Keith Talent

It could be time again to break out that tired old refrain about the Brewpub at GM place being unequivicably the worst fucking restaurant in the province. Easy. It's so bad that it's good just to watch what massive culinary crimes will be commited. Hell yeah I think thirteen bucks for a bowl of mushroom soup that was it's component parts, a bag of powder sitting the Sysco warehouse rack and water in the tap only 24 hours earlier is something to be celebrated. I also enjoy devining the price point where you get glass drinking vessels instead of plastic, Yellowtail? Plastic. Mondavi Woodbridge? Glass. All beer, plastic. Scotch rocks, sometimes plastic, sometimes glass.

I'd like to call on the local media to band together and call for a moratorium on Watermrk reviews. I've read more reviews of this joint than I care to mention. And the first was still the best. Thanks Alexandera. I swear to God I saw a review scrawled on a stall wall in the north end washrooms of Pacific Centre yesterday.

The best Sedin joke was the constant reference to the kitten with a whip, Joy McPhail as a Sedin triplet. The resemblance is uncanny. And both Daniel and Henrik are probably pissed that Sopel left town, because glancing at the Canuck whipping boy depth chart, they now occupy the Watermark spot. 1A and 1B.

I was reading a profile of James Beard tonight and in his desire for a perfect meal he mentioned a BC raised duck, a teal as his ultimate winter meal. He spoke of the farm in the past tense, (although everything is past tense for him now, isn't it?) Anyone know of a former BC duck farm (ranch?) that was reknown? He relates a tale of being served perfect "local" duck on the Yucatan, with the exception of it still having the "Grown in BC" tags attached. Brome Lake from la belle provence is the only "name brand" Canuck duck I can think of. Anyone know if there is anyone farming ducks, specifically teals in BC today? Was there a duck operation in the past? Cheers

Cool. You know if they do kids parties? The girls birthday is coming up and we want totake their Kindergarten class somewhere different.

And the best pre-game meal is at Wild Rice. Lots of metered parking out front. Five minte walk to the arena. A good meal, that truthfully is going to cost pretty much the same as the horrid disgusting crap that GM Place calls food, charges an arm and leg for, plus parking isn't twenty-five bucks. Added bonus easy egress post game through Chinatown. Beleive me, I have very few good ideas over the course of a year, but taking meals pre-game at Wild Rice is one of them.

The only thing better than Deborah's setup is if someone else pays for the tickets.

Or at least that's the story they gave the licence inspector.

Yeah. I get it. It's just not clever.

My bad. When did restaurants start needing middle management organisational charts?

Cheers to Neil. Four N' Twenty? WTF? What the hell kinda name is that? I'm getting old and cranky when I don't find it amusing or witty, just irritating and stupid. And I woundn't eat at somewhere called Guido's Garlic Fries. Call it latent racism if you must, it's too bad but I'm not going there.

Isn't this old news? Andre is returning from his stint at Chambar?

That's correct, La Regelade shares the name only with the Paris bistro; (Where I had my best meal of 2004 last November), although the West Van version is absolutely superb in a different way. The cooking is not as sophisticated as the Paris version, but it does offer the same genourosity, value and satisfaction. The only other similarity is that they are both a hell of a long way from anything else. And make reservations at Shanghai Wind or show up before 5:30.

The New York Times Magazine had a feature on the organisation in Sundays edition. Sorry for the late heads up, I'm falling behind in my reading, that INXS Rockstar show being on two nights a week is cutting into my more cerebral pursuits. (Ha! Just kidding, I'd not watch that stupid show, but mocking my wife for her viewing is an almost full time avocation.)

There's something fundementally wrong with a city that has cheap sushi and expensive tacos.

Call me dense, by last century as in Napolean, or as in Coco Chanel? This century is too new to refer to the last century as being five years ago.

Thirteen dollar tacos can piss right off. For thirteen bucks I want them folded by Vincente Fox himself.

Not like it matters, but I have no beef with anyone regarding the language the want to use for their signage. I just find it curious on an intellectual level as it seems to go against basic business principles. Perhaps these places do want caucasian business, after all green is far more important than skin, but want a customer that is adventureous and appreciative, rather than those looking for a really good BBQ pork chow mein.

I don't get this either. I think it's one of those cases where a little communication and dialogue would go a long way. As an english speaker I can understand how the Chinese only signs seem kinda passive aggresive, but I suspect the intent is nothing of the sort. Whether the proprietor feels he doesn't want to make a cuacasian uncomfortable by serving food the customer may not like, or some other reason, I don't think it's intentionally "honky stay out" or some other negative conotation that the white/non Chinese speaking clientele assumes. I think that is an oversimplication of the restaurantuers intent. Ask your Aunt that runs the restaurant, I'd be interested in her theroy.

'The Stoli Vanilla Martini That Changed My Life" would be way better suited to any number of Lift bar regulars.

See? What other mag can you bitch about the editorial content and receive a personalised apology right from an editor? Not many I'd wager. Western Magazine of the Year? Nah, with customer service like that it should bve UNIVERSE magazine of the year. I'll be forwarding a list of stories I'd like to see appear in upcoming issues, I trust as reconcilliation you'll endevour to run as many as possible. Just to give a heads up, here's a sampling I'd like you to get started on right away; Typhoon vs. Monson, why one needed to go. Spectra's next concept, The Green Door, we take you behind the scenes. Vancouvers Drunkest Chef. Vanmag uncovers a Hummer driver that didn't aquire it via the grow-op route. 10 Sustainable aquatic Nematodes like to grill, plus the VQA wines that accompany them the best.

I've looked for rennet, without success too. Then again it was in the pre-e-gullet years, so hopefully thing have changed now. Goats milk, meet rennet.

Rice pudding is what the police call a "gateway custard". Sure it seems like fun to maybe have a bowl on the weekends, maybe a couple bowls with friends before a concert or taking in the Pink Floyd laser show at the Planetarium, but mark my words, you're playing with fire. Many a formerly sucessful street person will tell you how rice leads straight to the hard stuff. Pretty soon you'll be living in a box under the viaduct with only your own urine to warm you with the shakes you crave tapioca so badly. Don't even get me started on the hazards of fresh fruit crumbles. Keep it up, and one day I'll be walking down the street, spy you and turn to whoever I'm with and comment, "there's Stephen, he used to be a good guy, he's a pudding whore now." And if rice pudding were really so great, your mother wouldn't have insisted you eat all your dinner before getting dessert, unless of course dessert was rice pudding. So this whole rice pudding on London menus is all part of the whole Cool Brittania culinary resurgence in the UK the English keep going on about? Whatever.

It's more disturbing to see my brother in law, the fly barf on his donuts then eat them.

Corn should be sweet. It just shouldn't sickly cloyingly give a hummingbird diabetes so. We call my brother in law the fly after the superb Cronenberg/Goodblum/Davis flick from the 80's, and his penchant for adding tablespoons of sugar into Coke, and even he probably thinks P&C is too sweet.