La Terrazza

Sorry for the delay as I had to purchase a new computer since my old one died and unfortunately, a lot of photos were on there too... oh well, time to start again. So I'm in a diet pact with some friends and after three weeks of eating very healthy, we decided to treat ourselves to what we missed most... carbs! We decided to check out La Terrazza given its relatively good reviews and we were craving pasta that was not Anton's... There's parking along Cambie and Pacific and since it's not the main part of downtown, meters aren't bad.

We were greeted and taken through the lounge to their main dining area. It's a very nice and spacious room; they even have an outdoor area. It'd be a perfect place to take a date with the intimate setting, dim lights and the soft classical music playing in the background.

Lumacche ~ $14.88 - sauteed escargots with wild mushroom-filled pasta envelopes. Very good and you can really taste the escargot. The only other place where I've tried escargot was at Les Faux Bourgeois and if I had to recommend between the two, I'd say LT is more authentic although LFB is like $6 cheaper and tastier because of the salt.

Pizzeta de mare ~ $14.88 - flat bread crust with tuna, avocado, and a cilantro aioli. I really liked this dish and wished there was more. It was cut into 4 with each piece being about the size of a credit card and a half so while good, a tad pricey. Reminded me of the flat bread at Sciue but softer.

Risotte de mare ~ $21.88 - risotto with tiger prawns, sweet peas and a shellfish broth. It was ok... and I realized three things from this dish: 1) it comes with baby tiger prawns, 2) peas mixed in a pasta (or even a rice) doesn't mesh and 3) I don't like shellfish. This was the only risotto dish so you have to take what can but I think I'd try another dish next time.

Ravioli - ravioli with butternut squash, cheese and truffle oil. It was a dinner special and I can't remember the details but it was more pricier than the other pastas. Portion-wise, it was the smallest of the three but my friend really enjoyed it.

Penne a l'arrabiata ~ $17.88 - pancetta with mushrooms in a spicy tomato sauce. It was alright although the sauce had a much stronger kick than I had originally anticipated.

Torta d'amore - I forgot the dessert prices but I believe each was around $8 or so. This is essentially molten lava cake with vanilla bean gelato. It's good but you'd get better value at Joey's which I believe has the best lava cake dessert.

La creazione - white chocolate cheesecake wrapped in a pastry shell with sour cherries. I liked this one more than the other dessert.

Overall rating: 7/10 - the decor and atmosphere were incredible and that was probably the best part of the restaurant for me. For an Italian restaurant, their pasta selection was limited so that was a little disappointing. Personally, I enjoyed the appetizers more than the entrees but I would definitely be willing to go back and try out different dishes.




La Terrazza

1088 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 6J5

Tel: 604-899-4449

Favorito Pasta Trattoria

Located near the busy intersection of Cambie and Broadway (and across from Sportmart as you can probably tell) is this quaint little pasta place that I was first introduced to by my boss. It didn't look spectacular on the outside nor the inside, but the food itself is pretty good!

Inside is kind of dark and I don't really like sitting beside the windows since they are so many passerbys. I think this is a mom and pop joint since the only server/host is a sullen, Italian (I'm pretty sure) man who I've seen every time I've come. Bearing that in mind, service isn't expected to be the greatest but since it's never overly busy, the wait times are bearable.

I've only been for lunch so I'm not sure about their dinner menu but at least 95% of their pastas are $12 or less and they do have a wide selection of pasta. I also must say that the past dishes are quite large but not Anton's large but the quality is much better. (For the record, I think Anton's is only about portions and nothing more)

Once you've ordered, you're treated to a basket of fresh, crispy bread with some butter. The butter comes in a relatively big ceramic cup which leads me to believe that it's probably been re-used and the bottom portion is nasty. However, I can't complain about free, hot bread.

Scallops ~ $10.95 - mushrooms and scallions in a cream sauce. This is probably my second favorite dish here. My friend really liked it and since she's a tiny girl, she was only able to finish about half of it.

