jamiemaw

Why is 'Best Cafe' or even 'Best Coffee' missing? ← Excellent suggestions, Adrian. I'll certainly put them up for consideration by the panel, especially Best Coffee--the Best Cafe category might be a little harder to define, unless you have any further thoughts. Thank you, Jamie

Thank you Carol and BCin BC. I'll follow up. I'm also driving out to the Fraser Valley tomorrow to investigate a few farms. And also to lunch with Daryl Nagata, recently appointed executive chef at the Harrison Hot Springs Resort. When Daryl was EC at the Fairmont Waterfront he was well known for his roof-top herb garden where he grew more than 50 varieties. I'll let you know his input as well. I sure miss my greenhouse though. I'd kind of like to start a wasabi ranch as well. Thanks again, Jamie

True enough Jamie, and point well taken. On a related note: I was at Go Fish! for lunch yesterday (fortunately during one of the breaks in the monsoon season) and was able to congratulate Andreas on their Gold in the Best New - Informal category. Andreas wasn't actually at the awards as he was spending time with his daughter (a fact that speaks volume of this man's charater IMO), but expressed his great surprise at the award. My comment to him was "You're about the only one who was suprised then." Apparently Gord Martin was visiting the loo when his award was presented and the manager for one of the Bins accepted on his behalf. Now that's funny! A. ← Yes, amply deserved. In order to reflect the importance of these many other categories, it's my understanding that the two restaurants being featured on the Vicki Gabereau show next week (tapes Tuesday, airtime TBC, but usually a couple of days later) are Memphis Blues (Park and George) and Go Fish! (Gord Martin and Andreas). I took James Chatto, the outstanding food writer from Toronto Life magazine to Go Fish! last weekend (in addition to eight other local restaurants). He enjoyed it thoroughly, saying "Seafood always tastes better in the fresh air."

Arne, There's enough information on this and the other 'How They Work' thread to properly explain both the efficacy and the results, which tend to reflect the size of the market perhaps more than the methodology. Anyway, that's been thrashed to death. But one last thought: Although some like to dwell on the Restaurant of the Year category, where indeed two restaurants have vied for this award the past few years, there are 36 other categories, plus the Playhouse Wine List Awards. And because our readership does not eat exclusively at Lumière or West on alternating nights , we continue to believe that's the way it should be. Cheers, Jamie

My herb garden took some fairly severe snow and frost damage this year--even hardy rosemary varieties like Tuscan Blue and Golden Rain have had to be pruned back quite aggressively. Only the bay and mint is really flourishing. But out of adversity comes opportunity. Do any of you have leads on reasonably priced herb nurseries that might carry something out of the ordinary? I'm especially interested in marjoram (for sausage making), hyssop, lovage and interesting varieties of sage. Maybe even some burdock root. Please let me know, Jamie

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If memory serves, 2roost, both Bridges and Joe Fortes have received awards in the past. Three years ago, Bud Kanke, the General Partner of the Joe Fortes limited partnership, was awarded the Lifetime Culinary Achievement Award. Although I wouldn't necessarily agree that both of these restaurants still qualify, we are not currently considering an award category for "Highest Grossing Restaurant/s." So I would ask you, what categories would you create that they would logically win?

