paul mitchell

The famous "I am Canadian" ad will now go "I am a Yank from Golden" and then you will see said actor and his friends laughing their asses off as they chug Moosehead's with hot chixx's in bikinis.

Hey Daddy A do you have a phone # or contact for the tickets as I am working in the middle of nowhere and could book a ticket by phone. I get out on Oct 31st and it would be a perfect way to start my winter bender.

Fuck I can't wait to crash this one!

I actually read an interesting article on screw caps / rubber corks in the June issue of the Wine Spectator.

I wish it were around 10 bucks but I opened the nicest bottle of '99 Dellile D2 last night - it took forever to open but when it did my once "only california cab" guests were singing Dixie.

Isn't the whole idea of Bin 941/2 to be cramped together - for instance I am a lanky six foot five and from time to time I get the chicks but the super hot ones are usually out of my range and pocketbook - but at Bin I am in there like swimwear with the lasses - so pushed up against their push up br-'s - it's like the Cecil but that much closer and yr munching confit instead of cheeseburgers.

$130 for a 13 course at Lumiere? That's an awesome deal. I did a 6 course last night with wine pairing and we charge $200.

We get lots of stuff from Port. We get this incredible raspberry honey and our pork. Dynamite chops.

There is a french place in Parksville that is really good - it's newish and bistro style - on the Island Highway but i cannot remember the name - it is underneath a block of condos and across from the McDonalds. I've stopped in there a couple of times - for sushi in Parksville go to Sushi Ichi - good and really cheap.

Last week we had a guest who wanted his kids to try something fancy but friendly to their innocent palates - good old deep fried pheasant fingers - we are an inclusive resort with free reign on food cost but we figured that if we did charge for it it'd be $30 or so.

Yes we are definetley growing and our cellar is too - we are hoping to build to enough labels that we start to get recognition in wine spectator and other publications as other properties like the Aerie and Sooke Harbour House - we have the cream of the crop of the high end side of all of the B.C. wineries and have selections from all of the island wineries - our american, french and italian reserve cellar is nearing 250 labels - we maintain a selection of over 75 single malt scotches and have been strengthening our vintage port list - it has also been a lot of fun broadening our liquor selection - most notably summer quaffers of unique vermouths, apertifs and out new favorite friend 70% absinthe. As for the building we have a full service spa, a corporate longhouse facilty and at the outpost a new kitchen / dining facility - it is an exciting place to be.

COunt me in as a rare passionate server. 16 years next month. Take for example last night's service....we have a ceo of europe's largest canymaking companies, an IT diva who wants to kayak to the moon and back, a chic couple from Berkley who eat at Water's joint and the Laundry quite regularly and two really hot southern belle sisters - so like the Vancouver armani suit I should be focusing my attention driven by libido on the sisters but I like to spread myself around. Ceo....the guy likes cheese - he had asked me the two previous nights on 2nd course about getting some cheese at the end - so last night I had "cheese wars" - I brought him one plate of Hilary Abbots, one of David Woods, one of Stilton and Chesire, along with a plate of the goddamn best goose berries, cherries and nectarines the Okanagan can put out - alongside this I served him another cheese creation from our dynamite sous chef Valerie - a confit of ruhbarb as the base with tiny rounds of strawberries, plum, nectarines, oranges with a Wood's goat cheese sorbet and vamilla tuile - as I brought one plate after the other his smile grew and grew - I gave him a glass of Cherry Point's blackberry port (in which one of Hilary's cheeses is made with), illy expresso and a glass of grappa - he looked at his family, then at me, then at his family, put his hand to his chest and said simply "My Heart" IT diva....by grace of g-d I remembered that she drinks chardonnay - she stayed with us last year - I couldn't even tell you what the date is today - so I poured Mission Hill Family Estate Chardonnay and scoured pictures of her last visit and of her new dog. Hot sisters....I can't even explain to you how hot they are and how difficult it is to focus my attention when at the table.....so a little backstory......candy ceo had a ten kilogram box of all his different types of candy sent to the resort yesterday morning for our staff - so I take those gummy cola bottle candies and put a couple of them on two big dinner plates and deliver it to the sister's table and tell them that the flavour of the wine they will be drinking is epitomized in the cola bottles - so with marinated spagetti squash salad with truffles, grilled quail and thyme jus I bring out Cedar Creek's Estate Pinot Noir - they laugh and smile - I feel like an oneophile stud - I also mention that Val had the decency and respect to cross the legs of the quails to keep their private parts private - much smirking and giddiness from the sisters - who says you have to wear armani with your beamer parked outside Lumiere to hit with the ladies. Chic couple - they are in love - I offered to light a fire after everyone had left - they had eaten late as he had taken chivalry by the horns and rowed his girl across our private lake with a bottle of Red Rooster brut before dinner - they hummed and hawed over dessert about the fire - I returned to the table with a bottle of Delaforce LBV port with glasses and told them that I would not be lighting a fire and they should go directly to their room. Such is my life as a passionate waiter - passing glasses of champagne to unexpecting kayakers as they paddle past the dock, doing ice tea pairings to each course for a pregnant lady last week or shucking five dozen pacific gem, chefs creek and kusshi oysters for a gentleman who said he loved nothing better than eating oysters the afternoon before. If anyone has any contacts or is in need of a rare waiter I am on the lookout for a winter gig - I am available Oct 15th with bells on. Paul

M'D: By "Dictator" do you mean Wine Spectator? Seeing that we are now getting some tasting reviews in there? On Larose my sommelier and I came to the same conclusion of having to lay it down for awhile - very similar to the 02 Nota Bene that just disappears 20 minutes after decanting - I always find it frusterating that when we get in a new vintage or bottle of wine that I haven't tried that there is sometimes no point in even opening it up - for example Mission Hill Occulus 02 (I think) and Calliope Cabernet - I walk past them in the cellar and curse at them.

