The Bon Vivant Blog

I keep hearing about this place – from friends from the East Coast, from magazine articles, – and I couldn’t believe it, but one actually opened here in Vancouver!

We were out with S and F, for a morning hike in Lynn Canyon Park, and F was getting seriously hungry. Serious hunger? Five Guys it is.

Located in the Park Royal center in North Vancouver, nobody is going to accuse this place of being particularly easy to get to, but believe me, it’s worth the trip.

We get here – this place is newly opened and it is sparkling clean. The decor is very similar to In-N-Out burger – with clean white/red tiles, white walls, and very spartan furnishings – htis is a burger joint, and there’s no mistaking it. It’s not high-end, it’s not fancy – it’s just clean. These guys are in a low-margin business, and they obviously spend some serious cash on their ingredients – I’m not going to blame them if they go a bit spartan on the furnishings.

The service is friendly, and there is no wait for ordering. I go with the ‘little cheeseburger’ (little means you just want one patty) – I get everything + jalapenos and D gets everything + jalepenos and green peppers. There is a huge choice of toppings for the burgers – and they’ll make it any way you want. We go with a small fries – which is still enough to serve two people. I get a coke, D gets a glass of water, and less than 10 minutes later, we’re sitting down munching into our delicious burgers and fries.

I literally have nothing bad to say about this place. Here’s what’s great:
1. The Burger – while they tend to fall apart a bit (any burger with a lot of toppings tends to), these are delicious. Great tasting real beef, fresh, perfect toppings – my mouth is actually watering as I write this just thinking about how good it was.
2. The Fries – hand-cut real Idaho potatoes – perfectly cooked, lots of flavour, fresh peanut oil – pretty much a perfect fry to go with a burger. Not greasy, perfect amount of salt, and big tubs of ketchup. And many, many fries – more than enough for two of us.
3. The pop – I had a Coke, and the fountain drinks at too many places go too light on the syrup and too heavy on the water to save money. Not at Five Guys – this was a Coke out of a fountain that tasted like a Coke out of a can. I realize that I’m rhapsodizing over a cup of pop here, but I just think that this is one restaurant that pays attention to every little detail – it might be no-frills, but they’ve put a lot of work and thought into everything.

What more could I want? Two burgers, a fries, a coke – for $18. Sounds expensive, but worth every penny. You truly get what you pay for at burger joints. Sure, go to the ubiquitous chain restaurants and pay less, but you are going to be eating some kind of Frankenfood. Go to Five Guys instead, get real food, delicious food, fast food – I’d go here any time.

The verdict: One of the best burgers, and probably the best fries in town from a burger place. I just need one closer to home!

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
www.fiveguys.com
501, 2002 Park Royal
Capilano Indian Reserve 5, BC
Tel: (604) 925-3483

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Apparently this restaurant is a venture by a previous chef at the popular Banana Leaf malaysian restaurant chain in Vancouver. On the bright side, it is a welcome addition to the otherwise relatively limited food options in New Westminster. Unfortunately, I think we had heard it was much better than Banana Leaf and we were expecting it to blow us away. The high expectations led to disappointment even though there was nothing really wrong with the food or the restaurant. In fact, it was pretty good but I still prefer Banana Leaf.

We tried the green papaya and mango salad which was a huge portion but lacked zing and the ingredients weren’t sliced thinly enough making it much too chunky, particularly the carrots. The roti canai was good but the accompanying sauce (which I love at Banana Leaf and I usually ask for seconds) wasn’t as sweet and somehow lacked punch. The indian mee goreng was the best dish of the three with perfectly cooked fresh egg noodles fried with vegetables, beef, fairly small shrimp and tofu but again it was nothing special.

The service was quick although at almost 3pm on a Saturday – we were the only customers in the restaurant. The food came out fast as well and whether that is the norm or the fact that they were closing up I have no idea. The good news is that the restaurant is located directly across from the Royal City Centre Parkade (i.e. free and easy parking).

