Mooshmouse

One of the worst pregnancy experiences I ever had. To make matters worse, my doctor requisitioned my blood tests early on in my pregnancy, so I had to take this test during the first trimester of Morning, Noon and Night Sickness. Talk about barfish. It was the ultimate test of intestinal fortitude... literally. Whoohoo Maggie! I know the anti-rootbeer conversation has come up before, but I'm right there with you in that hate parade. Blecch to the nth degree. And my most vilified food/flavour? Black licorice. That also rules out fennel, anise seed, and ouzo. My teeth are sweating just thinking about it.

After two weeks of restaurant fare in Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, we've been cocooning at home and enjoying the simple pleasures of home cooking; hence, not a lot of dining out until this past week. Hamilton Street Grill last Tuesday evening for the Mission Hill instalment of Neil's weekly wine tastings. Four fantastic wines and four great pairings. And two of the simplest dishes were the most memorable for me: the spinach salad and the shortbread. My carotid arteries are still recovering from the shortbread. Saturday brunch at The Tomahawk. Big plates, loads of cholesterol, Yukon style bacon and more Yukon style bacon. Bliss. Dinner on Saturday evening at Fiction. My heart sank when I saw that the truffled scrambled egg taster wasn't on the menu. Quickly placated by arctic char gravlax on one of the best rosti I've ever had. Dear husband had Moroccan lamb atop lentil and red cabbage something something (wine, too much wine blurs the memory, but the dish was lovely nonetheless), and I ordered halibut served atop mashed potatoes with a beet (?) reduction. Dessert was somewhat disappointing: a Valhrona chocolate trio featuring mousse, souffle and espresso gelato over chocolate ribbons. Good but not great. Overall, a pleasant enough dinner; however, we probably should have opted for the Sunday afternoon tasting seminar and dinner at Cru rather than a Saturday night out. Oh well.

Let's see. The "To Eat At" list tallies up at Chambar (damn, I can hear those frites calling my name), Cioppino (I don't know if my wallet can take a hit like that), Bis Moreno (too snooty or not too snooty... that is the question), En, Velvet, Blue Water Cafe (but I gather I'm not missing much), the new Richmond incarnation of Gyoza King, Shiru-Bay, Go Fish, the William Tell, the new izakaya place at Davie and Denman whose name slips my mind (chalk it up to Mommy Brain), Tojo's (ducks and hides), Feenie's (Lumiere, yes, but not yet Feenie's), and La Regalade. So much food, so little time. Only in August did I have my first meal at West. Dear God. By far, one of the best meals I've had in Vancouver if not top of the list. Arne, run, don't walk there. Chef Hawksworth's White Chocolate Souffle is a dessert bordering on the sublime. And for those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of dining at The Pear Tree, don't hesitate to make that trip out to Burnaby. The cozy venue and Scott Jaeger's cooking are perfect on a cold and rainy fall evening. Edited because I really wanna try Gord Martin's fish and chips.

After originally reading this thread a couple of months back, I grabbed a box of Roasted Corn Pretz to try it out. I was immediately hooked. Absolutely hooked. Fortunately, my husband and three-year-old son don't like them nearly as much as I do and are easily placated by Strawberry Mousse Pocky and Pocky G; hence, I don't have to share. Weeks passed and another craving for Roasted Corn Pretz hit. Two boxes worth, at least. Strolled down the aisle of my friendly neighbourhood Asian supermarket only to find that, horrors, they no longer stock Roasted Corn Pretz. Needless to say, I was devastated. Nothing worse than having a food craving denied. Now I'll have to go on a quest for Pretz...

