BCinBC

There was some discussion on this in the wine forum, 2roost and my posts here. I am all for taking unfinished wine home, but I can see why a restaurant would be reluctant to do BYOB: profits (though you can make up with corkage as Neil has pointed out) and pre-selected wine list to go with menu / chef's / sommellier's tastes being two reasons. But what about a mom-and-pop who make great food but just don't put effort or have the money to put into the wine list? Take out, I guess. Or beer.

Agreed - although I don't think smoking is that well accepted, especially here in Vancouver. For example, this thread. Agreed (on the apt-ness of the analogy; White Spot comments I'll step aside). Smoking is is not the same as Swedish (or any Scandanavian) death metal. It is slightly similar to unusually loud talking, except that is allowed inside and outside. People around the offender may be disturbed or may frown, but it is also perfectly legal and even somewhat common. All this while (you could argue) it is potentially dangerous to human health (in this case, ear drums). Ban smoking and we might as well ban loud talking.

On one hand you're asking for more leniency with alcohol on patios, but on the other you want stricter laws on tobacco on patios. Personally I would rather see looser laws on these particular items all-around, and then restaurants could choose whether they would be smoking / non-smoking, or alcohol / no-alcohol, or whatever. I as a consumer (and a member of free society) would actually then be able to make a choice myself. Okay I admit I would really prefer to live in a totalitarian state too, except it would be my totalitarian state, not yours. Governing mother nature, though, that's a different story. I for one can't wait until we can regulate the speed of the wind on patios, because my napkin blowing around can be a real bummer.

A further note on the smoking thing, in Making of a Chef Michael (Ruhlman not HK Michael) makes a comment about non-smokers being the exception at the CIA.

If you read THIS POST in the China forum, there is mention of street crepes, however I don't know about "traditional". Anyway, the night market was a lot of fun though I'd recommend bringing an extra layer if you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I was giving serious consideration to buying a $5 "Vancouver, Canada" shirt for disposable warmth, but eventually settled on a cheap but re-wearable hat instead. Like Snacky, I also enjoyed the carwheel cakes and the meat on a stick, and the black sesame coated strawberries too. However the dragon beard candy was too much like eating gauze-wrapped peanuts. To me, street dim sum for $3 is a bit of a gyp. Especially when meat on a stick is $2 per stick, $5 for 3, and like Snacky mentioned, discounted to $1 each at 11:30. Has anyone try the bowl of periwinkles? I was very curious, but did not go for them. Also the "Chinese hamburger" - which was new to me. BBQ pork and cilantro on an English muffin. WTF? The lowpoint of the evening was having to leave without being able to find a Budweiser, marijuana or flaming skull cell-phone cover to fit my phone. Also I got all real $5 bills back in change, no sign of counterfits. Dang again.

NAME REMOVED will indeed do corkage, $12/bottle I believe. Otherwise they have two wine choices: house red or house white. Edited to protect the innocent, or at least one of my favourite places that I do not want shut down.

Well I have to give it to Fox, they have once again put me in the can't-wait-till-next-week mode (a la 24). Should I pat my own back at guessing that they would bring back all the contestants as line cooks for the two finalists to chef over, or was that too obvious? After all, how could they not bring back Dewberry? That lovable oaf... Or does that title belong to Jimmy? Coquus: just a point that Ralph had already chosen the beef, and Michael was picking second. I thought it was daring to take the tuna, because I would have thought chicken would be more versatile and thus allow more creativity. Plus Michael was cranking out both the tunas and chickens anyway... (and the apps, and some desserts). SKinCA: I have no scientific backup for this, but maybe cooks are more prone to smoking than other professions. I think a couple of them did not smoke, but let's say even if 10 of them did, that's 83% - which is very high if you pick a cross-section of the general population, but perhaps it's not so among cooks. Another high-smoking profession is construction workers. Anyway, Michael is still my pick, even though this last episode he was actually a little bit nice - trying to wake up the other two instead of leaving for the kitchen without them, not giving up Jessica for sleeping instead of making bread (I'm sure Ramsay knew this already), helping Jessica with the chicken (what if he actually got kicked off if the people liked the chicken better - he cooked it fercrissake). Plus of Lola (Michael's wife) and Buffy (Ralph's fiancee), I would rather date Lola - in the theoretical sense of course. Ralph seems to be GR's pick when he needs help at the pass, but Michael has better skills I think.

My heart skips a beat... Before Neil crushes it with his informed-ness. Seriously, though, someone must have some insight on the space. Jamie?

Link to a short but informative write-up on a study of bottled water safety: The Microbiological Safety of Bottled Water in Canada - Li, W.M.K., Lacroix, B. and Powell, D.A., 2001.

To answer Deborah and Mark's question, the regular route for European containers is to ship to Montreal and transfer onto rail to Vancouver. The interim solution, once they realized that all those containers were piling up here at CN's rail yard, is to rail to Edmonton or Calgary, then transfer again and truck to Vancouver. However the Alberta long-haul truckers are feeling the strain now too, but at least the containers are in the queue to move. Ours are still stationary and will be for some time...

