inanimate

I preferred hapa (it's been a while since I've been though) to shiru bay. Shiru bay was good, but I liked the food better at hapa and the prices seemed much better. You could also try the guu in gastown. easier to get a table and still very good.

It's been mentioned, but wanted to second legendary noodles. My favourite tan tan mein of all, great dumplings in hot and sour soup, lamb noodles, pea shoots! also, for pho, pho thang long near 22nd on main. Nothing but pho but I still go there and absolutely love it.

I tried nat's, both a margarita and a sausage and mushroom I think and wasn't very impressed with either. the sausage and mushroom was surprisingly bland, and the margarita was fairly boring (yes, even for a margarita). I love the pie at da francesca, but down here, I think I'm going with panago.

while I didn't have the mapo tofu, the xiu loong bau at Ba Guo Bu Yi were incredible, and on sale last night for 1/2 price. SOY GOOD!

is it wrong to really like orange julius hot dogs? they steam the bun when I get a cheese dog, making it soft and wonderful.

Was just there tonight for dinner with my brother and girlfriend. The place could be a little more comfortable, but I'd eat in a ditch if the food were good, so it wasn't a huge deal to me. It's not uncomfortable, but it's definitely not fancy. Moosh is right when he says it's like sitting at a family table having dinner. What you get in return though, is an outstanding pizza for very little money. We had an entree each and shared a medium quattro staggione, which came last when we were already quite full, but it was worth the wait and pain. Beautiful taste, beautiful crust. I haven't had incendios and its been years since I've hit marcellos, but this was fantastic. It had a touch more cheese than i prefer, but I kinda like my pizza to have just a sprinkling of cheese on it. I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed the veggie slice. Loved it. The osso bucco was good, and I loved the risotto. I'm not well versed in good risotto though, so I'm not the best judge of it. But it had a really great flavor. The only thing about it I was unsure of was the texture. The rice had begun to soften a bit, somewhat like it was starting to blossom like rice does in a congee. It still had a bit of that al dente bite to it though. Being a congee slurping chinese machine though, I still really enjoyed it. Pasta was perfectly al dente, and sauces had a fresh tomato taste unlike the cooked to hell boston pizza-like sauces. The seafood flavor came through really well in the frutti de mare linguine my brother had. Service was very pleasant, but there was a slight mix up on an order (though we didn't mind and were offered a fix) which led to a beer on the house. While our entrees were all good, the pizza was easily the main event. I'd make the drive any time I'm in the mood for great pizza.

I tried a denman deep dish pizza after seeing it here and it's really nothing like an authentic deep dish. It's just a really thick crust with a normal amount of toppings. The meat lovers we had wasn't as packed with meat as some I've seen, and I actually found little chicken bones on my pizza still, but it was still a tasty pizza. I'm not really driven to have it agin any time soon, seeing how it wasn't a big stuff deep dish pizza like I wanted, but I should have been able to tell by the price alone.

I've hat PHAT twice, once a smoked meat on light rye, another was smoked meat on challa, and while it was good, I haven't been itching to go back. They're new and still working out the kinks, so service can be a little off (and by service, I mean taking my order at the till and making my sandwich correctly and smoothly). The croissants looked amazing, but I haven't tried one yet. The sandwiches were good, but not the crazy greasy wonderful smoked meat I had in Toronto of all places. The chopped liver was ok, a bit heavy for me but I'm a fowl liver sorta guy. I wish Zoran's euro pastry house across the street could keep smoked salmon in stock for the smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich. After enough failed attempts to get one, we've sorta given up on it. As well, for anyone else in yaletown, have you tried the other two great sandwich places? Greencity on homer for their bulgogi sandwich (crusty garlic roll, sweet bulgogi beef, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, dripping HEAVEN!) and Soho for their manhattan or New Yorker? Turkey, edam, avacado, mayo, dijon on a big slice of moist beautiful olive bread. Not the most obvious places for good sandwiches, but easily some of my favourites in the city.

Himalaya has awesome naan. It's been years since I've been, but I remember theirs being fluffy and incredible. The rest of their dishes didn't make as much of an impression though, though I don't remember it being bad at all. as others have said, Rubina tandoori is very good. Much more fun to order a la carte instead of getting a dinner platter. The first time I went, I'm pretty sure my menu only offered platters which I found bizarre. I think they didn't realize I had previous experience with indian food and could handle myself just fine without a pre-set meal in front of me. The tandoori king on 65th I found good, but it didn't live up to all the hype I had heard from many people. People raved about it all the time, but when I went, I found everything well made, but none of the dishes really stood out at all as something I had to come back for. My favourite of all time suprisingly was a little place on Victoria Drive near 34th called Dawat. I first went because I lived close by and had seen reviews posted in their window and after trying them once, fell in love. The prices were downright cheap, but the atmosphere was nice, and the food was outstanding. The saag would drive me insane. I would lick up every last bit of sauce from their bowls. Average food cost per person was about $15 pre tax/tip. Sadly, Dawat seems to have found new owners in the last year and the one time I went, things weren't up to par. I haven't gone back since though, but I figure I'll need to give them one more try.

