Bubbalicious

I love the fact that you ordered a Gew with pork. Too many people would want a red with a 'heavy' meat like pork. What you ought to try when you're dining out is asking for a tasting portion of a few glasses of wine so that you can evaluate which works and which doesn't. Sometimes you can get some fun and interesting results this way. In Vancouver we have a few restaurants that offer 2 oz. pours of the wines offered by the glass. If you can't do that then split a couple of wines with someone. Ask the server to pour each glass into two separate glasses. I also think that it's important to develop a relationship with a wine retailer. Poke around in a few stores and find a clerk that you get along with. Get to know their weekly schedule and go in during off-hours when it's not busy. If the store is full of customers then the advice you're given is not going to be as in-depth and well-thought-out if there are others that the clerk needs to help as well. Weekday afternoons are usually good and Sunday days. There is nothing more that a wine geek loves than to talk about food and wine pairing and getting a client to try new things. I used to work in a wine shop myself so I speak from experience. If you would like to read about W&F pairing there are two books that I would recommend. One is Wine with Food by Joanna Simon. A lovely book that breaks down the science of W&F pairing. She tends to ramble on a bit, but it's good bedside reading. Another is A Matter of Tast by Waverman and Chatto. It was nominated for a James Beard the year it came out. It is a cookbook that gives you wonderful seasonal menus with recipes by Lucy Waverman and then wine pairings with short essays by James Chatto. Both recipes and essays are fantastic. Enjoyed reading your last post. Hope you will write more and let us know what you've discovered.

Local Tap. Filtered. From the fridge. I used to work for a restaurant here in Vancouver that has taken a very political 'fish-conservation' stance. We would only serve sustainable aquaculture, and urged other restaurants to do likewise. All the seafood either came from the wild where the species were not endangered or from responsibly-run fish farms. Really a fantastic policy. Irony was that we were serving Voss water, artesian water from the glaciers of Norway. So we were filling planes in Norway with heavy glass bottles of water, burning fossil fuels to get the water over an OCEAN and then trucking the water across a CONTINENT so that the greenhouse gasses burned in the process would heat up the earth a bit more, eventually melting enough of the glaciers in back in Norway to fill another planeload of water in heavy glass bottles... I don't see any eco-friendly sustainability here. Always wanted to bring this up with my guests. Never did. I think that if you gotta drink bottled water, than we should try to drink water that has been bottled locally. Luckily here in Vancouver we've got great tap water and I now work in a restaurant that has an industrial water filter. I make a point of trying to 'sell' the local (free) filtered water. My daily little stab at sustainability.

The Food of Love by Anthony Capella It's not a cook book but a fantastic novel about food... and love. The history of the ingredients and preparation are described just as exquisitely as the romance beween the characters. The storyline is a bit familiar but the care and attention that is taken by the author in describing Italian cuisine is breathtaking. A friend of mine bought it in an airport to read on the flight over the Pacific and couldn't put it down. Finished it on the flight. Gave it to me and I fell in love. I passed it on and my friend started it in the bath and couldn't get out for hours for fear of putting it down. You must put this on your list and enjoy it when you receive it. From the Publisher In Anthony Capella's delicious debut novel, Laura, a twentysomething American, is on her first trip to Italy. She's completely enamored of the art, beauty, and, of course, food that Rome has to offer. Soon she's enamored of the handsome and charming Tommaso, who tells her he's a chef at the famed Templi restaurant and begins to woo her with his gastronomic creations. But Tommaso hasn't been entirely truthful-he's really just a waiter. The master chef behind the tantalizing meals is Tommaso's talented but shy friend Bruno, who loves Laura from afar. Thus begins a classic comedy of errors full of the culinary magic and the sensual atmosphere of Italy. The result is a romantic comedy in the tradition of Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne that tempts readers to devour it in one sitting. BTW I'm a 'just a waiter' in a restaurant and have nothing to do with book publishing.

Forgive me for going a bit off topic, but I googled the Oxford and this was the closest matching thread for my query. I just bought The Oxford Companion to Food which I had wanted for five years. (Book budget has been spent on wine books and magazines for the last half decade.) I found it online at Chapters.ca for $15. It's at Amazon.ca for about the same price. It was $80 when it was released. Does anyone know why this book is being offered at such a reduced price? If you had thought of acquiring a copy, now is the time. BTW, I also like reading The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee, Margaret Visser's historical books on Manners and Eating and also Cooking School Secrets for Real World Chefs. Cheeses of the World (ISBN # 1-84430-115-X) is a also fantastic book. Remarkable for it's section where 1200 cheeses from around the world are categorized by 'family' of cheese, then for each of the 1200 other names are given, country and area of origin and which animal's milk it's made from. Not something to keep in your back pocket but it's interesting to read about the cheese you just bought.

