hapatite

I usually go to Panera once every 2 weeks. When I visited my family in Gainesville I would eat there much more frequently because the dining options were very limited. It does get expensive at times, especially if you take advantage of the 1/2 + 1/2 special and get "signature" instead of "cafe" options. I usually stick to a few dishes and when I've strayed in the past it hasn't ended well.

• Iced Green tea with a little lemonade
  
• Asian Chicken Salad
  
• Chicken Noodle or Summer Corn Chowder Soup
  
• Mediterranean Veggie sandwich (surprisingly filling for a vegetarian sandwich! Just don't kiss anyone after)
  

I don't care for the baked goods at all. I bet it varies by location, but the Gainesville, Herndon, Fairfax, Manassas, and Tysons ones are extremely dry. I wouldn't mind as much except on a recent visit to the Tysons location with my family, I bore witness to them filling 2 industrial sized garbage bags with bread, cookies, and bagels that they were just throwing away. I confronted them about it, offering to take it off their hands and donate it, but they just said "We used to donate it. We don't now."

*Sigh* I just wish there were more options in the Chantilly/Herndon area for dining other than Sila Thai, Super Pho, Noodles & Co, Pei Wei, Santini's, and Panera. Did I mention my cafeteria at work sucks? The options for eating out ~3 times a week in that area are horrible, and quickly exhausted. Aaaand, I don't want to eat fast food more than once a few months or else I might have a heart attack.

Can't believe no one mentioned Sweetwater Tavern!

Besides Sweetwater, the new Whole Foods Pub in Clarendon has growlers as well as Lost Rhino Brewing Company in Ashburn. I normally wouldn't trek all the way to Ashburn, but I got to taste about 8 of their beers and take a tour and am now pretty smitten. I don't like beer (*gasp*), but I got a whole growler of their Saison Breast Cancer Awareness brew and it was gone in a jiffy.

Surprisingly, World Market is cheaper than Whole Foods. They have a pretty good selection.

I like Batch 13, though it's a little hit or miss.

Total wine is always great, as is Trader Joe's (yay for singles!)

Anyone seen Bitter Truth Apricot Liquer? I've seen the Sloe Gin, but I tried the apricot at Repeal Day recently and it was awesome.

Sadly, I live in VA, where ABC rules with an iron fist.

I'm also on the lookout for SAGE (by AITA) and this Pine Gin that @merc340 is lusting after...

I've seen Luxardo at many places, including Liquor shops in Cleveland Park as well as my lowly local ABC store (Arlington)

I went here for a birthday dinner and could not have felt more special. Everyone wished me a happy birthday and the staff signed a card for me too.

The decor is very low-key and natural. I wanted to take the cute little center piece of wood and mini plants home with me, but resisted. We had a pretty early seating, which I like doing. I like seeing the restaurant calmer, but staying to see the busy vibe later in the night when we're getting our last course.

We had the 4 course, but it turned into more courses because we ended up getting all the desserts by accident (I mean, awesome??) and there was an amuse of a carraway seed cracker.

I agree with the above poster that I wish I knew more of what I was getting on the menu instead of categories, but I appreciate the mystery and surprise.

From what I heard, the larger course menu has the same dishes as the 4 course menu but in smaller sizes. I could definitely see how these 4 dishes could be made smaller.

The best thing about suna was the focus on ingredients. Root vegetables? Okay, I'll give you one course just of beets and in three different ways. Pickled, roasted, and candied.

Dashi course? This custard will taste like the ocean in your mouth.@merc340 got the pumpkin dish and it was like a pumpkin steak (with blood pudding). The protein dishes were great as well -- pork & guinea hen, but the dishes were balanced well with a good amount of grain as well. This is where we discovered that we loved sunchokes. We got all 3 desserts - the charred apple & cilantro as a bonus birthday gift, the hazelnut rice krispie-ish awesomeness that is now our favorite dessert in DC, and the thai basil hibiscus dessert that comes with the 4 course.

On the way back from the bathroom at the end of the night, I stopped by the kitchen to let them know everything tasted amazing.

