jamiemaw

A Triple Threat is required. Recognizing yourself, your split menu and celebrating Boy George: Sharma Chameleon.

There was a very useful feature on Ocean Wise on last night's Global BC News at 6 that dealt with the issues and interviewed chefs and managers from The Cannery and elsewhere. They also posted a graphic of fish to avoid--yes, including Chilean sea bass. Great to see this message being delivered in prime time and squarely into the mainstream.

Ocean Wise Those of you who attended the eGullet Sustainability Luncheon at C Restaurant this summer will recall the impassioned talk from Dr. John Nightingale of the Vancouver Aquarium and Marine Science Centre. Nightingale corroborated the assertion that in British Columbia, more than 60% of seafood is eaten in restaurants. So—in this case at least—education may not start at home, but in those restaurants that champion sustainability. To that end, 13 more restaurants were added to the Ocean Wise roster today for a total of 28 in the province, Jason Boyce (who also spoke at the luncheon), Ocean Wise Coordinator, announced. Those restaurants are: • C Restaurant - Ocean Wise Founding Restaurant Partner • Araxi Restaurant and Lounge, Whistler • Aqua Riva, Vancouver • Blue Water Cafe and Raw Bar, Vancouver • The Cannery Seafood Restaurant, Vancouver • Chambar Belgian Restaurant, Vancouver • CinCin Ristorante and Bar, Vancouver • DV8 Lounge, Vancouver • Horizons, Burnaby • Nimmo Bay Resort, Vancouver Island • Ouisi Bistro, Vancouver • Raincity Grill, Vancouver • The Salmon House, West Vancouver • Vancouver Aquarium AquaHost Catering • West Restaurant and Bar, Vancouver • Altitudes Bistro, Grouse Mountain • Observatory Restaurant, Grouse Mountain • Aurora Bistro, Vancouver • Cactus Club Restaurants, Vancouver • The Fish House in Stanley Park, Vancouver • Le Gavroche, Vancouver • Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, Vancouver • Nu, Vancouver • Pearl, White Rock • Provence Marinaside, Vancouver • Restaurant 62, Abbotsford • Vij’s, Vancouver • Wild Rice, Vancouver Boyce, who appealed to members of The Chefs’ Table Society earlier this year, has delivered a strong start for the program. That message will be taken overseas next February when Chefs' Table and Ocean Wise partner with chefs in London at a sustainability dinner in front of the British media. We think the program so important that we partnered with Ocean Wise this year to place the OW logo as an icon beneath each participating restaurant in the Eating & Drinking Guide to BC. Hopefully, other restaurants will follow suit shortly and mount the Ocean Wise logo on their menus as a badge of honour. Congratulations to those who have taken the early lead. For further information on the Ocean Wise program, oceanwise@vanaqua.org or contact: Jason Boyce - Ocean Wise Coordinator Vancouver Aquarium (604) 659 - 3596

On Global News tonight there will be a feature on sustainable fish in Vancouver restaurants.

For Canadian readers, I understand from Barbara-jo's Books to Cooks in Vancouver that Silver Spoon was released yesterday and that she should have copies within a week or so. Presumably other Canadian booksellers will follow suit.

At the risk of replying to myself (can middle age be far behind?), we did pop by the HSG last night after dinner at Diner--our third meal there. Neil's plasmas were fired up, but there was soccer on the screens. Neil wisely put Jay Leno on so that we wouldn't wake up speaking with Midlands accents. Excellent reception: Jay really should trim those nose hairs.

The big news recently in Kelowna, British Columbia, was the opening of the attractive new Cactus Club restaurant, even if it cowers behind a gigantic Wal-Mart sign (don't we all just?). A large screen was seen to unfurl discretely from the ceiling just before face-off, smaller plasmoids abound, the beer taps are close at hand and the service is both sporty and swift. I haven't had a better hockey and food evening in quite a while, but then I haven't test-driven Neil's new bar yet either.

