Daddy-A

Bastard. Better bring me back a pie! A.

Me 'N Ed's? Gaaaack Although I must admit they have improved significantly from the day when the pizza choices in Burnaby/New West were between them and Shakey's. Firewood is right next door to where I work ... LOVE the smell of burning wood that wafts into the showroom around 3pm. Do them a favour. Order a pizza soon. I was talking to the manager today and he said biz was down about 25% with all the construction. I take home a couple a month, but tthey're good neighbours and I'd like to help them a little more. A.

It's been a while since my kids would have ordered from a kid's menu ... but doesn't $18 seem a bit steep? Having said that ... the best my kids ever saw were the dinosaur shaped chicken fingers at Disneyland. A.

We loved Beaune during our visit last year. Certainly a very accesible city. HERE is the link to a blog written by a young woman from Victoria, BC, who married a French man and is now living just outside of Beaune. Great reading, and it will give you an terrific idea of what life will hold for you year-round. A.

Ahhhhh ... herein lies atg least part of the answer. I re-read your firts post, and realized you used CONVECTION (fan driven) mode. Typically when you use a convection oven you would reduce the temperature and cooking time to get the same results as you would with RADIANT (what you call "conventional:) cooking. It's tough to tell without actually tasting them, but it looks like you overcooked the ribs the first time. I'd be interested to see how they'd turn out in convection mode, set at about 200F and cooked for 4 or 5 hours. I find convection works well with roasts so I wonder if it would work with ribs. Hmmmm A.

Here are the books I use most often for reference: Barbecue Secrets by Canadian BBQ champion, Rockin' Ronnie Shewchuck. A good all round reference book, with some excellent recipes for sides, sauces and slaws. Cooks Illustrated Guide to Grilling and Barbecue You can't go wrong with CI. All the basics are covered. If I had to suggest one book, this would probably be it Barbecuing, Grilling & Smoking from the California Culinary Academy My favorite resource for brines and cooking temperatures. I reference this one all the time The best reference is of course, your own notes. You are taking notes, right? When you smoke that perfect rack of ribs, you'll have all the information documented, and will be much more likely to repeat. A.

If we're talking Melissa... ... Hell Yah! I don't even mind her New Yawk accent. I love her line about walking into a kitchen and not being taken seriously. Well, if you were wearing the dress you did at the start of Episode 1 I wouldn't care if you could cook silicone implants either Julia was given the cold-shoulder because she worked in a "frickin' pancake house" (Tiffany). They didn't do a good job of establishing that IMO, and Julia really lost sympathy points when she started blubbering. Joanna is this year's hate-target. What a beeeeyatch! Aaron is good for 3 or 4 weeks of comic relief, then his snivelling ass will get run. He was the subject of the best line of Episode 1. My picks for the final 3 ... Brad, Rock and Melissa. Eddie has an outside shot if he can actually cook. Didn't really see anything from him in round 1. A.

So my wife & I are taking a cruise. Vancouver to LA and then 3 nights in Disneyland. We're leaving September 24. Turns out, one of the ports of call along the way will be San Francisco. We'll be disembarking sometime around noon on the Wednesday, and have to be back on board by 5pm. I know it's not a long visit, but we'd like to enjoy a nice lunch, and perhaps a walk around Fisherman's Warf. We're thinking higher-end, but are not opposed to awesome food experiences of all price levels. Saddly, bi-valves are out (clams, mussels, oysters, etc.) due to an allergy. Suggestions? A.

That is absolutely a problem. However, the plans for all the crossings were on-the-books for months before the project started. There are no surprises here to those who bothered finding out. That's not a dig at anyone here. But there are businesses in the area that are bitching bitterly about that very subject. Like I said before, don't blame Canada Line because you didn't bother to inform yourself. Our office is on the south-east corner of 14th and Cambie. That means I need to walk up to 16th or down to 12th if I want to cross. I used to visit Tropika (same intersection, north-west corner) at least once a week for lunch, and until recently stopped going altogether. A couple weeks ago I realized I was walking up to Capers to pick up soup, or up to Thai Away Home for pad thai. Both are at least the same distance I would have to walk to get to Tropika. So now I'm back to my usual visits for laksa. There are a lot of folk trying really hard to simply survive through the construction. Once they do, the Canada Line is going to transform this part of town for the better. I'm encouraging everyone I know who used to visit the area to come back and help these people out. And if you haven't been to Tropika, Shiro, Figmint, Firewood Cafe, etc etc etc before, now's a great time to visit. It's dead easy to get a table, and they'll be thrilled to see you. A.

Conversely, one can be a wiz at pastry, and be able to burn water. I've been witness to both. A.

I hope Brian doesn't mind, but a couple weekends back House of Q was awarded Grand Champions at Ferraro Foods Smokin BBQ Cookoff in Trail, BC! So what I want to know is ... how'd they do at Eat! Vancouver last weekend? Brian? A.

maybe it was just me? or the fact that the grill lid didn't fit. I used over half of a small bag of wood chips. ← I'm almost positive it was the ill-fitting-lid. You want the wood to smolder, and with that much air getting let it, it's gonna burn (baby, burn). If yoou're going to do this again, work on that lid problem, and keep an eye out for some solid wood, as opposed to chips. The solid wood chinks burn slower than chips too. A.

