Jump to content

ssherwood

participating member
  • Posts

    52
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by ssherwood

  1. I hate to be a lone dissenting voice, but there is an incredibly shortage of skilled cooks in this city. Although training programs like VCC, PCI and the like may be 'churning' out wanna be feenies and failing to give adequate 'real world' experience, they are no different than any law school or business school churning out wanna be Matlocks, Gordon Geckos and the like. The talent needs to be cultivated, and if it means a few kids have higher expectations coming out, so be it. Optimism is what fuels ambition, and without that ambition we'd never grow. We have to fall to grow, we have to make mistakes to learn, and if these kids are doing it in a safe, controlled environment, and not with my guests food, all the better. Let them graduate to the deep end of the pool once they've got a little more confidence in their craft. "Behold the turtle, he only gets ahead when he sticks his neck out" Let's not forget where we came from, some take the path through the pit, some through school, still others learned their craft from Mom, or Dad, or foodtv, whatever it is, we all come from ignorance into knowledge, and hopefully, from knowledge to wisdom.
  2. At the risk of turning this into a JB love-in, I have to chime in. There is a very real and easy mistake to make in our business to love the craft beyond the people in it. I've caught myself in this many times, and have found myself a willing student of Barber's mantras. When we forget to pay attention to the true reason we 'break bread', we get lost in the details and minutae of it. We begin to start celebrating the garnish and lose the point of the meal itself. Food and drink (wait for it) are only a foil for socializing. We gather at restaurants and friends tables and eating is the excuse. Look up from your plates and love the company your in. Be it a date, a wife, a cook, a lover (copyright?), they are the main course, and the food is a conversation piece, a memory shared, a connection to the past or the present in some surreal, tantalizing way that only shared experiences can define. Good food, really good food is truly best at its simplist, most honest state. Mr. James Barber reminds us all what this is all about. Awards, tv shows, press releases, all the bullshit we entertain ourselves gossiping about doesn't compare to a great meal, simply prepared, with fantastic people. I heard a great story about how he learned to cook in the army, now that's a line I wouldn't want to work. Hey Arne, maybe a new thread, sorry, but as I grew up and searched this city for a mentor, there were few who could represent an unpretentious, unfussy and unapologetic approach to cooking as he does. If he hasn't been seen lately, perhaps he should be seen more. I'd love to have a bistro with him cooking in my neighbourhood.
  3. Well, I'm not sure if i can add relevance to the out of town areas, but perhaps I can shed some light on our part. Price is very much an issue, here. If you take into account the labour costs on top of the food costs and understand that each percentage is vital, not to profits, but to prices, you might see why this industry is so grossly underpaid. dish = $10.00 product cost = $3.00 or 30% labour cost = $3.00 or 30% fixed business costs = $3.00 or 30% profit before taxes = $1.00 or 10% Let's assume that this is the industry standard for the breakdown. . . Regardless of the fluctuation, lets see what happens when you go from $10./hr to $15/hr on your staff. product cost = $3.00 or 30% labour cost = $4.50 or 45% fixed business costs = $3.00 or 30% profit before taxes = (-.50) or -5% Obviously the business owner will pass on the costs to the consumer, to make the numbers work, so now the dish will have to cost $12.50 Most, if not all business owners want to make sure they can stay competitive with their counterparts, and, ultimately, we all want to feel like we can offer a good value. I can't speak for anyone else, but the line we walk everyday is trying to get the best possible experience for the lowest possible price. I for one will attest that this business only makes millionaires out of people who started as multi-millionaires. Of all the cooks that I've met, very few have been able to get to the top, and even there met challenges they'd never faced before. Our business is humbling on all levels, that is part of its allure. Some of us, when faced with a difficult decision, strive to make the best decision. Typically, it's the hardest path to walk, and walking down that path with you will be a few cooks. Be nice and they'll let you buy them a whiskey. The rewards are out there for the right mixture of talent, attitude and fortitude, but the mix is rare. I hope one day we'll see a day that our cooking programs get the same kind of government support as our hockey programs. I guess only when a bocuse d'or win gets thousands of people rioting on Robson will that happen though. . . just my 2
  4. A quick note to let you all know that we are now open for lunch. The website should be loaded up shortly, and you can peruse the menu anytime at www.centuryhouse.ca Just in case it doesn't load, I'll give you copy here. Wild Boar Consommé Roasted jalapeño and apple gelee 9 Hand Picked Organic Greens Pomegranate vinaigrette, fresh jicama, and spiced croutons 8 Caesar Salad Fresh crisp romaine, quail eggs, fresh avocado, and traditional dressing 9 Plantain Fritters & Pork Bellies Crispy plantain cakes with cinnamon maple braised Kurabuto pork bellies and a petite herb salad 10 “Empanadas” Wild mushroom, Spanish chorizo, and brandade Filled puff pastry turnovers 10 Mains All mains are served with our guacamole mousse and pico de gallo sorbet and chips The Cuban Serrano ham, roasted pork loin, with melted Cabrales cheese, spiced pickles and chili mayo on a grilled baguette 10 Century’s Latin BBQ Slow cooked kurabuto pork and oxtail on fried egg bread with a fresh vegetable slaw 13 Braised short ribs Pickled onions, and fried corn cakes 14 Roasted chicken braised white beans, with a mole poblano sauce 13 “Crepe”dillas Oaxacan cheese filled crepes grilled and garnished with your choice Chicken, chorizo or roasted squash and 13 “Burritos” of the Sea Crab, shrimp and brandade filled crepe style burritos With fresh goat cheese and a chimichurri sauce 15 I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to try Remi's pork sandwich, finally the day is here!