The immaculately haberdashed and marvelously punctual Samantha Falk.

I've eaten in fewer than one-third of these restaurants in the past few years. But as someone who visits NYC fairly frequently, I'd be interested to hear local members' opinions as to where the greatest discrepancy exists between reputation (perhaps hyperbole-/celebrity chef-/TV exposure-driven) and this list. Is it Babbo? Daniel? Another?

Touché, Frances. A very good point.

Global BC will begin a series of feature segments on its newscasts next Monday evening. They'll look into the travails of opening a restaurant, the international attention garnered by the city, and several other topics.

Saltlik is scheduled to open +/- December 5th.

Earls at Paramount Place has an entire Private Dining section on its ritzy mezzanine level. Good for presentations or hockey orgies. Looks like it might seat up to about 40 or so--more for a standup.

Thanks for these cotributions. As Karole said, there are often reasons--colleagiality, privacy or simply quieter conversation--when only a private room will do. I suppose that also applies for private screenings of 'Willing Coeds 23" as well. Some of the best private meals I had in Vancouver were from chef Alain Léger on the mezzanine floor of the Metropolitan Hotel for the annual Jack Webster Foundation directors' wrap-up; almost equally at The William Tell. Now that I think about it, the main floor room at Le Gavroche accomodates up to 30 and, with the fireplace going, is particularly cosy. I also have fond memories of the upstairs (about 20, with a small bar) or wine cellar (two!) at Villa del Lupo, although I must profess that I haven't been back since Julio Gonzalez-Perrini sold the shop. Seems to me the Beachside Café in West Vancouver also has a private wine cellar, for up to eight or so. And last summer we had an al fresco private meal, for six (although it could easily hold more), on the upstairs balcony at The Beachouse at Dundarave Pier, with an even better view than from down below.

I believe, in reference to Mr. Bogas's resume at Saltimbocca, Mangiamo, Coco Pazzo et al, that he may have also coined the expression "Bogas by name and by nature".

One of the biggest (and quietest) growth sectors in the Vancouver dining market over the past few years has been in Private Dining. Once the hotels had a virtual lock on this particularly profitable business. Not asny more. With food and labour costs known in advance, restaurant proprietors have been stretching corporate, event and incentive dining as a year round adjunct to their regular revenues. Obviously though, at this time of year it moves into overdrive. Of course it's not without its challenges: menu planning and choreographing the kitchen during regular, à la carte service being chief amongst them. But it's clearly worth the effort for many owners. I was reminded of this a few months ago when I counted these rooms at Cioppino's and Enoteca: Cioppino's Wine Room has a capacity for a maximum of 26 people and Enoteca's Wine Room comfortably seats 20. More recent additions are the (branded!) Dom Pérignon Enothèque Champagne Library which seats 6 people, and the Mama Paola Wine Room which seats 12. The latest edition, the (more branding!) Antinori Wine Room in Enoteca, also seats 12. In other words, Pino can have up to five, pre-determined private dinners in progress for as many as 76 covers. Other Yaletown restaurants such as Blue Water (with an elegant and discreet private room) and HSG (with its own bar--a decided advantage) have also taken advantage of the trend. Meanwhile Gotham has both a private bar and state-of-the-art plasma screens for presentations or rousing corporate videos. Or, for that matter, stag movies. It's one of the most FAQ's I get and I thought it might be interesting to both create an inventory of Private Dining Rooms within restaurants (or good ones in hotels or interesting, independent catering venues), and also to share experiences. Then perhaps, as a service, we can place it into a pinned thread. Please dish . . .

It sounded to me as if the review was written after only one visit. Is that the usual protocol for Star reviewers?

Let me very clear--in addition to a cheap pun, i.e. Senova Bitch? I also said: Unlikely! I was a little curious about this too, but then reminded myself I was in Kerrisdale. Note the interesting children's menu. I expect many will be the Crofton House essays splattered with salt cod.

