Daddy-A

Good morning, I just wanted to thank everyone for PM'ing me so quickly. This BIG NIGHT sounds like it's going to be really fun. If you're adding yourself to the list, please include yoour "real" name (as well as the name of any dining partner) along with your eGullet handle ... unless of course you want to be called by your handle all night Most people have already sent me this info. I'll be in touch with those who haven't. Thanks again, Arne

WARNING! BROWNIE POINTS ABOUT TO BE SCORED You're the mother of a 2 year old and you "don't work"? Really DameD! You have one of the most important jobs of all!! Thanks for volunteering. I'm sure I could use some help when it comes time to coordinate all the "registration." I'll stay in touch. Arne

I agree ... something doesn't smell right. The VPD take down grow-ops all the time and release info to the press the next day, and only when they hit a biggun'. This smells like a well (sic) calculated media event complete with the obligatory protestors and every frikkin' TV crew in town. Are we trying to appease our neighbours to the south? (No, not Richmond ... ) Is Mayor Larry trying to look like he's doing something about the crime problem in Vancouver? (Ironic isn't it that about 10 minutes away from Da Kine is a Safe-injection site?) This is all too much. I think it's cocktail time. Arne

Since I can't figure out how to PM more than one person at a time ... I have started a new post with the current guest list. I'll update it as often as is necessary (every 15 minutes right?), so if you've PM'd me, check HERE first. I'm not ignoring you ... I just have a job, and a wife, and kids, and dogs ... none of whom truly understand just how freakin' important this really is!! I'll PM those from whom I require more information. Arne

Isn't this getting dangerously close to Orwell's NewSpeak? I've got nothing against being concise (e.g. in short supply vs. scarce), but this is getting silly. Arne

Cool menu Steve. Too bad there's no way we could get BC Ferries to replace the Pacific Buffet with that spread. Maybe I'm a little slow today, but I was just wondering if that menu had anything to do with the topic? Something about the Potatoes Parisienne or the Boston Pudding perhaps? Arne

Reminds me of a great quote from a Kenneth Branagh film called Dead Again In it, Branagh is telling someone (played by Robyn Williams) about how he's trying to quit smoking. The other character replies: "Quitting's for pussies. You're either a smoker, or a non-smoker. Figure out who you are, and be it." I choose to eat red meat no more than twice a month. If you need to label me, you can call me Arne.

Jamie, I've got a list of people who have expressed an interest so far. I'm still willing to help organize things as far as registration/tickets or however we decide to do this. Let me know ... Arne

My understanding of this thread was that we were trying to discover if there was a "Canadian" cuisine. I took this to mean the same thing as "French" or "Chinese" cuisines, i.e. cuisines that have evolved and are deeply rooted in the culture. If I truly understood the importance of Escoffier, I would let him go. It seems this discussion has turned to regional cuisine within Canada, or more specifically, Vancouver cuisine. And I agree 100% with you Steve, in places like Vancouver, Quebec, the Maritimes (amongst others) there is definitely a distinct cuisine emerging. Where else but in Vancouver can you find Vij? And believe me, I am proud of that! But is it Canadian in the same way that Coq au Vin is French? It may be in Vancouver, but in terms of Canadian cultural significance, I don't believe this can happen. GREAT discussion! Arne

So far, the only one on your list I have read. Just finished The Raw and the Cooked by Jim Harrison, a collection of short stories and essays, and am currently enjoying The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky. Arne

Ahhh, now I see why the "tailgating" event is lost on me. See, in Canada, we don't even get that many people out to a PROFESSIONAL football game, let alone a college game. That is truly amazing! Wonder if we can get something like that going before a hockey game? Arne

OK, let me get this straight ... all we need for Canadian cuisine is to have someone within the geographical confines of Canada cook anything just so long as it's with local Canadian ingredients? It's taken us 43 posts to get to this? Sorry if I sound rude, but ... YAWN!!! That's what we're all doing every single day of the week! If Jamie's argument holds true, the cuisine cooked by the Indo-Canadian chef couldn't have come to exist without the chef's Indian background either! Which has NOTHNG to do with being Canadian. I'd like to suggest this is regional and not national, and that as I mentioned earlier, the conditions no longer exist where a Canadian cuisine can emerge. I'm not saying we have bad food ... quite the opposite in fact. I would rather live in Vancouver that anywhere else in canada as far as eating goes. But, it's like the CRTC trying to legislate a Candian Cultural Identity. What is a Canadian? If we can't answer that, how can we have a cuisine? My question is, do we NEED to answer that? Patrioticaly yours, Arne

