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Everything posted by SBonner
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Helen and I were there last week and still enjoying it. Nice room, good service, and tasty food. Cocktails are well designed and the small wine list gets the passing grade. Cheers, Stephen
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Helen and I popped in for some hot chocolate yesterday afternoon. Great friendly service and the hot chcoloate is delicious. I went for the white chocolate and Mandarin while Helen opted for the lavender. Both very tasty. One of the owners plied us with samples of the other hot chocolates (all tasty) and mentioned that he is making a Spanish style hot chocolate, like we enjoy in Spain, later this year. He thought Vancouverites were not too keen on drinking hot chocolate with a spoon and we are still fixated on skim and 2% milk. Great place and we will be back and looking forward to really rich Barcelona style hot chocolate later this year. Stephen and Helen
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Edible & Portable Souvenirs from Ireland
SBonner replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Cooking & Baking
You have to sneak some of the great unpasturised farmhouse cheeses and a bottle of Middleton Whiskey Cheer, Stephen Vancouver -
Lunch at either La Pont de la Tour or Butler's Wharf Chop House. Great view of Tower Bridge and a nice walk along the Thames with a possible visit before or after on the London Eye. Hakkasan as stated in this thread is a good choice for lunch. The Cantina at the Wine Wharf is another option and just a short hop from the Borough Market if you go on market day ( a real eye-opener for the children). Cheers, Stephen Vancouver
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It would have to be the degustation menu at "C" on a summer evening. Three hours of Robert Clarke's food would be a nice send off. Stephen
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Truly, a tragedy. ← I love morels as much as the next person - but as someone who lost their home in the OK Mountain Park fire I'd rather have had my house than the morels that could be found on the property afterward -- at any price. Just to put the 'tragedy' in perspective!! ← Hello Lemontart, Sorry to hear about your house, that is a very real tragedy. I can't speak for Stephen, but in regards to my above quoted post, it might be more appropriate if you turn your sarcasm meter up before reading. Hope you have been able to rebuild. ← same as above...the fire thing was just an observation. Of course no one would wish a fire just for the sake of cheaper morels, In regards to cooking them we usually sautee them with some whole cream and a pinch of pepper and salt. Cheers, Stephen
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I'll have to stay content with my 40 bottle wine fridge I'm thinking that unit is the same size as my loft! Cheers, Stephen
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My uncle in the U.K. has a built-in Miele; not by choice but as part of the London flat he purchased. It looks beautiful, makes a good espresso, but in his opinon is no better than the free-standing Saeso that he paid $400 pounds for. He also mentioned it is annoying to clean. Stephen Vancouver
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Unfortunately I was out of town for the Mouton event at the Cambie LCB. Thanks for the insight and comments though. How was the food that the Crocodile prepared? Cheers, Stephen
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Try the wine tasting approach to understanding tea: I'd buy some Chinese/Taiwanese, Indian, Sri Lankan, and some tradional blends. Get some friends together (BYOTP bring you own teapot) and taste some teas side by side. I'd go with: Chinese: Green, Chinese Jasmine Green, Taiwanese Oolong or Ron Buddha Indian: Assam, Darjeeling Sri Lanka: Uva Highlands Traditional blends: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, Generic Orange Pekoe If you taste several side by side you will sell the amazing differences that region, production, and blending has on the colour, aroma, and flavours of tea. Cheers, Stephen Vancouver
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Jamie, Glad you liked the above mentioned wine...Consumer's are still coming to grips with gems like these. Cheers, Stephen
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I would have complained not only to my server but asked to see the manager. Best case scenerio would be to have been moved to another table or at least a bottle of something on the house. The pub looks interesting though. It's sad state of affairs that the bing drinking and lager louts are now taking over the gastropubs. One of the advantages of being an expat in Vancouver is to see less of the loutous(sp?) behaviour over here. Stephen Vancouver
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Nice to see on tonight's episode "Wednesday" the focus on "Stelvin" or screwcap issues. Also great to see our dear friends, Heidi and Michael's Joie wine, being bottled on the portable bottling line. The actual portable bottling line was very complex not only bottling traditional but also stelvin enclosures...very cool and expensive. On a foot note so far the media reporting on the B.C. industry has been pretty good. Cheers, Stephen
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I remember back when we had the fires in the Okaganan there were so many Morels around and they were so cheap. No fires this year=expensive morels Stephen
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I keep seeing the Pouline bread at UF but I'm sure that they have the dough flown in and the bake it. Maybe Barolo can fill us in on that? CNN press is not a bad thing. I guess they are the first off the block now the Olympic focus is on us. Stephen
