Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC
Again, spring is in full force in Vancouver. Wherever you walk by, you can now see patios open and people enjoying the sun. And this is despite the rain has been threatening to spoil this. On one of these days, I walked to English Bay looking for new spots I have not visited and, as a result, have not blogged yet. That’s how I ran into Raincity Grill.
Now, Raincity Grill falls into the category of fancy places I would normally won’t go. However, as the subject of this post makes reference to, this post is not about sit down lunch; rather from their takeout window. And what do they have? Check yourself…
$10 is not the cheapest lunch but you can certainly do worst. So, I made my order and they started to prepare it right away.
Some pre-sliced potato wedges to the right. To the left of it, a batter mix.
I was told there would be a 10 minutes wait. Although I have limited amount for lunch, that day, it did not matter. So, I waited patiently, while the pieces of fish was battered and fried… Looking into the oil bubbling… And then seeing other people lining up to order! Anyway, 10 minutes later, I got my order and took a short walk to English Bay.
Yes, this is English Bay and, with such a beautiful weather, why wouldn’t I want to have lunch outside? This is specially considering humidity is nowhere near the +80% I experienced in Panama! Actually, the only thing that could spoil my lunch would be some of the birds using me as target… And now, to the food.
My order. Yes, in a paper bag with a bottle of water.
The order comes with three pieces of fish. The fries were seasoned as it should. Finally, somebody who can make them correctly! And, instead of coleslaw, I got a salad with (yellow/golden) beets. Just like the fries, I enjoyed it, too. As for the fish, it was halibut. I must mention halibut is not my favourite piece of fish, as I find it totally bland. So, I was wondering if they would be able to do some sort of miracle.
The answer would be no… I am not sure how noticeable it is from the picture above but here is how it goes: the fish was cooked perfectly; however, the batter was still slightly “raw”, i.e., you could still see that white gooey parts of it. This did not happen to all three pieces, though, which I find odd. As for the blandness of the halibut, even the tartar sauce that came along did not manage to salvage it. In conclusion, the fish was disappointing…
Overall, it ended up confirming the overall thought/bias I have with fancy restaurants – Great idea; execution, well…. I might come back; however, with some many restaurants in the area, that might not happen anytime soon.
Finally, to close this post, a picture of other people in English Bay. Notice I was not the only person I went to Raincity Grill to grab a takeout lunch!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
the landscape is beautiful.
still looks good though.
For $10, I’d still eat it… hehe… Raincity Grill has good brunch, if you ever have a chance. On the issue of the halibut, I actually prefer cod, even though it’s cheaper. Maybe because I’m Chinese, I love cod.
Pearl, more landscape pictures coming soon! ^_^
Dave, ah, how I wish everything that looks good would taste as good as it looks… Fortunately, I seldom go for visual, hehehehehe.
Sherman, I am not too fond of brunches. It is a mix of two things and ends up being good at none… I prefer corvina or pargo (something similar to red snapper) but you won’t find them here. No, the red snapper found here is not the same as the pargo I am referring to.
First the cherry blossoms and now spring weather..geez some days Edmonton is lacking behind.
I find fish and chips a hard dish to branch out from. Having discovered my go to place here, it’s often difficult to convince myself to ‘risk’ all those calories on bad fish.
yumm!
Carolyn,
Raidar, actually, the picture was not THAT recent. This week has been cloudy/rainy in Vancouver…
In my case, I am still in my search for a fried-fish-to-go place as none of the local fish and chips shops so far even remotely match the fried fish in Panama. So, absolutely no problem with trying almost any of them, hehehehehe.
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