Cancuk's Profile
Date Night Suggestions?
My dads favourite restaurant is Tojos. I go with him a couple of times a year:
If you're looking to be wowed and you don't really care how much you spend, go to Tojo's. It will (usually) be very good/excellent and will wow most more than the other two options.
Blow out dinner in Barcelona
Thank you for your reply. Out of restaurants that are listed (or any in the same quality level), what would be your choice? Probably not including El Celler de Can Roca.
I should also mention that we are just as much into alcohol as food, so a good wine/cocktail list and a fun room is a plus.
Thank you in advance.
Blow out dinner in Barcelona
Hello,
I'll be in Barcelona visiting my travelling girlfriend in Mid-June and I would like to take her out to a blow out, unbelievable meal. Price doesn't really matter. From what I've read, these places peak my fancy but I'm TOTALLY OPEN FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
The only criteria is that it's nothing too formal. She will be travelling out of backpack and will only have some sort of summer dress to wear and I won't have a jacket or any kind of nice dress shirts.
Comerq 24
Cinq Sentis
El Celler de Can Roca
Alkimia
Thank you in advance!
Where should we go : out of towners, Valentines day?
My GF and I are coming down from Vancouver, BC for a mini-vacation on Valentines day. We are staying in the Governor Hotel 614 SW 11th Ave. We will probably get into PDX around 6 or so. Where should we go eat?
We had an awesome week long food binge in Portland in the summer. We loved Toro Bravo and would like to go back, but we will probably leave it to the following night as we are assuming Valentines day will be packed there and it's kind of a trek. Stumbling distance is better. So, where should we go? We loved Clyde Common, Le Pigeon, Beaker and Flask, Podnah's Pit, and a ton of other places. But i'm thinking Valentines day will be a problem and we don't really know what time we are getting in so reservations aren't ideal. We like a place we can linger and drink longer in, or a place that is near somewhere where that is possible (like Clyde Common). It can range from fancy to funky, as long as it's really good and we shouldn't have a problem getting in on Valentines without a reasonable wait.
Thank you!
-----
Clyde Common
1014 SW Stark St, Portland, OR 97205
Le Pigeon
738 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214
Toro Bravo
120 NE Russell St Ste A, Portland, OR 97212
Beaker and Flask
727 SE Washington St, Portland, OR 97216
best value sippers available in Van
I mean the black label yes. Didn't realize there was a different one. I wouldn't trust much from the BCLDB website though.
best value sippers available in Van
I think the best under $10 wine is the Paira Puglia Rosso. $9.99. Super straight forward, easy drinker, juicy, and approachable.
The Perequita from Portugal is a steal at around $12, private stores only.
I think Borsao has a couple of labels under $15 and they're usually solid.
New Legacy Liquor Store-First Visit
I stopped in yesterday. Obviously they aren't fully stocked but I have to say, for how big the store is, there isn't that much actual shelf space for wine (at least how it's set up now). There's the back part of the store where they had all of their imports as well as the front part beside the craft beer where they had their BC selection. We'll see how it all ends up.
Also, i'm well aware that I could be totally wrong. We will see when they are fully stocked.
New Legacy Liquor Store-First Visit
That's the one I was talking about Fmed. Bought the last 4 bottles this summer.
New Legacy Liquor Store-First Visit
The best cider selection I've seen is at Viti. The best actual cider I've found in Vancouver is one that Marquis imports privately and is only available in spring/summer until they run out. Normandy, super yeasty, 3.5 Alcohol, don't remember the name.
A nice "home cookin" type restaurant in Vancouver with party room?
Hamilton Street Grill has a separate room in the back.
-----
Hamilton Street Grill
1009 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2R9, CA
Victoria and Vancouver Rec's... coming from SF
Good midrange spots:
- Bao Bei - 'modern/fusion' Chinese (they call themselves a Chinese Brasserie). Inventive cocktail list as well.
- Chambar (Belgian/North African). Really good cocktail program here as well. Always a good vibe.
- Boneta (French/West Coast). Again, good cocktail/drink program and fun room.
- L'Abbatoir (French). Pretty much the same as Boneta/Chambar: great drink program, good food, fun room, great neighbourhood.
