Andrew Morrison

$ Burgoo $$ Fiction $$$ Bishops $$$$ Lumiere All are excellent and easily accessible from UBC.

Before I left the waiterworld of Toronto for Vancouver a few years ago (2001) I had the pleasure of dining at Avalon with some colleagues from my restaurant. The six courses and six wines that came out that night made up the best meal of my many years in Toronto working in the restaurant community. Absolutely phenomenal. Please excuse the ignorance as I'm a zillion miles away, but has it really changed?

I'm down.

Anyone been to Wild Saffron since the reno? I believe it re-opened just last week and I'd love to hear how things are going. Thanks.

Thanks very much! Menu tastings are a hell of a great time. It's a nice perk to have dinner and wine with your colleagues and not get a bill in the end.

Sorry about that. To elaborate a tad more on what I was talking about up-thread, I went to a menu tasting last night at work. Our menu is changing top to bottom next week and as such the wait-staff were all called in for an advance tasting. Each dish was presented, explained, tasted, discussed, ripped apart, paired with wines, and then savagely devoured. It's amazing to watch waiters eat free food. They set upon the plates like a pack of rabid badgers harrassed by bees, dodging forks and knives with mixed results. We must have tried 15 new menu items, from venison carpaccio to espresso dusted pork tenderloin, and I was once again reminded that waiters, chefs, and bartenders would make excellent restaurant critics. The comments that met the arrival and the tasting of every new dish were succinct and bereft of flowery adjective - calls for "more garlic, less chervil" would spawn arguments over the merits of the chef's intent versus the palates of our regular clientele. You could see the brains ticking, making notes on flavours, constructing possible selling points, and identifying flaws and perfections. It was re-assuring to remember that we actually have some abilities and aren't just on the perrenial hunt for the final 15%. Some of us, a lot of us, genuinely love food and wine. It was fascinating to watch and to be a part of. Little side discussions would erupt about whether the swordfish salad could stand up to an old world Pinot Noir and whether the "new" mussel app was better than the "old" would be interrupted by all joining in wide-eyed wonderment as a new plate arrived (dijon-encrusted rack of lamb), the presentation of which was so beautiful and so simple that it inspired some silence and much "woah!". The chef would do his little talk, return to the kitchen, and then the vultures would swoop, gorging themselves on the new flavours, chattering away with mouths filled, arguing whether Shiraz might be a little too much, opining on what restaurants are serving comparable dishes, and even finding time to bitch for a steak knife. It opened my eyes a little bit more at how well-educated and how well-trained you have to be in order to be properly subjected to a high-brow restaurant review in the first place. If servers know more about each and every product that goes off the line and out of the cellar than a critic, they are doing their job well...but it also puts proof paid to the notion that they'd make kick-ass critics themselves. The lifers among us are hyper-critical of food, atmosphere, vibe, presentation, and service in ways that make your average critic an upstart in comparison. Like the evolution-honed Cheetah and their favoured prey, the Thompson's Gazelle, restaurant staff and critics play on the same dusty savannah, but only one of them gets the opportunity to sink it's teeth into soft flesh and then go have sex. Of course, then you have the counter-argument about the importance of studying journalism and being able to string coherent sentences together in an informative and entertaining fashion (on a deadline) and the whole idea tends to come crashing down. In the end, if I was a restauranteur I think I'd actually prefer having a critic deliver the coup de review than a waiter because they'd probably be easier to swindle and cajole.

I've always liked the idea of servers and chefs reviewing restaurants, perhaps even together sitting incognito at a table going over details many reviewers miss. That being said, being reviewed by your peers may sound nice, but it can lead to bad feelings, mistrust, and an overall sense of betrayal... "I thought you played for our team?" ...and that sort of thing. Working as a waiter in Toronto, I too remember the fear-inspiring mystique of Joanne Kates but what scared us most were the city moguls of media and big business. Bad word of mouth from the bigwigs (nevermind the reviewers) can kill a restaurant buzz quicker than an oversized rat giving birth in Table 14's Prada clutch.

Recent atmospheres that have turned my crank: Chambar - The shishi-ness you might expect with all the press and accolades simply doesn't exist here making all the right ingredients (food|service|atmosphere) all the more...palatable. I'm very much looking forward to the big dinner. Lucy Mae Brown - The people here are great. Everyone I've met and been served by at LMB have been frank, unassuming, and dedicated to their customers. Table service ranks high in terms of knowledge and zeal. Smart wine list, great design, and cool lighting all made better by the knowledge that the Opium Den is just downstairs. Temple (Victoria) - If you make it over to the Island in the next 25 years (that's 500 in restaurant years), be sure to visit Temple. Inventive cocktails and kick ass food. The room is perhaps the most stylin' in town. Fireplace stunner. Click here for the visuals. I've heard some call it pretentious, but I think that might only be so when viewed through the prism of a Victorian (and I am one). You get dulled to that sort of thing pretty quick across the Straight.

there but for the grace of Beluga go we...

