Four nights, four restaurants

Last week I had dinner out every night from Wednesday to Saturday. How did it go?

For the first two nights, Wednesday at the Bistro de Paris on Denman, and Thursday at Felico's in Richmond, the decor was better than the food.

Above is the bar at the Bistro de Paris. It's a lovely little restaurant that looks very much like a bistro in Paris - the problem is that the food isn't anywhere near as good as the real thing. It's not bad, and if you're a tourist looking for some French ambience, this place might be for you. The service was good, though not outstanding. The best part was the wine.

Thursday night I ate with some friends at Felico's in Richmond. The friends were great, the entrance to the restaurant was great, and so I had high hopes of the food.

There was nothing wrong with it, and it was certainly reasonably priced, and the service was very good. The menu was Greek and Italian and maybe something else, and for me, the food reflected the restaurant's ambivalent view of what it was. My food was fine but it's not a place I'd go back to unless I was going back with terrific friends and it was all about the companions rather than the food.

Friday night I had dinner at a friend's house. She's a terrific cook but as she was packing for a six week trip, we ordered in.

I have to say that the Panago pizza (which I've never had before) was the best meal of the four. We had a veggie on thin-crust multigrain and it was terrific. In fact, I've switched my personal pizza ordering to Panago on the basis of that meal. The wine was good too - I brought along a bottle of Dancing Bull California zin, an inexpensive wine I've become addicted to.

Saturday night was a special treat as my partner almost always works on Saturday nights, but he took it off because a friend was having a surprise birthday party at Priscilla's - it's a bright pink restaurant on Davie. They closed the restaurant for the party and it was so much fun. We sat with two couples, complete strangers, and had plenty of laughs. And it was a complete surprise to the birthday boy which made it even more fun. The food was a fixed menu and for the price it was pretty darn good. The dessert - tiramisu - was exceptional. Definitely the best food of the dining out marathon.

Kate