602927 Wed Mar 11 12:18:48 -0700 2009 19 57 Western Canada 0 4494987 I’m going to be visiting Vancouver for four days next week and am looking for some cheap / reasonably priced places to eat while I’m there. Currently I live in San Diego and am interested in eating things that I can’t eat here. San Diego has excellent Asian and Mexican restaurants but not too much else. What does Vancouver have to offer? (Some Brazilian food would be great.) Also, I will be staying downtown so places that are accessible by public transit or inexpensive cabs would be great. Thanks in advance. Saul Wed Mar 11 12:18:49 -0700 2009 18250 YankeeBaseball 1 4495059 I live in Seattle and go to Vancouver about once a year. You must go to Vij's or at least Vij's Rangoli. http://www.vijs.ca/index_in.htm http://www.vijsrangoli.ca/ Vij's is sort of nouveau Indian and may be unique. The NY Times has raved about it. Rangoli is less nouveau, less expensive, and more cafeteria, but open longer hours and very good. I'm not sure what Asian San Diego has, but keep in mind that Vancouver and the metropolitan area has a huge Chinese population. Wed Mar 11 12:35:55 -0700 2009 4494987 19003 PAO 2 4495532 I am almost certain the YankeeBaseball should try the Japanese, Chinese and Indian food here. Since I haven't been to San Diego since I was a kid, I had a quick scan of the California Chowhound board. There seems to be varying views on the Asian scene there. Vancouver has a unique izakaya scene - very concentrated in one area of the city. The only other place I have seen this outside Japan is NYC's East Village...worth checking out. (I see SD has a few izakaya places, so this may not appeal other than for the potential of an izakaya crawl.) Also, Vancouver is known for localvore restaurants in a (for the lack of a better term) Pacific Northwest style. They serve food using ingredients sourced from this region....so that should guarantee you food you can't get there. (Fuel, Gastropod, Boneta, etc.) If you are a seafood fan, this area probably has access to different types of fresh seafood compared to SD. You might catch the tail end of King Crab season...you can get that in San Diego, I'm sure...but not at the price and freshness you can get it here. (King Crab is best served in a Chinese restaurant here, BTW). Are you a beer fan? Craft Beer is always a safe and very regionalized bet. One thing for certain...don't bother with Mexican food. Wed Mar 11 14:42:56 -0700 2009 4495059 145820 fmed 1 4495355 Like most major Canadian cities, Vancouver has far, far more Indian food, both high and low end, than do American cities. The US is 0.3% east Indian; Canada is 4% east Indian. Vancouver is about 20% east Indian. Wed Mar 11 13:54:49 -0700 2009 4494987 12135 John Manzo 2 4495443 We were talking about this very topic just that last night at our most recent Vancouver area Chowdown, John, and the conclusion we came to was this, rightly or wrongly: though there is indeed a relatively high population of folk from the Indian subcontinent here, they do not appear to have the same restaurant going culture as say, Chinese do here. The best Indian food seems to be at people's houses :-). Having said that, Surrey seems to be the epicentre of good Indian here (a suburb likely outside the OP's reach) but there is very decent South Indian to be had at Saravana Bhavan on Broadway -- only order the south Indian specialties though. There was also some love for Tandoori King on Fraser for more "traditional" (whatever that means) Indian... Wed Mar 11 14:17:07 -0700 2009 4495355 169233 grayelf 3 4495856 That is true--that Chinese culture encourages restaurants more than Indian. As I understand it, Indian culture discouraged restaurants because of the caste system and what Brahmins could and couldn't eat, so that for many years, the best Indian restaurant food was not in India. Wed Mar 11 16:36:38 -0700 2009 4495443 19003 PAO 2 4495758 Great stat. That's a significant number. Wed Mar 11 15:58:53 -0700 2009 4495355 212077 worldwidestuff 1 4495460 If you like Japanese, Vancouver is a good place to check out, both for sushi and for the izakaya experience. Have a browse on the board and see if any places noted appeal and we can provide more details. Wed Mar 11 14:19:53 -0700 2009 4494987 169233 grayelf 1 4495917 Not to be argumentative, but I can't think of a single Asian place in SD that gets many recos. What have you found? Wed Mar 11 16:58:49 -0700 2009 4494987 18150 PolarBear 2 4496008 A few places that I like and/or get good recs include: Ba Ren (Sichuan), Dumpling Inn (Hong Kong Style), Emerald (Dim Sum), Mister Sushi, Kaito Sushi, Tajima (mostly ramen). I think the Korean food here is pretty weak although everyone seems to like Buga. I'm not a big fan of any izakaya places here but I'm used to the East Village in NYC (see post above) so that may not be a big surprise. Given the responses so far, what would be the two or three Asian places that shouldn't be missed? Wed Mar 11 17:27:10 -0700 2009 4495917 18250 YankeeBaseball 3 4496164 I'm a big fan of Guu with Garlic, gets a lot of love on this board, but I haven't tried any of the other izakayas. Have searched the SF Bay area waiting to hear some raves but nada so far. I think there might be a couple in the LA basin worth checking out. As for Korean I've become