Jump to content

winegeek

participating member
  • Posts

    305
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by winegeek

  1. it's 1:10am. Just got back from an incredible dinner at West. My expectations were high and they were met!! Reservations were at 9:30 and we were seated promptly. We started off with a bottle of Vasse felix 2001 Cab.($72) Did not have as much back bone as I would like but was a good wine to start. There were 4 of us in our party and 3 started with the marcello goat cheese tartlet. I had a bite of my wives and thought it was very tasty. She found it a bit salty but does not like black olives. I started with a pork terrine. Fantastic!! It had some carrot and foie gras and I believe it was wrapped with procuitto. Next course we ordered a bottle of Edge(2002- $85)). It's been a while since I've enjoyed a California Cab. This is produced by Signorello. Good value and a bit more tannin than the previous wine. Two of our party had a wild mushroom and ricotta ravioli.. Very good (and different). It was in a mushroom broth with truffles. Not overly salty (nice for a broth), but not my favourite preparation. My wife loved it. I had one of the best dishes I have had in a while. I had a braised veal breast served with crispy polenta and basil jus. The jus was such a great compliment to the veal, which was served "tornedo"(??) style. It was wrapped with a thin layer of fat. It made for a great compliment to the wine. Highly recommended. Dessert we had 3 different items. Chocolate Bavaroise Apple and Sour Cream cake Marshmellow & pomegranate salad.The server suggested the last one and was very really good. It came with the most incredible marinated fruit (pineapple, blood orange and kiwi). Just try it . The chocolate was, well, chocolate! I don't eat alot of chocolate but did enjoy the taste I pryed away from my wife. She proclaimed it excellent. Service was very good but we did know the staff there, having worked with some of them in the past.. Was it good value? I would have payed $35 for my veal alone. The veal portion was probably close to 5-6 ounces, which was alot larger than I'd expect during DOV. I have a reservation next Friday and will probably go back . Sorry I can't describe the dishes in greater detail. Edited the next morning to add that I should never drink & post .
  2. I was there last year. Great burgers. Sorry, no details except to say don't use the restrooms . Someone also mentioned Hamburger Marys. I've been dissapointed the 2 times that I've been there. I found the burgers to be pretty tasteless.
  3. I've noticed that the majority of these "nasty habits" are store bought. What about what you prepare at home? I have two (in addition to all my "store bought"). Both are eaten the morning after over consumption. -toast, butter, parmesan, preferably kraft -chicken noodle soup COLD with ripple chips smashed up inside. I do have to confess that the latter is something that I haven't done for quite some time.
  4. As opposed to sober. Sorry. I can't believe that I haven't ever droppeed a "jewel". I am a bit of a klutz. Having said that, I think I'll go wrap up my few rare bottles with bubble wrap .
  5. I was over in that part of North Van yesterday. What an incredibly tragic incident. My thoughts are with those who have lost a family member and those that have been temporarily (hopefully) displaced. It's amazing the wrath that Mother nature has unleashed on us this week.
  6. Alistair, Thanks for the education. Very well written. I also appreciate your support of the other (great) coffee houses in Vancouver. Living in North Vancouver, I have yet to have the pleasure of experiencing your coffee but will make a point to next time I cross 2 bridges .
  7. In a few cases, I wish they were wine prices. $8 for a 2000 Conumdrum, $5 for '96 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz, $40 for a '96 lynch-Bages, $55 for a Clos de la Maréchale, Faiveley, 1995. I am SO there
  8. I found a great message board on everything related to Puerto vallarta HERE many years ago. While it is not specifically food related, I have found over the years that the people who post there are incredibly helpful. I've been a member for a number of years. You can get all your questions, including restaurant related, answered there. good luck
  9. Has anyone noticed that Parkside has a new menu? They are now offering a three course dinner for $40 or appetizers for $10 each, $24 for mains and $8 for desserts. You may add a cheese course for $9. For a spot that had entrees for $20 previously, that's a 20% increase, not a small increase by any means although from all the great things I've heard, still well worth it.
  10. Wow, that was alot of reading since this morning , on one thread alone (okay, 2 threads). Neil, I'm so there for your lamb burger!! Definately my favourite meat for a burger. I'll be by for lunch during DOV. I'll look for you.
  11. Ribeye & Cabernet Wine & Cheese (yeh, I know, very general) Prawns & Garlic Butter Clam chowder & Crackers Scotch & a glass.....
  12. Yellowtail gets my NO vote! Would rather spend an extra 10 buck for Peter Lehman Shiraz.
  13. Having just discovered this thread and taking the time to read through all posts (ok,2 pages), I'm in!!. Love burgers. The absolute best burger I have ever had, unfortunately, are not within easy reach. 5 years ago, while honeymooning on the Greek islands, we were sent to a very-out-of-the-way place on the island of Naxos. There were only 2 tables there, basically someones back patio,no menus and the burgers took about 1 hour!! No problem, they were worth the wait. The bad news is that with the exception of some cheese and roasted red peppers in the center, I don't recall all the ingrediants, just that they were the best!!
