Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Last year our dining group wanted to try Fable Kitchen and it turned out that for larger tables, they enforce a group menu with "served family style" elements. It's still the same. I had totally forgotten about it, and when I tried to expand our reservation from 6 to 8, I got "the e-mail": Parties of over 6 guests usually dine on our four course group menu (attached) so our small kitchen can run smoothly. It is $45/person plus tax & 18% gratuity. This is a great menu for parties, as it decreases time looking over menu options and makes for more time to socialize! The menu is personal salad to start, family style appetizers from our popular choices, choice from four of our most popular entrees, and dessert served family style. This is a great menu to sample through all of our most popular items. Menu items do change as seasonal product does, and I know that Chef may well make changes, but the 'bones' of it will remain the same.  We have serve...

Until 2014-May-17, The Fish House in Stanley Park  is having a special 5-course Chef's Tasting Menu , priced at $85 per two persons. Celeriac Velouté - prawn and black truffle fritter Duck Terrine - Brome Lake duck, Sakura Farms pork, house-made preserves, moutard du monde Butter Poached Haida Gwaii Halibut and Frisée Salad - sweet peas, cherry tomato, butter-fried crouton, warm bacon vinaigrette Braised Beef Short Rib - 72 hour braised 8 oz boneless short rib, Dungeness crab and wild mushroom arancini, sweet crab bisque Layered Brownie - rich fudge brownie, dark chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache The Fish House is one of the few restaurants that still serve warm bread before a meal. You get a generous basket plus lobster oil mixed with black vinegar (in lieu of butter). The portions look kind of skimpy on each plate, but all taken together (especially if you aren't shy with the bread), it's a filling meal. Combined with great service, $85/2 is fairly good val...

Last Friday I finally got myself down to  Fable . I hadn't prioritized it much before, but since MealShare.ca added them to their roster of contributing charities, I bumped it up my list as part of organizing outings to all Lower Mainland MealShare.ca restaurant partners. Fable a rather smallish and tight-feeling place, and because they don't have that many seats and therefore probably can't absorb a bunch of people no-showing on them, Fable has rather severe reservation restrictions on larger parties (6+). Before you book your big all-girls-get-together or whatever, you'd best call first and inquire about the limited-choice menu for larger tables as well as the refund policy on reservation deposits. Because it is a smaller restaurant, go for their second dinner seating at 8:30 PM if you can handle it -- That way, you won't get kicked out for eating slowly or lingering to chat with your friends because there's no third seating waiting behind you. Food...

Waffle and Berries specializes in large waffles that are basically $4 ($3.95), plus simple toppings (around $2). If you are even thinking of going to pricey-store-rent downtown Vancouver for a waffle, then you're probably not balking at the price, which is on par with Cafe Medina and less than Jules Bistro . You get a freshly made waffle, fresh fruit, lots of whipped cream, and pleasant ambiance ( picture by qasic ). This latter is up to you to decide of course, but it's clean, bright, and feels spacious: For a small store, they have rather large tables and comfortable chairs. They aren't sandwiching you in with the seating arrangement, and your table is big enough to not be crowded by your plates and drinks. This may sound like a trivial point, but seriously, just notice how tight things feel next time you're at different diners and restaurants. They use liege waffles . Despite the picture on their sidewalk advertisement, the waffle is slightly long rather than s...

Fable Kitchen  has added themselves to the Mealshare charity, and I decided to drive some business their way to appreciate their participation. Initially I had thought to make a late-seating reservation for 8 persons (second seating typically means no busy third seating behind you and you can take your time, especially if you are in a larger group). However, the restaurant policy has sort of thrown a wrench into things, with not just a group menu, but requiring deposits. I should first say that I am not upset at the restaurant. Every restaurant has to contend with no-shows, and the busier the restaurant, the more upsetting it is for them since those seats could have been easily snapped up by another party or a few walk-ins. Fable does have quite the comprehensive policy including deposits, which in turn means you really need to be able to count on your party to show up. That, sadly, is pretty hard to do with the dining club I am in. Over a year ago, I tried the buy-to-share Prem...

