Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 3)

[Sam Salmon]

Saravanaa Bhavan 955 Oak.

This South Indian chain has been getting excellent reviews on the net so I slouched in after a long tiring day.

If my first visit is anything to go by I'll soon be a regular-the food is outstanding, while I have had bits of South Indian food here and there the cooking at this place is outstanding.

I could gush on and on but am bushed-try it for yourself-very reasonable and already busy after only a few weeks being open.

[canucklehead]

I can't tell you how much I've been anticipating this opening. They had a branch in Silicon Valley - and man - it was outstanding! I know they have a branch in Toronto - so I am glad they finally decided to open in Vancouver. It is some of the best Indian food I've ever had. Their dosas and tiffins are delicous. Bright strong flavours of Southern India. Vegetarian (if I remember correctly) - but very rich with butter. I hope the Vancouver branch is good!

On a side note - Mahek (much recommended by my Indian friends in Surrey) has opened a branch in Kits - the signage outfront reads Mumbai Cafe. Though the flavours were clean - it was bland without the sparkle of fresh spices. The host said they reduced the spicing for the local clientele. Too bad.

Edited February 8, 2008 by canucklehead (log)

[run2eat]

Shouldn't that be 955 West Broadway?

I've been keen to try that. Thanks for the report

[Sam Salmon]

Shouldn't that be 955 West Broadway?

I've been keen to try that. Thanks for the report

←

Indeed!

It was a long tiring day yesterday.

[canucklehead]

Had lunch at Saravanna today - and its as good as I remember. The $9.40 lunch buffet is a complete bargain (inlcudes mini dosas and naan that are brought tableside) The dishes are all vegetarian with bright hot spicy flavours - and are quite unlike anything I've seen at other Indian restaurants. Make sure you get some of the yogurt to help cool your pallete. Delicious.

Quick pointer - the sambal (looks like a soup) is spicy sour accompniament for the dosas - put some into one of tiffin bowls and dip your dosa into it.

Man. I could go back for dinner.

Edited February 8, 2008 by canucklehead (log)

[eatrustic]

Dinner at Cin Cin the other night. It's been a while since I've been in the evening but since they don't do lunch anymore....

Started with a very good Negroni. The amuse was a nice little Halibut "brandade" in the shape of a tiny pear. Very tasty.

After that it was pretty uneven, the salads were over dressed. I had my fave, the Veal Cheek Garganelli pasta and my sister had the Pappardelle Bolognese w/ ricotta salata. Both pastas were too dry and the flavour lacked punch (this is probably the fourth time I've had the Veal Cheeks and the first time I've been disappointed), a touch more seasoning and a splash of pasta water to finish would have made all the difference (at $25. for a not overly large portion I expect spot on). My brother had the Korabuta Pork Loin with Pork belly from the wood fired oven and the loin was beautifully pink, moist and tasty but the pork belly was lost underneath, cut in small pieces and lacking the crispyness that makes it so great.

Sunday Brunch at Fraiche. A great location even if it is cloudy, not a bad seat in the room so don't worry if you can't get a window. A classic a la carte brunch menu with something for everyone including huge buttermilk pancakes and the usual variations on Bennys (they ask you how you want your eggs poached which is a nice touch). Everything was very well made with home fries especially well done. Definitely fun for out of towners and I look forward to trying dinner. The only minor gripe is the luxy super soft paper napkins get lint all over anything black.

[Feedbag]

Ducked out of the snow (?!!) last night and into the warm environs of the Hamilton Street Grill, and who should be at the door greeting guests but that infamous restaurateur, Neil Wyles himself! The rule, as I understand it, is that you're supposed to reveal yourself as a gulleteer, so I did. I confess I haven't been here since the gullet get-together a couple years ago. Not because it's not a swell place, but because I live in the Burnaby boonies.

