This 2013 Dine Out Vancouver brings a challenge to all of us food lovers, with 240 participating restaurants it is the largest in its history, and within that number, 63 are new restaurants participating this year, there is a challenge to find the best and most creative menu, unique flavours, value and most of all experience. I have spent many hours over the past couple of days reading through all the menus at each of the participating restaurants. To me Dine Out Vancouver is an experience, it gives the public, you and me a chance to try some new restaurants we have yet to visit, it gives us a reason to go outside of our comfort zone and neighborhood to explore, savour and enjoy!

My picks this year are based on the kind of experience you should have during this Dine Out Vancouver festival of eating. I have provided you with restaurants and their price fixe in each of the categories along with their most creative and unique dishes on each of their dine out menus. You can view each of the restaurants menus here.

Flavours & Unique

Atithi $18

Unique dishes: Lamb railway station curry with local new potatoes.

Café Pacifica $28

Unique dishes: Home-made Goat Cheese and Swiss Chard Ravioli

Cibo $28

Unique dishes: Ravioli of pumpkin & ricotta, crispy sage; Risotto of wild mushrooms, garlic, thyme, parmesan;

Dockside $28

Unique dishes: Dungeness Crab and Corn Bisque; Grilled Leek and Carrot wrapped Quinoa,

Butternut Squash and Almond Hash Asparagus and Shallots on Yellow Tomato Coulis; Paris Brest

Éclair Pastry with Hazelnut Praline Custard Salted Honey Caramel

Ebo Restaurant $28

Unique dishes: Wild mushroom soup; Poached pineapple, spiced fillo, almond cake

Edge Social Grille $28

Unique dishes: Celeriac puree, ‘parmesan and cracked pepper crisp’, thyme & olive filone; ‘whole grain and quinoa risotto cake’, sweet pepper ragout, winter vegetable terrine, basil, pine nuts; potted cheesecake, graham crumble, blueberry preserves

Edible Canada $28

Unique dishes: Spiced Fiore Farms Twisted Carrot Soup with Mint and Almond; Grangeland Leg of Elk with Creamy Grits, Glazed Carrots and Hunter Sauce; Maple Sugar Pie with Pecans and Cinnamon Whipped Cream

Establishment $28

Unique dishes: Chef Bongo’s Famous African Peanut Soup; White Miso Black Cod in a sake, coconut, and kaffir lime broth, served with baby steamed potatoes, edamame beans, cherry tomatoes, and butternut squash

Fishworks $28

Unique dishes: Dungeness crab – in coconut soup with enoki mushrooms; Ling Cod – Jerusalem artichoke and winter vegetable nage

Forage  $28

Unique dishes: Kale and Okanagan Apple Salad, candied hazelnuts, quince dressing, aged Golden Ears Cheddar; Pacific Provider Salmon, red wine and  balsam fir cure, kelp pasta, roasted squash puree

Hapa Izakaya – Coal Harbour $28

Unique dishes: Seafood selection; Polenta Cake

Kitsilano Daily $38

Unique dishes: Cream of Roasted Winter Cauliflower Soup

butter poached local side stripe prawn, white truffle essence, wild lobster caviar; West Coast Seafood Cioppino Stew

Nosh $18

Unique dishes: Roasted Parsnip & Apple Soup, Black Pepper Brioche Crouton; Spiced Apple Hand Pie

Pier 7 $28

Unique dishes: Parmesan, lemon & herb gnocchi with roasted carrots, broccolini, celeriak puree, oven dried tomatoes, parmesan & herbs

Raincity Grill $38

Unique dishes: HELMERS’ FARM POTATO PEROGIE whipped crème fraiche, house made purple cabbage sourkraut,

roasted cippolini onions; APPLE TART TATIN sour cream ice cream, puff pastry

Yaletown L’Antipasto $28

Unique dishes: Pappardelle Rosse

Organic tomato sauce with a mix meat ragu of beef tenderloin, boneless shortrib, chicken breast and italian fennel sausages

Unique: Offering their customers who reserve by phone a complimentary ride home after dinner in their town car.

