Vikram Vij

Hi, I totally respect your views and thoughts and just have a couple of questions and clarifications. Did you bring it to anybody's attention that the potatoes were undercooked or the chicken was too spicy?. If you enjoy the traditional Indian meal then you would know to ask for Raita and it would have have softened the spice level down. I do apologize for undercooked Potatoes. Naan is always brushed with Ghee. Is Rapini not suppose to be Bitter? Were there salted Cashews on the dish to give a little extra texture. We did design this dish for subtle flavours. Because I do not use Tandoor my Naans are suppose to be little thicker and heavier. The food at Rangoli is cooked with the same atttention as it is cooked at Vij's. I would love to know what part of it did you think was fusion. Do you mean fusion of Flavours or of ingredients. Vikram Vij ←

Most people like the smell of Sandal wood burning but may be for you it was gawd awful. I only burn the incense sticks to cover up the smell coming from the coffee shop. I do not encourage smoking on the patio and when the patio is full, I usually do not allow people to smoke.......... I wonder what would you complain about if you went to India. Vikram Vij ← I expressed my appreciation for your extinguishing the rank smell from the incense that was wafting over our table-the idea that most people 'like the smell of smoke with their food' is ludicrous and touches on another aspect of your operation. It's true I've never visited India to date-however my years of residence in Mexico & Central America as well as visiting and fishing the Caribbean/South America and the South Pacific-have pretty well immured me to diesel fumes and chance encounters with odours of the gagging kind. FYI-the reek of cheap incense fell out of style in this town in the late 70's. ← Sam, What part of my english did you not understand, I never said that "most people like the smell of smoke with their food" . Do not try to read between the lines. I only said that most people like the smell of sandalwood burning. Whenever I light the incense sticks, I always ask people if it bothers them, if it does, I put it out or take it away. FYI - I was still in India in 70's and as far as I remember, incense is still very popular in India. You must be a very wealthy person that you can call my incense cheap. When did you last go and buy incense? Go to Punjabi market and see what mine costs. Maybe because you have been to all these places, you know it all. Vikram Vij

I am having trouble with some of these comments. Vikram stated, "I have never said that mine is punjabi home cooking." and as far as I know he has made a point of saying this, regardless of his father's efforts in the beginning to go more mainstream. I applaud you for sticking to your guns. My experiences at Vij have been excellent and I think Vikram is both warm and welcoming and a truly gracious host. The food in my not so humble opinion is delicious. By the way how's the cookbook coming along? ← I opened Vij's on west broadway in september of 1994. At that time my parents helped me alot by cooking food in the kitchen. My mother use to make lamb curry and some other things. My father and mother went back to India in Jan 1995. Meeru ( my wife) and I ran Vij's. At that time because I was ayoung restaurant and afraid that maybe I would not be accepted as being different,my influences were more mainstream and not so experimental. As we moved in 1996 to our present location, Meeru started experimenting more in the kitchen and we got the confidence. Manny's lunch on broadway was taken over by my dad when he migrated in 1996 in the fall. Because it was lunch only we kept a little bit more mainstream but I never did butter chicken or chicken tikka masala. We always did dishes like Chicken Curry and Lamb Curry but no names. I am a punjabi from Amritsar and my style of cooking is my home cooking. There have been dishes like Saag paneer but still it was not mainstream. Meeru is working hard on the cookbook. Hopefully 2006 fall. Vikram

While I've never felt quite as bad the food I've eaten there over the years was fair to good without being outstanding. Underwhelming comes to mind. I know Punjabi home cooking and Vij's is an approximation that no more. The whole 'warm schmoozy host with watery chai in hand' shtick has been done many ways by many people and adds little to the overall experience IMO. Influencing the Vancouver scene? That's laughable and shows how many people in this town can't wait to line up and drink each other's used bathwater. ← I have never said that mine is punjabi home cooking. My staff and I are from Punjab but my wife and I had made the decision not to do any regional cooking. It is our style of cooking and my restaurant is like my home that is why we serve you chai while you are waiting because in indian homes one always offers Chai. If the chai was watery because that is the kind of chai was prepared in my house in bombay. There are atleast thousands of ways of making Chai. "Warm shmoozy host with watery chai" is not a Shtick but a genuine gesture of trying to let the people's wait more comfortable and by serving snacks while they are waiting. One waits for a doctor or a lawyer (in general) in an office with 6 months old magazines but waiting for a table with friendly service is considered a "SHTICK" This is my art and I am very proud of it. Same thing with the Chutney's. There are so many ways of making them. Just because you know punjabi cooking does not mean you know all INDIAN cooking. Punjab is just one province of India. People in Calcutta and Madras and rest of India makes very tasty food that has no name or boundaries but it tastes good and one gets the sense of sincerity and good ingredients and thats what we try to do. Vancouverites are well travelled and multicultural do not underestimate their palettes. As far as the waiting is concerned, your experience of coming to Vij's should start in the waiting area and not just when you are seated at a table. It is like a house party. My wife and I live in vancouver and we use local products, local wines and combine it with where we came from which is India and that is our style of food. Vikram Vij

Really? You think? Wow...I feel ripped off...we went and hey, it was okay, but it wasn't all that wonderful. He's an amazingly skilled host, but from a food standpoint, well, it really wasn't anything I would care to stand in line for a second time. Guess I will have to bite the bullet and give it another shot, maybe I missed something the first time. ← Did you bring it to my attention or my managers attention. What did you eat? Vikram

Most people like the smell of Sandal wood burning but may be for you it was gawd awful. I only burn the incense sticks to cover up the smell coming from the coffee shop. I do not encourage smoking on the patio and when the patio is full, I usually do not allow people to smoke. If in the middle of the afternoon somebody wants to smoke and there is no body on the patio, I shall not refrain them because it is there legal right to smoke outside. I do believe that my place is clean and thoughtfull. I wonder what would you complain about if you went to India. Vikram Vij