Andrew Morrison

we never close....

Are you able to accomodate many walk ins, Sean?

Prententious, not at all. Go, eat, and seek out the subtext. Take with you what you read here to analyse the restaurant from a holistic slant. Judge everything but forgive everything as well. If the litmus test of a restaurants worth was gleaned during a Dine Out evening, know you are not getting or giving the full story. My insight? I am an experienced and capable fine dining server of many years' experience. I poured sweat tonight. I worked very hard and I made half of what i normally make for working half as hard. So excuse the dine-out-can-be-frustrating spin of my last few posts. Imagine having your pay being cut in half for a month. So during DOV if a server can't quite seem to give you what has been hyped just remember, 9 times out of ten it's not for lack of trying. We want you to have an amazing experience. Imagine DOV as a massive meteor shower on the upper echelons of the restaurant industry. That's how most servers (i would think) would view it: as a crashing, all-consuming, unpredictable attack from heaven. A combination of the posion and the elixir. If you're getting bad service, don't over-analyse -- it's because a meteor has landed. It can be any negative variable: an allergy request and a pissed, impatient chef, or maybe a table of six with a language barrier, or even a choosy oenophile that sends three bottles of Brunello back. I've seen them all. Now imagine that cubed. That's Dine Out on a Saturday night. If you get shoddy service, sorry...it's the meteor shower. If you get excellent service, it's because the meteor hit somewhere else and why talk about it? Enjoy your meal instead. I'm mighty lookin' forward to be served tomorrow rather than the other way around. It's been a long week...

I still hold true to my opinion that Bis Moreno is fabulous. Some of the best Italian food i've had in Vancouver. As it has been suggested here, DOV down-right inspires off-nights. As for table spacing, it isn't as easy as you suggest. At this volume? Forget it. As for service, you've got to understand how inundated we are with things that just normally don't come up. "So, let me get this straight...." "I get a free coffee with my dinner, right?" "That is correct, sir." "Can I order my coffee now at the beginning, or does it have to be in the order of how it is listed on the menu...you know, after the desserts...cause I don't want to have a coffee now and then pay for the one i have after my dessert." OR "What is creme brulee?" Not that there's anything wrong with food ignorance...it gives us TIME to teach, time we don't have. OR (seriously) "What is veal?" Followed invariably by a look of horror. It can just get a little trying sometimes.... I'm positive they had an off-night with you guys at Bis. It's likely that 8 out of every ten customers left Bis glowing. You may have just lost the service lotto. Andrew

I have a love/loathe relationship with Dine Out. I love to go out and eat this time of year , but I loathe working it . The crowds tend to be of the bridge and tunnel variety who need to be walked through everything. Many are water tables. Regular diners seem to fade away. The tips are generally poor despite the massive mark-down, and everything is rushed, rushed, rushed. The kitchen staff feel like mindless automatons cranking out chef-boy-am-I-hungry plates with monotonous consistency. More often than not at the end of a gruelling evening we cashout to discover we worked twice as hard for half the money. But hey, being in the weeds in January is is a beautiful thing, though it would still be nice to kick this gift horse in the mouth. PS. keep in mind that mine is a very mild annoyance in comparison to the grief i hear from other people in the biz. I'm not bitter or a self-serving, money-hungry ball of shameless greed...Dine Out is just a weird departure from the norm and it can get to you after a few days (said with more than a month left).

Ling, That's a pretty typical dine out story. Copy and paste what you just wrote and send it to them in an e-mail. In the biz, the only way things like this get fixed is if we're told about it. Some don't want to feel nasty, or to be seen as a complainer, or just simply can't be bothered. I think you should contact them and let them know, with details, what disappointed you about your experience and what pleased you. Ten times out of ten you'll get a reply and an apology. Just a thought,

Careful Alex...it's posts like this on eGullet that made Chambar overbooked from the get go. Well, then there's Nico's cooking...and the tasty flemish ales... Have you opened already? Can you give us more details? Website?

Chef Fowke, What awful news! If you need anything (a pint, a meal, pajamas, whiskey, storybooks, whiskey, etc...), let me know because i'm close by. Please don't hesitate to PM me if you need anything. Best of luck for a speedy return home to a dry house! Andrew

Never heard of it. I did however find some culinary wizardry in a Bengali fellow named Zamil who had a rather pathetic hot dog stand on the corner of Bloor and Bathurst in Toronto. He managed to sell me on a near daily basis Bolognese Hot Dogs (yes, with penne bolognese stuffed in it) and a Poutine Hot Dogs (yes, with fries, gravy, and cheese stuffed in it). He did a mighty brisk business with his imaginative flourishes, and no doubt a little side-biz with pepto. Did I just admit that I ate such things on a near daily basis? Er...i was a student.... Andrew edited due to lukewarm coffee

I'm still voting for Browns on Lonsdale. Sooo good. Andrew

Stepthen, have you heard anything beyond that they're going to serve lots of sake and ice wine? nothing on the capital folks? nothing on location? Andrew

location location location? i'll send out my imperial probe droids to glean some info.... Andrew

ok then...perhaps we should lay low on the overt breaking of the rules? can we pin this thread after getting approval?

