Winding Down DOV 2013 at Water St Cafe

It seems Dine Out Vancouver started not too long ago, but that's probably due to the fact I only went to half as many restaurants this year as I did last year. No real complaints though, every pick this year was a place we'd all wanted to try at some point. Some restaurants extend their dine out menu, so something to let your tastebuds think about. Our final official DOV restaurant this year is Water St Cafe - having passed by it countless times in Gastown, walking along Water St, it was definitely time to check it out. They also had an $18 dine out lunch menu, but the selection is vastly differently, and you might want to go to the Old Spaghetti factory instead as the menu has the same basics.

Tonight's dinner sits at $28, and in addition to the menu online, was an extra option in all three courses. For the appetizer, they added their seafood and corn chowder, a pan seared veal for the entree and a flourless espresso cake in dessert. Having had my choices previously cemented, the cold weather had me ordering the chowder, the duck confit and a tiramisu to finish off.

My friend ordered the sauteed Fanny Bay oysters which was came in a delicious sauce of smoked chipotle peppers, cream, sundried tomatoes and parmesan gratinee (list of ingredients taken directly off the dine out menu). The tomatoes were fairly subtle too as the cream and parmesan drizzled over the oysters. My chowder was downright comfort food and had me wanting more. Fairly loaded with seafood and corn, this is a chowder not to be missed, not too visually appealing though which is why I've not taken a photo of it. Next to us, the bruschetta looked good as well, but there are some foods you shouldn't and really can't mess up right?

Next up, the duck confit with balsamic and pineapple chutney. It beautifully fell off the bone mostly, but the duck was on the bland side. The balsamic glaze was great but I'm still undecided about the pineapple chutney part. Loved the pineapples, but there was something about the other components of that chutney. Unfortunately, the meat came out on the cool side and we ended up asking them to reheat it. The mashed potatoes that accompanied it was actually warmer than the duck iteself. Quite odd, and it's the first time in a long time I've returned the food. Coming back, the duck was fairly hot, which really made a difference in the taste, while not as flavorful as I'd like, it was fine. The duck cooled again fairly quickly, so you do need to eat it quickly.

Tiramisu - it's been awhile. Not visually stunning, I could tell my piece was the corner piece in the pan. For those who like their dessert light, this should be fine. Me? I was hoping for more espresso and rum in the lady fingers, but it seems like that got left out of the process.

A tad disappointing, but the service was good. Bottom line, would I go back? Probably not, though I'd be open to giving lunch a shot - just not the dine out menu though.

The Fish Shack

The Fish Shack is a new addition to the Global group of restaurants in Vancouver, a place we'd been wanting to check out since they took over Sanafir's space on Granville Street downtown. Having gone to dine out at Sanafir 2 years ago, it seemed fitting that we would take this opportunity to finally check it out.

One of the nice things about dine out that you still have the option of ordering off the regular menu (some places serve strictly the dine out menu). It's also fun to look around you and see exactly what you'd be getting, and if you chat with your fellow diners, you'll even get on the spot tips and recommendations.

It was an easy decision for me to add raw oysters to my dinner tonight as it'd been awhile since I had them. They're not for every palette, but the Little Wing oysters I had were great and fresh, hitting the spot. The oyster selection changes daily, so look on your menu to see what they have in store.

Soon following were our appetizers of smelt for me, and the salmon cake for my friend. I liked the presentation of the smelt and fries in the small tin bucket, but it was a bit too heavy on the batter side, and it feels like we ate more batter than fish. 

Main course options were fish and chips, and a prawn and Manhattan chowder gumbo. Having had the smelt, I passed on the fish & chips. Eaters beware, the gumbo was definitely on the spicy side, which they don't note on the menu. A small part of me had a feeling it might be spicy before I ordered, perhaps it was the word "gumbo". Served with rice, I'm sure it would be hearty for those who like their food with a kick. As for me, I avoided as much of the sauce as possible, which was a shame, though I did end up fishing for the few prawns that were swimming in the sauce.

Dessert - no option there, cinnamon spiced beer donuts with spiced icing dip. A lackluster end to a meal that turned out mostly lackluster. Compared to the bannock bites we had at the Salmon 'N Bannock Bistro last year, this was definitely a far cry. The donuts would have been better served warm, like the mini donuts you get at the PNE or the night market. Unfortunately, they were odd shaped and cold. The icing didn't help either, as it was too thick and not sweet enough to bring out the cinnamon on the donut.

All in all, I think I'll go back again for the buck a shuck oysters and perhaps try a clam chowder, otherwise, I may pass. Overall it's a nice casual atmosphere that you have no need to get dressed up just to toss back a few oysters.

