SECTION (3)

“SPOT HOT, FOOD NOT”
1039 Mainland St, Yaletown
604.684.2777
website

Wow, this place is pumping! We were there on a Friday night and SECTION (3) was packed with more and more people always coming in. I wish I could say it was for the food, alas, it wasn’t. Mediocrity reigns at SECTION (3) as my Wild Mushroom Pizza was “warm” at best, the Cheese Quesadilla was “dull” and the Butternut Squash Gnocchi was “missing” that’s right, even though we ordered it, it never came, we had to ask for it “twice” before it arrived and needless to say, it wasn’t worth the wait. Add to that, the servers all looked like they slept in their clothes and were frankly pissed off that it was so busy and they had to actually work. I swear I never saw one person, from the hostess, to the waiter, to the busser, to the bartender “smile” the entire evening. The final nail in the coffin was when they didn’t remove the gnocchi from the bill, we still had to pay for it, even though we had to wait so long to eat it.

I’m sorry, for these kind of prices and that kind of service, SECTION (3) is not worth a return visit. It may be a weekend hot spot for drinks and ambience but the lackluster food and awful service will make me think twice before returning for another visit.

RATING: 3/10 FULL BELLIES

LA REGALADE

“BEST FRENCH FOOD IN THE CITY”
103-2232 Marine Dr., West Vancouver
604.921.2228
website


Two years ago, we went to LA REGALADE for a friends birthday and have always wanted to go back as at the time, my wife and I both thought that it was the best French food we’d had in the city. With foody-loving friends in from Toronto, we decided to take them to LA REGALADE just on the basis of our experience two years earlier. I am happy to say that I still feel it’s the best French food in the city.

What I like about this place is that it isn’t snooty, it’s casual. You re greeted by a bustling room and an open concept kitchen filled with loud chefs, but all that is lost in the wondrous smells that are filling the place. Wow, it’s like you died and went to heaven. It appears that most of the staff speak French and while they talk to you, they yell to each other, it’s a great atmosphere and really adds to the feel of this casual bistro.

And then there’s the food… dear god, it’s good. Instead of getting a large plate with one or two rich morsels of meat for $40.00 at LA REGALADE you are greeted with a big Dutch Oven or fry pan filled with meat and veggies in a rich sauce for about $28, it truly is delectable French country cooking.

Between the four of us, we went for La Gratinée à l'Oignon (French onion soup), Les Escargots en Crouton (Snails in garlic butter and herbs) and the Prawn Ravioli in rich Lobster Sauce. Let’s stop right there and talk about these appies, these three alone were enough to fill us up. The soup was subtle in flavor striking the perfect balance between beef and onions and covered with a bubbling mountain of cheese. The Escargots (ofcourse you have to try the snails at a French Bistro) were little bombs of garlicky goodness covered with fresh diced herbs. They were sensational. Finally, four big Raviolis filled with fresh shrimp and drizzled with a rich Lobster Sauce were to die for. These appetizers were fantastic.

For our mains we really dove deep into the land of full bellies. I had the Short Ribs in a creamy Peppercorn Sauce that was out of this world, the Dutch Oven was filled with an ample portion of fall-off-the-bone tender beef, sliced carrots & onions in the richest and tastiest peppercorn sauce I have ever had… ever! Michelle had the smaller yet no less tantalizing Sable Parmesan & Tomato Tart that was a great combination of sharp cheese and fresh veggie on a golden flaky tart. Our friends shared the classic Beef Bourguignon, a Dutch Oven filled with a red-wine based beef stew and the Seafood Vol Au Vent, puff pastry stuffed with a cornucopia of fresh seafood. They were both amazed with the quality, taste and portion size and as I tried both, I can say that they were fabulous.

If there was one downside to the evening, it was the temperature. Our table was surrounded by three floor-to-ceiling windows and by half way through the evening, the ladies had to put their coats back on as it was so cold. Luckily the food warmed us up but there really is no reason for us to be wearing our coats during dinner if they turned up the heat a bit more. This didn’t detract from the overall experience but it is worth noting.

LA REGALADE is a great place. It’s a small room but it’s alive and bustling with passionate people and sounds. The food however is the reason to come back again for more, really, it is sensational. I’ve been here twice and both times I was astounded at how good the food was, so much so, I am truly looking forward to going there again. This really is the best French Food in the City.

RATING: 9.5/10 FULL BELLIES

LA CASITA

“GOOD OL' FASHIONED DOWN HOME MEXICAN COOKING”
101 W. Cordova St, Gastown
604.646.2444
website






There are a lot of Mexican choices in this city and I’ve reviewed a few of them but one thing that Mexican places have in common is that they all try to put a new spin on the classics. Not at LA CASITA, here they try and make the best classic Mexican dishes they can and they do quite well.

