Menu review: Marcello Pizzeria and Ristorante

I don't normally make repeat visits to restaurants. Usually, it's never as good the next time I try it, and if I didn't like it, it doesn't get any better -- even if I really, really want it to be.

So I was a bit skeptical about giving Marcello Pizzeria & Ristorante (1404 Commercial Drive) a second shot, as I wasn't impressed by it the first time I went, despite having heard very good things about it (both from a friend and from online reviews).

Marcello is known as one of the best pizza places in the city -- apart from Lombardo's Pizzeria and Ristorante (1641 Commercial Drive, and 970 Smithe St.). Lombardo's and Marcello actually used to be owned by the same guy -- Marcello Lombardo -- until his ex-wife was awarded Lombardo's as part of their divorce settlement. Apparently, Lombardo wasn't a very honest guy: "... Lombardo had secretly skimmed almost $300,000 from his previous Commercial Drive restaurant, Lombardo's Restaurant and Pizzeria, which he ran with his wife Patricia for years before they separated. Marcello used $200,000 of the money to start Marcello Pizzeria a few blocks away in 1999, the judge found earlier."

Both places have pretty similar menus, and both use wood-burning ovens, though I'm sure Lombardo's oven can't be as cool as the one at Marcello (see below).


The first time I went, my friends S, K, and I split a medium pizza ($13.95). We had one that was half "Marcello" (tomato sauce, mozzarella, anchovies, black olives, capers, and onion -- see below for another blogger's pic of this pizza), and half "Palermo by Night" (tomato sauce, mozzarella, salame, inferno sauce, and baking cheese -- see below for yet another blogger's image of this pizza type).
I was intrigued by the anchovies (which I had never had on a pizza before, and which ended up tasting pretty much like sardines) and the baking cheese. We had one slice of each kind of pizza apiece, and they were good, but unmemorable.

We also shared a small "al quattro formaggi" gnocchi ("traditional Italian home-made potato & egg dumplings sauteed with 4 mouth-watering cheeses and broiled to perfection"; $12.95). I can't find anything that looks exactly like it, but if you picture the gnocchi below without the black specks, with more uniform shapes (a rectangular/squarish, tubular shape) and a whiter sauce, you'll get an approximation of what it looks like.

It was the first time I had ever tried gnocchi, and I was excited, because a friend who had eaten at Marcello had said it was really good. Unfortunately, none of my dining party particularly liked it, although we all agreed that it was interesting. It was just okay, and very rich (we had quite a bit of it wrapped up, since we had to save room for some dessert on the Drive!).


Fortunately, today's meal at Marcello was one of the few times when my second dining experience was much better than the first; from appetizer to dessert, it was all delicious.

I let my dining companion, the talented writer DB, lead the way with the ordering, since he's dined at Marcello many times, and has lived in Venice (though he's not Italian). We started with a red wine and an "insalate pomodoro e cipolla" (a tomato and onion salad with gorgonzola dressing; $9.95).

I actually enjoyed the wine, which surprised me, since I generally don't like reds; I don't know what kind we had though -- from an online list of their wine offerings, it may have been a "Tommasi, Amarone, Veneto".

It's too bad that I can't find any pictures that come close to capturing the salad, because it didn't look any other I've ever seen before (apart from when DB made it during a dinner party, with boccocini instead of gorgonzola cheese). Basically, it was three huge wheels of juicy tomato with gorgonzola cheese smeared on top, on thick white rings of onion, submerged in a pool of balsamic vinegar, with one slice of some of the tastiest foccacia (normally 95 cents for one slice) I've ever had. I'm glad DB suggested it, since I never would have thought to order it, as it sounded quite boring on paper. I did find a pic of one of Marcello's caesar salads, however, with a wedge of foccacia on the side (see below).



Next came the pizza ("thin-crust pizza baked to perfection in [Marcello's] wood-burning oven"). DB was adament that we stay away from the half-and-half option -- stating that it was something introduced for Americans -- so we stuck with a single option and shared a medium "al due formaggi" (tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham, salame, baking cheese, and mushrooms).

