Jeffy Boy

I thought that bruise was from passing out after eating fish testicles! A. ← Nothing compared to the bruises on the poor guy who somehow got them off the fish. I hear they do that catch-and-release.

I saw that the last time I was there. Some dude with more money than taste orders an expensive wine that the sommelier takes great pains decanting. Mr Moneybags then loudly proclaims to his tablemates "it's both dry and sweet at the same time!". My forehead is still bruised from the subsequent pounding on my table.

Of course it is - Lumiere , C and others will use this promotion to reward their regulars, concierge's and assorted other persons of interest. The bottom line is still an opportunity to dine at many of the city's better restaurants for very reasonable prices. If Tourism Van wants to discipline those who break the rules they can, but likely won't, do so. ← Obviously that's a trivial offence when compared to the unforgivable sin of leaking your menu in advance!

Didn't Tom Greene do that on TV once?

How about a Late Bottle Vintage Port, for after dinner? Goes especially well with anything chocolate, or when sitting around a fireplace! Graham and Dow's are two good brands.

Can't get them in the Vancouver area, either. I love them! I also saw the Licorice Altoids on a recent trip to Seattle. Unfortunately I found them a bit overwhelming. Like a chemical weapon. Still got 90% of an unfinished box. Lately I've gotten some green tea mints, made in Japan, at one of the Asian markets here in Vancouver. They're mostly "mint", with a hint of astringent green tea. Quite good. And the Japanese have invented some cool mint dispensing technology. A cross between Pez and a credit card.

Too bad that focus group didn't rate the testicle mcgriddle very highly, otherwise they'd be everywhere by now. Really, it's no big deal. The taste, while unique, is actually quite good. It's like there's a party in your mouth!

Patience Foodie, patience. You have to have something to look forward to in 2005! A. ← Thanks Foodie. I'm not the only one who doesn't know what a Kolachy is. And since Arne wasn't going to tell us probably so that he could feel , I did some research. OK, all I did was google "kolachy". This link will answer all your kolachy questions: kolachy.com They look great! Gotta get me some...

I've also been pleasantly suprised by the service at Earl's. My needs and expectations are never very great there, since I will typically go on a Friday night, when I'm burned out from the week, and all I want is a burger and a beer (or two). The staff are always pleasant, friendly and efficient, the burger is good, and the beer is cold. All I want.

Last three: Saturday lunch at Beijing Noodle House in Richmond. Had a heaping plate of Singapore fried rice. Good flavour, with little pieces of pork and shrimp. Monday lunch at Nebutaya, a Japanese restaurant on Marine Drive in White Rock. I was taking a mental health afternoon off from work, and on my way home the sun started peeking out, so I thought "to the beach". Had a California roll and a bowl of Beef Udon. Today lunch at Sammy J. Pepper's in Richmond. It was a work-Christmas-related lunch. Had a burger and fries. Answered "beef" to the question "beef or chicken". (Didn't realize I had a choice of species). Burger was "weller" done than I would have wanted, with a thin layer of cheese that had been broiled to the point you could clearly see the burger indentations through it. Almost translucent. Beer was cold, and with a mug just out of the deep freeze, I got beer slush forming on top. Don't mind that a bit.

I like the McGriddle too. The first time I had it, I got it by mistake at the drive-thru. I had ordered an egg mcmuffin, and must have got a mcgriddle mcmuffin, or whatever it's actually called. When I hoisted it, it didn't have the same rigiidity as the an english muffin; it was kind of spongy. I thought "what the hell?" and then "hey, this is kind of interesting". Both sweet and savoury. I think this is what they call a balanced meal.

Sounds like Thursday's are wash day at the Moosh household.

That's the one thing I love about having breakfast at IHOP. You order coffee, you get your own thermal carafe! Another pet peeve I have is places that serve coffee in mugs where you can only get one finger through the handle. I can tolerate it at dinner, but not at breakfast. I need leverage!

We've had several "morning after" breakfasts at Diva. Though the food has been quite good, I've found their service at breakfast to be below their usual standards. Takes far too long for me to get my first cup of coffee, and I have to ask, actually flag someone down, to get a refill.

You could try Cin Cin, which is a very good Italian place, open until 11pm every night. It's also on Robson, so it may be within walking distance of your hotel.

Don't be too hard on yourself. You're just getting back up to speed after a bit of a posting lull a couple weeks back.