Anyhoo, Neil, you were very gracious. Thanks for stopping by to say hi. Hope you made it home through the snowstorm OK! I sung the praises of the hanger to my fellow diners, so we all ordered it, and it was, as usual, fantabulous! The complimentary GBP was a nice, generous surprise for the birthday girl in our midst. Didn't get a chance to say thanks before you left, so Thanks! She's just moved into the 'hood, so you'll likely be seeing more of her. She was dutifully impressed.

I know I'm supposed to mention three places but the others are obscure (Bellingham and Kamloops) so I won't bother. Just wanted to say how much I enjoy the HSG, a place I don't get to that often.

Thank you!!

[nwyles]

Ducked out of the snow (?!!) last night and into the warm environs of the Hamilton Street Grill, and who should be at the door greeting guests but that infamous restaurateur, Neil Wyles himself! The rule, as I understand it, is that you're supposed to reveal yourself as a gulleteer, so I did. I confess I haven't been here since the gullet get-together a couple years ago. Not because it's not a swell place, but because I live in the Burnaby boonies.

Anyhoo, Neil, you were very gracious. Thanks for stopping by to say hi. Hope you made it home through the snowstorm OK! I sung the praises of the hanger to my fellow diners, so we all ordered it, and it was, as usual, fantabulous!  The complimentary GBP was a nice, generous surprise for the birthday girl in our midst. Didn't get a chance to say thanks before you left, so Thanks! She's just moved into the 'hood, so you'll likely be seeing more of her. She was  dutifully impressed.

I know I'm supposed to mention three places but the others are obscure (Bellingham and Kamloops) so I won't bother. Just wanted to say how much I enjoy the HSG, a place I don't get to that often.

Thank you!!

←

It was my pleasure.

I had forgotten your real name and could only remember your "handle", so I did not use it in front of your friends!

[waylman]

My last 3 were all 1st time visits...

Bishops - Went here for my wifes 30th. Great room and great food. Had the pork belly appetizer. This was the best thing I have tasted in a long time! It was much better than my bison main. Anyway, I will be back for that pork belly!

Zocalo - Mexican joint on Main st. My wife and I sampled several appetizers. All were quite good although the mussels were too salty.

Cru - I thought the food was excellent. Had a grilled caesar to start. Main was beef tenderloin and dessert was a creme brulee.

[CanadianBakin']

Another fantastic meal at the Hammy this past Saturday. Excellent service from Jude and of course, fantastic food. We began with a complimentary amuse bouche of salmon gravlax and as our friends hadn't been before we also had yam fries and my husband's favourite, the Ahi Tuna as well as the phyllo wrapped prawns. Two at our table had the blackened ribeye, one had the blackened sirloin and I tried the New York with BC spot prawns which I hadn't had the pleasure of trying before. Well worth trying, the prawns had such a sweet delicate flavour and were cooked to perfection. We finished up sharing a Gingerbread Pudding. Although we don't get into Vancouver much, eating at HSG is well worth the drive from Mission. Thanks again, Neil!

Edited May 12, 2008 by CanadianBakin' (log)

[kimcooper]

A late lunch today, after exploring the grounds of the mysterious and beautiful Pio Pico adobe in Pico Rivera, was at Golden Triangle in Whittier. We had the astonishing ginger salad, their creamy homemade tofu salad, and the mint-lamb noodles (it was frankly too hot outside to enjoy this one, so most of the dish has come home for breakfast).

Dinner last night was at Ensenada on Spring Street downtown. It's a nice place to linger with friends, but after two meals there, I'm not impressed with anything but the homemade soups which accompany all the entries. Cheese soup the first time, rice-dotted meatball (with a lime slice) last night. Next time, if there is one, I'm ordering soup and more soup.

Lunch Monday at Colori Kitchen at 8th and Olive (disclosure: I am their publicist), glad to see them doing a busy service and breaking in the summer menu.

[lucylou95816]

last week, I had lunch at dos coyotes. I had the cheese enchilada (thought I'd go off low carb), not very remarkable.

