Salsa & Agave

Recently, two of our friends took us to a great 

Mexican place in Yaletown. It was funny because when we arrived at the restaurant there was a long line-up of people waiting to be seated or for take-out. I figured it would be quiet a few minutes before we got our food until my friend mentioned just two doors away they have another location and there were just a few people waiting. I'm not sure why they would have two locations so close but it worked out well. They have a large variety of dishes on their menu but I was there specifically to try their tacos.

I have to say that I was very impressed. It was mucho authentico and reminded me of past experiences at street vendors in Mexico. Jamie and I ordered four different kinds to try; Pollo (chicken), Chorizo (Mexican sausage), Pastor (pork) and my surprising favorite... Lengua (beef tongue)! I can appreciate that each was served on a corn tortilla... not a flour tortilla that's common in North America. It also came with diced onion, cilantro, lime and a special sauce for drizzling.

I figured it would be best to wash it down with a Coronita.. so I did. There are few things better than some authentic tacos and Mexican beer. Next time you're looking for an authentic Mexican experience, head over to Salsa & Agave Mexican Grill at 1223 Pacific Boulevard for a sip and a bite.

De Dutch

This afternoon I felt like having a nice hearty brunch so I headed to De Dutch in New Westminster. I recently noticed that they opened this location in Columbia Square at the end of the main strip of Columbia Street. The restaurant was fairly big so I didn't think there would be a wait but when we arrived the place was packed. We only had to wait about ten minutes to get a table but I figured it would be worth it simply judging by the number of people waiting.

As soon as we began to look at the menu I couldn't believe the amount of items they offered. From Platters, Scrambles and Benedicts to Omelettes and French Toast. They even had burgers and of course their specialty...Pannekoeken. Its basically a Dutch pancake that's thicker than a crepe and thinner than a traditional pancake. I considered having this but I couldn't pass up the BC Bene with smoked salmon topped with the most perfect hollandaise sauce. It was served with hash browns and garden salad. We also ordered the Sausage Scramble which was served with toast, hash browns and a bowl of fruit. Both dishes were well prepared and tasted great. I'd recommend trying a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice with your brunch too. 

I don't often go out for breakfast food but I'm glad I did this time. Even if you're not a big breakfast person like myself there's surely something at De Dutch worth having a sip and a bite.

Las Margaritas

There aren't alot of great, well-known Mexican restaurants around but one of the favorites for Vancouverites would have to be Las Margaritas. I went there on a Saturday night and as I expected, the waiting area was full. We were told the wait may be up to thirty minutes but since most of the other groups waiting were larger, we only waited for about five minutes before a small table came open.

Once we were seated it didn't take long to order. On a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Jamie and I had fallen in love with Enchiladas Verde so we have to order that. It's made from shredded chicken wrapped in two overlapping corn tortillas and covered in a green tomatillo sauce and cheese. It was served with beans and Mexican-style rice. We also wanted to try something new so we ordered the Pollo Chipotle. It was made from two boneless chicken breasts that were marinated in lime juice, cilantro, triple sec and of course tequila! It was grilled and topped with a chipotle cream sauce, mushrooms and feta cheese and served with black beans and house salad.You can probably guess what we ordered to drink... you can't go to Las Margaritas and not order a margarita! We had a "Monster" blended lime margarita that contained fresh lemon and lime juice and their house brand; Sauza Gold Tequila. If you don't like lime, they also offer a variety of flavors made with real juice and nectar including banana, coconut and pineapple to name a few.
When it comes to Mexican food in Vancouver, this is the place to be. The atmosphere is always buzzing with energy and the food and drinks are consistently great quality. Next time you're in the mood for Mexican head to Las Margaritas in Kitsilano for a sip and a bite.

Lemongrass

I've been wanting to try Lemongrass Vietnamese Restaurant for a while, and last week I finally did. It was a dark and rainy day, which to me calls for pho! There are other places that I would usually choose for Vietnamese food but one of my colleagues suggested I try Lemongrass.

I ordered the 'House Special' pho with rare beef, tendon, flank, beef balls and tripe. I must say that it wasn't anything special... just average. It didn't have the same flavour as my two favorite pho places in Richmond (Thai Son & Pho Cao Van). I would usually be satisfied with a bowl of pho but this time I decided to try a Vietnamese sub, and I'm so glad I did. It comes with either chicken, beef or pork... I chose the pork. The meat was well marinated and had an aromatic lemongrass flavour typical of Vietnamese cuisine. The sandwich also had pickled daikon, carrot, cucumber, cilantro and "Vietnamese Mayo". This was all packed inside a fresh crusty roll and together formed perhaps one of the best sandwiches I've had in awhile. 

