VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 106

restaurants. The smallish menu relies heavily on traditional French techniques, which shine
through on appetizers (or entrées as they are properly called at Le Crocodile), such as wild
mushroom soup with truffle oil or frog legs sautéed in a chive butter sauce, and mains like
roasted free-range chicken breast with shitake mushroom risotto.
M Fleuri (845 Burrard St., 604/642-2900, breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, $26-32), in
the Sutton Place Hotel, is one of Vancouver's best hotel restaurants, and you needn't spend
a fortune to enjoy dining in what is generally regarded as one of the world's best hotels.
The dinner menu is French influenced, with a magnificent seafood buffet offered on Friday
and Saturday nights. Adjacent to the restaurant is the Gerard Lounge, the perfect spot for a
pre-dinner drink.
Italian
Villa del Lupo (869 Hamilton St., 604/569-2535, 5pm-10pm daily, $21-40) is extremely
popular with those looking for traditional Italian cooking in a stylish yet inviting setting.
The breads and pastas are prepared daily, and Fraser River Valley produce such as free-
range chicken is used whenever possible. The signature dish is braised lamb shank osso
buco.
La Pentola della Quercia (322 Davie St., 604/642-0557, 7am-3pm and 5pm-10pm
daily, $26-30), in the Opus Hotel, is a stylish, energetic bistro at the street level of Van-
couver's hippest hotel. The northern Italian menu blends easily with the young, money-
to-burn crowd—and prices are not as outrageous as you may imagine. The lunch menu
changes with the season, while à la carte choices include delicious osso buco.
Pacific Northwest
At Gastown's busiest intersection, opposite the crowd-drawing steam clock, is M Water
Street Cafe (300 Water St., 604/689-2832, 11:30am-10pm daily, $15-29), in the 1906 Ed-
ward Hotel. Unlike dining at most other Gastown eateries, you won't feel like you're in the
touristy quarter of Vancouver. White linens, dark blue carpets, and lots of polished wood-
work ooze style, while service is professional. Most important, the food is well priced and
delicious.
Ensconced within the stylish Hyatt Regency Vancouver is the contemporary M Mosaic
Grille (655 Burrard St., 604/639-4770, 6:30am-10pm daily, $22-40), which opens each
morning with a healthy, well-prepared buffet, or choose from regional specialties such as
Dungeness crab benedict and banana strawberry granola. In the evening, crab cannelloni
and sweet corn bisque are both winners as starters. When it comes to a main, the choice is