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

Just wondering, how come there is so little interest in Savory Coast on this board? Is it the location? Prasad's cooking at Cin Cin? I'm interested to know why people have showed so little interest in this opening. James

hmmmm nobody seems that interested in the restaurant... Just thought I'd point out that Tim Pawsey reviewed it in the Sunday courier, and he was effusive in extolling the virtues of Romy Prasad's cooking. His review was very positive, praising the service, atmosphere and wine list as well. James

I think Mia Stainsby's point was that she waited quite awhile for her dish, and when it finally came out, it was delivered to the wrong table. Now since it took such a long time to prepare the first time, if it went to the back and came out any quicker than say 5 mins -and i think it barely touched the counter in the back from the sounds of things -it is unlikely that they took the time and care to remake it. c'est la vie. James

Ha, what about the hot jazz club? my high school jazz band played there once (yes, I am not just a food geek, i'm also a band geek ). Is that that place still around? James

You know, I'be never really found that a restaurant can do both good music and good food at the same time; either it's about the food, or it's about the music. And really I don't understand why one would feel the need to combine them, but I guess some people just want everything at once. The cellar on broadway and alma is an exception however. While the food isn't stellar, (and a little over priced from what I remember, though I haven't been there in a year) it is much better than you would expect from a jazz club, the atmosphere is great, and the music is even better. the cover depends on who is playing, but I think it used to be around $10 for normal nights. they used to charge you full price again if you stayed for the second set, which was really annoying, but I think they changed that. It is somewhat pricy but definitely worth it. Only thing that's missing is the smoke. to make you feel Rossini's also has some very good jazz, though I have never eaten there and so cannot comment on the food. Capone's has some good music too, but can't comment on the food. The place someone was referring to on broadway with music and dancing I think was mesa luna, I don't think they really have any jazz music on a regular occasion. I can't reccomend this because I haven't ever been...but monk mcqueens upstairs has jazz on friday and saturday nights i hear. Don't know who plays there so can't comment on the quality of the music. I'm sure some people would like it. the other day when I was at Quay in yaletown with some friends, there was a horrible jazz/elevator music trio playing, can't say that it really improved my dining experience. In fact I couldn't wait for them to finish their set. If restaurants are going to have live music, it should be at least worth listening to! Latin Quarter and Bukowski's both have live jazz, not sure what nights, I think latin quarter is everynight. And i think latin quarter is definitely the better of the two for food. I don't get out there very often, maybe someone else knows. Chivana on fourth and vine ( which I believe was named best chinese-cuban in the sun. They must have some time beating off the competition for that award!) used to have jazz sometimes, but I think they may have gone more towards DJs, does anyone know if they still have any live jazz? Also I think cafe deux soleils has jazz on sat nights, and maybe other nights. But I don't know how the food is. James

Oh oops, never heard it called Court of Sommeliers.

Maybe I missed it but what about the International Sommelier Guild Courses? I haven't taken any courses yet but I have been planning to take it for some time....as soon as I finish university In Vancouver the choices (that I know of) are between the WSET and the ISG courses and since the latter focus only on wine it seems somewhat preferable to me. Also they are having an international sommelier contest! Anyways link here International Sommeliers Guild

Up here, Steamworks Brewery is the only one I know of who does a pumpkin ale. I had it at a beer-tasting and sure enough, it tasted exactly like pumpkin pie in a glass. When my friend told me that, I was a little disgusted, but i was pleasantly surprised when I actually tried it.

Smithy, I did try some the second day and did not think that it had improved. If anything I would say that it lost some of the fruit on the nose. This is not to argue against your finding. For my tastes, I usually find that improvement on the second day happens mostly with more tannic wines, such as Shiraz/Syrah and Bordeaux blends, not so much with merlot. James

I just wanted to ressurect this one because I think the fishermen there at False Creek may have been unfairly represented. According to Don Genova, they used to be able to sell only whole fish, but the regulations were changed to allow them to sell parts. However, this has to be processed at licensed facilities. This would explain the trucks pulling up delivering with seafood from Surrey. I've never actually bought from them so I can't say either way, but thought I'd throw that out there. James