barolo

Yes, they are enjoyed in BC and the Prairies.

It is called Sansafir, after the ancient island that lay in the Red Sea. Sansafir Island was a trading nexus between Asia, the Middle East and the cultures of the Mediterranean, and we can expect (from what I hear at least) the flavours to reflect such diversity. Opening in late winter/early spring. Incidentally, and if you haven't heard already, Food TV is doing an Opening Soon show on both Century and Sansafir. Sean and Emad will undoubtedly make for excellent TV. ← Sansafir had its opening party last night.

Rebublic website is here: click. A self description from the website: City Food has more details today. It is owned by the Denman Street Freehouse, Granville Room, etc people.

Enjoy! I will too, as I'm always up for a vicarious dinner at Parkside. The menu looks good, as always.

Try Mayers Packaging on 5th just east of Main. They have food boxes, tins, paper bags, cellophane bags of all sizes, shapes and colours, as well as tissue, ribbon and wrapping paper.

My experiences at Tojo's don't line up with the complaints of "snobbery": my first visit with an acquaintance from Toronto was spontaneous - we just showed up and asked to sit at the counter for omakase. Tojo was there, asked us about dislikes and allergies and then started to prepare dishes. We didn't specify a dollar limit, but I seem to remember the food cost was around $100, probably a little less - this was about 5 or 6 years ago. My most recent visit was as a guest of someone who has been eating Tojo's food since the 70's and I didn't notice a huge difference in the way we were greeted or treated. Every time there I was blown away by some dishes, but not all; I think it is pretty unrealistic to be blown away by every dish. If there are minumum spending requirements to sit at the counter, I think it would be wise to spell them out - both on the website and when people phone to make reservations. If you look at the website of Chez Panisse for example (another much hyped restaurant) you'll see they go to a lot of trouble to make sure that potential customers know what to expect. As to whether Tojo's is overhyped and overpriced - that can be pretty subjective. Look at threads in other regional forums on well known restaurants, like the one on Zuni Cafe, not everyone likes the restaurant, not everyone is blown away by all the dishes they try, not everyone thinks it is worth the money. That is the way it is, why should Vancouver restaurants be any different. For my money, I'd rather go to West than Tojo's, but your milage may differ. That doesn't mean I don't like Tojo's, just that I have limited dining dollars and I'd rather spend them at West.

Thank you Quentin, your post has inspired me to revisit Joyce.

Very nice! This image just sums it all up: good friends, good food, good wine.

Deborah: The kitchen, the range, the scooter - all look great. You have made the transition from Yaletown to Eastside effortlessly (or made it look that way, anyway). I look forward to pictures of the weekend dinner party.

Well, those are all BC wines.

There's a place on Granville Island (down near the Hotel on the south side near Performance Works) that does architectural glass, including back splashes. I don't have the name handy, but you should be able to find it no problem. They're a bit pricey, but they do beautiful work. To keep this food related, you could shop for food in the market after looking for your backsplash A less expensive option would be to use glass tile ... something large like a 12x12 actually looks really nice. Not exactly what you're looking for, but after you get the quote on the plate glass you may want to consider it. A. ← Arne, I think you must mean Joel Berman Glass Studios. Very nice work to be found there.

Raincity Grill is opening for weekday lunch again: 11:30-2:30.

There is nothing sinister in the voting process. As far as I know, the individual ballots were handled by an outside accountant for tabulation. It all seemed like a fair enough process to me. ← Well I didn't read that she assumed to know anything about the voting process. However, she did attribute statements to Don Genova, who was a judge in the past, commenting on what had happened in the past. Let's face it, you can submit your votes to an accountant and still discuss them beforehand. I am not suggesting that anything sinister happened, I just like to get factual information. Don Genova reportedly made a number of comments about how the voting worked in the past and I wonder if they are true. Even if they are, I don't assume they mean that voting is conducted that way now.

Well it is possible that both are true: he couldn't participate because he moved and he would have chosen not to participate anyway. But then I don't have secret insider knowledge. No one has denied the veracity of any of the other statements attributed to Don Genova - any insider comments there?

I have to disagree with this one and can someone explain why this place is so popular. My sister and I went into this cafe to have one of these supposed great coffees after some very intensive shopping. While I was STANDING IN THE LINEUP I noticed the noise level to be very high which was still bearable, but then the hissing and slamming of the barista sent us and all of our shopping bags out onto the street in a flurry. It would be very difficult to have a conversation in that place unless you were used to screaming at each other. ← I have to agree with Butter on the noise level at Caffe Artigiano. The one on Hastings is even worse I think. The coffee is good though. Looks like you want a casual, inexpensive spot. For downtown, I suggest the Art Gallery Cafe or Scuie down on Howe and Pender. I don't spend much time on 4th, but there is a little deli place called Saffron around 4th and MacDonald that might work, I haven't been there myself.

The post by Jamie Maw (#349) in this thread would provides information about the production of foie gras in Canada (some is imported to the US). There is another post elsewhere about a California operation that I couldn't find in my quick search. ← Anne: Thank you for alerting me to this informative, well-written post. I urge others who have not read it to do so. ← Another writing on foie gras production is in the book: From Here, You Can't See Paris by Michael Sanders. A quote from the Amazon.com book description:

Cook with cream, a la Wild Guy's suggestion. Morels, for me, call for veal and Burgundy.

The post by Jamie Maw (#349) in this thread would provides information about the production of foie gras in Canada (some is imported to the US). There is another post elsewhere about a California operation that I couldn't find in my quick search.

I believe Matt is referring to the Victoria event which is listed in EAT, I can't remember the venue but tickets are $10.00. The Vancouver event is "you have to win to attend".

Was this not recently a "restaurant of the Year " winner somewhere ? ← I think it may have been a "people's choice" award of some sort. I seem to remember Waiterblog ranting about those awards. Ah yes, here it is from the Enthuze website:

In today's Sun, Mia Stainsby writes about how Expo '86 changed the culinary landscape of Vancouver and BC: Expo changed the way we eat

I look forward to seeing the whole list of winners - Congratulations to them all. Jeff and Kurtis, you are leading a Main Street revolution and you deserve the kudos.

They are going ahead with the change according to the CBC: And they are going ahead with another Watermark-type restaurant at Coal Harbour: Link to story here

It seems to me that when Pacific Press was across the street, the restaurants in that area were a hangout for reporters - maybe reporters are especially fond of cheesecake. I think the Press Club is still there. Once Pacific Press moved downtown, the area kind of stagnated in terms of restaurants. I suspect rent is cheap, making it look like a bargain for someone who is starting up with little cash.

Yes. Usually if the type of mushroom is not specified on the menu, I now assume they will not be wild.