It was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten. I think it had a lot to do with the baking cheese -- DB explained to me what it was but I can't remember anymore, so maybe he'll comment and let us know what it is if he ends up reading this. The Palermo by Night I'd ordered the first time I came to Marcello was supposed to have had baking cheese on it, but I don't think I'd had any on my slice. I feel gypped now that I've actually tried some.

Baking cheese is sooooooooooo yummy. I don't know how to describe it, but it's even better than mozzarella. I wish it had been more evenly distributed on the pizza, as one of the slices on our pie today didn't have any baking cheese on it either.

I can't find a shot of the exact pizza we had, but it looked as good as the professional shot of a Marcello pizza featured below. The crust, toppings, and everything looked and tasted soooo good, and DB thinks it's because we ordered our food right when the lunch rush ended (after 1:30pm), which gave the chef time to get our pie just right.

That's something to keep in mind if you decide to head to Marcello -- the first time I went was during a busy Saturday night; sometimes it pays to eat later during the day.


Our waitress asked if we wanted dessert, telling us that the tiramisu (it's called something else on the dessert menu, but I don't remember the exact name; $9.95) was amazing. Since they were all out of their white chocolate dessert (boo!), and I'd never had an authentic tiramisu before, we split one.

It didn't look like the cake I was expecting -- it came in a wine glass, and consisted of two layers of marscapone with chunks of lady fingers in between, soaked in Frangelico at the bottom of the glass. It didn't have the sprinkling of cocoa on top that I've come to associate with tiramisu. It was very good -- better than all the other tiramisus I've ever tried -- but I wasn't blown away. DB pronounced it very good. I would not recommend getting one on your own, as it's extremely rich.

Along with dessert, DB had an expresso and a grappa, and I had a caffe mocha. DB thinks that there's nothing like a coffee and grappa to end off a meal.

Grappa is "a fragrant grape-based pomace brandy of Italian origin, made by distilling pomace and grape residue (mainly the skins, but also stems and seeds) left over from winemaking after pressing... It was originally made to prevent waste by using leftovers at the end of the wine season... [and in] Italy is primarily served as a 'digestivo' or after-dinner drink."

DB let me take two sips of his grappa (which I'd never even heard of until today), and it was really interesting -- it felt like drinking liquid echinacea, making my nose tingle -- and left a pleasant aftertaste.

The mocha was okay, but I wish it had tasted more strongly of chocolate, because I couldn't detect a hint of it in my drink -- to be fair, I think that the taste of coffee seems to overwhelm my tastebuds whenever I have it, regardless of what it's mixed with.

Overall, it was an excellent lunch -- DB pronounced it as being perhaps the best lunch he's had in years.

Contrary to the dinehere reviews I saw just before my meal, the service we got was excellent, our pizza was perfect, and I was very happy with all aspects of my meal.

My second experience was more in line with those of Yelp reviewers and the people on tripadvisor.com, which is a good thing.


DB tells me that the pizza at Lombardo's is actually better (their pizza options sure look more intriguing), while Marcello is better for the ambience.

This post on which place has better pizza seems to favour Marcello.

I'd say try them both yourself. I still need to try Lombardo's!

Note: I just remembered something not so great about our otherwise fabulous meal -- we found a hair on our pizza plate, and since neither I nor DB have short brown hair, I don't think it was from us. Hmm...

If you've had anything at Marcello and/or Lombardo's, let us know what you thought -- and if you know of an even better pizza place, be nice and share your pizza-expertise, please! :)

Menu review: La Grotta Del Formaggio

La Grotta Del Formaggio (1791 Commercial Drive) is known for making some of the best sandwiches in Vancouver, so I had high expectations when I tried my first one today.

Unfortunately, I was kind of let down.

Letdown #1: The size. Sandwiches come in small ($5), medium ($6), and large ($7.25) buns, or in half ($6.50) or whole ($11.50?) focaccia buns. The small is small -- slightly larger than a dinner bun, the medium is a six-inch, and I have no idea how big a large is, since they were sold out by the time we got there (2pmish). I assume it's the best deal.