Speaking of the Globe, Mr. Maw has a short but excellent article in today's edition entitled: Dining on the Edge. Have a read.

Ling. Mooshmouse. Jamie Maw.

Keith - I also enjoyed the Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Waterworld. Being subjected to a screen is not my strong point.

No. Don't get me wrong. I think the Globe is fine and the Alexandra Gill is a good journalist. I thought her piece on Godiva's was a touch or two offiside, is all. I thought her column on Chambar was accurate, entertaining, and probably informative. Much of TV is stupid. Are we talking degrees here? That being said, I still find Godiva's to be entertaining. I'm in a business that had no dramatic representation. I'm not a cop. I'm not a lawyer. I'm not in forensics and I'm not running for President. Evidently, I'm also not a good TV critic.

The opening lines from her Godiva's article: Colour me sensitive.

They were led along, like a set up. She brings the tape, puts it in, and presses play for a group predisposed to despise the show on their day off. I just thought it was a silly article - not even a review.

Hahaha! I thought the same thing while reading it. I thought that article about Godiva's was useless. But it's the Globe, right? Unimpeachable reporting.

oops, wrong thread. sorry.

Just read Gill's column about Chambar here. Pretty bang on.

Concerning Vancouver Island wineries. I had the good fortune of trying some wines from Venturi-Schulze on my little excursion. The Pinot Noir and the Brandenburg 3. Both amazing, but particularly impressed by the Pinot - such character! Any Vancouver restaurants stocking these?

I'm all for Herald Street changing their name. I think it would be a smart move. It's been around for so long and gone through so many morphs that I think it's high time it re-invented itself, at least on the name front. The change would attract a ton of buzz. What would that entail? Business cards Website Signage Menus What else? How hard is it really to change your business name? Must you dance with the city? Not much change, but in exchange for the attention it would get in a town where things are largely static (in comparison to Van), I think it's a good idea. The curiosity would bring them in. I presume they still have no problems putting bums in seats, right?

Thanks for he information. I reallt wanted to go back Brasserie L'ecole on this trip and I'm still kicking myself that I couldn't. Sauce was OK, Shelora, but nothing great. They misfired on my steak, making it mw rather than mr. I'm sure it was just a blip. That being said, I have trouble imagining them catering to locals. There is an air of plasticity there, perhaps leftover from the last place in that spot. I hope they do well. Have you tried Luciano's next door (in the old Suze spot)? Same owners as the Tapa Bar in Trounce Alley and pretty basic Italian from what I glanced. I would have enjoyed going to Brio again but I go every time I'm in town. Completely forgot about Paprika, damn.

I've been noticing a bunch of new faces (well, avatars ) lately who hail from the Island, and having just returned from a nice little holiday there, I thought it might be interesting to have a thread for Island stuff to cover news such as openings and clsoings, reviews, new island wines, et cetera. I stayed at the Aerie Resort for the first time and was amazed by the food and the view (Big thanks to James Kendal for taking such good care of my wife and I). We checked out Mo:Le for the first time and I was blown away by breakfast. Tried the new Sauce for dinner, too - hope they do better next time (tough location - egads). Above all my jaunt was coloured by one fact: I made a big mistake in planning the trip because all of the restaurants I really wanted to visit were closed on Sunday and Monday. We had to cut the trip short for a day, too - we left on Tuesday afternoon. Quite the idiot. Despite my ineptitude boiling over I had a wonderful time. I'd tell more, but there isn't really much to tell beyond the Aerie is amazing and I'm a jackass. Hence the thread, I want to hear and learn more about the places I seldom get to go to and more on the Island foodie/dining scene in general. I hope someone out there can fill in the blanks. edited for continued stupidity...

Today I was streetside at Torrefazione on Government re-reading A Moveable Feast for the umpteenth time. There is a table that is somewhat recessed so as to avoid the wind. It was once my niche reading spot for years so it was nice to slip into it, light a ceremonial Dunhill ( ), sip, and open up an old friend.

Speaking of Victoria and herbs (I had a sundae btw ), my mother likes to get hers at the Moss Street Market on Saturday's (at Sir James Douglas School) and much of the herbs in her own garden come from Dig This in Market Square (lower Johnson St) across from Il Terrazzo. Shelora, do you know (my mom is asking) if the Moss St. Market has started yet? She thinks it was around Easter but hasn't been yet.

Ha! I bring you yet another! We just arrived in Victoria after a brief but wonderful stay at the Aerie Resort. Damn this town, though! It's Sunday and look who is closed: Zambri's Brasserie L'ecole Temple Nevermind that...I'm currently chowing down on a Beacon Hill Drive-In cheeseburger with onion rings so I'm quite happy. I'll post more on the trip later but so far so excellent.