Arsenic

Where can I get a great steak in the Downtown area? Also - any recommendations on mid-price ranged restaurants in the Downtown area?

I'm a little bit surprised that no one has mentioned Parkside yet. You are sure to have a fantastic meal there, and it's located pretty much at the end of Robson on the beach side . Chambar is also a nice loungy kind of restaurant with excellent mussels. Walking distance from Le Soleil. Oh, and make sure you have the Fois Gras here!

Okay, they are working, good haha. Let me continue with the Trio From the Sea then hehe. (Sorry this is not the greatest picture ) First off, we have the Dungeness Crab - Tomato-Chive & Couscous Salad, Citrus Vinaigarette. This was one of my favourites of the six, but there wasn't that much crab. Or maybe the bf just ate too much of it before passing it on to me . (Haha, sweetie, if you are reading this, I'm just joking hehe.) The couscous was very good though - it was the sidedish I enjoyed the most. Then we have the Sablefish - Smoked Oyster Mushroom Risotto, Apple Chips, Brandy Glaze. This was the best dish of the six, with the fish cooked perfectly. The bf liked this dish the best too I believe, as he couldn't stop commenting about it and the risotto . The risotto was slightly undercooked, IMHO, but it was still tasty. Lastly, we have the Albacore Tuna - Grilled Avocado, Stewed Tomato Preserve, Sauteed Green Onion. Perhaps this dish was meant to showcase the natural flavour of the fish... I'm not sure... but, to us, it was a little bit bland. (Maybe because we had a fabulous Ahi Tuna at The Fish House not too long ago.) Bf commented that he thought the fish didn't seem very fresh. I just don't have much to say about this dish... it was just okay. Oh, and the grilled avocado I found very strange hehe. And now for the desserts!!! We'll start off with what the bf had, which was the Baked Cheesecake Mousse - Caramelized Apple Puree, Walnut Cookie, Green Apple Espuma I was extremely full at this point, so I only had a couple bites. It was just a very light cheesecake. IMHO, it's very hard to make an OUTSTANDING cheesecake, so I find it very difficult to "review" cheesecakes. I had the Chocolate Canadian Maple "Moose" Torte, Pate of BC Orchard Fruit and Berries (that's what it said on the menu, but it actually came with a Blood Orange Sorbet) The sorbet was TO. DIE. FOR. YUMMMM. Chocolate mousse was very good as well, but if it was a little lighter, I think I would have enjoyed it more. (Maybe I was just TOO FULL haha.) But yes, it was a very good dessert, especially the first few bites which were quite osgasmic . Overall, I thought it was about a 7.5/10. I don't expect too much from these CityDine type events, but the restaurant was quite empty so I thought it would be a bit better. I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Metro again on a regular day and try out some of the other items, and of course get more Pomme Frites Service was fantastic, as is the ambiance. Slightly corporate, but still a nice place for a date.

CityDine 2007 - Metro Restaurant Started with Grilled Citrus Humboldt Calamari - Lime-Habanero, Coconut and Garlic Sauteed Gai Lan Beautiful presentation, and cooked perfectly (not overcooked at all, which is common with calamari). I thought it was good, but nothing to write home about, maybe because I don't prefer lime/lemon flavours in my dishes. Bf really enjoyed it, and thought it was very good. Gai lan was also perfectly cooked, nice and tender. In addition to the CityDine offerings, we ordered Truffle Parmesean Pomme Frites With Sundried Tomato Ketchup ($6 extra). AMAZING pomme frites!!! Dare I say, I like 'em even better than the ones at CRU which are my favourite in the city. The truffle flavour was very subtle, but enough was there so you'd notice it, and the parmesean was a nice touch. Ketchup was interesting and good, but not fantastic. Next, me and the bf ordered both the entree choices and shared. We'll start with the Trio From the Land - description to follow. First there was the Berkshire Pork Tenderloin - Apple Puy Lentils, Sauteed Fennel, Birch Vinaigarette. I found the meat quite dry, and wasn't impressed. It seemed like it had been ready for awhile, and they just heated it up before serving (which I'm sure wasn't the case, but that's what it seemed like; maybe they were waiting for the Trio From the Sea to finish up). The lentils were quite nice though... reminded me of the lentils you get with the scallops at Chambar. Then there was the Certified Angus Striploin - Peppered Crosnes, Field Mushrooms, Carrot Chips. Again, I found the meat dry and not juicy. It was a little overcooked for my liking - I asked for a medium-rare, more on the rare side. Mushrooms were okay (very natural flavour), and I've never had crosnes before, so that was interesting. Sort of like popcorn! Lastly, there was the Nicola Valley Deer - Lingot Bean & Olive Oil Salad, Taro Root Sticks, Cherry Preserve. My favourite of the trio, but overall this trio was not as good as the trio from the sea. The deer was the most tender of the meats (as expected), but still, only about as tender as tender steak you would find at another restaurant. Again, I felt it was overcooked for my liking, but the flavour was quite nice. I loved the bean salad. Let me press submit now and see if my picture links are working hehe.

I was at Metro for CityDine last night - I will review it later with pics, but I noticed the hostess didn't give most people the CityDine menu (myself included, I had to ask for it). Perhaps that's why many people went a la carte.

I didn't actually buy it, but the guy told my friends it was $6.50 There is a comic stand-up Apu behind the counter, and all the workers are wearing the Apu-looking shirts with "Apu Wannabe" on their name tags

FYI, you can also get the Simpsons goodies at all other 7/11s, not just the Kwik-E-Mart (in fact, they were sold out of everything except the Squishees when I went). The Krusty-Os are $3.99 and the Buzz Cola is $6.50 for a 6-pack.

Thinking of going for Belgian Waffles this holiday Monday - anyone have some suggestions? (For brunch, so Chambar is out of the question ) I'm in Burnaby so some nearby ideas would be great, but willing to travel!

Any comments on Spinnaker Seafood House anyone? And Triskell for dinner?

What are "beef muffins" lol? And to the other poster who mentioned the cinnamon and brown sugar filled pancakes - I just had myself one on Monday night and it was indeed FABULOUS just be careful... I wasn't, and all the sugary goodness spilled out onto my shirt

In Victoria, I absolutely loved the Wild Saffron at the Swans Hotel, as well as Cafe Mexico for Mexican food that I think is very hard to come by in the Lower Mainland. None of that feels-unauthentic-but-trying-too-hard Las Margaritas kinda stuff, it just tastes great!

I also think that Chicco Cafe is a very interesting place to have a dessert. I love the black sesame ice cream, although it may not be for everyone. Of the Asian inspired places listed above, I think Hapa Ikazaya is the best of the bunch, and there is also newly opened EBISU which is very close to the shopping area so it would be very convenient for you two. The creme brulee cheesecake there is to die for!

The Chocolate Lava Cake at Saltlik is actually very yummy. And it comes with a generous portion of vanilla gelato as well

If you have an Entertainment book, Bogarts Chophouse would fit the bill. You can either do the 2 for 1 entree, or if you show your card you get 20% off the entire bill.

I may have missed it, Arsenic, but where is "here"? ← Whoops!!! SIP resto-lounge. My apologies for all the confusion!