- ReFuel (the reincarnation of Fuel.) Whole confit duck for two is one of my favourite dishes in the city. Come here with the intention of eating lots of meat.
- Campagnolo (rustic Italian). I think the value here is outstanding and, even though I always thought the food was good/very good, it's gotten better since J.C. (new chef) has taken over.
- La Buca (Italian). Awesome food. Out of the way location.
- La Quercia (Italian). Awesome food.
- Alibi Room: Gastropub. Awesome beer selection and room. Food is basic English pub stuff, but a step up on 99% of the pub food in this city. But, come here for the beer.
- Irish Heather. Gastropub. Very solid.
- Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe. French. After some hiccups, I've had two very good meals here. Drinks are top notch as well.
I think all of these fall into your price range and, IMO, are our better examples of what (I think) you are looking for although I could probably add some more that are more or less equal.
If you're looking for a night out of eating/drinking, do a little 'Tour de Gastown'. All of these places are within two blocks of each other:
Boneta - food/cocktails
L'Abbatoir - food/cocktails. Hard to get a seat on a weekend. No reservations
Cork and Fin - Champagne/Oysters.
The Diamond - Cocktails and snacks. Great room and great drinks.
Alibi Room - Beer
Irish Heather - Beer/Whiskey
It's always a good time and, if some places are too busy, there are quite a few others that I would be fine recommending within a couple of blocks, especially if it's just drinking like:
Pourhouse (very good cocktails, food is hit and miss for me)
Steamworks (brewpub, solid beer. VERY bad food)
Have a great time!
-----
La Buca Restaurant
4025 MacDonald St, Vancouver, BC V6L2N8, CA
Campagnolo
1020 Main St, Vancouver, BC V6A, CA
La Quercia
3689 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6R1P2, CA
Alibi Room
157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A1B8, CA
Pourhouse Restaurant
162 Water Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1B2, CA
Tasting menus in Vancouver
I'm pretty sure Le Crocodile has something for old school French.
'C' definitely has one as well as does Raincity Grill, but I'm not sure I would recommend it over any of the others.
- Diva at the Met?
- Le Gavroche?
-----
Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 2N1, CA
Le Gavroche Restaurant
1616 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6G1A6, CA
Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA
Report: Chronic Tacos at Broadway and Yukon
It's actually owned by, "wee-man" from 'Jackass'.
Good Chinese that is open late for TONIGHT.
Dear Chowhounders,
I'm needing a good Chinese restaurant that is open past 10 PM for dinner TONIGHT. Preferably in Richmond or South Vancouver, but it doesn't really matter. It seems most are closed at 10.
Not really bothered about what kind of Chinese in particular, as long as it's relatively authentic (no HK style cafe's).
Thanks a lot.
Lucy's Eastside Diner - Main street's latest boho-pomo diner
Fresgo Inn: Nothing makes you feel better than a double chili cheese burger at 4 AM.
-----
Fresgo Inn Restaurant
10102 King George Hwy, Surrey, BC V3T2W4, CA
Help me fill a two-hour Chow window on Monday in downtown Vancouver
I like Uva. Bar is comfortable and you won't feel rushed at all. Good drinks menu and you can order off of Cibo's food menu.
Help narrowing down where to eat and drink in PDX!
Here are my notes from our time in Portland, with a couple little ones from wine country and the coast. Thanks for all of your help. We just ate and drank non-stop (especially in PDX)... it was awesome. We love your city and can't wait to go back!
Please remember that lots of these notes were made while I was drunk before bed... so they aren't exactly, "good". But, you get the idea.
Deshutes: Great beer. "Fresh Squeezed" IPA was my favourite. Had a bite of the brewmasters platter w/ sausages, cheese, pork belly, etc. it was totally acceptable, but it was all about the beer.
Clyde Common: Fideos, Squid, Pasta, something else, in squid ink sauce. so fucking good. Pork belly main course, rich and delicious. Dorado main course fish for Kate. Was good, but not as good as pork belly (IMO)... she especially liked the charred grilled w/ heirloom ratatouille w/ basil. Really good. Drink's awesome: aged negronis were standouts. desserts: Peach 'something' parfait "it was like I was eating my grandmothers peaches on top of fresh short bread". Yum, yum, yum.
