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

[paul mitchell]

It was a little Sci-Fi BCinBc! Eating my sister's overdone kebab's on Sunday was dissapointing knowing there were very nicely crusted New York's and Hangars just sitting there at HSG. It was nice to be able to introduce myself. Thanks for making me eat the pudding Neil!

[Librarian_chef]

I was just in Vancouver for a small trip. Our two Favourite spots:

1. Sophie's Cosmic Café

2. Fritz's European Frites

We also visited Gigi's across from MEC on W Broadway (I believe). It was good, but the waitress forgot a ton of stuff we asked for.

Mark

[Daddy-A]

Pacific Coast Buffet on the Spirit of BC coming home from the Island. This is yet another hit I've taken for the team! After all the hype about the refurbished ferry, I was actually a little excited to see what the buffet would look like. What a downer! If anything, they've made it look less appealing and more institutional. Granted, profitability is in the forefront now so I suppose we have to start expecting this. The buffet seemed smaller to me ... i.e. fewer items. And there were no signs differenciating one chafing dish of slop from another. Not so much of a problem when choosing between the pasta dish and fried chicken, but definitely a problem when chosing a soup. We thought the lack of signs may have had to do with the fact that the re-fit had just been completed. But how long does it take to make a sign? On a plus side, the profiteroles for dessert were good.

The Noodle Box in Victoria on a Monday excursion to Chinatown. I've never eaten in Victoria's Chinatown before, so I can't comment on the scores of cliché Chinese restaurants, and how autentic The Noodle Box is/isn't. All I know is that it was damn tasty! The kid's had the Black Bean and Garlic Pork ... very garlicky ... could smell Ryan's breath all afternoon!. "J" had the Noodle Box Chili Plum ... a bit saucy, but good. I (based on recs received from shelora and others) had the Cambodian Jungle Curry! Nice and spicey ... not too much sauce, and this dish used the finer rice noodles. Each dish is served in those chinese take-out boxes, so we were able to sit outside with the dogs ... and watch the lunch line-up grow and grow and grow .... They told me inside they're opening a new location downtown by the Strathcona. A perfect place for a nosh after a few cleansing ales!

Two Island bakeries to mention in here: We visited The Dutch Bakery on Fort Street before visiting the BC Museum. "J" used to come here as a kid for their "Flying Saucer" cookies. We picked up a 1/2 doz. to share with the kids and pass the tradition onto another generation. Nice doughy cookie with an almond past filling. I'll be back for a coffee and a few more of their baked goods. Very warm, welcoming place ... still family run after all these years.

A new coffee shop opened up near "J"'s Dad's place. La Collina Bakery is in the same complex as the Big Barn produce market on MacKenzie. We didn't have any baked goods, although any place that dips their cannoli in chocolate ranks high in my book. They do serve Illy, which is a welcome break to the Tim's and *$'s , which are the only other choices in the area.

Long's Noodle House with the aforementioned group of eGulleters. I love places like this! A big feed at lunch, and it only sets you back $10!! (okay, peppyre picked this one up for me as I only had plastic ... but still!). I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the drunken chicken ... moist and flavourful. The broad noodles and greens were also excellent. Add this one to my lunch list.

A.

[BCinBC]

D-A: Did you try the meat pies at the Dutch Bakery? These are by far and away my favourite meat pies ever! I grew up on them, and every time I go back to Vic I make a point to pick up half a dozen - two for the ferry lineup, maybe a couple for dinner, then whatever's left the next day! Also great cookies - the shortbread ones with the chocolate on top - and cherry tarts. Ah, now I'll have to ask my mom to pick some up. She's already holding a couple bottles of La Frenz for me from Spinnakers...

[Ling]

  I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the drunken chicken ... moist and flavourful. 

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Yes, the drunken chicken was good. I liked how they served it warm--I've only previously had it cold, straight from the fridge.

[Ling]

  Spicy scallop cone was Ling-sized - fresh with a touch of spice. 

