Daddy-A

Finally! All he had to do was get to Lyon to get some recognition here. So Canadian A.

Sealing Nero Absoluto is often futile at best. The sealing liquid never seems to penetrate the surface of the stone, it's that dense. Not sure what is meant by "impregnator" unless they used acid to etch the stone and didn't in fact hone it. Water doesn't technically "stain" but depending on the hardness can leave mineral rings or watermarks behind. Bottom line is even if you seal it, you're going to see marks. A.

We were in that area last September/October doing a walking tour from Montignac to Sarlat. The caves were really impressive, and didn't really take up a lot of time. You can read the details HERE As far as dining goes (you KNEW I was getting there, right John?) Here are some of our favorites from that region: Hotel Le Lascaux (Montignac) - a cute little inn with a good little dining room. Thierry & Agnes are wonderful hosts. Best steak frites I had the entire trip. Hotel Le Moulin de la Beaune (Les Eyzies de Tayac) - our best meal in France. Terrific value for the money and service that set the bar for the whole trip. Hotel Du Chateaux (Beynac) - the castle is why people visit this place, but the food was decent and reasonable. Pizzeria Roman (Sarlat, 3 Cote de Toulouse - 05 53 59 23 88) - great pizza and a surprisingly good wine list. Warning: really poor ventilation so it gets pretty smoky ... and not from the pizza oven. Also in Sarlat, the Saturday market in the town centre is awesome! Enjoy your trip! A.

Wow! Awesome rant! If I had a nickel for every time I heard that rant ... I'd have close to a quarter .... First of all Jennifer, in my professional opinion, yours is without a doubt one of the top 5 kitchens I have seen ... EVER. The attention to detail, the material selection, and OMG those switches! Truly amazing. In all seriousness, I would have it professionaly photographed and submitt it for publication. You should be very proud. Now ... take a breath ... and remember it's only paint. It could have been the soapstone, or the floor (I have the same Marmoleum in my kitchen BTW). I hear your frustration, and you have every right to be upset. But it's paint. Hopefully you still owe the GC some $$$. Stuff doesn't get fixed, GC doesn't get paid. Deep breath. You're almost there. And seriously ... get it published. A.

Ahhhh ... the honed vs. polished debate. Here's what I tell my clients ... 1. Both styles will resist scratches to the same degree. But since we're all using cutting boards and NOT CUTTING DIRECTLY ON THE STONE (which would ruin your Wusthofs before your granite), scratching danger is at a minimum. 2. Both styles will resist staining to the same degree provided they are both sealed properly. The downside to honed in this respect is that the honing is created by "scratching" a polished surface. These little scratches create places for stuff to hide. It's not staining per se, but a cleaning issue nonetheless. 3. Honing dark stones, while very dramatic in appearance, will reveal every little grubby fingerprint on its surface. These are easily wiped away, but you'll be wiping often. 4. Honing is soooooooo 90's I haven't done a honed top in 5 years. A.

Yup ... Granville will be slow, but a much better alternative ... unless of course you're interested in what the world looks like 50 feet beneath Cambie Street A.

IIRC they used to do something similar at Cafe Artigiano downtown (Hastings). It was a couple years back, but I'm pretty sure that's it. A.

Ummmm ... yeah it is CLICK. Although technically it is Haute Normandy now, the region wasn't split until the 50's. I do agree with you on the "pretentious" comment though.. A.

And good on ya Sam. As someone who works in the area, I try my best to support the local businesses and encourage my co-workers to do the same. But the one thing that keeps coming back to me when I speak with other businesses in "Cambie Village" ... "Just wait until the Canada Line is open!" Some serious optimism here. A.

Here yah go ... Lee's Dim Sum rec's I'd crawl through broken glass to get to one of Lee's rec's A.

Lunch on the Drive Drinking on the Drive (aka Liquid at Lunch) ... and what Moosh said ... A.

Sam! And you didn't come by and see me? I could have offered you a crappy cup of coffee ... and one of the few parking lots in the area! The Valetor dry cleaners just closed up a couple weeks ago, but between 9th and 16th that's all I've seen close up. In fact, a new computer store opened up last week down at 13th. I'm sure they got a GREAT lease rate, but still, that's a pretty brave move. Who's closed that you noticed Sam? Other than a couple retail spots, I'm hard pressed to think of anyone. I was at Shiro for lunch today ... checking up on Shiro-san's burned hand Business has slowed a bit for them, but nobody's too worried. Even Arroy-D looks like it might be making a serious go of it in that revolving door location. You can also stop by the Canada Line office on 16th (east of Cambie) and get a map of all "official" parking spots. A.

