kurtisk

You couldn't be more right Jamie. We've had an idea in the works for a while. But when all you do is cook, shop for food, sleep, and try to maintain a relationship with your spouse, writing a book is the last thing on your mind. That said, we have been compiling recipes, photos and stories from the special dinners we have done, and hope to make a book out of them. Each dinner would become a chapter. We'll see what happens. ← oops. I'm chef jeff, not Kurtis

You couldn't be more right Jamie. We've had an idea in the works for a while. But when all you do is cook, shop for food, sleep, and try to maintain a relationship with your spouse, writing a book is the last thing on your mind. That said, we have been compiling recipes, photos and stories from the special dinners we have done, and hope to make a book out of them. Each dinner would become a chapter. We'll see what happens.

Yes, the buying power. A few years back, Earls bought all the Caymus Conundrum in town, stickin' it to those who had carried it for years. Recently, it was an Osoyoos LaRose purchase. An agent issue, sure, but speaks volumes for their regard for the rest of us in the industry. Corporations and money hold the power, and the rest of us are left to deal with what's left in their wake. k.

Lorna, your photos are excellent. Not DOV, but Wendy and I went to West for the 5-6:00 prix fixe menu and I'd venture to say it's the best deal in town. Such a comfortable room, attentive service (thank you Owen) and phenomenal food. From their awesome butter that comes with the bread, through to the truffles that accompany the bill, it's pretty damn stellar. k

Well said, my friend. Funny how we all have distinctly different opinions on various CFD places, yet tend to be more collective on our thoughts toward indie restaurants. Personally, I've always had horrible Earls experiences, via 6 or 7 different locations, whether I was 22 or 32. However, when popping into Milestone's (sic - and grammar I've never comprehended) over the years, I've rarely been disappointed with the bellinis, pints, spin dip, burgers, etc. A couple years back, my wife had the opportunity to do a market research project on CFD rooms, and we went to Earls, Milestone's and Cactus Club on three occasions each. We expected Earls to kick ass, Milestone's to be fairly solid, and Cactus Club to be a mildly highbrow Hooters. On every occasion, Earls dropped the ball, whether via food or service, Milestone's provided fairly suberb food and decent enough service, and Cactus Club was erratic in quality all over, hence no strong opinion there. Being at an indie comparatively-priced place as many CFDs, with many of our local colleagues at the same price point, I'd much sooner grab a glass of wine with Andrew here at Aurora or Cru, Nu, Feenie's, Chambar, Vij's, Baru, Bin941, Bin 942, Lolita's, Parkside, Irish Heather, Fiction, HSG, Hapa Izakaya and so on. And that, my friend, is my 2 cents. k edited to add: But, yes, they're great for training purposes.

Well, Rebecca, Kirk, Susan & Neil are all still there, and have been since day one. Who are you missing? I may have updates. Also, keepin mind that a lot of staff 'shuttle' between Dundarave (their sister store) and Kits. Plus, a couple wives have just had babies, putting some Dads on parental leave... k

Grammar Patrol!! You didn't just say "menu's", did you? <3, k.

Our friends and neighbours, Pan-O-Pan! A nice personal, tasty touch... http://www.pan-o-pan.net/indexflash.html Fully recommended, tell 'em we sent ya! k

Came in today to 4 cancellations for around 6-6:30 tonight... What the...? k.

Last night we had a fair amount of tables "overlap" timewise. Our night seemed like the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Tonight was very smooth and everything fell into place. Ahhh... k.

1. I love it that you said sammich... 2. I think Heartattack and Vine is an awesome name. I think I'll swing by tomorrow and give a report! k

Daiso at the Aberdeen Centre?

Well, the science and math our out there- so I guess there's not much to dispute on that note, however if a placebo effect comes into play, then why not run with it? I love oysters (all kinds) and oyster service at The Fish House, not as grandstandy and obvious as Fortes, but subtler more intuitive service, and ( here goes nothin! ) a much better food and wine program to accompany. Karen and Barb kick ass. Period. k.

