SushiCat

the standard measure for french press coffee is two level tablespoons for each 6 ounces of water. I highly recommend starting with this, and changing proportions depending on your taste as you adjust to this method of brewing. For CharityCase and others, we hope you are buying your beans somewhere decent, if so, they will grind a small portion for you at the appropriate fine/coarse level for French Press, you can then put this in a clear small zip lock bag to use as a reference point as you grind at home. it is a old trick from my days as a barista, I hope you find it useful. Also ... beware as French press is the first step to wanting a fancy home espresso machine ... you can't say I didn't warn you! Happy coffee brewing and drinking !

I agree with FabulousFoodBabe, our local stores have a wonderful brand of 'artisanal' pasta from Italy, I particularly like the fettuccine which is better than homemade. I'll have to go buy a package and fill you in on the name, it is worth seeking out!

Mum's used to be the best ... when run by the older Italian couple on Denman. It has been a long while since they were there and I haven't been to the place that is currently called Mum's. Clearly you think it is good, are you asking how it compares to others in town?

while discussing this earlier today, someone suggested Brix. I haven't been there in a while, but it is worth considering ... others on this thread may have more recent experiences there and can comment. My experience is good service, very nice food, reliable wine expertise and a dressy/comfortable room.

Oh true lemon lovers, nice to see you posting on the gullet! Redsugar, great ideas! I had never thought of preserved lemons in a cake ... good plan, I must try it! Onto other thoughts, I will have to try and find my original lemon cake, it is good enough for a light wedding cake. Also, Rose Levy Berenbaum has a fabulous lemon poppy seed pound cake recipe, it is all about the infused syrup. I'm looking for the lemon pucker smiley face!

I also buy pods and grind them, in fact I have a grinder similar to a pepper mill dedicated to cardamon ... yup addicted! One of my all time favorites is to make a sour cream style coffee cake with a layer of apples and cardamon, I slice the apples very thinly and use a castle style bundt pan. I put a few apples mixed with cardamon and sugar into a well greased pan, then the batter (which also has cardamon) and the remaining apples into the pan after the batter. It is a huge hit, people always ask me to make it. sorry I can't really give you a recipe, it is always a little different but you get the idea. I hope you enjoy the cardamon and make some nice breads/cakes.

Just remembered where I had good cinnamon ice cream, at Toscannini's in Cambridge, MA. Yum, Toscannini's is amoung top ice cream and gelato combined category. Anyone travelling to that area who is fond of gelato/ice cream should take a detour. Get something with hot fudge because they make the best!

And I was ON topic? Who am I, The Soup Nazi?? A. ← just as long as nobody is the ice cream Nazi!

Thanks all for a very entertaining thread!

sobaicecream, you should consider West. It is memorable night out. Maybe call/email them and ask to arrange what you want, perhaps they will do some set menu for you at a price that will work. The room is very lovely and comfortable and the service is excellent. I managed to go there once when someone else was paying We didn't actually know someone else was going to pay, so we were reserved on several fronts. It is on my top 10 list of dining experiences. Might be worth the extra cash for memorable, or as I say, who knows what you can arrange. You don't get things unless you ask, I recommend asking!

It is NEVER too cold for ice cream, or gelato or granita for that matter! Thanks to eatrustic for giving us scoop on the Seattle spots. I'm a regular visitor and always stop for good gelato. Granita, I have only had good granita once, when a Sicilian in Florence told me which shop had the best gelato and that what was really best was granita with a scoop of gelato in it - complementary flavors of course! I'm now craving Mondo and will have to brave the icy streets!

Just wanted to send out a general post to anyone interested in coffee in Vancouver. Run, don't walk to the Elysian Room. This is THE place for serious coffee drinkers in our town. I could go on (and on and on) but just go there if you are into coffee. Now, I don't want to bad mouth any other shops, but one thing that makes this so true is that it is one shop and is still under control. As we see from all the discussion about Commercial St. location of JJBean and West Van Artigiano, this is part of the problem if it is one person's vision that is making things work, then it is hard to expand. Interestingly enough, this is the real problem with *$, they have expanded to where they need auto-brew espresso and not skilled baristas and their shops are not out of control. [this the type of discussion one can have for real if one is hanging out at a good coffee shop like ER]

about getting the 34 v 51 oz French press, go ahead and get the larger one if you think you will use it for guests. It is certainly very easy to adjust to brewing a smaller amount in your pot then a full pot and will not adversely effect taste, temperature etc. What will effect taste are your beans. Try some mail order as long as they supply beans in a flavor lock bag you are in business. Intelligentsia is one spot, although there are many others. I'm sure you can find decent fresh roasted beans in Manhattan as well, but who knows were ... Zabars although a hot spot for deli may or may not rotate and sell enough beans, but fresh beans make the brew! And once you get used to pressed coffee, start experimenting with different beans as this is by far the best method for tasting the coffee nuances. Enjoy!

