BCinBC

I've had the Dubliner, it is not bad at all and makes a very good addition to an impromptu cheese plate. Diapers and cheese, between the two it's pretty easy to recover your annual membership fee.

I've often heard that Lumiere was not much of a money maker (even before the $1.2M kitchen upgrade). Feenie's yes, Lumiere not so much. I (again) hear that is fairly common, that the hautest of fine dining joints run on a thin edge between red and black. Product costs, hardware, wages etc. run much higher. Anyone walking away from 10 years of their blood sweat and tears is sad, but that Rob cannot use the "Feenie's" brand anymore is the really bizarre twist of fate (and Neil don't give me the McDonalds argument).

Not 1 week ago I was thinking about how I haven't heard much press about Chef Hawksworth recently. Congratulations.

I'll throw a plug out for our very own Chef Metcalf.

COBS may stand for "Contains One Buttload of Sugar." You get a danish, it's fluffy and sweet. Okay. You get some sort of savoury bun, it's the same dough - fluffy and sweet. Not okay. Not okay at all.

I haven't been to Kura in many many years. I'd always thought it was in the strangest location, completely tucked away and towered over (and possibly kept in business solely by) the GVRD tower beside it. Despite all that, they pushed out some excellent sushi, fresh and generously portioned. Good to hear they are still doing well.

I had that morel risotto the other night as a part of a 5-course dinner, and that was the best dish of the evening. A bit "soupier" than I was used to (just think of it as more mushroomy broth), but the flavours were outstanding. I also had the rainbow trout, which while nicely cooked, seemed to be lacking an element. It came with cooked dandelion greens and hazelnuts - maybe a brightening acid would have lifted it up a bit. But the risotto, seriously good.

As is oregano (aggressive, that is). Someone plant mint and oregano in the same pot and see what happens. Maybe a super-species will emerge.

Anchoress, thanks for the tip. We are also in the neighborhood (kind of), and stopped in yesterday at 9:30. Fairly empty, so we grabbed a booth - and then watched as every single other table was occupied over the next 10 minutes. Anyway, I like the spot a lot. It is diner-ish, but modernized. I am a diner person (Joe's Grill in Kits was my old spot - though that is definitely more greasy spoon than Roundel), so this place appeals to me much more than a place like Seb's (which has great concepts with house made bread and preserves, and wild game on the menu - but seems to then fall short on execution). Roundel's menu is not too ambitious, but they can execute it. And the service is good too - though for a while there was only the one "older"* lady there running each table, till reinforcements showed up. She did an admirable job though. I had a split benny - ham and avocado / tomato - nice house made Hollandaise, not too lemony at all. Can you believe the non-meat one was the better benny? True. Also, God bless them, they had decent drip coffee. You're right, I don't think the bread is house made, but it is okay (wife had 2 eggs over easy with sausages (which turned out to be slices of kielbasa fried - nice touch)). Will have to try lunch soon as I am dying for a 4-scoop shake. *And she is by no means old! PS - I should mention that at full tilt, there was some shimmy as the machine tried to keep up with the demand, so I'm a bit reluctant to "Gulletize" them. But if one can manage to show up at a not too busy time, one should be fine.

That is clever with the file holders, except... Are those coated / painted? They look glossy and black. If that is not grease and char, what happened to the coating in the smoker?? I'm scared.

Our herbs are in fairly disasterous shape, due to various factors (winter, idiot landscapers sent by Strata-bot, subsequent move, etc) - however, they are now replanted on a very sunny deck and have had more than adequate waterings recently. Ole rosemary looks like the only one who may not make it, which on one hand really sucks because it was in the best shape previously. On the other hand, it grows like crazy and we should have no problem replacing it if required. We got a few herbs and peppers at Rona recently (and the basil is already dead), but I think it's almost time to hit up the Richmond farmers again. Nice thread revival.

There's also a store on 41st and Knight, about 1-2 doors west of the NW corner, called Dos Amigos (or perhaps Tres Amigos? I can't remember now) that might be worth a try. Completely nondescript, like a million other corner stores that you walk by without noticing - but inside they have a small but decent selection of items.

Actually years back (2001) I went to a decent little Thai place in Powell River, just up from the Texada Island ferry dock (and down from that Mexican place I bet you're thinking of). Very old school, as in we spotted the chef dipping his ladel into the soup and sipping out of it to taste - before dropping it back in the pot. Whatever, as I recall his taste buds were on* But that's yet another ferry and more driving from Sechelt. *Disclaimer - my Thai food education was about a grade 2 equivalency at that point. I am happily up to middle school now.

