Vancouver: lots of suggestions needed

[chowsue]

I need your expertise chowhounds!

I need Vancouver suggestions...and lots of them!

I will be in your neck of the woods for 2 and a half months and need as many culinary suggestions as you can fork out.

Lunch - walking distance from the convention center. Takeout or delivery only, sadly.

Dinner - anywhere accessible by public transport. Any price. Can be a dive or expensive. Any type of cuisine. As long as the food is awesome. Will be in big groups at times, or solo at times. I like to eat at a different place every day if possible, so need tons of suggestions.

Also, I welcome any Vancouver food blogs that you enjoy reading.

Thanks!!!!

[Cancuk]

For dinner: I would recommend either being more specific, or just doing some searching on the boards as everything you're looking for has been covered.

[chowsue]

ok, well specifically, I am looking for what I should not leave town without trying.

How about: list your top (at least) 50 favorite food places. I know I could do that for you EASILY in NY, so locals should be able to do that easily for Vancouver.

I am not looking for anything specific....just the best food your city has to offer. I have a lot of meals to explore and can't wait to try everything!!!!

[fmed]

For ethnic eats : try Degan Beley's blog http://ethniceats.ca/ and her Google Map http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&source=embed&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=110891852527091689707.00046701cf12789eebab7

Here are a few other food blogs of note: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/629110

Also - scrolling back through this forum by a couple of months will generate pretty long list of restaurants (and other food-related places) for you to try.

[chowsue]

this blog will keep me happily reading for a long time. Thanks for passing it along.

[peter.v]

I'd say take a look at local food critic Andrew Morrison's list of 50 things to eat and drink in Vancouver: http://www.westender.com/articles/entry/one-critic-one-stomach-no-limits/food-and-drink/

Also, take a look at Vancouver Magazine's equivalent list for this year: http://www.vanmag.com/Shopping/Food_a...

These lists will kind of give you a feel for Vancouver's culinary scene.

Otherwise, any of the lengthier Vancouver threads will likely give you inspiration for your 2.5 months! If you post some specific favorite cuisines and such, I'm sure a few of us would pitch in some specific restaurant recommendations. Vancouver is a city of over 2 million after all (and a lot of restaurants!).

[chowsue]

I love all cuisines. I especially like ethnic foods. I would like to try everything.

I especially am interested in knowing what I can't leave town without trying.

Seriously, I love all cuisines. I am looking for good food, and the cuisine does not matter.

Thanks!!!!!!

[chowsue]

Love the list of top 50 things to eat and drink! Thanks!

[chowsue]

Peter.v I would like to personally thank you for letting me know about that Vancouver Magazine list. It turns out that I have been using this as my Bible and have been trying everything on the list. The list is dead-on and FANTASTIC! WOW! I have tried about 15-20 things on the list already and they were to die for. Thank you!!!

[peter.v]

My pleasure! Really glad to see you're enjoying the city!

[Albertagirl]

We were in Van last weekend and lucked upon a restaurant called Crave, on Main. Tiny, maybe 35 seats, and neither formal or expensive. We were impressed by every dish we had: crab cakes, halibut and fries, pulled pork sandwich, pasta with a braised short rib sauce. The chef has worked around the world, and I would say the kitchen really knows what they are doing. Had lunch at a funky little outdoor spot near Granville Market called "Go Fish". Definitely casual, and not for a rainy day, but really good salmon tacarones (sp?). The fish and chips looked great too. If you go into the the Granville market (or their location on West 4th) have anything from Terra Breads. Their focaccias are great for a snack, and their breads are great if you have a way to enjoy them, ie cheese and a bottle of wine in your room. I especially love both the green and black olive loaves. I bought one of their cranberry crostatas, ate it and bought more on the spot to share later, they were sooo good! Not too sweet, with a butter pastry that I wish I had the recipe for!

[chowsue]

great! Will try.

[fmed]

chowsue....note that the "Place" links in Albertagirl's post were auto-generated by the Chowhound system and has nothing at all to do with her actual recommendations.

[chowsue]

Thanks for the great suggestions and the great food blog listings. Very very helpful. Keep em coming please!

Thanks everyone!!!

[coliwoggle]

Maenam is pretty new and getting rave reviews (used to be Gastropod). The word is that they're doing for Thai food what Vij's has done for Indian. Which brings up Vij's just off South Granville which you simply cannot miss. Get there early though, like 4 or 5 for dinner, they don't take reservations and are regularly lined up well out the door and down the block.

For lunch you could walk to Market in the Shangri La Hotel. It's a branch off the Jean-George Vongerichton tree and they were doing a not bad $29 three course lunch, I hope they still are.

