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

[Ling]

What did you have at Fran's Chocolates?

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At Fran's, I had the caramel ice-cream, the chocolate ice-cream, and the raspberry cassis sorbet. The caramel ice-cream was great with a bit of bitterness from the "burnt" flavour.

I also had some of the dark chocolate grey salted caramels and the milk chocolate smoked salt caramels, which I'm sure you know they're famous for. I think your Chocolate Soiree spoiled me though...I thought they were a good candy, but definitely not great or excellent.

I'm guessing my own relatively high standards when it comes to chocolate figures into that assessment too.

[fud]

A wonderful (mostly Main Centric) day today

We got up and headed down to Aurora Bistro for some brunch. We got the duck benny with the....<drool> duck bacon.....Mmmmm smokey and ducky and good. I also ordered the black truffle eggs. You get the awesome burst of truffle flavour on a flakey puff crust. And of course....the donuts. Yum! It's sweet yet savoury.

We made our way south and ended up at WingNuts after lunch and decided to pop in. We had the original hot as well as the double smoked bacon wings. Quite good. 24 for 12.99 was not a bad deal (although I recall university days of 0.05 wings) so it's hard to say that 0.50 a wing is a good deal. But I did like the flavours and admired the Wall of Flame . I'll be back to try to get on that wall.

Dinner at home became dinner in Richmond and we ended up at Shanghai River for some Taro Duck (my favorite dish) some "Siu Loong Bow", the awesome fried mayo shrimp, hot and sour soup (done right!), the crispy bits in soup (heheh dunno what it's called in english) and the ultimate finisher - deep fried bananas smothered in molten sugar and then dipped in ice water!

[Ling]

I'm not done uploading all the pictures yet, but there are pics of dinners at Chez Panisse, Michael Mina, and French Laundry here.

San Fran/Napa trip

[Memo]

Enjoyed a stellar sake-pairing dinner at the Pointe Restaurant @ The Wickaninnish on Sunday night.

Chef de Partie, Nick Nutting, of Wickaninnish Inn created a menu to match premium Japanese sakes presented by Jim Sun of That's Life Gourmet.

Here's the necessary nature pic. Imagine you're looking at this west-coast wonder of a view while downing a Pacific Miyagi Oyster with Sake, Yuzu and Cilantro.

First course: Side Stripe Prawn Tartar; Lychee, Cucumber, Honey Dew Granite; Sevruga Caviar - served on an ice plate (with embedded kelp).

Paired with Kazeyo Mizuyo Hitoyo Junmai

Second course: Gateau of Foie Gras; Jasmine and Rosewater Gelee, Sesame Crostini; Gingered Plums.

Paired with Mizubasho Junmai Ginjo

Third course: Black Cod and Miso Glazed Pork Belly; Shitake Mushrooms, Dungeness Crab, Bok Choy; Blood Orange Glaze.

Paired with Kagatobi "Ai" Junmai Daiginjo

A toast from Jim Sun.

Fourth course: Caramelized Pear & Walnut Brioche Pudding; Goat Cheese Sabayon; Honey Truffle Chocolate Ice Cream (the truffle element in this was black truffle - so it had an amazing earthy-woodsy, almost caramalized garlic taste).

Paired with Momtose 5 Junmai Long Term Aging Sake

Chef Nutting, after acknowledging everyone's long-term aging.

Memo, sake-wa sake!

[Ling]

My last three...

Saturday night

dinner at Rare

followed by ice-cream and sorbet at Feenie's

Sunday night

Habit Lounge--this was my first time here. We got some drinks and shared the duck, olive, and polenta dish as a snack. We both found the duck dish fine, but would probably pick something else from the menu next time.

Then we had dinner at dinner at Shanghai River.

Edited April 20, 2006 by Ling (log)

[fud]

Enjoyed a stellar sake-pairing dinner at the Pointe Restaurant @ The Wickaninnish on Sunday night.

Chef de Partie, Nick Nutting, of Wickaninnish Inn created a menu to match premium Japanese sakes presented by Jim Sun of That's Life Gourmet.