Saturday brunch is typically pretty slow at Jules Bistro, so if you're thinking of a walk-in, you probably have a good chance of it up till 1:30 pm or so. Before 1 pm or so, it will probably be empty, giving you a great chance to walk about a bit and look at the posters, paintings, and old piano on which are a collection of intriguing flasks and brandy warmers . Also be sure to check out the chandeliers with blue birds. On this last rainy Saturday, I arrived very early for my brunch reservation, and it was happily very brightly lit inside. While I was waiting, I also got to witness an aspect of running a business in Gastown: Vagrants. The large umbrellas on the patio were apparently a great place to stop for a cigarette, and one casually dressed person did just that. While he was idling for his smoke (rather too close to the door based on current smoking laws , which require a 6-meter buffer zone), an even more disreputable-looking person stopped to talk to him. That was enoug...

Bubby's Kitchen  is quite a nice restaurant featuring interesting decor and local artwork, and several paragraphs on their menu about the intriguing corner bench featuring rough-hewn wood picked locally. On a sunny day, you can expect a brightly lit room with an energetic vibe. You can expect it to be quite busy, so try to avoid the lunch rush. The menu is quite extensive and features many vegetarian items and gluten free options. Truffle Honey Chicken Burger ($14) Grilled Rossdown chicken thighs, slow roasted roma tomato & garlic relish, pickled onion, lettuce, feta cheese & roasted garlic aioli. All of our burgers, wraps & sandwiches are served with your choice of soup, salad, or fries. Upgrade to Caesar salad, Yam or Truffle fries for $1. Substitute a gluten-free bun for $1.5. As expected, the gluten-free bun was on the dry and grainy side. If you're not celiac, you're just paying to ruin your burger. Stick with the regular bun. The truffle fries were ...

Il Terrazo is hidden in an alley that can look a bit dodgy at night. You might then expect it to be a smallish place, but it is actually rather expansive, though the area behind the bar is quite tight, including a wine "cellar" accessed by a ladder. Depending on which Italian restaurant you go to, you might be recommended to order according to the traditional Italian five-course dinner . You'd be in trouble with portions if you try that at Il Terrazo, and plates are not really structured for sharing. Even an appy + main might leave you too full for anything but a sharing portion of dessert. Despite not seeing any buzz outside the doors, you can still expect the restaurant to be buzzing and busy as late as 8pm. Seating is not tight, but sight-lines mean little privacy pretty much no matter where you sit. It is quite noisy with the buzz of many patrons, and dinner lighting is on the dark side of dim. Order-taking waitstaff might be a bit busy trying to keep up, but d...

SkinnyTato is a Polish restaurant that prominently features gluten free and vegetarian options. For Dine Around and Stay in Town 2014, it seemed they went out of their way to have both options, including a gluten free version of Polish poppy seed cake. It's a really tiny place, more like a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop. Seats maybe 16 comfortably. As a small operation, it doesn't have the usual flight of floor staff like a full-time waitress or busser. You might find the service a bit awkward, but their care and sincerity comes through. My dining companion went with the $20 Dine Around menu while I opted for the regular dinner menu. Dine Around 2014 ($20) Starter Cup of polish borsch soup Or White sausage European style sausage cooked & served with sauté onion and mushrooms Entree Spinach Crepe A large crepe stuffed with spinach and goat feta cheese smothered with rich creamy white mushroom sauce served with Nature or Skinnytato salad Or Plate of pierogie...

If ever a storefront didn't match the interior, Avalon definitely qualifies. The signage is more suggestive of a bookstore. The interior is a colourful place with interesting artwork on the wall. It is also a tiny diner. Price for portion is fair here, and the food is properly done but nothing special. My friend got the skillet (good choice) and I tried the veggie burger (stupid choice) and split pea soup (rather like lentil soup). The veggie burger is a simple affair with lettuce and a fat slice of tomato. The savoury patty is rather tasty on its own, and too perfectly shaped for any likelihood of being made in-house. Sadly, the rest of the burger somehow smothered the taste. If you order this, open up your burger and eat the lower half with the patty as an open-faced sandwich. With the top, you can fool around with it a bit. Maybe make another sandwich with whatever else you ordered (e.g., steal some of your buddy's skillet order) or zap some of their rather nice not-to...

