Photo Visit – Maenam – January 2013

1938 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1M5

T: 604 730 5579
www.maenam.ca

Brief Description: A popular Kitsilano-based restaurant that offers well-executed, modern Thai food. Maenam is friendly on the wallet, without sacrificing quality or ambiance.

I know that this makes me sound like a HUGE grump but I’m not a fan of Dine Out Vancouver. Yes, I understand that it gives a huge injection of cash to local restaurants when they so desperately need it (just after the Christmas rush) but I think it typically doesn’t portray a restaurant in the best light. When you have that many seats turning over in a night, I think service becomes strained and the kitchen loses its passion when it is cooking the same dishes every night for two weeks straight. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I normally avoid restaurants that are participating in Dine Out until it ends. However, there was a night last week where I just didn’t want to cook. I was feeling a bit blue and the thought of having to go through the whole process of making dinner just seemed too difficult. B was in the same boat so the decision was made to go out for dinner.

It had been a while since we were last at Maenam and as we entered the restaurant we realized that they were participating in Dine Out. Our initial reaction was disappointment but we were able to get a table and, as we love the food so much at Maenam, we decided to see what they could showcase by ordering the Dine Out menu. It was incredible value at $28 per person for one starter, one salad, one curry, and one stir fry to share between two people, followed by a dessert each. Perhaps my mind could be changed about Dine Out…

Our favourite salad, the grilled Thai sausage and crispy rice salad, was unavailable whilst Dine Out was on which pushed us to try something new. We started with the mussels with Thai aromatics and nahm jim sauce, which I didn’t get a photo of, but were steamed mussels with a light broth of lemongrass, bird’s eye chilies, and Thai basil. The nahm jim sauce added even more delicious heat, with a hint of sweetness. It appears that our favourite salad now has some competition. The rest of our meal unfolded like this:

Salad to share: Banana Blossom SaladStir Fry to share: Pork Belly Stir FryCurry to share: Green Curry of Halibut CheeksPassion Fruit TrioDark Chocolate Pot de Crème

All of the dishes were really quite impressive. The banana blossom salad was unlike anything that I’ve eaten before. The banana blossoms themselves were quite husky and crunchy which gave a really interesting texture to the dish, whereas the fresh mint and coriander, gave bold flavours. What can I say about Maenam’s curries? I love the curries here and the halibut green curry packs quite a punch but is one of my favourites. The pork belly salad was a must-order for B – for me, the flavours were good but I’m always a little put off by the obvious fat marbling of the pork belly (yes, shoot me now). Dessert-wise I had heard a lot of good things about the chocolate pot de crème, so I had to try that but I was kicking myself because the tangy passion fruit trio was, in my opinion, a better choice. The chocolate pot was delicious, but I had a hard time enjoying the tangy tamarind ice cream.

Final Thoughts: Overall, we loved the food at Maenam (we always have) and this menu really gave us a chance to try some different dishes. Maybe, just maybe, Dine Out isn’t so bad after all.

Photo Visit – Maenam – October 2012

1938 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1M5

T: 604 730 5579
www.maenam.ca

Brief Description: A popular Kitsilano-based restaurant that offers well-executed, modern Thai food. Maenam is friendly on the wallet, without sacrificing quality or ambiance.

I’m quite certain that I would fail to be classified as what is considered a “traditional” housewife (i.e. someone who has dinner on the table every night, someone who cleans). I despise cleaning and, whilst I really do love to cook, I will often be persuaded (quite easily in fact) to take off the apron and head out for dinner.

Evidence of this was just last night when B twisted my rubber arm to go out for dinner, when really we should have had dinner at home. Instead, it was off to one of our favourite local restaurants, Maenam, for a spot of mod-Thai. We tried two new dishes and we also ordered our favourite dish on the menu, the grilled Thai sausage and crispy rice salad. Nom nom!!

Grilled Thai sausage and crispy rice salad – $11

Crispy fried oysters with nahm jim sauce – $12

Stir fried Paradise valley baby back pork ribs - $18

Typically I love everything that Maenam does. The oysters were fabulous (be careful, they are hot) and the sausage salad was as wonderfully balanced as I’ve come to expect, however, I didn’t really enjoy the ribs. It could be that they are pork (I prefer beef ribs) but they just didn’t do it for me.

