Mi Casa Mexicana

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I grew up in Southern California, and so I’m pretty picky about Mexican food. I wanted authentic, not Americanized. It matters whether the corn tamales are fresh and the right kinds of cheese are used. The quality of the jalapenos. The variety of the salsas. And especially the way the meats are seasoned and cooked.

It seems like the farther I get away from Mexico, the more unreliable the Mexican food becomes (although I must admit, I did once have a great Mexican meal at a hotel in Sweden!) Anyway, Vancouver is pretty far from Mexico. And so the results are pretty dicey at a lot of the Mexican places around here.

But Mi Casa really blew us away.

It’s a little hard to find, it’s just a door with stairs going up. But once you’re up there, it’s quite, spacious, with picture windows lining two walls.

I was pretty sure things were going to go well when I got my Margarita. None of that fake Margarita flavored syrup here, just real lime juice and a generous two ounces of tequila and a rim half salted without my having to ask.

Then the enormous pile of nachos showed up, thoughtfully layered and covered in the right kind of cheese. Plentiful pickled jalapenos with just the right spice level. A mound of delicious guacamole. And an incredible chorizo. I’ve never even been much of a fan of chorizo, and if I’d known it was going to be on there, I’d probably have had them leave it off, but it really made the dish. It was complex and smoky, and its flavors infused everything. Honestly, these were the best nachos I’ve ever had anywhere.

I also had the lunch special, which was two tacos. I chose pastor and cochinita pabil. Pastor is a longtime favorite of mine, and this was prepared in a very traditional way. It was excellent, but the cochinita pabil was even better. Succulent and plentiful. Some of the best I’ve had.

My wife had two tamales with chicken filling. You could tell they were homemade with perfectly done cornmeal wrappers and served on corn husks.

Service was friendly, and the server verified our suspicion that the owners were from Mexico City. I’ve dined in hundreds of Mexican restaurants, but I have to say this was the biggest surprise and was among the very top of all that I’ve been to. It really exceeded our expectations and will become a regular on our rotation.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mi-casa-mexicana-vancouver

Osetra

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We had a delightful 70th birthday dinner here. I love the space with its modern styling and high ceiling but narrow profile so that it doesn’t get too noisy. The service was amazingly attentive and friendly, and the food was superb. It left us wanting to immediately go back and try all of their other dishes.

We arrived starving, so right off we ordered the sourdough bread, which was wonderfully grilled with a bit of olive oil on it. We added a little flaked salt, and it really accompanied the Champagne we ordered.

Because it was a special celebration, we of course had to have caviar. The offer for the complete raw bar assortment was the perfect way to go. It included a full tin of Osetra, plus half a lobster, a generous portion of truly jumbo prawns, a lot of oysters on the half shell, a large serving of a delicious scallop crudo. Slices of their red tuna and some very tender young octopus. Also on the plate were a variety of sauces including cocktail sauce, mignonette, and hey, delicious mayonnaise-based sauce.

It was a feast for two, and we could not do more, which left us craving all the delicious vegetable preparations on the other side of the menu. We almost went back the next day!

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

Anna Lena

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We had a delightful evening at Anna Lena. It easily demonstrated its reputation as one of the best Michelin-starred restaurants in Vancouver. It’s a small space that is both intimate and welcoming.

There are a lot of servers and staff here in addition to the kitchen personnel. I suspect the ratio is about one to one between employees and customers. Everyone was extraordinarily welcoming and gracious.

The menu is both fun and complex without being pretentious. My favorite dishes were:

The Cheeseburger 2050, a deconstructed combination of their amazing torn bread, oak tartare, and a lovely cheese dipping sauce.

The oyster with shaved foie gras was also remarkable.

The prawn that came with the off the coast course.

The frozen cookie at the end of the meal was also a lot of fun.

I thought the pricing was quite reasonable considering the quantity and quality of the food. There’s also an optional add-on that includes caviar, truffles, and wagyu, which I think is worth it if you particularly enjoy those things.

Two wine pairings are offered. I feel it’s worth upgrading to the premium pairing because it includes a lovely glass of Dom Pérignon and the spectacular 2021 Avrell Creek Barrel 36 Pinot Noir, which so impressed me that I ordered several bottles from the winery while we were still dining!

On all the delightful evenings, and I look forward to returning.

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

PaulPaul Bakery, Cafe & Restaurant

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I’ve always loved Paul in France. My favorite item there is a true French sandwich. A perfectly fresh baguette with a delicate crust served with ham, cheese, and butter. So of course that’s what I ordered at this Paul, the first I’ve been to outside of France. I was not disappointed. It was an absolutely delicious and authentic sandwich.

This Paul also has an assortment of pastries. You order the pastries or the sandwiches at the counter and then sit anywhere in the front of the restaurant to enjoy them along with your coffee drinks or what have you. There’s a separate seating section in the back where a full menu is served, including brunch, traditional dishes such as steak frites, and an elaborate formal tea. I’ll definitely want to go back and try those fancier options.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/paul-bakery-cafe-and-restaurant-vancouver-2

Taqueria Jalisco

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It’s very difficult to find good Mexican food in Vancouver. There is some Tex-Mex, but even it is of widely varying quality. There is little truly authentic, let alone regional Mexican cuisine. So it was delightful to find Taqueria Jalisco. And find is the operative word because it’s not all that apparent where it is from the street, but if you climb the stairs on Denman you’ll find it in the first narrow storefront upstairs.

