Nook

The Rigatoni Boscaiola

















The Gnocchi



The wine



Melissa's Bucatini, aka hollow and unslurpable spaghetti.



Arthur's Orecchiette, which I did not try but thoroughly enjoyed watching him lick his plate clean.

I really have to stop getting so drunk when I eat out or all my reviews will be the same:
Guys. This place is ssoooooooooo awesome. This is like the best pasta I'VE EVER HAD....EVER.
Yayaya, lets totally get another bottle of wine.

I scoped out this little place on the north end of Denman when I was ending my sushi quest, heard great things about it from friends, and was happy to use it as an excuse to go on a double date. If you know me, you know I love Italian food. Olives, carbs, and wine; and I'm happier than a pig in shit. The service was thoughtful, knowledgeable, and patient with our disastrous pronunciation. I enjoyed the wine that she suggested and will probably hunt it down to have at home.

I shared the olives and meatballs to start, both were decent but nothing to write home about. (sidenote: I didn't find the menu tiny, but sort-of like a scrawny teenager that needs to fill out a bit). I ate the Rigatoni Boscaiola, which in all seriousness, might actually be the best pasta I've ever had. The Boscaiola is this incredible mushroom sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto. Great ingredients, rich sauce, I will probably eat the exact same thing every time I go back. No jokes. My date had the Gnocchi with baby meatballs in a tomato sauce. And I personally love the homemade gnocchi, even if the texture leans toward the side of doughy. Finished off with the chocolate puddingy thing for desert, and as far as I remember, guys, it was awesome.

La Brasserie

This intimate venue is a very amicable union of German and French dining. When I asked the owner/chef why he chose those two regions specifically, he explained that his background was German and that they were looking for a continental feel for their menu. Usually there's a moderate wait on weekends, I recommend going during the week and reading the menu ahead of time to pick your Plat du Jour (I'll probably go back on a Monday - Rabbit!). I went with my lovely friend Laura, simply on a mission to have an authentic French Onion Soup and Creme Brule, which we had been salivating over incessantly at work. Not exactly heart-healthy, for good measure we had a couple glasses of red wine from their reasonably affordable list, and threw in some Steak Tartar and Bratwurst with onion jus and pommes purre (which I tipsily learned is not applesauce, but mashed potatoes). 


Second best thing of the entire night, if you have the option of sitting at the bar, DO IT. Not only do you get to watch your food being made in front of you, but you get to watch two gorgeous men make the food in front of you! Equally delicious, the best thing of the night was the Creme Brule. Retardedly fantastic, perfectly crisp on top, I had a hard time not inhaling the entire thing. Next time I will not share. The service was personal, the atmosphere soft, La Brasserie pulls off a continental menu with a local neighborhood feel. I will bring first dates there, I will go there with friends, and I will go there when I am desperately lonely and need to stare at the chef eye-candy while indulging in Euro sweets.

My newest favorite wine, the Minervois.

The steak tar tar.

The masterpiece, the creme brule.

Top 5 Best & Worst things to eat @ an all-inclusive resort in Cuba

Worst

5. Baloney
4. Stewed assorted fish heads
3. Boiled octopus (a la aquachicken)
2. Curried wieners
1. Shrimp chow mien (spaghetti noodles with crumbly gray shrimp on top, no sauce included)

Best
5. Fresh orange juice
4. Coconuts
3. Pizza for breakfast
2. Pastries
1. DEEP FRIED BANANAS!

Sushi IV

As much as I begrudge the fact that the hospitality industry in Vancouver is saturated with sushi restaurants, I must credit this experience for forcing me to look beyond my sushi no-fail dishes. Although the five-week renovation of Kadoya (it really needs the new coat of paint), has caused many disappointed adorers to settle for their second choice, I did discover a hidden treasure on the eve of it's closure. The kani salad. They may have been trying to get rid of all of the left-over crab prior to closing the place, but I'm not going to complain because the bowl came with a mondo pile of diced-up crab. SO DELICIOUS mixed with sunomono salad. And as many times as I have tried to duplicate this experience at other sushi places, it has been unsuccessful because there is no universal standard for the kani salad.

Tokyo Miyako Sushi Restaurant
I may have been high on Psuedophed when I ate here in February, but I think in combination with my cold-dulled taste buds, it all evened out in the end. This place gets lost in the strip-mall of sushi restuarants on Davie. Not too thrilled about the space, it's too big and bland, nothing about it really stands out from the crowd. I actually don't even remember the service or the atmosphere. Now that I think of it, I don't even remember what I ate.Sushi Maro Japanese Restaurant

I feel sorry for this business because it is right at the end of Davie, stuck in the construction warzone of pre-olympic Vancouver. Generally the closer you get to Yaletown, the higher the prices go, and in this case you get what you pay for. I had insanely fresh and tasty salmon sashimi, my new 'best-yet'!; homemade miso soup, and you could tell that it wasn't the freeze-dried variety because they used fresh ingredients; tiny inari; and lastly this place takes the crab salad to a whole new level. It was avocado, tiny fish roe, and huge chunks of king crab covered in a light sauce, well worth the seven bucks. Other than the horrible construction on the doorstep the atmosphere was alright. I think that Sushi Maro has the best ceramic ware by far, the tea cups had these adorable animated octopus on them blowing bubbles, I was more than tempted to slip one into my purse. 8.5 out of 10.
Oishii Sushi Japanese RestaurantThis little bastard brought my total to 17. Oishii is relatively new, or at least newly renovated or new owners, I'm not really sure, but in any case it's cleaned itself up. I was a bit skeptical to eat here because I had heard bad reviews about the previous establishment. Really really great green tea in the tiniest cups ever. I had the inari nigiri and kani salad. Good quality and medium-pretty rolls. I probably wouldn't go back, it's like a 6 out of 10.

