Restaurant: Market

Market in Shangri-La
1128 West Georgia Street
Level 3
Vancouver, BC
Canada
tel: 604 661 3336

http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/vancouver/shangrila/dining

Jean Georges Vongerichten is a super-chef. Up there with the best of the best. Michelin stars, celebrity following, slew of restaurants around the world...ummm...celebrity himself.
Market in Shangri-La is one of his babies and it is the shangri-la of edible yummyness (groan). The restaurant has 3 areas. The formal dining lounge, café and bar. It has a lovely deck in the summer time although most of it is covered so you won't get much ultra-violet.
Nice décor but really I would eat in a kennel if he was serving up the meal. I went for lunch and they have a deal (yes, while I realize a $28 dollar lunch does not sound deal-y to most but for Jean Georges it is). You get to choose 2 items from all the appies, soups, salads and mains. So if you are feeling particularly famished or wanna get bang for your buck you could order two mains. Then you get a dessert too. So 3 courses. Its worth it.

Steamed shrimp salad with tender greens, avocado champagne dressing

This was...heaven.
There was a champagne beurre blanc on the shrimp that made my eyes roll back. Champagne beurre blanc is silly good. I will be tracking down the best recipe for this so if anyone has one they recommend send 'em my way. The shrimp were more like prawns and there were also enoki mushrooms. And decent size. But really I could have eaten a trough of this salad and not have gotten sick of it. Yo, JGV I think you need to add an "All you can eat Salad Bar" at your next venture.

Arctic char sashimi with lemon, horseradish dill

And this...I will sell my soul to the devil for.
FLAVOUR BURST!!!
Just go there now and get it. My description will not do justice. Its like trying to describe the Sistine Chapel.

Sablefish with a nut & seed crust, sweet & sour broth

My friend Erin ordered this but was kind enough to give me a bite when she saw me drooling and staring. Thank you Erin. It was divine.
I had to take my dessert to go as I had to head back to work. It wasn't on the menu but a coconut shortbread with a coconut mousse and raspberries...I think. Unfortunately after my sashimi and salad high I was oblivious to anything else.

Restaurant: Les Faux Bourgeois

Les Faux Bourgeois
663 15th Avenue East
Vancouver, BC
Canada
tel: 604 873 9733

http://www.lesfauxbourgeois.com/

My amazing future sister-in-law recommended we go here. And since she has impeccable taste (hey, she's dating my brother!) I knew it would be delicious. Located off of Kingsway this French bistro is like a little trip to the 14th Arrondissement in Paris. We sat at the bar and our waiter/bartender had such a thick accent I couldn't even understand the description of the ling cod. And I speak French. So why didn't I speak French to him...? Umm yeah who is the thick one now. Needless to say we saw someone else order it and it looked like it was ready for our consumption. Great menu (many dishes were marked that they could be done Vegetarian), wonderful atmosphere and delicious food.

Salade Nicoise.

I am on a constant search for the ultimate Salade Niçoise.
And this was up there. Perfect light vinaigrette, seared tuna, yummy olives, capers. Just right. And even better is the price. Most places would charge around $14-$16. This was only $10.

Portobello Mushroom Parmentier.

Kind of like a mushroom-vegetarian Shepherd's pie. Stick to your ribs. Rich, yummy and gone!

Ling cod.

Came with clams, mushrooms, a lovely white wine sauce and braised cabbage. Yum again.
Cocktails were reasonably priced ($6 bucks for top shelf gin and soda) and we saw bottles of vino for $29??!! Hello 1999!