I have to admit that there was one thing that turned me off a little at Lemongrass. The place didn't seem well maintained and was actually a little dirty around the entrance area. I don't know what it is but I find this typical of many Vietnamese restaurants. Regardless, I still enjoyed the sub and would suggest you stop by to have a bite... just maybe get takeout.

Posh

I recently went to Posh Restaurant in Richmond for Japanese hotpot. This is definitely one of those unique dining experiences and a change from the usual restaurant routine. I understand that not everyone who goes out to eat wants to have to cook their own meal but you're able to control not only the ingredients but also the portion. At Posh, the hotpot is "all you can eat" and the list of items contains a great variety. There are several types of mushrooms, tofu, vegetables and noodles. They also offer premium Alberta beef and superior quality pork shoulder.

They have a surprisingly large selection of cocktails but I opted for a pot of the house sake, which I chose to have cold. If you prefer some Japanese beer to go with your hotpot, they have three types. With a wide variety of virgin drinks as well, theres something for everyone's taste.

Aside from the Richmond location, theres a Posh on Broadway and one on Kingsway. Their dinner menu is around $16 per person. Next time you're looking for something a little different and don't mind doing a little work, book a table at Posh hotpot for a sip and a bite.

Babylon Cafe

When it comes to shawarmas (similar to a donair or gyro), the place to be is Babylon Cafe on Robson just off Granville. Its easy to miss considering the entire place is about the size of a small den. I guess it can literally be called 'a hole in the wall' but what this place lacks in size they definitely make up for in taste and value.

A chicken shawarma will cost you about $6 and is the size of a thick burrito. Its fresh and made to order right in front of you... like a Middle Eastern Subway restaurant. You can omit any ingredients you don't like but I usually get "everything on it" including tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, pickles and a mystery mixture that I think has mostly parsley and a little cilantro. Meat is shaved off of the giant skewer and placed on top of the vegetables and topped with garlic and hot sauce. All of this is tightly contained in a pita and cleverly wrapped with foil so you can peel it off as you eat to avoid any mess.

Next time you want something quick and healthy, stop by Babylon Cafe to grab a bite.

Anton's

Lastnight, Jamie and I went to one of our favorite restaurants... Anton's Pasta Bar. This has long been our go-to restaurant when we can't decide where to go. It's located on Hastings Street a couple blocks from Boundary Road so it's a little out of the way but we happened to be in the area. They close at 10pm and we got there around 9, so we had just enough time to eat. Unlike some other restaurants, if you walk in Anton's a few minutes before closing time they will still happily seat you and you won't be rushed to leave.

When our waitress, Jennifer gave us our menus we didn't even touch them. We knew exactly what to get. It's a little funny because I love to try new things everywhere I go yet the dishes I usually order at Anton's are so delicious that I can't order anything else. As usual, we started with the Calamari Alla Marinara. I'm sure as soon as you read Calamari, you are probably thinking about the battered and fried version but they do it much differently. Bite-sized calamari pieces are cooked and served in a chunky tomato sauce with basil, garlic and fresh slices of tomatoes. A squeeze of lemon on top gives it a nice refreshing flavor. I strongly recommend saving some of the bread they give you to start for dipping in the sauce.

For our pasta dish, we had to order the Penne All'Emiliana. It has italian sausage, bacon, fresh tomatoes, basil, black olives and feta cheese cooked in a light extra virgin olive oil. It's so delicious that it's hard to describe how good it is so I won't try. For those of you who haven't been to Anton's you should know that not only is the food great and the prices very good ($15 for our pasta) but the portions are large. You are guaranteed to have enough leftover for maybe two meals (unless you have a HUGE appetite).

If you have room for a drink or two, they have daily drink specials. I usually prefer a caesar to wash everything down. If you plan to head there I must caution you not to go between 6 and 9pm as there is usually a line-up along the outside of the building since this place is well known for its portions and quality. If you end up having to line-up, rest assured that Anton's is well worth the wait to have a sip and a bite.

