Paul B

We took our son to the Zen restaurant in West Van for his birthday last weekend. They have an excellent sake list and, best of all, a sample tasting selection of cold sakes for, like, $15. This gives you three very high-end sake samples in a nifty shot-glass rack. My wife and I split the sampling and it was more than adequate to get a sense of the differences between the sakes. The one we liked best was, of course, the more expensive. If I wasn't into my second bottle of merlot right now (I'm not usually this lubricated on a Thursday but my wife's father died last week and things have been hard, especially since we're trying to make sure our son still enjoys his birthday....) I would remember the brand. Anway, Zen has a great sake list, the sushi is top drawer, and the atmosphere remarkably unstuffy for a high-end restaurant. Recommended.

As an ex-Torontoian, I believe the statistics. Toronto is about about serioius boozing while Vancouver is about pleasure. I know that since I moved here, almost 18 years ago, my consumption of wine has increased an my consumption of the hard stuff has gone way down. It's a good thing.

Whenever we hit Cafe de Paris on Denman, I always end up ordering the cassoulet. It's the best I've had in the city. And the tako yaki at the food court in the Aberdeen Centre, Richmond, are a must when we're in that neck of the woods.

Which street is this store on? There are a quite a few BBQ places in Chinatown but it sounds like I should check this one out. Chinese sausage, mmmm....

Little donuts, obviously. But I'll also go for the foot-long hot dogs.

If he's cool with Chinese food, try the Floata (the downtown branch). It has a variety of banquet menus and it is certainly big enough.

I thought I'd add some thoughts since we were at Chambar last night. I had reserved two weeks ago, and I casually mentioned at that time that we were going out for an anniversary dinner (21 years!!). When we showed up last night, the greeter congratulated us on our anniversary then gave us a choice of tables: the quiet one in the front window, or one in the noisier back room. We chose the backroom and were given a fine table for two. We skipped drinks since we had stopped for some earlier and ordered a bottle of Blasted Church Pinot Noir. Our waiter asked us if we were in a hurry or we wanted to linger. That's a nice touch. More servers should ask that question. Anyway, we split an order of those mussels Congoliese (too good), then split the asparagus salad, the filet mignon. and the fois gras. All were excellent, though my wife didn't like the salad as much as I did. For dessert I had the cheese plate and a glass of port while my wife had a Chambar coffee. The tall bald gentleman who made the rounds (the owner??), had stopped earlier in the night to talk about the wine. He came back during dessert to give us two complimentary glasses of port and congratulate us on our anniversary. Pretty damn classy. So, all in all, it was a great experience and I was very impressed with the service as well as the food. Yeah, the backroom is noisy, but it is also beautiful. And if you want quiet there are lots of pretentious restaurants out there were you can hear every clink of a fork on a plate. Personally, I find that atmosphere stifling. I'd rather hear the noise of people having a good time. We sure had a good time. So a big shout out to the Chambar for making our anniversary dinner special. The next time I have friends in from out of town I'm taking them there.

The Dosa Hut on Hastings -- if it's the one across from the Brave House of Bulls -- is not Sri Lanken but south Indian. It's actually not bad, but I think it's shut down.

Four years ago I took the family on an exchange to the west coast of Ireland for six months. We lived in a suburb of Galway. Now, a very interesting experience for everyone, but not a culinary one. Yes, I know you can find good food in Ireland, but the everyday food people sell, serve, and eat is atrocious, and certain ethnic cuisines simply could not be found. I had a party and I made sushi. Not one of the 25 Irish people who came had had it before, and many were reluctant to try it. And most of these people were university professors. I often saw people in the university cafeteria have a lunch of bacon, sausages, and a cigarette. In the same cafeteria there was a baked potato bar -- you grab a baked potato and heap different toppings on it. One of the toppings was potato salad . Anyway, by month four we were playing a game during long car drives: what would we eat when we got back to Vancouver? The answers varied, but high on the list was sushi, dim sum, pho, crab, and salmon. We came to realize that Vancouver cuisine, for us, was about Oriental and sea foods. And yes, that first week back, we went nuts and ate every single thing on the list. It was glorious.

