Daddy-A

OH my god. I'f I'd known about LeBeau on my last visit I would have gorged myself. These look just outrageous. I ADORE gaufres Needless to say, this is HIGH on my return list. Excellent blog, Daddy-A. You do the PNW proud. ← Thanks! The waffles were consumed this morning for breakfast. But first: All hail the Pan Pacific Altar of Java! Gotta love getting out of the shower to the smell of coffee! Man I love the gaufres from LeBeau! Clockwise from the front: Chocolate chip, White chocolate & Almond, Waffle stuffed with Rice Pudding! After greedily consuming our breakfast, we waddled out into a cold (5C/42F) March morning. Being close to the water adds a certain dampness to the air that is not unfamiliar to Vancouverites. The plethora of tourists mingling about the front of the hotel couldn't say the same thing and sat huddled together to protect themselves from the cruel Vancouver winter! "J" & I headed towards Hastings, and Cafe Artigiano. Artigiano has been offering up some of the best coffee in the city since 2000. This is their newest store (or perhaps West Van is newer?). These shots give you an idea of the ambiance. I particularly love the way the paint on the Vespa and the Espresso Machine match! Our objective today .... latte art! Co-owner Sammy Piccolo is the Canadian Barista Champion, and placed second at the 2004 World Barista Championship. This guy is very serious about coffee ... and it shows in how Artigiano presents their product: And it tastest pretty great too! Almost a shame to spoil the craftsmanship ... but not quite. So after that it was back home. On the way we picked up supplies for this evenings "meal." Thanks to eGullet and a couple places in Vancouver, I have fallen hopelessly in love with pulled-pork butt. This year, I decided to learn how to do it myself. So I've purchased a Weber Bullet, and for your entertainment, am currently smoking a 4lb butt. I'll have the early pictures up in a couple hours. Then "J" and I are off to a hockey game while the butt continues to smoke. Hopefully, I'll have the finished product ready at around 11pm. Wish me luck! A.

That's me all over Jamie ... secure in my manly speed! Yeah, it's just the angle of the photo. The bar sits about 45" off the floor which is a little higher than standard bar height (about 3"). It's tough for really little kids, but nobody else seems to notice. The other motivation for the design? It looks kinda cool And I really like butcher block. A.

You mean like this? This picture was taken from the "prow" of the convention centre. On the left is Stanley Park, and if you look really closely you can see the Lion's Gate Bridge in the disntance. The mountain in the middle is Grouse Mountain. Seems that the little storm that went through here last night gave all the local hills a dump of snow. Back to the left ... the construction you see is the expansion of the Convention Centre. We have to get ready for the Olympics you know! A.

Kinda not the point PaoPao. Jamie started this thread looking for "white linen" lunches, not a place to go slurp noodles. That, it would seem, is food for another thought. I'll second Moosh's rec for Pastis ... nicest lucnh ever was on a snowy Friday in January this year when "J" & I played hookey. Not sure our Goretex and Sorells (or was that Low Sorells - sorry Jamie ) fit the room, but the Cassoulet and Bouef Borgignon sure fit the weather. A.

Somebody in West Vancouver owns a table saw? A.

Chocolate coconut oatmeal cookies that I baked last night. I think Arne has a plate of them somewhere.... They're sitting in the back of my car, in the parcade of the Pan Pacific ... spot B5. Go ahead punk ... try and take them! I was going to post my waffle pictures as well, but joie beat me to it. I'll have some in the Blog a little later today. The Crema Catalan at Amuse Bouche last night was really nice. Light and airy, but still rich. Nice taste of sherry. Hope this stays on the menu! A.

