Mark Donnelly

Obviously great news that Vancouver is recognised by New Yorkers. But it is very disappointing that over half of the restaurants reviewed actually reflect overseas cuisines (Chinese, Japanese and Indian). I love Chinese and Indian food, but I also like British, French, Italian, Thai and WEST COAST. Sadly (or tellingly) these garner no mention.

I picked up some some chocolates by My Chocolate Tree (mychocolatetree.ca) at the Christmas Farmers' Market. These chocolates are fantastic and really make TH look ordinary. Try them if you can find them.

I quite like Noshwell (noshwell.com) and Ho Yummy (hoyummy.com). Got to dash now; I'm off to the Farmers' Market at Wise Hall.

I've heard good things about Vij's, but just don't understand ist no reservations policy. I'm not travelling from W Van to stand in a que. It's a business model that works for casual dinning places like, dare I say it, White Spot, but high-end establishments - I just don't get it.

I generally don't read print media critics. I much prefer on-line blogs (with lots of photos).

Hard to belive she gets paid to write such drival. My 13 year old daugther's Facebook wall displays better journalism.

Many thanks. Your technique is very similar to Heston Blumenthal. Cooking tempertaure is so important. Short of a wood fired pizza oven, it's difficult.

Fab looking pizza. What temperature do you use? Convection/normal? Do you use a pizza stone?

With prices for mains in the $45 range, no wonder this place closed. Those are high prices by London standards, let alone provincial Vancouver.

We spent of summer family holiday cycling the Kettle Valley Railway and used Kelowna as a base. We ate at Bordello, Bouchons, the Bread Co. and RauDZ (nee Fresco). Bordello (Water Street) Best pizza I've eaten outside Italy. Thin crispy base. A hint of fresh tomato sauce. Toppings are bog standard, but the base is the star. White pizzas (olive oil, no tomato) are alos available. The Bread Co. (Bernard Avenue) Great bread (wonderful ciabatta). Very nice salads and sandwiches. A great place for lunch. Very reasonably priced. Bouchons (Water Street) Accomplished bistro cooking. Very relaxed, but a bit out of the way. The $39 prix fix menu is not good value. Some very sad dishes. Go ALC and stick to bistro classics. RauDZ (Water Street) This place was hugely disappointing. The head chef has clearly run out of ideas and, more importantly, run out of enthusiasm and drive. If it was good in the past, there is not a scrap of evidence around today. Ludicrous combinations, superfluous vegitation (I mean red, orange and yellow carrots, asparagus and mashed potatoes accompanied my scallops) and below par cooking. The mash was (i) underseasoned and (ii) stoggy. I mean, how difficult is it to not make decent pomme puree. Obviously too difficult for this restaurant. This restaurant has an aversion to anything containg fat. I like my mash with butter and cream. Oh and salt. My wife had the arctic char. This was okay, but it came with a bed of bacon and spinach. The bacon wasn't lardoned, but came in huge chunks. It was overly smokey and not remotely crispy. Really one of the most disappointing dining experiences I have ever had. Like far too many restaurants in Vancouver, this place is a triumph of style over content/substance. Now trading on its past reputation.

The short answer is, like with many things in Vancouver, the emphasis is on style over content/substance. As long as it looks good, that's all that counts. I've just returned from cycling the Kettle Valley Railway in and around Kelowna. Bordello's on Water street makes the most fantastic pizza. Best base I've ever had outside of Italy. If Kelowna can do it, Vancouver can.

Can't see any El Bulli influences - not a foam in sight. Can't say anything on the menu floats my boat. I mean, chicken stuffed with crab!! Yuk.

I agree. My only complaint is parking. A complete nightmare.

Maybe they'll open a branch in West Van. A welcome addition to Vancouver's food sceen.

My own personal philosophy is to steer (huh, I'm so funny) clear of imported food and buy local wherever possible. There's lots of good local beef to be had.