Located in the heart of sketchyville Gastown, this little eatery on the corner of Abbott & Cordova is an oasis of food in a neighborhood that is slowly cleaning itself up. You are greeted with homemade chips and spicy salsa and a large menu that gives you a lot of choice in food and size. That’s right, at LA CASITA you can choose the size of most meals like the small enchilada (one), medium (two) or large (three enchiladas), pretty cool. Here you really can control the amount of meat & cheese you are ingesting!!!

I’ve been to LA CASITA a number of times but for this outing we went with our neighbors. After some Margaritas and Cervezas, the four of us enjoyed some Mushroom & Onion Quesadillas, the tasty Shrimp & Scallop Soft Tacos, the classic Beef Chimichangas and the daily special of Al Pastor & Chorizo Burrito.

The food as always was fantastic, rich, cheesy, flavorful and simple. Each of the dishes came with frijoles (refried beans) and salad but since I had the daily special (the Burrito), it came with a traditional Mexican Apple Salad which was great! Needless to say, all four of us were stuffed and satisfied with the meal.

If you are looking for some good down home Mexican cooking, then I highly recommend LA CASITA, it’s great for those “classic dishes”, they have some good specials and you will always leave with a smile on your face.

RATING: 8/10 FULL BELLIES

WINGS!!! WINGS!!! WINGS!!!

Is there such a thing as “the best Chicken Wing in the City”? Who know’s but it is definitely worth investigating!!! I tried to stay in the Downtown Core of Vancouver as I wanted to keep my search contained and there are too many places to choose from. This is by no means a definitive list but it’s a good damn start…

BROWN’S SOCIAL HOUSE
website
CHICKEN HOT WINGS
FLAVOUR: Classic Hot
CHICKEN: Awesome, crispy, juicy and a healthy size
# OF WINGS: 12
PRESENTATION: 3/5 - Classic
SIDES: Celery Sticks and REAL Blue Cheese Sauce… booya!
COMMENTS: Great tasting wings, spicy, crispy, meaty & juicy but nothing too original.
SCORE: 7/10

CACTUS CLUB CAFÉ
website
CHICKEN WINGS
FLAVOUR: Hot
CHICKEN: Small but flavorful & juicy, never dry, always fresh
# OF WINGS: 12
PRESENTATION: 4/5 - Solid, good pile of wings, no hot sauce spray
SIDES: Celery and Blue Cheese dip… the classic
COMMENTS: The gold standard, if you want basic hot wings, a great mix of spicy & crispy, it’s hard to beat these ones.
SCORE: 7.5/10

DEUCE BUNGALOW
website
DOUBLE BREADED CHICKEN WINGS
FLAVOUR: Natural, like fried chicken
CHICKEN: solid, good sized, fresh tasting
# OF WINGS: 10
PRESENTATION: 4/5 - cool, long thin plate, wings piled on one side, sauces on the other
SIDES: Avocado Sour Cream and House Hot Sauce
COMMENTS: The wings on their own were good but bland but with the sauces awesome.
SCORE: 7/10

DIX BBQ & BREWERY
website
FULL POUND OF BEER WINGS
FLAVOUR: Hot
CHICKEN: Good sized Wings, juicy inside, crispy (exactly like I asked for) outside
# OF WINGS: 13
PRESENTATION: 3/5 – Standard issue, plastic Basket
SIDES: None – none offered, none given
COMMENTS: Tasty but not “hot”, needed more spice. Crispy like I asked for but the odd wing didn’t taste “fresh”
SCORE: 6/10

EARLS
website
ONE POUND OF WINGS
FLAVOUR: Franks Red Hot,
CHICKEN: Medium size, crispy outside, juicy inside
# OF WINGS: 14
PRESENTATION: 5/5 – no mess
SIDES: Parmesan Cheese Dip & 5 celery sticks
COMMENTS: Good, average, middle of the road Hot Wings. Mild spice, no afterburn.
SCORE: 6/10

HURRICANE GRILL
website
GOTTA DO THE “WING THING” HOT WINGS
FLAVOUR: Classic Hot Wings
CHICKEN: Juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Could have been “saucier” though.
# OF WINGS: 10
PRESENTATION: 5/5 - Side of fries! FRIES! Awesome and Carrot & Celery sticks
SIDES: Ranch Dip
COMMENTS: Pretty good, definitely in t he top 10
SCORE: 7/10

