Hestia

Had a night out at Campagnolo a couple of weeks ago. I had forgotten about the place, until A Gill gave it a really postive review. I have to agree with Alex, and say the new items from JC Proroir are tremendous, the tuna crudo had wonderful freshness and sharpness. The legacy dishes from before the new chef's time are still clunky though. Particularly the taglirini which is consistenly undercooked with bits of raw dough on the plate. It's a dish that sounds good on the menu, but is always disapointing. The chocolate tart recommended by A Gill however, was stupendeous. I hope to see more changes as the new chef takes charge of the kitchen and menu.

Thanks for the heads up fmed. What is it like to dine at Osteria Napoli on a 'normal' evening? Kentan, that's an interesting list of underated spots to eat. I would think Sophie's is a little over rated myself, but perhaps a visit is in order. But I would agree that the Blue Water Raw Bar does not get as much respect as it should. Absolutely fantastic sushi.

Kentan, I have not been to Gavroche for a while, but I think Le Regalade continues to chug along nicely. For informal French, have you thought about Faux Bourgoise (sic)? It might be a little busy to be considered 'romantic'. I think Market at the Shangrila is a very nice space, with great value for well executed hotel style french style cuisine. Recently, I went to Corner Suite Deluxe and found the food very good. The room is a little 'Sex and the City' but the service was attentive and the pricing reasonable for the level of food you got. The food runs on the rich side, but if you order in a balanced way, this should not be a problem at all.

I think there is a real lack of places that diners can share information. If a diner is being unfair, let other diners tell them that they are full of shit. If restaurant owners are going to try to stick handle what is posted in the forum, then it's going to kill any sort discussion or kill this forum in general. Egullet used to be a place that people could share informed discussions about dining out in Vancouver, and I for one am glad that there is more and more activity on the site again. I would suggest that you let the discussion develop and see where it goes. The bad posters get weeded out in the end anyways. If diners are not allowed to be passionate about their dining experiences, then we all lose out, and the only information out there is bullshit PR spin (this is not directed at you Edward J at all, but to point out that the city's dining scene is increasingly driven by PR with disturbing media complicity).

Andrew Morrison certainly seems to know what is cool and what is not. But there are many instances where his taste in food really part ways with mine.

Walked by their Kit's location under construction. Man, it looks like it's going to awesome. Can you imagine having lunch at DB Bistro and then walking next door for a bag of sparkle cookies? Fuck! Does anyone know if they are going to do any production on site, or is it strictly retail? Just wondering about the chocolate croissants.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, I really like it too, I agree the value is very fair and appreciate they pass along the savings from being in a slightly strange location. If only some of the other places in town in low rent areas passed along the savings to the customers. (I'm looking at you Campagnolo.) With regards to it being a "sleeper" I'm confused, LFB is perhaps the busiest restaurant in the city, and one of the toughest reservations to snag, I'm not sure how it qualifies as a sleeper in any way.

Is Empire open that early? It is located along Alexandra road also. I have heard good things about them. People tell me that locals call Alexandra Road "Eating Street" in Chinese.

I found Nook's crust tasted of nothing really. Great texture and chew, but it's a vehicle for decent toppings. We can agree to disagree Kentan. Ah-Beetz's crust however, is completely magical. Toasty wheaty flavors that come from a slow careful rise. Best crust I have had in a long time. All this without the benefit of wood or charcoal, or a brick oven. tdeane, I am in complete awe of your committment to excellence. I hope you are able to find toppings worthy of your crust. If anyone finds themselves within a 20 mile radius of Abbotsford, get your tush over to Ah-Beetz.

I saw that walking by the other day. It looks like a handsome space. In fact - I was wondering if it is an adjunct space to Kingyo.

Nook is no longer open for lunch. They should consider putting up their hours on the door or at least a sign saying they are open for dinner only. Instead a group of tourists kept craning their heads into the place trying to figure out what was going on. The fact that the staff, who were in plain view, prepping dinner service did not bother to come out to explain their hours was more than a little peeving.

Vancouver pizza is generally awful. And I agree with Fmed that even some of the newer higher end places have generally been really disappointing. A good slice costs $4-$5 in NYC, so when you see how low the prices are in Vancouver, clearly something must be wrong. Cheap sushi give me the creeps also. Ah-beetz crust is really fantastic, and a visit is fun and informative. Their sauce is fresh with hand ripped basil tossed over the pizza just before hitting the oven. I just wish they would step it up with the toppings. Pre-shredded asiago adds an unwanted hit of salt and they use a dry mozz rather than a fresh one. I understand that good fresh mozz is difficult to source, but please, a Margherita without that fresh dairy hit seems wrong.

Right now, I am enjoying Jade Seafood in Richmond. They have a smoked free range chicken dish that is superb. Service is very good too - but it helps to dine with a Chinese speaker.

Nook on Deman: The crust is not going to win any big prizes, but the toppings are decent and the room is very pleasant. Probably my favorite place just to sit and relax over some very well done food. Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company: Only redeeming thing about the place is the super child friendly policies. The crust is beerier than the carpet at a fraternity house and it looks like the hired Doug Henning to decorate the place. Posthumously. Ah Beetz: The crust is complete heaven. Crisp and chewy with a delicous toasty taste. I think they do a two day rise, and it shows. Great sauce. The only thing stopping the pizza from being perfect are the toppings. They are not bad, but could be better.

I always hit the sampling wall and hope for freebies and seconds. The darn kids from the school across the street always beat me to it. One day I am going to sic my dog on them.

Isn't that always the case with Chinese places? You have some great meals and get excited about a new restaurant. But then, inexplicably, it all goes downhill very quickly. Say what you will about places like Sun Sui Wah and Kirin, but they are reliable and consistent.

Good to hear that you enoyed your visit and that you generally dined well. Your assessments are pretty bang on. I would say you selected a great cross section of Vancouver dining. Vancouver generally excels at Asian cuisine, and in particular, Chinese food. Your dim sum experience echo's what other out of town visitors have said. Pho Huang is pretty awful. Guu is best for dinner (I've found that Japanese places generally have very limited lunch menus). C Restaurant is quite ambitious. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

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?

SS. Have you come and gone? What did you decide?

Though an evening is enjoyable at Campagnolo, the bill can move up pretty quickly. It's not nearly as cheap and cheerful as it would seem. But still, it's a nice evening out, great room and well run service. I'd stay away from the pizza.

What's with the re-emergence of MSG at Chinese restaurants? Kirin dim sum has left me dizzy and thirsty last few visits. Something has changed in their recipes.

brettanomyces; brett [breht-tan-uh-MI-sees, BREHT] A spoilage yeast that grows on grapes and in wineries. Because brettanomyces (brett, for short) is almost impossible to eradicate, most winemakers take great pains to avoid it. Sorry, theres more... Brettanomyces is a particularly nasty yeast that is often the bane of the collective existence of many winemakers. Its foul-smelling byproducts have often been called "barnyardy" or "mouse pee-like" on the sensory scale and it can often be detected in very minute quantities.