Dine out Vancouver

Every year Vancouver has an event called Dine Out. Many top and not so top restaurants in the city participate, creating a three course menu (with choices) for $18, $28 and $38. Opinions are divided about whether the restaurants showcase their best cooking for this event or whether they hate being compromised and lose lots of money and so resent the whole thing and don't bother too much. I say rubbish to the latter. If the restaurants wow you, surely there's a better chance you'll return with a fatter wallet.

 Dine out Vancouver

Click to see the menus, (scroll down slightly)

Last night, I finally visited the restaurant that has several times been awarded the best restaurant in the city. It's called West and from the moment we arrived, I knew this would be an interesting experience one way or another. This is not a review site, I don't want it to be because there are so many out there. People who really know what they're talking about and those that haven't really got a clue but feel their opinion is valid because it represents the common person. Good on them, fair enough, but when an entire table of  'bloggers' takes 10 minutes to photograph their dish using an assortment of cell phones, smart phones and cameras with telescopic lenses that would be more useful on a safari, I get a little uncomfortable and embarrassed. I can't begin to imagine what the chefs and servers are thinking. Maybe they're proud or maybe they're just thinking  like a mum; "eat it, it's going to get cold"!

The food was everything promised. It was interesting, surprising and very well constructed, oh and really delicious, of course. It contained things like soy skin, (really crispy), squid ink, (really fishy) and a foam of horseradish which still made my nose burn even in such elegant surroundings. The dessert I ate was probably the best thing I have ever eaten. It actually made me quiver with pleasure which probably made the chefs laugh as we were sitting right in front of the open kitchen, which was kind of nice but not really my idea of a high end, romantic restaurant experience. I won't go into too many details about the dessert, suffice to say it contained lots of different preparations of chocolate.

I'm including a link to the menus at this event to peruse at your own leisure. We're going to another on Saturday and perhaps one more next week, that's the thing about this great event, you can try many restaurants that you may not have the cash or inclination to try otherwise.

So, again, not a restaurant review, but definitely a Vancouver food event worth mentioning.

Click to see the restaurant menu