kontemporary

Normans hands down. Very fresh, ridiculously cheap. My first day living on the drive I walked there and bought two bags of veggies and fruit. The girl put em all through and said "3.49". I said "for the apples?" she said "total" $3.49? I had a $10 ready to go. I had to change plans and dig for change! Damn. I miss commercial. ← I'm a bit confused about this.. is this the Norman's Market near Wazzubee Cafe on Commercial? Or is it another market somewhere I don't know but should find out.. as stevetop mentioned Commercial "Street" and not "Drive".. and Normand instead of Norman.

That story just sounds much too familiar for my own good What I'd add to the list would probably be a day with both Wild Rice and Chambar (since theyre so close anyways) - try the beef tenderloin on rice cake thing at Wild Rice, and some great moule frites at Chambar; pairing it off could include some of Wild Rice's creative martinis and some awesome Belgian beer from Chambar. But that may not suit your fancy, as it seems most of the places you list are in line with a taste of haute cuisine in Vancouver. So potential candidates given this criteria could include C Restaurant (actually a must-try), Mistral (French, but bistro-aspect), Diva (artisan desserts), and Sun Sui Wah for high-end Chinese. I'm not sure about other places in Richmond that many eGulleters are familiar with, but I'd say this place is one of the best in Vancouver.. but my last visit was before the summer, so I'm not sure about what the current culinary status quo is. For brunches, you can try Provence Marinaside, Raincity Grill, or Glowbal. Some more casual joints like Lilykate serve up great brunches as well.

I've given that exact issue much thought. The pilot does need to calculate the total take-off weight so it's not like he was just curious, but if it were me, I'd have just estimated, added a few pounds just to be safe, and avoided the whole unfortunate incident altogether. That's my strategy when I take my wife flying for the first time, anyway. ← Yes, I knew at the time that he needed to know, it is just an unfortunate question for a first date To his credit, he did guess, but underestimated my weight quite a bit. ← Well maybe that was perhaps to not offend anyone, as any good man would do. A friend of mine is working on getting his pilot license... I'll be sure to tell him of these Chilliwack pies

Yes.. it was quite good! But surpsingly it was.. on the verge of melting when I dug into it.. I shall return some day to try more of their great sweet goods

I had quite a yummy caramel-chocolat crème cake at Ganache Patisserie today.. But the box of macaroons were not too good.

I find bubble tea is enjoyable if the thing at the bottom of the drink is "coconut jelly" and not "taopica pearls".. but I guess that defeats the purpose of the drink.

Can you please elaborate on why you need more of these kinds of events? As an outsider, the restaurant industry seems to be doing just fine, even a lot more than just fine in Vancouver. ← Well I for one thinks it's a great way to taste different places that you haven't been to, get a bang for your buck, and a fun event for everybody to head to - promoting local goods and restaurants.

Interesting. I had the Alsatian mini-pizza and thought that it was very good! The crust was flakey yet soft and little accents of the bacon and cheese. I admit I got that over the the ribwich and salmon because they ran out - but I didn't think the pizza was any bad at all. My favourites were the salmon tartare from Wild Rice, the dungeness crab watermelon from Ch'i, the strawberry smoothie at Cassis, and pies from Kiwi Pie Co. And the value-hitting burger from Vera's! I was disappointed with a lot though.. the daube au boeuf at Cassis.. the lamb and salmon at Odoul's (by far the worst).. Le Gavroche's leek/salmon tart and Dockside's crab cakes. There were some good but non-spectacular dishes such as the sandwich at Mosaic, the other crab cake I had at Fish Café, and Maurya's curry. I stayed away from the BBQ grills because well, I didn't want to fill out on food that wouldn't be offering anything special. And some places had things I didn't want to bother checking out - e.g. Rossini's pastas, Thai House's bland-looking pad thais. I regret not checking out Azure Lounge & Grill, Chutney Villa, Ashiana Tandoori, Oasis Pub, Habibi's, and the Observatory. I would have loved to - but my stomach was at full capacity and I was still amazed for spending thirty dollars for myself at Taste of the City. Anyone knew what C offered before they closed down (I shouldn't have come so late...)?

Blendz? You meant Blenz surely, because at I found it at the top of the page while googling. http://www.blenz.com/ ... or am I really stupid and missed a joke somewhere