[chowsue]

oh, and remember, a specific request is: lunch within walking distance from the Convention center (takeaway or delivery available). That is pretty specific request, and has not been covered anywhere on this board, at aleas that I can find by searching......

Thanks!!

[fmed]

There are lots of small restuarants that do lunch business there. Here is a short list:

(this one is not on the Chowhound database yet...)
La Tacqueria -New place, getting a lot of raves . I haven't been, but a few forum members give it a thumbs up.
http://maps.google.ca/maps/place?hl=e...
Artigiano - good espresso, decent sandwiches
La Casita - a decent sit-down Mexican. (Vancouver isn't known for good Mexican
)Scuie - great place for Roman pizza, sandwiches, pasta, etc
Steamworks - a brew pub, beer, fries, poutine, that sort of thing.

Tacos Mexico Rico - run by a Mexican family - the tacos are authentic, quality is just fine.

[fmed]

OK...Chowhound's new system obliterated my list...I'll post it again but without commentary:

[fmed]

OK....I can't seem to add Links....I'll try again tomorrow....hth...trick or treating about to start.

edit...they are showing up now.

[chowsue]

wow...all these places will deliver to the convention center?

[fmed]

Most of these places will do takeout - I don't know about delivery.

[fmed]

Try this place for delivery:
http://www.yummyweb.com/

[chowsue]

great! This is like seamlessweb.com that we use in NY! Thanks!

[fmed]

I just noticed that Sciue is listed incorrectly in the Chowhound database - it is at 800 WEST Pender not 800 East Pender.

[chowsue]

From looking on the map, these all seem within walking distance from the convention center. But sometimes maps are hard to read...am I reading that right? WOW! Great.
I also found Japdog is close, no?

[fmed]

Yes - the Coal Harbour location of Japadog is close.

These places are all pretty close the convention center. The downtown peninsula is pretty small. If you need to expand a bit - the Skytrain will take you to more places nearby.

[chowsue]

oh! Also.....How's the street meat scene in Vancouver? Trucks and carts are quite the trend in NYC for lunch.

[fmed]

It is pretty pathetic compared to NYC.

We have some pretty draconian street food laws here...Hot Dogs, Chestnuts, are the only real choices. I hope they follow the lead of places like NYC, Portland, etc....even Toronto has loosened up these laws.

There are a number of hole-in-the-wall shawarma, sushi, etc. joints that may fill the bill. If you are from NYC...please avoid the pizza here at all costs.

[chowsue]

Looking at your suggestions and reading the lists and blogs and menus, I am starting to get realllllll excited guys! I haven't been to Vancouver in years, and I was only there a few days. I remember there being great food there and everyone says the restaurants are just awesome. I can't wait now! WOW!!!

[J and V]

Since you said 2.5 months, and used the convention center as a reference, I'm thinking you are covering/working at the 2010 Winter Games? If so, might be worth factoring increased traffic, reservation hassles, etc into your planning. Not a dis on the games but we are all expecting the place to be pretty gridlocked, especially downtown.

[Indy 67]

Prompted by the upcoming Winter Games, the WASHINGTON POST ran an article about visiting Vancouver. Since the focus was mainly on what the article called "aboriginal tourism" -- powwows, wilderness treks, and a First Nation winery visit -- the timing of these trips was more about a warm weather visit than a visit linked to the Winter Games. My husband and I plan on visiting Vancouver this summer so I've begun to investigate.

Considering I've always thought of Vancouver as a great eating town, I was surprised to note only one restaurant recommendation: Blue Water Cafe. Does this restaurant have a First Nation connection? If not, what about it would make the POST single it out as their lone recommenation? I'll say that the dish mentioned in the article (Arctic char with maitaki mushrooms and mountain caviar) sounded appealing.

What other restaurants in Vancouver should my husband and I try that offer regional cuisine?

[fmed]

I'm not surprised that it got a mention - Blue Water (and its sister restaurants in the Top Table group) has a formidable marketing team, but for the most part - it can "walk the talk". If you are interested in locally sourced seafood then this is one of the best places to get it.

For regional food (ie "Localvore-ish PNW Cuisine/ Pacific Rim Cuisine/BC Cuisine", etc) the restaurants that will represent well are Fuel, Boneta, Cru, Diva, Yew...there are others but this should give you a starting point.

For aboriginal food - the Vancouver Community College's Aboriginal Culinary Arts Program runs Wild Salmon seasonally (spring/summer) - it may be open when you visit. Here is a first-hand thread on Wild Salmon from a couple of months back http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/647117

You can experience other aboriginal offerings (eg Indian Candy, etc.) and aboriginal experiences (Salmon BBQ's), here and there as well.

