Brenda

Try the Crow and Gate in Cedar just south of Nanaimo. It's a great English pub out in the country. Also, take a side trip to Hazelwood Herb Farm in Cedar.

I really enjoyed it a couple of weeks ago. What a beautiful room. The halibut and crab rosti I had was lovely. I'd go back.

So what happened to Gill's Friday reviews in the Globe? There wasn't one last week, and this week it's by Fiona Morrow. Anyone know?

Went to "Drift" in downtown Nanaimo last night. It's a pretty room, nicely lit with huge windows looking back towards Mount Benson (yes you have to look past the Tim Horton's and the car dealerships, but, hey, that's Nanaimo). There's a nice bar. They brought us some good bread right away, a selection of warm baguette slices, olive bread and spicy pappadums. I drank Cono Sur Viognier and my partner had an Italian red recommended by the server which he enjoyed ( I can't remember the name). The food was pretty good. The seafood seviche was delicious with prawns, squid, grapes, lime, and basil. My partner had the lamb shank which was indian spiced with daal and potatoes. I had the ling cod pakoras. The frites that came with it were excellent, but the pakoras were really just cod coated in a slightly soggy batter. If they could crisp that batter up, it would be a good dish as the sauce with it was tasty, a chili/lime mayonnaise. We finished with a creme brulee with two teeny spoons. I would definitely go back. Nanaimo really needs a place like this.

Drift is just down the road from Gina's Mexican cafe. It's where the old Souvlaki House used to be. I think there's"world cuisine" on the sign (could be great, could be awful). I think I'm going to drag my husband there this week, and I'll report back.

Has anyone been to Drift in Nanaimo? I'll probably go there next week.

Hi Brenda, just to clarify CP Hotels purchased Fairmont in 2000 not the other way around. Service issues have nothing to do with the change of the flag over the door, I would hazard a guess and say it has a lot to do with the overall shortage of labour that the island is facing, as well as an aging workforce (The Empess has some of the longest term CP/Fairmont employees in the whole company) and not being able to replace them as they retire. Colin ← Interesting. I honestly don't know how some restaurants are going to survive as young people have so many choices right now re jobs.

Too bad about the service at the Bengal Lounge. Perhaps with the takeover by the Fairmont people and the loss of some long-time servers, things have changed and not for the better. The Spinnaker's food doesn't sound very "gastro" at all. I haven't been there in ages. Glad that Brasserie made up for the other places. We were there a few weeks ago, and my husband had a delicious braised shortrib with gnocchi, and I had steak frites (I usually go for a fish course there) because I was feeling carnivorous. We were very hungry, and we left very happy.

Anyone else read Alexandra Gill's review of Connor Butler's new place? She certainly didn't like it much, and I have to say from what she described, I probably wouldn't either.

Well for comfortable chairs, great ambiance, and not bad food, I'd go for the Bengal Lounge in the Empress. They have a curry buffet, but if that's not to your taste, they have tea sandwiches and other menu items. You can have a pot of tea or a gin and tonic and pretend you're in the Raj (BTW, it's cheaper than the high tea elsewhere in the hotel). You can probably find the menu online at the Empress Hotel's Website. Milestone's is OK but a bit noisy and crowded.

Did the tentacles cling to your tongue? *shudder*

I was at the Shebeen a few week's ago. Had a delicious Bushmill's Bourbon cask and my husband had some exotic Scotch. Great little hideaway.

I go there every time I am in Victoria and love their noodles and curries. Last time, I had a great special as well: Thai fish cakes with a red curry sauce. However, there is one thing they don't do well, in my opinion. Their fried dumplings are tough. Now, I've only had them once, as I didn't want to repeat the experience, so if someone else wants to try them and report, please go ahead.

My husband and I were in town for a couple of days R and R. On Wednesday, we ate lunch at "Century." What a gorgeous room. My husband had the Mojito (I tasted it - perfectly minty and limey). He had the pulled pork sandwich, and I had the seafood burritos. Both came with an assortment of freshly fried tortilla and potato chips and guacamole and a salsa with a kick. I liked the burritos and the chimichurri sauce that came with them, but I'd have to give it hands down to the pulled pork sandwich - spicy and sweet. I kept asking for bites. Very nice place, and I will certainly be back for supper next time I'm in Vancouver. That night we went to the Irish Heather, and before we went in, we went down the alley to peek in Salt's door. Looks great, but I just wasn't in the mood for charcuterie (which will surprise anyone who has read my postings on the Vancouver Island thread), so we went back to the Heather and had a delicious whiskey (OK I had a bourbon cask Bushmill's whiskey and my husband had a 15 year old Bruchladdh (sp?) whisky) in the Shebeen before eating fish and chips on the patio. Good solid pub grub and a wonderful atmosphere. I love the old gaslights and the cobbles. The next night, we went to Hapa Isakaya for lemon drops and some silky tuna sashimi, short ribs, kabocha pumpkin spread, shrimp salad, and spicy chicken. We'd never had the kabocha before and were surprised that it was like, well, pumpkin pie complete with sweetened whipped cream. It was strangely good, though. And then we came home and had a TERRIBLE Bread Garden chicken salad sandwich on the ferry. How did they get that contract? When is their contract up? I just don't get how a place called the Bread Garden can make such stale tasting, fluffy, tasteless bread.

