barrett

Fuel and La Buca are both close to home. Kingyo, Boneta and Chambar are cab rides. The 10 UBC has become the 17 UBC. The 10 now goes up Granville.

The place that replaced Black Tuna is not as good. Dirty dishes everywhere, staff meal left on the table beside me, with a half full restaurant. That end of Denman is a sushi-dead-zone now. Best walk up the block closer to Robson for good Japanese.

heh. I didn't know that they had opened up a roaster in NY.

You can get Stumptown in NY?

One from a long time ago: a pour edited: because I have to host images on the gullet.

Thanks! It's kinda been our summer, it seems.

My favorite are the menus that say: espresso $2 espresso to go $12 (keep the cup and saucer)

10# shouldn't be a problem for you like that. The biggest problems with storage are taints: most commonly the jute bags that coffee is traditionally packed in. Every year, more and more coffees are never seeing a jute bag, and are being packaged in other materials. Cool and dry for green. There's even a bit of experimenting going on with freezing green. Monsooned malabar, et al are the penultimate gross jute taste. They give Indian coffees a bad name. In my opinion, of course.

Yes, they work quite well.

oxygen is the worst thing for roasted coffee, in the freezer or not, it will continue to oxidize and lose flavour, and should be used as soon as possible. weinoo's method is probably best, as the condensation worries are valid. as to the time limit, that depends on your own tastes, but a cool, dark place is what I suggest. Some coffees get really flat and boring after a day. Today, I sampled a couple of coffees that were 10 days off roast, opened once, and resealed in vacuum bags - not vac'd though. They were great.

This topic has been running for a few years on coffee dedicated boards, and is two-fold. 1. The "espresso is volatile, you have to enjoy it immediately." and, "think of the farmers, how many people have toiled for you to enjoy that coffee for a mere $2." A valid point, but you could argue then that they should also refuse to serve cream, sugar, and a host of other condiments then. For that matter, any ice. And the menu would probably only have about 4 items on it. (Espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, black coffee.) You could take that stance: but unless you've got a long list of accolades behind you (I'm talking Cafe Europa style accolades here, not "voted best espresso by jimmy's grandma") you'd probably soon be in the bread line. 2. The ghetto-iced-latte. This started about 3 years back, where people would start ordering espresso on ice, then walk to the condiment stand, fill it up with milk, and walk out with an iced latte, saving all of a buck. Some retailers countered by not serving espresso on ice at all, some by refusing to put it in any cup bigger than x size. And some called people out, as Murky seems to have. Last, of course Starbucks will give you anything you want. They're in the business of service, not greatness.

we use one at home, they work well, and I find it rewarding to grind it myself. Takes a little practice to get into a rhythm, but i find the results better than my low end burr grinders.

Hmmm...You say small but then the small and independant is too small. Just because JJ. Bean has a few locations doesn't make them Starbucks. They make good coffee and are independantly owned. Plus you've got the shopping mall parking lot in the N. Van. location for the minimum of 5 (or more?) people who are going show up. ← Artigiano in Burnaby or Park Royal (West Van)

The first Clover was installed at Caffe Artigiano on Hornby. There is less skill involved than espresso - but it does take some attention to detail to get a consistent result. The main difference that I have found in the Clover cup, you get more of the acidity, and less of the oompf. An all treble, no bass scenario. Not necessarily better or worse for your daily brew, but different. Where it excels is in emphasizing a different subset of flavours - maybe due to the technology, or maybe due to the Clover brewing for about a minute in total, and a french press brewing for 4 minutes. I'm sure some people are trying to turn the machine into a cash cow, but most of those expensive by the cup offerings are probably Cup of Excellence, or Best of Panama auction coffees, and they go for way more than the 'regular' stuff, and come in extremely small lots.

leave a little bit of coffee in the pot. the mud cup is not a good time for anyone.

whole milk boils at about 172f, it quickly increases volume by about 50%, which is why you probably have trouble getting it hotter - I refuse because I don't like 172f milk spilling out of the pitcher all over my hand.

a lot of it. of all those coffees, one, a bolivian #1 was outstanding. as for the rest, i prefer a regular drip, or better yet, a press pot.

I can assure you the meats aren't heated up - they are seared when the order first comes in (same time as apps are being cooked) then they are set aside - on pickup, the sides are cooked to order, and the meat is brought up to temperature. Brian insists on resting meats, as it allows the juices to penetrate the cooked portion of the meat - it's why a rare steak doesn't bleed all over the plate... it's also the reason that if someone chooses to order first course... then second... the second course does not race out lickety split - it could... but shouldn't. As for the menus - our lovely hostess had a blonde moment, and spent the first hour of the night only giving it out if there was a note in the reservation. Glad you got in while it was quiet. At one point, I said to Brian, "you only have 4 tables on pickup right now." His response, "but they're all eights!"

I'm officially throwing my name in the ring to take over at West. Best Mac n' Cheese South Granville has ever seen.

It was a clothing store previously.

metro has it. just ask for the password. download a stumbler - it'll show you all the networks, encryption, strength, etc.

marble slab is delicious - but expect to wait 30 minutes anytime after 6. I've been twice, and find it very frustrating. A little organization could get the wait to 10 minutes.

Agro cafe has an existing location in Yaletown. It's decent. I haven't been since their roaster was installed, but there seems to be passion in the ownership - and that's always a good first step!

That knife sharpener is great. I understand why I had to work Sunday this week. :'(

I guess I'm one of the few to have previously met Tina. Served her at the Hammy. Table 5. The event was amazing. If there was only one event I went to this year, it would have been this one. Amazing group of guests, amazing group of chefs. Lots of work went into the event. I left at one, and the Rare crew were still cleaning up. Great Job Neil, and Brian for pulling it all together.