By the time we'd spent 3 hours tasting wine (and nibbling on a little bit of bread) we were somewhat famished. Believe me, if "J" says she's hungry, then I'm starving. Bravo Bistro - Amuse Bouche (1188 Davie Street) hosted an evening called Spain: Tapas and Wine. A number of local eGulleters had already been to this restaurant with mostly positive reviews, but the chef has since "moved on" so I wasn't sure what to expect. Again, the wines were excellent, but I'll be adressing what I know best ... the food! Towards the back: Marinated Albacore Tuna with Chorizo, served on cucumber. Once I ate the chorizo on it's own I really liked this. The tuna and the cucumber were awesome together, but the chorizo seemed like it was crashing the party. On its own, the chorizo was also excellent. At the front: Jamon w/ Espelette Spiced Melon. Salty ham with melon! What's not to like?? Very refreshing. This wasn't listed on the menu ... but it was Prawns coated with Spicey Nuts Went really well with the Tempranillo's they were serving. This was my favorite of the evening: Fried Potato Cones filled with a Mousse of Salted Cod. Like high-class potato chips! Very adictive. This rates as the cleverest dish of the evening ... Gazpacho of Peas with Mint & Dungeness Crab! A quick shot of flavour. IMO this dish could have been "improved" with tequila , but of course we were there for the wine. Owner, Abdel Elatouabi ... and no the blurry-ness has nothing to do with my state of innebriation! A very gracious host who's very proud of the food he offers. When we asked him about an ingedient in the Crema Catalana (sorry, no pic), he ran back to the office to find the recipe. The ingredient was sherry It's now 9:30 PST. Time for some REAL coffee. Back in a while. A. editted: To correct a factual error

I had wanted to make this post last night ... honestly! And it's not like I wasn't sober enough to do it. In fact I dl'd all the pictures to my laptop before "J" and I crashed. It just didn't feel like the right way to end our evening The 27th Annual Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival "J" and I attended the public tasting last night at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre ... what locals still refer to as "The Sails". 700 wines are featured at this tasting as are about a billion people trying to taste! The feature country this year was South Africa. Having just been to the Nederburg tasting at the Hamilton Street Grill last month, the timing couldn't have been better. With over 700 wines to try, a little planning is in order. The book "J" is writing in is complimentary ... it includes the obligatory map, and space for note taking. Township Jive! By the end of the evening these guys had the whole room ... well, jiving! Does someone want to tell me what that woman in the middle is wearing? Needless to say, it's a great place to people watch. Now, I'm no oenophile, so I can't/won't waste anyone's time by sharing my tasting notes with you. I'll wait to embarrass myself in the Wine forum However, there was one winery last night that really caught our interest: Sula Vineyards from Nashik, Indian (located just outside Bomaby) offered up a Brut Method Champagnoise, Blush Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc and a Shiraz/Cab (80-20) Blend. A lot of potential here, especially the Blush. That bald head you see is the founder/CEO Rajeev Samant ... a former Silicon Valley engineer. Very nice man who is thoroughly enthused by his product. Note: This wine is carried locally by Liberty Wine Merchants This dog was completely hammered by 10pm! More bloody eGulleters! That's Tricia (peppyre) on the right with her mom on the left. Both were working the tasting last night ... not stalking us Some older Italian gentleman (from one of the wineries) dancing(???) with my wife By the time the tasting ends (10pm) some of the people working have been there for 14 hours! Some of them are a little loopy! Our night isn't over yet. Next, we're off to a dinner featuring Spanish Wines & Tapas. It's just a quick cab ride away ... A.

Marcia, I'm glad I'm making you hungry! The question is, am I making you want to travel to Vancouver?? I had the butcher block custom made for me, one of the advantages to having cabinetmakers at your fingertips. So unfortunately, there's nowhere you can buy it. It's 1.5" thick, 24" wide by 18" deep, solid maple. It took about a litre (1/2 gallon approx.) of oil to season it initially! As far as how it works ... well I know this isn't the case, but when I first started using it I swear my knives were getting sharper. Previously, I had been using Corian cutting boards which I later discovered were dulling my knives. Doh! Check with your local cabinet shops to see if they can make you one. Mine cost me about $100 when all was said and done. Money very well spent! A.

