peppyre

I haven't posted here on this board in many years, but feel I must convey my sadness about his untimely passing. If it hadn't been for this site, I would not have the friends that I have now. Through this site a small community of like-minded food lovers was created and they will remain lifetime friends, so thank you Steven for introducing me to my best friends. He was far too young. Many condolences to his family and friends.

This is very sad news. I always enjoyed Linda's post and took and took a tremendous amount from them. RIP

Congratulations Keith! Have a great time in Thailand.....k..so this shouldn't be so hard.

The salt crusted chicken is to die for.

Steeps is a great place to have lunch, a nice cup of tea and a great environment to decompress. Their sandwiches are very good and the baked goods are fabulous. (Waffles from Patisserie Lebeau.)

I just returned from an extremely hot jaunt to Portland, OR with my mom and her 2 dogs. It was about 100 degrees the entire time we were there and will agree with what everyone else has said, but add one thing. Buy a bag of ice for the dog to sleep on. Callum was so hot we just didn't know what to do, so on our way home, we stopped at a gas station and picked up a bag of ice. Callum curled up on it and I now have pictures of this dog hugging the bag of ice, out cold and snoring. For the first time the entire journey. AC usually isn't strong enough to reach the back seat and they stay very warm with the fur coat and all. Ice...it's your friend.

What you can't see in the pictures are our faces hovering over the plates trying to enjoy the smell. The smell of the linguine dish as it was being served was divine. The sauce on the morels, um....someone has got to market that as a cologne. If we could have, I think we all would have licked every last drop of sauce off our plates. It truly was a tremendous meal that the kitchen put out last night. My first visit to Parkside and certainly not my last. Congratulations on getting through the week Deb. It's been tough, but you made it. The stove had it's inaugural run, the dining room table was set up and used, there food, food and more food. It was just a typical week around these parts. (I know Deb will try and tell everyone that we don't do this all the time, maybe not all in one week, but this week was a fairly typical month for this group.) Good Work!! Now you can sleep.

And it was certainly quite a dinner!! Good luck getting that post in Deb, I'm ready for bed after all that.

Yes, Deb, we certainly can pack away an enormous amount of food. The food at Guu looked very good. I'm wondering why we didn't have a few of those the last time we were there. I'm very glad to see you went with the deep-fried bacon, because well, bacon needs to be deep-fried. I'm so sorry the roof hasn't stopped leaking....Damn contractor...Good luck.

Looks gorgeous Deb. Sorry I missed it. As I said the other day, I was expecting my Grandma, who ended up with a dead car and was stuck in Birch Bay. OH MY GOD....That dinner....there are no words

Deb, I am so happy that Ilya finally came home. If that was my Pepper I would have been frantic. Kudos for keeping cool. Good luck getting the pork fat off the camera lens. Last time I got pork fat on a camera (a pig roast at a family reunion), the camera broke. Go figure. I guess the goodness of the pork fat was just too much for it to take.

Why is it, that if there's pork on a spit, I'm right there. The pig was great in all its incarnations. I really enjoyed the pulled pork with the vinegar. I also really really enjoyed the piggy skin right off the coals. Damn that was good!!

Yes, there was so much laughter that I actually had to phone to be let in as no one could hear me knocking over Moosh's laughter.

Deb, that chocolate torte was unbelievably good!! I am so glad I made in time for dessert. And those potatoes, thank god there were leftovers. Before we left I managed to inhale a few spoonfuls and oh my I must have thosee again. They were tthe most unctuous thing I have put in my mouth all weekend. Thank You!!

Looks good Deb. I did make my over to Trout Lake this morning after picking up my coffee but decided against it when I saw the throngs of people walking down Victoria drive and the traffic. Oh my, the traffic. It's so great that you can walk there.

It actually got a little warmer over here from the heat that coming from her kitchen. I can't wait to see the Wolf in action. How much sleep did you end up getting?

Deb, sorry about the computer, that is truly a pain in the ass. Good to know that Tiger doesn't like unexpected crashes like that. I just upgraded and well, as long there are no large appliances plugged in upstairs, I should be fine. But you never know. Have you spent most of the night cooking? Any hints at the menu? Enjoy playing with your Wolf. It should be a good night.

Damn, I was looking forward to there being a bathtub in your living room. Could have made for a very interesting evening.

Deb, I think I could fit in your stove The room is certainly starting to come together. I can't wait to see it on Sat. Great day girls. And just think, if the tub is still in the living room, just fill it up with after dinner cocktails and call them Tubertifs You know we'll drink them.

You know Snacky, what's frightening is that two of you would fit in that oven.

Plus she was the other night, so really, Deb, you're just another member of the household. It's going to be a very busy week with lots of food and drink. Any updates from the contractor guys? I forgot to ask, did you get your floor installed?

Well Deb, it begins, and with only 3/4 of a kitchen. I sooooo hope that when you get home this evening you have power and everything is almost finished. Just remember to keep the blood pressure in check. I still think you should have kept that banquette as part of a feature in your new dining room. It was so comfy and had so much character.

Sarah, figure out where the event is being held, (let me know the charity as well) and start contacting the Marketing Directors of some of the local distributors. You can also contact the IVSA for info on who to contact. I've worked at many of these events. Get the Distributors on board and it should be fairly easy to organize. Let me know what else you need. (I know most of the people in the industry here)

Very well said Deborah!! As I said earlier, I find this veiw of the Vancouver Forum extremely sad.

With respect to the Vancouver Forum, for most of the regular diners, there certainly is not an agenda, and to say there is, quite frankly I find insulting. The Vancouver board has a much higher number of Professionals actively posting than what I have seen elsewhere on the site. We are a very friendly group, and if that makes us clubbish, so be it. I am very dissappointed that this is how upper management views a forum that I have actively been a part of for almost 2 years. Actually, it's quite sad. Vancouver has a very vibrant food community and it would be nice to share it with the world, but if to do that, we come across as being "clubby" or having an agenda, then what's the point. Those of us that are just regular diners have never claimed to be critics. This site is for stating your opinion, your views, what you tasted. It's all very subjective and I think that should be kept in mind.