I thought the tasting bar was 35? ← It is! k

Um, we're talking about the Beach Side here... k

^^ This is a common event in many major cities, New York, San Francisco, etc. It is an opportunity for those who cannot afford dinner of many high end restaurants to sample their wares. It is also an opportunity for restaurants to bring in customers at a notoriously slow time of year. It is a success, and everybody wins because of it. I assume you can see how it benefits many people on both ends of the industry... k

Pretty good! We've really gotten into a good mode with DOV, no nightmares or problems (knock>>wood). No no-shows tonight, we're dealing with larger-than-anticipated gaps between tables, which we're trying to tighten up over the next little bit. People are still drinkin', nothing too crazy, but I don't see much of a difference to regular evenings. Aurora is brand new to a fair amount of DOVers, so it's quite funny to be welcomed to the neighbourhood (after almost three years) by people who think that they've 'discovered' us. Calling to confirm resos the day before has been handy, knowing exactly what we're walking into and more opportunity to take walk-ins and last-minute bookers. Not so bad. Not so bad at all. k.

When I worked at Beach Side years ago, there were a couple regular older clientele who insisted on a certain table. I'm betting we're talking about the same people and table. Anyways, one night they came in without a reservation and lo and behold, there were people in the middle of dinner at THEIR TABLE. They marched right in and plunked themselves down at said sat table, and wouldn't budge. The people who'd already been there for an hour were so perplexed and shocked that they now had these "guests" sitting with them that they immediately bolted up and relinquished their seats. The intruders didn't bat an eye, no 'thank you', no nothing. In fact, they seemed perturbed that it took the original folks almost a whole minute to give up their seats. I don't miss serving those people. k

This was our first time doing Dine Out ever. First of all, we're ecstatic that everyone honoured their reservation. We sold some good wines, and even a few selections from the cellar. We were able to accomodate a few walk-ins at the bar who weren't aware of DOV but happily dove into it. Our kitchen were incredibly strong, everything came out timely and now the floor staff know what kind of food-times we're looking at. The phone is still ringing off the hook, which provides some time obstacles but we're not complaining at all. The VQA pairings were taken up by about 50% of our guests. We love that. It's 11:30, our last table just left, and damn it (!) we survived. One day down. Many more to follow. k.

^I wonder how Soho, the long standing bar/pool place in Yaletown feels about their name... k

We're extending it by a week!

Odd, I was at the Cannery a few months ago and it was terrible. As for the Beach House though, I agree that it is top notch. They don't get enough love on this forum. ← I was there not toooo long ago and I also found it (surprisingly) quite impressive. Can you elaborate on "terrible"? That's a pretty harsh word... k <edited to add that I say "surprisingly" because I was quite ignorant and dismissive of it in the past>

We usually go to The Main every couple of months when Rich plays there, sometimes we even eat a little food! It's my favorite place for Greek food in the city, although it outright baffles me that there aren't any excellent Greek places in town. Habit's also a good time, the Crispy Tofu/Mushrooms/Spinach dish is awesome. We recently tricked a tofu-hating carniverous friend into trying it and he loved it! k <edited to add that I was gonna post more, but we had a washroom flood I had to attend to. Washroom floods will always happen on a busy Friday night. We love that. >

Well, we're down to the last couple spots open (9:45 on a Sunday night anyone?) and it's sure been hectic. We had some media come in a couple nights ago for a Dine Out preview, nice to get a peek at some of the dishes we'll be doing, the night seemed to go well. Jeff went to Granville Island the other day for a Chef's DOV photo shoot, he'll be the tallest one in the group photo, this is strategic on our part to increase exposure, he's really only 5'6". Last night Jeff and I went to the Dine Out media launch at the Terminal City Club. A hob-knobbin' affair with VQA wineries and some food stations, Tourism Vancouver people, media and restauranteurs. Pretty shoulder-to-shoulder in there, nice to seem some familiar faces. There will be some more awful pics of Jeff & I coming up in local publications, you've all been warned. Just thought I'd let you know what things are like on our side of things as we get closer (and closer). k

...and helps with the food cost.