Vancouver Lee

I agree 100%. My wife and I dine out a lot: 25% of the time, we're just looking to be fed. Those times we go to Earl's, Cactus Creek, etc, the CFD places. The other 75% of the time, we're looking for "foodertainment": interesting tasty food served by professional staff in an interesting room. But that's a whole thread in itself.... Again, same here. We'll come back again (and again) if we like it, but we'll move on and try another place if we're not impressed. That's pretty tough on a restaurant, I know, and it's certainly not fair, but unfortunately with so many restaurants to choose from, that's just the way it is with us. Most places only get one chance to make a good impression.

Good questions. I've been pondering those same questions myself lately. First of all, I most likely would never have "popped in" to the Ordinary if it weren't for eGullet. In fact, I doubt I'd have *ever* visited were it not recommended by knowledgeable people here (It's in a strange neighbourhood for a restaurant - the snowboard-shop-and-car-repair strip isn't where I'm likely to go for fine dining). But if I ended up there by chance one day, I do think my perception would have been the same. Would my post have been different in the scenario above? No, I don't think so. I made sure my comments were 100% factual, so I can't picture a scenario where that changes. But your third question is most interesting. Based on the comments I read ("One of Vancouver's most under-rated restaurant", as judged by people in the trade), well, yeah, I was definately expecting something pretty good. I wasn't expecting West, but I was expecting better than "ordinary". So I do think reading about it here affected my impression to some extent. No worries. Interesting questions, I'm glad you asked.

My last three: Lunch today was at Kim Phung for my first experience with Pho. It ain't no gingerbread pudding, but !! I wasn't crazy about the tendon, but the flank steak was great. Dinner on Saturday was at The Ordinary Cafe (I just posted my impression of it under it's own thread). Prior to dinner there, the group I was with stopped at my house and we had sushi from Sushi Bang on Broadway and candied salmon from Long Liner Seafood at Granville Island market. Lunch on Friday was at Joe Fortes. I had one of the best lunches in recent memory: a black cod filet that was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. Just wonderful. I'm making plans to go back for dinner already.

After reading several posters name The Ordinary Cafe as their choice for most under-rated restaurant in Vancouver, my dine-around group of friends ate there on Saturday night. The room is small and dark, and I mean that in a good way. Lots of gold tones and a dark brown exposed wood-beam ceiling. The place feels like home, right down to the pile of well-thumbed cookbooks full of bookmarks on top of a cupboard at the back of the dining room. We arrived at 8pm to a mostly full house, but most of the other patrons were nearing the end of their meal. A few other couples arrived after us, but they didn't seem to be very busy for a Saturday night. I guess the eGullet marketing mojo takes a bit longer to work... I never did get a good look at the wine list, but my wife tells me that it was very very reasonably priced, with 80% of the selections under $50. Appetizers were shared among our group: baby spinich salad, buffalo mozzarella salad, braised beef shortribs, mussels steamed in red coconut curry, seared scallops & chilled prawn cocktail, crab cakes and sautéed baby calamari. The crab cakes were the highlight: huge meaty chunks of tender, flavourful crab with just enough filling to hold it all together. The calamari was quite tasty, too - sauteed and not breaded-then-fried. For our mains, the group had a combination of the following: seared ahi tuna, linguine, spaghetti and saffron risotto. I had roasted lamb sirloin. The ahi tuna looked wonderful, but I did not have a chance to taste it. The pasta dishes were good, and the saffron risotto was devoured. My lamb sirloin was OK - Well cooked and tender, good but not great. I was left with the impression that the kitchen believes in low-fat, low-salt cooking. There's no evidence of this in the menu, but my lamb tasted that way. Most of us had dessert: flourless chocolate cake, vanilla creme brule, and a poached pear stuffed with chocolate ganache. I highly recommend the cake - heavy and rich with just the right amount (read "lots") of raspberry coulis. The service was decent, and in our waiter's defense, we discovered that this was only his third week on the job. The guy had all the right moves, but was still working on doing them with confidence and grace. The kitchen is very small, and given the size of the room, Dennis Huang (the chef and owner) did well to get all our mains out at once with only a minimal delay. I've hesitated to post this review for several reasons. First, the brouhaha around Sean's Rant has created a bit of a chill here, in my mind at least. But the main reason is that I find myself wondering if my standards are just impossibly high? The group I was with loved the Ordinary Cafe, but my wife and I found it, well, ordinary. Good but not great. And that's been my impression of many of the restaurants I've been to lately. Arne pointed out today that after a meal like the one we had at West a few weeks ago, it's pretty hard not to be let down the next few places you go. Maybe that's it..... Nonetheless, there you have it. Tremendous crab cakes, some good mains (I'm kicking myself for not trying the ahi tuna) and very good deserts. Service that was good (and most likely improving each day). We had 4 bottles of wine and split the bill evenly to the tune of about $65/person (tax and 15% tip included) - pretty good value, IMHO.

