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Thanks to everyone for the kind comments, it was really a special trip ~ memories to last a lifetime!! And I'm already looking forward to celebrating future anniversaries there Paul, Relais de Poste looked like it was closed for business - I had tried emailing for a reservation and they responded "le restaurant etant fermé definitivement" I also took a peek into a restaurant I hadn't heard much of "Le Petit Manoir" a little bit hidden on a street behind the big indoor market but I believe there was a sign with directions to it - the setting looked quite cute, sort of a smaller version of Le Presidial but the menu wasn't nearly as enticing as Quatre Saisons. Vieux Logis looks lovely! I'm sure you and your wife will have a fabulous time there, congratulations. The restaurants and menus definitely seem to offer more variety than the classic French menus at Chateau de la Treyne. The seclusion and views of Chateau de la Treyne were really wonderful though - the morning mist over the river view from our room was really a memorable sight. We even had a view of the manicured French gardens from the jacuzzi tub! (Very private, we were on the third floor) Also the staff were amazing, really went out of their way helping my fiance plan the proposal. I could go on and on about it... On a somewhat related food note, I saw very little seared foie gras on any of the French restaurant menus.. if it came cooked, it always seemed poached. In contrast, the foie in San Sebastian was almost always seared.. mm.. seared foie gras with apple jelly pincho for 3 euros - yum! I will need to get around to posting some other notes from my trip

Thought I'd post back a few notes on my wonderful time spent in Sarlat!! I only wish I could have spent more time exploring the area... too many restaurants, too little time! My first night's dinner in town was at Le Presidial - wow - the 26euro menu is amazing value, really unbelievable. Dining in the garden courtyard as the sun set behind the castle-like restaurant was fantastic - not something I can replicate in Vancouver, BC!! For starters, I had the foie gras de carnard with jelly - a large slab served with jelly (solidified cubes of duck.. juice? very tasty!) sorry, I'm not a food/writing expert, I just like to eat! My fiance-to-be had the escargot, 10 huge snails in a garlic butter sauce baked with bread crumbs? These were by far the largest, freshest tasting escargot I had in France, all the others I tried were definitely of the frozen variety. For mains, I had the duck breast served with peaches (the duck was slightly tough, but paired very well with the peaches and once again, huge portion) My fiance-to-be had a crispy duck confit. We had a few bites of the warm goat cheese salad course that followed.. trying to save room for dessert (classic creme brulee and a dark chocolate ganache) The next day, the Sarlat Saturday market is as busy and varied as everyone says. Sausages became our favourite word (saucisson!) and after many samples we settled on the cepes (mushroom?) and camembert flavoured ones. The marais de bois, strawberries were quite special - they have a unique perfumed after-taste and were very sweet. With a bottle of sweet Monbazillac, a baguette and a slice of foie from the deli, our gourmet picnic was complete! In the evening, my fiance-to-be became my official fiance as he surprised me with a proposal at Chateau de la Treyne Really lovely and relaxing.. storybook chateau on a hill with the Dordogne river below - I highly recommend a stay overnight if you're in the area!! Onto the food though, their one star Michelin restaurant has a gorgeous terrace overlooking the river.. I can't remember much of the food as I was still trying to recover from the surprise proposal!! Here's what I can come up from memory - amuse bouches of: chilled asparagus soup with creme fraiche & caviar, puff pastry with mushrooms, escargot served in a potato cup .. follwed by our appetizers of: foie four ways, my favourite being the foie gras epice? it was a slightly sweet & spicy crust on top of the foie. We also had the tomato appetizer, done four ways - favourite being the tomato sorbet. Main course of duck and foie millefeuille, alternating layers of duck breast & foie gras served with a morel sauce.. delicious! Followed by dessert (tropical fruit done in four ways.. chocolate done in four ways..) followed by a post-dessert! Four different shot glasses of increasing sweetness (all fruity) Overall good value for 88euros per person.. The rest of the time we spent back in Sarlat, dinner at Quatre Saisons in the interior courtyard was quite nice, I remember some superb scallops and pretty, quirky presentations of their food (mashed potatos served in a jar) I think I have some pictures taken.. will try to re-post later. Also had a casual dinner at L'Entr'Acte - good value for 13 euro menus and a small cave inside the restaurant for you to visit. As an aside, Relais de poste was closed Didn't bother me too much as I think I ate very well in this region.. cheers to all those lucky enough to visit!! Janice

