jamiemaw

Thanks CD. The task at hand is not a completely unpleasant one--providing guidance and spiritual counselling for a dozen or so recently retired Scandinavian lingerie models (ditto the bride), whose English is not perfect. So I'm looking for a place with cold spirits (for the spiritual counselling bit), a vacuously transparent crowd and people who won't gawk at me.

This is reassuring, Sean.

Nicely presented too on grilled tortillas with a lick of chili oil: $5 for a single, $8 shotgunned.

Thank you very much indeed for this pervasive report Merlin--wonderful and much appreciated. There are a number of us going up for the wedding and it seems I'm in charge of herding the kittens. Cheers to you, Jamie

I'm attending a big wedding in Edmonton mid-August and the itinerary is positively life threatening: receptions, cocktail parties, brunches, etc. And, oh yes, the wedding itself, which is being held at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald. One of the pre-parties is being held at the restaurant Il Portico from 6 to 9 pm, but then we'll have the rest of that evening to ourselves. Any suggestions for a buzzy Saturday night place nearby with a good, light menu (we'll have eaten a fair bit first), good drinks and wine list? We'd prefer to stay within a 5-kilometre radius if possible. Last, I'd love to know the W5 on the best liqour/wine store in the downtown area. Many thanks, Jamie

Well, there's your solution then. Lockable freezer on the back porch, with commercial/residential (as long as it has drawers) fridge unit/s under the window in your kitchen. The only compromise, which is slight, is that the undercounter version may anticipate your posting name. Once you get used to it (you look down on your supplies and fewer things can get lost), you'll grow to like it. A nice countertop will provide you with additional prep space, especially for when you entertain.

Andy, Many thanks for transcribing the tapes and getting these important presentations on the record. Jamie

As the title of this thread was limited to a perceived exterior aesthetic challenge, I've begun a new one to encourage discussion about the food and beverage program and interior design at Watermark. Please join us there

The main restaurant kitchen (there's another downstairs for the concession) is enormous and beautifully equipped. Lynda brought back a lot of equipment from Paris as well.

Don't say a word. Limp.

Yes, a titanic clash is predicted with the iceberg. Women and children off first, please or at least hide your eyes. Some people dislike it (you) while others extol its principal pleasure (me), as a crunchily familiar means of conveying blue cheese to the mouth.

If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache? Here's the discussion thread on MSG, which has now clinically proven not to cause the symptoms associated with Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. And let me put it another way: those lobby groups, such as so-called 'Truth in Advertising', have certainly never come close to proving the reverse. And here’s an essay from the Guardian that summarizes its occurence in nature and history, as well as some other interesting data retrieval, including the fact that human mother’s milk is the richest known product in free-ranging glutamates (Grumpy Baby Syndrome?), followed by parmesan cheese, and of course, soy and nori. It’s amusing that CRS malingerers report no complaints after eating Japanese food, even though that cuisine can easily rival Chinese in glutamates. I’d be willing to bet dollars to a dozen Mr. Lee’s that the reason Canucklehead slowed down after lunch related to his intake of an admirably large mid-day meal, laden with carbohydrates. Now this is a fact, (carbo-loading at lunch = nap) called GLS (Glutton at Lunch Syndrome) that has been proven. I demand extra lashings of MSG by name and studiously avoid those New-Age Chinese joints that advertise NO MSG on their menus. After all, I'm not about to tell the future Mrs. Maw, "Not tonight dear--I've just polished off a bucket of General Tso's chicken."

