mzungu

Ahhh, yes. If you wish to relive that, hit the parking lot of the Our Lady of Fatima Church (Between Clark & Commercial on 13th Ave) during a festival weekend. Or the Portuguese Srs Centre off Kingway & Imperial when they have something going on then too. One Portuguese place that Mr. Maw has recommended is on Commercial ST. (not Dr.!), the name escapes me now. Hopefully someone can post the name here. I'm sure they can do grilled sardinhas just as well as the Algaviros... Yeah! Great choice for a good group hangout. First place that comes to mind for cheap beer, good music, and lots of friends. AS for this thread, I'd recommend Taki's over Stepho's. I wish Orestes would come back. That place was awesome.

OK, fair enough, point taken. Next year, more planning is order. I promise to organize dinner parties 2 months in advance for places that are practically guaranteed asses in the seats. ... DOV's success is my loss, I guess. Now, if we can get back on topic, anyone enjoyed their DOV dinner tonight? <edited to add this> PS FannyBay caught me in a bad mood. Yeah, granted, doubling dipping wasn't cool (and I've heard it before in this forum) but I wanted to give the second one to another group. Why subject the Fish House or Sequoia Grill to another antagonation after all the stuff that's happened in the park lately? It's not like I'm cancelling an hour before it's supposed to happen. PPS. Again, to the restauranteurs lurking here, sorry, lesson learned here. Next time, more planning & only one booking. Let's move on.

Yeesh. All I wanted to do was book a nice dinner for me and some friends that night and it went to sh*t. Excuuuuse me for being bloody prudent. I think what I meant to say in my original post was if anyone here wanted to get a group in at either restaurant, I've got your ticket. (2 places damnit, not just one!) For those on limited budgets (like myself), DOV is a great event to share with friends. Unfortunately, since it's so popular, it's nearly impossible to get a table for ten at any place where EVERYONE in the group would enjoy the food! (Non-foodies can be damn picky!) Two years ago (maybe 3?, pre-Open Table), during DOV, an EGulleteer couldn't go to Chambar at the last minute and I was lucky enough to get their reservation and have a great time with my girlfriend. I thought I'd give someone out there in a similar position a chance at a good time. Guess I was wrong. So much for trying to do a nice thing. Whatever.

Attention eGulleteers, I have two reservations, one for the Fish House and the other for the Sequoia Grill, both in Stanley Park. 8:30 PM, Saturday Jan 27th, 10 people. If you are interested, PM me this weekend and I'll transfer either one of the reso to your name with the restaurant. I was trying to organize a 30th b-day party that night for a close friend (I wanted to give her a choice and give the other reso to someone else) but the plans went sideways. Ugh. PM me and I will gladly call the restaurants with the new name. Both places are great and given the catastophes in our crown jewel of a park, I'd like to ensure that these places have people there that night. Cheers

Hey there y'all Went to the Bourdain love-in last night. It was fun. Thankfully, I won tickets and in retrospect I'm glad I didn't fork out cash for it. Don't get me wrong - he was entertaining and it was interesting to see the guy that the "Kitchen Confidential" series was based on. Due to the lack of reading time and TV channels due to my student lifestyle, I haven't had much time to get to know the guy and his musings. Did read a couple of chapters into "A Cook's Tour"; he's got a witty repertoire so I enjoyed his thoughts on the different countries, their food and culture. I've been to a few of those places so I really enjoyed being able to see the man in person talk about his experiences last night. His travel musings weren't all that different from what other authors have talked about but AB brings a good & different perspective to food, travel, and how it reflects the souls of different cultures. Chef was a gracious, humble, and refreshingly blunt ("Can't get my shows? Use BitTorrent!"). The persona I got from his books wasn't too far off in person. Simple and honest answers to everyone's questions about heroin, Bobby whatisname, travelling, dealing with poverty and strange foods, etc... it was all good. There were naturally all types of questions like: 1) OMG, I looooooooooovve you, you've made a difference in my life, yadda, yadda, yadda, blah blah blah.... (like I said, it was a love-in last night....) 2) What would be your last meal? (clue: he's loyal to his fellow chefs....) 3) What's your favorite country (food-wise)? (interesting answer here...) 4) What do you cook when you are at home? (listen to the CBC special....) etc etc etc... (Our very own Daddy-A asked TB about his thoughts on the TV version of Kitchen Confidential! I'll let Arne explain that one. I liked the series! If you hadn't read the book like I didn't, it was comical. A bit over the top (like Chef Bourdain?) but a good sitcom... too bad Fox didn't keep it though..) But I totally wasn't prepared for the huge turnout last night! Holy crap, my GF and I should have gotten there earlier! We would have stayed to get a book signed but it was crazy in the smoking section - Chef moved there tout-de-suite after it was over (any wonder why?). However, the dude walked right by me as I waited outside the bathroom! Christ, he's tall. And skinny. I'm going to have to download his shows. I was thinking that he and Ian Wright (Lonely Planet/Pilot Guides) should get together and bomb around Vietnam together - think of all the crazy shit those two could eat... now that would hilarious....) Anyway, enough of my thoughts. It was a fun evening and a good way to pass a few hours. Now even though I'm a Vancouverite and it's normal to play it cool around celebrities, here's my OMG-Look-who's-here! moment (Spotted at the Yale last night): Jim Byrnes! The dude touched my shoulder as he walked by me! (Where was his Highlander sword? That shit was cool! Great tunes last night too.) Jim Green! He should have been mayor! (Hmmm, why did he leave early?) Daddy-A! I stood right behind him during the reading! (but what was so funny about the Simpson's and Comic Book guy? Did I miss something from one of his books or shows?)