  5. FYI, the rules have actually not changed in essence. The vancouver city liquor licensing regulations allow for an area or 'designated lounge' area within each restaurant which applies for it on an individual basis. Regular dining rules still apply in the regular dining areas, i.e. if you go to your local cactus club/earls etc. and sit at a table you are required to eat. The regulations also state that no longer is the 'intent' to eat enough, now it is considered contrary to one's food primary license to serve liquor without also serving 'a meal'. The common misnomer is that provincial 'adjustments' of the liquor act trickle down to municiple levels, when in fact, the act states that individual municipalities control their own regulations with regards to liquor service. That is. . . the province made adjustments to loosen things up, but the cities are under no obligation to follow suit. In the big picture, has anything changed? not really. Old rules that went unenforced have been replaced by less ridiculous rules strictly enforced. i think this was mentioned in a previous thread about a year or two ago, with the same effect. Don't ge me wrong, though. The city works very hard to create a suitable arena for doing business in the city, but you can sympathize, I'm sure, with how local politics can become quite contentious, what with competitive interests, NIMBY residents and all sorts of different interests tugging at the shirt-tails of local politicos. It will be interesting to see if the Olympic fever will loosen up the local regulations any more. . . .
  6. We had a fantastic dinner at Rare the other night, the service was flawless, the food was outstanding. Ironically, the photographer from the Globe was there, damn he's a nice guy. We call him 'the cleaner'. He has to go in after the hatchet jobs. I have to say, rarely do we find ourselves truly impressed with another restaurant's execution of its dishes and service details. This dinner was one of those times and Mike, Tom and myself all felt that Rare is the type of restaurant that this city needs more of. Thank you once again for an excellent dinner, an exceptional experience and an unforgettable birthday. Cheers, Sean
  7. Yeah, memo, I think you said it well. I personally spent a lot of time with the crew detailing the concept's nuances, histories and geographies, but I found most of the relevant details were lost on the cutting room floor. They tricked me with the whole 'MLC' 5 times fast line. It just goes to show, reality TV is simply unpaid actors following a script they haven't read yet. I would love to get the entire episode's footage and see a different edit that focussed entirely on the food, the design elements and the philosophies, but I'm not sure they would release the footage to me. This episode, I'm told, represented a clear shift in production styles from their previous episodes, focussing on the human stories behind the opening more so. All in all, let's be honest, it's a fantastic medium for exposure regardless of which editorial slant is there, so I won't complain. Not only that, they never really asked me for my opinion on the editing. I wonder if a different program will pick up where OS seems to miss some people, in the focus on the other details we're all so interested in seeing. You can't imagine that I like watching an episode of me and Mike being 'bitchy' to eachother, it's much further from the truth than I would like.
  8. Ironically, I found the experience akin to listening to your own voice doing karaoke. I found the episode entertaining to say the least, but I was also expecting much more focus on the room, and less so on myself and Michael. I felt there were many other really good storylines that got cut, but hey, with 50 hrs of footage cut down to 22 minutes, I can understand. It has been a great response so far, and everyone has been very polite in assuring me I didnt look completely insane. Thanks for that. Mike and I had a great time, and besides all the continuity issues that probably only I can see, I think they did a great job. The crew was fantastic throughout the experience.
