Highlights:

• Lightly cooked asparagus with a runny poached egg, garlic, anchovy, and light olive oil. Fresh and rich without being too heavy
• Spinach and ricotta raviolo with a hazelnut butter sauce. Perfectly cooked pasta and so good with the nutty butter sauce.
• Fettuccine Bolognese – if this is on the menu of an Italian restaurant, I order it. It’s one of my “test” dishes, so to speak – I went through a 1-month period where I made about 10 different bolognese recipes at home. Lupo’s version is great. Meaty, rich & flavourful, clinging to fresh pasta.  The way it should be. I’m bringing my husband back to try this one.
• Sablefish with spinach, grappa, and orange marmalade. I didn’t try this dish, but a few people around the table raved about it
• The dessert list is seasonal but traditional, featuring gelato, tiramisu, panna cotta, and tarts. My tiramisu was excellent – creamy with a nice edge of liquor and coffee.

Located in a beautiful heritage house (formerly Villa Del Lupo – read the back story here), I love the setting. The inside is quite modern with clean lines and colours. The upstairs provides a nice space for a private party or group event. Just watch out for the washrooms – unlocking the doors are tricky!

Around my table of 8 people, everyone loved the meal. A few people felt the portions were a bit on the small side, so plan to order 2-3 courses for dinner…as they do in Italy!

The food brought me back to my trip to Italy last year. Great flavour, but simple and seasonal. My kind of food.

Lupo Restaurant
869 Hamilton Street (b/w Smithe & Robson)
Vancouver
604.569.2535

Dinner at Cibo was delicious. It’s a small, modern room that seats about 50 people. On a Tuesday night, the room was full with a boisterous crowd – my table of seven ladies from the downtown networking association included.

Cibo Highlights:

• Great wine list, primarily Italian with a good selection of BC wines as well. Glasses are available in 3 and 5 ounce pours.
• The fresh baked focaccia bread for the table was excellent – an almost buttery soft texture and topped with good things like caramelized onions, cheese, and garlic
• I didn’t have it, but one special sounded amazing: bruschetta with truffle infused scrambled eggs and topped with shaved black truffles from France. $25, but mmmmmm.
• Potato gnocchi with beef bolognese – feathery light gnocchi that melts immediately when it hits your tongue. This is how gnocchi should always be.
• Roasted steelhead trout with umbrian lentils and a fresh salsa verde – this dish totally worked for me. The trout was perfectly cooked  – flaky, tender, and moist with the crispest skin. Umbrian lentils were rich and a great texture with the fish. The salsa verde on top brightened the dish and brought everything together. A memorable dish.
• The item I wish I’d ordered: crispy polenta and grilled radicchio with gorgonzola and vincotto. The dish looked insanely good and I can only imagine how good the crispy polenta, smoky radicchio, creamy cheese, and sweet & sour vincotto would be. I am totally getting this next time.
• The dessert and cheese menu is interesting with lots of Italian flavours, like panna cotta with grappa cherries or good parmigiano-reggiano with a good 12 year balsamic.

My ending? A strong, creamy cappucino from the hotel’s excellent Italian Espresso Bar at Uva Wine Bar.

The restaurant keeps the food seasonal, but maintains beautiful and classic Italian flavours. It reminded me of the food I ate during my Italy trip in Fall 2009.

I think Cibo might be my new favourite Italian restaurant.

Cibo Trattoria
900 Seymour Street (@ Smithe in Moda Hotel)
604-602-9570

Picture rows of beautiful pizzas, cut to order and charged by weight, as they do in Rome. Then, look at the fridge display of paninis, over a dozen kinds, all named after different regions of Italy.

My favourite Sciué lunch is a grilled Sicilia panini (Italian sausage, provolone cheese, and roasted red peppers) with a minestrone soup. It’s incredibly satisfying.

And, don’t forget that shot of Italian espresso before you leave.

Sciué Italian Bakery Cafe

800 Pender St. (@ Howe)
and
126 Davie St. (North of Pacific, close to Urban Fare)

I ate a La Quercia a few weeks ago – finally! The restaurant is so small, I’ve called a few times before only to be denied because they were fully booked. If you want to go to La Quercia on a weekend, definitely book in advance.

Of course La Quercia is booked so often because it’s good. Specializing in Italian cuisine, La Quercia has a fresh sheet longer than their standard menu, offering dishes based on seasonal ingredients available locally. Very Italian.

The service at La Quercia was also excellent. They accidentally double booked me, so I was on the outs reservation-wise for a few hours, but they apologized so profusely and so many times, I really couldn’t be mad about it. They put me first on the waiting list and were able to give me a table that evening overall.

I sadly didn’t take good notes at the dinner, but memorable highlights include all the pasta dishes, with house made pasta being the star. Anytime we see bolognese on the menu we order it, and La Quercia does a nice, meaty version. My pasta was sumptous and light, with olive oil, peas, and cheese. My main was a prosciutto-wrapped rabbit loin – tender and juicy with a good salty flavour from the proscuitto. With a few glasses of La Quercia’s house wine, we were happy diners.

La Quercia is not particularly cheap, but I find the prices reasonable. Our bill was around $90, for 2 courses each and wine, no dessert.

I’ll be back!

La Quercia
3689 West 4th Ave Vancouver (@ alma)
604-676-1007

Edited October 22: One more thing. I also enjoyed the olive oil served at La Quercia – it’s a Tuscan oil called  Val Paradiso, available at Cioffi’s.