Gravy: Biscuit and gravy: nothing amazing, but adding the house made hot sauce made it better. French toast on Challah bread was probably the lightest, fluffiest french toast she's ever had. Greco omelets: sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, spinach... solid. Unreasonably huge portions.
Amnesia Brewing: Beer was good. More about the atmosphere and we weren't into sitting around. Would like to go back with a big group of friends. We were also insanely full from Gravy.
Upright: Had high hopes, as I drink their beer up in Vancouver. The guy running the service was kind of pretentious/dickish but the beer, as always, was good. Cool space too.
Le Pigeon: great dinner: Arugula salad w/ pecorino (simple, light, satisfying), foie gras w/ peach crepe (so rich, very good), Duck w/ dates and some sort of leek relish with what tasted like a chili in it (don't know for sure). Either way, really really good. Flat iron steak w/ heirloom tomatoes, gremolata, some sort of cream sauce, red onion rings. Blew her away. 100% her kind of dish. Done perfectly. Cheese course: dissapointing after such an awesome meal. Boring cheeses. Don't even remember the details, but whatever. Had a bottle of Chinon (good) and two glasses of '94 Mosel Riesling to start.
Rogue: Just had beer (ESB/Hefe) and tried their gin (a whole lot of cucumber) and dark rum (Jellie Belly, "buttered popcorn" taste. Weird.). We bought a bottle of the gin.
Clyde Common: Teardrop and Ten-01 were closed on Sunday, so we ended up at CC again. Had the fideos ink seafood thing again (superb), sage, spinach, vegitarian ravioli (good - but v. greasy) and the most rich, satisfying chick pea pappardelle w/ lamb ragu and goat cheese. So rich. Wow. We loved it, even though this was our second dinner (it's vacation, whatever). Some cocktails, as well, of course. I had a hard time getting off the negroni's. Bartender poured us some bourbon shots for the end of the night as we were his last customers. Great room, great place.
Pambiche: We missed their breakfast so had to order from the lunch menu. I had pork tongue in a spicy, tomato based sauce. Really good, although a little heavy for the first thing in your stomach. My GF had grilled beef with onion and peppers that came with the most delicious side sauce. The waitress said it was made of sour orange and garlic. Delicious. Liked the restaurant, especially since it is something that we have basically nothing of in Vancouver.
Bunk Sandwiches: We went out to the Sandy River for some beach time and took along some Bunk Sandwiches. While they were very good, I had extremely high expectations for them since they've been hyped so much. We had the Italian meat, provolone cheese and some little banana like peppers (forget the name) - this was very good but standard. We also had the pork belly cubano, which tasted like a McDonalds hamburger ONLY because of the mustard and pickles on it. This isn't a bad thing, but those two flavours together brought back childhood memories. Great sandwiches nonetheless, but definitely would have been better a couple hours earlier.
Tortilleria Y Tienda de Leon's: On our way back from Sandy River we decided to give this place a try, as we have pretty much zero good, authentic Mexican in Vancouver. To be honest, pretty disappointing and the first miss in Portland. Everything tasted like it had been under the heat lamp for 12 hours and was old. We had a gordita, a chicken tamale, and a chili relleno. The chile rellleno was easily the best. We were also so full after this we felt like vomiting everywhere.
Secret Society: We had an hour wait for a table at Toro Bravo and went up here for a couple cocktails. Very cool room, good drinks, good prices, and very generous pours.
Toro Bravo: Toro Bravo absolutely killed it and up to this point was the best meal we had. Food wise, every dish with a slight possibility of the meatballs, was top notch. The service was perfect (we had had a couple of misses service wise up to now, but whatever). Here is what we had: bacon wrapped dates, butter lettuce salad, drunken pork, duck liver terrine, flat bread with truffles/arugula/pecorino, 'French Kisses' (dates stuffed with foie gras), Meatballs, Torpedo Onions. Plus two glasses of cava, a bottle of Muga reserva, and a pour of grappa and 1982 PX Sherry to end. Great restaurant. Loved it. Wish it would just get up and move to Vancouver. Thought it was reasonably priced as well.
Beaker and Flask: Went here for some drinks to end the day on monday. Drinks were good and the room nice but there were only 5 people in the place so it was hard to get a good feel for it.
