Manhattan Restaurant - Appetizer Review

Restaurant: Manhattan Restaurant – Appetizer Review

Cuisine: American/Regional/West Coast
Last visited: December 16, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Waterfront/Downtown)
550 West Hastings Street
Price Range: $10-20

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 3 (for appetizers only)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 1.5 (for a hotel)
Overall: 3

Additional comments:

• Serves traditional soups, sandwiches, pastas, entrees
• Located on 2nd floor of Delta Inn Hotel
• Large windows, but not much view
• Good for business lunch meetings
• Old-fashioned hotel restaurant
• Cozy mom and pop type seating area
• Fresh sheet available (3 course dinner)
• All day dining: breakfast, lunch, dinner
• Dessert menu

**Recommendation: Local Mussels and if available request the creamy leek and potato won tons (it’s supposed to be served as a side with their special)

I’ve been to Manhattan Restaurant at the Delta Inn Hotel & Suites to try their Big Apple Split dessert. This time I came for dinner and ordered their appetizers as well as some entrees (which I will be posting about tomorrow).

There are 2 restaurants in the Delta Inn Hotel & Suites: The Manhattan Restaurant (upstairs) and Spencer’s Lounge in the lobby. Both serve the same food and basically use the same menu. The appetizer platter is offered on the menu at Spencer’s Lounge and it allows you to select 3 appetizers from their list of 6. However I was having dinner at The Manhattan Restaurant and the appetizer platter is not an option on their menu so I had to request it. I actually ended up ordering 4 appetizers and paid a little extra because I wanted to try their creamy leek and potato won tons that were served as a side to the chicken en-sous-vide entrée special of the day. It was totally worth it because it was the best thing on the platter.

Manhattan recently changed their menu, but most of their appetizers were typical appetizers served at most chain restaurants. I was a bit confused because they would have two gourmet “hotel-style” appetizers and then everything else was basically sports bar appetizers.

To see my Manhattan Restaurant dinner review

To see my Manhattan Restaurant dessert review

On the table:

Appetizer Sampler Platter 3/6

• Choice of 3 appetizers for $18 (in my case 4, for a little extra)

• **Local mussels 3.5/6
• Green curry sauce, grilled toast points $13 (a la carte)

• At first glace the mussels looked the most promising on the menu and after talking with the waiter he also said those were the best choice. I would pretty much agree with him

• The mussels were the highlight of this dish. I’ve had better curry mussels at other restaurants, but the mussels themselves were really good here. They import them fresh from the Salt Springs throughout the week. They’re medium sized and really plump and juicy. I didn’t enjoy the sauce as much as I just enjoyed the freshness of the mussels.

• The curry sauce was definitely spicy, and I like spicy, but it wasn't very sweet or well rounded. It wasn't thickened with any dairy or coconut milk so it was on the thinner side. It had some fresh ginger, but it was basically just spicy almost to the point where you could taste a little bitterness.
• Crab cakes 3/6
• Small salad, thousand island dip $13 (a la carte)

• Since we customized the platter, we only got one mini crab cake cut in half. They should have at least given at least two I think. They’re pretty small. Just reading it I was really disappointed to read thousand island dip. It just sounded so old-fashioned and boring. I didn't even end up using the sauce. I was very surprised with how much crab they used. There wasn't that much filler and they were a tad spicy and lightly battered. They were good though.
• Popcorn Prawns 1.5/6
• Corn relish $13 (a la carte)

• I totally wasn't expecting these at all. I though it was almost going to be like popcorn shrimp. It was basically prawns with a very heavy and thick coating of corn bread and then deep fried until golden brown. The corn relish was pretty much frozen corn kernels and plum sauce mixed together. I wasn't a fan of this sauce.
• They were huge and 3/4 of it was corn bread. I had to eat so much corn bread before I hit the prawn. The corn bread wasn't that good either, it was too dense and dry. I couldn't taste any cornmeal in it. I almost felt like I was eating a corn dog, they were really filling. It felt like something they should serve at a barbeque place or Southern country diner/pub. It was an appetizer that would go good with a cold beer.
• On the upside the shrimp itself was fresh, tender and flavorful.

• 

• **Creamy Leek and Potato Won Tons 5/6

• This was actually the side that was to be served with the special chicken entrée of the day. I didn't want to order the entree, but I really wanted to try these won tons. I'm SO glad I got to try them because they were delicious! I would consider going back just for these.
• It was the creamy leeks they use in the sable fish entrée (which was the best part of that dish) mixed with creamy mashed potatoes wrapped in won ton wrappers and deep fried until golden brown. I actually forgot they used won ton wrappers because it was so thin and crispy it tasted like sheets of filo pastry. Which make me think how great they would be if they used these instead? They were nice and crispy and then had this creamy, soft, salty and flavourful filling on the inside.