Saturday night dinner at Formoli's, sorry no website. Had an awesome Pork chop with a madeira and green peppercorn sauce, awesome!

Yesterday for lunch, Chipolte (the chain) Awful, will never go back. I had a free coupon in the mail, so I figured I'd give them a try again. The meat was fatty and not very tasty at all.

[prasantrin]

Are those all in Vancouver?

[styledish]

Yaletown Brewing Company - lunch with coworkers. I ordered the Veggie Burger which is nice and juicy, and generous with the veggies. Very not 'garden burger' like.

Rodney's Oyster House - weekend dinner with friends. Ordered the cold marinated mussels, pasta, and clam chowder. I'd pass on the mussels next time. Clam chowder was to die fore and pasta was just ok but scallops were big and fresh

Phnom Penh - Sunday lunch with friend. Of course had to order to the fried chicken and they were addictive. The marinated butter beef reminds me of the japanese tataki...that was yummy too. And shared a large lemon grass chicken combo that included the vietnamese ham, sunny side up eggs, some shredded pork (don't know which part of the pig), and raw veggies.

Edited June 30, 2008 by styledish (log)

[waylman]

Pings - newish place on Main and 10th. Very good Japanese chow. My wife and I shared deep fried pumpkin tart, tuna tataki, chicken karaage, pan fried black cod and their version of french fries. Great spot, will be back.

Cafe Medina - The spot for breakfast. I had the waffles but the others I was with tried some of their egg dishes...everyone was very happy. Great coffee too (49th parallel I believe)

[Anchoress]

Confession: I've never posted in this thread before, but the odd confluence relating to my last three restaurants is worthy of note, I think.

My mom was in town, and I had a craving for pasta, so on Tuesday night (Sept 2), we went to Marcello's on Commercial. I confess that I'm a bad East Van Girl, visiting very few restaurants outside quick walking distance from my house, so I have never dined there before.

Mom and I ordered the pomodoro e cippola salad, which came with big hunks of gorgonzola, but we were in the mood for cheese so we enjoyed it.

Mom ordered spaghetti alio olio, and loved it. I ordered I think it was Tagliatelle Chef or something, it was also very tasty.

Passed on dessert, even though I was craving sweets, when I saw the prices. Wasn't in the mood to pay $10 for ice cream even if it was amazing - I'm in agreement with Vincent Vega - if you're gonna pay that much for ice cream it had better come with a shot of bourbon.

The only off note (for me) was that when I ordered a refill of pop, it took forever to come, and when I realised it wasn't what I had been drinking before, it took forever again to catch the eye of a server to change it.

There was a big off note for the server tho - there were two older, schoolmarmish ladies dining next to us, appearing to have a fine time (no complaints, either to the server or each other, and they stayed for coffee), but when they got their bill, they walked!! The server was understandably crushed, since she had to cover it.

The next night I hadn't fully scratched my itch for pasta, so we went to Lombardo's for comparison. I'd been there a few times, but so long ago that it was like new for me.

The evening started off fine - we ordered a large caprese and each had the special pasta (creamy pesto with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms I think). The first blip came when we waited what seemed to be a painfully long time for our salad, and when we asked a server, lo and behold!! Apparently they have a caprese pizza too, and that's what the server was bringing us!! Seems like the kind of confusion that would happen often enough that the staff would ask, but my bad for not saying "salad".

Salad was fine, pasta had a bit of a hiccup - they were out of the kind mum wanted, so she ordered spaghetti instead, but it turned out to be the old-fashioned kind (like soba noodles), and she really hated it. Luckily we could switch - I'd asked for mine spicy, but it wasn't that spicy. The pasta was really tasty, although no mushrooms in sight and the quantity of sauce was very different between our two orders.

