Good bye Joe’s Crab Shack and Who Song & Larry’s. (Vancouver: living, restaurants)

[Ttark]

Is there even a real Italian place east of Andresen or in the lower east side any more? (I don't mean Olive Garden.) Pasta Cucina closed ages ago and I was stunned and amazed when I went past Little Italy's at Mill Plain a couple years ago and saw their two-week's notice posted in the window.

I believe the Little Italy's downtown is still going but I usually don't feel like going all the way across town for dinner. Sorry. Going to Potland's obviously completely out of the question!

[cyberous]

Originally Posted by 182pilot

I just wish there was a good Mexican restaurant anywhere near Camas. Obviously I'm heavily jaded living in CA but I spent one night hopping to five different mexican restaurants in and around Camas and they were all pretty mediocre.

LoL, that's my biggest food complaint about the PNW is terrible Mexican food. We have been in Ca for 18 days and I've had Mexican food 10 of the days, and I'm not even in So Cal LoL

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by cyberous

LoL, that's my biggest food complaint about the PNW is terrible Mexican food. We have been in Ca for 18 days and I've had Mexican food 10 of the days, and I'm not even in So Cal LoL

lol

Got get it while you can! Haha

[StealthRabbit]

Mexican.. Definitely better than Who Song's!...

Los Dos Compadres I & II in Washougal gets decent marks, I will admit it has been nearly 10 yrs since I've tried these places... Many I know like them, but I really prefer to make my own Mex Food (as in at the moment...)


*I spend a lot of time each month at Mex joints in SA TX area...(usually everyday, sometimes 3x / day!).
There are so many... they are so good... Business Travel write-off.

For variety... try La Panza Cafe
(New Mexico Fare) SE Portland (Great Happy Hour)

another close-by (~10 min from Camas)
El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant (NE Sandy, across from Parkrose Hardware)
https://www.google.com/search?q=El+S...001cf3150782,1,,,

of course... everyone's taste / desire / experience in ethnic (any) Food is very different.

Thus... make my own when I am home (seldom)

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Ttark

Is there even a real Italian place east of Andresen or in the lower east side any more? (I don't mean Olive Garden.) Pasta Cucina closed ages ago and I was stunned and amazed when I went past Little Italy's at Mill Plain a couple years ago and saw their two-week's notice posted in the window.

I believe the Little Italy's downtown is still going but I usually don't feel like going all the way across town for dinner. Sorry. Going to Potland's obviously completely out of the question!

Other than Spaghetti Warehouse on Mill Plain, I can't think of any traditional Italian restaurants. Best bet is probably one of the more upscale pizza places that serve other Italian fare on 192nd

TWILIGHT PIZZA BISTRO | Pizza and Italian Food in Camas and Vancouver, WA
https://www.threesixtykitchen.com/

There are bunch of good ones over in Portland of course. I can think of a couple on SE Division alone.

[182pilot]

Last time I was up in Camas, I went to the following all in one night to sample the enchiladas and tacos.

Los Dos Compadres
Nuestra Mesa
Los Jalapenos
Los Potrillos

All of them except for Nuestra Mesa were pretty bad in comparison to some of the mediocre places locally in the Bay Area. Nuestra Mesa was good but very upscale both in price and recipes. Not my style. I guess my biggest issue was the rubbery, low grade, tasteless cheese that all of them seemed to use.

I did drive by El Sombrero and I'm sure this sounds judgmental but the entire area seemed run down and I didn't feel all that comfortable going there for lunch myself, much less taking my family there for dinner. There were two tweakers in the back where you park going through the dumpster so I just turned around and drove off.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Mexican.. Definitely better than Who Song's!...

Los Dos Compadres I & II in Washougal gets decent marks, I will admit it has been nearly 10 yrs since I've tried these places... Many I know like them, but I really prefer to make my own Mex Food (as in at the moment...)

*I spend a lot of time each month at Mex joints in SA TX area...(usually everyday, sometimes 3x / day!).
There are so many... they are so good... Business Travel write-off.

For variety... try La Panza Cafe
(New Mexico Fare) SE Portland (Great Happy Hour)

another close-by (~10 min from Camas)
El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant (NE Sandy, across from Parkrose Hardware)
https://www.google.com/search?q=El+S...001cf3150782,1,,,

of course... everyone's taste / desire / experience in ethnic (any) Food is very different.

