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How would you compare it to Urban Fare? Or Capers? Can you compare? What does "underlicks" mean? I can guess, but wondering if this is an important culinary term?

It's natural for me to see the end of something good right at the beginning in order for me to feel great joy with every success. Yes, definitely we need the Chatters review so we'll have to budget for a few free PR meals. And how about that Mr. Maw. I like how he starts a thread and then we don't hear from him again. Sounds more like a general contractor than a developer. Male strippers?

The cheque is in the mail. (sorry, couldn't resist) I think Irish girl is right. There has to be a catch. Maybe we need to set up a few faux fishing boats on the water so we can advertise "fresh fish and seafood". Seriously, now that tasting menus are done as well as amuse bouche, what's the next trend? Anyone been travelling lately?

Here we go! The Gullet (or Neil's Gullet) The Gingerbread House (no, that would have to be near/in a forest) I like Neil's as then there is only one person to blame if it goes bellyup.

Here I am replying to my own quote. I posted about Amarcord based on comments from other people and decided that was wrong so I went to Amarcord yesterday for lunch. I now recommend you skip this one. Don't get me wrong, the service was top notch, the pastas were very tastey and nice texture, but I didn't really like the ambiance. It felt dated. Sorry, don't know how to describe it better. My husband loved the old traditional Italian songs (cancione??) playing in the background. Sometimes I think a restaurant should only be about the food, and this is a good place to get a plate of pasta, but for a visitor I think there are better options.

Although I like desserts I'm definitely not studied enough to recommend one over another. I, like, Ling, prefer when having something chocolate to taste only chocolate so my pick of the Concord Framboise was probably not a good one although I thought the flavours were balanced well. The tiramisu (which my husband is still talking about) was our favourite b/c we both really like anything with coffee flavour. I'm interested in finding out more about the spray technique on the outside of this dessert. I will have to taste these again for more specific comments. I felt I had to rush through these as we only had 20 mins. in the meter. We talked about Ganache before, but at that time I was looking for a dessert place open after 8 p.m. Forgot to check what their hours are. It also sounds like the chef, Peter Fong (?), has an interesting background.

Ditto. I'm not a big TV viewer and don't have cable, but would love to hear everyone's reviews once you have watched it.

I'd do 3+ hours at Amarcord for lunch in Yaletown and Barbara-Jo's bookstore.

"Dream" is the key word right? How can we do this topic when dreams (most expensive) and reality (budget) are involved? If it's a dream theme I'll suggest: Only open 6 months of the year it's so successful. That way owners/chefs/staff can travel and stay up to date on food trends. (I heard there is a famous restaurant in Spain only open half a year, waiting list for years. Anyone know it's name, BTW?) Are we supposed to be more serious?

I have bought very tasteless melons and oranges, sickenly sweet pineapples (the sign warned me though about the sweetness), pulpy apples, and sour strawberries at Kin's at City Square. They all looked beautiful on the outside though. I suggest sticking to the veggies there. Not sure how the prices compare. Perhaps I haven't learned the fine art of picking fruit. Where is Young Bros. on Broadway? Will travel far for taste.

Haven't been, but I suggest you do a search for "Tofino" in this forum as there have been recent posts. You probably already have.

Now here's a good debate. Who will pay $9 for the G pudding?

[As we have now been engaged for more than six years, and as my father said the other day "I'm not getting any younger" (88), we have definitely scheduled nuptials for this millenium. Come to think of it, I'm not getting any younger either and I should probably get cracking while she still (seemingly) enjoys doing business with me. ←

Just read in the Westender "the federal CMHC (owners of the sandbar slab since 1972) held off on imposing later summer closing hours for now". The merchants are happy. It also mentions the traffic problem especially on weekends and special events, but is it really a problem? Or are we just used to instant gratification? Mr. Maw got in and out in 25 mins. Not bad at all. Okay, maybe there wasn't anyone to witness all the people jumping out of the way of his speeding car. Back to the buskers...the outside ones have to switch every hour, but the indoor ones don't as long as there isn't anyone else waiting to play. They need to change that. I'll inform the busker manager. I'll come clean for those of you that don't know. My husband is a busker at G.I. He's the Japanese guy, Hiro, who plays Brazillian music with guitar and amp and sings in Portuguese. All I can say is that you can't listen to his music while driving b/c it can put you to sleep and he needs the amp otherwise you would have to be sitting on his lap to hear him. He won't apologize to anyone that hates his music, but he agrees the repetition can be annoying for those who work there (and his wife) so he does extend his apologies to them. He has a mission, but you can talk to him about that, either at G.I. or the next e-gullet outing. Okay, what's up with Lee's doughnuts? Worth trying, worth starting a new thread?

To be a judge for these awards sounds like a difficult task. I'm sure the eating is very pleasurable, but having to state "the why" you chose a place would be daunting as all the thoughts that Neil mentioned must go through each judges' mind. (i.e. How does this compare to Vij's or should it?) I'm wondering if the restaurants are asked if they want to participate and if so, has there ever been one that declines? I also wonder if personalities play a big part. The more outgoing and approachable chefs/owners/servers are the more noticeable and enjoyable the dining experience thus the food seems to taste better. Do the judges dine alone? On my mind mostly is why one of my favourite places, Octopus Garden, didn't win any awards? Were they even considered? Have they ever won in the past? Hats off anyway to the judges for all their hard work.