Haven't found any particularly good Mexican here in Vancouver, but there's a great place over in Courtenay that I've been to a few times. Tita's is a wonderful little spot amidst the sea of minigolf and smorgs on the island.

There's a great little place just outside of town in Golden, called the Cedar House Cafe, which we visited on a trip to Calgary this summer. It's truly a gem. I wrote it up in an earlier post here. We drove out to Calgary through Golden and Banff, and then back through Fernie, Nelson, Osoyoos. If you visit Nelson, which does have some good restaurants, check out Mazatlan, for authentic Mexican, and the Au Soleil Levant bakery.

I was really hoping to see this thread sink to the bottom, but I've got to share this. First, we are going to West for dinner tonight, so we wanted something for lunch that would be simple and not too heavy. I think Timmy Ho's "Stew in a Bread Bowl"! This is funny to me on many levels, and makes me laugh. Laughter soon ends.... Walk in at 1:45pm. Crowded. A few in line. Noisy, confused ordering. I want Beef Stew in a bread bowl, and a milk. lemon curd wants sandwich with chicken noodle soup, and a milk. What kind of donut do I want? I don't want a donut. With a drink my stew is now a "combo", which comes with donut. Glazed donut please. Go to pick up food. Appears I somehow also ordered chili. I did not order chili. It's on the computer screen, so yes I did. Also paid for it. Do you still want your chili. No thanks, I didn't order it. Sit down to eat. Move aside dirty tray that has not been picked up. Bread bowl is smaller than I recall. And also now whole wheat, not sourdough. Taste stew. Flashback to camping, eating canned beef stew. Imagine monstrous beef stew can in back. Bowl is actually very good. Nice and fresh. Luckily not too much stew to eat. lemon curd's sandwich is OK. Chicken noodle soup has no chicken. Wait a minute, there's a piece. Donut looks nothing like pictures of glazed donut. Imagine donut has been through a camping trip, including several portages. lemon curd finishes first. She gets in line to try to get chili refund. Explains situation, but has no receipt. They don't blink. Here's your money. Head to Starbucks to spend chili refund. I'm looking forward to our dinner tonight at West.

Que Pasa tortilla chips and salsa, made at their shop in Richmond, at the bottom of #5 Road. Best packaged tortilla chips ever.

Short answer - No. I generally don't give restaurants a second chance. I may give them a third chance, though, if my first experience was good, but a return visit was less so. If I have a bad experience on the first visit, sorry, that's it. There are far too many places I've never been to and want to try, or good places I'd like to return to, for me to roll the dice again at a place that disappointed.

Cob's should try to become the exclusive supplier of bread bowls to Timmy Ho's. The incredibly bland tastelessness of their bread will allow the full flavour of the stew to shine through.

Geez, where is your mind at? We're talking about "giving up your seat". (Timmy's has a time-limit on seated patrons, to prevent loitering). Ummm, that's what you were talking about, right Jamie??

Jamie, At the risk of looking like a complete Timmiite (which I'm not), and with the caveat that I'm no expert on Bread Bowl physics, here are my best guesses: 1. By the time you get to the bottom of the bowl (say 15 minutes), the bottom is nicely softened up, but still not soaked right through by any means. The outer crust has kind of a glazed finish, and is pretty liquid-resistant. 2. If you ate the stew, leaving the bowl intact, you could quite easily then scrape out the soaked inner portion of the bowl, leaving a clean, outer bowl shell. This could then be decorated and finished. Stuff with a package of Timmy's coffee, and it would make a great gift. 3. I have never seen leakage from any bread bowl. The only way I could see this happening is if it were not cut properly before being filled with stew. The Timmy's staff appear to be well trained in this technique - which is to cut out an inverted cone from the top (which is then served "on the side") from the spherical loaf. If this procedure were to be badly botched, or if there were a major defect in the loaf, then perhaps you could get leakage. I think Timmy's quality control and training regimen makes this very unlikely. 4. Excellent question on getting your bowl "to go", I don't know if this is possible. I would think packaging would be a challenge. It might be more feasible for the drive-through, and in fact I think the new Ford F150's cupholders are actually designed to hold a Bread Bowl.

I don't partake of the stew-in-a-bread-bowl too often, as you are correct that it takes a long time to complete the task of eating the whole thing. (Not unlike those guys who set out to consume an entire bicycle). I think as long as you are making tangible progress on downing whatever you're eating, most Timmy's will waive the 20 minute time limit.