David Peake of Peake of Catering is a friend of my wife's in-law's family (how's that for disclosure?) - he did our wedding and my BIL's wedding and did them well. They tend to do larger functions, but 25-30 wouldn't be a problem I'm sure. Link to Peake of Catering's slow flash website.

Sorry Keith, sometimes you have to really rub my nose in it to notice the subtleties, even though I had just slighted Yellowtail myself. I'll take the deduction. (And another for using a smilie.) As they used to say in the NBA, my bad.

And how exactly do they tell? ← Probably container numbers. CBC story here.

Sorry Jeff, I didn't mean to single you out - and I didn't read in your post that you were callous about the subject either. Perhaps I should have used a smilie? Yes it would be nice if one of the end results is that we (the general public) end up supporting local produce. But aside from someone "discovering" a BC wine or other labeled product, most of us (the general public) will go back to buying whatever is cheapest at the grocery store, once normal life resumes. Or am I too cynical? ETA: Rereading your post, Jeff, it's kind of funny now - because Aurora by design is somewhat insulated from the strike. The 100-mile concept and all. ETA 2: Revasser - I actually did read on CBC I think that entire containers of Yellowtail were dying on the docks! Funny again, in a very twisted sort of way. You know, not ha-ha but kind of ha-ha. Okay I'm going to stop editing this post because it's total mush now.

As many people have pointed out, tap water is completely dependent on many factors including source, disinfection method, distance from source, etc. In Vancouver we are very fortunate to have three mountain watersheds that are protected from human traffic. The resulting tap water, after running through a Brita, is IMO much better tasting than bottled water. It is fresh (bottled water loses dissolved oxygen over time) and the Brita removes the chlorine residual. Of course if you're at the end of the distribution system (which I'm not), then you might be getting relatively stale water and it will taste different. By trade I am a water treatment engineer, and I've always been pretty leery of "bottled spring water" or similar. The truth is, if someone is taking shallow well water, ozonating it, bottling it, then shipping it hundreds or thousands of miles to you... Well, it's not necessarily better than what you get out of your tap. For example, bacteria can grow back in the time between. I'm not saying all bottled water is bad, but just use common sense.

I understand that some of the wine containers are temp controlled, but not nearly all of them. On a day like today if you listen closely, you can almost hear the corks popping. Keith my experience is the same, although at this point container trains are being rerouted to Toronto, Calgary or Edmonton and trucked here long-haul to avoid the Vancouver ports completely. Similarly, container ships from Asia are being rerouted to Seattle and trucked up. So to Jeff and everyone else, even though you don't think this strike is having any effect on your life, it's not true. Increased costs in shipping (and short term supply not being able to meet demand) mean prices for imported goods will all go up over the next little while. The other side of it is that local produce may be a bit cheaper as farmers / producers cannot get goods out of Vancouver (bad for them).

Last night I did it as well - the bahn mi challenge I mean. I am so sad, I even took pictures this time (of the sandwiches) but my camera has since crapped out like the piece of HP crap it is, so unfortunately I cannot share the images. Poor attempts at inyourendo aside... Kingsway Deli (KD), which is actually recessed 40' or so off Kingsway, is a bit of an old-school operation with a showcase for hot (heat lamp) items and one for cool. It is all white with kind of a '50s kitchen formica feel to it. The sign over the counter tells you what to order by number. Tiem Bahn Dong (TBD) is facing Kingsway, and is a little more modern with warmer browns and a bakery showcase, but no sign or menu. They do have a micro Sandwich Artist station a la Subway that you can look at, and perhaps point to things you want in your bahn mi. Anyway, I picked meatball because (1) I like meatballs and (2) I wanted to level the playing field as much as possible. KD's was $2.50 and I think TBD was $3.25 but I'm not sure - I bought some other baked goods too, and was only given a total which was so outrageously low I didn't bother verifying it. Kingsway Deli Butter but no pate that I could detect, a nice pickled daikon and carrot mix, cucumber spears, cilantro and a touch of green onion, on a chewy bun. The meatball itself was kind of like a tomato-less ragu, if you catch my drift: ground meat in a little bit of very tasty but not red sauce. And I did not notice any peppers in there, but there was definitely some heat. Tiem Bahn Dong Butter and pate, carrot and lots of daikon (a plus in my books), cuke and peppers (possibly jalapeno, kind of shredded / julienned), and cilantro on a really nice crispy baguette. This time the meatball itself was a pre-sliced meat "loaf" if you know what I mean, but it was also served with a couple spoonfulls of a tomato / onion / pepper "stew" or sauce that was excellent. The peppers didn't offer too much heat except for one bite, in which I probably ate a whack of seeds and membrane. The verdict: TBD. I did enjoy the KD bahn mi, and for $2.50 really how can you go wrong. The meatball from KD was actually superior, but the TBD meatball was saved by the sauce. In the end, though, the bread was way superior at TBD so that was why I'd recommend it to someone who may or may not get meatball. As mentioned above, I also got some baked goods, including the dreaded durian coconut bun. It actually comes in two halves, and I ate only ate one. I wish I could share the picture with you, and more importantly I wish I could share the smell. If you want a close approximation of it then go for a brisk jog, take off your shoes, grab your foot, and inhale deeply. Smell-o-vision at it's best. Like I said, I could only handle half of the durian bun - it was tasty, and it does taste different than it smells, but I myself have a pretty hard time eating and not breathing through my nose. The fried banana coconut bun was really good - like a donut filled with a fried banana and some shredded coconut. I also got a chicken bun but N scarfed that one up so I didn't get to taste it. Each bun ranges from a mere 80c to $1.20 so mix, match, experiment. It's cheap. So the score so far is KD 1 - TBD 1. Anyone want to cast the tie-breaker?

