lauraf

Well, Il Ducato was a restaurant . . . ← Oh, I get it now, Cate - I thought you're "it's not a restaurant" was about The Distillery. SOOO confused . . . I vote yes too.

Well, Il Ducato was a restaurant . . .

On a slightly cheerier note, Il Ducato on 4th ave has closed and been reopened under new owners as The Distillery - bar/lounge concept. For the overflow from Bimini's perhaps?

True gem indeed - one of my favourites in the neighbourhood (disclosure: I have worked with them). They will re-open with an expanded dining room. Any news on what's going in beside them? I don't think Akbar's is taking over the whole space.

You mean someone will buy vodka there because they can't be bothered to walk a few blocks or drive 5 mins.???? I don't get it. ←

The obvious ones in Kelowna: Fresco (disclosure - I work with them) Bouchon Went to both places two weeks ago and they are on top of their game. Bouchon is a more casual bistro feel, while Fresco is kinda the West of Kelowna IMO.

Last Thursday (I think ) We met some friends at the W. Broadway Wild Garlic. Have to say we we're really happy with everything we ate. Yummy and I arrived a bit late, but we we're able to still taste the Candied Roasted Garlic Appetizer that was ordered. Wow that was tasty. For a special that night, Tenderloin of Ostrich was available. Had to try this. It was served with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and some Green Beans. I had never eaten Ostrich prepared this way and hands down I though it was delicious. Very Tender on the inside, braised on the outside, served with a Red Wine sauce. As an added bonus we're able to use our Entertainment Book Coupon which made this meal an outstanding value. I would like to go back for the Garlic Brunch and try some of their other items. ← Glad to hear that the food was so good at the Wild Garlic. Must go back and try them again. The last time I was there, as I said, was a couple of years ago, and I honestly couldn't remember anything other than the garlic fondue!! Yum . . . Thanks for the update.

Had a visitor in town for the weekend and we drove up the Sea to Sky to Brittania Beach - not enough time to get to Whistler and back - and, starving, we stopped in to the Ninety Niner. Classic diner. Red vinyl chairs, crusty waitress who chewed gum and called me hon, salt on the table but no pepper. Menu proudly featured nachos with 'cheese sauce'. Burgers too.

Another vote for Fiction! Especially if Sean is behind the bar - and no Sean, I'm not just sucking up to you because you're my client. Okay, maybe a little. We're bar people too - the drinks come quicker.

Re: Wild Garlic on Broadway and Arbutus - I haven't been for a couple of years but I remember an unctious garlic/camembert fondue with whole pieces of carmelized garlic floating in it. The rest of the food was, meh, nothing special, but certainly garlicky. They've also opened on Denman street as well. Anyone checked it out recently?

Just walked by - still standing. Lunch for $4.90, eat in or take away.

Doesn't serve metloaf, Daddy-A, and maybe it's just the name that's making it come to mind, but The Sunshine Diner in Kits boasts 50's era memorabilia - Elvis records, Marilyn Monroe statuettes, etc. - red vinyl booths, and breakfast all day. Been run for years by Dmitri. Good eggs. On MacDonald at Broadway.

You mean the RED Onion in Kerrisdale, yes? (aside: Is the Purple Onion still in business, and what crowd is it attracting these days?) I used to work at the Red Onion in my teens, and while their burger isn't my favourite in town, the fact that I still eat there regularly - spinach salad, chicken burger with fried onions, milkshake - is a sign of a reasonably fresh and clean kitchen. Or at least it was when I worked there . . . And if you go about 8pm on a weekday night, the service is very prompt. In-n-Out was the best thing to ever happen to a college student hungry after an afternoon of outlet shopping. But Fat Burger I've never tried. May do so to make the comparison myself.

The one on Hastings has a full kitchen, so we do! Look forward to seeing you. ← I'll be the one asking if you can do latte art with hollandaise!

Don't know when the wait dies down at Vij's later in the evening, but you can definitely do small plates at the bar at West. You could also do small plates at the bar at Cru, then Vij's, and dessert afterwards at West - they're amazing.

Oh, I'll back up that shameless plug! One of the nicest breakfasts I've had in a while was at Artigiano about 6 weeks ago. Latte, croque monsieur, fried taters and the Globe & Mail. Just needed few people in the place so I could spread out! A. ← Thanks for the shameless plug - I didn't know Artigiano served brunch! And I'm definitely dragging hubby to Adesso and Cafe Zen. They sound great, and are a short walk-off-the-hollandaise couple of blocks away.