Start a new thread and we'll help you out.

[grayelf]

And don't forget Bishop's, the eminence grise of localish dining.

[chowsue]

Yes, but no worries there because we will not be dining out DURING the games, only before. :)

Yes, prepare yourselves Vancouver locals for all your favorite restaurants to double their prices, all the good places to be fully booked, and millions of tourists taking over your city. Sorry guys. :)

[LeviT]

Here are a few good places to eat for dinner or late night chow:

1. Jang Mo Jib (Korean)- Robson (Best go with a large crowd, and maybe someone who is Korean, because these are authentic dishes, and some of them may not sound appetizing at first glance.
2. Tropika-Robson
3. Banana Leaf- Broadway/ Denman
4. Trattoria- W. 4th Ave
5. The Red Door- Granville (The Shaking Beef and the Pineapple Fried Rice are amazing)
6. The Eatery- W. Broadway
7. Sophie's Cosmic Cafe-W 4th (Breakfast/Brunch)
8. Cafe Zen- Breakfast (The most choices of Eggs Benedict I have ever seen on a menu)
9. Noodle Box- W. 4th Ave
10. Ebisu - Downtown
11. Some Kinda Pasta- W. 10th
12. Memphis Blues BBQ (Go with 2 or 3 ppl and get the Memphis Feast.)
13. Any of the Glowbal Group Restaurants
14. Gyoza King -Robson (Ebi Mayo and Gyu Yukke are a must)
15. Vera's Burger - (daily specials during the week)
16. Belgium Fries - Commercial Drive
17. Don Guacomole - Robson St.
18. Samurai Sushi- Oak St. (Tiny joint near Oakridge Centre. Tiny joint serving cheap, HUGE portions)

[urbanchowlover]

How about taking the skytrain to Richmond area? We have the best Chinese restaurants in North America.
For dim sum- Fisherman Terrace and Kirin
For Shanghainese- Top Shanghai and Dynesty

[bcboy1]

Ok here are the best places to eat in Vancouver. I was born here and I eat here, and you have to listen to me!

-Gyoza King On Robson Street. Get the Negitoro, the Pork Belly, and some gyoza. go late night and be prepared to wait.
-Shalin Noodle house On Broadway. Go there on a rainy day, the windows should be steamy. get the cutting noodles with beef and pepper and the shredded pork with green onions.
-Hons Wonton \House on Keefer it think, in china town. Get bbq pork wonton noodle in soup.
Sun Sui Wah for dimsum on Main street. go talk to the dumpling lady at the front and get her to hook you up. dont miss the sticky rice
-La Casita across from woodwards building. great mexican in very casual atmosphere. get the super tortilla soup.
-Vera's Burgers on Main street. kind of controversial but these are my favorite burgers.
-La Buca on Macdonald Street. The best Italian in the city. go with a group and get them to cook family style. the best meals in vancouver
-Pied a terre on Cambie Street. Same owners as La Buca. The french bistro. The fois gras terrine is the best.
-Tandoori King On Fraser. out of the way a bit and not trendy like Vij's but for my money its better.
-Toshi sushi on 16th and Main. Always a line, but worth it.
-Tojo's On Broadway. Another controversial one but i think if you want to splurge its the best place in vancouver to do it.
-Grotto del Formagio on Commercial Street. Best Paninis in town
-La Quercia on 4th. Very good Italian.
-Market at the Shangri la. Really good food and great dining room. Truffle and fontina cheese pizza!

so much good food. enjoy

[van2380]

My favourite places:

1. Chambar for the mussels
2. Boneta-good vibe
3. La Terrazza-they don't have it listed but they created a tasting menu for us for $80. The portions were huge (I think they basically cut all the normal recipes in half) and the head chef came out to present and explain all the courses
4. Rodneys for oysters
5. Italian Kitchen/Trattoria
6. Noodlebox for the Tom Yum soup
7. Tojo's
8. Vij's but it is always busy even at 5:30
9. Market-best for lunch
10. Urban fare for lunch. They have a flat price for salads, rather than a weighed price so it doesn't cost $20 for lunch
11. The foundation for really cheap vegetarian brunch
12. Legendary noodle-cheap hole in the wall on main street
13. West
14. Blue water cafe
15. Salt wine bar-best wine bar in town

[chowsue]

I have made a pretty good dent in my Vancouver culinary explorations so far and look forward to another month of more fun. I have stuck mostly to downtown because I really have been so busy at work, it is hard to go very far. Here is what I have tried so far:

- conglaise mussels and belgian beer at Chambar. WOW! Oh. My. God. The best mussels I have had in my life. And delicious beer (I tried Troublette). Pricy, but it lasted me for two meals. Worth every single penny. WOW!