JW2 (I just realized I have a LOT of friends with the same initials) and I split half a focaccia sandwich, since she was still full from a big breakfast and I was still feeling the after-effects of an excellent potluck I attended the night before.

Since neither of us were hungry to begin with, our sandwich left us stuffed. I have no idea how filling it would have been otherwise, since our sandwich-maker was neither skimpy nor super-generous with the fillings. My half of the sandwich looked pretty much like the one below, only with different meat:


Letdown #2: The enthusiasm of the staff (or lack thereof). "What's your favourite sandwich? I asked the two girls behind the counter.
Girl #1: It changes all the time!
Girl #2: I'm sick of these sandwiches!

Since most food people I've talked to tend to be super-enthusiastic about the stuff they sell (most usually reply, "EVERYTHING!"), Girl #2's comment kind of put a damper on my own enthusiasm.

Letdown #3: The taste. Don't get me wrong. It was a good sandwich -- but it wasn't a spectacular one. The main draw to La Grotta sandwiches, in my opinion, is the veggies you can add to them. Clockwise from below, starting from the right, you'll see that you can choose to put in tomatoes, roasted red peppers, marinated artichokes, chopped green olives, hot peppers, eggplant, red onions, and lettuce -- a step above your standard sandwich fillers.


I was super-excited about those toppings, but I think they're what let me down the most. The flavours did not each individually pop out, and they suffocated the flavours of the condiments that JW2 and I chose (pesto mayonnaise, honey mustard, and olive oil) for our sandwich . I couldn't taste any of the condiments at all, so they felt like wasted calories. I don't know if I tasted the eggplant at all, which was weird, since I had asked for extra eggplant. JW2 discovered she didn't particularly like marinated artichokes. If you have a more refined tongue than me, the veggies and condiments are actually probably very tasty.

On top of unlimited veggies, you can get two meats and one cheese, if you go with a meat (as opposed to a cheaper vegetarian) sandwich. I liked the fact that the meats aren't pre-sliced, and you can watch the counter people use a meat shaver to slice your meat selections for you. It would have been nice to have more exotic meats to choose from though.

We settled for a Montreal smoked meat and ham sandwich with provolone cheese. From what I remember, other meat choices included turkey, prosciutto (add $1) or roast beef (add $1), and other cheeses included cheddar, edam, emmental, and havarti.

The meat didn't impress me, and the portions were not particularly large. What we were served didn't look anywhere near the amount this guy apparently got:


Maybe the guy ordered extra meat, paid an extra dollar for the more expensive stuff, or opted to go without cheese. The guy in line ahead of us ordered a roast beef sandwich with no cheese, and seemed to have a whole lot more meat in his sandwich than we did.

I'm a meat-a-tarian (not a carnivore, but just about) so I like my sandwiches with a lot of tasty meat. Too bad for me.

We had the option of toasting our sandwich, so of course we did. Nothing beats melted cheese on grilled/toasted bread.

Overall, it was a good sandwich -- and a very good-looking one at that -- but does it deserve the title of Vancouver's best sandwich? I don't think so, but a lot of people out there do (re. The Georgia Straight readers, Yelp reviewers, and more).

Try one yourself, and if you already have, comment and let us know how you liked it.

Or, recommend another Vancouver sandwich shop/vendor/deli/restaurant for us to try. There are soooooo many options out there!

Menu review: Doña Cata Mexican Foods / EAT Vancouver volunteer appreciation party

I'm still on a high from last night -- great food and great people do that to you. In roughly three and a half hours, I sampled more than twenty as-close-to-authentic-as-you-can-get-in-Vancouver Mexican dishes and drinks, and talked to people with seriously sweet jobs in the food biz.

The venue was Doña Cata Mexican Foods (5076 Victoria Drive -- it's on 35th).

The occasion? EAT Vancouver's volunteer appreciation party -- and what a way to be appreciated.