Rogue Kitchen $28

Unique dishes: pulled pork white cheddar burger; oatmeal stout ice cream sandwiches

- two small ice cream sandwiches with vanilla ice cream

 Saucisse Restaurant $38

Unique dishes: Cauliflower veloute with a garnish of gorgonzola; Roasted Cornish game hen stuffed with quinoa and roasted squash, Hives for Humanity blueberry honey glazed carrots, fig and pinot noir demi; Pear and almond tart topped with Southern Comfort Caramel

Fun & Unique

Bella Gelateria $18

Unique dishes: BEST OF THE BEST; WARM AND HOT

Broken Rice Vietnamese $28

Unique dishes: Squid Ate The Spring Roll; Coffee Panna Cotta

Catch 122 $28

Unique dishes: Duck confit ravioli; Rabbit three ways; PBJ ice-cream sandwich

Electric Owl $18

Unique dishes: Poutine Tron; Suse’s Sticky Toffee Pudding

Oakwood Kits $28

Unique dishes: smoked cheddar and cauliflower soup, tomato foam, thyme croutons; wild mushroom risotto, house truffle oil, provolone gratine; 16oz ribeye, parsnip puree, fried sprouts, chanterelles, chimmi churri; nanaimo bar custard, vanilla custard, coconut walnut ganache

The Observatory $38

Unique dishes: Winter Squash Gnocchi; Red Wine Braised Pemberton Meadows Beef Short Rib; Steamed Marmalade Sponge

orange ice cream

Raw Canvas $38

Unique: Dine out Vancouver canvas. Dine out and take home your own art piece. We provide you with all the paint supplies such as brushes and KROMA acrylic paint. You just bring yourself and your creativity.

Rocky Mountain Flatbread $18

Unique dishes: Personalised Flatbread Pizzas

Vancouver Fanclub $18

Unique dishes: Pulled Pork Sandwich – Slow cooked for 16 hours, marinated in au jus; topped with coleslaw on a kaiser bun.

Value

American Grille $28

Unique dishes: Oven Roasted Carrots & Peppers, Lime & Coconut Cream; Blueberry & Grand Marnier Warm Clafouti

Burnaby Riverway Clubhouse $18

Unique dishes: Root beer braised short rib poutine with white cheddar curds; Marshmallow bread pudding with hazelnut chocolate sauce and vanilla bean gelato.

Fray $18

Unique dishes: Superfood salad; Maple Bacon Jam Burger

Gramercy Grill $28

Unique dishes: Curried Mussels; Veal Milanese

Granville Room $18

Unique dishes: Roasted Carrot & Cauliflower Soup; Guinness Chocolate mousse

Baileys cream & toasted hazelnuts

Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts $18

Unique dishes: Pilsner Braised Boneless Short Rib Caramelized Roots Pearl Onions; West Coast Seafood Cake Fennel & Arugula Salad Mustard Seed Cream; Poached Pear & Amaretto Tart Candied Ginger Ice Cream; Chocolate, Cardamom Truffle Cake Essence of Coffee

Seasons in the Park $18

Unique dishes: Yukon Gold Potato Soup chive creme fraiche, brioche croutons

Trattoria Italian kitchen $18

Unique dishes: Celeriac and Smoked Parmesan Soup; Forno Baked Gnocchi Alla Diavola

Higher End

Bistro Sakana $38

Unique dishes: Wild Sockeye Salmon Miso Chowder; Oka San’s Rich Chocolate Brownies

Brix $38

Unique dishes: Yukon Gold potato soup; Warm Gingerbread

C Restaurant $38

Unique dishes: North Arms Farm Butternut Squash Veloute; Roasted Striploin; Orange Panacotta with Pomegranate Syrup and Pistachio Crumble

Don Francesco $38

Unique dishes: New York Steak á la Francese ; Limoncello Parfait Lombardia

Gusto di Quattro $38

Unique dishes: Porcini mushroom & walnut soup, sage pesto, sour cream; Braised Veal Cheeks, roasted butternut squash & chestnut risotto; Citrus olive oil cake

L’Abbotoir $38

Unique dishes: Homemade cavatelli pasta; Dark chocolate and chestnut mousse Pears

Provence Mediterranean Grill $38

Unique dishes: Oceanwise Honey Mussel Soup with watercress cream, harissa oil; Pear Frangipan Tart served warm with Vanilla Bean Gelato

Showcase Restaurant $38

Unique dishes: Sunchoke cream | mushrooms, cured lemon, crispy artichokes; maple miso black cod |  medjool date dashi, shiitake mushrooms, roast eggplant; moonstruck tomme d’or cheese | apricot ice wine, honey poached cranberries

West $38

Unique dishes: House made Yukon gold potato gnocchi Mushrooms in textures, sherry emulsion, parmesan; Apple galette

Orange confit, cranberry ice cream

Wildebeest $38

Unique dishes: Smoked Salmon Roulade Orange-infused pumpkin, black pepper crème fraiche, arugula; oached Heirloom Apple

