Oyster Guy

???????? how is the new restaurant with only one fat guy. The old chef from the bear foot was chef,for the restaurant in beteen Les deux gros and les Gros, it lasted what a year??? Yes Splitz is famous in Whistler. A local hangout very good chicken burgers steve ← 21 Steps is the old Casa Tapas place in St. Andrews house across from the Savage Beagle. It has a rather ecclectic menu with some interesting items and a really funky little martini bar on the 3rd floor and the kitchen is open until midnight. Which beats the hell out of Subway and Domino's for a late night snack while in town. The old chef (Eric Vernice) ran Jayde and he is presently the chef at Apres. He lasted longer (unfortunately) than The Screaming Oyster in Creekside which lasted only 4 months. It was a shame as I finally had another place in Whistler to go for just oysters. Eric is a very talented chef but the location was very hard for him to work with, not to mention the fact that the snow sucked last year and the war and other things combined to make it tough even for well established restaurants in the Whistler area. Today after a staff meeting, we went to 5280 in the 4 Seasons for breakfast. I will not be going back there and I think that they are looking for a good breakfast cook as well. Or they should be anyways! Myself and 2 other of the chef de partie I work with had the beef tender loin with eggs. The meat was over salted but the potatoes were not seasoned. The meat was rare when I had ordered medium rare and the other guys had runny eggs or overcooked ones. The menu said it was served with wild mushrooms but if button mushrooms from Mooney's are wild, I'll eat the crate they came in. It also said carmelized onions as well but dammed if I or anyone else found them. Another chef ordered the smoked salmon plate and while the white salmon was cured right, there was no smoke in their salmon. It was bland and boring. We waited a good 15 minutes to get 3 drinks and the place was almost empty and the staff outnumbered the guests. Not impressed, my bill came to 50.00 for a breakfast that was more worthy of someplace on the mountains than a 4 star hotel. I would not go there or reccomend that anyone go there either. If you can't do breakfast well, I wouldn't trust them with dinner. Just a addition to this thought (late though it is) I should realize that everyone has a bad day and that I should not judge a place on the merits of 1 visit alone. When I contacted the Four Seasons about what now seems a trival matter, they were very professional and courteous about the whole situation. I have since been back to the 5280 Bistro and I must say that it was fantastic. I was totally impressed at the quality and the service there the 2nd time around and I am glad to have gone there. I wish to apologize to anyone who might have read the ramblings of the above thread as I was totally in error about a lot of things. In future, I will think long and hard about how I word things here and not be so quick to judge a place by only 1 visit as I have done a great disservice to a fine establishment by speaking so flippantly. I would highly reccomend the 5280 Bistro as one of the must go places while dining in Whistler Oyster Guy

I know that I am sort of bringing up an old subject but I feel it would be a dis-service to the restaurant if I did not post something here. I gave Araxi a second chance and I wish to state that I was wrong in saying that I felt they were over-rated. I am glad that I listened to the other replies here which said to give a place more than one chance. The service and food and wine were some of the best that I have ever recieved and I highly reccomend a visit there the next time anyone is here in Whistler. I will post more on my dining experience there later but I wished to say, "I was wrong." (not words that easily fall from my mouth but it is the truth. Oyster Guy

Give me a break! The last time television tried this concept it was lame and exagerated beyond any belief. I have seen the trailers and it looks totally stupid and just the fact that they are launching the show in March shows that even the network thinks it is a dog. If they thought it was any good, it would have started in September when they launch the new shows that the producers actually believe in. I wouldn't waste my time on it as it will be totally unrealistic even though most actors have at one time been in this industry. What was it based on? His one summer as a busser in a cocaine-fuelled restaurant? It won't last 2 months before they 86 it. I, for one, won't cry when they put this dog to sleep. Stick to the Food Channel and real life as opposed to someone's warped tv version of "reality." And you won't have to put up with the love interest crap.