I think I have converted. Used to be 'best for last' because I loved how the taste would linger in my mouth, but after listening to my husband for years saying, "What happens if there is an earthquake and you never get to finish?" (Is this a Japanese thing?) I'm starting to think 'best first'. (Is this an age thing?) Re: cake If it's layered, the icing between the layers is enough usually. I leave the outside icing especially if it's thick.

I'm reading this thread for the first time...I really sympathize with you, Neil. As my husband is Japanese, I've been involved in all kinds of situations where not only is the language a barrier, but the customs or way of thinking. I have a real good idea what happened when your J diners came back...as this might be a sensitive subject for you, I'll await your reply or no reply. One of the funniest wasn't in a restaurant. It was when I first started cooking, my husband said, "I'll be your marmot." He meant "I'll be your guinea pig." but in his Japanese-English dictionary, the word was translated as marmot.

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Where is it up? i just checked the website. Did I miss it? I rushed thru it looking for pesto mind you.

You are the 2nd person to reccomend this place to me for their meat. A friend has a lot of business lunches there. So, you suggest the prime rib? Anything else?

Thank you Mr. Lynes for showing us those photos. Perhaps some Vancouverites need to start gratitude journals or leave this city for awhile so when they come back they'll realize how great G.I. is. I was disappointed to hear so much negativity about my favourite shopping area. It offers FREE parking (and no hassle of having to buy a ticket from a machine either) and one stop food shopping. Not to mention a very diverse food court. I think it caters to the locals and the tourists very well considering the effort involved. And I love how the cement trucks, tour busses, and strollers make people slow down and chill out (not by choice). And the "Chefs in the Market" events are great except for the time Mr. Feenie didn't show up. Being close to some of the buskers there I really took offence to Kayaksoup's comment, "better buskers". I hope you didn't mean the ones I know. And what do you mean by "better" since it is for the most part free entertainment? I suggest you go to the lottery they must partake in every day at 10 a.m. to get spots and times so you can meet them and find out who they really are. I'm sure they would also like your suggestions on how to improve. The only suggestion I have to improve G.I. is: if you don't have your happy face on don't bother visiting there. (Sorry if my tone is harsh, but this one was too close to my second home.)

Yesterday, to my surprise while entering Adesso (I forgot to check the ISO thread) there sat Montrachet, Ling, and Appreciator. They surprisingly recommended everything they had. And did I see Ling leave without having a dessert?!? We had the arancini, fettucine with sliced beef tenderloin, and spaghettini with prawns and scallops, and lemon tart. I also had a glass of red which I chose only b/c Mike recommended it and I liked how it sound...something Montepulciano. The arancini were delicious, but they didn't WOW me. I think these would be easy to make at home except the temp. would have to be right on to get the same crispiness on the outside. The fettucine WOWED me, but my husband gobbled it up so fast I only got two bites. I was worried about the prawns and scallops on my dish not being fresh and the pasta being gummy, but I was so wrong to worry. This dish was also delicious, light and fresh. The scallops were tender and just cooked to the point where they weren't raw in the middle, beautiful. The best part being the pasta was cooked truly al dente. Finally, we have found good pasta in Vancouver. Will it be consistent? I hope so for next time. The lemon tart was disappointing. The pastry was dense and it almost tasted like it had picked up some other odours from the fridge and it's very hard to match my mother's pastry which I grew up on. The lemon curd part was okay, but the lemon tart at the Wedgewood is better (and I'm not just saying that b/c I work there). The best part of the dessert was the raspberry sorbetto, which is from Mario's which it seems most restaurants are using these days. However, Adesso must be keeping the storage temp right b/c it had a better texture (very smooth, slightly melted) compared to other places where I have had it or by the time it got to me, it was at the right temp. My husband had an espresso, but I forgot to ask him how it was. Our bill was $30 each with tip and tax. The service was excellent, but there was only one other table other than us after Ling, Mike, and Appreciator left. Nice welcoming, cozy room. Bathroom by entry door is still there, but blends in better. Luciano gave me a handful of business cards to give out and I will do that b/c I think they deserve it based on my first visit. How I hope my second visit is the same. I will go when it's busy to check it out again.

We ventured out tonight to a very casual place that I had heard of via a co-worker at 46th and Fraser called Al-Watan, Indian and Pakistan food. It's on the east side of Fraser. Ordered nemari (beef curry), butter chicken, two plain naan and it came with a side salad of lettuce and cucumber. Not knowing what these dishes are supposed to taste like I can only give my opinion. I liked both very much except the butter chicken was unusually orange and very salty. The naan was the best I've ever had, not greasy at all, some air pockets made it seem light. It was very neutral in flavour which I like when eating spicey food. Both dishes were spiced to my liking, making the nose run and the lips burn. The bill came to $17.63 with tax. I definitely am going back to this place to try the other items. The biriyani that other customers were having also looked delicious. I recommend it for cheap eats. Be warned, no fancy South Granville or Yaletown decor here.