eatrustic

Nando's Chicken has opened it's latest branch on Cornwall (Kit's Point). Now if they could only come up with a really good sandwich based on their grilled chicken I'd be a happy camper.

Thanks for the tip. This does sound interesting. I've set my "Tivo" style recorder for the series.

Just back from my short visit to Portland and I can't say enough about Clear Creek. To find this quality and range of products - they must make close to 15 different spirits (and right in town to boot!) made my day. They offer tours of their distillery (appointments appreciated) with full tastings afterwards and on site sales. They have three varieties of grappas which were the particular passion of the young employee who did our tasting and who was one of the distillers. Although they were very good my favourite was their version of the French Marc -made with Gewurztraminer. Between a bottle of that and a couple of bottles of their Pear Eau de Vie and a bag full of minis I pretty well maxed out my liquor allotment. As has been mentioned above the Tear Drop Lounge is a great place for serious cocktails, everything that is not alcohol is made from scratch including bitters and tonic water. They did not have much in the way of other local products except for Snake River Stampede Whiskey and Pendelton, interestingly both are based on Rye whiskey shipped in from Canada and finished in Oregon. The nod goes to the Snake River as being the superior product. I look forward to all the great new things coming out of barrel in the next few years.

Great! Another source for (hopefully) good Stollen. I called the hotel and they are stocking them so we can walk in and pick one up. I tried two years ago to get one but they had just stopped making them and I missed my chance. They are $20. plus tax. The Thomas Haas Stollens that are available at Edible Vancouver on Granville Island are his small version and they sell for $19.50. They were out of stock the day I checked in so best to phone to be sure they're available.

Just got back from Portland where I visited the W.S. and the prices here still seem to be based on a Loonie of about 5 years ago. Shun 8" Classic Chef Knife $119. vs $149. All Clad measuring cup set: $39. vs $60. 4" set of Quiche pans $22. vs $36. And the famous Panko which was $12. here was a real deal at $9. in the Portland store. I bought the Shun Knife I've been coveting at the Sur La Table Store 'cause it was a buck cheaper and the staff were so nice. (And no sales tax!!)

That's how I feel about that whole neighbourhood! ← Oh c'mon. Just because they charge $12. (true) for a bag of Panko you're all over them. My thing is that although the savvy shopper can find most of the items they sell much cheaper elsewhere, they darn well better be selling what they sell at relatively similar prices to their U.S. counterparts (given the current state of our currency). And maybe they are. I'm off to Portland tomorrow and I'll see.

Great suggestion, if the review below is any indication I can't wait to try them out. Teardrop lounge

I still think at this point that Thomas Haas has the gold standard for Vancouver. They are selling the small for $16. and the large for $24. Pricey but the quality is there. Not sure, other than his place in N. Van, where you can get them though. (That was the only use I had for his outlet downtown before it closed.)

Well! That's interesting as I had made a note to check Notstrana out when I arrived, as the whole menu looks good and the pizza would have been a bonus. Thanks.

Normally all this wouldn't be an issue. I'd just happily hit both places, but since I'm only in town from Thursday to Sunday there are way too many places to try (and that's just the food carts ).

I won't even ask who is better as a careful read of the various write-ups around the web seem pretty split as to who is better. But it sounds like Apizza Scholls makes more of an ultra thin cracker like crust which I am less keen on. So, from the pix I have seen of Ken's it looks like he has a more Napolitana (or Chris Bianco style). Yes? Also, who has the better sides: antipasto, salads etc?

Sad to say I will have come and gone (Dec. 6 - 9) but I'm sure I'll find enough to get into trouble with! I wonder which bars in town will be pouring some of the rarer local products as, like hard to get wines, the producers usually will allot the restaurants and bars (over retail) that can give their product the biggest profile bang for the buck. And thanks Vinelady for the Rogue tip!

Great! Thanks. I completely missed that issue but found it online. Here is the Food and Wine link to the site: Oregon Spirits makers It looks like other than Clear Creek this is a very young industry with most of the interesting whiskeys still in barrel for a few more years. I can't wait!

