Zucchini Mama

BCinBC, I'm impressed by your dim sum heritage! I've taken so many pictures of the Don Mee-I just love that old neon. Now I won't be left wandering around Chinatown wondering where the hell to have dim sum. Thanks for clearing that up for me! EGullet is so great. Zuke

Wow! Cardamom bread? I'm heading there today. There's a great bookstore very close by, and I've been inside the bakery, but just never took the plunge. Definitely has tweed triad potential. I like Arne's creative boy tea suggestions-sounds like a missing niche in the Vancouver dining scene! ;P Zuke

Host's note: this discussion is continued from the topic "Truth be told: Where've you eaten lately? (Part 1)" Three Brown Rice: Seriously Seeking Spaaa I realize that the last three places I've eaten out, I've been seeking healthy food to cure my body of a recent spate of sugar and caffeine overload. I'm seriously fantasizing about going to a spa and retreating from the stress of ....well, reality! So I've been drawn to places that serve some sort of veggies over brown rice. I tried the macrobiotic diet about ten years ago, and found it to be a fascinating experiment. I think I lasted about four months. What I discovered was how much more intense simple food tastes when you cut out all the junk. I saw one episode of Nigella Lawson't show, and she cooked hangover food-the "my body is a temple the morning after it was a brothel" kind of thing. So, my last three meals out have been at Green Ginger, Om, and Natural Garden. Green Ginger is in Kits (2967 West Broadway at Bayswater). It's a cheerful little place with very limited seating. I think a picnic table and one other table. There's a whole blurb on the back of the menu about the history and philosophy of the little place, for example: Oikonomia, the Latin root word for 'Economy or Economics', means the management of a household so as to increase its value to all members of the household over the long run. Our household is the Earth and we share it with millions of other peoples and organisms. In order to leave the world a better place for future generations, we must be mindful in the way we conduct business." I actually like that statement, and find it to be a refreshing way of thinking in today's greed-centred snatch and grab while you can culture. This is the second time I've been here. The woman behind the counter is exuberant and friendly. The first time, I had a cup of their chai, which is the real thing. This time-no caffeine, so I had the Mandalay Curry, which is a Burmese vegetable curry made with their own Masala. This is served over an organic brown rice pilaf with a side salad. The salad was really good looking, crisp, and colorful, with its grated beets and carrots. The dressing was original, and zippy and I loved the addition of sunflower seeds. The curry was not my favorite-It had a lot of potatoes in it and was not that memorable. I liked the raisins in the rice. I will try another curry next time. I had the small serving which was very reasonably priced at $6.50. Next time I'm in the hood, I'd like to try the new "Chai" down the street. Anyone been there yet? The next experience was at Om Restaurant between 18th and 19th on Cambie, which is my old neighborhood. I've had the vegetarian dim sum here, which I found to be satisfactory. I was with my son this time, so I ordered a boat of brown rice with veggies in a brown sauce. Om is very much into the purple chakra. They have a definite purple thing going on in the decor, set off by plates in other colors of matching intensity-a color oasis in a land of dusty pink Asian restaurants! This place could be like an Asian Rebar with the right tweaking. Right now it appears to be filling a niche with the seniors living in the neighborhood, which is great. See, here's a menu, where the scope makes me uncomfortable-dim sum on the one hand, and lasagne on the other...? Anyway, our boat came in a (surprise) bright blue lasagne dish with an iceberg and sprouts lettuce salad on top of the warm veggies, rice, and