eatrustic

OK, I've waited patiently for someone to tell us what happened at the Wall Center last night, it must have been quite the event as we normally would have heard something by now (or a real snoozer?). Any surprises?

I'm not particularly disappointed that they are closing (more than likely due to the reno's going on around them). I've found the place to be way too minimal in what they offered, especially once they stopped serving paninis etc. If I want a Thomas Haas fix I'm more than happy to trip over to North Van once or twice a month to his very cool little shop (what Senses should have been). Although not downtown and not quite as good as Thomas, Patisserie LeBeau fills my need for nice croissants etc.

Any idea where it will be held? Doesn't look like the site has been updated ← Don't think they quite have it nailed down yet. The Riley Park (Nat Bailey) Market which is on Wednesdays should be interesting as Olympic construction is going to remove a portion of the parking lot around Nat Bailey and should make for an exciting time on the days there is a game and a market.

Yes, Les Amis has the buffalo (most of the time) as do (usually) both of the Italian deli vendors at Granville Island and also La Grotto di Formagio on Commercial.

I too do not get the hagiographic context. I came away with a sense of GR as being borderline incompetent in the way he had the London set up and has allowed waste and poorly managed staff to further undermine his investment. He has happily become a media Ho' and there should be no surprise in the result at the top end. No saintly veneration here. The story may not be Pulitzer material but it was informative (and gossipy!) and the ten pages could have easily been longer - all the things I look for in a story on a favourite cooking personality. (By the way I have watched exactly one episode of Hell's Kitchen and find it to be pure trash but love his British Shows.)

A damn fine article (all ten pages of it) that almost makes up for the lack of a New Yorker Food edition in the last year. The reservation book was a great bit. It's amazing to see how someone as theoretically astute as Ramsey is can underestimate the personal effort required to take New York (filming the American version of his British show on turning ailing restaurants around while his own is underachieving).

Oh Sam, you old nattering nabob of negativity You had them pegged from the start. I had hoped for some evolution but should have know better. I think most of these places don't have any serious cooking ability and rely on a couple of mama's old recipes that don't quite work as well when scaled up for a crowd. Once they see the need to make changes they get lost and..... white knuckles on the wheel, they run the biz into the ground.

I've often seen them at the veg stand in Granville Island (across from Lee's Donuts). They are usually in little bags right near the asparagus.

It is absolutely delicious and one of my all time favourite treats! The consistency is like whipped cream and creme fraiche with just a bit of acidity (not sure if a yogurt like Fage is rich and more acidic in the classical yogurt sense as I've never had a chance to try it). The mocha flavour is perfect; not too strong and not too sweet. The real problem is the 9% butterfat content as it's way too easy to eat the whole container at one sitting!

I was at a party on the weekend catered by the owner of Tomato Fresh Cafe. He mentioned that they will be taking over Mark James "Fiasco" -just off W. Broadway (man, I didn't even know it was still there). They will be opening a branch of their Tomato's Cafe with a couple of twists.

She is a great addition to Rare, we are very pleased to have her onboard. ← Good for Colleen! After going through the ringer with Ken Bogas, Cafe de Paris and I can only imagine at Feenies this looks like a good fit for her.

Wow! I'll bet you found it heavy seeing as you ate two main courses at one sitting. (I would have done the same thing if I'd been in town ) You have to go for it when you get the chance! Where in Vegas did you have better? A casino resto or some little hole in the wall?

Wow, what a charmer! By coincidence my sister (who is visiting from out of town) and I were on our way to Marcellos on Friday for a pizza when she also mentioned she wouldn't mind a smoked meat sandwich. As we were passing Yaletown at the time we detoured to PHATS instead of going to Marcellos and damn glad we did now that I read this.

← Just a reminder from above that the Les Amis sale that started yesterday goes until tomorrow. I picked up a perfect Les Rustiques Camembert ($7.95 -15%) and some little cans of Italian Tuna with Caponata which were already buy two get one free and are now another 15% off!

...and again Escolar is demonized (with some reason): Escolar/oilfish Interesting how Escolar is described as being barely above fit for human consumption in this article as it is damn tasty with a beautiful texture. By the way Jensen, when you said you tried it twice but didn't get off so easy the second time would that be off the throne?

