canucklehead

I saw the Saveur thing a couple of weeks ago - and I thought it was too bad that they did not mention Thomas Hass by name (sacrilege!). Also the Sea Change mention glosses over specific discussion about the Salt Spring Island product - you have to look very closely at the picture to see where it is from. What is really odd - that not more BC product made the list. The Saveur 100 list seemed a little sad this year - I mean deep fried buffalo wing style wontons (I kid you not) and Philly Cheesteak Spring Rolls (from the Philly Four Seasons) got big mentions.

Here's some class for you. A group of us went out for dinner at SR and the special that night was horse scallopini. One of our party did not like the horse and did not finish it. It was simply an issue of the meat being a little too tough (it was the cut of horse - tenderloin would have been much better - also triple the price). No complaint was raised by us and though the waiter noticed the plate - he did not make any issue of it either. Simply asked why the diner did not like it. One of those instances of where no-one did any thing wrong - just misordering. Well, it was taken off our bill without ANY fuss or fanfare (we would not have noticed if we did not do a quick math check). Here is a case of where comping was NOT expected or required - but was done in the spirit of generosity. Not to make up for a fuck up, or to shut us up for a hishap. Senhor Rooster - great neigbourhood place, highly addictive sauces, and a chef/owner that takes the food seriously - but not himself.

I know the team at West have been very accomadating on food allergies.. one of my friend's parents are buddhist vegetarians - which means not only no meat - but no garlic, onions, or other related aromatics. Their need (called ahead) with no fuss or muss and great food. Good call on the Asian choices DG. I was thinking the same thing about Japanese food - especially sushi. If things get desparate - there is always the Naam.

Is Rodney's always so frat boy? And 1980's frat boy at that... it was like the Tom Cruise movie 'Cocktails' - except with oysters. The music was LOUD - and seemed like a medly of the Who and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Nothing wrong with those bands - except I don't need to see the waiters 'rock out' to every song. The time warp was such that I was starting to make my way out to Bar None except I forgot my Wayfayers at home. The oysters though were very good and well shucked - we were recommended Kusshi's which were excellent. Cold, briny, fresh and sweet - the definition of good oysters in my book. I know that have happy hour - but they should instigate 'quiet old people who want to be left alone' hour also.

Two come immediately to mind: David Hawksworth and Virkam Vij - but they seem so obvious - do they have cook books out yet? God - to have access to Vikram's recipes... though I have seen his recipe for the lamb lollipops floating around (most recently in Mark Bittman's Best Recipes). If I could get lab equiptment - Robert Clarke's recipes would be interesting - even from a strictly technical level. And for dessert - a book by Thomas Haas (and to be in Ling's kitchen when she tests them all).

Yes - in HK it is very common. My mother made a fruit and prawn salad for xmas dinner. The fruit was canned and it was heavy on the mayo - but the prawns were steamed live prawns that were quickly cooled and tossed into the salad. The prawns were excellent - the rest left me scratching my head also. Not sure what it is called - but it have seen the dish prepared with candied walnuts in the U.S. - does that sound familiar? Recently - I have seen a real fashion for tossing deep fried slices of pork chop in a sweetened mayo (basically Miracle Whip and condensed milk). It's not bad - in that homey kind of way.

Is it possible to get a description of the winning burger - the Vera website says that the winner will be annouced on Feb 01. Should we wait for the official word?

TFA - very cool kid - congratulations! When does he start on his mohawk?

For CNY - went down to Aurora for brunch today and not suprisingly - it was very good. Great neighbourhood vibe, really hearty portions, and great flavors. The menu had a nice selection of 'normal' offerings if you wanted your brunch safe and comforting - but also had some nice twists if you were in a more adventurous frame of mind. The five spice donuts were plain ole spectacular. Fresh and hot - satisfyingly rich but brightened with fruit in the batter, delicous plum syrup and nice warm spiciness (a light hand with the five spice). A big box of donuts, two entrees, two coffees and a glass of OJ - all for about 40 bucks. The patrons are of that really good looking Main St ilk - so you can pretend that you are in a VW commercial while you eat. Then later this evening - I stopped by Habit to have a quick snack. What nice people! Our server (Jacque?) was super nice and clearly knew what he was doing - one of my party decided to have a brandy based drink - and you could see him warming up the snifter with hot water. It was quiet - but the room looks great and the mexican hot chocolate was perfect for a dark rainy night. Smooth as a ganache with cinnamon and cayenne heat. Will be back to try out the menu.