Manny Ferreria’s Senova opened last night. The former Coco Pazzo space has been brightened to burnt-by-the-sun goldenrod, the board floor refinished to gloss, the long draw of bar that scribes the open kitchen sanded and stained. Chairs upholstered the colour of changing leaves looked pretty in front of the stone tabletops. More cheery news: Sunday is paella night, Thursday is for roasted suckling pig, Bairrada-style. It’s a warm room, as you might expect from Ferreria (Le Gavroche) and has all the touchpoints of hospitality—fuelled by a formidable wine cellar—necessary to placate the elements. Here's the extensive menu (not including lunch!): TAPAS Fresh Grilled Squid Stuffed with Rellenos $ 11 Fresh Mussels, Marinated with Tomato Vinaigrette $ 10 Salted Cod with Pan Fried Potatoes, Olives and Eggs $ 12 Grilled sardines with Tapenade and Sweet Pepper $ 9 Chorizo Senova Flamed with Portuguese Brandy $ 12 Chorizo and Olive Empanada $ 9 Wild Mushrooms Ragout with Romano Cheese and Chive Sauce $ 12 Cumin and Fennel Seared Albacore Tuna $ 12 Baby Pork Back Ribs with House Made Smoked BBQ Sauce $ 13 Greens Olives Stuffed with Goat Cheese wrapped in Pastry $ 8 Patatas Bravas $ 5 Salt Cod Fritters with Piri-Piri Sauce $ 12 STARTERS Sardines with Corn Bread Roasted Peppers, Tapenade $9 Pairing Gazela Vinho Verde Sogrape Albacore Tuna Tartar, Potato Chips $12 Pairing Sauvignon Blanc Panascal 2003 Fresh honey Mussels steamed with Chorizo $12 Pairing Quinta do Vallado Branco 2003 Pan seared BC Spot Prawns with Piri-Piri Sauce $12 Vina Esmeralda Muscat Gewürztraminer Torres 2003 Scallop Ceviche with Guava Vinaigrette $12 Pairing Châret Baret Pessac Leognon 2001 Marinated grilled Quail with Sherry and Espresso Sauce $13 Pairing Castell Del Remei Gotim Bru 2001 Polenta with Vegetable Ragout and zesty Tomato Sauce $9 Pairing Mateus Sogrape 2003 SOUPS/ Salads Caldo Verde with Chorizo $8 Pairing Pinot Gris Tinhorn Creek 2004 Fresh Fish Soup with Chives $9 Pairing Riesling St-Hubertus 2004 Gaspacho Andalucia $8 Pairing Blasted Church Pinot Noir Rose 2004 Seafood Salad Escabeche $11 Pairing Albarino Martin Codax 2004 Arugula Salad, Manchego with Prosciutto and Mango $9 Pairing Gewürztraminer Kettle Valley 2003 Organic Greens, Vine Ripe Tomatoes and Orange Lemon Vinaigrette $8 Pairing Gazela Vinho Verde 2004 “SAUDE” Manny’s Bower Taylor’s fine white, tonic and Fresh Basil $9.50 Senova’s Segura Viudas, Caramelized Orange and Raspberries $12.50 Casablanca Passion Fruit Liquor, Poire William and Champagne $12.50 El Matador Tequila, Cointreau, Lime Juice $6.50 Lisbon Express Strawberry Vodka, Grand Marnier and Pink Peppercorn $6.50 Mojito Sugar Cane Syrup, Rum, Lime Juice and fresh Mint $6.50 Caiparinha Cachaça, Fresh Lime, Sugar $6.50 Sangria Blanca Dry White wine, Mixed Fruit and Curaçao - Glass $8.95, ½ Litre $15.95 Sangria Tinto Dry Red Wine, Mixed Fruit and Brandy Glass - $8.95, ½ Litre $15.95 Wild Algarve Chilled Lemon Grass tea, Lemoncillo, Cachaça $6.50 Navan Suprema Belvedere Vodka, Navan, Lime juice $9.50 Fado Tranquillo Madeira aged, Orange Cognac, a dash of Benedictine $8.75 El Lisutania Mangalore liquor, Vodka, Cranberry $7.50 MAIN COURSES Salt Cod Fillet with Roasted Fennel, Baby Potatoes and Lemon $ 27 Pairing Rully Blanc Jaffelin 2001 Duck Breast and Confit with Port Orange Sauce $ 24 Pairing Château Haut Selve 2001 West Coast Bouillabaise with Croutons and Rouille $ 25 Pairing Château des Nages Blanc 2002 Beef Tenderloin, Seared Foie Gras and Cinnamon Red Wine Sauce $ 29 Pairing Quinta Do Crasto Reserva 2001 Fresh Halibut with Panisse and Saffron Sauce $ 24 Pairing Verdejo Esperanza 2004 Fresh Scallops, Baby Squid, White Beans and Citrus Sauce $ 26 Pairing Quinta Do Vallado Branco 2003 Roasted Free Run Baby Chicken with Piri-Piri Sauce $ 22 Pairing Mas Boras Pinot Noir Torres 2003 Braised Rabbit with Pipperade and Madeira sauce $ 22 Pairing Road 13th Red Golden Mile 2004 Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Clams, White Wine and Cilantro $ 23 Pairing Quinta do Vallado Tinto 2002 Fettucine with Olives, Artichokes, White Beans and Spiced Tomatoes $ 18 Pairing Quinta do Castro 2001 RESTRICTED MENU (over 16? Nope….) “Cocas” Pizzetas with Arugula, Tomato and Fresh Prawns $ 16 Pairing “Horchata” Almond Milkshake ”Prego Pequeno” Grilled Beef Tenderloin Patty with Pommes Frites $ 15 Pairing “Henry the Navigator” Lemon Grass Tea Tasting Menu with Wine Pairings 3 Courses $ 30. $ 25. 4 Courses $ 45. $ 30. 5 Courses $ 50. $ 40. Please join us every Sunday evening for our famous Spanish Paella Thursday is Roasted Baby Suckling Pig - Bairrada Style. DESSERTS CREMA CATALANA Sugar cinnamon cookies $ 8. “ARROZ DOCE” PORTUGUESE RICE PUDDING Vanilla Sauce $ 7. ALMOND TARTE with mango coulis $ 8. SPONGE CAKE “PAO-DE-LO” Golden orange custard $ 8. FIGS AND DATES Mascarpone, Honey and port reduction $ 8. CHURROS FRITTERS Chocolate sauce $ 7 HOME MADE SAFFRON ICE CREAM Caramelized pecans $ 7. PORTUGUESE MERINGUE “MOLOFLAN” Caramel sauce $ 8. CHEESE AND FRUIT Spiced Pumpkin Jam $ 16. PORTS & MADEIRA Glass TAYLOR’S FLADGATE LBV 1997 8.50 QUINTA DO CRASTO LBV 1997 9.50 TAYLOR’S TAWNY 10 YEARS 15.50 BROADBENT BUAL MADEIRA 15.50 FERREIRA 1982 22.50 GRAHAMS 1985 27.50 DESSERT WINES SAUVIGNON LATE HARVEST CONCHA 8.50 ST-HUBERTUS SYMPHONY N/V 9.50 KERNER LATE HARVEST TINHORN 375 ML 39.00 CHARDONNAY ICEWINE PARADISE 375 ML 85.00 TINHORN CREEK ICEWINE 375 ML 85.00 MISSION HILL ICEWINE 375 ML 115.00 EAUX DE VIES 14.50 KIRSCH PRUNELLE MIRABELLE QUESTCH POIRE WILLIAM SAMPLING ( ANY 3 ) 18.50 LIQUEURS ARMAGNAC TREPOUT 1975 28.50 CALVADOS COEUR LION X.O 14. GRAPPA DI SASSICAIA 18.50 CALVADOS COEUR LION 1977 22.50 HENNESSY COGNAC X.O 22.50 GRAND MARNIER FLIGHT ( 3 ) 25.00

