Kentan

Mia Stainsby reviews Judas Goat and likes it: Judas Goat reimagines the Spanish experience "They did want Judas Goat to be a place for a nibble and a drink before moving on to bigger bites at nearby nosheries like his Irish Heather or Boneta. They’ve been pleasantly surprised to find people don’t want stopgap. They want dinner, so they stay and work through most of the menu."

Finally got into Medina for brunch the other day, and it was as great as I expected it to be. I don't know how they do it, but something simple-sounding like the cassoulet (2 fried eggs on baked beans, saussison de Paris, double smoked bacon, and andouille) becomes something outstanding. Brunch menu here. Two Chefs and a Tablewas good as well. The hours for their brunch are quite limited - 10 to 2 on Sat/Sun. The french toast was tasty.

A good point Mark - they really should include a Farmers' Market tour as part of DIV. Hopefully there will be, it just hasn't been posted yet.

Ms. Gill seems to be on a tear recently - she rips into Cork & Fin today: Gastown raw bar should fish or cut bait

It'll be at 1059 Alberni, where Kaplan's deli used to be. That's directly across from Kobe Japanese Steakhouse. I took a couple of photos today - work is underway on the interior:

Cool idea - Dine Out Vancouver Tasty Tours and Edible Eats. I quote: "New for Dine Out Vancouver 2010 are a variety of culinary classes, tasty tours and edible events. Starting in advance of Dine Out Vancouver on April 22 and running until May 6 there are some 40 different daytime culinary events being offered, starting at just $20." The Edible BC Chef-Guided Granville Island Market Tour sounds particularly awesome.

Fmed, I see your Reno's and add an Acme Cafe! Opened yesterday @ 51 W Hastings. I haven't been yet, but their pastry case looks very inviting.

This latest post from Scout has inspired me to start a new thread. I agree with the poster - why must Vancouverites subsist on food carts that serve only hotdogs, ice cream, and chestnuts? There must be room in the city for a greater variety of foods. Perhaps we could start a petition? Of course there are fears from restaurateurs that street food will cut into their business. For me, it's fast food, so only the fast food/pizza slice joints might suffer if people decide to frequent food carts instead. And new food carts could help expand the range of food choices beyond cheap pizza. Maybe the food carts could be limited to certain areas that have few restaurants? Just musing... As Chowtimes has reported, Richmond takes a much more relaxed approach to street food. The Tenku Bakudanyaki stand has been going strong for over a year now. Could we not have something similar in Rain City?

There will be a new patisserie called Thierry opening soon on Alberni. I don't know more than that but: a) It's a patisserie, and b) It has a French name, so c) I will be there on opening day

Fmed, I hope you don't mind - your last comment is intriguing enough that I think it deserves a separate topic. You wrote: "Regarding that Urbanspoon list...it is interesting to note that 8 or perhaps 9 of the top 10 blogs are run by Asian bloggers. I think that these bloggers are filling a void that is largely being ignored by traditional-media food writers (most of whom just don't understand the Asian palate and way of dining)." I have been thinking the very same thing whenever I read traditional media food writers in the city. Admittedly, there aren't that many left in Vancouver! It's basically the G&M, Vancouver Sun, and The Province, with the Georgia Straight, Westender, and Vancouver Courier on the independent media side. (Stephen Wong, writing for the Georgia Straight, is a happy exception - but looking back, he contributes only about 3-4 times per year). But it seems to me that they give most of their coverage to new restaurant openings that are either non-Asian restaurants or if they are Asian, they're opened by Canadians. I wonder if it's the preference of the writer, or if it's a decision by the newspaper itself. Perhaps their readers are just not interested in hearing about Asian food very often?