  14. I have yet to receive my January magazine so am now looking even more forward to it with the wine awards. I must say that I am slightly leary of wine awards though. In BC for example, Jackson Triggs seems to win so much with, IMO, average wines.
  15. Ciopinnos I have been there a few times. The food is fantanstic. I would say one of the better meals I have had in Vancouver. My wives mushroom risotto was out of this world. Very high mark-ups on wine.
  16. Oh yes....Brazza has wonderful freshly made gelato in lots of flavours, although I don't remember seeing cinnamon but will take a look next time I'm there. The lemon sorbet is excellent too and they sell Intelligensia if you need a fix. cm ← I don't remember seeing cinnamon either. I just wanted to throw that name out there
  17. There are many Italian restaurants in the city. It really depends on what type (region) of Italian your looking for. There is Bis Moreno, Il Giardino, Cin Cin, Quattro, Cioppinnos, Villa de Lupo....
  18. Has anyone been to Brazza on Lonsdale in NVan?? When I was living downtown I frequented mondo at least once a week and loved it. When I moved to NV I tried Brazza. YUM!! IMO, better than Mondo.
  19. If I may borrow a page from the original WOW .... Each new week should have it's own thread. The title would be something like: WOW [YVR] - Name of Wine The description would be the week it runs (e.g. January 11-18). The WOW in the Wine forum actually runs for two weeks. Thoughts? It is up to the current "cupholder" to PM the new "cupholder" for the next WOW by the middle of his/her posting period. *sigh* I'm too tired to think anymore. Read more about it here. A. ← Ooops.... newbieitis..... Mea culpa and all that Sorry for posting an additonial suggestion for another Grenache... was just so darned excited to see a topic about wine that I got carried away. If I could figure out how to erase my comment I would. Must check that out before posting again Now back to your regularly scheduled programing..... ← Wouldn't worry too much about it. Actually, wouldn't worry about it at all. I wanted to throw around a few bottles myself but will bide my time and learn from others.
  20. Good for you. As a server, I would never (nor would any of my managers), say such a thing. If a guest says a bottle of wine is "off" or corked, then it is. My sommelier would say the same thing. Does that mean that we agreee with our guests conclusions regarding the wine? Of coarse not. But that bottle of wine IS corked until they leave the restuarant
  21. Food AND golf? Count me in. ← And I will be there for comic relief. I shoot about 100 on a good day ! ← Neil, we should definately pair up. I'm also good for about 100
  22. Hey Foodie, count me in!! I think you were reading my mind. . I was thinking about a similar post but thankfully, you beat me to it. I spend alot of time in Wine but alot of what is referred to is not available here. I think this is a great idea. Where as I would definately classify myself as a huge wine lover (and drinker), I have SO much to learn. There are definatley alot of people on this board with great wine knowledge. I would be more than happy to share my love of wine with others. I'll volunteer for week 3 if I may?? I think it's really important that we keep it to ONE person a week to post 2 WOW's. That way those of us who so desire may go purchase the WOW and give feed back. Too crazy if everyone adds a WOW at the same time
  23. I think what people pay for wine and what they percieve to be expensive is up to each individual. For someone who makes $25 000/year, purchasing a bottle of wine for $50 might be a big investment. For a couple that make $250 000/year, that same $50 bottle represents a drop in the bucket. I won't even get into the people who are financially very rich. I'm certainly not rich but I wouldn't think twice about spending $100+ on a bottle of wine that comes very highly recommended. But I do get more pleasure from discovering a delicious wine for under $20
  24. This might sound funny but have you tried Ebay I have made a few purchases of electronics on Ebay (Canada) and have saved a ton of money. If you are not familiar with using Ebay, let me know. I'd be glad to help.
  25. I was under the impression that a 100% markup was pretty standard for a fine dining restaurant. Was I wrong? Interesting - this wine had a ton of very forward fruit, and I don't usually think of SB or semillion as being very strong. Ya learn something new everyday. ← A 100% mark-up is fine, very good actually. Last time I was in there( about 2 years ago) they had a bottle of Burrowing Owl 98 merlot ($25 retail) on their list for $125. Unfortunately, there are numerous exapmples of this. By no way am I trying to take awy your enjoyment of your dining experience; I'm thrilled that you had such a great dinner. I just don't agree with their mark-ups ← I understand - I didn't think you were trying to take away from my experience at all, I was just curious about wine markups, thats all. You said a $50-70 wine would sell for $125 there, which is approx 100% markup and seemed reasonable to me, that's all. I know you were speculating..... My guess is that we probably overpaid for the wine, given how much like royalty we were treated. ← Sorry, what I meant to say was restaurants that sell a bottle of wine for 50-70, BB will charge @$125. In that case a $25 bottle will sell at most fine dining rooms for 50-70 but BB will charge 125. They are definately not the only place to go way over the 100-150% markup though, especially in Whistler. Now I feel like I've taken away from the purpose of your post and for that I am sorry
×
×
  • Create New...