Like historical novels, where the beginning and end are already known, holidays of re-creation demand compelling middles, strong characters, a common thread. At One & Only Palmilla, a resort of easy beauty on the toe of the Baja, that thread count ran to superior linens, the staff-to-guest ratio was 4.3 to one, and the welcome was as warm as the Sea of Cortez: The staff greet guests by touching their heart with their hand, then letting it slowly fall away. Unlike Dylan Thomas, I don’t sing in my chains like the sea. On a holiday designed for idyll and laze, the sea serves to release us, just as it releases itself in drumbeats on the sand. At Palmilla the serenity unfurled quickly, then admirably slowed. And our serene highness was found on a large veranda above the azure sea—off a lovely suite decorated with fine Mexican furniture and art. By special request our butler made up an expansive outdoor couch into a bed. We passed a week of siestas there, and some nights returned later to sleep under the stars. Palmilla grew up slowly. The resort was founded modestly in 1956, when Los Cabos was accessible only by private yacht or aircraft. It offered just 15 rooms in which it hosted the mighty and famous: the Eisenhowers, Ernest Hemingway, John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Two years ago John Travolta threw himself a monumental birthday party shortly after its reopening following a $90-million renovation that expanded guest rooms and suites to 172. It also welcomes a more proletarian clientele, if only slightly: it’s probably not the best place to disparage the life work of Dick Cheney. On 250 acres of a 900-acre master-planned community, the resort includes the 27-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed Palmilla Golf Club, an elaborate spa, Hammock Hill, several restaurants, a library and various infinity pools and bars. There is also the requisite wedding chapel, although several ceremonies took place on the beach beneath us. The resort is minutes but years away from the cacophony of Cabo. The solace of our beach days was plenty but still allowed for occasional trips into San Jose, more charming than Cabo San Lucas because the barrios still hug it politely and its citizens shop there. The cafés claim a certain insouciant sense of the autentico that has fled its touristic sibling. On this visit our only trip into Cabo itself was to visit a favourite taqueria, where for a couple of dollars we ate crispy-fried, Baja-style dorado tacos. We also stopped at Mocambo for a Veracruzan-styled shrimp cocktail. On the way home, and at the direction of our resort driver, we dodged into the new Costco to visit its elaborate tequila collection. The prices were half those of the hawker tourist stores. Like Napoleon’s army, I travel on my stomach. Palmilla offers several options. Breakfast and lunch combine influences but are driven by carefully chosen local ingredients such as spicy pork chorizo, cadmium-yellow-yolked eggs, and local shrimp and fin fish. It’s at sundown, when the resort’s population shakes off siesta and margaritas are shaken off in syncopation with the waves, that the food announces the beginning of the evening. At C Restaurant, celebrity chef Charlie Trotter’s satellite restaurant, we found ourselves in an Adam Tihany-designed, air-conditioned room, detached from the stirring breeze. The food also seemed detached, too-dressed up for the holidays, too fussed for its muscular setting. I asked the manager if C was named after the world-famous C Restaurant in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was as unamused as the food. [Free advice: Order the Mexican wines. Foreign wines suffer a 101% tax before mark-up and we found much greater value locally, especially in the whites such as Chateau Camou (pronounced like the French existentialist).] It was at Agua that the power of the sea and soil was fused. The open dining room, also designed by Tihany, is centred by an open bar, jewelled with Moroccan-style lanterns and the more rusticated cooking of executive chef Larbi Dahrouch. Dahrouch spins his Moroccan provenance and French training (he was a protégé of the legendary Jean-Louis Palladin) squarely into the local farms, ranches and fishing nets. But Darouch is not afraid to shop long distance, as we found in a starter of sautéed foie gras served with blue corn polenta and a grenache reduction. A tagine of lamb was served with artichokes, dried tomatoes, chèvre and ras el hanout; a grilled veal chop would have been merely ubiquitous without its cloak of plátano macho estofado and dagger of black mole. Again, the Mexican wines, tremendously improved in the last five years, stood up to the dishes in bottles of Monte Xanic cabernet and meritage; old tequilas, as soft as the night, softened us too. We walked the beach through warm air, with glasses of that old tequila in hand and then each other: The waves collapsed on the beach like spent lovers.

