C-Lovers (Pine Tree)
Several locations
108-2991 Lougheed Highway (location visited)
It is funny that, while this region is collectively called Metro Vancouver, everything is focused in Vancouver itself, specially the areas I call the “well known” ones, i.e., Downtown, Gastown, Yaletown, Kitsilano and so on. However, we know there are things around if you know where to look. Such was the case some days before the holidays when I was looking for a new camera bag (the old one was pretty beat up) and a local shop had a suitable one. But it wasn’t available in their Vancouver location. Looking at their other ones, I found out their Richmond location had it… But in a really odd colour: green. Nothing wrong with green but too… Flashy? However, I found out their Coquitlam location had it so a drive to Coquitlam was! Of course, it was way after work which meant early night and also meant… Food!!! The interesting thing is that there were several places I wanted to go but could only go to one. There was Matoi Sushi (not sure if related to the Matoi Sushi in Downtown Vancouver), Chada Thai (which is supposed to be a good Thai places, though not certain it would have been a good idea to go by myself) and some Vietnamese restaurants like Pho Huy and Pho 99. However, I wanted something “different” and that ended up being, out of all things, fish and chips in the form of C-Lovers (and that is despite it is a chain with several locations!).
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Tagged as:
Coquitlam,
Fish,
Seafood
Chronic Tacos
382 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Here I go again, to another taco shop. Somehow it has become such a popular dish there is a need to open yet-another-location. OK, OK, Chronic Tacos an American import is not necessarily new(est) kid on the block, not to mention they sell other tex-mex fare (like burrito) but, lately, I think I have seen one too many places selling tacos popping here and there (namely, Cartel Taco and Arturo’s Mexican To Go). Of course, while some taco shop are “traditional” (as in La Taqueria and Doña Cata) others add that dread “fusion” twist, like Roaming Dragon and Cartel Taco, Chronic Tacos does not hide one fact: it is not necessarily meant to be authentic Mexican fare, rather the Californian iteration, based on the original version. With that in mind…
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Tagged as:
Fish,
Mexican,
Pork,
Seafood,
Vancouver
The Reef
4172 Main Street
1018 Commercial Drive (location visited) 
Vancouver, BC
On Monday’s post of Luda, I made reference to a failed initial attempt. What I did not mention was that, to salvage this epic fail, Sherman and I were mulling about what to do next. In our cases, we were drawing blank until Sherman suggested we drive to Commercial Drive and go from there. We did and, even then, we were walking around and, for each suggestion, it was either me been there previously, Sherman been there previously or too shady for Rich Guy. Well, to badly misquote Sherman, there is a reason why he is “Rich Guy”, right? 
Fortunately, in our group was Viv also and, at least, she was the voice of reason when she gave sort of an ultimatum: establish up to what block to walk.
In the end, we ended up turning back and let Rich Guy decide: Britannia Sushi (which none of us have been but wasn’t too enticing at that moment) or, its next door neighbour, The Reef. While both Sherman and I have been to The Reef (my previous post here), we weren’t there for dinner so we opened to that possibility.
Update: Sherman’s post here. And, just for kicks, Elaine post here as well!
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Tagged as:
Caribbean,
Chicken,
Commercial Drive,
Fish
Cardero’s
1583 Coal Harbour Quay
Vancouver, BC
At the company I worked for, there are some “interesting” practices. For new employees, there is one that particularly stand out. Rather than throwing you into the fray, you are assigned a “buddy”. When three new employees joined at the same time, I “volunteered” to be one. Part of the reason was that I had just been assigned a long project which side effects include me to be “grounded” for the rest of the year. So why not! Now, there is a follow-up unwritten policy: you are entitled to two “free” lunches – one of them when you join. You can guess which is the other one! So, given I had “seniority”, I was assigned to the task of organizing this lunch. I wonder… Anyway, between the buddies we argue back and forth as to where and, in the end, we chose a “safe” place, which ended up being Cardero’s.
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Tagged as:
Downtown,
Fish,
Seafood,
Steak,
Vancouver
New West Fish & Chips
413 6th Street
New Westminster, BC
Anny’s Dairy Bar
722 Sixth Street
New Westminster, BC
Ah, here I go to New Westminster again! It is as if suddenly I have that urge to visit that part of Metro Vancouver but, hey, if you think about it, if there is people in the area, there ought to be some restaurants, right? Of course, they can be good, they can be bad, it is a matter of dropping by just to find out (or, in lieu, check blogs!). In my visit to Pattaya Thai, Sherman made mention of a fish and chips place across the street. In my case, I was up for some good old fried fish, despite I knew it might not live up to the expectations of fish I had in Panama. But, Panama is hundred of miles away so I had to live with what is available locally. In this case, that place was New West Fish & Chips. (And, oh, since you can read from the header of this post, I also dropped by Anny’s Dairy Bar!).
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Tagged as:
Dessert,
Fish,
New Westminster,
Seafood
Ciao Bella Italian Restaurant
703 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC
Alas, good things always seems to come to an end. After my trip to Panama, everything started to settle back to its usual routine, including lunch at work. In the past, PO has been my *cough*victim*cough*, I mean, partner in crime. However, for this lunch, I was able to gather another “recruit” – CN. With this “hobby” of visiting restaurants, there is always that element of expectation but also that element of discovery. So, with that in mind, we were settled for lunch. Then the usual question… Where? A couple of weeks prior, PO and I went to Le Bistro de Paris and mentioned the relationship with Ciao Bella Restaurant. So, we though “why not?”. And to Ciao Bella we went…
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Tagged as:
Fish,
Italian,
Vancouver
Restaurante Mi Ranchito
Amador Causeway
Panama City, Panama
More often than not, I do not re-blog a restaurant visit. For the most part, in my experience, my follow-up visits are pretty much similar to what I experienced and blogged. However, there are times I do re-visits thanks readers suggestions. So far, most re-visits have been locally here in Vancouver – after all, I live here. However, to “break” that pattern, I returned to Mi Ranchito, I restaurant I blogged about last year! After all, locals suggest this place and, since I was with my parents’ friends, it was a good way to introduce them to local cuisine!
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Tagged as:
Fish,
Panama City,
Seafood