JIMMY’S TAP HOUSE
website
HOT WINGS
FLAVOUR: Supposed to be hot but they weren’t spicy at all.
CHICKEN: Cold and soggy even though I asked for the wings to be extra crispy
# OF WINGS: 12
PRESENTATION: 2/5 - Side of Carrot sticks
SIDES: Blue Cheese Dip
COMMENTS: Cold wings… seriously.
SCORE: 1/10

JOEY’S
website
HIBACHI WINGS
FLAVOUR: Smoked/Spice Rubbed
CHICKEN: Small but juicy, flavorful and fall-off-the-bone good
# OF WINGS: 13
PRESENTATION: 5/5 - Top Notch, lots of wings, dip & BBQ to grill your smoked wings.
SIDES: Parmesan Dip
COMMENTS: Really, really tasty and a great overall presentation.
SCORE: 9/10

LIBRARY SQUARE
website
CHICKEN WINGS BY THE POUND
FLAVOUR: Honey BBQ
CHICKEN: Medium with a few larger drumsticks
# OF WINGS: 11
PRESENTATION: 2/5 – old discolored plate, sloppy sauce marks everywhere
SIDES: none
COMMENTS: Sticky & crispy. The honey added a nice sweet touch but the bbq sauce tasted like it was out of a bottle.
SCORE: 5/10

MILESTONES
website
SPICY THAI CHICKEN DRUMMETTES
FLAVOUR: Thai goodness drizzled with a great peanut sauce
CHICKEN: big wings, crispy with a flavorful coating.
# OF WINGS: 8
PRESENTATION: 4/5 - Nice plate, arranged wings on top of a drizzle of peanut sauce
SIDES: Toasted sesame-cucumber mayonnaise… awesome
COMMENTS: So tasty, so good, if you like thai flavours, these are the wings for you!
SCORE: 9/10

MOXIES
website
CHICKEN WINGS
FLAVOUR: Hot
CHICKEN: medium sized wings but the chicken didn’t taste fresh
# OF WINGS: 9
PRESENTATION: 3/5 - Nice rectangle plate, dip on the end
SIDES: Buttermilk Ranch Dip, Celery & Carrots
COMMENTS: Disappointing, a nice spice but batter wasn't crispy and wings felt soft & gummy
SCORE: 4/10

THE REEF
website
JERKED WINGS
FLAVOUR: Tasty, mellow burn comes after a few wings
CHICKEN: Baked not fried and fall off the bone good!
# OF WINGS: 8
PRESENTATION: 3/5 - Small plate with a portion of eight
SIDES: none
COMMENTS: Small portion but the baked Jerk spice and tender meat make these a winner
SCORE: 8/10

ROXY BURGER
website
MONSTER CHICKEN WINGS
FLAVOUR: Chili Lime & Honey Garlic
CHICKEN: Gigantic, basically a drumstick. Crispy yet tender but some were a bit dry & gamey.
# OF WINGS: 6 per order
PRESENTATION: 4/5 - Wow! These things are huge!
SIDES: Asked if I wanted Blue Cheese, Ranch or Sour Cream. Nice!
COMMENTS: A plate of six fills you up! Some dark meat here which was a surprise, almost too big. Meat sweats!
SCORE: 5/10

STELLA’S TAP & TAPAS BAR
website
CHILI & POMEGRANATE WINGS
One pound of Piquin chili & pomegranate molasses glazed chicken wings
FLAVOUR: Cool with a hint of heat. You get sweetness, then heat, then the cool – it all works!
CHICKEN: Nice, crispy, meaty, yet juicy
# OF WINGS: 12
PRESENTATION: 5/5 - Fantastic, stacked on a rectangular plate
SIDES: None but the wings are drizzled with a mild tstaziki and covered with green onions
COMMENTS: A nice departure from the usual Wing & the mellow flavors make these a treat!
SCORE: 8/10

YAGGERS
website
FREE RANGE CHICKEN WINGS
FLAVOUR: Baja Spice
CHICKEN: good size, some small, some large
# OF WINGS: 11
PRESENTATION: 5/5 - Great, small plate w/ garnish of chives
SIDES: none
COMMENTS: Notes of Cilantro, Citrus & Pepper, crispy outside & juicy inside. Mellow burn.
SCORE: 8/10

So here's how it all shakes out:

FAVORITE WING: Milestones Thai Drumettes
MOST UNIQUE WING: Joey's Hibachi Wings
BEST "HOT" WING: Yagger's Baja Spice Wing
WEIRDEST WING: Roxy's drumstick-like Monster Chicken Wings
WORST WING: Jimmy's Hot Wings

More wing reviews to come...