Chef just asked me to put this one out to all the brilliant minds of egullet - we have got in a 20 pound octopus and he knows that he's suposed to put corks in the cooking broth but doesn't know what the tradition of this is - I think he is just bullshitting me to tarnish my egullet reputation and prowess but he's the boss and what he says, I do.

Jamie: I know that your are one of the foremost wine and food journalists from Vancouver, B.C. but don't knock the herring spawn. I had the priviledge this spring to accompany a group of first nations people, from the Ahousat Tribe in Clayoqout Sound, to harvest kelp laden with herring roe. Seeing that a lot of us restaurant folk in B.C. are taking heed of the "slow food" manifesto and using and delving deeper into local organic products, I think it's counterproductive to knock the lowly herring. I understand you are trying to be light and funny with dear Andy but if this is to be a discussion forum where we broaden our knowledge of the culture of our food that we cook and eat I think I have the opportunity to stand up for the products that we build relationships with. TO bring light to traditional methods of harvesting that have gone on well beyond our primitive scope of "cuisine" I see the herring spawn as one of the defining backbones of our British Columbia landscape. It could be even said for the culinary scene as so much of our "products" rely heavily on those few weeks of spawn. Such an example would be salmon who feed primarily on herring and other such baitfish. I also think that when the herring are running and spawn on our beaches that it puts things in perspective for the average everyday Canadian. I know that in my hometown of Nanaimo people flocked to the beaches to see the congregations of sea lions, hundreds of eagles, seals and of course the fish. I think sometimes we take for granted living by the sea. THe ocean is just there to enjoy at Granville Island or sitting on the patio at C quaffing Far Niente Chardonnay on a sunny day. The herring spawn reconnects us with the bigger picture. The lifeforce. I want to see the connection with land and sea on the plate. Exactly what guys like Feenie, Hawksworth, Bishop and myself and coworkers are doing. We feel that responsibility and it is grounded in the respect of things bigger than us. Things well beyond our years. Things that we will take care of. Like the lowly herring. Peace.

The mixology of bartending and the actual physical labour is only 10% of what you need to "learn" to be a good bartender. The other 90% is understanding the human condition. What it takes to get through this life. To be a listener, a shoulder and a muse.

It is always interesting to read of the places you call home through another persons eyes and mind. Am excited to hear more Andy. I hope that you got to taste more of the boutique B.C. wines than the meagolith that is Vincor. It does sound a little apocalyptic when you think about it.

Hey Andy, get out of the pub with them ale's and let's see some reviews mate.

We just built a million dollar plus open post and beam kitchen at our Outpost Resort (Clayoqout Wilderness Resorts and Spa). It is very possible to spend that much when you have things like a 70 foot doublesided river rock fireplace, high end appliances, beam work. It took ten guys to haul in the five foot thick ten foot square 500 pound butcher block (friggin gorgeous) We also have a multi million dollar authentic native longhouse in which we serve dinners in. When you construct a kitchen / restaurant completely in cedar, with heated slate floors, wired for every multimedia / internet / satelite communications etc. it starts to add up quick.

Just imagine 15 portly gentleman on a weekend wack 'em and stack 'em fishing trip standing in front of your bar trying to figure out what the best way to get stupid drunk is. As follows: "Absinthe, what's Absinthe." "Who cares what it is sir, it's the European variety with 70% alcohol" "What should we mix it with....it seems a little strong." "Well maybe tequila and jagermeister sir....they have less alcohol in them....40% or so." 1 oz El Jimador 1 oz jager 2 oz Absinthe pour into champagne flute and shoot

I have never been to Charlie Trotters but last summer we had a wedding at our resort (in the middle of the rainforest on British Columbia's westcoast) in which the guests arrived in style on a private Boeing 737 - obviously such a jet with 50 people aboard would need some catering - to this day I am still finding discarded "Charlie Trotter's To Go" containers in the most obscure spots.

Has anyone tried Jackson Trigg's new Osoyoos Larose? I was in Tofino a couple of days ago dining at Shelter and they had it. Read about it in the Victoria Eat magazine while I was chugging Woodford Bourbons. Was going to have a bottle but it was only 5 o'clock and I needed to pace myself for the evening. Any thoughts or tasting notes?

Jaeger, thanks for the rock shrimp cocktail - it was the highlight of a little stroll in the Tofino sunshine on wednesday.

I am on an apertif finding kick - this Aperol sounds interesting - had a request for an italian campari like spirit called Bura? ANyone heard of it. Any other similar suggestions would be appreciated.

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