Beloved Kitsilano hot spot has been closed for filming.  Good news! They will re-open for business tomorrow, Friday March 26.

Just in time for weekend brunch too! Don’t forget to bring your Let’s Go For Dinner card with you for awesome savings.

Situated in the heart of Kitsilano’s West 4th Avenue shopping district, Hell’s Kitchen is a combination restaurant-and-bar that serves up classic pizza-and-burger fare in a lively crowd atmosphere.

With different drink and food specials every night of the week, Hell’s Kitchen always serves up quality food, good drink, and great fun.

Unwind over a bottle of wine with friends tonight and save 50% with your Let’s Go For Dinner card while you’re at it!

Divino is Commercial Drive’s newest addition – voted Vancouver’s best new wine bar. Located at the corner of Commercial and Gravely, Divino is much more than a modern yet comfortable wine bar. It’s also known for its Culinary Fusion.

Our menu is based on offerings that are creative and tasty, based on simple and traditional foods. From cured meats to cheeses to seasonal offerings you will be delighted by our menu. Divino is the perfect place to spend an evening with your partner or with a group of friends. With its upbeat yet relaxing atmosphere, you are invited to enjoy and let loose. Visit Divino and spend some time looking over our extensive wine list chosen by our somellier David Fert. Pair your wine with a menu selection created by Jefferson Alvarez, our internationally renowned chef. Divino is also a perfect location for your special event. Regardless of the occasion, this cozy spot offers 42 seats and a beautiful south facing patio with another 22 seats available for your enjoyment. Visit DiVino and you will soon become a regular.

We are delighted to announce the addition of Ocean West Coast Bistro to Let’s Go For Dinner.  Diners can now save on their gift certificates and indulge in the fresh flavours of the ocean – perfect in time for Spring!

Ocean West Coast Bistro

Ocean West Coast Bistro is a contemporary modern play on two unique cuisines found in the Lower Mainland – Japanese and West Coast. By marrying the two cuisines, we have found a unique medium through which to showcase our spin on fusion.

You can taste the ocean in our seafood dishes and the wild in our offerings. The backdrop to which is set in the South Granville district, a hot spot for shopping and culture, across the street from a local organic food purveyor of celebrity status. Once inside, you will find the outpost of a very well respected Japanese Izakaya chef and his staff of wizards of rawness. Ocean sets the bar high for a meal that justifies ‘dining’ in South Granville. The restaurant can seat 80 persons comfortably with two rooms for private functions. The menu runs the gamut of creativity, from rare ankimo to fresh cut yam fries, it should provide a dining experience that would fit the most normal diner to appeasing those with a desire to ‘walk on the wild side’. The wine list and drink menu feature a in-house mixologist and sommelier that can help with enjoying a nice wind down to preparing for a wild night out.

Trattoria Kitchen is known for its comfort Italian cooking, family style platters, and sizzling pizzas.  They deliver authentic Italian flavours in their energetic and vibrant Kitsilano West 4th Ave location.

Want to try one of their dishes at home?  Nessun problema!

Here is a delicious, classic recipe using ingredients that you can find in your pantry.

If you don’t feel like cooking, save 50% off with your Let’s Go For Dinner card at Trattoria Kitchen tonight!

Ingredients

• 1 cup White cannellini beans (cooked)
• 100 grams Pancetta (roughly chopped)
• 1/2 cup White onion (diced)
• 1/2 cup Celery (diced)
• 1.5 L Chicken stock
• 2 Garlic cloves (crushed)
• 30 ml Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbs Butter (big cube)

Instructions:

1. Sweat off the pancetta, garlic, celery and onion in the olive oil until tender.
2. Add the chicken stock and slowly bring to simmer.
3. Add the white beans and bring to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes.
4. Add the butter and stir until melted,
5. Taste and finish with salt and pepper.
6. Serve in warm bowls with some crusty bread.

At lunchtime yesterday, I managed to make it out with a couple of friends to the newly opened Corner Suite restaurant in downtown Vancouver (at Thurlow and Smithe).  While they just opened last Friday (February 5th), they started a lunch service earlier this week.

When walking up to the building, we noticed some baby blue chairs through the windows, contrasting to the black leather-looking bench seats closer to the bar.  The tables had a dark marble look to them, and when we walked in, the seats almost reminded one of the girls with me (let’s call her M) of a large-sized version of a Barbie playhouse.

I thought that the chairs were really unique though, and liked how they likely spray-painted them with a textured lacquer to give them a bit of a different feel.  It did throw me off a little though in that when I touched it, I wasn’t expecting it to feel the way it did (and I’m a very tactile person – if I am drawn to something, I will touch it – it gets me in trouble sometimes!), and my girlfriend almost felt like the paint was going to rub off on her clothing (although of course it wouldn’t).

