The Hamilton Street Grill (web site, 1009 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, phone 604.331.1511) is a popular steakhouse in Vancouver’s trendy Yaletown neighborhood. For lunch, enjoy a burger, steak, sandwich, or pasta, or be adventurous and try one of the tapas such as the crab cake, mussels Diablo, or wrapped prawns. I’ve found the food quality to be consistently high at this restaurant, and my Fresh Grilled BC Salmon (pictured below) was no exception. The Hamilton Street Grill also hosts wine tasting events: be sure to ask your server if you are interested.

Da Gino Ristorante Italia (475 West Georgia St, phone (778) 371-7355) is a welcoming Italian restaurant across the street from the Vancouver Main Library downtown. The pristine white tablecloths, wine glasses, and suit-attired servers gave me the impression that this is a “fine dining restaurant” but looking at the prices I was pleasantly surprised. For lunch, entrees were in the $10 – 14 range, and for dinner I think they aren’t much more. I really enjoyed my clam linguini (which had another, fancier Italian name which I can’t remember). Clams were served in their shells on a bed of perfectly al-dente pasta. Yum!

Browns Restaurant Bar (restaurant web site) 1165 Mainland Street, Vancouver, phone (604) 696-9335, is a casual and fun restaurant in Yaletown, an upscale dining neighborhood in Vancouver. Keep tabs on your favorite sports teams on the flatscreen TV’s while enjoying a California-style burger, or even a fancy entree. I really enjoyed my Pan Seared Halibut (pictured below), which was lightly blackened and served with a delicious “citrus risotto cake”. Its price varies according to market, but was around $22.