Maybe we tried the wrong dishes and I should go back to try some more however the drive from Vancouver is not worth it. So, unfortunately (and maybe unfairly since it is based on limited experience ), overall, I would go to this place if I was in New Westminster but Banana Leaf is still better…

Tamarind Hill
www.tamarindhill.ca
628 Sixth Avenue,
New Westminster, B.C.
604-526-3000
Cost: lunch mains $7-9, appetizers mostly around $5-6
Verdict: Banana Leaf wins out for me, good option in New Westminster

A local french bistro just off the main pedestrian walkway near the centre of Reims, this bistro with a red awning was recommended by the sommelier at Veuve Clicquot – in fact, he said that the fries were the main attraction. So – after a 25-minute walk from Veuve Clicquot back to the centre of town, the hungry three descended upon Bistro du Forum for a leisurely lunch.

We all had the burger & fries – it all sounds very North American – but this was still billed as the famous burger on the menu.

How was it? Well – the staff were friendly and sat us quickly. Inside is pretty much the usual bistro appearances – wood tables and chairs, posters on the walls. The burger was great – huge by any standards, with a slice of apple, mayo, fresh lettuce – all the good fixings. The fries – after having been talked up by the sommelier at the winery – were a bit of a disappointment. Maybe it was just the chef’s day off, but these weren’t anything special. They hadn’t been double-fried, and were actually a big on the soggy side. Tasty yes, but with the wrong consistency.

Unfortunately, the Forum area in Reims is undergoing some construction right now, so we didn’t have a great view – but there is a nice outdoor patio area and on a sunny day, for a place to go for a beer and a burger, Le Bistro is just fine.

Bottom line: pretty standard bistro fare; a nice place for lunch on a sunny day

Le Bistrot du Forum
www.bistrot-du-forum.fr
Open 9am – 12:30am 7 days/week
6, place du Forum, 51100 Reims, France
Tel: 03 26 47 56 58

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Sunday, strolling around Mission on a sunny day in San Francisco. Lunchtime – and we come across this taqueria at 18th and Valencia – in we go, and within 5 minutes, we’re sitting down on one of the long benches, enjoying a super pork burrito.

The faded, yellow poster on the wall for something like 2nd place in a local high school’s 1989 search for the best burrito perfectly sums up the inside. Aside from the bright white paint on the outside, I don’t think much has changed in the last few years.

Delicious it is – pulled bbq pork, fresh cilantro, rice, beans – hot sauce on the tables, and a nice cold beer to go with it. It’s pretty rustic inside, but on a hot day, for hungry lunch – delicious Mexican food shared for two – I’d come here any time.

Taqueria El Buen Sabor
697 Valencia St
(between 18th St & Sycamore St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: (415) 552-8816

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Whether it’s Elgin street in Ottawa, Avenue des Pins/St-Laurent in Montreal, or Blowers at Grafton (Pizza Corner) in Halifax, I’ve had a few shawarmas and donairs in my time. And Babylon Cafe in Vancouver on Robson Street should be proud for producing one of the best.

We’ve been here many times – the Pacific Centre has cheap weekend parking, making it a perfect place to leave the car when strolling around – and when we’re at Pacific Centre, the Babylon Cafe always seems to beckon – to take up that last bit of free room in our stomachs with a chicken shawarma or falafel sandwich.

The perfect combination of soft, savoury meat with parsley and hot sauce wrapped in a pita bun (my mouth is watering as I write this) – makes their shawarma one of the best I’ve had the chance to have. There’s always a lineup outside, and the food is always quality. Stop by when you’re out for shopping or a stroll, and the shawarmas won’t disappoint.

Babylon Cafe (multiple locations)
708 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC
Tel: (604) 677-3522

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After a day of wandering around and hill-climbing in San Francisco, D needed some delicious, savoury Asian food. She had tracked down Osha Thai as being one of the better Thai food options in the city, and as we were staying downtown, we decided to head to the 2nd Street location.

Decorated in the new-Asian style that we saw so much of in Vietnam (and is definitely pretty cool), this location has a great feel, and is a place that I’d go to with friends or co-workers any time.

