Vancouver Lee

Burger lovers everywhere are likely aware that The Rodeo Drive-In is closing in February. "It's just a lousy burger joint", says the owner in today's Vancouver Sun. As you may recall, The Burger Club paid a visit to the Rodeo and our impressions were, well, let's just say I won't be disageeing with the owner's comment. Moing to the other end of the quality spectrum, as you have probably figured out by now, we're not going to be visiting Cactus Club en mass before the holidays. My apologies for not getting something set up, but my life has been rather upside down of late and organizing a Burger Club outing fell through the cracks. I will arrange something for January, I promise.

My standard tip is 20% of the bottom line price on the bill (i.e. including tax). Sometimes more if the service was excellent, or as Kurtis said, I want to sleep with the waitress. Sometimes less if the server him or herself was awful, but I never punish the server for things outside of his/her control. This thread (along with Kurtis' thread about your server's other job) got me thinking about how different we are from, say, Europe. It seems to me that Vancouver is no different from the rest of Canada in that being a waiter or waitress is rarely a primary career choice. Contrast that with European countries (italy comes to mind, but I'd image there are others) where being a career waiter is not just a way to support yourself while you try to earn a living at something else. Am I correct in that assessment?

Given the frequency with which the folks around this forum eat out, I'm thinking there are some BC citizens out there who just aren't pulling their weight! Jamie, do you know if the "growth" stats are net of closings, or do they represent openings only?

I have an idea for something special I'm cooking up....please stand by.

I wanted to close the loop here and let everyone know that Marc made his goal with a handful of miles to spare: 1,003,625. Update here

To close the loop, remember that crazy friend of mine who was trying to earn 1,000,000 aeroplan miles? He made it: http://gcmr2005.blogspot.com/

Don't I feel stupid? I just went to Opentable.com and my "suggestion" is exactly what they offer. Nicely done. It lacks that personal touch of chatting with the hostess on the phone, but when you want to go out at the last minute, what a huge timesaver to not have to call around to see who has a table. It's now bookmarked and I'd use it for sure, particualrly for DineOut. In fact, I'd say it will probably influence my choice of restaurants at least a few times in the next year.

Way back in another lifetime, I had the mis-fortune of working with an Internet start-up that built a similar online reservation service, only for tee-time reservations at golf courses. These yahoos burned through $50 million dollars in a few years, never turned a profit and I'm not even sure they ever actually earned any revenue...but I digress.... There is no question that these things work (and work very well if they are built properly, which I'm assuming Opentable is). The big question is whether or not the benefit to the customer is overwhelming enough to get them to change a well-ingrained habit. Am I correct in assuming that the only benefit to the consumer is avoiding the possibility of a busy signal? I'll be interested in hearing from other diners, but my guess is that few people use it. Suggestion: set up the Opentable site so I can log in at 5pm on Saturday, type in my criteria (4 people, 8:00pm, $$$ or cheaper), and have it show me what restaurants have a table available.......now that's a service that I would use.

I walked by the donair place beside Cru on the weekend, and had my usual reaction: Yuck. There's just something about deathly grey meat on a stick that makes my throat close up tighter than a......well, tightly. Can someone help me understand why the meat has to be stuck vertically on a stick? And isn't good meat supposed to be pink or a nicely charred brown or black? What's with the awful grey colour? I've had donair a few times on the Danforth in Toronto (in Greektown, at a place where it's supposed to be awesome) and it didn't do much for me. But I'm willing to give it another go at one of Vancouver's better places. Just someone please help me understand why donair places try to make it look as unattractive as possible...

I just got back from lunch at the CC at Broadway and Ash, and confirmed with them that the Turbo Burger, Burgasm, whatever you want to call it, has now officially replaced the old burger on the menu. Any burger that is ordered there now is one of the new ones. Unfortunately, quality control seems to have slipped a bit already. My bun was not warmed and the burger itself lacked crust and (relatedly) wasn't nearly as juicy as before. Am I the only one to find that the second time isn't as good as my memories of the first time? The good news is that there's no need for special arrangements to get a sample of the new burger. Is there still enough interest to plan a special Weeknight Edition of Burger Club before Christmas?

How about the first HSG Gingerbread Pudding Store?

Sorry to hear that Makan x 2. Did you ask your server to ask a manager about it? Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

I didn't realize BYOB was illegal. Should I edit my post from this AM where I "outed" a local restaurant that allows it? I'd hate to get them in trouble...

Cupcakes are quite popular with businesses. My wife's former company bought hundreds of them for Secretary's Day. They an inexpensive and easy to serve and eat, plus they can be presented in interesting ways. My wife's company spelled out the word "THANKS" in cupcakes.....

