daves

Macrina has become my wife's favorite bread producer in the area. She visited there a few times during her pastry chef schooling -- along with some more 'industrial' bakeries. Definitely do not miss the coconut cream pie at Dahlia Lounge!

now I'm totally looking forward to the drive. My foot isn't lead; I have one of Larwencium (Lr -- the heaviest element in the periodic table I have handy ). I'm just bummed that I'll be driving the family car (um, which did get us several laps around the Nordschleife at the 'ring a few years ago)...

Will I have white knuckles due to the road itself or to the oncoming logging traffic? If due to logging traffic, is there a better time to head west from Port Alberni?

Thanks for the suggestions! We'll be playing it by ear and checking out many of the offered suggestions...

Thanks for the reco. The fish tacos are definitely on our list for a lunch.

We (me, my wife, and our 20m old) are about to take a tour of Vancouver Island -- our last vacation before growing to a family of 4. We're spending 2+ days in Tofino, and we're wondering about kid-friendly restaurants in the area. We've got one night covered at the Pointe (the Wick's staff will babysit in our room so parents can dress up and go out ). We're looking for recommendations for other meals. The 20m old will eat almost anything, but she particularly likes shrimp, chicken, and beef along with her veggies (basically anything as long as not spicy). Thanks!

I was out there yesterday buying their new 'smart chicken' and I noticed the foie gras in the case. $50/lb. I also noticed duck confit (but don't remember the price).

any idea what's forming the hard crust? Dried meat? Then you'll need more moisture. Burnt sugar? Then less or no sugar in rub or whatever else you might be putting on those ribs.

I'm guilty! I used to work there my last year of high school, working the grill. It wasn't hard work, and time went by pretty quickly. Worse nights were the midnight rush after a concert let out up the street. If I remember right, we would regularly serve 5000 people in under an hour at midnight! For some reason, they all wanted snacks after the concert We used to get a meal during a shift, and the kitchen staff would make anything they wanted for a burger. Double McDLTs were common, as was pulling some bacon from the walk-in for chicken clubs. Then there was someone who tried the quad McDLT... We also had a fairly clean store, so nothing there grossed me out from eating at McD's again. Except figuring out later in life that there was better available elsewhere...

I had a half order of the risotto with braised oxtail followed by saddle of lamb (although different than on the menu now -- mine was on a bed of chick pea puree and served with yogurt). Dessert was the chocolate truffle cake. I think my wife started with a half of pasta and porcinis followed by the duck. She finished off with the olive oil cake. Everything that night was great. I'd give a special nod to the risotto, the lamb, and the olive oil cake. I've also had the ribeye in the past, which is also well prepared. My take: hard to go wrong there...

Me and the Mrs. were there a few weeks ago. Things are still excellent. I'm hoping to head there next week for a business-expensed event. We'll see...

I use little to no sugar in my rubs, so no worries about over caramelization. And I'm told I make some pretty mean 'q. But I've never entered a contest... I can't speak for others, but I'm not trying to win contests, just make good Q. If I want it sweeter I'll add sugar to the sauce. And if that makes me "old school" I ain't bothered one little bit. ←

Second on Deschutes Brewery and Pub. We passed thru a few years ago and dropped in for dinner. I remember an excellent smoked duck quesadilla with a fruit relish to start things off. The rest is hazy (due to time, not the beverages). I'm sure I saw families with kids, but you might want to call ahead if you decide to take this path.

I also use hardwood lump, so I have little recent experience with briquettes. But don't briquettes have a sizeable % of clay as a binder? Is that good for compost?

I know this is late but... Second on the Teddy Bear reco. I tried some of their stuff at a local competition a couple of years ago, and I'd give it thumbs-up. No idea about veggie options...

Second on the peanut butter substitution. We were out of tahini, and read somewhere to use peanut butter. This has become our regular recipe now...

ditto -- downstairs at Cafe Juanita is a great place for a group!

Lots of sides as we'll be having sort of a pot luck for displaced Canadians on Canada Day tomorrow. I'll be q'ing the brisket. They'll also be chicken for anyone not wanting the brisket (aka crazy ). Sides will be potato salad (probably red with blue cheese), green salad, cheese plate, various fruit, beer, wine, and strawberry daiquiris. I just picked up a flat of strawberries at the local market that were picked at 11am this morning My wife is handling the desserts: nanaimo bars, some type of cream pie, and apple pie.

shot in the dark: maybe too much ice? IIRC, the instructions state that, since the vitamix crushes ice so well, you'll get a large drop in temp very quickly. Using too much ice may result in the mixture starting to crystalize/freeze again. <edit: too early this morning (at least for me) -- fixed working>

coincidence! We got a bunch of mint from our CSA this week, and we came up with pretty much the same idea. Our marinade is greek-style yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, mint, and cumin. Put through the food processor 'til relatively smooth, and the butterflied leg has been marinating in it since this morning.

My wife is asleep right now, so I won't go up and ask her for specifics. I'm pretty sure she learned in pastry school from her chef to use 1/2 butter and 1/2 lard (real lard ) for her pastry. Even without her here, I'll admit that it is the best pie pastry I've ever had. If anyone wants details, I'll bug her about it...

can you share?

After having some restaurant-made ketchup a few years ago, we swore off the Heinz sugar blast and looked around for something better. We ended up with Muir Glen Organic Ketchup (from KetchupWorld). Much less sweet, with a real tomato flavor. Plus a nice spice profile (cloves, onion, a little heat). We don't need to order online since our local grocery stores carry it. It is a shame that, for most people (and apparently the New Yorker) that ketchup equals Heinz. There are much better products out there.

ScooterQ, all great points. I was hoping to get the full custom, but in the end, decided that it was a little too pricey for me. On the other hand, the $ per sq inch of grill space does come down quite a bit more with the 'textured' versions (about half of the custom tiled version -- but I don't think it looks nearly as nice). Still a lot more than a weber, but I hope I'm pointing that it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison since there are other advantages to the ceramic. I totally agree with you that one of the disadvantages of the ceramic insulation is that it is difficult to bring down temps; you really need to make sure you don't overshoot for extended periods of time. I've needed to modify cooking technique in the past to deal with this: I sometimes low'n'slow a prime rib, and I reverse the traditional steps. First I smoke (at 225) to an internal temp of 115 or so, then I stoke up the fire to a roar to get a nice finish on the outside. It would be nice to have grill height adjustment on the kamado -- score one for the hasty bake (although I read that Richard is experimenting with one now). Ultimately, I don't think the tool really matters at all if the results are there. I started smoking on my gas grill (with the rotis burner providing heat and wood on top of it, and that's what eventually led me to dedicated hardware. The Kamado has worked out for me, but clearly everyone might have different needs. After all, the only certainty is that parboiling ribs is pure evil <ducking and running>

If you're looking for a Kamado from Kamado.com (like mine), order well before you want one. The upside is the great product. The downside is the sometimes scatterbrained customer service and the long lead time for buying one. Each one is built to order, and they seem to have quite a few orders in the queue judging from order-to-ship time. Pizza comes out great, but I think that requires more experimentation to get the air and stone temps right.