appreciator

I had lunch today at Black Tuna Japanese Bistro (located upstairs at 202 - 1184 Denman St. ph: 604-408-7557). I had been wanting to try this place since I first heard about it because I used to adore the yam tempura rolls (waaaaay different than anything else out there by the same name) that were served at Taka. Unfortunately, I didn't see it on the menu, nor did I see Jacob anywhere around, so did not get to re-live some fond sushi memories. However, the food is fairly reasonably priced (I'd put it around the same mark as Shiro or a bit above) and it was very good and beautifully presented. After getting over my disappointment about the yam rolls, I decided to keep it simple with a sushi combo: California roll, salmon (wild), tuna and ebi. Served with a very nice miso soup. It was all good... the tuna, I think, was lightly seared on the outside. But I could be mistaken. Maybe it's just a type of tuna I've never had before. Very tasty all the same. I also tried the spinach gomae as I loved the sauce they used at Taka... not quite the same and had to go through a bit of a rig-o-ma-roll with the waitress re: peanuts but it was beautifully presented and quite tasty. I think they may normally serve it with a peanut sauce so anyone else out there with an allergy would be wise to check. The lunch boxes are quite cool too as they come two tiered. The Black Tuna standard box has either chicken or beef teriyaki, rice, 3 pieces of california roll, tuna and salmon sushi, about 5 or 6 pieces of good looking tempura and salad. I think that's it. Served with miso to start as well. It was $9.95 which for the amount of food was very good value. They have an extensive menu.... many different types of tempura offered a la carte which I haven't seen elsewhere and a lot of very interesting rolls which were a bit pricey at the $8 - $10 mark but probably worth it. Tim Pawsey did a review in the Courier in February: Tim Pawsey review of Black Tuna Didn't mean to hijack this thread but thought I'd put the good word in about Black Tuna while it was fresh on my mind. I know that I'll be going back soon to try some other items on their menu. Oh and if you are feeling like venturing out to the Cambie area, I third the vote for Shiro... one of my all time favs!

I believe the last name you are looking for is Seelig, Michael Seelig. Used to also co-own Bridges Bakery and Bagels (previously Big Apple Bagels) on 6th and Fir. I think another owner of Bridges may have been Abe Sacks. He and Michael were also partners in a proposal for a movie theatre on Granville Island back around 1998. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

I've had both Siegel's and Solly's and like them equally. Maybe you could have a taste test at your brunch on Sunday, Tough Cookie This thread reminds me that I want to try Benny's again as I used to quite like their bagels about 18 years or so ago, but that was before either of the S's were on the scene. And, isn't there a place in North Van that has good bagels? Thought I read a review somewhere or other a while ago (maybe even a year or so). Perhaps it no longer exists )

Ah yes... the powers of the almighty search engine. I was just going to do it the old fashioned way and ask someone while I'm down there tomorrow Will be interesting to see the outcome of this new development as I don't think the pavilion seemed particularly interesting while under the previous management. However, as I only tried it a couple of times perhaps that's not really a fair assessment.

I will find out tomorrow and report back

I stand corrected in my attempt at busting so-called "urban myths" Will just have to try harder next time

Heh everyone... just wanted to say thank you for your comments and suggestions. I will try cooking the next steak on the stove instead of in the oven and will also try to find a better butcher Miz Ducky, as you asked, here's a link to the recipe from the April issue of Cooking Light: Flank Steak w/ Caramelized Onions and Balsamic Glaze I may try it again if I can get my hands on some flank steak, but think I'll try something else next.

I hate to burst the bubble about the olde fig leaf at Frank Baker's thang,.... but I'm pretty sure it was an urban myth that it actually made a noise out in the restaurant. I do remember going there as a child and being told not to lift the fig leaf because it would buzz in the restaurant, however, I'm pretty sure that it didn't.. Anyone work there, oh those many years ago, who can confirm or deny this????

Less than happy results.... so I thought I'd ask the wise folk at egullet for their opinions... Recipe called for flank steak.... butcher talked me in to 3 slabs of organic top sirloin instead. Didn't know the difference so I cooked it the same as in the recipe.... 6 minutes per side under the broiler. Results.... tough as nails.... wtf? Apparently..... I have a lot to learn. Any tips for next time? I'll try anything.... different meat, different timing, different technique, you name it... I just want that slab of beef to taste good..... is that too much to ask?

I always heard that the oysters up at the Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler were the best..... Never tried them myself..... folklore perhaps?