We're checked into the hotel now. I had to run down to the car to get the cable to hook the laptop up to the hotel network ($15 for 12 hours!!), and when I returned, I found this: "J" had set out the snacks we brought ... the cheese from Les Amis and the eggplant, tapenade and grilled artichokes from Cioffi's. But wait? What do I see? The artichokes have been consumed already! Somebody hasn't been running around Vancouver eating for the amusement of eGulleters! Some of the view from our room at the Pan Pacific. The first shows the heliport for Helijet Airways ... flights to Victoria. The second is towards False Creek. Just behing the green roof in the middle (The old Vancouver Sun building) is the dome at Science World which some of you may remember from Expo 86. The Sea Bus coming in from North Vancouver. Our substitute pet for the weekend. I think we'll call him Salty. No worries, Ringo and Gromit are being looked after by my father! So we're off to the Wine Festival in a few hours. I somehow doubt I'll be posting again until tomorrow, but you never know. Somebody has asked me for an inebriated post, so I may oblidge Cheers! A.

Just down the street from LeBeau is a tiny little shop called Les Amis du Fromage (who IMO win the award for the best domain name ever - buycheese.com ) Run by the mother-daughter team of Alice and Allison Spurrell, Les Amis is a little corner of cheese heaven at the corner of Burrard and West 2nd Ave. What I like best about Les Amis, beside the cheese is the fact that the staff is so knowledgeable and willing to share that knowledge with you. I love cheese, but I know bugger all about it. Display cases of wheels of cheese. If you check the web site you can get a good idea of the cheeses they carry on a regular basis (Neils Yard is one of our faves), as well as other products like fois gras, olive oil, balsamic, and of course crackers Gromit! Another cooler of pre-cut and packaged cheeses, along with other items. Oils & vinegars ... not as big a selection as Cioffi's, but some of the better and slightly more expensive ones to be sure. My cheese selections today were: L'Edel du Cleron, Cantal and Fourme d'Ambert (the last two being from the same region ... learned something new today!) A.

They use a fair amount of cilantro, but the greens you are talking about are pea sprouts. You're right about the soup ... I had tried the soup on 4 separate visits before I even ordered the fish and chips! A.

^Corrected! I AM SO SORRY! Blame it on the coffee! A.

Your wish is granted! This is the Fisherman's Warf area .... just off Granville Island. At the end of the warf in the right picture is the Fisherman's Market. Just about any in-season fish is available ... and of course the obligatory BC smoked salmon. We're down here for lunch ... This is Go Fish!, Gord Martin's (of Bin 941/942 fame) foray into the world of fish & chips. All seafood is sourced from the local fishers, so many of the menu items are seasonal. Last summer I had an amazing chowder made with local mussels. Today's chowder: Chipotle/Coconut milk Fish chowder (I believe the fish was snapper). I come here quite often for the soups alone ... creamy with a nice heat. Perfect for a cool Vancouver day ... about 6 or 7 degrees Celcius. I was joined by several local eGulleters, so we have a nice variety of meals to show you: Left: Grilled spring salmon with spring greens (my lunch), Right: The best damn Fish & Chips in Vancouver. Coleslaw is amazing too! Left: Oyster Po' Boy Sandwich, Right: Grilled Salmon Sandwich. 6 people who are able to sneak away from work to enjoy a really great lunch!From left to right: Lorna (Ling), Ian (Mooshmouse's hubby), Lee (Vancouver Lee), Joie (Mooshmouse), MY BEST FRIEND TRICIA (Peppyre), Kirsten (Butter). So what do a group of Vancouver eGulleters do after a big lunch?? Look for dessert of course! On today's menu: Patisserie LeBeau serves up some of the best Belgian pastries anywhere, but it's their waffles they're most famous for. I picked up a couple stuffed waffles (rice pudding & spiced apple) and a couple flavoured waffles (chocolate chip & white chocolate w/ almond). No pictures right now ... we'll be enjoying those for breakfast! The other reason for visiting LeBeau ... they're right beside Les Amis du Fromage. That visit on the next installment of Foodblog! A.

