Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 2)

[annanstee]

Last night,

Taste of Yaletown at HSG. Mmmmmmmm. Some kind of tropical martini with the amuse (salmon and spinach tartlet) Mushroom ravioli with chardonnay, hangar steak with Foch and GBP with a late harvest reisling.

Last night, right before that, spring rolls and cocktails at George. Spring Rolls were slender, like lumpia (sp?) and were quite nice. I also had a mumbai sling, with mango, cilantro and lashings of gin along with other nice ingredients and crushed ice. I was with some UK folks, both of whom had brandy alexanders. I haven't seen one of those since my best friend and I worked our way through the ancient cocktail list at some cabaret on broadway at a Crazy Fingers gig we had pink ladies that night too.

Thursday, 2 nacho chips and about 5 beers at Taylors crossing with people from work.

[Chocoholic]

Phew, just cooked and ate a quick pasta dinner while preparing for tomorrow's Thanksgiving feast. The applie pie is baked (the house smells amazing) and the turkey is sitting outside in a cooler, brining away.

Anyway, last week I went to Diva at the Met for a work dinner. I hadn't been there in quite a while, it used to be one of my regular places. We were happily surprised to see a $75 6-course tasting menu as a special for the evening. It came with a $35 wine pairing as well. We went for it and I have to say it probably was one of the best value for money menus I have had in quite a while. Now $110 for dinner and wine isn't cheap but considering the quality of the food and the wine we got that night, I think it was a steal. I am glad to see good old Diva still delivers the goods.

Monday was the Beach House waiterblog dinner. There is a separate thread dedicated to that. It was great!

On Tuesday I was wandering around the neighborhood with Chocoholic Jr., wondering what to eat. We passed Red Pepper, that 'modern Thai dining' place that was under construction for many months on Broadway and Hemlock. It then opened and prompty got rammed by a car and is still half boarded up. I guess luck isn't on the owner's side here. I decided to pop in and have a curry. The coconut milk chicken soup was good, pretty traditional Thai and quite tasty. Jr. took one sip and decided he didn't like it though. Next up was the Massaman vegetable curry with tofu and brown rice. Jr. really liked this one and happily munched away on the various veggies and rice drenched with the curry sauce. It was pretty decent, flavorful curry and a good variety of vegetables that were crispy and not cooked to a mush like some veggie curries I have had before. The place was deserted however and there was only one person manning the house. I have a feeling that this place will not be around for very long. Too bad, the room is nicely decorated and the menu has a few interesting items on it. It isn't 'modern' enough to fully separate it from the Thai staple however, a Wild Rice approach to Thai food would probably fare better in this city.

Work is madly busy these days, leaving little time to cook. Much take out food is consumed in the Chocoholic household, Rangoli being a staple and today's lunch was courtesy of Picnic which always suits me since they have lovely chocolatey sweet things behind the counter to much on during the walk home.

Now excuse me while I mentally prepare for tomorrow's cooking marathon and subsequent turkey devouring excercise...

[Xando Head]

1. Amarcord, tonight. Manlio is one of the most gracious hosts in town, and always makes us feel as though we are guests in his home.

2. Vera's Davie St, last night before Keane at the film festival. I've got a new favorite combo -- Veras with cheddar, fried onions, fried mushrooms, ketchup and mayo. Simple, yes. Expected, yes. But delicious... oh, yeah.

3. Chambar, a few nights ago with four friends -- all from different countries, which was fun. Had to try the duck with nectarine (versus cherry). Delicious, but I do miss the cherry.

We also went to Nu late night last weekend for the first time. Sat out on the patio with the "industry types" and enjoyed ourselves, although that green neon "chandelier" hypnotized me for sure (even through the glass ).