I love the 'Wik. The pictures are gorgeous!

We went to the Naramata Bench Party last night at the Roundhouse .

They had a nice setup with food sandwiched between wines. Many local favorites where there (food-wise):

Lumiere

- They served a wonderful foie creme brulee (oh my god SO rich)

Aurora Bistro

- Chef Jeff presented a (duck?) pate encrused with toasted sesame seeds with a pumpkin (relish?)

CinCin

- They had a lamb dish which we missed

Le Gavroche

- Manny was present carving out hunks of a pig (in true portugese fashion) served with shoestring fries and the gravy made from the drippings

C

- I'm drawing a blank but I remember it being a salty meat (not proscuitto though) wrapped around something good with a little "shot" of vinegarette (same pipette as the one used by Nu for their beer/oyster shots)

<??> Inn

- A sweet crispy crepe served with scallops

Wines were so plentiful that I enjoyed myself too much and ended up unable to tell the difference between wineries. We had a wonderful pear wine by Spiller Estates as well as a rich full bodied Syrrah by Nichol's (2003 Reserve!). A wine I had never heard of - Laughin Stock presented a bordeaux blend which I found to be a little too young and tangy tasting. Lang had a marvellous fortified Muscato dessert wine and Elephant Island introduced a Cherry Wine (which I didn't really dig).

The event included a fashion show and more wine and of course CHEESE! Yum! The cheese guy started giving me dirty looks so had to stop eating cheese towards the end of the evening.

[S_tran]

Friday

I had lunch with J at Bao Chao all the way out on Slocan (?) in Burnaby. He had the rare beef (on the side) with flank and tendon, and I had the rare beef (on the side) with tendon and tripe. Split an order of (very good) Vietnamese spring rolls. The broth for the pho is a bit more oily than I'm used to (not that I mind), light in colour, but deep in flavour.

Ohhh Bao Chao!! i used to get food from there when I used to work at the PNE for dinnner...lotsa memories

[Lise]

Okay, deep breath and here I go.... Hello everyone, I'm Lise and this is my first post. I found you all in February while looking for information on Dine Out Vancouver, and have been a devotee ever since. I figured it was time to come out of the shadows and say hello.

It's been really helpful reading all about the awesome eating establishments Vancouver has to offer. As a result I have begun to expand my dining horizons, as I'm tiring of the ho hum tri-cities offerings.

To share my last three dining spots, they include Flying Fish, Casa Bella and Senhor Rooster.

Flying fish used to be my favourite seafood restaurant in Port Moody, located in the heart of St. John's street. It also sells fresh seafood so usually the quality is great. The past two visits were lacklustre - actually ever since their bid for the contract to open a restaurant at Rocky Point Park was passed by - I've experienced overdone salmon and very floury clam chowder. Plus they were out of most wines we tried to order!

Casa Bella, IMHO is a wonderful secret jewel. It's located on Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam across the street from Woody's pub. Bella's is a rustic establishment, reminiscent of an old 80's italian/greek restaurant, with the old style archways (sans the vines). I swear this place has the best pizza and pasta I've had in a long time. Last time we were there it was souvlaki night. THe hummus blew me away! And the lamb souvlaki was so tender and flavourful, it melted in my mouth. I am continuously more impressed every tiime I go there and try something new. I should warn people away from the house salad though. And the rice and potatoes that came with the souvlaki was pretty mediocre. But what do you expect for 7.95 on thursdays? It has a pretty small wine list, but the standard australian wines are a steal.

Lastly, Gary and I headed out to Senhor Roosters early on a friday night. How could I not, after reading so much about it here? We arrived at 5:30, and saw there was one other group of 6 people. They seemed to know their way around the menu quite well, and I think they overheard my reply to Daniel as he came out to greet us, asking us if we've been there before. As I replied I heard about him on EGullet, they all turned around and smiled. (I tried to see if they wore special decoder rings) lol

Daniel had a server helping him out that night. Agusto says he used to own a restaurant in Deep Cove, (The Savory?) and misses the business, so he helps out when he's in town. I think he got more than he bargained for though, as my piri piri sauce in the plastic containers exploded all over me, our table and the table next to us (thank god no one was using it at the time), and he had to re-set the half the restaurant! And this was after warning me about them!