Fabulous, thanks for everyone's input! I can't wait to go Should I be planning to make reservations in advance for any of the restaurants mentioned? I shall keep the puymirol suggestion in mind, as we will be driving out in that direction towards Bayonne on the last day. Many thanks on the Relais de Poste information!! I will do my best to find my way there Most likely we will spend our evenings in Sarlat, but we will be doing day trips to surrounding areas such as Domme, Les Eyzies, St Cyprien, Rocamadour, Carennac, Padirac..

Thanks for the tips, milkman! I will definitely try to find that patisserie I'm also planning on a day trip or two out to a few of the nearby towns.. maybe Riquewihr, Egusheim or .. Turkckheim? I haven't quite figured out my itinerary, but any recommendations in towns nearby would also be appreciated! I will most likely be relying on public transportation or perhaps I will rent a bicycle for the day..

Now that I've taken a closer look at his website, in the Franchises section there is something called "Veyrat Carive - A New Concept in Gastronomy" 19E trays, 4 dishes to eat in - .. i'm intrigued !

Yes, I'm very excited about all the markets in France! The bigger market in Annecy is on Saturday, I believe. Are there "Annecy" specialties that I should keep a lookout for? In Sarlat, I know to look out for any walnut products and lots of foie..and roast chicken in St Cyprien.. Thanks for the tips on Cafe Bio and Le Freti!

Oh my... 338E menu, that would be the exception of a lifetime for me Tempting, but I don't think I'm ready to break the bank yet for that kind of meal..

Any suggestions for great restaurants in Annecy? We will be staying around 3 nights; walking distances or short taxi rides from the town center would be ideal. Not really looking for Michelin restaurants (although... exceptions could be made) moreso would love recommendations on more casual, affordable restaurants with local specialties Many thanks!

I made a reservation for Gastropod on Open Table and didn't notice the same comment. The confirmation email had the following info: NOTES ABOUT THIS RESERVATION: To take advantage of the Dine Out Vancouver fixed-price offer, be sure to request the special menu when you arrive. In an effort to accommodate all reservation requests during this event, the restaurant asks that you respect the 1.5 hour dining time allotted each party.

Hi All, Does anyone happen to know where I can find smoked caviar? Preferably smoked steelhead caviar, but salmon works too. Thanks in advance !

LOL, I remember reading about a man describing his experience eating live baby octopus as "the closest thing to being pregnant" as he could still feel the tentacles moving around in his stomach - - Apparently you must chew carefully first, before swallowing ..