tofu. That presentation was really unappetizing, but we managed to dig under the salad and my son ate a really hearty lunch. The brown sauce was very weak, but I suppose if I'd been on a macrobiotic diet, it would have been "subtle". We split a mango pudding afterwards, with chunks of mango in it. My son loved it. The servers are very friendly, patient, and caring, and they gave my son a lollipop after the meal-which I accepted, but WHY do people do this? I can't afford dentist bills as it is. On to another day- this time, I am alone. About two doors down from Om at 3432 Cambie Street is a new place in the old Major Chutney spot called Natural Garden. I was puzzled as to why they would open another place serving veggies and brown rice, right next to another restaurant that serves veggies and brown rice, but perhaps there is a brown rice revolution going on that I don't know about, and maybe that's a good thing. This is the real deal-macrobiotic food prepared in a Japanese style. They too, have a statement of their mandate on the menu, and it is devoid of the overblown rhetoric of the local schmocal seasonal shmeasonal type. For example; "The food we serve is...Balanced with Oriental health philosophies and modern nutrition recommendations. Cooked in quality cookware over a gas stove. We do not own a microwave. Prepared fresh by hand every day." The menu is very limited, but that can be a good thing. It's almost the opposite of the Om's everything under the sun menu. The new paint job is really gorgeous, in soothing tones of creamy yellow, sage, and golden rod contrasting with the dark wicker chairs and matching tables. It's very chic. It's very spa. I asked if I could close the door because the traffic noise on Cambie was interfering with the spa ambience. There was only one other table of eaters in for lunch, and we quickly struck up a conversation. One woman had a baby, and after she apologized for a bit of screeching- I said, "Don't worry, I have a child, I understand, screeching babies I can handle, it's the traffic that gets on my nerves!" I ordered the Macobiotic Lunch Plate for $11, which is served from noon-2 pm: green leafy vegetables, pressed salad, beans, seaweed, brown rice, miso soup. The waitress brought me a tiny teapot of tamari and a mortar and pestle with gomashio inside. Oh, now I know what those little bowls with the crenelated insides are for. I love gomashio and lately I've been puttjng it on and in everything: salmon, scrambled eggs, asparagus and mayo, avocado sandwich When the plate arrived along with it's bowl of rice and bowl of miso, I was pleasantly surprised at how artfully it was arranged on the plate-wish I'd had a camera. The chopsticks are those dark wooden ones with really fine tips, so that eating is an exercise in mindfulness, as you can only pick up a very small portion of food up at a time. It's nice to have such a variety of food on your plate. I loved the rice-it was so small-grained-nutty, almost like barley. It was excellent with the tamari and gomashio. There were two little croqettes, of (I think) Seitan-very yummy. The bean salad was good-kind of like the bean salads of Saskatchewan potlucks-I got a kick out of eating it with chopsticks! There was a tiny portion of salad, but it was flavorful. The strangest thing was the cold mashed squash. It was tasty, just hard to get used to something you'd normally eat warm. The women next to me started joking about how there were two side to the stomach, the left and the right, and since they'd filled up the left, it was time to equally fill up the right with sweets. This is a dietetic theory I can ascribe to! I had the chocolate cake with vanilla soy ice cream ($2.50). The cake was fudgy and moist-kind of like a flourless chocolate cake. It was pretty good, and a nice way to balance out the yin and the yang! It's a pricey lunch for the amount of food, but my body is my temple, and tomorrow I'm going to have to worship at the Altar of the Churro! Sounds like a Saturday morning breakfast excursion. Zuke

