Foodie in Vancouver

On several occasions I have had a less-than-stellar experience at a restaurant despite good reviews or in some instances at a restaurant at which I have had many good meals and this time end up with a disappointing meal or bad service. About a year ago I took several friends to a local (as in close to my home) restaurant at which we had eaten many, many times and were known by the owner. On this occasion, after we had had a drink and were ordering we were told that they were expecting a large (60 people) group and that we had to order now and would get everything at once. Needless to say, I was mortified as I had recommended the restaurant highly. Once the group came in, conversation was impossible and we literally were ignored. We could have walked out without paying - which crossed my mind. And the meal was not what I had come to expect. I didn't call the owner (he was there that evening and the group was comprised of friends of his); I know it would have been the right thing to have done. But I haven't returned, despite the fact that we used to eat there frequently. I often wonder if I should give them a second chance but haven't. I also thought about second chances at restaurants after describing my experience at Pair in another thread. It is a local restaurant that has a good concept and has had some good reviews. My experience was OK but not more than that. Should I give them another chance or go to restaurants that have consistently met or exceeded service and food expectations? Part of me says everyone deserves a second chance while my pragmatist side says there are lots of good restaurants in Vancouver - it's a dog eat dog world and only the strong survive. What do you do?

The only time I watch TV is at 6 am when I am on the elliptical. I cannot stand that stupid sugar woman- I think her name is Olsen - how anyone cooks in pastel-coloured clothes is beyond me. I wish someone entertaining like Gordon was on at that time. The other morning I was reduced to watching "It's a Living" in which they featured a woman who was a pub-crawl tour guide in St. Johns NFLD in an area where there are 35 bars in a 2-block stretch. Can't imagine why anyone would need a tour guide under those circumstances or why one would even consider the area in the first place. But that is how desperate I am at 6 am. That was better than that silly Olsen woman. No one can string together as many senseless statements as she can - and she gets paid! If I thought it would do any good I would complain.

We tried Pair a couple of months ago and I reported on it here. Everyone at the table had steaks except me - I had the shortribs and they were served in a small bowl and were next to impossible to eat. I also had the mussels but they didn't offer any bread with them - what's the point of mussels if you can't sop up the sauce. I can't recall the other apps at the table but no one raved about their meals. Service was indifferent with looooong pauses between courses. It was a weeknight and we didn't get seated until 8 pm so the long pauses weren't a bonus. A colleague had dinner there the other night and didn't think the food rated a return visit. She lives in the neighbourhood and says that she will return for the reasonably priced martinis. The wine list is an excellent sampling, reasonable priced BC list. If your nights out are few and far between these days I wouldn't squander the moment at Pair. I would go to Cru.

Hi Neil: Are you still looking for 'takers' on the hangar steak order? I am definitely in on this one. I am going to try and contact the restaurant in Brooklyn and get their recipe. Just have to hunt out my notes to remember the name of the restaurant first. Mind and memory isn't what it used to be.

Neil: You are certainly a man of action. I eagerly await your post telling us when - we certainly know the where.

I am not bovine obsessed, but the hangar steak I had in Brooklyn was definitely the tastiest, best beef I can ever remember having. I have since asked for it and looked for it on menus without success. I am thrilled to hear that it is available at Elixir because I bought a gift certificate for Elixir at the Big Night Dinner. Bet you can guess what I will order! And if it is in Seattle then we better get it here - can't let them have something we don't have.

Jamie: You asked how eG has changed my life? Notwithstanding that I now spend a ridiculous amount of time on this website, quite possibly offending my husband and kids and risking my gainful employment, I now have co-dependents in food and wine worldwide. And, as of this last weekend, I now know that it is OK to be a groupie in your 50's if the object of your affection is Anthony Bourdain. And, you can easily find a crowd to eat and drink with while waiting for him to appear.