Just wanted to add some pictures to compliment Daddy-A's and Abra's posts. For me - the crab, lamb (with a fermented tofu sauce), chayote, and rice were the best courses. The chayote had bits of Chinese olives - and it suprised many that there was such a thing. A couple of people commented that the briny crab with sweet squash punctuated with sharp fermented black bean would not be out of place in some of the more adventerous non-asian restaurants in the city. I think that this really speaks to how chefs in Vancouver are able to incorporate Asian ingredients without seeming gimmicky. The immediate example for me is the clean subtle five spice broth that I had recently at Aurora. I think the next time we need a 'Dance Dance Revolution' station to help burn off some of the Chinese Red Wine that BCinBC was so generous with. Ack.. that kid's table was noisy!

Adding some pictures to Abra's commentary... Everything was delicous - but the big homeruns for me were the soup (duck bacon - fucking hell!) the lamb cheeks (which stayed very close to Mrs Daddy-A for some reason), and the Tarte Tatin. Lovely lovely meal - and it was great of Jeff to put together something like this in the midst of prepping for DOV. Abra and Shel - it was great meeting the both of you - such good eaters, good talkers and good sharers.

I am a big fan of kunomoto's also - small briny and sweet. When I lived in SF - I hit Swan Oyster depot all the time and their oysters were always amazingly fresh. Sometimes not shucked so well... but with a little mignonette - fantastic. One time I sat beside this young women and her mother as they polished off 4 dozen oysters themselves - easy. Rodney's is at the top of my places to hit - oysters and a nice bowl of chowder. Are they open for lunch?

Went had lunch at the Golden Sichuan in Richmond and the food was very good - in fact, it seemed a little more 'authentic' than the Vancouver branch. Stronger flavors, hotter spices. They had things on their menu that W. Broadway did not have and they carted around various cold dishes - that looked quite good. Here is a cold dish with shredded chicken, cucumbers, and noodles made from beans (as in bean thread). It was dressed in a vinegary peanut dressing. Ginger Beef (any deep fried meat - and I am THERE), Spicy Shredded Pork After lunch - I went and ran some errands and saw this sign in front of a beauty salon. I wonder, do you pay to get the DNA facial or to give it. I think the 'revitalizing' part needs no explanation. Who says there is no adventure in Richmond?

Has anyone ever cooked out of Bill Jone's cookbooks. Hear Jurgen Goth talking about him during the drive home today. His cookbooks have won alot of awards and he seems very active in the Cowichan Valley. Just wanted to see if there was anyone who has first had experience with his work.

I'd give the nod to Melriches in the potato dept. As the general comments above noted there are some mixed feelings about the place. I like Diner - but I can see how it can also drive some people mental. The food has always been solid for me with alot of depth and finese in surprising places (the baked goods are very consistent). I have made the concious decision not to get stressed while I am there and only go when I am not in rush. The place has a distinct personality - sometimes it works for you - sometimes it doesn't

Prices are not crazy - kind of in line with Melriches. They said that they also had omelets - but they did not make the menu. Eggs benny and Eggs florentine and steel cut oatmeal were on the menu. Don't be in a rush - though everything happened on a timely basis for my meal - I prefer to think I am in the 'Diner' time zone when I there. Bring something to read and just relax.

I was by for breakfast last week and it was very good. On weekends, they serve a breakfast menu until 2 or 3 pm then reopen with the regular menu at 5pm. I had eggs with bacon, toast, and hash browns. Everything was delicous - and the eggs yolks (sunnyside up) were nice and runny the way I liked them. The bacon was thick and meaty. The hash browns are closer to browned mashed potato, still nice and fluffy to soak up the egg runoff. Where food especially shines is with the baked goods. Not surprising given Heather's pastry background. They are not big puffy pieces of styrofoam - but civilized sized and packed full of real flavor (and butter). The scones were crisp on the outside - moist and tender within and so buttery. Carrot cupcakes were rich and spicy with a ribbon of candied carrot strip decorating the top. Excellent cinnamon bun. The toast and scone were accompanied by apple jelly, mango ginger spread, and a berry jam (they tasted home made - but I did not ask - trying to control my napkin sniffing ). It was a nice lazy meal... got a big press of coffee and just relaxed.

