Well lucky for us Vancouverites we reside in the culinary capital of Canada. I think most of us knew that anyways, especially those that have traveled to other cities in our fine country. Although each city has its unique flavour, none compare to Vancouver. Our scene is vibrant and dynamic and has the talent to thrive in the international scene. This is just one of the elements of becoming a truly cosmopolitan city.
It wasn’t long ago that T.O. could lay claim to being the number one culinary destination in this country; that is no longer the case. A recent Globe and Mail article highlighted this very statement. Just look at the number of celebrity chefs coming to our town. They aren’t even looking at T.O. Case in point, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Daniel Boulud gave the “centre of the universe” the middle finger and chose Vancouver to set up their first Canadian ventures. Boulud will be taking over Lumiere and Feenies. Feenies will be renamed to DB Bistro Moderne. Jean-George will be running the new high-end restaurant in the Shangri-La Hotel. Well, T.O. still beats us when it comes to $1 pizza joints.
There are just so many great places to eat in this town. Not only are they great but they are also world renowned to being one of the best in their cuisines, such as Tojo’s, Vij’s and Cioppino’s. There have been approximately 40 fine dining establishments that have opened in just 2007 alone. For a city of our size that is down right amazing.
Vancouver’s restaurant scene has evolved to garner international praise and has attracted the top talent in the industry. We have quality fresh ingredients and great cultural diversity which is a recipe for a great restaurant scene.
However, there are some downsides to our restaurant scene. One being the chain restaurants, it seems as though the chains have the ability to attract the casual diner more so than fine dining places. Further, these chain restaurants aren’t that much cheaper and in some cases cost just as much as fine dining establishments. Our second flaw is the skyrocketing rent, what this means to you, the consumer, is that we will be paying more for our gourmet pizzas and burgers. In comparison to the international scene, we are considered to be a bargain so I guess it was just a matter of time before we were to see prices creeping up higher.
This week the higher ups at Vancity Buzz have instructed me, the Urban Dweller, to review one restaurant everyday for the rest of the week. I will review not only fine dining establishments, but will attempt to cover a few quick service places. Any particular places you readers would like reviewed let me know.
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