Had a great trip to Vancouver and did lots of great eating. Thanks for all the recs from this board; they were extremely helpful. We ate a lot of Japanese food, almost all of which was excellent.

The highlights:

1) Hokkaido Ramen Santuoka, Robson St. The place was still very crowded late at night, and for good reason. The toroniku ramen was some of the best broth I have ever had. Every time I passed by the place, which was near our hotel, it was always packed.
2) Green Lemon Grass, Kingsway. Very good pho and lots of other stuff too. The most lively and popular of the places we passed on the Kingsway strip.
3) Juno, Yaletown. Superb sushi, and very friendly. The other stuff on the menu was less of a highlight but the sushi was really good.
4) Bella Gelateria, in the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. Will not be able to eat gelato again after this one, it was too good.

Other good eats:
1) Kingyo, West End. Lots of small plates, some of them better than other, but standouts including the black cod and death udon (it was indeed hot)
2) La Taqueria, Cambie and Broadway. Pretty good tacos, and reasonably priced.
3) Miko, Robson St. Some good food although the sushi was not quite as good as Juno's. But very cozy and homey all the same
4) Floata, Chinatown. Had dim sum here (although knowing it was not likely to be the best in town) and was fairly satisfied, although everything had shrimp in it, whether it was indicated or not. The dumplings were good.
5) Acme Cafe, Hastings. Diner comfort food, good pulled pork and boar sausage dish alongside some more standard comfort food. The only place we went to (after Medina and Twisted Fork) where we could actally get a seat without waiting for 40 minutes or more.
6) West Restaurant--a good meal although not quite as good as we expected, some of the dishes including the sablefish and the lemon dessert worked well, the risotto and some of the other dishes were not nearly as good.
7) Nicli Antica, Gastown. A good pizza, and obviously authentic, but still kinda feel it doesn't match up to my favorite pizzeria in Kampala (which unfortunately closed recently). The crust was also embarassing to cut because you'd sit there sawing it for hours until it actually cut.

I don't think we had a bad meal...just wish we had a little more time to explore places that were a little further away from downtown, and have a few more Japanese and Chinese meals. Yum!

Just a few updates, since i haven't posted in a long while

New favorite place:

Gopala Vegetarian Indian Food, Buganda Road--delicious, spicy Gujarati food in modest surroundings. Not sure what they put in this but it's addictive

Other new worthwhile places:
Go Greek--Ggaba Road, in Bunga/Kansanga. something new on kampala's dining scene and i didn't try much but it seemed quite promising and it is only four months old

Enjera (Eritrean/Ethiopian)--Acacia Ave. not really new but i go to this place all the time. very authentic menu and excellent doro wat, some good other dishes that are not usually found in kampala

Goretti's Pizzeria (Entebbe). not that new but no prior posts on this. grilled fish and pizza right on the beach, a good setting. plus some burundi bottled passion drink that i get a craving for

Places I like these days:
Mama Ashanti (for grilled fish and chicken, jollof rice and plantains)

Cafe Ballet (for jerk chicken and tilapia, jamaican food and juices)

Kati Kati (for grilled meats and vegs and breads)

Mamba Point Pizzeria (for Italian thin-crust style)

Joglo Pork Joint (Naalya)

Nommo Gallery (Ugandan buffet)

Pardis (in both Garden City and Nakumatt--the one in Garden City for good Persian food and Nakumatt for excellent moutabbal)

Aangan in the Food Court at Nakumatt for Indian

New York Kitchen (for desserts)

Le Chateau (for ice cream only)

If anyone has any ideas for great places that I haven't talked about here, would love to hear them because i don't do as much exploring as I used to.

Hi, I agree on Fat Burrito. Ate there a number of times during my trip and it definitely served the best tacos in town, and good huaraches as well. Just wish there was a place with a more substantial Mexican menu, but at least Fat Burrito is good for a start.

Just to add a few more additions from recent dining experiences:

Pork Joints and Scaled up versions of the same:

Zanzi--Not such great pork the last time--flavor lacking and the quality of meat not so high. However, many friends swear by it so I'd be willing to give it another change. The largest pork joint in Uganda, to my knowledge.
Joglo--Pork continues to be pretty good but could use a little more spice.
Cave Down--Very flavorful pork but not the highest quality of meat
Zone 7--Nice setting but pork not up to the standard of the top places, IMHO

Restaurants:
Ashanti West African Restaurant: Nice Ghanaian restaurant that is one of the few places that serves grilled whole fish in Kampala. A pretty extensive menu and good food in a relatively modest storefront. Excellent fried plantains and good pepper soup with tilapia.
Cafe Ballet: Nice little cafe/restaurant open three meals per day with some pretty decent Jamaican food. Order the jerk chicken spicy, and the snapper in coconut milk and the poulet bacchanal are also worth a try. Good plantains and some interesting drinks and desserts.
A lo Cubano: Cuban food stall in the Garden City Mall. Excellent congri rice, plantains, the main dishes are more uneven.
Just kebabs: Tasty kebabs in a small storefront near Club Rouge.
Enjera: Tasty affordable Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurant on Acacia Ave. The food is much more authentic than other Ethiopian restaurants I have been to in town, so just be aware for those used to more Westernized/Americanized menus.