My husband and I ate lunch there on Wednesday. We loved it and will be back for supper sometime. I will post more details in the "last three places" thread. We were the only ones in there, though, for the hour or so we were there.

Thanks for the opinion. Hmmm beds in Sanafir..... Nah, I'm too middle-aged! I've always liked the building Century is in.

Has anyone been here lately? I'm debating going to either Century or Sanafir one night next week. I want a room with some oomph (and both seem to have that), but I want good food as well. Any updates?

What about Nanoose Edibles? They are really close to you.

The Noodle Box is fantastic. Every time I am in Victoria, I go there for lunch. Try their Indonesian spicy peanut noodles. They have a website (sorry can't link). They started as a little sidewalk cart and then took over a tiny place on Fisguard. Now they have one on Douglas as well. Kitsilano should be happy!

We usually stop at the Wick. restaurant for lunch when we go to Long Beach. the food is so/so, but the view and the rest (after that drive) are great. Then it's off to Middle Beach Lodge for accomodations and supper at the Wickaninish Inn. Fabulous.

The menu sounds great. I assume from the word "Tapas" that we could come there and order a la carte?

This is an interesting topic. I teach at Malaspina (though not in the culinary program), and I have heard that the kids coming in to that program seem to have more "stars in their eyes" about being the next Jamie Oliver or Rob Feenie. However, I do know that the cooking faculty try very hard to make the students aware of what is realistic in terms of their job prospects. I mean , they are much more likely to get a job at a senior citizen's home making meatloaf for 500 or to be a line cook somewhere. The faculty try to impress upon the students that only a very few who work VERY hard will get to be top flight chefs at a resort or a top restaurant. But, the students are young and perhaps don't get the message?

I remember having a date at Bistro Praha in about 1979. It was the epitome of cool back then (especially for my 19 year old self ). I can't remember all the things my date and I had, but a few things stand out like toast points with crab and caviar, frothy coffee (capuccino), and Mozart on the stereo. Then I went to Europe for real and never saw him again (but that's another story). Glad to hear it is still there. My all-time favourite Edmonton restaurant was Walden's. Long gone, I presume.

Paul B? Your experience of Ireland seems to have been a sour and unpleasant one. My experience of Eire has been markedly different. I had wonderful food in Ireland. I won't even comment on the alcohol intake you describe on your blog given that B.C. residents have a few problems with the grape if you look at how much we drink compared to other North Americans. But to keep to the thread, have you actually tried the Irish Heather's food? St Patrick's day is now over, so they shouldn't be too busy.

We were over in Vancouver for the weekend and went to Hapa Isakaya on Friday night for a lemon drop martini or two and some wonderful tuna with yuzu marinade, prawns with chili mayo, and gyosa. We also shared one of those Korean sizzling rice dishes (can't remember the name) - spicy and garlicky goodness. It was fun - high energy, and the food coming out of the kitchen (we were at the bar) looked so good and fresh. On Saturday for lunch we met a friend at Feenie's. I hadn't realised that lunch on the weekend is really more brunch there but enjoyed it anyway. My husband had a Feenie's weenie, and the friend had a goat cheese and mushroom omelet. Me - a salad although I was eyeing the burgers at the next table longingly. However, I knew I had to save room for Parkside last night. We both had cocktails - mine the frozen pink grapefruit vodka one and his the Knobb Creek whisky sour (his was best). They had a wonderful starter of crab, grapefruit, and avocado with a kind of russian dressing/ remoulade (not as retro as it sounds!). For mains, lamb with preserved lemon and olives (never met a preserved lemon I didn't like). The lamb was perfectly rare and tender. The other main was venison with a sweet reduction of cranberries and wine and asparagus and potato galette. We had a Cote du Rhone with our mains. Neither of us opted for the cheval on offer. I'm afraid the sad story of the Toronto mountie and his horse was too fresh in our minds.... Panacotta with berries and caramelized apple tart with maple ice cream did us both in. How does Ling do this day after day? Oh and we came home with some take-away curries from Rangoli for supper tonight. You folks in Vancouver have such a great array of places; there were many others I'll have to try next time, NU, Hamilton Street, West ....