Restaurants: Tojo’s, Vancouver, BC: Where’s the sushi?
We had high hopes for Vancouver’s Tojo’s restaurant. It’s gotten a ton of press over the years as one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city – though also one of the priciest.
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Restaurants: Old Vines: The Restaurant at Quails’ Gate, Okanagan, BC: It’s all about the view
After a rough morning wine tasting around the Boucherie Mountain Bench area of the Okanagan Valley, west of the city of Kelowna, we had to stop for a bite to eat to rejuvenate – and preferably somewhere with a view. The restaurant at scenic Quails’ Gate Winery fit the bill perfectly.
Restaurants: Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, Okanagan Valley, BC: Local food with a view
The Okanagan, a scenic five-hour drive east of Vancouver, boasts some of the loveliest vineyards anywhere in the world. Many of them are on the banks of the Okanagan River and offer sweeping views of the water and the vines, many of which slope down to the river’s edge.
Restaurants: Blue Water Cafe: Solid seafood in Vancouver
To celebrate Jay’s birthday in Vancouver, on what was apparently one of the rainiest days on record, we decided to drown our sorrows with some seafood at the Blue Water Café, widely acknowledged as the best seafood restaurant in the city.
Wineries: Vancouver Island, Canada: Unusual Wines, Tough Growing Conditions
Jay and I were excited about visiting the wineries on Vancouver Island this fall because when we’d last gone there two years ago, we’d had some surprisingly good wines, most of which are very difficult to find outside of the area. The wineries on the Island are mainly small-production, family-run places where the owner or another family member is also likely to be pouring your wine, so they’re good places to ask questions about the growing and production process.
Restaurants: Kirin: Delicious dim sum in Vancouver’s “new” Chinatown
We decided to try the Richmond branch of the Vancouver mini-chain Kirin, a large restaurant filled with Chinese families on the second floor of a nondescript mall (as most good Chinese restaurants seem to be!). Though Kirin didn’t offer the dim sum wheeled around on carts that we love, we were impressed with the huge menu featuring some unusual choices. (And we ended up totally over-ordering.)
