Dine Out Vancouver - The Topic (2002-2007)

[scout]

Here's something to look forward to if you're planning a trip to Vancouver in Jan/Feb. I'm sure more details will emerge as we get closer to the date ...

Dine Out Vancouver

[Schielke]

Ohh! now I can go to Vancouver and eat at both Ouest and Lumiere! Yay! But at which one do I get the tasting menu?

Ben

[cabrales]

Ben -- If you go to Ouest, you can get better than the tasting menu. PM me or e-mail Chef Hawksworth when you plan a trip.

scout -- Thanks for putting forth the initial post in this thread. I received information of which I was not previously aware.

[Schielke]

Cabrales, thanks for the tip, I am guessing I will make it to vancouver after the hollidays are over. I'll let ya know when I get closer to the date.

I cant wait!

Thanks,

Ben

[giblert]

Oooh! I hadn't heard about this yet. What a great (and lengthly) list of participating restaurants. Thanks Scout!

[Schielke]

Welcome Giblert,

You seem to be jumping in with both feet! Congrats! Consider posting a little about yourself in the Bios section of the site.

Look forward to seeing your posts,

Ben

[scout]

Thought I'd send along an updated version of this website as most of the participating restaurants have now listed menus for this event.

Dine Out Vancouver

[cabrales]

scout -- Thanks. I would definitely be taking advantage of the offer if I were, contrary to the facts, in town. Ouest restaurant/bar and Lumiere bar seem to be the better bets, particularly if Ouest restaurant section dishes are being offered as opposed to Ouest bar-type dishes. For Lumiere's bar, the dishes are around CAD$12 each, so a three-course meal for CAD$25, while a good deal, does not represent compelling savings. The key will be to determine what types of dishes Ouest is offering. (The regular Ouest website is down currently).

The menu for the event from Sun Sui Wah is not appealing.

Ironically, even though I dislike "C" alot and have never been to Raincity Grill, the latter's CAD$25 three-course dinner had a decent (indicative?) menu:

Moon Farms Goose Foie Gras Pate with seared scallop, preserved melons

Prince George Lamb Tasting with grilled loin, lamb torte, rosemary infused lamb consomme

Chesnut & Cranberry Tart with lavender cream

Bacchus' CAD$25 three-course dinner looked decent (I have not visited this restaurant), although I am probably giving it too much credit due to the inclusion of coq au vin. The apps for Bacchus appeared weak, however. Gotham's menu is not listed, but that restaurant might be a potential candidate as well.

Edited January 8, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[scout]

cabrales-Thanks for your input-the menu at Bacchus appealed to me too. I think Blue Water and Piccolo Mondo might also be a good bet, depending on the menu (they haven't posted it yet).

Part of me wants to go to Ouest and Lumiere, but part of me would much rather splurge and go another time when I can enjoy one of the larger tasting menus instead of just 3 courses. Who knows ... maybe I'll be a little extravagant this year and do both!

[Coop]

Sure seems like a lot of Tiramisu! Good thing I love the stuff. Best deal to me seems to be Wild Rice for $15. I love the place. Andrew Wong is a charming guy, the room is beautiful and the food is great. Sometimes the service is iffy (is this a word). Has anyone ever been to Zin or stayed in the Pacific Pallisades since it became a Kimpton hotel? If you go to Wild Rice have the Creme Brulle. I was shocked at how tasty the desserts were.