Real Spanish saffron that my buddy got from a friend just back from Europe. And yes, there was a serious crust at the bottom. Said crust is apparently famed for its Viagara-like powers. No comment on whether or not this is true.

As promised, here are the pictures of our paella. The party was last night and it was a great success. This paella contained 48 chicken thighs, 12 large sausages, 4 pork tenderloins, salmon, white fish, mussels, clams, octopus, squid, home-made stock, brandy, saffron, peppers, green beans, peas, and other stuff I can't remember because of the, uh, sangria. We fed 40+ people and had enough left over for two meals, one of which I had for lunch today. The pan itself is 31 inches, ordered from paellapan.com, and sits on a dedicated three-ring propane burner. It took my buddy-in-paella Ian and myself about 90 from the lighting of the burner to being ready to serve. All the food had been pre-chopped, etc. Guests helped themselves straight from the pan. The chicken has just gone into the pan (I'm the shorter of the two cooks). It's been marinating overnight in paprika. We used a lot of olive oil. The fish has just been added. We got all the seafood at the downtown T&T in the morning. The finished creation. I've just taken off the sheets of newspaper that we lay over the rice for the final 20 minutes as things steam. Nb. my t-shirt: Paellapocalypse Now. Our friends dig in. After dinner we had a Flamenco show. We hired this group that we had seen at La Zuppa restaurant on Lonsdale. Great musicians, and very happy to get paella and sangria. All in all, a great meal and a fun night.

You don't have to drive to Portland to get a paella pan. Just go to paellapan.com and order one on-line. A neighbor and I hold a paella party each year in my backyard so we invested in a 31-inch beauty from this company. It was quite reasonable. As for rice, we sometimes end up using arborio if we can't find authentic Spanish and no one has noticed the difference yet. This year's paella party is a week Saturday. I'll post some pics after the event.

Cassoulet for breakfast?! Too cool. And speaking of cassoulet, I was in L'Ami de Fromage the other day and found a jar of Quebec cassoulet for $25. Despite the price I bought it. Not bad. Not as good as the canned stuff I've had in France, but not bad. But back to GI meals. I was there yesterday. Picked up some Shanghai noodles at the specialty Oriental store. Got some chili chicken stir-fry strips at Tender Meats (that's the name, right, of the big meat counter?). And then boosted lots of veggies from one of the fruit&veg stands. Went home and made a great stir-fry. The boys both had double helpings. Also picked up a Swiss brioche loaf for breakfast. Very nice. I'll be back at the market a lot over the next week and a hald as my son is taking a workshop down there so I hope to sample most of the food vendors.

Okay, will try the superpretzels. Thanks! Doesn't is seem like there's a niche here that needs to be filled? Someone should start a local pretzel company.

My kids love big soft pretzels, the type you can get on any corner in New York and are usually served with mustard. Where can I get them in Vancouver? And are they available on the North Shore? I used to be able to get them at one of the delis in the Park Royal market, but the last time I got them there they were hard as rocks. I've made them at home but they take a lot of work and disappear as fast as I can get them out of the oven. Suggestions??

This name came up in the discussion about pane ou chocolate, but I'll throw it out again for French bread: Pic Nic in West Van on Clyde between 14th and 15th. The people who run it are Persian but trained in France and they are serious about their French training. Great bread and pastries.

Okay, after reading that the meat at Samba was heavily salted, we bailed. Can't stand over salted food. We ended up at Memphis Blues on Broadway. Turned out well. My 16 year old did some severe damage to the Memphis platter and the BBQ poutine (he rows competively). My wife and I also have a great time with the brisket and pulled pork. Our 13 year old was a little overwhelmed by the meat spectacle, but rallied for dessert. But best of all was the casual ambience and friendly guys behind the counter. They made it fun for the whole family. I would go again and I know the family would come with me. Thanks for all the advice.