  9. Good luck on the new venture! We've just transformed our vault into a private dining room, but drilling through the 17" concrete walls was a bit ridiculous. Next time we're out that way we'll check it out. Great to hear about the prairie bounty getting utilized by a great chef.
  10. Durbach's mushroom risotto. dang. so tasty.
  11. Wow, been a while, but I have to jump in...... Ok, so OG feels under-appreciated at work, I get it. He's also correct, our asessment of our almost-project up there cited staffing as the number one challenge, ahead of money, the municipality and competition. 2nd to HR was HR accomodations. I have to agree with him that those issues will create crisis situations if not addressed. That being said, my line of the moment is this 'Optimism builds restaurants, pessimism keeps them open' The entrepreneurial spirit that inspires is what causes us as a region to host the Olympics, not the bottom line, nor the ease in achieving it. Hosting a winter Olympics will be a difficult challenge, but one that we have no choice on, so best get started planning. OG, if you're correct, then best take your 'sky is falling' sign and move to Cowtown now, because these two towns have a lot of work to do to get ready, and they could sure use someone like you contributing to solutions to these problems. Like it or not, it's happening, and it's up to all of us to make it happen well. Communication, inspiration and perspiration are far more effective than aggravation. I have a ton of pride in this industry and the people in it, some of them won't cut it, others will rise to the challenge. The question for all of us will be, which one are we?
  12. exaxctly why I don't write the menus anymore.. my smelling is better than my spelling unfortunately.
  13. Nice call, To clarify, it has not been hand massaged by Japanese virgins, nor has it been fed a strict heineken diet. Often we've had to resort to identifying the wyagu beef as the same used as Kobe as most don't realize what wyagu is. This is organic, grass fed wyagu from a ranch in the Okanagan. Goin' down to Aurora for my red meat fix later, is Sammy working tonight Kurtis/Jeff?
  14. I haven't plugged myself for awhile, But if you can wait for a Sunday night, at the Fiction Winebar we do a Kobe tenderloin and 6 garlic prawns for a pornographically low $15. I wont be undersold.
  15. Hey all, Thought I'd let you know that we've been resisting OT's advances for quite some time now, mostly due to the forever and ever monthly charge. Ever thrifty. We are rolling out Micros' version of reso book and db software which is designed to rival OT in every way except for the central online website. The best news for us is that there is no monthly charge for our system. As we are their first install here in BC, we'll be guinea pigs for the rest of you, but feel free to check in from time to time and I'll boast/vent about the system to you. I love the idea of a convenient, easy to handle reso system with the benefits of online reservations, but we still prefer the hands on approach. It also helps that Michael (Mitton) is arguably one of the best maitre d's I've ever seen, and he refuses to to give in to a machine. . . To answer your question Neil, if micros didn't have this option available, we'd have gone with OT as well, and reluctantly paid the fee. I do think our guests have been interested in online reso's, in fact, I still take so many online reso's directly from my email, so maybe it's just a matter of having that available. Good Luck!