Next in my continuing series on coffee shops I frequent, I find myself sitting in The Elysian Room (1778 West 5th Avenue @ Burrard) looking longingly out the window at the BMW dealership across the street. I'd never have started coming here if it weren't for eGullet. Granted I had visited a couple times after a movie at the theatre around the corner, but it just wasn't on my coffee radar. Then eGullet member hopkins (Alistaire) started posting in the Coffeehouse & Cafe Reviews thread for Vancouver. He runs The Elysian Room, and really knows his stuff! But when he started posting about "crotchless" and "naked" shots, well, I had to go try for myself ... So ... ummm ... this is breakfast today. Cappucino and a slice of Decadent Chocolate Cake. The coffee is the real deal ... shots are rich with just a hint of bitterness (which I like btw Alistaire). The Elysian Room is a little small, considering it's just around the corner from a theatre, so you might not be able to get a seat. But for coffee fanatics, it ranks a consistent top 3 in the must-visit department. I'm currently sitting in The Elysian room ... wireless internet! I may never leave! Got some work to do for a bit, then in 30 minutes I'm off to one of the best new places in Vancouver for lunch with more eGulleters. We're everywhere! A.

It happens all the time. And the other thing that happens is when friends have us over for dinner and I end up spending the evening talking about their kitchen! Or when my male friends learn what I do for a living they tell me to stay away from their wives lest I give them any remodeling ideas ... at least I think that's why. A.

Confession: those are some promotional shots taken about 2 years ago, just after we finished. So, no, our kitchen isn't anywhere near that clean! A.

Pappagallo's cheesecake is just very creamy and rich. Like I said, I really prefer the German style of cheesecake (where you kinda chissel pieces off it?) but Pat's cheesecakes are a more than acceptable alternative. I can't remember what else he had in the display case ... I do know they make a really good tirramisu (sp?) and their biscotti are fantsatic (raspberry, white chocolate and black pepper!!!). Make sure you call me for directions Ling ... don't want you getting lost on Burnaby Mountain!! A.

Good morning. I've had a number of requests in this blog to discuss my kitchen. Chef Neil and I were discussing this the other day ... the whole question of "what does a professional kitchen designer do for their kitchen?", is much the same as "what does a chef have for dinner?". Often it's pretty ordinary. Functional, but ordinary. But before we begin ... All hail the Altar of Java An overview shot of the whole kitchen. Materials we used: Cabinets: Laminate (Tawny Satinwood), Countertops: Corian (Tumbled Glass), Backsplash: Tile From DalTile (2x2 Mosaic - Almond w/ Bottle Green inserts), Flooring: Forbo Marmoleum (Desert w/ Bottle Green inserts) Our range Probably the biggest change in the kitchen as we went from electric to gas. Range: Dacor RSD30 (Dual Fuel), Hood: Rangemaster 36" 850 CFM. This shot also gives a good look at the backsplash. The green insert pattern is repeated on the floor. This is what "J" refers to as "The Bridge" (think Star Trek). The raised bar is 1.5" thick maple butcher block. The bar stools are from Sears (of all places!). Dishwasher: Asko 1400 series. This wall is opposite the sink, 90 degrees right of the range. The fridge is a Maytag (forgot the model number) with a bottom mount freezer. This is a good example of experience dictating my choices. I've been suggesting bottom mounts to clients for years. After seeing them in finished projects, and hearing feedback from clients, this decision was a slam dunk. The section to the right of the fridge is sort of a snack/bar area. Behind the glass doors above the microwave are all our wine glasses, martini glasses, etc. What's really cool is how they open: Of course, the whole area is lit up like a Christmas tree. Looks really cool when the other kitchen lights are off. The Sink: Corian (872 in Bisque), Faucet: Grohe Ladyluxe Cafe. The window is new as well. Notice how the tile fills in the opening around the window. We wanted the kitchen to "fit" into the 1950's feel of the home ... that's a technique that would have been used. The cabinetry above the sink houses lighting, and is also available for storage ... we usually hide the candy there after Halloween. I wanted to show this picture for two reasons: first, the pull-out is pretty cool. We use it to store oils, vinegar and rice. Second, the curved cabinet is a direct copy from the original kitchen. There is another pantry in the kitchen that also has curved doors. Finally, my butcher block! Not only usefull for cutting, but a nice backdrop for eGullet Dinner! photos! So there it is ... I hope you enjoyed the tour. Coffee anyone? A.

