eatrustic
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Posts posted by eatrustic
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Just a short walk from the hotel is Cafe Artigiano where you can get one of the better Espresso/Lattes in the city along with a nice panini, just cross Robson and it is right across from the Art Gallery.
Speaking of the Art Gallery the cafe upstairs is very pleasant if it's a sunny day. You can sit on the outdoor patio with an elevated view of Robson and the Law Courts. The food is not stupendous but the proximity is great for a simple lunch.
For a brunch type menu you have the new Earl's Paramount just to the right of the hotel on the corner, it's a very smart room and for brunch/lunch you could do a lot worse.
The risk with Diner as has been mentioned previously is the uneven service. As well they just won a Van Mag award so beware the crowds.
There are lots of choices on Robson such as Cin Cin, Joe Fortes etc.
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Best talk to a company that sells baking equipment. They will be more than happy to fill you in on the particular requirements for all the different ovens.
Basically, anything that runs on gas needs to be vented. Electric convection ovens as a rule do not need venting but don't forget that they will kick out some pretty good heat in the summertime so venting is a good idea if you don't have great a/c (especially if you are working with pastry).
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I'd go with Provence it should be pretty family friendly and you have the added bonus of the seawall for a pre or after brunch stroll right at your door.
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Popped into Michele Cake Shop on West Blvd. today for my weekly fix of Portuguese Custard Tarts and they were doing their annual fund raiser for Vancouver Children's Hospital. They were giving 100% of their sales today to the fund!!!
That is above and beyond as far as charity goes. Especially as it was heavily advertised in the Chinese media and the crowds sure proved that. They were even handing out samples of Cocoa Berry 70% Chocolate to the crowd. (I never would have thought they used that quality of chocolate.)
Anyone spending more than $10. got a card for 10% off all purchases until 2008. Smart marketing and a classy community booster.
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It's not so much the content of the concession stand menus as the quality. I'm fine with fast food but I would prefer a better hot dog (Chicago Style would be just fine). Burgers with a bit more oomph and garnishes like actual ripe tomatoes along with better fries.
...... and then in a perfect world I wouldn't mind a burrito say in the mode of Red Burritto which althought it has been pooh poohed here is a decent take on a Cali Mex, relatively fast, fresh and made to order burrito. A nice substantial sandwhich made with above average prepared meats (instead of plastic turkey roll or ham) and in mid summer to early Fall a kickass veggie sandwich on multi grain would be nice (I did say in a perfect world!).
Having said all that I fully appreciate that many of the more interesting options are based on fresh products that turn over quickly. The logistics of a sunny weekend with the potential for 2000 or more customers compared to a rainy day with barely a 100 make it pretty well essential that everything comes out of a freezer ready for the deep fryer or flat top. If this was Santa Monica or San Diego with a more stable weather pattern the possibilities would be endless.
Allowing a few well inspected mobile concession vans (in addition to a central, classic concession) would allow for more specialized ethnic foods (Portland comes to mind). Competition is never a bad thing.
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I believe the sign on the door of SoupSpoons said they were closed for painting for the next while and would reopen.
If it is FishCafe why wouldn't they capitalize on advance publicity rather than do a last minute unveiling?
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I don't mean to suggest that you steam non stop for 15 minutes. Perhaps a shot to begin and then another shot every couple of minutes for the first 5 minutes would be a guideline (depending on how much steam you generate per shot).
The idea is to keep the steam you have generated in the baking chamber for the first 15 minutes, thus allowing the loaf to rise in the oven without prematurely setting the crust. After that dump the steam so that you can achieve that nice, crisp exterior.
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Attempting to scoop the VanMag awards perhaps?
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My first advice would be to find a local bakery supply house that sells ovens. Usually they will give you some free advice over the phone if you give them the name etc. of the oven.
As for steam you need to start the steam as soon as the bread goes in the oven, usually the first 15 minutes is when you want it to last. After that there should be a vent you can open to allow the steam to escape. This then lets the crust set up on your bread. Otherwise, if the steam stays in too long your crust will be leathery.
If old Hyde is throwing a cup of water in the oven (not great for the oven) the steam boiler -theoretically the gadget on the top- is probably not working properly and needs repair/replacement.
It is up to you to experiment with how much steam you need for your various breads. Rye and bagels need lots of steam, sourdoughs need a fair amount and some breads not at all.
Good luck and welcome to the EG club.
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Just an update on The Ordinary turned Sushi Bar (4th Ave.)- Dennis the owner/chef is now the chef at Grammercy Grill on Arbutus and his mother, who backed him, is running the Sushi Bar in the old space until the lease runs out and the demo work starts.
Leave it to a crafty Mom to maximize the investment!
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The Italian Baker by Carol Field
The Village Baker - Joe Ortiz
Mailnly breads but some pastry items as well.
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It's not that the Bon Ton was better on Granville it's more that we the buying public have matured past average quality, classic pastry making.