Edited October 9, 2005 by Xando Head (log)

[Ling]

Birthday Dinner #1 at Nu

Cocktails at Nu...graciously offered by Edwin:

Cockspur Barbados Amber rum, crabapple reduction, crushed allspice, cinnamon, fresh lemon and lime

Then I moved onto the Joie Gewurtz/Muscat and then the Blue Mountain Gamay.

(I forgot to take pictures of the fried oysters...sorry. The alcohol might have had something to do with that.)

Liquid cheese-filled crackers and bacon:

Roast marrow with apple and mint salad:

Duck confit with foie gras pull-apart:

Crispy braised pork belly, pears, walnuts, cider vinegar

Dungeness crab gratin (another very nice surprise from Edwin)

Lamb collar, radishes, mint

Ended dinner with complimentary lemon tarts and chocolate mousse with glasses of port Unfortunately, I ate my dessert before I remembered to take a picture! I remember the lemon curd to be a nice, lighter way to end a meal.

Edited October 10, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

Birthday Dinner #2 at Aurora Bistro

One of my favourite restaurants in the city. My friends and I started off with some beautiful Stella Bay oysters and the Cedar Creek Platinum Reserve Chardonnay.

Hazelmere beets with goat cheese (one of my favourite dishes at the Waiterblog dinner)

Duck confit with braised red cabbage...I believe. I love how there was a bit of acidity in the cabbage to cut through the crispy fat.

My friend just got back from a town in the Lombardy region, about 35 km south of Milan, and he ate a lot of risotto there because that's what the region is famous for. He enjoyed the risotto at Aurora as well, noting that it is less rich and much less salty (a good thing) than the risotto in Italy.

My favourite dish of the evening--venison sausage with fennel and sunchokes. Perfect ratio of lean and fat, imo. The sauce had a really deep and satisfying flavour...

Pork tenderloin, maple mustard seed glaze, apple crumble, goat cheese

Potato-wrapped sablefish and mussels

Lentil-crusted Fanny Bay oysters, curried aioli, pear chutney

This was my main course (a special):

Venison with a corn and chantrelle hash...wonderfully earthy. Look at those beautifully dark pink slices! This was my date's favourite dish of the evening...though he did think the venison was pork. (I think that was our last date...)

Ganache-studded chocolate cake

the cake is lighter in texture, more like a chocolate chiffon than a butter cake..look at me twisting my ring in the photo. I bet I'm thinking, "Take the damn photo already so I can eat!"

Creme fraiche cheesecake with walnut crust and Coronation grapes

less tangy than the goat cheese version that seems to be quite popular right now...luscious and a bit tart at the same time. Oh, and I love Coronation grapes so props for using something I don't often see on a menu.

Edited October 10, 2005 by Ling (log)

[Ling]

Ok so now we're onto my third date of the week, but before canucklehead comes in here screaming: "INTERVENTION!!!!, I'll just clarify that I didn't so much as hold hands with any of these guys. (Am I getting a reputation for being a bad girl? ) I probably come across as being really weird on dates...*ponders whether the digital camera may have something to do with it* Ah well...as long as they pick up the check (Maybe they just want to tell their friends that they once dated this freak who whipped out a digi cam whenever the food came around... )

At Mad Greek (in Richmond)

We drank some sort of Greek wine. No comment. (Ok I'll give you a visual...this was my expression after tasting the wine --> )

Tamara (sp?) sort of a fish roe cream cheese spread. My first time having this, although I heard about it from a fellow Egulleter a few months ago!

Date had the chicken and lamb souvlaki (the lamb was the tastier of the two)

I had the roast lamb (shoulder is one of my favourite cuts)...very tender.

I also had the Baklava, which was drenched in honey syrup. Ehh...not so good.

Oh yeah, and then after dinner, we went to his office and he uploaded all these food pictures for me! It still took me like 2 hours to re-size them all at home though.

Edited October 10, 2005 by Ling (log)

[jilli42]

1) Bangkok Kitchen - really good Thai food. Pad thai, chicken phuket, tiger cried, seafood noodle bowl, thai fried rice, red beef curry. Family meal, we shared all the dishes, eaten at the restaurant.

