Appetizer platter from MilestonesFirst, a word of apology for the quality of the pictures for this entry - both were taken on my cell phone under challenging lighting conditions inside restaurants at night.

At the end of August, my husband and I cashed in some frequent flyer miles, and took advantage of a great hotel deal to spend a week up in Vancouver, BC.

We stayed right downtown, surrounded by restaurants; while they were predominantly East Asian, there were some general North American restaurants too, as well as some dedicated to other ethnic cuisines.

We tended to lunch lightly, and then to look for something more substantial - and slightly upmarket - for dinner. The situation for vegetarians in BC seems to be pretty much the same as here: there are a couple of items on most menus that would fit the bill, but generally nothing that really justifies the cost on par with the meat-based items.

The evening of our first full day we ventured out a little later than we would usually look for dinner; we had returned to the hotel after our sight-seeing expedition earlier, and had taken a relaxing siesta. We wandered down Robson street, reading menus in windows or stands, until finally our feet and our tummies started complaining, so we turned into a place called Milestones. Our entreés were nice enough, but it is the appetizer platter we shared that deserved a special mention, from the lovely presentation to the adventurous combination of flavors and textures.

Their menu described it as:
"BAKED GOAT CHEESE & SLOW-ROASTED GARLIC:
Warm garlic flatbread, spiced cranberry relish, roasted corn and onion salsa, fresh papaya and roasted red pepper salsa"

The goat cheese had been rolled in black poppy seeds, lending a crunch under your teeth in contrast to the rich, creamy cheese; its mild flavor was contrasted in turn by the smoke of the fire-roasted corn, the tart bite of the cranberries, and the rich, slightly sweetness of the papaya salsa. The whole house of garlic - though clearly roasted until soft and sweet - was left untouched by us; not our favorite taste.

Mosaic's Chocolate Cake dessertNow fast forward to our final evening in Vancouver. We had been saving up a chocolate experience for a last treat. We had a coupon to a place called Death by Chocolate or we could go to the Chocoholic Buffet at the Sutton Place hotel.

After some deliberation, we decided on Death by Chocolate, because I thought there was no way I could do justice to a $24.00 chocolate buffet, and my husband (who is only an occasional chocolate eater - a rank amateur) even less so. So, off we set, only to find that it is no longer at that address (part of the building was under construction). Desperately disappointed, we wandered around a little listlessly until we decided to return and try our hotel's restaurant.

"Nice, but vastly over-priced" would just about sum up our entreés there; determined to have at least some chocolate that evening, I ordered their chocolate cake dessert. I did notice the unusual pricing: "$7.00, but $15.00 if dessert only or take out."

And then it came to the table. Oh. My. Goodness! I could just mumble "No, no, no" while the waiter set down the huge cake in front of me. I thought he had brought the wrong thing; I very earnestly explained that I had meant to order the $7 and not the $15 thing. He told me that it is the same thing, but you have to eat dinner in the restaurant to get it at $7.00. The (very loud American) people at the next table piped up: "Are you gonna eat all that?!"

Now, take out your rulers or measuring tape (that's what we did): The cake was 6"x6" and 9" tall. Yes, not a typo; check the (horribly poor quality) picture. It consisted of dense, moist chocolate cake layered with ganache, and covered in melted chocolate shell.

We shared a slice perhaps an inch thick, and couldn't quite finish it. The restaurant was clearly used to people needing to carry this out, though, because they had a perfect box for it. So, home we carried it, on a lap in the 'plane (it was one of those little prop planes) and presented the rest of the family at home with something they appreciated far more than the souvenirs we brought.

And the cake? The whole family had dessert for three days!