When I first arrived here from Montreal and it's wonderful pastry shops I spent about 5 minutes in the Bon Ton on Granville before I moved on never to return. It's all about the memories of childhood, or perhaps for the older crowd a first experience with a kind of pastry they had never seen before.
Much more interesting for me were the German and Austrian tearooms (and all their traditional pastries) on Robson in the old "Robsonstrausse days".
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The Qualifirst website shows they still carry the Valrhona. Whether it is the exclusive stuff, old stock or otherwise is the big question.
Far Met is their Vancouver branch.
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Try Qualifirst Foods (Toronto). ph. 416 244 - 1177. They also carry Cluziel Chocolates.
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My favourite use of ramps is based on a dish I had at Grammercy Tavern one Spring a few years back. It uses all the ingredients that are signatures of Spring : Fresh Halibut with sauteed Ramps, Baby Asparagus and Morels in a light Beurre Blanc sce.
One of my favourite dishes ever!
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Chiantiglace there is not denying what you are saying. The question is more about whether baking powder allows you to forgo blind baking. This applies to other types of dough then Pate Brisee as well. Pate Sucre etc. where flakiness is not the desired result.
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I guess the only way to find out is to try it. Malgieri's book does have a lemon tart that is staright baked so it obviously is possible.
One of my real pet peaves is buying a tart from a bakery and finding the bottom center of the crust still raw. It happens more often than you'd think and from some pretty good places.
The suggestion of putting something like a baking stone in the oven to hold in the heat makes sense and is worth trying.
Of course a production kitchen would most likely use a convection oven so the stone would not be very practical.
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Add another less than stellar sharpening job to the list.
I noticed the other day that Ming Wo had one of their Henckell sponsored sharpening events. They go from store to store about twice a year (Easter and Thanksgiving usually). The Granville store was yesterday.
The sharpening is free with a suggested donation to a local charity and the knives don't have to be Henckells. I took in three of my most used knives not wanting to be greedy (despite a couple of small nicks they were still relatively sharp). It was funny watching people walk in with their full knife blocks - I guess that's as good a way as any to transport them if you don't have a knife case.
The sharpening machine is about the size of a very large shoe box and I guess I should have known better but the quality of the sharpening left my knives less sharp than when I started. (The nicks were more or less removed though.) The weird thing about this Henckell machine was that it created the tiniest edge I have ever seen on a knife. Instead of following the contour of the blade it was like it's own mini angle on the edge. What the "point" of this version of knife sharpening technology is escapes me. You would think that if anyone would get it right Henckell would.
Time to call KnifeEx to fix this and then buy a stone.
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Nick Maglieri in a recent book on baking from around the world (the name escapes me) has been quoted as saying that he puts a small amount of baking powder in nearly all his various pie and tart crusts and that blind baking is a waste of time. (The baking powder is not used for leavening in this case.)
I wonder what pros and home bakers think about this and if they have tried them. I tried a Pate Brisee style crust recipe this way and I was not really impressed with the results. (This one was not for blind baking) In all fairness I usually have to try new crust recipes a couple of times to make adjustments for flour so the result could have been my fault.
Perhaps I misunderstand his intent but I'm not quite sure why the baking powder would help with the problem of say, a lemon tart filling being too liquid to allow the proper cooking of a crust without blind baking. Or is the baking powder simply a solution for the problem of "major shrinkage"?
If there is technique to this that does not sacrifice the individual qualities of the various crust styles then I would more than happy to jump on the baking powder band wagon.
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Has anyone run across Monukka raisins here in Vancouver? They used to be available at Dan D Foods years ago but they stopped carrying them. I have a couple of recipes that recommend using them and I'd like to give them a try. Thanks.
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We find them here (West Coast) in our Halibut from time to time (not red ones), usually near the gill area. One of the reasons I don't eat Halibut Cheeks very often.
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I've seen them in a few places around the country. It's true you don't see them often but then they are more expensive I'm sure.
It does beg the question as to why there aren't a whole lot of other colors though.
Obviously for tv, movies etc. it "shows" better using a color than boring old white.
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Nothing good to be found in Vancouver (storeboughtwise) as 3WC stated. Definitely better making it yourself. There's lots of good Citrus to be found around town.
Just juice, scoop the membrane out and blanch 3 - 4 times in water to cover, cold to boiling (changing each time until just tender). Then poach the peel (cut in quarters) in a simple syrup for 10 - 15 minutes.
Best of all you have all that great juice to drink while you make your Hot Cross Buns!
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I agree, Eat is much more interesting. Did you notice how City Food comes out often after a special occasion that they feature has happened? (like the St. Patrick's article)
Lunch on a Saturday?
in Western Canada: Dining
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I agree on the noise at Artigiano as well (and the clunky decor) but if you can snag a terrace table it is quite pleasant watching the world go by.
The little panini place a few doors down from the Wedgewood is called Presto Panini but it lacks the atmosphere to be a choice for out of town visitors.