The cornish game hen was wonderful, Gary loved his ribs, and as we at the place began to totally fill up. Daniel was out chatting with the diners every chance he got, it seemed, and there was a definite familiarity going on. I could see how people would want to make this a regular haunt! My only suggestion would be to get in some portugese beers and more wine selections. We were told there was only a red and a white (Dominini, I think). Overall, I think that was the most fun I've had dining in a long time, piri piri explosion and all!

Anyway, sorry for this long initial post. I promise to keep future posts more succinct, so don't go running when you see my name! I look forward to participating in future posts, and slowly become part of this great community.

Now off I go to research Las Vegas eateries for my first trip in August......

Regards,

Lise

[canucklehead]

Lise - welcome aboard. Thanks for the great write up - I am glad that you enjoyed Senhor Rooster - it is a great little neighbourhood place. Also thanks for sharing about places out in the Tri Cities - good to see there are choices beyond the Ikea cafeteria.

[*Deborah*]

Lise: when Daniel says hold the bottle in a vertical position, he means it!

They should stick a level to the top so people could be sure.

Welcome to the Gullet

[fud]

Flying fish used to be my favourite seafood restaurant in Port Moody,  located in the heart of St. John's street.  It also sells fresh seafood so usually the quality is great.  The past two visits were lacklustre - actually ever since their bid for the contract to open a restaurant at Rocky Point Park was passed by -  I've experienced overdone salmon and very floury clam chowder.  Plus they were out of most wines we tried to order!

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Hi Lise!

I like Flying Fish as well. I work out in the Tri Cities so sometimes I need to indulge in cuisine out here Another favorite in the area is St. Street Grill!

Welcome aboard!

[Lise]

Thanks for the welcome folks. Yes, there are still some decent places in the tri-cities, another one in Port Moody that I've been meaning to try is Jamiesons in Newport Village (where Carumbas used to be). Wonder if anyone has tried that yet? There is a dandy little beer and wine store there now too, that seems to stock a slightly better than average supply of wines and ales. Their organic wine selection is supposed to be very good. I believe he owner also owns the St. James Pub in the same area.

PS Oh my goodness you are so right Deborah. There should be a disclaimer at the top of the menu, rigyt under a skull and crossbones! hee hee

[Ling]

A wine I had never heard of - Laughin Stock presented a bordeaux blend which I found to be a little too young and tangy tasting. 

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Laughing Stock Portfolio? I like that a lot. I believe they have it on the wine list at Aurora Bistro.

(The line-up of food sounds soooo good! Especially the pig...and the gravy...oh man.)

[kontemporary]

A wine I had never heard of - Laughin Stock presented a bordeaux blend which I found to be a little too young and tangy tasting. 

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Laughing Stock Portfolio? I like that a lot. I believe they have it on the wine list at Aurora Bistro.

(The line-up of food sounds soooo good! Especially the pig...and the gravy...oh man.)

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They were also chosen to be one of the wines presented at the James Beard Foundation by the TopTable group. Their first release - the 2003 portfolio - being a successful vintage can only give us a glimpse of the things to come

Edited April 20, 2006 by kontemporary (log)

[canucklehead]

I was talking to a wine guy up here in Kelowna and the Laughing Stock people are ex-investment bankers who paid $2.5m for their 10 acres of Naramata Bench. The vineyard sign looks like a stockmarket ticker. Aparently to make money in wine now - you need to start out with a big pile first.

There is alot of demand for the Naramata Stuff - or any of the small batch stuff in the Okanagan. I drove by Joie - and they don't even bother with having a sign up anymore - I guess it attracts people who will try to buy direct. Also - I was surprised that Burrowing Owl was not widely available. Their operations in Oliver seem so large scale - but apparently you have to go to their winery or be on a mailing list of some sort. Who would have thought it?