First off ... you drive a Vespa, so I don't want to hear boo-hooing about the price of gas from you. Explain to me how the current (i.e. this will not be permanent) situation on Cambie Street with respect to parking and slow traffic is any different from what Yaletown or the West End faces year round. Is it Canada Line's fault that some people have their head in the sand and don't know the area is a traffic nightmare before they venture naiively in? Would you do the same in Yaletown on a Friday night? I did once. Spent an hour trying to find parking. Won't happen again because I'll plan. Take a cab. Take the bus. Hell, it's sunny ... ride your bike our rollerblade. 'Scuse me while I go whipe some tears ... A.

Oh boo hoo! I had to walk a few blocks to get to my restaurant and now my feet are sore! Boo hoo! Excuse the sarcasm Wes, but that's a wimpy excuse. Fact is, there's just as much parking around Cambie as there was before. You could NEVER get street parking in the evning, so the side streets were all you had anyway. Best solution is to drive up Yukon, and park as close to where you want to go as possible. Or better yet, do like Stephen said and take a cab. As fas as the crossings go ... what you see is all you;re gonna get. I work at 14th & Cambie, and have to walk to either 12th or 16th to cross. Yeah, that extra 4 minutes of walking is a real deterent. Don't blame the RAV line for these businesses going under. It's people who won't endure a little hardship to support the businesses that bear a lot of the blame. If it bothers you that some places are closing, support them! I have to side with seanw on this ... better demographic? Really Stephen? A.

We probably won't end up going this year, which is really too bad. Tickets are pricey ($12 each I think) which is way too much to spend for a couple samples of Cozey Shack Rice Pudding (honestly, the only decent hand-out). They really lost me when one of the big displays was from Safeway! I say it's "too bad" because they do hold a really good BBQ competition, and unless things have changed, you can't visit the BBQ section without paying for the whole show. Sorry Brian, but nobody's brisket is worth $12 for a small sample. Although last year Shewchuck gave me a beer ... A.

They exist???? A.

The Bullet as it's usually known, is IMO the best way to go for the casual smoker. Hell, even pros use them (ask Brian, Ronnie Shechuck, and many others), but it's really easy to learn how to use. Try chicken your first time out ... excellent results. Have a look at www.virtualweberbullet.com for a great resource. Also, THIS thread (which focuses on pork butt) also has some good info on the Bullet. Locally, Johnstones BBQ seems to have the best price. A.

If he has St. Louis ribs, it means they're already trimmed. editted: err ... the St. Louis can sometimes have the flap. If there's nor flap, it's Kansas City style (thanks the VirtualWeberBullet). Personally, I use the little flap of meat as a snack at about the 3 hour mark ... A.

Here's a photo of my rib rack in action. It's actually just a $5 file folder rack from Staples. How many racks are you smoking Chris? Is it possible to cut the racks in half and fit them flat on the shelves of the Bradley that way? A.

The holders are powder coated. I tested them in the grill at much higher temperatures than the smoker uses and they held up fine. No need to be scared. Besides, have you had a look at the grills on most barbecues? MMMMMMM! Charred meat stuff! A.

Our garden this year includes 6 different varieties of tomato, 3 types of eggplant, basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, shiso (if we can find it), oregano, parsley .... It's my wife's fault really. She's discovered out back pation is the perfect climate for container gardening. We usually have 10-12 pots around the outside of the deck all fed with an automatic irrigation system. A.

Yeah ... I saw them, but never tasted them A recipe would go a long way to easing my sorrow. A.

Really enjoying this Peter. My Grandmother grew up in Halifax so I've heard lots about it, but never been. This made my weekend! I have two sons as well (although in their teens now) and spent many mornings watching Theodore, Foduck, Emily and the Harbourmaster in The Big Harbour! I've noticed a large influence of Asian cuisines so far in your blog. Any part of Asia in particular? Have fun! A.

Aaaargh! Forgot to add thanks to Chef Fowke for some amazing Smoked Duck Tacos (they make a nice breakfast too!), nwyles for the Brisket and the use of his Bullet and HKDave for the sausage that I completely missed out on! If I forgot anyone else, I'm blaming the meat-coma I'm enduring today A.

Some pictures from this weekend's smoke: Arne is sporting a stylish, yet functional Corian© ballcap which today reeks of smoke. The beer's yellow label (Leffe) nicely offsets the smokey surroundings. This also shows the new smoking-grotto at the Daddy-A household. There are now two Bullets, a Kettle and my favourite addition, a tent! One of 3 Butts to be pulled The Finished Pull The butt I cut in half worked perfectly, finishing exactly on time with the others. An odd spike at the end of the smoke saw the whole butt on the bottom rack jump from 180F to 201F in just under 15 minutes! It was sooooo tender it fell apart in my hands when I pulled it out of the smoker. I was worried I had dried it out, but nothing would be further from the truth. Very moist and incredibly smokey ... easily the deepest smoke ring I've ever achieved. If you're interested, HERE is the post of the weekend's complete smoking agenda. A.