A group of six and I spent a while to settle on a restaurant during Dine Out Vancouver. After searching for a menu that will satisfy all our tastes, we went to dine out at Left Coast Bar & Bistro on Sunday night. The restaurant is located in Kitsilano (West 4th) and it used to be The Flying Tiger; until it changed in November 2011.
It wasn’t very busy on Sunday night, despite there being a Canucks hockey game. It had nice decor, but it was a bit stuffy where we sat in the back.
The full Dine Out menu can be seen here.
Despite the choice of three appetizers, everyone at our table started with the duck poutine. Poutine is a well popular food item in Vancouver, and to see it put with duck was an enticing choice.
Overall, the poutine was appetizing, but it was quite filling with the cheese. One person at our table didn’t entirely enjoy the sweetness infused with the gravy, since it had cranberry in it. The fries were perfectly fried; crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. However, these were normal fries, not very “shoestring” to me.
shredded duck and smoked gouda, with shoestring fries and a cranberry port gravy
After we were semi-full from the poutine, we marched on with our entrees! We all covered each entree on the menu which includes sable fish, steak frites, and basil pesto pasta.
Most of our group went with the sable fish. The fish was well enjoyed by everyone who had it, and me who got to taste a bite! It was very light and soft and well seasoned. There were two pieces of fish, and one was flaky. The honey glazed yams completed the meal; soft, hot baked yams with sweet honey.
Pan seared sable fish with basil pesto and balsamic reduction. Served with honey glazed yams
My friend, who is allergic to peanuts, had the basil pesto pasta. This pesto did not have actual pine nuts and is different from the conventional pesto sauce. She thought the pasta was a bit too oily for her liking and could use stronger flavour.
Tagliatelle pasta with basil pesto, oven cured tomatos, zucchini, and oyster mushrooms
I, myself, had the steak frites. I was so excited to dig into beef after I had my poutine. I had my steak done medium. The steak was juicy and was not tough. I dipped the argula salad and asparagus all over the peppercorn gravy since the sauce was very appetizing. The “shoestring potatoes” are similar to those hickory sticks you get from vending machines, only smaller. They were nicely fried and extremely salty, in a way that you can’t stop eating more, but I knew I had to because my throat would hurt from too much salty fried food.
7oz flank steak with peppercorn gravy, shoestring potatoes, roasted asparagus, and a parm and arugula salad
Dessert! By that time I was quite full. There were three choices of dessert and we covered the range that was offered on the menu.
Cookies n’ Cream: My friend said that the cookie was nice and warm but it had too much oatmeal and she expected more chocolate. It wasn’t a dessert that was special; just ordinary.
large, baked to order, double chocolate ship cookie with vanilla ice cream. Served in a warm skillet
Chocolate souffle: My friend enjoyed her chocolate souffle, but wished it was warmer.
Rich, dense, and all chocolate. Warmed and served w/ a mango puree’
Lastly, and the one I ordered- Lemon Tort Pie! It is a classic pie, and there’s no bells or whistles. I would’ve preferred it if the pie was warmed- to me dessert has to have the right temperature; I do not like room temperature dessert. The pie was very light, and not dense, which was satisfying after such a heavy meal I had before. The pie had a light lemon flavour and had no tartness, but it wasn’t too sweet either. This is great for those who doesn’t have a sweet tooth. The crust was soft and I ate the crust but didn’t finish the cake part.
Classic pie with icing sugar
Between appetizer, entree, and dessert; I found dessert was the least underwhelming of all. The entrees (namely the sable fish and the steak frites) got good feedback from myself and friends, and I believe I paid a good value of $28 for this dine out meal. However, being in a party of 6, there was an automatic 18% gratuity.
The tip was quite justified though. The service was excellent (more so than some fine dining restaurants). Due to my friend’s peanut allergy, the server double checked that the meals were peanut-free. Because my friend couldn’t eat any of the dessert (after discovering the possibility of nuts in the lemon tort pie); the server gave her three scoops of vanilla ice cream with mango puree.
Dine Out adventure #3 coming soon! Hope you’re all eating happy! 🙂