The attention to focus on different realms (earth, ocean, land) and the quality of the ingredients is great. I think this will be the closest I can ever get to Noma-style food.

I also really liked the plates, which were very natural yet beautiful (think wabi sabi).

One note: they don't have their liquor license yet, though that didn't stop a neighboring table from ordering "vodka on the rocks" *raises eyebrow*. But, no need! go next door to Harold Black for a night cap (or maybe some more suna snacks).

Can't wait to try this place out. Apparently you need reservations via an unpublished number. Wanted to try this place after a birthday dinner at Suna, but it wasn't open yet.

Hogo seems to take some of the crowd off of the Passenger.

That being said, the seating situation was a big problem since people tend to stay for a long amount of time and larger groups would take chairs and add them to booths, leaving many tables without chairs (rendering them useless). I had 3 drinks here and they were pretty good! I'm up for the Passenger's Tiki Tuesday every day The Singapore Sling, Tom's Punch, and Queen's Royale were all citrus-y, fresh, and light without being too sweet. I was interested in a change of pace after having *just* tiki drinks, but they have beer too! My favorite was Tom's Punch because of the falernum. It seems to be polarizing where some people hate it and some love it, but I love it. It's funky and spicy, right up my alley.

More importantly (and the main reason I went) was the Hawai'ian food. My family used to own a Sai Min restaurant on Maui and I've been hurting for some ono grindz in these parts. Sadly, Lani Kai closed in NYC before I could go and Hula Girl is a bit expensive and hard to get to, though the musubi is good. We got the kalua mix plate (kahlua pork, kalbi, mac salad rice) and the miso sai min. The kalbi was a bit gristly and hard to eat, but the pork was good - wish there was more of it. The sai min was small but satisfying. I would have wished for some char siu instead of pork belly, but the fat in the pork belly was rendered very well.

I can't wait and see what pops up here after Hogo!

I went last night for a tap takeover (Blue Mountain). It wasn't that crowded for a Thursday night at 6pm.

We almost always sit at the bar and we snagged two stools. We got a crispy pig tail, salt cod fritter, and the rabbit cake that was featured in Y&H recently. The bartenders were a bit hard to get a hold of - Andrew is great if you can get him, but the other bartender forgot about our drinks while filling drinks for other people that ordered after us (?) He also was yelling all over the place though it wasn't very loud inside. I was watching the Nats game, so didn't mind the slow service.

Once we were able to get our order in, the food came out fast and was delicious. The salt cod was a bit salty for me, but it was still very good and we ate all 5 nuggets. The rabbit cake has turned more to the fall flavors with sweet potato, apple, and brussel sprouts instead of the mentioned carrot/peas combo in the article which is fine because I ate every last bit of it! It truly is like a "crab cake with rabbit instead of crab". It still was a bit hot in the bar, but that might just be the nature of bodies in the bar (there is not much air circulation).

The peachy manhattan I had was good (definitely a sipping drink), and a "something with house infused pear vodka" was good too, though less drinkable than the manhattan.

I went for brunch recently and it was a bit of a miss. The sausage was too large for the sandwich, causing the sausage egg sandwich to explode on first bite. Sour Cream donuts are $4 for 1 donut and they are the best thing about brunch. First brunch experience was 50/50 too - great french toast that was more like bread pudding, more donuts, but a chicken and soggy waffle won't get ordered again. I will probably still go for brunch since they have some good lunch options during brunch hours.

All in all, I still love this place and still think it's the best food in Clarendon, though you can't eat there every night of course since it's not the cheapest place You can make great meals out of the snacks and appetizers without committing to a full entree.

This sounds great since I live up the street, but concert that night.

I'll definitely check it out when it opens for real; we need some fresh restaurants in Clarendon with all these recent closings

I actually liked the green onions as they helped cut through the fat of the pork belly. I did want the pork belly slices to be a bit thicker but honestly, when do you not want more pork belly?

here's a pic i snapped -- the onion ratio is ridiculous, especially on the one in the back!

Today was my 2nd (well, 3rd, I went twice today) time here.

