SushiCat

Oh LindyCat, thanks for the cloudy info! Who knew us cats are all sitting around sipping limoncello! I keep mine in the freezer so I don't think it will ever go bad. Our last batch (not homemade) was kept for quite some time - months, no over a year, I believe.

In case you need one more vote - Solly's at 28th off Main - you will not be sorry. Have a fun brunch!

Fun Blog Wendy! Cool bunnies to boot. Among other questions asked already and generally being interested, I'm curious about your use of cake mix for that lemon cake you mention. I am a bit of a lemon cake nut, actually a lemon fiend overall! Anyway, just curious on the rationale here.

There are some great East Indian places in that quadrant - especially if you include Fraser street. I agree with Peppyre, further north on Main has many good spots - incluidng Long's Noodle House ... wait there is a thread on this (I seem to recall). If I'm staying in the hood, I would do Long's or the Main or the Reef on Main - still south of King Ed. Or for East Indian one of the places on Fraser - there are a few or Himilaya on Main Street. There is nothing that I know of on Cambie and or Granville that I can recommend - except Koni Fine Foods which is not a restaurant. Have you tried any of the lonely looking places almost on Marine? Somehow I haven't. Usually if eating close to home I cook and if going out I don't mind driving somewhere - e.g. to town. Face it we are almost in the burbs!

Tammy, thanks for sharing so much info on your cooking escapades. I'm going to be cooking for a large crowd this summer - possibly more than 200 people and am always looking for recipes that can be increased. You chickpea / carrot stew sounds intriguing as do some of your other ideas/recipes. Let me know you thoughts. Of course I am open to others opinions too! I'm doing breakfast and lunch - lunch is the big meal. Dinners will likely be a combo of things we can make during the day including a vegetarian main dish, a salad and then we will likely have a meat dish that is cooked in a commercial kitchen and brought in. Ideas for anything are most welcome including easy cakes / treats as I will also serve a snack at about 4 p.m. and usually that needs to be sweets, although sometimes we hack up watermelons. I'll be sure and post what the plans are and how it turns out - but meanwhile I'm just starting to think of what might be fun to make!

Karolee, I noticed twice cooked port at Golden Szechuan the other day ... I couldn't convince the people I was with to order it ... somehow they wanted other things (always hard to chose only a few dishes), so I didn't try it, but it is there on the menu.

Adding another good source - industry insdiers. I find that I trust the recommendations from certain wait-staff, bartenders etc. It is a little like e-gullet - you get to know what people like/dislike and can discern from their comments if you think you would like the same place.

makes me want to buy the e-book just to participate in the large group of e-g diners at HSG with our coupons!

Does delicious pfeffer sticks from Koni fine foods count as where I have eaten lately? Truthfully I mostly have been devouring these at home - very much yum, if you like pepperoni, these are better - they come mild and hot, both have a very good flavor. Dined on Sunday at a friends place, home made palak panir and chicken curry with two types of rice and the best yoghurt side dish. I encouraged the cook to give recipes/cooking lessons ... Last night went for my 2nd dinner at Bo Guo Bu Yi, ! Everything was very good, I ordered from the menu as we had some requests etc. peppering chicken or whatever it is called was quite good, but not as good as the same technique on prawns. Whole fish was the special - don't know who they did it but it was sweet enough and not too spicy so that all the crowd was pleased. We also had wonton soup, something I rarely order, but anyplace that is making such good Shao loong bao ... enough said, very good wontons in a simple rich broth, and if you ask, they add lots of baby bok choy, broccoli etc. They also do a nice scallion cake. Our comp last night was some yam/red bean hot dessert fritters - sorry I don't know what these are called or exactly what to say, they have something that seems like rice dough and then are deep fried (I think). Everyone gobbled them up ... except for one person - so I have a leftover, will have to see how it holds up to reheating.

