nd Avenue - they seem to be in a class of their own - and we can pick up Ecco il Pane bread there too. I must say I miss the biscotti that Ecco used to make. Does anyone know if they are still making them and if so, where I can buy them ?? For Asian food stuff we generally find ourselves out in Richmond at Yaohan - its hard to beat them for quality, selection and one-stop shopping. For British food specialties, I hear there is a little store out in Steveston which is very good. Has anyone been out there lately??

We went back to Feenie's again last nite for the second time in less than a week. They weren't quite as busy this time and the service was better. We had the same waiter as Ihatespam and he was helpful,smiling, friendly and charming, so maybe Ihatespam just caught him on a bad day. We took some friends this time including a chef friend of ours and got to sample a lot more of the menu. There were some hits (the papardelle with duck and pine nuts, the duck shepherd's pie - though it needs alot more duck in it- and the beef short ribs), some misses (the spicy lobster bisque - rich but too thin and too salty) and some truly yummy stuff such as the charcuterie and just about all of the desserts. We had a great time and will definitely go back again. Its not Lumiere, but then neither are the prices, and while not all the dishes are "firing on all cylinders" yet, overall the food quality is very good.

Hey jschyun, That pear and blue cheese gelato is actually damn good. However, I nearly puked when I tried the garlic flavour. Nevertheless, La Casa is worth the trip just for all the bizarre flavours. However, I do have to agree with you about Mondo Gelato being the best in town. Their coconut flovour gelato is excellent.

Took my wife to Feenie's last night (a tuesday). We had an 8.30 pm reservation and when we arrived the place was totally full. We had to wait a couple of minutes for them to set our table. The first impression of the service was that they were very enthusiastic and friendly but a little disorganized - 3 different people asked us if we had a reservation and I'm still not sure who the hostess was. The room is very nice. They have clearly spent some serious $$ on the decor.Feenie's is completely unrecognizable from Boleto which used to be in this space and used to be one of our favorite places back when it was the Ecco il Pane restaurant. I won't spend a lot of time describing the decor, suffice to say that it was very hip and cool -reminded me of Salt in Sydney and someplace in New York that I couldn't put my finger on. We both chose to have the prix fixe menu. My wife had the tomato confit tart with goat cheese (very good!), the seasonal white fish which was halibut last nite (very traditional and straightforward) and then a selection of ice creams for dessert ( ok). I had the steak tartare (very lightly seasoned, it was excellent) followed by the duck confit ( again excellent, melted in the mouth and complimented perfectly by the lentils and caramelized apples) and then the daily dessert which was a lovely lemon pound cake with macerated plums and figs. My wife didn't drink and I had a Belgian beer because the wine list was a little short on wines by the glass. I didn't spend a lot of time studying the wine list, but it looked interesting - a lot of local and new world wines and many that you don't see everyday. Our first impressions of the service proved to be true - the gaps between courses were a little long, but our server was very friendly and if the service was a little disorganized it didn't detract from our experience. We will definitely go back again. Its a great place for a late( late by Vancouver standards -9 pm or later) light meal or some tapas or for dessert and a cocktail after a movie. Excellent food, affordable prices, relaxed atmosphere.

Went to Cru on Saturday nite with my wife for an early dinner (7.30pm). We were pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. The place was full when we got there - apparently business has boomed since they got the good review in the Province. Who knew anyone reads the Province anymore?lol We arrived on time and had to wait a few minutes while our table paid and left and was reset. Service was friendly and polite and the decor and ambiance in the room was cool and relaxed. We both had the prix fixe menu. As usual my wife made better choices than I did. She had the seafood soup which was excellent, followed by the beef tenderloin - again excellent and the blue cheese souffle was yummy - and a large slice of the delicious chocolate hazelnut torte for dessert. I had the beef carpaccio which was very good, followed by the duck breast on polenta. The duck was very good, crispy skin and tender and juicy inside. The mascarpone polenta was also good, but the dish lacked some colour and zing somehow. The sliced zucchini was too bland - perhaps chard or kale would have worked better- and the dish needed something sweet to accent the flavour of the duck. I finished with parfait for dessert, which was very good, if a little larger than I needed at that point. I thought Cru was excellent value for the $$ and would strongly recommend it. It should provide strong competition for Bin942 - the chairs and tables are much more comfortable, the food quality is the same, the portions are large, the service was substantially better, the room is quieter. All in all a great addition to the neighbourhood. On a side note, I see that Cru bills itself as a wine bar bistro. We went there expecting a bistro and were very happy with our experience. If I had gone expecting a wine bar I might have been a little disappointed with the wine list. On the plus side there were lots of good wine by the glass, but the list is a little small for a wine bar - though more than adequate for the menu.