And may--with Toronto--continue to. Having lived in Montreal recently Chris, I'd look forward to your further commentary on the different dining cultures. My own impression is that as Montreal's economy continues to improve, there is an abundant appetite for fine dining, all-evening opportunities, whereas much of the excitement on the West Coast relates to new Asian and more casual turns in regional cuisine. Commercial rents also remain relatively reasonable in Montreal. Relative to Montreal, we are architecturally starved here. Most new-build restaurants in Vancouver are located in condominium podia and are constrained by their long narrow spaces. I'd love to see a restaurant like, say, CRU, spread its wings a little. But purpose-built restaurant spaces are typically only pre-planned for tenants with strong covenants. Thus the most important big new rooms to open this year will be Earls at Paramount Place and Saltlik. I note that Lift, the most expensive new room to open in Vancouver during the judging period, failed to make the Top Ten list. In Toronto, where the residential real estate market may be more adversely affected by rising interest rates next year (and therefore disposable income may diminish), there's seemingly no sign yet of a waning interest in big box rooms. David Aisenstat's (The Keg, Hy's, Gotham) new Ki cost a reported $7 million. Somehow, no matter how hard new casual rooms in Vancouver try, it's difficult to compare Go Fish! (bless its piscine heart) with dining rooms that offer more complete dining experiences. And walls.