I don't often order this, but now of course am suddenly craving it! My advice is just ask at any (decent) Chinese place that you happen upon. It is often true in Chinese restaurants that you can order things not on the menu that they are able to make and happy to oblige. Let us know if you find anything significant, as I'm sure everyone wants to know.

Stopped in at Elixer last night as friends are staying at Opus, they arrived late and are on another timezone, so we met for drinks which turned into a light dinner. The room is very nice, we ate in the 'velvet' room or something like that, kind of cool overall. Service was very odd, treated like we knew nothing about nothing e.g. each ingredient explained. Service was smarmy. The wine was good! I seem to be ill this morning, can I blame it on the small onion and anchovy pizza that they list as Pisaladiere on the menu? I can see why this is a tourist spot and not a local spot, clearly something that is going on there as our server was quite surprised that some of the people at the table were locals! 'nough said.

Oops, I forgot to post this! Thanks BCinBC. I too checked out Koni on Saturday, it is a little bit out of my neighborhood, but worth it for the pfeffer sticks as well as some of the other cold cuts. The best part is that the proprietor is very knowledgable about what he stocks. I had a long discussion with him on balsamic vinegar. Lots of great products that you don't see everywhere - single 'vintage' olive oils etc.

I do not think your words in respect of GI are quite fair. The seafood selection at GI is fantastic (particularly, the fresh clams and dungeness crab and other fish selections (5-6 bucks a pound for the crab - and dirt cheap Salmon in about 5 different varieties when in season)), you cannot beat the Lobsterman (for Oysters Clams, Mussels (more than one type) and of course Lobster (not at 15 dollars a pound like SLM – uncooked even when it is in season) and the more exotic Sea Anemones (sic)), the fresh pasta selections at the two pasta shops I used to go to were great and the fresh soup stocks at the Stock Pot (not to mention their soups - that I would die for right about now and would die for some of their cool stocks to make some Risottos without having to fuss about making my own). Also, GI is open all week. Cheese was always just OK at GI, but now that Alison and Alison’s cheese shop is a very short walk from GI, where they have a cheese selection that is second to none that I am aware of in Toronto, Vancouver or Saskatoon (the places I have lived); I think the scale may tip in GI’s favour. But really, who cares when each is very good. There is no value in saying one city has “nothing” compared to another or to say something is a “joke” without putting some substance behind the comments – even with substance to say something is a “joke” does not add much. I like both and think each is unique in their own right. I always like to go to GI when I am in town and shop at SLM every weekend. I would like to try out KM but just too far to walk and impossible to park some days. If anyone has been to Alison and Alison’s in Vancouver, is their an equivalent in the Toronto area? ← mkjr, by Alison and Alison's do you mean Les Ami du Fromage in Vancouver? It is not equivalent, as each shop is different, but I believe you can find a very similar selection at Alex Farms in Toronto. I had to post as I live in Vancouver, shop at Granville Island and while I was in Toronto from 1999 - 2003, shopped at St. Lawrence and at Kensignton (as well as other spots). The markets are quite different from one another and when we cannot get to one, we miss it! While in Toronto I missed GI for early availability of many produce items that don't show up in Toronto until closer to the Toronto season. But I enjoyed the plethora of European ingredients, like fresh churned butter, lots of cuts of meat and cheeses that are just so readily available in Toronto and not in Vancouver. But here at home we are very lucky to have such vast and varied seafoods, nothing like Oyama in Toronto and just a very different feel to the market. At SLM, the north market of day vendors on Saturday, has some really good things, apple butter from the people at the north west corner, good fresh apple cider, free range meat, the sausages from the Pork guys, the cinnamon buns from the big bakery counter - oh yum! I still have a jar of Kozlik's, I still like to get olive oil from Alex Farms (my hubby goes to Toronto a couple of times a year, so I import it!). I do miss the summer bounty in Toronto - somehow certain local items taste better there - must be the intense heat. Peaches from Niagara, there is nothing like that - the Okanagan ones are good, but not the same. I miss my peach growers, my blackberry growers and the tomatoes. There are some decent tomatoes in Vancouver in the peak of summer if it is a good year, but in the Toronto area, you can get such delectable tomatoes from the farmers at SLM and at the other city markets in the summer. Enjoy your local bounty all! Both are good, different and I am sure others would agree that you take the good with the bad and survive!

