Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
7
Places to Eat in . . . Vancouver, British Columbia
Blessed with a coastal bounty of seafood, a rich
mélange of Pacific Rim cultures, and superb
microclimate for local farmers, Vancouver
couldn't help but become a fine-dining capital.
This vibrant, cosmopolitan city, cupped around
a sparkling harbor with a backdrop of snow-
capped mountains, already had a wealth of
museums, gardens, and other attractions; add
all the fantastic restaurants in town, not to men-
tion the divine public food market on Granville
Island, and it's almost too good to be true.
If seafood's your pleasure, head out to Yaletown for two winning fish restaurants.
The constant buzz swirling around the handsome brick-and-beam
Blue Water
Café
(1095 Hamilton St.;
&
604/688-8078;
www.bluewatercafe.net) comes from its
fresh seafood, culled from sustainable and wild fisheries only, and assembled in
memorable dishes such as baked Galliano Island swimming scallops with tomatoes,
lemons, and capers; pumpernickel-crusted white sturgeon with beets and cauli-
flower puree; or B.C. sablefish caramelized with soy and sake. Blue Water also has a
fantastic raw bar. The seafood and the people-watching are equally excellent down
the street at sleek, contemporary
Coast
(1257 Hamilton St.;
&
604/685-5010;
www.coastrestaurant.ca). If you're lucky, you may be able to score a seat at the
“community table” for a close-up of chef Josh Wolfe at work. An evening at Coast can
seem like a trip around the world—starting with a Dungeness crab cake, then going
on to the giant Baja sea scallop and sea tiger prawns with Thai coconut risotto, Alas-
kan king crab gnocchi, or Liverpool-style fish and chips.
Multicultural Vancouver has some of the continent's best Asian restaurants as
well, including the stunning (and pricey)
Tojo's Restaurant
(1133 W. Broadway;
&
604/872-8050;
www.tojos.com), where Chef Hidekazu Tojo and his sushi chefs
display their knife skills at a gleaming maple-countered sushi bar. Order the
omakase,
or chef's tasting menu, to get the full spectrum of Tojo's brilliance. Reservations are
essential. You can't even make a reservation, however, for an Indian feast at cozy
Vij
(1480 W. 11th Ave.;
&
604/736-6664;
www.vijs.ca). Be prepared to queue up
outside for a table, where patient patrons are treated to tea and
papadums
while
they wait. While the menu changes monthly to make the most of local ingredients,
its constants are hand-ground and roasted seasonings and dishes that honor the
entire breadth of Indian regional cooking, such as halibut in ground fennel and fenu-
greek seed curry, beef short ribs in a cinnamon and red-wine curry, or B.C. spot
prawns marinated in ghee, jalapeño peppers, and cumin seed.
Country paté at Pied-A-Terre.