The first time we got the meat-laden sandwich and it was great. Nice bread and flavorful meat. I had to split it with my boyfriend since the sandwich itself was a couple pounds. I got the mac & cheese and it tasted sour. I don't know if it was intentional because they used a funky cheese or if the mac & cheese had gone bad.

Today we got the hot italian sausage and peppers & onions. The sausage was very hot, but not in a spicy way--more peppery. I love pepper so this was a great lunch. We tried a cookie and then bought some iced tea and a packet of double chocolate sea salt cookies from a local Falls Church bakery. After walking around Georgetown, we swung back to get 2 sausages from the case: 1 Chicken Santa Fe; 1 Weisswurst

We're grilling them up tomorrow and I'll report back on the taste.

I also asked if they had head cheese and if they'll have half sandwiches. "Soon" was the reply on both.

I like the people that work here, but it gets really crowded very fast and there is no seating except for a family-style round dinner table near the cash register. It can also get pretty hot in there, which is probably due to the lack of traffic (and air) flow when it gets crowded.

We recommended it to my "father in law" (boyfriend's dad) and he loved it! He is very picky about his deli meats since he grew up in New Jersey & is Jewish

I've had good cocktails at the GAR and Clydes (Reston). I've also heard the cocktails at Kit's Cove (Herndon) are good

I wasn't impressed and won't be going back. The service was bad and not professional. The buns were soggy and piled with far too many green onions. We had the goujiramen and spicy miso and both were just ok. They're both one-note in terms of broth and lack the complexity in flavor that ramen is supposed to deliver. The texture of the noodles themselves were okay, but didn't make up for the issues with broth, flavoring, and topping, paired with the lack of ambience and service.

I'm sad because I wanted some good soup that wasn't in Maryland or H Street!

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! We missed out on a couple of places we really wanted to go to due to timing not working out (Zig Zag Cafe, Hazelwood, a Chinese noodle place in ID). We were also limited in what we could do because on the weekend (75% of our trip), there was a block party that was on Pike St and made it so we couldn't get to places we wanted to go because access required a paid ticket. A lot of places are also open only for dinner, and when you only have 3 dinners on a trip, places are bound to get left out.

Here are the places we ended up eating/visiting: (wow, writing this out, I can't believe we ingested ALL of these things!!)

• Stumptown Coffee - good coffee, but not the best we had in SEA. It was too acrid for my taste
  
• CakeSpy Shop - I'm a fan of this blogger/artist and we were staying in Capitol Hill nearby. Sadly, the shop/art gallery is closing, but I'm glad we got to visit
  
• Marination Station - some of the best food we had all trip. It's a Hawai'ian place tucked into a shopping center with great sauces, daily specials (ex: Theo chocolate chicken mole because the Theo factory is nearby), and juice drinks from HI. Mac salad with spam? Yes please.
  
• Cupcake Royale - I only really wanted to try one cupcake place (Trophy), but Cupcake Royale was *Everywhere*. I only tried one mini cupcake and it was good. I've heard their ice creams are good too.
  
• Little Uncle - It was a bit of a hike to get here, but since a lot of Pike was closed, we had had time to spare. We opted for the green rhubarb and peach shaved ice. The space is very interesting and the staff was very nice and friendly. The food smelled so good, I was tempted to order something, but we were very full.
  
• Molly Moon's - Though we were very full, we ate Stumptown Coffee ice cream anyways. They had interesting flavors and made their own waffle cones, but the ice cream was a tad too soft for my liking.
  
• Old School Frozen Custard - We just had tastes here since we were on the verge of diabetes at this point. They have vanilla, chocolate, and a special flavor every day. It's milwaukee-style and similar to Milwaukee's Frozen Custard around here, so we didn't go back.
  
• Bluebird - we stopped here for a taste of the weekend special, "Phantograham" ice cream. I don't like graham crackers, but graham cracker ice cream for some reason tasted great. Since it was a weekend special, we made it a point to come back the next day, which was easy because they're open late. They also make their own waffle cones, serve beer, and have board games that you can play like 1993 UNO and Boggle.
  
