mamacat

I moved here from Vancouver last year and have been pleasantly surprised by the restaurant scene. For sure I miss Nu and the Hammie but have found the 9th St. Bistro for Sunday brunch (limited menu but well done..I like that you can order anything on the menu one of three ways; the dish itself, the dish plus a fruit skewer or the dish plus fruit skewer plus a mimosa). The High Level Diner is also good for brunch. Praha is perfect for lunch, and for dinner the Manor Cafe and Cafe de Ville are very good. A good risotto is hard to find here but I did have one that satisfied at Sorrentinos in the west end made with wild mushrooms. I look forward to discovering more places to indulge when Snackycat is out next month.

Next time, Junior, I find your restaurant....no matter where it is!

I promised to report back but I'm afraid the report is disappointing. it was FREEZING cold in Regina on Monday night so those members of our little group who hadn't brought warm coats were reluctant to budge anymore than 3 blocks from the hotel. We ended up in a mediocre place (whose name I have purged from my memory already) that couldn't make up its mind whether it was Greek or Canadian. I had overcooked, dry chicken souvlaki and some greasy grilled veggies. Next time, I'll make sure my colleagues dress for the weather! Next week, Vancouver & Victoria. It will be good to have a few days on familiar ground near all my favourite places. Neal, heat up that hot gingerbread pudding!

Thanks to Junior and Merlin. I'll update when I get back on Wednesday.

Can anyone recommend a good, moderately priced restaurant in the downtown core (Victoria Ave. area)? Business brings me there next week.

Good call Deborah! I had this last Friday at lunch and it was wonderful. Very thick and rich.

I'm sorry, but are you on drugs? So English, you would swear you were in the English countryside? Come on. Pretty good food? I invite you to take a walk around the corner where you can see the kitchen open to the street. ← I think it would have been nice if you could have made your point without the personal attack. Not having the benefit of a food writers inside view of Victoria's eating establishments, I can only go by experience and I did have two very pleasant visits to said establishment. And, no, I'm a little old for drugs.

There used to be a delightful tea room in Oak Bay called, I think, "The Blethering Place". So English you would swear you were in the English countryside and pretty good food too!

It isn't Vancouver but for those out in the eastern 'burbs, the fishmonger at Newport Village in Port Moody is great. Fresh fish, wonderful crab cakes and halibut cakes, a great teriyaki marinade that he uses for salmon filets, etc., etc. A bit pricey but the quality is worth the money.

The Pavillion at Stanley Park?

Welcome, Quarki! Good first post...your pictures really capture Daniel's cooking very well. We'll look forward to hearing more of your opinions.

I agree with Deborah; the money would be better spent on the washrooms. The concession stands are what they are...places to grab that hot dog or fish & chips that you probably don't eat anywhere else...it's part of the park experience.

Burgers, etc. gets my vote also.

Snacky and I just got back from Taos, New Mexico...she worked, I just tagged along because I love the southwest. The three most outstanding meals we had there were all lunches. First at Orlando's, a southwestern/Mexican family place that has been in Taos for years. Not big, not fancy but very popular with the locals and the food is the reason why. I had a chicken taco salad which tasted like none I've ever had before...everything so fresh with the chicken wonderfully grilled and spiced. Next day we ventured off to visit an Alpaca farm in Mora and had lunch at Hatchas, which looked to be the only place in town. Again, not fancy but what an amazing lunch! I had chiles relleno and Jenn had some sort of carne dish (not asada...the other one...adovana or something like that). The sauces were amazing...just the right amount of heat and wonderfully spiced. To go with our plates we had a basket of warm tortillas and Navajo frybread. The frybread was soft, puffy and perfect for sopping up the sauces. We were served a huge amount of food and just about went into shock when the bill arrived and it was $13 & change for both of us! Perhaps our best lunch, though, was at Joseph's Table in Taos. The prix fixe lunch menu was $16 per person and was amazing. A fresh tomato soup, unadulterated with cream, that was refreshing and beautifully textured. It came with a parmesan crisp on top. Next course was a sea bass served over a bed of deep-fried kale (the kale was all crunchy and yummy) with fresh green beans on the side garished with finely chopped tomatoes & chiles. The dessert was called a mocha tart but it was actually an intensely chocolate lava cake with an intensely chocolate sauce. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. OK, I'm going to go over three. Our last night we stayed at a B&B in Santa Fe and the breakfast we had was a standout for the side dish that accompanied the eggs and ham. The cook had made puff pastry shells in muffin tins then filled them with mashed potatoes flavoured with chiles. My oh my, they were so good! Finally, the place we stayed at in Taos, Casa Gallina, is a B&B where the owner has chickens in the back yard. We got to feed them, collect their eggs and then have those eggs for breakfast. We are now both fans of free range fresh chicken eggs...amazing!