Hi all ! I'm back from my trip up to Prince Rupert - it was a very pleasant week, beautiful scenery, a relaxing drive, and lots of deer wandering around ! Here's my food report: Prince George - Cimo's Mediterranean Grill - One of the busier looking restaurants in town, has a casual fine dining feel to it. Fairly varied menu, rather slow service. I'd say their pastas are their strong point. I had ravioli with a tasty portobello filing in a tomato sauce. Also had chicken stuffed with proscuitto and oyster mushrooms, a ribeye steak that was a bit dry, and a roasted red pepper soup with pesto cream - a bit too oily for my tastes. White Goose Bistro - Chef Bis Moreno's restaurant! What a lovely discovery - I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. For about the same price as a meal at Cimo's, we had seared foie gras with a pear puree, ravioli stuffed with lobster in a tomao basil sauce, lamb ossobucco braised with mustard, white wine, and artichokes, mussels in a white wine and leek sauce and frites. Wish I'd been in town for another meal here. Prince Rupert: Smiles Cafe - So many locals recommended this place, we had to try it. Way too greasy for my liking. Fish and chips is their crowning glory here, I wouldn't recommend straying from the menu otherwise. Bland and dry filets of salmon, sole, and halibut. They didn't have the crab sandwich available when I was there unfortunately. Dolly's Seafood Market - Their white chowder is fantastic! A different take on the classic fish chowder, more thin & peppery with scallops, halibut, white wine. Good value for their sandwiches, fresh dungeness crab on a kaiser + a chowder was $10.95 Stardust Against our better judgement, we did try Chinese in Prince Rupert. After peeking into some other frightening establishments, we wandered into Stardust. Half diner, half Chinese restaurant joint. Definitely exceeded my expectations! It's not Richmond-class, but it's perfectly passable filling Chinese fare. We didn't order off the menu, just asked the nice owner (Mrs Chen) what to eat and she came up with a steamed rock cod with soy sauce & green onions, tofu hot pot with veggies, 'champagne chicken' (lemon honey cream sauce), and beef with gai lan. Crest Hotel - Had to go for the view, enjoyed a nice if overpriced lunch - dungeness crab and shrimp omelette, and a terriyaki salmon burger with wasabi dressing. Also stopped by Smithers and picked up some muskox, venison, and buffalo jerky from their meat & deli store (forgot what it was called) and stopped into Schimmel's Cafe for a squash and ginger soup, and a foccacia sandwich with ham & cheese. Overall, not the most exciting trip food-wise, but pleasant nonetheless. Oh, and we picked up some gorgeous cherries at the farmer's market on Saturdays in Prince George! That provided the necessary fuel for the drive over to Rupert along with many many stops at Tim Horton's along the way. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, and hope this helps anyone else planning a trip up north.

wow, what a fabulous reply ! thanks so much for all the suggestions, i'll be sure to report back if i uncover any gems out there..

Jaymes, I'll be heading there around the first week of August, planning to take 6 or 7 days - I can't wait to sample all the fresh produce ! I love BC cherries

Hi all, I'll be making a road trip from Vancouver to Prince Rupert, stopping by at Prince George along the way and possibly othe towns like Quesnel, Smithers, Vanderhoof. Any advice for interesting eats along the way? Dining experiences, food products - any suggestions much appreciated ! Thanks in advance !

Dinner @ Pearl on the Rock - once again on an Entertainment coupon spree - i definitely to make the trip out to the burbs more often, this was a fun pitstop on the way to the states over the weekend for me. Lovely, knowledgeable service and great food. I had the squid and wild boar salad, asian inspired sauce - slightly sweet & tangy, the wild board was very tender, similar consistency to pulled pork but softer & tastier. Date had the 4 taste sampler, escargot in a creamy alfredo like sauce, crabcakes, scallop, and clam chowder - the escargot and clam chowder definitely stood out in my mind. For entrees, I had the sablefish marinated in some sort of English ale, served with a pork croquette, apple cider vinaigrette & pureed sauerkraut. Date had the wild salmon served with crispy gnocchi (yum). TOY Dinner @ Coast - busy, noisy night ! Lobster bisque served in an espresso cup to start, seafood coastal teaser platter included calamari, crabcakes, and indian salmon salad. Entree was a very pure white tender halibut served with gnocchi in a lobster sauce. Dessert was a peanut butter cup - dark chocolate shell, ganache topping. Dim Sum @ Imperial One of the first and likely last times I have chinese in a downtown location - even though food was not bad, i'd much rather pay richmond prices. Although it was quite a trippy experience to have wait staff speak both english & chinese fluently enough to describe the food. Only thing that stood out in my mind was the seafood Yee-Mein - it was better done here than in most places, with salmon & more variety in assorted seafood .. Tried one weird dimsum dish though, almond crusted prawn balls.. it was .. crunchy

