Trattoria

Food: * * * 1/2

Service: * * *

This place is busy busy, so service can be inattentive and/or slow as a result. Totally hit-and-miss. The food was pretty tasty but not as good as my favourite, Q4. We shared both the appie and pasta platters, which I thought weren't nearly as filling as they looked to be. Prices were standard for mid-range Italian dining, and the whole restaurant had a total cocktail-lounge-party feel about it that was a bit off-putting for me (though maybe if I was a scantily clad, stiletto-wearing bar star, I might think it was the best place ever). It's probably a good place to go with friends but not so much for a romantic dinner with your Hubbs; the demographic they cater to probably skews younger and trendier.

Firewood Cafe

Food: * * * * 1/2

Service: * * * 1/2 (Take-out)

Last minute decision to have pizza for dinner, and we hit up this tiny little place on 14th and Cambie. Impressive giant forno oven in their open kitchen - this was definitely a pizza place. They mostly do delivery/take-out and in-house dining space is very very limited. Pizza was thin-crust, well loaded with toppings, and deliciously flavourful. Our new Van favourite, and as good (if not better) than Ragazzi / Pizza Boys in E-town. Pizzas here aren't cheap, but worth the $ IMHO. Call ahead for take-out. A much better alternative to the boring pizza chains out there. :)

Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company

Maybe we're just suckers for thin-crust pizza, or maybe we were weakened by our famished state, but Hubbs & I really enjoyed Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. Sans reso, we popped in for some flatbread pizza one warm evening. The prices were affordable, the atmosphere relaxed and friendly (and family-friendly, too), and the aroma of authentic fire-roasted thin-crust pizzas made the wait nearly unbearable.

Hubbs had the seafood pizza with wild boar bacon and Quallicum scallops, while I had one with prosciutto, fresh basil and mango; it may have been their special because it's not on the online menu.

It's a pretty chill place, and one we plan to return to. Go for a quick bite of yummy and unique pizzas. It isn't the cheapest pie in the city but the price is justified by its wholesome and fresh ingredients.

Service: 4 out of 5

Food: 4 out of 5

Quattro on Fourth

I'm getting lazy. Nowadays, I find myself more inclined to blog only if the food somewhere is horrendously bad or amazingly good. Consider this the latter. Upon our return from E-town, Hubbs took me to dinner at Quattro on Fourth. I'm not sure where he heard about the place from (I think it was Vancouver magazine) but he really wanted good Italian, so we made a reso and off we went.

Secluded behind shrubbery, the corner location of Quattro on 4th makes it very cozy and intimate. We were one of only 5-6 tables there (late Sun. night) and so the service was attentive, though I found the dishes did take a bit of waiting.

Hubbs & I both did appies and pasta; he had the crab & sablefish cakes to start, followed by the famous Spaghetti Quattro. I had the grilled radicchio bocconcini followed by their house-made gnocchi with bbq duck confit. Both of our appies were delicious, though I think I liked mine a bit more than Hubbs' given that I found his cakes a bit salty for my tastes; my radicchio was well-grilled and the cheese inside was just a bit gooey, making it a great texture contrast to the slightly crisped lettuce.

I also loved my gnocchi (a seasonal dish); it was tender, and a perfect flavouring complement to the duck and the bacon and the peas. It also wasn't too heavy, but was seasoned and spiced in such a way that upon reheating leftovers, I had my colleagues drooling ;) Hubbs can't stop thinking about his spaghetti, which is made with minced chicken breast, black beans, and a garlicky tomato coating. I hesitate to say sauce because it wasn't saucy so much as it was a flavoured olive oil, though it did have chunks of tomato in it. Hubbs loved it. I believe it's the best spaghetti he has ever had (that's what he says, anyway).

So far, this has been our favourite Van Italian eatery. It was romantic, upscale (but not ridiculous - think about $20 for pasta entrees), and the food was tasty. Service was professional and friendly without the server pretending to be our friend (I hate when they do that). Quattro on 4th is a great "special occasion" or romantic date restaurant, and we'll definitely be back soon. :)

Service: 4.5 out of 5

Food: 4.5 out of 5

Lombardo's Pizza

We were initially going to go for Thai food.  Then it was changed to French (my idea), then Hubbs thought better and declared it an Italian night.  I grudgingly agreed, the grudging made moreso when Hubbs took me on a "scenic route" down Burrard St. before bringing me to Lombardo's.  I didn't quite appreciate the two scraggly folks yelling, "F*** off!" and "F*** you!" to each other at the bus stop on Burrard.  It was sketchy and scary to me (Hubbs says I've become spoiled).

Anyway, the place was crowded when we arrived, and we snagged their last table.  We totally would've made a reso if they would have accepted one, but thankfully our timing was fortuitous since they don't.  We were led up to a tiny 2-top on the 3rd floor (well, 2nd floor but they also have tables on the landing half-way up the stairs).  Shortly after being seated, as in 30 seconds, we were asked for a drink order.  I had ice tea.  

Then, down to the ordering.  Of course I was going to have pizza, though Hubbs was torn between pizza and pasta.  He eventually caved in to my insistence that previous reviewers liked the pizza more, and ordered himself a Salmone pizza.  I had the Al Due Formaggi.  We also shared calamari to start. 

Given how full the place was, we were pleasantly surprised to see that our appies came quickly.  The dip with the calamari was super yummy, though I wasn't fond of the tubular nature of their squid.  I liked the tentacles the best. :)  The wait for the pizza was a little longer, but still within the realm of reasonable.  Hubbs loved his pizza, while I liked mine.  Maybe it was the tomatoes, but my pizza was soggy in the middle, to the point of forming a wet puddle in the middle of my plate.  I ended up having to sop up some of the liquid with my napkin (gross!), and even then I found my pie lacking in crust crispiness.

After our meal was done, we shared a tiramisu.  That was my favourite part of the night; the creamy whipped goodness in this dessert was enough to make me melt.  Better yet, the tiramisu wasn't overloaded with ladyfingers, which I like but not in excess.  I say, bring on the sugary marscapone cream!  Hubbs had insisted that I actually eat half of the dessert (which I don't always do), and this time I gladly complied.

The bill at the end of the night was respectable, though I was a bit chuffed that when I asked our server to break my $20 for me, she ended up bringing back two $10's and claming that she couldn't get anyone to break it down any further.  Say what?!  What sort of restaurant doesn't have a float?  What sort of restaurant can't give me a $5 and some change?!?  WTF.  I wasn't too pleased with her for that.

All in all, in the end I had a decently good meal, so I didn't give Hubbs the gears too much about choosing Italian over French (I wanted to head to Les Faux Bourgeois).  I get to pick our next major dine-out though, so I'm going to make sure it's a place that can make change and doesn't sog-out on the pizza.

Service: 3 out of 5

Food: 3.5 out of 5 (4 out of 5 on the tiramisu)