Smoken Bones is a rather large restaurant that apparently specializes in BBQ meats. Nevertheless it has a fairly substantial menu of choices. Decor is simple and spacious and has televisions. The only thing to watch out for is the location of the washrooms. Large signs attempt to point you past the passage to the kitchen, but because these signs are both to the left and right of that corridor, sometimes people see only the one that points right at the corridor. Various condiments are available. The house blend of spices is pretty decent -- not too salty, and it actually has a slight sweetness to it. Strangely, they did not provide a change of utensils between appetizer and main. $20 Dine Around Menu 1st Course Smoked tomato soup with creme fraiche or Beet salad with Salt Spring Island Goat Cheese Main Flame-grilled pork buckeye with reduced demi and oven-roasted vegetables or Pork belly & beef meatloaf with a potato croquette Dessert Bread pudding with honey ...

Afternoon Tea at the Empress Hotel is talked about like a sort of institution, a place that you "must" go if you are in Victoria. Sadly, marketers inevitably get their tentacles on anything that is a "must", and put the squeeze on anyone who "must" experience it. Afternoon Tea here mainly distinguishes itself from other afternoon tea services by being in a heritage dining room in a heritage hotel, though its exotic tea blends might be (or just sound) more exotic than others available -- for example, the intriguing Quangzhou Milk Oolong Tea: "A most unique character best described as 'premium oolong with sweet milk and light orchid notes peeking out from camellia depths'. The milky flavour of this tea is a result in a sudden and rare shift in temperature during harvest. This silky and smooth tea is produced in relatively small quantities from December to March. An amazingly profound tea indeed." Other than that, it is not particularl...

One week from now, on Monday, March 17th, 2014,  Freshlice Pizza (only at the 771 Davie location ) is having a "block party" starting at 10 AM. The back page of their recent flyer shows various goodies, including free whole pizzas to the first 10 customers, and free large pizza slices between 3pm and 4pm.

The best feature of La Petite Cuillère  ("the small spoon") is the space. It is decorated with beautiful tea sets in cabinets, and atop those if you cast your gaze up, is a flotilla of model ships. Convenient coat hangars sport cameos of might-be-famous persons. Unlike afternoon tea houses that aim for "elegant" or "refined", the furniture here feels more cozy and "at home". When you're at the table, it feels like you're at your old-fashioned grandma's dining room for Thanksgiving. Overall, the ambiance feels closer to "adorable Alice in Wonderland", minus any tacky wackiness. A big plus for La Petite Cuillère is its location compared to what it offers. At that busy intersection of Kingsway and Broadway, to duck in here for an hour or so is to escape into a quiet, tranquil oasis. Service is friendly and enthusiastic, although our server had a creepy talent for putting on the most disconcerting agonized look that is sure ...

Living Cafe in Steveston (in Richmond) is a quaint little place this is deli on one side, dining room on another. The dining space is simple, sunny, and spacious and displays local artwork on the walls. The menu is an interesting one that supports not-easily-found diets, such as raw, paleo , superfoods , and funny good-for-you ingredients like chlorophyll and red reishi mushroom . For sugar, they use the 1:1 sugar substitute xylitol . Vegetarian and vegan diets are of course supported. They also carry a selection of Anderssen's Life Flaxrolls . The online menu is missing at least one page. Black Coffee ($3) Enriched coffee grown and cultivated by experienced artisans and mixed with their proprietary, pesticide-free, USDA certified organic Ganoderma Lucidium ("red reishi mushroom"). Tastes like coffee, but seemed a bit on the weak side. Presumably the $3 is for the mushroom content. Red reishi mushroom is supposed to be on the bitter side, so it blends nicel...

