searching for Quilicum restaurant

[Cynsa]

Vancouver, B.C. - arriving late Sunday evening from San Francisco to visit for three days...
my list is sketchy... I am searching the Western Canada CH board for advice... trying to read everything!

Joe Fortes for oysters
Fuel
Campagnolo
Sun Sui Wah
Quilicum Restaurant - 1724 Davie Street
http://community.seattletimes.nwsourc...
this news article is dated 1990

[Sam Salmon]

Qualicum is long gone.

Campagnolo is fine but in no way outstanding.

[grayelf]

Cynsa, you shoulda posted earlier so I could pay you back properly for all your great stuff on the SF Bay Area board :-). No more native restaurants, sadly, but I see fmed has come up with an option (as always!).

Do you have wheels? If so you should be heading to Richmond for Chinese/dim sum, kinda like you need to go to The Richmond in SF.

Fuel is worth a look for sure (they focus so beautifully on the local stuff), but I agree with Sam in that you can get better Italian in SF than Campag, though I do enjoy it. Go for Cioppino's or one of the Bucas if you're really keen on Italian.

If you're looking for moderately spendy to splurgey, here's a list I compiled recent-ish from board recs:

Bishop's
Bllue Water
C
Boneta
Tojo's
Five Sails
Fuel
Conor Butler
Le Crocodile
Voya
Lumiere/DB Bistro Moderne
Lime
Octopus' Garden
Cioppino's
Gotham
Joe Fortes
Bacchus
Chambar
Rodney's
Vij's
Fuel
West
Il Giardino
La Buca or L'Altro Buca (family style 6+ course chef's menu)

In terms of other good stuff, do you like Japanese? Worth trying out some sushi here (Lime on Commercial is a board favourite and in a great part of town to visit) and the izakaya I think are ahead of the SF curve. I like Guu with Garlic but I'm also partial to Zakkushi (there are three outposts) while others like Hapa and Kokurenbou (ack I'm sure I've mangled that).

I know there is a fair amount of Vietnamese in the Tenderloin but it might be fun to compare it to the stuff on offer here along Kingsway. My current favourite is farther out (car needed): Song Huong at 1st and Nanaimo.

I'm sure we can help you out more if you give us a bit more to go on. And feel free to drop me a line if you have non-food related questions.

PS I see one of your favourite restos is Canteen. Mine too!

I

[Cynsa]

Crossing the border from Bellingham/Ferndale at 3:15 pm on Sunday afternoon, we arrived in Canada at 3:35 pm and in Vancouver without a loonie or toonie in our pockets! It was too hot (remember we are acclimated to San Francisco's 62°F temperatures and not expecting 81°F at 9 pm on a Sunday evening!) to eat and we were faint from hunger. We were cash poor and relying on plastic... until we faced the parking challenge on Robson Street and had no Canadian coin for parking meters! Unfortunately for us, Kitanoya Guu with Garlic was closed for a staff party... but there was a money exchange shop open for the pleasures of all those Robson Street shoppers on Sunday near Joe Fortes... hot day = raw oysters in my book of chow. DH
had fried oysters which were superlative! I lovingly supped like the Walrus and the Carpenter from Alice in Wonderland on Vancouver Island Beach oysters, Pacific Rims and Kumamotos... we shared the raw plate, a comped amuse bouche and the chef's appetizer. The camera was forgotten in the bottom of my bag and my eyes were big with oysters! My heart belongs now to Vancouver Island beach oysters; plump, bright-flavored and incredibly sweet - We were poured two local wines by the glass, a sauvignon blanc that was heavily oaked and a pinot gris. At last! We had music, wine
in our glasses, food in front of us and the road weariness began to wane.
http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/MAIN/fish/seafood/oyster-glossary5.asp

Monday was a challenge; Lime is closed on Mondays — grayelf's note about Song Huong saved the day and we were happily satisfied with bowls of bun#25, #26, a tall
glass of longan and my cà phê sữa đá. This suited our comfort zone...DH was pleased not to be dragged back to forage on Robson Street, although I had one eye on Denman Street and had hoped to find Octopus Garden at 1995 Cornwall.

It is not a good strategy to circle aimlessly on city streets in traffic and heat. We sequestered ourselves in the foliage at the Vandusen Botanical Garden. walks through Stanley Park and along the waterfront and at MOA, the Museum of Anthropology and even squeezed in an early morning drive to Whistler. I was the proverbial kid in the candy store at Oyama Sausage Company on Granville Island; http://www.oyamasausage.ca/oyama_sausage_company.html
Our dinner at Lime was another highlight with flamenco music and half price sushi cones - iced green tea for my designated driver and cold sake for me - the sashimi plate, sunomono and zarusoba - hot day fare. The dynamite cone and the beef cone were the DH faves.
Dear Husband travels well. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/639941
— next time: Greek restaurants and spot prawns in Richmond
Thank you to all who welcomed us so warmly to B.C. - not the Heat Wave, the friendly camaraderie! ... another chowhound lives above Guu with Garlic stopped to chat and offer gustatory directions when she saw us peering longingly at the closed sign on its door on Sunday evening.

[grayelf]

Wow, you really did well! And nice oyster glossary link too. Sorry you ended up here in one of our rare but increasingly likely heatwaves.

[Cynsa]

Markets, museums and gardens are my heart's delights. I also like big trees and water byways. Mountains, too.... bears, deer, eagles, pelicans, porcupines, lizards, snakes and bees. Wind, lightning and clouds!

