Daddy-A

Really enjoying this, especially the conversation regarding the range. I'm a kitchen designer, so before everyone calls me an "appliance geek" ... no, wait, I AM an appliance geek! The range looks very similar to a line out of France called LaCanche. I know the round portion of the flat cooking surface as a "French Top" ... it varies heat depending on how close to the centre you are (if I see it correctly). Is your refigerator as impressive? My experiences in Europe are that the refrigerator is much smaller than our North American versions, simply because of the way people in Europe shop. Perhaps an over generalization, but it sounds like this would be true for you as well. Do you have a dishwasher? Microwave oven? Any other appliances we might find interesting? DA p.s. Sorry about the Italian/Bulgarian elimination ... I suppose I shouldn't tell you I'm part Danish

We had the same rec's for The Raven ... in particular, their pizzas. I gotta tell yah, the pizza was average at best. I should qualify this by saying we were there on Good Friday, so perhaps they were short on ingredients ... but the crust was a pre-bought crappy frozen crust. The meals served at the neighbouring tables (I think someone had a boulliabaise) looked much more appetizing. Based on the rec's we received, I'll go again, but I won't be ordering any pizza What I liked about this place was the number of locals who ate here. This was my favorite breakfast place. DA

I'll second that! I'd even say that reservations are mandatory if you're travelling to the Gulf Islands in July. Unless of course you want to spend 24 hours in the parking lot with a 5 & 6 year old. Heres the link for BC Ferries Souther Gulf Island routes. You can either sail direct, or via Schwartz Bay. PM me if the BC Ferries link doesn't help. You are in for an amazing vacation ... my family spent 10 days on Mayne last summer, and I was on Saltspring this spring for work. Pender is on our list for next year, so I won't be much help there. Here are some links that can get you started: Mayne Island Chamber of Commerce GulfIslands.com (which really deals mostly with Saltspring) Fist things first ... both Mayne & Saltspring have farmers' markets on Saturday. Mayne's is in Miners Bay at the Community Hall ... kind small and folksy, but a great place to stock up on fruits & veggies for your non-restaurant meals. Saltspring's market is legendary ... full of hippy-types and gourmet foodies, craftspeople and arborists (say hi to Raj!). It's in Ganges in the main park in town ... you won't miss it. Restaurants on Mayne are a bit of a challenge ... there are a couple good little bakery/bistro type places in Miner's Bay. My son still raves about the calzone he got at the Miner's Bay Cafe. He's 10 and likes peanut butter on his hot dogs, so the rec might be better for your kids than you The Mayne Inn on Bennet Bay has a great deck, serves burgers & such, but also has a pretty decent seafood menu for a "motel" type restuarant. I had friends that used to boat over from Crescent Beach just for the crab quesadillas. The beers are cold, the view is great, and the kids can go play in the playground while the grown-ups relax. They also have a small art gallery featuring this really cool ceramic sculptor. A couple of suggestions for Mayne ... check with the community centre for the times they hold their putting tournaments. The tounament costs a buck or two, and even gives you a chance to win some wine or canning from the locals. My kid's & I really enjoyed it. It's over by Dinner Bay & the Japanese Gardens (also worth a visit ... pays respect to the Japanese farmers from the island who were interned during WWII). Rent kayaks from the Blue Vista. Doug & Leslie are great (great resort to stay at too) and offer excusions for beginners. There are other kayak places on the island, but we liked these guys the best. Saltspring Island ... where to begin??? The best restaurant I ate at was House Piccolo. Perhaps a little too high-end for the young'uns, but if you can swing it you won't regret it. The lamb alone was worth the price of admission. The other place I enjoyed was The Oystercatcher ... right down on the waterfront in Ganges. Good selection of seafood (great fresh sheet ... up to 8 different kinds of oysters I think)and local fair ... decent wine list. My other jewel on Saltspring is The Mornigside Cafe. You'll find it on Morningside Street(?) in Fulford Harbour (where the Victoria ferry comes in). Its an organic bakery that also specializes in non-wheat baking. But IMO their grilled sandwiches are the reason to go. Their Veggie-burger is one of the greatest things I have eaten EVER. Breakfasts in Ganges ... try The Treehouse, Barb's Buns, and this little Pie Shop across from Moby's Pub (sorry, can't remember the name). Other things not to miss ... the two wineries on the Island - Gary Oaks Vineyards, And Saltspring Island Vineyards. They are right beside each other on the Fulford-Ganges road. So have a Veggie Burger in Fulford, and stock up on wine all in the same day! Phew! Have fun! I am SOOOOO jealous. DA