[cabrales]

West (fka Ouest) has its Dine Out Vancouver menu on its own website. The menu sounds fairly good, and members in Vancouver might wish to consider it (see recent thread on West for relevant discussion of name and other changes):

Three Courses $25.00

selection of one appetizer, entree and dessert

-- Quebec Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Parfait on apple jelly with toasted brioche (this item is priced at at lest CAD$17 on the a la carte menu, and is on its way to becoming a signature dish), or

A Winter Salad with soft poached hen's egg and walnut vinaigrette

-- Aldergrove Stuffed Chicken with wild mushroom and roasted button onions, or

Pacific Ocean Perch with crisp fennel, red pepper and olive oil emulsion

-- Espresso Chocolate Parfait, or

Apple Hazelnut Galette with sour cream ice cream

http://www.ouestrestaurant.com/ouest/menus.../menu.asp?ID=91

[cabrales]

According to Lumiere's website, the Dining Out Menu will be a selection from its bar menu. Since bar items are ordinarily CAD$12.50 each and dessert is only CAD$7.50, the CAD$25.00 three-course dinner is not that good a deal relative to normal prices. West offers a better deal.

http://www.lumiere.ca/pages/index.htm

[scout]

cabrales Posted on Jan 15 2003, 09:17 PM

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According to Lumiere's website, the Dining Out Menu will be a selection from its bar menu. Since bar items are ordinarily CAD$12.50 each and dessert is only CAD$7.50, the CAD$25.00 three-course dinner is not that good a deal relative to normal prices. West offers a better deal.

http://www.lumiere.ca/pages/index.htm  

If anyone is planning on going to Lumiere for this event, you should be aware that they do not take reservations for the bar area - it's first-come, first-served only.

If you're planning on going elsewhere and haven't made reservations yet, you should do so ASAP. Many of the restaurants (esp. the good ones) are already completely booked up for the entire 10 days.

Edited January 15, 2003 by scout (log)

[Coop]

My wife and I were able to secure reservations at Bacchus and Hermitage. Any comments on Hermitage? We love confit du canard so we thought we would take one for the team.

[cabrales]

Coop -- Is there a reason (e.g., no reservations availability) that you picked Hermitage over West?

On Bacchus, a November 2002 Vancouver Magazine article suggests there are the following special offerings: "The Wednesday night Bistro Menu and the Sunday evening roast chicken dinner are both remarkable values." Have members sampled any Bistro Menu at Bacchus? Note I have never visited Bacchus.

http://www.vanmag.com/0211/diner.html

(discussion of Bacchus towards the end of the article)

Edited January 16, 2003 by cabrales (log)

[Coop]

Why not Wouest. We are going tomorrow night for the full meal deal. Looking forward to it. I have stopped looking at the web site though because I was changing my mind so often.

It's like the premature ejaculation joke.

"What do you mean premature? I've been thinking about it for weeks."

[Coop]

My wife and I dined at Bacchus last night and found the experience to be positive.

Mushroom Soup for me Goat Cheese Pave for the wife.

Soup was in a mushroom broth and contained an assortment of mushrooms including Enoki, Button, Shitake and Crimini. The Goat Cheese was sauteed and served with grapefruit on a few slices of beets. Score wife 1 me 0.

Halibut in Potato Crust for me and Coq au vin for my wife.

Halibut was pretty average. The Coq au Vin was exceptioally good. Served on a bed on pureed potatoes with carrots and green beans. Garnished with crisply cooked bacon. Score wife 2 me 0.

Lemon Tart for me Choclate Cake for wife.

Both desserts were excellent. My Lemon tart was very intensely flavoured and the Choclate cake was warm and delicate much like Mrs Coop. Score Wife 2 1/2 Coop 1/2.

One note the wine mark up was pretty brutal. Had a bottle of Perrin cote du rhone for $45. This was the best buy on the list in our price range. Most ridiculous selection would have been Farnese Sangiovese $7.95 in the Liquor store $33 on the list.

Have other E gullettors taken advantage of this promotion? It seems to be successful and even extended in some places.

[Junior]

Coop - Have you went to Hermitage yet ? How was it ? I only ask as this was my first cooking job after school. I am interested in how Mr Martin is doing and what he is offering on his menu now. It was a very memorable year with that place, it brings back alot of memories.

I also worked at Bacchus for a winter before moving home. That place was a madhouse, very busy.

