Vancouver Lee

Stay several feet away. ← Note to self: do not wear a tie to class. Baggy shorts might be a bad idea, too...

As Joie mentioned above, the lamb and salmon burgers definately looked like they miss the mark, especially in comparison to the excellent Lamb & Yam combo available at the venerable Hamilton Street Grill. Except today, when they were not available (see post above)..... Anyhow, I am of the opinion that game burgers (and by game, I mean anything other than beef i.e. lamb, fish, venison, musk ox, etc) should be judged differently than regular beef burgers. I'd agree with Joie that so far, Stormin's seems to be the place to go for a mixed wild game burger. But as far a the traditional meat burger, Moderne's the place for me. One additional note that Joie's post reminded me of, if the ventilation system has been vastly improved, it must have been pretty awful before. I picked up the clothes I wore last night to wash them today, and they smelled very very strogly of grease. Yuck. Perhaps this is the curse of a small room - I recall the same problem occuring at Vera's in Kits.

I live just around the corner, and my wife and I stop in there frequently for a bite and a drink.....this is very good news indeed. :-) Is this new burger on the menu at this location now?

Now THAT'S a good amount of cheese.....! Looks like we'll be making a pilgrimage to Burnaby soon...

Lots of no-shows tonight at Moderne....Pez and thoughtbox, where were ya? In the end it worked out alright, as the restaurant was slammed and seating was at a premium. Peppyre was the first to arrive at about 5:20 and there was a long line-up already. A sure sign of good food to come... Before we get to the food, a few words about the decor. The room (newly renovated after the fire, I'd expect, but tonight was my first time in so that's a guess) is done in cool retro-50's teal and stainless steel, with awesome art deco accessories (like the upside-down Empire State Building light fixtures). The juke-box doesn't work (bummer...must get that fixed) but the candy-bar machine at the back also dispenses nickels, much to the delight of Mooshmouse Jr! My burger was a Moderne Steak (i.e. beef) burger with cheddar and mushrooms. My better half ordered the Moderne Steak burger with cheddar and BBQ sauce. The burgers themselves are made by hand fresh daily, and are not frozen once made. Peter was kind enough to explain that the beef comes from Australian steers (as opposed to cows), as he feels the quality is much better than what is available locally. His burgers certainly back up that statement. Peter also told us that he never adds salt or pepper to the burger mix, just good old-fashioned meat. The burgers are enormous - a single patty was more than I could eat. I have no idea how anyone could possibly eat a double burger. There was no pink in my burger, but it was still juicy. I had to remove the garnish from my burger (i.e. the lettuce and tomato) so I could fit it into my mouth. The toppings were lovely and fresh, including a good quantity of thick-sliced mushrooms. My only quibble was the quantity of cheddar - I thought it could have used more cheese given the size of the patty. I'll order double cheese next time. The bun was fresh and properly sized, but it was a touch chewy which made it hard to bite cleanly through the burger without everything oozing out the back. And for anyone who doesn't think the burgers are big, wait till you see the quantity of french fries that come with the burger platter. There were enough fries to satisfy three people on each platter, I kid you not. And what excellent fries they are. Peter told us they are fresh cut - literally. They don't cut up the potato until you order. It doesn't get any fresher than that, and the taste is wonderful. Finally, the flipside of the menu covers the liquid refreshments available here. Moderne makes their own sodas, among them orange cream and cherry lime flavours. They are fabulous. I didn't sample the cherry lime, but the orange cream soda tasted exactly like a Creamsicle ice cream bar - sweet orange flavour up front and a lingering vanilla flavour on the finish. Yum. Several milkshakes were sampled by our dining party as well, no doubt they will be raved about in subsequent posts. So in short, Moderne Burger has the complete package. Big flavourful burgers with terrific fries, and a range of excellent sodas to go with them. Awesome. No wonder the line-up is so long!

I second Andrew's comments: very good points, very well said.

Shall we warn Tony or just let him face you guys unprepared? ← With you, Brian, Joie, Deborah and Arne in the last class, I suspect Tony is pretty much aware of what to expect.

Wow, she actually liked something..... I must agree with her about Melissa Craig at Bearfoot. We enjoyed a 5 course chef's tasting menu last winter that was sublime. I'm too lazy to dig up the link, but it's around here somewhere..... And who is this "John from SFU" who "kindly pointed out" her error re fish products as filtering agents in wine? Does Ms. Gill not read eGullet? Props where props are due - I'm sure the Vancouver Forum denizens beat "John from SFU" with that information. And, to be fair, props to her for admitting her mistake.

While I love The Economist for news, I can't imagine relying on their advice for anything pertaining to "lifestyle" i.e. accomodation and restaurants. A magazine run by stuffy old British news wonks rating Vancouver the best is a mixed blessing. They must have spent their time at Cowboys for Calgary to score so highly...

Really ? What specifically would you do ? ← I thought I might get some reaction. Raincity Grill is fine as it is, I just think it could be tweaked and really live up to its potential. To me the room looks tired, it needs some updating, a better and more comfortable entry way, new colours. The layout, with the raised portion in the middle, really cuts up the room. The outside view isn't going anywhere, but that is not an excuse to ignore the inside of the room. Much of the year it is dark and rainy and there is no outside view, the room should stand on its own. I can't speak about the kitchen as that's not something I know about. As for the menu, I think any menu can benefit from some tweaking. I know easy to say, maybe not so easy to do, but you asked the question. Just my opinion. ← I agree - there's nothing glaringly wrong with RCG, but the room feels cramped to me. Removing the "stage" in the middle of the room would, in effect, raise the ceiling and give patrons some breathing room. I'm also not a fan of window mullions - since the view seems to be such a big part of the place, why not replace the existing windows with uninterrupted glass?