The only absolute miss was the dessert. I was THRILLED to see something I felt like eating - pecan pie. Can't go wrong with that, huh? ... Unfortunately, first of all it took forever - the poor waitress spent the whole night apologising to us for various things, including forgetting about the pie - and when it came, two big problems. First, it was really stale. Not rancid, thankfully, but the nuts were chewy and soggy and tough like the pie had been frozen and reheated in the micro (not saying that's what happened, but it seemed that way).

And then, it came covered not only in chocolate sauce, but cocoa powder too!! I find it so strange that lately every dessert I order comes drenched in Hershey's chocolate sauce (blech). Same thing happened with the NY cheesecake I ordered from I think Wazzuubee a couple of months ago. What is with that???

I sent it back, and actually I don't remember checking the bill to see if anything was taken off (we didn't have a bad night per se, but there were a number of snafus), but in retrospect I think probably the dessert was taken off.

The third meal was a business lunch at the Milestones on Lougheed. I'm a person who loves to eat giant salads, so I was happy with their generous side salad and a soup. Mum had a veggie burger with salad and fries - she liked the coleslaw with sesame - and our guest had the turkey club on cranberry bread. She didn't like the huge hunks of not very fresh lettuce in the sandwich.

Our server was awesome, and she gave us two 25% off coupons.

Weirdly, all three meals were $49.xx, which is a really bizarre coincidence.

[newbie]

I just got back from a trip down to Vancouver with my husband. Was there for three nights and enjoyed some great food while down there.

On Saturday night, we got in to Vancouver around 8 pm so by the time we got checked in to the Sheraton Wall Centre and settled in, it was close to 9 pm. We went wandering around to find something to eat and ended up at Don Francesco's. Steve had the Classic Caesar Salad Manhattan Style to start and deemed it the BEST Ceasar ever. I started with the Mixed House Green Salad and enjoyed it. We settled on pastas for our main and went with the Penne Tomato Sayce Sole di Napoli with tomatoes, garlic, onion and fresh basil and the Linguini Pescatore which came with loads of shrimp, scallops and squid. The scallops were not the large fundy scallops that I love but were tasty nonetheless. We had a 1/2 litre of an italian pinot grigio between us. The service was great and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals and would definitely return.

Sunday morning, we ended up catching a quick bite to eat at the food court at Pacific Centre before doing some shopping and catching a movie. I grabbed a salad roll and tom yum soup at the Thai place and was pleasantly surprised. The salad roll was made fresh with lots of basil, cilantro and mint with a peanut sauce on the side. For a couple of bucks, it was worth it and I was very happy.

For dinner, I met up with a few friends at Tequila Kitchen. As mentioned in previous reviews, we found the room to be pretty bare but were very satisfied with the food. There were four of us and we got two tasting menus and a few appetizers to share among us. It was the perfect amount of food. We started with a couple of botanas, which consisted of Tostadas de Atun (thinly sliced raw tuna garnished with red onion rings, avocado wedges and chopped cilantro drizzled with a citrus dressing on top of 2 crispy tortillas spread with a house chipotle mayo) and the Camarones Enchipotlados (Sauteed shrimps rubbed in a chipotle spicy, garlicky paste). The shrimp were good but the tuna was a definite winner with our group. Next up were the tasting menus. We started with the caesar salad, which was followed up with the Taco de Pescado. Next up was the Caldo de Camaron (Spicy Shrimp Broth) and the Carne Asada con cebollas y Chiles toreados (Grilled marinated flat iron steak served with blackened sauteed onions, roasted serrano chile & avocado, along with a a roasted poblano chile stuffed with spice homemade chorizo salsa au gratin). Dessert was Crepas de Cajeta which crepes topped with mexican caramel sauce and pecans. Highlights for me from the tasting menu was the flank steak with the blackened onions and the dessert. For beverages, I had a couple of the tradicional margaritas. Tequila, lime and salt...the holy trinity in my books. I'm not a fan of the blended margaritas and like mine on the rocks with lots of salt for me to lick off the rim and Tequila Kitchen did them just the way I like 'em.

