Badiane
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Posts posted by Badiane
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The last thing we need is some Dubrulle graduate kid with too much money starting fooling around with adult toys.
I can personally atest to the fact that once you are done with Dubrulle, you don't have any money left for toys :-)
I thought that Aschatz, who has now left Trio for his own venture, was a bit on the Cooking School Grad with too much money side...I didn't think he was particularly interesting or inspired with the little bits of paper flavoured with dust. I found it a bit irritating, really.
At least Adria is presenting actual food, not spray painted paper. I was glued to the TV for the Bourdain special, not just because of the way the food looked, which was spectacular...that cherry with the ham fat totally got me...but the potential for what he is developing, and the range of technique that may some day make it into the mainstream. Food is science, and he is certainly making it work for him. I also loved that the total price of a meal at El Bulli is about 100 pounds sterling, which, when you think about the development time of the techniques, is not very much.
I was, however, kind of disappointed and demystified when my husband, upon seeing the pea ravioli globules, said 'hey, that's just glycerin and gelatin, we can do that in our own kitchen if we can figure out the proportions - that's how they make artificial skin'. I'll let you know if he hits on the right formula :-)
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With regards to Go Fish...
I guess I was expecting more of a Sobo in Tofino experience, only with frites.
They open at 12 and we got there at 10 past. Was prepared for the line, that was fine. But there was some kind of issue in the kitchen...we were in line for about 25 minutes, and they were just starting to kick out food when we got to the counter. That in itself should have tipped me off.
We ordered...and waited and waited and waited and waited...about 20 minutes for my food, and then another 10 for my husband's part of the order. They were really floundering back there. I felt sorry for them, but hey, it's not rocket science, and you do this every day, and you should be prepared for the rush.
So, I ordered the Salmon Burger. So it comes on a cold untoasted bun with a swipe of tasteless mayo, four slices of cucumber soaked in rice vinegar and a few leaves of undressed greens, with about two tablespoons of soggy limp coleslaw clearly left in the cup from the day before. The slaw was absolutely greasy with sesame oil and way oversalted. Really, for 8 bucks, I felt ripped off. The fish was fresh, but completely unseasoned. My feeling was this: Cabbage is about 25 cents a pound. Surely for the price you could throw a decent amount of slaw on a plate, and for the price, toss in 15 cents worth of frites. And as cabbage is cheap, at least make fresh slaw every morning.
My husband had the Fish and Chips. Nice fresh fish, good batter, a bit on the greasy side which indicated to me perhaps the issue in the kitchen was they forgot to turn on the fryer...but anyway, the frites were all about 1 inch long...looked like a lot of broken ends, but they were tasty. He had the same nasty coleslaw and the tartar sauce was completely inedible...it had that kind of scum on it that only comes from mayonnaise sitting uncovered in the fridge for too long...like overnight.
Overall, it was unpleasant...I wasn't expecting the kitchen to be palatial, but I was expecting it to be clean. If it looked like that after only being open 30 minutes, then it looked like that when they started. They have storage issues, with the slaw and the tartar sauce sitting on the counter uncovered and unrefridgerated. And the worst part was this guy, in absolutely filthy whites, with an even filthier bar towel in his hand, kept coming around and asking how things were. I thought perhaps he was homeless and needed lunch...seriously...I offered to buy him something and he looked horrified and said "I work here, ma'am". Okay, dude, you have been at work for like 2 hours...did you go down and roll in fish guts on the way over here? Arrrgh.
So much for exercising great restraint.
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We did the big Vancouver trip today...
Got treats at the Bon Ton...divine diplomat cake!
Had a long and hot day, so cancelled the dinner reservation and picked up some dungeness crab, fresh digby scallops and live spot prawns, came home and made a wonderful salad with a honey, dill and lemon dressing and a fresh french stick. Simple but perfect. Piled the seafood on top and we are still smiling.
Had lunch at Go Fish. harummmpppppphhh. The emperor is, in fact, completely naked, but perhaps we are the only ones who noticed. Great restraint is being exercised at this moment.
