Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 1)

[Andrew Morrison]

Oh, what an evening.

It started out at eGulleter SBonner's Gastown pad for a tasting of Morgenhof Estate wines in advance of the this weeks festival (Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot - all exceptional). Edible Vancouver and I sipped with a delightful crowd of oenophiles from varying walks of winedom. I was, alas, a complete featherweight in this company. They knew more about wines than I could ever possibly hope to. I had, however, been to the estate in question and had regrettably fallen into their duck pond rather drunk several years ago, so even though I couldn't detect the more subtle nuances of their products, I could at the very least tell them they were responsible for my arrest (apparently inciting a riot). Thank you Stephen and the folks at Morgenhof for a wonderful and very informative evening.

From there I journeyed on foot through heroinville to Chambar after pit stops at One Restaurant Lounge and the Irish Heather, arriving towards the end of a typically busy Monday night. A quick Stella and a Lagavulin to wash away the shame of vinignorance did the trick, as did the conversational stylings of barman Josh and manager Andre. I bumped into the ever-energetic Cindy from Cindy's Cafe, too. My goodness, busy place, Chambar be. Plenty nice people, too. When 10:00pm rolls around on a Monday most restaurants are fluffing their pillows while Chambar can be seen doing a third turn. Always a great vibe. All that being said, I was too full of Stephens asparagus, shrimp, and sushi to eat anything!

From there a quick hop, skip, and jump down through the crack alleys to Wild Rice where I sat at the bar and had a chatathon with staff members Michelle and Belinda while eating my Kung Po chicken and sipping my beer. Rachael Trefiak and chef Keith Krentz plus much of their crew from Lift were there doing what appeared to be a Monday Night post-op dinner with propreitor Bob Lindsay. Very nice people, all. I'd heard some negativish things recently about Wild Rice so I was a little wary of everything, but I'm happy to report all was well - but how far can you go wrong with Kung Po? Spicy, noodly goodness. Service was excellent and super-friendly. Every time I go I am impressed by the music. I'm hardly an aficionado of modern music, but every time I leave Wild Rice I'm humming a new tune.

I also had the pleasure of riding public transport tonight for the first time in Vancouver. Considering the amount I've consumed and the inebriation that naturally ensued, it seemed appropriate: a bus complete with murmuring man with requisite shakes asking me for busfare (we were already on the bus - driving merrily). And what ho! Little did I know that a bus stops right in front of my house!

Oh, the drunken possibilities...

Edited March 15, 2005 by editor@waiterblog (log)

[winegeek]

I have more than three so here goes.....By the way, these are all in Montreal, where I've been for the past week.

Baton Rouge for baby back ribs. We go there every time we visit Montreal and the ribs are mouth watering. The bones pull right out of the meat they are so tender. Very good mash potatoes.

Le Club Chasse et Peche. This is a new restaurant that opened up at the end of December. For those of you who are familiar with Cube, they are the same owners, although they have since sold Cube. They were reviewed in the Montreal Gazzette on Saturday and Lesley Chesterman gave them an amazing review, which I have heard is not a normal thing for her (very tough). If any of you would like a copy of her review, email or PM me and I will send you a copy. I'm back in vancouver on wednesday.

I have to say that this was the best food experience I have ever had in my life. Better than both lumiere and west, which are my absolute favourties. I will be posting a full review in the Montreal section in the next 48 hours. DO NOT MISS OUT the next time you are in Montreal!!!!

Modavie Wine Bar. This is owned by the same group as the place we stayed (Hotel Nelligan... another highly recommended boutique hotle in Old Montreal, fantastic place to stay). We went there more for the live Jazz but the food was pretty good also. I has Duck rilette to start, which to my surprise were served cold. They were topped with some cranberry coulis which was a nice compliment. My wife had a green salad. For mains I have a penne dish with italian sausage and black olives. Quite good. My wife had a portabello ravioli in a rose sauce. I didn't really like it but she said it was good. Couldn't taste the mushroom. We had a Rioja, the name escapes me. Very nice atmosphere, good light jazz and decent food.

Smoke Meat Petes. This is a place that opened up in Ile Perot on the west island and has garnered comparisons to Schwartz's. Having been to schwartz's many times I was some what hesitant. Not anymore. I'm going back for lunch there in a few hours. Read comments here

Peel Pub. This is the place where I started my restaurant career. Incredibly cheap place to eat, very popular with the college crowd at night and business people during the day. Both my wife and I had pizzagetti. Your choice of pizza with a half plate of meat or tomato sauce spaghetti. Cost? 6.99!!