You also have to buy a jar of Kracher Riesling Jelly when you are at LAdF. 10 to 12 bucks for a teeny amount but it is so beautiful with cheese. The people behind the counter are also fantastic at putting together a great cheese selection. Then I would head to Liberty or Marquis and let them know what you've got planned. One of the best palates in the city is at the Liberty at Park Royal in the mouth of Tyler Dawson. He'll put it all together for you. I had a fantastic Loire wine and cheese tasting this way. I wonder how many wine and cheese pairing parties are gonna be inspired by your thread...

Ate at Diva recently for lunch. Quite honestly dissapointed with the food. (Wrote about it here.) Read about Gill's experience at Diva recently and was just as disappointed. It is not responsible as a journalist to write a review of a restaurant based on one visit. If that were real food journalism than the G&M may as well publish a page of eGullet and save themselves a little cash. I love reading restaurant reviews. The little ones in the New Yorker and the Wednesday Dining section of the NYT are my favourites. These are comprehensive reviews based on a few anonymous visits. I also enjoy Mr. Maw's writing, although I know firsthand that the dining experience of the staff of Western Living and Vancouver Magazine is often more than enhanced, so I read these articles with a couple of grains of salt. I am a little embarassed and more than perplexed that one of our national newspapers would allow Gill's slapdash reviews to be published. To quote Gill, this seems a little "backwater." Maybe the G&M will step it up in ten years or so and give us some real food journalism, not just a tidbit of Mr. Maw now and then. Am I going to cancel my subscription? Nope. Do I respect Ms. Gill's writing? Nope. Am I still gonna read her articles? Yup, but with more than a shaker of salt and more as a little background info into new and interesting restaurants. Not as a serious review of food/service/ambience. I will leave that to the pros on Egullet.

Everybody's mentioned the Bins already. 941 is jam-packed with restaurant staff. Fun if you don't really know anybody to try to guess which restaurant people work in. The kitchen is open 'til one a.m. and the food is fantastic. If you arrive at 12:55 and order fast they'll still cook anything you want. This is HUGE 'cause it's not every place that will do this. For kitchen staff it's a real hassle to cook food once the mise-en-place is covered up and put into the main fridge. These guys and gals ALWAYS do it with a grim smile. I would reccomend throwing a beer for the three of them on your bill if you come in last minute. Brix is another spot that is crowded with us restaurant vermin. The kitchen is open late and the patio's packed with smokers. The pizza's really good. A word about Nu: Great place to send people for desserts. We've sent a few people already. The portions sizes are two or three bites, which is often all that people really need/want after a hefty steak. At four or five bucks each, they're amazing value as well. If they're from out-of-town pack them in a cab and you know they'll have a good time. Been going to that Chinese place on the corner of Granville and Davie lately. Phonetically it's called Sue Hang. I know this isn't the name, but I don't know how to spell it. Open really late but way too bright. Like a Seatlle strip club. ; ) Food arrives alarmingly fast. Well-prepared though with a humungous menu. The Keg on Thurlow is also open late. Like 'til 1 am on most nights, 'til midnight on Sundays and holidays. The lounge is very comfortable and the music is good. Lights go up at two subtly pushing you out the door. The Earl's on Robson is where Cin Cin goes after work and they're open quite late as well. Like 'til 1 on weekdays and I think 'til 2 on weekends. Cannot be sure. Had a terrible service experience there this spring and I've had an aversion to that place ever since. It was so bad that if I want to go back I'm gonna have to talk to a manager about it before I go. Since the redesign it's pretty chi-chi and really comfortable for the after-work-wind-down. Z/S?ubees onthe corner of Homer and Smythe is fun too. The late night menu is available 'til one a.m. (then the lights go up and you're ordered out.) Closes at midnight on Sundays. The service can be indifferent, but I usually sit at the bar where you're almost always within voice range of a bartender. They have a shrimp dish which I had once, where there were 20 medium sized shrimp on the plate for eight bucks. Don't know how they make money on that one. The beef burger is really good and served with a great musclun green salad and fries with a really good aioli sauce. Good wine list and wines by the glass list too. Amusing cocktail list with a story and attitude behind every cocktail. I'm hoping that Saltlik will open late when it opens on Alberni. Been to the Banff store quite a few times and really enjoyed it. I think that it would be useful to be specific about times that the kitchens close in this thread as that is always one of the primary issues when you're gathering workmates for some late night noshing. There are some restaurants that I mentioned where I was pretty vague about kitchen closing times, but I will look into this and report back. I always find it useful to have the phone numbers of my fave spots programmed on my phone so that I can call ahead and make sure they can feed us.