For some reason, I've been fortunate enough to fulfill my next three restaurant quota before week's end. The Kolachy Shop for Monday lunch on the run with my three-year-old son. Mmmm... warm bread. Mmmm... meat. Mmmm... warm bread with meat in it. We both seem to like the Reuben best: corned beef and sauerkraut filling. Umami for late Tuesday-night dinner after a preschool parents' meeting. Was pleasantly surprised at the venue; for some reason, my brain had switched off all previous mention of Umami not being an izakaya restaurant per se. Enjoyed my crisp, refreshing glass of La Frenz Viognier more than I did the Burrowing Owl Pinot Gris. I was quite happy with both the Albacore Tuna Spring Roll (healthy sized chunks of fish nicely accented with a nori and shiso wrap, spring roll wrapper light and not greasy) and the Maple Soy Marinated Sablefish (apparently marinated for 48 hours, lovely, delicate, not overdone, organic quinoa tabbouleh was on the bland side though). Dear husband was over the the moon about their Gambas al Ajillo on Fontina Cheese and Edamame Risotto Cake. I wasn't quite as enthusiastic, however, as I found their "orange and saffron dungeness crab bisque sauce" (damn, that's a mouthful) to be too overpowering. And lunch today at Cassis Bistro. After reading numerous rave reviews, I was expecting the sun, moon and stars but found my visit to be good rather than great. Shared a tasty Spinach Salad with prosciutto, chevre and white balsamic marinated peaches. Coq au Vin wasn't quite as rich and hearty as I would've liked, but our 1/2 litre of Wishing Tree Shiraz compensated for that. Unimpressed with their dessert crepe, at least the strawberry one we ordered, but am willing to give the crepes another shot. During my meal, I could hear the frites at Chambar calling my name...

It's great to see everyone having so much fun with this topic! Best part is that you can re-post a reply as soon as you hit your next 3 restaurant quota. Having exchanged my overwrought working life in the business world for 24-hour-a-day working life with my son here at home, we don't dine out nearly as often as we used to. This is my way of vicariously enjoying the local dining scene and a means of reminding me which restaurants I either need to schedule a return visit to or try next. Clearly, Chambar is on many of our "to eat" lists. Reminds me of my university days. Red Onion for burgers or hot dogs after a night studying (well, sleeping) in the Main Stacks. Yes, Jamie, hot dogs certainly qualify as ethnic food -- at least they do in my small universe. And Ling, I also lived at The Deli. Best cheap made-to-order sandwiches and samosas on campus. Eatbc, next time try Rangoli which is directly adjacent to Vij's? Great food at a fraction of Vij's prices; hence, much easier to justify. Their Lamb in Saag platter is great, as are their Eggplant and Cauliflower Fritters (read pakoras) and their Mango Lassis. And, finally, "meh". In my books, the perfect onomatopoeiac description of mediocrity... you don't need to waste any more syllables than is merited. Forgot about our planned visit to Taste on Saturday, but am glad that we didn't miss much.

After ordering Szechuan Green Beans at a local restaurant a number of years back, I vowed that I'd attempt to reproduce the recipe at home or else go bankrupt from ordering it takeout. Throw sesame seeds, sliced chilies and a remarkably large amount of finely minced garlic into a hot wok for browning. I use canola or vegetable oil for frying with a splash or two of sesame oil for taste. Add previously blanched green beans and toss with a liberal amount of salt. Eat piping hot to capitalize on the fire from the chilies!

It does in Canada. At one of Vancouver's more popular izakaya restaurants, I recently had a calpico/orange juice/vodka cocktail... yummmmy. Other flavours were also offered; clearly, I'll be trying them on subsequent visits.

Without knowing what your culinary preferences are, I'd suggest Cru on West Broadway at Granville. Touting itself as a "wine bar restaurant, it serves West Coast cuisine in a hip yet cozy small room. It's open at 5:00 p.m. daily for dinner, so you can dine early enough that you're not starting your drive back to Seattle at an unreasonable hour. If you don't feel like sitting at one of the tables along the banquette, you can always dine at the bar; even if owner Mark Taylor isn't on the floor, the friendly waitstaff will help you feel more than comfortable. Fabulous small plates selection. I'm a big fan of their Wild Warm Mushrooms, Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio, Tuna Tartare, and Pan-seared Nova Scotia Scallops. Three-course prix fixe at $34 is a steal. The Roasted Halibut is some of the best I've had anywhere. If you're a chocolate fan, their Bitter Chocolate Torte is, quite simply, to die for. Diverse "colour-coded" selection of wines by the glass for easy pairings. Each of my dining experiences at Cru has been excellent, and I wouldn't hesitate to dine there solo if the occasion ever arose.

