Good cheap eats in Vancouver

[seawakim]

We are planning a trip to Vancouver in October and will be staying at

Le Soleil

Where are the good restaurants located nearby? Is there a good prix fixe offer?

Also, are there any recommendations for Chocolatiers in the metro area?

Thanks for any and all help!

[westside yuppie]

Four places downtown spring to mind immediately: Gyoza King, Hapa Izakaya and Guu all on Robson Street and the original Guu location, just south of Robson on Thurlow street. All of these are Japanese food places. Guu is a basic Izakaya - Japanese pub food. Gyoza King is mostly about gyoza as the name suggests - and their gyoza are amazing- but they do serve other stuff. Hapa is nominally an izakaya, but a little more upscale - the room is very cool- and the food is more interesting and a notch above regular izakaya fare.

There is also a good Korean food joint across the street from Gyoza King, but I forget the name.

For chinese food, Kirin on Alberni Street would be my first choice. However, while I think its good value, its not cheap.

Finally, the Showcase restaurant in the Marriott Pinnacle at Thurlow & Hastings is seriously underrated - very good food at decent prices - and they do a great Sunday brunch too.

[Fat Guy]

Assuming Thomas Haas is still at Sen5es, surely that's the best chocolatier in town.

[westside yuppie]

I totally agree about Thomas Haas.

Your post reminded me that I should have mentioned the desserts at Showcase in the Marriott. They have their own patissiere and his stuff is simply outstanding.

[Fat Guy]

And then there's Diva at the Met, which Mamster discussed in The Daily Gullet: http://www.egullet.com/?pg=ARTICLE-mamster042303

Wait a second, is Haas at Diva, at Sen5es, at both, or at neither? Maybe Fowke or Hawksworth can clue us in, since they seem to know something about food in Vancouver.

[mamster]

Senses (which I refuse to spell with a digit) is in the same hotel as Diva; I'm not sure about the ownership situation, but Haas is definitely at both places. I was at Senses just last week and it continues to rule.

[westside yuppie]

Senses is actually in the Crown Plaza hotel just up the street from the Metropolitan on Howe Street, but otherwise I think mamster is correct, Haas is at (owns?) Senses and supplies Diva with desserts and chocolates.

[jschyun]

I went to Sen5es and was informed that Thomas Haas was the owner for both Sen5es and Diva. Compared to my other favorites (homemade, La Fontaine au Chocolat, Chocolats Rohr), Thomas Haas is definitely right up there.

For some decent Belgian style chocolates, not as innovative as the ones that Thomas Haas makes but delicious nevertheless, try Daniel. This is standard Belgian style, so it's soft, creamy and rather sweet. There are a few stores, one on Robson, and you can get a small, 2 layer box of chocolates for $13 Cdn. The clerks there pack in as many as will fit in the box. I think I paid 7 times that for the Thomas Haas ones, although I did get a lot there. I liked the milk chocolate hedgehog, though it was a bit sweet. I wanted to have more, but my mother ate them all first. She said they were delicious.

Daniel Chocolates

Thomas Haas Chocolates: (The following is just a bunch of opinions)

I tried almost all of the chocolates when I was there (except for the Vij's one, I forgot that one for some reason). My favorites were the square, dark blueberry piece (layer of blueberry filling and another layer of smooth dark truffle filling all encased in dark chocolate) and passionfruit (same as blueberry but with passionfruit and I think Tahitian vanilla, of which I could actually taste).

The round truffles were so-so, in my opinion. I tried them all, and the only ones that made much of an impact were the ones with rum. The, I think it was grapefruit and Campari one, made with white chocolate was interesting, but flavorwise, lacking. I also liked the idea of an Earl Grey chocolate, but I got very little bergamot taste in my piece. Nice idea though, innovative.

I have had better praline type chocolates at Chocolats Rohr. Much better. In fact, I can think of this awesome piece where the pralinee was formed in a dome over the chocolate and you bit into it and the dome shattered over the smooth chocolate and...oh it was good. Unfortunately, it's in Geneva.

The pieces of chocolate at Sen5es are extremely small, even smaller than the European chocolates I've had.

Edited August 27, 2003 by jschyun (log)

[seawakim]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I heard about Thomas Haas from the PNW group after their trip and I have every intention of visiting one of his venues.

