Somehow, in the forty years it’s been open, I’ve never made it to Tim Hortons. Well, now I have. It was… okay.
Preparing hot food quickly is not really their forte, but they’re great at coffee and pastries. If you’re looking for a cup of delicious coffee that is actually a cup of coffee and not some fancy schmancy beverage, it’s incredibly cheap. My decaf coffee with a pump of chocolate was the stand out of the meal.
This place is a terrific find. In an area dominated by excellent Korean restaurants and excellent sushi restaurants, it’s nice to have a Japanese alternative that offers a hot personal grilling experience.
The interior is open and inviting, and service is friendly and enthusiastic. The menu focuses on a range of set meals that generally include:
The protein choices for your personal grill are:
They also offer a chicken karaage meal that is some of the best fried chicken I’ve had anywhere. The pieces are much bigger than the traditional bite-sized pieces, and the mound of chicken was enough for two people. We took half of it home and shared it for dinner the next night.
I really can’t say enough nice things about this place. It’s very close to where we live, and I’m glad we discovered it.
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.
No question this is the top omakase restaurant in Vancouver, and one of the top ten in North America. It avoids the pitfall of many omakases by providing a great mixture of preparations, all executed masterfully by Chef Ju Hyun Lee and his talented staff.
From sashimi to nigiri to broths, cooked dishes, cakes, ice creams and even a fascinating fried rice course where the leftovers get turned into a delicious soup, the twenty or more courses consistently stay interesting and delicious.
The elegant simplicity of the interior, chill background music, and perfect service combine to make this an experience you won’t forget. The price is quite reasonable given the rarity of the ingredients–nearly everything fresh from Japan.
A thoughtful wine list and extensive sake list provide excellent accompaniment. Highly recommended.
There are a lot of Momo Sushis in the area, but I think this one is the nicest. It has a bright, inviting interior and plenty of tables.
Fish quality is excellent and the portions are very generous. Pricing is very reasonable.
They do a lot of to-go business, which keeps the servers busy at lunchtime, but the service was fine.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/momo-sushi-vancouver-4?osq=Momo+Sushi
This is the best sushi in the area. The place is charming and very authentic. The menu is extensive, to say the least. There’s the main menu, a lunch menu, and then the walls are covered in specials.
We went at a busy lunchtime and sat at the bar. The two sushi chefs were hustling. I had the 18-piece deluxe sashimi combo because that’s the way to judge a place’s fish. Everything was top-notch.
Service was friendly, and pricing is reasonable.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/miko-sushi-japanese-restaurant-vancouver
This is a traditional Japanese Izakaya with an extensive menu of both cooked and raw items.
I had the 5 Kinds of Sashimi, which consisted of 15 generous slices. Fish quality was very good.
Be sure to check out all the chalkboards around the room, as there are a lot of items that are not on the menu,
They have a nice selection of sake and beer, including my favorite Sapporo Black.
Service was friendly.
I’m a sucker for skillets, and Cora has a good one. Best of all, the one I would pick is on their menu deals at the moment, making it a bargain.
My ideal skillet would be crispy home fries, bacon, cheese, onions, red and green peppers, and an over easy egg. Cora’s Ten Star Skillet adds spinach, green onions, ham, sausage, and, um … frankfurters and bologna? I almost had them leave those last ingredients out, but then figured, what the heck, and tried the standard version. It was very good. I do wish the base had been crispy home fries rather than rather large potato wedges, but I just left those, and convinced myself that’s where all the calories were.
Service was friendly and quick, and the location, which doesn’t look like much on the outside, is quite nice inside.
Overall, very good quality for such a large chain.
Well, it turns out the best wings in the city are right across the street from me. In fact, they’re probably the best wings I’ve ever had.
bb.q offers a variety of wings and boneless chicken, plus quite a few other dishes.
I tried the Gangnam Style Chicken and the Caribbean style. Both were excellent. The former had a wet, spicy, slightly sweet sauce, while the latter was more of a Jamaican Jerk preparation. I loved how crispy the coating was around the succulent chicken meat, and the pepper coating was just the right spice level. Truly extraordinary wings!
Service was friendly. You order at the counter, and then there are inside and outside seating areas. Note that because the wings are cooked to order, it takes awhile, so allow time. Better yet, enjoy a beer or sake while you wait.
This new location on Robson has been much-awaited, and was a hit, right from day one. It’s in my building, but I managed to resist for a whole month before sampling their offerings.
The focus here is on pastries and gelato, but I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so I decided to try one of their sandwiches, something you can’t really find out about on their fairly uninformative website. I had the turkey and brie, and I must say it was absolutely delicious. It was warmed for me, and the gooey consistency of the generous slabs of brie was great, accented by thin slices of pear and some very savory turkey. The pretzel roll was fresh, and half a sandwich was a satisfying lunch. I saved the rest for later.
I should have also asked them to warm the chocolate croissant, but I was expecting to take it with me. But temptation got the better of me, and I dug in after my sandwich. Mistake, because the chocolate was essentially a solid unmelted bar in the center. My fault, not theirs. I will say the pastry crust was perfectly flaky and browned.
The coffee menu is extensive, of course. I simply had an Americano, and it was quite good.
The inside dining area is nice, and outside is even nicer.