Posts Tagged North Vancouver Restaurants
The Resurrection of Urban Shore
Posted by Michelle Evans in News & Events on September 20th, 2009
I do apologize for the hiatus. Mostly I was sulking at the prospect of moving away from this beautiful place I call home. See, I had my apartment on the market this summer in hopes of finding myself with a larger home – we’re expecting our 2nd child now. Instead I ended up coming to the realization that I wouldn’t find what I want in this area just yet and would prefer to live more modestly in the place I love rather than move, especially if it meant leaving the Shore.
So I’m back to stay, and so is Urban Shore.
Now that the excuses are out of the way… I got out this afternoon to enjoy the neigborhood and dig up some info for you. A few new places have cropped up over the summer and a few places have shut down. Add in a some changes of ownership a little new construction and the City of North Vancouver’s urban hub is taking on a fresh look. Here are a few tidbits:
The North Vancouver City Library celebrated it’s 1st anniversary today. In the last year it has circulated more than 1 million items and now offers free WiFi throughout the entire Civic Plaza (.PDF) during library hours. Connect to the wireless network ‘PLAZAIR’; no password is required.
Bella Candela Grill on Esplanade has shut down but plans to re-open as a take-out/delivery place. I’m curious to see what will crop up there; I’ll keep you posted.
I got a message in August from Paul Mon-Kau of The District Social House that he has sold Kantine Urban Cafeteria. So far it doesn’t look like much has changed. The menu is a little different but still very affordable. Branding is the same but the website doesn’t seem current. There was a nice buzz there this afternoon, which was nice to see. I’m a big fan of the Esplanade Plaza, but it seems to lack in foot traffic a little.
I’ve always been a HUGE fan of the New Apple Farm Market at 20th and Lonsdale for produce and specialty/asian and organic foods, and I’ll dedicate an entire post to it at some point, but I just noticed a brand new produce store across the street from Starbucks at 13th & Lonsdale: Anna’s Fresh Produce at 1342 Lonsdale Avenue carries only produce. Their selection isn’t super extensive but their prices are awesome… just about everything was under $1.00/lb – coloured peppers were all $.79/lb and pineapples were 2/$3.50 for the ones I just spent $4.00 each on at another grocery store. Definitely going there for produce next time.
Thanks to all my readers for your support. I am back and excited about the future of Urban Shore. I hope you are too.
Don’t forget to check out Urban Shore on Flickr and now you can follow Urban Shore on Twitter @urbanshoreca.
Raglan’s Bistro
Posted by Michelle Evans in Restaurants on April 23rd, 2009
Well, this evening didn’t get off to a good start, but it sure ended well.
So I caught a tweet a couple of days ago from Deuce Restaurant that they were offering $3.95 beers and a buck a shuck oysters with a DJ after 9pm on Thursdays. I responded with a question about the start time, but I guess being really new to twitter and all, they didn’t get the hang of replies. No worries, we decided to take our chances.
We arrived at Deuce about 5:30pm to an empty restaurant and were told they don’t have oysters tonight. Bummer.
So we decided to move on.
As an employee of one of Vancouver’s top attractions, I get a Tourism Challenge Passport to encourage trial at a variety of attractions, hotels and restaurants around Vancouver. We decided to check out Tantra Lounge at the Quay, given the Deuce thing didn’t work out as we’d hoped. I never knew, but Tantra is fully licensed and all patrons must be over 19 years of age. Okay… given that I had my son in tow, that wasn’t going to work for us.
We then decided to head up the street to Raglan’s Bistro, a North Vancouver favourite.
I’m so glad we did. I appreciate a dining environment free of patchouli.
We were immediately greeted with a warm welcome and invited in. Our drink order was taken right away and our son was offered crayons (though I’d recommend they get some larger sheets of paper rather than offering a piece of receipt paper, but no biggie – anything is great with a 3 year old).
Raglan’s Bistro is decorated as a Tiki Hut with surf boards, cute chalk drawings, great music and a large screen showing surf movies; even the menus are printed on bamboo mats. This was a HUGE hit with our son, whose favourite movie is Surf’s Up.
I love the sign in the middle that reads, “Shared Seating – Musical chairs & shared seating have been a tradition in this location for 18 years. Get to know your neighbour; create community.”
We opted for a plate of Mexican Nachos to share. We were toying with some other ideas – I’ve been craving yam fries for weeks now it seems – but the nachos were so satisfying we didn’t end up needing anything else.
Raglan’s has a small-ish but super unique menu full of simple but fun foods. Offering an assortment of salads, tapas, burgers, and pizzas, you wouldn’t think it was that unusual. However, the assorted Poutines might make you double-take as might a variety of Nachos.
Tapas include favourites such as Yam Fries for $6 or Calamari for $9; salads offered include a few unique choices such as Grilled Pineapple and Goat Cheese for $12 or Squid & Tiger Prawn for $15. Poutine selections include Classic, Cheeseburger, Pulled Pork and Ancho Chicken; and Raglan’s also offers the standard burgers for $10-$14 and thin crust pizzas for $12-$15.