I know that there must be a few interesting spirit makers in Oregon besides the truly great Clear Creek. I'm on my way to Portland in a few days and plan to stock up on Pear Eau de Vie and whatever else C.C. hasn't sold out of but who (and what) is new and interesting in this market? I've heard of some gin being made but that isn't quite my area of interest at this point.

As has been widely reported in the Vancouver media James Barber passed away at his home in Vancouver Island a few days ago. I wanted to pay tribute to the man as he is one of the giants on the food scene in Vancouver and as often happens to those who live a long life their accomplishments can tend to fade from memory. There is so much more to James then Money's Mushrooms or the Urban Peasant. I won't pretend to give a bio on his life as I have not been acquainted with his professional career for that long but I first became aware of his talent when I moved to Vancouver in the mid 80's. At the time he was writing the restaurant column for the Georgia Straight (for which he won national awards) and his weekly offerings were nothing short of brilliant as he combined a lovely turn of phrase with hands down the most informed food knowledge of the era. It was a pleasure to discover little out of the way ethnic restaurants that were described in loving detail and with obvious knowledge of the cuisines. This was in stark contrast to the pompous and mainstream food reporting of the time. What has struck me most about James as I've crossed his path over the years in some Asian market, charity auction or restaurant is his pure and unadulterated love of all things food and wine. He really was the foodie's foodie. He would talk to anyone who approached him with a question about food or restaurants with unbridled enthusiasm and an absolute lack of ego (so refreshing and rare). I ran into him one day on the street a few years back and he hauled me over to his car to show me this brand new gadget he had found at Lee Valley. It was one of the very first Micro Plane graters. He pulled out a lemon and started zesting away with real excitement at his find. His success in later years (at a time when most of us would have been in a rest home) with his Urban Peasant tv show, his columns in Van Mag, a new cookbook (along with his tireless support of many good causes) is a nice cap to a well lived life. My condolences to his wife (and fellow food and wine expert) Christina Burridge .

Finally, after having a location in Calgary for years we backwater Vancouverites get our own Williams-Sonoma. Whether it will be a fully stocked store or just a boutique version remains to be seen but what I'm waiting to see is how the pricing will stack up against the U.S. stores. The fact that this location opens well after our loonie has reached par and beyond should be a great opportunity to level out the pricing scenario in a fresh location. I don't necessarily expect that prices will be the same as in the U.S., given that our market is (arguably) more expensive to do business in, but I do hope to see some very competitive pricing here. I'm off to Portland in a week or so and plan to do some comparison shopping.

Marketing hype aside (they could have come up with a more compelling way to sell a portable steak knife, perhaps for picnics or even hotel room service), this still looks like a gorgeous bit of craftsmanship and I'll closely watch for a good sale to add this to my collection.

More to the point- FN pimped him out, he whored himself out. I hope the door didn't hit him too hard on the way out.

I started a thread not too long ago looking for suggestions for "cutting" the almond paste to give it a better taste and texture (and as a byproduct saving a few bucks). There are some suggestions there. I just did a stollen trial where I cut the almond paste "eye" in the middle of the stollen with a proportion of 300gr. almond paste to 50ml. of simple syrup and a couple of drops of bitter almond. This gives a nicer texture as well and, although it may not be the large cost saving your boss is looking for, it helps.

You should try Oyama in Granville Island, they most definitely have access to leaf lard, whether they can spare it or whether perhaps you need to advance order is another question.

Thanks for an interesting version with potatoes, I look forward to trying it. A question though: the glaze formula is lacking (probably sugar). Is it crystalized or icing sugar? I actually have some old copies of Pleasures of Cooking, I'll have to dig them out to see if I have this one.

Good for Pino, he may not be the most media friendly dude but he has the talent and nothing helps the sales of a new cookbook like a big win against other chefs. Anyone have a blow by blow of all the dishes?

So, unless I'm missing something, last night was the Gold Medal Plates and still no word as to who won. Even despite Dale MacKay's mysterious withdrawal I would have thought there would be a couple of posts with the outcome. Perhaps the judges are still deliberating while popping Pepto Bismal?

"Unfortunately though, until things change in the kitchen I'll be in the west end or kits for my mole fix" Refresh my memory please, where is there good mole in Kits?

Dan Ackroyd!