Redhead

It was a rather thin year for us in terms of restaurant meals -- these children are draining our bank accounts! -- but the stand-outs were probably our dinner at La Regalade, particularly the garlicky hot escargot starter, yum, and dessert at West (the molten chocolate tart with mandarin sorbet) and a plate of perfectly shucked, briny and delicious oysters at Joe Fortes (I kept calling one species George Inlet, but I think it's Gorge). Like Coop, we enjoyed the company at Moderne one night, and they serve a decent burger, too. The three-cheese macaroni at Seattle's Icon Grill was the most memorable comfort food of 2003. Here's hoping the budget will allow a few more restaurant forays in 2004.

I think you'll have better luck replicating your scones at home than finding a worthy scone sold commercially. That said, I know of a NYC-based scone addict who thinks the Savory Island Pie Co.'s scones are pretty good (on Marine Drive in Ambleside, West Vancouver). And, many years ago, two spinster sisters on Vancouver Island (opposite Pearson College on the old Island Hwy, I think) ran a little afternoon tea operation with Devonshire cream from their own goats milk and homemade preserves on feather-light scones hot out of the Aga. Bliss... they've long since passed away, sadly. Good luck on your search.....

We had a very good family brunch in the restaurant at Northlands Golf club in North Vancouver (on the way to Deep Cove). They price the kids by age ($5 for 5 year-olds, $8 for 8-yr-olds and so on) and ours found lots of items they liked and could customize the toppings for their pancakes, or just get a nice slab of meat from the carvery. I don't think the selection is as huge as Swan-e-set, but the room is very nice, the scenery is pleasantly woodsy and the servers aimed to please. A good choice for North Shore residents.

Coop and Ling -- sweetbreads are one of Mr. Redhead's favourite things to order when dining out. But it's been years since he had them, the last occasion being at Chesa (now Coop's pal's Marine Drive), home of the soup Nazi woman. I suggest we convene an eGullet potluck in the New Year -- I'll provide the venue and the sweetbreads. Coop can cook 'em! Redhead.

Fig and Anise is my favourite Terra loaf, too. I do find their crusts are a bit challenging on Day Two, however. Also love the round sourdough from Capers, and my mother-in-law's brick-like Latvian rye. Very dark and dense and a perfect base for various Swedish-style herring dishes. My childhood favourite was Ben's Porridge Bread, a popular sliced loaf sold at Sobey's grocery store in Halifax. It was a sweet oatmeal/molasses brown bread, something Maritime home bakers would be familiar with (often baked in a large coffee can). I have been trying to approximate this recipe in my bread machine for several years now, with limited success.

Thanks for the tip, Frog Princess. What do you think of Dick's Drive-in burgers, by the way? We sampled these recently and thought they were pretty good. I understand it's a Seattle institution. The milkshake was delicious, too.

Ling, I once ate siew looooong bao (er, whatever!) or steamed pork dumplings for dim sum at a restaurant overlooking Aberdeen harbour in H.K. (no, NOT the floating restaurant!). They were a revelation, and I have never eaten anything from a steamer that was so fluffy, fragrant and delicious since then. The "bao" or bready exterior literally melted in my mouth, revealing the juicy, meaty interior. It was a transforming experience!

Another vote for Windsor Meats, but this time for the West Van location at Caulfeild mall. Does anyone else in town carry organic flank steak? Marinated, grilled and thinly sliced, it's like butter under your knife. And they'll cut steaks to your specs, and (parents of small tots take note), they sell large, mildly seasoned chicken fingers cut from whole chicken breasts. And decent, quick-meal steak and onion pies. And farm-raised free-range turkeys at Christmas, yum. Prices are comparable to Black's butcher shop in Park Royal south, but I've had some disappointingly chewy, tough strip loins from Black's.... javascript:emoticon('')

I vote for the Red Onion, too. If only because it puts us within easy driving distance of Grandma's house, a convenient and cheap place to stow the Redhead twins for an evening. Mr. Redhead is rethinking his 82% score for the Moderne Burger. He says he liked the new "steak burger" at A+W more than his Moderne creation. Sigh. Will we have to drum him out of the eGullet burger corps now? Redhead.

Thanks Ling and Dub for the photos and prompt Burger Results. Although Mr. Redhead was enthusiastic, giving his Moderne Burger with cheddar and bacon a very nice 82/100, I was definitely in the skeptical camp with 69. We weren't asked how we liked the burgers done, and they arrived uniformly brown -- not enough pink in the middle, lacking some juiciness in my opinion. I thought they were a good size, however, and the meaty flavor sure beats your chain burgers by a country mile. Apparently J-Lo and Ben were fans during their Vancouver visit this fall, and I suppose their security detail too, since the tabloid couple sent their staff in to get take-out burgs. My cherry-lime soda was refreshing, not too sweet, floating on a mountain of chopped ice, and it came with a stemmed cherry (Mr. Redhead was disappointed that no one volunteered to do a Twin Peaks-style trick of tying the stem into a knot......) Meeting fellow e-Gulleters was even better than sampling the burger. Where do we go next?

Here's the 411 on Moderne Moderne Burger - 2507 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. (604) 739-0005 Hours: Noon to 9:00pm seven days a week Closed holiday Mondays www.moderneburger.com Okay, burger ringleaders, pick a time and date!

Great suggestions, Coop. Let me add: Jolly the Butcher -- a little tricky to find, in an industrial area in North Van under the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge (that's the 2nd Narrows to oldtimers). Excellent fresh pork products, from prune-stuffed loins ready for roasting to a prosciutto-like chewy Danish cured ham to amazingly tender, sweet Swedish ham. Plus lots of Scandinavian imported goods, including those amazing dark chocolate frogs with runny vanilla cream filling, and proper sweet/seedy/spicy mustards to slather on the ham (or you put a dab on the edge of your pea soup bowl to spice up your soup). Redhead.

Chocolate Arts, on West 4th Avenue, can give Thomas Haas a run for his money. Come October, their pumpkin truffles will be on my shopping list. Very good dark chocolate here, and more generously sized pieces than Senses, IMHO. Worth checking into. R.

"iced tea presweetened without asking your preference" -- gosh, that's almost the only way you'll be served the stuff in our neck of the woods, western Canada. A decidedly unsouthern location, needless to say. Sadly, the stuff here tends to be a pale, tinny imitation of the real Southern brew. Thanks, Ruth, for a mouthwatering report. R.