recently reviewed.

it's very rare that i get play a tourist in my own town. last weekend, fides came up for a surprise visit over the american thanksgiving long weekend. it is always nice to have fides in town, to talk about art, dance and life. but our most favourite past time is go out for fine dining. last time i was in san francisco, she took me to a wonderful french bistro, le zinc and a great seafood restaurant, catch in the castro. last time she was up here, we checked out glowbal and the fabulous feenies (my current favourite vancouver restaurant).

anyways this time we spoiled ourselves and checked out a few restaurants that i've been meaning to try out lately.

coast
for thanksgiving dinner, we headed out to coast in yaletown. brought to you by the same group that gave us the successful glowbal/afterglow, the highlight of this restaurant is definitely the community table, a first for vancouver. of course fides had the turkey which she enjoyed and memorable for me was selection of oysters on the half-shell, and the pinot grigio we selected. both glowbal and coast had fantastic, friendly service, and the thank you card that i received a couple of days ago was a nice touch.

diva at the met
i've always wanted to check this place out, but the $$$ always held me back. a good way to check out an $$$ restaurant is to visit it at brunch/lunch, which is what fides and i did. let me tell you, all the $$$ is worth it. truly a fine dining experience, impeccable service (place on the right, take from the left), unassuming (and handsome) staff, we spent had an amazing time in a relaxing setting. i truly felt like i was in new york, even though the french toast made me feel like i was in paris. i'll save my pennies so i can come back for dinner.

shiru bay
the newest on the vancouver restaurant scene -- shiru bay, an izakaya eatery, which is basically a restaurant that serves up asian tapas, japanese style with western influences. located in yaletown, this is the first time i checked this one out, after first being to guu (my favourite) and hapa izakaya (not as good). anyways, most of the things seem foreign, especially to fides, where the izakaya has not popped up yet in san fran, but we both agreed the dragon ball sushi and the kimchee udon noodles (not in a soup) was good enough to try out this place again.

parkside
a gem hidden west of denman, parkside is fabulous little space where you feel like you are in someone's very nice dining room. quiet and romantic (we were there on a monday night), the food truly was an experience. fides had the seafood risotto which was divine, and i had the goose (yes the goose), which was a little gamey for my taste. overall the ambience and the atmosphere would probably make me come back for more, especially for a special night. however, as fides points out, there are a tonne of vancouver restaurants that i haven't tried out yet, so a return visit might have to wait.

next time i'm in s.f., i want to go here!