Keith Talent

You overplayed your hand Neil, all sympathy for you is disappearing. There is no way in hell anyone, anywhere on this earth claims to be allergic to leeks. You need to copy Jeffery Steingartens section on food allergies, pass it out to the afflicted, then make them pass a quiz on the topic prior to the menu changes being made. I'm of the camp that says food allergies don't exist, except in exceedingly rare cases, and 99.999999% of them are pereptrated by selfish self-absorbed babies. And don't even get me started on kids and peanuts. If you go to a restaurant, you eat what the chef puts in front of you. If you don't like it, don't go back. One of the funniest things I saw on the Food Network was on that "Into the Fire" show when the episode was about Disneyland. At the "fine dining" restaurant they have a chefs menu, essentially a tasting menu created at hte chefs discretion, what's the Japanese word for chefs chioice? okasame? something to that effect. Anyway, some dumbassed couple, and seriously, I'm already highly skeptical about two GROWN ADULTS at Disneyland, no kids in tow, when the husband pipes up "we don't like green peppers." I think I screamed SHUT THE F...UP at my TV at that point. I was equally exasperated by the customers, precious tatsebuds can't handle green peppers, and the chef for not immediately either kicking them out, or quitting his job. I wonder if my story had a point at some time, reading back I can't really see where I was going with the whole thing. Oh well, I've typed it now, it stays. I guess the moral is eat whta's put in front of you, and push to the side things you don't like, how hard is that?

Hey Neil, I'm thinking about popping in on Saturday, say round eight? Party'll be for between four and eight, hell better get a ten top ready just in case. A few couples might be late, just just keep things on ice until we get there. We're going to be celebrating one of the groups one year of sobriety, so please, no wine list it'd be an affront to the occasion. Oh yeah, a couple of the group will are Vegans, so whip something up for them, 'kay? I'll email you seperately a list of what the group is allergic to/won't eat/don't like, I'm sure you'll accomodate. And I've got a couple substitutions I'd like made to the menu, I'll call you separetly about that. We're going to be bring a cake, so please ensure the dessert is subtracted off our bill. And when you cut it, please put it on some nice plates, no crap, okay? And a little ice cream would be nice on the side as a garnish. Don't make me call Ian.

I feel strongly about my reservation being held for me due the the very fact that it's a reservation. Just as I the consumer have an obligation to turn up on time, the restaurant has an obligation to ensure tables are booked in such a fashion that delays are minimized if not non-existant. If my table is unavailable due to unforseen circumstances, too bad for the restauranteur, his profit margin on my meal will be non-existant. You can't have a contract (the reservation) that only puts obligations on one party, both participants must bear some risk, that's why I have no problem with being charged on my CC for a missed reservation. Anyway, this whole topic would be moot if people conducted themselves like mature adults, instead of self absorbed babies.

Lumiere.

"That doesn't sound very tasty to me. I think I've heard some wines being described as tasting like tar before. Why would anyone find this appealing? Or is the taste of tar pretty much off-putting to everyone?" (Take anything I say with a grain of salt, I can't even use the quote tag correctly.) Don't forget, the language of wine is not a precise or scientific business. Tar may just be a vague descriptor for something more complex, something we may all concur is tar-ish, but is certainly not "Knight Street at rush hour, 4:30 PM in July" Greenpepper is a desireable, or correct aroma from Cabernet Sauvignon, which could be described as vegetal. All of these descriptors are intigrated into a bigger ball of aroma, sometimes when one is overpowering the others the wine is described as simple or one dimentional, but when leather, tar, greenpepper, cassis and tobbaco all get together for a party in your mouth, you're looking at a 100 dollar bottle of Napa Cab. To commit an intentional malaprop, writing or talking about wine is like dancing about architecture. It can be done, but isn't always pretty.

Nah, as the Baron Rothchild said, all wine would be red if it could.

Here goes. Salice Salentino Riserva - Dr. Cosimo Taurino SKU #253575 / UPC #98709310704 Price: $17.95 Alcohol %: 13 % Sweetness: 00 Volume: 750 mL Country: Italy Locality: South And The Islands I originally started buying this wine back when I was young and impressionable based on the shelf talkers (you know those little tags that tell you what the "experts" at the Dictator think you should think about wine?) Anyway, it came touted highly by Robert Parker and I knew enough to know that if the Dictator made good recco's, Parkers were gold. I have since disavowed my numerical wine buying practices, and am now using the ugliest label system; ie. buy wine with the ugliest label available, becuase with an unattractive outside, what's inside must be good. This system seems to work no worse than shopping with your Wine Spectator Buying Guide numbers. And I just went to the wine fanatics site to crib some notes, and damnit if coop wasn't the only one with anything intellgent to say. I'd plaugerize him, but am thinking I might get busted. Especially considering he's already posted his comments above. Anyway the wine is widely available, at even the shadiest LDB outlets around (the ones I like to frequent, as they've always got the best selection of post Christmas markdowns. People at Cambie or Arbutus know a deal when they see it, consumers aren't quite as savvy about wine in Cloverdale.) I'll open some this weekend.

While we're busy heaping scorn on the consumer, (hey! That's me!) we should also address the restaurant equivilent of no-shows, the unhonoured reservation, ie. just take a seat at the bar and your table will be ready soon. Last year it happened to me twice, once at Cru and once at the Lumiere tasting bar. Giving me a complimentary cocktail isn't good enough.

