Vancouver Lee

Yep, I'm a big fan of free range poultry. I'm completely ignorant of the science behind brining, but getting meat to soak up water seems like it would have a detrimental effect on the flavour. Gotta read up on brining a little. Our 2005 Thanksgiving dinner was marvellous. We had the pleasure of dining with six e-Gulls Sunday night. I, as usual, was stressed-out to the max about the food and only saw the mistakes I made in the preparation, but judging by the taste of the leftovers today, I think most of my blunders went un-noticed. If anyone wants some of my goat cheese/sour cream/buttermilk/reggiano parmesan/butter mashed potatoes, just say the word - I have a huge bowl left over! Our guests were extremely generous with the wine they brought, including a Mission Hill Oculus that rocked. Many thanks to those who attended, you made our celebration a truly memorable one.

Did anyone have their VCR running and be willing to lend out the tape?

Not first, last. I like the anticipation of saving the best part for the end.

Dinner last Saturday was at Cru, in celebration of Mrs. Vancouver Lee's birthday. We noted with sadness the passing of the bolognese pasta on the small plates menu, and ordered the Cellar Door grilled ceasar, the seared scallop and ceviche, the wild mushrooms, duck confit and the short rib. Each plate was perfect, with the size of the short rib being particularly noteworthy - this was a rib to tip over Fred Flintstones car. Dinner was accompanied by a strong white wine that really stood it's ground against the strong flavours of the food. Now, if I could only remember the name..... Dinner last Friday night was a drunken meat fest at Memphis Blues with some friends. About the only good decision we made that night was not ordering the Elvis Platter. Instead we chose the still-huge Memphis platter washed down with at least two Bitburgers (what can I say, one of my friends is German - lol) and some bourbon. My head still hurts even now. Memphis Blues continues to impress me with reasonable prices for tender and flavourful brisket, juicy ribs, and the best pulled pork sandwiches this side of Daddy-A's smoker in Burnaby. Neither Park nor George were anywhere to be seen (a first for me in numerous visits), and their staff behind the counter would have fit in well at any Earl's/Cactus Club/Joey Tomatos. Lunch last Friday was at the restaurant in the Le Soleil hotel. I'm unclear on the name - the bill says "Le Soleil" but the menus say "Copper Kettle"...? Lunch was an unremarkable grilled vegetable sandwich on foccacia bread with a green salad, but to be fair it's pretty hard to make a dish like that sing. My companion had the crab cake that she quite enjoyed. Alas, no wine as it was a business lunch.

It makes me sad to see any business close, especially ones where the owners are so passionate about what they do, but it's doubly sad in this case. I had the great pleasure of sampling Moreno's cooking up close and personal when he prepared a superb five course meal featuring grilled horse tenderloin. It was abundantly clear that my less-than positive experience during Dine Out was an aberration. As Jamie said above, the man can cook. It's a shame that this isn't enough to ensure success in the restaurant business. I hope that Moreno's absence from the kitchen won't be a long one, but whatever road he chooses, I wish him the best.

It's settled, then. As soon as her oven is hooked up, it's baguettes for everyone.

Very interesting. I'm sure producing food that can be stored safely, reheated in a tiny electic oven at 35,000', still retains at least some tatse and can be done en-mass for as little money as possible takes quite a bit of talent. Any of these Cara folks ever leave for a local restaurant kitchen?

Correct. This pass is an experiment for Air Canada, so they were only selling it for a limited time. If it's successful, they will do a full roll out and make it available anytime.

Wow, Joie, that's one cool loaf. Nicely done.

You beat me to it, I was just about to post that! I forgot about the BMW lease....makes the whole idea seem more interesting.

Oh, I seriously doubt the special meals are any better. Apparantly word has gotten around inside Air Canada and Mark is getting a bunch of upgrades to business class. At least that will slightly improve the basic food service and greatly improve the comfort level. BTW, for the definitive word in Airline food, check this out.

A couple of notes in response to the postings above: 1) Yes, my friend Marc (of the Great Canadian Mileage Run) is somewhat crazy, but a really nice guy. The truly weird thing about it is Mark's occupation - he's a 747 pilot. I am NOT making that up. 2) Brian, I'm glad to hear you got the op-up to business class. Air Canada's International business class product is pretty decent (the North American business class product truly sucks), Cathay Pacific's is better, but to truly experience the finest food and service possible you need to fly Singapore Airlines. They are world-famous for a truly excellent front cabin product. 3) Wine tasting notes: IIRC, doesn't the altitude cause wine to taste different than at sea level? Airplane cabins are pressurized to simulate an altitude of approx 8,000' - perhaps some of our resident wine experts can comment on this. 4) Fud, I agree, I've never had a truly good meal on an airplane. Business or First Class food is usually (although not always) better, in the way that Wendy's is better than McDonalds. YMMV. 5) Vancouver, that sounds like a great menu. Please take some photos and post your impressions. Finally, while we are on the topic of airplane food, check out this web sitefor way more information than you ever wanted.