I heard they're going with a prison theme full on: Grand Theft Tacos, made with something fishy pulled out of English Bay, served with chapoodle sauce Octapus Ball and Chains (woven by local inmates out of wakame) Churros in Striped Pajamas BC Bud Brownies, made from locally seized crops Dead Man Walking Pain au Chocolat, cooked in our conviction oven = License to print money, so watch for those forged bills they slip you with the change. Zuke

You know, I was an always anti-food processer curmudgeon until my mom bought me one for Christmas and it has revolutionized the way I cook. She's always so thoughtful about gifts for our kitchen. We have a Christmas tradition of buying kitchen novelties for each other's stockings-some are useful, some are cheezy. I hate those wine corks with figurines on top. One of my favorite gifts is simply a tea towel. Every time I dry dishes, I think of the person who gave it to me. Zuke

I hide my deep dark organic chocolate bars in the back of junk drawer. One evening, when I went out on a secret mission to buy one, the cashier said "That chocolate is like medicine." Oh ya. Special medicine for desperate housewives! Zuke

Have you covered Chipotle yet? Canadians seem to be putting it in everything short of dog food these days and I've never heard a convincing pronunciation. Zuke

Chocomoo! Thanks so much for tracking down some tako yaki. I've lined up for them at the Powell Street Festival and fell in love with them. I will make a trek to the library ASAP. Zuke

Daytrip to the North: Gelati, Pretzels, and Buffalo Ribs Well, finally, a nice hot sunny day to trek over to the Lonsdale Quay on the sea bus, with the usual flock of June tourists. As soon as I get inside the quay I have to check the snacks at Screaming Mimi's, but alas, we were too early-no fried oysters or salmon rolls or prawn triangles. Well, their loss. (I'm pissed off at them because I had a real kak bowl of seafood chowder the last time I was there.) We headed up the hill to our premiere destination- the comic book shop to search for a collectible figurine. They have hundreds: from movies, comic books, t.v. shows, hockey players...etc., etc. They might have one of your second cousin once removed. (I think I saw a Waiterblog action figure stuck in with the Star Wars dislpay in the window) I'm doing a project on female comic book heroes, so I'm always looking for new inspiration. I tried to convince U. he needed a Poison Ivy figure, but he had his own plans. After this, we headed to the Artisan Bakery, where I had a vegetarian sandwich on pumpkin seed bread. It was about $4.50, which I thought was pricey for what I got, but then I remembered I was eating organic food. It was a good basic, tasty sandwich, (made freshly upon ordering) with avocado, tomato, onions, lettuce, mayo and Dijon. U. was too busy playing with his new toy to bother about eating so I got him one of those big fat pretzels to go. This must be one of the few places you can get the authentic German pretzel in Vancouver, no? We headed up to the Sally Anne where we scored a couple of Peewee's Playhouse videos from the original series. Then we rounded the corner and walked to Presentation House Gallery, to see the current show. I was interested in the Althea Thauberger piece in particular called "A Memory Lasts Forever". I thought it was photos, but it turned out to be a video playing in a light-sealed room which was too threatening for Ullie, so he entertained the woman at the desk, while I watched about 10 minutes of the video. I watched part one of a four-part piece. I was disappointed. What she's done is put out a call for teenage girls to write songs to create a music video based on a story about the drowning of a pet dog. Girls in suburbia playing at being pop idols. Well, when I see that on t.v., packaged as Canadian Idol, or America's top Super Model, I turn it off. It leaves me cold. I appreciate that what this artist is doing is giving these girls an much more empowering and sensitive experience than they'd get on mainstream t.v., but the product makes me cringe- and why print the lyrics to the songs, when they are bad teenage poetry? It seemed like a valid exercise, but why package the product as art? I thought the poster for the art was much more powerful, full of pathos and melancholia and directing the teenage gaze back at the viewer. Okay, bitchy rant is over. I liked the other piece better. The artist, Christine Davis, projects a series of slowly dissolving slides of a woman's body over a carpet of fake Gerberas. Once my eyes adjusted to the light (again, a dark, sealed room) I liked the lushness of the images, and there were two images I thought worked particularly well because they were more mysterious and evocative than the rest. I thought she could have played with scale a lot more. Anyway, the show's on until June 5. Take a look, and draw your own conclusions. So then I asked the gallery attendant where we should go for ice cream and she said go to Brazza at Lonsdale and 19. Of course, we went. U. had chocolate. I had low-fat coffee. This is more the soft-serve style gelati. Hmmm, after reading about J. Steingarten's trials and tribulations while making soft serve at home, I'm thinking why not just make the firmer kind? Anyway, I really liked the taste of my gelato, because it had a good strong coffee flavor and it wasn't too sweet. U. liked my flavor better than his, so we had to order a coffee scoop for him too. I think we ate too much because we both had tummy aches later in the day. I stopped in at Yaas Bazaar and looked at the items in the warming trays. It looked tasty. Has anyone eaten there? We picked up some buffalo ribs at the Quay on the way home. Very disappointing. Previously frozen-should have read the small print. No sauce. Should have read the small print that says "add sauce". Way over-cooked and very salty. It was like eating buffalo jerky. Anyway, we had a lovely day, and I got that summer relaxed vibe thing going on. I love little day trips. Any other suggestions for day trips (with public transport) would be welcome. Thanks for all your suggestions. I have figured out the route to Thomas Haas's place for next time. Zuke

Vancouver Lee, Why is it those old steakhouses are so lugubrious? If it wasn't for all the garlic, you'd think they were run by vampires. There was even a place in Saskatoon called "The Cave", with fake stallactites made of stuccoed chicken wire. It's as if you have to hide your guilt-ridden glutonny in a deep, dark place. When in Calgary, you must go to the River Cafe (www.river-cafe.com). Rocky Mountain Cuisine in the park. The staff are sweet and know their stuff. This is one of my favorite places to eat. Zuke.

