Daddy-A

OMG! You mean there's something in this world that can drag Ling away from the dinner table?? Ha! A burger NEEDS some form of vegetation. It's a Ying/Yang thing. Balance ... that and the juice of the tomatoe adds to the moisture of the patty IMO. And no Lee, onion rings do not count as veggies A.

Glad to hear that ... I was worried it might be one of those road-side places selling "fresh" lobster tails. Sounds like a trip across the Knight Street Bridge is in order ... time for lunch Mr. talent? A.

Cranberry Lemon Scones made by my beautiful wife "J" ... coffee by the not-so-beautiful me. A perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday morning. A.

I'm trying to figure out how this is ironic. More like tragic .... My understanding of the process involved in "getting rid" of sea lice, is that the chemicals used to do this are more harmful to the surrounding echo-system. And yet again we are faced with another man-made problem compounded my another man-made solution. The solution is really simple ... contained pens. Nobody is saying you can't farm fish. What they are saying is that open water farms, like those in the Broughton Archipeligo have been proven a serious threat to wild stocks, both through sea lice, waste polution, and escaped Atlantics contaminating our Pacific stocks. Rafe Mair deals with this in far more detail:CLICK HERE What bothers you about the "Birkenstock Brigade"? I find the eco-sensitive a needed counter-balance to the "Rape & Pillage" approach of those who feel it acceptable to leave the problems resulting from today's actions to future generations. How many links need to be destroyed before it ceases to be a chain? A.

Thanks Brenda ... and welcome to eGullet. Isn't Cedar where The Bungey Zone is located? Herbs, kidney pie, stout and a bungey. That's my kind of gastro tourism! A.

Apparently, the Wedgewood serves an excellent weekend High Tea. Perhaps you'd like to join me in a club chair by the fireplace one Saturday or Sunday afternoon? ← I would be delighted! Can I have the couch? Nothing like lounging on the couch on a Saturday and enjoying High Tea. Think they'd mind if I brought the dogs? A.

ah ha. I had my first unsatisfying fries there last week and wondered if it was just an off day. I really prefer the old ones, more brown and crisp. ← Funny you mention the "brown and crisp" part ... because it was the "brown" part that prompted the change. The Yukon's they were using have a higher starch content that causes this. When Go Fish gets really busy (which is what, about 80% of the time? ) the Yukon-fries tend to get dark. Apparently they receive a number of "comments" to this effect resulting in the change. Personally? The best part of an order of fries are the crunchy dark bits left at the bottom ... yummmmm! A.

I hate you both We're still better than a month away from our markets opening ... Jim, are you still limited to specific weekends at the market? I'll be down for the Brewer's Festival again in July and hope to score some oil! And I assume Lowe's will still be there?? Please?? A.

It has been drawn to my attention that I missed out on a couple of places in my last entry in this thread. Please excuse the anachronism ... Bombay-Bhel in The Heights (North Burnaby for all you suburban-phobes ) for my father's birthday dinner. Perfect choice for a large group, and happily the food completely surpassed our expectations. Best item IMO ... saag gosht with lamb. Why anyone would line up for Anton's when this gem is next door is befond me. My only complaint is that the owners is a Leaf's fan Pagliacci's in Victoria. Not much to say ... I mean, Pag's is Pag's. Not exactly cheap IMO, but certainly honest "Italian" style pastas and sandwiches. Similar to my thoughts on Anton's (above) why the Spaghetti Factory exists with this place in town is beyond me. "J" picked out the best deal for lunch ... the "Bottomless Bowl of Soup" for $5.50. Really good soup too. Lunch Friday, made a pitt stop at Les Amis du Frommage and Patisserie Lebeau before meeting newbie at Go Fish!. They've changed the potatoes they use for fries. They somehow taste "fresher." Not sure if I like the change ... more research required. Dinner last night was pizza from Domenico's in North Burnaby. I've always liked this place ... but for pizza only. Haven't had much success with their pasta. The pizza is cooked in a wood burning oven, and has that crunchy/chewy crust thing going for it. Pricier than da Francesco's, but closer to my house. A.