Fritz

There's nothing better after a night out than something greasy or fatty... and who doesn't love poutine? On Saturday after a night out with the fellas we decided to go to Fritz European Fry House to satisfy our hunger. This place definitely specializes in fries and anything you can think of to dress it up. They offer four sizes of poutine with the option of adding chicken, smoked meat or bacon bits. If you don't enjoy your fries smothered with cheese and gravy, you could order plain fries and add a dip on the side. They have almost twenty varieties of dips including; garlic lovers, mango curry chutney, jalapeno mustard and dill lemon to name a few. I'm sure you can find at least a couple that interest you.

They're located at 718 Davie Street just off Granville Street. They don't usually open until around noon but they stay open until 2:30am during the week and 4am on Friday and Saturdays.

PNE

On Sunday I went to a Vancouver summertime favorite... the PNE! This is a food-lovers dream, as long as you're not on a diet. It was the 100th anniversary of the PNE and it seems that each year the number of food vendors grows. This year not only had ample vendors but a variety of choices. From mexican to indian, japanese, western and seemingly everything in between there was plenty to choose from. Of course there was no shortage of snackfood as well. I took it upon myself to have the usual; elephant ears, kettle corn, cotton candy, corn dogs and everyone's favorite... mini-donuts! After I recovered from that, I had a BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich from Barnacle Bill's (a long-time PNE vendor). I do have to say that I was a little disappointed with the sandwich. It's usually tender with a nice smoky flavor and a liberal amount of BBQ sauce however this time it lacked flavor and was a little sloppy.

Those of you who attended this year may have heard some people talking about a new offering... Deepfried Butter! Yes... Deepfried Butter! While I'm sure many of you are interested in what that was like, I decided to go for something more exciting... Deepfried Mars Bar. I'm not sure what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised. As you can see in the picture, they stick a skewer through the bar, dip it in batter and deepfry it. The closest thing I can relate it to would be a s'more. It was pretty good, but it's one of those things you try once just to say you did. Maybe next year I'll convince someone to try the Deepfried Butter with me.

Chambar

Tajine d'aziz a l'agneau

Mussels Congolaise

It's been a couple of weeks since I went to Chambar Belgian Restaurant but as usual it did not disappoint. My fiance and I went to celebrate our six year anniversary on a Saturday night that was buzzing with energy. It's a bit of a hidden gem even though it's located steps from Stadium-Chinatown Skytrain station at 562 Beatty Street. It has almost a cozy feeling to the restaurant and although the entrance is fairly narrow, it extends a fair distance and includes an additional room at the back.

The menu is just the right size. Although it only has six entrees plus mussels (done one of three ways) it has everything from fish to venison to duck. We decided to skip appetizers and go straight to our main courses of mussels and lamb. We ordered the Mussels Congolaise which was cooked in a tomato coconut cream sauce with smoked chili, lime and fresh cilantro. I've had mussels at several restaurants before and I can honestly say that these are perhaps the best I've ever tried. The sauce had the perfect balance of flavors and was thick enough to be scouped with the mussel shells as opposed to some places where it's too watery. The other dish we tried was the Braised Lamb Shank. It was cooked with honey, cinnamon, cilantro and figs with cous cous on the side and served in a traditional tajine dish. Our waiter suggested that I mix the cous cous in the sauce of the lamb to absorb some of the flavor (great idea). The meat was amazingly tender and could easily be pulled of the bone with my fork. My fiance is not a fan of lamb but I convinced her to try it and even she thought it was delicious. Chambar has a huge selection of imported Belgian beer but I decided to try the Chambar Ale and Lager. Both were light and smooth with the Ale giving a nice hops taste and the Lager a slight fruit note.

Overall I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. It was great for our intimate dinner for two but also an excellent spot for groups. The staff were very friendly and didn't have the attitude you get in some restaurants downtown. I'd suggest you make a reservation if you plan to go though, it's no secret that Chambar's a great place for a sip and a bite.

Who am I?

I'm just a regular guy who loves to have a sip here and a bite there. I live in Richmond but my fiance (Jamie) and I are always downtown Vancouver at our bestfriend's place in Yaletown. Of course, no matter where we go there's so many great things to eat and drink. Whether it's street vendor food or a fancy restaurant, if I have a great experience or a poor one I'm going to write about it. Maybe next time you're looking for a place to have a sip and a bite you'll flip by my page and get an idea or two.