SBonner

I'm thinking the octupus bacon wrapped scallops at "C". I've never seen octupus bacon anywhere else on my travels and friends visiting from the U.K., Australia, and Spain are always impressed when they try it and hav never seen or heard of it before. Cheers, Stephen

Have you tried Comerc 24 or Biblioteca? Cheers, Stephen Vancouver

I considered that, but then I thought it would be better if people qualified their complaints. No manager or restauranteur wants a customer to leave unhappy, but as Canadian diners we tend to veer from confrontation in the moment. Consequently, we rarely call the manager over to say "You know what buddy? This is shit." Instead, we come here to relate our complaints in threads like Truth Be Told, where the emphasis is on singing praises, relating anecdotal experiences, and complaining. A good thread, sure...but I'd be interested to hear something more constructive. No? ← Andrew, Looking forward to seeing the comments on this thread. Hopefully some FOH and BOH staff will read this thread and learn from their mistakes...should be a good read

Wow Andrew.... I can see this thread going way overboard. This egullet crowd is tough when they hate something it goes pear shape really quickly. Cheers, Stephen

After all the comments we've read here, I am curious why you would go. It's like touching the element just to see if it's hot. ← I love other people's opinons but first hand experience overrides all others....might have to change that point of view now though I love egullet but sometimes there is a mob mentality in restaurant reviews. Enough said the masses now have my attention. Stephen

They do both styles of chowder. Stephen

I'll 3rd the claim to Rodney's Oyster bar. I also like the fact that the chowder is made in front of you. Great thread Jamie...it is glorious to eat chowder on these approaching Autumn days. Now if we only had those amazing leaf colour changes the Eastern seaboard gets Stephen

Helen and I popped into Watermark yesterday for a bottle of bubble and some appetizers after a walk along the beach. Service was on the ball but the food.... We had the lobster dumplings (way too doughy), vegetarian gyosas (dried out) and the chickpea and lima bean puree (not bad and refreshing with our wine). Wine service sucked; I ordered a bottle of Blanc de Noir Brut from Domaine Chandon, It arrived without an ice bucket and no glasses After a five minute wait the glasses arrived and the wine tasted pretty good while admiring the view. We both ordered an Irish coffee to warm up after 40 minutes on the patio...they showed up luke warm, with no whip cream, or sugared rim (not a big deal) but I like my coffee hot. Just short impression of this place and no plans on going back in the near future. Cheers, Stephen

Why not consider a private room at Imperial Chinese. Great room with great multi-lingual service staff and really fresh seafood and a change from all the western restaurants mentioned in this thread. Cheers, Stephen

I'd consider: Chambar and Wild Rice. Both have some seafoods and are "cool" rooms with great service. The nice thing about Chambar is that the seafood if "Ocean Wise" certified. The Quay is a nice room but I'm not overly impressed by the seafood. I'm curious why Coast and Nu are off your list? Cheers, Stephen

Dessert is always popular: rice pudding, summer pudding, sticky toffee pudding... you get the idea and lots of Champagne

Chris, I've been there once...pretty tasty cocktails very much in the modern London style. I recommend it. Lots of fresh muddled fruit, intense flavoured syrups, and a hip Yaletown crowd late at night. Cheers, Stephen

I don't watch hockey but I'm thinking the Quayside restaurant (bar side) would be great. Several plasma screens (42") and a wall of wine, stiff spirits, and taps all within sight. The server's there are also very sexy...so I've heard. Stephen

Sommelier Tom at "C" has a great list of Sake. Stephen

Too bad the picture of the yam fries does not live upto the photo of the Cafe de Paris fries...it's all about presentation in this industry Stephen

I'm not a big fan of Whole Foods. I agree there is plenty of organic produce but when it comes to poultry, meat, or fish the selection is extremely limited. I find the elvel of service somewhat lacking and actual product knowledge of the clerks is thin. I'm still keen on supporting the family run shops and getting to know my purveyors and merchants by name. Call me old fashion but that's what food culture is all about. Stephen Vancouver

Interesting to hear of your experiences. In Vancouver, sommeliers will give you a taster of wine, but we do not split pairings up. Usually we offer 6-8 different wines with each course with on average 2oz pours of each (we have tough anti-drink/drive rules here). Cheers, Stephen

The Irish breakfast at the Irish Heather every Saturday and the truffled eggs for Sunday brunch at Aurora Bistro every fortnight. Stephen

A new restuarant recently opened in vancouver with a Sri Lankan family making hoppers. Are these a staple item in Sri Lankan homes? This restaurant gives you three on a plate, one with a soft poached egg in the middle, along with a choice of curry, shredded coconut and chutney. I've never seen these before. Any background information would be great. Stephen Vancouver

Growing up in London I remember my grandparents and parents serving the pudding first then finish off the meal with cheese. Cheese or pudding first? I love them both so I'm indifferent as long as the result ends up with me having both. Just last night we finished off our evening with a nice Aussi sticky with some store bought rice pudding and then during a dvd had some cheese with a small glass of fino sherry. Cheers, Stephen

I have not heard of this being done before...interesting concept. Great for the customer but time consuming for staff. I do not know of any Vancouver restaurants that do this as most wine flights consist of approx 2oz pours in 12-16oz Riedel glasses. Cheers, Stephen

It's an intersting descriptor! I'm guessing it's the same aromas of well hung meat especially vension, which I have noticed in Syrah before...I like the description Stephen

Thanks for the feedback...fortunately we have friends at the Jockey Club and Yacht Club so I'm guessing the wine options are a possibilty there. My wife and I usually drink wine by the bottle but with 6, 8, or 10 course meals it would be nice to have a wider variety of wines to taste and drink. Cognac and Scotch are okay at night but abit much for lunch...even when I'm on holiday. Thank you. Cheers, Stephen

I'm in HK for five days later this year and would like any suggestions for Chinese restaurants with great selections of wine by the glass. Thank you, Stephen Vancouver

I'm having a childhood craving for good old fashioned rice pudding. Last Autumn I managed to consume way too much at St. John's and the Butler's Wharf Chop House in London and now I want more. Any suggestions on Vancouver restaurants serving this old school dessert. Old school recollections were of warm rice pudding with sultanas and a scoop of ice cream....yummy. Thank you, Stephen