Dan - new japanese restaurant on Broadway

[westside yuppie]

Has anyone noticed the new Japanese restaurant, Dan ( it means warmth) that opened up last week in the 2500 block of West Broadway?

Its on the same block as Lumiere, Feenie's and Moderne Burger - just a couple of doors away from the latter. My wife, Tokyogurumegal, spotted it last week when we popped into Moderne for a quick burger. She has a keen eye for authentic Japanese restaurants, so we dropped in for dinner last night and had a lovely meal.

Its a small cozy place with about 30 seats on two levels and simple, tasteful decor. The staff is attentive and friendly.

Dan offers the usual range of japanese food - appetizers, salads, sunomono, soups, sashimi, nigiri sushi, maki etc - all very fresh and very well executed.

We had a spinach gomaae, ebi shiso tempura (wrapping the prawn in a shiso leaf was a nice touch), grilled marinated sablefish in saikyo miso sauce (as good as the black cod at Chiyoda, which is wonderful), some really good nigiri sushi - anago, maguro and hotate - and a tasty maki of chopped scallops and flying fish roe.

Good food, good service and decent prices, we'll definitely be going back to sample more of the menu. Its great to have a Japanese place of the calibre of Chiyoda (my pick for the best place downtown) on the westside. While Dan maybe isn't in the same class as Wabi Sabi (my pick for the best japanese restaurant in town), it is more affordable and in my view is a notch above its competition in Kits, Kerrisdale and elsewhere on the westside.

Check it out before it gets busy.

[tokyogurumegal]

Yes........ as westsideyuppie has mentioned, he is my better half. One thing he didn't mention about the sushi in Dan that I personally thought was great would be the perfect "nigiri" consistency. The rice ball in the sushi was squeezed (or gripped would be the literal translation to nigiri) in a perfect way, not too much to the point it went glutenous. The size of the sashimi on the nigiri was perfect also. I find there are many restaurants that don't quite have the right balance and this place was perfect! I highly recommend the anago (sea eel). The teriyaki sauce was fantastic, not too sweet and not goopy like some horrific teriyaki sauces I've seen around.

Since we went 2 days before Christmas, the restaurant wasn't very busy but I hope locals will find this little gem of a restaurant and start frequenting so Dan can stay in my 'hood' for many years to come. It's always nice to have a restaurant like that on days when I don't feel like cooking.

I also liked the owner. Very friendly and keen on customer service.

[edm]

i went to Dan the other night, intrigued by a sushi place with enough wasabi to open between Lumiere and Moderne burger.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere, the space, and loved talking to the owners who, by the way, used to work at Taka sushi on 4th before it closed down.

i didnt go for anything adventurous. Instead, i tried some "classics" such as tempura, agedashi tofu, dynamite roll... And was a bit disapointed by the quality (tempura batter, temperature of the food, flavours), especially considering that i was the one and only customer that night.

Maybe they need a little more time to set up and get things right ?

Lets hope so, as this is a lovely place with an extremely friendly staff. And we do need a good sushi place in that area.

So i'll keep an eye on it...

There's one place i highly recommand though : Yoshi, in the west end, at the corner of Denman and Georgia. This place has hard-to-beat-value-for-money lunch deals. From 12$ to 20$, you get a very flavourful, perfectly prepared, cooked and seasoned food. That's one place that sets the standards for me.

And by lunch box, i dont mean those stuffed, mediocre piles of food you can get at any corner in the city for 8 bucks. Those suitable for a hungry student's diet.

Unfortunately, it's a lot more expensive at night. And for a good reason. Some people describe it as better than Tojo's, both for flavour and value.

Try it.

Meanwhile, i'll go up on 10th check that Wabi-sabi place.

The hunt for the best sushi is on !

[Sam Salmon]

I'm Happy to hear that the owner of Taka has landed in the 'hood.

Taka was a great place but there were service issues and I believe some kitchen infrastructure problems.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it to Dan soon and provide a report.

As to Yoshi I was told it had been bought by Chinese and that quality had nosedived.

[gourmetgal]

I am so happy to hear where the Taka staff has moved to. The day that my husband and I walked by and saw the "closed" sign at Taka was a sad day indeed.

I concur about Wabi Sabi--great sushi in a nice location. The night we were there we had wonderful service.

Have been to Tojo's and was not overly impressed. Ah, but I now know the secret...buy Tojo a beer!!

[tokyogurumegal]

It's interesting whenever there's a disussion about Japanese restaurants Tojo is always brought up. There are so many different levels of sushi places in this small city but I wouldn't really compare Tojo's to any other Japanese restaurant in Vancouver. Maybe the closest is Wabi Sabi, and even then they have a different concept and twist. It's like comparing Gotham or Chartwell (now a high end steakhouse) to the Keg in terms of quality and refinement.

Japanese food has such a huge range. I'm glad Vancouver has a lot more range in Japanese restaurants than 10 years ago, with izakaya style places like Guu, Hapa and Gyoza King to Tojo's to Ezogiku Ramen etc..... If there's a yakitori bar opening anytime soon, I'll be the first one in the line up!

[edm]

the owners of Dan are not the ex-owners of Taka, but two persons who used to work at Taka. The actual ex-owner of Taka went back to Tokyo to open his own restaurant. Or so i heard.

