California Grubbin'

food: 5/5 experience: 5/5 overall: 5/5 Fah-bulous. Our last dinner stop in Vancouver before we headed home. So many Japanese restaurants in this city. So many. Why this one? Well, it's different, because it's tapas. And it seems to be really popular. I don't know what "guu" is but I want in on it. I'm thinking Japanese tapas? There's a few Guu's in Vancouver so I'll say it's that. Because that's what they serve. So you're gonna wanna get more than one item. We got a salmon potato gratin, duck salad, and beet/pumpkin/green bean dish. The gratin was a daily special. Mashed potatoes, smoked salmon, scallops and cream cheese. All sounded delicious. It was indeed delicious, and nicely portioned. Duck salad was another interesting combo. I love duck but it is usually too fancy to be put in salads. I'm glad they did it because this too was a great, somewhat healthy combo. And then another daily special: pumpkin, be...

food: 3.5/5 experience: 3/5 overall: 3.5/5 Meh. It's alright. We went here because we were fresh off the plane and starving for dinner at 8:30 (plane food is gross). This spot was about a block away from the hotel so Shizen Ya it was. I tried one of their specialty rolls, the Sakura Blossom. Lovely presentation, as you can see. It said it came with maple sauce (how Canadian!) but I didn't see any. That was one of the main draws so that kinda sucked. Their gimmick is they use all brown rice for their sushi. Well, it was edible, on the good side even. But I'd never go out of my way for it if I were back in the city. We also tried the gyoza. Typical gyoza with sweet sauce, not much to be said. If you've had one gyoza you've had 'em all. They wouldn't steam them, only fry, so that was disappointing. Prices are standard. Nothing to drive out of your way for or anything. It's just... there.

food: 4/5 experience: 4/5 overall: 4/5 As they say, don't go looking for Mexican food in Canada. They definitely say that somewhere. However. We went to this little hole in the wall with very few reviews online and were quite pleased. Their menu is small, but full of tacos of various... varieties. Mm, yes. Various varieties. And you can get any taco made into a quesadilla. Saywhatnow? Nicceee. The tacos are pretty mini so you'll definitely want a few. Four tacos was about eight bucks. I tried the fish (two), chicken tinga, and chicken el pastor. All very good, not outstanding but surely tasty, savory, and somewhat satisfying. For Mexican food in Canada this gets a pass.

pizza: 5/5 experience: 4/5 overall: 5/5 If you Google the best pizza in Vancouver I can almost guarantee you this will be the number one result that appears. Since we were only in the city for five days it was imperative that we try it. The choice? Funghi pizza: Mushrooms. Parmesan. Mozzarella. Roasted Garlic. Topped with arugula. The verdict? This ranks as one of the best pizzas I've ever had. The crust wasn't amazing so not number one. That honor still belongs to Pizza Hut (only semi-joking). But the cheese, oh man. So cheesy and cheese-like and good. It's like white cheddar Kraft's macaroni and cheese cheese, but like a classy version of that. Cheesy cheesy cheese. I'm so glad I'm not vegan anymore. It's on a semi sketch side of town and it's a hole in the wall for sure, but so worth it.