Posts tagged as:

French

Et Voila!

by KimHo on November 3, 2010 · 9 comments under: British Columbia,Food,Restaurant

Et Voila! Crepes, Galettes, Tartines & Frozen Yogurts
555 West Hastings
Vancouver, BC
Et Voila! Crepes, Galettes, Tartines & Frozen Yogurts on Urbanspoon

Last week, I wrote about Arturo’s Mexico to Go but, prior to that, I wrote a general “complain” they were not using Internet to their full potential. How so? By not setting up a Twitter account (or something on those lines), short of going there, there wasn’t really an easy way to find out whether they were open or not. In my couple of trips to that corner of Howe and Cordoba (and failing to find them), I had to look for something to eat nearby and quick. Waterfront food court? Nah, nothing attracted my attention. Dim Sum Express? Been there, done that. That left me with Sinclair Centre food court and Harbour Centre food court. For some reason, I was attracted to the later, so, to Harbour Centre I went. While I ended up going to more than one stall, this post is specific to one: Et Voila. More of that in a moment…

Et Voila, crepes, Vancouver, Food Court, Harbour, Centre, Center, savoury, sweet, crepe, ham, nice, nutella, banana, chocolate, nuts, pear, crisp

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Tagged as: Dessert, Food Court, French, Vancouver

Jules Casual French Bistro

by KimHo on October 21, 2010 · 7 comments under: British Columbia,Food,Restaurant

Jules Casual French Bistro
216 Abbott Street
Vancouver, BC
Jules Casual French Bistro on Urbanspoon

On Monday’s post, I made reference to my visit (along with Sherman) to Luda. I am sure some of you might wonder how we come up with ideas of where to go and when. Well, it is as simple as this:

(Receiving an email with the subject “Random dinner”)
“Do you want to go to restaurant X”
“Sure, why not!”

The only issue at times is when there are more people. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to food, to me, it falls in the category of the more the merrier. However, that also involves a bit of logistics to make sure everybody can make it, to a place everybody wants to go. After all, we want to eat, not fight over minor details. But, in this case, Sherman suggested Jules Casual French Bistro in Gastown. While I am not a fan of Gastown (nor Yaletown, Kitsilano or West Side for that matter), I am willing to venture to these areas, if I know there is something worth trying or with good company. For the food itself, not necessarily so because, more often than not, based on previous experiences, it is over-hyped, over-priced and, for the most part, it is more of a be-seen type environment. But, given I was in good company…

Jules Casual French Bistro, Jules, Casual, French, Bistro, kir, royale, riesling, wine, mojito, onion, soup, gazpacho, bisque, lobster, salad, green, shrimp, salad, duck, confit, steak, frite, fries, mussel, garlic, wine, chorizo, pork, chop, remoulade, moules, frites, molten, cake, chocolate, berries, mint, pepper, clafoutis, flaugnarde, pear, terrine, creme, brulee, custard

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Tagged as: Dessert, French, Gastown, Pork, Seafood, Vancouver

Kimono Koi Crepes

by KimHo on October 5, 2010 · 20 comments under: British Columbia,Food,Restaurant

Kimono Koi Crepes
720 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC
Kimono Koi Crepes on Urbanspoon

Well, another week, another food cart to check in Vancouver! So far, all the food carts I have visited can safely be considered “standard” fare, i.e., they serve dishes that pretty much everybody would eat. Granted, Chinese Skewer King can be called “ethnic” but, hey, pretty much every culture has their version of meat on a stick so that might not necessarily count. Anyway, for this post, I decided to go east of Burrard Street and ended up in Granville and Georgia, in a corner I consider to be *the* prime spot for food carts, given its proximity to the Skytrain station, plus major bus routes and Granville Entertainment District. And the lucky winner of this draw? Kimono Koi Crepes.

Kimono Koi Crepes, Vancouver, food cart, kimono, koi, crepes, ham, cheese, savory, pineapple, lettuce, sweet, brownie, banana, cheese, cake

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Tagged as: Downtown, Food Cart, French, Japanese, Vancouver

Portland Food Carts @ SE 12th and Hawthorne

by KimHo on September 1, 2010 · 9 comments under: Food,Restaurant,Travel

Portland Food Carts @ SE 12th and Hawthorne
Various stands
SE 12th and Hawthorne
Portland, OR

Potato Champion Potato Champion (Food Cart) on Urbanspoon
El Brasero El Brasero (Food Cart) on Urbanspoon
Perierra Crêperie Perierra Crêperie (Food Cart) on Urbanspoon

With me being in Portland for some time (again, for work, not necessarily pleasure), it was certain I had to visit one or two food carts. I mean, after all the noise that has occurred in Vancouver, I had to go to set myself a baseline. After all, my concept and understanding is quite skewed compared to the ones available in North America. See, to me street food is not necessarily food sold on the street; it is beyond that. On one side, it was a matter for some families to earn extra income; in other, as a mean of living. More often than not, these were based on the concept of cheap, mysterious, risky (you never know what you are actually served) and, for the most part, tasty.

