I'd add The Whip to the list. In terms of comments, with the exception of Chambar, I would say that most of the places listed are more about the beer than the food ... and Chambar can be inconsistent. When they're on, they're excellent. I've been meaning to try Portland Craft but haven't got to it yet... it looks pretty good.

Not a "Kits happening" per se, but there's a Moii now near Broadway & Cambie -- looks like the same folks, in case any one is missing their crepes.

I'd bookmarked the Travelling Gourmet (http://www.travellingourmet.com/) a while ago but haven't tried them yet. Looks like they offer personal chef service gift certificates. I also poked around the web a bit and found Time to Eat (http://timetoeat.ca/), Marmalady Catering (http://www.marmaladycatering.com/), The Invisible Chef (http://www.theinvisiblechef.ca/index....) -- all could probably do gift certificates, even though only the invisible guy mentions it. Hope one of these fits the bill, and good luck!

Some photos on VanFoodster plus a non-food post on Scout re: the protests.

Ooh, craving their mushroom soondubu right now.

Also, don't know if it fully qualifies, but we've been enjoying Al Nakheel (The Palm Tree restaurant) lately. Their cheapest entrees are about $11 but portion sizes are huge. Service is slow, but friendly.

Don't how long the OP will be working downtown, but I just read that the Harbour Centre food court is slated for renovation starting April-ish. All the food court vendors have been asked to leave by the end of March, so hopefully Bali Thai will have found a different spot by then.

Hachibei is open Mondays...

Gyu-Kaku is an international chain -- if you look up their Vancouver website: http://www.gyu-kaku.com/cn/vancouver.htm, they seem to have a lot of specials (you can get on their mailing list too). If you do go, please post as I've been thinking of going but haven't made it over as yet.

H Mart...

The Kingston pub (downtown, on Richards) has a pleasant courtyard patio. No idea what the food's like, but its a great place for after-work drinks.

...and there are always the Japadog carts...still my favourite street food in the city.

So true LS. I was lucky enough to have some home-cooked fesenjan a couple of months ago. Better than anything I'd had at a restaurant before or since.

Famous Foods used to have them and their prices are generally good, but I haven't been there in a while (still working through the huge stash of dried beans and lentils that we bought...)

Have you tried Darchin YVR? We had a good meal there a while ago, but it seems to get pretty mixed reviews.

The AnatoliaGate Rant: So we finally made it out to AG and, I must say, while the food was good, the service was so incredibly bad that I don't see myself going back. We walked in to a full restaurant but no apparent wait staff. There were four people there but they all seemed to be doing everything -- waiting tables, making the food, working the till and bussing -- and literally getting in each other's way. After about ten minutes, we were able to make eye contact with one of the staff, who said that a table for two would be available soon. At that time, there was a group of four waiting for a table, but occupying a table for two that they clearly were not going to be eating at. But, we had to wait twenty more minutes until they got their table and we were seated at the table that they were just hanging out at. Then we waited another ten minutes before someone came to take our order. We asked for something that we could get immediately (I was ready to eat my shoe by that point) and ordered the baba ghanoush and hummus. Then we waited and watched while a couple that had arrived well after us was served with lavash and yogurt dip while we sat with an empty table in front of us (actually, not quite correct -- we did get some water). When we asked when we could get our appetizers we were told that they were busy. So, we waited some more... When our food finally arrived, I agree the baba ghanoush and lavash were great but I was so hungry by that point that I couldn't enjoy the meal. Did we have really bad luck? Or was this an aberration? I am inclined to think not, as I've experienced similar delays at their downtown location, as have some of my colleagues. I really can't recommend them to anyone unless they have all day and infinite patience.

I tried some kimchi from T&T when I first moved here and didn't like it. I've been getting mine from H-Mart ever since they opened the downtown store. They've recently expanded the kimchi section and, while it's not quite in the deli-olive "fresh" category, it does the trick for me. Haven't noticed different hotness levels though.

They seemed open to the suggestion of adding more Nepalese items to the menu (the lamb with beans is Nepalese) but I don't know if they've done so -- we haven't been back in a while.

We've been a few times. The owners are a young Nepalese couple -- the husband cooks (I believe he trained in India) and the wife is out front. The service is friendly, as SS said, and the food no worse than most Indian places locally (and may be better than many). The prices are a tad high for what you get, but not enough to prevent us from going if we're in the area and feel like Indian food.

If you're looking for food court options, Crystal Mall is a good bet in Burnaby.

We did a CSA with Glen Valley Co-op out in Abbotsford a couple of years ago...while we were happy with the pricing and the quality of the produce, it was a bit too much for the two of us in terms of quantity, particularly as we wanted to check out the farmers' markets as well, so we didn't continue. As far as I can recall, we got chard, kale, lettuce, carrots, squashes, zucchini, onions, cucumber etc. but we did find ourselves supplementing our box with trips to the grocery store-- that may just be due to the stuff we like to eat...

I was one of the four and would probably give a slight edge to Peaceful right now, although it is early days yet for Tang Dynasty. I've been disappointed with Sha Lin ever since they reopened after the fire. I used to be a regular there but don't think I'll bother any more. Regarding Tang Dynasty, agree with Grayelf that the cucumbers were OK (I like the Peaceful version better) and the pork dumplings and green beans with olive were excellent. I also went by myself, a couple days after they opened and tried the La Zi Ji (may not have been the greatest thing to order, since they're not a Sichuan restaurant) and the lamb soup with bread crumbs -- both were OK but not stellar. Will definitely be going back and trying more stuff, particularly the dishes not offered by Peaceful. In any case, its really great having another option in the area.

Hmm, I think they were planning to offer quiches ... will have to stop by and ask.

Anyone notice if they have any savoury items yet? I know they were planning on some ...

I figured you'd be familiar with KC and CNH as they're the standards for the 'hood. I'm not sure about Golden Harvest's da lang menu as they close at 10:30 p.m. FWIW, Urbanspoon lets you search "late night" and "Chinese" and comes up with a pretty decent list...

There's Congee Noodle House, which is near you IIRC LR, but they don't start their da lang until 9 p.m. Kwong Chow also does da lang (I think) but I don't know when they start...

FWIW, I've noticed a decline in the related Vancouver restaurants as well, so it may be lack of QC/supervision of the various locations...

I always ask for extra hot sauce, which most places are happy to provide. That being said, I don't find the Korean hot sauce very hot actually, but it does add a nice flavour.

Not too good, unfortunately -- they are very heavy on the rice and short on the fixins' both in quantity and quality. I've had better at nearby Japanese places.

The Costco downtown usually has smoked salmon packed in boxes -- it is our standby host gift when we travel. Urban Fare also has some, but you may be paying a premium. I don't recall the price per pound unfortunately.

For taco places off the top of my head: Don Guacamole's and Calli -- both in the West End, so not exactly downtown, but hopefully close enough. Also, Los Tacos in Gastown (I've never been and am not sure if they've opened yet). Enjoy!

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Don Guacamole Restaurant
1333 Robson St, Vancouver, BC V6E, CA