Big Way Hot Pot – West End

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Even though this is across the street from me, I had put off trying it just because I’m not a huge noodle fan, and there are so many great noodle places on Robson anyway. Finally, some fall weather arrived, and it was time for some soup. I’m glad we tried it. I think of all the hot pot places I’ve been to, it is my favorite.

For starters, it’s really nicely decorated inside, so you feel like you’re having a real dining experience, not like part of a factory, as in Danbo Ramen. Also, I love the ability to pick from all the ingredients, and they have a really nice selection here with two kinds of scallops and lots of other seafood and, of course, wonderfully fresh vegetables.

And yes, there are many types of noodles you can add to your bowl, but I skipped those for the most part. If you use a little restraint, pricing is extremely reasonable since the broth is essentially free, and there are a lot of tasty broths to choose from. The kimchi one had lots of flavor, but it was pretty spicy. I tried their signature ma lang tang broth which comes with Szechuan chili oil, medium spicy, and it had plenty of spice as well.

There’s also a lot more than just hot pot here. We’ll need to go back and try some of their fried items and side dishes, and they have an interesting sauce bar for dipping. Plus, there are things pretty far afield from standard hot pot places, such as fettuccine alfredo.

Hot pot was offered with two complimentary drinks: iced tea and a peach lemonade. I was surprised that the peach lemonade was not overly sweet. I really liked it. I would definitely have that again. The tea had a bit too much sugar for my taste.

It’s hard to beat this pricing. Lunch for two, including drinks and dessert, came to $21.

The service is good, too, for a self-service place. One server was basically taking care of the cash register, to-go orders, and all the tables, and promptly brought us our complimentary ice cream. When we finished, it was great for putting out the fire.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/big-way-hot-pot-vancouver-3

Mott 32, Vancouver

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Mott 32 Vancouver was recently voted the best Chinese restaurant in Canada, and you’ll get no argument from me. I certainly haven’t been to better.

First off, the place is stunning, not in an overdone or overly elaborate way, but with just the right touch of traditional and modern character.

The menu is extensive both at dinner and especially at lunch, where there’s even more dim sum available. We started with the hot and sour soup, which is extremely complex and flavorful. Then we shared the Peking duck salad and the Marinated Cucumber and Pomelo. It’s hard to pick a favorite and not give both of them a perfect 10. The duck salad was perfectly balanced between dressing and the complex aged duck strips and lots of fresh greens, while the cucumber salad had complex flavors that had also seeped into the pomelo, which was not overwhelmingly citrusy. I think it’s my favorite cucumber salad of all time.

Those three dishes would certainly have been a meal, but we just wanted to try a few other things. We also shared the crab meat fried rice (a very generous serving), the chive dumplings, which were baked (an approach I had not seen before with dumplings), and the BBQ pork buns, which were also baked. They were all very good, but maybe not quite as good as our first three dishes. The BBQ pork buns were almost more like a dessert because of the sweet honey barbecue mixture.

The wine list is extensive, with many international selections and some reasonably priced wines from BC. The Little Engine Chardonnay is particularly noteworthy. There’s also a great list of cocktails.

Service was friendly and perfect.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mott-32-vancouver-2

Acuyo Mexican Restaurant

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I would describe this as New Mexican food. It’s based on traditional recipes, and many of them carry the names of classic dishes, but their takes on most of them are fairly imaginative.

I make a good classic margarita, so that’s the first checkbox ticked. Has a lot of other interesting cocktails.

We started with tableside guacamole, which was a modest serving of very nicely seasoned guacamole. They asked if we wanted it spicy, and we said yes. They did indeed deliver on that, with plenty of jalapenos mixed in and lots of cilantro.

ceviche
aguachile

Next, we had the ceviche of the day, which was octopus, and the aguachile. These dishes are quite different from one another. The ceviche is finely diced and has very complex seasoning. It almost seemed like it had some Indian spices in it. I really liked it. The agua chile was indicated with three red peppers on the menu, and they weren’t kidding about it being spicy. It consisted of thin slices of scallop and shrimp, both raw, cooked only by the spicy lime juice they were swimming in. It was a very good dish, but definitely not one for people who don’t like super spicy food.

Finally, we had a quesadilla. This is one of the better quesadillas I’ve ever had. They’re a dish we often make at home, but this was made with the authentic Mexican white cheese, which seemed like it had been seared to have a nice crust on it and then somehow was enfolded in a housemade tortilla. This is the opposite of the way that I usually make them, where the cheese is between two tortillas that are flipped during the grilling process, so the sear ends up on the tortillas rather than the cheese. I thought this was an innovative and very tasty way to approach the dish.