obsessed with going outside of Vancouver to try kimbap at: Blue Sea Seafood – Korean sushi kimbap #550 - 329 North Road Coquitlam, BC Tel: 604-931-8460 http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/blue-sea-seafood-restaurant-coquitlam-bc/ Another reco would be for XLB, do a search for fmed's favorites. Also, I think Vancouver does dim sum better than SF. I've had it at Emerald and another place on Convoy in SD that I can't recall and both were decent, but if you venture out of downtown into Richmond I think you'll be very pleased. fmed, grayelf, and a couple of other locals are great sources for all the different styles of Asian cuisine in the area, my list from their recos is so long that I'll have to visit for a month for the next ten years just to make a dent. We were fond of Banana Leaf last visit for Malaysian food. Oh, yeah, I'm dying to try Japadog also. Wed Mar 11 18:20:28 -0700 2009 4496008 18150 PolarBear 4 4496462 >> Oh, yeah, I'm dying to try Japadog also. LOL...I was just going to post about Japadog for YankeeBaseball...that's something that Vancouver has that SD doesn't. Well worth the stop... Wed Mar 11 20:04:43 -0700 2009 4496164 145820 fmed 5 4496637 Well, I'm not sure what San Diego's food scene looks like, but here are some local places that locals love. Go Fish, Granville Island. Great for locally caught, wild fish. A casual take-out place, so go on a nice day (if we ever get one this spring). If you go to Granville Island, check out Oyama Meats. Excellent local producer of cured meats. Salt: a downtown charcuterie place. Good for cured meats and artisan cheese plates. In a sketchy neighbourhood, though. Irish Heather: Fav local gastropub. Definitely on the 'trendy' side of pub culture. Fresh takes on Irish/UK standards like pot pie and bangers and mash, often using local ingredients. Japadog: As mentioned, Japadog is a one-of-a-kind food cart (well, maybe not in Japan, but certainly in the Pac-NW). Sushi: Lime. Octopus' Garden. Tojo's for a high-priced splurge. Bishop's: The original 'localvore' restaurant in Vancouver. Simple and elegant presentation of locally produced foods (i.e. wild salmon, local seasonal produce). Coffee: How's the coffee scene in San Diego? You'll probably want to warm up with a good coffee when you get to chilly, damp Vancouver. Caffe Artigiano and 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters are a few top-notch coffee places. Artigiano is a local chain and has quite a few outlets around Vancouver. 49th Parallel Roasters is a supplier but also has a cafe on West 4th. Good luck with researching and enjoying the food scene here! Wed Mar 11 21:13:24 -0700 2009 4496462 99971 anewton 6 4497685 Is Tojo's still wonderful? Thu Mar 12 09:07:12 -0700 2009 4496637 19003 PAO 7 4497830 The views on Tojo's - and Vij's for that matter - are very polarized here in town. Some people hate it, some people love it. I'll be diplomatic in saying I can see why people love both places....but neither fit my particular tastes (though I have had a couple of great meals at Vij's - but also a number of mediocre meals.) I have never had a good meal at Tojo's, personally - I though their omakase was overpriced for what you get. I much prefer a couple of other places in town (Lime, Octopus' Garden, etc....neither has the "wow" factor of Tojo's...but their sushi is outstanding, IMO). Both Tojo's and Vij's are quite popular for tourists and Hollywood types. (Everytime I have been to either place, there seems to be someone from the movie biz dining there.) Thu Mar 12 09:40:46 -0700 2009 4497685 145820 fmed 8 4498035 Interesting. We haven't gone to Tojo's the last few times we've been in Vancouver because the omakase didn't seem as good as it was a decade ago. Some dishes were still exquisite; others were only mediocre. And I haven't been to Vij's in a couple of years either . . . . Thu Mar 12 10:34:47 -0700 2009 4497830 19003 PAO 9 4498258 Actually you are spot on in stating Tojo's was better a decade ago. Vij's too, in that respect. The two places are so hyped that it is hard to live up to the expectations. Thu Mar 12 11:25:41 -0700 2009 4498035 145820 fmed 1 4498123 Native SD and love Vancouver.. Gastown puts the Gaslamp to shame..food is excellent and I have had great meals at Vij's and Gerard's which is in the Sutton Place Hotel.. Caffe Artigiano for lattes is one of the best..better than some lattes in Paris. Chinatown has some great places and the overall beauty of Vancouver can't be beat. Thu Mar 12 10:56:56 -0700 2009 4494987 97452 Beach Chick 2 4498263 I don't know the coffee scene in SD....the coffee scene here in Vancouver is very very good....good call on Artigiano, Beach Chick. Let me add 49th Parallel, Wicked, JJBean to the mix. (I also like Bump n Grind and Prado - but they are outside the downtown core over at Commercial Dr where I live/work). Thu Mar 12 11:27:59 -0700 2009 4498123 145820 fmed 3 4498314 coffee scene in SD blows..don't know why people feel that Starbucks is a place to get a good cup of coffee..nothing compares to what I had in Vancouver..not even Paris! I found Vancouver to rock on everything regarding food and drink.. I just wish fmed, you could bottle it and bring it down here.. Hope to get up there for the Olympics! Thu Mar 12 11:41:13 -0700 2009 4498263 97452 Beach Chick