privatejet

Thank goodness they are looking at change. Watermark may have had poor reviews on the food [justified IMO] however the strcture is gorgeous. All of the concessions stands should be as sleekly done. Personaly I find all of the concessions, but particularly Sunset, English Bay and Second Beach miserable. They are dowdy and the food is worse. Nostalgia is great for some but the concesssion food does not speak to the Vancouver food scene -and unfortunately many of our visitors will take that away as a Vancouver experience. How about Gord Martin movinn Go Fish to English Bay? That's killer!

Perspective I guess: I worked at Earls from 1989-1994 and did every front of the house job under the sun. They certainly did invest in training you in food knowledge and drive home the 'its your business" philosophy. At that time, it seemed there was a genuine commitment to trying to ensure that customers experiences were just "right" of course the place was also a hornet nest of palace intrigue and much sleeping around. I had a massive amount of fun and among my fellow works met many of my closest friends to this day indeed one of them is a contributor to this Board, though in a much loftier culinary position] I thought I was a shit hot server, and I did go on to serve for a few years at a higher end restaurant in Edmonton but truth be told given what I know now [and the prism that is looking back on your youth], I have no idea if I was a good server. In reality, I can only say that I could cope well, got no complaints and therefore only did closing shifts. I shudder to think what my customers experiences were when I was dealing with a late evening slam. In the Vancouver market, I think that Earls food is quite expensive. Many of their en trees are at the price levels of Chambar, Nu, Zin, Glowbal and I certainly don't think either Earls food or service are in that category. On the other hand, having spent a few years out East recently, I believe the West Coast CFD are miles ahead of their competitors such as East Coast Marios. I was told numerous times by colleagues and acquaintances in Toronto how thrilled they were with Milestones. And sitting here in London, England writing this I dont think these CFD have many peers. There are a few chains such as Bierodrome/Wagamamas/Pizza Express that are the closest in concept, IMO to our CFD but the food is far more specific and the service standards are nowhere close to what one would expect. I certainly agree with Mr. Maw's assessment that our establishments our certainly first rate CFD and perhaps both the sophistication of the CFD market in Vancouver and the bevy of fine casual one-off restaurants in Vancouver has kept most of the truly horrible CD restaurants such as the Red Robin, Red Lobster, etc. out of Vancouver. And Cheesecake Cafe: I have only eaten there once in the past six months in Bellvue but I'll give you 2-1 odds that it would be Earls that would eat their lunch should they come north.

The Sun is reporting this morning that the owner of the Normandy plans to re-open and that the lease is not up another three years. That would be great news the place is an institution. Here's the link (subscribers only) http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouvers...1a-c1a56ab27543

CKNW reports that the kitchen suffered serious damage. Apparently the Normandy was suppsoed to close Jan. 9/ http://www.cknw.com/news/news_local.cfm?ca...=news_local.cfm

We were back again tonight. They had only one table plus a seat or two at the bar available when we arrived. Had desert this evening -the chocolate souffle was as hyped, the cheesecake extremely light and fluffy, but the consensus at our table was that the creme brulee beat them all. Great texture, with a wonderful vanilla flavour.

It's on the 1200 block of Hamilton Street. Between LK Dining Lounge and Automotive Billiards [closer to the Drake than Davie] In the Alda building. I believe hours are a bit irregular at the moment, as mentioned above they are trying to work kinks out before spreading the net, but definately for dinner.

Diner, south next to LK Dining Lounge and automotive, in Yaletown has opened. From my first impressions its the perfect addition to the neighbourhood- particularly for those of us who actually live here. Personally, I need a place a step up from take-out to eat at regularly. This isnt sophisticated food. I had the Chicken schnitzel. Perfectly cooked with a spinach spatezle. My companion had the meatloaf, which he raved about particulalry the braised tomato accompaniment. The owner, Heather, seems like a great gal with lots of enthusiasm and has promised me an upcoming mac & cheese. All in all, IMO, off to a great start. Welcome to Yaletown.

Noticed on the 1000 block of Granville, in one of the new retail buildings a sign for a new restaurant, Sansafir(?) from the Glowbal Group

I'm pretty sure this link to the Sun review is public Sun Review

failures seem not to detract anyone from Yaletown. I saw restaurant equipment going into the space south of Lilykate (in between Lilykate and Automotive -Hamilton Street) No signs on the outside...anyone with some insights? Rumor (and this is truly rumor) that Mini dealership in Yaletown is not renewing their space and a number of well known restraunteurs have taken a look. Again- insights? Mark James has/close to having his application oked for having 2 stories (work/live condos) added to his Yaletown location (mainland. Hamilton @ Helmcken) -I've noticed that currently there is a fairly substantial amount of mechanical on the roof; does anyone know if the addition will cause the restaurant to be shut? or will business carry on during construction? Saltlik's doors were open (literally but not in terms of an on-going business) on Alberni on Friday -it looks like there is still some very substantial work to take place. It appeared they were working on drywall. I would wager that they will not open in September. Helmcken & Richards -at the moment, IMO, still a rather unfortunate corner and the evening clientale is not really into dining. There was the Montenegro Tapas (in the space that I think was formerly occupied by the Cozy Cafe). Montenegros was extremely short lived but it seems another entrenpreneur is willing to give the location a go and was busy do renovations to the space over the last few days.

