peppyre

I almost had water coming out my nose with that one. I have to say that when I was in Winnipeg last I tried my damndest to find some local cuisine and I found it very difficult. The attitude of many people (my former in-laws for example) doesn't seem conducive for culinary awareness. I was asking where I could find perogies (I knew that I wasn't going to get to my families farm on my first trip, so I thought I would take back the next best thing) and they had no idea. My ex and I took his family to a brand new Thai restaurant that had just opened by his sisters place and they bitched and complained about all the spices and that it looked weird. Even though I found that most people I spoke with had the same attitude, there was certainly a bit of a culinary revolution going on. In certain parts of town there were amazing little cafe's opening, and gourmet food stores and just a general awareness of good fresh food was starting. I then spent a week on the other side of the spectrum. My family has a ranch in the middle of MB (Rorketon for anyone who may know it) and of course everything is fresh. My cousin actually has an organic garden that my dad and I pillaged on an hourly basis. Oh... and Winkler Farmer Sausages...the only thing I miss about my ex's family. His mom would ship him packages of it and every Christmas we brought home enough to last a year. um....anyone care to send a package?

Citrus Cafe on Thurlow and Dunsmuir. The have a wonderful array of healthy good food. The Korean place in the food court of Benall Centre, below the Royal Bank. When I think of more I will definitely add to this.

I have a 14" butcher's knive that was custom made for my grandfather and I have found it very handy. Actually, I love this knife. Before I got my Henkel, I used it as an all purpose chef's knife. It's still good for scaring people when the first come into my kitchen.

OK, so I finally got a chance to see this show on Saturday and I wasn't impressed at all. Granted, I was watching it through the haze of pain killers and migraine, but still, it seemed to be lacking. Does anyone remember the initial Everyday Food series that was part of From Martha's Kitchen? It was so much better and seemed more like a cooking show and not just a bunch of people following along to a recipe in a book. I do enjoy the magazine though.

It's also a good idea to tell us what area you are in and what sort of things you're trying to find. There are many deals to be had in this city.

I think that West cured bacon trumps anything you could have eaten all weekend. It was the most wonderful thing I've tasted in a long while.

Knowing how I react when someone other than myself touches my knives at home without my express permission, I would be hard pressed not to yank it out of their hands and tell them to get their own fucking knives. I'm a little obsessive about my knives. I helped my mom buy her first knife after her divorce and whenever I see her new husband sharpening it I have to restrain myself. My ex (the guy I lived with) was actually scared to use my good knives because he knew that I would be in the kitchen, over his shoulder, telling him what NOT to do with MY knife! It's a tricky situation and you probably will become "that guy", but as far as knives are concerned, I think it's a fair trade-off. Become that guy! Your knives will thank you.

I have a friend that is like this. When we used to work together we would have lunch at the deli in our building. They made these fantastic sandwiches which were basically just meat. He always ordered Capicollo, everytime. And everytime, he would sit there picking his lunch apart and pulling out every last scrap of fat from his meat. It was horrifying to watch. When my girlfriend married him, I thought she was nuts, especially when she started to develop his same quirks. This man was extremely skinny, I think he was about 160 lbs and 6'2", very pale and had developed alot of allergies over the years. I truly feel for you. It's hard to cook a well-balanced meal that tastes good when you have so many irrational objections. I would be more concerned about your daughter though. Children should not be afraid of fat let alone their food and at the age that she is, these are the kind of fears that will stick with her as a teenager. You can certainly eat healthy while still ingesting certain animal fats and it's all about moderation. I think that the suggestion of trying a nutritionist is a good one. Other than that, lock them out of the kitchen and try and get your wife to actually read the nutrition information on the frozen packaged food that she's eating. Good luck!!!

Damn!!! was I ever sitting in the wrong section Honestly Andrew, I was quite surprised to see you actually make it back up those stairs at the end of the afternoon. Oh and there was quite alot of drinking prior to the awards as well

Hastings and Slocan on the North side of Hastings street. I'm not sure of the exact address, maybe someone else can add that info.

mmmmm...nick's! sooooooo good! it's been a long time but i think i'm going to have to go there soon. they have a really good lasagne! and i love their spaghetti and meatballs... very authentic .... ← Nick's?? Really? I'll give you Nick's over Anton's, but gimme Da Francesco or Osterio Napoli anyday. At the risk of seeing a return of da' boyz from Nick's in these forums fitting me for concrete shoes I'd say Nick's may have been da' place, but it's living on reputation alone now. A. ← seriously? it's been a long time since i've been there... probably a couple of years at least.. i'm SO disappointed. where the heck am i going to get my authentic italian homecooked pasta fix now??? ← Da Francesco's!!

My grandmother LOOOVES Nick's. She has very good taste, but I think it's partly nostalgia for her. She's been eating there ever since she moved to Vancouver in the early 60's and lived on Commercial. Now that she lives 2 blocks away from Nick's, whenever she wants to go out for dinner that's where we go. After having been to Da Francesco's, I may have convinced her that there are better places to go. Quite frankly, I can't risk eating at Nick's again. Last time I was there, I was very very sick. Plus, it's not a cheap little hole in the wall anymore. It was bloody expensive! Da Francesco's for me thank you!