Steve, I think you're taling about Northwest Palate. It's published 6 times a year I believe. Nice rag ... good info ... a bit travel-loggish for me. I agree on the Portland comment Arne

Grilled Pacific Pink Salmon w/ fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano). Served with wild rice & apple/fennel Waldorf salad (made with a miso, roasted garlic aioli). Waldorf salad & aioli recipe came from Gord Martin's Tongue Twisters cookbook. Cool thing ... kids (10 & 13) LOVED it. Cooler thing ... salmon sandwiches tomorrow, complete with really good aioli. Arne

Dear God Neil, if I have to suggest the Pastrami you & Brian have been working on, but apparently not sharing with anyone, I'm gonna have to hit someone with a kosher dill! I'm gonna guess he's probably a little tired of the whole "cobra heart" type thing. I mean, extreme cuisine is one thing, but after a whole tour of people asking him the same questions about it, I think he'd appreciate real honest food. Local ingredients for sure (wild Spring salmon, Salt Spring lamb, etc.), with the obligatory BC grape. Perhaps a Nanimo Bar for desert? Too obvious? Arne

Steve, et al, I'm just wondering why this need to label our cuisine? Other cuisines of the world (e.g. French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, etc.) developed under completely different circumstances than those in North America. First, cultures of subsistence are often the catalysts for major cuisines. There is a school of thought that all great cuisines developed out of poverty, i.e. a need to utilize food supplies in new and resourceful ways. How else do you explain sweetbreads or fois gras (I'm sure food historians will pipe in here to correct me )? Second, accessibility. Regionalized cuisines were bound to develop with specific geographic confines. The French couldn't have developed uses for truffles if truffles weren't found in France. Today, societies have a much tougher time identifying their own uniqueness, not just in food, but in the arts and other cultural endeavors as well. Why? Because the two previously mentioned conditions are not being met. First, our society has affluence like no other in history. Fast food (both McD's & Lean Cuisine varieties) are available and inexpensive. Time is short because we're working, so there is little time to cook, let alone be creative. We leave the creativity to those we pay. As Steve has said, the cuisine must come from the people ... and frankly we're just too busy (or lazy.) Accessibility has the biggest impact. Even though local ingredients are available, its just as easy to pick up something grown across the country. Do you think someone in Vancouver in the 1900's was likely to have enjoyed lobster from NS, or mussels from PEI? I even have friends who fly in smoked meat from Montreal! (sepaking of which ... where IS that pastrami Neil promised me???) I find it particularly interesting that local ingredients are being sold like specialty items in local restaurants these days. My point is this ... I don't think a Canadian cuisine can develop to the extent a French cuisine has simply because it can't. It's not good or bad ... just IS. Arne

LINOLEUM gets my vote! As a kitchen designer, I have already seen a lot of LINOLEUM in local kitchens. Why, there's even LINOLEUM in my own kitchen. Maybe Feenie's new million dollar kitchen will feature LINOLEUM. Although if the food in question is net-caught, we may have to resort to just LINO There's also CORIAN: Cascadian Originated, Regional, Indigenous And Native. Or even GRANITE: Granville Rise Awfull? Not In The Evening! Help me ... oh God please help me! Arne

The one I have a problem with is:"How's everything so far?" I know it's just my quirky obsession with semantics (blame my mother), but I feel like replying: "Pretty good so far, but I'm sure the next few bites will taste like crap." Arne

Sounds like our evenings ... but without the kid! I take my hat off to you (and all others like you) who can juggle it all. I use my Palm Pilot to remind me to take things like chickens out of the freezer. Geeky I know, but it works. Nice Weber by the way. Arne

Was about a 1/3 - 2/3 split in my favour. I didn't eat breakfast that day ... was planning on a big feed. Arne

It's like the old question "What is a Canadian?" I agree with Jamie ... especially after visitng Portland this summer. Funny Jamie's reference to politics. It reminded me of Cascadia ... so perhaps there is a Cascadian cuisine. The regional take also plays out in Quebec and the Maritimes. If there's a "Canadian" element in all of this its perhaps our need to apologise when things don't turn out right ... or our ability to make risotto in a canoe. Arne

