*Deborah*

I'll see your ugly kitchen, g-man, and raise it: I moved my rooms around so that my old kitchen will be my new dining room, and an old...bedroom? will be my kitchen. I'm up to mud and tape and plaster dust everywhere. Can the dog paint?

I'm grateful to her for updating Fannie Farmer. And I like the TV one, too

PC to Green Day. Somehow, that does not illustrate his skill to me. I am not saying he hasn't got skills, merely that doesn't say "Fabulous Chef!" for me.

Lise: when Daniel says hold the bottle in a vertical position, he means it! They should stick a level to the top so people could be sure. Welcome to the Gullet

A little background: Deborah's new kitchen was designed by me, and my firm will be supplying & installing cabinetry & countertops. I'm sure photos will be forthcoming I sure HOPE you'll be happy, what with a 48" Wolf range skillfully designed into an 8' x 10' kitchen I know I'm pretty stoked about it! A. ← Ha ha ha, and reading about a 10 x 4 island...that's half of my entire space Arne, at this point, I am going to be happy to have any actual kitchen that consists of more than an espresso machine and a microwave, regardless of whether it's the weirdest kitchen ever. Of course, a 48 in. Wolf in an 8 x 10 kitchen just might qualify as weirdest kitchen ever... I sure hope I don't need an island to guarantee my happiness ...no man is an island. Hmm, I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.

I'll let you know if my kitchen makes me happy when you finish installing it

Enjoy your socks. More good food for the rest of us (and our parental units). Nothing against C, West, Diva, Il Giardino, or Rare (I haven't eaten at Nu), but I fail to see how eating hosiery of any sort could be preferable to Parkside or Aurora Bistro. Of course that's not really my fetish.

I think you might be able to find those towel type aprons at a cheap kitchen store like Kitchen Corner, maybe? if you want that specific type for sentimental reasons. I have a cheap poly one (~$10) from Ming Wo, which lasted me about 4 years before the stains got too annoying to me. I think I'd rather invest in the heavier cotton one next time.

In several visits to Aurora, I've had no uninvited proteins nor noticed any cleanliness issue, and I have to say that both of my parents (over 60) have been more than happy with their dinners (and service) there; in fact, Aurora's on their short list for Vancouver visits. Sorry that your meal there was not as satisfactory as ours have been, lemontart.

Of course not, but this has nothing to do with the topic at hand. ← Thing is, some people would say it has lots to do with the topic at hand. I've seen it on other boards where consumers interact with service providers. Some consumers will argue that, by cozying up to the service providers on the board, they enable themselves to get superior service. They wonder why anyone would decline to use the board that way. Isn't that what the board is for, they ask: to improve the consumer posters' experiences with service providers? And, in any event (they always add), what's wrong with being "nice" and "sociable"? The problem is, of course, that such agenda-driven board usage diminishes the board's integrity. I think it's just wrong to post things for any reason other than expressing your true opinion. To be clear, I'm using a lot of bad words and pejoratives here. The people who do what I'm describing would probably say they aren't "agenda-driven" but rather "friendly". I know I sound harsh, but I wonder how different those two things are in this context. ← I will grant that the Vancouver forum has its share of “Yummy!” reviews--I’ve made one or two of that ilk myself--but to damn our entire regional forum as a bunch of “agenda-driven,” “clubby” people (or pejorative adjective of choice) who are there merely to socialize to the detriment of our palates or credibility, or create advertorials to increase tourism and make ourselves look good...Pardon? this is just silly. Where does that come from? The pulled punches of a few should not damage the credibility of anyone except those few. There are plenty of people on the forum who don’t sell good reviews for comped food and wine; I am among them. The few restaurants that give me the odd extra do so because I am a longstanding customer and they appreciate my business; the fact that I am a longstanding customer means that they are clearly doing something to my taste; ergo, good reports on eGullet. Are my good reports contingent upon getting an amuse-gueule? I’m not sure about others, but I’d hardly whore myself for $5 worth of foie gras. The occasional lack of report about a restaurant that one was not particularly enthused about shouldn’t negate the value of the positive reports, nor of the “meh” reports. There are plenty of “meh” reports on our forum. I will say that some industry persons have zealously rushed to respond to lukewarm or negative criticism in a way that has discouraged frank discussion of their restaurants, to my knowledge. There is a fine line between showing concern and being overbearing...but I think that is getting ironed out.

