canucklehead
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Posts posted by canucklehead
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Griffins and some of the hotel buffet places have always seemed a little iffy to me (though they have gotten better lately).
They seem to be a clearinghouse for leftovers. The abundance of "meat" salads is a bit of giveaway (a la Anthony Bourdain). Maybe I am wrong - but the food tastes really warmed over. I went to Griffin's once for a New Year's brunch (after not getting in at the Four Seasons) and it was so mediocre and sad. Bad way to start the year.
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Uggggghhh!!
My fault for even checking into egullet - did Feenie really win? I about to sit down to the 9pm viewing....
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I was looking for an oppurtunity to post about my dining experience at C just this past week.
I did not know what to expect - but to tell you the truth I was a little aprehensive. I heard not so good things about the food being pretentious and I had visions of powders and foams dancing in my head.
The reality is that C is very good. I started out with a lobster bisque with a taragon bubble. I suspect the taragon bubble was supposed to inflate as the hot bisque was poured over it - it did not but no matter as the bisque was still tasty and rich. My friends had scallops wrapped in octopus "bacon" which came with a fois gras croquette. The scallops looked very good - and the croquette was insanely rich (and good).
My main course was wild sturgeon which came with a braised breast of pork - high end surf and turf! It was the first time I had sturgeon at a restaurant and when I have it at home - it is steamed in a black bean sauce. The C version was pan seared (fried?) and it was firmer than I expected but was clean and fresh tasting and a perfect match for the hearty pork breast. One of my dining companions had the sable fish that was served over a brothy sacue. It looked very very good.
I was too full for dessert.
The server was great - being a weekday there was not too much drinking (waters all around plus two glasses of wine) but he did not make us feel pressured about it. He was knowledable but relaxed and funny. The service went a long way in warming up the really coldly decorated room. My friends frequent C in the summer and say the patio is a lot of fun.
Overall - the experience was very good. C is much more relaxed then I thought it would be and the food is less fussy then even the menu conveys. They know how to let the ingredient take center stage and the servers seem to be able to guage and handle the table well. (One thing that seems to be happening at ALL restaurants lately is the whole describing the food once it is set down in front of you again thing - why!?)
I think that I will need to go back a couple more times to get a better feel of things. I felt like I had alot of mixed expectations that maybe weighed on the experience. Plus I did pay for my meal - and I need to get a better feel for the whole value for money thing.
But really - with over thinking about it - it was good food, good service, and we had a great time.
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Holy cow - you should be writing white spot's commercials. All kidding aside - what beautiful little moment. I thought that I was going to cry.
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No Kaplan's doesn't give the Monteal experience but they sure try to cover the bases from Smoked meat to Pastrami to Corned Beef. Theoretically all flown in from their respective places of origin (N.Y., Chicago etc.)
For someone who was brought up in Montreal this is almost heretical to say but the hot smoked meat (on) bagel at Siegels beats all the other smoked meat on rye that I've had here in Vancouver.
Yeah! Someone else said it first.. I really like the bagel sandwich and Seigel's too. However, my deli experience is a limited to the L.A. stuff - Jerry's and Nate n Al's - very good, but I am sure a New Yawka would completely disagree.
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Thanks Jamie - the name that I was looking for was Il Barino. I went there for lunch (skipping out of work for a couple of hours) and it was a revelation for young (at that time) taste buds. And Mark was so generous - he sent out little things that he was trying out for us to taste. It set me on the road to really appreciating food and seeing the chef's "voice" in his/her food.
It was one of those first meals that really registered for me.
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There are a number of Persian stores on the north shore that may carry what you are looking for. Certainly rosewater should be easy to obtain not sure about lavendar water. One of the stores that I am thinking about is on 1860 Lonsdale, Yaas Bazaar. You could give them a call about lavender water.
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What ever happened to chef Mark Potovsky?
Yeah?! - I've had some stupendous meals from Mark. Particularly when Yaletown was first opening up there was an italian place that he was cooking at and it was spectacular. It is is terrible - I cannot remember the name of the place but it was them and Villa Del Lupo that first started opening up the area - this is about 15 years ago.
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I've been PM'ing some other members on this - but I will go public.
