Ciao Bella

Everything about this restaurant tries to convey authenticity. From the apparently Italian wait staff to the very Italian-heavy wine list, it makes an honest attempt to bring a little piece of Italy to your evening.

The restaurant is nicely laid out, but you might want to get there early if you want a booth or a table by the window as they have a limited selection of both. The bar looks inviting and the comfortably-sized patio located on the cross street would be a great place to have a lazy Tuscan meal.

The staff is friendly and the service is up to par, but the best thing about Ciao Bella is the entertainment which is provided every week Thursday through Saturday. The piano was easily the most endearing part of the evening, with classic songs and a long set. We both enjoyed the entire performance, especially the few songs that the pianist sang. Her voice is fantastic - it is worth to patron this restaurant just to listen to a few quiet and intimate melodies.

The menu offers 120 pasta combinations, as well as meat and seafood options.

When: Thursday, June 29 2006. (8:30pm)

M: As an appetizer we shared the Beef Carpaccio ($9.95), one of the specialty of the house. The dish was well prepared, using nice seared beef, good oil and quality parmesan.

Alla Vongle ($13.95) is one of my favourite sauce and I was happy to find it on the menu. I was surprised though when my plate arrived - this is not the usual pasta Alla Vongle. Their version uses an oil-based sauce, which is fragrant with garlic and onions but contains no tomatoes. The clams, served in their shells, were for the most part lovely although a few of them did not taste fresh.

T: The Pasta Abbruzzo ($13.95) was technically correct but seemed to be lacking the heart of the dish. The scarcity of the pine nuts and the small amount of spinach gave me the impression that I was eating a lot of pasta, and little else. The sauce was a little sweet but fortunately not distractingly so. I did enjoy the controlled use of sun dried tomato: too often have I been subjected to dishes where the tomato takes over and overpowers all other flavours.

Wine list, by T: I was pleased to find that the wine list included all of the most well known Italian wines, from Montelpuciano de Abrizzo to Amarone. Most of them seemed a little excessively priced - more than the usual restaurant mark-up at least. Regardless, this is a fine selection befitting an establishment of that size and I cannot fault them for charging more while trying to cater to the Italian market.

Pro: Ciao Bella offers a 4-course dinner for the modest sum of $25. Other great deals are to be had on Pasta Tuesday, where all pasta dishes are at 50% off.

Con: The wine list mark-up is steep: it could use a 5 to 10% reduction. As well, the restaurant can be very bright at times. It would do much to the atmosphere if the lights were dimmed a little and the candles at each table lit.

Verdict: T says nay, M says yea. We both agree that the food was nice but that the price couldn't justify the product. This is why we recommend going for Pasta Tuesday or taking advantage of the table d'hôte in order to get more bang for your buck.



Ciao Bella
703 Denman Street
Vancouver BC V6G 2L6
604-688-5771
Italian Restaurant and Piano Bar

Shima Sushi

Looking for a place to eat after 10pm on any given Sunday night can be quite the challenge. Fortunately, Shima Sushi comes to the rescue, boasting both an open sign and open door until late at night.

With only a few tables inside, the basic but inviting room seems to never be without customers. And while it can get quite hot inside, the two small tables on the sidewalk at the front of the restaurant make for great people watching and provide a much needed respite from the heat.

The menu offers a vast choice of sushi, as well as noodle dishes and other common Japanese dishes.

When: Sunday, June 25 2006. (10:30pm)

M says: The Shima Roll ($3.50) was very tasty and slightly sweet with its crab, avocado and yam tempura. Not as impressive was the BC Roll ($2.99) - whole salmon is used (not the usual crispy salmon skin) and the salmon was dry and drenched in terriaki sauce. The grilled Gyoza ($3.99) arrived slightly broken up and tasted mostly of cabbage.

I helped T out a little with the Dinner Box and quite enjoyed the squash and yam tempura. The sashimi was beautiful: big, fresh pieces of fatty salmon and of (previously frozen) white tuna. Unfortunately, the Ebi sushi tasted of cleaning products and I did not finish it.

T says: The Dinner Box ($12.95) is the biggest box available and is packed with plenty of food. Served with Miso soup, it contains sushi (California Roll, Salmon, Tuna and Ebi), Salmon and Tuna Sashimi, assorted Tempura, Chicken Terriaki with vegetables, Sunomono Salad and a slice of orange. The box is a great deal, with its large amount of food at a reasonable price. The Shima Roll was divine and the other rolls were satisfactory, especially considering the price. As well, the service was adequate, excepting for the Miso soup served sans spoon.

Without a doubt, the best thing about Shima Sushi is the value for the dollar. While they do not serve the most impressive sushi by any stretch of imagination, they were open later than most places. Fresh tasting sushi (except for the shrimp) at exceptional prices makes this a great bargain. They also offer a take-out service.

Con:Shima Sushi does not have a liquor license, so you will not be able to quench your thirst with Sake or Japanese beer here. Also, note that Shima Sushi was shut down by the health authorities in 2003 (along with many other popular restaurants on Denman Street) for "unsanitary conditions". The kitchen still does not appear to be the cleanest around, but that did not reflect on the food too much.

Verdict.

T says yea: if you need a sushi fix and are strapped for cash, I wouldn't hesitate to head into Shima Sushi for some nice big slices of sashimi and a few quality rolls. It won't top the restaurant reviews, but at least you will be able to afford the bus home afterwards.

M say nay: while the food there is not bad, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again.



Shima Sushi
1088 Denman Street
Vancouver BC V6G 2M8
604-683-0218
"We are your sushi house"

Restaurant Closures on Denman Street

In my search for more information about the restaurants on Denman Street, I did a lot of searched online. To my surprise, I kept finding in my search results links to temporary establishment closure notices as ordered by the VCH Public Health Protection department.