My choice would be Rodney's Oyster House on Hamilton Street in Yaletown. As they buy their product directly from the fisherman as opposed to a supplier, the lobster is of better quality and freshness. Aside from being on the East Coast, you will not get them any better. Jan Kiss, the chef has over 20 years experience with cooking them and I have never had better outside of P.E.I. Say hi to Stafford and Todd while you are there. Hope this helps Oyster guy

George W., I owe you a heartfelt apology. You are absolutely right. Starfish is at 100 Adelaide St. E. Sorry about the mis-information. www.starfishoysterbed.com Thanks and again sorry Oyster Guy

That's the place that would be top of my list. It's fish (rather than seafood). And the wine list is amazing - literally hundreds of Portuguese wines, most of which you won't know - but they know every one. And there's a sort of tapas bar next door called Senhor Antonio's (part of same restaurant). My recommendation: Choose Chiado over any 'seafood' place. Seafood in Toronto is not a particular strength and even the best here won't match what any fan can get on (or near) the coast. Your brother will inevitably be disappointed. Chiado is one of the great Portuguese restaurants of the world (and their fish is flown in). And hit ethnic restaurants for the other meals. ← Since when is fish not seafood

Another good one is ( and I am being a shameless self-promoter here) is Cornucopia. It is held in Whistler, B.C., Canada. It is held in November and it featured 80 different wineries and the best restaurants in Whistler also do wine makers dinners. There are various wine and food seminars held during the 3 day festival and because it is the slow season there also cheap hotel packages as well. You can check it out on www.mywhistler.com and you can check it out also at www.bearfootbistro.com I teach a seminar at Cornucopia called "Oysters 101-Take a stab at higher learning." This coming year the restaurant I work at is featuring a winemakers dinner with four decades of Dom Perigion. Thanks and sorry for the obvious plug. Oyster Guy

It is kitty corner from the old Rodney's where I worked and the address there was 209 Adelaide St. East. Maybe my memory is failing in my gaining years but isn't 100 Adelaide St. East the old Revenue Canada Taxation Centre? Sorry if I was wrong but I am sure the address is still in the yellow pages. Thanks for pointing that out. Oyster Guy

I almost forgot a couple of other places for your brother to check out on the seafood scene in Toronto. 1. Oyster Boy 872 Queen St. W. 416-534-3432 It is a warm friendly room also with seats at the oyster bar to watch the shucking action and also the home of the present Canadian Oyster Shucking Champion, Jason Woodside. It is also owned by a very good friend of mine and a true friend of the oyster, Adam "Oyster Boy" Colohougn. It has a small but good wine list and the menu offers very fresh seafood prepared a variety of ways. Try the Colville Bay oysters while sitting at the bar. 2. Rodney's Oyster House 469 King St. W. 416-363-8105 This place is very near and dear to my heart as this is the home of my oyster mentor and guru, Rodney Clark. This man gave me my start in my line of work and I have yet to meet a more knowledgable oysterman in my life. The wine list again is somewhat small but like the others paired very nicely with their menu, which of course features very fresh seafood. Very lively place with a friendly feel and a large oyster bar where you can watch the reigning North American Champion, Ian Peck and Ontario Champion, Joanna Nulty shuck their stuff. They offer a wide selection of oysters from almost everywhere and you can watch them steam mussels and clams while sipping your wine and enjoying your oysters at the bar. Hope your brother enjoys his trip and if he meets any of the above people, say hi from the Oyster Guy in Whistler!

I highly reccomend Starfish at 200 adelaide St. East in Toronto as well. Patrick is not only a friend of mine but he is without doubt one of the finest oyster guys I have ever met. The room is cozy with seats at the bar to watch this world champion oyster shucker in action and sample some the briny denizens of the deeps off the oyster bar. He also carries live scallops which very few places do and has a really decent selection of non seafood items on the menu for the non fish eater in the bunch. His chef Martha is very talented and quite creative. He has a large selection of beers on tap and all his staff are very knowledgable and professional. If you do happen to meet Patrick, tell him "Uncle Fester" says Hi! Oyster Guy

While I understand that slagging the Bearfoot Bistro and Andre has become a popular pasttime in this forum, I still have trouble finding a robbery a laughing matter. The guy was robbed and no doubt feels both violated and betrayed, something that I am sure a few of us have gone through. I wonder if any of us would find it funny if it happen to us personally? Or like Homer Simpson do you feel that its only funny cause it happened to someone else?