2) Bangkok Kitchen - went back the next day... Chicken phuket, deep sea (a spicy seafood stir fry) and tiger cried with the leftover pad thai from the night before. This was carryout, eaten at home while watching a DVD. No kids, no family, just us.

3) Subway - BMT on wheat w/lettuce, prov, onions, banana peppers, oil, vinegar & lots of pepper. Ate there and then finished my shopping.

[winegeek]

Kansai sushi

My favourite sushi spot in North Vancouver

Go Fish

I'm embarrased to admit it but this was my first visit. Absolutely the best fish n chips I have ever had. Had one piece of salmon and one halibut. Great fries!

Joe Fortes

Yes, I do work there . Had a nice spinach salad with grilled chicken for lunch. Salad has pears, pecans, bacon and blue cheese. Very tasty.

Edited October 11, 2005 by winegeek (log)

[Mooshmouse]

At Mad Greek (in Richmond)

We drank some sort of Greek wine. No comment. (Ok I'll give you a visual...this was my expression after tasting the wine -->  )

Tamara (sp?) sort of a fish roe cream cheese spread. My first time having this, although I heard about it from a fellow Egulleter a few months ago!

←

Taramasalata.

Hey, as long as the wine wasn't retsina, then I figure you got off scott free!

[vanderb]

Just got back from Wine Fest in the Okanagan, had some very nice lunches out and two dinners (1 was liquid). The rest of the time we cooked for ourselves so we could afford to bring some wine home.

Grey Monk for lunch, had the "picker's lunch", excellent sandwich with great bread (ciabatta I think) and proscuitto and a glass of the Latitude 50 red.

Summerhill winery for lunch - tried Summerhill's version of the "picker's lunch" but was greatly disappointed. The bread was flabby and the turkey obviously from a log. I noted the restaurant is now a concession (may have been for a while as it's been a couple of years since I was last there). It's the same company that runs restaurants in Best Western's in BC (Forresters Group?). This has not been an improvement for Summerhill, they used to have one of the best lunch menus around and now it's not even mediocore. I understand they probably want to focus on their wine (and tour bus style tastings) but I really enjoyed the food in the past and was sorely disappointed by this change. The glass of the Cab Franc was very good though.

Stopped by Carmelis for a goat cheese tasting (down the road from Cedar Creek winery). Arne was right this place is goat cheese heaven and it cost me $50 to get out the door, I could have spent a lot more. I'll be ordering on-line later on.

Sumac Ridge winery for lunch - started with warm goat cheese on multi veg homemade chips (beet, yam and potato) and it was excellent, not a single chip survived. Then the fresh fettucini with lamb sausage, this is a smoking dish and I have to confess I've had it before. The Cab Franc here was also excellent.

Naramata Inn bistro patio for dinner - it was a light dinner starting with their tomato and boccancini salad. I wouldn't normally order this outside of southern Italy but they promised heirloom tomatoes and I saw the garden on the way in! It was the best I've had outside of Amalfi, but the boccancini could have been more flavourful... I'll let it go because the tomatoes were phenomenal. For the main we shared a hearth bread with proscuitto and a walnut/lentil puree. I'm a big fan of the hearth breads with a selection of toppings/dips. Dinner was great and the bottle of Lang Vineyards Pinot Meunier was excellent.

Poplar Grove Winery and Cheesery - Arne also stopped by here and raved about their Tiger Blue and although I'm not a fan of blue cheeses their Naramata Bench blue is killer. It's a very light blue with more of a camembert consistancy to the body of the cheese with the blue only on the rind. This cheesery cost me another $50 but we made off with 2 rounds of the Bench blue, 1 of the Tiger, 1 of the camembert and 1 of the new washed rind cheese. All great, not my first visit for cheese at Poplar Grove and not my last either.