• Restaurant Zoe - dinner here was almost great. The drinks were nice, but a tad too sweet and weak. We got gnocchi, shaved beef tongue, wild boar pasta, and tumeric glazed lamb with lentils. There were too many lentils with the lamb, and the beef tongue dish was almost flavorless, but the macadamia short bread cookie-accompanied coffee creme brulee we had for dessert and the soft and salty bread made up for it.
  
• Tavern Law / Needle & Thread - Needle & Thread is a speakeasy inside Tavern Law. We had a black tea rye fizz while waiting for our reservation for needle, then went upstairs. Though it was a Saturday, we were the only people inside! I think it was because of the festival/block party going on at the time. We got to talk a lot to the staff about cocktails and spirits in general, but at times it was a little too much one-on-one. Every cocktail was custom tailored to our request and all of them tasted great. We also got 2 containers of digestifs/bitters with our check. (Think - Columbia Room on the West Coast, with more seats)
  

• Victrola Coffee - I liked this place the best in terms of coffee in Seattle, @merc340 liked it second to Ballard Coffee Works. I liked how you can see the coffee roasting in the back, similar to Sweetwater Taverns beer setup in Centreville.
  
• Pike Place Market - I'm glad we went, but in hindsight would have probably gone on Monday instead of Sunday. It was jam-packed full of tourists, which was such a stark contrast to Granville Island in Vancouver (which we visited on a Thursday). I also didn't realize that since it was a Sunday, places opened later, around 11. We had some very good almonds and jam at some stands too.
  
• Piroshky, Piroshky - Got the beef/cheese and apple. The apple was fresh from the oven and tasted good, but nothing special. The beef/cheese one grew on us and was like a super-tasty hot pocket from our childhoods.
  
• Original Starbucks - I don't know if the crowd was for taking pictures of the outside or to get inside, but we skipped it.
  
• Pear Delicatessen - I'm glad we stopped in here because I got some local Scrappy's Bitters and they had a lot of interesting local finds (including Hawai'ian soda!). It was nice to step inside to get a break from the chaos outside.
  
• Beecher's Cheese - We got a mix of the "spicy" and regular mac n cheese. The regular mac n cheese was better - I like that they use penne pasta there and you can see them making cheese next door.
  
• The Chocolate Box - really friendly people that were willing to let me talk way too long about chocolate. I got a 5 piece assortment of banana fosters, yuzu, darjeeling tea, masala chai, and a caramel. I also got some samples of their drinking chocolate and walked away with some of that. It's next to a cupcake royale and there is an opening/shared wall between them, which is odd.
  
• Ballard Coffee Works - A very large coffee shop. They let me taste hemp milk before ordering it with my latte, which ended up being half hemp and half non-fat. This was BF's favorite coffee place in Seattle.
  
• Ballard Farmer's Market - another market, crazy right? This one is similar to Dupont Circle Farmer's market and as you walked the perimeter of the market, you could go into local shops like Blackbird or Anchor Coffee, then pop back out to continue perusing the market.
  
• Pete's Perfect Toffee - A stand at the market, it really was perfect. Each flavor he let me sample tasted better, until the last which was Dark Chocolate Coconut. Sold!
  
• Dante's Inferno Dogs - apparently cream cheese is a popular topping for dogs in Seattle. We got a smoked bacon cheddar dog with some cream cheese, peppers, mustard, etc. The guys were really nice and friendly about recommending topping combos.
  
• Kukuruza Gourmet Popcorn - we tried the hawaii'an sea salt caramel and the chicago mix and were sold. both were crunchy without being too hard.
  
• Savor - they were sampling bitters, what else do I need to say? It was a good place to stop in and look around while waiting for our reservation. It reminded me of Society Fair in Alexandria.
  
• Ballard Loft - we stopped here while waiting for our dinner reservation. They have games to play like shuffleboard, but it's a typical sports bar. The sangria I had was just white wine, no fruit (was it sangria then??).
  
• Walrus & The Carpenter - I think this was the best meal we had in Seattle. I was wary. They don't take reservations and I don't eat raw oysters (it's an oyster place!!). But, it was worth the gamble and the wait. We had fried oysters that were so meaty, they were like chicken nuggets that took a dip in the ocean. Our house cured salmon with fennel and absinthe was also very good, and went well with the drinks we were imbibing in at the time.
  