The Mexican Nachos were fantastic – the best Nachos I’ve had, actually, as far as flavour goes. For $16 it was a nice sized plate of chips with cheese, black beans, chorizo sausage, chipotle sour cream, large chunk tomato salsa and guacamole. Even the chips were seasoned so the whole flavour was unlike anything I’ve yet had.
Beverages include a selection of beers, wines – by the glass or bottle – and tiki drinks. I opted for a Blue Hawaiian, which promised a pineapple-coconut yumminess… it was good, but a bit too sweet. Perhaps a shorter glass would have been a better mixture.
All in all, the food and service were great and the atmosphere was super fun. Don’t believe me? Check out the Raglan’s reviews on dinehere.ca, a more Raglan’s reviews on Urban Spoon or a couple of older ones on foodpages.ca. I would definitely recommend Raglan’s to anyone looking for a great place to grab a quick bite or even take a low-maintenance date.
Contact & Hours:
Raglan’s Bistro is located at 15 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver – just a stone’s throw from Lonsdale Quay – and can be reached by phone at 604.988.8203. They’re open Monday to Thursday from 5pm to midnight, Fridays from 5pm to 1am and Saturdays & Sundays from 10am to midnight. I hear they do a mean brunch; that’ll be my next visit.
As for Deuce and Tantra… maybe I’ll check them out another time.
*Listed prices are only valid as of publishing date and are subject to change*
V-Nam Vietnamese Restaurant
Posted by Michelle Evans in Restaurants on November 30th, 2008
I’ve never been particularly adventuresome when it comes to cuisine I haven’t already tried. I know, I know… how will I ever know if I’ll like it if I don’t try it, right? Well, some of my co-workers turned me on to Vietnamese cuisine, opting to visit Pho 99 on Marine Drive fairly regularly for lunch as of late. While I have yet to try the ever-so-well-known Pho (mainly because I’m just not big on soup), I have come to enjoy the vermicelli bowls and so when my husband suggested we try the new Vietnamese place on 3rd Street, I obliged.
V-Nam Vietnamese Cuisine is located at 175 E. 3rd Street, at the corner of 3rd Street and St. Georges Avenue, on the ground floor of an apartment high rise. Because it’s a block off Lonsdale, it has less walking traffic than other spots, so I wanted to draw a little attention to it, as it is one of only two Vietnamese restaurants in North Vancouver.
We arrived at about 1pm on a Sunday afternoon and there were a few tables in use, but we certainly didn’t have to wait. The restaurant is not flashy; in fact, it’s pretty plain. The appeal of V-Nam is the food.
We started with, or rather tried to start with, the prawn salad rolls and a couple of iced coffees. Unfortunately they arrived right with our entire order, but perhaps we weren’t very clear when ordering. For my main course
I had – you guessed it – the Pork Vermicelli Bowl with Pork Rolls and my husband had the Spicy Beef Pho. He considers himself a food expert, having spent many years in the restaurant industry and he only had good things to say about his meal. The spouts and basil were very fresh, the sauces very flavourful and the Pho was piping hot. It’s impressive when he actually likes food somewhere, so this is a very good sign for V-Nam. My meal was very tasty and the pork was particularly tender.
With an appetizer, two iced coffees and two meals, our bill was under $35. V-Nam is fully licensed and a parking lot is available via the alley off St. Georges Avenue. Here are a few additional V-Nam Vietnamese Restaurant reviews. According to the sign on their door, V-Nam Restaurant is open from 11am every day except Mondays; you can reach them by phone at 604-985-5477.
Memphis Blues BBQ House
Posted by Michelle Evans in Restaurants on October 11th, 2008
For all you carnivores out there, the Memphis Blues BBQ House at 1629 Lonsdale Avenue – between 16th and 17th on the West side of the street – serves up a feast you won’t soon forget. Offering “award-winning authentic southern barbeque” in a casual environment, Memphis Blues is the perfect place for a quick bite for a hungry man’s man or an evening out for the whole family.
Now, their menu is quite big for a small place, but you really do need to love meat to get the most out of it. A vegetarian could definitely go and eat a salad and a slice of corn bread, but this really isn’t the place for you. Even their nachos and poutine have pork on them. But if you love a good pigsicle, this is the place. The portions are huge; do not fret, you will not go hungry. In fact, I think anyone who orders the Full Slab o’ Ribs for $24.95 will feel incredibly uncomfortable and have a heavy bag to carry home. The full slab dinner includes, well, a full rack of ribs, french fries, cole slaw, baked beans and corn bread and is enough to feed me, my husband and my two year old and have leftovers. And none of us are light eaters.
The atmosphere is casual. Very casual. In fact, you seat yourself, order from the counter (though a server will bring your food to you), and each table comes equipped with a roll of industrial-grade paper towel. Do not go if you’re looking for a nice romantic dinner. But they are licensed, and offer live blues music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening from 7:30pm, plus, the North Vancouver Memphis Blues BBQ location will take a reservation if you think you may need one. It does get busy – especially on Father’s day as I found out earlier this year.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should; or, stop by for some takeout – they’re SUPER fast, like 5 minutes from the time you place your order. But if you stay and eat, definitely leave room for their Pecan Pie with Caramel Bourbon Sauce. Then come back here and tell me how you liked it.
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By N2H 