Yaletown. Love it or hate it, the area continues to draw hip creative types and corporate 9-5ers alike at paramagnetic proportions. While living in the ‘hood requires at least one Porsche per family (a slight hyperbole, but close), dining here during the Taste of Yaletown does not. For a short period (October 12 – October 28, 2007), you can actually afford to eat in the area that initially attracted poor hipsters in search of inexpensive living. Thank you gentrification! Three-course tasting menus are marked at the convenient $25, $35 and $45 price points. To sweeten the deal, live the life of a wealthy philanthropist (not quite Bill Gates) as a portion of profits from each participating restaurant will be donated to The Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Here are Martiniboys’ top ten best bets!



Bluewater Café & Raw Bar
A Big room, small menu, fun drinks and continually inventive plates make Blue Water Cafe a culinary playground. The appealing all-things-to-all-people vibe is just as it should be. Housed in a 100-year-old brick and beam heritage warehouse conversion (don't touch anything), the space caters well to the happy-hour crowd that varies accordingly; expect a mix of young record-label up-and-comers from the Yaletown area.



Brix Restaurant
Brix provides a romantic ambiance in a wine bar (because nothing says romance/coitus like booze) setting, with a loft-ish, semi-eponymous exposed brick interior and perhaps the best patio/courtyard in the city. Located in a heritage building, the menu has a corresponding old-school vibe, though heavily seasoned by innovation. If you’re looking to lay low with the lady, Brix is the word.




Browns Restaurant
When out on the prowl, it’s always better to hit the bars with your boring, mundane friend so as not to be upstaged by your tag-along competition. Trust. Just like that friend, Browns is a reliable standby where urban patrons in ultra-hip attire add an element of excitement to the otherwise generic space. The inexpensive T.O.Y. menu and full bar ensures their attendance.