Andrew Morrison

Made an introductory, pre-game visit to Lolita's for tequila and beer early last night. I can see what the fuss is about. Awesome menu. Will return soon for a proper recce and write-up. I'm writing a column on the return of hockey as seen through the prism of the new Earl's Paramount location at Hornby and Smithe. 16 flat screens and a massive projection screen above the bar! Currently fiddlnig with the opening paras: Story out Thursday in the WE. Hockey's back, baby.

Staff meal and Stella.

It was a fun little party and you were fine. It's never easy to build something out of nothing, and you guys have done a first rate job. I hope to camp out in the neighbourhood for the duration.

Spellbound. Looks like a wonderful time was had!

Aw, Keith...to think I restrained myself from a similar witticism. I must be getting old.

Should you be interested in dining with some eGulleters and restaurant industry folks on the Monday, have a look here. I second Lee's suggestion of Chambar, but would also include Nu, C, and Aurora Bistro if you're skipping Bishops. Also, no visit to Vancouver is complete without visiting the beefcake behind the line at the HSG.

I always try to eat at work prior to the start of my shift. Thus fortified, I have the requisite energy and don't have to depend on Coca Cola to get me through to the final "Goodnight, and thanks very much." However, there are a few places that I go to after writing, and some while writing. Bacchus has become my office on Mondays. If I give the waiter $20 he leaves me alone with a cappuccino for hours . Seeing as I'm writing this from the back booth of the HSG, I can't leave Neil out. I just had a kickass ravioli here stuffed with porcini and chanterelle shrooms sauced with a goats cheese tomato cream - very nice Neil! Working wireless never tasted so good. Once the laptop is stuffed away, I usually steer myself to either Chambar or Glowbal for a snack, but from what I hear Lolita's is now the late-night, post-shift venue of choice for reprobate industry types of the first order.

Lumiere: for conversation, a Warsteiner and a light snack of goats cheese cheesecake with fennel, mint, and apple. Nice to see Andre there (and to meet new eGulleter Jamie Boudreau who has a great little booze blog here). For those who haven't met Andre (formerly GM at Chambar) he'll be joining us at the Waiterblog dinner on the 3rd along with Chambar's bar manager, Mark Brand. The two together make plenty mischief. GM Place: Concession fare was spaced out in three course over three periods and was as forgettable as the play on the ice (good hot dogs, however). The Templeton: Several visits recently. Excellent diner fare with the odd nod to health freaks. Review comes out on Thursday in the WE. Brix: Solo dinner on the patio was fantastic. All staff awaiting news of George's Nick Devine and his trip to New Zealand for a big deal mixology competition (still haven't heard how he did - anyone?).

I took Jack to the pre-season game tonight versus the Sharks (his first NHL game). I, of course, wept uncontrollably during the first few minutes of the game (so very nice to see the team again and hear the anthem). Oh joy. It's been a while, but I think they've kicked their hotdogs up a bit. Nice and fat fellas with plenty flavour. In order to massage the attention span of my son, I staggered our food intake in three courses (one for each period). First period: sharing bag of popcorn with 2 jumbo hotdogs. Second period: salty nacho chips with molten neon yellow sauce of questionably cheesy origin and flourescent pink candy floss of equally icky pedigree. Third period: Crappy draft and a smuggled-in McCain tropical juicebox. All told, it was the most expensive dinner bill of the year (tix were $138 each ), and though no plasma screen could have contained the energy and interest of a 3 and a half year old, I think I'll stick to dinner at the bar with the game for the regular season! Thanks for the recommendations. Still, it was a simple, sugarsweet high watching my boy don a jersey and scream go Canucks go. It had to be done.

I'm sure Leonard will answer this, but in my experience most patios suffer the rain as it comes, so I would assume this is the case here. For service staff, the interplay between the weather and patios can make for unpredictable incomes. You might be scheduled for six shifts a week, but if it rains half the time, you're only working half the time. My kingdom for a skydome section.