Just found this - on Urbanspoon they have the Vancouver Blog Leaderboard. Get this - as of this writing there are no fewer than 152 Vancouver food blogs! My god there are a lot of people out there taking photos of their food. Top 15 this week: 1.......Sherman's Food Adventures 2.......Chow Times 3.......I'm Only Here for the Food! 4.......Vancouver Slop 5.......Ho Yummy 6.......Noshwell 7.......Follow Me Foodie 8.......Hummingbird604.com 9.......Victoria's Food Secrets 10......f o o d o s o p h y 11......Timing and Delivery 12......The Bon Vivant Blog 13......My Secret Eden 14......Deeeelish 15......Ethnic Eats I'd like to get into a discussion of everyone's favourites at some point - once I've digested a few more of these webpages. I'd like to find a blog that gives both the good and the bad. E.g. - "If you don't like Cactus Club you won't like this place." Or "If friendly service isn't a big issue for you, then this place is great since the food is amazing." Many reviews seem to be coloured by the reviewers' reaction to service. Fmed, nondual1, barolo, scargo, DylanK - do you have a favourite or two? I do like Chow Times but I find he's not very critical of most restaurants unless they're really appalling. I go there to source out places to eat and then also check out what other reviewers have said. And there must be some good Vancouver food blogs out there in other languages - Urbanspoon seems to be exclusively English blogs, though I haven't gone through all 152...

A very valid point Steven - I decided to investigate! Here's the top ten immigrants in Metro Vancouver by country of birth (source here): All immigrants 1 China 101,770 14% 2 Hong Kong 85,990 12% 3 United Kingdom 69,110 9% 4 India 67,830 9% 5 Philippines 46,220 6% 6 Taiwan 43,760 6% 7 United States 23,070 3% 8 Viet Nam 22,140 3% 9 Korea, South 20,730 3% 10 Iran 17,620 2% Top ten countries 498,240 67% All other countries 240,310 33% And here's the top ten for the most recent period: 1996-2001 1 China 34,440 20% 2 Taiwan 22,110 13% 3 India 15,700 9% 4 Hong Kong 15,680 9% 5 Philippines 14,330 8% 6 Korea, South 9,930 6% 7 Iran 8,510 5% 8 United States 3,510 2% 9 United Kingdom 2,780 2% 10 South Africa 2,610 2% Top ten countries 129,600 76% All other countries 40,020 24% Looking at the top ten overall (first list), I would say that UK restaurants would be the most underrepresented. There's The Diner, Cheshire Cheese, Elephant & Castle, and the Three Lions. If we include fish & chips spots we're probably up to about 15 restaurants in Metro Vancouver. The other would be Filipino cuisine. Again, there seem to be only about 15 Filipino restaurants in the region for a country that makes up 6% of the region's immigrants. As for most recent immigrants, Filipinos still come in 5th, with 8% of the total. The other group that stands out is South African immigrants, at 2% of the total. Is there even one South African restaurant in BC? In terms of overrepresented cuisines (looking strictly at population), I would say Japanese would be number one if we include all the hundreds of sushi joints. Even just looking at izakaya, ramen joints, gyudon-ya, and Japanese hot dog places, we're blessed with great Japanese food. Of course one of the big reasons is that while Japanese immigrants don't make up a large portion of the Metro Van population, there are around 10,000 Japanese students in Vancouver at any one time. Only China and South Korea are sources of more students.

I didn't know quite what to call this topic but I think you know the kind of places I'm talking about: New upscale restaurants that take a chance on up-and-coming or out-of-the-way neighbourhoods because they are confident that if their kitchen is up to snuff, diners will find them. My guess is that prior to the rise of food blogs it was harder for the average person to find a new restaurant. You'd either hear about it from a friend or you'd have to walk by it by chance. This meant that you had to have a prime location to generate enough walk-in traffic. Now with many more ways for potential customers to find out about new hot spots, restaurateurs can choose cheaper locations with more character and still make a go of it. It may actually work out better for them than choosing a high street location. I'd be interested to hear the forum's thoughts on this. Anyway, I think one of the first examples of this trend in Vancouver would be the opening of Chambar on Beatty St in September 2004. It's hard to remember now, but at the time it was seen as a hugely risky venture to be opening a higher-end place in a rather desolate part of town. Since then they've been going like gangbusters, and now Cafe Medina has opened next door, and the Dirty Apron Cooking School will surely complete the revitalization of that street. Some other examples I can think of: Salt Tasting Room - Blood Alley in Gastown. No kitchen! La Buca on MacDonald @ 24th. Very small space, out of the way location. But the food was great so it became a huge success. Campagnolo - Another desolate stretch of road on Main St near Prior Les Faux Bourgeois - E 15th next to Kingsway. Packed every night and they now have a cafe as well. Au Petit Chavignol - East Hastings near Hawks The Pear Tree - Hastings St in Burnaby, east of Boundary Others? Others that are being planned?

