Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

So this happened at Nightingale tonight: Our server tells us their pizza are "big" because they are 12-inch. At 12", that is at the larger end of Neapolitan-style pizza , sure. But by any other yardstick, a thin 12" pizza for $17 is not "big". Maybe she was trying to set our expectations, or maybe it was just a reminder of price inflation / paying for name / paying for ambiance / whatever you want to call it. It's family-style / tapas-style, which is pretty much synonymous for wanting you to order several items per person to share, meaning your bill is going to be about 2-4 times what the average menu price looks like. For Nightingale, it's gonna look like $45 before tax and tip. Four is a good number. Any more and each dish needs to be more or less doubled up for everyone to have a good bite. Cranberry Ginger ($6 non-alcoholic) Not a bad substitution on the somewhat commonly seen ginger lemonade. Good bite but not so much as to linge...

Got dragged to the Keefer Bar for their happy hour (Sunday to Friday) . Not a bad deal (2-for-1 food) except you have to buy a drink with it and I'm not a drinker. So she had the drink, I had a non-alcoholic beverage, we shared the two food plates -- and somehow we ended up splitting the bill in half which meant I walked out feeling having overpaid. Which was actually not the case. Food is okay with some nice points and there's a decent selection of gluten-free choices. Nothing that really stands out but decent in taste and portion at full price -- meaning it's really good value during 2-for-1 happy hour, which is at a very convenient 5pm-7pm -- dinner right after work. It's all small plates and it doesn't look like you can put together a dinner, but you actually CAN and at a good price during happy hour! So just patiently order and order again. Two of the larger plates can possibly add up to a fairly filling meal and you're topping it at $10 for two plat...

Gave Ten Ten Tapas a try on one of their music nights. Sunday it was the personable crooner Bobby Bacchus  singing familiar favourites. Ten Ten Tapas has no shortage of events , not just keeping evening wine and music alive but intriguing painting classes as well as singles' events ( for gays too !). Bobby Bacchus Sunday started a bit later at 7pm, and shortly after 7pm the room was basically full. Being a cold, rainy day, the patio was of course closed and the restaurant dining floor being smallish felt even smaller with the tight table spacing. Spacing for each diner was thankfully NOT tight though, and with the evening dark and dim interior lighting, you are likely to not really notice. The smaller room also means that for live music night, if you are probably going to be a boisterous social group, you really ought to reconsider. They can kind of seat you in the back, but no matter where you are, the noise of 6+ people is gonna carry. It's not really fair to people ...

Got a chance to discover City Side Winery tonight during a presentation of Curiate for investors. Turns out they are much more than winery -- a beautiful space with communal tables and a few boardgames, plus a small bites menu including flatbreads. Flatbreads are OK in side and maybe a bit more loaded than stricter Neapolitan style ones for a similar price point. I got to try some proscuitto ones and they were of course salty, but otherwise with a spread that includes some edible garnishes like tomatoes or grapes, each plate is quite nice and tasty. Cheese is spread more or less to the very edge but is not oily or wet there. Toppings are pretty generous (for flatbread style pizza) near the centre. Crust is thin yet firm enough to lift each slice easily -- overall construction is good and convenient. Happy Hours available: Tuesday to Thursday 4-6pm $2 off four flights of wine $3 off flatbread (approximately 25% off!) ...