On Monday night, I had reserved tickets for my husband and I to attend the wine tasting for Red Rooster Winery at Hamilton Street Grill . It was a wonderful event and a great value. For $25, we got a tasting of three wines and a dish prepared by Neil to accompany each. The first wine up for tasting was the Gerwurtztraminer and was served with a Thai seafood soup. Next was the merlot, which was accompanied by a lamb dish. The final wine was the Meritage, which was served with a beef tartare and homemade relish. We stayed on for dinner and Steve had the caesar salad to start followed by the filet mignon with a bearnaise sauce. I had the tenderloin with a gorgonzola red-wine demi glace sauce. The steaks were perfect and we washed it all down with a half litre of the Kangarilla Road 2 Up Shiraz. Neil was a great host as always and stopped by to chat a few times throughout the wine tasting with everyone and afterwards during dinner. This is the third year in a row that we have gone to HSG to celebrate our anniversary and it is a tradition that we are hoping to continue. Thanks to Neil for another wonderful evening!

[D90]

1) F12 Restaurant (Stockholm, Sweden)- Three course lunch last Friday.

A glass of ‘06 F X Pichler Gruner Veltliner Klostersatz Federspiel Austria followed by a glass of ’05 Bodegas Artevino 'Orben' Rioja. (I know nothing about wine but both of these were very good )

Artichoke soup w/ king crab, mussel and salmon: A rich thick soup, every spoonful was slightly different. Very good.

Coq au vin w/ thyme, bacon and potato puree: Perfectly cooked chicken and I really enjoyed the potatoes, too bad the jus was too salty in my opinion.

White chocolate cheesecake w/ marinated berries: Prefect is the only way I could describe this dessert, my only regret was not asking what the berries were marinated in. Tied with La Terrazza white chocolate in phyllo as my favorite cheese cake dessert.

Two hours later I added a couple clear plastic containers of ice cream to my tummy from Lux Dessert Och Choklad: Pistachio milk ice cream with strawberry jam followed by cinnamon ice cream with lime caramelized apples.

Yes I know I eat alot.

2) Dynasty on No.3 road in Richmond for dinner. Over the last 6 month, this place has become my favorite quick Asian place to sit down and grab a bite in Richmond.

3) Vijs for dinner on Saturday the restaurant was pack which is nothing new. Three hour wait for a table which flew by after going for a walk and browsing thru Chapters. Vikram as always was a great host, signed my cook book since I remembered to being it this time and posed for a picture. Dinner is always consistent and never disappoints.

Ginger lemon drinks. Local mushrooms in creamy potato curry, Samosas filled w/ lamb, beef and paneer, Dungeness Crab in coconut and cilantro w/ candies beets (4) to start/share. Followed by Beef short ribs in cinnamon and red wine curry, Wine marinated lamb popsicles (2), and the Beef tenderloin w/ almonds and garlic in a tomato/ yogurt curry. Ice cream with pistachios topped with silver leaf rounded off the meal.

[styledish]

In reverse order:

Today's Lunch: Yaletown Market - Mex Veg Flax Roll

Last night's dinner: Azia Restaurant

- It was a 'Chef Suggestion' type of meal, where we all put in $25 and the chef/waiter chooses our meals to share. I don't quite remember all of it but we had szchewan beans, 2 types of sushi rolls, the deep fried ebi, beef tataki, chicken lettuce wrap, curry chicken, mongolian pork, moo shu pork wrap, chicken cashew, banana leaf wrapped fish

Sunday Lunch: Legendary Noodle House

- large noodle soup, xiaolongbao, peashoots

[Knightafter]

Red Pagoda Bun Bo Hue

Pho Royal Pho Dac Biet

Pelican Dim Sum

[Andrew Morrison]

Yesterday.

