VC09 - Eating & Drinking

Every May Vancouver magazine celebrates culinary excellence from across the city with its Restaurant Awards issue. Nineteen freelance food and wine critics vote in over 40 categories; the results are revealed at a gala ceremony attended by over 800 industry professionals. Here’s a selection of the 2009 winners.

Restaurant of the Year & Best Formal Italian

Cioppino’s/Enoteca
1133 Hamilton St., Yaletown, Vancouver, BC
604-688-7466
Bold, hearty flavours are the hallmark of Yaletown’s Cioppino’s, where chef Pino Posteraro’s pastas are always stellar (pappardelle with four-hour-braised veal cheeks and porcini mushrooms will make you weep) and his succulent, spitroasted duck breast with candied-orange reduction is cooked to juicy perfection. A stomping ground for Canucks, politicos, and corporate players, Posteraro’s room also caters private events for visiting celebs like Bill Clinton.

Best New Restaurant & Best Casual Italian

La Quercia
3689 W. Fourth Ave., Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC
604-676-1007
La Quercia takes top prize for being the perfect neighbourhood restaurant in the right place at the right time — the judges loved the ever-evolving menu of Italian classics and chef/owners Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg (ex-Parkside and Cioppino’s) for constructing a room with heart and, more importantly, superlative food.

Best Regional

Bishop’s
2183 W. Fourth Ave., Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC
604-738-2025
Andrea Carlson of Bishop’s elevates the overlooked and exploits the seasonal larder: obscure root vegetables, little-known artisanal cheeses, intriguing herbs and flowers.

Best Seafood

Blue Water Cafe
1095 Hamilton St., Yaletown, Vancouver, BC
604-688-8078
Firece competition produces seafood temples we all can worship at. Blue Water Cafe delivers an embarrassment of oyster selections, plus immaculate sushi by Yoshi Tabo. Take your party into the 72-person private wine room for three tier towers of naked shellfish.

Best Small Plates

Cru
1459 W. Broadway, South Granville, Vancouver, BC
604-677-4111
They’ve got the most inventive small plates in the city: try the duck confit robed in bacon for starters.

Best Last Course

Thomas Haas Patisserie and Cappuccino Bar
128-998 Harbourside Dr., North Vancouver, BC
604-924-1847
If you want quality desserts and are willing to forgo glittering lights and plush seating, there’s really only one destination, and Thomas Haas is it.

Best Bar / Lounge

Bacchus Piano Lounge at the Wedgewood Hotel
845 Hornby St., Downtown, Vancouver, BC
604-608-5319
At Bacchus Piano Lounge (in the Wedgewood Hotel) a good pour of scotch and a supple leather wingback can take you to a place where markets don’t crash.

Best Formal French

Le Crocodile
100-909 Burrard St., Downtown, Vancouver, BC
604-669-4298
If consistency is a great chef’s hallmark, then Michel Jacob of Le Crocodile is at the pinnacle of Vancouver haute cuisine.

Best Casual French

Pied-à-Terre
3369 Cambie St., South Cambie, Vancouver, BC
604-873-3131
Untarnished by the Cambie Street construction outside, this 34-seat gem is a neighbourhood haunt perfect for refined prix-fixe lunches or late-night lingering over vino.

Best Formal Japanese

Tojo’s
1133 W. Broadway, South Granville, Vancouver, BC
604-872-8050
Tojo continues to redefine Japanese food in Vancouver, with a firm grasp of seasonal, local ingredients.

Best of the Americas

Cobre
52 Powell St., Gastown, Vancouver, BC
604-669-2396
Cuban-Brazilian-Mexican restaurant Cobre grabbed the top spot thanks to a combination of zesty dishes (like tamale sliders and taquitos with homemade guacamole), inspired cocktails, and solid service.

Best Steakhouse / Chops

Gotham Steakhouse
615 Seymour St., Downtown, Vancouver, BC
604-605-8282
The king of steakhouses does it again. A six-time winner, the opulent Gotham serves Porterhouses and filets cooked to perfection.

Best Barbecue

Memphis Blues
1342 Commercial Dr. (multiple locations), Vancouver, BC
604-215-2599
Succulent rib meat falls right off the bone, and a simple pulled-pork sandwich is a model of its kind. Sides like cornbread and slaw come supersized.

Best Casual Chain

Cactus Club Cafe
588 Burrard St., Downtown (multiple locations), Vancouver, BC
604-682-0933
Butternut squash ravioli with sage butter, tuna tataki with yuzu vinaigrette, and barbecue duck clubhouse on pecan loaf — all signature dishes by star chef Rob Feenie — have taken Cactus Club’s menu to new heights.

Best Indian

Vij’s
1480 W. 11th Ave., South Granville, Vancouver, BC
604-736-6664
Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala kicked a ridiculously accomplished room up another notch with new dishes like beef short ribs in cinnamon and red wine curry; it may not be traditional Indian, but it’s the heart of our Indian culinary experience.

Best Other European

Chambar
562 Beatty St., Gastown, Vancouver, BC
604-879-7119
Chambar delivers welcome eastern Mediterranean and African alternatives to Pacific Rim ennui. Plus a handsome selection of Belgian beers.

Best Casual Japanese

Kingyo
871 Denman St., West End, Vancouver, BC
604-608-1677
Tight competition in a category where hundreds of sushi joints and plenty of izakayas clamour for top honours. Koji Zenimaru and his raucous crew offer a playful take on Japanese small plates. Exuberance and a wild sense of fun are grounded in tight technique.

Best Formal Chinese

Kirin
102-1166 Alberni St., Downtown, Vancouver, BC
604-682-8833
Cantonese home cooking is elevated with top-notch ingredients, preparation, and presentation.

Best Casual Chinese

Chen's Shanghai
8095 Park Rd., Richmond, BC
604-304-8288
The inevitable wait is a small price to pay for the best xiao long bao (soup buns), freshly made to order and bursting with clean rich broth.

Best Korean

Hanwoori
5740 Imperial St., Burnaby, BC
604-439-0815
Make the trek to Burnaby for soups like the rich beef rib (kalbi tang), a particular strength on the menu; authentic grilled ribs are also excellent.

Best Thai

Sala Thai
3364 Cambie St., South Cambie, Vancouver, BC
604-875-6999
The Burrard Street location of Salathai is frequented by visiting celebs (even the Thai royal family), but it’s the homey Cambie Street location that has been popular with locals for over 20 years.

Best Vietnanese

Phnom Penh
244 E. Georgia St., Chinatown, Vancouver, BC
604-734-8898
This perennial winner is a cult favourite among local foodies for its dynamic duo of lemon-pepper squid and chicken wings. Delicious butter beef sees tissue-thin slices of barely seared beef dressed with cilantro, garlic chips, and a limey nuoc mam sauce.

Best Other Asian

Spice Islands Indonesian
3592 W. 41st Ave., Kerrisdale, Vancouver, BC
604-266-7355
At Kerrisdale’s Spice Islands subtle Indonesian spicing reaches new heights with careful shadings of cloves, cinnamon, and chili.

Visit vanmag.com for complete reviews and more results