  16. I guess this is the coming out. . . We first spied the Century House two years ago and were besotted with the architecture, barrell vaulted ceilings, solid marble staircase, solid granite pediments etc. and have always been disappointed in the room's performance. So, we picked up the space when a new landlord came in and have begun work on this grand old lady. Remi Dubois has been hired from Salish Lodge in Wa. to oversee the kitchens of both Lmb and Century, and his talent is extraordinary. The son of a two French chefs, he began his career at 12, staging at 15. He spent time as Exec at Ritz-Carlton Boston and was our resounding first choice to lead the brigade. This guy is only 26 and is brimming with confidence. I've been having a blast working with him so far. Being from the U.S., he has some interesting perspectives on the local scene. At Century, Remi will be using Latin flavours, with classically French techniques and locally sourced ingredients. Small plates, shared entrees and platters will help facilitate what I like to call 'social dining'. Merely, a focus on sharing and conversation. Highlights include a latin cassoulet, and kick ass paella, but I'll forward a menu once we get closer. A girl's gotta have some secrets, you know. The wine list will focus on wines that work with the food. Obviously, Chile and Argentina will figure prominently, as will Spanish and Portugese. We'll round out the list with some BC's and some bits and pieces from around the world, but aren't focussed on making a massive cellar right away. Just an intelligently sourced selection and build it over the years. What can I say about the cocktails that isn't immediately assumed with Latin? Classic and modern interpretations of Mojitos, Caiprhinas, Sangria etc. all made with fresh juices. The decor is my own original creating, and I think I've created a monster! Modern Latin Cowboy is the official design theme, although I think I might throw the word revolutionary in there as well. We have sourced saddle leather for the seating, with a caramel microfibre suede for the chairs and reclaimed 500yr old lumber for the bar tops. Tables are handmade Hawaiian Koa, and the original wine stained marble floor has been restored. The upstairs loft is being converted into a lounge/bar and the licensing should be coming through in a few short (govt) months. Barcelona loungers, big windows and crystal chandeliers will be the main draws up there. The private vault room will hold 14 people for dinner, with exclusive dumbwaiter (bring the jokes) service directly to your room, and private phone for service calls. The challenge we're having is with the door, it weighs a few thousand pounds, so our hostess will have to have some pipes on her to move it. Lighting is by Propellor, my favourite custom lighting company. They did Lucy's as well as those fantastic mahogany pendants at Fiction. We have also engaged them to restore three of the original chandeliers from the building that were collecting dust in an antique store next door. Correct me if I'm wrong Jamie, but I believe this was originally converted into a restaurant by Werner himself for Umberto and they called it Il Pallazo. It truly is palatial, and built like a tank. The granite for the building is supposedly the same as our own city hall, the only two buildings in the city from the same quarry, so I'm told. I've not seen the ghost yet, but I've heard her. I wonder if anyone has any encounters with her from the Lola's - Ballantyne's days? As you may have surmised, we're doing our best to be low key with this one, it's a tough location with great fundamentals, our neighbours Cassis are doing a fantastic job and with Yagger's opening up around the corner we're expecting this neighbourhood, 'crosstown', to start making some noise in town. Opening Soon has been filming, so everyone can watch the episode when it comes out to see how much fun it is building these things Staying on topic, though, the dealmaking was a big part of this project, and while we hope to stay within budget, it's taken an incredible amount of effort to keep it there. If anyone wants to poke their head in from 'the gullet', feel free. I'd love to give you a peek into the chaos.
  17. I guess the appropriate mourning period has passed. . . Landlord issues. One actually, the landlord. Long story short, our project included a liquor primary aspect in a venue that Jack's architect (Werner) had done a lot of work on already (Alpen Rock). Restaurant and Nightclub in the heart of the Village. my Spidey senses were tingling when I saw that Jack walked from walked looked like a very fundamentally sound project. I have to start listening to that little voice, I think. Anyway, once we had final approval from the municipality of Whistler, which took us into month 6, with design, mech/eng and legal already completed and engaged, financing in place with all sorts of paper on every inch of the deal, it was discovered that the landlord owed $200k in development fees to the muni. The Muni's caveat on approving our project was to ensure that the project didn't start until the unpaid debt was paid in full. I'm sure you can imagine the rest of the story. Larco's (landlord) rep looked us straight in the eye and said, 'you want to do this project so bad, you pay it.' I'm ashamed to admit that I even considered it for a moment, but once we did our due dilligence on this particular companys past history uncovered many similar stories, we walked, half expecting them to come back to the table. They didn't. The space still sits empty. Sad to say, but we lost an opportunity and some money for a lesson learned. I'm still not sure what the lesson is yet, but perhaps it's a better thing with Whistler's difficult past seasons and the disgusting rates their charging. This is the project where I originally got excited about the modern latin concept, in fact, Century is very similar to what we had planned for Whistler. And the commute is a little easier, too.