Salmone affumicato ~ $10.95 - pink smoked BC salmon sauce. I had this and it's my most favorite dish here. There's a lot of salmon and overall just tastes great. It's unfortunate that I tried this one first because once I find a dish that I like, I tend to stick with it. I like the penne style of pasta but you can pick whatever type you prefer.

Bolognese ~ $10.95 - tomato sauce with lean beef and fresh herbs. My friend had this and said it was only okay relative to the other dishes she's had here. Other than the two listed above, others that I like include the favorito chicken and the cajun chicken. I've attached a picture of one half of the pasta menu for your reference. The other side has a few more pastas like carbonara and also includes the liked of stuffed pastas and lasagna.

I think this is a great place to grab lunch and go for a casual dinner with friends and family. It's comfortable, quiet and cozy but probably not a special, romantic kind of place but good for the first date =p



Favorito Pasta Trattoria

552 West Broadway St.
Vancouver, BC V5Z1E9

Tel: (604) 876-3534

Federico's Supper Club

Hey all, sorry for the long hiatus as I had to take a break to study for my final exam so I'll try to make it up by having putting up a few more than usual reviews. Thanks for being patient yo.

Meal time : Saturday 8:00PM

My friend decided to celebrate her birthday here cause they had live entertainment, dancing and of course, good Italian food. Since we had a group of over 10, we had to select from a set menu which had about 3 selections for each course so there was some variety.
The scene of the singers and dancers with the dance floor. The floor itself is kind of small, maybe enough room for like 20 people? Unfortunately, way in the back hall in the top centre of the picture is where the washroom is so if you're on the other side (like we were), expect to waltz through to the washroom when you gotta go.

Our waiter, who reminded me of Frankenstein's hunchback assistant, was quite assertive and in-your-face. When we sat down, he remarked that it didn't look like we had enough room. We said we were fine and were within talking distance. Apparently, he didn't agree and started moving people's placements farther away and even moving some of us while we still seated. Perhaps he might need more room but the rest of us don't eat with our elbows on the table. Anyway...

Vitello Tonatto - thinly sliced veal loin with tuna aioli and capers - So... I guess this was good but not memorable. I don't normally like to eat veal though but it was the only appetizer with meat so I had no choice.

Linguine ai Frutti di Mare - linguine with fresh fish, shellfish, tomatoes and garlic - I didn't get to try it cause I don't like shellfish but my friend said it was so salty that she actually needed to take a sip of water after every bite. It was subsequently taken back into the kitchen where a new plate was made. By then, it was too late as her taste buds had already been "assalted" haha


Bistecca alla Griglia - grilled flat iron steak with juniper berries with sauteed vegetables. This was alright but like the veal, wasn't memorable. I did find the plate a tad small though.


Some kinda seafood pasta - sorry, I forgot the name and while going back to the menu, I was unable to locate it so it may have been a limited offering. My friend said it was good though.

Torta al Cloccolato - flourless chocolate cake - The first of 3 desserts I got to sample. It was extremely sweet. It was still good but my least fave of the 3.

Creme Brulee - i like creme brulee and this great, but not out of his world great. A bit more sweeter than I'd liked though. 2nd fave.

Tiramisu - I liked it a lot although as with the other 2 desserts, it was a little too sweet. If i had pick only one, it'd be the tiramisu.

The food was good but not awesome. The 3 course meal came out to be $40 without the 18% gratuity and taxes. For this alone, I wouldn't have thought it was worth it., especially the gratuity for the in your face server with the pompous attitude. However, likely the other part of the cost goes towards the entertainment.

I must say that Federico (the owner) is a great singer and entertainer. He's Italian but he also sung in Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese which was totally crazy and put my Chinese to shame. He was singing more of the classics although he did take a request to sing a black eyed peas song which was neat. Unfortunately, the time we came was also the same night that what appeared to be the mature Chinese singles dancing association and they took over the dance floor with their elegant moves. I was especially impressed with the pimpin' grandpa who appeared to have a whirl with all of the ladies. If only I could be as smooth as him in my senior years.



Federico's Supper Club
1728 Commercial Dr.
Vancouver BC, V5N 4A3
Tel. 604.251.3473
www.federicossupperclub.com
reservations recommended