Nic "DTSuites" M.'s Profile

A couple of friends of mine meet occasionally at Sawasdee for lunch.  The energy and vibe is always reasonable and the staff are very warm and friendly.
I note the heading does not say they are open for lunch but they are Monday to Friday.
There are several vegetarian items on the menu and they are willing to augment and make some changes. Looking over Bart's review, I did not get what i ordered either!  I did order a curry, but that is not what they served me, anyway what I had was quite tasty.
The prices are very reasonable but unfortunately the vegetables are not organic and of the finest quality.  The carrots are reminiscent of the ones I got at school, I like the fresh organic bunches now with lots of taste, same with the tomatoes and other vegetables.  I would rather pay more and have better quality.
However, for an inexpensive lunch it is not bad.
Maybe I should try it for dinner sometime and get something a bit more interesting like Patrick reccommends.

My dear friend and Realtor Karin Davidson wanted to take me to a special place to thank me for some business we have recently done...knowing that I was a vegetarian she took me to one of her favourite places...CRU.
CRU is a small restaurant very close to Granville and West Broadway just off the chic South Granville shopping strip.  The decor is minimalist  but quite chic with starched white tablecloths and butter coloured banquettes, visually quite nice.  We had a lovely 'deuce' in the window and had very good service from an excellent female server who knew her stuff...very friendly and attentive but not too in our face.  An aside:  gosh, I hate having to include the server in my lunch as one of the guests because they are so chummy!  Not the case here.
All stocks at CRU are vegetarian.  I had an excellent home made pumpkin soup, large bowl, with a dollop of creme fraiche in it ($8), very subtle and very wholesome.  We had a side of a whole French  baguette ($4) and then to follow a salade nicoise each, very fresh excellent ingredients, Karin had the tuna included with it but they gave me extra of everything to make up as I wanted a veg option ($18) Karin had mentioned the pommes frites earlier and we finally succumbed to having a side, what a huge side!  they were great though!  We followed this up by sharing  the goat cheese cake with fruit and ginger snap biscuits.($8)..delicious!  A bottle of pellegrino and a couple of glasses of Peter Lehman shiraz and that was that.  A very delightful time, I'd definitely go back and would recommend this delighful little restaurant for a special evening out!  Approx $100 + tip for lunch

Located across the street from Victory Square, Nuba is in the basement of one of the finest heritage office buildings in downtown Vancouver.  There have been several restaurants there but I always felt the place was a little dingy, grimy and old.  Not any more, the space has been totally reno'd and it is fresh and open with a modern minimalist feel.  The staff are very friendly and you can tell there is a good vibe in the place as they are all so happy and loving what they do...a real esprit de corps!  The owner is there to greet you and the manager Nicolas is always attentive.  They are all passionate about their food!
Loads of vegetarian options and the daily soups are always vegetarian including the staple lentil.  I have had several wonderful soups here, especially the cauliflower concoctions.  My office is close by so I am getting to be quite regular now as it is one of the few places in the neighbourhood that is ethical, fresh and reasonable.  i would have to say the best Lebanese food in the city, great falafel and pita.  Excellent fresh juices, I had an orange juice on Saturday...mmm so sweet and delicious. I usually have a mint tea in a pot, they use 'mighty leaf' bags so they are good for several refills (I should write a review on mighty leaf one day, such great teas) talking of beverages, they are licensed and they use Cafe Umbra (spelling?)(which is distributed I believe by the Sciue Cafe owner) as their coffee of choice and that is one of the best.  Excellent cappucinos.  A nice touch they have is having slices of cucumber in the drinking water...it's the little things that make the difference.  This place is often full so either get there early at lunch or a little after the rush especially on Fridays! About $30 for 2 with tip.
UPDATE:  Nuba is now open for breakfast, some really interesting items on the menu, I've got to try Victor's (the owners) eggs one of these days soon

I picked up some Tofutti "Marry Me" bars ( chocolate covered tofu ice cream) at IGA on a whim.  They were great!  Organi c ingredients and 8g of fat.  I liked them better than Hagen Das!!  Try them, you'll like 'em!

With the liquor store running out of Strongbow my preferred summer drop I am having to try alternatives.  Most o them are too sweet and have a distinct aftertaste.  The best of the bunch I think Okanagan Cider Companies Dry Classic Apple, it would be better if it had less sweetness and had less of the cloying aftertaste but for a local product it is the best.  Now how about making one from organic apples guys?  Please continue to experiment you are half way there to creating a great cider.

Had business in Gastown showing a loft, the outdoor Jazz festival was goin' on so thought I'd drop in and sit on the patio at the cafe.  Mackenzie the hostess cum server was most accommodating, she set up a table for us right out in front with the sound stage just to the left and the steam clock right across from us.  Mackenzie was very friendly and helpful, nice smile too.  Not a lot for the vegetarian, my friend had the spinach salad which she said was OK, I had the grilled veg and portabello panini, this was ok, bread seemed dry and it was not very inspiring, however, the fries were great!  Enjoyed a small sleeve of Bohemian lager, a local brewery I was  told, I didn't think that was particularly good value at $5.50. M had a cranberry and soda which she liked.
To finish up Mackenzie made me a double shot americano which was good and we shared the bread pudding with all sorts of berries and gelato which was excellent and worth going again for!  All in all a nice experience and reasonable at $46 tip in.

http://www.cantaloupea...  Just a little cafe on the main street of Oliver, seems popular with the locals and passing motorists.  i read the guest book and every one seemed to have liked it well enough.  Named after the little steam engine that used to ply the valley in the 1930's hauling fruit.  Oliver was the cantaloupe capital then (it's pretty well all wine growing now).    The engine was known as Cantaloupe Annie.  Lotsof mugs, tea cups, spoons and other dust collecting bric a brac everywhere.  Very friendly and quite good food.  I had a jalapeno flavoured havarti cheese and tomato sandwich and a side of home made potato salad.  They are fully licensed, so the Heineken  was a happy addition.  Finished up with a double Americano which was quite good after I had given instructions (yes, it's one of those places);  double shot and not too  much water.  To be on the safe side, I picked my own mug, otherwise it could  have led to one of those overdiluted coffee tasting drinks.  They had a good selection of loose teas.  And ladies, there is a 'ladies night' on Wednesday's with tea cup reading!  They have won an award for breakfast's, so I would  guess they would serve good hearty breakfasts too.