With all due respect to Mr. Maw and the hard working folks at Van Mag, if the Restaurant Awards didn't help sell magazines, somehow I doubt they would exist. I'm not at all implying that Van Mag's selection process is somehow flawed or suspect, merely that the reason these awards exist is different than the reason for the awards themselves. A. ← Arne, I've been travelling since early Wednesday morning and haven't had the opportunity to respond to your questions until now. Here goes . . . We hope that, throughout the year, all of our editorial content helps to sell magazines. That would certainly include the January Wine Awards edition and the April Restaurant Awards edition, now in its sixteenth year. But it would be a misconception to think that the awards programs and the attendant advertising they generate are an enormous cash cow--unfortunately the economics of contemporary publishing mitigate against that. Although the April awards edition of the magazine is its best selling edition (it provides a useful, year-long guide to keep near the telephone, amongst other reasons), its surplus really only underwrites our ability to maintain effective food and wine coverage (from James Barber, Christina Burridge, Steve Burgess and me) throughout the year. The event itself, after ten years, makes a modest surplus, thanks to excellent sponsorship support. Our readership surge for April refutes this notion, although the truly food-obsessed (such as eGulleteers) might become impatient with the rate of change in a mid-sized market such as BC. In other words, you are not necessarily our target demographic, Arne. So I'll also state a personal opinion here: That excellent restaurants--through sound vision, discipline, expertise and consistency--tend to stay excellent over time. But the magazine is not published only for the food-obsessed, it's a citywide chronicle that, in conjunction with the actual awards event, serves several constituencies: its general interest readers; people with a serious interest in dining out; and, we should remember, the chefs, servers, suppliers, producers and owners whose excellence is saluted both on the day and in the magazine. That being said, each group feels a sense of entitlement--my job is to ensure that a cross-section of needs are answered expertly and accurately. I daresay that you would have had a more pervasive grasp of this latter and highly important constituency had you attended the event. Some of the speeches (where mentors were thanked profusely; I thought Krishna Jamal's very endearing), and Ben Reeder's and Terra Bell's dynamic videos--really touched on the spirit of collaboration extant in the industry. The North Shore has its own category because of its relatively dense population of quality restaurants; we also enjoy strong readership there. You will note that, as areas pass a tipping point of concentration (and as our resources permit), we have created new, specific geographic categories. This year, for instance, we added the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island. It's news to me that we've discontinued the Readers' Choice Awards. The results of those awards are usually published in the autumn of each year. And indeed, some of the favourites of various posters on this thread have been recognized. Personally, I think that the people called to the stage to receive their awards are great, hard-working folks. And importantly, this is the one day of the year when everyone can get together and spill some beer. After the event on Tuesday night, city restaurants were full of owners, chefs and servers dining with their 'competitors'--something that just doesn't happen elsewhere. Conversely, the past decade has taught us that the odd sour-grapes type who tries to slag the loudest typically contributes the least--even if they're happy to eat our food and drink our wine all afternoon. I hope that this helps set the record straight. By the way, did anything much happen while I was away? Jamie

Keith, I think that our judges--for the past seven years at least-- already comprise the backbone of the Chinese food and wine media. So we think that we've had solid research over time. That being said, we are reaching out even farther to bolster our Chinese-centric team--headed up by Stephen Wong--in both the casual and fine dining categories for 2006.