I love Maenam! I’m always looking for an excuse to return. And, on some nights, I don’t even need an excuse.

Photo Visit – Fable – October 2012

1944 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1M7

T: 604 732 1322
www.fablekitchen.ca

Weekend brunch is pretty much my favourite time to explore restaurants around the city. Yes, dinner service is typically a stronger experience, but during brunch you are able to get a sense of what the restaurant is like without having to spend dinner prices. With your dollar going further than what it would at dinner, you also get to spread the love to many more local restaurants.

Just recently B and I have eaten brunch at Yolk’s Breakfast, Catch 122, Tableau, West (of course!), and we have had two recent brunch visits to Fable in Kitsilano. When we were at Fable two weeks ago, I tried the scrambled eggs, which were served in a small mason jar and topped with a foam, and finished with brioche, rösti, and sauteed spinach and bacon (no photo, sorry!). For $12, it was not only good value for money but damn tasty too.

When I returned this weekend, I chose the farmers muffin, which was an English muffin topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, cheddar, tomato jam, and served with salad and rösti. I also ordered a side of the house bacon, which fell short of my expectations as it was incredibly dry (no, not crunchy), which made it quite difficult to eat.

Farmers Muffin - $10

House Bacon – $4

This is just a photo visit so I won’t go into too much detail but I did think that the scrambled egg dish from my previous visit left more of an impression than the farmers muffin. In my opinion, I felt that the sausage needed more seasoning and the tomato jam was too sweet and over-powering.

Prices are extremely reasonable for brunch (except for the $12 caesar!) and it is interesting to see that both times that I’ve been in there for brunch, it has been absolutely packed. The only times that I saw Refuel that busy was in the final few weeks so whatever Fable is doing appears to be getting butts in seats. I’ve yet to be wowed but I’d go back for brunch.

Photo Visit – The Eatery – August 2012

3431 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
V6R 2B4

T: 604 738 5298
www.theeatery.ca

Brief Description: A funky and busy sushi hangout, where you will be tempted by a large and unique menu that focuses on innovative rolls. For the less adventurous, traditional sushi items are also available.

Before I moved to Vancouver, I must admit that I was not a fan of sushi. And to be honest, considering the amount of sushi aficionados in this city, I’d probably still rate pretty low on the scale of people who appreciate sushi in all of its cold, slippery, slimy glory. However, I have slowly come around to eating and enjoying sushi, and for that I thank The Eatery. It was regular visits to The Eatery with some of my previous co-workers that opened my eyes to variations of sushi. It dawned on me that it didn’t have to be all about the raw fish.

I had a bit of hiatus from The Eatery, mostly due to my ambivalence towards the fishy stuff, but B and I have recently been back a few times. Our most recent visit was on Sunday night for dinner because, after our trip to Whistler, we couldn’t be bothered cooking. I still always order the tuna tempura to start our meal but, in this case, I was too hungry to wait to photograph it so no photo for you!

Viva Las Vegas roll – Tempura style roll with crab, eel, avocado, cream cheese and spicy misonnaise – $7.50

 Found Nemo roll, which consists of tempura crab, avocado, asparagus, wrapped with seared salmon – $6.95

I still really love the Viva Las Vegas roll but I think the Volcano takes first place for me as best creative roll. The crab tempura in the Found Nemo roll was really quiet unusual with its taste and texture so I wouldn’t likely order that roll again.

You’ll love The Eatery so long as you don’t mind noise, are looking for a fun atmosphere, and aren’t too fussed on service. The service seems to be mostly attractive female students so set your expectations accordingly.

Photo Visit – Maenam – July 2012

1938 West 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V6J 1M5

T: 604 730 5579
www.maenam.ca

Brief Description: A popular Kitsilano-based restaurant that offers well-executed, modern Thai food. Maenam is friendly on the wallet, without sacrificing quality or ambiance.

