The Eatery (3431 W Broadway, Vancouver, phone: 604-738-5298) is a funky Japanese restaurant that has a candle-lit night-club atmosphere and is a popular hangout for UBC students. The primary attraction here is the inventive fusion sushi rolls, with off-the-wall names such as “Andy Warhol Roll”, the “Erotica Roll”, and the “Viva Las Vegas Roll”. The specialty rolls are in the $5 to $8.50 range for a roll, and there are different specials depending on the day of the week. Pictured below is the “Assembly Line” sushi platter which has a large selection of specialty rolls ($47.50) – this enough food for four people with average appetites, or will surely satisfy two people who are very hungry.

Shabusen Japanese Yakiniku House (web site, 755 Burrard Street, Unit 202, Vancouver, phone 604-669-3883) is an immensely popular all-you-can-eat Japanese Sushi and Korean BBQ restaurant conveniently located on Burrard Street near the trendy downtown Robson shopping strip, and near the Burrard skytrain station. At lunch you can enjoy an all-you-can-eat sushi meal (pictured below) for $13.50, which on weekends and holidays also includes all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ. (Korean BBQ is where you are given bowls of your favorite marinated meats and you cook the meat yourself at a grill set into your table.) Dinner prices are around $23.

The decor at this restaurant is worth noting too: above the sushi bar is some wild florescent lighting, and some of the larger tables are set inside wooden boats complete with sails. This restaurant is a definite must for visitors who want to experience something that truly speaks of Vancouver, where surprisingly good food quality and quantity combine at a meeting of western and Asian cultures. Reservations are recommended.

Chicken Teriyaki

Japanese Sunomono Salad (cold rice noodles in a sweet vinegar broth with a few vegetables)

Tamago sushi (egg) and Salmon Sushi

Dix BBQ and Brewery (web site, 871 Beatty Street, Vancouver, phone 604-682-2739) is a large restaurant/pub located very close to BC Place Stadium and GM Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver. The kitchen handled our group of 17 people flawlessly, and we were satisfied with our entrees such as Whole Chicken Breast ($12.95, pictured below) and their famous pulled pork sandwich. Their in-house brewed beers such as Red Truck Ale are some of the best in town.