Restaurant of the Year G – West S – Lumiere B – C Restaurant HM – Sooke Harbour House, Cioppino’s/Enoteca Chef of the Year G – David Hawksworth, West S – Robert Clark, C B – Thomas Haas, Senses/Diva - Tojo Hidekazu, Tojo’s HM – Edward Tuscan, Sooke Harbour House Best New Restaurant – Fine Dining G – Chambar S – Coast B – Arbutus at the Brentwood Bay Resort HM – Fifty-Two 80 Bistro and Bar, Yuji Tapas Best New Restaurant – Informal G – Go Fish! S – Shiru-Bay Chopstick Café B – Rangoli HM – Cassis Bistro, Tamarind Best Regional G – C Restaurant S – Raincity Grill B – Bishop’s HM – Sooke Harbour House, West Best Hotel Dining G – Diva at the Met S – Bacchus at the Wedgewood B – Elixir at the Opus HM – Chartwell at the Four Seasons Best Small Plates G – Bin 941/942 S – Lumiere Tasting Bar B – West HM – Cru, Hapa Izakaya, Umami Best Italian Fine Dining G – Cioppino’s/Enoteca S – CinCin B – Bis Moreno HM – Villa del Lupo, Quattro on Fourth Best Casual Italian G – Zambri’s S – Café Il Nido B – Lombardo’s HM – Cipriano’s, Gusto di Quattro Best Other European G – The William Tell S – The Irish Heather B – La Bodega HM – Ouzerie, Takis Taverna Best French Fine Dining G – Lumiere S – Le Crocodile B – Le Gavroche HM – Bacchus, La Belle Auberge Best Bistro or Brasserie G – Bistro Pastis S – La Regalade B – Chambar Belgian Restaurant HM – Elixir at the Opus, Feenie’s Best Seafood G – C Restaurant S – Blue Water Café B – Tojo’s HM – Coast, Go Fish! Best Japanese Fine Dining G – Tojo’s S – Blue Water Café B – En HM – Yoshi, Zen Best Casual Japanese G – Hapa Izakaya S – Shiru-Bay Chopstick Café B – Dan HM – Guu (all 3), Japone Best Chinese Fine Dining G – Sun Sui Wah S – Imperial Chinese B – Pink Pearl, Szechuan Chongqing HM – President Chinese Best Casual Chinese G – Hon’s Wun-Tun S – Legendary Noodle B – Green Village HM – Ba Guo Bu Yi Szechuan, Hoi Tong Best Indian G – Vij’s S – Rubina Tandoori B – Maurya HM – Rangoli, Tamarind Best South East Asian G – Montri’s Thai S – Banana Leaf B – Phnom Penh HM – Simply Thai, Jang Mo Jib Best of the Americas G – Baru Latino Tapas Lounge S – The Mouse & The Bean B – The Reef HM – Rinconcito Salvadoreno, Las Margaritas, Samba Best Steakhouse/Chops G – Gotham Steakhouse, Morton’s of Chicago B – Hy’s Encore HM – The Keg, Earl’s Best Barbecue G – Memphis Blues Barbecue House S – Dix Barbecue & Brewery B – Slim’z Barbecue Smokehouse & Grill Best Bar/Lounge G – Bacchus Lounge S – Opus Bar B – Gerard Lounge HM – 900 West Lounge, Shebeen/The Irish Heather Best Casual Chain G – Earl’s S – Cactus Club B – Milestone’s HM – Hon’s Wun-Tun, The Keg Best North Shore G – La Regalade S – Gusto di Quattro B – Beach House at Dundarave Pier HM – Beach Side Café, La Cucina Best Whistler G – Araxi S – Bearfoot Bistro B – Fifty-Two 80 Bistro and Bar at Four Seasons Resort Whistler HM – Quattro at Whistler, Rim Rock Café Best of the ‘Burbs G – The Pear Tree S – La Belle Auberge B – The Hart House HM – Globe @ YVR, Giraffe Best of Vancouver Island G – Sooke Harbour House S – Brasserie L’Ecole B – The Pointe at the Wickaninnish Inn HM – Café Brio, Zambri’s Best of the Okanagan G – Fresco S – Mission Hill Family Estate Winery: The Terrace & Private Dining B – Quail’s Gate Old Vines Patio HM – The Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, Bouchons Best Last Course G – Senses/Diva at the Met S – West B – Lumiere/Feenie’s HM – CinCin, Blue Water Café Best Producer/Supplier Ponderosa Mushrooms Sommelier of the Year Tom Doughty, C Restaurant Editors’ Choice Award Tomato Fresh Food Café Premier Crew Abel Jacino – Bishop’s Marcus Sawatzky – Cru Yani Kong – Vij’s Yoo Choi – Velvet Café Leonard Nakonechny – C Restaurant Best New Restaurant Design G – Rangoli S – Coast B – Lift Bar Grill HM – Chambar. Cactus Club Park Royal Culinary Hall of Fame Krishna Jamal – Rubina Tandoori Food Book of the Year G – The Cannery Seafood House Cookbook – Frederic Couton S – Barbecue Secrets – Ron Shewchuk B – Hot Sun, Cool Shadow: Savouring the Food, History and Mystery of the Languedoc – Angela Murrills HM – Vancouver Cooks, Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia – ed. Jamie Maw, Joan Cross [total fix]

Hmmm. Seems--on this thread at least--time doesn’t heal all wounds after all. Clearly, on their next anniversary you'd better give them the matching neck chain . . . So, will it be the carrot or the stick for those whose sole daily uptake of oxygen lies in being late? The pointy end of the stick, of course. Especially if you plan your next dinner party along the lines of The Amazing Race, Part 8. Prize for the last place couple? Well, they automatically miss the vintage Sauternes and foie en croute, replaced by curling vegetable crudités: carrot as stick! Pair instead with that weak-kneed Chablis left over from your wife’s book club. The one that’s been keeping the fridge light company since last July—with the Saran wrap plug. Other punitive measures? Never, ever appease their guilty, if passive-aggressive, consciences—especially if they bring something expensive or rare. Do not open the wine they waited an hour to show off to the dearly assembled. Do not become their hostage. No, whisk it away, still in its poncy bag, and serve it the next time you go boating, when, of course, they’re still on the dock. Then thank them, vociferously, with a little haiku on your best notepaper come Monday—“loved the Petrus, sure missed you.” If they’re really late to the party, they get the thin end of the roast. The part well past rare. But there are even better punishments for the chronically tardy. Our favourite: Very low toilet paper reserves. Or, for recidivists, we arrange to sit them beside our corporate auditor, a man who could bore for Canada despite his self-professed love for balsa wood modeling.