Watermark, get set, go . . . There’s an interesting irony (at least in an Alanis Morisette isn’t-that-ironic kind-of- way) about Watermark. Brent Davies, who has a hammerlock on destination waterfront/view leases from the City of Vancouver and federal governments (Sequoia, Seasons, Cardero’s and Sandbar) lost the bid for this foreshore concession and CFD opportunity. But his lead chef didn’t—Lynda Larouche (Teahouse/Sequoia, Seasons)—will be heading the handsome new display kitchen that also features a large wok station. The test menu—which goes to live feed in just four days—reveals that she’s had quite a hand in its development. That’s because to some extent it defies the kind of ubiquity we’ve come to loathe in Vancouver’s oceanside restaurants, where an over-reliance on the grill, deep fryer and portion-controlled, boneless fish fillets have been the order of the day That being said, there’s bound to be an interesting culture (and sartorial) clash at Watermark. There will be folks wandering in off the beach in sandals and t-shirts, as well as destination tourists and even ladies who lunch. The menu has to cheerfully serve these warring demos, while still delivering a fairly hefty check average--the building cost between $5.8 and $7 million, depending on whether you ask the owner or the manager. So I was curious to note that the lunch and dinner item pricing is the same, with some add-ons in the evening such as a dry-aged New York steak with roasted garlic demi ($25.95), and lamb chops with minted quinoa and baby carrots in a balsamic reduction, (at $27.95 the most expensive dish on the menu). Of course the real test will come on rainy Tuesday nights in November, when I think the dinner menus are going to have to leave the lunch pricing behind and take the pricing uptown. The financial effect of banning outdoor smoking will be significant, especially as the walk of shame down a very long staircase for a gasper is a minimum ten-minute round trip. So expect to see the room wind down early--right after its second turn, in other words--and few to linger longer. Right now, pans and grills are are being seasoned and servers are bent over their service manuals, no doubt studying chapters called 'Specific Procedural Directives' and 'Suggestive Selling'. Here are some sample dishes from the development menu. As noted above, prices are the same at lunch and dinner for the majority of the menu items: Starters • Prawn spring rolls with mushrooms and water chestnuts in wasabi-yogurt dipping sauce ($7.25) • Tempura chilli smelts, balachaung plum dipping sauce ($6.95) • Smashed minted lima beans and chick peas with crumbled feta, tomato oil and sesame crisp bread ($6.95) • Lobster dumplings with mango salsa and shoyu ($9.95) • Albacore tuna (yeah!) tartare with pozu vinaigrette ($10.95) • Octopus carpaccio with sliced sweet onions, capers, evoo ($8.75) • Wok island clams with garlic, shallots, white wine, parsley butter ($10.25) • Hand-peeled shrimp cocktail, house chilli sauce ($11.95) • Sautéed mussels with tamarind, ginger, cocnut milk, smabal, tomato concasse ($9.95) Salads • Iceberg lettuce with baby shrimp, candied pecans, sliced peaches, diced sweet onions and tomato-Roquefort dressing ($11.95) • Dungeness crab salad with melon balls, scallions, balsamic reduction and mascarpone dressing ($12.95) Mains • Beef hamburger with lettuce, tomato, house mayo on a toasted walnut and onion bun ($11.95) • Claypot bone-in chicken 5-spice, with ginger and scallion ($19.95) • Surf clam vongole with garlic, parsley, chilli, white wine and evoo ($14.95) • Shaken garlic beef with toasted peanuts, pickled ginger, julienned vegetables and glass noodles ($16.25) Desserts (all $7.25) • Creamy cheesecake with wild huckleberry compote, mint coulis • Valrhona chocolate raspberry cake, bittersweet ganache • Sorbetto: ‘waves’ of lychee, passion fruit, wild strawberry and green apple • Manjari chocolate and tangerine orange brulée

I've started a new thread to segue the discussion of the food, design and overall context for Watermark which has survived both the three year ordeal of its NIMBY neighbours and those that found its unfinished exterior aesthetically challenging. This evening I'll post some of the items from the (quite interesting) development menu. It's my opinion that Vancouver wants for ways to connect to our waterfront--especially with eating and drinking opportunities--and that additions such as Watermark are welcome. My fear with such venues is that they become ubiquitous 27% food cost emporia with interchangeable menus and gummable fish fillets. Watermark opened its beach concession on the lower level yesterday at noon. The lead indicator that it was (finally) opening was the rumble of the Neptune trucks through our neighbourhood. The menu is proforma dine-and-dash stuff--it will raise more eyebrows than expectations. That being said, there is a dog fountain. I toured the upper level restaurant yesterday. It's a gorgeous, clear-span space that properly looks like Vancouver brought to the beach. Of other recently opened Vancouver dining rooms, I'd say it most closely resembles David Nicolay's design at Coast. There are, however, a couple of design flaws, but you'll have to wait to read about them elsewhere. In order to placate the neighbours and give City Hall planners something to sell (c.f. the kiboshed Wal-Mart design), the heat/cool system is geothermal, old-hat in the Okanagan but a newish technology in Vancouver. The views into the westerly breeze are, as you might expect, exceptional. The beach level foreground reveals floss aplenty (which I would more typically reserve for after my short-ribs), insufficiently SPF-ed bus-ins from the eastern suburbs, and shaved steroidals with upsetting tatts. The Felines (aka Lions' cheerleading squad) were hawking their calendars (at two for a mere $10 they are affordable for both workshop and garage), a pleasing contrast to the mouldering Liberian freighter in the background. There are 180-licensed seats (restaurant, patio, food bar, bar bar, lounge etc.), although it's clear that the room could easily accomodate another 90 to 100--thank the neighbours. The balcony is generous, and on warm days the sliding doors can be opened entirely, exposing the whole restaurant to the elements but not to smokers: Watermark is billing itself as a smoke free restaurant, both indoors and out. Now that's geothermal. Watermark opens this Thurday at lunchtime.

