jhiroshi

They have indeed. Blackcomb was open this weekend and opens again next weekend. The official opening is Nov.24 or thereabouts. I'll be up there too but don't know what events I'll be attending. James

Fully aware of the reputation of the fud club, it was with more than a little trepidation that I greeted them on Saturday night. Fortunately, aside from the incident where Wesley decided to use his beer syringe to irrigate unsuspecting customers' ears, they were surprisingly well-behaved; there was nary a flying chicken wing nor any surreptitiously placed lamb cheeks. On a more serious note, this was my first official real world egulleter sighting. It was a pleasure to meet you Wesley, Sandy and Jen. Cheers James

Savoury Coast is also very accepting of cigar smoking on the patios, especially if, as someone mentioned before, you buy your cigar there.

Was driving by today and noticed ginger and garlic in Kerrisdale has a new name Miki Asian and Western Fusion. I haven't been and can't critique the food, but the awning is hideous. James

A new option in kits: Abigail's Party on Yew St. in the old Tangerine spot, well I guess it's not that old seeing as it's been less than a month. I believe the plan is to be open until 2am. I can't say yet how the food is, but the cocktail list looks excellent. Anyone else tried?

I've never tried it, but I've been told that Clove on Denman serves late. I think that it may be open until 1 on weekends. Also in the area I think that Zakkushi Charcoal Grill might be open until 1 weekends but this is something I might have to investigate further. James

I was at Sushi Bar Wabi Sabi a couple of times in the last three days. The food was excellent and so was the sake list. I'm wondering where else in Vancouver I can go to find a good selection of sake and servers who are knowledgeable about sake. James

Here in Vancouver at Aurora Bistro they have a martini with vodka and 15 year old balsamic. It was good, but it needed something else to make it good enough for me to order it again at $12 a pop. the walnut oil sounds like a very interesting idea.

another jack envrensal room, but blue water definitely seats over 100.

George is up and running. The room looks beautiful but I haven't been in yet. Since it is the same kitchen as Brix does that mean Jason Wilson is also the chef of George?

I believe that Shiru-bay Chopsticks cafe in Yaletown also has a total tip pool. It works for the cooks (who aren't really taken out of the Vancouver talent pool as they are mostly straight from Japan), but FOH staff have troubles with it. It's more egalitarian to be sure, but servers who are used to making more money don't stay around too long when they know they can work at any of the other restaurants nearby and make more money.

As someone who loves the industry and has worked both sides, as much as I love cooking (though I wouldn't really call it cooking where I was working ), I would never return to the dark side because there is very little reward, especially financially. People have already touched on the unmet expectations of those coming out of culinary school, which I think is a big thing. One other thing I would add is that many restaurants treat their kitchen staff as if they were sub-human ( while expecting them to perform superhuman feats ). Why would I want to work horrible hours in a hot sweaty environment for little to no money with a chef breathing down my neck when he's not yelling at me. Ok, so not all chefs are like that, I'm sure some realize that there are better ways to motivate employees than fear and intimidation, (and maybe I've just had bad experiences, correct me if I'm wrong), but there are still way too many who believe that it is fine to be an asshole to your employees. Well maybe it works for them, but when you're working 12 hour days for $10/hr and the chef is constantly on your case, it certainly doesn't make people love cooking. James

Went by yesterday and neither place has opened up

Pretentiousness from the staff!! A good restaurant should treat every table with the same amount of respect and courtesy regardless of whether they look like a table of poor students who are going to drink hot water with lemon, or a bunch of high-powered bankers. I cannot stand servers who are condescending because I and my dining partner are young, and thus must be inexperienced and have no money. This happens all too often. This is pretty much the only situation in which my tip will be stingy. James

hmmmm is this Spectra's desperate attempt to play catch-up with the Fullers and copy OPM? I knew they were opening an asian fusion restaurant, but didn't know where. Anybody else know? James