eatrustic

As I walked by Barbara Jo's (W. 2nd) on the way to Les Amis du Fromage I noticed a sign in the window that stated "all French and Italian cookbooks 25% off Sunday only" - Sunday being World Cup final day of course. I can only assume that this applies to the Granville Island location as well. Good hunting!

Well....since we can only find her pizzas in the 'Peg I think that you should give us your considered opinion Pam. I can't seem to find my copy of "Canadian Pizza Magazine" that lists her as the best in Canada so I'll have to trust them on that. I'm sure she makes a good pizza but what style I'm not sure. If you've been to Vanvcouver and tried some of the pizza places here perhaps you can compare what Diana is making and give us an idea.

Yeah, c'mon Judith let's rein it in a bit. Unless you're doing their press release, advance announcements of "out-of-the-park hits" before the doors open (no matter what the pedigree of the parties involved) are always just a bit tacky.

Taco Loco is a working name because we are crazy about taco's. ← No harm done, I see the paper announcing the Taco Loco name has been removed from the windows. All I care about is being able to buy a decently authentic taco .....and the fact that it and Noodle Box are within a couple of blocks of my place bodes real well for the future of my dining excursions in the hood! Now if even one of these places fulfills it's promise I'll be a happy camper.

I thought I could work my way around the food coloring with beets but despite using raw grated and canned (depending on the various "healthy" recipes I tried) the finished product never had the red tinge that I thought a Red Velvet Cake should have. Too bad. I like the idea of this retro cake but not with the dye. Just the thought of using maraschino cherries or grenadine - both of which are overly sweet and loaded with colorant makes me queasy.

I just purchased a couple of pounds of sour cherries from my local farmer's market. They are very hard to find here (something about the trees being susceptible to blight). And very expensive. The odd thing is that they were juicy to the point that they are swimming in liquid in their bags (and this is right at the market). They are organic and fresh and while all this vendor's other cherries were pristine these are slightly offputting with the amount of liquid. According to the vendor/grower this is the way they are. Is this normal for sour cherries?

I was there about a week ago and although I love the overall selection I did notice that the B.C. section was pretty small, off in a tight corner where the majority of customers were crowded. I'm sure that this will change as the demographic becomes apparent. The only immediate problem for Liberty will be the lack (for the moment?) of air conditioning as it was very warm the day I was in and this weekend should really test the staff (and the wine).

Say it ain't so! Fork is closing due to Scott Simpson's health problems (according to the P.I.) I had really hoped to make it one of my stops the next time I was in town. All the best Scott, in a quick return to form.

Their sign also makes a big deal about being the "Victoria" Noodle Box. Does this mean anything to you Victoria folks?

Make sure that your indoor temperature is not a lot higher than the outdoor one or your goodies will still cause condensation once packaged. Try using a fan on them for an hour or so to cool them even more. If the sun is hitting the bagged items it's game over as they will definitely "condense" and later mold.

The 3400 block of W. Broadway (across from the TD Bank) will soon be the home of The Cream Puff Cafe ("best cream puffs in town"). They are now taking resumes. I wonder if this will be a knock off of the Beard Papa cream puff shops from Japan that are operating in New York and San Francisco? What with the opening of Cupcakes, Hola Churros, Tim Hortons and now Cream Puff Cafe in the last year it might be time to rename the stretch of W. Broadway between MacDonald and Alma - West Lardass!

That's about it for Meinhardt's Picnic. She plans to turn it into a butcher shop now.

What! How many is that now- I lost count. Ten in 20 years steve sidebar- somebody needs to exercise that place ← Agreed. The location is less than ideal in many ways. Perhaps it should just be converted to some other type of store?!?!?!? Cheers! ← As mentioned about a page back (Post 867?). That section of the block is being developed and the owners of the Ordinary are running a cash only sushi joint until the demo work starts. So I guess you could call this the exorcism.