The room is separated between a dining area and a bar along the back wall – this place seems like it could be fun during the evening, for dinner and drinks on the weekend.  Apparently, they play rock music and the atmosphere becomes totally different – much louder and livelier.

While we were trying to decide on what to have, a French server brought over an amuse bouche to enjoy, made up of gruyere, and a few other things – I missed a lot of what she was saying since she had a great thick accent, no matter what it was would’ve sounded good!  As a result, I’m not sure what these were called, but they had a light cheesy flavour and were tantalizing to our tastebuds.  I could’ve had a few more of those easily…

Amuse Bouche

Finally, after hemming and hawing and being completely indecisive, I decided to go with a virgin drink that was a Peach Puree and Tonic mixture.  The drink menu is quite large, and in addition to several cocktails, wines and other spirits, we were told to enjoy the artwork within its pages as it was all original and done by the owners. The drink wasn’t too sweet, but the peach tasted absolutely delicious, and if it were any other time than a Wednesday afternoon I would’ve just added some gin (or maybe vodka?) in it and be good to go!

Peach Puree and Tonic

My indecisiveness continued – my girlfriends both had made their choices, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with a couple of the Petits Plats instead of one of the larger choices, so we continued to eat the Bread with Olive and Paprika Butter in the meanwhile.  Although I liked the idea of the spread, it didn’t have enough punch to it to really even decipher that there was anything much added to it – I actually had to ask again if it was olive or something else.  So it’s a good idea, but maybe needs more in terms of execution – it just tasted pretty much like plain butter to me.

Bread and Paprika and Olive Butter

After a good amount of time had passed, I decided to order both a Petits Plats (which we all decided to share), in addition to an entree – if you can’t choose, why not have it all!  So we started off with the Crispy Pigs Ear, served with sweet breads, onion soubise, and shallot and parsley sauce and kale.  I really enjoyed all of the components of this when eaten together as a whole, but would not recommend each item on its own (which is probably how it’s meant to be eaten anyway).  The ear was coated in a very crispy batter which I loved, although it kind of hid the ear and I barely noticed when I was crunching down on it.  Overall, it was very rich and felt like a decadent beginning to our meal.

Crispy Pigs Ear

My girlfriend had the Skate Wing with gnocchi, green beans, almonds, and lemon hollandaise – while I’ve never had this type of fish before, I will definitely order it again whenever I have the choice.  This was definitely my favourite dish of the day, and sometimes I kick myself for trying not to order something just because someone else is having it.  But at least I know what I’ll get next time I go!  The green beans were young and crisp, and the gnochhi was cooked so there was a slight browning on the outer edges.  The skate was tender and moist and I was told that she thought her choice was “Delightful!”  Luckily, she let me try some of it. Also, it was very colourful and a great-looking dish to welcome spring (a little early, but it sure feels like it already).

Skate Wing

M and myself both went with the Duck Confit, with lentils, pearl onions, kale and a sour cherry sauce (okay, so I know I just ended up ordering the same thing as someone else and should’ve just stuck with my gut and had the skate).  Again, the fowl meat was very tender and moist, and the skin was excellent and crispy.  I loved the pieces of cherry on the plate, and the lentils were also done really well – those little things have sure been growing on my lately!  Did you know that lentils have the second-most protein per gram of any food on the market (next to hemp seed)?

Duck Confit

Once we were done our meals, we still had some room to squeeze in dessert, and since we couldn’t decide, we took one of each – it worked out well that there were three items available so we all could share.  The Paper Bag Beignets were probably my least favourite of the bunch, although one of the girls with me liked them the most.  I found the large paper bag that the tiny little doughnuts came in to be so overwhelming in comparison to what we found inside.  The cinnamon sugar coating was great, however, I was hoping that the doughnuts would be softer than they were – they seemed a bit dense to me.

Paper Bag Doughnuts

What I found to be the best dessert of the afternoon was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, topped with vanilla bean ice cream.  While the cake itself is a little heavy, it was still delicious, especially when dipped into all of the gorgeous toffee lining the bowl.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

The Chocolate Pot de Creme wasn’t really all that special to me – while I liked the presentation in the coffee cup, served with a crispy, flaky biscuit, the chocolate itself was quite bitter (something that I’ve never been a fan of).  Dark chocolate fans, this is one that would probably better be suited to you!

Chocolate Pot de Creme

There is also a 24/7 menu daily special for $24.07 all day, every day.  It comes with an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert.  This would be good to try at dinner sometime.

All in all, I liked this place.  It’s somewhere I will come back to again during an evening next time to check out the vibe with dinner and drinks.  While some thought that the blue chairs and design seemed a bit ‘little-girl’ like, I thought it was different and unique.

Corner Suite Bistro de Luxe
850 Thurlow St.
Vancouver, BC, V6E 1W2
604.569.3415
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Price: $$$