I think that it is vital that we share opinions - good and bad. The opinions on this site seem well informed and balanced. No gushing for the sake of gushing - and no needless cruetly or mean spirited barbs. The thoughts shared here would be the same as those shared over coffee with my friends.
Do the opinions impact my decisions to go somewhere? To be honest, they are a data point but the egullet forum does NOT make my dining decisions for me. Egullet has introduced me to alot of new experiences - some of which I will repeat, others that I will not. There are a slew of places that egullet does not seem discuss - but are my personal favorites. I think that I have a fairly good sense of food - as do all of the egulleteers here. And I ultimately make my own dining decisions.
As for Bis Mereno - I am really looking forward to trying it out. I have friends who have gone and have really enjoyed it and we are making plans for the pasta tasting menu. I will let you all know whether I liked it or not.
I don't think that anybody here pretends to be a food critic - and those with those kind of pretenses are called on pretty quickly by other egulleteers.
What has prompted me to post this is how personal some of this shit has gotten. I mean come on! To be honest - the highly negative and personal reactions do nothing but give the orginal postings even more power than the orginal poster ever ever intended.
Let's share opinions and be tough on eachother and call bullshit when warranted. But I agree - let's keep it about the food.
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Actually went last night - Sean was manning the bar and the place was very busy. Did'nt introduce myself - not sure where his head is at with egullet right now.
As always I really enjoyed myself. Had the pot pie which I liked alot - my brother had the infamous braised ribs which were also very good. The fries were the softer British old school style and it was a very civilized evening.
When I left - the front room seemed really packed and the back room was full also. So I don't think the whole stink has hurt Irish Heather's business at all. Still - I keep expecting (hoping?) that some sort of Ultimate Fight Gastown-style will break out.
Then (off topic I know) I went to the Opus Hotel bar for a drink as per the suggestion of some other egulleteers and Terminal City. It was very nice - but two drinks (one a soda, the other a 16 year old Oban) set me back close to 30 bucks.
Happy f*king chinese new year!
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Sarah
I saw that there were some yam tempura rolls at Fujiya downtown yesterday - but they were in the lunchtime fridge. So I am not sure were you can get fresh ones.
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There are some new Dosa places that are now open that have a more vegetarian take on dishes and is probably closer to home cooking. The Dosa Hut on Clarke and Hastings can be really good - but they seem easily over whelmed. The rava masala dosa is good and is a good change from the whole naan-korma-vindaloo thing.
I think that Mauyra is also very good - the spices taste very fresh and the vindaloo is insanely spicy (even the mild version made my tummy feel like Mount Doom).
I love Vij's - but I don't think it is really 'authentic' Indian. There seems to be alot of french influence - particularly with the Lamb Popsicles - but this should not take away from the appreciation for what it is - very good cooking that trancends the whole "fusion" thing. And frankly, Vikram is an amazing host - he always looks very happy to see you and has that "how come you have not come back sooner" look on his face. Very nice man.
I think that Indian and Chinese cuisines are particularly mutable depending on where it is from - so authenticity is sometimes not really the point.
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HK Dave - what's the general mood about egullet there? I am afraid to say anything even sounding like 'egullet' in Gastown right now.
I may head over to check it out though... I know I am chicken sh*t
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Shanghai Yan Yun on Main - I mean I've said it before and I'll say it again - very very good juicy pork buns, xiao long bao and I don't have to go to Richmond (I live on the North Shore).
Perogies at Ukranian Church (10th and Main). Very popular once a month thing and the the perogies taste like the one's I've had from Winnipeg. I've been going for a while now (before the Vanmag recommendation) and it is really really good. Plus - the whole feel is so Canadian - it is like a Benneton ad as envisioned by the CRTC.
Lunch today at Shanghai Bistro - very good rice cakes, a typical Chinese New Year lucky thing to eat. It was very very busy and had a nice CNY buzz.
Gung hei fat choi everybody!!
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thanks
my first instinct was bachus also - but opus may be worth checking out - many thanks.
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A friend and I are meeting for drinks this week and I would like to go to a nice grown up downtown bar - but I have just gotten back into the city and actually don't hit the bars very often.
Would like somewhere smart, sophisticated and relatively civilized. Nothing to lound or rambuncious.
Any suggestions?