It is my great pleasure to formally announce the first round of Burger Club 2005! Round One will be held at The Red Onion in Kerrisdale (2028 41st Avenue W) on Sunday February 27th at 7pm. The restaurant can only hold a table of 10 for us, so the first 10 people to PM me get a seat. I will start a waiting list if there is demand for it. Please note that the restaurant does seat about 30-40, so even if you aren't on the list you are free to come anyway and find a seat on your own. You are also free to visit the Red Onion anytime during the 2 weeks before Feb 27th - your votes and reviews will still be recognized. Speaking of votes and reviews: Ling will be posting a list of the "rules" later today. We will take an informal vote on Sunday night re the location for Round 2. And finally: [Monster Truck Announcer Voice] This event has been organized through the eG Forums by members but is not sponsored by the Society or its eG Forums. The event is open to all participating eGullet Society members, contributors and their guests. By participating in this event, you confirm your understanding and acceptance of the eGullet Events Policy, to which all eGullet Society members have already agreed. [/Monster Truck Announcer Voice]

roflmao!!!

Ahhhh, cinnamon ice cream. I've searched for cinnamon ice cream for 20 years with no success, then I move to Vancouver and suddenly it's everywhere. I'm now into my 3rd litre of the stuff......

All I have to say is that Burger Club is going to be a LOT more fun now.

Savvy thieves pilfer restaurant's best wine By ROD MICKLEBURGH From Friday's Globe and Mail Vancouver — Capers by sophisticated thieves with a taste for the good life are regular escapist fare at the movies. But a real-life heist by someone with an acute knowledge of ''nothing but the best'' has stripped the priciest restaurant in Whistler of its most prized bottles of wine. read the full story at The Globe and Mail website

Speechless.

Coop, You crack me up! Last week I had a bunch of my coworkers here from Toronto, and it seems they've become regulars at the No.5 (they know the bartender by name....). Anyway, the night we all went to CinCin, I met up with them at, you guessed it, the No.5. The cabbie was hilarious - after a few quiet moments in the car, he said "you know, I wish I had a dollar for every fare I get from the No 5 over to CinCin. Actually, I should just start up a shuttle". You gotta love a cabbie with a sense of humour. He got a way big tip, too.

I know, I know. I'm a polygamist at heart.....or maybe thats a polygastronomist?

On the strength of your and Andrew's recommendation, I'm dining there on Saturday night. My neighbours and I get together once a month specifically to try restaurants nobody in the group has ever been to before. The idea is to try and find undiscovered gems, and this sounds like it might be exactly that. Thanks for the tip!

Hilarious!!! The first time I saw Fisherman's Wharf, I thought that those boats appeared to be jammed in their pretty tightly, and I thought it would be quite a chore to "put to sea". Gotta learn to listen to that litte voice in my head more often.....