And the Diners' Choice Awards "食客心水之選" 大獎: Best Cantonese Dim Sum Restaurant 最佳廣東點心食肆 W Empire Chinese Cuisine 金粵軒海鮮酒家 8251 Alexandra Road, Richmond 2nd Red Star Seafood 鴻星海鮮酒家 Various locations 3rd Vivacity 名都海鮮酒家 8351 Alexandra Road #110, Richmond Best Northern Chinese Restaurant 最佳北方點心食肆 W Shanghai Wonderful 旺上海菜 #110 - 8380 Lansdowne Road, Richmond　 2nd Line Chinese Cuisine 林 1537 West Broadway, Vancouver 3rd Number One Shanghai 滬上飯店 120-4200 No. 3 Road, Richmond Best Casual Restaurant 最佳休閒食肆 W Top Chinese 食為先酒家 2752 Kingsway, Vancouver 2nd Koon Bo 冠寶 5682 Fraser Street, Vancouver 3rd Ken's Chinese 南軒 1097 Kingsway, Vancouver Best Fine Dining Restaurant 最佳高級食肆 W Northern Dynasty 金玉滿堂 1180-8391 Alexandra Road, Richmond 2nd Jade Seafood 玉庭軒魚翅海鮮酒家 8511 Alexandra Road, Richmond 3rd Grand Honour 阿一鮑翅 110-5701 Granville Street, , Vancouver Best Hot Pot Restaurant 最佳火鍋店 W Garden City Hot Pot 新鏞記火鍋 #1205-8788 McKim Way, Richmond 2nd Chubby Lamb Hot Pot 小肥羊火鍋 #2160-8391 Alexandra Rd, Richmond 3rd Landmark Hot Pot 春秋火鍋 4023 Cambie St, Vancouver Best Taiwanese Cafe/Restaurant 最佳台式食肆 W Pearl Castle 圓香茶坊 Various locations 2nd Well Tea 茶井　　　 Various locations 3rd BBT Cafe 5979 West Boulevard, Vancouver Best Hong Kong-style Cafe 最佳港式茶餐廳 W Copa Cafe 高柏餐廳 4030 Cambie St, Vancouver 2nd Gloucester Cafe 告羅士打西餐廳 3338 Cambie St, Vancouver 3rd Curry King Cafe 咖喱皇港式茶餐廳 #5 - 4250 Kingsway, Burnaby Best Congee Restaurant 最佳粥品店 W Congee Noodle House 粥麵館 141-143 East Broadway, Vancouver 2nd Neptune Wonton Noodle 鳳鳴粥麵 #110-8171 Ackroyd Rd, Richmond 3rd Kwong Chow Congee & Noodle 廣州粥麵小廚 3163 Main Street, Vancouver Best Noodle Restaurant 最佳粉麵店 W Au Wing Kee 歐榮記粥麵家 2568 Kingsway, Vancouver 2nd Mak's Noodle 麥奀記 #185 - 8291 Alexandra Road, Richmond 3rd McKin Wonton Mein Noodle 雲吞麵世家 #1180-8788 Mckim Way, Richmond Best Vegetarian Restaurant 最佳素菜館 W Bodhi Choi Heung Vegetarian 菩提菜香素食 3932 Fraser St, Vancouver 2nd Simply Vegetarian 雅室友素食 135-8291 Ackroyd Road, Richmond 3rd Bo Kong 寶光素食 Various locations Best BBQ Shop 最佳燒味店 W BBQ Master 明家燒臘專家 #145-4651 No. 3 Rd, Richmond 2nd Dollar Meat 元昌燒臘 66 E Pender St, Vancouver 3rd Parker Fresh Meat 百家店[香港仔]燒臘肉食 #1020 - 4380 No. 3 Road, Richmond Best Bakery Shop 最佳餅店 W Saint Germain Bakery 新之美麵包西餅店 Various locations 2nd New Town Bakery 新城餅家餐室 Various locations 3rd La Patisserie 金磨坊西點 Various locations Best Dessert Place 最佳甜品館 W Bubble Fruity 桂花林糖水 180-8188 Saba Road, Richmond 2nd Dessert Dynasty 糖潮 #149-4800 Kingsway, Burnaby 3rd 100% Healthy Desserts 百份百甜品 150-8291 Westminster Highway, Richmond Best Service Restaurant 最佳服務食肆 W Jade Dynasty 玉龍軒 137 E. Pender Street East, Vancouver 2nd Sun Sui Wah Seafood 新瑞華海鮮酒家 Various locations 3rd Dragon View Seafood 龍景軒海鮮酒家 #1298, 3779 Sexsmith Road, Richmond Best Dining Environment Restaurant 最佳環境食肆 W Dinesty Chinese 聚 160-8111 Ackroyd Road, Richmond 2nd Northern Delicacy 客滿庭 Unit 2788, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, Richmond 3rd Shanghai River 滬江海派料理 #110-7831 Westminster Hwy, Richmond

