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Joe Fortes, Vancouver, B.C., Canada P329
 
A Top Pick in the Area
 
If I was to own a restaurant Joe Fortes' would be the kind of place that would suit me. We visited it a couple of years ago and had a wonderful experience. The place was busy and everyone was having a good time then and the same was true for this trip.

For starters we shared a very large cold seafood platter. There were dungeness crab meat, oysters on the half shell, shrimp meat, prawns, scallops, mussels, clams, salmon lox and a variety of dipping sauces. The ingredients were very fresh and they were prepared perfectly. Nothing was overcooked nor overstated. The texture of the seafood and the delicate application of spices were really excellent. I would say it was some of the best seafood I had.

One of their specialties and the only item from their original menu was the cedar planked B.C. salmon. I had a taste of it. It would be fair to say that if you enjoy salmon you will not be disappoint with this dish. It has to be the top salmon dish we've had in a restaurant. Succulent, delicate, and sheer perfection would be some of the words to describe this dish.

My wife had two appetizers for her dinner. The tomato, mozzarella, basil, balsamic vinegar salad was fine. The supposedly fried spicy calamari came out tasting like a Kentucky Fried squid and the absence of spiciness (hot). It was good although not near what was anticipated.

My seafood linguini had chunks of salmon and halibut and several shrimps in the shell. The ."fresh tomato sauce" was not the fresh as I imagined it but it was okay. The linguini was very well prepared and the dish came together nicely.

The disappointment was in the Fresh Fish Trio. It was one of the specials for the evening and was recommended by our waiter. It had salmon, halibut and seared albacore tuna. All three pieces were overcooked. It wasn't too bad for the halibut, worse for the salmon but it was tragic for the albacore.

The lesson here is perhaps one should always asked how the dish is prepared.

The service was cordial but not very attentive. Our waiter must be responsible for too many tables. We recollected that this was the same situation the last time we visited. The total package for this restaurant was still really quite good. Dinner for five with three beers and a grand hors d'eouvers (1-tier seafood platter $50) came to $207 Canadian.

 
Joe Fortes Overall grade: A
777 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 3V5 Canada
Phone: 604 669-1940 www.joefortesseafoodrestr.com
Date of visit: 8/2001 Rcvd: 8/26/2001
Submitted by: LL, Yakima, WA C1 R351
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