Love a good donut. The ones at Nutana Bakery in Saskatoon were worth the trip across the bridge. Huge and covered in an oh-so fake but yummy chocolate glaze. Then they also had the hard little chocolate chip cookies made with icing sugar so that they almost hurt your teeth when you ate them. Don't like Tim Horton's so much anymore. Someone told me that they were baked now instead of deep-fried and that they don't make them in each store, but have them delivered. Don't know this for a fact. (TH please don't sue.) Gonna lose a lot of cred here, (though I didn't start with much), but the donuts at 7-11 are pretty good. Deep-fried and sugar-glazed. They're hefty, like there's some real weight to them. Really hope it's not all oil. Edit: Is the Donut Canadian? Tim Horton's definitely is a Canadian Icon but they sell more soup and sandwiches now than donuts. Do we consume more donuts than any other country? Wasn't the donut a European invention? Gonna consult the Oxford. The coffee from TH always reminds me of a road-trip. Love it when I get into a cab after work and the cabbie's drinking a cuppa Timmy's. Takes me back. That's my TH Canadian Icon. IMO the donut is not over-rated. Just have to be selective about them now-a-days.

One year I was living in a large house in Whistler with six others. We had all moved in in October of that year and didn't know eachother at all so didn't really have much of a Thanksgiving. One of our roommates was American and we decided to throw him an American Thanksgiving. We extended the table, I borrowed some linen from work, and we scrounged the house for chairs and 25 of us sat down for dinner. Five courses. I cooked for three days and shopped for two. One of my favorite photoes of my time in Whistler is me stuffing the 23 pound bird. My roommates pointed that I had a 'double-chin-of-concentration'. Out of all the dishes that we had on the table for the main course, the one that everyone loved the most was the dish that our non-cooking American roommate had us prepare. He got the recipe from his mom. We were all pretty skeptical as we assembled his side dish, but it turned out to be amazing, especially with the turkey. It involved canned pineapple and marshmallows. Baked. I think it may have even had some evaporated milk as well. None was left at then end. I had completely forgoten about this. Gonna email him and get his mom to email me the recipe. Yum.

Just spotted a leg of duck confit in the butcher's display case in Meinhardt's. Seven to nine dollars each. (Attractively packaged in individual vacuum-sealed plastic bags.) Last week I saw that Oyama had duck leg confit for about four bucks each. (Not individually packaged and kept in a bowl in the display case.) Anyone tried either of them? Any other places to get good store-bought duck confit? Many Thanks for your help.

In Gourmet Mag last year sometime they had a great recipe for a rosemary pear martini. Made it many times through the winter and will again this fall. The recipe calls for a Poire William, which I didn't buy. I substituted a pear nectar from Spain. I think the brand is Goya? Friends loved the drink. So do I. I also make some cranberry syrup for cocktails and keep it in the freezer. I simply take a pack of frozen cranberries and place them in a small saucepan. Then fill the saucepan with just enough water to almost cover the cranberries. Then add sugar. Lots of sugar. Simmer for about 15 to minutes. I then push the mixture through a fine sieve with a spoon, getting as much of the mush from the berries as possible. The cosmo martinis made with this cranberry 'syrup' are fantastic. Both of these syrups, (the cranberry and the rosemary), can be made well in advance and frozen if necessary. Another fun cocktail I've been mixing lately is simple. This isn't seasonal at all, just something we've been drinking lately. (Ratios here are up to you, you know how much vodka you and your friends like in a drink. I like my cocktails pretty pale- light on the juice.) Pour some vanilla vodka into a shaker with some ice, add a splash of cranberry juice or a teaspoon of cranberry syrup, and a bigger splash of Bolton Lemonade with Mango. (This is a packaged, store bought juice from California.) Shake hard for at least twenty seconds to allow all of the flavours to come together. Then pour into a chilled martini glass. No garnish necessary really. The cocktail develops a bit of foam ontop that is lighter than the cocktail itself, almost like it's a pink sweater wearing a fuzzy collar. At Globe Restaurant in Montreal I once had a great Apple cider martini that was made with Goldschlager, a cinnamon liqueur and a cider that they had on tap. Sublime. They may or may not have used a bit of apple juice as well. I've asked other bartenders to try to make one but not one of the resulting drinks have been as good or balanced as the one I had way back when. Maybe I should start trying at home. But what do I do with the Goldschlager if I can't come up with the right recipe?