My kids want to go out on Friday to the Samba Brazilian restaurant on Thurlow. You know: the place where they come around with BBQ meat on swords. Sounds sort of fun but is it any good??

I don't get down to GI as much as I'd like, but in July I'll be bringing my son there ever weekday for two weeks so I'll be loading up on the good stuff. Now, does anyone know when Oyama will offer their cassoulet again? I think it was in late summer last year, but I'm not sure. If you haven't had it, they serve it in foil containers that you heat up. You buy the Toulouse sausage and the goose fat separately and mix it in. It is not as good as the cassoulet you can get at Cafe de Paris (or buy in jars in France), but it will do in a pinch when you need cassoulet, and I need it a couple of times a year. I'm sure I'll also be hitting Lobster Man when I'm down there. They have some great looking shellfish.

Yeah, try it out. I've been afraid they'll go under for the longest time. The article in the GS should give them a boost, but it would be good if West Van residents rallied behind them. I mean, the only other Chinese in WV is Ambleside (yuk) and the place in Dundarave. For the good stuff we've always had to go to North Van. VIP's is great, if eccentric, and should be supported. Plus the people who run it are nice.

In today's Georgia Strait they blew the lid off our local secret: VIP's Kitchen, on Marine drive near 17th in my 'hood of West Vancouver. Super cheap, and if you avoid the dishes that are on the menu for the blue-rinse set (most of whom go to the terrible Ambleside Chinese on Belleville) you can get really off-beat and great stuff. Can attest to the egg and oyster pancake and the duck. If only it were licensed... And by the way, we love chicken feet even though we're of northern European descent. I think one of the great tests of whether or not new friends get to be culinary friends is whether or not they'll try the "red claw." I had a bunch of new colleagues out for dim sum in the fall and quickly rated them by how they reacted to the chicken feet.

Here's my recipe, adapted from something I read long ago. It's a family fave. 2 whole slabs pork baby back ribs Dry Rub: 3 tablespoons brown sugar, tightly packed 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons paprika 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon rubbed thyme 1/2 teaspoon onion powder Braising Liquid: 1 cup white wine 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon honey 2 cloves garlic, chopped In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, shiny side down. Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub. Pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight.. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Cook for 1 minute. Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot. Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler or on the BBQ until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the ribs in the glaze. Serve with lots of napkins.

baby back ribs This is a fave with my family. When my kids want it they ask me to make the ribs. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, or in one of those aluminum “hot bags.” Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub and pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight.. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Cook for 1 minute. Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Close the packet and braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot (this can be tricky!! I put the ribs in the foil on top of a wok and then poke a hole in the foil). Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler or on the BBQ until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the ribs in the glaze. Serve with lots of napkins ( RG1312 )

baby back ribs This is a fave with my family. When my kids want it they ask me to make the ribs. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Place each slab of baby back ribs on a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, or in one of those aluminum “hot bags.” Sprinkle each side generously with the dry rub and pat the dry rub into the meat. Refrigerate the ribs for a minimum of 1 hour, preferably overnight.. In a microwavable container, combine all ingredients for the braising liquid. Cook for 1 minute. Preheat oven to 265 degrees. Place the ribs on a baking sheet. Open one end of the foil on each slab and pour half of the braising liquid into each foil packet. Close the packet and braise the ribs in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Transfer the braising liquid into a medium saucepot (this can be tricky!! I put the ribs in the foil on top of a wok and then poke a hole in the foil). Bring the liquid to a simmer and reduce by half or until of a thick syrup consistency. Brush the glaze onto the ribs. Place under the broiler or on the BBQ until the glaze caramelizes lightly. Slice each slab into portions. Place the remaining hot glaze into a bowl and toss the ribs in the glaze. Serve with lots of napkins ( RG1312 )

I would agree that the guy near the Wedgewood on Robson is pretty durn good. As for Hot Dog Johnnies, they had great wieners and lots of condiments, but they didn't heat the buns! Blasphemy. Most of the time I head over to Supervalue and buy the President's Choice Ballpark Wieners (the best) and just make the dogs myself.