Lunch at Salty Tongue (Prague ham & cheese)

Beers at Salt and Boneta

Dinner at Cibo (Pemberton Meadows brisket with gnocchi - can still taste it).

[Kentan]

Menya on W Broadway - tonkotsu miso ramen with gyoza. Got the kaedama as well. Awesome noodles. Very highly recommended.

Pojang Macha on E Broadway - Korean street vendor food, but indoors. Had the odeng (same as Japanese oden), the pajeon, fried udon noodles and a couple of skewers. Tasty.

Salade de Fruits - Always reliable - good food and genuinely warm service.

[pax]

Ithaca's Smart Monkey Cafe.

I splurged, diet-wise, on a bacon cheddar cheese burger, with carmelized onions, a REAL tomato, and fries to die for. Oh my. I is still drooling.....

[flowbee]

Menya on W Broadway - tonkotsu miso ramen with gyoza. Got the kaedama as well. Awesome noodles. Very highly recommended.

Pojang Macha on E Broadway - Korean street vendor food, but indoors. Had the odeng (same as Japanese oden), the pajeon, fried udon noodles and a couple of skewers. Tasty.

Salade de Fruits - Always reliable - good food and genuinely warm service.

←

i love salade de fruits! mussels and frites for me.

i've GOT to try that new ramen place and that korean street food place! thanks for the tips!

my latest 3:

hin young vietnamese restaurant - victoria drive near 49th (right beside supreme pizza). really good vietnamese made by chinese chef who grew up in vietnam (i think). tastes just like my mother-in-law's homemade vietnamese food! haven't tried the pho yet though, but their crab noodles are great, as are their cuttlefish cake noodles. their beef stew on rice noodles is pretty good as well. their spring rolls use rice paper and has crab meat in it. they're not bad, but maybe a little expensive. the prices here are a bit higher than average, but then you're not just getting average food here imho. they definitely give the extra effort in their dishes (ie. proper herbs with each dish, "bac ha" in the crab noodles, etc).

new age chinese cuisine - kingsway east of metrotown...in this motel complex...forget the name. anyways, their awesomest dish is their pork shank that you have to order in advance. it's steamed or something, until it's soooo tender. the fat just melts in your mouth. it's quite delicious and decadent. spicy green beans were good. the wife loved their tung choy.

alvin garden - finally tried the hunan king for the first time since their old location on kingsway near crystal mall. super-fire hot hunan flavours. we got the hot pot duck, lamb with cumin, and the taro. towards the end of the meal, all the flavours tasted kinda samey. it's good, but we probably won't go back for a while. oh, and medium spicy was plenty hot for all of us! but my mouth felt fine as we left the restaurant. what a rush!

bonus: plus alpha. japanese tapas place on corner of richards and helmcken. decent tapas, but what i really like is that it's waaay less crazy-busy than guu with garlic.

bonus #2: guu with garlic. this was actually a while ago...during fireworks? pre-fireworks dinner, that is. i've eaten at and enjoyed the other guu's, but everyone tells me this one's the best. i kept my expectations in check, but the staff were on fire that night! every dish tasted great and the ebi mayo was executed awesomely. so many flavours that night. so many beers. my wallet took a pounding, but it was worth it. one of my best dining experiences so far this year

[BCinBC]

alvin garden - finally tried the hunan king for the first time since their old location on kingsway near crystal mall. super-fire hot hunan flavours. we got the hot pot duck, lamb with cumin, and the taro. towards the end of the meal, all the flavours tasted kinda samey. it's good, but we probably won't go back for a while. oh, and medium spicy was plenty hot for all of us! but my mouth felt fine as we left the restaurant. what a rush!

←

That actually is one of the coolest things about Hunan spice, besides the endorphin rush, how it pretty much dissipates once the eating stops. My favourite dishes, besides the lamb and cumin, are the beef with pickled chilis and the house-cured pork belly with garlic bolts. Also, try it on the big heat next time, it will be even better!