There are lots of recommendations for restaurants on this forum so you won't be at a loss. In my opinion, for your expensive meal I would go to West over Lumiere and go to Feenie's instead if you want the "Lumiere" experience. I also highly recommend Cru and Parkside as excellent food and wine restaurants but with much more reasonable/affordable offerings than Lumiere. Vij's for sure if you want Indian food unlike anything you have ever had before- make sure you have the lamb popsicles. As for Asian - I will leave that to the rest of the group but must say that I find Tojo's very expensive. Although, no one else does marinated tuna like Tojo. We have only had the dim sum at Sun Sui Wah but it was good. For hotels, I like the Wedgewood but the Sheraton Wall Center, if you get a room on the upper floors, has a view beyond compare. The Wedgewood is way, way more romantic. I have never stayed at the Opus so can't comment. Even though we live practically downtown, we like to have a weekend here and there at the Wedgewood - the staff make you feel like royalty. Personally, I would go up to Whistler over Vancouver Island, unless I was going to Tofino. And I would stay 4 days in Vancouver and 3 in Whistler. If you like outdoor pursuits, Whistler is wonderful. You can hike, bike, play golf, kayak and so on and so forth at Whistler and have time to be pampered at spas and spend some lazy time together. After all it is your honeymoon.

It floors me that people can go to restaurants that serve truly mediocre food and say they go because its cheap. For only a small amount extra they could eat truly wonderful food and increase their enjoyment by leaps and bounds. There are restaurants in our city that regularly have lineups and yet their food is astonishingly awful. It floors me that people order the same wine no matter what they are eating because that's the wine they like. It floors me how incredible food and wine can be when both are taken into consideration. Choosen with care, food can elevate ordinary wine and similarly, good wine can turn ordinary food into the extraordinary. It floors me that so few families eat at the table, together; and fewer eat meals as a family they have prepared. That's sad. It floors me how important food and the enjoyment of food with others is - I can't imagine a life that didn't include the frequent sharing of good food and wine with friends.

An event with as much build-up as this had runs a considerable risk of not being able to meet expectations. The Big Night, however, exceeded our expectations - it really was one of those "You had to be there" nights. Tony was larger than life and such a gracious man - he hugely exceeded my expectations not to mention how drop-dead gorgeous he is - Mooshmouse was definitely onto something). But as much as he was the reason for the Big Night, in the end it was only marginally about him. It was us. I caught myself looking about the room on several occasions, marvelling at the animated conversation and sheer enjoyment evident on everyone's faces. Who would have thought that the vast majority of us had never meet previously AND that many people in the room were tag-along spouses, partners and friends? Thanks to my dear husband who joined us and had a wonderful time. And then there was the food- that which brings us together. Others have already ventured into that dangerous territory of what was your favorite. So I will try and narrow it down - Canapes -the stuffed fingerling potatoes if only because it was a combination I would never have thought of but also because it was delicious; Appetizers - the short-ribs even though I hid around the corner to eat them and still ended up with sauce on my chin! Thanks so much to whoever it was that was kind enough to tell me. For Mains I had the Cioppino and was thrilled. Lusty sauce and just the right amount of food for someone who had helped herself liberally to the appetizers. Standout job by Brian and Neil. I did notice, however, that the recipe book does not contain the Gingerbread Pudding recipe. A conspiracy? Or perhaps they will put the recipe in the next silent auction? Or maybe I need an upgrade for my decoder ring? Speaking of silent auction - I purchased the Chocolate Arts boxes, ostensibly for gifts, but have been eyeing them with increasing lust all weekend. Thanks to everyone who contributed to such great treats and experiences. Yes, there is no doubt, we must do another event - you are all so wonderful and so much fun to be with. The only trick is whether we can do something without a large venue which might make it more difficult to arrange. So, many, many thanks to all. Arne for being the catalyst and a true bon vivant, Jamie for being such a fanatical and superb proponent of good food and local excellence, Brian and Neil for their extraordinary talents with food and not least - to all of you - my dear friends in food and good tastes. Cheers!