Express lanes, although demanded on a regular basis are not part of the buying philosophy of Costco upper management (this from a manager in a Phoenix Costco). The feeling is that they would rather have you come less often and buy larger quantities. As for bags I'm liking the cool looking carry bags that Costco now sells 2 for $1.99 here in Vancouver (and probably everywhere else) with nice graphics and their logo. They're oversize and quite strong (and of course reusable). For larger or heavier items I just make sure I grab a box while I'm shopping (usually emptying out a partially filled box on the shelves to get a decent one).

Hmmm, that's strange. I took a cooking class at Vij. In the kitchen were trays filled with balls of fresh dough for Naan. We were shown the technique (it's tougher than it looks) and made our own. ← OK, my apologies, I stand corrected on them being purchased but the fact remains that they are nowhere near the quality of fresh from the oven Naan that you get in a restaurant with a Tandoori oven. Vij's taste like they have been made for a while and reheated and they are adequate for the purpose they serve I guess. This may be a minor point to make about a restaurant that excutes so well at such a high level but once you've tried the best version of these breads anything else tastes like storebought.

Thanks for that but I need the Tandoori oven and I don't think Akbar has one. The chicken with the Naan from the oven is the combo I'm dying for. There is absolutely nothing like fresh from the T. oven Naan! Speaking of Naan that's the one thing I find lacking at Vij's. It is an obvious reheat of purchased Naan and never comes close.

It sure looks like that from the street but Dan is actually open as usual (their window treatment looks like the papered windows of Moderne Burger). Moderne's sign says they are closed for renos to expand (finally) into the empty space next door. The only one actually closed for fire damage is Benny's.

Is there any consensus on who has the best Tandoori Chicken and Naan bread in the immediate Vancouver area? Now that Rubina is gone there is Ashianna, Tandoori King (which one of the two is better?), Da Tandoor and Tandoori Palace. I gotta say that the EGullet class on making your own Tandoori chicken looks pretty tempting but with family coming to town who want Tandoori (some for the first time) I need to find a classic place that has that amazing fresh from the oven Naan bread.

Thanks for all the advice on finding either a Braun or Black and Decker Juicer. My search is over - the Braun is no longer made (perhaps because it was too good and never needed to be replaced). The Black and Decker juicer is non existent in the Vancouver market, there is only the poorly rated Proctor Silex as a replacement in most stores. I even searched a couple of the Goodwill style stores for a used one but no dice. So this is what I bought :Breville juicer This is far more than I wanted as it is large and needs to be moved on and off the counter vs tucked under a shelf when out of use, but.....time was running out and the red version of this was on sale at Home Outfitters for $70. vs $175. for the silver model (seems that the red model is only available in Canada and has not sold as well). It is an amazing machine as it is really quiet and very efficient. I juice my oranges for the peel quite often and it not only does that but 80% of the time it removes all the membrane thus saving me a ton of time in doing this manually. Much as I hate to admit it this was the way to go and would even work in a professional setting.

... ← A truly hilarious take on FN, this is my favourite quote (about Mario B.): "Relegated to the circus of Iron Chef America, where--like a great, toothless lion, fouling his cage, he hangs on--and on--a major draw (and often the only reason to watch the show)." That Bourdain boy sho do have a way with words!

Thanks for the suggestion on the manual ones. I have one for backup but at times I can go through some serious quantities of oranges and lemons and I'd have carpal tunnel in no time at all. The Proctor Silex gets pretty mixed reviews on Amazon as does the Cuisinart juicer. Thanks Irish for the Superstore suggestion. I'll check on that although I'm still hoping for my tried and true Braun or B&D.

I would be eternally grateful to anyone who can suggest where I can find a simple electric citrus juicer (Braun or Black and Decker). They are usually under $20. and seem to last forever (or almost as mine just gave up the ghost). I've been to London Drugs, Canadian Tire, The Bay, Zellers, Sears, T&T, Linens and Things and a couple of other places. It seems like this category of appliance is not as popular as it used to be. The closest one I've found so far is the Cuisinart juicer for about $39. but it doesn't seem very sturdy. Suggestions? Thanks.