Arriving right on time at 5:45pm (the restaurant normally closes at 5pm on a Sunday, so the entire place was reserved just for us EAT! people), I noticed that a lot of people had already arrived and helped themselves to the pitchers of sangria and margaritas laid out on the drink table, where a nice selection of wines and a variety of Mexican pops (including Jarritos, apple pop, and bottled sangria) were also available.

Having made my way through the great majority of these drinks as the evening progressed, I can say that they were all very tasty.

I can't really comment on the alcoholic drinks, since I'm only a social drinker and have limited knowledge and experience to work with, but the margarita was one of the better ones I've had -- slushy and refreshing, and not tasting too strongly of alcohol -- and the sangrias were tasty.

I loved the Jarritos. I managed to try pineapple, mango, grapefruit, and tamarind (the guayaba and mandarin ones were sadly nabbed before I had a chance to pour a sample), and I especially liked the pineapple one, though they were all really good -- the grapefruit was a surprise, since I don't normally like that flavour. I wasn't a fan of the apple pop of another brand. I definitely recommend going for a Jarritos the next time you go out for Mexican food though.

The standout drink was probably the horchata (rice and cinnamon mixed with cold water), which they introduced later in the evening to replace the margaritas. A number of people commented that it was exceptionally good (not too watery or sweet), though the sweetness apparently varied from pitcher to pitcher.

I've only ever had horchata at El Caracol Café, a place just a block down from Doña Cata, at 5190 Victoria Drive. The one at El Caracol had a different texture to it -- more solids in it (I think I remember sucking up actual pieces of grain) -- but I remember it being equally tasty. I'd recommend ordering a horchata if you haven't already tried one before.

Based on the reviews I've seen, El Caracol (and El Caracolita next door, which is run by the same owner and focuses more on Mexican food) are two places worth trying, so if you're looking for "good" Mexican food, the 35th/36 street area is one you might want to check out.

The staff at the restaurant probably don't normally do this, but one of the makers of EAT! was literally slicing the caps off wine bottles with a knife, which made for an interesting show. I tried a Hungarian sparkling white wine and a riesling, both of which were quite nice. I don't think these are on Doña Cata's menu, though.

In terms of food, the restaurant made sure that we were fed, with plenty of non-meat options available on top of their many varieties and versions of meat dishes.

To start, each table was given a small bowl of handmade nachos (I've seen reviews with people complaining about the size of the portions, and actually seeing it, I can understand why). It held probably no more than a cup of nachos. However, besides the fact that those nachos are normally free, you probably wouldn't want to fill up on them anyway, when there's so much more to try.

The nachos are a good way to sample the restaurant's extensive sauce and salsa options (10 different kinds, all homemade), which include "a sweet (and not spicy) Tomate Verde, a very spicy Mexicana (a mix of tomato and jalapeno) and Cacahuate (peanut)". I liked the guacomole best.

Appetizers included two kinds of taquitos (pork and cheese) and refried beans, veggies, and sauce on hard taco shells (sorry, I don't know the name of this dish). They were all crunchy and tasty, and not too greasy.

About half an hour in, they started offering a huge variety of tacos, including lamb, pork, beef, chicken, beans and cheese, carnitas, and cactus. Yes, I tried them all. Yes, my stomach was not very happy with me by the end of the night, but my tongue sure was. :)

I'm not going to use Mexican names for the food, since the staff described them in English to us, but if you're interested, you can check them out on the restaurant's menu.

As I mentioned in my first EAT! Vancouver post, I don't care much for their chicken tacos (they're quite bland), but I love love love their lamb tacos. The others were just okay. But then again, I don't really eat a lot of red meat, so you might enjoy them. The beef and pork ones had chunks of fat in them, which I hate to find in my food. The cactus was interesting -- I don't really know how to describe it. It looked like slices of cucumber the colour of lima beans, and the taste wasn't memorable enough to stick with me.

Cactus salad was offered as well, which I ended up having to eat an entire plate of, since they were overly-generous with the serving. It was not bad -- slick with oil and something different, but I wouldn't go out of my way to try it.