I disagree. If you followed the Watermark thread, you will know that the restaurant was more than a month late in opening, for one reason and another. I would say that staying closed to the public once one has an occupancy permit, on a delayed and much-anticipated opening, and not making hay while, literally, the sun shines (in this town, in heavy tourist season) qualifies as a luxury. As in, yes, a very expensive choice. Whether it would have been a better choice given the uneven reviews, of course, is open to debate. ← Not to belabour the point but if one goes back in the Nu thread, Nu was aiming for an early June opening so they are roughly 2-3 months late. And in an overall multi-million dollar restaurant opening budget, I don't think a few days of a soft opening is a really significant $ item. So I think it's perhaps a reflection the proprietor's priorities.

Well having a "soft" opening to iron out kinks, is neither a luxury nor a neccessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part. And perhaps, the best way to describe the bar food ("for the hand" on the menu) is to say they are updated takes on some classics.

I have been curious about this place too as I walk by there numerous times a week. Anyone have any more insight into the menu? The difference between this and Hapa is not there is not a sign of any customers. Occasionally tow old(er) men (the same ones) playing backgammon on the patio.

^Got to second canucklehead's review of Lolita's. Had dinner there last weekend- drinks a tad steep, as are appetizers (for what u get) Tacos were a stand out (and good value at $13) as were the mashed potatoes that come with the smoked chicken. Atmosphere was great and though I was sorry to see Random go, a nice addition to Davie Street. I wish them the best there.

Happened to be jogging by Nu tonight and found it open for business, so went back for dinner. I was impressed. The decor is perhaps the most controversial. Think 70's yacht for a theme. It divided my dining companions; 2 of us liked it, the other 2 basically hated it. None the less it's an interesting look that I am sure cost a million bucks (likely quite a bit more) [As an aside whatever your opinions on the theme the patio chairs seem quite cheap and inappropriate) Food. Many of the dishes on the menu seem to be updates on some classic food items -chicken wings, dry ribs, ham & cheese sandwich, beef dip. We had the beer battered oyster with lager pepiche (~$4) as an amuse. It's simple and what's not to love about chewing a deep fried oyster while squirting beer into your mouth. We then shared dry ribs & chicken wings. The dry ribs didn't do much for me -the smoke spice from C used on them was a little underwhelming, however the portion size was quite amply for ~$10 and they were certainly a cut above the usual casual restaurant dry ribs and yet the price point is pretty close. The chicken wings (~$10) -well I will admit that I have a thing for wings so I thought I had died and gone to heaven. They pull the meat out and then stuff with goat cheese (so it's a Popsicle). And we shared a main of crispy braised pork belly with walnuts and apples ($19). Very tasty. Mains come sans sides. I was drinking beer and didn't carefully scrutinize the wine list, but the price point is very friendly. If I remember correctly glasses from $7-$10. Bottles from $32 with most bottles under $80. First night open, the food was great, service was attentive, friendly. Of course the view and the patio are killer. For the bar food alone I wil be back late night to twill a few drinks and munch (it's basically old style Earls appies for the same price but way better) I look forward to going back and trying some more of the mains.

If I am not mistaken Brown's (on Mainland) was having their opening party last night! That's jumping the gun a bit for flying under the radar

I believe it was the "Ash Cafe" a rather forgetable place that was there for years

Tim Pawsey posted a preview of Nu: http://www.vancourier.com/issues05/052205/dining.html

Anyone heard anything about the marmalade kitchen & bar @ 1010 Beach, Vancouver?

Overwaitea (not completely sure of which brand Save-On, Urban Fare or Nestors) is scheduled for the "The Rise" 485 West 8th (@Cambie) being developed by Grosvenor. The Rise has over 200,000 sq. ft of retail/commercial so depending upon how the units are demised it can accomodate a wide variety of retail formats. The entire Fairchild plaza is being redeveloped into a mixed-use, residential, office retail project with a connection to the RAV station. I am assuming (and it as an assumption) that the Fairchild redevelopment project will be Whole Foods as the Whole Foods site mentions a 53,750 sq. ft store, while the description of the Fairchild redevelopment in the City report mentions "The project proposes a drug store (36,000 sq.ft.) on Broadway and a grocery store (54,000 sq.ft.) off the lower 8th Avenue corner, and three restaurants with associated outdoor decks."