I feel like such a loser. I was lurking around in one of the other areas of eGullet, feeling a little bit like a tourist, and I noticed that there was only one other person 'browsing this forum'. It's Friday night. Started to write/type this at around one thirty a.m. I returned to 'Vancouver' and saw that I was the ONLY person in that forum. I do have social things I could be doing though. But I am sort of recuperating from this past week and a half, and want to spend one day having done nothing but a little laundry and order take-out. Been living pretty decadently of late. So if I may I am going to attempt another report on five or six (or more) outings. Memory's a little fuzzy so the actual days reported may or may not be correct. Last week (I think it was Tuesday) a friend and I went to Lolita's after work. We arrived just before midnight and took some seats at the bar. This was the second time that I was there and my friend's first. The experience we had couldn't be more different from the first time I was there. For the first hour and a half they played some old-school beastie boys hip hop at a super-loud volume. Love loud music but not grating-white-boys-screeching when I've just finished running my ass off for seven hours. After the music and the greeting we received, if we hadn't been meeting some others from work, we woulda bolted outta there. I ordered a coupla red wine sangrias and we were underwhelmed. Didn't finish them, leaving half of the sangria in the glass. Then we had to wave down the bartender to get another drink. Both of us had a mango marg. Really good. It took too long for our server and bartender to notice that we needed fresh drinks though. Once we had ordered and received our food noone checked to make sure that we were enjoying what we had ordered. Annoying. We shared a few dishes, the best being the corn chowder. Really fantastic. Not too creamy, with extremely fresh vegetables and sweet, perfectly-cooked new potatoes. Served with a too-small slice of really good cornbread. When our friends arrived, we moved to a table and then the service got a little better. Seems our server guessed that we were 'industry' and stepped up the charm. Told us that what we had at the bar was not eligible for the industry discount, but everything else was. Lame. Blatantly ignoring us at the bar, and then treating us like gold later on. We had a few more dishes and the best thing that came to the table was the tequila. We sampled a few different kinds and all decided that if we were to go back it would be for the tequila and margs and not for the food. Also went to Nu last week one night after work. It was Monday and they were 'enjoying' a relatively slow night. All the staff seemed relieved to have a slower night. I could definitely relate. When you're cruising along at a hundred clicks an hour most of the time it's nice to slip into the slow lane once in a while. Food was all mostly fantastic, especially the desserts. We had the beef tartare, gnocchi, scallop ceviche, duck confit, chicken wings and the olives. ( I can be super-precise with this 'cause I kept the bill. ) We ordered four plates to start with and they all came out at once. I wish they would have staggered the arrival of the plates a bit more. The plates all arrived with no regard for how the flavours would mix. Granted, we should have held back and known to start with the ceviche, but I am a huge fan of the olives and started with five or six. Then moved on to the ceviche and didn't taste a whole lot. Nu's ceviche is very mild in flavour with no chillies. I'm sure it's delicious, but after the intensity of the olives, all we got was the texture of the scallops, no flavours. All the other dishes were very good. Service was fun and informative as well. We sat out on the patio, on the painted wood pub chairs, but tried the toad stool perches on the way out. Wow. Uncomfortable. Wouldn't want to sit in one of those for more than a second. On Monday Sonja and I decided to meet for lunch. We were going to try Salade de Fruits on Seventh near Granville, but it was closed. Closed Sundays and Mondays. Now I know and so do you. Ouisi was the second choice, but on the way we decided to go into West. Good move. We both had the tasting menu ( fifty-nine dollars I think, wish I had kept the check), with an extra course of gnocchi. Everything was absolutley perfect. Started with an amuse-bouche of marinated/pickled? eggplant with tomato water and a dried slice of sun-gold tomato. Gorgeous. Then a couple of blinis with smoked salmon, dungeness crab and salmon roe. Beautiful. Next course was a salad with organic heirloom beets, warm goat cheese and lovely little chunks of candied walnuts. Such a fantastic combination of textures, temperatures and flavours. The whole salad could've fit in your fist, but I don't think that I could've handled any more of it. The lovely thing about the portion sizes and the dishes themselves was that each left us wanting just one or two more bites, but also made us slightly giddy with anticipation for the next course. Mmmmmm. Then the gnocchi and the halibut to follow. Gnocchi was served with just slightly warmed chanterelles, parmesan I think/can't exactly remember, and truffle oil. Judicious use of truffle oil too. Just a hint, slightly in the background, not overpowering anything else in the dish. We could have stopped there, and really should have. The main course of halibut was very good, but didn't blow us away as the other dishes had. It was very hard to go into work that day. Wanted to spend the rest of the simply reminiscing about my lunch. The next morning I attended a Burgundy tasting with the Vancouver Sommelier Guild. Whites and reds from 1978 to 2002. Loved the whites. Could have skipped the reds. I think that my palate is too Kraft Mac and Cheese to really love great Pinots. I can appreciate the complexity of Pinots, but would be happier with a beer. Couldn't go home after that so I called a friend and asked him to come out for lunch. We decided on Diva at the Met. I arrived first and was content to read the wine menu. I didn't want to order a full bottle, but I thought that we might have a half bottle of Veuve Clicquot with our meals. Quickly decided against it. They want ninety dollars for one. A half bottle. Scary. The wine mark-ups are three to four hundred percent. I had heard from quite a few people that lunches are busier than dinners at Diva and I can now understand why. I couldn't bear paying over sixty dollars with tax and tip for a twelve dollar bottle of BC Chard. I am completely comfortable paying 100 percent more for a product, after all, we do this on almost everything we eat or wear, but the prices on Diva's wines made me feel as if I were being taken advantage of. Like I was a rube for sitting down in this room and expecting to pay a fair price for wine. Very happy I didn't make the mistake of going for dinner where wine is a necessity. The menu was slightly disappointing as well. We were expecting the choices to be a little less pedestrian. I decided on the tasting menu, adding a small order of penne with braised beef. A former co-worker who cooks at Diva sent out a complimentary first course of seared scallops. Well-cooked, but the accompanying sauce and foam was way too salty. Just past the point of bearable. Many of the other dishes had similar problems as well. The peas and the carrots in the pasta sauce seemed to have been dried before being added. It was as if ninety percent of all the dishes were perfect and then two elements which were a little off were added, bringing the dish just past the point of greatness. I will definitely go back though as the burger with short rib and foie is on my Try-Before-I-Die list. I'll just enjoy it with a beer. Or a glass of tap water. That night a friend from work and I went to Bin 941. Sublime. Started with a reasonably-priced bottle of Moet (ninety dollars, for a full bottle) and then moved on to my favorite Riesling. Shared the mussels with coconut milk, and then shared the duck and the ahi tuna, then finished with the cheesecake. God I love that place. All drinks and dishes affably served by their lovely staff. Nursed a bitter hangover on Wednesday morning lacked all inclination to prepare myself something at home. Pulled into work an hour early so that I could eat the staff meal, but was called into service as soon as I had my uniform on as the organizer of the group I was serving wanted to set up the room. (Could that last sentence ran on any longer?) One of the ironies of the food relocation technician's life. Surrounded by food and not able to eat any of it though we may have not eaten for many hours. Went to the Keg on Thurlow after work with a current and a former coworker. Perfectly prepared filet wrapped with bacon and served with grilled tomatoes wrapped with white onion. Then Friday I accompanied Sonja to the Where Magazine Restaurant Awards at Blue Water. A fun hob-nobbing party with all the industry bigwigs. They were serving a perfect afternoon cocktail. Ketel One vodka, fresh lime, lemon and orange juices with a bit of Cointreau. It sounds so simple and obvious but it was magnificent. There were also tables laid out with tons of nibblies and sushi rolls. Didn't eat much. Too busy drinking. Then there were the award presentations which really killed the mood of the party. Finished off my week of decadence with a beer and free calamari at the 900 West Lounge at the Hotel Vancouver. I had read in the Straight a couple of years ago that they had a free 'buffet' in the early evening. I was expecting quite a bit more than a chafing-dish of deep-fried calamari. Oh well. The calamari was quite good. And the room is perfect. I almost never desire wealth, but on that afternoon I did. But then again, I am quite happy almost all of the time, love my job and have good friends. So in many ways I am wealthy. Just not monetarily.