It's time to 'fess up. Name the last 3 restaurants that you've dined at and tell us about the standout dish(es) of that meal. Yes, that includes fast food and quick work lunches. And no padding your answers! Let's see. In reverse order: Hamilton Street Grill just last night, where we enjoyed the fine hospitality of the illustrious Neil Wyles and reveled in the decadence of Warm Gingerbread Pudding. Needless to say, we'll be regulars just for that dessert. I'm jonesing for another helping already. Dim sum at Shanghai Chinese Bistro, upstairs on Alberni just off of Thurlow. Spicy Wontons. Need I say more. And the best mango pudding in the city. Guu with Garlic. Cozy goodness on the night of a torrential downpour. Never having tried raw scallops, we were pleasantly surprised at the sweet, tender taste of their Scallop Carpaccio. Next in line?

Though it's been a little over a year since we last dined there, my husband and I also had a great prix fixe meal at L'Emotion. Cozy room, warm and attentive service. Minna is a fabulous hostess and Jean-Yves is, I believe, a former Michelin three-starred chef. Have also been meaning to try La Regalade. Coop's choices are spot on. I'd give the nod to West over Lumiere, but both are stellar on very different fronts. Cru, for sure, followed hot on it's heels by Fiction and Parkside, a relative tie in my books. Caffe Artigiano right downtown for world-class coffee. And Sen5es for remarkable desserts. If you like seafood Japanese style and don't mind a more casual, reasonably priced meal, why don't you try izakaya or small-plates dining? It's the current rage here in Vancouver. Downtown, there's Hapa Izakaya and Guu with Garlic on Robson Street. Also the original Guu on Thurlow, further east along Robson. And don't miss the often-overlooked Yuji's on West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano. Fabulous food at all of them. Let us know what you choose!

Ooof, nothing like having a cold to make everything taste like cardboard. Whenever I'm plagued by hayfever or any other nasal congestion, I tend to eat strong tasting or spicy food to compensate for the lack of olfactory stimulation. Or else I go the opposite way and eat something bland so that my tastebuds know that they're not missing out on anything much. I'm pretty scent driven and could easily bathe in the scent of sauteeing garlic just after it hits the pan... nothing like waking up to the smell of freshly brewing coffee. Admittedly, however, I could walk past the window of a bakery or a chocolatier and be absolutely tantalized by the display without so much as a single sniff. C'mon, you can't tell me that those impulse-driven purchases of candy bars or bags of chips strategically placed near the checkout counter are motivated by the smell of junk food through their wrappers! And I'm with Pan on smell being more important than appearance, but beautiful plating certainly makes me appreciate a good meal that much more.

One thing I learned way back when in high school cooking class is how to check for an egg's freshness by looking at it's shell... I still do it today with every carton of eggs I buy and it works every time. Fresh eggs are white, white, white with chalky looking, bumpy shells. Older eggs have smoother, shiny shells that are a duller color, occasionally with semi-translucent spots on them. As for grocery shopping at our house, well, that's a family event. Instead of one of us staying at home with our son while the other goes to the supermarket, we all go... and have fun doing it! We're teaching our 3-year-old how to pick out fresh vegetables, how to sniff a canteloupe for it's sweetness, how to heft a watermelon or a pomelo to find the heavy ones. He thinks it's all fascinating and loves to bag produce and toss unbreakable items into the cart. Of course this will rapidly change once he starts to make demands for junk food... Edited to add more eggformation.

Aye to that! With stay-at-home Mom status putting my former executive life well behind me, people often ask, "When are you going back to work?" My reply? "Well, I have a 3-year-old son. I work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you get to leave the office every night..." I'll reiterate my PM to Arne that I'd also be more than happy to help in any way needed, organizational or otherwise. Since dear husband and I won't be at Opus beforehand, we'll have a little extra time on our hands before La Grande Soiree.