The Oyster Olympics at Anthony's Home Port in Seattle are a must go for any oyster lover in the area! Great oysters and it raises money to keep Puget Sound clean as well. How can you not have a good time with 600 people, 30,000 oysters and enough beer and wine for an army?

[quote=Tonyy13,Feb 2 2005, 05:14 AM I still can taste that beautiful Blue Point oyster, slathered w/ cocktail sauce (sometimes I utilize the oyster as a platform for my condiments, slander, I know... ). we used to get buckets of shucked oysters, and used to throw the "sea snot" on top at the new guys in teh kitchen. The real slander is using cocktail sauce! If the Blue Point was that good, why would you ruin it by covering it in what amounts to ketchup? And how could you even taste it? I have never understood why people even use that stuff unless it's with something like boiled jumbo shrimp which lack anything close to resembling taste anyways. I haven't served cocktail sauce with any oyster in over 2 years and my guests actually thank me for opening their eyes to the fact that this practice should be treated along the same lines as, i.e. wife-beating or child abuse. "Sea-snot?" If you worked in the oyster places I have, even referring to the oyster in this way would get you beaten like a circus monkey or at the very least like a rented mule! Are you actually sure that you like them?

Ohmigosh! That sounds amazing! Not sure if we have any sundried tomatoes in the house but I should be able to make this happen somehow. Now I absolutely have to try it. For the bar at my restaurant I'm looking for more of a "surgical strike" sort of thing we could do inhouse and have available for various oyster shots during happy hour. Know any shuckers that want a job a Philly? Are you busy in the summer? Because I'm always interested in some steady summer work. What I would do is just infuse the vodka with jalapeno slices, black peppercorns, minced shallots and chill it and just pour it on top of the horseradish and oyster in the glass. Does that work better for you? Let me know Oyster Guy

Katie, What I would do to achieve a jalapeno infused horseradish is to soak it in the vodka and strain it out after also imparting a horseradish taste to the vodka in the process. Do you use freshly grated horseradish as this is a must for this recipe! You can usually find it in Chinese supermarkets. Here's an oyster shooter recipe for you as you seem like a fellow oyster lover and friend of the oyster. Take sun dried tomatoes and soak them. Strain the water that you soaked them in. (you won't need the tomatoes so put them aside) Get a pinch of pickled ginger and a dab of wasabi and place in shot glass. Fill 1/2 way with tomato water. Use a smaller oyster. (you get West coast oysters, so use a Kusshi or East Beausoliel) Place oyster in glass and top with tequilla. (a good one) I think that you'll like the combination of flavors and textures but let me know what you think, okay Hope this helps Oyster Guy

Oyster Guy: you have an oyster mentor?? Wow. That's impressive. And what do you mean, they aren't alive? Does that act of shucking kill them? ←

....and slitting them open with a knife and eating them alive isn't?..... ← Good One Thanks for the laugh!!!!! But unless you eat them unshucked, they aren't alive when you eat them. I've only seen a couple wriggle after I was finished with them

Seeing as I don't ski or snowboard, I couldn't really give a damm but it does affect me nonetheless. I totally agree with you however about this year and it is the worst snow year I have seen since arriving in town. Hope Ullr comes through for us!

Upon further reflection and reading the other threads in this forum, I hereby wish to retract my earlier statements. I find that I have been unfair at judging a place by 1 bad experience and I wish to apologize to anyone or everyone that I might have offended by my flippant comments. My deepest apologies and from now on, I will stick to what I know the best. Oysters! Sincerely Oyster Guy

I have heard that the building was actually built over the property line allotted to them and if they tore it down, they would have a smaller lot on which to build the new building. I don't know anything about how they are working the liquor licence and I only hope that it continues to be a success for Eli as I like him and I used to work with him as well. Yes, Frank the breakfast nazi is once again screaming for people to pick up their food at the new Southside after a brief stint with The Wildwood Pacific Bistro. Frank is a good guy and I have worked with him at another Whistler location before as well. I have also met health inspectors in Toronto and elsewhere that will look the other way for the right price so the fact that he ate there would not have made me feel any better about eating there when I first saw the place. Sorry, but as you stated, he let it go to shit. But, now it is new, clean and doing what it was meant to do and that is the most important thing anyways. Besides, it is the closest thing Whistler has to a historical site!!