Wanted to take a break from the hustle of the city and to have a special birthday celebration so we opted for a wine country getaway in the Okanagan Valley in BC -just 5 hours country drive from Vancouver.  We tried to get into Burrowing Owl but they were full and kindly recommended we try Hester Creek.  So glad they told us about this hidden gem.  Only six units, perched on top of the hill behind the vineyard, beautifully appointed with fireplaces and nice furnishings, lovely sheets, towels and spotlessly clean.  We were graciously met by Innkeeper Lee Ann Openshaw, who is a wonderful host and has an eye for detail.  Our suite "la Sirena" is the largest and is a small self contained "Tuscan villa" with panoramic views from all windows over the valley below...breathtaking and so quiet except for the chirping birds!  Satellite TV, wifi, 2 bathrooms and a beautiful patio with chaise lounges and an outdoor dining area with table and 4 chairs (there's another one inside too.)
Breakfasts are gourmet concotions served al fresco and overseen by Lee Ann herself.
Partridges, yellow bellied marmots and deer can be seen on the property
One of the best places I have been for a long time.  Oh...and the wine is fine too!

Had a bithday celebration on June 20 so we made a reservation at Burrowing Owl.  Told them when  reserving we were vegetarian and it was a birthday.  No recognition of either were noted on arrival.  in fact I had to mention to the waitress that I had specifically requested vegetarian options when making the  reservation and had been told they would accommodate me.  We sat on the deck which was very nice overlooking the valley and vineyards, be careful tho, late in the evening the  mosquitoes do come out and the waitress quipped they were on steroids!  Inside, the room is very noisy due to the high ceiling and tiled floors made worse by the awful cold blue lighting from the energy saving lamps hanging from the ceiling.  Not a first class restaurant ambience in my book.
Menu was very limited for the vegetarian.  We started with a cheese plate consisting of 4 or 5 small wedges of local organic cheeses bread and candied hazelnuts, We then had salads with fried breaded goat cheese.  We were going to have the potato leek soup but fortunately the waitress advised at the last minute that it was made with chicken stock after I asked her to double check.  Then the mains, I understand the salmon was good but my friend who had the halibut ( a 2" square) and 3 prawns with pasta thought it was poor value at $29 per plate.  I had a mushroom risotto (which was a side for one of the meat entrees) they concocted for me (after I had cojoled them abuot vegetarian options) and added some seasonal veg too.  Points to them for that.  We had a large bottle of Pellegrino ($8.95!) and a bottle of their own Pinot Gris, nice but we defintiely prefer the Hester Creek Pinot Gris (where we are staying)  Finished up with Rhubarb sponge cake and sorbet and a glass of sweet late harvest wine, which was quite good.  Service was casual and friendly, however there was none of the finesse which is expected in a fine dining establishment.
In conculusion, the location was lovely but this was not a fine dining experience though the prices were certainly of that calibre.  I doubt if I would go again.

I've been going to the Original Tandoori Kitchen for over five years now.   I am not in Burnaby often, so whenever I have time and I am out in the eastern suburbs I try to fit it in.  I got there today after the lunch rush, the owner Gurdip Bhahu was there to greet me and his "better half" (to quote him) was supervising in the kitchen.  The restaurant is very comfortable without being too ornate and very clean (including the bathrooms) with starched napkins, quietly elegant and comfortable.  Bollywood videos were playing at a reasonable volume in the background...personally, I would have preferred a bit of classical sitar goin'on but the lady with me thought it added to the ambience ... so I didn't focus on this but got back to why I was there, the food!  Excellent varied menu with many choices for the vegetarian and carnivore as well.  We ordered three excellent dishes; the dahl (gotta have a protein source if you are a vegetarian (FYI we veg's mainly eat legumes, nuts, tofu and possibly some dairy if one is not too vegan strict) in this case lentils which is the base of dahl,  spinach and paneer (Indian style cheese) and lastly potatoes and cauliflower all served in delicious curry sauces.  In addition we had a couple of naan breads, boiled rice and some condiments including chutney and raita...we had it medium hot.  Unlike in my youth, after a night in the pub on Saturday night's in London, UK (my home town) when I had to have a ton of chilli and my eyes watering to enjoy, now I like to savour the subtle and delicious flavours in the curry sauces and if its too hot I find I don't taste as well...maybe it's an age thing?
The food was excellent (probably not organic but  made with quality ingredients) and cooked to perfection.  A nice energy was in the food which always makes hand made food so special and enjoyable.  That transfer of energy from the cook to the consumer is key for a quality meal.  Remember, you are what you eat!  So you gotta be careful who's cookin' in the kitchen or you will take on their vibes.
To finish up we shared gulab jamun for dessert and chai teas... What a delicious meal!  For my money  (today it was about $50 for two with tip) my favourite Indian restaurant in the Vancouver area.   There are a few others that can be great some of the time but this place is consistently good, which is key.  Excellent personal service from Gurdip or whomever is serving adds to the experience too.  Another nice touch is they do have a table of current periodicals and papers if you are dining or lunching alone.  The restaurant is tucked away in a small strip mall on the south side of Canada Way off Boundary Road so google to get the directions before you go.