Jump to content

*Deborah*

participating member
  • Posts

    1,741
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by *Deborah*

  1. This is what my kitchen looks like right now.  Seriously.

    I am training the dog to install the cabinets.

    :laugh:

    I'll see your ugly kitchen, g-man, and raise it:

    P1030014.jpg

    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.

    P3240009.jpg

    Can the dog paint?

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

    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 :cool:

    I sure HOPE you'll be happy, what with a 48" Wolf range skillfully :rolleyes: designed into an 8' x 10' kitchen :shock: 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 :laugh:

    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 :unsure: ...no man is an island. Hmm, I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.

  3. Really?

    This is the best in BC...

    Yawn.

    Wow ~ Save your $ and go to Seattle and eat at Oceanaire.

    Very chummy and generic list (yawn). I would rather eat a sock then  visit the listed spots (I cannot call them restaurants), with the exception of Nu, C, West, Diva, Il Gardino, (review to follow...).

    Its true...the Western Canadian thread does suck...

    :huh:

    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. :wub:

  4. :unsure:

    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.

  5. In your theme of 'getting the best possible meal out of any given restaurant', perhaps some of the local eGullet members simply took your advice and did exactly that. Can you fault them?

    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. :rolleyes:

    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.

  6. I didn't see that earlier thread, but there is no mystery at all to why pink became the traditional color of pastry boxes - the tradition starting during the reign of Louis XIV, le Roi Soleil in France when the mark of success for any patissierie was a royal license, that always stamped in pink and the color being taken on by pastry shops throughout France as a sign of their increased "status".

    It should be noted that during the French Revolution the color almost vanished from sight, no-one wanting to be associated in such a blatant way with royalty. that might have been too quick a way to the guillotine!  The color made its comeback  in the late 18th century and at least in part of Europe (e.g. France, Belgium, Monte Carlo, Italy, and parts of Germany and Austria) being associated even today with quality pastry shops.

    Thank you! :wub:

    I love learning things like that.

  7. We smelled...something. :wink:

    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!!" :laugh:), 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. :laugh: very funny.

  8. 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.

  9. I am so ambivalent about this, and will freely admit it.

    If I love a place, I'll certainly post that.  If I hate it, I'll post that too.

    It's the middle ground that's more difficult.  For example, there's a restaurant owned by an eG member that's getting lots of great reviews.  I went there, and thought it was fine.  Good.  Not better than that.  Now, do I need to warn you all that I personally don't think it's fabulous?  When lots of my fellow members love it?  If I'm in the minority, and my opinion could hurt the place, and I don't think anyone will be harmed by going there, but I myself have no plan to return because I was just underwhelmed, am I cheating the world out of my opinion if I just hold my tongue?  Everyone can't like everything, and if my dining experience was not truly egregious in some way, isn't there a place for judicious silence?

    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.

  10. I must inquire, what are the three that you think are representative of national?

    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.

  11. On the bright side, now we know that all types of people can be lurking on eGullet  :cool:

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

  12. Has anyone else had King Crab this year - it looks like it was a good season.

    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.

  13. Coffee Shop (Independent)

    1. (tie) JJ Bean house of coffee

    Various locations

    1. (tie) Caffe Artigiano

    Various locations

    2. Blenz Coffee

    Various locations

    3. Bean Around the World

    Various locations

    4. Delaney’s Coffee House

    1105 Denman Street, 604-662-3344

    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?

    :unsure:

×
×
  • Create New...