You can get a plate of pasta for $1.99. Certainly not goumet but really quite good. No where like this in Vancouver.

Lafleurs. A Montreal Institution. Steamies for $1.15, Michigan hot dogs for $1.50 (steamed hot dog topped with meat sauce!!!) and the best fries on the planet

B&M Pizza. When I lived in Montreal (27 years), this is where I ordered my pizza from. So incredibly cheesey!! I had my usual 14" pepperoni and my wife and sister split a 14" artichoke, olive, mushroom and onion. My favourite pizza spot in Montreal, altought my oldest sister thinks it's awful.

[BCinBC]

Peel Pub! I spent an incredibly drunken January 1994 week in Montreal, and the main culprit was the Peel Pub (well, and a few delinquents among us). If memory serves, and it would be a miracle if it did, a 4 litre pitcher was something like $9 and wings were 9 cents each!

Thank God we got to see the Forum before the end, too. Sorry I've digressed down memory lane, back on topic...

[winegeek]

60oz pichters are $6.99 at happy hour and I think $10.99 the rest of the time. Way back when on their anniversary, they were selling 8oz draft for 10CENTS. What a zoo!!

[*Deborah*]

I spent many a night at the Peel Pub, trying desperately not to "break the seal."

I liked their pizza.

[tinhead]

OT: We're having a dinner party at Coast Restaurant tomorrow night, centre table, good conversation, prix fixe dinner, etc.

If anyone would like to join and isn't afraid of meeting new people for interesting, social conversation, give me a ring (604) 313-7690.

[nwyles]

Oh, what an evening.

It started out at eGulleter SBonner's Gastown pad for a tasting of Morgenhof Estate wines in advance of the this weeks festival (Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot - all exceptional). Edible Vancouver and I sipped with a delightful crowd of oenophiles from varying walks of winedom. I was, alas, a complete featherweight in this company. They knew more about wines than I could ever possibly hope to.  I had, however, been to the estate in question and had regrettably fallen into their duck pond rather drunk several years ago, so even though I couldn't detect the more subtle nuances of their products, I could at the very least tell them they were responsible for my arrest (apparently inciting a riot). Thank you Stephen and the folks at Morgenhof for a wonderful and very informative evening.

From there I journeyed on foot through heroinville to Chambar after pit stops at One Restaurant Lounge and the Irish Heather, arriving towards the end of a typically busy Monday night. A quick Stella and a Lagavulin to wash away the shame of vinignorance did the trick, as did the conversational stylings of barman Josh and manager Andre. I bumped into the ever-energetic Cindy from Cindy's Cafe, too. My goodness, busy place, Chambar be. Plenty nice people, too. When 10:00pm rolls around on a Monday most restaurants are fluffing their pillows while Chambar can be seen doing a third turn. Always a great vibe. All that being said, I was too full of Stephens asparagus, shrimp, and sushi to eat anything!

From there a quick hop, skip, and jump down through the crack alleys to Wild Rice where I sat at the bar and had a chatathon with staff members Michelle and Belinda while eating my Kung Po chicken and sipping my beer. Rachael Trefiak and chef Keith Krentz plus much of their crew from Lift were there doing what appeared to be a Monday Night post-op dinner with propreitor Bob Lindsay. Very nice people, all. I'd heard some negativish things recently about Wild Rice so I was a little wary of everything, but I'm happy to report all was well - but how far can you go wrong with Kung Po? Spicy, noodly goodness. Service was excellent and super-friendly. Every time I go I am impressed by the music. I'm hardly an aficionado of modern music, but every time I leave Wild Rice I'm humming a new tune.

I also had the pleasure of riding public transport tonight for the first time in Vancouver. Considering the amount I've consumed and the inebriation that naturally ensued, it seemed appropriate: a bus complete with murmuring man with requisite shakes asking me for busfare (we were already on the bus - driving merrily). And what ho! Little did I know that a bus stops right in front of my house!

Oh, the drunken possibilities...

←

I was supposed to join you at Mr. Bonner's but we got a little extra busy for a Monday night and I was not able to leave until about nine. ( This can be confirmed by SashaVAn and HKDave - there is always an egulleter present ! )

Although having read your account of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride", I am somewhat glad I hightailed it home. I was going to pop in but I know that I would have had a hard time resisting the amazing lineup of stops along the way. We had a television show shooting at the restaurant on Monday so I was here since 6:00 a.m., making for a long day and leaving me susceptible to the influences of peer pressure and alcohol.

