Dine Out Vancouver 2008 - Elixir
written by John Chow
Elixir is a bistro restaurant located in the Opus Hotel in Yaletown. Described as Bistro moderne meets Yaletown chic, Elixir has won many awards for its great tasting menus and excellent wine pairings.
Unlike the other Yaletown restaurants we’ve tried, Elixir is quiet and romantic instead of loud and happening. This was a very pleasant surprise considering where the restaurant is located. We were seated in a private room with red brick walls, large antique windows and no loud speakers. It’s a great way to enjoy a romantic dinner for two. And if you want to get super romantic (or just lusty) the Opus Hotel has some great rooms. 
Red Pepper and Fennel Soup
The opening dish was a simple yet complex red pepper and fennel soup. It was made with fennel pollen and smoked olive oil. The soup was a great opener and tasted really good with a glass of chardonnay from Mission Hill.
Goats Cheese, Pear & Hazelnut Salad
Next course was a salad made from goats cheese, pear and hazelnut with a warm bacon vinaigrette. This is was the of the best salads I have ever tried. The amount of favor in it was amazing. I had it paired with a Five Vineyards chardonnay from Mission Hill. The organic vegetables were light while the goats cheese added some nice weight to it.
Braised Short Ribs
Braised short ribs with parsnip pomme puree, roast beet and celeriac. The meat was very tender and fell off the bone. It easily matched the short ribs at Feenie’s. I had the dish paired with a glass of merlot from Mission Hill. They went very well together. What really stood out were the roasted organic root vegetables. They were really good! I’m not a big veggie eater but damn! How do they cook it like that?
Roasted Arctic Char
Roasted arctic char with truffled crushed potatoes and petit pois a la franciase. This was one of the best fish dish I’ve ever tasted. Both Sarah and I preferred it to the meat dish. The skin was crispy and the meat of the fish was super tender. The chef matched it with a Mission Hill cab.
Pisachio Creme Brulee
Finally, a dish that looks like a creme brulee that really is a creme brulee. It was served with a side of chocolate sorbet, orange Madeleine and a Late Harvest Reisling from Mission Hill. This was a very sweet dessert to end a very sweet evening.
Dinner for two came to $155 with tax and tip. I highly recommend Elixir. It’s one of the best restaurant we’ve ever been too. We will be go again.
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(16 votes, average: 2 out of 5)
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Hey John,
Are you getting paid to advertise restaurants here? I hope so, otherwise you should change the tittle of your Blog to “Dinning Out - Tips of Good Places to Eat” . Definately Make Money Online is not the proper name for your shitty blog.
Show me where make money online is the name of this blog. And I get pay for everything.
Meh, funny how he doesn’t bother leaving his/her name.
http://www.45n5.com/top100/
Here you go , just avoid #3 , because you know you end up right back here. BTW how did you end up here in the first place and why are you so angry with John food post ?
You should start a culinary or gastronomic blog John.
You would do at LEAST as well as Johnchow.com me thinks. You already know the jargon…
Pam Hoffman
http://seminarlist.blogspot.com
I was just about to say that. he could build it up and have restaurants wanting to be on his blog, more than they do now probably since it would be so targeted. maybe he coudl even make his own zagats-like list or book.
might as well export his food posts and put it in another blog. I bet he has enough posts to successfully run such a blog.
The salad and fish dishes look very good. Good presentation work by the chef. How did the bill end up at $155? Because of the wine?
And tip.
There a lots of great restaurants in Yaletown, but finding parking there is a nightmare.
2 words. Acid reflux.
hmm this restaurant/opus hotel is right next to my place
Mmmm I love Creme Brulee… it looks delicious.
Red pepper and fennel soup doesn’t taste good…. It made my stomach feel shitty..
John, with all the fine dining you might have to start a blog about weight loss soon
Hahaha! So far, he’s done pretty well!
Or a blog about food, with pictures and recipes. I like the red pepper and fennel soup… a lot.
Sorry, I don’t think any of the food looks good. well, maybe the red pepper/fennel soup. Gimmie a nice grilled chicken salad and I would be happy!
I eat anything!
I miss Vancouver and the food up there!
mmmm, those mains look good! do you ever tally up how much spend each year on eating out?
I don’t want to know the answer to that question.
Hey John…looks nice! Assuming you paid for this meal, would you be able to write-it-off on your income taxes? If so, I should start blogging about local Toronto restuarants and bring the wife and boy out for some food!
Here’s an idea for a post….what are you blog write-offs?
Yes the meals are a write off for tax purposes. Now you know one of the reasons I blog about it.
One of the smartest MMO/blog tactic I’ve ever seen!
You sure eat out a lot John. I wish I could get my wife to eat out more because I hate cleaning up the kitchen.
Braised short ribs look REALLY good right now.
Another post about some fine eating
-Mike
The amount of food they served looks very little but it does look tasty.
[...] is always flashing pictures of most wonderful meal out, like this one. And goodness knows I like good food as much as John does but I had to buy the sandwich they had [...]
John Chow, I challenge you! Ha! I wrote a post about my Radish Super Salad sandwich and it made me wonder what is the strangest thing you’ve ever put in your mouth? LOL Here is a picture of my dining out experience for today n your honor. I know, it’s strange.
A romantic place topped with such delicious cuisine. What else does one want to unwind and have a great evening with the loved one.
[...] We started with a salad of bibb lettuce and shaved fennel, grain mustard and soft herbs. It was light and refreshing but didn’t blow me away like the salad from the Elixir Restaurant. [...]
Elixir looks like a really great restaurant to go to. I hope to go there someday. The Roasted Arctic Char looks pretty delicious. I will tell my Father about Elixir. He likes fine restaurants with high quality tasting food!
~Katie