  18. Nice one Jamie. I've always been impressed with your intimate grasp of business financials. Actually, there are some interesting twists to this, and I've been exploring all of them. I've discovered that one thing gets restaurants built and financed; Optimism. One thing, also, keeps them profitable and executing properly; Pessimism. So call it the bulls and the bears, or a slick tango between the haves and the have-nots, even a timeless battle between the dreamers and the realists. The scariest thing to me is how many of us can't stop doing it. Our investors have always pitched everything to their accountants and their lawyers, so I've invested years into developing proper business plans, learning all the accounting and partnership legal and trying to master the sales pitch in the board room. Confidence (and optimism) always seems to take a bathroom break when the lawyers are in the room. It sounds like you were describing a limited partnership type deal, and I constructed one of those for our (ill-fated, worse timed) Whistler project. At a build cost of $2.2m, it necessitated serious deep pockets, and a seriously good business plan. The LP is a great vehicle for financing big projects. That isn't, however, how I've seen most of us develop these little dreams. My partners in Lucy's and I self financed, put the tool belts on and did it ourselves. I did the same at Fiction, once the folks agreed to put up their home as collateral for the loan. Both of those projects only cost 2-300k to do, but to be fair, I think each one saved approximately 1-300k in consulting fees, labour costs and earned sweat equity. Century is being built by myself, my brother and a good family friend. Our investment was small again, and spent entirely on materials. It's a great example of restaurant sourcing. It's taken me years to budget a project properly, and learn which projects will be the most viable to our particular style. (DIY) I'd love to argue that this intimacy with the project brings a ton of heart and soul to the room, and saves us a ton of money, but the bottom line never changes, you simply move it from one column to another on the balance sheet. Either someone else will do it, or I will. In the end, if my partners let me, I'll try and do everything myself, it's my achilles heel. This is the greatest failure of restauranteurs that I've known. We're control freaks, at least we better be. We're detail focused, quality driven and cost conscious. If we don't have control, we better get medicated or lubricated. And we all try and do it all ourselves. The most difficult thing for any of us to do is run our restaurant like a business, if we did, we'd do so much better. In my time I've seen one main difference between independents and chains; one is a locus for socializing, craftwork and engaging conversation between interesting people, and the other is a business. There are some great tools for hopeful restauranteurs on the net, and quite frankly, out there accross the bar. We're all quite willing to let you in on the secret joys of this business over a pint or eight. But to all those interested I have an interesting observation. Every year I look myself in the mirror, survey my operations and think, 'damn, I learned a lot this year.' Good luck all!
  19. andrew you've inspired me. We'll put it in at Century. You can come in and 'work' whenever you want. I'll have the cards ready.
  20. Hey, go to The Foam Shop and get them to custom one for you, all sizes for tiers, squares, circles etc. . . They just cut the foam for you, so it's easiest to get exactly what you want. Washability wise, styrofoam would be a great option, and any arts and crafts shop should be able to help.
  21. I've stumbled upon this thread way way too late in the game. You'll love what we have in store, I hope, come December. Would anyone here be interested in a focus group for a modern interpretation of latin cooking? We'll probably get started on menu development by October/November and I would welcome the opportunity to get feedback from you all.
  22. Industry standard, across the board, 100%. Anything otherwise and it's buyer beware. Granted, some lists are spectacular, and offer the consumer something they wouldn't have an opportunity to get, that's just basic market economics to charge what one feels is justified. But when I can get it off the shelf at the ldb, it's a gouge. Any occassional reader of the Wine Dictator can put together a list from the ldb. If you want to charge a premium, one expects something unique and special. That being said, every business owner has different challenges, I just can't look someone in the eye if I'm over 100%. Karole, on the topic of buy it and bag it, you had entirely the right idea. We keep wine bags around and corks just in case, and it happens more and more.
  23. Eddy, nice to see you, I hope the planning is going well. . . Regard this proposal for equalized tipping. . . I have some opinions. I'm all for change. . . . . . . but If that were the case I'd have to: - drop all my cooks down to minimum wage to keep it equal with the servers. - instigate an entirely new process of tip-pooling, and how do you stop the cooks from 'assuming' that the foh isn't skimming a little extra? - myself 'assume' that everyone is being appropriately honest. - somehow equalize the hours (4-9 hr shift foh, 7-12 hr shift boh) - rehire an entrely new foh staff, who, based on what they would be getting paid, be horribly inexperienced and then quit after 3 months when they realize they can make more with a 4 table section at Earl's. - Close my restaurant, default the mortgage and declare bankruptcy - Shoot a reality TV show documenting the process, cash in and pay my debts - Get a job as a cook and ridicule the foh staff on how little they work, stupid they are and how they don't deserve what they get. All fun aside, though. . . This is the beast, it's been this way for decades. If you don't like it, work the floor. I don't hear cooks complaining about how much supermodels make, or doctor's, or lawyers or even artists. The grass is always greener. If you spend time looking across the fence, your grass wil be discolored and neglected. Don't get me wrong, I've worked all aspects and felt the same feelings, from dishwashing (and getting abused by EVERY cook I worked with) to cooking (and resenting the foh) to floor (and bribing the kitchen so I could get my customers what they wanted) to management (80hr weeks, no tips and crappy pay, and the owner had a porsche) to ownership (i won't go there) Every step of the way, if I wasn't happy with something, I did my best to change it. I tried twice to leave the business, once to get an MBA, and another to chase a jazz career. Either could have made me more money, or less, made me happier, or not, or given me more excuses as to why I was frustrated by the lot I was in. The bottom line, enjoy what you do. Money is only a measure of cash, not self worth. I love what I do, and it makes the money irrelevant. I wish everyone the same, whatever they're doing. Change the industry? Sure, put your house on the line, your family's security, your children's future. I'll keep my eyes wide open and accept all the changes that could be... but you go first, I'm right behind you.