This store seems to be quite some ways off. The project (525 W. Broadway) has only received a preliminary approval from the Development Permit Board and still has to proceed for final approval which is currently not scheduled.

I've been wondering the same thing. I bike past there every few days and it seems like the place has been boarded up forever. <makes mental note never to hire that construction company to work on my house> ← Jogged by Fiddlehead Joe's last night and the door was open -the restaurant portion looked pretty finished (the ubiquitous flat panel TV was installed) but the kitchen looked like it still had a ways to go; no equipment installed and it appeared that the electrical & drywall were incomplete To the list: *Raincity *Denman St. Freehouse *Milestones (at English Bay) *Triple O's @ Science World

Perhaps this is what it takes to bring the decision from the food critic to the hands of those who it should be in, the people. Punk-rock sensibilities are thirty years old now, and anyone who considers these groundbreaking or mindblowing have become those stodgy types in power. Tradition is foundation, but recognition and embrace of that which can unsettle us is the only way to progress. Throw open Escoffier to the hip hop muses while still recognizing peasant necessity of local ingredients. Demand the beautiful simplicity of a caprese salad in the post-punk pouch from Finch's. Have a BC burger from White Spot and recognize all its postmodern contradictions. What? Tim Horton's is owned by a multinational corporation? What does Feenie's Weenie mean? How much a part of you is Mr Tube Steak? I guess what I'm getting at is that the food should be the starting point. A restaurant reviewer on egullet has as much (if not more) responsibility to understand the political economy of food than a simple print journalist. The thinly veiled responsibility of a globe- or sun reporter is to sell more newspapers. Bitch and whine and photograph a good-looking chef and your obligation is ended.?. This, to me, is why metaphors for food are meaningful. It is like the bullfights in Spain. A grand, beautiful display of respect for the ultimately doomed animal. To ignore the bullfights as cruel is to deny their simple truth. The highest respect paid - a glorious death for consumption. As gory and macabre as it is, the death of a true, living, breathing animal is shown in all its horror, pageantry and primacy as necessity. It is not shuttled to an industrial corner of a sparsley-populated region, but acknowledged for what it is. That, to me, is what a food critic must do. Pull together all the gossamer threads of culture, consumption and cruelty and make sense of it for the ready masses. What will a fleeting gustatory event reveal to the masses? Nothing. But that which can become internalized by way of ingestion, integration and explication can become elucidatory in a way which becomes deeper than simple taste/digestion. We are all eating our way through our lives by a complex interaction, and the realization of this fact and its corresponding charge is what our food critics must realize. pass the hooch, Q. P.S. that nose from the paulliac comes from missing the greatest event of the 18th century, the french revolution. the chateaux of bordeau somehow missed the commun-ization of estates and retained their profits for their masters. the sweet scents of burgundy (if you prefer barnyard), however, fell to the tide of liberte egalite and fraternite and have become the frustrating, glorious heartbreak that we drink today (with mere modest disgust)...

The best restaurant reviews, in my humble newbie opinion, come from original creative writing wrapped around context. I find that the more food adjectives used, the more vacuous the article. Who give's a rat's ass about a drop of wine or a clink of bottle on glass, service of coffee before or after dessert, or if the root veg mash claimed celeriac but was really rutabaga? The writing of food should be culture and context - hand crafted reflections reflecting the toil of the experience experienced. I think Jamie Maw is the best reviewer Vancouver has. Extremely insightful, entertaining, original and free of pretense. Good puns, double entendres and enough original metaphors to make George Orwell hack a few post-mortem chuckles. Quantity of quality to make Kerouac proud. He also evidently writes pretty well half-in-the-bag... One thing, though, his list of recently-read reviewers lacks a little street cred. Far from pourin' chandon with coolio, a flip through Terminal City is the best time to spend with a morning-coffee-after-the-night-before-cleansing-ales. As for food reviewers, its rotating third-last page gets its hands dirty with city darkness astride culinaria. Bess Lovejoy won best Chambar review hands down, a title with many contenders and pretenders. Describing the Kentucky Caprhinia as Brittney Spears in a Tennessee Williams' play evokes more deliciousness than the entire Province adjective database. I think we'll find the culinary Pauline Kael emerging from the street rather than from the ugly edifices of CanWest Global Corporation. Q Kayne

There was an article in Business in Vancouver two weeks ago that Jeff Fuller's Joey Tomato Group had received a 19 million dollar investment from the Belzbergs. Saltik is supposed to open at Alberni & Thurlow, Joeys is coming to Kits (Kits Nightclub space) , OPM to Vancouver & Calgary (no locations specified) while the rest of the money will revamp American eateries Cucina! Cucina! bought from Wolfgang Puck. The article is here but I believe you will need subscriber access to read: http://www.biv.com/search/results.asp?fhre...tml&search=joey