The Slow Food group here did a "water tasting" a couple months back for its monthly get together. Even for Vancouver, that's kinda wierd. Pretense exists where it is created ... like the line-up at the night club that makes you want to be part of the "in" crowd ... and it serves only to increase price & profit. DA

At the risk of suggesting something you've probably already tried, you might want to ask that question in the Indian Food forum. On a related note, that was one of the few topics re: Indian cuisine not covered in mongo_jones foodblog. Amazing stuff and a very entertaining read. DA

Call me a geek, but I found this on the BC Government web site: So it seems we can't bring anything in, but we can take away that which we purchased, provided the restaurant puts the cork back in. I think archaic rather than puritan applies here. DA

Possibly because they are kosher? have food allergies? have food restrictions? are in the baking business and can "do it better" and more professionally? ... or perhaps the birthday-boy/girl has a favorite kind of cake not offered in said restaurant. I mean, who's gonna do a Sponge Bob cake better than DQ? Sure, arrange it before hand, and charge a cutting fee ... but I gotta have my Sponge Bob! DA p.s. Nice to have Carolyn T, Gifted & tommy in our little neck o' the web. Welcome.

A co-worker of mine is a member of the Terminal City Club. The Grill & the Games Room both have booze lockers where members can store their own liquor or wine for consumption on premices. I'm sure the rules are different for a private club, but it seemed civilized to me. DA

Just thinking from a business p.o.v. but that would be my guess. I'm a kitchen designer, and if a client wants to supply their own plumbing fixtures for example, I have them sign a waiver that frees me from any responsibility for failure due to these fixtures. And before you scoff ... you'd be surprised at how many people will try to have me replace a faucet they provided. Then again, this is a birthday cake we're talking about here. If the restaurant were to say "sign this so we're not liable" that would be fine. After that, any reluctance seems kinda petty. DA

OMG Mongo ... as if the blog weren't enough! That was tooo funny! Great way to start off Friday. If I can pipe in on the "good food / small town" discussion ... from where I sit it's not just a question of demographics (i.e. affluece) but how liveable a city is as well. I'll use Vancouver, BC (my hometown) as an example. This is by no means a poor city, but we're not as affluent as say Toronto in canadian terms. Yet the food here womps ass! My explanation: Vancouver is a very desireable place to be. Natural surroundings, good access to ingredients ... and many great chefs move here to take advantage of that. If you look about 300 mi. into the intertior of BC you'll find Kelowna. It sits right in the middle of our wine region, and while it's no Napa valley, the Okanagan is producing some amazing product. Kelowna's population is about 150 000 compared 2 million in the Vancouver "region". The number of quality restaurants in Kelowna about 10 years ago was negligeable ... but today, thanks in part to the wine industry it is growing quite nicely. Off the top of my head, I can think of a couple instances where vancouver chefs have moved to the Okanagan to take advantage of the surroundings. Great blog! DA