Penticton Silver Anniversary tasting - not much food here a little bread, cheese and pate but the wine... oh the wine. 40 different wineries were there providing tastings. We hit the smaller ones first and burned out the taste buds. After that it was tasting for fun but not so much for education. It really would have been nice if there was more food and if the after-event "free" taxis had worked out, but Penticton taxi companies were not prepared for this many people.

Sushi House (Banff, on the way home) - great place for "little plates". Sushi comes around on a train and you take what you want, or ask the chef for something special. I really wanted Miki that night but it was full with a private party

This weekend in Calgary is the Rocky Mountain Food and Wine festival, I'll be there Friday evening nice and early to avoid the line ups. Not a cheap evening but a really good opportunity to try out new (or new to me) restaurants as well as more international wines and spirits. I'll hopefully have a small write up on Monday.

[ja_rtw]

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

[Vancouver Lee]

Dinner last Saturday was at Cru, in celebration of Mrs. Vancouver Lee's birthday. We noted with sadness the passing of the bolognese pasta on the small plates menu, and ordered the Cellar Door grilled ceasar, the seared scallop and ceviche, the wild mushrooms, duck confit and the short rib. Each plate was perfect, with the size of the short rib being particularly noteworthy - this was a rib to tip over Fred Flintstones car. Dinner was accompanied by a strong white wine that really stood it's ground against the strong flavours of the food. Now, if I could only remember the name.....

Dinner last Friday night was a drunken meat fest at Memphis Blues with some friends. About the only good decision we made that night was not ordering the Elvis Platter. Instead we chose the still-huge Memphis platter washed down with at least two Bitburgers (what can I say, one of my friends is German - lol) and some bourbon. My head still hurts even now.

Memphis Blues continues to impress me with reasonable prices for tender and flavourful brisket, juicy ribs, and the best pulled pork sandwiches this side of Daddy-A's smoker in Burnaby. Neither Park nor George were anywhere to be seen (a first for me in numerous visits), and their staff behind the counter would have fit in well at any Earl's/Cactus Club/Joey Tomatos.

Lunch last Friday was at the restaurant in the Le Soleil hotel. I'm unclear on the name - the bill says "Le Soleil" but the menus say "Copper Kettle"...? Lunch was an unremarkable grilled vegetable sandwich on foccacia bread with a green salad, but to be fair it's pretty hard to make a dish like that sing. My companion had the crab cake that she quite enjoyed. Alas, no wine as it was a business lunch.

Edited October 13, 2005 by Vancouver Lee (log)

[kontemporary]

The restaurant in LeSoleil is "Copper Chimney", recently changed from "Oritalia". Not sure where Kettle came from, unless they changed it again.. Their own hotel website hasn't been up to date with their restaurant either.. but the restaurant has always been on the theme of "east-west fusion" based mostly on indian and mediterranean. The concept has always interested me (especially wanting to compare it to Vij's), but I've never gotten myself to going there.

EDIT: my grammar is terrible right now..

Edited October 13, 2005 by rêvasser (log)

[Vancouver Lee]

The restaurant in LeSoleil is "Copper Chimney", recently changed from "Oritalia". Not sure where Kettle came from,  unless they changed it again.. 

←

No, I suspect it's my memory that's faulty. The Copper Chimney could well have been the name on the menu.

[McTee]

Trying to remember the last 3 places.....

One of them was at work, lucky enough to have crab cakes (server error). Moroccan spiced crab cakes with sweet carrot salad and pea greens. The best crab cakes I have ever had (gives Bin a run for their money. Just as good, but different)

[BCinBC]

Inspired by Canucklehead, I am putting myself out there with possibly the most pathetic entry in this thread, all consumed yesterday during a marathon 16.5 hour work day.