I thought I hated refried beans (ironically, I think they might ruin the taste of Mexican dishes for me), but I didn't hate Doña Cata's. They were actually quite good. But I am definitely not an Mexican food expert.

I also really enjoyed the Mexican rice. And I don't normally like rice.

Besides the lamb tacos and select Jarritos, however, the only things I really loved were numerous alambres they had available. They don't list them on their online menu, but apparently they have 30 different kinds. They had them buffet-style on large plates, on rotation, with about six varieties at a time, but we weren't allowed to serve ourselves -- instead they had someone scooping them into corn tortillas for us. To save much-needed stomach space, I got her to put a bit of each on a plate for me.

Since I hadn't been planning on reviewing the place, I didn't take down any of the names of the alambres, but as this review mentions, three of the kinds include "the Mexicano" -- "a combination of pork, onion, jalapeno ratas, corn and cheese", "the Pinguino" -- "a mix of bisteck, bacon, and cheese", and "the Vegetariano" -- "a combo of mushrooms, onion, tomato, and cheese".

Among my favourites was one that had a mix of chicken, bacon, mushroom, and cheese -- I had seconds of that!

They also had interesting ones that didn't sound too Mexican to me (e.g. "Hawaiiano"). Recurring ingredients included pork chop bits, cheese, pineapple, and mushrooms.

You should definitely order an alambre if you decide to eat a Doña Cata.

Even better than dessert (I doubt anyone would have had any room left for some anyway), the restaurant surprised us with a live performance by a Mexican guitarist. He was fantastic. It really set the mood and matched the restaurant's festive, colourful ambience. A girl at my table even started singing along.

A waiter who jumped in every once and a while with some unique "vocal accompaniment" was equally awesome. We never knew what to expect -- an enthusiastic yelp? A perfectly timed "ow, ow, ow!"? (You had to be there.)

Bottom line: If the guitarist ever becomes a regular performer at Dona Cata (or is he already one?), definitely try to time your visit to coincide with a show.

Between eating and eating and eating -- and drinking and drinking and drinking -- I also met and talked to some super-cool people. If you're one of them, "Hello and welcome!" You're the ones who really made my night. There's nothing I like more than talking to people who love food as much as I do!

The coolest part? Almost all of them agreed to be featured on my Food 'files!

These people have some of the coolest jobs ever.

In the coming weeks, you can look forward to interviews from --

-one of the country's top three wine writers (you know those people who get paid to travel around the world to wine and dine? --- that's her)

-one half of the brains behind EAT! Vancouver (we're talking the boss himself)

-one of the folks behind the World Culinary Travel Expo (how can you resist this tagline? -- "Promoting Global Travel through Gastronomy")

-a chef/caterer who's catered for the movie industry and such Hollywood stars as John Travolta

-the folks who help keep our stomachs happy at some of the city's biggest festivals and events (including Greek Day, the Caribbean festival, and Alcan Dragon Boat festival), by meeting all their cooking show staging service needs

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I want to give a shout out to everyone I met -- thanks so much for your insights into the food scene in Vancouver and beyond. From foodie to foodie, you all rock! And if any readers ask about foods in your realms of expertise, expect an email from me! ;)

Anyone who's tried Doña Cata -- give us your take on the food. I've never been to Mexico or tried Mexican food in the States, so your opinions are likely more insightful than mine. I've heard that it's one of the more authentic places here, though.

Also, share your favourite Mexican places with us -- one person has already verbally put in a request for "the most authentic Mexican food in Vancouver". Tips would be appreciated. :)

Eat me! / Menu review: The Clubhouse Restaurant

Before heading to bed to rest up for EAT! Vancouver tomorrow,I feel compelled to stay up and let you in on an old "secret spot" of mine I'd forgotten about until today, when D. stopped there to grab some dinner and I came along for the ride (literally, since she was driving me home from hot yoga).

I first discovered The Clubhouse Restaurant (255 West 2nd Avenue; see dinehere.ca for reviews) back while I was interning for WHERE Vancouver Magazine -- a shopping, dining, and entertainment magazine housed on Spruce St., just a few blocks away. It was one of my coworker's favourite dining spots. So I gave it a try.

