EAT

Lumière is a restaurant with a subdued setting and impeccable menu

In every city, you'll hear arguments over which is the top restaurant. In Vancouver the showdown usually comes down to Lumière and West, so I had to check both out myself. This is not a task to take lightly, for it involves more food than anyone should eat and an outlay of close to $800 for two meals for two in American dollars.

At that kind of price, restaurateurs want you to think of the experience as event dining, similar to spending a night at a Stones or Madonna concert, and certainly as unforgettable. Out of the experience, I came up with my own winner, and that is Lumière.

West -- where the slogan is "True to our region, true to the seasons" -- is no slouch, and if I were living in Vancouver, no doubt I would be in its dining room more frequently than Lumière's due to its vast menu selections, price points and its warm, convivial atmosphere.

In contrast, Lumière registers as cool, from its angular Modernist furnishings to its precise service. In its subdued setting, there is little to divert one's attention from Iron Chef America Rob Feenie's impeccable-tasting menus.

I ordered the Signature Menu ($160 per person plus $99 with matching wines) with 11 courses, 12 if you count an amuse bouche of puff pastry with bleu cheese served with ahi and avocado tartare. As small as portions are -- a taste -- with these menus, I did end up skipping the cheese selection before desserts, as well as the parting mignardises.

Along the way, I enjoyed duck prosciutto with bing cherry coulis and Vancouver's butterfish equivalent, called sablefish, served with braised turnip and king oyster mushrooms in dashi.

Each selection was a perfect gem of concentrated flavors. The lone misstep was in a dish of thinly pounded lobster served with pork replacing the sweetbreads called for on the menu. I can only imagine that in chef Feenie's absence this was deemed passable, and though I am no great fan of offal, the shellfish and sweetbreads are of equal weight and texture, whereas the pork overpowered the lobster, making it an awkward choice.

If you can't afford to eat at Lumière, don't fret. You have the option of heading to Rob Feenie's casual bistro next door, called Feenie's. Call 604-739-7115.

Lumière is at 2551 W. Broadway. Call 604-739-8185. West is at 2881 Granville St. at 13th. Call 604-738-8938.

Poutine, Beavertails are the strangest of Canadian grinds

Canadians can have a strange, childlike sense of humor. How else to describe a people that turn bread into animal shapes -- everything from crocs to dinosaurs -- that adorn the windows of Cob's Bread and Boulangerie de Parisienne?

Stranger still are the inventions of poutine and Beavertails.

Poutine, rarely seen outside of Canada, is said to be a Quebec invention. Those who love heart-attack-on-a-plate foods get it immediately. With a name that means "pudding" or, slangily, "mushy mess," it starts with a base of french-fried potatoes topped with curds, then smothered with brown gravy.

Lovely.

Even stranger is the Beavertail.

Hunters once cooked real beaver tails over camp fires, but these days, people settle for pastry shaped to resemble a beaver tail. You've probably sampled the equivalent elsewhere known as fry bread or funnel cake, with the pastry topped with various sweets, from cinnamon sugar to chocolate hazelnut.

Sample both Canadian classics at Zog's Dogs, a takeout shop in Whistler's Mountain Square, where it's about $5.50 for your basic poutine, up to $7 for fusion styles, such as an Italian-style version that's equivalent to pizza.

And the rest

All prices in Canadian dollars

Cafe Crepe: A taste of Europe for breakfast, at less than $10 per person. At 1032 Robson St. at Smithe. Call 604-488-0045.

Cafe S'il Vous Plait: Wake up to an $8 slice of breakfast pie with ham, cheese, scrambled egg and tomato, served in an old-fashioned diner. Or take a bite out of shepherd's pie, samosa pie or macaroni and cheddar pie. Espresso is $2 and a cup of cocoa is $2.90. At 500 Robson St. Call 604-688-7216.

Hapa Izkaya: This is where the young trendies hang out and martinis matter as much as funky fusion tapas including seafood gratins, tuna carpaccio with yuzu, and maguro with wasabi soy sauce. At 1479 Robson St. Call 604-689-1132.

Lennox Pub: Exceptional bar fare includes corn chowder with all the flavor and texture you could ask for and chipotle-spiced oyster gratin ($10) that's extremely spicy, much more than you'd expect from a mild-mannered town. Burgers and salads run $9 to $10. At 800 Granville St. Call 604-408-0881.

Nikko Japanese restaurant: Offers a wide range of sushi in a casual setting in the heart of the Robson shopping district. At 1008 Robson St. Call 604-683-6111.

Pacifica Cafe: Enjoy lunch or dinner with a view from atop the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place, under white sails. Dine indoors or outdoors on fresh salmon, salads and mushroom ravioli. Call 604-662-2491.

Raincity Grill: If your budget doesn't allow for a trip to Lumière or West, Rain City Grill might be the next best thing with regional tasting menus at about $55 per person, incorporating locally grown honey, hazelnuts and figs in rainy weather cassoulets, braised lamb and seafood dishes. A "Spoons" appetizer is a charmer, seven spoons topped with bite-size morsels, from grilled sausages to a tiny tamale to an ahi poke with sea asparagus. At 1193 Denman St. Call 604-685-7337.

Stepho's Souvlaki Greek Taverna: I didn't eat here; the line outside was long, but those in line said the fast-food souvlakis are worth waiting for. At 1124 Davie St. Call 604-683-2555. If you're on a budget, Davie Street is home to several small, affordable eateries.

Vera's Burger Shack: Vera's slogan is "You Can't Beat Vera's Meat." That point is arguable, but you really can't beat Vera's selection of "flavor shots" at 54 cents to $1.59 per item. Choose from roasted garlic, fried mushrooms, bacon, blue cheese, a fried egg, scoop of chili, guacamole or a Mediterranean mix of black olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes. There are six locations, but most accessible to visitors are the burger shacks at 1030 Davie St. at Burrard, 604-893-8372, and at 1181 Denman St. at English Bay, 604-681-5450. Lamb burgers are popular in Vancouver. Vera's is $6.99.

Vij's: With no reservations taken, people line up for Vikram Vij's Indian fusion cuisine, especially the wine-marinated lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream curry ($25). It says something that diners willingly wait up to two hours for a seat. The restaurant opens at 5:30 p.m., and it's still OK if you get there by 6 p.m. After that, the wait begins, but they won't let you waste away outside. You're welcome to grab a drink at the bar and bring it outside, and waitresses show up frequently to ply you with yucca fries, herbed chapati or various veggie and meat curries served on crackers. Vij's curries are very smooth and tasty, but to me no meal is worth such a wait. The unwillingness to take reservations is a cheap gimmick. Vij's is at 1480 West 11th Ave. Call 604-736-6664.

If you can't wait for a table at Vij's, Rangoli is next door with more casual cafe fare of vegetable samosas and curries. It's also the work of chef Vij.