SBonner

It's summer; time to get a BBQ

In regards to beverages: Good strong Assam tea Vintage bubbles i.e. Bollinger or Krug work well with a big English fry up. SB

I ate there in October of last year. An all round pleasant experience. Started off in the bar trying an interesting banana bread ale and had a nice three course dinner in the small restaurant. Wonderful heirloom tomato soup was a memory. Good but not great service but I'll be back there again when we return to London in October. Very pleasant neighourhood for a pre-dinner stroll.

800 pounds at Club Gascon last Autumn for two. Hurt even more when it showed up on the Canadian credit card at $1700 dollars. Nice bottle of bubble and Bordeaux did not help the cause

Some truth to the above. Some excellent wines are coming out of the Okanagan but as their price points match those of Europe and Southern Hemisphere wines with a long pedigree and providence you do have to think twice. BC is still a young wine industry but if the success of New Zealand is anything to go by then the above comments will be mute. Stephen Bonner

It is a combination of ripeness and climate along with wine making technique. Certain grape varieties are predominately higher in alcohol. A well made wine at 14% is not inferior to a 12/12.5% wine and if made WELL you should not notice the alcohol. Spanish reds from the south are higher in alcohol due to varietal characteristic's and climate; likewise in the Oliver area of BC and the Columbia Valley of Washington State. Stephen Bonner

Q Tea Botantical here is Vancouver does a great Imperial Earl Grey. I know they ship to some hotels and restaurants in California and I have used it in dessert and wine pairings. Q Tea Botantical

The Sampler in Islington.

semi -perishable? The Guinness and Marmite chocolates from Paul Young, Tea for sure. Great bottles of wine and Champagne from London's top wine merchants.

I think the place to go for hot chocolate in Barcelona is the "granjes" in Carrer Petritxol (one of the most beautiful streets in Barcelona, if you ask me). I agree. This is our favourite as well;although we usually get lost trying to find it each time

As with Mark having eaten in most of the above I would agree; but we are getting pretty close. It is very nice to see others recognise that we are have great restaurants; although if the editor of City Food made the suggestions then it was a local making the list and not an international opinion.

How about Vinoteca, Wine Wharf, Ransom's Dock, or the dining room at the Narrow in Regents Canal. Stephen Bonner

Last year in Vancouver I did a dessert wine and tea pairing with both beverages paired up with desserts. I'll post the details if there is any interest. Stephen Bonner

In my youth back in the early eighties I got kicked out of Rules with my drunken wine friends. Fond memories of that experience. I'll have to go back now I'm grown up.

It's never bothered me.

I have not been back in the U.K. for almost six months but I'm pretty sure that the Brindisa shop at the Borough Market can arrange mail order. Brindisa @ The Borough Stephen Bonner

Just to let you know...this was an inspiring post after putting up with the lager louts outside my home in Vancouver on Saint Patrick's day. Thumbs up on real men who love top drawer restaurants in Spain. See you there soon. I forwarded this post to a foodie site here in Vancouver. Stephen Bonner Urban Diner Website

I also agree with CheGuevara. Great Med pub food at the Eagle in Clerkenwell. Sit by the window by the kitchen and see all the action. GR's The Narrow was pretty good on our last visit in November. Stephen Bonner

I also agree with CheGuevara. Great Med pub food at the Eagle in Clerkenwell. Sit by the window by the kitchen and see all the action. GR's The Narrow was pretty goos on our last visit in November. Stephen Bonner

I agree with Hong Kong Dave . I would love to see a Gordon Ramsey, Tom Aitken, or a Jamie Oliver off-shoot here. A new face will not hurt the city but I think we can stand on our own two feet in the culinary world now. SB

I've been into this new restaurant a few times since they opened just over a fortnight ago. Excellent sandwiches made from cheeses and meat from Oyama along with some creative Canadian rye based cocktails. Friendly service and lots of potential. I've tried their roast beef and truffle foie gras pate sandwich, sour cherry and confit duck sandwich, and the Prairie beef stew. All under $14 and great value. Small draught selection (3) and just under ten wines by the glass. Lots of free wifi in the hood so its very much going to be office away from home at lunch time. Their only dessert offering is an amazingly rich aborio rice pudding with rum and raisins....very good indeed. Website

Mark, You'll never find the variety of potatoes that you are used say from the Borough Market or even Waitrose. We may like our meat and potatoes here but it's like we all drink Chardonnay and none of the other interesting varietals

These products have been available in the Canadian market (Vancouver) for the last three years. I have the vanilla and chili-cardamom in our kitchen at the moment. Stephen

Cafe Medina for a Belgium breakfast Ranjoli on South Granville for a tasty Indian lunch Boneta or Cobre in Gastown for dinner SALT tasting Bar on Blood Alley for late night cheese, meat, and wine Just a few suggestions. Stephen