One of my best friends and I ate at Annapurna last week.  Neither of us had tried this restaurant before, so we were quite anxious to satisfy our Indian food craving (it hits me about once a month) at this new location.  We tried 2 kinds of pakoras, alu gobi, paneer, and the veggie butter chicken.

The spices were spot on and the heat was as done as requested.  All I remember was a noticeable ‘mmmmmm’ roughly every 1o seconds!  There’s just something so decadent about spooning all that Indian goodness onto a fluffy, buttery, warm, and right out of the oven piece of naan bread!  Again, this is an easy one to recommend to get your Indian fix.  Look to spend about $15 per head.  Enjoy!

Annapurna Vegetarian

1926 West 4th Ave.

The original Relish Restaurant & Lounge was a 140-seat restaurant in 2004.  In late 2009, it was completely gutted and rebuilt in a smaller 85-seat subsection of the former space, and reopened as Relish GastroPub & Bar in February 2010.

While the Relish name remains (a nostalgic nod to the restaurant’s loyal clientele) the rest has been completely transformed. The owners had a simple vision, to create a place where Vancouver could relax, have a great time and enjoy great food. So with the new space came a new concept – a classy, yet relaxed and unpretentious neighbourhood gastroPub serving modern pub fare and Canadian comfort food.

The new menu, created by Chef Patchen Gallagher (Brix, Glowbal Grill), features modern pub fare and Canadian comfort food with an upscale twist, and includes dishes like a Shortrib Shepherd’s Pie, Gnocchi Poutine, Duck Fat Steak Fries, Tourtière, Duck Confit Salad and Fried Oysters – with nothing over $15.

Relish GastroPub & Bar

888 Nelson Street

Ok, now this just looks like fun!  It’s all done table side and quite the show.  The word “KOBE” suggests to the gourmet that it’s the ultimate of the finest beef, raised on delicacies, and gently massaged to perfection.  You can watch as they  lovingly prepare the tenderest steak, the freshest seafood, free-range chicken, and garden fresh vegetables…all before your very eyes in true Japanese style!   Since 1968, KOBE is Canada’s first and premier Japanese Steak House.

Kerrisdale’s Gaia Mediterranean Bistro really hits the spot!  When it’s all about wholesome, slow-cooked dishes done family-style in the Mediterranean tradition, you really can’t go wrong.   Head chef Eran and his wife Nama (front-of-house) are passionate about food, wine , and your experience at Gaia Bistro.  And, from my limited experience, I feel comfortable saying that you’d be hard pressed to find many bistros in Vancouver that do ‘coq au vin’ for $14 and ‘lamb osso bucco’ for $15.  This is an easy one for me.  Look to spend less than $50 for two at Gaia…you’ll just love this place!

Charlie’s is the first gourmet pizza spot we’ve added and we couldn’t be more thrilled!  The room is chic and stylish.  The servers are knowledgeable and approachable.  The food and drink consists of both artisan pizzas (house specialty, but there’s lots more to choose from), and cocktails to match (try the sage margarita!).

I ate there a couple of weeks ago and had a wonderful ‘duck pizza’ alongside my ’sage and red grape margarita’.  Both were super tasty, and needless to say, neither of my items stood a chance!

In my opinion, this is an easy one to recommend.  Have fun.

Charlie’s Restaurant & Bar