Dining Out at Home: Vancouver

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

This is “special occasion” dining out at its best, with 99 recipes
from the chefs of 34 of Vancouver’s finest restaurants to choose from.
Preparing these dishes at home could be challenging. The methods are
complex, and some of the special ingredients are not normally found in
local supermarkets. Shopping and food preparation are substantial parts
of the dining-out-at-home experience. The recipes showcase Vancouver’s
range of international cuisines, including south and east Asian, Latin,
and Northwest Canadian Native, as well as classic French. They are
arranged and indexed in four categories: “Appetizers, Sauces and
Sides,” “Soups and Salads,” “Entrées,” and “Desserts and
Special Drinks.” Most provide four to six servings. Measurements are
in both imperial and metric units. The methods are lengthy but clearly
detailed, and they include directions for the all-important presentation
of the dish. Considerable skill and time are required to achieve
restaurant quality. This is a wonderful book for gourmet cooks. For the
rest of us, it includes information about each of the 34 contributing
restaurants: address, opening hours, phone number, website, and
mouth-watering descriptions of the ambience and cuisine.