Dine Out at The Fray

It would be a fun night out with my sister combining dinner and trivia night at the Fray in Vancouver, an $18 menu full of comfort food filling as laughter rung out over trivia that was beyond our years. The Fray is located on Fraser St between 23rd and 24th Avenue serving West Coast food. 

Having scoped out the menu before, we knew what we were going to try. Our appetizers were surprising in a good way though. I ordered the portobello mushroom fries that were presented like jenga blocks. I don't think you'd get away with eating like jenga and removing pieces in the middle though as it came 2x2 etc. It reminded me more zucchini sticks than fries, but alas quite yummy. The sun dried tomato aoli that accompanied it? Super tasty! 

 My sister got the steak and mushroom bites - which are not at all what we pictured. Having had the idea of bites that resembled sliders, what arrived was a dish of bite sized steak bites and mushroom bites - quite literally - accompanies by garlic bread. Great tasting in the red wine jus though the chipotle lime aoili was not as good as the tomato one.

Onto the main, I was glad I ordered what I did as my sister ended with a generous sized maple bacon jam burger and fries. The jam was interesting, though by the time you get to the end of burger, it's nothing much to be desired. Otherwise it was fairly good, but after those steak bites, one might be too full to finish this main course. Considering getting the salad option here instead to not feel bloated and save room for dessert. My pan fried salmon tasted great despite being a little dry. Accompanied by seasonal vegetables, a great sized portion that was satisfying and just enough.  The lemon dill sauce was quite light, so while adding flavor to the vegetables, didn't overpower.


Despite two choices of dessert - it was a unanimous pick of the 5 layer mile high chocolate cake with chocolate ganesh filling and mixed berry compote. Like the serving portions before, there is no skimping on the dessert, and every girl loves chocolate (well, most do), it was a good note to end the meal on. Not too rich, not too sweet, but a bit too much considering the filling meal already. No complaints though and overall it was a great dinner.

 We hung around watching the rest of the Canucks game as we partook in the weekly trivia. For 2 brains and our 1st attempt at it, we didn't do too badly. Not good enough to win a key for a chance at a $50 GC, but buckets of fun and finding out random things we actually did know. And if the $50 GC doesn't interest you, they also give out rounds of shooters to enthusiastic teams through the rounds. Overall, the Fray is a pretty fun neighborhood haunt to hang out and play games (yes, like Storm Crow Tavern, they have board games available too!). Wednesday nights are trivia nights, Saturday nights are music trivia nights, with Karaoke night soon to come!

So It Begins...Dine Out Vancouver 2013

It's been a nearly a year since my last post on here, what is "en foote", why it's journey of life. In the last year, I've had the fortune to spend over 3 months trekking around much of Europe http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ritawritatravel/1/tpod.html for my travel blog, meet new friends, explore a number of cities in countries. In just over a month, I'll be on African soil, albeit for just a short trip in Morocco.

Life is a celebration no matter what we do, where we go, who we're with. At the end of it all, it's a journey we can look back on and smile at. Had the world ended on Dec 21st 2012, there was little that I wished I had been able to do. With the world continuing as I believed, this is a time to continue that spirit and keep on living, and what helps us keep us living? Why food of course.

For us lucky ones, food more than just feeds us. Moreover, dining out is an experience to share with friends, it is the experience of a meal in an environment. I am not the most experienced foodie, but I like good food and eating, and sharing it with friends. This year my restauranting days begins at Five Sails Restaurant at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.

Five Sails is always a hot spot during dine out, with reservations booked up early on. A tip from my brother secured me and my friends a table on the opening weekend of the festival. We were able to get a table by the window, just to the left of the sails as we looked out into the night sky. With the heavy fog currently hovering in the city, we felt a trippy looking outside. It was almost as if we were aboard the Titanic in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean without the waves.

Having previously scoped out the menu, it didn't take us too long to make up our minds. Between the four of us, the only dish we didn't cover was the gnocchi. Beginning with appetizers, the ravioli with steelhead salmon and dungeness crab was stands out unique from the salad and roasted porcini mushroom soup, though reportedly it was short of amazing given that the pasta was a bit too chewy and the spinach a bit mushy. My soup was nice and light with good flavor, though the lone crouton was too lonely and could have used a few companions. Good reviews on the salad.  We were offered walnut cranberry bread to go with the appetizers, which had a good flavor combination between the nuts and fruit. The bread was a bit hard to cut and required some tearing, but such is the case with most dinner buns.

