Peaceful Noodle Update

I love telling people about Peaceful Noodle. I love taking people there, surprising them, forcing them against their will, whatever it takes really. Easily my new favorite restaurant of late. 
These are all amazing-

Seasonal Pea Shoots

Spicy Wontons

Shanghai Stir-Fried Noodles with Pork and Cabbage in Soy

Vegetable steamed Dumplings

Pan-fried Veggie Gyoza

The American CheeseSteak Co. - Surviving Sedlack

I've been impatiently waiting for this place to open since the spring. Perfect example of why you simpy put "COMING SOON" in your window, verses "OPENING SPRING 2011". Spring was 7 months ago, either we've waited a really long time for something amazing, or you couldn't get your shit together.


Anyways. After bailing on the Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe project Anthony Sedlack hasn't really done anything noteworthy. Que 'The American CheeseSteak Co'. Situated on Davie near Howe, this venue houses a medium-sized communal table and is heavy on the brick and subway tile deco.


It's easy to hate a couple things right from the get-go, the oddly infantile artwork (crayon? pencil crayon?), the verbose menu, and most of all the 20 min wait. But when it comes down to taste the Philly CheeseSteak redeems itself.  I've had The Philly with American cheese and The Classic with provolone, both with onions and both tasted remarkable. It's unlike anything I've had in Vancouver to date. Made to order; the meat is well seasoned, the cheese is gooey goodness, and it all comes together in a flavor explosion in your mouth.
This isn't something you'll soon forget, it will linger on your tastebuds and in your subconscious for days.

Random fact - apparently 85% of Americans have Cheese Whiz on their CheeseSteak. Gross.


This place is another great concept to jump aboard the Vancouver sammich train. If The American CheeseSteak Co. can survive the self-destructive Sedlack ego and doesn't sell out, it seems original enough to make it.

Peaceful Noodle: You Had Me At Harrow!

It is well known that I love a good noodle, particularly the handcrafted variety. I had heard great things about the Peaceful Restaurant on Broadway, but being a downtown snob I never bothered to go out of my way to check it out. Then the other day I was riding my bike home from the gym, saw that a second location opened on Davie and got a wee bit excited. I skidded to a stop and bounded in sweaty and starving.  Seriously, do the Dan-Dan. After being satiated by the spicy Dan-Dan sauce, chewy textured noodles and perfectly cooked greens; I made a return trip two days later. There are so many things on this menu that I need to try, I forced myself to narrow it down to the Beijing shredded pork dish, and it didn't let me down.

Peaceful has so many things going for it and they pull it off with a quiet ease. Lovely service, fresh ingredients, tasty hand-made noodles, huge flavor, and Schezwan spice. It won't be long before it's a neighborhood favorite and packed. I can't wait to go back!

Davie & Granville

 Beijing "Zha-Jiang Mian" Noodles 

 The Dan-Dan.
Seriously.
Do it.

Brunch at Tableau

Mother Nature is a whore. As the sun finally comes out and you crawl, squinting and hungover, drag your mid-day shame to Tableau Bar Bistro in the Loden Hotel.  

Sunshine. Patio. Brunch. 

Chef Marc-Andre Choquette makes it easy to forget that Mother Nature has been shafting us this summer. Recently renovated and re-opened, this French-influenced bistro is just the location for some hair of the dog and really tasty food. I had the mushrooms on toast and it was ridiculously good; lightly creamy and full of flavor.

Streetmeat: La Brasserie Street

Sometimes it's one key component that makes a sandwich, one single thing perfected; the freshly baked bun or the slow-roasted meat. The chicken sandwich from La Brasserie Street cart brings it all together. The rotisserie chicken combined with the gravy, balanced with the crispy onions and topped with a deliciously soft bun from Tartine Bakery is handheld heaven. Can't really expect anything less from La Brass. 

Big Man + Small Cart = Good Food.

Damso Modern Korean Cuisine: Seafood Edition

Lunch with Karlsberg was a seafood-only situation at the new Korean joint next to Kingyo on Denman. I got the feeling that this place simply has a heart of gold, that they are trying really hard; to be cool, and modern, and upscale, and to be liked. It's worth looking past the tiny rough spots because the food is tasty.

Spicy Seafood Lettuce Wraps. As in SPICY spicy. As in sweating your balls off spicy. I'm sure that they were hiding in the kitchen, laughing at me as I gasped for air and mascara trickled down my face. Delicious and worth the pain.

Bibimbap - My favorite part is the rice that sticks to the side and gets super crispy. Mmmmmm.

Bouillabaisse - This was my least favorite of all three, I think I'm just generally not a fan of fish-based soups.

Do you feel like having a little something Korean?

Charming place, great flavors, really looking forward to going back to try the other assorted meats, including the Osso Bucco Bibimbap.

I'd Eat That: 100 Nights

It's gotten shit reviews, so I'm not sure if the food is as rad as the decor. Don't get me wrong, I'd still eat there.  Formerly 100 Days.

Farewell Mr. Kumpir

You know what you do when your baked potato enterprise fails? You turn it into another generic falafal joint in the Denman Falafal Strip Mall. Mr. Kumpir is now F&F (Falafal & Friends, WTF?), which is next to the Mediterranean Grill next to the Babylon Cafe, and so on. Do you know what else you do? You don't throw out that sandwich board, you recycle that shit.