  24. This is a fun one, no? Just as much as there are people who are unreasonably high-maintenance, know-it-all and difficult, there are those who (un-named) will write glowing reviews for the price of a mere dozen cosmos. There is nothing more frustrating than reading a review that says "this dish just screamed out, yummy", or "if it doesn't win best new restaurant I'll eat my panties." There are people of craft here who demand (crave) the type of hyper-critical analysis of their work, call it validation, self deprecation, whatever, but we need to be judged by a jury of our peers. (If this be you, then let me get you a cosmo or twelve.) There has been a few things left out of this discussion, though. . . We all accept that as the expectation of the guests increase, so must the execution of the host. Thus, the $300. dinner will be difficult to impress, but may manage to meet expectations. I just had a meal at Bouchon (Thomas Keller) in Napa and was totally disappointed, but mostly because it was a Keller venture and the food was . .. well. .. fine. Otherwise, had it been a restaurant with no hype and I hadn't paid $80. for the massive coffee table cookbook, I would have loved it. I digress. My point is as follows. The host sells not only the execution of food and drink, and much more than the congeniality and wit of a host, and hopefully more pride than a subservient lacky bent to one's every whim. The host is here to sell you a slice of life. Forgive me for waxing poetic, but we sell good times, memories, socializing, the hope of getting laid, the chance to rekindle a spark, the chance to try something new, the comfort of tasting something familiar, the ear of someone who understands and the understanding of a friend who's seen the best and the worst of everyone, especially ourselves. Come judge us on the timeliness of dishes, the sourcing of ingredients and efficiency of our uniform's hemlines. Please analyze and report on how table four made you feel, was there a draft from the door that was chilly, was the draft on tap not chilly enough? We agonize day and night, question ourselves and lie awake with self doubt gnawing at us. Ever have that panic when your on vacation and you think you left the stove on? That's me most every night. The bottom line is, we need to know. I may agree, or disagree, but this life isn't about being right or wrong, knowledgeable or ignorant. If you say my execution is shoddy, tell me what it will take to fix it. I've charged you for the opportunity to be served, now expect it. But. . . . Remember why you're here. That woman accross the table, the best friend, the boyfriend, the girls, that girl at the end of the bar. . . . They're all here for you, and vice versa. The people are why we do this, not the freaking gooseliver. Enjoy your meal, revel in the details, but never let it get in the way of your good time, the anniversary, the special occasion, the first date, (the last date). You've spent the money, get your value. It's funny how every staff interview I do, the most consistent question I'm asked is, " what are the people like who come in? " It's what matters most to us, and when we forget that, f*ck the foie, I'm going home. Another thing, this city kicks ass, it ain't a race, and as far as I'm concerned as long as the people, the fantastic fresh ingredients, and brilliant mother nature is here, I ain't leaving. I may even open a decent restaurant one of these days.
  25. ha ha. this is just the tip of the iceberg. I've been fighting the city for two years over my patio at lucy mae brown. "illegal furniture (in the form of patio umbrellas) has been in place and random inspections indicate they have been in place all year." The city administrators, in their wisdom, have actually made patio umbrellas illegal. Not only the ones with corona logos, but the plain, simple and elegant umbrellas that protect us from the sun or (very rarely) the occasional downpour. This city has a control issue. Every one of these regulations is designed to allow them to control operators when things aren't going according to their vision. There may be a litany of crap bars and 50 fights a night on granville street in their new 'entertainment district' but at least there's no umbrellas. Breath easy. wow, looks like I've got some issues myself!
×
×
  • Create New...