I realized, with some horror, that I haven’t done a photo visit post on Maenam for quite some time. With even more horror, I realized that almost all of my previous posts contained pictures that I’d taken with my old camera, likely contributing to me doing Maenam a disservice (sorry about that Maenam!). Even though I haven’t been doing regular photo updates, I still frequent Maenam and think very highly of it.

I almost feel as though Maenam should be classified as mod-Thai as the flavours are very traditional but they do a modern take on classic dishes. Whilst the restaurant could use a lick of paint to revitalize it, it still appears to be bopping along quite nicely and is usually full during the evening rush, particularly on weekends. Lunch times are a bit quieter, but with a $25 tasting menu, I don’t know why. The tasting menu represents good value for money as $25 per person gets you get one starter, one salad, one curry, and a stir fry, to share between the table.

Grilled Thai Sausage and Crispy Rice Salad – $10

Maenam have recently changed one of their dishes, the grilled Thai sausage, for the better. The grilled fermented Thai sausage is now served with crispy rice puffs, shavings of lemongrass, fried shallots, and coriander. With different textures (crunchy, chewy, crispy) and Thai flavours (sour, salty, sweet,) this dish represents a well-balanced tribute to Thailand. I love it and can’t get enough, especially at only $10 a serving.

Roti and Peanut Sauce – $6

I can’t pass up servings of flaky roti, especially when paired with chunky peanut sauce ($6). A definite must-order.

Prawn Pad Thai - $15

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I honestly believe that pad Thai should NOT be made with ketchup, it really should be made with tamarind paste otherwise the subtle flavours of the dish are completely over-powered by the sweet ketchup. Maenam, thankfully, makes their pad Thai with tamarind paste so the flavours are well-balanced and they included a side of chili flakes so that you increase the heat, if needed.

I’ve been neglecting Maenam a bit lately as I’ve been distracted with all the newbies that have been popping up, but I really shouldn’t have. Maenam has been a consistent player for years, and remains strong.

La Ghianda – Photo Visit – June 2012

2083 Alma Street
Vancouver, Point Grey
V6R 4N6

T: 604 566 9559
www.laghianda.ca

**Updated: April 2013 – La Ghianda is now closed**

Brief Description: This modest deli provides hearty, simple Italian fare at affordable prices. Dine-in and take-out options available. Limited seating. Closed Sundays and Mondays, open from 11am to 6pm.

It had been awhile since my last visit to La Ghianda and the reason for my hiatus was for no other reason than too many places to try, not enough time (we are so spoilt for food choices in Vancouver). I’ve always enjoyed visiting La Ghianda and when we went back on Saturday, we left pleased that things were as they have always been – affordable, comforting, and satisfying.

Porchetta panini

Linguine with beef cheek and potato 

The porchetta panini was loaded with pieces of pork crackling, thin slices of pork, and topped with salsa verde. Perhaps I am being particular, but I would have preferred the meat to have been warm. After indulging in many porchetta sandwiches from Meat and Bread, it was slightly disappointing to sink into cold meat.

As a carb-lover, I love the hearty servings pasta from La Ghianda, and their sister restaurant La Quercia. As usual, I found their pasta to be perfectly al dente and well seasoned. The potato was an interesting addition. Bravo!

Final Thoughts: An affordable and well-executed casual deli. You can’t go wrong with any of the three daily pastas and the generous-sized paninis will stretch your stomach to its limits.

My Kitsilano favourites

In an effort to make good places easier to find for those who aren’t overly familiar with the dining scene in Vancouver, I am aiming to make a list of places that I recommend in each area of the city. My aim is to provide readers with a list of tried and true restaurants in different price brackets so that most of the guess-work is done. Here are my price definitions:

High End: Prices in this category are typically above $25 per main course. These are higher-end places so a bit of effort with dress is required, reservations are likely, and these restaurants can be relied on for a special occasion or to impress a date or family members. A little hoity-toity but not in a you-aren’t-good-enough-to-be-here kinda place.

Mid Range: Prices in this category are generally around the $15 to $20 mark for main courses. The atmosphere is welcoming and slightly more formal than the lower-end places so you could likely still get away with jeans, but not your Lululemons. Perfect for situations where you want a comfortable setting, like date-night, catch up with the girls, or just a good meal at a decent price.