so, hypothetically, where shall we pretend to meet and at what ficticious time will the non-event never take place? andrew

hypothetically, that is...

i'd love to come. when? any consideration of browns is wise. they make a lovely burger, one of the best in town. i know the owner pretty well and i'm sure he'd love to have us come. any help you need organising, let me know. andrew

anyone remember the linguine incident with david bowie? also, that breakfast spot in david lynch's twin peaks that agent cooper frequented (you know, with the coffee). andrew

I just went out and bought a coffee and a fresh copy of the new Vancouver Magazine (plus Vanity Fair's Star Wars issue). I really appreciate the unique approach the vancouver wine awards took towards adjudication and concept. The selections of the judges sound spot on, though i was a little disheartened to see my good friend pirramimma petit verdot not among the honourably mentioned (the shiraz, yes). Nederburg's shiraz...whaaa?? I suppose they're experts... Moreover, I particularly liked your little suggestions for dine-out etiquette, Jamie. Though i'm not one to kiss a gift-horse in the mouth during the deadest month of the year, i always hear my colleagues griping about the track-suited bridge and tunnel hordes. A tip is a tip is a tip. Speaking of which, i also appreciate the following: "tip your server at least 15% of the bargain you're consuming - they're working just as hard, or harder, as on a regular night." - jamie maw, vanmag. Never a truer word was said. Our average check is cut in half and we run (our asses off) with a winter skeleton crew. That being said, we don't have to tip out as much... Hats off to Mr. Maw. Andrew (dreaming oddly of whiskey and cheshire)

jamie, excuse me for casting a glance at another topic...any yalumbas make the cut? andrew

woah, two minutes for boarding...

a thoughtful young fella named gilly sent me a piece on dining in jerusalem this morning. thought i'd share. it's an interesting, but short read. i've never been to the middle east, but the restaurant culture he describes sounds rather fascinating. andrew editor@waiterblog.com http://waiterblog.com

yeah...but it's australia... but seriously, i could only speak with some semblance of experience about wine in this comparison scenario. as far as cuisine is concerned, i think it's a fascinating comparison and i'd never considered it before. I have a sneaking suspicion that the major differences would be in the relative exoticism of our respective ingredients. I can't imagine they get many savary island clams, balsamic from malahat farms, or wild salmon freshly plucked from the charlottes. on the flipside, we don't get much roo here, nor seafood from the arufura sea. very interesting, and equally so if posed as a wine question. andrew

Ha! I agree, Rosco. Vieni qui spesso? I studied at U of T and worked at Prego Della Piazza in Toronto for a number of years. Vancouver is regrettably mangiacake in comparison. Don't get me wrong, my eGullet pals, there are some great italian joints sprinkled around town here, and still some others that do great italian dishes from time to time. The Best of Vancouver on any given Tuesday. Quattro Bis Moreno Il Giardino Cioppino's Circolo (some of the plates) Cin Cin That being said... È troppo costoso per me! It's too expensive! So, where do you go to get real italian cooking and not have to pay through the nose? Pity we're not on the island as i would leap up and scream Zambri's! Or maybe even Il Terrazzo, which boasts one of the best italian wine lists I've seen this side of the rockies (thanks to sommelier Rob Scales). It's a tough question and perhaps a different thread (andrew the usurper!). I had lunch today at Carmelo's on Marine in west van. vitello parmigiano, tortellini alla panna, and some carpacchio di filetto with a glass each of chianti and amarone. my bill? $60. It's fully seven hours later and i'm still revelling in the garlic. best of luck, Rosco. Andrew

yes, the 2003 vintage is also out, i believe. like i said in my first post on this thread the 2000-2003 vintages are all excellent at the price point. remember, it's "bush vine" grenache. there is a much pricier yalumba grenache out there from their premium line. excellent, loooongggg finish, but pretty expensive for oz (not counting hill of grace and the grange, etc....) andrew

OK, so Yalumba... the winery: yalumba is an aboriginal world meaning "the surrounding land." the winery was established by english brewer sam smith in 1849 in angaston, australia. i think his first vines were taken from the cape area of south africa while en route from england. they make many different varietals of many different classes, from very high end to entry-level quaffables. the 2003 bush vine grenache: the grenache varietal is most often used as the favoured blending grape in the production of rhone-style blends, such as the chateauneuf-du-pape (grenache with syrah, mourvedre and cinsault). it isn't very often found on it's own. i think it does well in australia because of the longer growing season and the drier weather, but that's just a guess. my point is: it's damn tasty. dry, stewed fruit, touch of white pepper reminiscent of syrah, lengthy finish. great with red meats, especially mildly sauced lamb (mint might be too much). a winter wine, to be sure. popular in vancouver restaurants. surf the wine lists, you'll most likely find it on the better ones. the 2003 "y series" viognier: the viognier grape is traditionally found in the south of france but is now gaining in popularity in california and australia. yalumba's viognier is clean, notably viscous with dried fruit aromas and flavours of pears, peaches and a touch of oak. very food friendly but not built to age. there is a beautiful pairing at my restaurant of this wine with pacific rock sole stuffed with lobster, crab, and shrimp sauced with a chive beurre blanc. phenomenal match. an excellent patio wine. this is fun . drink up!. andrew