Edited April 20, 2006 by canucklehead (log)

[fud]

The vineyard sign looks like a stockmarket ticker.  Aparently to make money in wine now - you need to start out with a big pile first. 

Indeed it does. I was a little confused what they were when I first saw their booth. I thought initially they were a recruiting agency or an investment advice group.

Also - I was surprised that Burrowing Owl was not widely available.  Their operations in Oliver seem so large scale - but apparently you have to go to their winery or be on a mailing list of some sort.  Who would have thought it?

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I remember this. We had to actually visit them at their estate to get on the list. Also Nichol's is tiny. It's quite literally a small barn side-house where a nice lady pours you tasters.

[appreciator]

The vineyard sign looks like a stockmarket ticker.  Aparently to make money in wine now - you need to start out with a big pile first. 

Indeed it does. I was a little confused what they were when I first saw their booth. I thought initially they were a recruiting agency or an investment advice group.

When they are available, you can find a listing here

Also - I was surprised that Burrowing Owl was not widely available.  Their operations in Oliver seem so large scale - but apparently you have to go to their winery or be on a mailing list of some sort.  Who would have thought it?

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I remember this.  We had to actually visit them at their estate to get on the list.  Also Nichol's is tiny.  It's quite literally a small barn side-house where a nice lady pours you tasters.

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While Burrowing Owl would like you to purchase on-line there are a few wine shops in town that do carry there wines. Broadway International Wine Shop, Marquis Cellars, Kitsilano Wine Cellar, amongst others. They may not have all wines available but they do have some.

As to Nichol... same thing applies, if you are in town, check the small wine merchants. If not, get a few people together and order on line.

Edited April 21, 2006 by appreciator (log)

[winegeek]

Laughing Stock wines were also carried at Village VQA in Edgemont Village. I had a chance to try their chardonnay and found it to be horribly oaked, although I must admit that I have never been a fan of new world chardonnay. Oh ya....sorry I'm off topic .

[Daddy-A]

Oh ya....sorry I'm off topic  .

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[host]

Thanks for the lead-in wg.

Time to bring this back on topic ... i.e. places we've eaten at lately

However, the discussion of of where/how to find small-lot BC wines is a good one. I'd encourage someone to start a new thread.

Thanks!

A.

[/host]

[James Kendal]

If you need a great family orientate restaurant in Victoria I would go to Palmers in Oak Bay. I had to host 10 people for Easter dinner and Palmers puts out good old fashioned food with great standards and at very decent pricing. Kind of the place to take Mom and Dad et al.

[Ling]

This week, I ate at Vera's (cheeseburger). Also, spent the day on Orcas Island, and had lunch at Rose's and dinner at Christina's. Lots of pics here.

[*Deborah*]

Last night: Aurora Bistro

Units came over to look at my fluffy lawn and my renovating house, we had a bottle of Gosset.

Since I had to call the restaurant to tell them we were running late (cab took a little while to show up), I asked them to open a bottle of 2003 Nota Bene. They didn't have any '03, so we had to suffer with some '02

Chef came out to greet us, and sent us some of his white spring salmon pastrami, which sounds weird but tastes just fiiiiiiiiine, thanks. He served with a little potato and apple (I think apple?) salad, and a wee quail's egg on top, it was delicious.

I started with Beet and Whiskey Cured Tuna wrapped around daikon radish and some more apple, served with lemon crème fraîche, wonderful flavours. Mummy had the Blue Cheese and Mushroom Tart, and my dude had the Spinach salad, which he just raves about.

For mains, I had the seared duck breast (surprise ) with Pommes Anna and some...broccolini ? or something, v nice. Mummy had the country paté, served with some nice home-pickled veg, and the dude had the pork tenderloin, which he also had the last time he was there, and loved just as much.

For dessert, we had four items : I had the dark chocolate terrine, served with chipotle sorbet, nicely done indeed! and a blood orange salad with mint and a bit of salt. Of course I had some Sumac Ridge Pipe. Mummy had the Meyer Lemon Cheesecake, and Howard had the red wine poached pear on ice cream. Howard and I also made short work of the rhubarb mousse with rhubarb compote, luscious, really; the mousse was soooooo smooth and delicately flavoured, and then the compote packed that tart rhubarb punch, served with not-too-sweet cream.