I had previously blogged about free Chinese New Year afternoon tea for persons born in the Year of the Horse  at Xi Shi Lounge in the Shangri-La Hotel , and on Thursday I finally got around to going with a few friends. The small but beautiful lounge looks a bit cramped, but there is actually a decent amount of room to move between tables. The overall ambiance, especially if you can go on a quieter weekday afternoon, is peaceful and easily adds value to the mere $38 for their luxurious high tea set. The courteous and soft-spoken female hostesses wear sleek cheongsam s, adding to the lovely ambiance. This special uniform, however, has a zipper end ends right under their right upper arm. I suspect it chafes, actually. The afternoon tea is served from 11.30am to 5pm, and if you can manage a later seating, there is live entertainment on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Their special Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea combines western afternoon tea with eastern/fusion elements. It is ...

Ethical Kitchen is a smallish diner that looks a bit shabby on the outside, but is cozy-looking on the inside. There's not a lot of seating because they haven't tried to cram as many chairs as possible into the dining area, and about half the floor space is the kitchen area. There are tables for two and four, as well as larger communal tables with benches that could probably seat 8-10. If you're going during the winter, you might want to sit away from the doors: There is the main entrance, as well as a side door near the counter where you pay. Brunch-time on Saturday didn't see the place so packed that there was a lineup, but it was steady -- which means the doors can be counted on to be opened and closed frequently. Reservations are not accepted for weekend brunch, but our small party of three had no trouble dropping in for an almost-Noon brunch last Saturday. It's run diner style: You order and pay at the counter, and the food is brought to your table. On S...

Graze is where the sadly short-lived Fray used to be. Although Dine Out Vancouver 2014 officially ended on Sunday, February 2nd, Graze is extending it till February 13th. During this time, all items are also individually available on their menu. On the 14th, they have a Valentine's Day special. Their regular menu Small Plates are about $11, their Large Plates are about $17, and their Desserts are about $7. So the Dine Out menu basically saves you about $7 by giving you dessert with your meal. Dine Out Vancouver 2014 menu ($28) SMALL PLATES Salad of persimmon, pistachio and pomegranate with arugula & almond chevre  (gluten free) or Fig & cashew pate filled chard rolls with a light cumin orange dressing  (gluten free) Winter Salad of lacinato kale with roasted golden & red beets, pear & fig with toasted hazelnuts  (gluten free) or Organic yam & red pepper chowder, local corn, cracked black pepper, ...

FREE AFTERNOON TEA at Xi Shi Lounge! Value $38! January-31,2014 to February-28, 2014 Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver ushers in the Year of the Horse with a traditional Lion Dance and special Chinese New Year Afternoon Tea in Xi Shi Lounge. Adding to the festivities, any guest born in a Year of the Horse will receive complimentary afternoon tea. Offer is valid for one guest per table, with a minimum party of two. Guests must show proof of age; offer is non-transferable and non-refundable. Offer ends 28 February 2014. Those born in the years 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990 and 2002 are Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac.

Unlike many places, East is East will still offer their full regular menu in addition to their Dine Out Vancouver menu. In competition with their Dine Out Vancouver $28 menu will therefore be their regular all-you-can-eat Chai Feast for $27 . For dinner, the kitchen opens at 5.30pm, but even by 5pm there will be patrons and by 5.30pm the place will probably be full, if the Saturday evening our party was there is any indication. Since the restaurant is already busy when the kitchen opens, you can expect your plates to come out somewhat slowly. Dine Out Vancouver 2014 Menu ($28) Appetizer Mango Prawns - Tiger prawns sauteed in a spicy mango, lime leaf and star anise curry on basmati rice. (Gluten free) picture or Tibetan Mantu - Dumplings stuffed with green onions, chives and herbs topped with dehydrated yogurt and lentils. (vegan) or Boulani - Traditional Afghan whole wheat roti stuffed with potato, green onion, yam and herbs. (Gluten free option) (vegan) Entree C...