dining reviews

P.F.Chang's China Bistro
61 Fortune Drive,
Irvine, CA
Ph: (949) 453-1211

For our last dine-out with kids at family friendly restaurants in South Orange County before I head back to Vancouver, we decided on P.F. Chang's China Bistro at the Irvine Spectrum Mall.

As usual we got there early, around 5 PM but already there was a 35 minute wait for inside tables. Fortunately it was a warm afternoon and early evening so we opted for a patio table .  Three space heaters also added warmth.

"Happy Hour" extends from 3 PM to 6 PM with a special menu of reduced price drinks and dishes. I had a 7 oz glass of Riesling  S.A.Prum for $5.00 and the others shared a large Gekkeikan Sake for $4.00.

While we settled the kids and sorted out our food,  we ordered from the Happy Hour menu - a dish of the crispy green beans,  and crispy crab wontons served with a spicy plum sauce.

The main courses were up fairly quickly. From the children's menu the 5 year old chose the Baby Buddha's Feast and got a steaming plate of snap peas, carrots and broccoli. 

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse in Laguna Hills
24032 El Toro Rd.,
Laguna Hills, CA
Ph: 749 -

When you are heading out for an early supper with an infant and a pre-schooler, the key feature you look for is not eclectic  contemporary cuisine but a family-friendly  environment and a children's menu.  Fortunately there seems to be no shortage of such style eateries in the several neighbouring communities of Orange County where my family lives.

One such chain is BJ's, that presently has about 95 restaurants scattered throughout the West, South and Mid-Western states. They began with a pizzeria in Santa Ana in 1978, began handcrafting beers in Brea in 1996 and are about to open several new restaurants to add to the present list.

BJ's Restaurant in Laguna Hills has a special importance to us, dating from the birth of number 1 son (number 2 child). As mom and new babe enjoyed quality time, dad, older sister, grand-ma, uncle and aunt all went for supper at the restaurant, which is about a five minute walk from the hospital.  Although this was a year ago, big sister aged all of 5 years, remembers how fun it was having dinner with all of us that evening and was excited to go back.

So this time with mom and infant but no aunt and uncle,we headed out to BJ's for supper. Armed with snack packs of cheerios and bits of cheese to keep grasping baby fingers occupied, we got there early around 5 pm and already there were people waiting for a table. Our wait was short- about 5 minutes and we were seated in a comfortable booth with baby in a high chair.

La Terrazza
1088 Cambie Street
Vancouver
Ph: (604)-899-4449 or Reserve Online

When I first moved into the Yaletown area four years ago, La Terrazza was literally a two minute walk from my rented apartment and I enjoyed several meals there. But I had not been back for more than a year, since I moved to my new home a few blocks further away. Each time I drove up Cambie on my way to dance class, I would make a mental note that it was time to check out La Terrazza again - but my mental notes seemed to get misfiled!

Then one rainy Vancouver night I had tickets for a performance at GM Place and it occurred to me that this would be the perfect time for a pre-show dinner at La Terrazza. From there it would be a quick walk to The Garage.

We arrived a bit early but were promptly seated at a comfortably sized table for two. The ambience was as warm and welcoming as I remembered with tables spaced far enough apart that conversation can be at a comfortable level.

While we studied the menu I sipped a glass of  2007 Stoneleigh Riesling from the Marlborough area of New Zealand. With a light citrus taste it had a nice balance of sweetness and acidity.

Enigma Restaurant
4397 W. 10th Avenue
Vancouver.
Ph: (604) 222-6881

Being  South African by birth, I was naturally intrigued when Enigma was suggested as a before-theatre dinner spot. The proprietors are from South Africa and my  dinner companion suggested that the menu featured  several dishes of  African origin.  We were on our way to see Ivanov at the Jericho Arts Centre so the location of Enigma at 10th and Trimble, just up the hill from the Centre,  was perfect.

As well as  "foodie" I am very much a "wordie" so naturally I wondered about the name. Enigma is an unusual name for a restaurant. But  the Buchmans explain - "how could such delicious food possibly be so affordable?"  Hmmm.... That's setting my expectations high.

The menu was appealing with lots of my favorite appetizers, and the prices did seem reasonable. Unlike the restaurant  Braai which I reviewed in New York last year, this menu was more eclectic than ethnic South African. But I noted that the menu featured curries and that a special for the day was braised lamb shoulder. This got my dinner companion raving about the Moroccan lamb dish he had eaten here on  previous visits. Although it was not on the menu our obliging server said she would check with the kitchen. She soon returned with a message from the chef that he would be glad to make the Moroccan lamb if we wanted it. 

Takashi
1952 N. Damen Ave.,
Chicago
Ph: 773-772-6170

As I noted in my  Chicago Diary 2009, this visit to Chicago  is brief,  essentially only four nights, so we wasted no time before setting out  to sample  some great food.  The first restaurant  my friends chose for me to check out was a Japanese cuisine and sushi restaurant, Takashi, in Bucktown on Chicago's North side. The restaurant takes its name from chef Takashi Yagihashi.

We were led upstairs to a pleasant seating area and initially seated at a corner table which was really too small to seat three people comfortably. On request we were quickly moved to a more comfortable arrangement with two tables pushed together. Our drink order was taken promptly and we were offered a selection of sesame or multigrain bread or baguette. 

The hot and cold small plate menu was enticing. I settled for a plate of three kinds of sashimi; Big Eye tuna with umami wasabi-soy dressing, Hokkaido scallops with pickled plum vinaigrette and Blue prawns with marinated eggplant and cucumber, Japanese omelette with golden raisins.  I loved the combination of textures and flavours.

The Smoking Dog Bistro
1889 West 1st Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Ph: 604-732-8811

The Bard-on-the-Beach 2009 season has officially begun and we were off to Vanier Park to see Othello. Surfing around for restaurants close by I thought that this Bistro at 1st and Cypress would be a pleasant walk away from the Bard location. Although Kitsilano's neighbourhood Smoking Dog French bistro has been here "forever" as I learned while my dining companion regaled me with its history,  this was my first time trying it out.

Our reservation was for 5:30 - early for dinner in Vancouver, as we approached the restaurant, I noticed that many of the outside tables along 1st Street were already occupied. A good sign. We were shown to the patio on the Cypress side of the Bistro and were able to get a table that was shaded from direct sunlight. Amazingly the air was still balmy. I remember the Bard opening of Twelfth Night on the same date in June last year - it was freezing cold and even with a thick jacket and a blanket I was chilled to the bone. But I thought that maybe tonight we would not even need a jacket.

Within minutes of being seated, we were chatting to our friendly waiter, whose accent declared his origin to be in France; and I was sipping a glass of a delicious white wine blend perfect for a warm spring evening.

Kentizen
2029 88 W. Pender St.,
Vancouver
Ph: 778-863-8281

We were planning to see Antigone Unbound later  at the Leaky Heaven Circus Studio above the Russion Hall, so finding ourselves in the general vicinity of Chinatown we decided to wander around and find somewhere for a casual supper. I remembered that there was a place inside the Tinseltown complex that I had wanted to check out so we took the escalator to the second floor and wandered into Kentizen. It was still early,  around 5:30 and so we took a window table and studied the menu. As we were debating the merits of Japanese food versus Chinese food, the manager suggested we check out the buffet.

One look at the sushi portion of the buffet and I was sold. So we each took an attractive oblong transparent blue glass plate and helped ourselves to some of the sushi, edemame and other items.