The winners were announced last night. Critics' Choice Signature Dish Awards 食評人大獎 - Gold medal winners: Cantonese dimsum 粵式點心: Jade Seafood Restaurant 玉庭軒魚翅海鮮酒家 Mushroom dumpling 香菇餃 Northern/Shanghai Dimsum 北方點心: Lin Chinese Cuisine 林北方菜館 Chicken Fenpi Salad 雞絲粉皮 Soup 湯品 Bamboo Grove Chinese Restaurant 百珍樓 Pork Stomach & Ginko long-boiled Soup 胡椒白果豬肚湯 Appetizer 頭盆 Alvin Garden 湘緣湖南食府 5-spiced Pork Heart 鹵味豬心 Cantonese Noodle 粵式米飯、粉、麵: Tsim Chai Noodles 沾仔記 Wonton Noodle Soup 雲吞麵: Shanghai, Beijing, Szechuan or Taiwanese Noodle 京川滬或台灣米飯、粉、麵 Legendary Noodle 飛天拉麵 Hand-pulled lamb & noodle in soup 羊肉湯拉麵 Congee 粥品: Congee Noodle House 粥麵館 Pidan, Pork & Dried Oyster Congee 皮蛋咸廋肉蠔豉粥 BBQ 燒味: HK BBQ Master 明家燒臘專家 BBQ Pork 叉燒 Chicken 雞類: Golden Szechuan Restaurant 老四川川菜火鍋 Steamed Chicken with Chili & Fagara 花椒雞 Duck 鴨類: Red Star Seafood Restaurant 鴻星海鮮酒家 BBQ Duck 燒鴨 Squab 乳鴿: Koon Bo Restaurant 冠寶 Roasted Squab 紅燒乳鴿 Beef 牛肉: Lulu Café 鷺鷺餐廳 Ginger & Onion Beef Hotpot 薑蔥牛肉煲 Pork 豬肉: Kirin Restaurant 麒麟海鮮酒家 Roast Suckling Pig 燒乳豬 Lamb/Goat 羊肉: Grand Honour Restaurant 阿一鮑翅 Stir-fried Spiced Lamb 川椒羊片 Dungeness Crab 西岸大肉蚧: Negative Space 黑白香中式料理 House Special Crab 黑白香蟹 Alaska King Crab / Lobsters 皇帝蚧或龍蝦: Sun Sui Wah Seafood Restaurant 新瑞華海鮮酒家 Alaska King Crab 3 ways 皇帝蟹三吃 Prawns 卑詩大蝦: Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant 海港大酒樓 Pan-fried Prawns with Soy 豉油王煎游水蝦 Fish 魚類: S & W Pepper House 西南風 Fresh Tilapia with Peanuts, Cilantro & C 桂州怪魯魚 Geoduck 象拔蚌: Yan’s Garden Restaurant 潮樓海鮮酒家 Sauteed Geoduck with Mushrooms 鮮菇炒象拔 Clams/Oysters/Scallops 蜆、螺、蠔或帶子: Ken's Chinese Restaurant 南軒 Baked Live Pink Scallops 葡汁焗游水帶子 Food court Dish 商場食肆出品: James Snack Sandpot Rice, Empire Centre 帝國中心占士叻煲仔飯 Claypot Ostrich Rice 沙煲沙茶駝鳥肉飯 Hot Pot 火鍋: Landmark Hot Pot House 春秋火鍋 Congee Hotpot with Fish Tofu 過橋粥底火鍋灼魚腐 Vegetarian Dish 素菜: Northern Delicacy 客滿庭 Nanhua Tofu 蘭花豆腐 Chinese Pastry / Dessert 中式甜點或甜品 Lin Chinese Cuisine 林北方菜館 8-Treasure Sweet Rice 八寶飯 Most Innovative Signature Dish 創新美食: Shanghai Village 憶江南 Stir-fried Fish Noodle with Enoki Mushrooms 金針菇炒魚麵

