WATCHES all syn- chroed to Daylight Dining Time? Good: spring is in the air and there’s a host of local culinary blooms to harvest. * Opening with: The Lonsdale Quay Hotel Waterfront Dining Room, 986-6111, 123 Carrie Cates ‘Crt., North Vancouver. Lonsdale Quay Hotel dining facilities are undergo- ing a major overhaul. Hotel owners, the Karim family, have retaken control of the hotel’s kitchen, which for the past six years had . been leased to a third party. The result of that leased setup has been an uneven dining experience for hotel guests and patrons of the hotel’s main dining room and what was its Waterfront Bistro. The latter, which began life in 1986 as a stylish har- bourside eatery sporting ‘panoramic inlet vistas, s pent the last few years of its a disco and lounge lizard haunt. . But that phase of its life ended on March 15. Hotel director Salim Karim promises a more dig- nified phase for the second- floor room. His family is currently. investing close to $500,000 ‘in the bistro’s overhaul, which will shed its lounge “lizard skin and usher in :- something with far more . “: food and sex appeal: the Tantra Waterfront Lounge . and Grill. It’s scheduled to open in mid-May and will feature a - full'menu from new hotel chef Leo Moschetti. Excerpts from that : upcoming ‘Tantric selection, NEWS photo Paul MeGrath GOING over r plans for the renovation of the Lonsdaie Guay Hotel's Waterfront Bistro are owners Amin (left) and Salim Karim (right) and new netel chef Leo Moschett!. The hotel Is currently upgrading all ita dining facilities. which is currently available in the hotel’s main dining room: assorted burgers (Lamb, Garden, Grilled ” Chicken Breast, Bistro Beef) and pasta (Fettuccine with chorizo sausage, shiitake mushrooms in a soy demiglaze; Linguine with mussels and clams or smoked salmon and avoca- do; Penne with sundried tomatoes, grilled chicken breast, fresh tomatoes and goat cheese — $7.50 to $12); in the full plate entree division $15 to $17 will get you everything from Cioppino and New York Steak to Cornish Game Hen and Sea Bass Fillet. Upstairs, meanwhile, the Quay Hotel is taking anoth- er stab at bringing life to its main dining room. Gone is the Shore Winds Restaurant. It opened in 1998 following the lengthy closure of the Q-Cafe, which took over for the hotel’s original Loop’s Cafe in 1993. Sct to sail now is the more long-winded Lonsdale Quay Hotel Waterfront. Dining Room. The third-storey restau- rant is a tough sell. It’s out of the way in a location that many perceive to have iittle or no parking and many more don’t even know exists. But the dining room has a great harbourside view and one of the best rooftop patio spaces on the North Shore. ‘And there’s a lot of free parking in the Quay lot low. It deserves a better fate than it has had over the past few years. With enough attention applied to the quality of its food and service, the hotel’s dining room could develop into a great North Vancouver City destination restaurant. Chef Moschetti’s kitchen, which will be servicing both bistro and dining room, along with the hotel's revi- talized catering operation, will be key to realizing that California o00 See Milieu following page’ MoTHEer INDIA Tans our Fooos & Home Bacivary 5-10 pm 7 daysAveek 900 W. 16th, North Van. Ph: 985-8860 _ Fax: 986-5546 BUFFET*9" Sun. & Mon. 5-8 p.m. (no coupons on Sun & Mon) pen for Lunch Pen er S 12-2 Take-out service alsa Navel Granges Buy one 4lb bag of Califomia Navel Oranges at the regular price and receive the second bag at no extra cost! Chicken Legs Buy one Family Pack of Chicken Legs (no back) at the regular price and receive the second one of equal or lesser value at no extra cost! Mini Strudels Buy one pack of 6’s Mini Strudels at the regular price and receive the second package at no extra cost! Sirloin Steaks Buy one New Zeaiand Family Pack of Top Sirtoin Steaks at the regular price f and receive the second one of equal or lesser value at no extra cost! Grimm’s Tortilla Shells Buy one package of Grimm's 10 inch Tortilla shells at the regular price and receive the second packaye at no extra cost! Hamburger/Tuna Helper Buy one 1989/2409 of Betty Crocker Hamburger or Tuna Helper (Assorted varieties) at the regular price and =f | receive the second one at no extra cost! Prices effective April 5 - April 8, 2000 (while supplies last - we reserve the right to limit quantities.)