Alas, the best pilau in town (in the form of Cafe Viva) is no longer available as Cafe Viva seems to have closed.

I'm looking for the closest decent food to the Sturbridge area and also for potential field trips to take for better eats in the surrounding areas. Relatively casual places are appreciated since I will be traveling with small children.

There are a bunch of (relatively) new Ethiopian restaurants on the Ggaba Road, has anyone tried them? Dukem, Blue Nile (just off Ggaba Rd in Kansanga), Addis Ababa are the names, none of them look like much, but you never know

After a number of times at New York Kitchen, the following are my impressions. This is a good place for American exiles who can't wait until they get back to the US for some comfort food. A number of things really work at NYK: the potato pancakes, the bagel chips, the pizza, and the service. The pizza is fairly thick crust, compared to Mamba Point's, but tasty. One slice is a meal. It is New York-style, rather than most of the Italian-style pizza available in Kampala, of which Mamba Point Pizzeria's is by far the best, IMHO, but the pizza at Mamma Mia at the Speke is also not bad. NYK potato pancakes are very tasty, and their buttermilk pancakes aren't bad either. I am not particularly sold on their pesto, and I still think their bagels do not match up to real bagels, because they don't have the crispiness on the outside and the real chewiness of a good NY bagel--they are better than anything else on offer in Kampala but still not up to par. The staff at NYK is very helpful and friendly, and the place is very convenient to visit in Garden City. It tends to get a bit hot inside NYK, so you may be better off sitting outside unless it is a very cool evening.

I was only there for a few days, so I don't have any other recommendations based on experience, but the site "what's up addis" whatsupaddis.com for its dining section which lists recommendations and has a few reviews

Any ideas for the best places close to Littleton? I sometimes go in to Lowell for SE Asian food, and would appreciate any recs there, but also any other suggestions--my preference is for places with around 30 mins. driving time or less. My preferred cuisines include Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian (on the Lowell angle), Japanese, and any decent Jamaican or Mexican if any is available so far out of the city.

--jbl

As a former Chicago chowhound returning for a visit for the first time in 4 years, I am eager to hit old spots and try new ones. My particular interests are Mexican, barbecue, and other cuisines that I can't get much of in Uganda (where I live now), or Boston, my other stop on this trip. My planned ideal itinerary, after reading this board and the LTH forum, is as follows:

Day 1)

Breakfast--Tre Kroner
Lunch--Xni-Pec or Sol de Mexico
Dinner--Katsu or Sunshine Cafe

Day 2)

Breakfast--Maxwell Street Market (will all the vendors be out in the winter?)
Lunch--Lem's
Dinner--Jamaican or Peruvian food

Day 3)

Breakfast--Svea/Sweet Maple Cafe/or undecided soul food restaurant?
Lunch--La Quebrada or La Oaxaquena or Restaurante Oaxaca, if it is still around
Dinner--San Soo Gap San, or anything I haven't eaten yet

Snacks: Tamales from somewhere, Spinach pies from Middle Eastern Bakery, Sticky Rice and Red Bean Cakes from New York Bakery in Albany Park

I would appreciate any suggestions, on the Jamaican/Peruvian/Soul/breakfast food front, or any "to die for" restaurants that I should add to this itinerary. I will probably avoid any very far Southwest or far South (except Lem's) restaurants due to time constraints. Plus any very fancy restaurants are out since i have two small and often destructive kids.

--jbl

I just had lunch at a Goan restaurant on Dewinton for the first time. The food seemed relatively authentic, from what I remember of my few meals at Goan restaurants in Bombay. The name of the restaurant is the Coconut Shack, and they have a menu of about ten Goan dishes in addition to other Indian fare. Prices are reasonable; the restaurant is just a modest storefront. Food was (appropriately) spicy and I will try it again. Not great, but a nice change of pace if you're in the food for lots of coconut and chili, and to my knowledge the only real Goan place in Kampala.