Dinner @ Aqua Riva - It was very busy for a Sunday night ! There was a table of 40 beside us, and the service was excellent - Professional, friendly, and she gave us an extra dessert We went for the "West Coast Feast" - 3 courses for $27 deal, seafood chowder to start - tasty, with big chunks of salmon. The duck spring rolls were unexciting though, they had a strange aftertaste. Entrees included roasted wild salmon, with spinach & feta polenta - it was a bit dry, but the butter basil sauce was tasty. The pork loin with fig chutney was also reportedly dry. Best part of the meal were the desserts, a double chocolate mousse cake was suitably rich & sweet, and an apple rhubarb crumble crisp was tasty. Dinner @ ShiruBay - They've changed their ebi chili mayos it was disappointing for me, the batter is a puffy dense fritter like thing instead of a tempura coating. Other than that, the black cod with miso was one of my favourite dishes, succulent, juicy, flavourful. Mussels with a ginger white wine sauce on special were nicely plump and tasty. Their dungeness crab sushi is nicely presented, but always falls apart when I try to dip it into the soya sauce! Also had chicken karagge (pretty standard, but good), matcha cheesecake (probably the best i've had in vancouver), and the caramelized bananas - i didnt really like how it's served in the blackened banana peel. Wanted to try out the menu at George for the Taste of Yaletown event, but they decided that it 'didn't work with the room' and we would have to go up to Brix for their TOY menu instead. We had some drinks (love the glasses, but it's pricey cocktails !) , and headed over to Brown's instead. Great value, $20 for 3 courses - Went for the sesame crusted ahi tuna salad, halibut served with a creamy dill sauce, and the key lime pie. Everything was quite good ! Stole a baby back rib off of my friend, and found it satisfactory. This place reminds me of a smaller Cactus Club, I'll be back for a good casual meal.

.. have been on an entertainment coupon spree, before they expire nov 1st Dinner at Fiction Five - cool, loungey little space just above the block from Lonsdale Quay. Extensive martini list, mostly "tapas" dishes, and about 5 entrees on the menu. For starters, had the phyllo wrapped camembert served with figs & apple chutney, toast points, garnished with grapes & chili pepper. Mmm.. cheeeeezy ... ! Upon first slice, the camembert just oozed out - I enjoyed the flavour more than the milder baked bries that i've tried. My date had something called Ducky's Payback - sort of aquesadilla filled with tasty hoisin marinated duck meat, served with a lemon mayo sauce. For entrees, I had the salmon patted with dill, served with spinach - nicely medium rare. Date had the Rubicon chicken - spicy, breaded, coconut curry sauce & rice. Dinner at L'Artista in Burnaby, decent well-priced Italian. I had the chicken cordon bleu (Mm, more melted cheese). Date had the linguine frutti di mare in a creamy tomato sauce. Overall good, but nothing outstanding. Dinner at Minoas - authentic looking Greek house near Kingsway & Boundary. I was very excited when I saw the stuffed squid on the menu (it was one of my favourite meals on the island of Paros) but alas, they weren't serving it that night. Went with the dolmades - grape vine leaves wrapped around seasoned beef with rice, with a creamy lemon sauce. Date had the chicken souvlaki with some sort of pasta that resembled a lasagna, but had a creamy meat sauce instead of tomato. Baklava for dessert was great, the closest I've come across to what I had in Greece - dense, nutty filling with honey, phyllo wrapped. This place might be my favourite Greek restaurant thus far !