Lorna & Henry, Save some time at the end of July for the Oregon Beer festival! J & I visit Portland every year for the fesival, and to check a few more of Portland's "musts" off our list. Eating through Portland with you guys with a beer buzz would be TOO MUCH FUN! I'm with you guys on Andina. Good, but not great ... which really surprised me as every time we passed the place it was slammed! You MUST do Voodo Donuts, if just to say you have. Being Canadian we're spoiled on the donut front (actually spelled doughnut, eh), but Voodoo has a great sense of fun that I really appreciated. Another reason to do the trip again is the Farmer's Market which would have been closed when you were there IIRC. That's where we discovered Pearl Bakery ... and met Nick, and Lowe's BBQ (I'm still missing them big time). Thanks for the Apizza Scholls review. We'll have to make the trip (4th try's the charmer??). A quick question ... where does the name come from? I feel like I should know ... like Muscle Shoals or something? A.

Ditto from me. I'm also wondering out loud why it is that when someone submitts a negative review (on eG), the reviewer is almost always asked to explain themselves, but that almost never happens for a positive review. "You liked it?? Why? What did you have? You must have been there on an "on" night." Just wonderin' A.

Keith. Not only did you fill a lunch gap for me, you gave my eldest son his first job, and you were a good friend. Folk like you are few and far between. Good luck to you in whatever you do ... and stay in touch! A.

The obvious solution (and one I'm sure you've considered) is to contact the wineries themselves. IIRC Mission Hill, Tinhorn Creek and others do provide cellaring info on their web sites. I'm sure a quick email to any of them would yeild positive results. I've also been using the Cellar Tracker web site recently. Most wines catalogued on this site will have "best consumed" dates attached to them. Unfortunately the info on BC wines is sketchy for the majority. A.

Ah well ... only 8 more games and you won't need to worry about it. A.

Bekki, HERE is a not so recent thread about good brunch places. Almost all of the recs stand up today ... but to be safe, go to the last post and work your way backwards. My favorite is still the Cafe Artigiano on Hastings (Downtown) although I haven't been there since the ownership change. A.

Let's not get all bent out of shape here ... this is "Science World" after all, and not "Foodie World." It's aimed at kids, and even my sons (aged 16 & 13) found it dummed down. Expecting anything more from the Telusphere is a bit ambitious. Although "Body Works" was uber-cool .... A.

Who are you kidding Steve? You may not want the ideal of the Olympics to be about real estate, the fact is that's exactly what it's all about. It business, and while it's unfortunate that a long standing business is getting exicted, it's completely within the owners' rights to do so. No laws have been broken. It may not be ethical, but nobody said business was ethical. I was in Salt Lake City just before their Olympics, and the same complaints were being made. Rents went sky high, labour pools were stretched to the max ... same old same old. So you can joust with windmills, or you can figure out how to make things work until the circus leaves town. A.

Yeah. Comte. *sigh* A.

Yay! Another convert. Another tidbit ... they're cash only (unless that changed recently). Visited the Noodle Box twice in two days ... Tuesday night was before a cheese tasting at les Amis du Frommage. had the Dragon Noodles (the special o' the week). Nice heat and lots of Chinese sausage. Tried their Spring Rolls as well. While not as greasy as some, still not a lot of ooomph untill you added your own Thai chili sauce. I guess I should count the cheese tasting as well. "France" was the theme. 25 cheeses (GAAAAAACH!) paired with 5 wines. I heartily reccommend the tastings at les Amis ... good fun, especially since I was the only one at my table that liked the Epoisses!!! The next day at lunch I was near Noodle Box again, so I had Thai Style Noodles. An excellent option if you're not into anything too saucy. A side note ... folks with young 'uns should consider this place for dinner. While i was there at lunch 3 little boys were lined up at the kitchen watching the flames leaping out from underneath the woks. Kept them entertained and QUIET for almost 20 minutes. A.

As someone who has dealt with pretty much every possible fridge configuration out there, I agree 100% with one comment I've seen a couple times in this thread: "It's a matter of personal preference" For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would have a side-by-side fridge narrower than 42" ... and yet I see them all the time. The "french door" configuration is just as silly IMO, but again, they seem to be selling. So, for what it's worth, here's my preference: 24" All Fridge and 24" All Freezer (w/ Ice Maker). Translation: The best fridge/freezer configuration is no configuration. Let the fridge be a fridge, and the freezer a freezer. If you don't have enough room in the kitchen for both units, put the freezer somewhere else. Probably not the best solution for everyone, but when I build my dream home, I'm building my kitchen around this idea. A.

Don't believe Vij's does lunch ... but Rangoli is right next door and is owned by Vikram as well. Not exactly the same thing, but a very good substitute. A.

I've seen duck fat at Oyama on Granville Island. ← Definitely at Oyama (God bless them!) ... or go to your friendly neighbourhood butcher and order in some duck trimmings and render it yourself. Dead easy and way cheaper. Keeps like a hot damn in the freezer. I ordered my last duck trimmings from Windsor Meats on Main. Just be sure the stuff is fresh as I received some rancid bits from them once. A.