There is also a new restaurant and Chinese Tea Garden, on Kololo just a little ways off Acacia Ave. I didn't try much of their food, but they serve various kinds of green tea, which was nice, and there were some very tasty little pastries--the pumpkin cakes were particularly good. It looks to be a very authentic place as almost all the patrons were Chinese. I don't know how their food stacks up but their relishes were very nice and the dumplings we had were passable.

Based on the suggestions of this board, finally tried Cafe Viva for pillao; it was quite tasty and definitely the best pillao I've had in Kampala.

In reply to Tony's post above, I think his recommendations are generally excellent, although I disagree about Mamba Point, which is a different kind of pizza but is good. Also, the bagels at New York Kitchen are not real bagels, although they are decent, they do not compare to some of the ones I've eaten in New York or Chicago. I also differ about Krua Thai, although I'm not attached enough to it to defend it too passionately. I'm also puzzled as to how Arirang does not resemble Korean food--Bi Bim Bop is not Korean food? Korean barbecue is not Korean food?

The places in Kisementi are lousy, as is Kyoto, and many of the other places listed above. There are a few decent items at Fang Fang, most of the rest of the menu is not very good, however.

--jbl

Dar has lots of great restaurants, it's been too long since I was there to recommend anything with any confidence, although I used to love Barbecue House, a tandoor place, and there is lots of excellent seafood there as well.

I was in Zanzibar more recently, in Stone Town I can recommend Two Tables for homestyle cooking (it's in someone's house, a very strange place with a set menu but consistently excellent food. I also ate at a nice new seafood restaurant on the second floor of a building just near the Old Fort, but the name of the place is escaping me. It was pretty good. There is excellent Italian ice cream at some other places along the waterfront. The Forodhani gardens have excellent food, and also a great place to walk around and soak up the atmosphere. A long time ago I also ate at the restaurant on the roof of Emerson and Green's. I remember it being excellent, but that was many years ago. Monsoon was also pretty good.

On the East Coast of Zanzibar, a hotel called Pongwe Beach has generally excellent food. The menus are set, with only a few options, but are very good. In Uroa, Uroa Beach hotel, a tiny little place, serves up excellent Zanzibari cuisine.

I had about ten days in the Garden Route area, and hit a few restaurants, mostly in the Plettenberg Bay area. A few reviews:

1) Cornuti del Mare: Italian Restaurant in P'berg Bay. Bustling atmosphere, good pastas and pizzas. Some of the other stuff (an ostrich steak with a chocolate/chili sauce) was less outstanding, but the Italian and European food was very very good.
2) FK: a pizza place on Main St. in Plett. good speciality pizzas, pastas good but not quite as much.
3) Med Bistro: Mediterranean/Seafood place in Plett. Great Cape Malay seafood stew and various other dishes. Nice global touches and good solid good. A bit fancy.
4) Lookout. Beachfront restaurant in Plett. Had some nice fish and other staples there.
5) 34 degrees south. Restaurant in Knysna's waterfront. Expected a lot from this place, and it was not as good as I expected. They have a huge menu, however, so I may have ordered the wrong things.
6) Fushi, an Asian fusion restaurant on Plett's main street. Pricey, pretty good sushi and other Asian fusion type things. For a fancy restaurant, the waitstaff was very accommodating with our young son.
7) Pie place, downtown Plett. Sweet and savory pies. Very tasty.
8) French bakery on Main Street in Plett. Fantastic, fantastic croissants, breads, quiche, and tarts. This place is really amazing. Just some of the best french baked goods I've ever had.
9) Italian restaurant in George, on road heading to airport. Forgot the name, but it was very good. Known as being the best Italian restaurant in town. It really was good, but we felt a bit bad being in there with small kids.
10) Restaurant at Storms River Mouth Restcamp. Not the greatest restaurant, but not bad either, and one of the best locations in the world for a restaurant.
11) Spanish-named restaurant, think it began with a P, at the Heads in Knysna. Nice seafood, and a fantastic location.
12) Harkerville Farmer's Market. Great farmstyle breakfasts on Saturday mornings. Live Cape Jazz when we were there. A nice experience.

Lots of good seafood--stick to local fish and you will do well.