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Wow...my Egullet name has become an adjective on this board.

[nwyles]

Took the kids to Victoria this weekend - a little R & R. Lots of fun. Here is the list of places that we went.

White Spot on B.C. - the kids love it ! Pirate packs all round. They were soooooo excited about a White Spot on a ferry.

Dinner - the Keg on Fort Street. All good. Had the classics - escargot, prawn cocktail, prime rib, teriyaki steaks etc. What really caught me by surprise was how inexpensive it was. Maybe I am just used to paying Vancouver prices.

Breakfast - Smitty's - The restaurant that specializes in pancakes. It is what it is. The service was lacking and bordering on rude at points but it was just breakfast. We let it go and got on with the day.

Lunch - Rotten Ronnie's - The pressure of a four year old ! I caved.

Dinner - Milestones - A comedy of errors too numerous to mention. Slow, cold food and drinks - beer was warm - dinners came before appitizers - I knew that the guy who took our order was our server, but he did not deliver a thing - I ordered a second warm beer from the busser. Our server came by to see that we had all of our food on the table at once and wondered aloud " How did that happen". He just did not get it. I give off a certain vibe when I am not happy - the manager looked over to see me scowling and quickly averted his eyes and looked away and then found some busy work at the bar to do. I do not know why we keep going back ? Convienence ? Geography ? Glutton for punishment ? So many good things going on there but the service really, really sucks on a consistant basis.

I need to finish quickly as the kids are now awake.

A duo of White Spot visits capped the trip. One in Victoria for breakfast and then lunch on the ferry, arriving back in town just in time for the Van Mag Awards.

Edited March 30, 2005 by nwyles (log)

[SushiCat]

Stopped in at Elixer last night as friends are staying at Opus, they arrived late and are on another timezone, so we met for drinks which turned into a light dinner.

The room is very nice, we ate in the 'velvet' room or something like that, kind of cool overall. Service was very odd, treated like we knew nothing about nothing e.g. each ingredient explained. Service was smarmy. The wine was good! I seem to be ill this morning, can I blame it on the small onion and anchovy pizza that they list as Pisaladiere on the menu? I can see why this is a tourist spot and not a local spot, clearly something that is going on there as our server was quite surprised that some of the people at the table were locals!

'nough said.

[Vancouver]

Dinner at Parkside. I agree with what has been posted previously. Yummy! Started off with the "Barely cooked local tuna, Japanese mushrooms and vegetables, citrus soy dressing" which closely resembled tuna tataki, with a pacific northwest presentation. Followed with a double veal chop which was plated on top of a truffled mash served with veal jus. It was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was worth finishing to the last drop. Dessert was a "Granny Smith apple tarte fine, caramel sauce, vanilla ice cream" which was light and flaky and a perfect end to the meal. Overall a wonderful dinner. I will certainly return.

Lunch at Legendary Noodle. My first time here. The lamb with flat noodle soup had a very rich tasty broth (is this actually a lamb broth? Or did it just take on the lamb flavour from the meat?), juicy pork dumplings (good, but not the best I've had in the Vancouver area), beef pastry (the beef pastry at Long's noodle house up the street far surpassed this one as they add in pickled veggies instead of just beef). Overall I would return for the noodle soups, and try some other dishes on the menu, but will lean away from the non-noodle dishes. That broth was tasty though!

Dessert at Cin Cin. Had the "Chocolate Flavours: Valrhona chocolate tarte, chocolate ice cream, warm crepe with carmelized fruits and chocolate sauce" at the bar. Really pleasant to stop in just for dessert downtown. The chocolate tarte is really the highlight of this dish. It is creamy smooth, but still with a good dark chocolate flavour. The crust is light and flaky. Really delicious.

Cheers!

[Mooshmouse]

After dinner at Da Francesco on Wednesday evening, I hit the dining-out jackpot today to compensate for 1 1/2 weeks of Noah's spring break with no 'days off'.

