Some interesting new information is up on Sean Heather’s blog regarding his newest venture, Lucky Diner.

Long story short, there is a menu draft up there, which looks quite delicious (let me at that U-fix-it tray), and big news about staffing. Mark Brand (bartender of the year, ex-Chambar), joins Kurtis Kolt and Dan Tigchelaar from Aurora Bistro, with Quentin Kayne (also ex-Chambar. Very exciting news.

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And so the great phodown begins.

Target 1: Pho Tan
Address: 4598 Main Street (map)
Phone: 604-873-3345
Menu: Page 1; Page 2
Price: $5.00 small pho; $5.85 large
Condiments Photo

Visit date: November 27th, 2006
Visit time: 6:45PM

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Dona Cata Mexican Foods
Address: 5438 Victoria Drive (map)
Phone: 604-436-2232
Menu

Quickbite: Dona Cata Mexican Foods

November 26th, 2006
By Jason Chin
Writer

Vancouver, it would appear, is beginning to emerge from a taco dark age. Establishments featuring this popular Mexican street food are popping up at rate that was unimaginable just a year ago. A good deal of this action is going on around Victoria Drive, to the extent that if a few more Mexican shops open around between 35th and 38th avenues, a little Mexico may be born. The newest Mexican restaurant in this area is Dona Cata.

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As wintry weather officially arrives, a young man’s mind naturally turns to pho. I can think few better cures for a cold rainy day than snuggling up next to a steaming bowl of spicy, aromatic, beefy pho.

I’ve been a pho addict for nigh on five years now, darkening various doorsteps around Vancouver and DC for my weekly pho fix. There was even a dark period in 2003 when I decided I wanted to make my own pho. After several failed attempts, and much to the relief of my neighbors, I decided to give that up for good. Whoever conceptualized economies of scale likely had pho in mind.

My experiences with pho in Vancouver have ranged from good to extremely poor and I have to find a go-to pho joint. Given the sheer number of pho joints in Vancouver, as well as the vast range in quality, we’ve decided to undertake a very large, potentially very stupid, endeavor. We are going to attempt to create the ultimate guide to pho in Vancouver.

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A Matter of Authenticity

+ a quick bite for El Taco
738 Davie Street (map)
(604) 806-0300

An essay by Jason Chin
Writer

After an unfortunate encounter with a taco at the newish El Taco on Davie Street (near Howe), I got to thinking about why this taco was so bad. My gut reaction was to say it wasn’t authentic; and, frankly, it wasn’t. The meat was okay, and the tortilla was fine, but what ruined the taco for me was salad mix thrown on top, looking as it if it has just come from an industrial sized bag. They didn’t even spare the requisite few strands of red cabbage. That’s not to mention the heap of pinto beans dumped on top of the salad. The watery lettuce didn’t add anything to the taco, besides making the entire thing soggy, and the beans lacked purpose as well. Even the green and red sauces provided did little to perk up this bland waste of $3.75. But was I more offended by the tastes and textures, or the fact that a restaurant advertising authentic Mexican cuisine was serving nothing of the such? And why is it that people are so concerned with tradition and authenticity (T&A anyone?), when in fact taste seems like it should be the primary goal?

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Whistler Cornucopia
November 10th-12th
2006
Whistler, BC
Homepage

Cornucopia Postmortem

By Jason Chin
Writer

Since technological issues prevented this from being posted earlier and in on a different forum, I thought I’d post my abbreviated Whistler Cornucopia journal here for anyone interested.

Cornucopia Varietal Series Tastings (Saturday 9:40 AM – 12:00 PM)

The varietal tasting series is a new event at Cornucopia, showcasing three varieties in three 40 minute sessions. Seeing as these sessions are hosted by some of the biggest names in BC’s wine scene, I definitely wanted to make it to all of them. Unfortunately, they began at 9:40 in the morning on a Saturday, so I decided to skip the early session, thus eliminating one of the options. In the end I decided to attend the Pinot Noir and Riesling tastings and forgo the Shiraz session.

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From the Eatvancouver mailbag: it appears both Beyond and Chivana are offering laughs with dinner.

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Habit Lounge
Address: 2610 Main St (map)
604-877-8582
hours available on their homepage

** (of four stars)

The Flying Tiger
Address: 2958 West 4th Ave (map)
604-737-7529
hours available on their homepage

** and 1/2 (of four stars)

Share and Share Alike

By Jason Chin
Writer

Statisticians describe mediation as what occurs when one variable explains the relationship between two others, who without this third variable would have a merely specious relationship. One might interpret the relationship between The Flying Tiger and Habit in the same way: one is Asian-themed, the other has few Asian inspirations; one is full of Kitsilano yuppies, the other is Main Street hippies; one is brightly-lit and very modern, the other is like the inside of a Pandora’s box. Long story short, they don’t have a lot in common unless you analyze the situation a certain way. Both menus feature items that are perfect for sharing.

Oh yeah, and they’re both really good, too.

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