C'mon... tell us how you really feel...... Now, not having read upthread, and being a bit of a devil's advocate... have you perchance, dined at LilyKate, Lee? Just wondering... I have not so cannot comment. Just muckrucking

Not to be a big old wet blanket.... but..... what if all the powers that be get the word out, and everyone supposedly knows what they should eat and what they shouldn't.... but still, you have those "fish loving ignorant folk/ restaurateurs /commando chefs" eating/ demanding/ serving fish that's just not on. What then? I've read a fair bit of this thread and am wondering how, exactly, in a very formulaic way, "we" can get everyone on side. What will it take? What's the plan? Massive advertising campaign that scorns endangered fish/ shellfish? Boycott all restaurants that serve anything other than fish/shellfish from approved list? International campaign to enlist international consumers in boycotting endangered fish/ shellfish? Or perhaps, this is something we all do, one consumer (one choice we make) at a time?

Yowsa! I'd be very careful if I was you, about applying essential oils to your skin.... the only ones that I know of that are safe to do so are lavender and tea tree. It's a concentration thing. With food grade oils, those that are safe to consume, they are still, most likely, not safe to apply to your skin.

I'm not an expert on this subject by any means but I have utilized essential oils for their therapeutic values on many occasions. That being said... I know that essential oils have many distinctions between those that are food quality grade and those that are therapeutic quality. Even the same oils may vary in how they are utilized, dependent upon how they are processed. Valerie Ann Worwood is extremely knowledgeable on the subject of essential oils though not specifically on those that are utilized for cooking. The following links may help: Cooking with Essential Oils Cooking with Essential Oils - part 3 Perhaps others can weigh in with personal experiences.

Umm… are all those Korean students potential readers and participants of egullet? There may well be some secret places downtown but if the people who know about them don't come here then those of us who do.... won't have a clue. Sorry... didn't mean to rhyme

Thanks for the info Lemon Curd and Sashavan. I think it would have been interesting if a few more chefs chimed in on this thread with their personal faves but perhaps they want to keep that info to themselves. Or perhaps the Sun article covered it all... but somehow I doubt it. edited for typos

So has anyone tried this place yet? Other inquiring minds want to know as well!

Has anyone been to the Nemoto Café at 3132 West Broadway, lately? A friend of mine used to have breakfast there all the time but I haven't talked to him in a few years since he moved out of town. I'd be curious to know what it's like these days and was wondering about it when I drove by the other day.

Monday night I made a huge pot of veggie chili as I'd been promising some to the gals I run with for ages. This afternoon I made the required side of cornbread and packaged up take out portions for all after tonight's run. Was going to do sauteed spinach on the side but found a nasty piece of wood in the organic spinach package so I passed on that. For my own dinner tonight I made Indonesian peanut tofu with chili-lime noodles ('cept with almond butter instead of peanut).

A couple of weeks back, Barb's Buns cafe on Salt Spring Island for lunch with one of my brothers. Can’t actually recall what I had…. though I think it might have been some kind of burrito. Quite tasty but man-o-man the service is painfully slow there. I’ve forgotten how slow things can be when people are on island time. Dinner at Fiction last week with a girlfriend. We shared a few things: the endive salad, a couple of pick up sticks; one was I believe, beef and polenta with a Guinness glaze and the other was pear and Gorgonzola. The latter was more successful in my opinion. Then we had some delicious scallops served with a parsnip and vanilla tortellini over some mixed greens. Great flavours but the tortellini was pretty much cold and I would have preferred it a tad warmer. The best dish of the evening was the tarte flambé with artichokes and goat cheese and possibly something else. Absolutely scrumptious! Our server was excellent and the overall feel of the place was very warm. Music was getting louder by the time we left but that is probably geared towards the crowd that begins to appear around 9:30ish. I'll be heading back soon to try more things on their menu, especially some of the entrees, as they looked very appealing. Also last week, dinner with my ex at Tang's Noodle House. We were trying to go to Cafe D-lite but it closes at 6 p.m. Who knew? Obviously, not us. Will have to try it some time for lunch. Anyhow, dinner at Tang's instead as it is practically next-door and the man was getting cranky. It was fine.... if nothing of particular note. We did try something new though which was interesting, deep-fried tofu appetizer which had an intriguing texture, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I’ve had delivery from Tang’s before and didn’t really like it at all so was glad that I actually ate in for a change as it was better than I recall. Last, but certainly not least, was a 50th birthday lunch at Adesso on Saturday. Went with 4 girlfriends... 3 of whom had breakfast items; the birthday gal and I had lunch. We shared the arugula insalata with pears, Gorgonzola and caramelized pecans. (I have to say that I actually enjoyed this more the first time I had it, this time it had a tad more dressing than I usually like). Still an extremely tasty combination of flavours, however. My main was wild mushroom, red wine risotto, which was totally delicious and a very generous portion to boot. The birthday girl had fettuccini with beef tenderloin, mushrooms and oven-dried tomato. Someone else had a cute bread basket of mini croissants and mini muffins served with cream cheese, jam, butter and nutella (though she skipped the nutella due to a hazelnut allergy poor girl ) Another person had the asparagus frittata with goats cheese, herbs and pine nuts and the last person had the chorizo frittata with tomatoes and basil. Everyone had coffee, which they all declared to be very good (why is everyone so surprised when restaurant coffee is good?) The birthday gal and I shared a ½ litre of Sandhill Pinot Gris, and then had coffee with dessert. For the birthday gal, molten chocolate cake with hazelnut ice cream and vanilla bean crème anglaise, which was quite tasty (I got to try some, lucky me). But the real show stopper for dessert was the amaretto toasted almond crème brulee that someone else tried. It was really, really good. I am a huge fan of crème brulee and this one was very tasty indeed. Our server was great and truly added to the celebratory nature of this special occasion for the birthday girl and all of us. I'm glad I chose Adesso for this lunch as everyone had a really good time and all said they'd be back to try something else on the menu. As a side note... the benedicts that were being served to other tables looked very tasty as well.

