Daddy-A

I'm starting to think we should organize a pity party event for those who had to miss either this one or the AB Big Night. I'd certainly be on board. ← Just make sure you do it in the ISO thread! A.

Awesome info Chris ... you be my hook-up in Tofino! You've saved me some of that Note Bene you snapped up from me, right?? Are you finding the improved Canuck buck is hurting business at all? Arne

Damn ... I need to upload some pictures here. Peppyre and I did duck confit last week, and the duck fat she picked up from the butcher was riddled with little bits of duck skin. Once the fat was rendered (and happily confit-ing the duck legs) we took the bits of skin, spread them out on a cookie sheet, and put them under the broiler for a bit to get them all crispy. The result was little, Freeto-sized bits of crispy duck skin ... some with bits of meat still attached. I've conditioned myself over the last 10 years to not eat poultry skin (fat issues) but this was just too damn good! At the very least I have a bag of really fancy dog treats! A.

Behemoth ... the roast chicken looks wonderful! We do one where we stuff the bird with about 40 cloves of garlic and cover it in a simple biscuit dough to keep it all moist. Very yummy! Dinner last night was a crummy buffet a la "rubber chicken circuit" at a kitchen designers' meeting. You'd think we'd find better food Will try to make up for it with some Filipino food for lunch today ... A.

Andrew ... is this in reference to the new Events Policy? Cuz if it is, we'll be planning LOTS more events (I hope!) They just need to have some "tweaking" done to them ... but we'll be eating again ... oh yes, we'll be eating! If it's because you just don't want to join us ... well *niff* ... you'll be missed dude! A.

Andy, surely you remember how spoiled we are out here! Honestly though, Chef Hawksworth & the staff at West were simply f**king amazing. No other way to say it. As to the timing of the meals ... some of us were busy chatting and lingered a bit over cocktails which I'm sure pleased the serving staff. But outside of that everyone seemed to have dishes coming at regular intervals. The wait staff even went so far as to come and find those of us who were chatting at other tables to let us know our next course was up. What was the most amazing thing for me was how quickly they seated us all. When I first arrived there was a bit of a log-jam in front of the bar. "Oh shit" I thought "They're going to HATE us!" Next thing I know we're being seated, and as I looked back to the front door, the log-jam was cleared. Another thing I'm not sure anyone has discussed yet ... everyone on staff knew we were part of eGullet, and some even knew of the people & threads in our forum! That I am certain has to do with Chef Hawksworth ... nonetheless it was impressive. Shall I make your reservation for next year Andy? A.

'Twas cheese, Genoa salami, chicken, olive relish, sundried tomatoes. Yummy! Thought it was prosciutto and not salami, but it was the saltiness of the olives that fooled me. Split Pea Soup was really good too. A.

A chance for you to use your high school trigonmetry! Figure out the distance from the countertop to the light. Using the beam spread (expressed in degrees - you'll find it on the box for the light bulb) you can figure out how much area the light will cover. Make sure you get some light overlap as well otherwise the lighting will be uneven. I've always used the electronic dimmers myself. I'll check with my electrician today to see what his experience is. A.

Yeah, that Albert. He's so "street". A. ps. Great pictures Ling!

Yay Mia! I can see, as is the case on our home, the hound rules the kitchen! The pig ear she had ... leftovers from a previous smoke session? Very jealous of the Farmer's Market. We're at least 4 months away from opening day for ours. *sigh* A.

Leftover braised short-ribs, sliced thin and served on sour rye bread with a touch of djon. Still too full from West last night A.

I would have enjoyed last night's dinner, but there were all these food geeks running around the place taking pictures! J & I would like to add our thanks to Tricia for organizing, and to David, Jay, Brian et al for as close to a seamless performance as we have ever seen in a restaurant. I lost track of the number of times emptied glasses (and there were several) disappeared to be replaced in an equaly stealth-like manner with a clean one. Joie & Ian again were terrific dinner companions ... her wine choices were stellar. I know the first was the Poplar Grove Merlot, the second being an Aussie Cab Sav whose name escapes me. Now that I think of it, I don't know if the wine list ever left Joie's hands I only wish I would have had more time to visit with the rest of you! Pictures will be up hopefully this evening. See, there's this thing I have to do called a "job" A.

Chef, So glad to hear your sense of humour is still as pronounced as ever. A.

Welcome to eGullet! You'll likely be hearing from members "tofino", "paul mitchell" and others who live and work in tofino, or nearby. They'll give you much more detailed information than I. What I can tell you is that: a) I'm really freakin' jealous! 4 days at the Wick! b) Tofino is really laid back, so the locals at least won't be too fussy. Enjoy your trip and make sure you let us know how it went. A.

Oh, I did ... turns out she said "wing" but I heard "ring" They were simply hot wings. Not worth the beef & broccoli I ordered to get my free wings. A.

Fair enough. I was actually reading the North Shore News when he made it, so he didn't have a chance to ask. Nonetheless, it was a very good machiatto. how many square inches in a portafilter basket? for dramatic effect i quoted a reputable figure who referred to the equivalent of 9 bar in 'tamping pressure'. as can be seen with a naked portafilter the stainless steel basket actually bulges out convex when the pump is engaged. point is its A LOT. It's official! I am no longer the biggest geek on this site!! Just kidding guys ... this is amazing info. A.