Given Vancouver's location this should be an easy question to answer, but its not. For some reason, seafood places are thin on the ground in Vancouver. I agree with Fat Guy, but with some reservations. The feedback on Bluewater Cafe is that the food is great but the service is dreadful and not in line with the high prices. Joe Fortes does high volume so their food is fresh, but the cuisine is very mainstream. Also, the place is huge, so not really a hole in the wall. One place to consider would be Rodney's Oyster Bar in Yaletown. Its a hole in the wall, not very touristy, all about oysters. I have never been there, but I have friends who like it. Perhaps some other posters could comment?

Ok its a little late to contribute to this thread , but why not. I have to agree with the people who were underwhelmed with Tojo's, that was certainly my experience. I have had first class sushi in Japan - Midori sushi in Tokyo for example - and while some of Tojo's dishes are outstanding, I found the food quality inconsistent and overall I left a little disappointed too. The cuisine at En is delightful, lots of interesting dishes and the quality is excellent. Unfortunately, the service at En can be abysmal sometimes. When they were in their original smaller location they seemed to handle a full house better. However, since they moved to the new larger location at street level on Granville, your experience may vary widely depending on your server. Btw, I was just at Nobu in New York a few weeks ago and had the omakase for lunch. The room is wonderful and the service was exceptional, but the food, I thought, did not justify the hype. Certainly not as good as Midori sushi in Tokyo. Mind you, my wife born and raised in Tokyo has spoiled me and showed me the best places in Japan! For my money the best Japanese restaurant in Vancouver by far is Wabi Sabi up on West 10th Avenue. The omakase is always wonderful, the staff are friendly and attentive. If you decide to go a la carte, I recommend trying at least one special of the day. I don't understand why there isn't a line up at Wabi Sabi every day. It's that good!

I would generally agree that the dim sum action is in Richmond these days, though I am very fond of the Sun Sui Wah on Main & 23rd for dim sum which is closer to Kits where we live. I think I have tried all of the various Kirins (though not all for dim sum) and didn't notice any differences in quality. They are consistently excellent. The Imperial in the Marine Building at the foot of Burrard used to do a great dim sum with lots of seafood. I haven't been for a while, has anyone tried it recently? Also, the Royal Victoria(??) in the Royal Center next to the Hyatt seems to do a roaring trade for dim sum with the HK crowd.

Senses is actually in the Crown Plaza hotel just up the street from the Metropolitan on Howe Street, but otherwise I think mamster is correct, Haas is at (owns?) Senses and supplies Diva with desserts and chocolates.

I totally agree about Thomas Haas. Your post reminded me that I should have mentioned the desserts at Showcase in the Marriott. They have their own patissiere and his stuff is simply outstanding.

[Once your back in Napa, I'd skip the Culinary Institute and Tra Vigne. Terra is better than both for a similar price, ] We have been to Napa and Sonoma several times in the past 3 years and while I can't comment on the other places mentioned, I have to say that our lunch at Tra Vigne was a real standout. The food, wine and service were excellent and the room is delightful.

Four places downtown spring to mind immediately: Gyoza King, Hapa Izakaya and Guu all on Robson Street and the original Guu location, just south of Robson on Thurlow street. All of these are Japanese food places. Guu is a basic Izakaya - Japanese pub food. Gyoza King is mostly about gyoza as the name suggests - and their gyoza are amazing- but they do serve other stuff. Hapa is nominally an izakaya, but a little more upscale - the room is very cool- and the food is more interesting and a notch above regular izakaya fare. There is also a good Korean food joint across the street from Gyoza King, but I forget the name. For chinese food, Kirin on Alberni Street would be my first choice. However, while I think its good value, its not cheap. Finally, the Showcase restaurant in the Marriott Pinnacle at Thurlow & Hastings is seriously underrated - very good food at decent prices - and they do a great Sunday brunch too.