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jamiemaw

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  1. jamiemaw

    Steven Shaw

    Of the great many exchanges that I largely enjoyed with Steven through this forum, we met only once. It was at a reception in the bar at Modern - a noisy fracas. He was there with Ellen and their son was a babe-in-arms. Momo hadn't arrived yet but was all around us. I hadn't been given to the fact that Steven was so young - he wrote here and elsewhere with a wiser voice. I also wasn't given to the fact that he was quite shy, at first, until the topic turned to Danny Meyer's canapés, which were also noisy. We had a spirited conversation for a while, much as we once had here, and then the night took us elsewhere. And that's what I shall remember most about Steven - in the early days of eGullet - how we could deliberate, discuss and debate well into the night, until it collapsed under its own weight. Go well Steven, into that good night, for you gave freely of a generous spirit, made the acquaintance of many, and introduced thousands of a common wit and likewise mind. I am deeply sorry that you left the dinner party so early, Steven - a most unjust dessert. Jamie
  2. Weekend Update . . . How do you think the foreign media portrayed Vancouver's and Whistler's culinary landscape during the Olympics?
  3. I concur with Le Gavroche at lunch as one of the best values in London. In my experience, if your dining companion is even remotely attractive you'll be treated remotely well and she will depart in a slight puddle and may even make remarks of undying fealty. Although for the recently-furlonged American tourist, I should think that Gavins at Windows offers another purview of all the crooks and nannies that pepper London, beginning with the delivery entrance of The Connaught, punctuated with several declaratve steeples, then ending on the vast wastrel of The City. At dinner, Arbutus - 17.50 pre- and post-theatre menus are very good values, so good, in fact that my chilly Scottish heart was warmed by a gorgeously braised shin of beef. Equally, Racine, on the Brompton Road promises a modicum of value and delicious bistro cooking. Mainly due to the subterranean kitchen, the servers enjoy unusually shapely calves. Cheers, J.
  4. Well, 'Bone Appe . . . teet!' We just returned from seeing the hilarious stew that is Julie & Julia and I can warrant you one thing with some certainty: Just as Michael Jackson's albums have been flying off the racks, post mortem, soon too will 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking', again. And another: Boeuf Bourguignon will be the surprise hit of the autumn, and as ubiquitous on fall restaurant menus as last year's short ribs. (Note to self: better stock up on cross-rib before it skyrockets.) The movie is a joy. You already know the story: a young New York civil servant blogs her way through the more than 500 recipes in MAFC in a calendar year. Then lands a book and movie deal while preserving her marriage and considerably extending her circle of friends. The interface between this story-line and that of the creation of the MAFC itself, and the history of the itinerant Childs (Paul Child is gracefully, and understatedly, played by Stanley Tucci - is it a coincidence that he has starred in the two best English language food movies of all time?); Julia Child delightfully by Meryl Streep (and yes, they hired a lot of jockey-short extras to pull it off); Julie Powell by Amy Adams. The screenplay, by Nora Ephron, is tighter than a stuffed coquelet. The only down-note is the character of Julie Powell's husband, played by Chris Messina, whose ham-fisted acting oversteps (his character has the table manners of a goat - watching him eat his brushcetta is painful), and is distracting in the first two reels. Eh bien, tant pis - even he is smoothed as the stew thickens. Wonderful touches abound of post-war Paris and its food stalls, the imperious owner of Le Cordon Bleu, the Child's Buick Roadmaster station wagon (got woody?)gavotting down narrow alleys, Black Ops corresdpondences, references to Joe McCarthy, and finally, after nearly a decade of writing and trial and error recipe-testing, the publication of the 700-page brick that it is now in its 49th printing. As I mentioned above, no doubt that will be 50 come autumn, as sure as braises.