The Bale at fraser and kingsway is still running, and is great. I always try to put two in me even though the roof of my mouth often objects to eating that much crusty baguette in one sitting.

Kaide sushi bar on richards. Exceptional sushi which also happens to be cheap. generous portions of very fresh seafood, prepared beautifully. My favourite sushi place downtown now. Mr. Sub on davie. so much better than subway. Nice folks too. A lunchtime favourite at the office. Jang Mo Jib on kingsway. Service is often indifferent, but the food is generally great. My korean girlfriend wasn't as impressed with her tofu hot pot, but just about everything else I'd had there has usually left me glowing (sometimes just due to the spicyness of it all).

hmmm... I guess the only way I'll know who's right is to go there and try the heather out myself

Oh It's still there. I just checked to be sure I hadn't lost that piece of my caustic nature and backed down from an old opinion I formed. To be fair, it's over 2 years old and I never did give him that second chance. I tend to give out very few second chances on a bad turn since I figure there's always someone out there deserving of their first chance from me. Such is dining here or anywhere. If not for the overwhelming good will that neil enjoys on this forum, I might never have gotten to that point with him. I hadn't even known until just a couple of months ago that he had ever read that comment, nor had I ever talked to him about it until tonight. But my stomach will have its way, and I'm sure I'll end up trying the hanger and gingerbread pudding soon. Maybe meat builds better bridges than concrete. Do excuse me if I come in with a helmet and a 8" global strapped to my leg.

With my burning desire to try a hangar steak and all the positive reviews, I'm almost ready to forgive and forget my last visit and give the HSG a second chance.

While hearing negative feedback is never a pleasant experience, it doesn't help to keep quiet about it either. The whole point of the forum is for people to share their culinary experiences in the city. If your experience didn't live up to your expectations or hype, talk about it, but also keep it in perspective as well. It sounds like the heather hasn't lived up to their usual level of quality during DOV, which from much of what I've read, heard, and experienced seems to happen to quite a few participants. The heather has acquired an above average reputation for their food and atmosphere, and I don't think a few off nights during DOV is going to ruin the good will they've accumulated in this town. What's even more useful in the long run than DOV reviews are reviews from diners during your typical week. DOV doesn't seem to work as well as intended for showcasing restaurants that people haven't had the chance to go to, since it seems many have trouble maintaining the levels of service and quality that they usually do. Putting a restaurant through a two week slam doesn't really give the restaurant or the diner a fair shake in many cases.

I love L.A. Chicken in Richmond by cambie and 5 rd which used to be a lee's fried chicken The sides aren't particularly good, but the chicken is crunchy, not greasy, and the meat is flavorful right down to the bone. I make the drive in once a month for it. (I always order the crispy / spicy chicken)

I visited quite a few months ago and wrote a brief writeup of said steakhouse. brave bull blurb "The Brave Bull smelled like a chinese family's east vancouver basement. Those of you unfamiliar with this smell are missing out. It's not an offensive smell, just an odd one for a restaurant. The decor was definitely unmodern; not that I'll let that stop me from enjoying a good meal." I should have ordered a cut I enjoy more than filet (let's talk ribeye), but it fit the situation. Maybe I'll drop in again for dinner sometime.

jimmy's chinese style beef jerky. though for some reason, I haven't been seeing it at T&T lately.

There's also the overrated Prime Time Chicken in Gastown, "always good taste, always good price" I think is their slogan. The chicken while not terrible isn't anything to rave about but it sure is cheap. That it's in a terrible area makes it more of an adventure I guess, but most people just go there after a night out at the purple onion when their stomach is leading ahead of their tastebuds. I think you can get a 6 piece meal with fries for about 4-5 bucks or so. I'll pass.

How honoured to have my site mentioned here. For another good burger in a bad place, my coworkers and I go to the Korner Cafe on Richards st across from Madame Cleos. They're renovating currently, and I hope ownership isn't changing. A burger platter is under $6 and features what seems to be a patty (or two) made in house, with thousand island dressing, lettuce/tomato. Sounds simple enough, but it's a pretty tasty burger and I'd say my favourite in the yaletown area against the likes of milestones and carlos and buds (which has rather good veggie burgers). it's not a gourmet burger by any stretch, but it's good and lovingly called a "whoreburger" due to it's location. The fries are decent, and helped out with the gravy even if the gravy isn't really very good in itself.