The Red Wagon

Second visit to East Van's Red Wagon and no doubt about it, the food was great.  I was thoroughly satiated as the generous portion of butter from my Croque Madam seeped into my bloodstream. This may be pre-emptive, but I consider the Pulled Pork Sandwich the best in the city. It has a light, tangy sauce with a nice about of kick, and the bun is nice and soft for soaking up the sauce. The Reuben is bang on the money, and if I'm gonna pick favorites, it's better than the one at Acme Cafe.


I don't wanna tell you how to run your business, but...


The seating in this place is awkward, the fact that there are twice as many four-tops as needed and no two-tops causes unnecessarily long wait times. It is frustrating when you arrive at during non-peak hours, wait 20 minutes to be seated and can see that there are multiple tables that still need to be cleared, the five-top has two people seated, and the six four-top tables each have only two people seated. I like the style and the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, they just need to cut some of their tables in half and organize things a bit better at the front of house because I would definitely go back for the food.

Tavola + Nook = Ten Pounds of Pasta

Recently I was cutting weight for a fight and restricted from eating carbs for six weeks.  This was painful because I love complex carbs. I live for them, I dream about them, I plan my meals around them and one of the main reasons I work out so often is so I can consume them daily. Therefore the bread, burrata, pasta, potatoes, perogies, pastries, and pizza were all put on hold and my will power was put to the test. For six weeks I sweated my ass off for those ten pounds. The night before my fight I successfully weighed-in and BAM! I was like a fat kid in a candy store. Where did I go to carb-load and celebrate this grand occasion? Tavola. And the next night, Tavola. And two nights after that, Nook. Not even shitting you, it only took two days for my gluttonous ass to gain back the weight in pasta alone.
Previously I have raved about Nook and my infatuation with the Burrata. Coming from the same family and formerly Tapestree, Tavola has more seating, house-made pastas, sans pizza, and the kicker being - wait for it - a version of my beloved Burrata! Just around the corner from Nook, Tavola is a place you bring people you love, a place you meet with friends, share plates, and fight each other for the last heavenly mouthful. Just go, or I'll kick your ass.

The margarita pizza from Nook. Definitely making my top ten.

I'd Eat That.

Apparently Davie & Howe is getting a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich shop. Way to take over a crappy Mr. Sub location.

Meat & Bread Update.

The meatball sandwich! A little bit of spice, a little bit of parmesan, a little bit of sauce, a little bit of crumbled meatball action. Take it. Take it, and go.

Mexican Brunch at the Waldorf

I love Mexican food whole-heartedly. My addiction to La Taqueria, my annual Mexican!Burrito!Birthday!Bash!, and my zombie-apocalypse stockpile of refried beans are all evidence of this. Not surprisingly, I was excited to try the Mexican Brunch at the recently renovated Waldorf Hotel. Mexican brunch is a fantastic idea, it has such great potential, which is why I was so sad to see it executed poorly. Maybe things aren't running smoothly yet, or they were having an off day, or our server was missing her frontal lobe; whatever the reason, it just didn't quite come together. The Leeteg room is cool-ish, I guess. The 50's design feels cold and uninspiring. Especially compared to the ultra-rad Tiki Lounge downstairs, (where I can fully imagine having an exotic, albiet blurry, night of festivities).


As for the food I had the Molletes, an open-faced Portugese bun baked with black beans, bacon, and cheese, and topped with eggs. Other than the bacon being both over-baked and burnt, it was generally tasty.

This is the Mexican Hangover Cure, Chilaquiles: crispy corn quarters with cheese, black beans, green and red chile salsas, and chorizo. Even though I fully understand that in an authentic preparation the tortilla-esq chips become softened in the chile salsa; on the menu they are described as being "Crispy Corn Quarters!", and are nothing of the sort. Even if I take into consideration that the color comes from a combination of the red and green salsas, I can't get past the fact that it looks like vomit. The texture of the soaked tortillas was not the least bit appealing and it was an unnecessarily huge portion that inevitably got wasted.

I am acutely aware that I am a terrible blogger; absenteeism, inconsistancy, and digression being several of my major transgressions. Not that I'm saying I plan on being back on pace for a 50-point season, just that I feel like writing again. Here's the thing, I originally planned on eating at all the places on Davie and Denman, (genre by genre) but after 20+ sushi places I was bored. Instead; I preferred to try out new places recommended by friends, or be surprised and taken to a place that I would never have chosen on my own, or I would just go back again and again to the places that I love (ie La Brasserie, Nook, La Taqueria). I also have a tiny problem with self-control. As soon as my food arrives I just mow down, having absolutely no patience for lighting and photos, and thus ruining my attempts to blog about The Red Wagon, Tavola, Adesso, Cafeteria, L'Abbatoir, and so on.

Now that I only have 12 or so months left in the West End, my plan is to create a West End Top Ten. A list of my favorites before I move to Gastown and have a whole new hood to demolish.

Another failed photo op, mid-mouthful into my Reuben at The Red Wagon.