Thus... make my own when I am home (seldom)

Yes, we make a lot at home and will probably do more in the future given the limited options. I know what you mean about differing styles. This is true even when in Mexico. I don't like what some consider the 'old style' which uses lots of lard and fatty, tough, overcooked meats in the preparation. Hard to chew, etc... There are parts of the cow I do not want to eat either.

Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 182pilot

Last time I was up in Camas, I went to the following all in one night to sample the enchiladas and tacos.

Los Dos Compadres
Nuestra Mesa
Los Jalapenos
Los Potrillos

All of them except for Nuestra Mesa were pretty bad in comparison to some of the mediocre places locally in the Bay Area. Nuestra Mesa was good but very upscale both in price and recipes. Not my style. I guess my biggest issue was the rubbery, low grade, tasteless cheese that all of them seemed to use.

I did drive by El Sombrero and I'm sure this sounds judgmental but the entire area seemed run down and I didn't feel all that comfortable going there for lunch myself, much less taking my family there for dinner. There were two tweakers in the back where you park going through the dumpster so I just turned around and drove off.

Thanks for saving us the time & $$. I like to read Yelp reviews and look at the pictures because different people having different ideas of what 'good' is. All I had to do was read this one line and knew it wasn't for us: "Two words: Mission Tortillas. No joke. $115 later and I'm still hungry."

So if Mexican food is basically out, where do you guys/gals like to go for:
1. A quick bite while out
2. A nice dinner for special occasions

Does anything jump out at you like good Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, etc..? Or is it mostly standard chains or basic American cuisine?

Derek

[cyberous]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Thanks for saving us the time & $$. I like to read Yelp reviews and look at the pictures because different people having different ideas of what 'good' is. All I had to do was read this one line and knew it wasn't for us: "Two words: Mission Tortillas. No joke. $115 later and I'm still hungry."

So if Mexican food is basically out, where do you guys/gals like to go for:
1. A quick bite while out
2. A nice dinner for special occasions

Does anything jump out at you like good Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, etc..? Or is it mostly standard chains or basic American cuisine?

Derek

While the PNW is terrible at Mexican, they are surprisingly good at Thai. I think we have more Thai places in Downtown Vancouver than anything else.

Places I like in downtown.

Thai Orchid Restaurant $$$- Good selection for everyone (Asian fusion)
Warehouse 23 $$$ - American, nice views
La Bottega $$$ - Italian (ish) American, nice an close, kind of a place to people watch

Little Conejo $$ - Fancy Mexican (ish), good to go food when not in CA

My dirty secrets
Joe Brown’s Cafe $
Shanahan’s Pub & Grill $


I was happy to find that NE Portland has a large Asian community (food and stores), its no South San Jose, but really good!

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by cyberous

While the PNW is terrible at Mexican, they are surprisingly good at Thai. I think we have more Thai places in Downtown Vancouver than anything else.

Places I like in downtown.

Thai Orchid Restaurant $$$- Good selection for everyone (Asian fusion)
Warehouse 23 $$$ - American, nice views
La Bottega $$$ - Italian (ish) American, nice an close, kind of a place to people watch

Little Conejo $$ - Fancy Mexican (ish), good to go food when not in CA

My dirty secrets
Joe Brown’s Cafe $
Shanahan’s Pub & Grill $


I was happy to find that NE Portland has a large Asian community (food and stores), its no South San Jose, but really good!

My kids and I really like a little strip mall place called Thai Time which is off SR500 and NE112th. There is a big Thai grocery next door.

What is missing in Vancouver are the big time chain TexMex restaurants that are really popular in Texas and I assume in California as well. There are a bunch that really seem to have the formula down well. Typically big suburban places with lots of tables. They get really serious about the meats for fajitas and that sort of thing. Usually fresh tortillas made in house. You can find higher-end on-off Mexican restaurants. But fresh chips and salsa, guac, fajitas, and tequila drinks these fancy chain places pretty much have it down. For example:

Chuy's: https://www.chuys.com/
Lupe's: https://tex-mex.com/
Papasitos: https://pappasitos.com/home/

There isn't even an "On the Border" around here for Pete's sake. All I've seen are fast food chains like Chipotle and Qdoba. A place like Chuy's which is a chain from Austin would absolutely kill around here I think.

So far the only place my kids seem to like is Jorge's Margarita Factory and that comes as close as any place to traditional Tex Mex. But I'd like to see some more.