The best kind of cheese shop, regardless of selection, is one where they will cut a chunk off the larger cheese for you. Pre-cut pieces of cheese will start to to go bad, developing off-flavours from contact with the air and plastic wrap. Light also damages cheese, and in pre-cut pieces there is a lot of exposed area. If you're buying pre-cut chunks, make sure that it was cut within the last couple of days. Only buy cheeses where the 'packed on' date is week indicated. I've been at some of our best gourmet shops and the pre-cuts are weeks old. I've been told that Urban Fare will cut you a fresh chunk as well. Les Amis du Fromage has a huge selection and most of their cheese is cut for you, off the larger original chunk. Their knowledge is encyclopaedic as well. Worth the trip. Haven't seen a better cheese shop in Van. Was just there yesterday and bought some Kracher Trokenbeerenauslese wine jelly which we scooped onto bread with cheeses and Oyama pates and head cheeses. 10 bucks for a tiny jar but the intense sweetness and flavours brought out the best in the cheese and pates. Gonna go get some more soon.

Tried it. The red one. Didn't finish it. Really disappointing. A little bit of real fruit on the bottom of the glass, but not enough. Won't ever have another.

They are called California cuts because the New York is 10 oz., but rather than have a thinner cut with the whole New York, it is a thicker chunky cut comprising just half the New York. It's as if you are getting one half of a 20 oz. New York. They do this as the grill that they have at most Earls locations is extremely hot and it is easier to cook a thicker steak to a specific doneness (is that a word?) than a thinner steak. Most of the time I love what Earls does, but I gotta say that the last time I was there, the green bean plate with tofu, and the salmon with the cucumber salad were just awful and barely edible. In future I will stick to the California shrimp pizza and the chicken and ribs combo. BTW, the California shrimp have nothing to do with the California steaks.