  5. Deborah, Absolutely no trip to the valley is complete without the chicken and dumplings at Lord Fletcher's.
  6. Why green bell peppers = Lindsay Loha Empty and vacuous. Takes up valuable room for no apparent reason other than to annoy. Requires a life, etc. I would have used Paris, but the kitchen's her second worst room. ← Oh, I see. Now personally, I would have gone with someone like Kevin Federline, in that he always seems to be around but he never really does anything or serves any purpose. Whereas Lohan at least provides some excitement (unlike green bell peppers) in that she often manages to one-up her previous antics. ← You must be referring to her skirt.
  7. Why green bell peppers = Lindsay Loha Empty and vacuous. Takes up valuable room for no apparent reason other than to annoy. Requires a life, etc. I would have used Paris, but the kitchen's her second worst room.
  8. We've often decried the fact that Greek food doesn't enjoy any provenance in Vancouver. Certainly not compared to Montreal, New York, or London. There are reasons for that. Many are like immigration centres, quietly passing from hand-to-hand. Even when they were at their zenith, in the 70s on West Broadway, it was clear that the proprietors' kids, who worked for tips, would be looking elsewhere for a career. In the 80s I took a menu from one Greek restuarant up and down West Broadway, and ordered from it with complete confidence at half a dozen others. The green bell pepper (the Lindsay Lohan of the pepper family) figured large. Along with cheap starch and mystery meats. No one I knew actually ate at Orestes. We removed the 'Best Greek' category from the Restaurant Awards some years ago - it is now lumped in with 'European' but rarely do Greek restaurants get much mention. The best Greek food, alas, is prepared in people's homes, and the best of that happens during Greek Easter. I was reminded of all of this when I had a diabollically bad meal at a place called Kerkis on West 4th Avenue. It was a proforma shambles (stuff I would have greedily eaten when a student perhaps) and, unfortunately, confirmed my worst fears about a dying cuisine here. Yours until bottarga flakes fall from the sky, etc. J.
  9. You are indeed correct BC- resources have permitted us this year to invite some additional and very knowledgeable people to the table. Spirited discussion ensued; no doubt the results (although blind to me) will be interesting. FYI - because of the enormous size of the BC food service marketplace now, we also broke down many of the other categories so that they are now judged by specialist teams who judge categories in which they are expert--either by dint of geographic or ethnocentric proximity.
  10. The broiler is an under-rated winter time device. We use ours often. Its major benefit when cooking well-marbled steaks is that it doesn't create the smoke associated with pan-frying. But I think he should have recommended using a ridged iron pan to avoid stewing, and he's just plain wrong when he recommends not turning the steak: searing both sides = double happy.
  11. OK I looked at their web site and I still don't see the point. They could not possibly have served the food that's on their menus therefore they must have served food that is not related to what they actually cook. So what was the point? Did they want to show that even though the food on the menu is casual and uses crappy ingredients that they really do know how to cook and use good ingredients but choose not to? Or does Chris Mills want to prove that he just works there for the money and is secretly embarrassed about the food? What a huge waste of time and money for the chain, and for the sponsors. What happens if those people from New York come to Vancouver and eat in a Joey's restaurant? They will be very unpleasantly surprised I would guess. ← I disagree with all of your suppositions with the exception of the first one.
  12. As far as I know Noble and Earls were not associated with the Bocuse D'Or this year, although Michael was Canada's entrant a few years ago. The 2007 Bocuse D'Or happened a few days ago and Scott Jaeger from The Pear Tree was this years entrant for Canada and all I know is he finished out of the medals. As for the Joey's team going to the Beard House in New York it just goes to show that they (the Beard House) continue to lose credibility as it appears they are ready to accept anyone who will show up with all the food and booze regardless of whether they have a track record of culinary excellence (Chris Mills having been in the Bocuse D'Or earlier in his career means nothing in this context). ← To help correct some of the speculation above: Michael Noble is indeed still very much involved with Bocuse d'Or. As you can read here, he was both a Canadian judge and manager of Team Canada. He is also the chairman of the Bocuse d'Or Canada Committee of the Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks. One of his protoges, Chris Mills, who is the development chef for Joeys, was Team Canada's BD representative in 2001. Further, I would say that Chris does enjoy an impecable "track record of culinary excellence" (Diva et al) and that in fact it does mean a great deal in this context. The evening at Beard House was a great success. But then, why wouldn't it have been?
