Baby, O!
Back in my other life, this was a regular haunt for after work happy-hour, special dinners, drinks with friends – however since I’ve moved last January I hadn’t been back so I decided to revisit recently. This Tommy O’s opened just a few years ago nearby my house, and I was so happy when it did because there’s another Tommy O’s nearby my work in Vancouver that we all used to go to for business lunches and after work and I knew it would be good. This one is a little more fancy and expensive than the downtown bistro-style place, but it’s just as wonderful. There’s the same welcoming atmosphere, just stepped up a notch – a friendly bar area, fireplace, and bamboo decor set this one apart. They have live music at times, and I’ve come here in the snow (walking distance from my house) for hot coffee drinks – something about this is inviting and appropriate to both hot and cold weather, you just feel like you’ve entered a little haven, in the middle of nowhere. Which you kind of have – it’s not on the beaten path given it’s location on 192nd waaaay out in Fisher’s Landing, but that just makes it more of a find in my opinion.
We ordered the appetizer sampler, which gives you a choice of three of their offerings – in this case the crispy chicken spring rolls, calamari steak and lobster pot stickers, three of my favorites, although it’s always hard to choose.
This is a great choice for the undecided, and plenty of food for two to four people, especially if you’re getting an entree. Each one comes with it’s own dipping sauce, the calamari has a sweet sauce to go with it, sort of similar to the sweet and sour sauce you’d get with chinese food.
The sauce in the middle is for the lobster and on the end is for the spring rolls. Or is it the other way around? I always end up mixing them up and trying the different sauces with different foods, in case I discover a new invention! I think the lobster pot stickers are my favorite out of this set. They also serve shrimp, fries, sushi and even nachos!
My all-time favorite dish here is the halibut (coconut crusted… yum), they have hawaiian dishes, ribs and pulled pork, teriyaki…
I saw a comment that the menu wasn’t kid-friendly on the urbanspoon website, however I found it to be fine. Kids like rice and chicken and teriyaki, my son loves the shrimp and calimari, they have great drinks and desserts. It’s not a place you can get burgers and mac and cheese for your kids, but I think it’s good to encourage them to eat with the grown ups now and then and branch out a little bit. Plus, that way you can get two entrees you want to try – I’ve never mooched off my kids “kid meal” in most restaurants, they usually are bland and uninteresting anyway.
So back to the really delicious halibut they serve – it’s also the most expensive item on the menu, about $24 so I save that for special occasions. This time my friend and I split a spinach salad – another favorite and one that’s gotten me into trouble before because I order it before the entree and then am too full to eat both. This is perfect to pair with appetizers though, an so very good!
There’s candied macademia nuts, craisins (cranberry raisins), egg, bacon and a very light dressing – one of my other favorites!
We skipped the dessert this time as we were too full, but they were tempting. I definitely recommend this as one of the better places to go in the Vancouver area.