• Canon - This was recommended by a lot of people in Vancouver, but it was a tad disappointing. The layout of the space was a bit awkward (large open area in the middle, but we weren't allowed to "stand" next to any table, which led to us being cloistered in a tight corner spot). We got the brownie with fernet marshmallow and orange caramel (I was thinking about the absinthe marshmallows in the Monk's Hot Chocolate at Rogue 24), but it was a bust. Everything was just way too dry. The bourbon beer nuts/popcorn everyone kept ordering smelled like B.O. and was very off-putting. The cheese plate we ordered was good, but as usual, we ran out of bread way too fast and the service was very slow. The drinks were alright. They sounded very good on paper, but in reality fell short of expectations.
  

• Top Pot Donuts - These were good, but not as good as they proclaimed. They said they have the "best bavarian creme" and it was good, but not the best. Apple Fritter had too much glaze and was rock hard, but the cinnamon sugar was moist and perfect level of sweetness.
  
• Honeyhole Sandwiches - We got the gooch, which is tri-tip, sharp cheddar, horseradish mayo, and a side of au jus. This is the type of sandwich that you don't mind dripping down the side of your arms. It was that good.
  
• B & O espresso - they make their own caramel for their caramel lattes, but other than that it was okay. Seemed more neighborhood/book club vibe since they have a separate seating area you need to get a table in if you're getting anything other than a coffee to go.
  
• Chihuly Glass Garden - we chose to go here instead of the space needle and it was great! The glass was very interesting, though I wish there was a discount for students (yes, my student ID from 2007 isn't expired yet! Yay GMU) since the price is a bit steep. You get a $5 discount if you go to the space needle, but I just thought it was unnecessary.
  
• Macrina Bakery - everything here was scrumptious. We got cocoa puff (brioche filled with ganache), which was like a chocolate croissant but not as buttery and rich; ginger apple cider was warming and refreshing; rick's cookie (apricot, espresso, chocolate), peanut butter oatmeal cookie, and double chocolate chunk. The environment was nice and calming and I liked the interesting foil artwork along the wall. They also had italian nutella, which they gave me tax-free!
  
• Ian - An interesting clothing store with very nice staff. We spent way too much time there (same with Scout).
  
• Fuji Bakery - we were lucky we visited them the day before they closed for a month of renovations. The staff was very friendly (one of them was from Manassas, VA and one from DC!) and we decided on an apricot tart. The tart was a bit burnt on the bottom, but the large apricots were sweet and chewy on top of a sweet cheese filling.
  
• Uwajima Market Village - we stopped by kinokuniya, the japanese book store, but then were so hungry but didn't have time for a real meal before the baseball game. We got a mix plate style lunch of rice, char siu, and general tso's chicken. The char siu was dried, almost like jerky, so I passed on that, but the rest was ok. I stopped in the market and got some cold drops and a cute chick shaped pastry filled with white bean (they had these in Japan when I was studying there and haven't seen them state-side!). It too was also a tad burnt, but rich and sweet on the inside. I skipped Beard Papa and the Crepe place here because I needed something savory, not sweet.
  
• SafeCo Field - The great thing about this was that the game was very exciting. Yankees vs Mariners and Ichiro had been traded to the Yankees earlier in the day! There were a lot of Yankees fans, surprisingly. We got to use our CAD and buy some Garlic Fries. I don't know why these are so popular, the garlic is RAW on them. I was expecting it to be at least a little cooked down.
  
• Trophy Cupcakes - We went here twice in the mall downtown. The first time was on sunday, they said they opened at 10 and we got there at 1030+ and there were no cupcakes. We went out of our way again to go on Monday and got the Elvis and Chocolate Graham Cracker Marshmallow cupcakes. They were expensive, but they have a program where you get a coupon for a free cupcake next time you visit and I asked them to just split the transaction so one of them were free. The marshmallow cupcake was great and not too sweet, with swirls of graham throughout and chocolate chips. The elvis was one-note and the frosting far too sweet, so trash.
  