Tasty n' Sons: After the insanely large amount of food we ate the day before, neither of us were feeling too hot... but that didn't stop us from checking out Tasty n' Sons. Although the concept was a little cheapened after eating at Toro Bravo the night before, we both still really enjoyed the food and loved the creativity. Wish we had something like this in Vancouver. We had the BLT, the Breakfast Board (which at $7 was a great deal), the fughetaboutit (spelling?) omelette (which was good in theory, but in practice just tasted like a pizza. Cut up those sausages!), and a fried peach w/ cream. Everything was fine to very good, but I would like to go back when I was feeling more up to enjoying food.
Podnah's Pit: We skipped lunch and came to this highly recommended BBQ joint with a big appetitie. It did not dissapoint. Ribs, Brisket, Pulled Pork, and good beer. Awesome. Wish we had BBQ this good in Vancouver.
Belmont Station Beer store: This is a great beer store. Awesome selection, super enthusiastic staff (at least our one experience).
Vintropolis: Wine shop on Washington. Great selection and very good prices. You guys are so lucky for your liquor prices in the USA!
Kenny and Zukes: We had pastrami hash for breakfast. Good. Way to large though. But good. We got sandwiches to go for a picnic out in wine country. A reuben (very good, even though cold) and a unreasonably huge sandwich called, 'MESHUGALETTA' w/ pastrami, turkey, salami, roast beef, swiss cheese and pickle relish. So big.. I don't know what we were thinking. I don't think there is really much value here, but the quality is definitely top notch.
La Rambla (McMinnville): What a huge waste of money this was.... talk about a restaurant that is trying WAY too hard. Most everything was mediocre with a couple of dishes that were simply awful. Don't go here. Wine list is solid though.
Nick's Italian Cafe: We had heard about this place and wanted to try it, as it is an institution. It was pretty disappointing, especially considering the price. Everything was just DRENCHED in oil. The best thing was the pork chop.. .which was simply a pork chop that wasn't swimming in oil and the vegetable frito misto, which was done well.
Tina (Dundee): Stopped in here for lunch after a morning of wine tasting. Both had the Turkey Club and shared a bottle of wine. Classic sandwich done very well. Nothing fancy, toasted bun. Well done.
Pizza a 'fretta (Cannon Beach): Very good pizza. Crisp, thin crust. Good quality toppings. Well done.
Thanks for all your help. We loved your city (and state)! I hope that you can make it up to Vancouver!
-----
Clyde Common
1014 SW Stark St, Portland, OR 97205
Le Pigeon
738 E Burnside St, Portland, OR 97214
Nick's Italian Cafe
521 NE 3rd St, McMinnville, OR 97128
Amnesia Brewing
832 N Beech St, Portland, OR
Bunk Sandwiches
621 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR
Pambiche
2811 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97232
Toro Bravo
120 NE Russell St Ste A, Portland, OR 97212
La Rambla Restaurant & Bar
238 NE 3rd St, McMinnville, OR 97128
Beaker and Flask
727 SE Washington St, Portland, OR 97216
Help narrowing down where to eat and drink in PDX!
Thanks for the great posts.
We haven't made up our minds yet.. it may just be a game time decision.
I will post back here in a couple of weeks with the details.
Happy eating!
All Hail Bute Street Liquor Store!!
The selection at the Bute location is significantly worse which makes the fact that you can see it better all the more depressing.
Help narrowing down where to eat and drink in PDX!
JillO, thank you for the great reply! So many choices!
We have a ton of Izakaya restaurants up here, so we are probably going to pass on Tanuki, although it looks like a lot of fun.
Regarding the PSU market: is it available on both saturday and sunday? We won't be getting into town until the afternoon on saturday, and probably won't want to rush out to the market.
For the more popular dinner restaurants that do take reservations, how vital are they? Can we show up at Pok-Pok or Laurelhurst and get a table that night, or is that out of the question?
Thanks again, and if anybody has anything else to add, please do!
-----
Tanuki
413 NW 21st Ave, Portland, OR 97209
Help narrowing down where to eat and drink in PDX!
Two Vancouver, B.C. hounds here looking for some help on our rough itinerary for four nights in Portland starting this coming Saturday.