Well, first we need to go back to Wine Fest. On the last night the group that I was working with ended up at the Hamilton Street Grill at 11pm. Since we were starving we had every appetizer on the menu along with drinks and more drinks. My mom and I inhaled one order of the carpaccio. It was fantastic. The mussels were extremely spicy and was a great kick after the gorgonzola fondue. The food was fantastic. Thank you Neil for taking us on such short notice. Everyone absolutely loved it!! Then on Tuesday (?) went to Hakata Sushi with Arne for Vietnamese, which I think is much better than their sushi. I had the beef brochette, a little chewy, I remembered why I never order this, and a spring roll. Really tasty and a great lunch. Wed was Long's Noodle House with a group of eGulleters. Really good. I took a Benedryl before I left the office and that actually seemed to help a bit with the MSG. Then again, for food that good, I'm willing to finish off my afternoon with a few painkillers. It was a great lunch! Sat night I went to Da Francesco's. What a great find. We shared a medium Capriociossa (?) pizza that had ham, salami, black olives and artichokes, a caprese salad and a lasagne. The pizza was light and the crust was crisp and thin and flaky. I thought the lasagne was fine but my friend thought it had a tad too much salt. Their house wine is very drinkable, Zonin Montelupuciano D'abruzzo, and the bill was under $50. I told my grandma that the next time she has a craving for Nick's I'll take her to Da Francesco's. Very good. That's it for eating out for a while. I must start cooking again.

Depends on the herb. For dill, I will either throw it in the freezer wrapped well, or chop it up and put it in a freezer bag. Other herbs like basil, I would chop finely and add some olive oil to it before freezing. I would think that the same thing would make sense for other delicate herbs. I usually only keep cilantro stocks and then it's only for Thai curries, so I just throw it right in the freezer in a bag.

For you it does sweetie!! You've got to figure that you're getting a few food groups in there. Fibre/Flour; Dairy/butter and chocolate chips; Protein/eggs..so the next time you want to have cookies for dinner, go ahead, it's a well-rounded meal! Tonight my dinner was rather beige but it tasted really good. Cod coated in seasoned Panko flakes and baked in the oven with oven baked fries. I had a craving for fish and chips but there was no way I could do that much fat. This was really good and really easy!

Sure but you'd have to go to Morden, MB. I think I have the recipe somewhere, I'll try and find it for you!

Ling, I am now drooling. My ex's mother used to make the best clodhopper's, better than what you could buy!! I haven't thought of those in 2 years and right now, I could almost call Ian to ask how his mother's doing

A few years ago I spent some time working in the Spectra head office which is located directly above the 1st Ave location. It was sheer torture working there in the morning. All you could smell was baking bread or muffins or cookies. Thankfully I wasn't there for very long. This was before they started showing up in gas stations, which I have been subjected too, and the quality has gone downhill.

I personally would like to see more variety in the wines chosen. Believe it or not, Vancouver is seriously lacking choice of wines. There are very few available here. Fortunately, I have the added benefit of a grandmother that lives just across the border and she can bring wine back for me, but I'm just not that interested in CA wines. I like them, but I find myself now only enjoying them when it's something special (like all the 15+ year old wine that my dad is now opening to clear out his cellar) What about trying more New World wines? I know that the obvious assumption is that CA wines will be available in more regions but that isn't necessarily the case. I think the idea of choosing a region or even a grape or blend and then listing a few wineries that are good examples of that particular style/region/grape. It would make it easier for people in areas with a lousy selection a better chance of finding something suitable. I keep reading that people are surprised when the read that in BC we can't get certain wines. Yes, Vancouver is a major metropolitan centre, but we have a government controlled liquor board and it is very very difficult to have wines listed. The bubbly that I fell in love with at the recent Wine Festival has not been listed and at this time is still not available to purchase here. And just because a wine is really inexpensive in the States, it almost certainly will be double or sometimes triple what it is there. One of my favorite Zins is the Ravenswood, but at $24.99 a bottle, it's just not worth it. I would much rather pick up a Moreau Petit Chablis. Don't assume that because someone is in a large centre that there is a good selection of wine. They could be living here. I say make the selection a little broader and then see what happens. I drink a lot of wine and so far, only one WOW has interested me and I couldn't get the wine here.

I have to wait for the pictures but having been raised on Bon Ton, the Diplomat cake absolutely should not have goopy icing. It's very thick and should be like biting into a slab of butter. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. I really want to see these pictures though.

I will truly be stunned if Richard sold the restaurant. I haven't been in a few months but for the last 7 (8?) years it has been his baby (shh...don't tell his kids that). I guess I know where I'm going for lunch tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Art's closed sometime last year and the building was bulldozed. I think it's condos now. Hmmm....does anyone know how Shiso fairs on a windowsill?

Well Arne, you did Vancouver proud!!!! Fantastic Blog. It's hard to believe that it's been a week already. So, I guess it's back to the normal week of eating lots and taking pictures of food

When both of my mother's parents were in St. Paul's we would usually end up at Roy's. This was 12 years ago though and I'm not sure if it's still any good. If you can get there early, Bin 941 is a great place to have dinner. Good luck, I hope everything goes well!

The last time I had a loin, I roasted it. I sliced some fennel, sweet onion and apple and layered that on the bottom of my cast iron skillet (it was a small roast) threw in a couple cloves of garlic, salt and pepper on the roast, a light dusting of herbes de provence, then I placed the roast on top of the fennel mixture. Roasted at a low temp about 325 until cooked. If the pan starts to dry out, I'll pour a little wine into the bottom of the pan.