Coop, I agree 100%. If a place sucks, we have every right to share our experience with the other members of this forum. I believe that criticism needs to be fair, constructive and specific, but as long as it doesn't become "name calling" (like the "the chef is a bitch" idea above), it's perfectly OK to post that IMO. If I wanted to read nothing but positive experiences, I'd read Where magazine. Besides, how influential are opinions posted on eGullet anyway? I posted a pretty negative DOV of Bis Moreno - it seems hard to believe that their business will suffer because of that.

You can't. We have Burger Club next. ← <groan> Oh, well, I needed to buy new (wider) pants anyway.

Surely you jest.......

A sunny afternoon, gingerbread pudding and a nap. It doesn't get much better than that. My pleasure! Bauhaus, eh? Wonder if my old combat boots still fit?

My final DOV meal was lunch today at Hamilton Street Grill, and I had the pleasure of sharing it with Deborah. I'll let her post her own impressions of her meal and just stick to my own. I started with the salmon chowder. I didn't find it overly salty, as Arne did, just warm creamy goodness that made quick work of the chill I had all morning. The angus burger was fabulous. Arne's comments are dead accurate - perfectly cooked, piled high with onions (which I usually don't like but apparently I like them when Neil cooks! ) on a soft bun. Heaven. We both had Gingerbread pudding for desert. Our server (Eric, who was stellar) put a much larger portion down in front of Deborah than in front of me, which I didn't understand until I remembered that Deborah brough Neil a Kolachy when she arrived - clearly the route to an extra-large helping of gingerbread pudding runs through the Kolachy Shop and straight to Neil's stomach. Much has been said about the Gingerbread pudding here, and I'll only add that it's all true. Neil, thanks for a great lunch. As the Governor of California used to say, "I'll be Bach".

Funny you should post this tonight, Neil. I was planning to start a thread similar to this (albeit from the diner's perspective) myself. I would support your first three ideas, and hopefully once people get used to the 2 hour limit there would be no need to eliminate the desert course. Having now visited three restaurants (and will be having lunch at your restaurant tomorrow, Neil) during DOV, I would agree that it's a great event, and I'd like to see it continue. But I'm not exactly sure I get it. Let me explain: 2 of the 3 restaurants I've been to did not live up to their reputations, IMO. From reading your hilarious posts, Neil, and the comments of others, DOV is clearly a difficult event to pull off smoothly, particularly for a FD establishment, so I'm sympathetic to the argument that I shouldn't make judgements based on a DOV visit. But if I shouldn't expect my experience during DOV to be representative, why would I want to go? Put a different way, if this event is about attracting new clientelle, isn't it counterproductive to underwhelm all those new potential customers? Please don't get me wrong here, I'm not trying to be critical of the event, or of any restaurant in particular. I guess I'm just struggling to wrap my head around the business objectives of the event. I'd be interested in hearing from some of the restauranteurs here about this. Why do the event if you can't maintain the high standards you work so hard to deliver the rest of the year?

Just my $0.02, but I'd ask "What do YOU think of bakin'?" This is your business, the company name will reflect on you, and it's important that you are comfortable with it. I agree that the name has to be marketable, for sure, but don't choose a name that you dislike but others tell you will sell. Again, just my $0.02.

Huh? Deborah, glad to hear dinner was good. We stopped in there for drinks after our dinner at C on Saturday. Sounds like we'll have to try it for dinner sometime soon.

Lee, you're one of the first people I've read who shares our opinion of C. We've been for three dinners, all in the spring/summer, all outside on a picture-perfect evening. Three-course meals with cocktails, wine and cappucinos... yet each time we've come away thinking, "Good, but not great." I likened each of our dining experiences at C to watching a much-anticipated movie after reading lots of stellar reviews and then coming away somewhat disappointed. And it's not as if we've only been once... we gave it a second and third chance. Consequently, it's never been a recommended restaurant of ours; we'd much rather send someone to West, Bistro Pastis or Cru. Just my two cents worth. ← It's funny, I hesitated posting this review as I know how much the people here seem to love C. But in the end I decided to "call 'em like I see 'em". Glad to know I'm not totally crazy.

Beychevelle, did you find the food to be very salty?