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Snacky Cat...I think they get the baked goods from the Little Farmhouse on No. 5 Road. You may find the cheesebread there.
We have been to see 'the cheese lady'...her info is as follows...
The Farm House Natural Cheeses
5634 McCallum Road
Agassiz, BC V0M 1A1
604-796-8741
Debra Amrein-Boyes is the Cheesemaker. she produces handmade artisnal cheeses from the farm's cows and from local goats milk.
She has...
Cheddar, Gouda, Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers, Country Morning, La Pyramide, Feta, St. George, Chevre, Fromage Frais, Cream Cheese and Creme Fraiche, amongst other things. She also has a small gift shop and sells gelato. In the summer she has other specialty food from the surrounding area as well.
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Okay, so to avoid hijacking the other thread, I created a new one....
Chilliwack and the surrounding area does have a few interesting things...not many, but here are some I have uncovered.
Organa Farms: Family operated Certified Organic Turkey and Razorback Hog Farm located in Yarrow.
http://organafarms.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/
The will deliver to Greater Vancouver with a minimum $50 dollar order! They sell turkey, chicken, beef, pork, lamb and bison. It's not even ridiculously overpriced, although I have misplaced my list but you can email them and they will send you one.
Little Farmhouse Country Market: Also in Yarrow....#1 quality Grade "A" Free Range pastured poultry, naturally raised Government Inspected, containing no animal by-products, non-medicated, specialty whole grain and vegetable fed. They have chicken, turkey, goose and sausage.
http://www.littlefarmhousecountrymarket.ca/index.html
Wisbey's Veggies: Also in...YARROW! What a shock! they grow and sell all thier own stuff. I get most of my canning fruits and veggies there.
Farmhouse Cheese: Excellent cheesemaker...in Agassiz/Harrison, just for a switch. This woman, whose name escapes me, decided to start making cheese with the surplus milk from the family dairy farm. Best brie ever, fabulous butter...camembert, coulommiers, cheddars etc. This alone is worth the drive. We are heading there in about an hour so I will find out if she has a website and at least give her address. Those of you coming to Chefs in the Country have to drive right by it, might as well stop in and spend some money.
And of course there are all the small farmers that I get nuts, apples and other things...including the old man on Keith Wilson Road who happily sold me all those quinces and not so happily parted with all the figs he had picked that morning...if there is something you are looking for, let me know and I will tell you if I have a source.
And of course if you are desperate for quince paste, I will be coming into the city tomorrow...let me know and I will bring you a slab.
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Sadly no, you aren't the only one who remembers, says she who will be 40 on Monday :-)
Giant Fred is no more...it's now Dinoworld or some such. We are childless, so we don't have to subject ourselves to those sorts of attractions and I had quite forgotten about it. I do have some memories of rowing a boat around a pond.
HSG will have to wait for another time...it's the Bon Ton for a cake, Go Fish for lunch and maybe Henry's Kitchen for dinner unless I snack too much at GI. Although I have to say the idea of Phnom Phen is incredibly alluring right now.
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[Oh yeah... that'll be three for dinner tonight please. Let me know what time you'll be plating.
'bout 5:30...:-)
And now that I know what you look like, we will be watching for you and your dessert eating compadres as we eat our way around Vancouver on Saturday! I think the most interesting part of our day is going to be playing 'spot the eGulleter'.
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Brava is a beautiful looking space, and the gentlemen from Delilah's are fine hosts. It's in a terrible area, and the parking is minimal, which is annoying, but workable. The menu, when we were there, was unimaginative, and it is quite overpriced. Unfortunately, our server was not knowledgeable about the menu or the wine. It's kind of become a bit of a hang out for the 20 something martini crowd, as far as we could tell, and while the food was ok, it wasn't worth a repeat visit, especially in view of the fact that it is sitting next to an excellent Thai place that serves better food for a quarter of the price. I am over the whole 'food is art' thing, and don't really go for the overpresented style that seems prevalent. Generally the restaurants are mediocre to horrifying, with the exception of Cookies Grill, which is a mom and pop diner where the breakfast is wonderful, and the thai place we frequent. I am going to get the paper on the way home and read that review.
