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I like the way eGullet has delivered the industry gossip columns to my desktop. eGullet has shown me that the world is a smaller more immediate place. I`ll be honest eGullet has creeped me out at times. On eGullet you can hear about your nights work that night, and in some cases even see it, which i`ll admit took some getting used to. But on the whole its all good stuff. but it does make me very hungry late at night. eGullet has also helped me to put words into bold text on Invision Power Boards

Gyoza King Yes they do run outta stuff by the time we get there, but it is fabulous, aint it ! Vera Burger the Davie one stay`s open late around the weekend. Calhoun`s on broadway, for a cup of decaf and a post service debriefing with the lads. this place is what it is, which i kinda like. and its pretty chilled. Chez דяÅПﻜFÅדדуÅ©ID™ now serving toasted ham and swiss sandwhiches

hi Recipes `R` Ratios. The three R`s !. Number of yolks to an amount of cream. But i get what you mean. All those years ago, when i was in college, we had a bakery class. Which was a cool thing to do, and the bakers instructed us on a method of recipe writing called ' Parts by Weight '. This method takes the main ingredient as 100 ( ie, flour ), and then everything else in the recipe is then a percentage of the main ingredient . The 100 flour ( for examlple) and subsquent percentages of the other ingredients isn`t related to a weight ( kilogram, gram, ounce, pound ) , untill you equate your desired yeild. Then your do the maths to see how much is 100% flour and then the rest of the ingredients. So you can make an exact quantity of the product to match order requirements. The product`s integrity doesn`t change if your doing, 2, 22 or 202. Maybe there`s a baker in the house that can clarify this, as my bakery class was in the `80s. Cool idea for a book tho`.

Ikea gravy??? Please explain - inquiring minds want to know. ← Roast some onions, carrots and celery. add to the pan roughly chopped, flat packed furniture and brown all over. ( use a cleever for this part or get an adult to help you ). deglase with red wine and pour on the chicken stock, enough to cover . bring gently to the boil and skim off any impurities ( lots in this gravy`s case ). simmer for 4 hours. strain through a fine sieve. reduce, season. and serve to you mother in law. as a warming scandinavian broth.

Coco Pazzo has indeed closed and the proprietor, who also closed Mangiamo and Saltimbocca (the unpaid architect at the time said "Bogas by name and by nature"), reportedly left a number of supliers on the hook, apparently including one local winery for five large. The bailiff's sign on the door says that $22,000 is owing on back rent; Bogas tells a different story. The crowd often resembled a Crofton House PTA meeting--with Hermes scarves aflutter, alligator shirts and Polo aftershave aplenty. Many of them had long decamped for Henry's Kitchen at half the price and fine dining in Greater Kerrisdale is once again no more. ← Hey, the wife and I ate at Coco Pazzo and as far as I know our relationship is healthy... The hard walls did lead to loud conversations, but I liked the room's feel nonetheless (well except for the open kitchen). There were some well made up couples dining there for sure, but I also saw a couple younger families there on occasion, and when 8-10 year old kids are enjoying that type of food it makes up for the bronzed but aging trophy wife sitting two tables down. I am sad to see it go, it was one of the decent options close to home. However, I suppose it a not surprise given the signs leading up to this point. (Many many promotions and long-time staff leaving.) ← I heard a rumour last night that the landlord had already signed a lease with another restauranteur before the door was locked - but it could not be confirmed who. Also - as I pray this could be true - another at the table mentioned that Andrey Durbach had been by to check out the space. ANOTHER PARKSIDE IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD!!! If only. Anyone have the true story?? ← i`ve just heard on the grapevine that the Coco Pazzo space has been aquired by the people of Le Gavroche.

Hi project . First can i say that i do greatly enjoy your posts. But i have a few questions, and i may point out that i left school at the tender age of 16 , and English literature ( and it`s critisism ) are not my strong points. i was out learning how to cook and other aspects of the restaurants trade instead. In your post you you are saying that music means nothing and literature is less than music. correct ? If so where does that place the critisism of literature ? Also, i will probably get round to buying the book in question, and will no doubt enjoy it , as the factual cookery books of which you speak and hold in high regard can get a bit boring after the first hundred, they elcipse what i refer to as the " James Bond syndrome " seen one, you`ve seen them all. As a profesional Cook i will relate to the authors experiences. ( maybe not The French WashHouse) in a way that i would find my reading not to be an escapist fantasy experience, but some thing more rooted shared experience or the pusuit of a common goal. where in the acronym soup of VEFE and literary critisism does this place me ? These are just my thoughts btw, i have little emotion invested in the book ( yet ), the author, or its critisism , but a do have plenty for the industry and way of life that its portraying, and also loads of emotion invested in music too, which is something i`m glad we share. Albeit of different genres me thinks. My condolences, also, on the loss of your wife.