Our second last DOV stop was last night at C. Our reservation was for 9:30pm but we arrived at 9. We were greeted warmly and offered a choice between a table upstairs ready in a few moments and a 5-minute wait for a downstairs table. We choose the upstairs table and the Maitre-Dame suggested we wait at the "Leaning Bar" until our table was ready. The Leaning Bar is just what it sounds like - a bar that has bum rests instead of stools so you lean instead of sitting. Very weird. Our table was ready before we exhausted all the humourous possibilites created by the Leaning Bar, and we made our way upstairs. Menus and water were offered immediately, and our server introduced himself. The suggested wine pairings were a bit white-heavy (we had visited Bacchus for pre-dinner drinks prior to arriving, where we shared a half-litre of an excellent Mission Hill 2003 Five Vinyards Pinot Grigio, and we didn't feel like more white), so the waiter smoothly offered to substitute some appropriate Cedar Creek reds with each course (they are featuring Cedar Creek wines during DOV). Very professionally done. The room is very cold (visually), to our taste, with a vaguly nautical, Cape Cod-y theme. My wife called it "Early SpongeBob SquarePants". I suspect the decor works much better on a warm summer evening as opposed to a winter night, and in their defense we had just come from the dark clubby confines of Bacchus. We placed our order, and were visited by a glum server who offered us our choice of breads from a basket she carried. There was a seaweed scone, a raisin-and-something-I-dont-recall bread, and some sort of seaweed cracker. We tried them all, and they were quite delicious (particularly the crackers). Our appetizers arrived within 5 minutes of ordering. My lovely wife had Organic Yukon Gold Potato and Black Truffle Soup. It had (obviously) a strong potato flavour, but was not heavy and thick as we expected. Think "potato consume". The soup was served with a lobster knuckle that was tender and sweet. I had C's Signature Smoked Skeena Wild Salmon Taster consisting of candied salmon, a "Pink salmon" and a more traditional salmon (I forget the name - it's on the tip of my tongue....). I had never had candied salmon before so I don't have any frame of reference, but C's version was excellent. Candied salmon in now officially on my "foods to be sought out" list. The other two varieties were good, but nothing special. Our main courses were brought out within 5 minutes of finishing out appys. We shared Crisp Sun Valley Trout and Dungeness Crab, served with organic apples, roasted beets and nutmeg cream, and Roasted Duck Breast with Duck Leg Confit served with carmelized root vegetables, rapini and aged sherry vinegar emulsion. The trout had been de-boned and served on a bed of the roasted apples, beets and chunks of crab. The food runner told us the sauce was a hazelnut cream, so perhaps they ran out of nutmeg cream. The duck breast was served medium rare, and the confit was falling-off-the-bone tender. Both mains were good but not great. The kitchen seems to have a very heavy hand when it comes to salt - both mains were extremely salty. Desert was a Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit Tart with a sesame snap and cocunut jelly for my wife, a Chocolate Sourdough Cake with a coffee ice cream sandwich and espresso ganache for me. The deserts were similar to the mains - good but not great (although not salty, fortunately!) Wines were, as mentioned before, not the standard flights. With the appetizers we had a Cedar Creek 2002 Pinot Noir (quite nice - not as light as most pinots) and a Cedar Creek 2002 Merlot (decent but not great). The desert pairing was the standout: a Quail's Gate Estate Late Harvest Optima 2003. It was wonderful - more thick and viscous than the average late harvest wine. Nothing beats a great ice wine for desert, but the Optima is very very close. If you like ice wine but drink less than you'd like because of the price, give this wine a try. With the exception of the surly bread girl (who we noticed was being very surepticiously chastized by the manager at one point during the evening) service was excellent. Not quite up to the standard set by West last weekend, but very very close. We were in and out in about 70 minutes - very efficient without feelign rushed. Unfortunately, the food was a bit of a disappointment - good, not great. I think we'll probably visit again this summer - I supsect dinner on the patio at sunset would be an enjoyable experience. Hopefuly the kitchen runs out of salt before then.