Been planning on adding to this thread for a little over a week, and every time I eat somewhere I think about how what was my third experience that I intended to write about has now become my fourth and is now ineligible for this thread. Just to warn you, I'm gonna take some liberties and write about five or six of my last food experiences. So in reverse chronological order: Finished work way too late last night and hadn't had a morsel of food since before five. Nine hours no food. Stomach was empty and I was hungry. My last table left a third of a bottle of Dom '96,(whoopee!) and having guzzled that while I was cashing out, (and a martini that one of my other tables thoughtfully bought for me,) I was a little looped. And famished. Leaving the restaurant after 2 and now on the corner of Seymour and Dunsmuir my food options were pretty limited. Tim Horton's was open, close and the young ladies working there were genuinely friendly the first time I was there. So I bit the bullet and crossed the street to Timmies. They made me a great toasted turkey, ham and bacon sub. On white. Mmmm. I also picked up a pecan butter tart and a couple of smiley face cookies. All of this was surprisingly good. Cookies were moist and pliable with just enough verging on way too much icing sugar. All of the above did the job and am happy to report that I did not die of hunger as I had feared, but am at the keyboard this afternoon alive and slightly fuzzy-headed. The second cookie that I gave to my roommate is sitting on the counter wrapped in plastic and temptin me. Thursday a bunch of us went for a drunken messy dinner at Aurora Bistro. Wow. We sat down and I was blown away by the little leaflet tucked into the wooden menu board. 45 bucks for a 3 course dinner with paired wines. Five of us bought in and the team at Aurora graciously made the necessary changes for the two non-meat-eaters at the table. We also had two portions of the other appetizers for little nibblies before dinner. And a bottle of bubbly and a bottle of viognier and too many martinis. The Warm Hazelnut Crusted Goat Cheese with a rhubarb compote and Ruth's baby arugula was fantastic. We loved the Smoked Wild Salmon Creme Fraiche Cheesecake and the Nicola Bison Carpaccio. The chef had also prepared a Halibut Cheek appetizer as a special which none of us liked. Stringy and overcooked. Being a prairie-boy this was my first experience. Don't want to turn this into a novella so I will simply tell you that the prix-fixe menu items were all delicious. Graciously served and well-timed. I pulled a Ling and ordered a second main course: the duck breast and duck leg confit, which was my favorite dish of the evening. Earlier that day I had my first lunch at the Normandy. It was a day off and I had spent the early afternoon leafing through cookbooks at Chapters at Broadway and Granville. Feeling nostalgic and a little homesick I felt like having a Hot Turkey Sandwhich. One of my biggest treats when I was a kid was to go to the cafeteria at Eaton's in the Midtown Plaza and enjoy a HTS. The Normandy didn't let me down. Had a beer, the chicken fingers appetizer and then the HTS. Everything that arrived at the table had been previously frozen, had come from a can or had been pre-formed. Exactly like the food of my childhood. Service was friendly and efficient too. OK. This is way too long. So I will knock my reporting to three events and leave a few out. Last week after work five of us went to Bin 941 after work. It was Monday and it had been a lucrative weekend so we were feeling like free-spending millionaires. Started with a bottle of Moet and moved onto a delicious Biscofliche Auslese Riesling from Ayler Kupp. Both reasonably priced and excellent. We had multiple orders of the mussels with coconut milk, the ahi tuna with a spicy tuna tartare as a salsa, the slow roasted elk, the duck breast with goat cheese and truffled green beans, the beef wellington and the crab cakes. And four or five orders of their Navajo bread. The change-over of the staff in the kitchen hasn't effected the food quality. Once an item came out and one of had a bite we ordered it again. If the second stomach that I mail-ordered had arrived that day, I could have spent all that I made that weekend. Service was a touch harried, but we got the impression that our server was new to Bin, so we didn't mind. All that mattered was our glasses were never empty and the plates kept coming. Our server kept up with the share plates and cutlery changes too. If I had been the waiter I woulda given up and let these five drunk and obnoxious boors to eat with cutlery that was dirty. All right that's three. or was that four? Head too fuzzy and now I'm gonna go eat that cookie.