A good friend of mine was an editor at Where Magazine, and I can confirm that the editorial content is completely ad-driven. You buy an ad, you get a favourable review. My friend was quite skilled at "finding the silver lining" when necessary. I can't imagine that the awards are any different.

Dinner last Saturday night was at the Hamilton Street Grill . Appies were a tomoato and bocconcini salad for me and the roasted tomato soup for Mrs. VL. Neil was in his usual fine form and produced a perfect hanger steak for me and a terrific tenderloin for my better half. No room for the GBP, unfortunately. Lunch today was the Cactus Club for a lunch date with my wife. Chicken ceasar salad for her, pesto chicken and cranberry quesadilas for me, and we spilt an order of cheese toasts. ******************************************* I must also tell you about a truly adventurous Vancouver resident I know who recently embarked on a quest to earn 1,000,000 Aeroplan miles within the next 60 days. During this period, he will be essentially living on airplanes and while he's there he is going to try and sample every available meal option (including the 17 "special order" meals such as "lacto-ovo vegetarian", "Muslim" and the ever-popular "bland/soft" meals that Air Canada makes available). I have started a thread about this in Adventures in Eating forum, but given that this fellow is a local, I thought I'd post something here. He has started a blog to record his progress that is available here: http://gcmr2005.blogspot.com/

A friend of mine recently embarked on a quest to earn 1,000,000 frequent flier miles in 60 days. Air Canada offers an flight pass that allows unlimited flying in North America for a 60 day period. My friend bought one, and on October 1 commenced his quest. Since most of the next 60 days of his life will be spent on an airplane, he will attempt to sample each of the 17 "special order" meals that Air Canada offers its passengers. This is, of course, in addition to sampling each of the regular menu options that are available. He has started a blog to record his progress and you can see it here: http://gcmr2005.blogspot.com/ I know this gentleman reasonably well and despite the evidence to the contrary, he is not insane. His experiences will be make for some very interesting reading.

Way to go, Deborah - Awesome looking baguette!

It's killing me that I'm not in this class. Do they allow spectators?

This should make for some interesting conversation at the next Burger Club meeting! Seriously. Cool idea, and the gears are turning in my head already...

Chalk up one more vote for Lee's, but should Granville Island ever sink into the ocean I'd get my fix from Tiny Tom's at the PNE. Except for Lee's, I find that with any hot and fresh donut (i.e. Krispy Kreme, Tiny Ton's) they are terrific when hot/warm, and retched when cold. Why doesn't Lee's suffer from this problem? Their donuts are much better warm, to be sure, but they are at least edible when cool. Does anyone know why?

We had the same situation last year. We were new in town (I hadn't even discovered eGullet yet!), and Thanksgiving was just Mrs Vancouver Lee and our son. After dozens of years of huge family gatherings we thought it might feel a little sad. To counteract this, we kept the same menu as usual but everyone got involved in the cooking. With dinner we decided to create some new family traditions, and the one that seems to have stuck was going around the table and having each person say what they are most thankful for. Our 6 year old got right into the swing of it, and even insisted on doing it each night before bed for a few weeks afterwards. This year, the first thing he asked us when we told him thanksgiving was next weekend was "can we all say the things we are thankful for this year?". It was different from the usual thanksgiving celebrations we're used to, but the little things like cooking together and finding new ways to celebrate carried the day. YMMV, but best of luck.

I completely agree. Dinner at my Mom's place for Thanksgiving (any holiday, actually) is the same now as it was 20 years ago. Nothing fancy, but good solid home cooking that nourishes the spirit as much as it nourishes your body.

It's right out of Fine Cooking's November 1998 issue, and is available online.. I don't usually like gravy, but this stuff I love - it rocks. We cook our turkey as per this recipe, too, and it's terrific.

Are the muffins served with the main course, or after dinner as a dessert? ← With the main course. They rarely last until dessert.