Whilst holidaying in Tofino this summer, my next door neighbour gave me some fresh (and never been frozen) Chinook he had caught that morning. To say it was the best salmon I have ever had would be an understatement. For me, the freezing process has an impact on taste. But I agree that FAS salmon is still a very good food item. And wild salmon in BC is the same price as farmed Atlantic salmon, which begs the question why on earth does farmed salmon have any market share.

Fresh (caught that morning) Halibut filets in panko breadcrumbs from the Wildside Grill in Tofino. Spankingly fresh.

I recently took my wife out for a surprise birthday dinner at Cibo in the Moda hotel (corner of Seymour and Smythe). I won't say too much as I think only four or five people actually use this forum. In the kitchen is Neil Taylor (ex River Cafe). Had a chat with him afterwards and what do you know, he's a fellow Tottenham Hotspur supporter. All (well most) ingredients are sourced locally and the pasta is the best I've ever eaten. A real skill. There is a limited but varying menu and a limited wine list. The dinning room is small (55 covers or so). Right now I think Cibo is a secret. But not for much longer.

Tonight we had fresh Dungeness crab and Spot prawns from Trilogy's wet fish shop. The prawns were just outstanding. So sweet. And the crab. Well I never get tired of eating crab.

Well I'm curently vacationing in Tofino. What a gem. A small ecotourist/fishing village perched on the edge of the Pacific Rim. And not a Starbucks, McDonalds or Tim Hortons for miles. Heavan I haven't eaten at too many places because we simply buy fresh fish (Chinook salmon/halibut/prawns), steam-bake on the BBQ and walk the 50m to the beach where a campfire awaits. Sitting on the beach eating fish that was swimming a few hours earlier, that is something special. The Common Loaf is great at what it does best (bread, muffins and pizza) and not very good at everything else. The dialy changing pizzas are very good. The pasta, on the other hand, is truly aweful. The Wildeside Grill does the best fish n chips in town (panko breadcrumbs), but it is a shack. Two generous portions of spanking fresh halibut and chips is a reasnable $17. SoBo doesn't take reservations. And since we cycle into Tofino from Chesterman beach, no business from me I'm afraid. Not a great loss (for me) given its canteen style layout and open kitchen. You have to shout to hear yourself. May give Shelter a try tomorrow.

It's been practised here in BC before. 30 years ago I used to work part-time at Tip Top Tailors. There was a minimum wage in BC at the time. I was paid on a commission basis. If I didn't sell enough (ie below minimum wage), TTT "topped" my wages up to the minimum level by advancing me monies. However, if I sold more than the minimum wage, they would claw back any monies they had advanced me in cases where I didn't sell enough. It's a disgraceful practice. But one of many in the restaurant trade (ie split shifts, part-time work with low benefits, unsociable hours, etc).

I wonder how long his T5 restaurant will last? Every time I've been to T5 the place is empty.

Wow - the rooms look something conjured up by dear old Rev Dodgson. Tut tut tut. Come quickly Mr Rabbit. Sounds like good value though.

There are (or at least were) some great Chinese restaurant in London's Chinatown. These were often above shop fronts with a single entrance door. You know you're onto a winner when the restaurant was full of Chinese people and not a tourist in sight. My local Chinese in Woodford Green was miles better than the slop I tasted in Ambleside. Dining out in Vancouver (both casual and fine) is about half the price of London. In fact, when I dined at Rare the tasting menu was $45. Wine pairing were another $40 or so. Compared to London this represented a bargin. Given Fraiche's location, it must rely on repeat customers if it is to survive. I just don't think it will and I certainly won't be going back.

20 years ago when I moved from Vancouver to London, Vancouver was streets ahead in terms of its restaurant scene (and streets ahead in many other respects as well). But the rest of the world has changed (it's a much smaller, smarter world) and Vancouver has been left behind. London was a restaurant backwater. Now it has some of the finest restaurants in the world (think GR@RHR, Fat Duck, MIdsummer House, etc). Vancouver is capable of the same. But is there any demand? More importantly, is there any supply? Two restaurants I'd take visitors to are Rare and Gastropod.