Kitsilano Eats: DB Bistro Moderne

I finally made it over to DB Bistro Moderne this weekend for the first time.

My friend and I arrived at 2:25pm, 5 minutes before they stopped seating for weekend brunch – whew!

First,  I just LOVE how different it looks from the Feenie’s days. Finally, that big furry thing of lamp in Feenie’s old dining room is gone. I never got that piece of decor.

Anyways, back to DB Bistro. Beautiful, open room with a red/black colour scheme. Elegant yet trendy. I give DB the edge on decor over Market.

I wanted to eat the burger, but I was not feeling the need for so much beef that afternoon, so I perused the menu for other options. I ordered the Caesar Salad with chicken while my friend opted for the Duck Poutine Lyonnaise (duck confit, cheese curds gravy, potatoes).

The food comes and it’s great. Simple food done right. The chicken with my salad was incredibly flavourful and tender, and the salad perfectly dressed with Caesar dressing. I have to say, I think this is now my favourite Caesar in Vancouver (my other favourite is the to-die-for grilled Caesar at Cru, but it is incredibly rich that I can only justify it on occasion). I snagged a potato from my friend’s duck poutine, which he deemed fantastic…rich and yummy. I’m also wishing I ordered some pomme frites as I saw some at another table and they looked good.

My friend and I were deep in a gossip session and had nowhere to go, so we ordered dessert and coffee. I loved my dessert – an exotic fruit sundae with coconut sorbet and a pineapple cream. Light and refreshing.

By now, it was about 4pm and one by one every member of the staff came into the dining room, each holding a different plate of food for the staff meal before dinner service. We took that as our cue to leave and headed back into the sunshine.

Service was excellent, professional and gracious. I never felt rushed, even though we were the last people in the restaurant for brunch service.

I’ll be back to dinner. I’d go back right now if I could!

DB Bistro Moderne
2551 West Broadway, Vancouver (@ Larch)
604-739-7115

Kitsilano Coffee: Caffe Dolcetto

Caffe Dolcetto 2967 West Broadway Vancouver BC Canada.

Anything related to Cru Restaurant is great in my book. I stopped by Cru’s Kitsilano cafe Dolcetto yesterday for a quick look.

Super small cafe, maybe 10-15 seats inside plus four seats outside. Dolcetto serves 49th parallel coffee plus breakfast, brunch, and lunch items (mainly paninis and your standard cafe items). My Americano was perfectly declicious.

If you live in the ‘hood, lucky you. It sure beats the other coffee options in the neighbourhood. At least untl Caffe Artigiano opens.

Caffe Dolcetto
2967 West Broadway, Vancouver
(between Bayswater and Carnarvon)
Open until 6pm daily

Downtown / Crosstown eats: Cafe Medina

I stopped by Cafe Medina today and was reminded that in additon a to doing a good americano, they also do breakfast, lunch, and brunch on the weekends.

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

Downtown / West End Eats: Raincity Grill for Brunch

One of my regular spots for catching up with a friend over  brunch is Raincity Grill, located near the corner of Denman St. and Davie St. The room looks over English Bay and it’s relatively quiet so a few people can spend a lazy weekend morning together enjoying some coffee and food.

I  met a friend at Raincity Grill this past Saturday and we enjoyed some lovely eats along with our conversation:

– Raincity Grill used to provide a nice basket of jams, butter, and a mix of scones, croissants, and muffins to start brunch. They appear to have switched this to what their sister restaurant Nu provides, a small starter plate of a drink and pastry. This morning’s plate included a little cup of delicious pear cider and a cranberry lemon scone.

– Florentine Benedict with a potato hash and a very generous portion of hollandaise.

– Red wine & caramelized radicchio risotto topped with beets, beetroot, and beetroot paper. Delicious, but quite rich with an almost pickled flavour…not for everyone but I like it.

– Pemberton Meadows Beef Burger, with a side of crispy wedge fries. Huge burger – quite tasty, especially when I added a little extra salt on top ( for good measure of course!).

Service was professional and attentive. Raincity Grill has been around for ages, since 1992 according to the website. The room is clean & conservative and the food is well-prepared with a focus on local ingredients.

For some, it might seem to fancy or expensive for dinner. If so, consider going for lunch or brunch to enjoy the food. In the summer time, they even have their takeout window open and you can pick-up $11 fish & chips for the beach. Yum.

Raincity Grill
1193 Denman Street, Vancouver, BC
604.685.7337
Dinner from 5:00 pm, Monday to Sunday
Lunch 11:30 am – 2:30 pm , Monday to Friday
Brunch 10:30 am -2:30 pm, Saturday & Sunday