Yeah. No doubt !. Has that Doug Psaltis thread got ya all worked up and cynical ? * puts hand on the pass *

Same here, for work that is, with my own shorthand/slang in there for good measure/confusions sake . i like a list of weights and measures and then one word , ie anglaise , sugar batter . puree, reduce or whisk like %#@! . Pitty the fool who finds my book lying around. For reading i love the way Elizabeth David wrote , a paragraph or two in discriptive, charming prose . Thats inspirational ( to be converted to the above for work ). please dont turn in your grave Mrs david.

My favourite Chef(s) in Vancouver are the team of anonymous ( to me anyway ) cooks that inhabit the kitchens of Gyoza King. And particulally the cook who`s tasks include the preparation of the braised pork belly dish. Their combined skill in producing consistently satisfying dishes, without the need to turn your dinner into a quasi sculpture or, indeed, the need of a PR machine, is impressive. knowledge of where and when to stop adding ingredients and not using technique for techniques sake, are the very much underrated and over looked skills of this industry. These cooks have no portrait on the transport network or for that matter portrayed on the food network. And i salute you all for feeding all these western cooks intil the wee hours.

Cool that got ya all worked up ! ebandwagonism strikes again . But really, out of all the restaurants in this city how many managers and chefs actually respond to comments made here, and how many within 5 minutes of a post being added ?. Fair play Leonard for keeping us all in check. me included. but i still find it creepy.

Just got back from celebrating our wedding anniversary at Mistral . And excelent it was too . The food was very good. My Pissalidiere was served with a healthy amont of anchovy on a base not of puff pastry as i have eaten it else where, but a very thin crisp dough of some discription. My wife enjoyed her Salade frisse au crouton et lardons, having just watched a french cookery show that featured a dish of a similar nature. For main course i ordered :- Sausisse de cochon aux lentilles vertes du Puy braisées, boudin noir et pommes pochées. which was fantastic and just what i fancied . Sûpreme de Poulet rôti aux morilles àla crème, was consumed with great pleasure by Wifee. Tarte fine au pommes & Clafoutis of wild blueberries to finish a lovely meal. I was very pleased to see the daily specails which included beef tripes. Which i would have ordered as my main course if this meal was a different occasion to our wedding anniversary. and indeed having tripe on the menu is a nod in the right direction where i`m concerned, and a bold statement of intent. Welcome to the Peoples Republic of Kitsilano, Minna & Jean Yves. If there is to be anything said about the service then the word honest springs to mind , there were a couple of faults, but the service staff, Minna included, realised that we were perhaps sitting in a twilight zone, and acknowledged that we may have been over looked, but for this occasion it worked out for the better as we were in no hurry whats so ever. The biggest distraction of the evening and this is absolutely out of the benoit`s control. was the table next to us, inhabited by one very obnoxious greying male of maybe West Van origin, with his 50something "wife " whos sole purpose in life was to show the world how utterly wrong a plastic surgeon can be, whilst wearing the most offensive perfume known to man. All in all Mistral is a delight and a very welcomed addition to the `hood. We will return to enjoy more. and soon hopefully

Welcome to egullet foodiluvm ,( you`ve been lurking for ages ) I find it kinda creepy that with two comparable new waterfront restaurants that have been discussed at depth on this very forum (and subjected to ebandwagonism). One of which has not offered a response and the other has its manager jump on your coat tails after commenting on your experiences. Whats up with that ? Some one getting insecure ?

yeah . There is a waterfront place that needs some changing after openning this year. i went recently to this place , a lovely designed room . great view . so so service . but the food ...... oh boy what are these people thinking ? it was shocking . The basics of kitchen craft were conspicuous in there abundant absence. over seasoned, misjudged concepts and sloppily executed . to a point where the dishes were not in tune with their setting. i would change the mentality of the kitchen to a philosophy of trying to please as opposed to trying ( too hard ) to impress. ps it aint your favourite hate spot !