BCinBC, I saw a news blurb on tv that talked about the huge problem of ice wine piracy in China. That "Whistler" icewine may in fact be made in China- a treacly sweet imposter. Zuke

Hi Kurtis, Wecome aboard! My partner is also a regular at Budgie's, along with the rest of his workmates. Seems it is filling a niche. "Cheaper than a sandwich," is what he says! Looking forward to your posts, so keep them coming! Zuke

Just wondering if the forget-me-nots and the pinks (dianthus) in my garden are edible-suitable for topping little cupcakes. Zuke

Dear Chester, It sounds like they were having a bad night. Did you complain? It seems like the kind of place where they would take complaints seriously, and try to make amends. Zuke

Halleluja! (sung loudly and with gusto) Zuke

Hi Chester, Love your avatar. Are you related to Rodney Copperbottom? You've got to give us a bit more to go on, love. What were the other courses like? If you're gonna give us a rant, go for the gusto! See Joanne Kate's review in Saturday's Globe re: "Czehoski needs to stop playing games." She is very bitchy, but at least she paints a picture of why she's got her ginch in a knot. (My friend Donna tells me thongs are not all they're cracked up to be.) But I digress. We need more info. Otherwise we don't have a clue what you're talkin' about. Zuke P.S. Beets appear to be quite a contentious ingredient: "Who in their right mind would let them put a big pile ofcubed white beets beside a small lemon semi-fredo."-Joanne Kates, ibid. I myself, always insist on a side of beets with my semi-fredo. Also, sometimes simple ingredients, simply done are best. People want razzamatazz and glamour, but I've seen too many meals overworked because of these expectations.

High Tea at Sweet Revenge with the Zucchini Family On a cool and rainy Sunday in May, we decided to cozy up to high tea at Sweet Revenge on Main Street. I called early in the morning to make a reservation, but no one was there. (Hmmm...no one's there at 6 A.M. to make everything by scratch?) Well, I suspect high tea at many places has one or two things made a head and frozen, and the reality is this place is so small, they would have to prepare most things ahead. Many things on a tea tray do reheat very well anyway. At two o'clock we three were the only ones in the tearoom, and so it was very intimate and relaxing. I'm always transported back to Europe when I sit in this room with its dark red embossed wallpaper and 1920's to '40's crooner music playing. I also like that while we were having tea the owner was tenderly dusting and re-arranging the tea caddies on the shelves. He lives in the neighborhood and it's obvious he loves what he's doing. We order a tea and a half. A full tea has 10 items and costs $21.50, including tea, of course. A half tea costs $9 and includes four items off the high tea menu of your choosing. To get the best experience here, I would do the half high tea, and here's what I would order: 1) The lemon bread drizzled with lemon curd. I didn't get to eat any, but judging by the way P and U. scarfed it down, it was good. In fact, a day later, my son was relating to me how he would definitely order the lemon bread again. 2) The prociutto on focaccia or the flaky, buttery mini croissant, which is notches higher than any croissants usually available in Vancouver 3) The tiny ramekin of pear brulée-great idea and lots of vanilla seeds on the bottom 4)The curry and sun dried tomato bread with chutney chicken salad. This was my favorite item and inspired me to create something like it at home. The bun was the star, with a full-on curry flavor. It tasted moist and fresh. The other items were less inspired, so I would say do two of what you do best instead of many items with some not at the same standard. We passed the time chowing down and making up small crossword puzzles. A nice touch to end the tea was a small bowl of sliced srtawberries, kiwi, and pineapple. The tea selection, served in bodums, is great. P. ordered Jasmine and I had the Chocolate Revenge Rooibus with milk, to share with U. It smells chocolately and tastes slightly minty. For less than what we would have paid for three movie tickets and bad popcorn, this was a lovely afternoon outing. I would love to see this place thrive. Apparently it really hops with a late-night after dinner crowd. I love my neighborhood! Zuke