I just signed up for the January 25th Serious Foodie Class. I guess that makes 3 of us in January....lauraf, makanmakan and me. Paying the rent is overrated, anyway...

My last three: Monday night dinner was Japanese comfort food: take-out sushi, gyoza and chicken teriyaki from Hakari (on Cambie just north of Broadway). These guys turn out a consistent product that doesn't blow you away, but is a half-step above the three other discount sushi joints that are a few steps away. We ran out of our own soy sauce halfway through the meal and had to use the little packages that came in the bag - blech! It was way too sweet. I can never figure out how Hikari stays in business. I eat there probably once a week, at varying times of day, and I've never seen more than 3 tables occupied. Sunday dinner was the "Autumn Reds" wine tasting dinner at Cru with Mr & Mrs Mooshmouse, Mr and Mrs BCinBC and *Deborah*. Despite having a pouning headache through most of the meal, it was excellent. I would post the menu but I inadvertantly recycled it this morning. Hopefully Mooshmouse's photos turned out and she can provide the complete rundown. The highlight for me was the first course: a smoked albacore tuna with roasted beets and shallots that was out of this world. Sunday brunch was a la familie at Aurora Bistro, with the whole Mooshmouse clan. The service was a bit off and it was a bit weird being the ones getting annoyed by the overly-loud table next door, but I'm glad we finally experienced Aurora. I need to go back for a proper dinner, I think, to properly get a feel for the kitchen (somehow I don't think French Toast lets a chef stretch his/her legs). Nonetheless, the five spice donuts are outstanding (and if the plum sauce was available by the bottle, I'd buy a case) and the duck bacon was fun to try.

Friends of ours have invited us to dinner at Salade des Fruits this Saturday PM. Can anyone offer some tips on what's good/bad on the menu?

I haven't actually signed up yet. The very first telephone call I'll make after landing one of these consulting gigs I'm bidding on will be to NorthWest to reserve my place. It's all about $$$. I'll be really bummed if I end up not being able to afford to attend.

Ling, you're going to give Arne's delete-button-finger a serious workout with that question...

Didn't Lombardo's recently undergo a renovation? ← Oh, now you've got me all excited....! I haven't been for a couple of months. How recent? Anybody?? ← Unless the renovation was designed to increase the wobble of the table & chairs and go downmarket in the bathrooms, no sign of a contractor here as of last month.

I've been biting my tongue for a couple of weeks now, but after reading the Giller's latest review I can no longer keep silent. What is with this woman? That was the most inane "review" (and I use the term very loosely) I've ever read. 3/4 blog, 1/4 review. After reading it, I know a lot more about her friend from up north than I do about Wink. Based on her writing, Ms. Gill reminds me of that type of person who is so insecure about themselves that they need to insult everything and everyone they come across. I suppose growing up in Etobicoke will do that to you. Then again, what can you expect from the paper that also provide a weekly column to Leah McLaren? Has anyone here eaten at Wink? I'd like to hear some actual opinions, hold the condescension.

OK folks, here's the deal. Since the calendar is quite full for the next few weeks, and with Christmas season fast approaching, we're going to have to cram one last Burger Club meeting in. I know it's short notice, but here it is: Sunday November 20th, 5:30pm Moderne Burger, 2507 West Broadway (at Larch). Take note of the early start time, as Moderne closes at 8pm on Sundays. Sorry for the short notice, but it's the best we can do. See you there!

Mmmmm, ribs with a side of Javex......yummy. Thanks for the comments, everyone. I agree that the ribs at Memphis Blues are excellent, but I've never tried Tony Roma's - it's always struck me as a place for tourists and I generally try to avoid places like that. [OT] Bar-B- Barn in Montreal, eh? When you brought up Montreal, I immediately thought of the Bifteque! God, what a place that is! [/OT]

According to the message on their answering machine, they had a kitchen fire in March and have been closed for renovations. The message promised that they will re-open "very soon". Arne, I was hoping for something slightly more current.

Not the fanciest looking place, tucked just over the bridge from the airport into North Richmond, but I heard a rumour that the ribs were excellent. Is it worth a trip to Richmond to try them out?

Saw something on television recently about a Richmond pizza shop owner doing just that... THE ONLY PIZZERIA USING SPRING WATER FOR THE DOUGH! ← Thanks for the link, Cayenne. Perhaps they are the only Vancouver place using Spring water, because Pizza Pizza back East has been using it for many years.

Yes I have. Yet another Mediocre Vancouver Pizzatm, IMHO. I haven't tried either of Sarah's suggestions, though it will be a week or two before I give them a whirl. I need to heal a little first before I'm ready to get involved with another pizza place again.

Garden, you say? I must check them out this week. That's just down the street from Stormin Norman's, right? Hmmmmm, potential double-bill shaping up here.

My issue with Amadeus is that, as you pointed out, the crust is too thin. I've also found that they bury the pie in toppings. A pepperoni pizza from them is like biting into a very thin open-faced steak sandwich. They also suffer from stingyus cheesius. Perhaps we should start our own gourmet deliver pizza place......any room in the kitchen at one of the Vera's to add a wood-buring oven?