Blasphemer! To the stake with Talent. Agent Cooper could dance, yo.

Chef Tina Fineza and George have parted ways. So sayeth some staff, the volume of dining customers versus those in for drinks could no longer justify the expense of having her. The Brix kitchen now has the run of the menu.

Just returned. Wonderful evening. Apparently there were over 500 RSVP's. By the time I left they could no longer pack them in. Busy, busy room of pretty-somethings. Awesome canapes of wildboar, walnuts, and balsamic on crostinis and what appeared to be duck confit on endive. Spicy prawns floating around aplenty, too. Nice to see the owners on the floor looking relaxed. It's been a busy year with over 250 covers a night steady. Happy Birthday to you.

Brian made my first hangar steak at the HSG and I couldn't have asked for a better intro to what had been lauded as legendary. Good call, Neil. I eagerly await an opening night.

Bang on. For the etymological record, customers who leave after a bad experience (without saying anything) do what is called a Whine and Dash. It's always good to give them an opportunity to rectify things before you leave.

Baaa... Keith is a sheep.

Bang on. Hear hear.

Yeah, I wrote a nice write up, but there was a big problem. A major typo. If you pick up a copy of the WE this week, check the table of contents inside the front page. There is a photo of Leonard and Chef Belcham, with the page number of the story, plus a caption that was apparently supposed to read "Nu standards in dining." Nu-uh. Rather than having someone else point out the screw up, I'll save myself the eventual barbs and embarrassment (I have a busy day ahead of me ). Instead, it appears thus: "No standards in dining." Leonard, if you're out there, my apologies. It had nothing to do with me, and I think my review supports that. Still, I couldn't help but chuckle even with the coffee spurting out of my nose this morning when I caught the mistake. Wow. When spell check foils a newspaper, it makes me want to crawl into a cave and carve.

Here is another one. CLICKETY.

In order asked, L to R, I think it's the new chef at Lilykate (anyone know his name?), and then James Olberg from Glowbal, and Yoshihiro Tabo (the raw bar chef at Blue Water). So stoked I took my camera with me.

I love my job on most days but today was quite special. I have an article coming out in advance of the upcoming Taste of Yaletown (October 3rd to 13th) and today I had sent out the Westender photographer for an accompanying picture. Neil is one of the principle organisers of the event, and last week we had a brief conversation that went thus: "Can you get a few chefs from the neighbourhood together for a photoshoot on Thursday at 4pm?" "Sure. No problem." I never go to shoots, but today my curiosity got the better of me. I walked around the corner in front of Blue Water and wow... See my own zoomable picture here. Every restaurant in the neighbourhood is taking part in a Taste of Yaletown, including...wait for it...Pino's Enoteca. I snuck a peek at the menus to be offered at Coast ($35) and Glowbal ($30), too, and i've decided to start fasting now. The website they have put together should be operational in the next 24 hours, so keep checking for details @ www.tasteofyaletown.com and return to this thread with your thoughts, desires, and reviews when the business of feasting begins.

Hawaii, eh? Anytime you want to house swap for a week... Thanks for the wonderful pictures, Moosh! Last night was outstanding. I was so pleased to see a full house. For those of you not familiar with Aurora Bistro, it's an award-winning restaurant that focuses squarely on locally sourced, sustainable, and organic food. The wine list is exclusively British Columbian. It's always a real treat to have the chef/owner and the restaurant manager as eGullet members. They put their hearts into everything last night, and it showed.

I'd recommend George first, but not on the weekend as I would assume it would be too crazy. My advice, go sixish to Nu and let Jay Jones (formerly West) or Joel Butcher (formerly Feenies) show you their wares at the bar.

Agreed, but there are real consequences to the Steve Miller approach. First impressions are costly and motivations can be all too transparent. Watermark shot of the gate ill-prepared. Ooh-woo take the money and run might work in strip mining, but in restaurants...I'm not so sure.