Yeah, I got a set of tickets as well! Went out and borrowed a "A Cook's Tour" from the library. Just finished reading Chapter 1, Where Food comes From. It describes his visit to northern Portugal where his boss Jose and his much extended family kill a pig for the family feast. My folks are from there and man, AB hit all the nails on the head, describing the heart and soul of family feasts from my parents homeland. Can't wait to swap notes with the man himself. If anyone ever asks what dinner is like in Portugal, I'll just tell them to read that section! (Or visit Senova in Kerrisdale, where Manuel Ferreira cooks up the good stuff too). It'll be great to see fellow eGulleteers there. Better find my eGullet ring....

Adega, like many other Portuguese restos, may be closed on Mondays but you'd have to check. Good place though for a decent meal though. I'd check out the honey Lounge for sure, or the Cambie is cool if everyone's into beers. I recently had a similar size group on a Monday at the Irish Heather and the food there is great!

As yes, the Wolf and Hound. Nice place for a casual drink. My colleagues here at UBC enjoy the ambience. It's a nice place, Guiness is poured properly, and the food portions are appropriate. As for Irish autheticity, when I was there last week (pre-Patty's day), there were some locals playing some fine Irish jigs. I'd go back with friends to try and score the "living room" area with the couches and big screen TV! Guiness, meat pies, friends, and a Big-screen TV showing the Canucks winning?.... ah, bliss. As you were.

As someone who can't really afford a 3 course regularly priced dinner at Parkside, Chambar, West, or any of the top-notch restaurants in the city, DOV provides a great opportunity to live the high life once in a while. Maybe I'm the type of customer DOV is supposed to cater to? Anyway, that being said, I think the key to enjoying DOV for me this year was to get a 8 PM booking, and enjoy the evening with some killer food. Ducky's comments about the large and loud party tables ring true, and while you can't avoid them, perhaps it would be easier to go later on in the evening and ask to be seated in an area with couples? Now that DOV is over, I'll probably hit Chambar again. Only for dinner at a reasonable time. (Appies and dessert and two drinks will have to be sidelined until next year's DOV!) I would take in those price-fixed menus but unfortunately, you gotta be in your seat before 6 at some of them and that's just way too early..... (and another thread to start...) To the owners and staff that participated: Thank you and keep up the great work!

Like, totally. Went to Chambar with the GF. She loved it and I thought it was pretty awesome too. I won't go into too many details except to say that pretty much everything ppl have siad here about the food is spot on. The Lamb kicked ass, I've never seen/tasted coucous that good, and my girl really enjoyed her fish dish. Our server, Robbie, was top-notch. We paired our DOV dinner with drinks. I had the cheery Krieuk (sp?) which reminded me of a light cherry soda in a lot of ways. I like sweet stuff but my GF thought it tasted like "cough syrup" (?). Maybe she had too many glasses of the Sandhill Pinot Blanc. Smooth, almost chardonnay-ish. Very, Very nice. I enjoyed the lamb over the Pinot Noir. The producer's name escapes me now but it was OK. It was good but didn't knock my socks off like the Pinot Blanc. It complemented the lamb though nicely. This was my first visit to Chambar and I gotta say the esthetics of the room look great. If I can ever afford a house with a proper basement, I want a simple bar like theirs! We sat across from the bar and the, ahem, "naughty" painting and although it was a little tight, it's DOV time, so there had to be some accomodation for the masses. Just happy we weren't shoved onto the bar or the couches at the door, it was akward standing around watching others eat. I'll have to get a seat next time at the back of the room where it looked gorgeous. Overall, a great, great DOV dinner. And for $25, a steal. Next year, they could offer a few more options and price it up to $35 and it wouldn't be a problem. It was far better, food-wise, than the $25 Samba menu. (An aside - anyone know what the deal is with Chambar.com 's website? HAs it gone down or ripped? I wanted to find the names of the wine but I get some obscure website-creator software site...) Cheers and Thanks to the Chambar team for a great time!!!