Aphrodite's Organic Cafe on West 4th Avenue is owned by a fellow who is a shareholder in Glen Valley Organic Farm. Here's a link to the (very lowtech) cafe website: Aphrodite's and a link to the farm: Glen Valley Organic Farm

Thanks for answering my question... you became a chef because you like cooking. If I may say however, it seems as though the response to your cooking (i.e. from those eating what you've made) seems to weigh somewhat lightly on what you do. Now I may be wrong about this but from reading your posts above and elsewhere... that's what I get. Interesting perspective. You don't care how people react to what you do, you just want to cook what you want to cook. (that's what I'm understanding you to be saying here in any case... I may be wrong.) My gut reaction is... good gawd if this person doesn't care about how I react to what he's prepared for me then, I don't want to eat his food. (though I very well may because we do live in the same city ) But.... On the other hand, I wonder if I'd feel the same way about people in other creative professions. Don't know. It's something to ponder. Seems to me though that a lot of this is about respect. If someone has some wacko food requests or allergies etc., it behooves you to phone about it in advance. On the other hand, if you get to a restaurant and just want extra veggies and no potatoes.... that shouldn't be a problem either. IMNSHO

artichoke and, ummm, goat cheese tarte flambe at Fiction. Regardless of whether or not I can remember exactly what the toppings were..... it was absolutely out of this world. Not to mention that for $10 it's a total steal as well. I may have to go back on the weekend to have it again

So TF.... where'd yah go for that "cheap and cheerful meal" at midnight, 1, 2 a.m. when you get off work? We want details, my man.

i don't think all restaurants should be like me. it's all a matter of the preference of the chef. some chefs like to give what the customer wants and some like to give them what they want. different strokes for different folks. but i for one am in the camp of showcasing my food stuffs to the customer rather than allow the customer to change what i cook. but my original thought wasn't the whole who's right. i just thought that the restaurant industry was getting too "the-customer-is-always-right" oriented. people are so jaded by that mind set that it makes a restaurant look bad if they stick to their guns about the food they serve. i know alot of people base their judgemnt on the calibre of a chef not by their skill and technique and ability to creat flavor but by wether or not they get what they want. "oh this chef wouldn't serve me something without this sauce. he's a bad chef" ← Um... can I ask a very silly question? Chef Koo, why did you become a chef? Reason I'm asking is because to me.... I'd think that a big part of the reason that one becomes a chef is because they want to feed and nourish people. No doubt I'm being waaaaaay to simplistic here... but it seems like that should be a really big part of the point of choosing the career of food professional (it's certainly not for the money ). Sure you get the mysterious alchemy of experimenting will all kinds of cool substances/ ingredients but ultimately.... it's the people you put the plate down in front of, who get to experience and enjoy what you've come up with, that matters. Surely making them happy, plays a fairly significant role in what you do?!?! I'm wondering how amending things a bit to suit dietary issues, allergies or foibles can really be such an issue when one starts out from the premise of making people happy. Granted there are wack jobs out there who will never be pleased, but for the average patron, does it not behoove you (the universal you, not just Chef Koo) to go a tad out of your way to enhance your customers dining experience?