Got to try out two restaurants this week that i've very much ben looking forward to, Lolita & Nu Both restaurants were quite busy on the nights that I went .. Friday - Dinner @ Nu, loved the decor & the design, it feels more like a NY or London lounge. The bar is one of the coolest I've ever seen in vancouver - it's circular & rotates =) Overall very friendly service, and excellent dining experience for me & my date. Highlights for the evening included the liquid cheese filled crackers - more of a bite-sized puff pastry, topped with a square of bacon ( i think the cheese is a cheddar). Very tasty, and certainly hits the cheese craving! Also very much enjoyed the duck confit & foie gras croquettes, also very cutely bite-sized portions - they were airy little pockets of tasty goodness, even though i didn't find the flavour of the foie gras particularly outstanding. I also liked the bone marrow, served with sea salt & a salad of apple & poppy seeds? I've only tried chinese style bone marrow in soup before, so this was an interesting experience. The texture of the bone marrow reminded me of mashed potatoes - creamy & subtly flavoured, I enjoyed it more with a sprinkle of the sea salt. The chilled savoury clams were sweet & refreshing, and a good portion for $7.80. Another good dish was the mushroom & brie puff pastry tart ( they had a fancier name for 'tart', i forget what it's called). The tart was a little bit overcooked, but the mushroom filling was nice although I couldn't really pinpoint the brie flavour. Also tried the beef tartare served with toast points, and the deep-fried oyster served with a pipette (sp?) of beer. It was a bit too awkward for me to manuveur you're supposed to suck on the pipette after you've popped the oyster in your mouth. Even though we only ordered one oyster, someone generously noticed that we were sharing every plate and brought us a second oyster for us to enjoy And the desserts ! I tried the creme brulee, and the lemon tart served with creme fraiche & blackberries - loved them both ! And at $4, the perfectly sized proportions were a great way to end the evening. The waitress told us that none of the desserts are kept overnight, which is good to know =) This place is open until 1 am on the weekend, and i'll definitely be back for more desserts & the fun bite-sized dishes .. Thursday - Dinner @ Lolita, great ambiance - it feels like one of those hidden gem restaurants that you discover on vacation in a small mexican town. Homemade ginger beer was very refreshing. Had the wild mushroom & goatcheese quesadilla, which turned out to be more of a starchy enchilada wrapping than a quesadilla - enjoyable nonethless. Also had the tacos, you're given a choice of two fillings - I picked the steak and anchiote chicken. The chicken was my preferred out of the two, juicier & tender. It's rare to feel like you've eaten a healthy meal after going for Mexican, but this place manages to achieve it =). Also couldnt resist trying the lime & guava cheesecake, I was hoping for more of a guava flavour but it still made for a good dessert. Wednesday - Dinner @ Shanghai River. Just wanted to report that they ripped us off $4 on the san jeen bao (steamed juicy buns with pork) - the waitress insisted that we ordered the crab san jeen bao, since that's the ONLY one available at dinner ( so not true, we pointed out the pork version we ordered on the menu to her which didn't sway her in any way) Couldn't taste any crab ( apparently there's very "little" crab in them), ended up paying the extra $4 anyways, sheesh Off to the Taiwanese fest tonight at Plaza of Nations, hope there's some good snacks to munch on there !

Thnx for the supportive responses Gotta love how on the ball everyone here is with their assessments ! I do have an insatiable sweet tooth - and I will one day demonstrate that Asian desserts can and are great too ! Friday - house-warming BBQ, onto Cardero's for dinner - my first time there, we had a party of 10 and had to wait 30 minutes before we were seated, even with our reservations. Two appetizer margherita pizzas were presented when we sat down to appease our wait. Food wasn't particularly noteworthy but nothing to complain about - I had the wok calamari, slightly spicy and chewy. Friends reported very good things about the ribeye and the mussels - I did, however very much enjoy their bread ! And also their dark/white chocolate/almond mascarpone mousse torta was quite light and delicious. Saturday - Bacchus Bistro - Domaine de Chaberton winery in Langley. What a great recommendation ! i definitely need to expand my eating radius to the suburbs, this made for a super fun day trip - appetizer: Tarte Friande - onion, cream cheese, bacon on a light flaky pastry served with organic greens (excellent, sounds a lot heavier than it tasted - it wasn't greasy at all) - entrees: duck with a red wine reduction and olive jus was superb - tender, tasty, juicy ( i usually prefer chinese style duck, but this great duck dish), veal medallions served with wild mushrooms in a white wine cream sauce was good, but i prefer my veal thickly cut and rare, this was too well-done for my taste, Salt Spring mussels Marniere style (tomato, herbs) finished with cream were very nicely done, plump fresh mussels in a light seafood/tomato broth - desserts: NOW we're talkin ! when u first walk in, there's a table full of the desserts of the day, lol SOLD ! Tried the 'Floating Island" - a meringue with an almond maple syrup crystallized crust, served with a vanilla maple cream sauce was divine .. light fluffy meringue, in contrast to the crunchy sugar crust and the creamy sauce was a very satisfying end to a great meal ! Sunday - Shanghai River in Richmond, Westminster & No. 3 - Crab siu loong bao (juicy steamed dumplings), regular siu loong bao (pork filled), San cheen bao (juicy steamed pork filled buns), jellyfish, thick hand-made noodles with veggies & pork. The crab siu loong bao were good, you can definitely taste the crab, but at $2/dumpling it's pricey !! I think i enjoy the regular siu loong bao better, but the san cheen bao was above average standard. This place is super busy all the time - call ahead !