Oat Cake, is Raincity quite fancy, or would sorta not grubby jeans be okay? I don't think they qualify for grubby sweatpants though. And I'd LOVE the recipe. I've had mixed results with my recipes in the past. How do I PM you? Yes, yes, I realize I am an idiot . . .

Pastis is lovely too - I agree on the smoked salmon benny - but we're usually in grubby sweatpants, and even though it's a scant block away we rarely go there except with company when we have to brush our hair before venturing outside.

We tried Tangerine a few years ago, and my impression was that it was kinda dark for a noonish meal when I definitely need light stimulus. And I want to respond to others but I am an egullet neophyte and have no idea how to add more than one quote , so bear with me while I reply to each in individual posts. And if anyone wants to tell me how to add multiple quotes to one post, I'd be most appreciative.

My husband and I are weekend brunch fans. We're often too lazy - or too low on groceries - to actually cook brekkie at home, so we toddle of at least once each weekend in search of brunch menus to satisfy us both. I am a hollandaise fanatic, my husband a pancake/omelette person, but both willing to branch out as well. (Hollandaise . . . my waistline yearns for the days before I discovered hollandaise.) But we're in a rut, and generally end up at the same four or five places every weekend: Milestones - hollandaise is dependable. Feenie's - hubby loves the souffled pancakes, hollandaise top notch. The Elbow Room - for the banana/blackberry pancakes, not the hollandaise. Enigma - reasonable hollandaise, nice banana bread served gratis. The Sunshine Diner - great eggs, olive oil used on the grill. Satisfactory hollandaise. We also sometimes break out and go to Trafalgar's or Provence. So, what are your favourite Westside/Downtown brunch spots? A hollandaise ranking is appreciated.

Umami doesn't really compare to Hapa in terms of cuisine style, but price and quality are similar. Umami has a Japanese owner/sommelier, and certainly many Japanese influences, by the cuisine is more Mediterranean. One of my favourites, for sure! (Disclosure: I work with Umami. But they really are great.)

Other way around. The Chili Club is now the Chilli House - owned by the same people as Urban Thai in Yaletown and Thai Houses across the city. Anyone eaten there yet?

Definitely West. It won Restaurant of the Year at this year's Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. (Disclosure - I work with West.) C for sure, Chambar (who won Best New Restaurant at previously mentioned awards) and I'd do Fiction over the Bin any day. (Disclosure - I also work with Fiction). Feenie's is another great brunch/lunch spot, and if you are downtown, pop by Sen5es for a divine dessert. For full results of the 2005 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards for other ideas, visit www.vancouvermagazine.com. Have a great visit!

the same goes for wine? how about ethnic restaurants (say, thai or vietnamese) that have a very limited dessert menu? i agree that one should always call ahead when bringing outside food/drink to a restaurant. edit: i see now that you feel the same about wine. fair enough. but while there may not be a big difference in your eyes, bringing one's own wine to restaurants might be considered pretty standard and accepted in some places. ← From the time I was 18 or 19 until a couple of years ago, my Dad used to take me to some fancy restaurant ton my birthday that I couldn't afford then, being a starving student. He had bought a case of Mouton Rothschild from my 'vintage' i.e., year of birth, and it was a tradition to open it each year on my birthday. When he explained this to the restaurant staff, they gladly accommodated us (and he gladly paid the corkage fee and tipped above 20%) - and sometimes the owner would even join us for half a glass. Like the wedding cake on your 1st anniversary thing, I think it's polite to save bringing your own dessert/wine for truly exceptional reasons - not just 'cause it's your favourite - and obviously, call ahead!

My assumption was that Memphis Blues was rated for it's bbq in vanmag- not so much in competition with the grand steakhouses- I think they are competing in a different category as the restaurants are hardly comparable. ← In 2004 VanMag had a category titled, eloquently, "Best Meat". Memphis Blues won Gold, West (?) won Silver, and Gotham Bronze. This year the category was split into two: Best Steakhouse/Chops and Best Barbeque. In first category, Gotham tied Morton's for Gold, Hy's won Silver and The Keg Bronze. In Best Barbeque, from the many fine Vancouver barbeque establishments we enjoy , Memphis Blues won Gold, Dix won Silver and Slim'z Bronze.