Sorry .. weak pronoun reference. How can the PNE survive charging $10/head? You'd figure the admission would drive a lot of people away ... A family of 4 (2 adults 2 kids) drops $36 before they even get in. Food ain't cheap, and the FREE stuff ain't worth the price of admission. And the Playland prices go UP during the Fair. Yet year after year they manage to pull it off. Just suprises me that's all. Arne

Hehe ... I was hoping I'd hear from you I feel the same way about Me 'N Ed's Pizza. I agree totally. That post was more for the other eG-ers. Truth is, I didn't go last year, and I probably won't go next year. I would have had the Wiggle Chips but there were so many wasps around the booth, and the wife is alergic ... I'm still trying to figure out how they can survive at $10 a head. Arne

***SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION ALERT*** J & I ate our way through the PNE last Sunday ... hey, it wasn't raining! Check it out here. Includes pictures too! YUM! Arne

The PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) is not known for food, yet it’s the food that keeps me coming back. It’s like The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s a truly awful film, but anytime I hear “The Time Warp” I get a little nostalgic. So last Sunday the rain decided to stop, and J (wife) & I hopped the bus to the Fair. Within seconds of entering the front gate, the smells of hamburger grease, cotton candy and curry wafted about us like the “happy music” as you enter Disneyland ... sickening, yet somehow enjoyable. First stop was Hotdog Jonny's. Jonny’s selection is excellent, everything from your standard Coney’s and Koshers, to Bison (Peace River), Duck and even Salmon (Wild BC Spring of course.) The condiment selection is impressive, but I was a little disappointed the corn relish was absent. We topped our Bison-dog with a little kraut, grainy mustard and some jalapeños. A little dry, but extremely tasty. J reminded me the low-fat dog was for my benefit, as we had lots of eating left to do. Next up, Jimmy’s Lunch. Four generations of “Jimmy’s” have been flipping burgers at the PNE since 1929. Today Jimmy’s is known for one thing ... the HUGE pile of fried onions at every grill. We had a cheeseburger piled with those greasy little rings of onion-y goodness ... instant cheesy greasy mush in every bite. Perfection! On the way to the “Urban Metal Madness Motorsport Show” I was side-tracked by that stalwart of all fair foods – The Corn Dog! I have really enjoyed the other posts about the different types of corn dogs at your state fairs. Fact is, we have two. Mass-produced (Pogos) and hand-made. I had the latter. We’ve been at the fair for one hour. J is getting worried I may be eating too much. After our fix of “Metal-Madness” (no demolition derby this year ) I spy this sign: Which leads to this: Not bad. Kinda gamey, and the grill crew could learn a thing or two from Jimmy about cooking onions. Another tradition at the PNE is “Buckeye Root Beer.” I have no idea how “Buckeye” made it to Vancouver, let alone how it relates to root beer, but their kiosks have these cool barrels: Their root beer isn’t even all that great, but a nice break before Superdogs! So about now, I’m getting a little peckish . One of our great traditions is a little booth down near Playland (rides) called “Curry-in-a-Hurry.” I always order a plate of something or other and two plates of veggie pekoras ... one for dinner and one for the line-up. Tonight, butter chicken, rice and salad(??) with a tamarind dressing. Lucky for us, this stuff is now available at Costco so we don’t have to wait for the PNE. Still, there’s something special about enjoying some really tasty Indian food out behind their shack with people of all ages and racial backgrounds. Our own little UN. A little something to wash it down I don’t know if the state fairs are like this, but the beer gardens at the PNE seem to be the gathering place for the leather-clad biker crowd. I have no trouble with that, but does nobody else drink beer? J & I felt a little conspicuous, especially when I started shooting pictures of our beers! Fisher Scones made its return to the PNE this year. As a kid, I remember my mom making us stand in ridiculously long line-ups for a scone stuffed with whipped butter and raspberry jam. I remember the people working like mad to keep up with the demand. There were no line-ups this year, and the scones weren’t as good as I remembered them. A little doughy, but that could be because they are pre-stuffed and then sit in bags until somebody buys them. And finally, what’s a fair without: Two bags of 18 – one plain, one with cinnamon and sugar. And so was my visit to the PNE for 2004. I’ll probably skip it next year, but then I said that last year too. Arne