Your best solution would likely be to purchase an undercounter commercial/restaurant refrigerator, used by chefs the world over right at their stations. The important thing is that they have drawers. Matching freezer units are also available. The units won't be cheap--about $2,000 for both the fridge and freezer units new, but you may be able to find some used units at auction or through a local vendor. GE Monogram makes a conventional undercounter model that combines fridge/freezer functions--probably not enough space for your needs, although many Europeans, who shop daily, cope with this size. Countertop of your choice--done deal.

Andy, Jason will be making his case tomorrow evening to a meeting of the Chefs' Table Society of BC being convened at DuBrulle for veteran and new members. I expect the number of members will triple overnight. Further, I've mentioned the Ocean Wise program in an article on sustainability that will be published in several weeks. By the fall, I suspect, not having an Ocean Wise logo on a menu--especially for any self-respecting seafood houses--will be a black mark. I also suspect that it will be more difficult to bring Japanese (blue fin) and Chinese (snapper, ling cod) restaurants on board, so to speak.

See posts just upthread.

Terrific tip and backstory, canucklehead--many thanks. I'm interested in what symptoms you experienced from the MSG and if you experience same after eating other Asian foods.

See new Watermark thread.

They were being touted last year when the restaurant opened, Vancouver, but never (as far as I know) actually showed up. Maybe if each of us--politely of course--asks . . . ← Prayers, petitions, plaintive positings answered--I had a couple of swell fish (salmon) tacos at Go Fish! yesterday. Delicious. Now, if they'd execute them with deep-fried halibut bits and some chipotle . . .

Coco Pazzo has indeed closed and the proprietor, who also closed Mangiamo and Saltimbocca (the unpaid architect at the time said "Bogas by name and by nature"), reportedly left a number of supliers on the hook, apparently including one local winery for five large. The bailiff's sign on the door says that $22,000 is owing on back rent; Bogas tells a different story. The crowd often resembled a Crofton House PTA meeting--with Hermes scarves aflutter, alligator shirts and Polo aftershave aplenty. Many of them had long decamped for Henry's Kitchen at half the price and fine dining in Greater Kerrisdale is once again no more.

Terrific tour, prasantrin--I'm looking forward to more. Is there a large Filipino community in YWG?

Aided and abetted by that delicious side stripe mayonnaise--I ordered mine '000' yesterday and was happy for the experience.

Here are some solid, non-generic rooms where you can work the menu a little to your financial advantage and still feel that you've had a night out in the Duchy of Whistler: Après: Nifty small plates menu from chef Eric Vernice Quattro: bricked game hen or Spaghetti Quattro Caramba!: spit-roasted leg of lamb BBK's Pub: Chef Bernard Casavant cooks local and flavoursome next door to the Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Val d'Isere: Chef Roland Pfaff runs prix fixe specials and there's an attractive patio. Dubh Lin Gate Pub Better than average pub fare; attractive patio The Crab Shack: Quality oysters and crab. Hoz's Pub Lots of locals (mountain girls in their cleanest bra) go for the value steaks in the pub and next-door restaurant. And bear in mind that lunches in restaurants such as Araxi or Fifty Two 80 are about half the price of dinner. Also, dinner at the bar at Fifty Two 80, Araxi or Bearfoot can--with precision ordering at least--be moderately priced.

Like many thoughts upthread, I agree that--just like revenge--leftover roast beef is best eaten cold. But my brothers would toast bread, place a few slices of last night's room- temp beef atop and complete the deal with a shellac of reheated gravy. For breakfast.