Are there any other suggestions for dining (other than Asian food) in the area?

[jschyun]

If you're buying with US dollars, they go a lot further in Canada, so perhaps "Good cheap eats" is not what you are looking for.

Heck, I would read some of the "what are the best..." posts here, and trot on over to Joe Fortes (seafood, great oysters), West, or the other fine dining establishments. When you pay with credit card you get the best possible exchange rate, from what I understand. I was pleasantly surprised when my credit card bill came in the mail.

I've heard a lot about Vij's (Indian) and frankly, thought it had good ambiance. But it was overpriced, and the food was inconsistent. This is a minority opinion.

You could try La Casa Gelato, outside of downtown, if only to look at all the weird flavors. Who is ever going to order stilton, gorgonzola and pear ice cream? Or curry ice cream? Pickle? Actually I kind of liked pickle, strangely enough. Actually, I think the Mondo Gelato shops have better gelato (I like a creamier mouthfeel) but you can't beat the freak value.

[westside yuppie]

Hey jschyun,

That pear and blue cheese gelato is actually damn good. However, I nearly puked when I tried the garlic flavour. Nevertheless, La Casa is worth the trip just for all the bizarre flavours. However, I do have to agree with you about Mondo Gelato being the best in town. Their coconut flovour gelato is excellent.

[Redhead]

Chocolate Arts, on West 4th Avenue, can give Thomas Haas a run for his money. Come October, their pumpkin truffles will be on my shopping list. Very good dark chocolate here, and more generously sized pieces than Senses, IMHO. Worth checking into.

R.

[drinkingchef]

I've heard a lot about Vij's (Indian) and frankly, thought it had good ambiance. But it was overpriced, and the food was inconsistent. This is a minority opinion.

The worst fine dining experience I have ever had was at Vij's. So don't feel alone in your 'minority opinion"

[Wineguy67]

I've heard a lot about Vij's (Indian) and frankly, thought it had good ambiance. But it was overpriced, and the food was inconsistent. This is a minority opinion.

The worst fine dining experience I have ever had was at Vij's. So don't feel alone in your 'minority opinion"

I can't speak to another person's experience but I have consistently found Vij's to be my favourite eating experience in Vancouver over the past three years. I would not classify it as "cheap eats" but I have found the food consistently delicious and the service amongst the best and most consistent in Vancouver.

On the topic at hand:

Parkside (West End) - Fantastic new restaurant opened by chef Andre Durbach formerly of Etoile and numerous other establishments. 20 dishes under $20 and 60 wines under $60. Exquisite food, perhaps the best in Vancouver at any price point, beautifully chosen wine list, great patio (very Manhattan) and very pro service. The single best meal I have eaten this year.

Memphis Blues (Commercial Drive or Broadway and Granville) - Southern BBQ - huge portions, reasonable price - high quality meat and a great little wine selection.

The Royal India - located in Gastown which is generally to be avoided when it comes to good food, this place makes the best butter chicken I have ever had. Great naan bread as well.

Shawarma King (Denman Street) - for $5.95 (CDN) I can barely finish the absolutely delicous chicken shawarma plate that comes heaped with beautifully seasoned chicken, homous and tabouleh.

Feenie's or the Lumiere Tasting Bar - (West Side) - Forget the concerns with TV programs, attitudes or anything else, what fantastic, world-class food at a next to nothing price. Drinks are better priced on the Feenie's side.

East is East - (West Side) Afghani take out in the form of Roti's. Fill yourself on beautiful organic meat for under $10. Wow, and tasty too.

New City Restaurant (West 4th Avenue) - Two people, $19.95, no MSG, very tasty egg roll, sweet and sour soup (despite the corn starch thickener), rice, two dishes and fortune cookies.

Phnom Penh - (Chinatown) - located in a very tough neighbourhood , but what unbelievable Cambodian/Vietnamese food. If you are brave enough (take a cab so you don't have to worry about your car; if you are American do not worry as random violent crime is not a problem in Vancouver). Must orders are the hot and sour soup with prawns, "Grandma's Squid" and the anchovy beef.

Happy Eating.