Exceptional work Sir. you should be commended. :]

We could make a list here on the subject of how bad the michelin guide is, but maybe thats another thread. i think he`s trying to get to the roots of french food and make it accessible to the English audience ( the average man/woman on the street not you lot ) ,who (maybe ) are still hung up about french food being complicated. i think that a michelin endorsement of his restaurant would not be that significant, its a very good restaurant, with cultural significance,if it doesn`t meet the autocratic french tyre manifacturer`s approval then thats their issue. any way does any one still take the red guide seriously ? the kitchen at la tupina is a sight to behold, and it shows integrity and inspires comments from most who witness it, along the lines of what Mr Stein said in his show. long live substance over style !. i just stole the first three episodes off the web , and good viewing it is too . shame chalky had to stay at home tho`

gotta be this one Charlie Trotter Superdud (a long review), Dinner at Charlie Trotter's 10/31/03 thread started by adrober , who has a point don`t you think ? also on this thread look out for " project " who`s post`s are a stroke of genius. and a close second it`s this one eGullet Q&A with Fergus Henderson i`ve had the pleasure of meeting fergus a few times , Well i did use to use st john as my local . you can hear fergus`s voice in his replies , a quite charming thread . editted to add clickable inks

As some one mentioned up thread the English don`t ,as a rule refrigerate half the stuff that gets stored in fridges in north america . This goes to explain either the size differential between US fridges and their conterparts in europe . I noticed this when i moved over the pond and found my self questioning it . At first i thought this was just a case of good ol` american paranoia . ( and to be honest i still do ) although in most parts the climate is very different to good ol` blighty , but not in all cases and , A/C units are more common in North America . Why does some thing that is preserved already ( ie , pickles ) then have to be refrigerated ? i don`t refrigerate things that are preserved , i do refrigerate perishables but not friut and especially not banana`s.

I`m not that sure if this is a BC speciality. I have not seen it in any of the gourmet food shops here . but if anyones got a recipe i`ll make a batch . also Gyoza king, 1508 Robson St, may be up your alley. and as for breakfast i`ll chime in our fave Joes grill on 4th avenue kitsilano. but judging by your initial post you seem to be on the right lines. enjoy the trip

St John is a must . SOS ( smiths of Smithfield ) will probably not be the experience your after , i used to breakfast downstairs every now and then. which i think they do well , and its a nice spot for post St John drinks. Maybe try the Eagle on farringdon road, legend has it that its the birth place for the modern english gastro pub, but don`t expect any finery , but a tasty/ cheapish / bear fuelled lunch none the less . Is Club Gascon still going strong ? it was when i was last frequenting EC1. I`m sure there`s more Maison novelli ? Quality chop house ? or go up to Angel and try Conrans 'Almeida' which serves straight ahead french fare. their peid de couchon pane is worth the trip alone. while your there say hi to my old hood for us .

Some recent savagery . The keg prime rib Keg size , garlic mash, some addictive crisp onions, horseradish and a little pot of gravy. The wife in her pregnant state was craving steak, honestly Mr Wyles i did recommend HSG but she didn`t fancy going over the bridge for her Vitamin B12 and iron fix. Plus i aint never been to the Keg. So i was quick marched down the hill to granville island. You know what, the keg aint that bad eh ?. My rib roast was just what i fancied , cooked a perfect medium rare and right tender with it . lovely flavour. i ate the lot. The missus had her Newyork steak well done, just incase you were worrying that i`m not looking after her properly, she normally has it medium but she enjoyed it, and was pleased to get all those steaky nutrients down her. Any one else here like the keg ? or is it just me being a savage ? Burrito Bros Chicken quasidilla . 1st @ Yew . You lot gave this place a right slating when it opened. Getting all up in it`s face about not being authentic enough , and not having its tortillas rolled right before your eyes by some octogenarian, hispanic, bearded woman, or some such nonsense. Come the revolution you all will be straped to the windmill. Now i`m no expert on ' Mexicanisms ' but, i AM an expert on ' sitting down with my wife on a lovely south facing patio to eat some thing very tasty on a sunny afternoon while some one else does the cooking and charging us a reasonable rate for doing so '. * takes a breath * and this place is right up there with the best of them for this . Vera Burger " frank " burger . The ultimate in savagery. Gerald your a genius mate. My boss treated all us 'monkey`s' the other day with one of these each . Thanks boss that was right nice of you .

