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~cayenne~

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Posts posted by ~cayenne~

  1. Anchoress, thanks for the tip.  We are also in the neighborhood (kind of), and stopped in yesterday at 9:30.  Fairly empty, so we grabbed a booth - and then watched as every single other table was occupied over the next 10 minutes.  Anyway, I like the spot a lot.  It is diner-ish, but modernized.  I am a diner person (Joe's Grill in Kits was my old spot - though that is definitely more greasy spoon than Roundel), so this place appeals to me much more than a place like Seb's (which has great concepts with house made bread and preserves, and wild game on the menu - but seems to then fall short on execution).  Roundel's menu is not too ambitious, but they can execute it.  And the service is good too - though for a while there was only the one "older"* lady there running each table, till reinforcements showed up.  She did an admirable job though.

    I had a split benny - ham and avocado / tomato - nice house made Hollandaise, not too lemony at all.  Can you believe the non-meat one was the better benny?  True.  Also, God bless them, they had decent drip coffee.  You're right, I don't think the bread is house made, but it is okay (wife had 2 eggs over easy with sausages (which turned out to be slices of kielbasa fried - nice touch)).  Will have to try lunch soon as I am dying for a 4-scoop shake.

    *And she is by no means old!

    PS - I should mention that at full tilt, there was some shimmy as the machine tried to keep up with the demand, so I'm a bit reluctant to "Gulletize" them.  But if one can manage to show up at a not too busy time, one should be fine.

    Love this place! The shakes are delish too! The "lady" has had quite the varied experiences, they have served her well. Quite interesting chatting with her about the places she's worked at previously through the years. :cool:

  2. Hey everyone, I just need some help with picking out a good place for a birthday dinner with the family!  I've heard that these restaurants offer great food, but I need the best one (one with a good menu of beef/non beef mains, as well as desserts)!!  So I've narrowed the list down to: Parkside, Cru, Vij's, LK Dining Lounge, Nu...  please help!!!  :rolleyes: too hard of a decision for me to make  :sad: !!!    As well, name your fav dishes from your top pick!!

    Thanks so much  :wub:

    Vij's might be a little difficult, as I don't believe they accept reservations. How many people do you expect to attend the dinner?

  3. I'm looking for "masa harina", which is, I believe, a latin corn flour. Any suggestions?

    A couple of suggestions here .

    In case the link doesn't work:

    Where can I get freshly ground masa in Vancouver?

    Thanks.

    Zucchini Mama,

    I saw Masa Harina (bulk in a bin/bucket) is available to purchase for $1.25/lb or $2.50 (IIRC)/kilo at La Salza Mexican Deli at 4140 East Hastings St. in Burnaby today. Their phone number is 604 299-6485. There was another item beside it in a matching bucket, but I can't remember what it was, I was concentrating on remembering the Masa.

    Thanks a bunch, cayenne. I actually found some at La Sureno on the Drive. They carry a treasure trove of Latin American ingredients. I made some champurrado with some masa harina, and am going to try tamales too.

    This post has been edited by Zucchini Mama: Mar 22 2006, 10:09 AM

  4. Now I have to wait until the end of February to give the place a try. Anyone have the exact address? I saw a place called Chen's listed at 8111 Leslie Road, but that's apparently old info?

    The vegetarian restaurant (Rainbow) was at 8095 Park Road in Richmond (no longer listed), so that must be the address. Just around the corner from 3 Road, which runs in front of the Richmond Centre Mall (almost at the Sears end).

  5. They can say what they like about not worrying about the soil, but last Friday, the stock pot of water I had boiled and left on the stove overnight for counter-washing etc. had a quarter-inch of silt at the bottom. Which then left a greasy film when I queasily emptied the pot.

    So I mean if it were wartime and I had no other options, I would be perfectly resigned to drinking it, and would be using Melitta filters to try to remove some of the dirt. Having other options, however, means that I choose not to drink/brush my teeth/water my animals with it until the NTUs are down in single-digits, preferably below 5. I am much happier about the dog drinking rainwater in the alley than this stuff (which, admittedly, is no longer so murky).

    Oh, I completely agree Deborah, I just typed that down as Dr. Daly said it, just happpened to catch her comment as I read another post here, something in reference to drinking filtered water, all should be okay. Concerned me a bit, when she mentioned the level of filtration required to filter out the peskies, a Brita probably just wouldn't cut it. :wink: The dirt itself is indeed a turnoff, the water I was intending to cook the 'taters in was dirtier than the potatoes were before I cleaned them. :wacko:

  6. My question, what kind of water are you getting when you fill up at the local Safeway, IGA, etc.  Is it as safe as bottled?  I understand you need more than a filter to have it drinkable. 