It was so good, I created a new listing for it under the magazine's Japanese restaurant category.

I still remember exactly what I had. My friend, J., and I ordered and shared the beef okonomoyaki (one of the specials that day, on for only $6.95), the oh! avocado (baked avocado with seafood & cheese -- kind of like oyster motoyaki, only with avocado; $5.95), the "rockin' ross" cream cheese sushi roll (prawn tempura, sweet potato, BBQ salmon skin, cream cheese & asparagus; $5.75), and the azuki red beans with ice cream dessert ($3.00 or $3.50 -- I can't remember).

All of the dishes were delicious.

Nowadays, you can find okonomiyaki (Japanese-style pizza) at numerous places. The selection at the Clubhouse, however, is particularly huge -- there are 17 different kinds (including natto {fermented soybean}, mochi, pork gyoza, scallop, and mixed meat), with the option of paying extra to add kimchi, mochi, cheese, or yakisoba. The beef version we had was our favourite dish of the evening. Please note that the image featured below wasn't taken at The Clubhouse (I didn't dine there today, but it looks very similar to what we were served).

In terms of the cream cheese roll, I must say that adding that tiny dollop of cheese to sushi makes all the difference. I definitely recommend trying it at least once -- if not here, at least at another sushi restaurant.

But the real point of this post was to talk about the dessert item that is, sadly, no longer on The Clubhouse menu: sweet azuki red beans atop a huge dollap of vanilla ice cream.

I must admit, when the dessert first arrived at our table, I was a bit disappointed by the simplicity of its appearance -- $3.50 for just a scoop of ice cream and some beans?

Those red beans ended up being some of the best I've ever tasted. Larger, sweeter, and far tastier than any of the kind I've had served on the numerous ice desserts I've consumed (and I've eaten a lot!) or I've seen sold ready-made in plastic sachets or glass bottles at the grocery store, they were perfectly complemented by the mildly sweet and refreshing vanilla ice cream.

Noticing its absence from the dessert menu while waiting for D's order of sushi to arrive, I learned from the owner, Karen, that it had been taken off the menu because too many of the restaurant's customers don't like red bean and kept asking for vanilla ice cream alone, and because the dish is so labour-intensive.

It takes four to five hours to make!

Apparently, making those beans involves a long, complex process that begins with buying the right beans. They buy special dried dessert red beans and take care to choose only those of the right size (not too small or too big). They then have to take those beans and soak them for around four to five days, changing the water twice a day. When they're finally ready to cook, they need to be boiled for upwards of five hours, and then mixed with three types of sugar (white, brown, and "Chinese" sugar). After that, the cook has to determine how sweet the beans should be, bearing in mind that their level of sweetness will fade after being stored in the cooler.

While Karen was kind enough to share this recipe with me, she emphasized that I'd probably have to make the dish many times before hitting upon just the right proportion of sugar, water, and beans.

So, it's safe to say that I probably won't ever attempt it. ;)

All that work for something that sells for only $3.50!

I'm glad I got to try it before it was pulled. I turned down Karen's generous offer to make some for me for a future visit -- if it's really that hard to make, I'd rather have her make it for a much larger group to make it worth her while.

So, if you like red beans, are planning a large gathering, and have The Clubhouse on your list of places to try, consider calling ahead for the red bean and ice cream dessert.

Sometimes those items that look sweet and simple are some of the most complex and satisfying dishes you can try, and I'd definitely say that this dessert fits the bill.

Before dessert, go for the tuna steak ponzu and agedashi tofu. Karen says she can eat them every day, and that some people come just for the tofu.

The Clubhouse has whole menus of daily specials every day -- be warned though: my quick comparison of Friday's daily specials and the regular menu revealed that some of their "specials" are the same price as what they go for regularly. The restaurant used to post its daily special menus on its website, but seems to have taken down almost all the information it used to have. Guess you'll just have to come down and see the specials for yourself!

If you've tried The Clubhouse or know of another place that offers great red bean desserts, fill us in!