I hope I'm not violating the rules by posting again here when the coffee talk is moving to another page but - trudged through the snow yesterday to the Elysian Room for hands down the best espresso in town! Alistair and his crew are brewing some delicious 'naked' coffee and of course being the coffee-geek/foodie that I am, hung out for a while with the crowd. I think the key components have been stated here already, all is fresh, very fresh and the nice bar-ware they use makes a difference, but none of this masks your espresso if it is not fresh and delicious - as their's is! All I can say is that if you haven't been by for a coffee, you should add this stop to your route and then like myself you will be plotting when and how to make it part of your routine

We've had many guests behind the counter, but the nice thing about our open bar setup is the machine doesn't have its back to you, everyone can see it all happening. mon-fri 7am-10:30 sat-sun 12noon-10:30 Thanks for providing your hours ... luckily between the snow and my being a bit under the weather, I didn't come tromping out at 9 a.m. today ... in fact still sitting at the computer and just got off a call with my sister-in-law, my fellow coffee geek and the jealous one since we live in a real coffee city and she is still trying to get the right beans for her new set up ... and the beat goes on, or the pour

been out of touch last few days ... but Elysian room coffee here I come! Hopkin, thanks for the news ... I don't usually travel too far and wide for my daily dose, but crotchless portafiltering is worth it ... might have to bring the crowd with me Sat or Sun a.m. ... when do you guys open on the weekends ? AND do you let x-baristi hang out behind the bar ~ one can only hope you will let a coffee 'geek' like me catch a glimpse

I'm a JJ Bean fan as well, but just before xmas my sister in law was shopping for a home machine and during the research I made her do, she encountered all this discussion on how espresso tastes better when the portafilter has had it's spouts removed. Apparently one of the Victoria coffee houses is brewing this way, anyone notice one of our Vancouver spots brewing this way? Photos of the technique are quite beautiful, and the espresso is reputed to be hands down better even in taste tests with less discriminating tasters! Please let me know if you have seen this / tasted this, and where.

where is this said Kolachy shop? I would like to try one out.

Was called away and perhaps posted too hastily. As for coffee, JJ Bean has me hooked these days, but I drink 99% of my coffee at home. I have a Rancillio Audrey, or Miss Audrey as they are known, it is old and has served me well for many many years. Espresso at home is better than you can consistently get at any cafe in Vancouver, or even as far away as Italy. Note: when I am in Italy the cafe owners frequently make fun of me, because I believe there are more coffee's than three (Daddy-A don't take offense). I am a big fan of iced coffee in various ways, and this always makes them laugh ... except for one small cafe in Modena (one of my favourite spots, but I digress). Bialetti I see someone answered, this is a fine way to brew coffee and if done right is not bitter. Also, I have to comment on all the Starbucks hate mail, it is really too much. Starbucks has it's place and for those of us with discerning taste, just ask for a new drink if your espresso doesn't taste good, usually this works, only once did I have to have an argument with the shift supervisor who failed to apologize when she realized the automatic bar was out of beans! It is thanks to *$ that coffee has been elevated in north america and we can have famous baristas working at Artiginale etc. Enjoy your next shot, even if it is a half-caf non-fat no-whip mocha

People, people, Torrefazzione is owned by *$, yes, this is true, and that is why the closed the Kerrisdale location. They can only afford to compete with themselves directly across the street on Robson, where there are south siders, north siders. All this coffee talk is interesting, you all can rival some of the coffee geek communiques. However what is interesting to me, is that as usual, here in Vancouver we spend less money and don't just order whatever we want from the web.

This was an attempt to make brussel sprouts edible?

Although I too have done many things mentioned here, including the dipping of the finger in the molten sugar I use for gluing my gingerbread houses, I just have to say something I will try to always do again is to cheer myself up while waiting for the advil to take effect by reading e-gullet