First, the food – an interesting menu, all dishes executed wonderfully:

• Salade de Baies, lightly dressed greens atop a silky sheep feta and fresh berries
• Les coquilles st. jacques – perfectly tender and seared scallops with smoked bacon and pickled vegetables
• Grilled ostrich with sweet onions and potato crisps. Some of the most tender ostrich I’ve ever had
• Moules Frites – some of the best in town. I love the Congolaise, mussels cooked with tomatoes, coconut cream, chilli, and cilantro. The frites are crisp and dusted with a smoked paprika. And also order some freshly baked bread for soaking up mussel broth.
• As good as all our food was, the dessert made the meal. We shared the “Le Cafe Belge,” a creamy espresso cheesecake topped with layers of chocolate mousse, cream, and crispy chocolate wafers. SO GOOD. Not too sweet and a perfect balance of chocolate & coffee, crisp and creamy textures. I’ll remember this dessert for a while.

One Vancouver restaurant trend I’m liking is the filtering and carbonating of their own water, rather than flying in “gourmet” bottles of sparkling water from New Zealand or other far off places. Our sparkling water was unlimited and just $2.00 – a big difference from the $6-10 charged for Pelligrino at many restaurants.  While it does not help their profit margin much, it’s a much better environmental choice. I know Boneta also does this.

Service at Chambar is always great. Professional, relaxed, and fun. It’s always lovely dining at Chambar – I’ll be back again sooner next time.

Chambar Restaurant
562 Beatty Street (@ Dunsmuir)
Vancouver
604 879 7119

I’m keeping everything to one post so it’s easy to reference and print off. I’m only covering Vancouver, not Whistler (although my friends swear that Rimrock Cafe is one of the best fine dining experiences ever. And of course there’s that Hell’s Kitchen winner at Araxi.)

I’ve listed some picks close to the big Olympic venues, so you know what’s in the vicinity. My picks are for good food, but also cheaper places and convenient places if you’re in a hurry.

BY VENUE:

BC Place & Canada Hockey Place (AKA GM Place)
These 2 venues are right next to each other. Here are 5 great places nearby (between a 5-10 min. walk)

1. Breakast/Lunch/Coffee/Sweets: Cafe Medina, 556 Beatty Street (near Dunsmuir), 604-879-3114.
One of Vancouver’s best breakfasts and famous for their Belgian waffles – refined, but casual. Expect line-ups. Medina just opened a take-out window also.

2. Dinner: Chambar Belgian Restaurant, 562 Beatty Street (near Dunsmuir), 604-879-7118
Great French/Belgian/Morroccan style food in a modern setting. Same owners as Cafe Medina.

3. Lunch/Dinner/Drinks: The Kingston Pub, 755 Richards St (b/w Robson & Georgia), 604-681-7011
You’re not going to get anything special here,  but the drinks are cold, there’s lots of seats, and food is good

4. Fast Food/Lunch/Dinner: Japa Dog, 530 Robson St (near Richards)
Anyone know if they’re open? I’m pretty sure their target was to be open for the Olympics. Vancouver’s only famous street food turned store front – Japanese style hot dogs! Sounds strange, but they’re pretty tasty. Expect lines. If Japa dog isn’t open, any of the falafel places in the vicinity are okay.

5. Wild Rice, 117 W. Pender (at Abbott), 604.642.2882, open for lunch & dinner during Olympics, OR Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie, 163 Keefer Street, 604-688-0876, open for dinner
Both these restaurants provide a modern take on Chinese cuisine. Wild Rice has been leading this charge for years, but Bao Bei recently opened to much fanfare. I’ll vouch for Wild Rice. The food and service is always good, although sometimes they have some strange menu items (the mussel potstickers I had there years ago were interesting in a bad way). I usually don’t recommend places I haven’t been do, but enough people I trust vouch for Bao Bei that I’ll recommend it here.

Also – I suppose I should tell you that there is a Costco right by Canada Hockey Place. So, if you want to eat nearby for cheap cheap cheap, it’s there. 605 Expo Boulevard,604-622–5050

Richmond Olympic Oval

While the Oval building is rather cool, there’s nothing around it. However, you’ll probably need to hit Aberdeen Centre Station or Lansdowne Station to get to the Oval, so let’s talk restaurant in these vicinities.

1. Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner/Sweets. The Aberdeen Centre food court, 4151 Hazelbridge Way, top floor
Aberdeen Centre is an Asian style mall – futuristic looking on the outside with lots of interesting stores inside, including the famous $2 store Daiso. But the food court here is way better than a food court in another mall. Different kinds of Chinese cuisines, Japanese, Thai. All well-priced and good portions. My Dad and I come here to eat for fun sometimes. There’s also a great frozen yogurt stand (Qoola), decadent Japanese Beard Papas Cream Puffs, and a French crepe stand just opened. And don’t miss the cheesy but fun musical fountain show, which happens on the hour.

2. Dim Sum/Dinner: Gingeri Chinese Cuisine, inside Lansdowne Mall, 5300 No. 3 Road
This Chinese restaurant serves good quality dim sum and a great dinner. It’s also English-speaking friendly. Dim Sum is usually packed, but good.