Has anyone tried this yet? Please advise. I can buy babka close by, but it is not as good as some I have had in NY and I would like to make one from time to time ... not sure on this recipe though so if anyone has made it let us know. S

No, you would have to say, "I'm an acquaintance of someone who's friends with your son's ex. May I have your Clodhoppers recipe?" ← Dejah, you MUST do this, too funny from an outsider's perspective, I don't care about the clodhoppers, but to me this is the epitome of Canada ... please let us know the outcome! yesterday's food item Shanghainese dumplings from Ba Guo Bu Yi in Richmond BC today's food item - Herme's lemon cream which I just made to go with a cake for a party tonight. Thanks to Patrick S and the pastry forum for this one! WOW!

Keep looking, Men's Pocky is my all time favorite and is available here in Vancouver BC so hopefully you can find it in your local area.

Tell me this isn't what I think it is....No chocolate involved, right? ← Rehovot, just noticed your query - it is actually quite funny! Here in western Canada we have a chain of stores called M&M meats (or some such thing). They have a lot of frozen foods that have been prepared or partially prepared - and I am sure there was not chocolate in the meat pies. BCinBC - does this count as cooking dinner? owing to massive leftovers and the Adesso dinner on Sunday, all I have made lately is - leftover polenta turned into a quick lasagna, layer starting with tomato sauce (with olives), hubby added sauteed onions and mushrooms, I was informing about the layering and he heard onions onions onions, because I am trying not to eat so many onions lately - I added a cooked hot italian sausage and to make it international, we layered aged gouda of some sort on the top to give it that cheesy-ness that a baked dish needs.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread, just completed my first home-made batch of Limoncello. Well actually it was yesterday, but then I had to get myself to a dinner event ... Taste is very very good and effort is very small, so of course I will do this again. The only thing missing is the classic cloudy pale yellow color. My limoncello turned out very clear and almost an amber color. I wonder what I did wrong, if anyone has advice, let me know. Meanwhile we will be happily drinking it and sharing with our lucky friends!

Your dinner sounds great (Morrocan carrots and polenta! ) but if you knew me a little better, you'd know that most of the cookies have long disappeared. I only have 2 or 3 left! But I'll bake some for you soon, if you come out for lunch with us one day! ← Sure, lunch anytime, preferrable Fridays. the Morrocan carrots turned out not quite as expected, but very good, probably the fancy shmancy olives I got at Les Amis du Fromage, also I love pine nuts ... I'm well on the way to mastering polenta, last nights was the best I have made - only started making it after our Vancouver event at West. That combined with the very creamy polenta mr. cat had at HSG during DOV made it a must try. Even my little nephew is walking around saying 'lenta, yum' note: he is sure to be an early adopter of egullet, likely once he can actually type words on the computer. Currently olives are his favorite food

Interesting thread, still haven't been able to make it Chambar, just can plan that far in advance or something ... On the coffee after dinner deal, or any coffee brewing in restaurants ... I have to say that I don't understand why this is so often an event not worth the few dollars ... I do know that the only decent restaurant coffee I have had was at Parkside, and it was beyond decent, one of my dining companions ordered it and raved so long I had to order one to see what the fuss was all about. I'm not saying that Parkside is the only restaurant brewing decent coffee, because I normally would not order coffee after dinner, it is too often a huge disappointment, so I normally do what the Italians do, take a coffee at a local cafe during the after dinner walk (ok, so I might drive to the Elysian Room, but it is the same concept!). If you serve coffee within a few minutes of brewing, then many people will think it is ok, if you are storing coffee for any length of time, then you need to brew smaller amounts. Brewing smaller amounts is easily done by making espresso / americano's and the like. I doubt it is more expensive in ingredients, but it is more costly for labour ... however before this turns into a rant - bad espresso or americanos is just as bad as bad coffee, well IMO worse, but this can easily be remedied - control on who is pooring those coffees. ok rant over