I'm sad that the food at Dan doesnt match the quality of Taka...

That was a major loss for Kitsilano.

[westside yuppie]

I have to say I didn't really mourn the passing of Taka sushi on 4th Avenue. I had a couple of meals there which were good, but not special, if that makes any sense.

In a way it makes my meal at Dan even more of a pleasant surprise to hear that the owners used to work at Taka. I liked my meal at Dan much more than any of the meals I had at Taka. Just my highly subjective assessment.

[Shellback]

Speaking of the old Taka location, there is now a new Japanese restaurant "Yuji" in its place. I heard the owner used to work at Sakana Bistro in Yaletown. The menu offers some interesting items, eg. tofu sushi set (three cubes of tofu each with a different topping - chopped scallops, marinated tuna, etc.). The decor is basically unchanged from when it was Taka, but the portions are quite petite. The night we were there was very quiet - more wait staff than customers. This place is worth a try, but for Japanese tapas and great ambiance, I would rather go to Happa's.

I must try Dan!

Also, one of my favourite Japanese restaurant was "Haru" on Thurlow near Davie. But it closed a couple of years ago. Does anyone know of an authentic Japanese restaurant that serves "Table d'hotes" menu at great value like the way Haru used to do? I know the sushi chef from Haru has now opened his own restaurant called "Ajisai" in Kerrisdale. They specialize in sushi and does an excellent job, but there are hardly any cooked items on the menu other than the wonderful red miso soup with lots of clams.

For Japanese tapas, Japone on Oak near 70th Ave. definitely has an interesting and extensive menu at very good prices. The only draw back is the location. Has anyone else tried this place and what are your comments?

[westside yuppie]

Yuji huh? I will have to give it a try.

Agree with Shellback, I used to love Haru and it was such a shame when it closed down. I haven't heard of anyone doing what they used to do. Also, never heard of Japone either, another place to explore.

[edm]

I have to say I didn't really mourn the passing of Taka sushi on 4th Avenue. I had a couple of meals there which were good, but not special, if that makes any sense.

In a way it makes my meal at Dan even more of a pleasant surprise to hear that the owners used to work at Taka. I liked my meal at Dan much more than any of the meals I had at Taka. Just my highly subjective assessment.

Taka offered an unpretentious fare, but the freshness, the quality of the food (seasoning, temperature, texture) and the friendliness of the staff were much appreciated. Unless it was a crazy-busy night and things were getting hectic !

When i try a place for the first time, i usually go for items that are familiar to me, that i can refer to and compare with my other experiences.

For ex:

I had a clam soup: one of the clam didnt open. But it was still served to me, then replaced when the chef eventually noticed.

Agedashi tofu: broth not hot enough, tempura batter didnt coated all of the tofu pieces. Oil not hot enough ? problem with batter ? Then it came plain... Which is alright i suppose... Taka's version had enoki mushroom, carrots and green onions in the broth (simple and efficient), smaller pieces of tofu (convenient) and the batter was perfect.

Dynamite roll: didnt hold together.

the chef offered me a small plate with tuna and dressing. Dressing completely overpowered the fish...

So my food was average and lacked imagination.

A night without ? Fair enough, but as the only customer in the dining room that night, i would have expected better.

I'll go back. Because the owners are both really nice, and the room's cozy, warm and intimate. Also, i'll try some specials. They look quite interesting (monkfish liver, tuna belly, sea urchin...)

As a chef, if i have a slow night, or only one table, it'll piss me off. As it is not profitable from a business point of view, etc.

But i will take my time and make sure that table leave pleased and contempt.

As for "Ajisai", yep, its a good spot for sushi. To my taste, they might over-use mayo and sesame seeds in their rolls, and their menu sticks to the classics with very few cooked items, as mentioned before by Shellback.

[tokyogurumegal]

Agedashi tofu: broth not hot enough, tempura batter didnt coated all of the tofu pieces. Oil not hot enough ? problem with batter ? Then it came plain... Which is alright i suppose... Taka's version had enoki mushroom, carrots and green onions in the broth (simple and efficient), smaller pieces of tofu (convenient) and the batter was perfect.

Maybe the type of agedashi dofu you expect is not the traditional kind... agedashi dofu shouldn't seem like it has batter around it. It should be lightly dusted in katakuri-ko (type of starch) then deep fried instead of tempura batter which is flour based which creates a thicker koromo. The broth is traditionally not served piping hot and enoki added to it is more of a "creative" approach. Usually daikon oroshi (grated daikon radish) and negi (chopped spring onions) is topped on the tofu.

It's all a matter of preference of course but there are certain things in Japanese food that should not steer away from fundamental methods. Agedashi dofu is one of them.... even though this cooking method was a Portugese import! ha ha

[edm]

thanks for your imput.

What striked me, sitting at the sushi bar, is that the chef didnt seem to be in control of what he was doing. He looked like he was still trying things out and getting used to his equipment. One of the waitresses was giving him a hand. And the results werent convincing.

[gion]

I went to Dan last nigh. I had some special dish from daily special board.I came from Kyoto in Japan. Their taste is similar to kyoto style which makes me so happy.I had a kabura mushi with BBQ eel which is very authentic Japanese food. I never seen it in any other Japnese Restaurant in Canada.It was exellent.