Re: Ovaltine, I'll have the turkey meatloaf with a side order of the Jicama slaw and a big thick creamy milkshake made with Ovaltine. Please! "Real" food is over-rated. It's all virtual food here in cyberspace. Zuke

Good points, Barolo and Ducky. I guess in Vancouver the cost of real estate by the water is prohibitive to the kinds of seaside tavernas in Greece that sell that lovely grilled octopus with a squeeze of lemon. Oh, I've got to win the lottery this week... I love warm seafood salads on a hot day with a good Sauvignon Blanc. I think the chef has to check his ego by the door to do the real basics-not that I don't love chefs with big egos. They can make great food and be very entertaining, but the pressure to impress must be a pretty big burden to bear. Sometimes the amateurs who love good food can do great things in simple ways, like the families who own the tavernas in Greece. My sister said she went to a really good basic seafood restaurant in Seattle that seemed to fit the bill. Are things better there? Zuke

Food tastes better by the creek...or so my friend's parrot thinks so. My friend K's parrot went missing this week. She was quite upset-parrots do not have homing instincts and are very hard to recapture. Well, turns out a woman visiting Vancouver was having lunch al fresco at Dockside restaurant only to have a big grey parrot land on her table and start chowing down on her lunch! The waiter plunked a plastic milk cart over the famished escapee and he was transferred to the brewing room. The staff phoned the SPCA, where my friend had registered a missing parrot report and she promptly came to pick up the rather sheepish bird. Bogart is doing well back in his cage, and his girlfriend is very happy to have him home-(a little over-enthusiastic, actually). At time of press, the parrot had no comment on whether he was actually reviewing the restaurant for the Globe and Mail's Friday edition.

Had lunch at Chutney Villa today at Main and Broadway. I love this place and go often, but I must say it's starting to look a bit frayed around the edges. It needs a bit of a shot in the arm. I wish they would experiment with a few different lunch specials. I had the chicken curry today again-very flavorful and rich. I love the cranberry chutney and the coconut chutney. I had the fresh lime juice mixed with soda water, which is a refreshing drink to have with the curry. However the paint was starting to peel off the sugar bowl and the bathrooms just really need a makeover. I really want this place to survive, so I hope they can experiment a bit, give it a bit of TLC and keep it going. Zuke

barolo, Thanks for your report. We stayed at the Pacific Sands about seven or so years ago and I have very fond memories of that time. I'm sad to hear you didn't like the Wick, Ducky, as I had a wonderful lunch there at that time, with another chef at the helm, of course. I agree with the folks above about the crustacean frustration. We went sailing a couple of times (me doped up on heavy doses on Gravol-prairie girl prize puker) around the islands and I couldn't understand why we couldn't just catch and eat seafood, or just buy it and cook it on the boat. Every time we go to the coast for a holiday, we buy a fresh crab, cook it and eat it. Why can't you get that at a little shack on the side of the road? One year we went to the sunshine coast and while waiting for our water taxi, I watched fishermen loading something interesting into a truck. Being a curious kitty cat, I discovered they were lovely lively prawns. We bought some and took them to the campsite where we ate them very simply with garlic and butter-same with the oysters we picked off the beach (the locals gave us permission). We had a few condiments, and just cooked everything to taste. I've been reading about lobsters lately. Is there some way you can feed them in the tanks and just pump out the waste? It seems stupid (and cruel) to let their flesh waste away. Besides, I don't think grumpy lobsters taste as good. On Hornby, we paid a commercial salmon fisherman to take us out and watch him try to catch us a fish. He did and we barbecued it within as few minutes of landing. Heaven. To a prairie person, this is just Nirvana. I love fish, but the information I've been reading suggests we may not be eating it much longer. It seems to me the Atlantic lobster industry has a very good management system in place, but the ocean is still filling up with our garbage, and I don't know when it's going to stop. I'm looking for some hope in this picture. Please keep me informed about the positive developments in our fishing and tourism industry. I'm all for responsible culinary tourism, and B.C. is the place for it. Zuke