Tete Carre: Where did you get the hanger steak? I have never seen it in any of the butcher shops I use so I would love to know where I can get this cut. The best steaks I have had have not been in Vancouver, but mainly because I rarely order steak in Vancouver (but when I do, I order it rare). There is just too much else that is so good and of the quality and creativity hard to find anywhere else. One of the 2 best steaks I have had was at a restaurant in Brooklyn and it was a hanger steak with an amazing sauce, almost as good as that which was on the Blue Goose shortribs last night at the HSG. The other great steak was at a place called Dago Joe's in Ajo, Arizona. An obscure town and an even more obscure restauarant in a garage/deli/butcher shop. And even weirder was the National Fiddlers Contest being held in the Elk's Hall that night. Middle of nowwhere and there were 300 people jammed into the Elk's Hall listening to awesome bluegrass and fiddle music. But I digress - the steak was a rib eye and was the size of the plate. The wait staff were also the staff from the butcher shop/deli and you could order wine - red or white, imported or domestic. That was the wine list. Place was packed with more characters than a Robert Altman movie. But damned if it wasn't the most incredible steak. Two dinners, 3 Corona's, 1 red wine, imported was $29 US.

Ok, so I dropped by Mix, the bakery, this morning on my way to work and they were out of the bread I wanted because they sent 60 loaves down to Elixir. So we know we will have bread (and good bread at that) at the book event.

They are on Maple (I think it's Maple) just a couple of doors down from the Smoking Dog, towards Cornwall deep in the heart of Kitsilano.

I sure hope you do it again next year. I had wanted to join in but lost track of where you were on eG. Hope I find out about it time next year - do you think you will stay in the Adventures in Eating forum?

I couldn't agree more - the food on the mountain is atrocious and the prices are predatory. I just say no to food on the mountain and try to make do with what I can stuff in my pockets. The most I buy on the mountain is soup. My take on it is that because it is a monopoly once you are up out of the village they can do what they please and charge what they want. I also find that the prices in the village are aimed at our US friends and not BC residents - why else would we be charged $75 for a bottle of Blue Mountain wine? When we go up to Whistler we almost never eat out, instead we either bring our own groceries or pre-made meals from Les Amis du Fromage or Savourycity.ca. And we bring our own wine (lots of it) Maybe the economics are such that they have no choice but to price things high - but it's hard to believe they can't make more palatable food that one wouldn't mind paying for. Until then, I'll be the skier with the pockets full of snacks.

Even my kids won't eat the bread at Cobb's. They stop at the French bakery at 10th and Arbutus, near Grammercy Grill, as it is on their bus route home from school. I inevitably get hit up for money when I drop them off in the morning with the rationale that at least they get their pastries from the French patisserie and not Cobb's. They swear Cobb's makes their bread from styrofoam.

Not too sure where Wild Fire is but if you don't mind going as far as West, West 10th - 4430 to be exact, the bread at Mix is my current favorite. They supply Elixir which is where I feel in love with their baugette. But they have an incredible range of breads from hearty to sweet. So far this week we have had both types of baugette, the 3-Chili pepper cheddar, the lemon-ginger-cranberry (not a favorite) and several hearty whole wheat/levain/rustic loaves. One of these days we should have an eGullet taste-off. You know, get loaves from all the great and nearly great bakeries in the area and then do a side-by-side comparison. Wine flights and vertical tastings - why not bread flights and vertical tastings (I can just imagine how much fun Jamie will have with this possibility - eGullet hosts bread fights, I mean bread flights!).