Amazing how a one day visit can be some complicated ... it must be all those great choices!! Regarding C ... I'm sure you can do dinner in a reasonable 1 - 1.5 hours as long as you let them know (we Canucks are pretty accomodating) and don't attempt the tasting menu! As far as good ethnic ... jeez, where to begin? There are a few "standards" that are along your route back to the ferry. Click the names for their web pages: Tojo's for sushi [i know you're not big on sushi, but Tojo is known world-wide] Vij's for Indian fusion *My Fave* The Banana Leaf for Malaysian Sala Thai [3364 Cambie Street, Vancouver] for Thai I'm sure other's will add their faves here. Don't get me wrong, the Chinese in Richmond is excellent ... I just don't think it's the best use of your time considering your visit to Granville Island, and I definitely wouldn't skip Granville Island. DA

Where have you people been all my life??? Nutella has only been in my kitchen for the last 7 years or so ... it was in a neighbours kitchen when I was a kid. They were from Sweden, and had many strange and wonderful items in their pantry: ketchup in toothpaste-tubes, those red waxed covered cheeses, and Nutella. I guess the closest thing we had in Vancouver was Koogle ... remember that flavoured peanut butter with the "koo-koo-koogly eyes"? Anyway, my mom wouldn't allow either in our our house (nor the tubes of ketchup) for fear they would corrupt or impressionable palates for the greater cuisines made up of Campbell's Mushroom soup on [insert name of meat here], and Velveeta on Wonderbread sandwhiches. I re-discovered Nutella in Costco of all places. Already being a peanut-butter-a-holic, the conversion to Nutella was an easy one. There is always a jar in the pantry, and while I am the only one in the family who uses it I manage to use a jar a month. My favorite use? Either with peanut butter and thinly sliced bananas on toast, or sandwiched between two ginger snaps. IKEA sells these really thin ginger snaps for about 75 cents a box that work really well. Thanks for letting me share. DA

I agree with HKDave here ... the timing isn't very good for dinner at C ... unless it's an early one. Let's work backwards here: With a reservation for the 9pm boat, you have to be through the gates by 8:30. I'd allow an hour to get ther "just in case" which means you're in your car driving by 7:30. If you've gone to C by the Harbour Ferry, you'll want to be out of the restaurant by 7 ... which means (in my world) you're starting dinner at 4:30 at the latest. I think Lunch would be better. I guess my only concern is if you miss the 9pm boat, you're waiting until the next morning to get to Victoria. DA Edit - Just checked ... according to the website, C doesn't do lunch on Saturday. You best check first!

AMEN! DA

Wow! ... tight schedule! Regarding the Ferry to Victoria: If you're not already aware, be sure you make a reservation. The website is here. It'll cost you $15 for the res, but on a weekend it's a no-brainer ... you either spend the $15 or wait in the parking lot for 3 hours. The last sailing that weekend is 9pm. Since you're tight on time, I'd go with Granville Island. If you take the Oak Street Bridge in (you'll still be on Hwy 99) I believe you'll see Granville Island signs at about 12th Ave ... Broadway for sure. Mapquest can be dodgy with Vancouver sometimes. PM me if you think you need help. You'll park right on Granville Island and walk everywhere. Given your schedule, do lunch there as well. Grab some food from the market and picnic down by the Granville Island Hotel, or watch the buskers near La Baguette. Restaurants on the Island are pretty good (man do I miss Mulvaney's). They're all a bit touristy given the location, but Bridges or The Sand Bar would be my choices. You can do Dim Sum in Richmond on your way back to the ferry if you've booked the 9pm sailing. You shouldn't rush dim sum! Our SkyTrain doesn't do North-South very well ... which I suspect is HKDave's issue with it. Great for locals like my wife ... or families like mine who use it to go to Commercial Drive on Saturday DA