Good point , the reason i broke my... ,.. errrr... , ...what ever i broke ???, and got a credit card was to be able to do just these sort of things , i rarely spend with it. i just use it to secure a rental car, or a table, or a hotel room, or buy weird stuff online, or not now as i got a pay pal thing goin` on . I always resisted getting plastic. I managed 30 years before i got one. finding them kinda handy these days. So my answer to you is. Bite the bullet and get one. its not that big of a leap of faith . Or persuade the restuarant in question to secure your table. and give them some other form of guaranty. You could be creative with this , tell them you`ll name your first born after the restaurant , see where that gets you ? P.S any one wanna buy some used weird stuff ?

restaurant magazine does a good job on keeping you up to date with whats going on. both online and in print. does Andy Lynes have something to do with this ?

Here Here. one thing i found kinda handy was the maps showing you where all these places are. it`s london section is very extensive . i`ve owned a copy every year since `90 . not quite as impressive as 1955 ( bet thats interesting reading Mr Whiting ). Anyway i hope your not missing T.Dot too much :]

Maybe not one person but a joint effort with me . Some of the strongest driving forces in my life come from negative situations, it gives me the impetus to run and run, and take what ever i`m doing to beyond my imagination . The postitve is the roots , the grounding , the reason for doing something. Positive :- My Mum would be in this catagory. If it wasn`t for her i wouldn`t have had the chance to love food. With out putting my Mum on a pedastal , because her cooking was born out of the need to feed her family , not to impress but to fuel , and to use every thing that was in the family budget. Which wasn`t that much in Thatcherite britain. We were not alone in being mortgaged up to the hilt. My Mum is the daughter of a Yorkshire coal miner, so she is very working class in mentality. Very roll your selves up and get cracking sort of lass . We had a vegatable patch in the back yard with potatoes, tomatoes, mint , rosemary , rhubarb , gooseberries, peas, raspberries and best of all a crab apple and damson tree all very close to hand. all of which ended up in our kitchen, and turned into the most delicious meals. On trips to the butcher Mum would buy half a lamb or pig , boned and rolled brisket ( which was pot roasted very slowly untill it was so tender and tasty you could eat it with a fork) . Even though money was kinda tight she didn`t want any of us to go hungry ( i get the feeling that when she was gowing up this was not always a reality ) . By the age of seven i was eating tongue and piccalily, or stilton and pear chutney sandwhiches for my school lunch, which went down a storm with the dinner ladies at school who would always ask what was between my bread. I would go on but your getting the picture right ? I dont want to bore you all to a point were you shoot your self in the face about this , but needless to say by my teens i had a REAL taste for food, and i was becoming quite handy in the kitchen as well. and it was all down to her. Negative :-I`ll call him "this guy " to protect the guilty . There was this guy at school who was two years older than me and used to hang around with my big brother alot. Now this guy gave me more inspiration to join the trade than any single person, but all for the wrong reasons. He was the biggest dickhead i had ever met ( up to that point anyway ) a complete and utter self obsessed loser, to say this lad had a chip on his shoulder would be wrong, he had the whole damn bag of McCain`s. Any way this guy left school two years before me and by the time i was leaving school he was working in the kitchens at the ( then ) best restuarant in my home town ( Nottingham ). Now i had a rough time of it in the education process, not that i`m stupid but lets just say at that age i had quite a reputation and not for the best of reasons. I was anti everything and this sensibility got me in a lot of trouble with the law, my loving family and anyone in authority. but i was harbouring the desire to be creative ( also as advised by those that were letting me rejoin society ), and the latent need to do something with myself. And here was this guy with, in my eyes, the best job in town . so this strong negative force coupled with what had been subconsciously absorbed into my palete by my Mum . i thought WTf ? if this guy can do it. so can i but better . post script "this guy " a few years after the above events got sacked from a hotel for stabbing a commis at work. and last i heard he was doing time . Mum is doing good, getting over the shock of me making her a grandparent last i heard .

I would say mine are :- Gommae and Pork Katsu @ Hi Nippon 4th ave, i always order it. and crave it by half way through my week. Normaly followed by other deep fried matter, dynamite roll included. Pork `n` Greens really, but i doubt i would be understood if i ordered it that way, with my flat vowels getting in the way. BC Burger and a western plate. funny how these words just roll of the tongue. Eggs benedict @ Joes Grill 4th ave , though i aint been for a bit , better put that right soon .