Speaking of Chinese food from yesteryear that I miss, I still crave Screaming Chicken from Yang's on Main and 25th Avenue. About 19 years ago, when I was expecting my first child, I ate Screaming Chicken every night for almost 3 weeks hoping to induce labour. Each night David would wish us good night and tell us that I would be sure to give birth that night, so powerful was the ability of screaming chicken to induce labour. Suffice to say, that child was almost 4 weeks overdue and it was medical science, not Yang's Screaming Chicken that finally convinced her to make her appearance in the world. But damn, if I didn't love to eat it every night. Alas, David and his mother have long since moved on- David to a lucrative real estate career; I understand that his mother, bored with retirement has opened another restaurant somewhere in Richmond. But they don't serve screaming chicken, so it won't be the same.

My coronary arteries are groaning in protest already. I vote for one of the restaurants from the malls or markets. Having said this I am starting to see why we need a squadron leader or maybe a hat to toss all the ideas into and then draw out a destination.

I would love to join the tour of the Asian markets and restaurants - definitely a void in my culinary education. But not sure about the fat furry guy. I know some would think he's cute but I like less facial/body hair.

Mooshmouse: Our paths must have just missed as we have also been in Palm Desert for 2 weeks but unlike you we didn't go out once. Our first stop is always Costco for fabulous wine reasonably priced. I cooked every night and didn't mind a bit because of all the cooking wine that I had. You missed an amazing dinner at Cru last night. The 6 wines we tasted in flights of 3 were: 1. Bourgogne 2000 Louis Jadot $26 - my favorite of this flight. Delicate, well mannered and opened up with typical French barnyard notes 2. Beaune du Chateau Premier Cru 2001 Bouchard Pere $47 - we excused its poor showing deciding that it must be going through its dumb phase. No matter what Mark had done to coax it out of its shell it was just blah. Nothing. absolutely nothing going on at all 3. 1998 Echelon Calif Central Coast $30 - many liked this best but it was a bit too big on its own for me. Flight 2 1. "Anderson Vineyard" 2002 Kim Crawford Marlborough NZ $34 Again my favorite of this flight. a bigger wine than the French but still quite nuanced and nicely balanced. 2. Platinum Reserve CedarCreek 2001 $30 - didn't fare as well on its own but stunning when paired with food 3. 2002 La Crema Sonoma Calif. $37 Again just too much wine for me but once I got used to it I liked it. A big fat Pinot in my humble opinion. As for food. What can I say but I told you about the event and the fact that you missed it is your own damn fault. First course was a roasted halibut on a potato puree with bacon and thyme infused jus. The halibut was cooked to utter perfection with an amazing crust that belied the silky interior. Who knew that the Echelon Pinot would be such a perfect match. I could have dined on this all night but the next course was: Pan-Seared Foie Gras. I don't know which thread on eG I read all about Foie Gras so I can't be sure which producer this Foie came from but all I know was that this was the stuff of dreams. I will leave it to the reader to decide which type of dreams. Again, I don't know what Dana does to produce such intense carmelization but the crust was almost that of a brule with a meltingly soft and exorbitantly rich interior. This was paired with the Louis Jadot - what else?? A sumblimly French dish with a pure French wine. Reminds me of a foie gras I had several years ago in Rocomador (sp?) during which I decided I didn't mind if I stayed single if I could continue to eat like that. I am happily married and thanks to Dana I ate like that again. The next course was duck breast on polenta with cranberry concord compote paired with the CedarCreek Pinot 2001 Platinum Reserve. This is where the CedarCreek Pinot got to strut its stuff. During the tasting it had seemed atypical in a fruity kind of way but with the duck and the compote it snapped to life. Dessert was a chocolate cake with the 1994 LBV Smith-Woodhouse Port. By this time I was definitely struggling and only managed small amounts of the cake with the accompanying rhubarb. Heaven. A wonderful dinner and accompanying wines with interesting commentary by Mark - the superlative host. I won't tell you about the next dinner until I secure my place first. God forbid I should lose out. Other recent meals out have been lunches - Elixir again and today Earl's. Believe it or not, my seafood penne was excellent. Salmon cooked, just - exactly the way I like it and the shrimp was still firm-tender. Sauce was interesting and not too overpowering - it was the fish/seafood that made the dish.