Onto the main course where we had 3 orders of the soy glazed marinated sablefish to 1 of boneless Wagyu ribs. Both would be good choices as they were satisfying in taste and presentation. I quite liked the sablefish and the sauce grew on me throughout the course. A good portion and smooth texture, it left us wanting more in a good way. The accompanying shimejii mushrooms went well with the sauce and also had us wanting more. Wanting more is always a good thing right?

Dessert - usually my favorite course saw both options arrive at our table, the luxe lemon mille-feuilles and an apple strudel and tart with homemade pistachio ice cream. Leaving the better for last, the presentation of the strudel and tart left more to be desired and nothing too special, though the pistachio ice cream was liked. The luxe lemon mille-feuilles was paired with a chocolate wonton - strange I know. Whereas the apple option was paired appropriately in terms of flavor, the chocolate was an oddity I could have happily done without as it didn't go well with the lemon and phyllo pastry concoction.

The chocolate sits in a tiny ball (not pictured) beneath the fried ends of the wonton wrapper that stretched above the plate, oily and unnecessary as it made for messy eating as the wrapper flaked off as you try to eat it. Now, the lemon and phyllo was beautifully together with just the right amount of tang and creamy texture. My only complaint was that the phyllo was card hard to gently cut through. The trick to cutting a bite sized piece? You'd have to do a quick jab down with your fork.

Overall a good meal, that while not the most filling was fairly satisfying as our later seating allowed us to chat after dinner in the restaurant. Add points for atmosphere and great service, this is a place to check out whether you see the North Shore mountains through the windows or not.

Dine Out Vancouver - Society Dining Lounge

It's that time of the year again, 17 days of restauranting and eating. I haven't been as diligent this year blogging but this is a good time to resume. This year I begin my eats at Society Dining Lounge in Yaletown. Some of you may recall my previous posts about this, and admittedly I like it enough to return time and time again. The DOV menu this year though? Not as good last year.  The theme to my meal of the night, something a little different and small.  Yes, small.

Ladies who don't have huge appetites, this will be a good serving size for you, guys? Not so much unless you order other things off the menu (which mind you is good). Our starter selection was a spinach salad shaved fennel, red onion, orange segments, candied pecans,brulee "riopelle" cheese with orange vinaigrette or the sweet potato pulled pork croquette tarragon aioli, granny smith apple-green onion coleslaw.

While initially wanting to try the salad, the sweet potato was the better bet. The pulled pork isn't as pulled as we would normally like, rather small solid cubes actually, but it was tasty, and the coleslaw was refreshing, especially the granny smith bits. Small portion though. For a place that mixed comfort food and hip style, this could be closer to the size of crab cakes.

To the mains, you can either have the veal piccata thyme roasted polenta, roasted cherry potatoes, garlic white wine reduction or the prawn linguini lobster bisque sauce with garlic bread.  Sticking with the try something different theme, veal it was. Plus, I'd never had polenta before despite the fact there is a package of ready to eat polenta on my desk that I hadn't put there. The veal was fairly tender and enough flavour. The polenta had a really nice texture that reminded me of mash potatoes (one of my favorites), and the tomatoes balanced it all out. As tasty as it was, I wish it was a bigger portion.  There were 2 slices of veal, which could be bigger and add a third slice to enhance the presentation.  Additionally they could have really served more polenta. The plating doesn't feel right for an entree at that type of locale.

Finally dessert (probably the main reason we came here) was Chocolate Smore Flambé Creme Brulée (table side). I had been hoping they would flambé it in front of you, but it's brought out already in the process of burning. Looks really cool there, but you've got to be fairly quick with the camera before it burns off.  The smore is more brulée like but nice. A bit too sweet, but you've got a side biscuit (I don't know the name) that evens it out.

The highlight of the night? A Candy Collins. Say what? It's lemon juice, soda, with gin, and....COTTON CANDY! We spotted it at the table next to us, and believe me if I'd known about, I would've ordered it, but hey, it's something to look forward to next time =)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Hollywood version

Perhaps I've been spoiled by having seen the original Swedish version first and thus find the Hollywood one as typical Hollywood and sadly subpar and lacklustre in comparison. But if you haven't seen the original as directed by Niels Arden Opley, I definitely recommend you put that on your next to see list. Where the story doesn't shy from the violence and intensity, but faces it head on as that script is much better written with vastly more developed characters with credible relationships, further exploring themes that feel more glossed over.


So with that out of the way, you may understand why I'm about to make the following comments the way they are - the way I've always done these movie reviews, just as I see it. To me this story has been doused with Hollywood gloss that even the actors and director couldn't elevate beyond their current and best efforts.