Not a meal, but an Early with a capital E morning coffee

The best thing I had all day! Large medium-roasted Saltspring coffee from Tsawassen Quay, served by a cute barista to boot. Smooth & creamy - the coffee not me - well maybe me - so unlike either the watery old-man coffee from Everywhere, or the harsh nasal-burning coffee from You Know Where.

Breakfast

BC Ferries "Traditional Breakfast": 2 eggs (scrambled, did not have the patience to wait for poached), 4 bacon rashers, potato mcpatties, brown toast, strawberry jam. The bacon was actually done well - not too "rare" so that it's floppy, not too crispy so that it looses its meatiness. Gawd why didn't I wait for poached?! Soggy + chewy = the toast.

Lunch

Ran back to the Nanaimo McDonalds, which was the closest place to our jobsite, for a late lunch for the boys. Big Mac combos with Cokes. Don't tsk, you know what this tastes like too.

Late Dinner

Last sailing from Duke Point, I had some clam chowder (Manhattan) with a dinner "bun" (as Moosh says, the Nerf variety), a wilted Caesar, and a large Earl Grey tea. Chowder passable, possibly only for warmth. Best part was the tea.

Edited October 13, 2005 by BCinBC (log)

[Vancouver Lee]

Inspired by Canucklehead, I am putting myself out there with possibly the most pathetic entry in this thread, all consumed yesterday during a marathon 16.5 hour work day.

Not a meal, but an Early with a capital E morning coffee

The best thing I had all day! Large medium-roasted Saltspring coffee from Tsawassen Quay, served by a cute barista to boot. Smooth & creamy - the coffee not me - well maybe me - so unlike either the watery old-man coffee from Everywhere, or the harsh nasal-burning coffee from You Know Where.

Breakfast

BC Ferries "Traditional Breakfast": 2 eggs (scrambled, did not have the patience to wait for poached), 4 bacon rashers, potato mcpatties, brown toast, strawberry jam. The bacon was actually done well - not too "rare" so that it's floppy, not too crispy so that it looses its meatiness. Gawd why didn't I wait for poached?! Soggy + chewy = the toast.

Lunch

Ran back to the Nanaimo McDonalds, which was the closest place to our jobsite, for a late lunch for the boys. Big Mac combos with Cokes. Don't tsk, you know what this tastes like too.

Late Dinner

Last sailing from Duke Point, I had some clam chowder (Manhattan) with a dinner "bun" (as Moosh says, the Nerf variety), a wilted Caesar, and a large Earl Grey tea. Chowder passable, possibly only for warmth. Best part was the tea.

←

That's a classic anti-egullet day, Brian, even better than the McDonalds for breakfast/Quiznos for lunch/Wendy's for dinner day I had last week but was too embarrassed to post about here. Some days it just isn't about the food.

[McTee]

Inspired by Canucklehead, I am putting myself out there with possibly the most pathetic entry in this thread, all consumed yesterday during a marathon 16.5 hour work day.

Not a meal, but an Early with a capital E morning coffee

The best thing I had all day! Large medium-roasted Saltspring coffee from Tsawassen Quay, served by a cute barista to boot. Smooth & creamy - the coffee not me - well maybe me - so unlike either the watery old-man coffee from Everywhere, or the harsh nasal-burning coffee from You Know Where.

Breakfast

BC Ferries "Traditional Breakfast": 2 eggs (scrambled, did not have the patience to wait for poached), 4 bacon rashers, potato mcpatties, brown toast, strawberry jam. The bacon was actually done well - not too "rare" so that it's floppy, not too crispy so that it looses its meatiness. Gawd why didn't I wait for poached?! Soggy + chewy = the toast.

Lunch

Ran back to the Nanaimo McDonalds, which was the closest place to our jobsite, for a late lunch for the boys. Big Mac combos with Cokes. Don't tsk, you know what this tastes like too.

Late Dinner

Last sailing from Duke Point, I had some clam chowder (Manhattan) with a dinner "bun" (as Moosh says, the Nerf variety), a wilted Caesar, and a large Earl Grey tea. Chowder passable, possibly only for warmth. Best part was the tea.

