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seanw

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Everything posted by seanw

  1. Hi Ducky, I fail to grasp the relevance of the Bourdain witticism. Using that logic you should shuffle down to the lower east side, find a hooker & get her to whip you up some eggs for dinner!!....you could well find yourself leaving satisfied though Kidding aside, having an interesting menu(that engage's my mind, am i an alien in this respect???) does not necessarily mean well executed food, but such is life...you win some...you lose some. I fully understand your argument & cannot comment myself about the food at C, i just believe that the heart is in the right place & if not for them some local products may never be revealed to the public. The problem is more widespread than C restaurant.........& it involves Vancouver's dining population to an extent. You can lament about not having simple food served, but you need pristine ingredients(& yep they cost money) & a receptive audience.
  2. Interesting thread! I think that it is unfortunate that C is bearing the brunt of the scorn here, afterall these guys are helping to establish local product diversity with an ethical bent (they seemingly realise that good food derives from good ingredients). There are few others that the same can be said. Yep the good(indeed majority) catch goes abroad, firstly because this market is small & that other societies are willing to pay more for fish. Cheap food is on the way out- we should rejoice & begin to value food for all it's worth. It would be liberating for restaurants in Vancouver if the full diversity of species can be accepted & enjoyed by an enthusiastic population. Ling Cod is slowly creeping up the charts as a popular fish, rightly so, but can still be bought at good value. It seems in europe there is little by-catch because there is always something you can do- zuppa de pesce etc... It really has been C, Bluewater & ethnic retaurants that have pushed local "by-catch" on menus & then sparingly. Too many restaurants are complicit in offering no diversity in menu choices adding credo to the notion that the public wants a plethora of banality(thank god for progressive ethnic eateries- could be a link there??). C should be appluaded as far as pushing public perceptions of food toward a more open minded & thoughtful approach, we need more like them that engage the mind aswell as the jaw.
  3. Where has increasing traffic capacity led to reductions in congestion, pollution & all the other associated evils. The population of BC lives beyond it's means!!!(Google-William Rees UBC professor), simply put the growth that has been experienced cannot be sustained without costs(social,economic & environmental-both domestically & within the international context-we benefit from the suffering of others) Who decides what is an acceptable cost, & to whom is it acceptable? Government is doing NOTHING to engineer a shift in thinking in this respect. I live in Gastown & see the potential for improving the core of the city in order that such areas, traditionally forsaken, can become more attractive, livable communities. Should not this development occur before uprooting greenbelts(especially so if the result means food has to be transported from farther afield!) Newsflash!! Oil is going to end, perhaps sooner than most believe(google-peak oil) . I certainly dont have all the answers, but the idea of maintaining areas of land suitable for farming is important & more fundamentally we do not necessarily comprehend how important a resource it could eventually become. Anyway can the Govt. take First Nation's land & asphalt over that, they pay next to no taxes & are subsidised to the tune of Billions by taxpayers
  4. ^Bloody farmers! The govt. should just asphalt the region ,then we can all benefit from recuperating those long lost taxes whilst ensuring more traffic on the roads.
  5. Keith, Please explain how taxpayers subsidise the ALR & how much funding such landowners receive from public funds. I believe that subsidies for certain activities within the ALR should be available, especially if you want to see agriculture as part of the cultural landscape OR consumers can start paying the real value for food & move away from the inane pursuit of cheap food, but this is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
  6. Jekka McVicar(something like that!) writes extremely well on the matter. Roger Phillips 'Wild Food' includes historical recipes for some wild flowers. I can remember picking Dandelions with my grandad to make an incredibly good wine. You may want to checkout Michel Bras' website or books(Veyrat too) having worked in the kitchen i know he uses an incredible range of blooms, from Viper's Bugloss(great name!) to Lady's Bedstraw( a herbal replacement for rennet used in cheesemaking many moons ago). Michel's wife was the daughter of a pharmacist who understood about herbal remedies, but that knowledge seems to be dissappearing with the advent of modern pharmaceuticals...pity. If you would like more info. Tim i can provide.
  7. Rian, Mostly a case of insufficient funds to try everything(i'm an infrequent visitor to the UK) & well i dont think it was cool what he did, you know....that hot poker thing. Life's too short & other countries invite with their talent. cheers.
  8. Funny, i too was comparing the Pacaud pics with RHR , L'Ambrosie just has more vibrancy to my eyes. Sorry if this has been covered before but i believe the exec has changed from Mark Askey to somebody else-anybody know?? I still have the well worn newspaper article from when Ramsay was at Aubergine, beautiful recipes & excellent wine suggestions(with explanation), really a very informative piece of food journalism(it's great listening to professionals explain their craft- especially when they are good at it!). I believe ,without looking, it was the Telegraph who published the series- no mention of failed footballer(who cares) . Im still miffed about not going to L'Ambrosie, i too believe that such moments are fleeting- but it kinda depends on the man/woman ??? Nice reviews. Where is Ramsay these days- i think another hell's kitchen was made!! I'm not sure i would want to go to Aikens, another visit to Hibiscus in autumn this time.
  9. Saara, Sounds wonderful, the miners lettuce around UBC is becoming just perfect at the moment. Dont forget the rhubarb & asparagus. Unfortunately the farmers markets in van dont come into their own until june. But i'm chomping at the bit.......sean
  10. I too like freson. Another author/photographer in the same vein(imo) would be Roger Phillips- checkout his Wild Foods book. Thanks for the stimulating thread, good work Tim.
  11. Tiresome & predictable. Keep up the good work Alex.
  12. wow 6% Andrew, your waiterblog legion will revolt at such heresy. Su It is up to management/ownership to review the whole structure of tips, Keller did it, lost a few waitrons but i guess that was the price to pay for a system based on experience, position & other such reasonable criteria. I can't tell you how many service staff i have worked with that do not contribute to MSP,let alone taxes(the figure could very well be the same for BOH, but they dont make $32 an hour). So really employers should take the responsibility of paying all their staff a livable wage & ensure that the government receives it's dues(of course this notion is fantastical- but beautiful no???). I think the issue will be moot in a few years anyway as Canada allows Mexican immigration to develop & they replace the kitchen crews & are comfortable with the pittance they shall surely receive.(Checkout NY-many line cooks are hispanic, & very good too!)
  13. MB came to eat at Michel Bras(where he sends chefs to stage each year) & unlike many well known toques took the time to introduce himself & shake hands with all the staff- nice touch. I enjoyed my time in Donostia & had excellent lunches at Kursaal & a meal at MB in Lasarte that was punctuated with brilliant touches. cheers sean
  14. So Alex, What do you think about his food?? An inquiring mind would like to know.
  15. Beautiful pics melange (may i ask what Camera?) I missed out on Pain de Sucre, moved b4 it opened, but looks seriously good(Like Ferber's pastry!!). Aoki was very good & the service was pleasant in an uderstated Japanese way(the carry out boxes are beautiful....details.) Marcolini & Hevin know what to do with chocolate..mmmm chocolate. I lived in the 14th, where amazing baguettes & yeasted sweet doughs were made by a fantastic boulanger( won best baguette in Paris in 2004) Seriously that bread was much greater than the sum of all it's parts. Thanks again for the photos
  16. I too have been following this passage of comments with interest. However i have neither read the thesis in question or won a literary award in France(Tho' i did win 10euros on a scratch & win in Paris with minimal effort!Jamie-who is the greater fool?). But i have had some experience of both rural & urban French Markets. Lived in the 14th in Paris, but flaneured widely whilst working at a restaurant run by the Pourcel twins. Also spent two years in Laguiole with Michel Bras, who is probably one of the most knowledgeable & insightful chefs you could have the pleasure of meeting, seriously Jamie spend a morning in Rodez with this guy & he may inspire you to another chilly pint or a Ricard, if you leave out the Latin I think my issue is with Jamie ascribing the 'Myth' to all French markets based on the study of one. Of course all manners of chicanery exist within any market however the educated consumer can still honestly sate their requirements for quality local, seasonal & fresh product. I think much of the beauty of France lies in it's regionality, a visit to the Market in St Malo can be very different than the Rodez Market in Aveyron(I have been to both, & yes they were different.) From season to season the change will be reflected in the Market. Of course the niggling implication is that the French are being duped or they just are refusing to admit it! I have had many amusing market moments that may attest to the effort of the purveyor trying to con but the savvy French shopper having none of it. Lots of good bakeries,retaurants,traiteurs etc.. exist not by coincidence, the food culture extends far beyond markets. I think an important measure that the French system should be duly proud is the development of standards i.e AOC that work (for me, mmmm!!!)Accountability is very important if standards are to mean anything, there are examples of punishment being meted out(most notably Jean Bardet who had his 2 stars stripped by Michelin for telling porkies on his Menu & Wine list on the origin of certain items) who knows how far the abuse spreads but my experience has been happy. Funnily enough i live in Vancouver & have seen the development of markets here. Improvement is constant & look forward to the future of the region, though it pisses me off when a local Beef supplier changes the feed of his cattle in an attempt to soften the flavour WTF "this Beef here tastes too Beefy" .One can only hope he fails & the Beef will prevail. I believe the consumer can dictate what we largely see in markets, what is the most effective way of educating the consumer??? From my experience it was a parent who could cook. Cheers Sean
  17. seanw