Story-wise, it's fairly truthful to the original with the investigation of Harriet's presumed murder with just small changes as remakes tend to do. However with its length of 2 and a half hours, which could have done with certain scenes being cut to make room to firmly establish characters and how that leads to the unfolding of events. For starters the opening credits would have served a better double purpose if it was over computer sequences of Lisbeth's research on Mikael, hacking his computer and ending on a photo that comes to life with Mikael exiting the court - succinct and right to the point.  The quick cuts between Mikael's storyline and Lisbeth's storyline feel choppy and abrupt, leaving the viewer a feeling of detachment, such that when they finally meet, it's like a pebble has hit the ground and actually harms the reasoning behind their eventual relationship. Not to just throw cold water, there are some positive changes that the Swedish version does not have such as actually showing Mikael and Lisbeth in a loving relationship of sorts.


Without giving much more story away and hoping I'm starting to inspire you watch the original, we move to casting - a much debated topic especially when it came to who would take over from the talented Noomi Rapace. When the dust settled and of course we now know, it would be Rooney Mara in the title role. With big shoes to fill, Mara turns in a good performance as Lisbeth, but sadly lacks the edge that Rapace possessed.  Mara's Lisbeth is softer and exudes more innocence that Lisbeth should have. She's not as intense or smart, but rather almost lost, wistful, and a bit robotic in her dialogue. Furthermore, her intelligence is lowered as it was in fact Lisbeth who figured out the bible quotes in the original.  She's still smart but less so, leading to less power for the leading lady. The size of Mara's dragon tattoo in comparison to Rapace's dragon tattoo will give you an indication of how much more Lisbeth this version is missing. It makes one wonder where the next two films will go with Lisbeth becomes the focus. 


Daniel Craig makes an interesting Mikael Blomkvist. He's smart but not quite that smart, and when you're used to seeing him has James Bond, you'll have a hard time seeing the mishap he gets into. He's inquisitive but isn't enough of a pest to become a thorn in anyone's side.  On a side character note - we were all shocked at the introduction of Blomkvist having a daughter - unnecessary and takes away from Lisbeth's intelligence.


Stellan Skarsgaard has had better performances (such as A Somewhat Gentle Man) but perhaps this script is to blame for what turns out almost wrongly funny and lacking evocative insanity. Held back, one would have hoped for almost a Hannibal Lector type performance. Christopher Plummer rounds out the bigger players as Henrik Vanger. Limited, he looks a bit too healthy in the beginning for us to believe his time was running out (aside from the white hair).   


The main relationship in this film is that between Lisbeth and Mikael that develops, but as stated before it begins abruptly rather than building it. Lisbeth after all already had something, perhaps more intriguing and interest than love, while she was investigating him. If memory serves correct, she continues to actively and secretly helping him with the investigation before he even hires her - a point that would have anchored characteristics and relationship if that element was kept. Instead, I'd cut out much of the last half hour as it gets to expository of Lisbeth's computer talents, another element that could've been established earlier.


Visually the scenes in the past are beautiful and apart from the present, that doesn't exactly take too much advantage of the hauntingly beautiful yet empty Swedish countryscape. The soundtrack itself - Hollywoodized, little isn't if you haven't realized by now. What you may also notice is the difference in the amount of violence and sex between the two films. A recent article claimed America tries to minimize one of them in their films, can you guess which? All in all, not exactly disappointing, but I've seen better...and you can too. If I also may, I suggest you read the books themselves.


Here's the trailer for the original:

3/5 (for the record, 3 = good, rather than 60%). The original I'd give 4.5/5 (really good to excellent)

The Artist

Touted by some as the best film of the year when it first played at the Vancouver International Film Festival's closing gala, similar comments are being made now that the film has officially been released. This black and white silent film is a wonderful tribute to silent cinema back in the days. While some commercial viewers may shrug at this, they should change their minds with all the Golden Globe nominations with this film.

The Artist is about a silent film actor who is refusing to jump aboard the talkies wagon - or films with sound for those unfamiliar with the terminology. His career spirals downward quickly while his once protege is soaring to fame in the talkies. Not just grateful to George Valentin, Peppy Miller has also fallen for her hero and mentor, trying to help him cope and get back on his feet. George isn't the most willing of stubborn men, but Peppy will win him over.

There's little dialogue in the form of title cards, so if you're a bit tired, you may want a coffee to accompany this film in spite of all the laughs that will erupt. Good accompanying score, production design and performances that tip their hats to the past, you will definitely find yourself transported back in time as well where story was the heart and visual effects weren't needed.

Not just for film students and art house fans, get out of box and back into a fun part of film history, without which certainly, movies today would not be quite what they are.

4/5