[fmed]

If you are looking for aboriginal cuisine (re: Quilicum), the Vancouver Community College is running a restaurant called the Wild Salmon to support their new aboriginal culinary arts program. Lunch only, from what I have read. I haven't tried it, but it looks very interesting.

http://www.vcc.ca/about-vcc/news.cfm?...

[Cynsa]

Thank you! We made our lunch reservation for Tuesday July 28. The dining room is very well appointed, the service is gracious, and the food is a marvel. This was a memorable experience for our first visit to Vancouver, B.C.
The starters were the oven baked bannock with oolichan oil and butter, clay baked halibut, bison carpaccio; mains were braised bison shortribs, grilled salmon; desserts were the warm bannock bread pudding and three house-made ice creams of cedar, blackberry with fennel, and wild rice and hazelnut (nine ice cream flavors are offered). These ice creams are absolutely outstanding!

[Cynsa]

bannock - clay baked halibut - bison carpaccio - dining room

[Cynsa]

braised bison short ribs - grilled salmon -

[Cynsa]

bannock bread pudding
3 house made ice creams: cedar, blackberry with fennel, and wild rice and hazelnut

[fmed]

Stunning! Thanks for the report. This place is totally under the radar...now I have to try to get over there myself.

It's so great that you thought to seek out aboriginal cuisine.

[Cynsa]

Please do... before August 19, when this session of the culinary program graduates.
I wanted to order everything on the menu... the Salmon Trio was not available, served smoked, candied, and wind-dried... the Warm Pheasant Salad intrigued me... just reading the ingredients offered on this menu was tantalizing. Each dish was plated to perfection with professionalism.

[Cynsa]

thanks to sam salmon, grrayelf and fmed! grayelf - I enjoyed reading your excellent SF posts ... we're on a Road Trip: SF- Portland OR - Vancouver B.C. - Spokane WA - Potlatch ID - SF. Trying to tie up loose ends before we hit the road, all that pre-vacation stuff like paying bills and putting the newspaper on hold, doing laundry... house-sitter for pets and plants... reading the CH boards - takes hours! Once we drive off at dawn, it's come what may! We like the serendipity of vacation. My fail safe backup is my Chowhound buds who always steer me on the straight path to good eats. Thank you.

—YES! please do reply here with your recommendations for Richmond... and especially for izakayas (it's true - SF lacks finesse in this realm).
I promise to report after August 8 - back on the computer in San Francisco .

[fmed]

Richmond recs will be predominantly Chinese and mostly dim sum

High to mid
Shanghai River, Kirin, Sun Sui Wah; Gingeri;
Empire; Red Star; Shiang Garden, Viva City

Low-end:
Chen's Shanghai Kitchen
The Food Courts at Aberdeen Mall, and at Richmond Public Market

Tons more I can add...but this should give you a start

[grayelf]

Here's a link to a recent thread that mentions pretty much all the izakaya downtown with links: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/618928

plus some sushi recs

[fmed]

I forgot Fisherman's Terrace (where we chowed down with yimster)...

[Cynsa]

Fisherman's Terrace won the coin toss. I did a last-minute email to Lambert but it was down to the wire and I had no time to read your Fisherman's Terrace posts. Knowing that I could not go wrong since you had chowed here... we were only two and I was determined to order more than one dish. The DH was eating lightly... I polished off both cups of soup and both halves of the lobster... he did finish his whole abalone and shiitake mushroom braised with broccoli and xo sauce and the warm sweet red bean soup for the dessert with coconut cookies... we had to pack up the seafood fried rice and the snowpeas and scallops (my morning breakfast - yes, I've gained 10 lbs. on this road trip)

[Cynsa]

Within just minutes of the 5:30 pm opening, every table of Fisherman's Terrace was occupied.. and the two top table next to us turned twice while we continued our feasting... most were large groups of six or eight. Serious chowing. Delightful chowing.

[Cynsa]

this made a fine next morning breakfast!

[grayelf]

So pleased you had good chow, and so chuffed about your VCC post and recco -- I am calling tomorrow to see what openings they have before Aug 20. Cynsa, you rock!

[grayelf]

FYI as mentioned by Cynsa, the last date for VCC resto Wild Salmon is Aug 19th, which means we only have a few dates left to try it (I called this a.m. and they are closed next Tuesday for educational stuff and booked out next Wednesday according to a staffer who was quietly enthusiastic and proud to sing the praises of the students' efforts). I'll be calling back today with my booking once I have secured a lunch companion -- so glad I am off work and can go during the week.

[Cynsa]

Our wo choy dinner for two selections at Fisherman's Terrace surpass the seafood offerings here in the Bay Area; the lobster was sweet - perfectly prepared and well-seasoned; the abalone was toothsome with a meltingly richness; the scallops were bright with flavor with lily buds. While I would not order shark fin soup at home for sustainable efforts, this broth tasted so healthful. I seldom order fried rice at home; again, this seafood version with tobiko was marvelous to taste with a balance of fresh flavors. DH commented that he enjoyed the hot red bean soup that ended this feast and he usually skips it when it's offered... he did like both the coconut and almond cookies, too. Richmond rules! Better than home!
I hope the Canadian chowhounds will join me for a chowdown next time... with ample notice of arrival? There's much more to explore... and enjoy!