While it might be the time of year many are cutting back on dining out, post holiday indulgence, once you look over the Dine Out Vancouver menus for many of the restaurants around town you’ll be certain to at least be tempted to book a few.  With three course dinners priced at $18, $28 and $38 there’s good value out there, not to mention unique dishes that aren’t on regular menus.  Don’t forget the hotel specials and unique events which have been added to the festival each year.

 

Check out http://www.tourismvancouver.com/dine/dine-out-vancouver-2012/ for details.

I was invited to try out a few of The Glowbal Collections dishes last week and have a few previews of their offerings.  Seats are still available throughout the festival, running January 20 until February 5, but act quickly as prime times are already booked.

First on the journey was Society, the most youthful restaurant in the group, with a customer base that tends to drift in later and a huge selection of crazy cocktails including boozy milkshakes and cotton candy topped drinks.  The menu here is also on the funky side, serving up grilled cheese, lobster shepherds pie and pink nachos, but quality isn’t compromised for novelty.  The Vancouver Dine Out menu here is merely $18 and includes starters such as spinach salad, pull pork croquette, mains of prawn linguini and veal piccata and a chocolate smore creme brulee.  Chef Alfred Contiga will soon be changing up the regular menu, so stay tuned.

The spinach salad included orange segments, pecan slices and was serviced atop melted riopelle cheese – a good flavour combination and the deep fried pork croquettes were lightened up with some apple and onion slaw.  The veal was tender and served with a hearty polenta, and the prawn linguini came with a surprise prawn mealball and plenty of rich tomato sauce.  The creme brulee is light up table side, caramelizing the top and if you dip in the house-made graham cracker, you do get the campfire experience with a gourmet twist.

Heading over to glowbal grill steaks and satays, the menu jumps to the $38 price point due to the addition of a few higher-end ingredients, and the more formal atmosphere.  Choose from roasted butternut squash soup, grilled beef tataki or prawn cocktail to start. Entrée options include: Beef tenderloin; seared Alaskan black cod; or wild mushroom gnocchi. Dessert is chocolate crème brûlée with cinnamon and pear compote and almond biscotti.

The beef tataki was served with truffle aioli and was my favourite over the rather ordinary prawn cocktail.  The beef tenderloin would definitely bring me back to the restaurant with it’s accompanying rich garlic whipped potato, confit shallot and red wine jus. Fish lovers will enjoy the Alaskan black cod pieces that served with cauliflower purée, roasted fingerling potatoes, and vanilla beurre blanc.  The service at glowbal is always friendly. I’ve been in a few times in the past year, and I welcome the professionalism, along with a familiarity I’ve earned from keeping the bar seat warm.

Sanafir’s three-course Dine Out menu is $18. Choose either the pan-seared tandoori prawn, tabouleh salad, yellow coconut curry, with lemon chutney and a papadum crisp, or the fried chickpea and saffron cous cous salad, with mint and tomatoes, to start. Entrée options include: Singapore prawn cashew curry with aged basmati rice; butter chicken with aged basmati rice and papadum; or almond cauliflower korma with papadum. Dessert is cardamom-dusted zelbias, cinnamon crème anglaise and chocolate bark.

I hadn’t been to Sanafir in ages but after retasting the menu and enjoying the festive atmosphere, will return.  I particularly appreciate the high ceilings and East Asian decor that manages to transports you to a far more exotic city.

The portions here are generous for $18 and packed full of flavour.  Basamati rice and papadum crisps are necessary to mop up the extra sauce.  I’d choose the tandori prawns and butter chicken from the menu over the other options, but Sanafir is a great choice for vegeterians looking for something other a bit out of the ordinary, as the fried chickpea and saffron cous cous salad and cauliflower korma are also good alternatives.