Yes, oiling the grill is important. So is a hot grill. My grills are cast iron so they hold the heat really well. Once the grills are hot, put the fish on (helps if the fish is at room temp)m leave the grill open, and drop the heat. Let the fish cook for about 5 minutes (lid closed) before you try to move it, using a wide spatula. If the fish looks too flakey, just leave it. It'll still cook all the way through, it will just take longer. There are only two fish I can grill successfuly on this grill ... halibut (filets & steaks) and salmon (steaks, or filets w/ skin-on). The filets in each case need to be quite thick. A.

Timmy Ho's?? You know Dejah, ever since Winnipeg lost the Jets, you guys have just been mean! Now THAT's a donut! A honey-glazed old-fashioned from Lee's on Granville Island. On Monday, I'm gonna show you something called a Rolly-Polly that'll make even this donut look anemic. A.

Dinner tonight was the result of the shopping I did at Granville Island at the beginning of this blog. Fresh halibut fillets marinading in miso, lemon and EVOO. One of the best things that resulted from my time working at Longliner Seafoods was a pretty good working knowledge of how to cook fish. This marinade was suggested to me by a customer almost 20 years ago, and I still use it! On the grill are red, orange and green peppers, and thin slices of Japanese eggplant ... all are brushed with EVOO and then s&p. Vinaigrette for the salad ... ... made with grapeseed oil (the recipe calls for EVOO, but I like grape seed oil in dressings better), red wine vinegar (big jug on the right ) garlic, orange peel, pine nuts, s&p. Turn a hand blender on it to get this: I'd like to take credit for that recipe, but it's from "Moosewood Cooks at Home", still one of my favorite cookbooks. If you'll indulge me for a moment: On eGullet, we often discuss how food and family are closely linked, which is why I've been telling you about my family ... kids, dogs, "J" (who has yet to make an appearance in this blog ). The pepper mill above belonged to my grandmother. It was the one kitchen "tool" she would let me use when I was a kid. When we were going through her belongings after she passed away, it was the first thing I asked for. And best of all, it's the best damn pepper grinder I've ever owned! Now onto dinner! One of the great things about halibut is how durable it is. If the fillets is about 1" thick it'll hold up on the grill just fine. Anything thinner and I'd have some foil underneath to keep it together. My kids give me a bad time about making the grill marks cross (on everything you do Dad!) but I like the way it looks The eggplant is plated beneath the halibut, and the peppers are julienned and served on the salad. The rice is basmati. And since it's St. Patty's day today, "J" & I shared a bottle if Granville Island Irish Stout. Halibut is Irish, right? No guesses as to what we had for dessert: Tomorrow ... wine, cheese and lunch al fresco. Pray for sun! A.

You're probably talking about the Punjabi Market ... Main - Fraser, 41st - 49th. I'll try to drop by this weekend, probably Sunday. I could use a couple samosas! A.

Drops us a line ... I think you'll find us quite ... ummm sociable! Just wait until the weekend and you'll see more on the blog! A.

Two more meals to go today ... Many of you have asked for Japanese food. While there are many many excellent choices in Vancouver, I selected one of my regular lunch@work haunts; Shiro Sushi (3096 Cambie Street). I've only ever eaten dinner there once ... lunch at least once a week. I went with the owner of Paradigm Kitchens (the company I work with) who's not very adventurous with Japanese even though his wife is Japanese This is Bento Box "A" Deep fried scallop, tempura, sashimi ... and the gomae from Justin's lunch that he never eats The bill is always accompanied by dessert: Today the Pocky had chocolate and coconut! As we were leaving, I asked Shiro (owner) if I could take his picture: He says to everyone in the restaurant, "He is my brother!" and points to our heads! A.