If I'd bothered with the Irish Heather thread prior to posting to this one, I'd have seen all my previous points made. I'm a sucker for a Wyles thread I guess. Anyway, my point that wasn't already mentioned is I don't know how easy it would be to get Vancouver consumers to accept the CC# with reservation, I think what it would take would be for a high profile outsider to institute the practice in a new establishment, then it could spread to local eateries. Now where is Jerimiah Tower when you really need him?

I don't have a problem with a non-refundable deposit on a credit card. Golf courses do it all the time. Pretty much every course in town requires a CC number to book a tee time. Maybe you should talk to them to find out how the mechanics of it work. Restaurants in France frequently require a CC# to book a table. Seems reasonable to me. The only proviso is that if you require an ironclad commitment from me to be there, you also must ensure that my table is ready at the agreed upon time, that only seems fair.

She's touting herself as the world best drinks writer? Well I'm touting myself as the worlds best drinker. I ask you, which would you rather be?

Opportunity blown, Ian...errr...Neil. You should have put the new Mexican dishwasher that doesn't speak english on the line as "Ian". Let the comedy roll. A hungover linecook with a bad attitude would have made a good second choice in the roll of Ian.

The Keith you know and love flagrantly flaunts his distain for correctly used punctuation, spelling and grammar? Contrubutes nothing outside of off topic cheap shot snarks? That's just wrong.

Do you guys in the windy city have some sort of bat signal that goes up when the text string h-o-t-d-o-g gets entered? That was quick. And I try to lead a non-judgenmental life, but honestly think anyone over ten that puts ketchup on a hotdog should be forced to leave civilized society. Maybe go live in Austrailia with all the other pro-ketchup weirdos.

The problem is, I don't want something that resembles it, I want the real deal. Hell, we do good Peking Duck, New York Cheesecake, Seattle Coffee, New England Chowder, etc. How can a hotdog be that difficult.

Anyone have any idea where to get anauthentic Chicago Style Hot Dog (mmmm, eyeballs & hooves) in this town? Food Network is good for very little other than encouraging a hatred of its' various "personalities" (yeah, I'm aware that 99% of the personalties on display consist of various degrees of irritaing), but it did make me aware of a culinary treat I've neer had. Thanks Bobby Rivers! The Chicago style hot dog consists of the weiner (duh) mustard, sauekraut, tomatoes (sliced, not chopped), friend onions (maybe, I forget), pickles, something called sport peppers (which I've found for sale via google), and the key ingredient (I suspect, being that I haven't tried one yet) celery salt. Yeah, it sounds like something you could do at home, but a) do I really want that boiled hotdog smell permeating my curtains, and more importantly b) I never seen to get proportions right on this type of project. I suspect there is a perfect ratio between the various toppings that would be difficult to recreate without years experience in construction.

You're kidding right? Did you also eat a three ounce portion of beef stroganoff with a spork while reading the magazine on tv tray in the most uncomfortable chair in your house? If you'd like, I'll gladly send my kids over to kick the back of your chair while dining to fully recreate the mile high experience. Who willingly reads En Route? I drag "in case of emergency, break seal" Tolstoy on board, just on the outside chance we're delayed and I run out of reading material. I've been known to read half a page of text, realize I'm reading the french side of the page, and really not feel the need to go back and read the english version to find out what I missed regarding the crafts of the Inuit on Baffin Island. Now the Skymall catalogue on US flights, that's some good reading. You can kill half the flight to LA reworking the inspirational slogans of the "Successories" posters to more accurately reflect workplace attitudes. Spend the other half price comparing glow in the dark dog leashes and those hyper-cool vacuums that suck up spiders and boom, you're surrounded by palm trees and drive-by shootings.

The only thing I really remember about San Felipe is renting ATV's and bombing around in the sand dunes, then stopping at a corner store to buy a cerveza, because really, what goes better with inexperienced helmetless death machine riders than beer? Oh, and I also remember getting a steak that should have caused mass protests from the Mexican leather tanning association for intellectual property copyright infringement. Thanks, it won't be til next year, but I'm sure in the process of searching info I'll find your offer. Look for an email/pm in about eleven months from me.

I would take his comments with...uhh...a grain of salt.

I've been there a number of times, and beleive it or not the food is very good, as is the service. The room is...uhh...dated? What exactly did he say about seasoning? I think he's ready to hang up his touque anyways, and I don't know if anyone else in town want to try to make a go of fine dining in Ladner.

Here are the BCLDB Aussie/Grenache listings. http://www.bcliquorstores.com/en/products?...name&asc=1&pg=1

This it? Grenache - Yalumba 00/02 SKU #531228 / UPC #9311789900933 Price: $23.99 Alcohol %: 14.5 % Sweetness: 00 Volume: 750 mL Country: Australia

Salice Salentino Riserva - Dr. Cosimo Taurino SKU #253575 / UPC #98709310704 Price: $17.95 Alcohol %: 13 % Sweetness: 00 Volume: 750 mL Country: Italy Locality: South And The Islands ?????

Montrachet, you're a swinger too? Early spring, the first annual E-gullet Drink and Drive celebrity invitational golf tournement is on. We have a fourth?

Bingo! My only head scratching moment is why if you were spending that money you would do it at the Bearfoot rather than somewhere, I don't want to offend anyone and say somewhere good, but rather somewhere of more renown.