It's a widely known fact that Englishmen can't play soccer either. ← He is Scottish and its football ! ← TFA, Only by the narrowest of definitions and the strictest of interpretations: he was born there. But clearly his upbringing in Stratford had a profound impact on his ambition to rejoin the wanking classes as soon as possible. Many think that his return visit to Glasgow during his late adolescence (to play intermittently with the Rangers) only confirmed the obvious - that he was a late adolescent. Perhaps a sporting metaphor applies to this discussion. Bear with me . . . In our neighbourhood, which is called ForMiCa (Fourth Avenue between Milestone's and Capers), we take great care to distinguish amongst the various gradations of 'football'. In order of ascendancy, with Canadian and American football somewhere in the middle, you have soccer, and then, at the top of the scrum, you have rugby football. As they say: "Rugby is a beastly game played by gentlemen. Soccer is a gentleman's game played by beasts." But I'd maintain that modern restaurauteuring, at least at Mr. Ramsay's Premiership level, is a beastly game played by beasts. And for them, because celebrity does not come without tears, especially in jurisdictions where the 'tall poppy syndrome' applies. And as the rocket of Ramsay's career outdistances the gravitas of his skill, things have a nasty habit of falling back to earth, usually with a loud bang and deep crater. Predictably that crater will be underwritten by the television producers and quavering media (not all rocket scientists) who propelled the rocket on its starward journey. But inevitably it will be littered with the detritus of the staff who launched it. As for my own daughters, who are of university age, they enjoy about the same level of cooking skill as I did, if not more so. One of them is three inches taller than her mother- who's no shrimp - the other two. During exam times especially, they survive on Kraft Dinners and Ichiban soups, as did I. You might think that, given their age, they might be more attracted to the bombast of a Ramsay or LaGasse than the quiet but quick erudition of Pepin. Not true--they see it for what it is: trailer park TV, with Ramsay stepping in for Jerry Springer. More interestingly though, they have been much more exposed to restaurants than I was at their age. They have dined out in many locales, on various budgets, and in the context of many ethnicities. They and their friends are experienced and savvy diners and know of what they speak. A-1, who attends an American university in a major western city, notes a different dining culture compared to here in Canada though; with unhealthy and uninteresting concepts dominating the lower end price-wise, she finds her options significantly limited and homogenized. If Gordon Ramsay thinks that girls are spending far too much time doing the things they do (maybe even playing soccer) when they should be improving their domestic skills, perhaps the hyperbole of television production - 'simplify, then exagerate' - might best be remedied with a Foundation or P-3 Council that can motivate change rather than merely paying lip service, in this case quite literally. And loudly. As for me, I'm off to roast a beast. In a sporting way, of course. Jamie