True enough Jamie, and point well taken. On a related note: I was at Go Fish! for lunch yesterday (fortunately during one of the breaks in the monsoon season) and was able to congratulate Andreas on their Gold in the Best New - Informal category. Andreas wasn't actually at the awards as he was spending time with his daughter (a fact that speaks volume of this man's charater IMO), but expressed his great surprise at the award. My comment to him was "You're about the only one who was suprised then." Apparently Gord Martin was visiting the loo when his award was presented and the manager for one of the Bins accepted on his behalf. Now that's funny! A.

I hope I didn't give the impression that anything other than this was true ... or that the industry didn't value these awards ... or that the winners were somehow undeserving. But I stand by my belief that the same two restaurants swapping the Gold Medal year after year somehow lessens their impact ... in my eyes at least. Kinda like those years when The Oilers, The Habs or The Islanders kept winning the Stanley Cup. They may be the best (and there's little denying the West & Lummiere are our best IMO) but a lack of competition reduces the "relative importance" of the victory. Eloquently as always Mr. Maw. A.

A little late since the cabinets are already installed. A.

Been there, done that .... Chef Fowke reveals his big Phat addiction The evidence ... I like PHAT fine ... but I still prefer Kaplans on Oak. Cheaper (free) parking. The Nutella Croissant on the other hand ... that Kaplan's doesn't have. Pretty tasty, and PHAT's coffee is pretty good too. And it looks like they've finally got their outside tables. A.

Wait until the countertops are in ... get tile samples and look at them bext to the countertops. No hurry here as it sounds like there's some electrical work that needs doing and the walls may need to be opened up a little. The backsplash can cover up some nasty drywall patches winesonoma ... I sometimes have the electrical work done after the fact if it means a better schedule. Depends on the work needed to be done. Of course, the preference is to have all the rough-in work done first. mrj, just make sure you have the base cabinets covered up while the work is being done. I'd hate to see those cabinets get dinged up. A.

40K+ a year is very nice for what is essentially an unskilled profession. ← Ducking for cover .... You really really need to think before you post! A.

FINALLY! Common sense prevails! My FIL is a Tim Horton's fan. Bottom line ... crappy coffee. No watter, no machine, no French Press in the world is going to save Timmy Ho's coffee from it's crappiness. So we bring our own coffee, use his machine (washed? what's that?), and try to wake up before he does! Failing that, heavy up on the cream, and deal with it until we can go out for better coffee. It's not like he's trying to serve us boxed wine! A.

And I'm sure if you ran eGullet numbers ... I'm thinking Ling's Gingerbread bill alone ... they would more than make up for how the E-Card might "shortchange" you! A.

No guilt here. Nobody forced the aformentioned friend to participate in the Entertainment programme. Having said that, I'm damn sure I tip properly, and, as is the case with DOV, I participate with the spirit intended for the programme. No hot water & lemon's here! BTW - my little voice only tells me to have another glass of wine. A.

That's funny ... I was thinking something along the same lines this morning. With all due respect to Mr. Maw and the hard working folks at Van Mag, if the Restaurant Awards didn't help sell magazines, somehow I doubt they would exist. I'm not at all implying that Van Mag's selection process is somehow flawed or suspect, merely that the reason these awards exist is different than the reason for the awards themselves. And can't the same thing be said for the other awards shows? Surely, the Grammies wouldn't be the spectacle they are without the ad revenues they generate. My only complaint with the Van Mag Restaurant Awards is that Greater Vancouver doesn't have enough restaurants (of a given calibre) to make the outcomes even interesting. This doesn't diminish the accomplishments of the winners, meremly makes their accomplishments more commonplace. I'm sure I'll be corrected, but it seems that West (Ouest) and Lumiere have swapped this award for the last few years. This may be the true state of the union, but you can't blame people for finding it dull. Okay, 2 complaints ... how does the North Shore get its own category, while Burnaby (although well represented this year in the 'Burbs category) is lumped in with everyone else? Could it be that Chef Metcalf's comment on a North Shore reluctance to cross a bridge comes into play here? With reference to the Golden Plates ... a bit of Googling revealed that the Van Mag awards once had a Reader's Choice category as well. Low and behold 2roost, Joe Fortes won the Bronze that year. Why was this category dropped? (Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere Jamie). Sounds like the best reason for the awards is the party held afterwards! A.