Good idea for this thread! Thanks 3WC - and when are we baking, I'm a cardamom addict hmmn, I've been jet lagged from my trip to Germany, so I haven't been cooking, except last night. Other nights, Mr. Cat cooked or nobody cooked ... Friday: homemade pizza (dough from Tonina's deli) but made a nice sauce with crushed tomatoes, two types of olives and plenty of herbs/spices. Pizza toppings of sausage, peppers and mushrooms - pretty good but one side baked faster on the stone, so it was nearly burnt - gotta make more pizza to get over this baking hump! Wednesday: pasta with mushrooms and cheese. If you use good ingredients, simple is best! Broccoli on the side. Tuesday: Barbecued chicken with orange/ginger/soy etc. as a marinade. Steamed carrots and potatoes ... mr. cat thinks these count as veggies! Tonight - roasted chicken with citrus and spices, Morrocan carrots and polenta with a ceasar salad and two additional eaters. Ling, I'm happy to feed you some chicken etc. if you stop by with some of those cookies for dessert!

Couldn't resist posting - less than three years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Modena just by chance during the Balsamico festival (sorry true name I do not have). We learned a lot about color and consistency, but overall what is key is taste. Their is a consortium of producers and the price is partially controlled by them, depending on years of aging, you will pay more. It is quite common to see labels saying 'aged at least x years', this is because the producers normally keep adding some of the old batches to the newer batches etc. Anyway, we have several bottles of varied 'gold' standards, and the stuff we use for daily cooking. Luckily, we found what we thought was the best produced by someone outside of the consortium (quite the controversy there and I'm sure you can google this for more details if you care), it is the balsamico produced by Giuseppe Cattani of Modena. If you can find this for sale, buy it! I had the extreme pleasure of touring the factory, Balsamico is like wine, it is aged in wooden barrels and they get smaller and smaller as the liquid evaporates, so the really old ones are in very small wooden barrels. My favorite use is on real tomatoes, the ones that come locally in August. I have often thought of moving somewhere that has a longer real tomato season, the things we have to give up to live in the great white north ... Also very good on parmesan cheese as indicated by others. Notice how most people use parmesan as a condiment, I eat it as a cheese. Parmagianno Reggiano. There is also a traditional dish of beef cooked in a balsamic sauce, this is delicious, but I don't know how to make it, so I eat it on trips to Italy Any upscale food market that is worth it's weight should let you taste some of their balsamico, just try a few different ones and you will quickly be able to seperate the good ones - find one you like, but keep looking as it is fun to have several and use them in the same meal, kind of like changing wines with each course. I hope you find something good and start to enjoy Balsamico!

AHA! No wonder why I feel this way! Thanks for the info. all, I'll check out the Washington state listings, and I'll check to see if we have Cinzano orange bitters, I've never seen it here, but will look / ask. I believe we too have a db listing, but I don't think it is on the web - hmmn, that is worth checking into too! So how come the west (except California which is really itself and not the west) has such a tight control on liquor availability? Should it not run like any free market force, with supply and demand? Maybe a topic for another thread ...

I am feeling the need to expand my liquor cabinet to include interesting after dinner drinks and ingredients for some of the cocktails people describe in that thread. Canadian LCB (well ok, at least the BC version) is making me feel constrained ... any recommendations for a spot in Setattle or Portland (or points between)? Particularly looking for German Schnapps, e.g. himbergeist, mirella, pear etc. Or recommendations for things fun to try. Hoping to hear about your haunts for alcoholic ingredients!

Chef Koo, What is the timeline? I'm in Germany and might be able to get some Normandy butter here (I'll look and report back) and bring it back to Van. But I'm not back until the 14th. let me know, Sivia