If there’s a downside to Acuyo, it’s the pricing. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for dinner, but they’re also open at lunchtime. However, there is no lunchtime menu, so our lunch for two, including tip and one margarita, came to $130. We’ll certainly go back when we’re next in the mood for elevated Mexican food.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/acuyo-vancouver

Yuyo’s Pizza & Mexican Kitchen

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We were on a tour in Sitka, and our guide told a story about how he had a friend who grew up in Sitka and was in college before he figured out that pizza wasn’t Mexican (because the only place that he’d had it had been at this Mexican restaurant). This restaurant does indeed serve an excellent pizza, although we opted for the Mexican food, which was great too.

It was delightful to find so many authentic flavors so far from Mexico. The enchiladas and chile relleno were both excellent, and the pastor served in a crispy taco was unusual but very tasty as well. Top marks to the refried beans also, which are difficult to do right. There’s no liquor license, so no margaritas.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/yuyos-sitka

Raclette Steaks

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I walked past this place many times before finally deciding to go in because it’s always seemed like it was kind of empty, but then I saw that there were quite a few good reviews and decided to check it out.

I think the original concept must have been more towards steaks with raclette cheese slid onto the top of them tableside, but at least at lunch, it’s completely different and much more reasonably priced than the original menu I saw. Now the emphasis seems to be on variations on cheese steak sandwiches and hamburgers. We tried both, and both were excellent.

The cheese steak was as good as any I’ve ever gotten and had a nice mixture of peppers and cheese, along with an excellent crusty bread that didn’t dissolve as I tried to eat the sandwich. The burger was juicy, perfectly cooked, and had all of the ingredients I look for.

Service was kind of not present for the most part. You’re better off walking to the back of the room to make sure you can order and pay, and you are pretty much on your own. As far as getting seated as well, at least at lunchtime, that was the case.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/raclette-steaks-vancouver

Earl’s Kitchen + Bar (Test Kitchen)

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I like all of the Earls locations except possibly the one in Orlando, Florida, but I think this one is my favorite because it’s not just Earls. It’s also the test kitchen where they develop new recipes. There’s always something new here that isn’t on the menu at the other Earls, and I find that most of them quickly become favorites that I hope will spread throughout the rest of the chain.

On this visit, we were there for brunch, and I tried their new Nashville hot chicken and waffles. They were really good. The hot chicken wasn’t overly spicy, but just enough to give it an extra zip that regular chicken and waffles didn’t have.

I also had a dessert that was kind of like bananas Foster cake. It was sort of a chocolate banana cake with caramelized banana slices on top and scoops of ice cream above that. Delicious.

Service at Earls is always great, and the bonus of going for brunch is that they have 50% off on all sparkling wine by the bottle, which pretty much lowers it to retail pricing.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/earls-kitchen-bar-vancouver-2

Erica Jane

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This is a stunningly beautiful restaurant with creative appetizers and an excellent selection of different beef cuts. We went on a Wednesday and were hoping for their Wednesday special of Beef Wellington, but they were already sold out, so we settled for prime rib, which was some of the best I’ve had. It’s served with traditional Anju and horseradish and some delicious mashed potatoes.

For a starter, I had the seared scallops, which were perfectly done without being overcooked, but with a nice sear on the outside. The wine list has some extremely thoughtful selections, and it’s fun the way that every wine includes a listing of how far the winery is from the restaurant.

Of course, there are plenty of selections from the Okanagan, but we couldn’t resist a bottle of Molly Duke or Blue Eyed Boy, an Australian wine that you don’t see around here too often.

Service was excellent.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/erica-jane-kelowna

El Taquero – Tacos and Tequila

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We came here on the Taste of Kelowna Food Tour and loved it so much that the next year we came back on our own. This place has the best Mexican food I’ve had in Canada, and that is high praise considering that I grew up in Southern California and live in Vancouver now.

The street tacos are absolutely authentic. My favorites were the vegetarian Rajas Poblanas with poblano chilies, the pork Cochinitas Pibil, and the fish Pescado Veracruz. The chilaquiles were also the best I’ve had, with half green and half red sauce to make them even more interesting. Margaritas here are great, too.

By complete coincidence, we ran into Andrew, the wonderful guide from our Taste of Kelowna tour last year, who was escorting another group around and happened to arrive as we were eating. He even remembered my name, and was so kind that, after he left, we discovered he had comped us a delicious order of churros served with a wonderful chilled caramel sauce.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-taquero-tacos-and-tequila-kelowna