Kinda tells you what I think of Nick's A.

Pacific Coast Buffet on the Spirit of BC coming home from the Island. This is yet another hit I've taken for the team! After all the hype about the refurbished ferry, I was actually a little excited to see what the buffet would look like. What a downer! If anything, they've made it look less appealing and more institutional. Granted, profitability is in the forefront now so I suppose we have to start expecting this. The buffet seemed smaller to me ... i.e. fewer items. And there were no signs differenciating one chafing dish of slop from another. Not so much of a problem when choosing between the pasta dish and fried chicken, but definitely a problem when chosing a soup. We thought the lack of signs may have had to do with the fact that the re-fit had just been completed. But how long does it take to make a sign? On a plus side, the profiteroles for dessert were good. The Noodle Box in Victoria on a Monday excursion to Chinatown. I've never eaten in Victoria's Chinatown before, so I can't comment on the scores of cliché Chinese restaurants, and how autentic The Noodle Box is/isn't. All I know is that it was damn tasty! The kid's had the Black Bean and Garlic Pork ... very garlicky ... could smell Ryan's breath all afternoon!. "J" had the Noodle Box Chili Plum ... a bit saucy, but good. I (based on recs received from shelora and others) had the Cambodian Jungle Curry! Nice and spicey ... not too much sauce, and this dish used the finer rice noodles. Each dish is served in those chinese take-out boxes, so we were able to sit outside with the dogs ... and watch the lunch line-up grow and grow and grow .... They told me inside they're opening a new location downtown by the Strathcona. A perfect place for a nosh after a few cleansing ales! Two Island bakeries to mention in here: We visited The Dutch Bakery on Fort Street before visiting the BC Museum. "J" used to come here as a kid for their "Flying Saucer" cookies. We picked up a 1/2 doz. to share with the kids and pass the tradition onto another generation. Nice doughy cookie with an almond past filling. I'll be back for a coffee and a few more of their baked goods. Very warm, welcoming place ... still family run after all these years. A new coffee shop opened up near "J"'s Dad's place. La Collina Bakery is in the same complex as the Big Barn produce market on MacKenzie. We didn't have any baked goods, although any place that dips their cannoli in chocolate ranks high in my book. They do serve Illy, which is a welcome break to the Tim's and *$'s , which are the only other choices in the area. Long's Noodle House with the aforementioned group of eGulleters. I love places like this! A big feed at lunch, and it only sets you back $10!! (okay, peppyre picked this one up for me as I only had plastic ... but still!). I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the drunken chicken ... moist and flavourful. The broad noodles and greens were also excellent. Add this one to my lunch list. A.

mmmmm...nick's! sooooooo good! it's been a long time but i think i'm going to have to go there soon. they have a really good lasagne! and i love their spaghetti and meatballs... very authentic .... ← Nick's?? Really? I'll give you Nick's over Anton's, but gimme Da Francesco or Osterio Napoli anyday. At the risk of seeing a return of da' boyz from Nick's in these forums fitting me for concrete shoes I'd say Nick's may have been da' place, but it's living on reputation alone now. A.

Thanks for the summary Dejah. The online version of the Winnipeg Free Press costs $5/month for us out-of-provinve types So does this mean you've accepted that Manitoba is part of Western Canada?? A.

FINALLY, something about which I feel "qualified" to comment! I am very familiar with the ARTIGO product. Yes, it's typically used in institutional applications, but I have done a couple projects with it. One was a laundry room that was about the size of your kitchen Lucy! Good for you in going to the top to get what you wanted. The local distributor was an ass, and could have made a friend and a terrific reference had he just given you what you needed. Is that attitude common in the business world in France? I know the hautiness is a stereotype ... most shop owners I met in France were really friendly. But how about the business world? Looking forward to seeing the kitchen! Small spaces produce the most ingenious solutions, and the drawings (glad you kept them!) indicate your kitchen will not be an exception. A.

I think they charge extra for that seat! Welcome to eGullet! Thanks for the repot! A.