The grocery stores are not very good. There is little fresh fish to be had, and even fewer specialty ingredients. Wine selection is starting to expand, but there is still a huge Baby Duck display in the centre of the liquor store. It's disheartening, especially with Vancouver so close.
I am a pretty good forager, and have located an organic pork and lamb farmer in Yarrow, as well as a good source of organic but not certified chicken. We have a duck and goose farm, which has a pretty good product but would love to see them expand to confit and pate and things. There is one artisnal break maker struggling to keep her head above water and a fabulous cheesemaker in Agassiz/Harrison. Summer is a bounty of fresh produce, so I always look forward to that time of year.
Our house probably has the best food in town :-) I was a chef and my husband was a confectioner and baker, so we are pretty well covered. I make virtually everything we eat, we don't use processed food very often except canned tomatoes and beans (and the occasional box of KD). This weekend is my free for all stock up at Granville Island and other shops I like there. Thank god for the freezer! We also do all our own chutneys, jams and pickles, so that helps.
On the menu for tonight is manchego with house made quince paste for an starters, and then on to a beef ragout over polenta, a simple salad and flourless apple cake with homemade cinnamon ice cream for dessert! Wanna come over?
And you are one up on me...I have no idea who 50 foot Fred is!!!!
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I'm sure there is someone that lives close enough to roll a BBQ over.
Of course then we would have to talk about the food...that could take a week or more...then there would be the shopping...and the prep...gosh, how about we all rally on the lawn of City Hall sometime around June 1st? I'd take a day off from my scintillatingly interesting job to be part of that! I have endless access to Laser printers...so if you need flyers, let me know!
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Living out here in the culinary armpit of BC, I am amazed at how many of the restaurants on peoples list I have actually eaten at! Of course I did live in the civilized world once....
I still have dreams about the Veau Morille at Le Crocodile, and I even have the recipe...I haven't made it, but I am going to this weekend after a trip to GI to get veal, which I can't get in the armpit of BC, and morel mushrooms. I am so excited I could spit.
Vij is interesting and we found him kind of bizarre in a not too offputting way. I am the only person in the whole world who does not like the Lamb Popsicles. It seemed to me that all of the meat that we had - lamb, duck, beef, chicken, had been cooked earlier in the day and reheated. I didn't like the sauce with the lamb at all, it was very sour and what are the lumpy bits? And I think they should be called Lamb Lollipops, not popsicles. But that is just me.
Sobo in Tofino is one of maybe 3 restaurants that I have been to where I did not come away saying to myself "Why did we go out? I cook better than that at home".
On the list for this weekend...Go Fish and Henry's Kitchen. And anything I can stuff in my mouth at Granville Island.
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There was a place in North Van:
Gambrinus Restaurant, 707 Queensbury Ave., North Vancouver, 988-1331.
Dunno if it's still open, but it was listed in the Straight a few weeks ago.
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Oh I'm not saying I don't eat there...I live in Chilliwack, that great culinary wasteland of sub standard restaurants and even worse service. It is, sadly, among the better restaurants here, which just breaks my heart.
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Here here! As someone who 'knew him when', I have frequently been shocked by the overstylization of a once perfectly ordinary fun guy. The crazed South Park character dancing is disturbing, to say the least. So is Feenie's Weenie. What the hell is THAT?
Clearly you are in a loop that I have not even caught wind of, because the White Spot ad is a new one on me. I can't even picture how that would have happened except the sheer greed of the 10%-er egging him on. I wonder what Relais Chateaux would say about that? And he's worried about the KFC? Why, because he can't stay away from it? It's a great KFC, conveniently located next to a Weight Watchers outlet, as I remember fondly :-)
I have been shaking my head over Rob and his obsession with sablefish for a long time...over a lot of things, actually. One more thing for the Dubrulle Alumni to snicker over at the next reunion.
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Of course you can sigh about being 36...but 36 was great for me...met my husband that year!
40 is the new 30, so 36 must be the new 26 - you are younger than you think!
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I just have to ask...when is your birthday? Mine is the 25th and I will be 40...sigh.
