gingerfreak

Oops - Caffe de Medici is in DOV. I spelled it wrong too. ← I believe Central Bistro is also DOV-ing

Thanks for the reminder! I completely forgot about this and have gotten a ton of ideas from this thread

I love the rebar book! Because I loved going to the restaurant when I lived in Vic I waited until I moved away to buy it. And I've made the lime sugar cookies too - we really enjoyed them. That's a great idea with the citrus salt. I've made a couple of the soups - loved the carrot lemongrass (partner, not so much, but then he's enamored of the spicy carrot-peanut one I make), and the thai dragon bowl soup is really versatile and was just what I wanted when I was sick (and again when I wasn't). Hmm, I've made a few of the condiments as well. Both peanut sauces ("regular" to which I always add extra peanut butter, and the coconut kaffir lime), the Bombay hummous, and I've gotten tons of mileage out of the cilantro pesto. Great in sandwiches and wraps, and right now in post-Christmas eating it really livens up broth soups. I've gotten lots of ideas from their salads too. I really need to get into the dessert chapter more The only other local book I have is Inspirations: The Who Dish. The indian butter prawns are excellent with LOTS of extra sauce for bread-dipping, and I made the chai spiced nuts but screwed it up. You need chai powder, not liquid concentrate, so while they weren't bad, they were lacking the chai flavour (which was kinda the point..). Anyone else - suggestions for essential local cookbooks??

Okay...so now I'm craving kolachy. Great little segment - nice job, guys! Oh, and vive la revolution!

Although I use bought stocks, I always make my own soups, mainly for sodium reasons (and they taste better ) Also: marinades, peanut sauce, chutneys, dressings, spice rubs, a lot of baked goods, etc. I really don't buy much in the way of premade stuff..

How do you like THEM apples? As adjectives: white bread, upper crust, spicy, saucy, vanilla...

Okay..more than 3, but I've been lazy about posting. Last Friday before Christmas, late lunch/early dinner at Central. *Trying* to be healthy, it was salads for each. He had the cobb and I had the hot seafood. Both very nice, and we each had a couple of rounds of drinks - my partner had the tequini (after a many-year hiatus he can finally drink tequila again!) and I had the silver bullet, which if I remember correctly had scotch in it. On Christmas Eve, in the madness of shopping downtown we stopped at the Templeton. He had the Big Ass brekkie and loved it but for the hell of it decided to try "veggie bacon". He WILL NOT be repeating the experiement. I had the grilled veggie sandwich with gruyere cheese. Good food, great atmosphere. We don't make a big deal out of Christmas at all for the 2 of us, so dinner consisted of shrimp and veggies with dip, several cheeses, including a fabulous aged cheddar, and the famous rainforest crisps. Accompaniment was a bottle of grenache shiraz and a movie "Team America: World Police". Ahhh, the holiday spirit Oh, and though we don't do much for Christmas per se, I do feel a weird compulsion to bake the usual goodies, so baked some almond spice butter cookies to rave reviews. For brunch on boxing day it was back to Central (I'm right around the corner so it's definitely becoming a neighbourhood haunt). My partner had the Big Ass breakfast (are we seeing a theme here?) which further entrenched his love of Central and especially their portion sizes. I was torn between the french toast and being healthy and opted for healthy, going for the egg white omelet, accompanied by the ginger tea. And I really love the spelt bread they use there. Last Tuesday we did lunch at Cassis - I had the coq au vin, which I quite enjoyed - the chicken very tender and the broth nice and warming on a rainy day. My only complaint is it could have used more pancetta. My partner had the mushroom-truffle-goat cheese pizza and thought it amazing. Service was a bit rough, but not bad at all, considering the waitress was obviously new. AFter that we dashed across the street for a few drinks at Yaggers. Love the atmosphere there, and though it was completely dead on a Tuesday afternoon, I could see it being lots of fun. Great drink list too, although my past issues with jagermeister leave it rather limited for me . I'll be really interested to watch their progress there. This past Friday it was just drinks with friends at George. I know a lot of people aren't crazy about its yaletown-ness, but it is what it is. If you can accept that (and get there early enough), it's very enjoyable. LOVE the design there, and was particularly impressed with the drinks. So nice to see mixed drinks aren't just sugar bombs. Finally, for NYE, it was our first time at Lumiere. I can't say anything about it that hasn't been said better by many others here, so will simply say that it was an absolutely lovely experience, in terms of food and service. We were home before midnight and rang in the new year with cognac and scotch

My partner and I have never had a good time with big NYE blowouts...so we're off to a spectacular dinner, just the 2 of us, at Lumiere. Then we'll come home and no doubt cap off the evening with some Hennessy XO for him and some Lagavullin 16 yr pour moi.