I should start this post by mentioning how helpful ExtraMSG and all the Portland folk have been with planning my trip to the BREWFEST next month ... This is what makes eGullet so great! Granville Island is perhaps a bit more touristy than the Pike Place Market (can't comment on SF ... never been) but I'll disagree with HK Dave in that it is just different than Pike Place. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for. Granville Island is more than just a market ... there are many restaurants, an art school or two, many artist shops, and then there's the Mariners' Market for the boat-set. I agree Friday is best ... less crowded. The vendors in the Market are pretty much the same every day. A few "artisans" change their place in the market from day to day ... but the produce, seafood, butchers, bakers, etc. are the same. We do have several farmer's markets which I can't compare to Portland's, although I suspect our's are smaller. All of Dave's Dim Sum rec's are great ... if you want to spend time in Richmond. No offence, but Richmond isn't the most interesting part of "Vancouver", with the exception of Steveston. Sun Sui Wah has a Vancouver location on Main Street. This thread [click here] discusses a lot of the local hot spots. I'd add a trip to Commercial Drive if you're looking for something quinticentialy Vancouver. Very "Haight-Ashbury" but on a smaller scale. Our version of Italy meets Brazil meets El Salvador meets Belgium ... or something like that. Great food, amazing coffee, and terrific people watching. Victoria ... try Cafe Brio, Zambir's, Paprika ... Sam's Deli near the harbour is a great sandwchich spot too. When are you coming up? Where are you staying ... that would also help with the rec's. DA

Good conversation ... good reading. I think the best answer to the original question in this thread came early on ... something to the tune of "It only matters if it matters to that particular diner." I'd also add the chef into that equation i.e. if its important to the chef that he's in the kitchen ... then it's important. Wonderful post ... and beautifully illustrative of the discussion ... and almost free of analogy DA

What's really funny is I know the apple trees he's talking about ... and my mom used to say the same thing. She just never had the nerve like Keith's mom The prison used to have "work-gangs" in orange coveralls cleaning up the brush from the side of the road. I just thought they were members of some "team". Clifford Olsen stayed there while he was on trial. DA <---- Burnaby Historian

HOLY APPLESAUCE!!! Did you & I grow up in the same neighbourhood???? I lived near Kisbey Park (if that means anything to you) and my brother & I would sneak down through the bushes of what was then called "Blue-clay Canyon" to find the best blackberries, which were just outside the fenced grounds of Oakalla. We'd pick ice-cream buckets full to take home for jam, pies, etc ... although I'm sure we ate at least 3 buckets worth as we were picking. I even remember the cops driving down our street, telling us to "stay in the yard" whenever there had been a prison break. One morning on my way to swim practice, I scared off an escapee who had been hiding in our garage, oddly enough eating blackberries. Did you know there were Salmonberries down around Deer Lake (west end, near where the archery fiedl is now)? When it comes to blackberries & raspberries, I'll pick them before I'll buy them because of how "free" they were when I was a kid. Bloobs & strawbs are another story ... just wait 'til there in season.

You work for Parkside, don't you? Jerry & Coop oughta get together on this one

No worries ... we're coming down early on a Friday. I think we'll do Park Kitchen one night, clarklewis the other. See? Everyone's happy! (We Canucks are good at diplomacy) DA

I was on the site last night ... cool to watch the map with the little icons showing where the cars are! I think that's the third rec for Park (LOVE the quote on their web site!), and the umpteenth for the Daily. Both are on the list. Jim also mentioned clarklewis ... is it worth the buzz? I gotta admitt, the Carpaccio of Halibut & Artichoke at Park Kitchen looks awfully tempting! Any thoughts on Oba? Seems to come up a lot on places like portland.citysearch.com. DA ps. please let me return the favour should any of you venure up north!

Umm ... not sure where "Trillium" came from. It's actually Northrup Station. Really cool place ... check it out here. As for finding it ... my wife is a Google-guru DA Edited to make the damn URL work!

I don't know if this is any indication of how well they're doing ... but they really have been doing a lot of those 2 for 1 coupon deals. They are also advertising in the local rag for their prix fixe menu. Good deals. My wife & I walk our Jack Russels around Deer Lake and it always seems to be busy.

Merlin, Downer! I guess they're staying for Hats-Off Days (local street festival) this weekend and then heading out. Ah well, next time. Curious ... where you gonna go instead? Da