Affordable: Prices in this category are around $10 to $15 for a main course. The atmosphere is usually more laid-back so there really isn’t a dress standard. Perfect for weekends, affordable alternative to cooking,

I will start with an area of the city that I know well, Kitsilano, and I hope to soon have a similar list for other areas of the city. Note: obviously I haven’t eaten at every single place in Kits so this list will continue to change.

High End Choices in Kitsilano:

• Bishop’s - A local high-end favourite, Bishop’s has been in business for 25 years doing what they do best; local, (mostly) organic food with a definite West Coast influence. Perfect for special occasions.

Mid Range Choices in Kitsilano:

• Maenam – A popular West 4th-based restaurant that offers well-executed, modern Thai food. Maenam is friendly on the wallet, without sacrificing quality or ambiance.
• La Quercia – A small, intimate restaurant located on the corner of Alma and West 4th. Offers exceptional Italian food and wine at reasonable prices. Book well in advance.

Rabbit Duo from La Quercia

Affordable in Kitsilano:

• La Ghianda –  This modest deli provides hearty, simple Italian fare at affordable prices. Dine-in and take-out options available. Limited seating. Open from 11am to 6pm.
• Thomas Haas - A patisserie and chocolate store, owned and operated by renowned pastry chef, Thomas Haas. Delicious sandwiches are available for lunch. Not open in the evenings, Sundays or Mondays.
• Burgoo – Recently opened on 4th, Burgoo offers comfort food. Some of the dishes are bland but I can never say no to the Gooey Cheese Grillers – which I think are the best grilled cheese in town!
• The Eatery – There are so many things to dislike about The Eatery. It’s loud and dark, there is always a line-up, and the service is very hit-and-miss, but it is a fun place to go for not-your-typical sushi. Sushi connoisseurs likely hate this place but I think it has an appeal. Don’t pass up the Tuna Tempura.

Meatball and Gruyere Panini from La Ghianda

Gooey Cheese Grillers from Burgoo

La Quercia – Photo Visit – May 2012

3689 West 4th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6R 1P2

T: 604 676 1007
www.laquercia.ca

Brief Description: A small, intimate neighbourhood restaurant located on the corner of Alma and West 4th, La Quercia offers exceptional Italian food and wine at reasonable prices.

B and I had been plotting our return to La Quercia for some time before friends had mentioned recently that they’d had to wait almost two months (!) for a reservation. Our trip came sooner, rather than later, when I phoned last week and received the surprising news that they could actually take us on Sunday evening…at 5pm…which was definitely earlier than I was anticipating but I snapped up the reservation as I was uncertain how long it would be before another came along.

We ordered what must be one of the best deals in the city – 7 course alla famiglia (a chef’s menu that everyone at the table shares) for $45. I’m still floored by this as it is such good value for money. I was so full by about dish 4 that I struggled to get through the rest of the dishes, but I persevered and made myself walk all the way home as a way to burn off some of the calores. The stand-out dishes for me were the pork belly and the pasta dishes, particularly the stinging nettle agnolotti.

Lattuga con salsa Bolzanese: Butter lettuce and trout

Parmesan Souffle

Pork belly, canederli, cappuccio

Stinging Nettle Agnolotti

Lamb Ragu Gnocchi

Rabbit Duo, leg of rabbit and sausage wrapped with proscuitto

Lemon cream with citrus segments

Final Thoughts: As I mentioned earlier, the chef’s menu must be the best value in the city – $45 for 7 courses or $60 for 10 courses, but you can also order à la carte. La Quercia remains cozy (it is a small space) and the service is still attentive and thorough. La Quercia really has a lot to offer so I can see why they are constantly booked up. Try to book well in advance and go hungry!

My top coffee shop picks in Vancouver

Since I moved to Vancouver, more than five years ago, there have been many changes in the Vancouver food scene. The most noticeable change that I’ve seen is the gradual improvement of the coffee scene. In the past year we have seen the introduction of Revolver, Matchstick, and Nelson the Seagull, all establishments that take pride in the coffee that they offer.