Dude, best piece of work I've seen from a food critic in a long time. I don't think I've ever seen such a smarmy response to the general readership! But refreshing to see. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. Now that I'm approaching those crazy thrtysomething years, I do wish to avoid the CFD's but find, like McDonald's, necessary in the market. Some of the older Earl's do need a renovation and the Paramount Earl's, like the Paramount , look great but empty your wallet without you realizing it. But unless I'm dining with foodies or my significant other, CC is a good all-around place to go with friends. Great topic, really enjoyed the opinions.

Sorry, not THAT crazy...yet. But if anyone is around tomorrow, I scored a reso at 8 tomorrow. PM me if you are going around then too. Can't wait. Just the thought of braised lamb makes me salivate like Pavlov's dogs! And DOV may be the only way I can afford to check it out....

Off to Samba tonight with the girlfriend. I've heard that the buffet is not bad but it'll be interesting to hear about this DOV menu. If anyone has been there (DOV or not), share!

Sidetrack... anyone know the story on Zizane? The poutine was tres manifique! I heard rumours of problems with the liquour license.. Perhaps the Quebec laissez-faire attitude was run over by a puritanical Liquour inspector? Je ne sais quoi...

Damn! that's a shame. Luckily enough I had taken my girlfriend out there Sunday morning for brunch. Ah well, at least we can say we ate at that institution. Guess it's off to Denny's, Seb's, or the Crepe Cafe for Sunday morning fixings. Or 'breakfast' dinners too... <snif>

Nice to see that my high school choir teacher has moved on to bigger and better things. But yes, "Mr Fuoco" is the king of kitsch - judging from the website, the guy hasn't changed too much in 10 years.

Best of luck Neil; maybe next year you can convince Translink to donate a couple of community shuttle buses to do B-lines to and fro from parking garages to Yaletown - and throw in a few GBPs to the drivers that night. Hmmm, actually, now that I think about it, forget it. If the Shaguars can afford to drive to Yaletown, I doubt they'd take a "looser cruiser" Good luck and have fun!

That's a real shame.... Zizane's was an awesome little hole inthe wall sort of place that my friends and I really enjoyed. Silvane was obnozious (sp?) at times but very entertaining ... esp when he was hitting on the ladies. Oh yeah, the poutine and Quebecois beer was tres fantastic. Ce domage. Zut alor. (Ou est la plage? And that's all the French I remember from Gr 9.)

Andy, I've read it! Friends of mine from the UK (who met here at SFU and later got married) sent me your article. I read it first and thought it was spot on. I've seen a few articles from out-of-towners before but your little blurb on sablefish shows your attention to local details. When I saw your name, it all made sense. Only one comment though (and this is pretty general in all tourist mags): where's the map for Vancouver's eateries? Too bad, it would be a great addition to the article. Nice to see that there was one for Istanbul... Cheers Carlos

Never been, but now I have to go. Somewhere to run to while the GF shops excessively in the Grand Bazaar. In the spirit of EGullet reviews, here's a link Or go right to the source: The Pudding Shop MMMmmmmmm, pudddding.....

Oh boy, do i ever... It my grandmother's specialty. Go to a big Portuguese wedding and sometimes they'll have a desert table where the wives in each little family unit bring the "house specialty". Rice pudding is minha avo's. She add a little lemon wedge in the big bowls for that extra zing. It's popular so it shouldn't be too hard to find on the menu of any Portuguese restaurant. Besides the Adega there's Cinco Estrelas on Kingsway west of Nanaimo, La Bodega downtown, and numerous other places mentioned here

yeah, heard that too - SOB! it was really handy when debarking from the B-line to walk home. When I spoke to one of the clerks there, they only got 2 weeks notice and didn't even know where they'll be working afterwards. Now I gotta join the masses at the Arbutus location. Oh well, at least the selection is relatively much better.

Thanks Chocoholic for the info, I did manage to get a look at the menu before the accident and it was remarkably pared down in terms of choice. Quality over quantity? If that's the case, perhaps the owners feel the same way over the decor... My bro used to work up the street and has been bugging me to eat at Wiman (sp?), another Thai restaurant. Came highly recommended in terms of price, any comments appreciated. (Located a block or two west of Oak on Broadway)

Anyone know what the deal is with the "Red Thai something" on Broadway, just west of the intersection with Heather? I moved to the area in July 2004 when it was being built. It seemed to have been open for, like a month, and this morning I saw plywood covering the doors. Had to be the darkest shade of red I've ever seen on a frontage for a restaurant... <insert your financial joke here>

Which place had the impressive wine list? Do tell!