sashavan

Of those four I would definitely recommend Cafe de Paris. Absolutely zero pretense and the food is impeccable and honest.

A friend and I stopped by Stella's for drinks the other night. We had the Thai spiced jumbo shrimp which were good enough for us to seriously consider ordering a second round. Also had the scallops, perfectly cooked for us too. A second glass of wine called for the antipasto platter which was tasty, but nothing special. Service was friendly, if a bit chaotic. Great value, and a really nice place to spend a couple of hours chatting. We will definitely go back.

Lee! Thank you for the portugese egg tart tip. There used to be a portugese bakey at the corner of Robson and..... Cardero maybe? Now, sadly, yet another mediocre sushi rest. The egg tarts were incredible and I think I ate just shy of a million of them. Tomorrow I hit Michelles. I have been chowing down on sweets from my friend Janet's bakery, Aran Spelt. If you all know anyone who has wheat sensitivities - send them on over. This week's highlight was a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache fillling and buttercream frosting. Made with spelt. And since spelt is good for you, I had it for dinner one night and then again for breakfast the next morning. And felt no guilt.

I've tried really hard to like Seb's but on each of the three times I've been something has gone horribly wrong in the kitchen. I still love Cafe Zen. Banana buckwheat pancakes and a chat with June. I wake up obscenely early, so I never have to wait in line for a table. In my local stomping grounds -- Brioche on Cordova makes a very nice breakfast - eggs and pastries. And the all important decent cup of coffee. And for hungover mornings when only grease will do - The Bavarian on Carrall makes a mean $3.75 two egg breakfast complete with bacon, toast, and hashbrowns. If things are really desperate the breakfast bagle with processed american cheese will mask any multitude of night before sins.

I went to Dubrulle as well. I don't regret it but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'd take the $10k tuition and use it to fund a year of working for free in some good kitchens.

I second Amarcord. Very nice and very comfortable.

Wednesday night dinner at Clove with a girlfriend. Clove is such a great place for a casual giggle-fest dinner. We shared a selection of appetizers and a half litre of cheap chardonnay. The that beef salad is a must order and the satay prawns were perfect. Thursday at the HSG for meet, greet, and eat with the gulleters. Too much food and just the perfect amount of laughter. Friday night dinner at Cassis. The menu has changed since our last evening there. Some new items. My beloved choucroute seems to have fallen off the menu! We shared a plate of oysters, and the new crab and avacado salad. James had the new spinach salad with warm peaches. I love Cassis, but, Friday night was a bit off. The music was really loud, our dishes arrived in an odd order (coq au vin before the salads), our wine order was wrong, and the service was a little cool. We're so spoiled, usually we go in and are known by name and shown to our favourite table. This week we didn't recognize any of the foh staff, and it didn't feel quite so much like having dinner at a friends house as it usually does. Fingers crossed for next week.

Hush. I don't my neighbourhood joint overrun with the egullet riff-raff. I think it's the staff (Sean included). Every last one of them is charming and gracious and friendly. I always feel at home there.

Last night marked a long overdue return to the kitchen. It's been takeout takeout takeout around here for too long. Pan Seared Duck with Sour Cherry Port Sauce.

Easy Acres farm is at 60th and 120th. We're landscaping this year and will be stocking up on rosemary, lavendar and sage at easy acres. We're also adding to the large boat shaped mint garden which James refers to as the SS Mojito. Priorities, you know.

I think Mia Stainsby did an article on this a few months ago. Great idea, but in practice it was a sort of dull story, because 90% of the cooks she asked said Bin or Gyoza King. (there are only so many places open at 2 am)

Of course not!! Of course, this is coming from the woman that is always single at these things. ← Table for 3, Tricia, Lee, and Sasha? James had to cancel for tonight.

Dim sum absolutely requires Coke. It's the only time I drink Coke. Dim sum without coke would be like dim sum without.....dim sum. Just can't be done Lately HSG for a fabulous 80's retro dinner. Crab stuffed mushroom caps and Sirloin Oscar. The 80s were good. An incredibly gracious host and wonderful service. Cassis, which is our usual Wednesday haunt. Great food at great prices, and such a warm comfortable room. I could move in. Malones for beer and chicken wings in a "we have 30 minutes to eat and get to the theatre" frenzy. And an only slightly more civilized feeding frenzy at Aji Sai. The waitress always look as us like we're nuts ordering all that food. but we always manage to eat it all.

We finally made it to Adesso last night. Very pleasant evening all around. Nice honest food and a comfortable room. I had the Portobello mushroom with goat cheese and prosciutto. Nice blend of flavours, and a very pretty presentation. I thought the greens were a touch under seasoned and the dish would have benefited from a little more acid to balance the richness of the cheese and mushroom. James had smoked salmon risotto cakes. I had a small bite, and enjoyed it. He seemed to really like them, they disappeared almost immediately. For mains he had the venison Osso Bucco which he loved. I managed a small sampling and also really liked it. I had the Gnocchi with gorgonzola, roasted pears, and hazelnuts. The gnocchi were gorgeous and the gorgonzola sauce was light and still rich. Two minor problems with the dish from my perspective. The pears retain heat much better than the gnocchi, so every other bite was really hot, and the contrast in temperatures made it hard appreciate the blending of flavours. And once more, I thought the dish would have been better with a little more acid to finish. This is a common complaint of mine, and should be read purely as indicative of my palate. I like acid. I like bitter. There was nothing wrong with the design or execution of either of the dishes, just not 100% perfectly matched to my taste. We were way too full for dessert, but had some anyway. James had a brulee and I had the molten chocolate cake. Both were wonderful. Service was wonderful. Attentive, kind, and very friendly. Wine pairing was expertly handled, and we presented a challenge. One main demanding a wine with gusto and the other asking for a light easy wine. We had a very nice Chianti Ruffina which met very happily in the middle. We'll go back, absolutely.

I obviously left much too early last night! I won't make that mistake again. We didn't make it to Adesso as planned. A glass of scotch or two too many conspired to keep us at home. We've hidden the bottle and are committed to hitting Adesso tonight.

My mother is joining me for lunch tomorrow. She's requested "clean green food". Possibly a caesar salad. I'm looking out my office window at the Keg, and thinking there must be a better option. Any suggestions? My business district dining is generally limited to the HyRise salad bar.

This thread is interesting to me. I did not go to the Heather during Dine Out (well I did, but not to eat) but it is my neighbourhood local and I am there quite frequently. I pop in one or three times a week for a drink and sometimes a snack, and always find the staff to be gracious, friendly, and welcoming. My beloved pheasant spring rolls are off the menu this month (Sean? Bring them back!), but I've never had a bad meal there. As I said, I didn't try the Dine Out menu, but on any given Tuesday? I'd recommend the Heather highly. I live around the corner and am thrilled to have it in my hood. Give it another try on another week.

Brioche for lunch today. Always a good choice. The Heather for post cheese and whiskey snacks. And prior to that, Cassis. Which god help me, is just a few blocks away and seems to have a very strong sasha magnet in the basement. I find myself there, without planning to be at least twice a week.

We're booked for Bis Moreno Raincity Cafe de Paris Hoping to add Parkside to that list. And maybe one more. Decisions decisions.

The Indian place in the Tinseltown foodcourt comes to mind. It's not Vij's, but it's good and for $5.00 you can get a wonderful homemade meal, complete with handmade chutneys.