I just got back from a few days in Ethiopia, here are my reviews:

1) Habesha Restaurant--This was a nice Ethiopian Restaurant with good food in an upscale but comfortable environment, and music and dancing as well. We had Kwanta Firfir and Vegetables, the Kwanta Firfir did not overwhelm me, but everything was tasty and the service was good. The dancing was outstanding. The restaurant is on Bole Rd.
2) Makush Gallery--An Italian Restaurant/art gallery. Excellent homemade tortellini and less exciting pizza. Fancy and trendy, but good homemade pasta. On Bole Rd.
3) Nakhlah Restaurant--a Yemeni restaurant, near the Ibex Hotel. Yemeni and Arabic specialties, and great juices. Fairly cheap. The special lamb was tasty, and the rice was delicious. the best thing to eat was actually the hummus.
4) Yod Abyssinia. Another Ethiopian restaurant, but I wasn't so impressed by this one. The food was pretty good, but not great, and the atmosphere was a bit annoying. Maybe just in the wrong mood.
5) Oroscopo. a kind of weird Italian/Ethiopian restaurant in the Piazza area. Not sure whether it was intended to be fusion or not, but was a bizarre combination of the two cuisines. Probably not recommended, although it was a cute and friendly little place.

Fasika restaurant was also recommended to us, but didn't have time to try it out.

One fantastic coffeehouse, Tomoca, with some of the best espresso anywhere, and one decent and cute coffeehouse, Mocha Mocha, with great macchiatos. Both dirt cheap. Cafes are everywhere in Addis!

In response to a number of the previous posts, glad to see that the board has gotten so active. A few notes--Blue Mango is now closed. It has been replaced by a place called the Hideout. For those of you who were referring to Ekitoobero, it's now on Nakasero Rd; I have never been partial to it, but I prefer Nommo Gallery or St. Anthony's for luwombo. Also, please avoid the Indian restaurants at Kabira and the Speke, as they have jacked their prices way up. Some updates on new places I've tried and new ones that have opened:

1) Efendy's, a new Turkish restaurant, is now open in Centenary Park. It has pretty good Turkish food, especially appetizers and kebabs.
2) New York Kitchen, with bagels that aren't quite real bagels but pretty close, and pizza and other new york dishses, is open in the Garden City mall. It's in the parking lot, not a great locaiton, but a change for those in the mood.
3) Joglo Pork Joint, in Kiwatule/Naalya. A big open air pork joint with good pork.
4) Saagad (sp?) Indian restaurant in King Fahd plaza. Good place for South Indian and other thalis. Kind of hidden but I had some nice dishes with coconut vegetables and some other interesting things.
5) Dewinton Road Indian--these are not new, but are decent thali and goan places near the National Theatre.
6) Chinese restaurant in Centenary Park--best avoided

The Haven in Jinja is a beautiful place to stay and has decent food.

After almost two months of Redding chowhounding, here's what I have to report:

Recommended:

Buz's Crab--great whole crab, seafood, and a homey atmosphere. also has a fresh fish market and you can buy crab to go, which is much cheaper and very tasty
Fat Burrito--not a promising name, but used to be a restaurant called Mi Pueblito, and has the best and most authentic tacos and huaraches in town. a very limited menu but great carne asada tacos and al pastor tacos and the huaraches are very nice
Nipa's--nice thai restaurant with spicy food and a range of entrees. good drunken noodles and a not-too-sweet red curry, plus authentic thai dishes like larb
Maritime--upscale ($20/plate) restaurant with outstanding fish dishes and an elegant atmosphere
San Francisco Deli--good sandwiches and some treats on Friday

Good but not Great:

Fat Daddy's--fairly new BBQ place, good chicken and reasonable pulled pork
El Mariachi's--Mexican place with authentic dishes including a red mole and some other more traditional Mexican fare
Taqueria Los Gordos--most popular place with Mexican community in Redding, was not overwhelmed with their tacos, but maybe i just got the wrong things
Vintage--wine bar with decent food, appetizers and desserts better than the entrees, which lacked a little something for how much they cost
Sakura Sushi and Kampai Sushi--nice little Japanese/sushi restaurants
Senor Rosas--Fresh but not always consistent Cal-Mex

Less Recommended:
Thai Cafe--underspiced thai food and much less inspiring than Nipa's
La Cabana--somewhat uninspiring Mexican food, although with some authentic dishes
Teriyaki House--bad rice bowls

Any suggestions for good places near Butler's Wharf that are at least reasonably child-friendly? Thai, Japanese, Indian, Moroccan, Jamaican, seafood particularly appreciated...

Ekitoobero is on Kitante Rd/Yusuf Lule Rd. The last time I was there, which was a while ago, the food was pretty good and the portions were huge. For matooke and luwombo, the luwombo is pretty decent at the Pearl Restaurant at Nommo Gallery up near State House, although it's a bit of a yuppie place. St. Anthony's is also good, and the Sambo Restaurant which is now down on Nkrumah/Nasser Road used to have a good reputation for Ugandan food as well.

