Tete Carre

ooops, my dancing fingers go the better of me. Me? I'm a regular at Macdonalds. Yup every 5 years or so, if I'm on a long, long drive I make sure I drop in, if only to use the bathroom .

Hey fud, We're fortunate to have a lot of good to great Japanese restaurants in Vancouver so there's something for everybody, yes? With specific regards to Tojos, the only time I personally was underimpressed was once when I neglected to make reservations and ended up in a shitty booth near the windows where everyone seemed to be more interested in being seen that in the food. Subsequently eating numerous occassions either at the 'Sushi Bar' or in one of the tatami rooms the food has been ...well worth every penny. Whenever I've left my stomach is saying 'no more please' while my taste buds are saying 'more, more more damn it'. I seem to recall someone from another thread that ended up going to Macdonalds after Tojos so perhpas on some visit(s) to Tojo's there was an imbalance between wants and what the restaurant had to offer. Tojo's is pricy so if you're not into the food..... Edited, no offence meant. Should have dome my Due diligence before hitting post.

I'd like to put my 2 cents in as well. I believe Vancouver is in need of more better butchers. The primary issue in my mind is quality of meat and dry aging vs. cryovacing. First, quality of meat. There are not many butchers who deal with non-medicated and/or free range beef. This is a very young market segment and may or may not expand. Personally I'll go out of my way ( and do so almost every week to N. Van) to get the above. Cryovacing portions of a carcass allows some butchers to present a carefully selected anf fully margined product to their clients. The fact that the taste tends towards mediocrity isn't a factor in this market. The very few butchers that can and do dry age their meat are to be sought out and patronized. So if you are considering specializing in non-medidcated/free range beef that is dry aged and cut to order please do and contact me, I'll put in a standing order for a number of cuts. If your charcouterie is good and based on the above, oh so simple concepts, I'll patronize your shop on that basis as well. If you base your shop on either Cambie or Main somewhere around 21st Avenue even better. Commmercial drive would do as well. Cheers and good luck. PS unfortunately many Vancouverites are very cheap seeing as the lifestye isn't cheap.

Not at all. You're quite right it is a rockfish and as an 'oportunistic' feeder isn't something you want to see raw and wriggling on your plate. As I recall the transaction I was mildly surprised they asked (I'm just a tad more interested in the potential employers at the table) and simply said 'medium would be just cooked through right?' and got an affirmative answer. Anyway the chef knew what he was doing even if the waiter and customer didn't. PS The restaurant was Joe Fortes.

At a recenct business lunch I ordered off the fresh fish sheet and got a perfectly grilled piece of local snapper as a result. The list was quite extensive and they even asked how I wanted it cooked. Add to that an oyster bar plus a pretty good wine list and you might just have a contender.

Andrew, I'm not sure if your sense of humour is sublime or ridiculous but I've been LMAO all through this thread. Thanks Man, it's been a long hard week and it's only Tuesday!

Since Saturday's dinner was roast lamb Sunday's dinner had to be Lamb Pizza with red Chili and Mint. The topping is a spread that has a variety of items including roasted sweat red and anaheim peppers, cilantro, chilli sage, etc. Once this is spread out over the pizza dough add strips of rare leftover lamb. Sprinkle lavishly with frozen corn kernels (It's March okay!) and pop in the oven. Open the red wine and add plenty of fresh mint leaves as you serve it. Accompanied by a chef's salad of escarole, radicchio, cheese, ham, etc. we didn't need dessert. The fact that we watched the DVD of Troy might have had something to do with this unusual loss of appetite. The Appetizer was Tuna sashimi (the rest of the tuna is for tonight with a killer wasabi sauce). Friday's dinner, just back from camping, was a huge pot of our current favourite pasta. Really simple: equal parts of pasta (orrchietto) , spicy italian sausage(or in our case merguez) and rapini(or brocoli rabe) plus some garlic, chili flakes and some of the water the rapinin was parboiled in. Didn't take pictures which is too bad as both meals were very colourful.