You mean Fraser & 50th-all you can buy @ Main & 50th is Galub Jamun, Jelabee, Burfi and the like. Not 100% sure but the place you're thinking of up on Fraser may have morphed into Breka ← Right Sam, I did mean Fraser and 50th. I haven't paid attention lately, but the Konditerei may have turned into Breka, or it may still live - along with the "Euro Deli" and/or other similar places. One other place that I haven't plugged in a while is Koni on Granville and 70th - Zarko the owner and previously of Meinhardt's is not German nor does he bake his own stuff in house (I don't think), however he will surely be able to tell you where to get a good BFC. Ph 604-269-9100. And finally, a possible useful link to VanMag.

My recommendation is, don't eat Black Forest Cake. Without having actually tasted a specific product, I would guess that a German konditerei should crank out a good BFC. There is the aptly named Bakery & Konditerei on Main and about 50th, maybe. Anyone been?

I can't find the dang HSG thread, but I wanted to say that Neil and HKDave are currently churning out some killer sausages at the Hammy. Had a duck and an Italian fennel last night - the former was good, but the latter was outstanding. Depending on ingredient availability, choices may vary but they've also dabbled in venison as well as a couple other varieties. NY Strip with a side of sausage. Go try now.

^ Ah, thanks. I just checked the website, indeed the "limited release" ie regular stuff is $25 and the "reserve" aka the la-dee-da label is $40. And Neil, my knickers will be in a twist for the rest of the week because you replied to my post!

^ We last passed through Quail's Gate in 05, picked up some OVF at the time (probably the 2003 release) and I assure you that it was not $45 - because I have yet to pay that much for a BC wine (not including restaurant markup of course). A similar scenario / thread is going on on another forum. Again a few years ago I picked up some See Ya Later Ping (I think it was 02) for approx $20. I then checked the website and the same vintage was selling for $50. Is this actual valuation of 5 year old BC wine? Cause they are outperforming my stocks!

I was at Chen's recently, first time. The SLB are indeed very good, inside broth was quite tasty. I'll have to do a side-by comparison with The Place to confirm whose baos reign supreme. The spicy wonton were also excellent (dare I say I liked them better than the SLB? Yes, I dare), and the general noodle quality was good as well (I prefered the beef brisket / tendon one over the dan-dan). I really liked the black sesame dessert too, good pastry. (I am not anti-all Chinese desserts, just anti-red bean.) My lunch companions were raving about this vegetable dish - don't know what it's called, it's one of those northern appetizer things. This was minced blanched mystery green (spinach?) and tofu. I was kind of meh about it, but they all liked it. If you're gonna get a northern appetizer, the peanuts in soy are the way to go. Highly addictive and a good way to show off your chopstick skillz to boot.

3. Although perhaps an old trick for increasing wine sales, I don't see how topping up "forces" one to drink more. And others would call this "good service" - or conversely, others would complain if they had an empty glass before it got refilled. Just goes to show that you can't please everyone. The other thing about pricing - I believe that they do make everything from scratch and with pretty high quality ingredients. So the $300 for 4 figure, including $80 in wine (before tax & tip), doesn't seem that outrageous to me. But again, maybe that just wasn't up to the diners' tastes. Cafe Queen, too bad your experience wasn't enjoyable.

^ Re-reading my post, it came off sounding harsher than I meant it to. I did not mean to imply that the previous judges knew nothing about food, just that this year the judges are assigned more appropriately. So even though the discussion may still be spirited (no doubts), it will also be better informed. One other thing - the judges really have some serious gut power, to have to plough through so many places. Good job, and as of today why don't you wear your sweat pants for a while. Edited for clarity and to add 2nd para.

Indeed, that complaint from past years was addressed this year by Mr Maw by picking people who actually know something about Chinese food to judge the Chinese restaurant part. Same goes for other areas/ethnicities, so I understand.

I suspect that Joey's exec chef Chris Mills probably cooked at a James Beard House function. Edited to add the quote for context, since this post ended up at the top of the next page.

From my one and only visit to Wild Saffron, I would say don't bother - there are much better options out there. We had a milestone birthday pre-planned and everything, room was not even half full, should have been a slam dunk... and it still somehow fell flat. Granted this was a while ago, maybe they have changed for the better. But if you're on a vacation with a limited number of dinners out and you want a sure thing, I'd suggest Brasserie, Brio, Paprika... strongly suggest Rosemeade if you want to go all hoity-toity (sp?).

^ Quattro, they may have additional (or the "original") menu options once you get there. TV website only shows three options, but some restos run more than that. Cross your fingers anyway.