Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

It's a house built in 1918 and has that old-fashioned look to it, as well as a certain dilapidated look that is contrary to the well-maintained interior, and totally unexpected compared to the bright and modern Bistro 72 sub-level. One of the things that drew me to try the Old Surrey Restaurant was the various tableside service items. It's professional and old-school, and fun to watch. The calm confidence with which our waiter prepared everything, and the engagement he had with our table, was also an interesting contrast in tone/feel with the rather businesslike and somewhat rushed-feeling service at Black + Blue . While he did not make himself a part of our conversation, he was also clearly ready to engage with us however much or little we engaged with him. This, I think, is part of the larger unrushed dinner feeling I got at the Old Surrey Restaurant. It was a Saturday night, and the restaurant didn't seem like it was ever even half full. The clientele was generally...

It's hard to find an Indian restaurant in the Lower Mainland that screws up North Indian curry dishes ( but not impossible ) so it's quite hard for any Indian restaurant to come out as "the best". But if there's no real competition locally then you can easily come out tops. And Saffron Indian Cuisine is in the perfect location for exactly that. There's Sai Tanvi not too far away across the street, but their speciality is South Indian cuisine. Prices here felt expensive for the appetizers, but good value for the curry mains, which were rich and thick with ingredients rather than soupy with just sauce. For value, I recommend skipping the appetizers and going straight for curries to share. And if you want to fit in more curry rather than look to be stuffed silly, ask for naan instead of rice as that is less filling. You can, however, get leftovers to go. Since the curries are generally a safe and delicious choice and there wasn't anything either outst...

A Brazilian restaurant full of Brazilians (or at least Latin Americans) is a pretty promising sign that what they serve is authentic or at least close enough. People talk about authentic cultural cuisine like it is some sort of prized experience if you are not in the correct country (like Brazilian food in Canada, for example), but I've long since given up on looking for authenticity. I just want tasty. So I'm not going to review Boteco Brasil based on votes of confidence in their authenticity. Instead, I'll just talk about my experience there and of what I ate. If authentic Brazilian fare is important to you, I'm sure there's no shortage of patrons at Boteco Brasil who can give you an expert opinion (er, well, maybe if you chat them up outside the restaurant -- who would be so rude as to diss the food right inside the restaurant?). A lot of them look like they are teen ESL students, and there's no shortage of cute girls too. The restaurant is sort of ti...

I've walked by  Silvestre  in Gastown so many times and never really noticed that it advertised Peruvian food. Looking in, it seemed to be just another coffee shop, except it also had gelato. Turns out, the menu is all Peruvian food. It's run by a Peruvian family with some Chinese in their ancestry, so at first, you might think they were a Chinese couple. But they assure me they are Peruvian. I tried only a couple of things on my visit (and too small bites of my fellow diners' dishes to really comment about them). Portion size was generally good for the price, and as mains were served with a bowlful of rice, it can actually be quite a filling portion as well. Chicha Morada ($2.50 per glass; non-alcoholic) This interesting drink tastes sort of like a Coca-Cola, but not as super-sweet and not carbonated. Plus, it's purple! Interesting to try. For $2.50 you get a tall glass of this, sort of like a Grande Starbucks cup. Causa Rellena de Atun ($10) Basically a ...

I'd had Tibetan food at Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen , and rather liked the appetizers but found some of the mains "meh". Vancouver Tibet Kitchen has an even smaller menu (although it used to be somewhat bigger), and the appetizers are basically just three types of momos (potsticker-like dumplings, typically steamed). As of my visit just this Thursday, the Tibetan menu ends at item #16. The rest is essentially Chinese food. Even the soups and mains on the Tibetan menu are Chinese-like, yet not quite. It's very hard to turn off the instinct to compare it with Chinese food, and if you try it with that mindset, you're bound to rate it lower than you might otherwise. Overall, the food is really decent, though nothing really stellar. Only one thing stood out for me, a spicy beef dish. Watch out for the chili provided at the table. It can enhance your meal a lot, but try a bit first. On its own it has a bitter bite to it, but this is subdued when paired with food. T...

Tap & Barrel has a lot of plusses going for it despite being away from the main dining zones in Vancouver. For one thing, it's more or less the only game in town in/near the Olympic Village . It's classed as a restaurant, so it officially closes at midnight although private parties may linger a bit after. Though it looks very much like a sports bar on the inside, what with so many televisions on the go, it is not a pub and cannot serve alcohol without food. It's also got a gorgeous view of the water, day or night. There is a heated patio upstairs, and overall a huge amount of floorspace. For my final Dine Out Vancouver 2013 outing this year, I had wanted to try Tap & Barrel because it had, among other things, a "Cheesecake parfait - bacon, [carmel] sauce and pretzels". When I looked further at their regular menu, however, I became intrigued by various items involving peanut butter and bacon that I ended up just ordering a few things from the regular men...

Although I was determined to only choose $18 menus for Dine Out Vancouver 2013, I still ended up accepting an invitation to Bistro Sakana. They'd had impressive and tasty offerings previously, and I figured this year wouldn't be any different. I was just there this past October for the Taste of Yaletown , in fact. If you went to the Taste of Yaletown, last year, more than half the Signature Sample Platter will be familiar (how many signature dishes can a restaurant have, after all). The ones that stood the test of time are clearly among their tastiest offerings, and still consistently delicious when prepared by the chefs. Moreover, the samples on the Dine Out Vancouver menu continue their tradition of a wide variety of tastes and textures, making Bistro Sakana still one of the best choices for sheer food experience. That said, because so many items are the same as before, if you still clearly remember the Taste of Yaletown offerings and want to try something different, yo...