Here's another thread that deserves another look. In terms of underrepresented cuisines, the last go-round from 2004 listed: - Moroccan - Lebanese - Ethiopian - South American - Caribbean - Mexican - Tex-Mex - Persian - Fine dining on par with French Laundry or Trotter - Portuguese - Thai I'd say we're doing better now for Lebanese (Nuba), Mexican (Bandidas Taqueria, Don Guacamole's, Dona Cata, La Taqueria, Las Tortas, Cobre, Tacos Mexico Rico), Tex-Mex (Budgie's, La Casita, Red Burrito), Ethiopian (Nyala, Fassil, Harambe, Red Sea, Gojo Cafe), and Persian (Darya, Kashcool). Metro Vancouver still has very few South American restaurants. All I can think of is El Inka Deli, Baru Latino, and Samba Steakhouse. Can that be it from a continent of 380 million people?

And here's the list of underrated restaurants from the Georgia Straight's Golden Plates 2010, at least according to 'Vancouver industry insiders': Golden Plates 2010 Asian Blue Water Raw Bar Dan Japanese Restaurant Hoshi Sushi Irashi Sushi iSushi Legendary Noodle Phnom Penh Sushi Town Taste of Vietnam Tasty Village Toshi Sushi Yuji’s West Coast Alibi Room Enigma Five Sails Hamilton Street Grill Joey’s Pear Tree Italian La Buca Gigi’s on Davie Osteria Napoli La Quercia French Hermitage La Brasserie Mistral Salad de Fruits Twisted Fork Bistro Latin American Baru Latina Cobre Dona Cata Eatery Little Nest Sophie’s Cosmic Café Splitz Grill Mediterranean Nuba Pasparos Taverna

Here are a few of the local food blogs that I'm aware of, but I'm always searching for others: Chowtimes.com Scout Magazine Food and Tell Vancouverslop.com Ho Yummy tinybites.ca Eat Snap Repeat I'm Only Here for the Food

Thanks T - that's a great recommendation. I've already made a reservation!

Thumbs up for Gyudonya! My first visit today - I had the gyudon value set which came with miso soup and potato salad for $6.95. I had a total flashback to my time in Tokyo when I practically lived on the 300 yen gyudon at Yoshinoya. The meat was lighter and somewhat less juicy than what I remember getting in Tokyo, but the taste was spot-on. The place was absolutely packed by noon, with lots of people ordering take out as well. I think they have a winning concept, so hopefully they'll be opening some more outlets. Closer to me. The staff were all Japanese with the exception of the manager, who was Korean. If it's Korean-owned, it's interesting that they use the Japanese name 'gyudon'.

You're absolutely right vandan. The Ovaltine Cafe is all about the atmosphere. I go there and imagine that I'm in the cover of Tom Waits' Nighthawks at the Diner, minus the cigarette smoke. I just had to include it for that reason alone. But the food was pretty bad. And the coffee, as Waits would say, was "too weak to defend itself."

To start things off: Anyone been to Le Gavroche or Le Regalade recently? I've never been to either of them, but I'm looking for a romantic French restaurant and these two seem to be the best bets. How do they compare?

As the EGForum is a great sounding board for restaurant recommendations, I thought it would be cool to have a thread where we can ask other EGulleters for their honest opinions about specific restaurants in Metro Vancouver. Things like food quality, ambiance, service, price, and value for money. I think it's also important to hear up-to-date opinions - a change of chef or a new owner can seriously affect the quality of a restaurant.

Time to revive this thread - anyone have any exceptional or terrible experiences recently?

This year there will be 207 restaurants offering prix-fixe menus at $18, $28, or $38 per person. Menus will be posted on April 19th. Do they normally post the restaurants at the same time or before?