It looks like old Hedda Lettuce over on City Food's Dine and Dash website has gotten her info wrong. I ran into one of the Farmer's Market execs on the Drive this afternoon and when I consoled her on the loss of the West End site she expressed surprise as they have already organized a site around the corner from the Nelson and never had a question of not having a place! Just goes to show, you need to check with the source before going to press (myself included).

Another vote for Marie Callendar Chicken pies. Cooked in the oven not the microwave! Also, years back when visiting the folks in Palm Dessert they used to buy the Mrs. Smith frozen deep dish apple pies. I swear they were one of the best apple pies I had ever had fresh or frozen (baked of course!). Are they still making them?

According to today's (May 12) Dine and Dash the West End Farmer's Market is in serious jeopardy as it appears the City works Department forgot to tell the Farmer's Market society that it could not use Nelson Park this year due to construction work!! I can only imagine how they must be freaking at the YLFMS offices after spending months of planning and scheduling of vendors (who in turn must now be freaking as an important revenue source is about to evaporate). Anyone have an empty lot to rent? On a positive note Saturday May 20 is the opening date of Trout Lake's Farmer's market. (9:00am - 2:00pm). And there is no truth to the rumour that Milan the tomato guy has developed a super early tomato, sorry we'll just have to wait a couple of months!

Love to see what you guys were/are up to but better do a bit of maintenance on your website.

Hi Ling; Yes just that issue as the article sounded quite interesting. PM me if that works. Thanks!

No exactly an ingredient but I'm looking for a source for Seattle Magazine here in town. A Ling involved post in the Washington forum talked about a chocolate place there and an article about it in the Seattle Mag. I've been to the magazine place on 4th and the magazine place next to the Bin on Broadway. No dice.

The Eating and Drinking Guide is available at most major newstands in Vancouver (that I have noticed). I've seen it for sure at "Don't Tell Your Mother" magazine store on W. 4th - same block as Pastis.

Just old fashioned 100% Rhubarb goodness. Soft and runny enough that when it's warm it mixes beautifully with the Hagen Daz Vanilla!

Wow, old James has a stalker!

Thanks for the technique Andie, I think I'll start with strips of cooked fettucine to practice the intricacies!

I've decided to play around making my own Danish Pastry but wonder if there are different doughs or is there the real version and pretenders? In the Baking with Julia book the recipe is fairly straight forward and you have the option of pinwheels, twists etc. that produce a nice flakey product. Unfortunately I'm not really fond of that style. The version I prefer and grew up with is a round disk that looks like it has been braided (all kinds of horrible versions available in your local supermarket) with a plop of fruit puree in the middle. It seems to be made with a different dough or is it just that it has been flattened? So, first question: is it a different dough and what is it called? Second question: Are these danishes made by rolling a log and slicing off rounds or are they made individually? Even if this is not the true Danish this is the style I would like to play with so any help with the technique would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Thought I would see what the downtown Mexican restaurants were up to for Cinco di Mayo. I started at the Mouse and Bean and asked the woman who greeted me what they were doing foodwise for Cinco specials and her reply "we don't really celebrate the holiday in Mexico, it's more for the Americans to make a party". Ok........and then I remembered why I like to go to Taco Rico more than the M and B - Pork or lack of it. Off I went to Taco Rico (Sabrosa) to find they were gone, moved last week, to 309 W. Pender. I had visions of a move to accommodate a cerveza licence and I beat a path up there (a block up and a block East of the old place). The place has to be a cheaper rent situation because it has none of the style of the old place, no cerveza (dammit!) and it looks like they just moved in and set up shop with the old decor (orange walls, black ceilings). The menu is the same (nothing special happening for Cinco either). I did have a tasty Torta (sandwich) with nice spicy Pork al Pastor and an Aquas Fresca (Horchata - a cinnamon perfumed, almond drink). Still need to make it to Chilo's. Something tells me the best Cinco di Mayo in B.C. will at Sheloras.