Saturday, September 15, 2007

Las Garzas Restaurant ^¾

303 Beach Ave, Marysville

Date of visit: 9/14/07

What we had: Chicken nachos, chicken tacos

The nachos were sparse on the chicken, heavy on the refried beans. The tortilla chips and taco shells weren't made in-house, most likely purchased wholesale. Service was attentive and quick.

Granville Island Public Market ^^¾

Granville Island Public Market, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/14/07

The Perogy Place

What we had: Eggs, toast, potato pancake, kielbasa, perogy, blintz

Everything was just a bit overcooked, most likely from too hot of a pan. The perogy were boiled, as typical in Canada, and were served with a light sour cream. Two types of blintz, one with a dollop of strawberry jam, and one stuffed with dry cottage cheese were the good.

Terra Breads
^^^½

What we had: Cornbread, ginger cookie, apricot oatmeal cookie

Savory and satisfying.

The cornbread had chopped red onion and chive throughout, and was slightly topped with melted cheese. We kept the cookies for later in the day as a snack, and they were still soft and chewy, with just the right amount of combined flavor and sweetness.

La Bodega Restaurante & Tapa-Bar ^^^^^

1277 Howe St, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/13/07

What we had: Patatas Bravas, Ceviche, Conejo Riojana, Paella, Sangria

Absolutely phenomenal.

Rustic, intimate interior and friendly, helpful staff in an always busy restaurant.

Slightly crispy on the outside and wading in a zesty sauce, the Patatas Bravas (potatoes) are a wonderful vegetable choice from the fascinating menu.

Ceviche done right, is ceviche done here. Once you sink your teeth into a piece of delectable fish, cured in lemon juice and herbs, you'll want the whole plate to yourself.

Imagine the most tender, melt-in-your mouth, flavorful chicken... and you've got the conejo riojana, or rabbit in tomato and wine sauce.

Mmm... paella. The flavors of the saffron rice, chicken, mussells, clams, shrimp, and sausage were complex and addictive.

Be sure to order the sangria. A pitcher can easily serve 4, or 2 if you're lushes like us.

Beatty Street Bar & Grill ^^

773 Beatty St, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/13/07

What we had: Boddington's Pub Ale, Stella Artois

Street side seating in front of the Georgian Court Hotel. Small selection of beer- mostly imports, a few drafts. Service was good.

Pink Pearl Chinese Seafood Restaurant ^^^^

1132 W Hastings St, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/13/07

What we had: Dim sum

One of my all-time favorite restaurants for dim sum. A visit to Vancouver is not complete without stopping in for brunch here.

Served fresh- if an item has been on the cart too long, they won't serve it. If only the Chinese restaurants in Seattle would learn that...

Friday, September 14, 2007

The Pound ^¾

Corner of Robson & Beatty, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/12/07

What we had:
Poutin, Fish & Chips, Shepherd's Pie, Rickard's Honey Brown Ale

Decent fries, peppery brown gravy, and curds slightly melted made up this classic Québécois dish of poutine.

Crispy fish and tasty, unsalted fries were served with a surprisingly good tartar sauce that contained less of that creamy-mayo consistency than we're used to.

The Shepherd's Pie didn't live up to my expectations. This version uses unseasoned ground turkey and was slightly burnt at the edges.

As for the Rickard's... if you like macros, it's a good match. We found it to be unpalatable. Far too sweet at first taste, but quickly turns bitter on the tongue.

This seems to be a fairly new restaurant/pub. They need to work on having enough staff on hand, and work on providing as good of service to first-timers, as they did to the staff who were there off-duty. Having finished dinner for 20 minutes with the wait staff continually walking right past our table, we went to the cash register and requested the bill. And waited another 15 minutes until it was finally done. The restaurant was 1/3 full during normal dinner hours... I'd hate to see how long customers have to wait when the place is hopping.

Ceili's ^^^

670 Smithe St, Vancouver, B.C.

Date of visit: 9/12/07

What we had: Alexander Keith's IPA, Kilkenny

Nice rooftop atmosphere and friendly (and very attractive) staff.

We started with the Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale, brewed in Nova Scotia. This ale was hoppy, without being crisp, and neither of us were thrilled with after taste.

So, we switched to Kilkenny, brewed in Ireland and as we later found out, not available in the U.S. What a shame. Brilliant shade of red, creamy, malty, with slight notes of honey.