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winegeek

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    West Island

    in Eastern Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Hi All,

    Originally from Montreal (now happy in North Vancouver)' I'm staying with my sister in Kirkland and need a place to watch game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (she has no HD OR Plasma (I know, I know). I don't want to a place that's ging to be stupid crazy (I'm 44) but would like a place where I can sit at the bar and watch the game with sound.

    Any suggestions??

    West Island

    in Eastern Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Hi All,

    I'm going back home to Montreal in June for a family visit. I will be staying in Kirkland and would love to find a decent place to eat. I'd like something with a fun atmosphere, good food and a decent wine list. It does not have to be fromal dining but nor do I want to got to La Baton Rouge. Maybe a decent tapas place? Is this a tall order? A place with a decent bar to have a drink first?

    Sunshine Coast

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted · Edited by winegeek (log)

    My wife and I are planning a day trip over to the sunshine coast. We are actaully exploring the idea of a possible move there.

    While I realize that the SSC is not exactly "foodie heaven", are there any decent places in Gibsons or Sechelt for dinner? Has anyone spent some time over there?

    Thanks!

    Roister the Oyster

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    I'll be up in Whistler in a few weekends.  What's the oyster :wub: special?

    9.95 for a dozen freshly shucked locally grown BC oysters.

    Beat that, Rodneys or Forte's!

    Available at the Bearfoot Bistro between 3-6 p.m.

    Keep on shucking

    Oyster Guy

    $9.95? Are you crazy? No way we could beat that. Nor could we ever beat the cost of your wine or champagne :wink:

    Fuel

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    The only thing that I think could change things for the better would be to tone down the lighting a bit, the combination of spot lights, over the table lights and a chandelier in the middle of the room makes the place very bright. Especially at 11pm when the place starts to quiet down it became very apparent. Other than that I felt my $170 for 6 courses, wines, tax and tip were well spent.

    I said the same thing above. I would much prefer some softer lighting.

    Fuel

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Went to Fuel for dinner Sunday night. Here are my feelings about this new restaurant.

    We were greeted very warmly at the door by bith Tim (manager?) and one of the line cooks. The room was completely full(7pm). The room is very minimalist but not cold. Only minor quibble would be that I prefer the lighting to be a bit lower.

    As others may have mentioned, the menu is quite small, 6 apps and 6 mains plus a special of each. We had a few drinks and ordered a bottle of Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir (Oregon). I have had it before;yummy!

    I had the pumkin soup to start and really enjoyed it. 2nd course I had the Duck Confit and Foie Gras Mousse Terrine and my wife had the Warm Matsutake and Chanterelle Mushroom Salad. Both were delicious. We were then served a complimentry course, my wife a bowl of sauteed gnocchi (flour, not potato) and I had some ham that Tom (owner) had hanging for 15 months. Both were great and very much aprreciated. For mains I had the Slow Cooked Shin of Beef and

    Seared Weathervane Scallop and my wife a bowl of Lemon and parsley risotto with crispy capers. Again, both were fantastic. Course #5 for me was a Carmelized banana tart with coconut. OMG, about the best dessert that I have ever had! My wife had a great cheesecake (don't remember the details). I finished off dinner with a glass of Sauternes and my wife a tea.

    Leanne was our server and she was fantastic. Very professional and when she noticed that we are pretty laid back, her great sense of humour showed through.

    All in all one of the best dining experiences that I have had in Vancouver. Will definately go back and I highly recommend that you give Fuel a try.

    Lucky Diner

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Alright, here it goes ...  :wink:

    Have to say that overall the place is good.  The food, the service, the speed of getting your food and drinks, etc.

    We had one salad, two drinks, two entree's, and one dessert ... with tip was just shy of $100.00. 

    I think the thing I miss about the old Diner was that we would spend half that for a better meal and be stuffed instead of satisfied.  The old Diner never really overwhelmed me with the over the top quality but you sure got more than you $'s worth IMHO. 