The restaurant at Ecco was Bolette.

Let's see now, there's Chez Thierry (on Robson) where you could not only get real bistro food but upon ordering a bottle of (french only) champagne Thierry would don his french uniform jacket and tri corner hat and proceed to 'saber' the top off the champagne bottle for you! Great unpasturized cheeses as well. Don't know where Thierry is now. Perhaps back in France or perhaps Oregon/Washington to be near the best windsurfing in the world? Also Check it out Cafe (7th & Fir)( Pre beer and wine license they'd let you BYO wine) which served up some pretty darn good pasta and incredible spicy italian sausages the like of which I have not seen since. Last I heard the Seto boys were somewhere on the Sunshine coast. 2roast - I too remember that Portugese restaurant but can't remember the name. The first 3 or 4 times we went the (person we thought was the) owner was most convivial and generous with the after dinner drinks. 'Crab, you want crab'? and he'd send someone off to the Robson Public market to pick up a crab. The last time we went we found out that person had been the waiter standing in for the owner who had been away on extended holidays and was nowhere to be found. The 'new' owner just wasn't the same and wanted us to actually pay for the port!

I don't eat out all that much but here's where I/we've ben recently: Addesso for lunch yesterday. Had the warm patio to myself. Linguine vongole was simply perfect and the side of sauteed rapini, which was either baby rapini or brocolini, was great - just the right amount of bitternes. India Abroad in the odd little food fare on Hornby accross from the YWCA. I had butter chicken for a change. Unfortunately they'd finished off all the naan (which is terrific) so I had rice instead. Sergios Hacienda in Port Angeles. Fahita salad hit the spot. Like I said, I don't get out that much. PS Sonja - gotta love that Sechuan Chong Qing at 12th and Commercial eh? mmm Tan Tan noodles and anything in their chili, sour and garlic sauce!!

I believe you're referring to the Crab Shack, which indeed was a very good source. Unfortunately gutted by fire last fall. see thread: Crab Shack Gutted Hopefully they'll reopen again in the not too distant future.

Seafood City at Granville Island is my favorite but I always check out the other two shops if I'm there (Longliner and Salmon Shop). Also Lobster Man for the shellfish. The boats in False Creek only sell frozen fish which isn't always my first choice. I've gotten extremely good fresh musssels from time to time though. I think the ownership of Seven Seas has changed (about 1 1/2 yrs ago?) and the freshness (and knowledge) has taken a bit of a dive. The size and quality of their crab cakes certainly has! There's a new (about a year I think) shop on Hastings a block and a bit east of Nanaimo (north side) that has a small selection of very fresh fish. I've bot both halibut and Salmon there 8 or 10 times and it's been very good. Cheaper than Granville Island by a couple of bucks a pound. I gather their first choce for locations was going to be Commercial drive but rent was way too much! Another place that's really good is at the back of Oakridge centre. Nice little Chinese fish monger a couple of doors down from the Kin's market. Right now the local cod, snapper and sole are absolutely fabulous and cheap (well compared to Black Cod, salmon & halibut)! No Captain Highliner in this house!

Actually we ate at Harlow's about two weeks ago and it was a really good burger experience. I find their meat patties a little dense for my liking but the burger as a whole was very good. Certainly on par with the buger I had at the Club outing to Feenies and without the frenetic activity and deflated expectations.

Let's see: Parkside, Maurya and Bis Moreno at this point. On a waitlist for West but I don't have high hopes for anything there. Can't make the Egullet West night as we'll be finishing an avalanche safety course and will likely be too tuckered out to be sociable. Price isn't a consideration for this event. Ling, I'd go to the Irish Heather any time but I happen to have some short ribs in the oven right now (Beef Short Ribs - Kalbi from egullet cooking) that is absolutely driving us nuts with it's cooking smells (neighbours knocking at the door so we had to turn out the front lights ) . That's about all for now.