We are staying at the White Eagle hotel: it's cheap and we are looking at spending our money on food and drink! I assume we will be walking/taking transit, so keeping things *relatively* close would be ideal.
We are particular interested in the following:
Great drinking spots. We've both worked in the industry and love a good bar: cocktails, wine, and beer. We would also like an area where we could go to and go to multiple places in the same night (for both food and drink: like Gastown in Vancouver, if you know it). Please comment or add anything you'd like. Do you have a favourite drinking "crawl"?
Upright Brewing
Amnesia Brewing
Deschutes/Rogue
Clyde Common
Beaker and Flask
Whiskey Soda Lounge
Metrovino
Horse Brass
Green Dragon
Ten - 01
Dinner: We will have four dinners in Portland. We aren't into anything super formal/fancy, but are into innovative, good value, and a good time. With that said, if there's something amazing and a couple more dollars, we can do it. Here are some places that we have been looking at. Obviously need to thin down!
Toro Bravo
Laurelhurst Market
Andina (possible lunch)
Beast
Nostrana
Le Piegon
Navarre (possible lunch)
Pok-Pok
Castagna
Breakfast/Lunch/Day eating. The whole purpose of this leg of our trip is to eat and drink, so day eating will be vital! Here are some places I've found:
Pambiche
Tasty n' Sons
Gravy
Evoe
Kenny and Zukes
Thank you!
-----
Nostrana
1401 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR 97214
Andina Restaurant
1314 NW Glisan, Portland, OR 97209
Laurelhurst Market
3155 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97232
Amnesia Brewing
832 N Beech St, Portland, OR
Pambiche
2811 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97232
Castagna
1752 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
Toro Bravo
120 NE Russell St Ste A, Portland, OR 97212
Clyde Common
, Portland, OR 97201
Beaker and Flask
720 SE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97214
Bits but no bubbles: first meal at Bo Laksa part deux
I agree completely agree about the dish-ware. A pain in the ass to eat out of and not very, "green". I can't imagine its very cost effective either. If it's a, "needing a dishwasher" thing, I guess I will have to go there often to help fund it.
Bits but no bubbles: first meal at Bo Laksa part deux
Just had lunch at B&B.. So good. Had a laksa and pickled mango salad. Great hangover cure.
Service was super slow, but whatever. The food is awesome and I'd wait as long as they wanted knowing the food is that good.
An innovative meal and some good chinese food
Bishops does a great job with everything and it would be great/romantic for a anniversary dinner, but I don't know if I would call it innovative.
As someone said below, C is probably the closest to that distinction and I would recommend it. Do your best to get a seat outside, as the setting on a nice summer evening is hard to beat.
St. Augustine's Restaurant & Lounge - Commerical Dr, Vancouver
The only real difference between The End Cafe (previous name) and St. Augustines is the beer selection. The food, service, and ambience is still pretty terrible IMO.
Also, i've had a lot of old beer there. Which doesn't really surprise me as it's very rarely SUPER busy, a la Alibi Room. 40 Taps = 40 different beers. They're not all going to move.
Vandan: Sun God now in bottles. Check private liquor stores.
-----
Alibi Room
157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A1B8, CA
Gallo "hoodwinked" by Pinot Noir?
Zin,
I think you need to take things more seriously.
Fun Good Vancouver eats for large group 10-15
Although the food is certainly not going to blow anybody away, Chill Winston sounds like it may fit the bill.
Alibi Room is also a great rec, but you really should be into drinking beer if you're going there. Do they take reservations?
I think Cobre would be pretty tight for 15 people.
-----
Cobre Restaurants
52 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V6A 1E7, CA
Chill Winston
3 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A1B2, CA
Alibi Room
157 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC V6A1B8, CA
Romantic / Special Occasion Dinner Vancouver this Saturday night
If you're going for French and romantic, I think there are a couple of choices that are better than Jules:
Le Gavroche
Pied a Terre
Le Crocodile
The Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe
If you want to spend more, Lumiere and West would definitely fit the bill.
-----
Le Gavroche Restaurant
1616 Alberni St, Vancouver, BC V6G1A6, CA
Lumiere
2551 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6K2E9, CA
West Restaurant + Bar
2881 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC V6H 3J4, CA
Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA
Le Crocodile Restaurant
909 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z2N2, CA