Coop and other burgerphiles, Here are the guts of their press release. Expectations will no doubt run high as the restaurant will have four more staffmembers than Le Crocodile but with exactly half the number of indoor seats. This might lead to the obvious question: "Would you like béarnaise with that? "VANCOUVER, B.C., CANADA, March 23, 2005 – Vancouver’s vibrant West End community will soon be home to the very first Fatburger restaurant in Canada, and the first location outside of the United States for the fast-growing hamburger chain founded in Los Angeles, California in 1952. Plans call for the new Fatburger restaurant to open on April 13 in a 1600-square-foot facility located at 1101 Denman Street, situated conveniently near the beach at popular English Bay and shopping on nearby Robson Street. The restaurant will feature Fatburger’s signature 1950’s retro-style décor with neon lighting, open kitchen and counter seating. Music and sports memorabilia, including items commemorating British Columbia’s BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, will be on display. A garage-style door can be opened up to provide diners with a full view of Denman Street and to entice pedestrians into the burger stand. Approximately 35 staffers will be employed at the site, which can conveniently seat up to 48 guests inside." I'll have the Norm Fieldgate Burger, please. You will note that Vera's, part-owned by ex-Lion Noah Cantor, has resisted the urge to decorate with Lions' memorabilia.

Mu means "my" in Greek. For example, "my Deborah". Leonard C General Manager ← Oh, so even sweeter than I thought! Thanks for the clarification ← Mu Moo might be a fetching name for Neal's next venture, meaning: "My cow in a very large dress". Quite to fairly catchy, although the cow might be a little nervous.

On your recommendation, Maxmillian, I sampled a HCB from Terra Breads today and this is my report. First, over my lifetime I've noticed a steady change in the way HCBs are made. In my childhood, they seemed more savoury (nutmeg and cinammon, I suspect) than sweet, with darker interiors, and typically they were not allowed to rise as much before firing. Now they have a less dense composition, more in line with the modern cinammon bun if I'm not mistaken. Further, they used to have pastry crosses, not icing ones. I seem to remember the best ones were from The Cookie Jar bakeries. I normally shy away from foodstuffs with religious connotations, especially communion wine (I prefer a cold pint in church), however this seemed innocent enough, especially during the period of Lenten denial. That being said, I enjoyed the Terra version, especially as I ensured that I received an inside bun so that all four edges would be moist. Rather than splitting and toasting it, however, I sliced it top to bottom in three, and then carefully placed very cold butter on the sides. The effect was not unpleasant, somewhere between having sex with a regular church-goer and not having it at all. But that's Lent for you. J.

Jamie, have you had the portobella mushroom burger at the Fairmont YVR? ← No, at least I don't recollect it. Is it a whole portabella in lieu of beef, or is the mushroom sliced and added as a topping? Before you respond though VL, I'd better 'fess up that in our household, we pretty much use portabella/os as replacement hubcabs for our fleet of vintage Fiats.

Where was West? Pretty amazing that there was no mention of them that I could see. Leonard C GM ← Good question. But perhaps more disturbing (from an integrity perspective) than oversights and perceived ballot-stuffing, is the selling of ads based on pre-announced results. It's pretty hard to miss that there are quite a few advertisements where the 'winning' restaurant thanks its patrons/voters/The Academy etc. Wouldn't it be more journalistically responsible to release the results to the public before advertisers, and without the results tied to an overt sales campaign? I think that this, in and of itself, demeans the process and I personally find it a suspect practice. I would be interested to know your thoughts.

