barolo

Alexandra Gill is taking the Serious Foodie Class. Her article on knife skills in the Globe today: Blades of Glory

It is a fundraiser, they supply all kinds of things that cost money - shuttle buses, porta-potties etc, etc.

Well there is no doubt that you have to understand how the apple sales work to get the interesting apples. I was there at 10:30 on Saturday morning and there was already a line up. Needless to say, the varieties you don't see on supermarket shelves sell out very quickly. The apples are not inexpensive but, as Arne said, it costs more for small producers to get their product to market. There is no shortage of people willing to pay what the UBC apple festival is charging for apples. I'm sure the good weather did create a bigger crowd than normal which led to so much being sold out before the festival was over on Sunday. However, it is a fund raiser, and there's a whole pile of volunteers that keep the whole thing going so I don't go expecting a slick experience, especially for $2.00. It used to be free. I can understand how you feel and empathize. I did the apple tasting once and never again - I stood in line in the pouring rain. On the other hand, I think it normally costs $4.00 to get into the Botanical Gardens, so for $2.00 you still got a bargain. If you do ever decide to go again, take my advice and show up at 11:00 on Saturday to buy apples. They have an "apple-check" so you can walk around and enjoy the gardens and whatever else is on offer and then pick up your apples before you go. Also bring big bags to carry your apples in.

Mia Stainsby reviewed The Cascade Room in yesterday's Vancouver Sun:

I'm buying mine from Thrifty's, the Globe recommends Rossdown Market:

Thank you. Both of these threads are very helpful. ← You are very welcome. If you ask questions about specific restaurants, you'll usually get a better response than to the more generic questions. Here's a link to the compendium of "best of" topics (available at the top of the forum) which will give you a good overview.

A relatively new one: Cooked Books by Rebecca Federman a librarian at the New York Public Library.

Today's Globe and Mail has an article on Sean Heather and the success that is Salt: here. Here's a quote:

Here's a best Vietnamese thread. And here's one on dim sum.

Fleuri Restaurant in the Sutton Place Hotel. Griffin's in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Wedgewood Hotel has in the past, don't know about this year. Four Seasons has in the past I think but they may be in the middle of renovations. In other words - hotels are your best bet.

I had lunch at the Transcontinental today. Overall I would give it a "meh". Not awful but nothing inspiring about the food or the service and the space didn't wow me like it has others. I kind of liked the retro feel of the room with its Group of Seven prints and old CP posters, but overall it was just too navy blue for me. My main course salad was a pile of spinach, pallid tomatoes, two tiny grilled asparagus, a few broken cashews and a hunk of salmon with a big pile of pickled ginger on top, all served in one of those big bowls that allow your cutlery to slide to the bottom every time you put it down. Service was fine if a bit perfunctory. It was very busy - a group was waiting in lounge for a table as we left - so they are not going to worry about my comments.

The new chef is Dino Renaerts. Here's some background from the press release announcing his appointment: I recently had a 3 course prix fixe lunch at Diva that was excellent. I don't know what Chef Henry is doing except that he paid a visit Saskatoon this summer to cook at Weczeria Restaurant, you can read about the restaurant here.

Over at Urban Diner Andrew reports on the soon to open Pied a Terre. Of all the restaurants opening this year, this one is the one I've been waiting for, go check out the menu.

I’m reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver and family, one of the books in the locavore genre that is popular right now. This book is way too preachy for my taste. Had it been a library book I probably wouldn’t have got much further than page 10, but since it is a book club book I persevered and have found some good stories amongst the preaching. On the list is Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 by David Kynaston. Short description from Amazon: and A Late Dinner: Discovering the Food of Spain by Paul Richardson.

Over at the Urban Diner forum I picked up this story on Main Street in today's New York Times.

I pick up my hard copy at Marquis Wine Cellars on Davie, which also happens to be a good place to buy wine.

I just wrote a long piece about Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse that I accidentally deleted. The short version is that this newly opened spot on the Saanich Peninsula, just off the highway from Swartz Bay to Victoria, is worth visiting for the cider, the view and the charcuterie platter. They also sell apple cider vinegar and honey. 2487 Mt. St. Michael Road, Saanichton BC. Open Wednesdays to Sundays (& holiday Mondays), 11 am to 7 pm

Well the deal closed on August 28th, so we shall see what changes are made in Vancouver. Seems to me there's still room for more high-end grocers in Vancouver although Urban Fare seems to have locked up at least a couple of downtown locations.

Summer 2007 edition of City Food is out with capsule descriptions of 99 restaurants opened recently in Vancouver. Available in print and on-line.

I missed an edition, but the September/October edition of EAT is on the street and presumably on-line. Contents include: Artisan distillers in BC an interview with Jeff Van Geest of Aurora Bistro an interview Gary and Naty King, local celebrity farmers a sherry tasting article where they forgot to include the tasting notes various restaurant reviews from Vancouver, Victoria and the rest of the Island etc, etc

Back in August both City Food and Urban Diner noted the Times Online story on Vancouver by Nick Wyke: Canada's new food frontier I thought this article read like Nick cut and paste the whole thing from the literature provided to him by the tourism marketing folks who hosted him. In contrast, the blogger at Orangette in Seattle writes of her honeymoon on Vancouver Island with only Saveur as a guide, it seems: She likes the beer at Spinnakers, not so much the food, loves SOBO and the water buffalo.

I found this column: Two streets, two routes to development in yesterday's Globe and Mail a really interesting backgrounder on the Cambie street situation. I guess it reflects my analytical nature, but I find this much more compelling and illuminating than 99% of the stuff that is being written about Cambie, the Canada Line and all the attendant problems.

Today's Sun has Malcolm Parry reporting that David Hawksworth will leave West to start his own restaurant in the redeveloped Hotel Georgia. It is a little confusing because the paragraph related to Hawksworth is in the Shore Club section, but that appears to be a printing error (all too many in the local media). Here's the quote: And the link:Parry's column, September 15th

No, but I walk by there fairly often so I'll report next time I've had a chance to see what progress they are making.

Schnitzelz is opening on Denman just north of Robson. It looked like a franchise type of set up and sure enough a quick Google found: Schnitzelz franchise information.