Next time.

Neil

[Mooshmouse]

Basically what Lorna and Deborah posted upthread for the first four on my list.

Zanzibar: Priced at $6.65, their Lamb Couscous offers some of the best food value I've found in Vancouver. A fairly large portion of meat and mountains of couscous served together with zucchini, carrots, brussels sprouts and turnip in a couscousiere. Unbelieveable. Lorna's Chicken Bastela was every bit as delicious as she described it to be... I won't be sharing with anyone when I order it for myself!

Prado: Cappuccino and 1/3 of a peanut-butter cookie.

Ch'i: Many drinks. Much food. Great fun! 'Nuff said.

HSG: An Absolute Crime cocktail and Neil's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink dessert (Hamilton Street Decadence or something to that effect) using up the last of his maple syrup gelato.

The Bakehouse in Edgemont Village: Sunny Sunday brunch out on the patio. Farmer's Breakfast for me... sundried tomato chicken sausage, eggs, rosti, a baked tomato, rye toast and homemade raspberry jam. Scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, toast and jam for Noah. A rather hefty smoked turkey sandwich for Ian. And a mango-peach pie to take home for dessert with company.

Da Francesco: Pre-grocery-shopping dinner last night. Osso Bucco with penne in rose sauce for Ian, Chicken Parmigiana with penne in rose sauce for me. Despite helpings of both for Noah's dinner, we still had loads of leftovers to bring home. I can still taste the garlic! Ian and I are both trying to keep the hay fever at bay, so we bypassed the red wine in favour of San Pellegrino Aranciatas. Dessert, upon Noah's request, was half vanilla-fudge, half cappuccino gelato smothered in chocolate sauce.

[peppyre]

Tuesday night I went to HSG for a dinner to take home. Neil was given free reign and I ended up with the chicken (I still haven't figured out what was stuffed inside but it did have a cranberry gravy) with mashed potatoes and veggies. Oh SO GOOD!!! I also took an order of the famous and wonderful gingerbread for dessert. While waiting for dinner I had a negroni for the first time. My new favorite drink!! It was so tasty and perfect for a late night at work.

Wednesday (no, I haven't cooked this week) I picked up sushi from from Sushi ToGo in Oakridge. So much better than I thought it would be, of course, not as good as Toshi, but I certainly reccomend it.

Tonight: Shanghai Yan Yun. After all this talk of Juicy pork buns, I had to try them. First, Wow!! I also picked up a package of their frozen Turnip cake, again WOW! I also ordered some food off their menu and I picked up the fried broad noodle, really tasty but I have most of the order left since I was so busy eating the pork buns, and I also got an order of the Soyed Beef with Five Spice. That one was a bit of a surprise when I got it home. I didn't ask what it was, I just ordered it. Um.....does anyone have any suggestions for half a loin of soy cured beef? It's really good, but certainly not what I was expecting. I will definitely order from there again, but unfortunately, their dim sum has way too much MSG for me. I knew it would have some but I am definitely paying for dinner. Fortunately it was damn tasty. There are always trade-offs.

More to come. I'm working Winefest Fri and Sat, so no cooking for me.

Edited March 18, 2005 by peppyre (log)

[canucklehead]

peppyre

I am glad the you like the food at Shanghai Yan Yun - I enjoy their food alot. Unfortunately I think that Shanghainese food does have a lot of MSG. When I lived there - it was much easier to buy MSG and the store than it was find salt.

For some reason - it always seemed like having a Coke seemed to help with the MSG thing.

[Mooshmouse]

For some reason - it always seemed like having a Coke seemed to help with the MSG thing.

←

Vindication! I am not alone in drinking Coke with Chinese food!

And only Coke. Pepsi isn't strong enough to cut through all the grease and MSG.

[peppyre]

Ahhh, I wish it was as simple as too much sodium. It's an extreme sensitivity that has caused me to take some serious pain killers. But as I said..THOSE JUICY PORK BUNS ARE DIVINE!!!!

Canuckle, any ideas of what I can do with the soy cured beef? One order is a helluvalot and I've never even seen before let alone eaten it. It has quite a mild taste but I don't think I can eat it on it's own. I'd some suggestions.

[PaoPao]

For some reason - it always seemed like having a Coke seemed to help with the MSG thing.

←

Vindication! I am not alone in drinking Coke with Chinese food!

And only Coke. Pepsi isn't strong enough to cut through all the grease and MSG.