- breakfast at Cafe Medina. WOW! Unbelievably good. The best breakfast I probably ever had. I tried the Eggs Fricasse, which is good, but the winner is the Tagine (Poached eggs and sausage with tomato ragout). lavendar latte kept me powered at work for the whole 12 hours! Delicious coffee. And the waffles are to die for. Waffles with lavender milk chocolate. I am drooling thinking about it. I met a bloke from Ireland there who goes there every day he is in town. This time was 15 days in a row. I understand completely and fully why. And the handsome owner, Robbie, is amazing. He is personable and remembers my name even though he only met me once before. That is good service.

- Tuna Tataki at Cactus Club. I tried 3 times to get in here, but they don't take reservations and the wait is over an hour. I don't have that kind of time unfortunately here. Well worth the wait if you do, though. I finally got an invite from colleagues who waited merrily at the bar and I cruised in at dinner time with impeccable timing. The tuna tataki really was worth waiting for. The mini sliders were boring. The sablefish was good. The apps are where it is at though and stick to that amazing tuna dish and do not by any means miss the ravioli with shrimp on top. WOW!

- S.ocial sandwich shop. I LOVE it here. Cool decor, cool window counter, and outstanding sandwiches. I am not a big sandwich fan and went thinking "hey, what is the big deal?". It is a big deal. Amazingly good. A long wait though, because there are only two folks working there with a line out the door, and handmade sandwiches that they take their time on. Soups are good too, so don't hesitate.

- bear, brie, prosciutto sandwich at Finch. Probably the best thing I ate in Vancouver, and probably the best thing I ate all year. It was that good. I would fly 6 hours to go to Vancouver just to have that sandwich again. Amazing. Slow as all heck though. Cool funky environment.

- Blue Water Cafe ceviche and sashimi. Hated the ceviche. It was on the "things to eat before you die" list, so I had to try it because the list was so "on". It was terrible. The grapefruit completely overpowered the fish. The sashimi was good, but nothing worth singing about. Very expensive too. I don't mind expensive if it is worth it, but this was not worth it. Ok, so one bad meal in 2 weeks ain't too bad!

- Cin Cin. OK, I ordered poorly here, and it ain't their fault. I hate cream sauce, and I ordered a creamy pasta pappardelle with chicken. I am Southern Italian, and believe pasta should have tomatoes on it, not cream. The pasta was delicious, I love handmade pasta. I want to give them another chance. The mozzarella, though, was worth writing home about. Creamiest mozzarella I have ever had! Better than anything in NY or even Italy that I have tried! The tiramisu was also on "the list" and it was terrible as well. Ok, so the list is not infallible, but an excellent suggestion list.

-- Cioppinos. Lobster linguine with a touch of cream was awesome. I did get to meet the famous Pino (the chef), but unfortunately under the wrong circumstances. Whatever you do, do not say anything about the food unless you wish to be mortified by the chef himself. I felt I was on the set of Hell's Kitchen. He will personally come over and go off on you. Yikes! But I calmed him down, and he is my best friend now. We sat around for a long time, chatting, he offered me a tour of his kitchen, and he gave me a complimentary canoli. And this whole long story leads to the point of my trip - the best cannoli I have ever eaten in my life. Yes. Better than NY. Ny cannolis are too bready. Better than Italy. Yes I said it. The shell is light and airy, and stuffing perfectly balanced. Do not miss it.

- La Terrazza pasta bolognese. I could eat here every night and be very, very happy. Amazing handmade pasta and a solid sauce. I hope I can pry myself away from trying other places long enough to go back here.

- Ukranian Kitchen. Very good. Not the best I have had, but very good. The perogis and stuffed cabbage are good. The main dinner with stuffed cabbage, perogis and sausage is expensive, but I got two meals out it.

- Vietnamese sub. Banh Mi. Not as good as NY Chinatown, but it will do nicely. Cheap ($3.25). Good. Try it.

- Mink. Fountain of youth chocolate. Good, but not the best chocolate I have ever had. Definitely NOT worth the $6 or $7 they charge for a tiny bar. Hmm.

- ChocolaTas. Yes. Delicious.

- Victoria Gin. Not a fan. Maybe it needed a little tonic, so I have to reserve judgement. I adore Hendricks, and it would be hard to touch that.