I ate at the Living Room some time ago and it was really good. Haven't had a chance to get back in some time but would go at the drop of a hat. So Ling, did you make the Larb or do you have a secret source? Do tell girl!

Any of the Fujiya's would meet your requirements. In fact they often have fresh Sablefish when no one else seems to .

It's truffle season all over the world and yet all that I can find are those awfull sweaty, spungy looking ones in jars (no doubt this is where the 'spungeform' part of BSD comes from). Is there any place in Vancouver that sells fresh truffles? Seattle is a possibility but just try and explain what a truffle is to the border guard. Any ideas?

Can't speak for Incendio but given it's proximity to the 5th Avenue theatre ( I can't stand Alliance theatres because the greed is so naked and the delivery of the film experience is so pathetic - JMHO) it's probably worth a try. Otherwise you might want to try the Ordinary Cafe (on 4th and a block to the east of Burrand) which has a good menu, pretty good wine list and very good prices. Probably go there once a week. There really isn't much of a difference between Lombardos and Marcellos. Marcello lost Lombardos to his, now ex, wife when he got caught teaching some fancy moves to a young, female soccer fan . Shortly thereafter he (and his investor group?) bought Imperio Cafe and thus Marchellos was born (I'm sure others know the story better than I). The menus are almost identical except Lombardos no longer has the Marchello Pizza. Best pie in town but I agree with Keith - not much competition at the high end resulting in some variation in quality from visit to visit.

I'd like to thank Chef Fowke for doing the mathematical modelling that helps illustrates the conundrum I'm faced with: by sharing my source I'll likely never get my hands on another hanger steak, ever ! This isn't like supporting the organic food movement or even non-medicated meat. There is only one of these suckers on every cow See, I've been looking for years and it was shear coincidence that one day, almost in jest and certainly without any expectation, I asked Jeremy the butcher "Any chance of a Hanger or Skirt steak today?" At first he said no, (but at least he didn't say "what's that" which many do these days) then he looked thoughtful ( I beamed my best 'Bonhomme Ami' image, hitting him right between the eyes) and he said "wait a minute". Hours later, it seemed, he returned with a kinda skanky looking chuck from the front part of the cow. It was all dried up, looking like it had been hanging in a dry cooler for a month . "I've got one of each, if you don't mind waiting.....". "Mmmmfel" is what I think came out of my mouth. Fortunatly, being over by the butcher block, he couldn't hear or see me at that point. About 15 minutes later he held up two rolled pieces of beef. " These look okay?" Anyway, suffice it to say, that a love affair (with the hanger steak smartass ) was started that day. So back to the conundrum. This place only generates one Hanger and one Skirt steak a week. Do I reveal my source am perhaps never get my greedy little hands on one again or do I hope increased demand will lead to a bigger supply and new suppliers? Okay the capitalist side of me wins (plus I'm tired of geting threatening PM's if I don't tell) but before revealing my source I'd like to thank Chef Metcalf for introducing me to this butcher in the 'Best Butcher' thread. My source is (drum roll please) 3P Exotic meats in Norh Vancouver. I find their beef, lamb, buffalo and chicken to be consistently way above average. Non medicated and dry aged are certainly two of the secrets here. Okay so I just got back froom 3P and scooped this weeks Hanger and Skirt steaks. Sorry gals and guys but fair is fair - I may never see one again! I'd insert a picture that I took showing both but can't figure out how. I think any butcher that still brings in sides of beef should be able to cut you one of these steaks. Beefway (on Kingsway) or Columbus meats (on Renfrew) come to mind. So get on the phone and let's see if we can't find new suppliers! Cheers and Happy Hunting.

Let's not give Peppyre a tough time here ! I confess that when I drive by a lovely field full of plump sheep I think of things like: Rack of Lamb, Roast Leg of Lamb, Lamb Pizza, etc., etc.,etc., not to mention Merino Lamb undergarments for hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and visits to the Abbatoir where, I hear, it's very chilly. Peppyre, can you teach us how to whip a hanger steak off of a dried aged beef carcass in under 15 seconds ?