Cappuccino at The Elysian Room with Arne this morning.

High Tea at Secret Garden Tea Company in Kerrisdale, where I had numerous cups of Vanilla Almond tea and shared this with a girlfriend:

Cocktail hour at West with my dear husband, newbie, peppyre, EdibleVancouver and Mrs. EV. Started off with cocktails: a Krystini and a China Girl. Quickly accompanied by an amuse-bouche of manila clam encased in a potato croquette on a skewer topped with red onion salad, then two appetizers shared with Tricia: Red Kuri Squash Risotto and Seared Scallops served with house-cured bacon, greens and tomato jam. Fabulous.

From there, Ian and I paid our first visit to Shiru-Bay Chopstick Cafe for dinner. Our menu selections were the Ebi Chili-Mayo, Edamame, Wild Sockeye Salmon Tartare, Smoked Tuna Tataki with a chili (?) ponzu sauce and, my favourite of the lot, Dragonball Sushi served nigiri-style with avocado, prawn and salmon roe. Two scoops of Yuzu Sorbet were the perfect finale. Such an extraordinarily flavoured sorbet, the consistency of snow, almost like eating a delicate citrus-fragranced bouquet.

Last but not least, a glass of Mission Hill Five Vineyards Pinot Grigio at the Hamilton Street Grill bar in the fine company of Neil and HKDave.

[Ling]

^That picture is killing me. It's been too long since I've had high tea!

[*Deborah*]

^That picture is killing me. It's been too long since I've had high tea!

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Yeah, me too...mine was at the Savoy in London though...oh wait, the last one was at Brown's Hotel.

Are there other places in Vancouver that do a good one? my mother was talking about it last weekend.

[Daddy-A]

It has been drawn to my attention that I missed out on a couple of places in my last entry in this thread. Please excuse the anachronism ...

Bombay-Bhel in The Heights (North Burnaby for all you suburban-phobes ) for my father's birthday dinner. Perfect choice for a large group, and happily the food completely surpassed our expectations. Best item IMO ... saag gosht with lamb. Why anyone would line up for Anton's when this gem is next door is befond me. My only complaint is that the owners is a Leaf's fan

Pagliacci's in Victoria. Not much to say ... I mean, Pag's is Pag's. Not exactly cheap IMO, but certainly honest "Italian" style pastas and sandwiches. Similar to my thoughts on Anton's (above) why the Spaghetti Factory exists with this place in town is beyond me. "J" picked out the best deal for lunch ... the "Bottomless Bowl of Soup" for $5.50. Really good soup too.

Lunch Friday, made a pitt stop at Les Amis du Frommage and Patisserie Lebeau before meeting newbie at Go Fish!. They've changed the potatoes they use for fries. They somehow taste "fresher." Not sure if I like the change ... more research required.

Dinner last night was pizza from Domenico's in North Burnaby. I've always liked this place ... but for pizza only. Haven't had much success with their pasta. The pizza is cooked in a wood burning oven, and has that crunchy/chewy crust thing going for it. Pricier than da Francesco's, but closer to my house.

A.

[hopkin]

before meeting newbie at Go Fish!.  They've changed the potatoes they use for fries.  They somehow taste "fresher."  Not sure if I like the change ... more research required.

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ah ha. I had my first unsatisfying fries there last week and wondered if it was just an off day. I really prefer the old ones, more brown and crisp.

[Daddy-A]

before meeting newbie at Go Fish!.   They've changed the potatoes they use for fries.  They somehow taste "fresher."  Not sure if I like the change ... more research required.

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ah ha. I had my first unsatisfying fries there last week and wondered if it was just an off day. I really prefer the old ones, more brown and crisp.

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Funny you mention the "brown and crisp" part ... because it was the "brown" part that prompted the change. The Yukon's they were using have a higher starch content that causes this. When Go Fish gets really busy (which is what, about 80% of the time? ) the Yukon-fries tend to get dark. Apparently they receive a number of "comments" to this effect resulting in the change.