From my Chinese parents point of view ( who've lived here for 30 yrs ), Chinese restaurants don't post all their menu items in English mainly because they don't believe that anyone who can't read Chinese would have any interest in eating some of the more 'adventurous' items. If anything, it would have a detrimental effect on business if a non-open-minded English speaking only person wandered into their restaurant, sees the special of the day as something to the extent of "chicken feet, pig intestines" - and promptly proceeds to pass out .. well then, it's just safer business sense to keep the Enligsh items to dishes such as Sweet and Sour Pork. Overall, in Vancouver the attitude towards non-conventional Chinese dishes has become much more accepting - but I know that when my cousins from England visit, they turn an interesting shade of green when the realization hits home as to what my parents have ordered on the dinner table A lesser factor may be that Chinese restauranteurs simply don't know the translation to some of their menu items, so they just find it easier to keep it in Chinese. On more than a few occasions I've asked my parents to translate a food item into English for me, and it took quite an effort on their part & mine to come to an understanding. (My parents are more fluent in English, than I am in Cantonese.. it's a source of great embarrassment to them ) As for them keeping the good deals written only in Chinese ? Possible, but highly unlikely that the wait staff would dodge answering any questions that you might have about their specials for the day ..

Hi everyone, It’s my first post on eGullet ever A quick intro, then I’ll move onto the good stuff: 25 y/o, SAF living in vancouver all my life – food and travel are my passion, hobby, and past time all rolled into one Very much enjoy reading everyone else’s dining experiences, so thought it’d be time to add my own – hope u find em useful ! Monday: Went for a quick snack at Watermark, they provide blankets for their patio seats on a windy day. Tried their sauteed mussels – tamarind, ginger, coconut milk, tomato consomme & onions. Smallish sized mussels, but nothing to really complain about. The garlic sourdough bread dipped into the sauce was enjoyable. I think their desserts are their strong point, I liked the creamy cheesecake with a lemon curd centre. Sunday: Went for brunch at Aurora Bistro, was a bit surprised that they didn’t take reservations for tables less than 6 so we had a 15 minute wait, no big deal. I fell in love with the vanilla whipped cream that accompanied the sourdough French toast, I think flavoured whipped cream is genius! The smoked salmon poached eggs with hollondaise and asparagus was delicious. Also enjoyed the black truffle scrambled eggs on a puff pastry, and the five spice doughnuts. Saturday: Finally got a chance to check out Lift, and it pleasantly exceeded my expectations – the view is everything you could hope for from a waterfront location, and the interior design is gorgeous as well. Thoroughly enjoyed my mediium-rare venison with a cherry anise glace, but the molten chocolate cake was divine. Soft, warm, gooey chocolatey goodness! Served with caramelized bananas and an espresso anglais sauce, everything worked very well together. I’ll be back for their cocktails and whet plates. Very enjoyable weekend overall, I’ve got a backlog of dining experiences to share – but here’s the most recent three for now !