Fried Food Shtick Being from a part of the prairies that supports a mix of farm and ranch land, I have been to quite a few rodeos. Not for the food. Small rodeos are a celebration of cowboy culture and community. My father used to donate several trophies each year to the Fusilier Rodeo in Sask. My friends' families used to bring their campers and stay all weekend. As children, we had the freedom of playing unsupervised having the run of the entire fairgrounds-times have changed. Such freedom rarely exists for children of that age any more. As a teenager, watching bowlegged hunks in tight jeans strap a wild animal between their legs was the inspiration for 1001 hormonally-fueled fantasies. There was also the frisson that came from the chance of seeing a cowboy trampled, gored, or dragged through the dirt. If that's the kind of thing you're into, go for it! Canucklehead said, "Usually hot dogs are something I could take or (mostly) leave - but shove a stick in it, batter it up, and deep fry it, and I am willing pay $6 dollars for the privilege to eat it. (Actually - this seems to describe many of my preferences - culinary and otherwise)." If you really like fried food on a stick, you need to go to a branding, in which case you could probably enjoy some deep-fried prairie oysters and I'm sure they would put them on a stick for you! At a small rodeo, you're gonna get burgers and hot dogs flipped by a local charity. The burgers are usually pretty fresh-"wounded, hurt, and bleeding," to quote another eGulleter! I'm sure if you went to some rodeos in the States there'd be good BBQ. But if you love your meat stunned, breaded, and poked through with a stick, you should check out Bob Blumer's book: Surreal Gourmet Bites: Showstoppers and Conversation Starters. He describes the same sort of er... passion you have. He also has tips on "fear of frying" for people like me who deep-fry about two time s a year. (I love deep-fried banana wontons with ice cream). Before you go on another rant about Bob, think about how fun it would be to have him as an uncle. "Oh, it's uncle Bob, and he's treating us to one of his crazy dinner parties again." I think it would be cool. I have fantasized about Bob catering my fortieth birthday party. I have the theme picked out and everything. It may have something to do with cowboys... Anyway, I'd like to take a ride in his toaster some day. Zuke P.S. What is it about food on a stick? Someone needs to write and essay about this.

You know, technically it's not what you're looking for, but my son and I ate lunch at kaplan's at 41st and Oak the other day. They have a deli-take-out and sit-down section. It occurred to me it has a sort of old world diner vibe about the place. U. had a hot dog, and I had a Norman, Norman, which is like a Reuban, only with turkey pastrami, and Swiss. What a heavenly sandwich. The rye bread is fresh, and dotted with carraway. I got mine with two potato latkes. I've never had latkes like this-between a potato pancake and a coarsely grated latke-crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside. The waiters are pros. We ordered a pudding brownie but they were all out :(, so we had a dissappointing piece of chocolate cake-very cold and dry. Maybe it's seen better days. I liked the concept-caramel sauce over fudge icing. The ice cream was great. If you have time, pop into the JCC and see the drawings and paintings of war and peace done by children from Israel-very poignant stuff. Zuke

So the Wing Nuts new menu has come out. More deep-fried chocolate (see the sweets thread) and new flavors for wings. I asked to taste the "Togorashi", which is a dry spice mix they put on the wings-kind of like gomashio with chilis-very hot and salty. Next time I'm going to orger a half dzen of those to try, but this time I tried the Taj Mahal Tandoori-a bit weak-it's going in the right direction, but needs more oomph and depth. It tasted good when I put a little of the Thai peanut on top. I love the Spicy Thai peanut and think it's even better now that they cover them with pieces of crushed peanuts. I think I'm going to ask for even more crushed peanuts next time. Drool! We had three dozen wings. My son ate one dozen by himself!!! E-gulleter in the making! Zuke Another interesting new flavor: Kung Pow Plum. Did I mention they serve beer?