- Salt. The sandwich was nothing special. Slow as all heck. I had to take to do. But the side salad was awesome! Was it that? celery and something and parm curls.... A cool place to sip wine and nibble cheese. Will have to go back for that.

- Poutine. New York Fries seemed to be the fav on chowhound, so that is one I tried. It was good. Very interesting.

- Joey. I had Kobe beef meatballs and spaghetti. Not great and gave me indigestion all night. LOL. Shouldha tried something else, like steak or salmon. Oh well.

- Cafe Artiggiano. Sandwhich was good. But after the sandwiches at S.ocial and Finch, these pale in comparison. Good coffee, with beautiful coffe art on their swirls. Our coffees just don't have this in NY. We are too busy rushing to and from to stop and ...look at our coffee. :-)

- Uva Wine Bar. Great tapas, plus you can order from the italian restaurant menu too! Two in one! Love it. Kinda cheesy decor, but the food was good. Had a few things, but the shaved leek salad stands out.

- Sandbar. Great oysters! Great fish!!! Awesome, fun atmosphere and scenery.

- Japadog. Ok seriously, what is the big deal about this? Um, because it IS a big deal. It is DELICIOUS!!!!!!!

- Brioche. Had a fairly boring sandwich there. Nice spot to eat, but I think I would need to figure out what they have that is crave-able.

- Moose. Australian. Ok, the food is nothing special (but is dependably good)..however you need to come here to experience the service. How do they remember everyone's name and what they are drinking? Great service.

So I had quite a few wonderful experiences, and look forward to my future fun. Can't wait!
The folks in Vancouver are so friendly and inviting, the food is good, and the city is nice. I tell folks it is like Manhattan, but clean and friendly! :-)

Thanks for all your suggestions. If anyone has some more, keep em coming. Thanks!!

[for_ladybug]

If you like tapas style....do plan on hitting Bin 941.
It is up near Robson and has the menu on it's website.
A foodie friend took me here when I first moved to the city and it has been my favourite place for flavour ever. The navajo bread and mussels were my favourite.

The place is small, have sat at the chef's table watching the kitchen which was fun. Took a class at Gourmet Warehouse with Chef Gord. He was not so kind that night and ruined the inscription in my cookbook, left a bad taste.

[chowsue]

Here is what I have hit so far!

1. Elephant & Castle
2. Al Porto
3. Simply Thai
4. Tojo
5. Beard Papa
6. Araxi
7. Garibaldi Lift Company
8. Gone Bakery
9. Steamworks Brewery
10. Italian Kitchen
11. L'Altro Buca
12. Nuba
13. Sciue Cafe
14. Scoozis
15. Hy's Steakhouse
16. Joe Fortes
17. Kitanoya Guu
18. Hapa Izakaya
19. Gyoza King
20. Hon's Wun Tun
21. Japadog
22. Junsei Udon
23. Ukranian Village
24. Social
25. Cafe Artigiano
26. Cafe Joey
27. Chambar
28. Cafe Medina
29. Uva
30. Finch's
31. Mink
32. Sandbar
33. Salt
34. Cactus Club
35. Cin Cin
36. Ny Fries
37. Cioppino's
38. La Taqueria
39. Moose Down Under
40. Greedy Pig
41. La terrazza
42. Brioche
43. Blue Water Cafe
44. Bin 941
45. Fish House
46. La Brasserie
47. Lennox Pub
48. Mik Sa (Bowen)
49. Water Street Cafe
50. Charm Thai
51. Rodney Oyster
52. Snug Coffee House (Bowen)
53. Vij's
54. Cibo
55. Sura
56. Tim Hortons
57. Lamplighter Public House
58. Black Frog
59. Vallarta
60. Salty Tongue
61. Les Faux Bourgeois
62. Smart Mouth
63. Bambo Cafe
64. Diamond
65. Revel
66. Guu with Otokomae
67. Vera's Burgers
68. Pourhouse
69. Umberto
70. Citta
71. Don Guacamole
72. Sala Thai
73. Market
74. Next Noodle
75. Kintaro Ramen
76. Yaletown Brewery
77. Dix

Man, some good eating in this city! Thanks for all your suggestions everyone. It has been absolutely wonderful!

[el_lobo_solo]

whoa! scary to think you said "so far" ; ) happy to hear you had a good time

[islandgirl]

We'd be interested in your reviews/thoughts re: the above! Hits/Misses, etc

[fmed]

That list deserves a Gold Medal. Very impressive indeed!

[grayelf]

No kidding -- I've only been to half those places and I've lived in Vancouver most of my life. You go, chowsue!