    Now the Lucky Diner reminds me of Brown's or Milestones or any other restaurant around.  Which may be a good business model but for what I appreciate in restaurants, it presently lacks.  It's different, but a diner to me is alot of greasy good food at a great value in a relaxed atmosphere.  The Meatloaf I had tonight was nice, but it wasn't Grandma's meatloaf that I've enjoyed so many other times before piled with green beans and mashed potatoes.  Tonight it was two discreet slices with a few green beans and a whipped conical looking portion of mashed potatoes surrounded in sauce.  Nice looking to be sure but a far cry for what I expect or want to see in a diner.  I'm not sure if Heather still has a hand in the desserts, but compared to what was previously offered where dessert was the one of the highlights, the pecan pie we had was pretty ordinary.

    Ah well, it was good while it lasted.  I do want to go back and try their Hot Dog and Burger ..... maybe I just went in with too high expectations of what was. 

    The thing that I am excited about though is Sean's experience and presence coming to a Diner.  For sure menu's and recipe's will be tweaked to become an institution like all of the other in the chain.  Best of luck to Sean and Scott and hopefully we'll get to see more of the greasy spoon than the silver one.

    Without rehashing an old thread on restaurant reviews, this was one of the few honest, from the heart reviews that did not sugar-coat a fellow e-gulleters establishment. It also did not deter me in the slightest of one day giving this new establishment a try.

    Well done :wink:

    Vancouver/Western Canada Ingredient Sources Topic

    in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    I'm looking for "masa harina", which is, I believe, a latin corn flour. Any suggestions?

    A couple of suggestions here .

    In case the link doesn't work:

    Where can I get freshly ground masa in Vancouver?

    Thanks.

    Zucchini Mama,

    I saw Masa Harina (bulk in a bin/bucket) is available to purchase for $1.25/lb or $2.50 (IIRC)/kilo at La Salza Mexican Deli at 4140 East Hastings St. in Burnaby today. Their phone number is 604 299-6485. There was another item beside it in a matching bucket, but I can't remember what it was, I was concentrating on remembering the Masa.

    Thanks a bunch, cayenne. I actually found some at La Sureno on the Drive. They carry a treasure trove of Latin American ingredients. I made some champurrado with some masa harina, and am going to try tamales too.

    This post has been edited by Zucchini Mama: Mar 22 2006, 10:09 AM

    Thanks for your help :biggrin: !

    Brunch at Feenie's

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    I do have two beefs with the place.  First of all, our table was wobbly.  A small thing, I know, but incredibly annoying.  And second, the staff had trouble getting us the correct menus.  The menus are cardboard inserts into a leatherette folder, and all of us got different combinations of in our folders.  Great confusion.

    As a server, it is a major pet peeve of mine, both as an employee and as a guest.

    It also happens to be the easiest problem to solve, with either a wooden or plastic shim or, as an absolute last resort, a piece of cardboard or book of matches. I will never eat at a wobbly table :angry:

    Salt

    in Western Canada: Dining

    Posted

    Why Cin Cin? Only tourists go there!  :huh: It's over priced fake Italian food and has been around for years. They don't try anything new because their cliental are movie stars, out of town business men and American Tourists. There are sooooo many better (and new) restaurants then that, I am curious as to why those are your 3 choices?

    OK. A few disclaimers. I worked at cin Cin for 5 years. I am NOT a fan of the ownership, and that would be putting it politely.

    Cin Cin has been and continues to be one of the most beautiful rooms in the city, serving consistantly good food with a great (and overpriced) wine list. Their GM is one of the better hosts in the city. As for your comment about only tourists going there, they do a great business from the local clientelle, at least they did during the 5 years of my employment.

    I still dine there at leat once a year and always have a great time and great food. They also always finish right behind Ciopinnos as the second best Italian in the city in the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards( ever if they are more Mediterranean than Italian, IMHO)

    I need mussels!

    in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Red tide is over (for now). We have, in the last 2 days, started serving kusshi, chef creek, stellar bay, effingham and a few others. Glad that's over. We've been carrying a few oysters from washington state lately (besides kumamoto, which are always great) and frankly, they did not compare to our local oysters.

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