Eating Lonsdale

Gen Sushi - 2006-08-16

Yet another sushi bar. Actually, sushi will be a recurring theme of this blog as there are a ton of sushi restaurants along Lonsdale. Of course the one I'm looking forward to the most is Sushi and Pizza down by Keith Rd, but that's for another day (and at the rate we're going, another year!).


When we got to Gen Sushi this evening the restaurant was about half full and it was easy to get a table. That did not last long. It filled up quickly, which is always a good sign. The inside of Gen Sushi is... well... it reminded me of some small town Chinese restaurants I've visited in the past. Very sparse and almost cafeteria like. Fortunately the service was attentive and friendly and the food was good.

Shortly after ordering our drinks Tristan announced he needed to go to the washroom. I asked the waitress where it was and she helpfully pointed out that it was down the hall past the kitchen. As we wandered past the food prep areas I was pleased to note the general cleanliness and sense of organisation despite the cramped quarters.

For dinner we started with the sake (salmon) and maguro (tuna) sashimi. The slices were generous and thick and definitely fresh. Tristan gobbled up six of the ten pieces... good thing I love him! We also ordered several pieces of saba (mackerel, which is my favourite), six ebi (prawns, which are Tristan's favourite), tobiko (flying fish eggs), unagi (eel) and a really tasty scallop roll. To drink I had a large Sapporo draft. Tristan tried the unagi and the saba and liked it so much we ordered pieces of each for him. As we were finishing off dinner we decided to order a bento box and dynamite roll to go for Kristin. In character they got the to-go package and the bill to us quickly, and I was quite pleased at the price.

The competition for sushi in Vancouver is very high, with a sushi bar on just about every corner. I would happily go back to Gen Sushi, although given the choice there are other places I would likely go to first.

Gen Sushi is at 1933 Lonsdale Avenue, a couple of doors down from Panago.

LERS Score: 5 (Probably)

posted by Jay MacDonald @ 10:41 p.m. 0 comments

Panago Pizza - 2006-08-02

Panago Pizza is a large chain of pizza joints in Canada. Like Bella Pizza we've ordered pizza from the Panago on Lonsdale several times. I was hoping they would have a decent seating area to enjoy our pizza but, like so many pizza places these days, this was not to be the case.

We headed over in the Prius and parked across the street. Getting pictures of the restaurants on the west side of Lonsdale is getting a bit challenging with the sun setting behing them... anyway, I dared a wander into the middle of the street to snap a shot of the sign, then headed on in.

The inside is clean and spartan. There are a few funky bar seats at the front window where, if you have no where to go or the rain is coming down too hard, one can sit and eat. We ordered a Primo Shrimp pizza and a bottle of San Pellegrino to go and headed out to eat. Tristan wanted to go to a park so we drove up Lonsdale to Osborne where you'll find Clarisbrooke Park. We sat at a picnic table, opened up our flat box full o' food and chowed down.

I gotta say, I really like Panago pizza and the Prima Shrimp is one of my favourites. Tristan, who is always game for sea food, gobbled down a couple of slices then politely excused himself and ran over to the playground. Ah, yes, I remember the days when I was able to eat and play like that without losing my meal!

Panago Lonsdale is at 1981 Lonsdale Ave just south of 19th avenue. Call 604-310-0001 for delivery.

LERS Score: 4 (For Take Out)

posted by Jay MacDonald @ 9:53 p.m. 0 comments