2roost

Wow - that was all a really fun read. To the critics - kudos, I'm happy to read "civilians" views in this, or any other, forum. You pay for your opinions by dining out regardless of the time of year and this forum is designed to elicit your responses both positive and negative. As an industry professional I share the same love/hate relationship with Dine Out as many others, but please the "we are too busy" excuse is a bit tired. On the flip side while constructive criticism is fine please remember you are not really restaurant critics, you base your opinions (usually) on 1 visit without followup. Unless you want hordes of waiters standing in your office going "Oh you know that proposal wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be" or "I don't think they did enough research" keep the mood a little lighter please. To Sean Heather - kudos as well. Passion is vital to surviving in this industry and your response definitely showed passion plus I love the way you stand up for your staff. However personal shots at the "critics" are a bit much, I understand why this is a personal affront to you and yours, but sometimes we just have to stand in the fire and burn. As to the "you should have sent him a PM or email" I say BS - this is a forum. I don't see anyone complaining about bon mots being posted, should we just PM Neil to wax eloquently about hangar steak and gingerbread? The knife cuts both ways. I had been drifting away from the Vancouver forum because I felt it was becoming a bit too "chatroomy" and a bit too much of a love fest - glad to be back. Editted : reading Jamie's quote I finally found my spelling mistake (yuour office - indeed)

As a one time Ottawa resident, I moved to vancouver in 1980, I have fond memories of the Colonade, though my preferences now run to thinner crusts and less cheese. Still the Colonnade's pie was always reliable and my last visit there (4 years ago) did nothing to change my opinion. Both the pizza and meatball sandwiches at "The P" are legendary and deserving of their icon status. I don't know if it still exists but the takeout from "La Roma" was always solid and as a residence student at carleton I have good memories of delivery from "Calabria" - all this reminiscing is making me hungry so I'm going to Nat's for a slice.

Try Rex in the Bentall Centre.

My watering is done post work so I can only relate to places "after midnight" performances. The Keg on Granville Island , quiet lounge (after 11pm anyway) and full menu until 1 am on Friday/Saturday. Friendly staff, decent beers on tap, a solid 7 oz by the glass wine pour all add up to a waiter's post work paradise. The Thurlow location is a little darker and louder so I prefer the solace of the Island. Also on Granville Island the Cat's Meow is an excellent summer watering hole, large patio, OK food and cheap beers - but the service is dodgy at best and last call is a bit of an arbitrary issue. Used to do Fiction regularly but it's a bit out of the way for me now - the food was always good and beverage selections were excellent - might have to make a trip back soon. The old Carnegie's used to be OK but I haven't been since it became..... Bogart's ? Nod to Viola re: The Lennox - I've never eaten there but you can sit at the bar with Guinness in hand while waiting for the Late Night #15 then dash out the side door (having settled your tab of course) as the bus turns off Granville and hop on for the ride over the Cambie Street bridge, one of life's simpler pleasures for sure.

How can a restarant that has been open 6 months have a "difficult rep" to protect, the place was way over-hyped and will be just fine but please let's not put it in the same category as Feenie's. Feenie's is attached to a restaurant which had already proved its bones, run by a chef who had already cooked at Beard House and, like it or not, had his own show on The Food Network. Strange that a post advising caution for the "baby" should manage to continue the hype at the same time.

Crocodile aside I will cast my vote(s) for Pastis or the original Provence on west 10th. Both are more likely to hit your budget, both are more relaxed and the food quality is very high.

#1 - Absolutely - but I think many participants do this already. #2 - Would be great but as you state is a logistical nightmare so I don't see it happening. #3 - I think the promotion as 2 weeks is fine - if individual restaurants wish to extend it that's up to them. As for eliminating weekends I have to disagree, there are a lot of people who have a great deal of trouble getting out mid-week and restaurants, who are reaping the DineOut benefit Sunday-Wednesday, can manage the book a little better to minimize the Friday/Saturday madness - particularly if #1 is enforced. #4- Leave it up to the individual establishments to offer 3 courses however they desire. As a sidebar I can't go with WaiterBlog's 15% autograt on DOV guests. I am a server and it just ain't right to pigeonhole Dine Out Diners as bad tippers, truth is the tip % on DOV meals is generally lower than my regular guests but the autograt is a crutch best used sparingly.