I LOVE Shiro!!! He's right next to our showroom, so I'm usually there at least once a week. Super friendly and awesome quality. They refer to me as "man with shaved head" Are you thinking of Sala Thai? Or Thai Away Home? Neither deliver. Keeping in the Cambie & 14th area ... have you tried the Fireside Pizza place? Out here in the burbs of Burnaby, our favorite delivery is Pepper House for Szechuan. $19 for their "Dinner for 2" which feeds J & I for two meals. I love calling the place because the woman who answers the phone always asks me "And what else?" after I order the combo. Then she asks me if i want to order something else so I can get their "free pepper wings". For almost 2 years I thought she said "pepper ring." A.

Have a look at these. These would require a remote transformer, but they require very little space, and the bulbs can be adjusted about 35° of vertical to pinpoint where the light goes. And they're available in blue! A.

I was able to drop by the West Van location of Artigiano today. True, it was my 4th shot of espresso this morning, but I've never let the jitters come between me and thorough coffee research. Staff wise (FYI barret) things were fine. Friendly, not too chatty. The room wasn't very busy, so it's not like it was much of a challenge The barista didn't ask me how much milk vs. foam I wanted in my machiatto ... small thing I know (what a jerk eh?), but something I like as I prefer mine quite dry. The room is really cozy - but, as others have mentioned, it's really tight around the bar. I'm not sure what could have been done in that paticular location to correct that ... the bar is set up perfectly IMO, so I certainly wouldn't want to change that. Then again, just about every coffee bar I frequent suffers from tight spaces around the bar as well. The coffee ... as good as I've had from Artigiano. Which still puts it second best to Elysian right now Nice and creamy, a hint of bitterness (which is fine with me) which is cut by the sweetenss of the milk (why do I feel like a celebrity taster on Iron Chef?). My biscotti was okay ... but I'm really fussy with baked goods. So, whatever you're doing over there barret, it seems to have sorted out any concerns other eGulleters may have experienced (the room issues notwithstanding). A.

Funny you should bring Save On Meats up (so to speak ). We had a thread going about that store recently. CLICK HERE I think a posse of eGulleters could brave the environs of that neighbouhood. A.

Good advice from your electrican ... code or no code. A good thing to remember in the baking area Varmint is that if your ceilings are low, you may not want to use LV lighting here due to the heat the bulbs throw. I had designed a kitchen many years ago with a similar ceiling height, and had used LV lights. Two of the lights were over the main sink and the MR16 bulbs (35W) got so not, the client singed his hair! We replaced the fixtures with incandescent bulbs, but I was really embarrassed. Re: Track Lighting. For a designer, the issue with track lighting is not the light they provide. Our showroom is illuminated almost exclusively with track and they work just fine. The problem comes from the fact that they "break" the horizontal plane of the ceiling. Anytime you break a plane, your eye is immediately drawn to it. If the ceilings are high enough (as in our showroom - 16') this isn't much of an issue. In most homes however, I don't want people looking at track lighting when the client has just spent a lot of $$ and time on new cabinetry. A.

So between posts 8346 and 8359 I have gone from sadness to anger to relief. Add me to the list of posters who are love reading your posts in this thread Jinmyo. Back OT: Dinner last night was my wifes famous Chicken-Corn-Cheddar Chowder, served while peppyre & I were confit-ing duck. I suppose we can add some of the crackling to that menu too. peppyre will have to help me with the wine ... some Aussie Grenache that was recommended to us ... meh. A.

Yesterday: Crackling from the rendered duck fat from last night's confit-ing. Today: That damn first cuppa. A.

Does coffee count as eating? If so, I make a mean espresso machiatto every morning. If not, a slice of bread (loaf from Mix) with Nutella! A.

I don't know about the "finicky" part. I suppose that's subjective. Do you have to plan for them? Yes. I suppose they can be called finicky if you're dealing with a remote transformer. Then again, a remote transformer means that all the home runs (wires that go from the light fixture back to the transformer) are made with LV wire (I use LVT) which is much thinner, and at least up here, is not encumbered by building codes. This is the "planning" I was talking about Other LV lights have built-in transformers and are wired exactly the same way as any house-voltage light. Pot lights are a good example. Drop by you local Home Depot or Lowes or whatever, and ask to see something in a Low Voltage pot light (if you can actually find anyone in the frickin' aisles!!). You'll notice that the LV fixture is about the same size as an incandescent fixture, and will have a small box attached to it that houses the transformer. The heat? Well, unless you plan on touching them a lot, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure there's an air space around them. Another issue with LV is dimming. You'll likely need an electronic dimmer rather than a solid-state dimmer for a transformer application. They ain't cheap ... about $100 ea in Vancouver. Personally, I find LV fixtures a bit to bright for ambient lighting. I prefer a standard pot light with a halogen bulb. However, the LV lighting may be just the ticket for the I-Beam situation as the remote-transformer fixtures tend to take up much less space. If your carpenter is boxing in the I-Beam, perhaps there is an LV light that can recess nicely into this box. A.