Helen, I couldn't agree with you more. Chris, the good news is that your wife is 12 weeks pregnant. My morning, noon and night sickness started at about 6 weeks and then... poof... vanished into thin air at 12 1/2 weeks. I never actually threw up, thankfully, but do remember having the dry heaves once or twice. After that, the rest of the pregnancy was smooooth sailing. The full-scale food cravings weren't so significant and I went back to eating anything and everything, all sorts of ethnic and spicy food. They say what you eat affects your unborn child's food tolerances; as a result, my son now loves garlic and strong savoury tastes. During the whole morning sickness phase, food smells were anathema. Especially chicken. I could smell a chicken cooking in a thousand different ways from a mile off and it'd make me run for the exit. The first episode of nausea hit one evening when my husband and I made a supermarket run to pick up some ingredients for a family dinner. Preface this by saying that the deli department was at the back corner of the store. No sooner did I walk through the entrance when, WHAMMO, the smell of BBQ chickens hit my nose and I turned and ran back outside. And these chickens weren't even in the cooker any more. They were under the heat lamps, bagged in sealed heat saver bags. It wasn't until about 5 1/2 months into the pregnancy when anything remotely resembling chicken could touch my lips again. And I couldn't walk into a grocery store for about the same amount of time either. Needless to say, cooking was pretty much a complete write off. I had a handful of Wheat Thins crackers in the morning before even lifting my head from the pillow. That seemed to help. And I didn't deny myself any food fixations. One week it was mandarin oranges, tomato soup and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The next week it was strawberries and Campbell's chicken noodle soup (ack). Following that was kiwi fruit, blueberry milkshakes and strawberry cheesecake. Clearly, my body crying out for salt and Vitamin C. On the whole, simple soups and stews were very comforting to me. Easy to eat, easy to digest. Go with what your wife's cravings are telling her to eat... it's what her body needs at that very moment. And get take out. Lots of takeout. If she wants hot food without the smell, and if precooking isn't an option, then that's the route to go. All the best to you both!

Oooh, oooh, had a Jarritos Guava soda on Sunday. Light, not too sweet. Fantastic. Can't wait to try the other flavors.

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 Resurrecting this thread to report back on our meals at the Raven Street Market Cafe. In a word, meh. We gave it more than a fair shot: two visits in July and one visit in August. Though no pizza was ordered thanks to your review, we did manage to sample a smattering of their dishes between ourselves and our guests. The best menu item we tried was the clam and mussel bake in a white wine reduction with loads of garlic. Heavy on the salt but still palatable. All the other dishes were on the low side of average, so much so that nothing in particular really stands out. On one visit, two of us ordered grilled chicken sandwiches of some sort which ended up being undercooked and were promptly substituted for something else unmemorable. IMHO, save your pennies for the Oystercatcher. And I officially rescind my recommendations for Salt Spring Roasting as serving the best espresso drinks in town. After sending back a weak latte and americano only to have them both come back about 10% stronger, we caved in and walked across the street to Moka House. Best decision we made that afternoon. The coffees were brilliant and the split pea and rosemary soup was just as good. I'll still buy my beans at Salt Spring Roasting, but will definitely get my future espresso fixes at Moka House. Last but not least, I had a phenomenal bowl of mushroom and roasted garlic soup at the Seaside Cafe in Vesuvius. Could've easily polished off a whole pot of that stuff and would gladly go back for more.

Edamame sticks have just started to pop up on izakaya menus here in Vancouver, BC (Canada). The two restaurants where I've tried them both included cheese in the wraps, and I was anticipating a smoother, silkier texture from the melted cheese to compliment the delicate soy beans. However, the end product only turned out to be okay instead of great as I'd hoped they'd be. Even with the crunch factor from the deep fried spring roll wrappers, I definitely prefer munching on a bowl of edamame instead. And with the Babystar Ramen, I seem to like the small thin noodle bits better than the wider dodekai style as does my three-year-old son because of their more subtle flavour. Was really happy to see melonpan's translation of the different flavours available; since there's no English on any of the packaging available here, I've just been buying them by guesswork and have only tried the chicken flavour so far. Now I can be more adventurous and try the rest of them... thanks!

Aye to all that. From what I remember of Stepho's, nothing on the menu was over $9.99 including their roast lamb shoulder. But that's about the most memorable thing about Stepho's, their prices as opposed to their food. Meh. Taki's is much better. My last visit to Minoas (in Burnaby, on Kingsway right?) was all right; mind you, that was a couple of years back now. Love Minerva's. Used to be a regular at Athene's for dinner in my university days. And Le Grec is sorely missed.