This might be beating a dead horse, and I might be expecting too much from a professional server, but out of all this discussion, this is the point that rankles me the most. I would like to know if the explanation was given without asking or if Foodie-girl had to flag someone down. Am I dissecting this too deeply? The carcass of this old grey mare is almost 3 months old. I am slightly embarassed that I am joining in this discussion so late. If an item has been removed from the check for whatever reason, the server must explain the removal to the guest. I hope this was the case. If the server does not offer an explanation it puts the guest in the uncomfortable position of having to ask for one. I have been in the situation of the 'sweaty waiter' knowing that a guest experience was not up to the standards of the restaurant or more importantly, the expectations of the guest. Walking through your section knowing that you've let someone down is a truly horrible experience. You develop a sixth sense and if a mood turns sour at a table, it is not easy to discern whether it is the product/ambience/service you are providing that has caused the shift of mood or whether it has nothing to do with the restaurant at all. It sounds like the server knew there were "problems" with the product/ambience/service and yet did not or could not address them when they were occurring. All of this wasted energy and ill will could have been avoided simply by the waiter saying " I know you are not enjoying this. Let me take this foie gras away and get you something that you will like." Simply removing the cost of an item from the check that was probably enjoyed does not make up for a dissappointing guest experience. BTW, the water at C is $10.95 for 800 ml. That's $15.00 with tax and tip. I think that more restaurants should invest in commercial filters for their ice and ice water and provide a local alternative to wasteful bottled water. The water at C is Voss. Glacier water from Norway. We burn fossil fuel to ship the water here over the Atlantic and across Canada so that the the glacier will melt to provide us with a fantastic tasteless water. Where is the sense in that? At least we won't run out of melting glaciers anytime soon. Had to edit this 'cause I didn't know how to use the quote mechanism and my original post didn't work. I am so not digital.

Liberty Wine Merchants at Park Royal has more than a dozen sakes, of all types. They've also got a handout called Sake Simple that tells you more than you need to know about different sakes. Then to top it all off, their manager Tyler can and will tell you about the nuances of each. Not a restaurant, so you can't buy them by the glass, but many come in bottles under 400 ml.

Went into Lolita's a coupla nights ago after finishing work to meet a friend. It was sometime after midnight and there were only about eight people there, mostly industry-types. (Gotham, West and C were represented.) It was late on a Tuesday and EVERYBODY working there was extremely genuine, polite and friendly. After twenty years in the industry this is something that I truly value. When I finish a shift and I'm back in my real clothes I appreciate being treated the way that I treat the people I look after. Polished and professional. I'm sure they were all well into the double digits of hours worked, after god knows when they may have had their last day off, and even the dishwasher cracked a friendly joke with me as I walked the hall to the washroom. The owner took the time to have a fully-engaged and interesting conversation with us at the bar and this was our first time in, and we'd never met her. If the food was only edible then I'd still go back, 'cause they're open late and they all obviously care about what they are doing. My friend had been there a while and had a coupla appies and the steak. He said both were fantastic. I only had a quick bite, something with goat cheese that was breaded and deep-fried. It was yummy. (Sorry my accounts of the food are sketchy, but we were there mainly for the booze and hadn't seen one another for a while.) The drinks are a little more expensive than other places, but the quality of the drinks justifies the price. We were sitting at the bar, so we could see the care and attention that was paid to ensure that each cocktail was perfect. The mango margarita that we tried was delicious, with chunks of real fruit in the glass. Lolita's isn't a chain restaurant using prepackaged syrups and slushy machines with a shot of alcohol for kids who just turned 19. These are well-constructed cocktails for adults who've been around the block a few times. I could go into any restaurant and pay five bucks for a shot of gin and some pop-gun tonic, but if someone is willing to put some effort into mixing a few different ingredients, muddling and shaking until it's just right, then I will gladly pay the couple of extra dollars. Especially if he or she does it with a smile on their face and because they want to do things the right way, not just because they've got tuition or a mortgage or a Visa bill to pay. I find it funny that a forum of food-and-drink people will tolerate derision of a food or drink based on price alone, especially if the member hadn't tried the item. The nine dollar sangria is on the top of my list of 'gotta-try-before-I-die' now that so many of you are so willing to cut down a place because of one drink. A little lower down are the thirteen dollar tacos. (Never been a big fan of tacos, otherwise they'd be number two on the list.) Maybe we could start a sub-string of people who've tried sangria in a few places to see which is best and which is worth the money. I say this only in jest. However. if someone were to start one, a factor that would have to be considered is the severity of the hangover caused by each sangria.

At Gotham Steakhouse we serve grain-fed prime beef, amazing steaks. If you order a steak blue rare, the server will make sure that the steak that you order will be delicious at that temp and then when the steak arrives it will be slightly sooked on the outside and bright red in the centre. Yummy. I like my steaks that way too. So rare that a good vet could save it. The steaks are expensive, but well worth it. No better steak out there.

