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Ryu Sushi (Main Street, Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:00:58 +0000

I was really sad to see the Windjammer (a very old-fashioned, really cute English pub that offered apparently some really good fish and chips that I never got the chance to check out) disappear. But I’m glad that there’s an affordable (maybe not the most sophisticated) and tasty sushi restaurant near my house. I used to be a huge fan of Zipang Sushi but the last two times I have visited it’s been pretty awful.

The decor at Ryu Sushi is modest, clean and welcoming. I am pretty impressed with the size of the restaurant that they inherited. I’m not sure they’ll give their patio much action, but I am looking forward to checking it out soon. Ryu Sushi doesn’t boast any fanfare nor do they claim to be the best sushi in town. They offer affordable sustenance-like sushi at very decent price points and great customer service. The staff were incredibly warm and kind and welcoming. And I was just as pleased to have some grub to keep me on the go. We’ll have to see how they fare through time.

Car Free Day Vancouver 2011 (Main Street) is today

Raul — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:56:00 +0000

Actually, all of the Car Free Day Vancouver 2011 locations are holding the festival today, but since I live on Main Street, the one I’ll be covering will be this one (well, perhaps not covering, but I’ll show my face at least).

Main Street will be closed from 12th Avenue to 29th Avenue. This street festival celebrates non-car-based modes of transportation, and often features sustainability-related businesses and shows. There are Car Free Day festivals on Main Street, Commercial Drive, The West End and Kitsilano. It’s good fun, and it’s free, so you should totally check it out.

More about the Car Free Day Festival:

In 2005, the Commercial Drive Festival launched the first community- driven Car-Free Festival in Vancouver. The Festival was wholly volunteer-organized and presented, involving over 30 core organizers and 300 volunteers. It was an enormous success, bringing over 25,000 people out to celebrate the community and party in the street.

After that, the Festival happened in 2006 and twice in the summer of 2007, snowballing in popularity and attracting up to 40,000 people per day. Clearly, car-free days were an idea whose time had come.

The first annual Car-Free Vancouver Day, on Sunday June 15, 2008 ushered in the next phase in this bold experiment that had been gradually happening in Vancouver for many years. It took the car-free meme to the whole city, and represented the next level in our evolution toward healthy communities, authentic cultural celebrations, and car-free streets. On that day, FOUR communities presented their own Car-Free Festivals: Kitsilano, West End, Main Street, and Commercial Drive. Each Festival was envisioned and organized by the local core organizers, and each had a unique flavour.

Restaurant review: The Wallflower Modern Diner (Main Street, Mount Pleasant)

Raul — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:16:03 +0000

Just when I thought I had scooped a new restaurant opening, I saw on the newspaper that Andrew Morrison (now of Scout Magazine fame) had already written about the fact that The Wallflower was opening in the space where defunct Aurora Bistro used to be. While I am NOT at all happy with the demise of Aurora Bistro (who would be happy about restaurants closing? Not me, that’s for sure!), I am glad that at least someone decided to use the space, and renovate it in such an interesting way.

The Wallflower Modern Diner is exactly that – a modern diner. Its room is well decorated although during the day may look a bit dark (but that’s ok – it’s not terribly dark). K and L took me there for brunch recently (as we all thrive in trying out new restaurants, and we hadn’t hung out in a long while). K ordered a set of breakfast sliders (small burgers with scrambled eggs as the filling), L ordered a burger with a salad side and I ordered an omelette.

While in my opinion it was good value for the money (omelette for $ 7.00 – about standard in comparison to other breakfast places around the neighbourhood), I wasn’t really excited with the rest of the brunch menu. I have to be fair to them – they just started operations literally, 2 weeks ago. I’d be more than happy to sit down with them and recommend a few items if they wanted me to.

Good news for The Wallflower are that the place seems to be successful so far. When K and L and I went there, it was packed literally 15 minutes after 11 in the morning. I think that it will be a successful venture, as the menu, the room, the decor and the staff are all the same – non-pretentious, comforting, and welcoming. I really want The Wallflower to succeed, to be quite frank. I don’t have a stake in the restaurant (I don’t even really know the owners) but I sincerely wish them well. I want my neighbourhood (Mount Pleasant) to thrive, and in these uncertain economic conditions, I will certainly spend my money in local restaurants.

I haven’t tried The Wallflower for dinner, but once I do (and once my friend K sends me the photo of my brunch) I’ll update this post.

Restaurant review – The Reef (Main Street)

Raul — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:16:19 +0000

I have NO CLUE how I have managed NOT to write a restaurant review of The Reef (located on almost King Edward and Main Street). A Caribbean hangout, the food is really good (you can find anything with a Jamaican or Caribbean flavor) both for dinner and for brunch. For dinner, I always recommend the jerk chicken AND of course, jugs of mojito.