←

That's a classic anti-egullet day, Brian, even better than the McDonalds for breakfast/Quiznos for lunch/Wendy's for dinner day I had last week but was too embarrassed to post about here. Some days it just isn't about the food.

←

I hate to trump you in the anti-egullet day sweepstakes, but I have had quite a few days whereby the 3 squares consisted of:

Breakfast - Toast, 2 slices - 1 PB the other J, right before heading out the door for work.

Lunch - Staff cafeteria

Dinner - Another round of said Staff Cafeteria (same selection as lunch)

At least my lovely lady puts me out of my misery by making me some nice spicy fajitas to come home to, but that's often at 1am or later, so it doesn't REALLY count.

[kontemporary]

Staff cafeteria isn't saying much.. what if you worked for Google... that's food worth writing about!

http://googlemenus.blogspot.com/

[Mooshmouse]

Not a meal, but an Early with a capital E morning coffee

The best thing I had all day! Large medium-roasted Saltspring coffee from Tsawassen Quay, served by a cute barista to boot. Smooth & creamy - the coffee not me - well maybe me - so unlike either the watery old-man coffee from Everywhere, or the harsh nasal-burning coffee from You Know Where.

Breakfast

BC Ferries "Traditional Breakfast": 2 eggs (scrambled, did not have the patience to wait for poached), 4 bacon rashers, potato mcpatties, brown toast, strawberry jam. The bacon was actually done well - not too "rare" so that it's floppy, not too crispy so that it looses its meatiness. Gawd why didn't I wait for poached?! Soggy + chewy = the toast.

[...]

Late Dinner

Last sailing from Duke Point, I had some clam chowder (Manhattan) with a dinner "bun" (as Moosh says, the Nerf variety), a wilted Caesar, and a large Earl Grey tea. Chowder passable, possibly only for warmth. Best part was the tea.

←

In the vast wasteland of space otherwise known as the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, there is a beacon of light otherwise known as Salt Spring Roasting Company. Well, there and the gelato place in the summertime.

Whenever I'm forced to dine on BC Ferries, I usually end up choosing a shrimp salad and an Island Farms vanilla/mango yogurt; it's a helluva lot better than most of the other alternatives. But, when in the mood for hot food (and I use the word 'food' loosely), then I'll order a chili dog. If you're gonna eat crap, then eat serious crap, I say!

[canucklehead]

Inspired by Canucklehead, I am putting myself out there with possibly the most pathetic entry in this thread...

←

Wow - I don't know what I did to inspire the 'pathetic'. My mommy would be proud though.

[BCinBC]

Sorry Lee, poor wording on my part. It was this post in the Bis Moreno thread that led to my post:

One thing was undeniable - you could really see how much passion and heart Moreno put into the operation. I hope that he finds a new venue for his food.  I am sure it is heartbreaking to put yourself out there but still, somehow, not connecting with the diners in the city.

←

It's not pathetic-ness that you inspire, but courage. And there's your saccharine-but-still-manly e-hug for the day.

[mamacat]

Company from Ottawa....many wonderful meals....up 3 lbs. in 2 weeks. For starters, Jenn and I introduced our friends to the great brunch selections at Seb's (I finally made it past the banana bread French toast and had a lovely salad with pears, goat cheese & nuts). Of course, we took them to the HSG during TofY and they were mightily impressed with mixed grill (particularly the Hangar stead) and GBP. At Lumiere we did the multi-course meal and even though the servings are small, I still couldn't finish all the courses; my friends, however, were quite happy to assist! As I mentioned on another thread, although the food was totally amazing, I found the experience as whole marred somewhat by the room itself which I found too full of tables and too warm (the place was packed, even though this was a Thursday). Off to Whistler we went with the intention of having both lunch and dinner out but our lunch at Monk's was so good (we all had burgers of varying descriptions) we never did make it to dinner, opting instead for a seared scallop salad lovingly prepared by Ottawa buddy back at our suite at the Intrawest resort. Monk's, by the way, does yam fries and while they were very good, they don't come anywhere Neil's at the Hammy.

