Dear Virginia
Une lettre d’amour

Friday January 25th, 2008

by Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver Hack

Dear Virginia,

By the time you get this letter, I’ll be gone. I’m going back to that other ‘V’ in my life. Don’t look so surprised – we both knew this was coming.

But there are so many things I’ll miss: moments, tastes and experiences – all of them unforgettable. Do you remember the pupusa trucks?

Those shiny family-run vehicles peddling all manner of Salvadorian delights? Yeah, I know they sell tacos as well, but those were never the main draw were they? Of course you’re right, they were tasty little creations, full of beef fried with onions, topped with a healthy portion of pico de gallo.

[Read more →]

Home for the Holidays
a holiday special series

No Country for Old Phở
Wednesday January 9th, 2008

By Michael Chin
Eat Vancouver writer

I’ll be honest. I had trouble finding an angle for this piece. It seemed odd because there certainly isn’t a shortage of angles on Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (case in point: The Phởdown). I guess it would be more appropriate to say I was burdened with an overabundance of angles. In picking one I had to keep in mind that I have lived in the DC area all my life, so I can’t really talk about things like they are new or at least like I am re-experiencing them. I have, however, eaten phở in Vancouver, which does give me some sort of unique perspective, albeit a little lame. I’ll do my best to keep it snappy.

The third most important thing to know about phở here is that, in general, it’s not much different than Vancouver. There isn’t really a colloquial difference, like chowder. Just like in Vancouver you are bound to find a strip mall dedicated to the stuff. The fixins are the same, the cafeteria setup is the same, and the locations are plentiful. One such location, and arguably the best representative for phở in the Metro area is Phở 75. With several locations in Virginia, Maryland, and Philadelphia it borders on a mini institution on the East Coast. I go about twice a month. I used to go more.

[Read more →]

Home for the Holidays
a holiday special series

Thanks be to Cod
Saturday January 5th, 2008

By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver writer

Following the precedent of eating stuff that’s difficult to find in Vancouver, I went out searching for a good brick oven pizza a couple of nights ago. The DCist (a DC area blog) in conjunction with Don Rockwell recently did a comparison of the area’s top brick oven pizzas in what they called a Fab Forno Smackdown, no doubt a spiritual cousin to the Phodown. They compared places like the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) approved 2 Amys, and Roberto Donna run Bebo. I won’t get into specifics here, but it’s a pretty good read. Long story short, I couldn’t make it to any of the places mentioned in this article but I did get to try Ellla’s in Penn Quarter, a pizzeria that is supposedly no slouch itself. Quite importantly, Ella’s also boasts a hoppin’ happy hour with $5 pizzas and reduced-priced beer, something that is certainly not available in Vancouver

[Read more →]

Home for the Holidays
a holiday special series

Lunch at El Pollo Rico
Thursday December 20th, 2007

By Jason Chin
Eat Vancouver writer

As per tradition, I’ve headed home for holidays. Home for me is Washington DC metropolitan area, specifically Northern Virginia. Unlike past years, I thought it might be interesting to document some of the dining I do here because although it might not be highly accessible to Vancouverites, it’s an interesting point of comparison and relevant to anyone who might be traveling to this area.

[Read more →]

Looking for a place to dine out this Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve? The following press release from Raincity Grill might help:

[Read more →]