Most restaurants are not worth that wait. Some are. Here’s what I think:

WORTH THE LINE UP

Vij’s Restaurant, 1480 W. 11th @ Granville), South Granville ‘hood – I have friends who have never been to Vij’s because they hate the fact they can’t make a reservation and they hate the idea of waiting.

Well, it can suck but at least everyone waits equally. I have mentioned my love for Rangoli before (Vij’s cheaper casual/take-out sister restaurant) and I do go to Rangoli more because it’s an “everyday” place with less waiting. But when I want a night out, Vij’s is perfect. Last time I was at Vij’s, we took a seat outside in the sun, ordered a bottle of wine, and my friends and I chatted while the Vij’s staff passed around lots of yummy appetizers like pakoras or the addictive cassava fries. Our wait was long, like 2 hours (it was Friday night), but it was lovely. And the excellent dinner we ate made me forget about the wait.

That said, if you really want to limit your wait, go on a weekday evening, late. I arrived at 9:30 on a weekday once and waited 15 minutes.

Anton’s Pasta Bar, 4260 Hastings St in Burnaby -Anton’s is totally NOT my place. I find the pasta overcooked, seasoning bland, and it’s pretty much a “whatever” to me. BUT, Anton’s isn’t for me. Anton’s is for people that want big portions and a carb overload, and they deliver. I was expecting big the first them I went, but the portion was double/triple my expectation. It’s big. So if you want big, wait in line with the others. I’ll be at La Buca, Campagnolo, or La Quercia. To each their own!

SOMETIMES WORTH THE LINE UP

The Naam, 2724 W. 4th (@ Stephens), Kitsilano ‘hood -  A 24 hour vegetarian restaurant with a huge menu including burgers, soups, noodle dishes, and salads. The Naam’s miso gravy is so famous they’ve bottled it and is available in many local grocery stores. I can’t say it is worth the line-up most times, but when it’s late at night and your options are fast food, Denny’s, and the Naam…I’m going to the Naam no matter how long the line up is.

NOT WORTH THE LINE UP

Toshi Sushi, 181 E. 16th (@ Main), Mount Pleasant /Main St. ‘hood – I’ve been to Toshi several times and it’s good. Good menu and fresh sushi for a very good price.  But 1 hour lineups? Come on! There are so many good sushi places at a similar price range that I have much better things to do with an hour wait. I have friends that live a block away from Toshi and they don’t go because it’s not worth the line-up. They cannot even order take-out some evenings because the restaurant is too busy (they order from Zipang up the street at Main & 23rd, fyi).  Bottom line: Good sushi, good prices, long wait. Not worth it if you have a long wait.

Sophie’s Cosmic Cafe, 2095 W. 4th Ave (@ Arbutus), Kitsilano ‘hood – Sophie’s is a diner style restaurant, with lots of crazy decor and memorabilia on the wall everywhere, and I mean everywhere. I would not want to dust that place. Food is pretty good. They do lots of diner classics, have a big breakfast menu, and do have very good milkshakes. I can’t pick out a standout item though. Yet there is something about this place that draws the crowds and Sophie’s is famous for its weekend brunch line-ups out the door. I never wait. If you do want to check out Sophie’s, weekdays are line-up free, as are evenings.

Stepho’s Greek Taverna, 1124 Davie St (@ Thurlow), West End ‘hood – I lived in the West End for a few years and I will never, never, never, NEVER understand why people flock to Stepho’s. Let’s think about this. Most people order souvlaki when they go for Greek, right? Ok. At all restaurants you get 2 skewers of meat when you order souvlaki, right? Ok. Stepho’s is known for their big portions for small prices. You STILL only get 2 skewers of meat. So you get a little extra rice and potatos? Big freak’in deal. AT $10.95 a meal, it’s not that much cheaper. Still, I can walk by Stepho’s any day of the week as early at 4:30pm to find a line up of people waiting. I will never get it.

They restaurant has a lounge at the back where pizza and a beer are $12.50 after 9:30pm. I seem to regularly eat dinner after 9pm, so this is a deal for me!

I was at Campagnolo last week for snacks/drinks with my co-workers and the food made a great impression. Some highlights to entice you:

- Dry cured venison sausage – soooooo good. Campagnolo makes all their sausages in-house for themselves and their sister restaurant Fuel.
- The most amazing crispy chickpeas (ceci) ever. Like, ever. I was with 30+ men who only eat meat and they inhaled these chickpeas.
- Fresh pasta with an intense fennel sausage
- All the pizzas, which come on a crispy and chewy crust

One of the best things about Campagnolo is the affordable prices. Pizzas are 11-13 bucks. Mains run between 13-18 bucks. For the food you are getting, this a great deal.

Of course, maybe they can give us the good prices becuase the rent has to be cheap where the restaurant is located. It’s where you’d never guess a restaurant like this would be, down on the less trendy part of Main St. near the train station and the Ivanhoe Pub (which my coworkers say used to have a $2 steak dinner. hmm.).

Campagnolo recently won big at the Urban Diner Awards as well, proving that people will go anywhere for good food!

The restaurant only takes reservations for groups of 8 or more. Be prepared for a wait on the weekend.

Campagnolo Restaurant
1020 Main St, Vancouver
Open 11:30-2:30pm for lunch
Open 5pm to “late” daily
604.484.6018