• Homegrown - this is in the same center as butter (a home goods store that is very small) and Sitka/Spruce. We wanted to eat here for breakfast before we left to the airport, but they were having problems with their machine(s), so we had to pass. We got one last drink at Victrola instead and some coffee to-go as souvenirs.
  

Thanks for all the recommendations guys!

We didn't have a car, so we were limited in where we could go, but all in all Vancouver was great and I loved the city. We were staying in Gastown, which was a cool area, but in-between Gastown and Chinatown is the infamous main/hastings intersection. Think: The Wire, sanctioned drug use in abandoned row houses.

I've included some pictures and a breakdown of our meals/snacks below:

• Japadog (improptu after arriving at the airport) - super nice people and interesting toppings, though a bit rich and salty for my taste. too much japamayo? They took US & CAD
  
• Apres Midi Tea Shop - tucked away into a small alley in Gastown, they had a great selection of loose leaf teas and made a great house chai with almond milk and agave
  
• Cartem Donuterie - was in a sketchy neighborhood, but the donuts were the perfect combination of firmess and softness. The earl grey donut turned @merc340 into an earl grey fan (Seriously, he was on an earl grey kick the rest of the trip) and it wasn't too sweet
  
• Alibi Room - good drinks and interesting menu with a scale of "hoppiness" for each item. Scene was a bit too hipster, but we just went for drinks. Drinks were very strong, but well balanced.
  
• L'abbatoir - great bar and food. We accidentally made the rez for the week later, but we just sat and ate at the bar. We had the mushroom & egg and sweetbreads along with the banana daiquiri and clover club. Drinks were also very strong. The bartender was also nice enough to right down some Seattle recommendations for us since we were going to Seattle after our stay in Vancouver.
  

• Revolver - indie-type coffee shop with nice staff, tasty baked goods, and great coffee. They also play good music on vinyl records and we discovered a new band
  
• Beard Papa - I go to them whenever I'm in a city that has one. We got the mango cream puff, which was messy and tasty as expected. Other locations I've been to have more variety, but they took US & CAD (bonus!)
  
• Guu with Garlic - this had the best reviews and lots of recommendations, but I was a bit disappointed. We were basically the only table in the restaurant for lunch (I think they just recently opened for lunch) and the food wasn't anything revelation-worthy. It was good and made a nice snack later when we were in Stanley Park for a mini-picnic. I liked the ebi mayo better than the karaage; the karaage seemed to be a bit gristly or have some skin at odd places in the "nuggets".
  
• Hawksworth - I think this was *the* best meal we had in Vancouver. The drinks were great and inventive (hotel georgia, yuzu/shiso mojito, corpse reviver #2, and beer they'd put in an ice bucket for you!) and the service was very friendly, though maybe a smidgen artificial at times. The food, unlike guu, was revelation-worthy. KFC = korean fried cauliflower. @merc340 hates cauliflower, but is now a convert. Sweetbreads were a bit tangy and salty, but still crispy and delicious. By far the best part was the sablefish with chinese sausage broth and crispy yam chips. It was a great blend of vegetables, protein, and broth. The fish was rich enough to stand up to the sausage but didn't make the dish heavy. We got a chocolate pudding and black sesame/yuzu macaron for dessert and both were gobbled up before some marshmallows/pate de fruit and a house digestif.
  

• Granville Island - was a bit smaller than I had envisioned, but I planned our visit the same day as the Farmer's market. There interesting spice and grain shops, chocolate kiosks, bakeries, a place specializing in pies (savory and sweet), meats, fruit stands, a paper shop, and even olive oils/vinegars.
  
• Coconama - A company specializing in ganaches; the yuzu ganache has chunks of yuzu in it and is firm yet creamy
  
• Lee's Donuts - Pretty cheap and tasty. These were mostly baked donuts and we got cinnamon sugar, dutch chocolate, and a donut hole of "dipped" (glazed). The dutch chocolate was the best because it was a chocolate cake donut rolled in all the crumbs left over from other donuts. What could be better?
  