• To see my Manhattan dessert review

Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

Restaurant: Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

Cuisine: Tapas/Global/Contemporary
Last visited: November 4, 09
Area: Vancouver, BC (Downtown/West end)
941 Davie Street
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 2
Overall: 4
Additional comments:

• Specializes in international/global tapas
• Offers bigger tapas/smaller tapas
  
• Chef owner Gord Martin
• Local/organic/sustainable ingredients for 10+ years
• Carefully prepared gourmet tapas
• Creative and inventive dishes/presentation
  
• Wine bar
• Local gem
• Contemporary/trendy/cosmopolitan atmosphere
• Very small/crowded/busy
• Loud/low lighting
• Small tables/narrow space
• Sister to Bin 942 Tapas Parlour
• Family of Go Fish
• Recipient of several Vancouver awards
• $5 tapa specials "Pinxos" available
• Opens 5pm-2am daily
  

**Recommendation: Beef Tenderloin Wellington, Pomme Frites, Mash, Gulf prawns

Bin 941 is affordable fine dining. It's a tapas place for small groups or even just couples. It accommodates it's small space by designing a menu and tapas that are meant to be shared by 2 instead of the usual 4-6. The prices are steeper than most small plate restaurants of the same caliber with larger "tapas" at $16 and small tapas at $5-10. For me the larger tapas or "tapatisers" were more or less entrees/mains and they smaller tapas were the sides. For 2, you need about 2 "tapatisers" and 2-3 sides to feel satisfied.

The menu features globally inspired creations and the quality is top notch with presentation matching fine dining standards. Everything is made with care and detail and ingredients support organic/local/sustainable techniques. The food is excellent and almost everything tasted great. However it didn't really feel like a tapas place because their"tapatisers" are basically small portioned main dishes. If I'm going to a tapas place I except to share my meal with at least 2-3 friends. But from the space, to the food, and even the tables - this is a tapas restaurant meant for 2.

On the table:

• Complimentary tapa - Vegetable soup 4/6
• I think this vegetable soup was squash based. Out server didn't say what was in it besides calling it a "vegetable soup".
• It was thick, rich and very flavourful. It had a very pureed texture and I could definitely taste carrots, potato, celery, onions, squash and maybe even parsnip. All these ingredients actually stood out in the soup so they used the perfect ratio of each.
  
• It had a little tang at the end, which was unexpected. It made me think they might have thickened it with some yogurt or sour cream.
  
• 
• It was really dark, which made pictures near impossible.

• **Gulf Prawns 5/6
• Yam string fried gulf prawns and sweet hot chile mayo $5
• These were excellent! But unfortunately it's on their Pinxos menu which changes every so often. It came with 2 and each prawn was huge and very tender. They cooked them perfectly and they still had that fresh seafood crunch.
• It was a nice change from your once gourmet, and now typical, Panko-breading. Instead they used a batter made of shoestring cut yams and wrapped them tightly around the prawns. It created an extremely crispy and crunchy coating and it almost tasted like extra crispy fried chicken batter. Amazing and inventive.
• To prevent it from getting soggy the sauce was underneath. The sauce was ok, it kind of tasted like Tabasco sauce and it was missing a sweet note.
  
• 
• Photo borrowed from www.chowtimes.com (mine was too dark)

• **Pomme Frites 3/6
  
• A mile high serving of shoestring frites and thick balsamic reduction layered throughout $6.
• I've never seen fries done like this before and that's why we had to order them.
• These are knife and fork fries and very messy to eat, but the presentation is great.
  
• Some of the fries were crispy, but some were so thin they absorbed a lot of oil and tasted soggy. The exterior wasn't that oily though. They're even good cold however I wish they would have seasoned them with more salt and pepper, I don't even think they used pepper.
• They're popular, but more impressive than they taste. I probably wouldn't order them again unless I was with at least 4 people though, because it was the only thing we ordered that was too much for 2.
  
• I would have preferred a separate dipping sauce on the side.
  
• 
• **Beef Tenderloin 5/6
  
• Beef tenderloin Wellington, mash, grainy mustard Marsala sauce $16
  
• The beef tenderloin was probably seared, wrapped in a few sheets of filo pastry and baked. In between the sheets of filo and beef was I think basil and sauteed red peppers and mushrooms. It was very thin layer and you couldn't really see it or even taste it.
• The beef was really tender and juicy and well marinated with Rosemary. However it was quite small and not trimmed very well. It was so dark, I couldn't tell if I was eating fat or soggy filo pastry sometimes.
• We ordered it rare, but it was more on the medium side which was disappointing.
  