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Seeing Mr Maw post and answer himself is kinda like watching Gollum talking to himself in Lord of the Rings.
Very funny.... but worrisome
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As many people have said before - I think that you have to take the whole DOV with a grain of salt and pretend that it is some sort of test drive.
Many of these guys are on our "team" - little guys trying to make it in a very tough market. Sometimes you gotta cut your friends some slack and roll with it all. The manner's displayed by some customers regarding reservations are insanity - and sometimes that makes everybody's fuses a little shorter.
Anyways - I did not do the DOV - did not want to waste calories on possibly uneven situations. For my brother - who did hit DOV very hard - the big winners for him were Pastis and Elixir.
Don't hear very much about Elixir on this site. Apparently, the clientele can be off putting but I hear the Chef is a nice person and I was told that the pear-blue cheese salad was astounding and very well executed.
Don't know if this belong on this thread - but what were the big happy DOV surprises for you guys?
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Something else to consider for downtown Japanese is Okada in Nelson Square. I think that their Sushi is some of the best in the city and there hot food can be very good also (gyozas are nice).
Their lunch menu is much more limted than their dinner menu -but still very good.
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I am proud to say that I hit three places today and ate happily at all three!
Went to Steamrollers downtown for lunch - steamed burrito. I did not eat the wrap(I always seem to have trouble digesting the wraps - don't know why). But the filling (beef+works) was really good - fresh, hot, and the greens were good. My single friend (female) particularly likes the place because of the high ratio of men who seem to frequent the joint.
Then I went to GoFish with my brother - needed a mental health day today. And as always - the fish and chips are exemplar. Fresh and hot and the slaw was crunchy and delicous. Now that the restraining order has expired - I can feel free to visit GoFish alot.
THEN we went to the Tomahawk - and I am ashamed to say that as a Vancouverite - I have never been there. Well - it was also really good - you guessed it - the burger was fresh, hot and the fries were crunchy and delicious.
So - maybe I am pregnant - the only sad part of the day was how tight the booth felft at the Tomahawk. My stomach was butressed against the table. Not a good sign.
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Interesting...
The last time I bought salmon there the guy told me a whole story where he caught it, etc. I wonder if this is part of the illusion or is there something else going on here.
It doesn't make too much sense since Go Fish prides itself on buying straight off the fishermen, presumably the guys down at the wharf.
Weird is all I can say.
Just had a late lunch at GoFish today and I saw big boxes of frozen stuff being unloaded onto a boat - so I am not sure about what is going on. I don't think that it is a big conspiracy - just something I am not gettting the full picture on.
I am also not sure that GoFish gets all of their stuff off the boats. Had some fantastic Halibut there - but I don't think that it is being fished right now.
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I used to really like going to the Railway Club - though the food was'nt anything special. Relatively civilized - though I think that I have aged past their normal demographic.
One of the first places I went to when I moved back from California was the Irish Heather. It was a rainy night and I sat the in the atrium in the back and had the delicous corned beef. There was an Irish quartet playing (practicing) - singing and fiddling - and I got to tell you - it was f-king magical. It was like I was in some movie.
It completely comfirmed why I love Vancouver and all the great places we have here. The experience would have been impossible in SF.
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Not sure if it has been mentioned yet - but I am a big fan of Whole Foods also. Sustainablity fished (though they have farmed salmon) and very good quality. I am okay with the prices - but I am a sad single guy so I take my solace with my food...
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I just want to say what a great and intense thread this was. I am really - and I am not being sarcastic here - proud that you guys are so willing to really get out there and express your opinions. This kind of interchange keeps the discussion healthy and keeps the Vancouver forum from turning into a chatroom.
Have you ever seen a documentary where a troop of chimpanzees get all whipped up and then in the aftermath there is grooming to get the troop calmed down and back together. Well - I am grooming - frantically.
Now - please don't get upset with me for comparing Egulleteers with chimps. I know that it is not fair to the chimps.
Best Breads in Greater Vancouver
in Western Canada: Dining
Posted
Agreed
Anybody that can steer me towards a better product or help me better understand what it good and what is not - so much the better.
3WC (or anybody) - what defines good bread then? For example - I really like how crusty and crunchy the baguette crusts are at La Baguette. Is there something else I should be looking for?