I think the days of "hire on the spot" are long gone, at least in Vancouver's top establishments. Most restaurants now do at least 2 interviews and a reference check - my last hire required 3 interviews and I spoke to a friend who just got through a 3 interview process which included signing a confidentiality agreement.

Oh my God - dancing sauces !!!!!!!!

Of the 3 options left I would choose Bacchus - great room, great food and better value than Cioppino.

Gotham is ,indeed, high ticket but I feel it delivers fair value. The steaks, I've had filet and rib, are excellent, always cooked perfectly and not "overpriced". The appetizers I have sampled include Shrimp Cocktail, Smoked Salmon and Fresh Oysters and all were just fine. If there is a value issue I think it is in the side dishes which are good but for $6.50 I want a little more. The wine list could use a little imagination but has all the usual heavy hitters and is easy to match with the food. The service can be a little edgy but I think that is actually in keeping with the room's style and as long as it doesn't go over the top is perfectly acceptable. However I would rather spend the money at Joe Forte's for similar food, a better wine list and a much better "buzz".

'81 Chateau Margaux, on my kitchen floor (tile). Eight months later when we redid the kitchen I replaced the tile with cork, the flooring change hadn't been in the budget prior to l'affaire Margaux but I couldn't bear the thought of something similar happening again.

Cracked it last night - not bad but nothing to make me change brands (my regular is Havana Club 7 year old). Decent flavours and not overly sweet, fine for Cuba Libre/Dacquiri's but not enough complexity to go on the rocks or "splash of soda". Thanks for your input, living in Western Canada's Rum wasteland I have to try anything new and not over $50 that comes along.

My mom is Scots, so after frying up bacon and sausages for Sunday breakfast she would fry thick slices of homemade bread in the bacon and sausage fat and top them with fried tomato slices. My cholesterol is fine regardless and boy was it good.

But I don't have any Guatemalan friends.

It was also a 7/11 at one point. BTW the manager of Reds was Chris Coletta who went on to much more.

A friend just gave me a bottle of Reserva Especial 9 year old from Santero made in Columbia. The producing company is Santana Liquors and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this brand.

Jumping into sherry in the dry end of the pool may be a bit dangerous, try it chilled or on the rocks with a twist as an apertif, or to accompany the soup/salad course. Dry sherry is one of the few wines that can stand up to a vinaigrette. Dry Sack is a very serviceable sherry but you may want one with a touch of residual sugar as well - Gonzalez Byass Nutty Solera Oloroso is a good choice with wide distribution - for post dinner by the fire with nuts and figs. MMMMMMMM.

OK I'll play. 1) b 2) b 3) a for white, b for red (a bit of a cheat I know) 4) c 5) b 6) a 7) c 8) d 7 was tough because I'd love to buy $15 wines with great aging potential and fabulous $40 wines ready to drink but that universe ceased to exist around 1995.

I'm guessing you are talking about 8 on Saturday versus 2 on Monday - still I can't think of many rooms big enough to require 8 that will only need 2 for the next 2 months - my condolences.

My experience is that it's not as bad as people think. Service staff take a bit of time off and the fewer shifts get spread around quite equitably - running leaner means break even in Jan/Feb and gear up in March. If you are in a Big Room you may find things a little tougher but most well run establishments can ride out 6-8 weeks of slower volume without much trouble. DOV and other promos can bring in "new" business and your regulars will stay loyal if you are doing them right. As a server I always find November the "cruelest month" regardless of where I am.

A friend is visiting from Sacramento and wants to make his "famous" Meyer lemon granita for us - anyone know where we can find them ?

What makes you think Whole Foods don't know how to sell them ? Just curious as my experiences with Whole Foods in general have been that they tend to be very knowledgeable about whatever they sell.

It's hard to go wrong with the Osso Buco at Villa del Lupo, in fact they are probably the best slow cookers in the city.

They all deserve their sites, the fact that we would rather see Cru occupy the SandBar site is a great notion except I really doubt that Cru could maintain its standards at 250+ seats. The simple fact is restaurateurs who have prime sites usually have obscenely high leases which mean big dollars and thus maybe not the cuisine standards we would like to see. Also the simple fact of a prime site doesn't guarantee success - just ask the partners at The BeachHouse at Dundarave Pier. All that being said I don't think The BoatHouse at English Bay deserves its site- the long lamented English Bay Cafe at least aspired to some cuisine and service standards (Julio Gonzalez Pirrini was the sous chef in the early '80's) and EBC was a money maker but the effort required to maintain the standards was too much I guess.