While it’s not a full-service restaurant, it does offer the sorts of food you would expect to find in one. Prices also seem like what you’d expect in a full-service restaurant, but on the other hand, when you see the size of the portions, you’ll understand the reasoning. Although the menu is fairly short, a lot of the items are for large quantities (e.g., 10 tacos), so it seems that they are aiming for groups with a lot of menu items.

We tried the highly recommended Mega Quesabirria; it had an ample amount of Birria and was served with a consommé for dipping. If you’re into Birria, I think you’d really like this dish.

But our favorite by far was the chilaquiles with green sauce. This was the most authentic Mexican dish that I’ve had in Vancouver. The chips were the sturdy homemade kind that had soaked in just enough of the sauce to give them the true character of chilaquiles, and the green sauce had exactly the right spicy and acidic bite. It was a generous portion, really enough for two people. The accompanying refried beans were a bit soupy but flavorful. I’ll definitely go back for more of their green sauce on the chilaquiles and perhaps their tacos.

They also have some authentic raw fish dishes that sound intriguing. Beverage options are limited, but they do serve beer and shots.

Service was friendly.

They don’t open until 1pm, which is odd for a place that serves what is such a perfect meal for lunch. Too bad.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/taqueria-jalisco-vancouver

Stanley’s Bar & Grill

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We went here in December during their Winter Lodge re-theming, and it was just delightful with lots of Christmas decor inside and in the enclosed patio and a cheerful fire burning in the hearth. It was the perfect Christmas-time ambience.

We actually didn’t order any of the special dishes for the holiday theming but stuck with the menu standards and loved everything we had. The spinach artichoke dip was the best I’ve ever had anywhere with perfect balance of creaminess and a lemony tang and served with nicely spiced tortilla chips.

Everyone around us was ordering Lord Stanley’s burger, and so I had to try it too, and it was wonderful. A great piece of Wagyu beef with the perfect accompaniments, including nicely melted cheese, bacon, raw onion, and tomato.

The Caesar salad was also good and really huge.

Their cocktail menu includes dessert coffees; Stanley’s Monte Cristo is close to my all-time favorite. So I had them switch out Kahlua for Amaretto and ended up with what we call a Cafe Jessica: coffee, Grand Marnier, Amaretto, and whipped cream. It’s the perfect combination.

Service was friendly and attentive.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/stanleys-bar-and-grill-vancouver

Grand Joy Hot Pot

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Although I’ve been to a lot of ramen places, this is the first hotpot place I’ve been to in this format where you pick your ingredients from a wall of choices and then they add the broth in the kitchen. I liked it a lot better than the way I’ve done it where there’s a hot pot on the table and a conveyor belt that delivers ingredients. This way you can really customize your order from the hundreds of things on the wall.

I was really impressed by the friendliness of the employees and the freshness of the ingredients there. Featured broth is definitely the way to go on your first visit. We tried a couple, and they were both good, but the Featured one was really stellar.

It’s not apparent online, but there are more choices than just mild and hot. You can also get medium, which is what we settled on, and it was perfect.

This place is right across the street from our apartment, so we’ll definitely be back!

https://www.yelp.com/biz/grand-joy-hot-pot-vancouver

Le Belisse Café

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Le Belisse Café bills itself as having been voted best croissant in Vancouver, and it’s easy to see why. All of the pastries here are truly beautiful to look at. But that’s a bold claim, especially when you’re across the street from Ladurée (admittedly, though, Ladurée in North America isn’t quite as good as in Paris or at Harrods in London).

I tried the two most basic offerings, the plain croissant and the pain au chocolat. The pastry for both was very nice—flaky with just the right mixture of moisture and crispness. The pain au chocolat was an unconventional shape, which I think adversely affects the chocolate to pastry ratio, but it was good.

I’d definitely go back and try some of the other beauties in their display case.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/le-belisse-cafe-vancouver

Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar

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The name Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar really understates what a fine dining restaurant this is. Both the interior and service are what you would expect from a high end restaurant, not an oyster bar. It is true, however, that the upper level and bar are bright and loud like a kitchen, but the lower level is nice (and would be even nicer with a glass partition between it and the upper level.

There is an interesting cocktail list, and a well-chosen selection of wines. We started with the house-made sourdough and a seafood tower. It was the best seafood tower I’ve had because of the thoughtful side dishes. I particularly loved the mussels escabeche.

For mains we had sable fish, cod, seafood linguini, and a special mushroom pasta. All were good, especially the linguini.

The dessert sampler for four was interesting. There was a great variety and it was nice to try most everything on the menu, but I didn’t feel there were any real standouts.

Service was friendly and professional.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/boulevard-vancouver-2

Olympia Pizza

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This is a thirty year old restaurant that looks like the focus is on Greek food, so that’s what we had for lunch. It was just okay. The spanakopita was probably the best item we had. 

The first time we went here we waited for ten minutes and no one ever showed up form the kitchen, but the second time the service was good.

They have quite a few wines by the glass at good prices, although I wish they had more Greek and Santorini wines beyond just retsina.. My Australia Pinot Grigio was good.

It looks like pizza might be the way to go.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/olympia-pizza-vancouver