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Just watched the first installment on Global five minutes ago. Good brief reporting on the first hundred plus years of the B.C. industry with an emphasis on "Baby Duck" yes...we have all tasted it Fast tracked to the planting of vinifera varietals and the usual sales pitch of "We beat the French" in a competition. What competition, what wines, and who were the judges? Hey I really enjoy B.C. wines; but fifteeen years ago I would have turned up my nose at them. They are good most of the time and very good every so often. We are still a youthful industry but wow we have come along way in two decades. New Zealand is used as an example; they were like us twenty years now they are world leaders in Sauvignon Blanc and to a lesser extent Pinot Noir. Our future, in my opinion, will lie with whites in particular Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Bordeaux blends with high proportions of Semillon. Ice wines will remain a strong niche force and red's as the vines mature will become more and more interesting. Back to the TV commentary I'd say they should not try to compare our wines with France or the old world but concentrate the news article on our own flavour profile and style and not be an imitation of other famous wine regions thousands of kilometres away. First installment covered Baby Duck and let's see how the programme covers the industry over the next few nights. Interesting comment on the International Wine Festival with over 130 wineries but only 10% are from B.C. not so cool with attendess from around the global arriving to taste wines. I'm also not convinced the research is true...I do not believe that B.C. wines are outselling import wines especially Australia. Although Baby Duck could be up there with Yellow Tail Cheers, Stephen
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dining out with special needs in Oxford
SBonner replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
I am serious - but for you to compare it to a paraplegic situation is unfair and uncalled for and I'm offended. Think how chef's feel - you get a diner that say's they have a nut allergy,as far as the chef is concerned they have not used nuts in the preparation - but unknown to him one of the ingredients has been produced in proximity to nuts. Diner goes into shock, has near death experience, and sues restaurant. Good luck with finding a restaurant. ← Diner's with special dietary needs are a nightmare for any chef anywhere. A chef cannot have 100% providence on every food item that is purchased by his/her kitchen.I would agree that if special menus or price is an issue it is much better to stay home and prepare something nice and save yourself some money and potential issues with your health. The service industry tries it's best but the common denominator is to please as many people as possible and still make a living. Getting sued by a diner is a sure bet to going out of business. Stephen Vancouver -
Here in Vancouver a "decent" wine by the glass will range from $6.95 to $12.95 in most restaurants. When I develop wine lists I try to keep all of the wines at below $10CDN per glass. This is based on Vancouver prices and the outrageous prices charged by the Government Liqour stores where we have to buy wine. When travelling I usually back off paying more than $15 per glass unless it is something really interesting. I will however pay more for wine flights. Cheers, Stephen Vancouver Canada
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I would agree that there will be more emphasis on casual restaurants and bars. We have to envison foreign tourists spending their capital to get here, stay here, and more than likely spend less on fine dining but more cheaper food and lots of alcohol. I'm thinking parking may not be such an issue for tourists with them opting for our new RAV system to and from the airport, hopefully more new buses/trollies, and dedicated roadways to Whistler. If as expected we get a hugh influx of U.S. tourists this maybe a different scenerio. I'm curious to see how many tourists make the leap to visit Victoria and how the ferry system will cope with that issue...now we do not have those lovely sleek and sporty looking Fast Cats (oh maybe the people bought them will offer premium services over there for some $$$) In regards to food as stated in this thread "Salmon" will appear alot in the international press. Hopefully Tourism Vancouver will put together press junkets to Granville Island Market, Chinatown, and the Fraser valley Wine Country. Stephen
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I think we will see alot of great success for the restaurant in the downtown core, Yaletown, Crosstown, and Gastown and of course Whislter Village. I think Richmond will fare well with its cosmopolitan restaurants and markets. I'm not convinced that the suburbs will fare any differently economically. To echo Andrew's comments...let's really promote our wine industry both VQA and independent. I think we will see more chain style establishments, street vendors, and HOPEFULLY more liberalisation of our booze industry and liqour laws. I expect to see unfortunately more MacDonalds, KFC, and Starbucks popping up like weeds in the next three years. It should be an exciting time for the food and service industry but as Neil mentioned restaurant and bar staffing could be an issue. Stephen
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The best dining in my opinon is the Giraffe. Nice service, well presented food, and a decent wine list. Jacques Tapas Bar is o.k. but I'm not sure if it is still in business. Cheers, Stephen
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dining out with special needs in Oxford
SBonner replied to a topic in United Kingdom & Ireland: Dining
Helen and I ate at an Indian vegetarian restaurant on the outskirts of Oxford called "Moonlight" on Cowley Street (Sorry cannot remember the actual address). They should be able to accomendate your needs and the price was reasonable by CDN dollar standards. Cheers, Stephen Vancouver -
Great use for the glut of wine coming out of Europe and Oz. Stephen
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I like the pairing Carmeros Pinot's work well with duck and I think the foie gras will only enhance the subtle earthy notes in the Pinot. Let us know how it works. Stephen Vancouver
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We never attempted to eat McDonald fries in HK but the locals told me they were better than the ones in Australia and I thought the whole concept was for a global uniform flavour Stephen Vancouver