Tough choice. Most Memorable Dish: Horse Tenderloin at Bis Moreno. Best Dish: Kagan Bay Scallop at C Honourable Mentions: Black Cod, Mushrooms and Soy Beans in a Bok Choy broth with a Dungeness Crab Dumpling at Bearfoot Bistro Turbo Burger at Cactus Club

I dined at Salade des Fruits last night with my regular monthly Supper Club. This group gets together once a month specifically to try restaurants that are a) somewhat under the radar (i.e. none of us have been to Lumiere, but that's too high profile for the group), and b) that no one in the group has been to before. Salade des Fruits qualified on both counts. The restaurant is very small - less than 10 tables all squeezed into a very small space. The FOH manager is quite a joker, and kept us laughing from arrival to departure. We were tempted to return the favour by asking if the kitchen had any recently dropped rifles, but managed to restrain ourselves. The room is quintessential French bistro and has a nice vibe. We were seated right beside the kitchen, and the close quarters meant I was able to observe the chefs at work all evening. One of the nice things about this group I dine with is that everyone tries to order something different. We get a wide-angle view of the menu that way. Last night was no exception. We ate the following (names anglicized): 1) Wild Boar Spring Rolls 2) Warm Goat Cheese Salad with Kalamata Olive Tapenade Croutons 3) Onion Soup 4) Rib-eye Steak & Frites 5) Rack of Lamb 6) Duck Confit with cassis sauce 7) Mussels 8) Wild Salmon I didn't sample the spring rolls - they disappeared too fast. The salads were huge, and came with a great sweet balsamic vinagrette, albeit dressed a little too heavily for my taste. The goat cheese and tapenade came on little pieces of french bread that had been put under the broiler for a few seconds to toast them. They promised more than they delivered - flat, bland tapenade and meh goat cheese. The biggest disappointment was the onion soup. It looked fabulous - tons of golden onions in a steamy broth, but there was absolutely no depth to the flavours. It tasted like it was thrown together about 10 minutes before serving. How sad. The rib-eye steak was excellent, and so tender it could be cut with the side of my fork. The frites were, as mentioned above, wonderful. Ultra-thin and slightly crispy (although lacking is salt but that was easily rectified). The duck confit was a little dry but still tender, and the skin was wonderfully flavourful and crispy (which struck me as a bit odd - I thought confit was essentially stewing and thus meant non-crispy skin...?). I only sampled a single mussel, but it was very good, if not overly large. I did not sample the rack of lamb or the salmon. Dessert was an excellent sampling of sorbets - cassis, pear and mango that had been combined into a loaf of sorts and presented as slices. Very good. My companions enjoyed creme brule, chocolate mouse, and an excellent apple tarte. As far as wine goes, they only offer a house red and white. The house red was something French (who'd have expected that?) that I can't remember but was pretty decent for $13 a bottle. The house white was either a Jackson-Triggs Chardonnay or a BC Sauvignon Blanc that we did not try. Including wine, tax and tip, cost was $45/person. Overall, we were impressed. The food was good (though not great), the room was warm and inviting, and we felt it was good value for the money.

Indeed. I didn't know Fiction even had a burger on the menu, let alone a really good one. Seems that there will be no shortage of places for Burger Club 2006.

Nor is it a word I associate with the man who's face is on half the buses in Vancouver.

This may seem like a stupid question, but what is the best way to go about this? Obviously buying locally produced chicken is Step 1, but if your local grocery store doesn't carry it, what then?

I did notice the lidded presentation (which is how burgers should be presented, IMO) but didn't notice the warmth, other than the fact that the bun was beautifully soft yet still allowed a proper bite to be taken. I'm glad you pointed out the crust, too. I recall noticing it, but that observation was forced aside by the onrushing burgasm. Do you think Julian would mind if our burger-crazed group descended en-mass to sample his new creation?

On the other hand, there are now 29 new people who want to join Burger Club.

That's quite an endorsement...worthy, perhaps, of a special meeting of the Burger Club? ← The same idea occured to me in my sleep last night (what little of it there was...). Role call, please, of those interested in a special pilgrimage to the site of a potential Burger Miracle.

Canucklehead and I stopped in at the Broadway and Ash CC to try out the Turbo HQZ tonight, and it was as close to a sexual experience as I think I'll ever have in a Cactus Club (unfortunately). The beef is, we were told, AAA Canadian shoulder (i.e not Angus) and is not ground as finely as usual. The result is a burger with more beef flavour than any burger I've ever had. It tastes like you're biting into a rib-eye just off the grill, only with a different texture and juicier. So juicy, in fact, that the waitress had to replace my napkin 3 times as I turbo'ed my way through the HQZ. I had cheddar, mushrooms and bacon on mine, and each topping was generous, satisfying, and could be tasted in every bite. The bun is whole wheat and definately makes a difference. I don't think a white bread bun would work nearly as well. This is one serious burger, folks. Run, don't walk, over to Broadway and Ash and give this burger a try. Wear short sleeves and a shirt you don't mind getting burger drippings on! IMHO, this is the best burger I've had in Vancouver, bar none. Find a better name, and Cactus Club has a winner on their hands.

Wow - that looks incredible. I'm not exactly sure how you get it in your mouth, but I'd sure like to try.

Welcome to our little corner of eGullet, JasmineL. I don't recall seeing much discussion here about African food - hopefully you can help open up yet another culinary world for us.