• JJ Bean - The coffee here was nothing special, though it is one of only two coffee shops (I think) in the whole market.
  
• Granville Island Tea Co. - Everyone raves about their house masala chai and with good reason. They make their own mix, let you choose your milk (almond please!), and then add in fresh ground ginger and cayenne. This is the best chai latte I've ever had.
  
• Granville Island Brewing Co. - This location only has a tasting license, so you can only get 12oz of alcohol. We chose 3 4oz tastes of the Hefeweizen, Maple Ale, and False Creek Raspberry Ale. It was good that they gave you a very detailed description of the flavors, tastes, etc, but there's not that much you can do here.
  
• DavidsTea - We spent a long time here tasting teas and picking out teas to buy while resting after walking from Granville Island through Kitsilano. They have any tea you want available iced or hot and were very patient while I decided between the fifty-million teas I wanted to buy. They can weigh the tea to any weight you want (aka, no minimum purchase).
  
• Purdy's Chocolates - We stopped by here to get some chocolates; their pink himalayan sea salt caramel was listed as "the best". It's very good, but a bit too runny for my tastes. This was a great spot to stock up on souvenirs, though chocolates in summertime didn't work too well in transport...
  
• Vij's - The was the second best meal in Vancouver. We arrived about 20 minutes before they opened and waited in line. Unfortunately, the people right in front of us were the end of the first shift so we put our names down and walked through South Granville while we waited for our table to be ready. The food was amazing and the owner came over to talk to us. We told him we were comparing it to Rasika and he actually knew Bajaj because his wife is from DC! We got the jackfruit (very meaty and tender), beef (complex spices and tender meat), and lamb popsicles (creamy curry sauce with lamb chops). The food was definitely indian, but reminded me of comfort foods - potroast, easter dinner with scalloped potatoes - but in a good way.
  

• Milano Coffee - They have special "house" drinks, such as the hedgehog (what's with Vancouver and hedgehogs?) with hazelnut and chocolate. The decor is very interesting inside and they stay open pretty late.
  
• Motomachi Shokudo - we had originally planned to eat here for lunch earlier in the week, but had eaten Japadog instead. We had also originally planned to go to Kirin and actually went there, but after looking at the space inside and those lining up trying to get in without a reservation, we gave our reservation to someone else and headed to Motomachi. We were thinking very hard between this place and Santouka since they are located very close to each other and had comparable reviews and scores. In the end, we went with this one and I'm glad we did. Santouka is a chain and (CA/NJ, etc) so we can always try it later. I would call Robson street "Ramen Row" since we passed a lot of ramen shops on the way to Motomachi and I had to keep telling myself "hold out for Motomachi!" Motomachi is very authentic and intimate. They have a weird "$8 per person" policy, but since the space is small, I can see why they don't want people chilling out taking seats that could be making money. We got the spicy miso and the cold noodles. Both were great in their own way and had nice fresh toppings and balanced rich but bright flavors. The spicy miso was multi-note and wasn't just heat.
  
• Roaming Dragon - we spotted this food truck while walking to the SkyTraing and got their Lychee Basil drink. It was like bubble tea, but instead of bubbles, there were lychee chunks. It was nice, but a little sweet after a while.
  
• Falconetti's - I had to say this, but we heard about this place on Food Network's DDD. Located in Commercial Drive (which, oddly, isn't really that commercial), they make all their meats in-house at the meat shop next door and serve them up in the bar. The thai chicken sausage was very flavorful and the bun was nice and crispy. Definitely a very different dog than JapaDog. The Bar was chill and everyone seemed nice and talked to us about Vancouver and their lives.
  
• Cassia Cupcakery - Cupcakes don't seem to be too popular in Vancouver, but we found this one on Commercial Drive. They had a lot of different flavors and the option for minis. We got a chocolate with peanut butter frosting and it tasted good, but this isn't a destination-type place.
  
• Pourhouse - Friendly atmosphere and good, strong drinks. The bartenders let us try some samples of spirits we had never seen, and though there was a group there for a food tour, I didn't even notice until they left.
  