←

Too funny, my thing is drinking 7-up or Sprite while I eat Chinese for the same reason!

[Mooshmouse]

Kolachy Tuesday at The Kolachy Shop with Arne and Deborah. Mushroom pecan soup and the lamb special of the week. Both fantastically delicious. Oh, and half of an apricot kolachy for dessert.

Quick cappuccino with Ian at The Elysian Room before desserting with Lorna at Sweet Obsession Cakes and Pastries.

Lunch at Rodney's Oyster House on Wednesday with PeppermintTea, Ling and dUbVADER. Glass of Sandhill Pinot Blanc (2002 I think?), bowl of New England clam chowder and half-a-dozen oysters that disappeared in about 2 1/2 seconds flat. Followed yet again by cappuccino at The Elysian Room accompanied by the brownies with Ghiradelli chocolate chips that I bought at Prado earlier in the day.

Wednesday-night dinner with Ian and his Dad at Yuji's. Oh sooooo good!! So much food. Where to start? Japanese eggplant in a mushroom sauce topped with bonito flakes. Sweet potato tempura fries with three dipping sauces (the curry tartar sauce is heavenly). Cornflake-crusted prawn karaage with sweet chili mayo. Tuna and salmon wasabi tempura. Beef tenderloin... I'll be damned if I can remember the exact preparation. A sashimi plate with hirame (flounder... unbelievably good), geoduck, toro (fatty tuna), two servings of hotate (scallop)... one rolled with shiso leaf and one sandwiching uni (sea urchin) topped with black tobiko, and wild sockeye salmon served with ikura (salmon roe). Grilled sablefish marinated in miso, sake and mirin and served atop grilled zucchini. A "smoky roll" with smoked salmon, smoked oysters and cream cheese... delicious. A large bottle of Asahi beer for Ian, a wonderful dry sake from Kyoto for me, and green tea for Dad. Dessert was a beautifully delicate yuzu citrus sorbet... incredibly floral, almost like eating an orange-scented bouquet of flowers.

And lunch today at the White Spot in Science World. Chicken burger and onion rings for me, chicken strips and fries for Noah (as well as about 1/4 of my sandwich!), and we split a strawberry shake.

[Ling]

Sweet Obsessions on Tuesday for Chocolate Ganache cake and their Chocolate Obsession.

Rodney's Oyster House for a delicious platter of raw oysters, pan-fried oysters, and then my usual Americano at The Elysian Room accompanied by nice brownie from Prado.

Go Fish today for really good fish and chips, and a delicious chipotle curry fish chowder. Then to Patisserie LeBeau for gaufres de lieges--mango, white chocolate almond, and apple custard. Oh, and an Amerciano from The Elysian Room.

[sashavan]

Dim sum absolutely requires Coke. It's the only time I drink Coke. Dim sum without coke would be like dim sum without.....dim sum. Just can't be done

Lately

HSG for a fabulous 80's retro dinner. Crab stuffed mushroom caps and Sirloin Oscar. The 80s were good. An incredibly gracious host and wonderful service.

Cassis, which is our usual Wednesday haunt. Great food at great prices, and such a warm comfortable room. I could move in.

Malones for beer and chicken wings in a "we have 30 minutes to eat and get to the theatre" frenzy.

And an only slightly more civilized feeding frenzy at Aji Sai. The waitress always look as us like we're nuts ordering all that food. but we always manage to eat it all.

Edited March 19, 2005 by sashavan (log)

[Vancouver Lee]

After two weeks of non-stop soul-destroying work, I'm happy to report that my real life has resumed. My last three restaurant meals (excluding a kid-requested trip to Wendy's):

Hy's in Calgary for lunch on Tuesday. This meal started off promising but in the end was very disappointing. My seared ahi tuna appetizer was good. Nicely peppery crust and fresh, flavourful tuna. But unfortunately my filet was overcooked and nowhere near as flavourful as a filet was supposed to be. If I wasn't there with a customer I would have sent it back and asked for a properly cooked one. I didn't bother to order a veggie (why delude my body into thinking this meal might have some redeeming qualities?) but the gym-bag-sized potato wasn't completely cooked through.

Go Fish! for lunch with the eGullet mafia today. As usual, who can say anything bad about a meal with such a nice group of people??? I had Go Fish's awesome fish and chips, and deeply regretted not ordering the soup.