Here's my list of places I have yet to try: Lumiere, Bis Moreno, (Chambar and Go Fish -but don't think these really count as they are so new), Villa del Lupo, dining room at Mission Hill but have been to the Terrace, Bin 941 or 942, Circolo, Rodney's, Gotham and Morton's, Phnom Penh, La Terrazza, Shiru-Bay, Whole Foods, Maurya,Tamarind and Coast. So now the challenge is how many can we knock off our lists and by when?

We have been away for the last 2 weeks so had no time to prepare or plan a Thanksgiving dinner and there were only 4 of us. My elderly parents invited us to join them at the nursing home for dinner tonight - I declined, very quickly. Hope they didn't suspect anything! I did have time to butterfly and roast a chicken at 500F. I pushed a roasted garlic butter mixture under the skin and filled the bottom of the broiler pan with thinly sliced Yukoon gold potatoes. I had time to brine the bird for about 1 hour. Served it with standard vegetables - again, no time to really do too much. The bird was moist and delicious and only took about 40 min to cook. The potatoes are somewhat like scalloped potatoes and get nice and crispy and tasty. All in all an easy dinner but lots of flavour. Oh - can't forget - paired it with a 2000 Pinot Noir from Quail's Gate.

I have used Knifex with wonderful success and recommend them. I, too, was hesitant until I saw the van at the back of Lesley Stowe's. I also checked with Adrienne at Barbara Jo's and she told me that one of the local high-end kitchens had Knifex do some test knifes and then the restaurant sent them to Wustoff to have them comment on the quality. Apparently Knifex passed with flying colours. I now have them in about twice a year and think they have done a fantastic job. It is quick, easy and to my mind relatively inexpensive.

Eat BC - I haven't started my New Yorker food issue because I am saving it for my upcoming 2 weeks in the sun but as soon as I return to the city it's yours. On a recent sojourn to Alberta for a wedding we stopped into a liquor store for more wine (sorely needed) and spied a free magazine called FLAVOURS (www.flavoursmagazine.ca) (I have no idea how to post the actual link so you will have to type it yourself) I really enjoyed the summer issue which is what was available and came home and subscribed. Excellent production values, interesting and varied articles. I think we in the BC could take a leaf from this book. Here is a description of the magazine from the Cusine Canada website Brandon Boone, editor of Flavours magazine and a Cuisine Canada member, has a magazine that promotes the newest Western Canadian food. Flavours distills the best of the Prairies into a comprehensive culinary roadmap for explorers of all kinds. From ribs to rubs and chefs to champagne, Flavours captures the best of the season. With so many dishes to discover, we include beverage pairings to provide you with an experience, rather than just a meal. New ingredients and products continue to flourish and Flavours highlights the newest, from coolers to cookbooks. It doesn’t matter if you cook occasionally or spend every moment in the kitchen; Flavours is your guide to Western Canada’s culinary landscape. Here are a few fast facts on the magazine. - Flavours is a food and drink magazine written for culinary enthusiasts featuring recipes, drink pairings and engaging articles. - Flavours magazine is the only food and drink magazine focused on the culinary landscape and hospitality talent of the Prairies. - Premiere issue launched November 27, 2003. - Available at no cost with a quarterly circulation of more than 125,000. - Distributed exclusively at Manitoba Liquor Marts, Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority locations and Preferred Alberta Liquor Stores. - Flavours is a split-run magazine. Three different versions (AB, MB and SK) are printed specific to each province’s unique culture and industry. - The magazine is published in Manitoba by August Communications Ltd, an affiliate of the PW Group. - Flavours in printed by Print West Communications, an affiliate of the PW Group. - Brandon Boone, Editor-in-Chief of Flavours magazine possesses more than 10 years experience in the hospitality industry in a variety of capacities from bartender to CBC Radio One 990 food columnist. So as of Saturday, this is a new favorite.