Restaurants

Pondok Indonesia is an unpretentious restaurant on Commercial which is tucked into the north west corner of Commercial and 12th.

We went there yesterday for the first time for Barb's birthday dinner and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Tonight I went to Lumiere for a business dinner. It's the first time that I have been there since their renovations.

They've added a bar up front with a couple of casual (cheaper and a la carte dining) tables and they've slightly enlarged the dining room.

We sat in the "power table" which was round and half of it was enclosed by a padded wall. I joked that this was actually the "lunatic" table!

I am happy to report that the food is still excellent after the renovations! I had the $80 seafood menu and was blown away by the scallops.

The Ridge Garden is my one and only neighbourhood Chinese restaurant. It's an easy 5 minute walk away. The closest other Chinese restaurants are much farther away on 4th or Broadway.

It will never win any awards but it's great to have a competent back to basics non pretentious restaurant serving down home style Chinese cuisine so close to home! Read my review for more details.

Lemon meringue is the new colour of our living room and kitchen! As a true victim of lemon mania, I like all things lemon like the lemon soup and potatoes at Ouzeri restaurant. Check out our mini-review for more details!

The 12th Annual Restaurant Awards from Vancouver Magazine are out.

It's always interesting to see how the opinions of professional critics (who get paid to go to a restaurant more than once unlike us who do it for the love of food for nada!) compare with ours. It's a thrill akin to seeing if your Oscar picks match the academy's.

For months, we've been passing by and peering into the covered windows of the Gramercy Grill, wondering when they would open. They are finally open and we popped in for dinner within it's first week of infancy!

We're glad that this eatery is just around the corner from us and is part of a growing neighbourhood of mixed zoning...commercial and residential.

Check out my review and pop into the warm, inviting restaurant if you're in the neighbourhood!

At Whistler on Friday, we tried unsuccessfully to book one of the many high-end restaurants there for dinner at the last minute. We tried out Caramba! and were pleasantly surprised.

Please check out my mini-review!

After swing dancing at the Legion until midnight on Fridays and/or Saturdays sometimes Barb and I feel peckish. Sometime we go for late night Chinese food and sometimes we go for late night Japanese food.

Our current favourite Japanese late night restaurant is The Clubhouse Japanese Restaurant on 2nd. It's very cheap, cheerful and serves up good food! Check out our review!

Last week I had tapas with some friends at La Bodega. They serve a wide selection of Spanish hot and cold, vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices. Perfect way of enjoying a light flavourful meal or to remind you of the sunnier climate of Spain. Be sure to order some sangria too!

Is the author of this review of Shiro Sushi, the Tim Bray, founder of anarcti.ca, former heavy mover at OpenText and XML co-inventor? I think so!

Shiro is very close to where I live; I'll have to check it out!