Personally? The best part of an order of fries are the crunchy dark bits left at the bottom ... yummmmm!

A.

[Mooshmouse]

Are there other places in Vancouver that do a good one? my mother was talking about it last weekend.

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Apparently, Bacchus at the Wedgewood serves an excellent Afternoon Tea from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Here's a link to their menu. Perhaps you'd like to join me in a club chair by the fireplace one weekend for a taste drive?

Before I forget yet again, here's a link to the Secret Garden Tea Company's website.

Edited to correct a memory lapse and add weblinks.

Edited April 3, 2005 by Mooshmouse (log)

[*Deborah*]

Are there other places in Vancouver that do a good one? my mother was talking about it last weekend.

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Apparently, the Wedgewood serves an excellent weekend High Tea. Perhaps you'd like to join me in a club chair by the fireplace one Saturday or Sunday afternoon?

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I would be delighted!

[Daddy-A]

Are there other places in Vancouver that do a good one? my mother was talking about it last weekend.

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Apparently, the Wedgewood serves an excellent weekend High Tea. Perhaps you'd like to join me in a club chair by the fireplace one Saturday or Sunday afternoon?

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I would be delighted!

Can I have the couch? Nothing like lounging on the couch on a Saturday and enjoying High Tea.

Think they'd mind if I brought the dogs?

A.

[Jeffy Boy]

Can I have the couch?  Nothing like lounging on the couch on a Saturday and enjoying High Tea. 

Think they'd mind if I brought the dogs?

A.

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They could eat the crusts off the sandwiches!

[Mooshmouse]

Apparently, the Wedgewood serves an excellent weekend High Tea.  Perhaps you'd like to join me in a club chair by the fireplace one Saturday or Sunday afternoon? 

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I would be delighted!

Can I have the couch? Nothing like lounging on the couch on a Saturday and enjoying High Tea.

Think they'd mind if I brought the dogs?

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And here I thought High Tea was a chick thing!

Yes, I suppose you can have the couch if it's okay with Deborah. And they just might let you bring the dogs if you put them in mini-Burberry raincoats.

[*Deborah*]

Arne, the more the merrier...but I have to say, the dogs will have nothing to eat as they always remove the crusts from the sandwiches for tea...don't they?

I look forward to seeing Ringo and Gromit's new chic doggy raincoats...maybe it should be Prada though? or, no, you're right, Joie: Prada for Opus; Burberry for the Wedgewood

[Vancouver Lee]

Unfortunately, two of my last three restaurant meals were fast food with Ryan. When a six year old wants something, he really wants it, and on the last few days of March break, I'm in no mood to do anything other than give in. I tried to have lunch yesterday at Go Fish!, but it was too crowded.

Tonight, we had dinner at a great pizza/pasta place in Mount Vernon, Washington. We drove down to check out the tulip festival this afternoon, and stopped at Pacioni's Pizzeria/Trattoria on S 1st Street for dinner. We had a terrific greek salad to start (with super-garlicy home made dressing), and pizza, of course, as the main. No wood-burning oven, but a nice light crust and super-fresh ingredients (like real kalamatas, not those horrible plastic rubber-gasket-shaped canned olives). Ryan had spaghetti with a great homemade meat sauce. Great place for kids, BTW, they give each kid a piece of paper and ask them to draw a picture of a pizza, and then they put it up on the wall. It was a HUGE hit with Ryan! ANyway, we smuggled the leftover pizza back across the border, and I can't wait to have the other half of my pie for lunch tomorrow.

Great place, great food, but alas, driving 90 minutes and crossing an international border for great pizza is a little bit much, even for me....

[canucklehead]

I am always a little scared to post on this thread as it will make me confront just how much I do actually eat out. Well - the credit card has come a-knocking so there is no more denials.