Best Cocktail Combination of the Day: A fig-infused vodka martini served with crumbled blue cheese followed by a sake, pear nectar and caramel liqueur martini. Yum. Best Individual App of the Day: Foie Grad Torchon with truffle toast and a granite made with white grapes and port. Wow. Best Individual Shared Main of the Day: Big plump and juicy mussels in a tomato, coconut milk and cilantro broth with a small bowl of fries that were slightly sweet and salty. Ooh. Best Flatware of the Day: Sleek and Shiny, Smooth and Silky, Heavy and Balanced, Signed by the Designer who deserves applause. Aah. I am now in the Went-To Chambar-In-The-Beginning-&-Hated-It-But-Went-Back-&-Now-I-Love-It-Oh-How-I-Wish-Nico-&-Kerri-Were-My-RoommatesorBrotherorSisterorBestFriends camp. Think they need a nanny? Can a guy be a nanny? I am hoping that this year there will be at least one or two meals that are as good as this one was. Will keep you posted. Promise.

I love Milano's on 8th near Main. 156 West 8th. Here's a map. http://ca.maps.yahoo.com/maps_result?ed=2B...uver&country=ca The place is large, airy and the smell of the roasting coffee wafts in from the back. Beautiful wood floors and funky furnishings. The humungous windows look over a large park and there aren't any large buildings blocking the view of the mountains. It's on the second floor, sort-of, so it's one of the few public coffee places in Vancouver where you are completely unaware of any traffic, vehicular or otherwise. If I lived closer I would be there every day.

C restaurant has a long (sp?) pepper and eucalyptus mignonette that is out of this world. Fragrant, slightly acidic and lip-smacking good. Long peppers are tiny peppers from Asia that look like little elongated acorns with a skin of an anteater. Have never been brave enough to try one on it's own. They use a little mirin in the mignonette as well which adds the necessary acidity. With the oysters there is also a small bowl of fantastic chipotle pepper relish. The 2 Roberts (Clark and Belcham) of C restaurant are Gods. I will definitely be a regular at the unfortunately-named new restaurant that the C boys are opening soon. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you went in and had a lean at the leaning bar and just sucked back a few oysters. Committing to a whole meal at C can be a heavy financial blow.

I've been to the Banff Saltlik. Steaks are very good, the room pleasant and the service was sort of higher-end Earls. (Having done my BC-government-required-service stint at Earls I have nothing but respect for Earls girls and guys.) I still remember the tuna salad fondly. AMAZING location for their first Vancouver store.

I COMPLETELY support the idea of Cioppino's for lunch. AMAZING. If the husband's got a fat per diem, then you can take him back for dinner. When you go for dinner ('cause if you go once, then you absoloutely will want to go back) then ask to sit at the bar. It's cozy, you get to talk to the always-entertaing bartenders and you can watch the show perched on some comfy stools on the sidelines. The owners can get hot and heavy with the clients and the staff, so it's safer at the bar. Service and food is truly phenomenal. Have the fresh -hand-made wide-noodle pasta with the veal cheeks. Heaven. After lunch you gotta head down to Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks. Urban Fare is just around the corner and it's always fun to go see how the trim and superficial do their food shopping. I would also go to Crocodile at least once for lunch. If you're there on a Friday ask to be served by Pierre. He's been there for 20 years and usually works evenings, but he's there on Friday days. Great French food a classic atmosphere. Filled with lawyers and judges (it's close to the courthouse) but don't let that stop you. They're too busy filling their muzzles to bite you. Ask for a quiet corner and people watch. Duck confit is good, but if you're not watching the waistband or the cholesterol then have to lobster ravioli with cream sauce. Yum. Hot dogs and french fries are better when you're whale watching. Nowhere better than the Aquarium. It's in the middle of Stanley Park and it's the best place to spend a lazy afternoon alone. Seen Closer? Rangoli is a fantastic Indian eatery, the kid sister to Vij's, a higher-end restaurant. Fun concept. By the time you arrive, the sun will be shining, and it will be warm enough that the patio will be an option. Shopping is very good, so plan on making your way back to the hotel with many bags filled with gifts for friends and more for yourself. The private galleries are very close by and you won't want to miss Martha Sturdy's shop. If you're on Robson in the afternoon then have a quick lunch at Guu. It's a little Japanese garlic house with fun service and funner food. : ) Guu is on Thurlow, near Robson. Easy to find. When you're on Robson and you feel yourself SURROUNDED by Starbucks, then you know that you're at Thurlow. Head South (away from the mountains) and you'll find it tucked into a little nothing three-story office building across from a White Spot (burger joint). Open from 11:45 to 1:15 or something equally confusing so you have to make sure you make it there between 12 and 1. If there's a line, it's worth the wait. You must order one thing that scares you, one thing that you've never heard of and one that'll make you laugh. Tons of little plates to choose from and nothing more than 5 bucks. Last word of advice: Bring spring clothing. You can always pick up an umbrella here if it rains, but it's already sunny 15 degrees here and who knows? We could be in full-blown summer by the time you arrive.