For pork, a lot of people used to swear by Deep Blue near Wandegeya, although I never ate there, and I've heard it's gone downhill somewhat. I thought Zanzi's was pretty good for the money, though I still think the old Outlook (near Ntinda) was better. Some people also like Rhino near Ntinda but I have only tried the Rhino near Nakulabye, which no longer exists. Has any one been to any of the Nakulabye places recently (like Nicodemus or its neighbors)? Also, Rise and Shine between Bukoto and Ntinda is very popular, but I have never been too impressed

Sadly the Eritrean place which used to be at Kisementi is no longer. I don't know where it went. Also, there was an Ethiopian woman who used to cook out of her home near the old taxi park, and then the building she was cooking from was knocked down. Does anyone know where she might have relocated to?

roberta's is on the same road as granzella's, just a few doors down, i think the building is yellow

roberta's taqueria in williams near granzella's has very nice tacos, a bit on the small side, but only $1.50 each. i think the carne asada tacos are particularly good. it's nothing fancy or unusual, but the blend of tastes is good, and much better than anything i've found in redding

In the opinion of those on this board, what is the best taqueria in Redding? I have been to a number but have not found any to be particuarly authentic or anywhere near as good as one in Williams, but I feel like there SHOULD be a good and authentic one here....any suggestions appreciated

Le Quartier Francais in Franschoek is excellent, and Franschoek is a great place to explore wines and great food. You would need a car, but it's not too difficult to rent one, and it's a fairly short drive (about forty minutes if I remember).

Emily's (near the Waterfront) comes highly recommended, although I haven't eaten there myself, and Madam Zingara downtown was nice too. There were good steaks and seafood at Balthasar on the Waterfront and also good food at Societi Bistro, also on the Waterfront.

Willoughby's, a little tiny place in the V & A Mall, does not have a lot of atmosphere, but the seafood is very good.

The restaurant at the Winchester Mansions hotel in Sea Point has a quite good restaurant if you're in that area

I would appreciate any recs for cheap and tasty barbecue, vietnamese, and dim sum restaurants in the city, although I can go to Oakland for something if it's really good. also, of the mission places, which has the best moles and the best oaxacan food?

Would love to hear about good restaurants in this area, especially mexican, japanese, thai, seafood, and anything else that's outstanding. Nothing too expensive, and preferably kid-friendly. Once had outstanding fish and shrimp tacos at some little taqueria near the main street of Santa Cruz, but couldn't remember the name of the place for the life of me; if anyone has a suggestion as to what that might be or an equivalent to it, that would be great...

--jbl

any dining suggestions for this area? we will be staying at the best western grosvenor hotel, 380 s. airport blvd

What are the best restaurants in Lowell? I've been to Southeast Asia, which was good, but either haven't been to or can't remember most of the other places...especially interested in Southeast Asian and other spicy foods.

I haven't been to Zanzi's--I have liked Outlook because the pork is usually a bit spicy and different, but Outlook is not what it used to be. I'll have to try Zanzi's...

The Lebanese place on Jinja Rd seems to be owned/managed by the same folks who used to manage the one near KPC in the Park Royal shopping arcade that closed--it's ok, but I don't know yet whether it really gets many customers for Lebanese food, seems to be more of a fast food joint at lunch

On the upscale side, there is also Krua Thai just off Acacia Ave, which is usually quite good, and a new Punjabi Restaurant, just on Acacia and part of a big complex

On the cheaper side, there is a very nice place to sit by the lake and eat fish in between Abayita Babiri and Entebbe, called Cafe Victoria, although it is not clearly signposted, but it's right off the road. There is also an Eritrean food tent in Kisementi near the Gapco Station, my wife has been there and liked it a lot

I had some pretty good pilao in Bakuli, where is Viva?

As one of the few chowhounds resident in East Africa (at least I think I am) I just wanted to post a few suggestions for anyone who happens to come to Uganda:

Haandi and Khana Khazana--great North Indian places

Arirang--a vast Korean restaurant with an uneven menu

Outlook, Nicodemus, Yakobo's, Rise and Shine--some of Kampala's well-known pork joints

Mamba Point Restaurant and Mamba Point Pizzeria--high-quality Italian food and pizza

Parsi's--Persian good and good kebabs in the mall

Fasika--good-value Ethiopian food, Doro Wat better than their Tibs

Le Chateau--Belgian restaurant with Belgian beer

Two Friends, Gately on the Nile, Black Lantern, Ling Ling--some decent restaurants in Jinja, if you're at the Source of the Nile

Enjoy!