Today went to two places:

For lunch went to a bakery on Kingsway and Iverness (can't recall the name) and had bahn-mi. The bread was insanely fresh- but they did not have my favored meatball filling - so it was only halfway fulfilling. But I had the weirdest bun - a soft bun filled with a coconut and DURIAN filling. Now- depending on how you feel about durian - this could be the most delicous thing ever or something really nasty. You bite into the bun and the warm durian aroma just fills your mouth. To me durian tastes like very ripe fruit. VERY RIPE. The bun itself is very delicous - soft and fresh and there is no clue as to what you are about to bite into. Go on - I dare you ....

Dinner tonight was at Vij's - went with a couple of friends who loved it. The food was great and as always, Vikram was the perfect host. Regardless of what your thoughts are on the style of food - the flavours and spices are always fresh and bright. Paticularly good tonight was striped bass with a delicous spicy tomato based sauce and the lamb popsicles are always outstanding.

** Edited to add that we saw Harrison Ford there tonight. My friend just about broke her neck trying to check him out. Vikram said that the first time he came in - he did not recognize him and asked him what his name was. Mr Ford apparently then had to pull out his egullet decoder ring...

Went to Incedio's for pizza a couple of nights ago. The pizza's are very good, really nice tomato sauce and wood firing always makes a difference. The pastas are a little too dressed up for my tastes - kind of in that late 80's kind of way (you know - sausage - sun dried tomato - pesto - chopped spinach ....) The recipes could be cleaned up - but the execution of the pasta is excellent.

Two comments on my last two meals where there was an egullet experience

At De Francesco - tried the carbonara - and it was the real thing. Just pancetta+eggs+cheese. Very homey and dressed down. Thought it could use just a touch more cheese - but good in that basic kind of way.

The lunch at Long's (and seems like a long time ago...) was alot of fun. The food at Long's is very rustic and clearly alot of the food is made from scratch. The company of course was excellent. That being said - I still like Shanghai Yan Yun more - the food is more delicate and the flavours cleaner. The SYY turnip cake is very flaky and savoury and the juicy pork buns jucier.

Edited April 3, 2005 by canucklehead (log)

[canucklehead]

High Tea at Secret Garden Tea Company in Kerrisdale, where I had numerous cups of Vanilla Almond tea and shared this with a girlfriend:

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I must say - the picture makes very curious... but the name "Secret Garden Tea Company" makes it - literally physically impossible for me as a man to walk into their shop (or 'shoppe' in girly land) . Much like no man can drive the new beatle - I mean am in touch in with my feminine side - but I cannot drive a car with a built in flower vase.

BTW - Mooshmouse - have you checked out Michelle's in Kerrisdale (on West Blvd)? Insanely good egg tarts - done in the Macau (or Portegese) style with a flakey crust and burnt top. The rest of the Chinese style baking is also good - esp BBQ pork bun.

[Mooshmouse]

I must say - the picture makes very curious...  but the name "Secret Garden Tea Company" makes it - literally physically impossible for me as a man to walk into their shop (or 'shoppe' in girly land)  .  Much like no man can drive the new beatle - I mean am in touch in with my feminine side - but I cannot drive a car with a built in flower vase.

BTW - Mooshmouse - have you checked out Michelle's in Kerrisdale (on West Blvd)?  Insanely good egg tarts - done in the Macau (or Portegese) style with a flakey crust and burnt top.  The rest of the Chinese style baking is also good - esp BBQ pork bun.

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You hit the nail right on the head. The Secret Garden Tea Company is truly girly land in every sense of the word. I have seen male patrons during my visits there, but they are usually of two kinds: elderly gentlemen in blue blazers either with their wives or another male friend looking to recapture a little bit of the British in them, or young fresh-faced twenty-somethings who've been entrapped by their fiancees into a couple of hours of tea and wedding planning. But there's still hope for you with the Beetle: just put a cigar in the flower vase and you're all set!

Thanks, by the way, for the heads-up about Michelle's. I'm always game to try a new bakery. What's the cross street along West Boulevard?