    The filter must be at the level of 1 micron or less to filter out parasites. It is not the soil or dirt that is colouring the water to worry about, it's the potential of animal based organisms that haven't been neutralized with chlorine that is the concern until the boil water advisory is lifted from the Seymour and Capilano watersheds.

  7. I've only been brushing my teeth, showering and washing my dishes with tap water and no ill effect.

    But I am running out of drinking and cooking water.

    My question, what kind of water are you getting when you fill up at the local Safeway, IGA, etc.  Is it as safe as bottled?  I understand you need more than a filter to have it drinkable.  

    Any science specialists out there?

    Dr. Patricia Daly from Vancouver Coastal Health is featured on Studio 4 (Shaw cable 4) today, discussing the boil water advisory, and answering phone in questions. She advised not to brush your teeth with tap water, as there is a possibility of ingesting some water. I'd tend to think cooking with the water might be be okay though, since you're probably boiling it for at least a minute?

  8. Agreed, her track record speaks for itself, but do you know this for a fact?

    I still find it ammusing the assumption we have that all food writers should be reviewing for the altruistic "good of the dining public."  Last I checked, the goal of most publications is sales.  Libel aside, pretty much anything that generates sales is fair game in the reviewers world. 

    Taste is subjective, so I'm not sure how a restaurant reviewer can help me decide if I'll like a dish or not.  Ultimately I have to go and taste it for myself, right?  So other than letting me know a given restaurant exists, I'm not sure what role the reviewer plays, apart from entertainment.

    Do we judge movie reviewers or sports writers as harshly? 

    A.

    I find it amusing that in almost any local publication that I pick up lately, I will find an advert for Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. in it, that contains a lovely little quote by A.G. of The G. & M. Some reviews just live on and on and ...... :wink:

  9. Drove past Green Village yesterday afternoon and noticed them taking down the exterior signage. Looks like the demise of another restaurant... has anyone heard anything to the contrary?

    You probably saw the review in the Courier a couple or so weeks ago, not very flattering, but, it wasn't Tim who wrote it, so I didn't pay much attention, as I wasn't impressed with the replacement columnist's style of review. Maybe there was more to that than first realized. :unsure:

  10. Okay, here's a weird one.  On Friday I made pizzas.  I do this every Friday, using a bread machine to make the dough then proofing it in a warm oven.  The dough recipe I use is very simple: 1 1/2 cups of water; 3 1/2 cups of bread flour; 1 1/2 tsp yeast; 1 tsp salt; a splash of oil.  I cook the pizzas on stones in a convection oven.

    Now, here's the Vancouver question: because the tap water was not usable on Friday, I used bottled water.  The pizza crusts were much crisper -- better!  -- than normal.  Could it be that our tap water is too soft (or something) to make brilliant pizza dough?  Or was this a fluke?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

    I remember posting awhile back in a similiar type thread here, a Vancouver area pizza place, RoundTable IIRC, they advertise the fact that they use bottled spring water to make their pizza dough, so I guess you were onto a good thing. :smile:

  11. I got invited to dinner at Senhor Rooster with three young ladies, whom I'll call Dakota, Tiffany and Jordan.  If you can believe it, there was supposed to be a fourth, but she didn't show - which was really too bad, but I had my hands full anyway.  The noises these girls make when they get together!  Each one is a delight, but when you put all three together...

    We started with a little house liqueur to lubricate things, ...

    ...The only thing was that Jordan wasn't keen on the head, which was disappointing...

    (Dakota described the pork and clams as "throbbingly good") the portions were just too huge.  Chef wrapped up Tiffany's beef rib in foil, in the shape of a bull.  She said that she was going to enjoy that in a sandwich later.  Thinking I was 24 again, I offered to help her out.  Well that story might be better left for another time.

    There were a couple other couples in the joint while we were there, but I think my girls scared them off.  They can be a little noisy and intimidating, but if you can stand the heat, you won't find any better dining partners.  We had a few more laughs, and ended the evening with air kisses all around.  And I went home to sleep the sleep of the innocents.

    Well BCinBC I didn't know it was possible to turn a restaurant review into a sexist, somewhat offensive and yucky "I am a male stud" commentary, but you managed. Yuck! :wacko:

    Dear FannyBay,

    Thanks the compliment - I would never actually proclaim myself a "stud," but the ego boost of someone else thinking so is tremendous!

    I heard through my PR girl (Not Dakota) that there was a stirring on the G about this long-ago post of mine. Unfortunately I was unable to reply, being offline in Mexico researching taco-licious offerings (loved the lengua!). But I'm back, and glad to hear what you have to say. The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about - right?

    One other thing: I told my friend Jon about your excellent input, and he mentioned that he would love it if you might take a moment to read a piece of his, over on the Ireland forum. For your convenience, I've included a quick link here: link! He is a real writer, so of course his writing is vastly superior to mine (let's be honest, not even in the same league), but please be frank with him as you have with me.