Another excellent dinner. Thanks, Chef!

Edited April 24, 2006 by *Deborah* (log)

[Jean Blanchard]

I'm visiting Vancouver and Victoria this summer for a week so I've been reading (of course) about all of your wonderful restaurants. Of course, the list is now longer than the amount of days that I have available but I'll do my best. I'm wondering if anyone can help me with best places to stay since I know nothing about this area. I want to be close to downtown since I won't have a car. How's the Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia or the Rosedale on Robson? Anything better? Where should I go to dinner the first night? Thanks!

jb

[canucklehead]

I'm visiting Vancouver and Victoria this summer for a week so I've been reading (of course) about all of your wonderful restaurants.  Of course, the list is now longer than the amount of days that I have available but I'll do my best.  I'm wondering if anyone can help me with best places to stay since I know nothing about this area.  I want to be close to downtown since I won't have a car.  How's the Crowne Plaza Hotel Georgia or the Rosedale on Robson?  Anything better?  Where should I go to dinner the first night?  Thanks!

jb

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Both are good hotels and well situated. The Rosedale is closer to Yaletown while the Hotel Georgia is in the heart of downtown and accross the street from the Art Gallery. If the price is not too different - I would probably choose the Hotel Georgia location (plus Senses is downstairs for some Thomas Hass chocolates and croissants). If you want a great view - perhaps the Marriott Pinnacle or the Raddison Waterfront or even the Coast Hotel near Stanley Park. All of the hotels are mid-priced (I think).

Downtown is fairly compact and walkable - and in the summer you can join the locals who march around the Stanley Park seawall.

Your first meal hmmm.... depends on what you are in the mood for. For serious dining - from the Hotel Georgia you are right around the corner from Diva at the Met, Chartwell's in the Four Seasons, or a short walk from Le Crocodile. You are also very close to high traffic area of Robson Street for Japanese bar food - Hapa Izakaya and Guu w/ Garlic are both very good.

A little walk (or a very short cab ride) also gets you to Chambar (which I love) - lively (read loud) and very good Belgium/Morrocan influenced food. And into Yaletown you've got Cioppino's for very good high end Italian.

A little bit longer of a cab ride (I am talking minutes here) gets to you to West, Vij's, Lumiere and Feenies. I really like Vij's beautiful Indian (some would describe it as French influenced) food - and I think it is probably something that you cannot get back home. Only problem is that they don't take reso's - so show up early - or lounge at the bar (for 45min) and enjoy the free appy's. But after dinner - you can have a nice stroll on South Granville street.

Towards the Burrard Street of Downtown (which is a bit of a walk from the Hotels discussed above) - you've got Rare One, C, and Nu. I have not been Rare One - but word of mouth has been very strong. C and Nu are a little more controversial - some love them others don't. I personally really like Nu - small plates that actually very substantial and tasty. It's a very modern lounge - so you can guage if that is the place you want to go.

As a guy - Vancouver feels very safe to me and I think walking for the most part will get you were you need to go Downtown. The only place I would thing hard about walking to is Chambar - especially if you are a woman travelling alone. But I don't think this is as much of a safety issue as a comfort thing. Talk to your concierge about what makes sense.

Browse the best of links at the top of the this forum for more ideas. I hope you enjoy your visit!

Edited April 27, 2006 by canucklehead (log)

[surfer_dream]

Hey all,

I have been away for some time and heading back to Van from New York tomorrow and I can't wait to have dinner at Cioppino's my absolute favorite! Can anybody give me a quick update on what's new and where to eat - I'm out as of Thursday so I want to make the best of it!! Need to take two business clients our for dinner on the Monday and Tuesday - I've already booked Pino's for Wednesday...

I have read about Ocean Club/Rare/Lolita's and Aurora Bistro.

cheers

sd