*Deborah*

Absolutely Fabulous (whose owner, Lynn Dinwoodie (sp?) is an eGulleter) does my office Christmas party every year at one of the partner's houses (about the same number of people as you foresee, DD). Good stuff, including the best cheese puffs known to man not sure about pricing, but they will pass things around for you at the event if you like.

Whoa, OK, today I'm having a bacon dog kolachy and the fab pea soup (and wondering if pork and beans would work as a kolachy filling?) because they go together, but there is a Hawaiian Pizza feature kolachy this week that will cross my lips sometime very soon...

At least they were wearing pants. At other places I’ve witness shorts and “wife-beaters”, albeit not together. Dammit people, put an effort into your appearance! Especially when you go out to a restaurant. ← And I don't mean to say people should wear ballgowns, or even cocktail dresses, just...to be presentable. (oop, edited for a little quote code mishap)

At the risk of being branded a complete snob, I have to say that at Diva last night, I noticed a whole whack of people who looked like they were dressed for McDonald's. I know that currently, raggedy jeans and shirts that look like they've been in a drawer for the past 30 years are in style, and I am well aware of the relaxed dress code in Vancouver--I have worn jeans to West, albeit with dressy boots and jacket--but I was honestly surprised by the über-casual DOV-goers last night. Somehow, a $35 DOV menu indicates to me that some sort of dressing-up is in order, even on a Sunday. Am I expecting too much?

Great to meet you, Abra and Shel! thanks for giving me an excuse to go to Hapa! and for helping spur the Chinese Dinner. Yum! I'm so glad you had the chance to eat at Aurora, and thanks for the great pics of the consommé, I loved that dish. eG culinary exchanges are the best part of it, I think. Well, one of them, anyway. I look forward to your next visit!

The beverage in question was a Vaquero Afrutando, which had me in such hysterics (a Brokeback Mountain-inspired drink, as I surmised before it was confirmed by our server) that I can scarcely remember its contents: tequila, white cranberry, and...something to make it red It was very good. I have to say that I was not as wowed by my meal as I was last year, although everything was fine (with the notable exception of that over-salted jus, alas), and the "braised and glazed" veal cheeks really were beautifully tender...wonderful texture. Dessert was good, piping hot (I got another glass of the Sumac Ridge Pipe that I love ), and I was happy to try the famous "Sparkle Cookie," hot out of the oven. As Moosh said, though, service was extra-good, and when I asked if we could linger for a while over our wine (and gossip ) before he brought dessert out, there was no problem at all. The maître d' was also very charming. When Moosh and I went in, we had intended to have a glass of wine apiece, for budgetary reasons, but the cocktails sounded so good, and then why not get a half-litre of wine? (the VQA pairing just didn't inspire us, is how we ended up with the Yalumba), and then of course I had to get my little glass of Pipe...ah, well, it's only money. A very pleasant evening.

Yay, Darcie! I am also a fan of baking your own birthday cake: then you know that it's going to be good!

Oh, the sorbet was good, definitely,but I should clarify that the chocolate not only improves the wine, but the wine improves the chocolate. I feel like an evangelist or something, but it makes a really startling difference. The two together are much greater than the sum of their parts, IMO. So don't let the milkiness make you say no if you're thinking of the pairing.

Last night, the Mooshes and Canucklehead joined me at Brix to try out their $35 DOV menu. We were next to a table of 40? I didn't count, but a lot of suits. The cocktail menu isn't available online, but I had something called a Prickley Pear, which included tequila and was soooo smooth. Yum! Moosh had an Asia da Cuba (sp?) which she let me sip: lychee aroma, so not to my taste, really, but also nice. Mr. Mouse had a 1516 on tap to start, aand Canucklehead had cranberry and soda. We were kind of boring, and all had the same meal: to begin, Seven Spice Ahi Tuna on green bean and yam tempura with ginger soya reduction...the ginger soya reduction was like a beurre blanc, a little sweet, lovely with the beautifully seared tuna. Very flavourful plate, a lot of Mmmms going around the table. For mains, we all chose the Porcini mushroom crusted venison scallopini with pecorino and fontina tagliatelli, tomato jam timbale, roast garlic demi glace and a cherry tomato spinach sauté. Wow! superfabulous venison. We deduced it might have been braised before it was flash fried, because it was unbelievably tender. The flavour was sweet and rich, almost like liver (in a good way! but I love liver), and the sauce was a nice counterpoint. The taglietelle were wonderful, I never would have thought that that little bit of tomato jam on top would add so much. A really successful dish, heartily recommended. We had the VQA pairing, the Mission Hill Estate SLC Syrah, a nice glass of wine. For dessert, we had three orders of the Michel Cluizel chocolate mousse cake, and one order of the fruit sorbet. The mousse was milk chocolatey goodness, but a little bland for my dark chocolate-loving tastes. However, following a bite of the mousse with a sip of the Sumac Ridge Pipe...sublime! really really outstanding. Thank you Kurtis from Aurora for turning me on to that wine, I get it whenever I see it, and it is just perfection with chocolate. I strongly recommend trying that out. David (ex-Fiction) took good care of us, and I'm starting to wonder if I really do eat out too much, recognizing service staff when they venture from one gig to the next Thank you Brix, for a really excellent dinner. I have to go more often than I have been the past few years.

Being at the kids' table was waaaaaaaaaaaay too much fun. Cheers to all of my companions. Waiting for the Keith Talent Dance Dance Revolution Dance-Off. I hear the Richmond preadolescents are lining up to show off their stuff and compete against the Master.

I'm at Brix tonight, will report on the $35 menu *drool*

Yay HK Dave! This is going to be good!

dayummm! *insert drool smiley* ← Lorna's food is on several government High Cholesteral Watch Lists. Occasionally the US sends the CIA to check out her kitchen, too...

What Arne said. Good luck, Laura.

Plan to arrive on the dot of 6:01 pm and you can park right out front! bring meter change ($1/hour) Please give Chef Tony my greetings, Lee!

Thanks, mama! I have to say, I kept thinking, "Oh, I've bought more local cookbooks than that!" and then I realized I've given my mother some Umberto books in the past, as well as the one from La Régalade this Christmas, which she was very keen to try. I should get a copy for myself. I'm also surprised I haven't got Lumière Light or Feenie's. My parents really are not fulfilling their gift-giving obligations!

Oh, Chris, you're going to get a bunch more calls now...

I look at the Lumière cookbook for inspiration, but I confess I haven't actually cooked from it. I made the Green Peppercorn and Mushroom Tarts from the Bishop's cookbook last October, and they came out really well! Tart shells (really nice recipe, with some cornmeal for texture): My mise: The mushrooms sautéeing (I had to have half and half Chanterelles and Oysters as the Chanterelles were disappointing that day): Plated with roasted organic beets and the (incredibly good) sherry cream sauce (for some unknown reason I only took a picture of the one with a broken shell):

Alex's Hattori [Hanzo] sword, er, knife is a thing of beauty. *drools*

Does anyone know if West is running DOV any later than Feb 2?

GENIUS.

Some Gulleters went for lunch there last summer? fall? It was very tasty indeed

Never a Wisniak fan, I always went with a birch beer. I understand the steak shop in the 300 block of S. Broad has vanished to make way for some theatre or something...I used to get a steak (often a pizza steak), always provolone--can't stand that Cheez Whiz--and a birch beer for lunch often, when I was going to school across the street. That was also a great store to get a hot chocolate and a cruller for breakfast. Sigh. ETA: gotta have ketchup on there, too!

It makes me think of bitumen though...