I’ve been visiting The Reef much more in recent weeks, particularly for brunch. The brunch menu is somewhat exotic, affordable, and tasty. I love their scrambled eggs with chorizo. The service is really good, and it is one of those rare places where you can have brunch on Sunday without having to line up (I damn sure hope I won’t be in a line up, I always have bad luck when I write good reviews for restaurants – they start to pack up!)

I had recently the pleasure of having brunch with Tanya, Gus and MJ one day and another day I went there with H, C, A and D (all of them civilian friends). Both days I had a wonderful time. I hope to be able to visit The Reef more often, since I do live in the neighbourhood.

I would strongly recommend The Reef to anybody who wants good lunch and/or good dinner. In many ways, it’s better positioned simply because it has a nice patio, great and friendly staff and wonderful food.

Restaurant review – Burgoo Bistro (Main Street)

Raul — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 06:14:08 +0000

Very few things in life are better than having dinner with one of my very best friends at a restaurant preceded by a solid reputation (I had raved about Burgoo Point Grey before). I had been eagerly anticipating the opening of Burgoo’s third location (very near to where I live). Located on Main and 15th, where the old Subway used to be, Burgoo boasts a huge patio. If I hadn’t been wearing dress slacks and a dress shirt, I would have probably enjoyed it even more, as it was sunny Saturday evening.

My first impression wasn’t all that good because the expected waiting time was close to a half-hour. Considering that I can eat at 10 amazing restaurants within a 10 block radius (and yes I know what I’m talking about because I live in the area and I’ve eaten at almost all of these restaurants!) without having to wait in line, I was a bit baffled by the wait. However, Burgoo staff earned several brownie points. First, they called me to inform me that they wouldn’t take reservations for less than 6 people. I found that element as a signal of good service. Whomever called me, she was very courteous and nice. As for the no-reservations, that’s ok, I can understand that. Even Toshi Sushi does it.

Second, they really sped up the process, and kept checking on us to see if they could seat us earlier, which was good as I was more than happy to go elsewhere (my very good friend LF is way more patient than I am). Finally, they were very accommodating with our requests, so I can’t complain. Certainly, the service was courteous and the staff were under a lot of pressure because this was opening weekend (they’ve only been open for 4 days). I did feel that the transition between the appetizer (Plait Francaise, with tapenade, pickled onions, cheese and grapes) and our main courses (a Thai chicken dish on rice and a Kentucky burgoo).

I am fairly confident that the staff will pick it up with time, because really, I only recognized one of the waitresses from Burgoo Point Grey, so I am pretty sure (given that I spoke with whom appeared to be one of the owners) that they were training new staff. Will I recommend Burgoo Bistro on Main Street? Yes. Will I go back soon? Not until the buzz and hoopla have calmed down. But I had a wonderful time, particularly with my friend LF. We had not had time for just us in a solid year. Nevertheless, we got a chance to catch up, discuss important topics, personal life matters, and even yak about my blog.

Of course, I am very grateful for having had such a great dinner with my friend LF, but even more so because she is always very honest with me, even when I am being a bit self-centered. Because, whether we like it or not, being a blogger is a tad self-absorbed — “here, read my thoughts on SO AND SO”. Although… I would like to believe that I am not a self-centered individual, more so self-centric

Overall, good times. Tomorrow morning I’m having a Raul morning all by lonesome followed with potentially “Get Smart” movie and dinner (not sure where – but potentially downtown). Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend, because I sure am

Restaurant review: The Locus (Main Street)

Raul — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:41:44 +0000

Even though I live very close to The Locus, it is rare that I eat at this place. I had dinner there once and was utterly unimpressed. But this week, I had a celebratory lunch and thus had to find something around the neighbourhood. Surprisingly, no restaurant was open. Niether Zipang, nor Crave. So we settled for The Locus. I am glad we did. I had a venison burger with a side of chorizo gumbo (soup) and it was simply outstanding.

So, what is the Locus?

Located at Vancouver’s busy and thriving trendy Main Street neighborhood, the Locus Restaurant offers an eclectic fusion of modern and classic favourites. The staff sources the best local and seasonal ingredients to create innovative dishes and delicious daily specials.
[The Locus website]

The decor would turn off someone like me, who does not thrive in kind of gothy, dark, red light kind of decor. However, admittedly, the food is simply excellent, so I am not going to complain about that. What I really wanted was to consume good, well prepared food, which is the highlight of the Locus. I would come back during the day. At night I think I’d be a little bit creeped out. But the place is so popular, I can understand how some people might like their unique and eclectic decor.

I have heard that it’s also a great place for brunch though I’ve never tried it. They have a great patio, so maybe it’d be a good place for some beers and brunch. We’ll see.