The Stellar Bay oysters come from Bowser, which is on the east coast of Vancouver Island not Cortes Island as stated earlier in this thread. While I agree that it is a very nice oyster, I have an issue with their farming method. In order for them to get a deep cupped oyster like that, they take it and put them into a tumbler (cement mixer). Tumbling the oysters breaks off the external outward growth of the shell forcing the oyster to grow a deeper cup. This also stresses the fish inside and I, personally, find it is a disrespectful way to treat such a noble creature. Oyster Guy

I had to quote all of the above because I think it's among the smartest things I've ever read about oysters. "Perhaps closer, as they are actually alive"...yes, yes, yes!!! The sexiest way of eating oysters, to me, is to eat them in Paris, and with plenty of champagne too. The French unfortunately make the mistake of sauce mignonette, which is a terrible thing to put on an oyster. As someone else remarked, lemon juice and plenty of fresh pepper. Oysters are especially good when large, and plump, and briny, and followed by sole meuniere and a stroll in the 6th arrondissement. ← They are not, I repeat not alive when you eat them unless you are eating them without shucking them first. This is a myth that should be put to rest once and for all. However, I do agree with everything else being said in this quote. As my oyster mentor once told me, "An oyster is like a French Kiss that goes all the way!" The Oyster Guy

Freshly grated horseradish, vodka infused with jalepeno, diced shallots and black peppercorns, chilled of course with freshly cracked black pepper. Or with a little lemon slurped from a naked woman's navel!

I don't know if this thread applies to Whistler restaurants but here goes....... OVER-RATED- Araxi While I admire and respect James Walt as a chef, the place has all the ambience of an airport terminal restaurant with its rather unique way of doing fine dining at high volume. Fine dining and serving a high number of guests is something that does not usually work and it doesn't work here either. Aside from the feeling of being, albiet subtlely, pressured to hurry up and order and eat, I found the food to be okay but there was nothing to write home about it. The presentation and quality of the dishes we had were surprisingly uninspired and I hate to say this, boring. The only ray of sunshine was the sushi, expertly prepared and presented by Joel who works at their oyster/seafood bar. The oyster bar itself is a disappointment as there are only 6 seats and seems as tacked onto the place like a bad romantic interest in an otherwise passable action film. I think that the hype does not live up to its product and I can't figure out how it manages to win the Best in Whistler award year after year. I don't wish to cast dispersions on the awards themselves but I wonder if their placing on the list has anything in common with how much they spend on their advertising. UNDER-RATED: Les Gros Although the location is a bit out of the way, it is definetely worth the trip to the far reaches of town to dine at the fat man's place. I have eaten there before he closed and I am estactic to see him back in town. The fare is simple French style but it is good, filling and his sauces are to die for! The room is warm and cozy with a large fireplace and you can not help but relax while you are there. The service is bang on and the wine list, while small is still very interesting. The prices, for Whistler, are very reasonable and the portion size is great as Pascal tends to give you the amount that he would eat for dinner. For what it is worth, there's my opinions on the subject. Eat well and enjoy life! Chris

He lasted as long as I did at the deli, I went a year there, the Rajun Cajun. Cal got a free reno?? Cal has the deli open again. steve ← It was free for Cal but it cost the guys from The Screaming Oyster $300,000.00 And it was not only because they wanted to but they really had to. Let's face it Steve, the place was a dump. The first time I ever walked in there, I turned around and walked out when I made the mistake at looking at their kitchen. I'm surprised the Health Board even let them serve food out of there! If I had taken the place over, I would have napalmed the place as it would be the only way to insure you killed all the bacteria hiding in there. While I have heard that it was adding a bit of local "colour" by being that way, I was more worried about local e-coli! This is part of the reason that I avoid Creekside like the plague. Not to mention, that since they started the construction in that area, it is like hanging out in a big construction site rather than a local neighbourhood. It isn't Cal who re-opened it but a couple of long time locals, one of them beng Eli Meinhoff who was the old GM at The Boot. I agree with your choice of the Edgewater lodge as one of the best but not Sushi Village. They used to be okay but have fallen into the Whistler pattern of offering too little for way too much and the sushi is not as good as when I first ate there. Sachi Sushi on Main street is much better and offers more for your dining dollar and much better quality. Chris