Hmmm..Best Steak Ever? I'm not sure you're going to like this but.... Date: Sunday October 18 Location: My Kitchen Steak: Dry aged Hanger steak (or in Tony Bourdain speak an Onglet steak) Prep: Dry rubbed with a bit of fresh garlic Method: Pan seared just beyond blue Served with fresh ground black pepper, sea salt and finely chopped shallot. Honestly cannot remember what else was served except for a very good Yakima valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This steak was tender, juicy and so flavourfull you just wanted to say moo ! Honestly I think secret to a great steak is like many things, in particular great wines, if you start off with a really good 'raw' material it's dead easy to create the best ....... (fill in the blank here. So, it's off the the 'Best Butcher in Town' thread for me! Cheers.

Spending money always seems to give me an appetite. Just last week a minor spending spree at Sigges Sports villa left me with a 'just skiied 12K' kind of appetite. It being lunch time I headed over to The Ordinary Cafe, a favorite spot of mine. Perusing the menu I noticed a very respectable sounding burger with some very nice sounding options. Pricing? $8 to $9. Place? Unpretentious (sorry Feenies!) but highly capable. I opted for the steak because I just didn't feel like having carbs get in the way of my protein that day! So....with the new Vera's Burger Shack and The Ordinary Cafe as additional candidate dare we get a burger club outing organized?

Me thinks Parkside is becoming one of the stars of the Dine out Vancouver 2004 event. Dinner last Sunday at Brix was enjoyable and a pretty good deal but not overly remarkable. I left with my curiousity about this restaurant sated and not particularly interested in returning. Service was excellent but too many of the dishes were of my caliber of cooking which isn't usually what I'm looking for when I dine out. Parkside on the other hand had a number of high points and a couple of so-so points. On the so-so side of things the Bisque was a little bitter, like the shells had already given their best before Thursday. The Pumpkin and mascarpone ravioli, truffle sage beurre blanc & roasted pistachios was truly wonderful but 4 raviolis left me a tad hungry. (If you're tempted perhaps you should ask your server how many are included in the dish and then shame her/him into getting Andry to pop a few more on the plate). Fortunately the Braised beef shank (described in detail in an earlier post by Coop) was both terrific and a generous enough portion for the Kookie to take pity on me and share! The sticky toffee pudding was dynamite but the star of the evening has to go the the Lemon tart. If you lean in the lemony direction it is a must have. I'll go back!

A couple of other suggestions would include: 1) Columbus Meat Market on Renfrew (at 1st) esp. for sausage 2) Either Jacksons location (4th/arbutus - Granville/13th) very reliable. 3) Tenderland on granville island. They usually have some air dried free range chickens 4) Produce City on Cambie at 16th - I've just begun to buy stuff there and their beef has so far been really good 5) Meinhardts - while a little pricey this is the only place I know of that attempts to air dry their meet. So far everything I had from them has been superb (but you pay a little extra!) With regards to Windsor on Main. Sometimes the Grade A and the Grade B steaks get 'mixed up'. Just look you can see the difference. However they usually get local lamb in on Thursdays and it's really good. That's all folks. PS Other than Granville Island anyone know some really good fish mongers?

I've been lurking on and off for awhile but it finally took the 'humble/noble' hamburger thread to finally draw me in! In the right time and place I dearly love a good burger and would love to participate in the search for the best burger in Vancouver. There is a new 'burger joint' on Cambie ((between 18th & 19th) called Harlows ( in the spot the terribly missed Fish Stop used to be). Prices range from about $8 to $12 and it's all they do. I've been once but, other than suggest it as a possible current or future venue, won't comment further ('twouldn't be fair eh?). They seat somewhere between 18 and 24 or so people. Might be a bit too similar in style/content to Moderne though (haven't been there myself yet). Otherwise - have car, will travel - so if there's space at the next 'burger tasting table count me in!