I find it very professional and impressive. In fact a thread on the General Forum to ask if Managers in other places were as thorough crossed my mind but I'm off to work now.... maybe later. ← I too, find it a very good aspect of a restaurant if they have staff routinely checking out what people are saying about their business - and not just being silent about [constructive] criticism. I had brunch with a friend at Nu today after the Terry Fox Run (certainly tiring, especially after Taste of the City yesterday). I was disappointed that they did not have an Interac machine - so I had to go run to make a withdrawal, as if I haven't been doing enough of that today. That didn't put me off, but I just found it surprising as the night before when I was at Diva at the Met they didn't take Interac either... bad trend? But anyways, the food. I had a feature on their brunch menu, the double smoked bacon and cheddar cheese omelette. The omelette was sublimal - certainly the best I've had in a very long time. However the accompanying potatoes were overly dry (unripe?), and the buttered bread overtoasted (far beyond just "crunchy"). I notified my server and she offered to replace them. I didn't want to be waiting, so I stuck with it and continue eating (the omelette was good enough to make up for everything). We were asked if we wanted dessert - but being dimwited and not thinking ahead, I only made a withdrawal for twenty earlier combined with some cash I had on-hand. But as we were preparing to pay for the bill, the waitress brought a plate of her favourite dessert - the profiterole dish (we had an earlier discussion about desserts around town). Wow. Strangely.. things didn't stop there... later when the tab came, my order was missing on the bill. I told her of this error, and it was mentioned that she felt that "we felt that we could not meet expectations" and it was deducted from the bill. The total bill came to .. 13? That is ridiculous! Nevertheless, percentage-wise that was probably one of the biggest tips I've ever left at restaurants. This is five-star service at its best. Not to mention the amazing décor, view, and subtle good-vibe atmosphere of the restaurant. Two very very big thumbs up for Nu - I will return for dinner!

How's asian fusion..? (I've never been there myself, but heard about it) - Also Lounge and Restaurant (forgive the name as well) http://www.also.ca/

Even so, one should be grateful that the Vancouver restaurant scene is so in touch with new technology. Just look at the eGullet forums itself - our city beats out Toronto and Montreal combined! Our restaurant scene may not be as large, but it certainly is more vibrant and connected. I've on many occasions found it hard for restaurants in Vancouver to not have a website/email - where it's the exact opposite elsewhere.

Thanks a lot Neil for all the hard work you put in. One of many great annual Vancouver traditions to be started. (You realise what you're getting yourself into right?) I am disappointed it's only 12 of 30 restaurants shown there.. Sort of fooled me, I was hoping to do the entire Taste of Yaletown package

Wow, that's an awesome pic! Some people blocked in the pic though: who's the guy next to Simply Thai's chef, the guy behind YBC's chef, and the guy next to Blue Water Cafe's chef?

care to tell us what that favourite place is?

Where on Kingsway is it located? ← Above Earls I think? I do recall seeing an ad for it in the Georgia Straight in their dining section (some "brown rice" sushi trend?). Took me some delayed seconds to figure out what AYCE stood for too

... really? I've actually heard quite the opposite and that their martinis are very watered down. I do however recommend Wild Rice for martinis - I think they have a very creative list!

Public as in.. general public? Or the invited public? Usually restaurant anniversaries are invitational (which would make sense with the RSVP).

Passed by some places on Broadway today.. Seems to be a new restaurant by the name of "Tango and Grill" (I think..) on Broadway and Oak. It's Argentinian cuisine, which I don't have a clue consists of. Further east seems to be a nice curry takeout place called "Curry Point". Red Pepper is also open (or at least the doors were), and glancing in, the décor looked very nice. The place seemed very mellow yet colourful. However right beside the entrance doors are two big wooden boards (I think windows were supposed to be placed here in theory), which seems like a shame because it really destroys the restaurant image.

"The Distillery" is owned by a wealthy lady who thought it might be fun to open a restaurant. She hired Matt (Elwood's/Nevermind/Five Point) as a consultant, who got it up and running. It's been pretty quiet whenever I've been past, in contrast to the always-thumpin' Hell's Kitchen across the street. k. ← Some people (such as the guys that run the kitsilano.ca blog) think it's because The Distillery lacks any good drinking specials. And obviously when people in the West Fourth area on Friday night are faced with choices between Nevermind, The Distillery, Bimini's, Chivana's, Hell's Kitchen, etc... They're gonna want a place that offers good value.

Awwww I guess they couldn't compete with the expanding Frenchies chain.. On the other hand, Salade de Fruits is opening up very soon with the new chef/owner.

Library Square Public House opened near.. the library (Fox n Firkin location? ..not sure) Also not sure how long this place has been around, but haven't noticed it until recently. Only information I found was on the Georgia Straight, with a fairly recent article. Original Article

Hmmm.. of all those restaurants, I really only think Ashiana is worth going to, if you want a good dining experience in Vancouver. I'm not sure about Mona, but the other restaurants listed are not great. I've had bad experiences at Earls on Robson (Earls on Top), and wouldn't recommend it. Poor food and service. Il Giardino would be a good choice, but for that price range I would rather spend it at Cioppino's in Yaletown. I don't think your dietary restrictions should stop you from exploring more of Vancouver's restaurants - because many gladly cater to such needs (vegetarians are hardly uncommon).

Awesome! Such a yummy fruit.. Do you know exactly how long their season is? It seems so hard to find but you can find it constantly on dessert plates in so many restaurants!

Does anyone know if any of the farmer markets carry cape gooseberries? I've had some trouble finding them..