    Thanks again!

    Ah yes, reminds one of the piece by Stephen Lemons.

    By the way, how were the taco-licious offerings, does anything local come close to the ones you tried in Mexico? :smile:

  12. I like to buy a couple of boxes of mandarin oranges (preferably seedless) that are sweet and very juicy.  I don't like any tartness.  If I have to buy oranges with seeds to get that then so be it.

    People tell me Japanese mandarins are superior, others tell me that Korean mandarins are the best.  So which is it? 

    I bought some from Superstore and find it's not sweet enough.  I think these were Chinese mandarins.

    I remember a few years ago I bought some from a grocery on West Broadway (West of MacDonald Street.)  They were the best I've ever tasted.

    I'd appreciate your suggestions for stores in the Lower Mainland.

    Recently, I have bought some at Kin's (various locations, including City Square and Oakridge, etc), and IIRC, they were labelled as "Honey Sweet", and they are quite small but very juicy and sweet. The bigger ones are different brand, cheaper and not as sweet. They probably would have samples or would let you try them if you ask.

  13. I'm looking for an ice pack/cooler pack that is cylindrical in shape to hold wine. 

    What I want to do with it is to hold my fruit smoothie so I don't have to keep putting it back into the fridge.

    The only place I've seen it is in mail catalogues and they are pricey.  They shouldn't be expensive as they are only ice/cooler packs.  I checked the kitchen stores and I couldn't find any.  I checked the liquor stores and they no longer carry them.  I haven't checked the private wine stores but before I expend any more gas money, can someone direct me to a place where I can find one for sure?

    Thanks.

    Taking a wild guess here, have you tried checking MEC, (online or phone them)?

    Their site here.

  14. Anyways, as we are slowly starting to find our voice and comfort zone and are starting to ask, should we do negative reviews?  Is this a good idea? 

    I suppose it depends what type of readership you're looking for.

    If you're looking for readership that wants light-hearted pieces, then stay the positive route.

    If you want to attract "serious" diners, then you have to be honest, and "tell it like it is" with your reviews.

    Either way you'll piss someone off. Don't worry about it. Whomever you piss off is not your target audience.

    A.

    I think you should always be honest with your readers. That said, you do not have to publish a bad review to accomplish this. Why not tell people where they should go or what they should enjoy rather what they shouldn't. If you ask me the negative side of this coin is more about ego, power and self importance. Just my humble 2 cents.

    If you never publish the negative aspects, then you are not being honest are you? That in itself is about power and self importance, not to mention the aspect of Why not tell people where they should go or what they should enjoy rather what they shouldn't. :hmmm: I'd much prefer to have reviews published fairly and acurately of good and bad, so I could make decisions accordingly as to what I might like to try, rather than what someone told me I should have.

  15. You know what the solution is?  Dig up all the grass around your house, and plant something you can eat.  Even flowers!  Minimal work equals freezer full of the best tomatoes you will ever eat.

    This is the answer. At work, we buy.....

    -- Matt.

    Absolutely, but, unfortunately, over here, the majority are going to be living in eventually eroding towers, with absolutely no grass or soil to grow anything in. Also, it's doubtful whether one could consider items grown within the core of all this development to be organic. It's great that you have support from landowners, however, here that is very rare, and that is also being threatened, which was the purpose of my post.

    Could you expand on what is the answer for those of us who may not work in the industry or have access to the priviliges that it might offer?

  16. Unless you want to rip up your suburban lawn to grow potatoes, there's not going to be enough soil to grow food crops in BC. Furthermore, if farmers in Sask. think it's more profitable to grow Ethanol crops, they are going to further deplete the soil there to the point where it is useless. Where are we going to grow the food if we f--- up all the soil/air/ground water that supports it?

    This issue is similiar to the original topic posted.

    ...A road location designed and planned for in 1978 has been ignored at the cost of a thriving organic blueberry farm.

    If this road is built across an active, profitable farm against the will of the owners and where an alternative design exists and has existed for decades, it can only be because we no longer have an interest in the protection of farms or farmland, anywhere.

    As things presently stand, the family farmers of this property will lose. I have told them so. If this happens all farmers lose. People who wish to buy healthy organic produce will lose. Supporters of rational planning and preservation of agricultural land will lose....

  17. No grill pans at The Bay downtown. They said they don't carry them. Does anyone know which Bay has them? Ming Wo wasn't convenient today but I might have to give them a try.

    This Panini Grill and Press is available at the Bay department store for $129.99. I saw it in the Persimmon Orange, I didn't check for other colours.

    Richmond store had the above mentioned brand. Did you consider checking out Home Outfitters, they are owned by the Bay. Have you tried phoning the Bay stores, and see if they can have a product you want delivered to the Abbotsord store? They used to do that....in the past days of good customer service. :wink:

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