Fest highlights fresh spots
> BY TAMMY KWAN
The Dine Out Vancouver Festival (January 19 to February 4) is gearing up for its highly anticipated return, and food lovers are probably in the midst of researching menus and making reservations. With over 300 participating restaurants, it can be a difficult task to choose where to dine. Do you go back to the well-loved joints or try out an eatery you’ve never visited? If you’re keen on checking out fresh spots, we’ve compiled a list of 10 new and noteworthy Dine Out additions to help you decide where to book a table.
1886 (39 Smithe Street, $40) Besides glitzy slot machines and fancy bars, Parq Vancouver is also home to 1886, an upscale Chinese-dining establishment located on the third floor of the casino. This newcomer is joining the food-and-drink celebration with a dinner menu that features Peking-duck salad, sweet-and-sour Iberico pork, Szechuan chili prawns, and more. Finish off your meal with mango sago soup, a traditional Chinese dessert that will hit the spot.
CROWBAR (646 Kingsway, $30) Fraserhood’s Crowbar is a no-fuss drinks spot that also serves up West Coast fare. Its dinner menu for Dine Out will showcase items like grilled carrots with black-garlic bagna cáuda (an Italian fonduelike dip), braised lamb with caramelized mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, and brown-butter panna cotta. Gluten-free and vegetarian options are also available.
(100–566 Powell Street, $20) Chef Nathan Lowey’s Japanese home-style eatery, Dosanko, has been a sleeper hit since it opened in the Railtown neighbourhood last summer. It will be offering a lunch and dinner menu during the Dine Out festival, with options like Aki’s salad (topped with a house-made dressing), hayashi rice (hashed beef rice), and a New York–style Japanese cheesecake for dessert.
DOSANKO
(1009 Hamilton Street, $30) This North Pacific Mexican eatery has been attracting plenty of attention since it opened last April in Yaletown, and for good reason. If you haven’t had the chance to check out Fayuca, it is offering a dinner menu at a competitive
FAYUCA
price, featuring dishes like albacore ceviche, oxtail fideo pasta, and buñuelo
(fried dough ball) with sugar-cane syrup and ice cream.
(182 Keefer Street, $20) Who can resist fried chicken? Chinatown’s Juke Fried Chicken is joining Dine Out’s roster of participants, which will likely delight many fans of southern-inspired foods. Its prix fixe dinner menu offers buttermilk biscuits with whipped butter, three pieces of fried chicken (gluten-free) with East Asian peanut slaw, cornbread mac and cheese, and more.
JUKE FRIED CHICKEN
(1629 Yew Street, $40) Chefs Makoto Ono and Amanda Cheng’s Japanese- and Italian-inspired culinary creations have attracted people from near and far. As a first-time Dine Out participant, Mak N Ming is keeping its dinner menu simple and sweet: Japanese-style caesar salad, handmade ramen, and banana pudding or tropical parfait for dessert. Seating is limited, so we suggest making reservations to avoid disappointment.
MAK N MING
(68 East Cordova Street, $40) This Mexican hot spot in Gastown is known for its flavourful dishes and moody atmosphere. Its festival menu includes caldo negro de pescado y vieiras (lingcod poached in habanero-and-tortilla broth with pink swimming scallops and baked yams) and sombre de ceniza de lúpolo (housemade mescal ice cream). (Its sister restaurant on Commercial Drive is not participating in Dine Out 2018.)
LA MEZCALERIA
(1858 Commercial Drive, $30) The newest brainchild of Sammy Piccolo (Prado Café and Caffe
SPADE COFFEE
Artigiano) is Spade—a café by day and restaurant by night. It will be offering lunch and dinner menus with vegetarian options during the food-anddrink fete. Indulge in roasted cauliflower (with salsa verde and seeds), house-made pappardelle pasta (with meatballs, rosemary-garlic cream, and mushrooms), and chocolateberry cake (fresh berries and Chantilly cream with espresso-chocolate cake).
(219 Union Street, $30) If you’re ever craving Southeast Asian fare, head down to this Chinatown joint to make your taste buds happy. It’s not always an easy feat creating Asian flavours with Vancouver’s locally sourced ingredients, but the dishes don’t disappoint. Its prix fixe dinner menu includes som tom salad (green papaya salad with roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, and lime-chili dressing), laksa lemak (Malaysian curry with prawns, cod, mussels, and rice noodles in coconut broth), and Ho Chi Minh coffee (Vietnamese coffee, cardamom cachaça [a distilled beverage made from fermented sugarcane juice], and sweetened condensed milk).
THE UNION
(39 Smithe Street, $40) Go big or go home—that’s what Parq’s newest restaurant, the Victor, embodies. Located on the sixth-floor rooftop, this fancy dining spot offers great views and a contemporary atmosphere. Its Dine Out dinner menu features lobster-and-crab bisque, Angus-reserve sirloin cap (steak with superior marbling), grilled coho salmon, saffron risotto, and more. Finish off with a dessert like the Eaten Mess: a beautiful combo of raspberry, banana, vanilla, custard, sponge cake, cream, and meringue.
THE VICTOR