One special treat - there is this little store in Ottawa called Ayoub's and the owner/butcher makes these incredible little lamb sausages. My friends, knowing how much I love these things, brought two large packages of them. Cooked up with rosemary and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, they are the best! You can bet I'll be bringing more back when I'm in Ottawa in early December.

Friends have now gone but I'm afraid the eating hasn't stopped. Jenn and I did our usual Friday thing at the Hammy (we each order a carpaccio and then split an order of mussels and finish off with GBP) and last night was Burger Club at Stormin Norman's. That was so much fun! I tasted Elk for the first time and also had a bit of Jenn's muskox. Great burgers in a very friendly environment. It was also nice to meet so many e-gulleteers.

Altogether, some memorable meals...well worth the 3 lbs!

[gourmande]

Our last three meals eaten out just happen to have been in beautiful BC... It was my first time there and I can't wait for a return visit!

Friday night, our last night in BC, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at the Aubergine Grille at the Westin Resort and Spa in Whistler, where the chef treated us to a complimentary amuse: a scallop ceviche shooter in shiso vinaigrette. It was a deliciously playful way to begin our seriously delicious 4 course dinner.

Thursday we partook in a Taste of Yaletown at the Hamilton Street Grill. It was our only dinner in Vancouver, but it certainly was a memorable one. Clearly, our next trip out there will include more time in Vancouver... and a few more visits to HSG for the GBP

Wednesday evening we relaxed by the fire at the Dubh Linn Gate Pub in Whistler, and tucked into hearty pub fare, where my Classic Irish Lamb Stew was slightly disappointing in that it consisted of more beef than lamb. Nonetheless, it was a lovely place to sit back, relax and take the chill off the damp rainy day.

Did I say I can't wait to got back?

[*Deborah*]

Hmm, I was waiting for a third, but I forgot one, and now I have four!

Lunch today: The Kolachy Shop, Beef Stroganoff Soup (phenomenal, like all their soups), perfect for this crummy wet day, and this Banana-Hedgehog Kolachy. I'm practically drooling all over my keyboard with this and it's not even warmed up. I just don't dare to warm it up at work.

Brunch Sunday: Central Bistro. I popped in to see eGer Harry, my client. Since it was only 3:00, they were still serving brunch I poked my head into the kitchen to say hello, and saw the biiiig pile of bacon....I ended up having two eggs poached, bacon, homefries and toast, with a side of Hollandaise (dude, if I'm eating breakfast out, I might as well have Hollandaise), and a lemonade...hit the spot! nice potatoes, especially.

Last Thursday, canucklehead introduced me to Mui Garden on Main, and ordered a most excellent meal: Winter Melon Soup, a nice clear broth with winter melon, meat, a hint of citrus, very simple. Canucklehead said it was very typical Cantonese preparation, clear flavour. I liked it. We also had the most amazing Beef Brisket Curry, whoa...with coconut millk, extremely tender meat. I'm a convert. They also serve a very non-greasy Sweet and Sour Pork, which I'm sure is better for me than the usual kind (not that I'm giving up on the usual kind altogether ) and some spicy noodle dish with broad rice noodles, bits of pork and shrimp, and I confess I have forgotten the name. That's some kind of fast and delicious meal (with leftovers!) for a very low price. Cash only.

For dessert, we headed to the HSG to feed our GBP addiction. Huggy-Bear was there and hooked us up, and it was the last night of ToY, and an absolutely packed house, as has been recounted elsewhere. Nice to meet you, Emmanuelle! The GBP never fails to hit the spot, and we also tried the apple tart just in case one dessert wasn't enough...