    Rare

    Good luck, Funny comment about Blue Goose Beef being too gamey tho' it would be a shame if they tempered the FLAVOUR to appease people who dont appreciate it. You can find great heritage breed pigs around the province & you can do what Oyama does & purchase local/organic hazelnuts & feed them to the piggies, however the flavour may need softening It seems that a number of restaurants are using cuts other than tenderloin which is great because like Beef it is the least flavouful cut.
  18. Helen Darroze(sp) is expensive & not necessarily well received but you may wish to consider it. Also i would recommend picking up some Christian Parra specialties, i know La Rosa in St Germain stocks his & number of other Spanish goodies; in fact you can enjoy them in store with some good Spanish/SW wines. Oh i really liked a restaurant called Fogon(Spanish-not Basque) left bank opposite that hunchback place.
  19. You cannot ask for anything more than that.
  20. McTee, "Simple question, simple answer" you have obviously considered all the issues, good luck on the brain trust.
  21. Try El Rey Gran Saman & Cluizel's Sao Tome, if you can get your hands on it! Let me know what you think.
  22. Isnt Gobo Burdock? , i know Allied can get Salsify from Holland(unlikely to be organic) Have not seen it locally produced but you never Know!
  23. Chris, Now you are contradicting yourself. Earlier you say that you appreciate Gill's consumer approach now it's her responsibility to behave like other reviewer's in the city. Can she not get her facts straight on the particular night she dined their? which way do you want it?
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