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I make Nutella Ice Cream...basic vanilla with a couple of healthy scoops of Nutella melted in, then I add more Nutella near the end so it has a ripple.
For herbals and such, I infuse the milk. But beware, sometimes they get strong. I did lemongrass last week and it was nasty. Way too much lemongrass!
Similarly, with sorbets, I infuse the water.
I made this last week...excellent
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_v...earch=ice+cream
David...I am curious about the guava paste ice cream - did it have caramel saltines in it or on the side?
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Thanks Butter...that's about what I thought it would be like, but there was always the chance that it would be different. I hate when I go to these things as end up irritated because it's a waste of time when I could be eating elsewhere. Go Fish, Bon Ton, Granville Island and Montri sound like a better bet for the day :-)
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Yeah, Blumer, not Feenie...I personally LOVE Rob...really...he's a great guy.
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All the more reason to heckle, as far as I'm concerned :-)
Is he Canadian? I just hate his show, plus I had a negative in person interaction with him on a sidewalk in Seattle...I don't actually know anything about him...what's his claim to fame other than the show?
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Okay...let's all get matching hats - perhaps silver, with toast coming out the top. We will rally at the Maurya booth at high noon, arm ourselves with paranthas and poori and head for the Bloomer demo. I will distract Bloomer by shouting "Someone is smearing Jelly on your Toastermobile!" and you all make off with his mis-en-place and replace it with plastic food stolen from the sushi booth...
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Well, heckling opportunities aside, I think I will give it a miss...the restaurants involved don't really interest me all that much...I think we will stick to the original plan of lunch at Go Fish, shopping at Granville Island, a visit to Bon Ton for a cake and dinner at Montri or Maurya or the suchlikes. I'm turning the big 4-0, so my hubby has gifted me with a 'do what I want in the city' day. Somehow I don't envision spending it getting bloated and heckling Bob. Although the heckling thing does make me laugh...maybe I can find out what hotel he's at and heckle him in the lobby for free. Oh boy, I really need to get a hobby.
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Oooo...that sucks about the Cinnamon Buns...I worked there like 10 years ago and they used to be wonderful! I haven't been out there for a while. Oh well, everything changes, I guess. I used to go to the Deli and get a brie sandwich - still my favorite!
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Whole Foods is a loonnnggg way from UBC. It's in West Vancouver.
Here's the address:
925 Main Street
Village at Park Royal
West Vancouver, BC V7T 2Z3
604.678.0500
604.678.0501 fax
You would have to take a bus from UBC to the Waterfront Skytrain Station, then get on the SeaBus to Lonsdale Quay, then get a bus from the Quay to the mall. Probably take about an hour or so.
Here is a link to the BC Transit Trip Planning website...it will tell you the correct route to go to anywhere in the city! Might be useful.
http://tripplanning.translink.bc.ca/hiwire?.a=iTripPlanning
Plenty of good eating to be had on West Broadway, and in the general area...Lumiere, Feenies and many more. You might like Henry's Kitchen at Macdonald and 25th, a not too far trip from the U. Need to reserve in advance, tho...it's small and gaining popularity.
And while at UBC, make sure to try the Ponderosa Cake and the Cinnamon Buns!
Vancouver baby Adria?
in Western Canada: Dining
Posted
Yup, it will get here eventually...a fool and his money are soon parted, and there is a PT Barnum in every crowd.
Ready...hmmmm...well, are we ready to part with our money in an effort to leap on the cutting edge bandwagon? Probably. From a cuisine standpoint? No, most places can't even get the basics correct, so this would just present another opportunity to screw up something that should have been simple to begin with. And most people don't know good food from bad. There are maybe 500 people in Vancouver that would 'get it'. The rest would be lemmings. But you know what they say...if you build it, they will come. Charge 200 bucks for it and they will be lining up at the door.
I can see Feenie doing the mango caviar kind of thing...and the ravioli. And probably other chefs as well. I think someone new will come on the scene tho. And they will go at it full tilt. Money, all you need is money.
I think a Vancovuer 'El Bulli' would have to have seaweed foam...and the fish in cotton candy :-)