Tonight we were at a loss of what to have for dinner. I didn't really feel like cooking and our usual restaurants we eat at were not overly appealing at the moment, so we opted to expand ourselves and walked down the hill to try out burgoo, which just recently opened in North Van.

What a lovely little place. For one, it's bitingly cold outside (2 degrees C) and upon stepping into the restaurant, I was welcome to a cozy spot with a fireplace and plenty of woodwork. Very welcoming, very home'y. We sat down on comfortably soft leather seats and looked around at the bistro's framed travel art. Finally we ordered. The iced tea is bottomless for one. That's always an important feature for us... heh, we like our iced tea. I ordered the open-faced "El Diablo" sandwich. Roasted chicken, chorizo, onion, lettuce, tomato, white cheddar & chipotle mayonnaise, all served on toasted multigrain bread and melted to a lovely dreamy perfection. I savored each bite, especially as I got a harvest green salad on the side. I tell you this much, I'm starting to fall in love with the beet. At least how they served it with hazelnuts, mixed greens, chèvre cheese & a warm balsamic dressing.

Sim ordered the french classic beef bourguignon that I was able to sample. So good, so good. And then as if that wasn't enough, we split cherry clafouti and ice cream for dessert. That was incredible. Oh my. Really, given the quality of the food, one would expect the price to be much higher. But it's very comparable to the normal "meh" restaurants that we find ourselves returning to way too many times..

Two Four thumbs up. And I was totally not paid to say that. (Although anytime they want to offer up another one of those sandwiches, I'm always happy to oblige.)