• The sauce was thick and very reduced, almost syrupy with slight bitter notes. I couldn't taste the grainy mustard though.
• **The Mash 6/6
  
• The mash was served under the beef and it was one of the best mashed potatoes I've had.
  
• There were caramelized roasted whole garlic cloves throughout the mash. In the small pile of mash I had about 6 full cloves or garlic. They were so sweet and juicy - it was delicious. It was the creamiest mashed potatoes and they include the skins and some chives to give it more flavour.
  
• 
• Wild BC Salmon 4.5/6
  
• Wild BC salmon, Indian curry potato cake with Marscapone, salmon skin tortilla chip, fire-roasted cherry tomatoes and leek sauce $16
• Upon serving it the server takes out a mini perfume bottle and sprays the salmon with an "orange-blossom Vodka mist". I couldn't taste it at all.
• The salmon was a little dry except for the thickest part which was moist. It was very plain - just bitter and no seasoning.
• The leek sauce was cold, which I think would have tasted better hot. It needed some more spice because the salmon was so plain already.
• The Indian curry potato cake tastes like the filling in a samosa. I think they used their standard in-house mash and added curry powder and Indian spices. It was still very good though. They served it with a dollop of Marscapone and salmon roe. The Marscapone tasted like melted whipped cream and they needed to serve it with more salmon roe. There were only 4.
• The salmon skin tortilla chip was very crispy but also extremely oily. It was paper thin and I think they seasoned it with hot paprika or Wasabi powder because it was quite spicy.
  
• 
• Candied Fennel Seeds
• These are the "mints" you get with the bill.
• Sweet candy coating with a licorice taste.
  

So.cial at Le Magasin - Review for Oyster Bar

Restaurant: So.cial at Le Magasin - Review for Oyster Bar
Cuisine: Oysters/Seafood
Last visited: October 18, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC (Gastown)
332 Water Street, Gastown - In the 1911 Le Magasin building
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Oyster Bar: 2.5
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Daily Oyster happy hour 4-8pm (website says 4-8pm, but menu said 3-8pm)
  
• Local oysters $1.25 (during happy hour)
  
• Premium oysters $2.50 (during happy hour)
• Freshly shucked
• Served with Sherry vinaigrette

**Recommendation: Kusshi, Chef's Creek

To see my review on dinner at So.cial at Le Magasin

It's not because the oyster bar at So.cial at Le Magasin was outstanding that I'm creating a separate post. It was actually quite average or even slightly below. It's because I want to go into detail about the oysters we ordered and it was too much to include under one post. We also ordered about 60 oysters between 2 people so I am now quite familiar with my oysters.

Personally, I like the oyster bar at Joe Fortes, but you do pay more for it. I think they do a great job because the oyster shucker is a professional. Whereas at So.cial the shucker was the server so every so often I would get a sandy oyster becuase it wasn't shucked properly or with the right technique.

They're also inconsistent in the presentation - it was either served on ice, salt, or wood chips - which was the worst! Why wood chips?!?! I literally got a taste of nature at times when I got a sandy oyster with some wood chips stuck to the bottom of the shell...yuck!

A mix of Fanny Bay's, Chef's Creek & Kuushi oysters...served on wood chips...ew wood chips!

An excellent oyster bar should always come with all the fixings: lemons, cocktail sauce, Tobasco and always some housemade vinaigrette...at So.cial it's served with their housemade vinaigrette but everything else is upon request.

Somewhat on the bright side the oysters are fresh and they get batches in every couple days, but not daily...

The Oyster Bar

• A mix of Chef's Creek and Kusshi oysters.

• Fanny Bay's 3/6 - Local
  
• Medium sized, firm, plump, smooth, cucumber finish
  
• These are the standard oysters you see everywhere.
  
• Chef's Creek 4.5/6 - Local
• Medium sized, firm flesh
  
• These were very plump and very creamy.
  
• Very rich and hearty in texture and flavour.
  
• Malpeque 2.5/6 - Premium
• Salty and almost crisp because it was salty.
  
• Has a bite to the end, sharper flavour.
  
• 
• Chef's Creek on the top row.
  
• Kusshi on the bottom row.
  
• Kusshi 6/6 - Premium
  
• These are my favourites!
  