• Diamond - Very interesting set-up. The Diamond is upstairs above some retail shops with large, airy windows. We sat at the bar and enjoyed watching the mixologists make everyone's drinks. The drinks were very interesting and complex. I wish we could have had more than one drink here, but we were just waiting for our reservation at Nicli. They have so many different cocktails, they have a mini-binder with options, organized into sections.
  
• Nicli Pizza - They don't take reservations so we had to put our names down and come back. We got a pizza with lamb sausage and basil - the sausage was actually *very* sweet and over-powering due to the cinnamon in it. I liked it, but it can be polarizing. The crust was alright -- I wouldn't recommend going here because it's not that special.
  
• Bella Gelateria - I heard so much about this gelato place that I made it a requirement to go. Thankfully they're open late and we took a taxi just so we could eat this gelato. The flavors aren't the most interesting I've seen, but they have a good variety. This place was very busy, so I understand their 2-sample per person rule. We opted for the belgian chocolate brownie and milano espresso and weren't disappointed. It was creamy yet firm, rich and decadent yet not heavy. The staff could be a little nicer though.
  

Maui is a bit hard. I love the guri guri in the Maui Mall, and I've heard the Pai'a Grill's Fish Tacos are great

I went a few months after their opening and everything was great. I guess I need to go back and see if they are slipping.

I do *not* enjoy New Fortune at all, but it may have been because I went there during the work week for lunch. HE was my favorite dim sum after I tried it, I hope when I go to re-visit it still lives up to my memories.

I live closer to Fortune/Hong Kong Pearl/China Garden and am not as happy with their fare as with HE.

I wrote a full review when I went (back in 2009).

We ordered the “Sultan’s Feast” which consists of twelve different dishes (Hommos with Shawarma, Baba Ghannoug, Macarona Bel Laban, Layalina Chicken Arayis, Soujok, Grape Leaves, Beet M’tabal, Kizbareyeh, Manaeesh Bel Zaatar, Malfoof Salad, Lubieh Bil Zeit, and Kabis).

Here is an excerpt from my review concerning the review. Like I said, the service was friendly, though the decor distracting.

I went here for a birthday dinner and thought it was alright. I'm glad I went, but wouldn't go again.

It is a great place to go for vegetarians since it has so many options and the service is warm.

So sad that Zola is closing, I enjoyed my meal there. It's attached to the Spy Museum, but I don't think they ever were able to profit off of that location since it was probably too expensive and not kid-friendly for those attending the Spy Museum.

When I went there (March 2011) it was absolutely empty inside, but I know they were doing some PR outreach.

• Donovan House (above Zentan)
  
• Masa 14
  
• El Centro
  
• Local 16
  
• CPBG (you can watch sports on the roof!)
  
• Eventide
  
• Roof above Current Sushi
  
• Jack Rose
  

I don't care for Hotel W, but it may just be because I don't like the attitude there.

Love Sunflower, especially the Vienna location.

Their brown rice is very good and it always seems to please those with dietary restrictions.

I would argue that their General Tso's "Chicken" tastes better than a lot of the chicken I've had recently from local places like Hunan Number One or Rien Tong (what?! there's no good chinese delivery places in clarendon...) just in terms of 1) texture, then 2) flavor.

I've strayed away from the GT a few times and quickly came back to the yellow brick road. The fake unagi, fried chicken, and ginger stiry fry were alright, though lacking the same level of flavor as the GT Surprise.

I've tried other vegetarian/vegan places and this is by far my favorite.

Oh, and they also added purse hooks at the bar after I (and some other people) requested!

I love places that listen to their clientele.

• I agree with Volt - it stands out in my mind as one of the *best* service experiences in my life. Friendly, energetic, and informative without being condescending.
  
• Green Pig - Service is always authentic and nice (though a bit slow)
  
• Inox (RIP) - the chef came out and talked to us and let us have extra bread! Had mixed results with waiters here though
  
• Sweetwater Tavern - service is great here because the waiters work together to provide you a seamless experience
  
• Rasika - easily provide recommendations and no rush for pre-theatre menu ordering
  
• Rogue 24