Cru for dinner tonight with my wife and my sister-in-law and her husband from Turanna. We did the small plates menu, and shared the following: ceasar salad, capraccio, lobster, papardella (<-- spelling?) bolognese, short ribs, duck confit, and the mushrooms. Simply awesome. This was our first visit to Cru, and we were very impressed. Terrific service and even better food. My sister-in-law thinks we totally rock now. At the risk of being branded a heathen, I must admit I don't recall exactly what we were drinking - it was an Oregon pinot, but beyond that...???.

After dinner at Cru, we ventured into Yaletown for dessert.......bet you can't guess where? Yup, two more people drank the kool-aid at Neil's place.

Neil, for someone who didn't like Godiva's, there's an awfully big ad for it in your men's room. Not that our guests from Toronto minded, however - they have somewhat of a "connection" to the show, and were most happy to see the publicity.

[Mooshmouse]

Go Fish! for lunch with the eGullet mafia today.    As usual, who can say anything bad about a meal with such a nice group of people???  I had Go Fish's awesome fish and chips, and deeply regretted not ordering the soup.

←

Because, you know, we're such thugs at heart. Except for Coop. He's a 'punk'.

[peppyre]

Badasses, Darling. We're Badasses .

I don't think I really need to say where I've eaten because, well, everyone else has already stated it.

Only difference, while working the tasting room at WineFest last night, I buttered up the Freybe's guys to get sausages and pepperoni for the SA "Box" area . Nothing like food to make a bunch of people who have been working for 12 hours and drinking for much of that time happy. The Turkey and Chicken sausages were really quite good.

Tonight, god only knows. The last time I worked Wine Fest, on the last night of the show all of the boys decided that it was their mission to get me drunk Hopefully tonight I can just stick to food.

[Daddy-A]

Tonight, god only knows.  The last time I worked Wine Fest, on the last night of the show all of the boys decided that it was their mission  to get me drunk Hopefully tonight I can just stick to food.

←

Yeah, and you'll be kicking and screaming the whole way!

A.

[Jeffy Boy]

Tonight, god only knows.  The last time I worked Wine Fest, on the last night of the show all of the boys decided that it was their mission  to get me drunk Hopefully tonight I can just stick to food.

←

Yeah, and you'll be kicking and screaming the whole way!

A.

←

I'll notify the local hospitals' orthopedic surgery units.

[peppyre]

They're always on alert Jeff.

[Hue]

Finally got my three...

Friend's birthday dinner at Boston Pizza. Waited for over an hour since our reservation go cancelled. Everyone ordered pizza except me. Nothing on the menu intrigued me and I wasn't that hungry, so I had stuffed mushroom caps only.

Another friend's birthday dinner at Seoul House Korean Restaurant on Broadway. Many tatami rooms, with karaoke upstairs. Menu has everything from sushi, udon and Japanese dishes to Korean barbecue. Birthday girl wanted to have barbecue, so we ordered two 2-people combos for the six of us. Experience told us that we'd have left over. We did.

After dinner, we were looking for another place close by to sit and chat. Walked to a newly opened tea lounge called STEEPS. Very nicely decorated room, relaxed atmosphere. We were told if we each want a small pot of pressed tea, we could select one from their "tea tree", where they have a variety of tins of tea that we can smell. And the sniffing and awwing ensued. I chose a pina colada tea, friends chose English rose, strawberry kiwi, and three ordered Belgium white chocolate (not tea, just hot chocolate). I know, none of us are the adventurous types, but there are some more exotic teas. We were actually very glad to find a new place that we can hang out in the future, some place close and open late (til midnight on Saturday).

[Dining Diva]

hope i'm doing this right.

interesting topic and it's been pretty cool to read all the replies! it's given me thoughts as to where my next meal is going to come from!

yesterday i went to sammy j pepper's at granville island for lunch... which wasn't anything to write home about. it was ok but somehow i get the feeling people (guys) go there for something other than the food

sat night i went to jupiter cafe for my birthday party. it was great. the food is always consistent and the atmosphere is always really cool... funky and relaxing at the same time.

friday, some friends and i had dim sum at kirin on alberni st downtown. it was good but to be honest i've had better. i can be a little picky about my dim sum places since i come from a long line of dim sum conniseurs lol

[Daddy-A]

Birthday girl wanted to have barbecue, so we ordered two 2-people combos for the six of us. Experience told us that we'd have left over. We did.

You've obviously never eaten with Ling! Leftovers? What are those??

Thanks for sharing Hue! Hell, I didn't even know Boston Pizza took reservations.

A.