[Explorer]

jschyun- Correction on Thomas Haas. He doesn't own Senses or Diva. He is a consultant to Senses and they sell his chocolates, pastry and sorbets. With Diva, he's the Pastry Chef, so he creates the deserts and they assemble them last minute when you order them at Diva.

I agree with you that his chocolates are outstanding; nothing to compare with Daniel's.

Have you tried Haas' signature chocolates, the ones with the fruit plaquette on top? These are the most divine of them all. See his web site if you want some shipped to you:

Thomas Haas Web Site

[Coop]

Can anyone give me any more info. on Durbach's new place the Parkside? Web site etc.

[Jerry_A]

I think I read somewhere that it is where Zev's used to be. I would also like some more info though.

[bigbird]

Parkside is in the old zev's location and is on Haro off Denman towards Stanley Park not quite where you would expect a restaurant to be but it does have a great patio.

I have been twice since it's opening once for dinner and another time for brunch and both were great.Brunch was only quite a small menu but we had pain perdue with peaches and cherries,an open omellette with smoked trout and mornay sauce(good but the one at west is better) and a crab cake with fried egg ,rosti and a creamy tomato sauce.The only dissapointment was the drinks.I ordered a mojito and it was pretty ordinary.

For dinner, again the food was great but the drinks(not mine this time) were not the best .My friend ordered a mixed drink that was on the menu that had ginger in it and it was way too strong of ginger.

The prices are very reasonable and I would reccomend it wholeheartedly.I hope he does well!

[Jerry_A]

I'm going to Parkside on Friday night.

The menu looks fantastic, and I am very excited.

I'll stay away from the mojito though.

[jonez]

Hey everyone -- thanks for the interest in Parkside. I am working there and things have been great so far -- steadily getting busier and busier... We are basically a neighborhood restaurant that foodies will love. I'll let you know that we are closed Monday evenings, open for brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 2:30pm, and serving dinner from 6pm to midnight Tuesday to Sunday. Andrey is changing about five to six dishes out of the twenty on the menu each night (keeping himself very busy in other words) and we are offering a 4 savoury course prix fixe menu for $48. The dessert menu is absoloutely delicious; it is quite basic, but in a good way, and is impeccably executed. Table 10 is a private nook consisting of a round table and booth for up to six people with a fabric draped ceiling. We have affectionately dubbed it "The Space Room". We are going to close the patio on September 15, so be quick if that interests you (and it should). The wine list is one the most interesting and affordable in the city: I dare you to not be able to find a bottle that makes you happy. The other owner, Chris Stewart (former wine guy at Bishop's), and Andrey are big eau de vie fans so we have an outstanding, unique selection available. The gingerbeer that we are using for the Moscow Mule cocktail is very strong, I will give you that, but I'm a little confused about the problem with the Mojito!

The media has been in during the last few weeks, so the reviews will begin appearing shortly.

We are at 1906 Haro; telephone # is 604 683 6912.

[Coop]

I called last night and asked the person on the phone to fax me a menu. He said Andrey changes it daily so doing so would be pointless. So I went with the only option open to me, booked for Friday night. I look forward to another great Andrey meal. Could this place fly any more below the general public's radar? It's almost like you have to be a food nut to know about the place. I believe you could walk by it everyday and not even notice it.

Edited September 12, 2003 by Coop (log)

[jonez]

That's a bit silly to not fax you a menu -- you need to talk to me on the phone next time! This is one of those situations where a website, if only to give the public a general idea would be a good idea, I guess. Although it would need to be changed so often that we might all go insane... If I had a little more computer savvy, I would attach the sample menus that I have at my disposal here. Thanks for your leap of faith. I will keep a look out for you tonight, Coop.

[goyatofu]

West (or is it Ouest? they keep changing it) has prix fixe $28 for appetizer+main+dessert before 6pm. Good for trying them out without plunking down alot of cash

Edited September 14, 2003 by goyatofu (log)

[canadian-eh]

As much as I enjoyed the $28 prix fixe at West a few weeks ago, I cannot suggest it if you are HUNGRY. The entre portions were much much too small.

The first and dessert courses appeared to be normal sized,

I was a guest and all were "told" to order the prix fixe by our host but next time, no way for it.

I will return, however, as it was all exceptional.

JUST NOT ENOUGH FOOD.