Edited February 1, 2003 by Junior (log)

[Coop]

Yes Junior we ate at Hermitage on Friday night. It was very nice, the room was homey and the service was excellent. We had a lentil salad with veal cheeks to start. We enjoyed it very much, the lentils were Lentil du Puy and perfectly cooked and dressed. We had Duck confit for main courses. It was less then inspiring but still good. We finished with A Pear poached in Red wine with a cassis ice cream. This was the stand out dish for me. It married very well with the Jadot Beaujolais Village we drank.

One thing I found very unusual was the beautiful porcelain china the food was served on. Although very colourful and artistic it made the food look rather dull in comparison. One thing I have to say about both Bacchus and Hermitage. They are both good restaurants, but the week before we dined at West and it has ruined us for places like this. Its like comparing my golf game to that of a PGA pro. Once you dine at West everything else seems to pale in comparison.

[Ling]

Last year, I went to West and Fleuri for the Dine Out promotion. The dinner at West was phenomenal, while Fleuri was a bit of a disappointment.

Nonetheless, I'm really excited about this year's Dine Out. The menus look great! There are some excellent deals on the $15 menus too.

Take a look:

http://www.tourismvancouver.com/docs/visit...eout/index.html

My top choices right now are:

$25

1. Bacchus

2. C Restaurant

3. Bistro Pastis

(I also think that Hermitage, Gothams, Il Giardino, Quattro and Elixir are good choices. West doesn't have a menu up yet.)

$15

1. Zachary's

2. Boulevard Cafe

3. Shark Club

(Might just try one of these places b/c the deals are so irresistable.)

Where are you thinking of going?

[Jerry_A]

Just so everyone knows a lot of places are, unfortunately, not accepting reservations for this yet.

[Coop]

Last year we went to Bacchus and Hermitage. If Bacchus is offering thier coq au vin it's worthwile. The only thing negative about it was they put us in that horrible little closet on the north side of the room where the smokers used to partake in thier slow death march. The food though was very good. The service a bit snotty, but I knew that would be the case.

At Hermitage the food was good, the service excellent, but I made the mistake of looking at the ceiling which was filthy. I spent the evening wondering what the kitchen looked like. The dessert was the best course, it was a poached pear with a cassis ice cream. It went really nicely with our last glasses of Clos de Jacques Moulin a Vent (Jadot).

We tried places we wouldn't normally go to, that way we could see if they were good without dropping huge coin. Book as soon as possible.

[Johnathon]

Dine Out Vancouver does provide the diner an opportunity to experience many places that should be worth the visit for a lower price. unfortunately, with lower prices there come some obvious restrictions to the restaurant to maintain costing. most restaurants lose money but gain exposure.

What I enjoy seeing is how well a restaurant will do on a prix fixe and a cattle car full of patrons then compare that to an evening out at the same restaurant.

Always exciting, always an adventure and always a nightmare for bookings... I look forward to the next Dine Out.

Pastis, C and Bacchus are on my list so far.

[Ling]

I thought the restaurants weren't taking reservations yet, but my friend told me that they were so I called right away.

I have reservations for Quattro, Bistro Pastis, and Bacchus. What do you think of my choices? I decided to drop C Restaurant from my list after reading some negative reviews on Chowhound. I made a reservation for my parents at C Restaurant though, since my mom loves seafood. They seem to be very busy too--especially if you want a table with a view.

I'm not quite sure about Quattro...is Il Giardino, or La Terrazza a better choice?

If you are considering Bacchus, I would call immediately because they were already quite booked by the time I called.

Edited December 7, 2003 by Ling (log)

[boris]

Ling,

Quattro has always underwhelmed WRT food. I have been to both the 4th ave and Whistler locations. Havent been to Il Giardino in yrs.

Hope to hit Pastis at Xmas time (or Crocodile) to check it out. It used to be called just "Pastis". Any changes, or just trying to go with a "hipper" name?

Mark E

Edited December 7, 2003 by boris (log)