I find HK and Cooking Under Fire a little different from other "standard" reality* shows (well The Amazing Race is the only one I can stand watching anymore) in that I don't necessarily want the nicest person to win, but rather the person best suited for the "prize". Yes Elsie seemed nice, and she showed the pros a thing or two by winning challenges, but it seemed Ramsay recognized that he had gotten all he could out of her. She grew a ton, but she wasn't going to be a "chef" at the end of it. I think Michael is best suited and that's why I'm rooting for him. Also he's (being portrayed as) a bit of a weasel, which I find funny. *And let's not dredge up again the fact that HK is totally staged and not reality.

Coquus, the way I read it, Tony is keeping an open mind to GM foods, waiting for evidence for one side or the other to rear its head and possibly end the debate. He hasn't endorsed it. Admittedly I don't know much about genetically modified foods, but I also don't believe that the point of GM'ing is to change the taste of the food (your comment re: tasting truffles etc), but rather to increase the yield of crops. Given my limited knowledge on the subject, I couldn't comment on whether it is ultimately good or bad - however, in the hypothetical scenario where crop yield increases with no detrimental biological, environmental etc side-effects (and before dumping a load on me, I understand that we do not and cannot understand the long-term effects yet)... why would this be bad? ETA: Just to be clear, I am not endorsing GM food either, I'm just putting the question out there.

"elsie you've touch my heart"-from tonight's episode. was what he said just for show?..if not..he's an abusive, sappy, bullying twat. ← With the bulk of the episodes being done and only 3 contestants left, I wonder... why are the people who hate Ramsay still watching the show? Because you love to hate him! Yes he is still getting paid to be an "abusive, bullying twat" - by you, the faithful viewer.

Although I disagree with the "twat" part, people do indeed pay in part because of his tactics - they pay him every time they walk into any of his restaurants. I actually think GR is opening up a little more as the shows go on. Episode 1 was of course over the top, but in the last episode he told the final 5 how proud he was of them, and then when he cut Jimmy he commented on how well he'd done to get so far and how he should hold his head up. When Jimmy won the fruit flambee challenge, he (Jimmy) talked about how he was on top of the world. TV is obviously playing up the millitant screaming persona (fercrissake people, the show is airing on Fox, the "Princes of Malibu" network), but it seems to me like these people on the show, ie the people being "abused", actually respect GR. Whoever gets it, is certainly going to be a proud "captain" of the ship as those two sous chefs they keep showing actually run the place until it goes under. It'll be like a Planet Hollywood, but shorter lived.

That's a good quote, Michael. I was suspicious about the lavendar creme brulee as well, although obviously if I was able to taste it I might change my mind. After having watched the 2nd half of the series, I have to agree that the half-hour format was waaaay too short - relatedly the time allotted to viewing the actual cooking was too limited, and the "reasoning" of the judges to cut Katie slack could have been elaborated on. (I had the same perception that BuzzDraft did, in that Katie seemed to be sending out the best food but she also had some advantages or shall we say leniency working for her.) The scripted parts (intro and 86) that Michael, Todd and Ming had to do were too hokey, but at least would be palatable if they took up 2 minutes worth of a 60 minute show rather than a 30 minute show. And giving the guest chef more time to do demos etc would be great. Many or all problems solved by going to an hour. I did enjoy the show and would like to see another season (in hour format, not to harp on it...). Also a final "where are they now" episode following up on all the contestants would be welcomed - I need closure! Congrats to Katie, Sara, Ryu and the rest by the way. I hope the series gets rerun in marathon format by PBS so I can see the whole thing.

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.)

YWG is the home of DA Neils Kitchenware (on Berry Street), which is the only Canadian retailer I know of that carries Kershaw Shun knives. So, if you're hooked on Japanese blades and don't want MAC and Globals, there aren't that many places to go. ← House of Knives at Oakridge in Vancouver also carries Shuns, $200 for the 10" chef's but with a chef's card you get 20% off. I only mention this because I don't know where you're from. House of Knives is all over BC though.

Marlene's story was perfect. I think people are so used to convenience food, processed food, not-really food, that it can be really eye-opening when they eat something "real", even just a taste. Side-by-side comparisons are often educational, and sometimes life-altering. I made some puff pastry "pies" filled with proscuitto, parm reg, a little dijon, sauteed leeks, and asparagus for an in-law lunch a while ago. The simple usage of quality ingredients, allowing the flavours of the proscuitto and parmegan to be tasted, was so well received. Not necessarily "life-altering", but appreciated enough that my MIL ended up making them for some other party a week later.