We began a birthday evening for my daughter at Chambar on Friday evening (it culminated at Le Crocodile), over cocktails and appetizers. Of the several starters that we sampled, one was a standout--a tartare of venison spiked with capers and neat lick of heat. My fiancee and daughter arrived, post-birthday shopping--to a near-empty room at 5:30. By the time we left at 7:30 it was nearly full and certainly buzzy. It was good to see the service so neatly syncopated; Andre and Karri seem to have staff/guest ratios well-gauged to the point of few pregnant pauses. There was one though. That was when Karri shared that there's a little chef in the oven. And more good news about Chambar's post-shakedown longevity? In addition to garnering a wine award the other day, Karri and Nico have already paid off their LIFO debt, a not inconsiderable sum.

Validity of this statement? Extreme reaction by the government officials making the claim? Too much food being discarded a reality? Your feedback please ... ← That Japan imports a lot of high-end, premium-priced product is no secret. Here in British Columbia, of our 82 native coastal seafood species, there are several--especially herring, herring roe and sea urchin--that are harvested and then turn right at the airport, rarely to be seen at retail here. Japanese consumers and retailers will simply pay more. But 'food mileage' in the Japanese food economy is just one issue. That's because rapacious fishing practices, both from the indiscriminate Japanese fishing industry and through the aggressive sourcing of other over-fished stocks for domestic Japanese consumption, are repugnant. It's been about seven years since Australia protected its native bluefin tuna fishery from Japanese fishers and about the same time period since New Zealand banned Japanese fishing vessels from its ports. Japanese whaling practices lie somewhere beneath contempt and the bottom of the deep blue sea. But, and perhaps ironically, Japan does not always care to import quality, even if it means saving the consumer money. The classic example, of course, is American rice. The Japanese rice growers' lobby has constructed elaborate firewalls against its importation, largely based on what they have promoted as being the inferior quality of the American product. Although the embargo was lifted in 1995, quota chicanes still strongly favour Japanese producers. Recommendation: Produce a superior grade and call it Condoleeza. But wait, there's less. The United States has mounted a stealthy, and ultimately very clever response. It simply, as the article states, exploited the Japanese "willingness to pay more for specialty foods from certain regions." So, not content to meander through diplomatic channels, the US government blithely looked the other way while American fast food giants such as Mcdonalds, KFC and Burger King set up shop. Now the fastest growth industry in Japan, if you'll excuse the expression, is obesity and juvenile-onset diabetes. Since 1982, obesity in Japanese men has doubled; in nine year-old boys it has tripled. Extravagant, yes. Royal, not particularly. Because even the royals, you'll recall, let them eat cake.

Earls hired David Scolefield and Anthony Gismondi to renovate their wine list. They worked closely with Purchasing VP George Piper to get value, accessibility and consistent availability onto their list. I've never asked, but it seems that there's always one person on the floor capable of making good pairing suggestions. Island restaurants have done quite well in the past (especially Sooke HH), but this year the stretch across the whole province was impressive.

Any comments, James? I thought the swift recognition (Gold glass award) of Earls' new list and service program was particularly interesting.

Cooties are notoriously difficult to civilize. Or even domesticate. Gosh, I have enough difficulty with myself.

Or the subtraction. But only if one has been properly schooled in the art of removing the table cloth without disturbing the crystal. Or, for that matter, the reader. On the other hand, one hasn't really lived until one has slurped noodles through one's nose. Seminars on this are given nightly by disenfranchised hockey players at Kung Pow Phat Soy, an institution of higher dining.

Indeed. Here in beautiful downtown Kitsilano, on the other hand, one is always careful to return thy neighbour's wife.

Kinda not the point PaoPao. Jamie started this thread looking for "white linen" lunches, not a place to go slurp noodles. That, it would seem, is food for another thought. A. ← Yes, that was rather the point, illuminated by that sterling lunch we enjoyed earlier this week at Cioppino’s Enoteca. That being said, I hosted a post-production lunch at Phnom Penh on Thursday, that, although lacking superior napery, made up for it in flavour: mango salad, hot and sour soup with prawns, Chinese broccoli, sautéed lotus root, garlic squid in lemon pepper, barbecued chicken, butter beef et alia. I must admit though, that Helen did put a white table cloth down, respite from the wood-grained arborite. I immediately christened it with a sploosh of chili paste. And certainly the subordinate point of this thread was to also highlight what excellent value is available in tablecloth restaurants at the noon hour.