Clover honey ice cream

Yew $38

Unique dishes: Roasted Arctic Char Yams, Wild Mushrooms & Asparagus Maple & Rosemary Brown Butter; Nanaimo “Bar”

Layer of Roasted White Chocolate Crumble, Lemon & Vanilla Curds, Dark Chocolate, Coconut Streusel with Toasted Lemon Marshmallow; Upside Down Apple & Quince Cake Quince Caramel Sauce, Ginger Ice Cream

For a full list of restaurants and menus, look HERE. Take a look at my EVENT picks for this 2013 festival HERE

By: Richard Wolak

Here is a primer on how to choose the best restaurants in Vancouver for Dine Out that runs January 20 – February 5th. This year there are 231 restaurants participating which is the largest ever for Dine Out Vancouver, that means there are a lot of choices for you all to discover! The prix-fixe menu are in one of three price points – $18, $28, or $38. For a full list of restaurants and menus, look HERE but come back after you have finished reading this article.

I took part in a media tour the other night to preview a few of the restaurants dishes for Tourism Vancouver’s 10th Anniversary Dine Out. On the tour our group visited Campagnolo (I loved the Crispy Ceci and I would have eaten the whole bowl if I did not have to share; as well the Risotto was rich in taste and delicious), Kitsilano Daily Kitchen (the Cauliflower soup was divine and more so with the house baked bread they served, dipping the bread in the soup was yum) and Bacchus in the Wedgewood Hotel for dessert.

Here is my take of the restaurants you should try, the buzz, the value and why.

I have read all the restaurant menus, and all the restaurants that I am telling you about are ones that I have eaten at myself, for many you may find reviews of those restaurants at VancouverFoodster.com, by going to the search box in the top right corner of the page and searching the respective restaurants.

First off – some tips – choose different times than you would normally dine out, by selecting earlier 5pm or later after 8:30pm times you will have a better chance in getting in to some of the popular restaurants than hitting refresh on the 6-7pm time slot. If you have kids and you need to get a baby sitter so that you can enjoy date night, change the night and look at Monday-Wednesday so that you get the restaurant that you want as opposed to settling for the restaurant you don’t want on a Friday or Saturday night.

Many of the restaurants are offering BC VQA Wine Pairings as well as Kronenbourg Beer Pairings for an extra cost with the meals, and in many of the restaurants the pairings provide great value.

Second — my picks on the restaurants that provide the best value for the money as well as the best menu, in my opinion.

$18 Menu (3 courses)

Beachside Forno

Doolin’s Irish Pub

Dunn’s Famous

Irish Heather Gastropub

Mahony & Sons Coal Harbour

Pink Elephant Thai

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co

Sanafir Restaurant and Lounge

Trattoria Italian Kitchen

Urban Thai Bistro

Westward Ho

Wild Rice

$28 Menu (3 courses)

Abigail’s Party

American Grille at Vancouver Airport Marriott

Banana Leaf in Kitsilano

Baru Latino

Bistro Pastis

Café Pacifica at Pan Pacific Hotel

Campagnolo Restaurant

Carthage Café

Cento Notti at the Opus Hotel

Cork & Fin

Dockside Restaurant at the Granville Island Hotel

EBO Restaurant

Edible Canada

Fleuri Restaurant in Sutton Place Hotel

Fraiche Restaurant

Gusto di Quattro

Hamilton Street Grill

Hapa Izakaya Kitsilano

Lobby Restaurant at the Pinnacle Pier Hotel

Maenam Restaurant

The Oakwood

O’Doul’s Restaurant at the Listel Hotel

Refuel

Salmon & Bannock

The Teahouse

Via Veneto

$38 Menu (3 courses)

C Restaurant  (*4 courses)

Café Il Nido

Carver’s Steak House at Executive Airport Plaza Hotel

Diva at the Met

Federico’s Supper Club

Fraîche

Glowbal Grill

Goldfish Pacific Kitchen

Hapa Umi

Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House

Kitsilano Daily Kitchen

MARKET by Jean-Georges at Shangri-la Hotel

Miku Restaurant

Provence Marinaside

Provence Mediterranean Grill

Q4 al Centro

Raincity Grill

Q4 Ristorante

Tramonto at the River Rock Hotel

West Restaurant

Yew Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel

View Menus Online

Following our visit to Kitsilano Daily Kitchen we headed back to Bacchus in the Wedgewood Hotel for dessert and I indulged on a Honey and Poached Pear Creme Brulee along with a Dark Chocolate Ganache & Praline Tart. This was my first Tourism Vancouver Media Dine Out preview which provided me with a taste of what is to come in Dine Out 2012.

By: Richard Wolak