Here's some more information extracted from their press release. By the way, the period covered was for new restaurants opened between July 2004 and June 2005. Canada’s Best New Restaurant 2005 is Garçon! in Montreal enRoute honours 10 new restaurants from Victoria, BC to Lunenburg, N.S “Warning: this restaurant may not be suitable for all diners. It contains scenes of audacity and culinary extravagance… Gastronomic discretion is advised. […] For adventurous diners who are comfortable with a high level of pampering in a refined setting, Garcon! is a pure sensory delight.” – Chris Johns on Garçon!, winner of enRoute’s Canada’s Best New Restaurant 2005 Could Montreal’s Sherbrooke Street West be Canada’s new restaurant row? For the second consecutive year, Canada’s Best New Restaurant is located there, according to enRoute magazine’s fourth annual survey. After calling upon a nationwide roster of 30 of Canada’s most respected culinary critics to recommend new restaurants across the country (opened between July 2004 and June 2005), enRoute and its contributing editor Chris Johns are proud to unveil the 10 best new tables of 2005. The winner, Garçon!, is a contemporary French fine-dining experience from renowned restaurateur Patricia Hovington and Chef Jérôme Lefils (previously of Montreal’s Chorus). Last year’s winner, Brontë, is just eight blocks west of Garçon!. Describing the impact of winning the title last year, Joe Mercuri & Desiree Draca, co-owners of Brontë, explain: "Since November 1st 2004, when the magazine first appeared, the restaurant has been solidly booked with clients from all over Canada and around the world, who discovered us through enRoute. To this day, one year later, the response continues to be overwhelming." The other excellent restaurants included among Canada’s Best New Restaurants 2005 are: 2 Rosemeade Dining Room – Victoria “Each dish is imbued with clean, bright and harmonious flavours.” 3 Le Club Chasse et Pêche – Montreal “A refined esthetic with a delightful injection of whimsy.” 4 Raza – Montreal “This is the kind of food that makes diners drop their cutlery, stare at each other in disbelief and recite panegyrics.” 5 George – Toronto “A modern approach of three small courses followed by dessert.” 6 Chambar Belgian Restaurant – Vancouver “Inspired blending of Belgian and Moroccan cuisine.” 7 Ô Chalet – Montreal “Old-school Canadiana cottage-chic feel… complex comfort food.” 8 Fleur de Sel – Lunenburg, N.S. “French technique and Spanish influences.” 9 Panache – Quebec City “The best possible local ingredients are given full expression.” 10 Thuet - Toronto “Flavours are bold and almost aggressively confident.” Canadian bragging rights go to Montreal - a tour de force. BC bragging rights go to the Island - congratulations Rosemeade. Begin the gloating now. Jamie

The most compelling reasons that service is laconic in London restaurants, often in start-ups and at mid-price points, are lack of training and lack of incentive. To my jaundiced eye, the sum total often looks like early-onset Alzheimer's, where staff gaze into the middle distance, looking without seeing.

Write the letter, Jeff. Even if your post doesn't expose, so to speak, exactly which extremity your fledgling apprentices are wrapping with newspapers. Enraptured, or at least yours in clog dancing, Jamie