As part of the Dine Out Vancouver festivities, a new component called "Street Food City" was introduced this year. It's a gathering of a number of food carts in Vancouver at the Vancouver Art Gallery plaza for just three days during the DOV period. Thankful to have a boss who enjoys food as much as I do, we made a trip down to Street Food City as part of our team building exercise. After checking out all the food carts, we have decided to try La Brasserie Street. My boss actually has tried it before, but he did recommend this cart and said he would have it again. For me, sadly I haven't done my part in visiting all the food carts in town, even though my office is close to many of them, so I was happy to give this a try.
C Restaurant – Dine Out 2012
I received an invitation to a sit-down media dinner at C Restaurant, to sample its Dine Out menu. I said yes without a blink. C Restaurant and I go way back. In fact, it all started with a DOV dinner back in 2004, when the menu was - hold your breath - only $25. That was before my photo-taking/food-blogging time, but I remember it was a very enjoyable dinner, especially for the value of it. Then, I went back for another DOV dinner in 2008, and the price already went up to $35, nonetheless a wonderful meal. In 2011, I visited C again for one of its tasting menus, courtesy of deal coupon discounts; it was a different experience because the dishes were smaller in portion and I could tell that the culinary direction had changed since my 2008 visit (sorry, was in hiatus mode so there wasn't a post on this). This media invite has piqued my interest in trying the now more upscale C Restaurant, at an affordable $38 DOV price.
Cocoa Goodness at Bella Gelateria
As Joyce has mentioned on our Facebook page, Hot Chocolate Festival is going on from now until February 14. My first stop (maybe my only one) was at Bella Gelateria in the downtown area by Burrard Station.
Black + Blue – Dine Out 2012
Despite the expected, typical hits & misses during Dine Out, I tend to use this period to try out new restaurants and assess the potential return in the future. If a restaurant could impress me during this time, it would probably be even better when visiting post Dine-Out. This year I continue this tradition, and first up, Black + Blue, the latest addition to the Glowbal Restaurant Group empire. Frankly I didn't know what to expect from this restaurant because I've heard mixed reviews about it, in fact mostly negative both from regular diners online and my coworkers. Keeping an open mind, I gave it a try.
Max’s Burgers – Sneak Preview (Opening Jan 23)
We were invited to the media event for Max's Burgers, which is opening next Monday, January 23. The restaurant is at Cambie and 8th, the location that was formerly the Max's Deli. Owners Bruce and David transformed it into this burger concept and invited Chef Connor Butler to come onboard. At this event we were served several items from its regular menu, as well as beverages, only in smaller size (e.g. slider vs burger). Since the portion is smaller, this may not necessarily reflect the true quality of the food, but I think it serves as a good indication of what you could expect at Max's.
VanFoodies.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.