  13. OK I looked at their web site and I still don't see the point. They could not possibly have served the food that's on their menus therefore they must have served food that is not related to what they actually cook. So what was the point? Did they want to show that even though the food on the menu is casual and uses crappy ingredients that they really do know how to cook and use good ingredients but choose not to? Or does Chris Mills want to prove that he just works there for the money and is secretly embarrassed about the food? What a huge waste of time and money for the chain, and for the sponsors. What happens if those people from New York come to Vancouver and eat in a Joey's restaurant? They will be very unpleasantly surprised I would guess. Michael Noble at Earls seems to be able to support the culinary scene while not participating or dragging Earls into any involvement with it and besides, Earl’s food has always been good and has gotten even better since he joined the chain. They are what they are, not what the Chef feels he wants to be. OK that was crappy English but I seem to be frustrated to the point I can't clearly write about it. Joey’s and Earls are related to each other aren’t they? I thought I read in the National Post last week that Joey’s, Earls, Saltlick were all owned by various Fuller brothers who all work for their Dad, who owns the parent (no pun intended) company? ← The article in the National Post that you allude to is here. Bus Fuller is now chairman of the family-owned company, which, in addition to Earls, also owns Joeys and Saltlik and has a majority interest in another well-known CFD chain. Stan Fuller oversees the entire operation of the three directly-controlled chains but concentrates on Earls; his brothers Jeff and Stewart operate Joeys and Saltlik respectively; father Bus has stepped back from day-to-day ops but is still a presence.
  14. I suspect that "green grassy" thing in red wine is a result of less than optimally ripe fruit. Not suprising given the cool climate. ← This is one of the most common misconceptions about BC wines, given that the bulk of VQA red wine grapes are grown on the semi-arid Oliver and Osoyoos benches. Temperatures there can average many consecutive weeks of plus 30 degree C weather (spiking to 40+); because of their northern latitude, those benches average about an hour more of summer sunshine per day than the Napa Valley. Agriculture Canada's studies (geology; effects of climactic change on crop water; irrigation practices et al) of the extraordinarily diverse micro-climates of the Okanagan Valley are pervasive and richly detailed - it may be one of the most fastidiously analyzed wine regions in the world. As for the IWSC Gold Award for shiraz being awarded to Jackson Triggs: Well done. They beat the Aussies at their own game - and as even they had to admit in London - fair dinkum.
  15. I would have thought that Baru might have beaten them to the punch by half a dozen years or so.
  16. Weather Advisory: The coast is now clear, as are the hills. Just spoke with a friend who made the trip in the usual two hours curb-to-curb and in a two-wheel drive. Now, about getting back . . .
  17. I can only be candid in my silence. But here's the link.
  18. Thanks for the clarification. For many years I'd (naturally) thought that Kunda was referring to motivated seasoning. Fleur de hell, etc., J.
  19. Don't leave us hanging. After all, there's a 'sad dearth of said cuisine.' And I mean that.
  20. Much is explained. Statements made here and elsewhere - about safety cards and air sickness bags - suggest otherwise: Have you read this issue? Do you have any comments?
  21. Non-rubbery texture in the omelette with a hint of fish from the dashi finishing with sweetness from the mirin and sugar.
  22. Exactly. It certainly compares favourably with the current FHM World Cup of Lingerie nominess--now that's a list I can take real issue with. Keeley Hazell and Joanna Krupa--nowhere to be seen! Unbelievable--who was on that committee? There's a remarkable similarity between that list and some of the discussion here and elsewhere: They too can make mountains out of molehills. Of course there's also a difference: In the case of enRoute both the methodology and result are transparent while for FHM only the latter is true.
  23. That's the whole point of the story i suppose, Andrew: Very few people in Canada know the answer to your question - perhaps only one. But based upon the criteria Chris Johns elicited, I think he makes quite a compelling case.
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