• There small, but good things come in little packages...sometimes
• Small size, ultra-clean flavour, buttery texture, fruity finish
  
• Buttery texture but not creamy, not as rich as Chef's Creek for sure.
  
• Refreshing and smooth... I love these!
  

To see my review on dinner at So.cial at Le Magasin

So.cial at Le Magasin

Bison Steak


Restaurant: So.cial at Le Magasin
Cuisine: Canadian/First Nations (Coastal Peoples)/Regional/Contemporary
Last visited: October 18, 09

Area: Vancouver, BC (Gastown/Downtown)
332 Water Street, Gastown - In the 1911 Le Magasin building
Price Range: $20-30

1: Poor 2: OK 3: Good 4: Very good 5: Excellent 6: Tres Excellent!!

Food: 4 (Food is actually 3.5, but the extra .5 goes to creativity & effort)
Service: 3
Ambiance: 4
Overall: 3.5
Additional comments:

• Authentically Canadian/Regional menu
• Features authentic First Nations/Coastal People's cuisine
• Almost everything is homemade/from scratch
• Menu not for everyone - can be too creative to the point of not good
  
• Most reduced reduction I've ever tried
• Homemade breads
• Seasonal menu - changes often
  
• Local/Organic where possible
  
• Oyster bar available
• Full wine bar
  
• Casual fine dining
• Offer 3-4 course prix fixe menu
• Mon-Fri - Lunch
• Sat-Sun - Brunch
• Everyday dinner at 5pm
• Daily happy hour 3-8pm (Oysters on special)
• Also apart of So.cial Le Magasin Butcher Shop and Deli (located on other side of building)
  

**Recommendation: Bison Steak, Organic Chicken, Canadian Cheese Plate, Bannock

This is almost the only restaurant in Vancouver serving all Canadian/First Nations cuisine. The chef is First Nations himself and has only been there for about 4 months. The menu is really interesting and you definitely get a feel for that regional cuisine and super Canadian theme. Sure there are gourmet twists here and there that makes it not as "authentic", but the main ingredient and concept is quite Canadian. The fact that it's discretely located in the basement of a building in historic Gastown also adds to the overall charm and Canadian pride the restaurant offers.

We originally came here for the oyster bar...my friend has never met an oyster he didn't love. About sixty oysters after...yes between 2 people...we managed to still try their entrees and desserts. Come to think of it, I'm going to dedicate a separate post just for the oysters.

I can definitely taste the passion and love for cooking the chefs/cooks/kitchen have...they pay so much attention to detail. I've never had a sauce/gravy as reduced as the ones they serve here. They make everything from scratch - they even pickle their own pearl onions - and that was more or less a garnish! With that being said, I do appreciate their efforts and creativity - however with all that effort and creativity the food should have tasted better. Sometimes they were trying to do too much and it was overkill, or the idea was there but the flavours were just a bit off and not thought out thoroughly.

The menu isn't for everybody. If you're not into exotic, overly creative, or adventurous dining then you'll probably think everything tastes off or weird here. I'm into "weird" combinations of flavours and cooking outside of the box, so I was able to appreciate it even if it didn't taste great.

Added note: If you want to try this restaurant you better go soon because they're reinventing themselves - changing names and everything. However they are staying with the 100% Canadian/First Nations theme.

On the table:

• **Bison Steak 6/6
• Breaded bison steak with mushroom and cranberry reduction, smoked quail's egg, potato croquette, mushrooms & carrots.

• If you've never tried bison it basically tastes like steak, but a bit sweeter. It's not gamey at all, so it's definitely not like lamb. This one was really tender and moist and cooked medium rare.
• 
• They bread it with a very traditional First Nations bread called bannock.
• Bannock is a flat quick bread that is typically baked or roasted around a campfire. It's amazing!
  
• The bannock is homemade and they wrap it around the bison and deep fry it. The bannock is so crispy it tastes just like crackling! Crackling is the fatty skin on pork that gets really crispy when it's roasts. It becomes super crunchy and sweet almost like candy. That's exactly what this bannock tastes like and you don't have to feel guilty for eating it because it's "healthier" than pork fat
• 
• It's ridiculous how good they make it here. As you can see it's multiple layers of deep fried bannock. It's so good! I think they even sweeten the bannock with a little maple syrup. That's traditional how bannock is eaten anyways.
  
• The mushroom and cranberry reduction is insane. It's so thick and sticky and there's whole cranberries in it. It's quite sweet but a slightly tart at the same time. It's not necassarily the best tasting, but it goes with the bison well since the bison is naturally sweeter. It's also really really reduced.
  