3. Earl’s Restaurant, inside Lansdowne Mall, 5300 No. 3 Road
One of our standby chain restaurants. You’ll get good food, lots of seats, and fast service.

4. Hon’s, 4600 No. 3 Road or No. 9 Restaurant in Lansdowne Mall, 5300 No. 3 Road
Hon’s is a bit further out, but it’s the best cheap Chinese food out there. No. 9 to me is a Chinese-style greasy spoon. They have a huge menu of Chinese and Chinese/Canadian food.

5. Langley Farm Market, inside Lansdowne Mall, 5300 No. 3 Road
This is a fruit & vegetable market, but sometimes, I just want some healthy fruit to eat! It’s in the entrance near No. 9 restaurant and Bestbuy, off of No. 3 Road.

Pacific Coliseum

Breakfast/lunch/snacks/coffee: Laughing Bean Coffee Company, 2695 Hastings Street East (at Slocan, 2 blocks from the venue), (604) 251-5282
- Wayne from the Laughing Bean contacted me after I posted this guide to tell me about this lovely cafe. I dropped by today and it’s a great place to grab a quick bite and coffee, including sweet cinnamon buns, crossaints, and fresh soup & sandwiches. You’ll find this neighbourhood cafe by looking for the funny mannequins decked out in figure skating apparel in front of the shop. Wayne says they also have staff that  speak French, Dutch, Spanish, German.

Also, on the Hastings bus line there is:

Lunch/Dinner: Au Petit Chavignol and Les Amis du Fromage, 843 East Hastings Street (b/w Hawks and Campbell), (604) 255-4218
- Au Petit Chavignol is a great wine & cheese bar, but also have a selection of hot soups, sandwiches, and really tasty fries. Les Amis du Fromage is their cheese shop, where you can grab some food on the go.

Vancouver Olympic Centre

This centre is a 1Km walk from the station at Cambie & King Edward Ave. There’s not much on the walk to the centre, but if you walk North, in the opposite direction you’ll find:

1. Lunch/Dinner: Stella’s Tapas Bar, 3305 Cambie Street (near 17th ave), 604-874-6900
- Belgian style pub/restaurant with a great list of beers and good snacks menu

2. Lunch/Dinner: Pied-à-Terre, 3369 Cambie Street (near 18th ave), 604-873-3131
- Small restaurant with excellent French fare at good prices

3.  Flying Wedge Pizza, 3499 Cambie Street  (near 19th ave), 604-874-8284
- This is a local pizza chain specializing in gourmet pizza and lots of different flavour combinations. It’s not my favourite, but I’m in the minority as most people I know love this place. Buy by the pie or slice, it’s great if you’re in a hurry.

Additional Resources

Vancouver Slop Olympic Guide

The Zagat Vancouver guide is free during the Olympics

If you’re looking for restaurants specific to a neighbourhood, scan my tags – I label all my restaurants by neighbourhood. Or leave a comment and I’ll answer you there.

I was downtown early this morning so decided to stop by the Kolachy Co for breakfast and coffee to go.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the easiest way to describe a Kolachy is to picture a gourmet style pizza pop. A fresh bread exterior stuffed with a variety of breakfast or lunch flavours.

This morning I had the Western, a kolachy filled with egg, bacon, peppers, and cheese. I’m also a big fan of the corned beef hash and veggie scramble varieties. For lunch, think spinach & feta, mushroom pesto, or bbq beef. Read the menu.

Why this concept works for me as the perfect on the run meal:

• Each kolachy is warm, but not hot. So you can eat it right away.
• No greasy exterior or super saucy filling. I hate it when food to go is so messy there is no way you are eating it without getting something on your shirt. This is yummy, clean eating with pretty much no clean-up.

I’ll definitely order some of these for my development team at work when we’re doing OT through lunch. It’s a great alternative to sandwiches for lunch meetings. Have it for breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack.

Prices are reasonable. My Western kolachy plus a small coffee was under $5 this morning.

Note – the main location is on Beatty Street. The Bentall Centre location was also sold this year (and turned into a bubble tea shop).

Kolachy Co. Stuffed Full of Goodness
888 Beatty Street (near Nelson)
604-488-0200

Cafe Medina is run by the same owners and kitchen as ever popular  Chambar and you can certainly see Chambar influences on the menu.

The menu at Cafe Medina is more unique than your typical lunch & breakfast joints. Things like spicy Morracan meatballs, or a light breakfast of a boiled egg with tomatos, proscuitto, avocado, good olive oil, and bread. And of course, Cafe Medina and Chambar are famous for their belgian waffles, with your choice of yummy toppings from yogurt to lavender milk chocolate.

Everyone love the waffles at Medina. They are good, but I do find them hit and miss at times. Most times, they are light, crisp, warm, and delicious. Perfect. Today, they were a little tough to be honest. But, they still tasted good and I was in a hurry and wasn’t about to say much. I did hear the lady next to me say “they’re not crispy!” That said, perfect or a little less than perfect, they’re yummy.

Weekend brunch can have line-ups, so show up early, or be prepared to wait. They use their back room as well for lunch/brunch, so don’t shy away from the small looking front room – the room in the back sits more people and is beautiful (I like it way more than the front room).

Cafe Medina
556 Beatty St.
Vancouver, B.C.
604-879-3114