Thanksgiving dinner is one of our favourite meals of the year. For us, a Western Canadian thanksgiving means one without any extended family to share it with, so we've invited some good friends to join us for dinner. Thanksgiving dinner for us is a traditional turkey with sourdough stuffing and an apple cider-and-thyme gravy accompanied by an old family recipe for mashed potatoes (you whip the potatoes with sour cream, goat cheese and milk, top them with fresh shaved reggiano parm then bake). Sides include homemade cranberry sauce, fresh and hot blueberry muffins, steamed green beans and cider-glazed carrots. Dessert is the usual pumpkin pie, assuming there is room.

A little tardy posting this, but better late than never. Last Sunday evening, Foodie in Vancouver ("FIV") invited six other local eGulls (and spouses) to her home for a "Best of Our Cellar" dinner. Her idea was pure genius: invite some serious foodies over for dinner and get them to do all the cooking! This is one smart lady.... The plan was this: Each guest was asked to choose either Viognier, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Merlot, Pinot Noir or Cab Sauv. The hosts would provide one locally produced (read Okanagan Valley, BC) bottle of each variety from their (wonderful) cellar, and each guest would provide a non-BC bottle and we would compare them in a blind tasting. Each couple was also responsible for providing a wine-appropriate dish for all to share. Brilliant. Everyone was given full use of FIV's exceedingly well designed and stocked kitchen for preparation purposes, and the hosts provided an wonderful Blue Mountain NV Brut and a heaping platter of sushi to nosh on while the first course was cooking. Before we get to the food, hearty "thank-you's" are due to Mr. and Mrs. Foodie in Vancouver for inviting us into their home and being such gracious hosts despite returning from a trip to Mexico literally hours before we arrived. VIOGNIER First up was none other than Daddy-A and his wife "J". No doubt inspired by their experience in the Okanagan just few weeks earlier, they made grilled pear, smoked chicken and brie pizzas. Daddy-A smoked the chicken himself and the pizza crusts were started on the BBQ prior to assembly. Once complete, the pizzas were returned to the grill to finish. Wines: Local: La Frenz 2004 Naramata Non-Local: Fairview South Africa 2003 PINOT GRIS Next up was your correspondent. I chose to make a risotto that I first had in Asolo, a little town in Italy north of Venice. It's essentially a vegetable risotto (eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, celery and mushrooms) except for the use of veal stock which makes it a bit heavier. I chose to use a dark veal stock which in restrospect was the wrong choice. The risotto was way too rich and didn't suit the wine at all. Not sure what I was thinking.... Apologies also for not taking a photo - I was too busy plating! Wines: Local: Blue Mountain Stripe Reserve 2000 Non-Local: Trimbach Reserve 2002 Alsace CHARDONNAY The third course was compliments of our very own Chef Neil Wyles of Hamilton Street Grille fame. Neil treated us to a mushroom ravioli with a wonderful cream sauce that included taragon. My memory fails me here, so I'll get Neil to refresh it and edit this post later with the details. Wines: Local: Burrowing Owl 2002 Non-Local: Chateau St. Jean 2001 Sonoma County, California PINOT NOIR Edible Vancouver, a classically trained french chef himself, was up next. He prepared an outstanding braised lamb shank served over wild mushrooms and pea shoots with a side of garnet yams, topped with a espresso and ancho chile reduction. Wines: Local: Stag’s Hollow Renaissance 2000 Non-Local: Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir 2000 NZ Rapaura series MERLOT Canucklehead was up next, and he too chose lamb shank to pair with his wine. By this point in the evening I was beginning to feel full, tired, and slightly tipsy (not necessarily in that order), so my memory begins to wane here. Canucklehead's lamb is accompanied with baked polenta, but the details of the sauce (other than having some cinnamon in there somewhere) escape me. Lee, kindly let me know what was in there and I'll edit this post. Wines Local: Inniskillin Bull Pine Vineyard 2002 Non-local: Capel Vale Howecroft Single Vineyard Western Australia CABERNET SAUVIGNON Last but most certainly not least was Peppyre, who chose hanger steak. She cooked the steak to a proper rare on the BBQ, and served it over wonderfully delicate potatoe galetes. Unfortunately I have no photographs of the finished dish, but it was accompanied by a fabulous reduction (that contained blackberries...???). Sorry peppyre, same deal as above. Please refresh my memory and I'll edit this with the details. Wines Local: CedarCreek Platinum Reserve 2002 BC Non-Local: Kestrel 2002 Yakima Valley Washington For dessert, our hosts provided a fabulous selection of fine cheeses and fruit. I had a babysitter waiting at home so had to leave before sampling each cheese, but the few I had were stellar. Again, many thanks to our hosts, and also to the other chefs who prepared such wonderful dishes to share with everyone. Same time, next year, everyone?