Service was ridiculously fast, and our servers were actually Thai, and I saw the famous, welcoming Thai smile that honestly, I haven’t seen once since the last time I was in Bangkok – needless to say – service was very friendly.

We started off with the Soft Shell Crab Summer Rolls, which were unlike any food that I’ve had before at a Thai restaurant – these were like soft shell crab sushi rolls that had huge stems of cilantro sticking up out of them that were then breaded and deep fried. While the end result was very interesting-looking, it was all actually (and not surprisingly) delicious. Who knew that deep-fried cilantro would actually be something that would end up being so good?

We next had the main of Volcano beef (as recommended by our server) and the Lemongrass Sea Bass. Both were absolutely delicious dishes. We ordered the volcano beef spicy, and I think our server thought we meant white-person spicy, not Thai-spicy as it wasn’t quite hot enough. However, the beef was perfectly cooked, came topped with onion rings (who doesn’t like onion rings?), and the beef sauce was great, and full of flavour. The lemongrass sea bass was also a perfect dish. The sea bass was perfectly cooked, and as sea bass always is, rich, with that fatty texture few other fish have, which actually paired perfectly (like Nobu’s miso does with sea bass) with the strong flavour of lemongrass. This came with a side of rice, and the combination of these three dishes was perfect for two of us. A Singha on the side (for cheap, too – not the usualy $5 beer) – and we were two very happy campers.

Bottom line: I’d come here any time, for delicious Thai food at very reasonable prices. If you want it hot, though, specify that you want it Thai-hot!

Osha Thai
oshathai.com
Multiple locations in the Bay Area
149 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA
Tel: (415) 278-9991‎

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Friday night – M is in town – and he wants to go where the ‘beautiful’ people are. Yaletown it is then.

I call J to ask him (he works in Yaletown) where is a good patio to search out on a Friday night – he suggests Glowbal and so on we go. The very friendly young lady at the hostess table takes our name & phone number, and then almost immediately tells us that she can seat us on the patio – definitely a stroke of luck for what is probably Yaletown’s busiest patio on this summer Friday evening at 9pm.

We sit down and within 5 minutes, are offered menus and a drink order is taken. M is feeling wistful about missing the Kentucky Derby this year (I think) and he goes with the mint julep, while I go with my usual, an Old Fashioned – the waiter asks if I want Makers Mark in it – a good sign, as often waiters have no idea what this drink is. The drinks come and I’m immediately impressed – indeed, the bar tender makes a very fine old fashioned, and M declares his mint julep to be ‘just fine’ – even if your mint julep is lousy, you should always declare it to be something, in proper Southern fashion, I think.

M is veg, so here at the Glowbal ‘Grill & Satay House’, his options are fairly limited. He goes with the King Mushroom satay to start (I go with the Wagyu) and his main is the Rigatoni Pomodoro – I’m not in the mood for a beef-fest, so I stick with the Linguine with Jumbo Prawns. The food comes – the wagyu chuck satay is indeed delicious – rich, juicy, super-flavourful steak, perfectly cooked. The mains come; the jumbo prawns are indeed huge – a very healthy serving (although for $27, it better be) – and the mix with capers and tomatoes is very tasty. We both agree that while the pasta is fine-tasting, it is just on the undercooked side of al dente – another 30 seconds or a minute and it would probably be perfect.

The restaurant and patio are packed – a few couples on dates, and either groups of women or groups of men; everyone is dressed up – lots of make up and affliction shirts as far as I can see – the standard Yaletown garb. Vancouver has an odd evening ethic – it seems either you go on dates, or you go out in same-sex groups – groups of girls dining or groups of guys out on the town. Not quite the same meet & greet, friendly scene of mixed groups that I’m used to in Toronto. So it goes.

Okay – so – bottom line: Glowbal is Yaletown-fancy, and the food is decent. It’s expensive, but so are a lot of places in Yaletown; in fact, this might be one of the best places to eat in the neighborhood. I just have a hard time getting excited about it, and I don’t know why.

Glowbal Grill & Satay Bar
www.glowbalgrill.com
1079 Mainland Street
Vancouver, BC V6B5P9
Tel: (604) 602-0835

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