So as I was walking out of Oishii, exhaling in relief that it was my final sushi stop, I spot a sushi take-out place directly accross the street. I'm done, finished, caput, I'm over it and I refuse to acknowledge it's very existence.

Sushi III

It's official. I have been converted! I actually like a sushi roll, make that plural, two rolls. It all started with a little visit from Kimmi and Naka on my lunch break, I was perusing through the shinny new menu at Downtown Sushi, the sun was streaming through the smudged windows and all of a sudden I saw it. THE DESERT ROLL, accurately titled "The Honeymoon Roll", was deep fried banana topped with sliced kiwi, strawberry, mango, and drizzled honey. And the dipping sauce? Whip cream! SO DELICIOUS. No gagging involved, nothing lodged itself in my esophagus, I didn't have to spit it out into a serviette, it was a magical moment. Round two was the spicy tuna roll from Kadoya. And I don't even like spicy food!! Now I might be brave enough to attempt the inari roll, who knows?


Honjin Yaletown Sushi Restaurant
Waaaaaay down at the end of Davie, in the heart of Yaletown. The best service I've had yet. Best Miso soup. Best salmon sashimi. Great atmosphere, totally loved the place. Nothing to possibly complain about, just a little to far from home for me to be a frequent flyer.


Jako Sushi
This place is a dive on so many levels. It gets nominated for worst renovations ever, weakest green tea on the face of the planet, and most frequented by bridge-and-tunnel douches. I was HANGRY (too hungry = angry), so I jumped the gun and tried the inari roll when I should have just stuck with my gut and gotten inari nigiri, which is my sushi no-fail dish. That's right, the Japanese junk food, the bean curd sac. My new-found love of rolls has been crushed and basically I reverted into my old ways and ended up eating only the inner contents of the inari roll. The service was nothing special, the place was hideous, the menu was greasy, but the reason that it was relatively busy? Everything was dirt cheap. Real crab sunomono salad was like two bucks and change, and it didn't taste half bad.


Yamato Sushi Restaurant
I am nearing the end. At this point there are only three venues left to visit, and before I have even finished this category, I am debating which one is up next. I am definitely looking forward to changing things up.

I dragged Naka to yet another hole-in-the-wall in the strip-mall of sushi restaurants between Granville and Seymore along Davie. This place had only 8 table settings to sit at and about the same number of bar stools. Don't let it's small size deter you because it is usually packed during peak hours. Theoretically, if a place is popular it's probably good, but it's also annoying when the server asks you every five seconds if you're ready to order and it feels like the people who are waiting for take out are hovering over your shoulder, watching you eat like it's feeding time at the zoo. It probably didn't help that I ate half of a patient's meal while at work, but anyway, in my second dinner of the evening I had salmon and tuna sashimi, inari nigiri and miso soup (I know, surprise surprise). Very yummy very salty miso soup. I had the innards of a couple rolls, apparently they are very fresh and a good bang for your buck. Tasty, cheap menu, cute atmosphere, persistant but bubbly service. This place gets an 8 out of 10.

Sushi II

I have been plodding through sushi restaurant after sushi restaurant and just when I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, another little hole-in-the-wall appears on Davie. Four more down, seven to go.

SHIMA Sushi

Yet again - CASH ONLY IS BULLSHIT! Do profits REALLY skyrocket when you don't have debit? Seriously?! It took me really long to decide what I wanted, there were too many options, in a good way. I ended up ordering a Tempura rice bowl, ebi sunomono, and some inari nigiri, and no complaints all around. Okay so on the menu the sunomono is like $3.50 and Naka and I were like frick, three and a half bucks for a weeny bowl of vinegar water and 7 cents worth of rice noodles? So obviously this didn't deter me from ordering it, then it comes in a mondo cereal-bowl size and I realize it was worth the $3.50 because I got full on the liter of vinegar water. Cute service, faded atmosphere, definitely frequented by regulars. I'd go back to try some of the other options.

Samurai Japanese Restaurant

WORST GI IRRITATION SINCE THE BAD HOT-AND-SOUR SOUP SITUATION! Large and mushy portions. I had a terryaki chicken rice don bowl thingy (I think that the chicken was suspect). I didn't eat most of it because I was too busy eating Combination A. Great assortment, badly made. Indifferent service. I probably won't ever go back. Maybe for the Japanese barbecue food when I hit that category. Maybe not.

Sushi Sky

It's more of a take-out sushi place. Small, not-so-asian deco. Half-way between work and home, really what more can I ask for? As for the food, I had the Tempura Udon and yes, I had to ask if the tempura came floating in the udon soup. Nope, thankfully it's on the side. I also had two Inari pieces (there was an Inari roll on the menu that I was very tempted to try but the thought of seaweed lodged in my esophagus made my eyes water). I enjoyed it, this place makes my top five so far. If I ever want to eat sushi again after this escapade I would probably be a regular.

Mr. Sushi
I really want to pronounce it Meeesta Suuuushi, like Count Dracula. Other than that it was pretty boring. Bland service, medium-bland miso soup, medium-yummy salmon sashimi, medium-bad inari, and even medium-hilarious decorations.