The problem I have encountered in North America is that, while some of that concept has carried over, truth is there is too much of that cover-your-ass mentality. Hence, some really wacky requirements, from location, type of food being sold, sanitary conditions (did I say “risky”?), et al have taken away some of it. While that is something that seems to be for good (in general), what is not is the attempt of some food cart operators here to make things “fancy”, as in making things “fusion” or making things complicated or, worst of all, fancy in an attempt to create an edge. Granted, it is all business at the end of the day; however, I believe that that takes away from the spirit of street food.

I know I am digressing here but, please keep in mind, it is something people ought to be aware of, as it might skew things a little bit… So, that brings us back to the corner of Hawthorne and 12th in Portland, a sort of empty lot that has been occupied by some food carts. And, in that spirit of adventure, I went there for dinner and tried to visit as many such carts as possible (based on time, $$$ and stomach volume). So, without further ado…

Portland, street, food, food, truck, Belgian, Mexican, French, Greek, Cajun, Greole, fries, cheese, custard, poutine, taco

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Tagged as: Belgian, French, Mexican, Portland, potato, Street Food

Mistral French Bistro

by KimHo on May 17, 2010 · 13 comments under: British Columbia,Food,Restaurant

Mistral French Bistro
2585 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC
Mistral French Bistro on Urbanspoon

Dine Out Vancouver (DOV)… That one event once a year where people either love it or hate it. Most people in general like it because, by having a prix fixe menu, it gives them a chance to try restaurants that, under normal conditions, they won’t usually go. However, as fellow blogger Jonathan points out, it is not necessarily the best deal. As for myself, I just try to avoid these restaurants mainly because I do not want to “fight” for reservations and, at times, I am not sure if the food serve is representative of a regular dinner, what I consider is one of the most important criteria when I blog about a restaurant. However, when my friend PR asked if I wanted to go with her, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Of the options she suggested, Cobre and L’Altro Buca, I wasn’t interested in Cobre for DOV – I wanted to go for a regular dinner instead to try different Latin dishes. As for L’Altro Buca, it would end up in an odd situation: last time I was in L’Altro Buca, back then was Parkside… For DOV and with PR! So, rather than going back in full circle, I gave her another option: Mistral French Bistro, a place where, based on a regular menu, Sherman highly suggested.

So, let me rephrase it again: Dine Out Vancouver (DOV) usually does NOT reflect regular dinners but, at least, provide a glimpse of what it can offer.

Mistral French Bistro, Dine Out Vancouver, Vancouver

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Tagged as: Chicken, European, French, Vancouver

Ten Bistro

by KimHo on May 6, 2010 · 4 comments under: Food,Restaurant,Travel

Ten Bistro
Calle 50
Centro Comercial Multiplaza (location visited)
Panama City, Panama

There always seems to be a cultural flip when people travel from/to different countries. When I first moved to Vancouver, I was really happy to try things we didn’t have in Panama (or, at least things I considered “exotic” back then). For example, I visited one or two Korean restaurants, then moved to Indian, Vietnamese restaurants, Japanese restaurants and so on. Why? Because in Panama, these weren’t mainstream back then! Of course, things have changed and yesterday’s post of Sushi Itto is a sign of that. Of course, since I was out of the country for so long, that meant I really wanted to try the “local” fare, not things I could also find in Vancouver, as well. Alas, my mom was cooking almost every single day for me and my parent’s friends which limited my opportunities of eating out. But, I had a wild card: meeting my own friends. As mentioned yesterday, I went out with GN and the meeting place was a mall where we had a light snack in Sushi Itto. Later that day then, it was time for dinner and the question was… Where? In the end, we went to Ten Bistro; however, believe me, there was a bit of thought process behind it!

Ten Bistro, Panama City, Multiplaza

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Tagged as: Beef, French, Latin America, Panama City, Seafood

Le Bistro de Paris

by KimHo on April 9, 2010 · 9 comments under: British Columbia,Food,Restaurant

Le Bistro de Paris
751 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC
Le Bistro de Paris on Urbanspoon

There are times that restaurants are known for good things and bad things. It does not matter how (good or bad) the food is; that “something” else can override it. For good or for bad, in my case, I only care for what ends up on the plate… In the case of Le Bistro de Paris, it has a semi-dubious claim to fame. It used to be called Café de Paris and owned by a local chef. Nothing odd about that, except he disappeared in November 2009 (more details here). But that was then and Le Bistro de Paris is under new management so I should look at it for what it is now.

Le Bistro de Paris

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Tagged as: French, Lunch, West End

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