viaChgo

Got back from our weekend in Vancouver & thought I'd report on Blue Water. It was a hit with our group. We showed up about 15 minutes late (in 2 waves) & let them know that there would be 5 of us dining instead of 6. They told us to wait at the bar until wave 2 of our party arrived & they'd set the table for 5 instead of 6. So we cozied up to the bar & ordered some cocktails. After a short wait, the last 2 guys showed up & our table was ready. It was assumed that they would transfer our bar tab. Nice. I hate it when restaurants require the bar tab to be closed first. After perusing the menu, we decided on oysters to start, followed by sushi & then entrees. We had a selection of excellent BC oysters with our various cocktails. The sushi was really great. Although, I was dissapointed that there was no toro. My favorite was the local scallop nigiri...nice, fresh, sweet. 2 guys ordered the dungeness crab, I ordered the wild grilled salmon w/braised fennel & the other 2 ordered the miso sablefish. My salmon was good not great. The sablefish was delicious...I had a bite. Reminiscent of Nobu's miso black cod. We went with a Stag's Leap Sauvignon Blanc w/dinner. We skipped dessert & opted for a round of Scotch instead...nice selection of single malts. Service was great...friendly & attentive. We had a great time.

Thanks for the input! Blue Water it is!

A group of us are coming to Vancouver in May for the weekend & have 1 night for a great dinner. We're looking for something local (seafood), nice atmosphere but not stuffy, great food but not too food-focused, good drinks/wine list. So I made a reservation at Blue Water. We'll be 5-6 guys & out for a fun night on the town & want to start things right with a great dinner. This should fit the bill nicely, right?

Also look for some Spanish wines. We used to buy a wine called Borsao. It was a good everyday red table wine that was around $6US/bottle. Great for parties.

Ahh yes, the Twisted Spoke! Also the home of 'Smut N Eggs'!

I think it's the other way around $10 US = $13 Canadian. So $10 CAN would be about $7.60. That may narrow your choices a bit, but they are out there.

Here in Chicago there's a chain of places called Harold's. Most locations are on the south side...many of them have bullet proof glass separating the counter person/kitchen from the patron, but damn good chicken!

Is Geoduck the same as Mirugai? If so, then it's one of my favorites to eat as sashimi. Nice, thin slices to dip in soy.

I made coq au vin on Saturday as well! With mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, green salad. Our guests brought delicious oatmeal cookies & vanilla ice cream.

I'm jumping into this one a little late but just thought I'd throw my 2¢ in. I'm more of an Al's guy. I am not of fan of the giardenera that they use at Mr. Beef, which, to me, is an integral part of the Italian Beef experience. BUT, this past weekend I had my first beef from Johnnies. Outstanding! I think it's the best (sorry Al's). And, btw, I always go with the combo, dipped/juicy, hot.

Thanks Tryska! I definitely haven't given up on the cherimoya yet,

Yes, it was soft but not mushy. Like a nice, ripe avocado. Maybe I just got a bad one. There was some discoloration in the flesh. It should all be a creammy white, no?

They had cherimoyas at Whole Foods here in Chicago tonight. So I had to buy one to try it out. They were $3.99 each. They were pretty good...a cross between pineapple & banana. However, they were a little bitter & there was a lingering bitterness. Kind of like eating an unripe banana. Maybe it wasn't ripe enough? (edited to add images)

I seem to remember Pepperidge Farms making dinner rolls that were perfectly sized. Also, some friends once made a huge batch of homemade sliders & couldn't find appropriate bread. So, they went to a White Castle and just bought a bunch of their buns!

oven-baked potato chips drizzled w/truffle oil, parm-reg shaved on top and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Hai Woon Dae is a great choice & a great place to have BBQ! You may also want to try Jin Ju (5203 N. Clark St.) as a way to introduce yourself to the cuisine. They don't have the same selection as a traditional Korean restaurant but the flavors are fairly authentic even if presentations are not. Also the waitstaff is friendly & knowledgeable. You can also try Cho Sun Ok (4200 N. Lincoln). No grill-at-your-table BBQ but still great food. (They cook the BBQ in the kitchen). And the venerable Korean Restaurant (2659 W. Lawrence). Solid food AND open 24 hrs!

They don't have grill-your-own at the table, but the food is great. Especially late at 4 am!

I've been to Hae Woon Dae few times & really like it. One of the things I look for in a good Korean BBQ place is whether or not they use real coals. Way better than gas. Also they have a good array of panchan (small dishes). Another place I like Kang Nam at 4849 N. Kedzie. It used to be a buffet a few years ago but they switched to table service. They have really big, long tables available, so it's a good place if you have lots of people.

Last night for watching the Oscars, we made Martha Stewart's Mac & Cheese. Delicious! Also had a green salad.

I made some S&B Curry with beef and white rice on the side.

I posted about this in another thread...but when I was a kid, there was this pizza place in Chicago that was owned by Koreans & they had a kimchee pizza you could order. I'm not sure if it was on the menu or if it was offered to Korean customers. The pieces of kimchee were pread out underneath the cheese, on top of the sauce. I can't recall if other toppings were on it as well. But I do remember it being pretty good!

I finally got around to trying this this. However, there was no cauliflower at my grocery store! They did have this thing called 'BroccoFlower' which basically looked like light green cauliflower. So I used it instead. Got great results! To me it tasted like cauliflower but I haven't had cooked cauliflower in a while so I couldn't tell how much of a difference there was. Whatever it was, it was probably subtle. Same texture though. I'll post a pic here when I download it off my camera. I threw in some sliced white onion as well. I think next time, I'm just going to do the cauliflower on its own.

Last night was Rigatoni with Italian sausage, zucchini, and grape tomatoes. This is our standby weeknight pasta dish!

Sounds like NN = great but Smoke Country = terrible! That's too bad. Ducphat, your description of NN sounded really good -- delicious ribs & delicious soul food!

Last night was kimchee chigae...kimchee stew w/pork belly. Korean comfort food