Ahhh, glad to see that I'm not the only one who has become entombed in the sucking vortex of time otherwise known as eGullet... help me, I've logged in and I can't get up. The number of times I check for new posts each day is absolutely ridiculous. Dear husband looks at me in disbelief when I ask him, "What would you like to have for dinner honey?" This, of course, prefaced by the fact that I haven't yet lifted my head from the pillow in the morning, or am about to take my first bite of lunch. Or when I talk non-stop about a much-anticipated dinner at West for days beforehand, savoring each bite in anticipation. As far as he's concerned, food is only for the moment. For me, food is past, present and future. Reminiscing about amazing meals gone by, relishing what's on my plate now, and eagerly anticipating planned meals to come. Good heavens, I'm a hopeless case. Now Keith. What about if we're noticeably younger? I hate to hazard a guess at the average age of local eGulleteers who'll be at Chef Wyles's fine dining establishment. Opus is a no-go for us due to babysitting logistics, but we too are hoping to make an appearance at the Hamilton Street Grill extravaganza.

I'm with you on gin and anise/licorice. Absolutely, unequivocally ACK. Either smell sets my gag reflex in motion. Root beer. I'm the only person in my family, immediate and extended, who can't stand it and I'm perpetually berated for it. Again, one whiff of root beer and my stomach starts to churn. However, my taste buds haven't yet discovered blue cheese. Love smoked cheeses like gouda and gruyere, but can't deal with the moldy flavour of blue cheese... as far as I'm concerned, it's tantamount to chewing on an old sock. And brussels sprouts. I get harassed about this every Thanksgiving. Just for posterity, I put three on my plate, drown them in gravy and choke them down. Key word here is choke.

Hmmm. Until very recently, I always left the snapped-off heads and guts in a pile on the side of my plate before dousing the anchovies in the cane vinegar/crushed garlic/chilies mixture. This is when eating them plain, as opposed to stir-fried with veggies. Like you, I took them off because my Mom did, also believing that the head/gut was a tad bitter... but I was never lucky enough to have them pre-snipped for me! However, due to sheer laziness, I started eating the whole dried fish and found that there was very little actual difference in the taste, particularly when eating the very small, thin ones. Seems to me that the larger the anchovy, the more bitter the head/gut; I will still behead them if they're on the big side. And here I thought the beheading was just a Filipino idiosyncracy.

To quell the doubts of any unbelievers, those little dried anchovies are absolutely delicious! Admittedly, they're an acquired taste, but they're delicious nonetheless. Soba can correct me if I'm wrong, but my family usually eats them plain dipped in a mix of cane vinegar that's flavoured with crushed garlic, chilies and a bit of salt. Accompanied by rice to compensate for all that salt. Dear husband has absolutely forbidden me to fry them in the house due to the godforsaken smell, so I'm relegated to only eating them in the warmer months when I can use the gas burner on our barbecue. However, he then claims that the fumes will cause all the squirrels and birds within a 10-mile radius to drop out of the trees... Can't wait to read more of this blog and see what you do with those anchovies. More power to you and Mrs. Laksa!

I'm salivating at the thought of dark chocolate and peanut butter... yummmmy. It's been a while since I've had one, but Godiva had a dark chocolate champagne truffle that was absolutely killer. If my memory serves me correctly, they also featured a strawberry shortcake truffle seasonally... but that just might be wishful thinking on my part. What else. Macadamia nut clusters (need I say dark chocolate). Oh Lord, how could I have forgotten dark chocolate dipped strawberries... or tuxedo strawberries. Sure way to win my heart. Just not cherries. Please, please, please, no cherries. Sorry fifi, but they set my gag reflex in motion.

Due to the politics of babysitting constraints, Hubby Mouse and I may not be able to hit the Opus reception; however, attending an eGullet Canadian culinary adventure at the Hamilton Street Grill is a distinct possibility, especially if Chef Fowke is willing to donate some of his now famous pastrami. What say you Chef Wyles? It seems that Chef Fowke and Sir Jamie have certainly thrown down the gauntlet for the eGulleteer festivities...