On the subject of dv8, does anyone know the story re: their renovations and plans for reopening? I miss that place...lotsa drunken student memories there

Before you shake that bottle, make sure the lid is actually screwed on. When measuring, especially spice paste, chili flakes, or ANYTHING hot, triple check whether you're reading TEAspoons or TABLEspoons. Coughing fits and scorched palates may ensue.

Hi and welcome! I'm not really sure about who is doing special Christmas Eve dinners, but if you want to stay within the west end, I'd check out the recent restaurant thread - there are tons of good suggestions at all price points. Slightly out of the west end, moderately priced places might be Cassis or Chambar. Enjoy!

The Chambar thread inspired me to think about going there for my own upcoming um...29th birthday as well. usually it's just me and my partner but I'm thinking a pretty lively setting would be ideal. And the fact that I haven't been there yet is a situation that needs rectifying.

Mooshmouse and D90, thanks for the input on Black Tuna. Mixed reviews means I'll leave it to my own whim whether I check it out or not (sustainability issues aside, poor service like that is major peeve). And Foo Faa has indeed closed (I mentioned it in Openings and Closings). In its place is Chungdam Izakaya - not open yet but I'll be intrigued to try it once it is.

Clove has been a longtime favourite (relatively speaking - I haven't been here that long), and Central is becoming another go-to option. Great drink list there! Guu at Robson and Bidwell always seems to get good reviews and so does Raincity Grill. I've enjoyed BravoBistro at the base of Denman a few times (but always seem to forget about it). One place I'm intrigued by but haven't been is Black Tuna - anyone been and would you recommend it? Definitely lots of options around here - welcome to the 'hood!

Starbucks is absolutely stronger than anyone else I've found, and yes, I am an addict . But then I like my coffee industrial strength... So which came first - the conspiracy for addiction or the addiction which feeds the conspiracy?

A place called "Chungdam Izakaya" is going in where the Foo Faa recently closed down - tucked in on Cardero just off Robson.

Also in the area and just up from Ciao Bella is Clove, which I've always enjoyed. Monday to Thursday their tapas menu is half price before 7 pm.

Unless the service is really crappy (and it's not due to things beyond the server's control), I generally tip 20-25%. I'm of the mind that there's no point in nickel and diming. Even when it's really bad though (fortunately this has been rare) I don't think I've ever left less than 15%. My partner in crime and I usually tip really well at places we like and want to be considered regulars. I'm not really sure how this area stacks up against the rest of the country - do people in the industry notice significant difference between "locals" and other canucks?

Hmmm. That CC has a "test kitchen" behind it on Ash. Perhaps we can get them to give us the entire test kitchen for a group rate so we don't scare the other patrons ← On the other hand...just think of the marketing opportunity: "if it makes these food snobs THIS happy, just imagine what this burger can do for you!"

snacky_cat, you have almost singlehandedly cured me of the so-far resisted temptation whenever I go past that cupcake place on Denman. I'm not a huge fan of tooth-jangling sweets either.

I'm almost positive I remember seeing fresh quince just this weekend at Safeway at Davie and Bidwell. Not entirely sure; it may have been one of the smaller independent markets in the area. Maybe that's not much help! Oh, and Ling and Badiane, thanks for the tips on chestnuts - I've since seen canned at Capers and Gourmet Warehouse

How funny I saw this thread, my husband and I were recently talking about our experience at Gibby's about 5 years ago, as an example of how NOT to run a restaurant. We were visiting Montreal, and Gibby's was recommended in all the tourist material (RED ALERT!!). We found the food itself to be quite nice, but the noise from the fact that they crammed tables in every conceivable spot (I could hear the neighbouring tables better than my husband) really distracted us from it. Service was only okay, and the waiter couldn't make a wine recommendation if his life depended on it. As comparison, the evening before we'd stumbled into a wonderful, cozy little place called Chez Julien. Pricing very reasonable, service top-notch, just a great experience. Tourists, I can understand getting sucked into a place like Gibby's. Locals, don't get it

Well, I believe you can bring your own now in Ontario? Anyone know how this is playing out? Maybe BC will follow suit. Slightly off topic, but this brings mind an experience in Thailand. A dance club we went to often (don't know how common this was, or whether it applied to restaurants, we were students and clubbing in Chiang Mai was priority ). You could bring in any hard liquor you liked - but you HAD to buy mix. If you tried to drink anything straight there would instantly be a very polite staff member at your side, courteously providing you with a list of your options. The price was so insane it made more sense to just go with the *martini* menu.

that burger looks awesome - if there's a mass egullet swarming count me in!

You guys beat me to the Hooters scoop - I noticed that yesterday. Only reason I noticed was the darkened room on normally blazing Robson. Can't say I'll miss it, but am skeptical about anything good going in. I also noticed that Pastels is now leased - just think if they become a Starbucks too, they only need to take over the Banana Republic for an uber-Bucks to complete the square. Wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility!