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.