I wanted to make it easy for you to find good coffee in Vancouver so I put together this list of coffee shops that I recommend (these are in no particular order):

JJ Bean, various locations: “My” JJ is the shack at CBC on Hamilton Street but I pop into the stores on Granville Island, Yaletown, and Main Street occasionally too. JJ isn’t perfect though –  I’m finding that their quality can be inconsistent (the Yaletown store springs to mind). Their baked goods are made in-house daily and their muffins are absolutely huge! JJ cafes try to adapt to their location so the Alberni Street store is more chic for the downtown crowd, whereas the Commercial Street store feels more comfy.

Nelson the Seagull, Gastown: Any café in Vancouver that sells flat whites is alright by me! Nelson offers good coffee (although I’ve had a few sour ones recently) and I, personally, am a big fan of their lattes. They bake daily so you can grab yourself a muffin or a bacon and egg cup, or you can sit in and have something more substantial, like a sandwich. Nelson has the feel of a friend’s lounge room, with easy-going tunes, comfy couches and communal tables.

Breakfast at Nelson the Seagull

Revolver, Gastown: So hipster it hurts but these guys know their coffee. The space is well-decorated with lots of wood and exposed brick. I’m almost intimidated with all of the coffee paraphernalia that covers the counters here. Limited snacks such as coffee cake and muffins are also available. Their lattes are stronger than most places but their portions are smaller than I would like.

Revolver Latte

Matchstick, Mt Pleasant: The newest addition to the coffee scene, Matchstick is a retailer and a soon-to-be roaster of coffee. Large windows, wooden commune tables, and a chic look all encourage you to linger. The problem will be can you get a seat? Matchstick already has a loyal following and obviously fills a void in an area with few options. Food is currently limited to pastries, sandwiches, and muffins.

Matchstick Coffee

Elysian, Broadway/Cambie & Kitsilano: Not my automatic go-to choice but will do when I’m not close to any of my other favourites. The coffee is strong here and they do a decent latte – that’s enough for me to drop in every now and again. They have a number of snacks, such as cookies and small treats.

What are your favourite coffee shops? Send me some suggestions if you feel I’ve overlooked some good ones!

Aphrodite Cafe – return visit – March 2012

3594 W 4th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V6R 1N8

T: 604 733 8308
www.organiccafe.ca

It really pains me to write negative reviews but considering that I had written such a positive post on this establishment a few years ago, I feel I need to give an updated review to reflect the changes that I experienced. I do recognize that this might have been a one-off bad day for them but that doesn’t change the fact that our overall experience was incredibly disappointing.

B and I are generally at a loss on weekends when we try to think of a reliable place for brunch. Our usual spot used to be DB Bistro. And then it closed. Now, we frequent Refuel for brunch. And now they are closing (on March 24). And we love Nelson the Seagull. But they aren’t open on Sundays. So what to do? We try new places until somewhere knocks our socks off enough that we return and become regulars. Well, that ain’t gonna happen with Aphrodite Café. We had a few good experiences a few years ago but we haven’t been back recently due to the constant line-up there but we gave it a try this past weekend and I was excited – I wanted pie!

Well, we stood in the doorway (yes, hard to believe that there was no queue) and we waited to be seated as instructed by the sign at the entrance. And we waited. Servers passed us by with no acknowledgement. And we waited. I don’t know about you but I feel that if I’m going to go into an establishment and pay money for food, I would hope to be greeted within a reasonable time frame, even if it is just a “We’ll be with you in a moment”. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case at Aphrodite. We were finally seated and ignored. Again. It took us about 10 minutes to place our order. We discovered dirty cups at our table and after finally getting our order, the food was disappointing. My hash browns were cold and stale as if they had been sitting out for a long time, my benny was cool, and the coffee was awful. The pie? Well, the pie was good actually.

Back Bacon, Baby Arugula & Grilled Tomato Benny

Biscuits and sausage

I feel that the most disappointing part of the experience was the value for money. Aphrodite is not cheap – my benny was $18 – and from what I was served, the price wasn’t justified. I really hope that they were just having a bad day.