Thank you! I love learning things like that.

Suggest you take the ice wine over as it doesn't weigh any more than maple syrup, really? My understanding is that it is quite pricey in other parts of the world.

We smelled...something. 1215 was definitely OK, but not as tasty (or as fun) as Hapa. Our server was ex-Hapa, too, and I think some of the other staff have followed Chef. There was the big greeting and farewell, Wes (including Shige asking us to "Come back tomorrow!!" ), so you do enter and leave with a big smile, even if the middle bit is a bit meh. (I didn't find that anything was bad, or not to my taste, but there was nothing that made me go WOW! which is sort of what I was expecting, after my happy Hapa Izakaya experiences, that's all.) I have high hopes that it will improve; and we didn't try the famous croquettes, for one thing, so there is definitely a reason to go back. I think it's only fair to allow for growing pains. The funniest part of the meal was that clam chowder: it was good, but weird, and it reminded Moosh and me of the sort of strange concoction you make in university when you're broke and hungry...except this was full of good stuff, nice clams, fresh vegetables and so on. very funny.

Sound and fury, one might say.

No worries, Doug, I usually try to just pick on the professionals.

When my mother goes to Europe for a few weeks or longer, she will always bring a small jar of peanut butter so she can have a bit at breakfast now and then, since it's not something you usually see at the sort of hotel she likes to stay in. My dad travels often for work, and always takes Zone bars (he has to eat regularly or he passes out, and when you're travelling or working at an emergency spill response, you can't count on regular meal times), sleepy-time or equivalent tea bags, high caffeine tea bags, green tea bags, and lots of those Airborne Vitamin C/etc. fizzy tablets. I used to bring my little Krups espresso machine with me when I went for overnight or longer in the car; now that I have a Gaggia Classic (a little less portable!) and the wee Krups is kaput, I will often bring my small Bodum and coffee, as I find it hard to function without good strong coffee. I'll usually bring Peek Freans Digestive biscuits, too. Corkscrew, wine, and whiskey are also in my bag if I'm staying at a place with a kitchen.

I think so, Abra. Especially if it's based on one visit, and especially if it's an aspect that revolves around personal taste--I didn't like something all that much, as opposed to my chicken was still bloody and underdone, for example. Sometimes you aren't really in the mood to go through a whole write-up of a dinner, either, and make the explanations and comments that will make it clear that you don't hate a place or think it's bad, you just weren't all that crazy about it. If you don't have anything really positive or negative to say, then certainly silence is a valid option, IMO.

The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, and the National Post are the 3 national newspapers. As I said upthread, there are 3. ← Toronto being neither the centre of the universe nor the capital of the nation, I dispute the claim that the Toronto Star is a national newspaper.

Every time I read one of her columns, there's so much Gullet in it...I never doubted she was among the lurkigentsia.

Yes, very yummy! As the wife doesn't trust how restaurants weigh them, she started buying from T&T and cooking them at home. ← You know - I have the same suspicion also. We got an extra 4 pounds - but the amount of legs we got seemed to be same as the table beside us. But we got way more deep fried body and fried rice (with a huge crab shell). Is it hard to cook at home? I don't think that I have anything close that would hold the amount of legs I want to eat. ← California King, canucklehead. That should do 'er.

Pistachios, I'm guessing?

I couldn't help but notice that all these coffee shops are chains (with the exception of #4). How does a coffee shop chain maintain its independance? Is this similar to the Hollywood trend of calling any movie not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer indepedant? Aren't there actual independant coffee shops that need support? Perhaps the category needs to be expanded to "Best Coffee Shop (chain)" and "Best Coffee Shop (Independant)" (It should be noted that as my brother owns an independant coffee shop in Vancouver, I have a personal axe to grind.) Regardless, I think the point stands. ← I would have thought Artigiano qualified as independent (not sure about the others); having more than one location doesn't make you a "chain" per se, does it? Doesn't that relate more to the corporate or non-corporate nature of ownership? If your brother is successful enough to open a second storefront, won't he still be independent?

Oh, I read about that in the Courier, but I didn't realize he was now ex-Hapa, I hoped he was just also 1215. I'll have to give it a try in any case.

Very interesting blog Henry, how fortunate/clever you are to have put your life together this way

I hung my head for that place while they were still open. Bleah.