• I also appreciated the little details like the mini potato croquette and the single smoked quail's egg. It gave you just enough to want you craving more.
• 
• **Organic Chicken 4/6
• Organic chicken with wild mushrooms, glazed sunchokes, pearl onions, blueberry confit and chicken jus

• The chicken was very tender and not dry at all. I think they pan fry it first and then let it finish cooking in the oven. It has a crispy caramelized and flavourful exterior. It wasn't the juiciest chicken ever, but it was still really good.
  
• 
• The sauce on this is again ridiculous. I can't emphasize how reduced it was. It wasn't necessarily the greatest in terms of flavour - but in terms of quality it's top notch. It tasted like they used a pound of fresh blueberries and reduced it to 2 tbsp. It's the thickest reduction I've ever had to date. Surprisingly it actually wasn't that sweet even though it looks and is the texture of caramel. The cranberry sauce on the bison is sweeter and tastes better. This blueberry reduction is more hickory tasting almost like a charred taste. It's very syrupy and not tangy at all. It literally coats your whole mouth.
• The menu said with pearl onions, but they forgot them in mine.
• The glazed sunchokes were I can't say good, but just different. This is what I mean by trying to do too much. I think the dish would have went better with Yukon potatoes or something simple like that. They had too much going on. Sunchokes taste like raw potatoes too so they should have gone with something that just tastes better.
• 
• The mushrooms were terrific and I'm pretty sure they were dried Chanterelle mushrooms. It's one of the best mushrooms, a gourmet mushroom that's almost like an apricot. Dried mushrooms work better for sauces because they absorb flavours well and get all plump and juicy in the cooking process. The sauce definitely had an intense wild mushroom flavour and there were lots!
• Jellied Buttermilk 1/6
• Chamomile glazed bannock, peaches and vanilla cured fennel.

• Another example of trying to do too much and letting creativity take over.
• It's an interesting concept that just doesn't fly in the end...it makes me think they didn't even try it. There's no way they could have thought this tasted good or that customers would like it. It felt like something a test kitchen would make...and then toss.
• 
• The jellied buttermilk is almost tasteless, except maybe a bit sour. It literally tastes like buttermilk mixed with gelatin powder. I could see it was infused with real vanilla bean, but it didn't matter - you couldn't taste it at all. Not sweet either.
  
• The cured fennel tastes like onions without the onion flavour. I thought it was coconut meat but it wasn't sweet and had no flavour. I expect sweet for a dessert. There was the slightest licorice taste and that's because fennel has a natural licorice flavour.
• 
• The only thing good about this was the bannock, and unfortunately you only get a small sample of it. Smaller than a Timbit and it was the best part! (Bannock is a very traditional First Nations flatbread) They make it in house and it's freshly baked for this dish. It was rolled in icing sugar and had a sweetness to it from the chamomile glaze.
  
• This dish was just poorly thought out and executed. It wasn't a dessert at all. They should have just stuck to what they do well and just served mini bannock balls. That's all they needed - simplicity!
• 
• **Canadian Cheese Plate 5/6
• Camembert, Brie, Blue Cheese, Smoked Gouda. Served with homemade breads, olives, pickled pearl onions and drizzled with basil oil.

• Sounds simple, but they dress it up like crazy. The reason why I recommend this is because the condiments it comes with is ALL made in house...except the olives and cheese. It's totally worth it with all the labour they put in!
  
• This is a dish where they paid attention to detail and it actually paid off.
  
• 
• The pickled pearl onions: I couldn't believe that they actually pickle their own pearl onions. It's not like they need too and it's not even typical or expected when you're dining Canadian or First Nations cuisine!
  
• They were very juicy, but also very acidic and very sour. It was very slightly sweet in the end notes but it definitely gets your saliva glands going because they are sooo sour.

• 
• It comes with 3 different homemade breads that are all baked fresh. They do a wonderful job with their breads!
  
• Focaccia: Sea salt and herb crusted, very cake-like and very soft.
  
• Sourdough: Nice and chewy
• Crostini: Brushed with olive oil, and good enough to eat on their own. Like chips!

Drinks

• **Saskatoon Berry Iced Tea 4.5/6
  
• Non alcoholic. Nice, light and refreshing. This is lightly steeped Saskatoon berry tea leaves sweetened with organic Agave nectar.

• It was a very light tasting iced tea. It was very aromatic and florally. It tastes like melted gourmet candies, but it's not that sweet because there's no sugar, except for the agave nectar. This is a perfect summertime drink.