Thanks for posting the pics(it was a great lunch) - but it has made our pigginess very public. Of course - everything was done in the name of research. I would like to say that were were lots of leftovers - but that would be a lie.

I had these when I lived overseas - not really such a great thing. The rice 'bun' is very heavy and starchy compared to bread. It is like shovelling down a big bowl of rice down your gullet - really fast.

Deborah posted about the great meal we had Brix - and I really enjoyed myself. Service was great despite our server having to also keep a table of 40 happy. Well - we get our bill, split it in our heads and pay what seems to make sense for each of us. Today - it starts dawning on us that we have may have undertipped. A phone call to Mooshmouse and recalc on excel (a great way to look busy at work btw) confirms that we have sullied the name of all egullet diners. I went by after work today to make good and the server and the manager very very nice about it all. The server told me that he was worried that he had done something wrong. Ugh - more shame. Moral is - during DOV we all dine out in large groups with alot of bill splitting. Double check the total paid out and it ensure there is a good tip for your extra hard working waitron. Better yet - ask for separate bills (just in case your server does'nt have enought to do) and don't do math in your head when your belly is full of plonk and food.

Don't write off the scampi - I had the non-DOV version (which sound very much like the DOV version) a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. You would think that the strong flavors would over whelm the prawns - but they didn't. It was delicous.

As always - I think we are all pretty much on the same page on this issue even though the posts may not seem to be. I agree - the smart thing for Pastis would have been to do something about it and make sure that ElizaR left feeling unreservedly good about her experience. I am sure any gesture would have been appreciated. It seems like to me that she handled the situation well, did not excaberate a difficult moment and came away with a good dining experience. That's the best that any of us could do.

I brought some of the regular (non spicy that is) to my friends that live in Richmond over the weekend for their kids. Everyone was very happy with it - especially the kids. It tasted like KFC without the odd pressure cooked sawdust texture / taste. It was nice to support a local little guy - and for my friend's this will be there new go to guy for fried chicken.

I guess it is a personal preference on my part - but I am not a fan of being comp'ed for restaurant issues. ElizaR seemed like she was okay with the level of service - but the table support broke and there was a water incident. I don't think that this was the fault of the server. At this point - the diner has to ask themselves - is this going to ruin my evening? If not - well then carry on. If it seems like something has happened that is really going to be impactful and ruin a night out - well then as a grown up, the diner make that call and perhaps end the evening early and go somewhere else. If I was that unhappy, no amount of comping is going to fix it. The fact that Joe Forte's is willing to do it for minor missteps is great - but if I felt like the meal experience was so worthless as to not want to pay - well then, it is too late. Allowing for a comp on big issues is tacit approval of a substandard dining experience. In a way - it feels like you are letting the restaurant off easy. At the end of the day - it is just a meal and everyone is human. We should all just try to go out and have fun and enjoy ourselves - including laughing at some of the hiccups that invariably happen.

I went a couple of months back for lunch (I posted about it... somewhere) and I thought Sushikan was the real deal. Probably the best the sushi place to open in Vancouver in a long while. They take their sushi and sashimi very seriously. I've been meaning to go back to give their menu a serious workout - so I am glad that you and Dafonz had such a thorough meal there (great pics btw). What has kept me from going has been trying to find someone to go with who will like the food and be okay with the prices. They are steep. Lunch for me was grilled sable fish and assorted sushi (same as yours above) and it came to $50 or $60. I think a real tryout of the menu would get pricey fast. The other thing that I had to reconcile was the fact that, as you noted, much of the fish is jetted in from Japan. Though trying some of the more exotic fishes is always fun - I found that the local fish (not sure if they are also jetted in) was sweeter and cleaner tasting. However, their handlling of ingredients and knife skills were incredible and could not be faulted. A sushi restaurant of this calibre reminds you of why sushi is treated as a special meal in Japan.