I debated whether or not these closures should be disclosed on this blog. On one hand, knowledge is power. On the other hand, these closures may not reflect the current situation of the establishment and may tarnish its image. Indeed, although some of these closure reasons do not appear to be quite alarming, others are not making me look forward to eating at the offending establishment in questions. Even when the closure occurred a few years back, the knowledge of these breaches in food safety regulations are leaving me uneasy.

Because of this, and because this information is readily available online, I have decided to tally the Denman Street establishment closures by year and post them here. This way, you get to decide for yourself how you would like to view this information. Please note that this information was taken from the Vancouver Coastal Health website.

2002

• Gen-Ki * 792 Denman St * Mouse Infestation.
• Tanpopo Japanese Restaurant * 1122 Denman St * Cockroach infestation, poor general maintenance, poor food handling.
• Milestones * 1210 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions, food not protected from contamination.
• Bud's Fish & Chips * 1007 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions, poor food handling.
• Grove Inn * 1047 Denman St * Mouse & roach infestations.
• Ocean Inn Restaurant * 1037 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions, rodent infestation, dishwasher not operational, structural deficiencies.

2003

• Shima Sushi * 1088 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions.
• Oasis Mongolian BBQ * 825 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions, dishwasher not working.
• Kintaro Ramen * 788 Denman St * Dishwasher not working.

2004

• Chicago's Deep Dish Pizza * 721 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions.
• Café La Cantina * 1152 Denman St * Poor maintenance & organization, poor food-handling practices, dishwasher not operating at correct temperatures.
• Banana Leaf * 1096 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions.

2005

• Dover Arms Neighbourhood Public House * 957 Denman St * Inadequate cooling and/or refrigerating storage of potentially hazardous foods.
• Musashi Japanese Restaurant * 780 Denman St * Unsanitary conditions.
• Thai Coconut Restaurant * 835 Denman St * Improper dishwashing, unsanitary conditions.
• Fresco Juice * 1187 Denman St * No hot water.
• Bay View Café * 103-1184 Denman St * Insufficient supply of hot water.

2006 (as of July 2006)

• Thai Coconut Restaurant * 835 Denman St * Lack of hot water.

Say what?

In July 2005, I embarked on an 8 month travel odyssey through Asia and Oceania and I fell in loved with the constant discoveries, new flavours and clashes of cultures that I encountered along the way. On my return home, I found myself missing that world of stimuli and constant unknown and I tried to find a way to travel within my own city, or at least, to keep the spirit of traveling alive.

One night in May, during dinner with a friend in a dodgy Malaysian restaurant on Main street, I was struck with an idea. What if I were to travel through food and try every single restaurants on one street? A crazy idea, yes. And a great idea. But my plan had a flaw: I was considering Main Street, a street which runs nearly for eternity (ok, I may be exaggerating here). I had to find a shorter street with as good of a selection.

Thus came the idea of Denman Street. Denman Street is hot and happening - and it happens to be within 5 minutes walking distance from my house. It has everything that I could possibly be looking for in a food street: diverse ethnic eats, varied restaurant types, cheap eats, cute cafés. And the best thing is - the street is not that long. Thus, the Denman Challenge was born. And to make things more entertaining, I will be doing this challenge with a fellow food-obsessed friend. Reviews, comments and opinions will be from both he and I.

Now, you might be wondering about the rules. There is only one: to consume food and/or drinks (as applicable) at every establishment that serves either or both on Denman Street. Now that Subway has closed down, hitting every restaurants, cafés, bars and gellato shop should be no problem. There are no time limits and no specific order. And I can choose to be a return customer as I see fit (although it would obviously lengthen the challenge).

With over 70 places to grab a bite and quench my thirst on that street, this challenge will take a long time to accomplish. But that's what makes it fun. It won't be easy. It won't be pretty. But damnit, it will be great.

So, let the Denman Challenge begin!!!

Discover Denman Street

Located in Vancouver's beautiful West End, Denman Street runs in proximity to Stanley Park and connects English Bay with Coal Harbour, our sparkling waterfront hot spots.

Most of the activity is centered around the English Bay end, with sun-seekers crowding the streets and patios during the summer months. This is also where some of the one million plus who watch the Celebration of Light fireworks competition each summer gather to get a great view of the show. And being located right beside the gay village, Denman also is the starting point for Vancouver's colourful Gay Pride Parade.

Denman is the perfect street for this challenge as it is a great street for food. While only 9 block in length, it offers hundreds of dining and drinking options ranging to anything from 5-star restaurants to cheap all-you-can-eat sushi. And with the absence of big fast food chains, the street boasts a great neighbourhood feeling (and won't clog our arteries with too much supersized fat and sugars).

And now, for a bit of trivia:

* Denman Street was named after admiral Denman, the hero of the bloodiest naval scene ever fought on the coast of BC. A rebellious Vancouver Island tribe suffered a bombardment of 9 villages and a loss of 64 canoes.

* The street began to gain momentum around 1888, when shops started to populate the street and a tram line was installed.

* By 1973, the West End was Canada's most populated area and the government passed legislature to restrain growth and preserve a neighbourhood-like feeling.

* Even the Stanley Cup was won on Denman Street! During the 1914-1915 season, the Vancouver Millionaires became the Western champions and went on to play the Ottawa Senators (not to be confused with the current team of the same name) at the Denman Arena for the cup. The Millionaires won 3-0.

* Built in 1911 by Frank Patrick, The Denman Arena was the largest indoor ice rink in the world at the time. The huge brick building, located at 1805 West Georgia at the corner of Denman Street, was destroyed by fire in 1936.