~cayenne~
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Posts posted by ~cayenne~
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Give me a break, what a rude and ungrateful person. Sounds like a gossip columnist than someone passionate about food.
Yes, mangez, I agree.
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My point? Waiters, bartenders, chefs et al might recognize a load of crap when they read it, but the majority of readers won't. This was what pissed me off, nothing more. The writing is great, but I take exception at the flippant methodology (especially because there are jobs at stake).
Very, very true!
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Paul B I could not agree more with your suggestion. I tried some at a dinner in France recently, and was absolutely amazed at the flavour. I did not catch the specific producer, but the Epoisse surpassed any cheese I tried on the entire trip.
My trip report is going quite slowly, but here are a couple sneak previews of the cheese course we had at Les Santons:
Cheese selection: L'Epoisse is at about 1 o'clock, with the fork in it.
My cheese plate: once again look at that runny, delicious mess at about 1 o'clock.
I am so glad you posted that picture Brian!
I had that in France this summer and it was fantastic, but I never knew the name, so thanks!
OMG, it was fantastic...so creamy and rich.
I'll be heading to the Cheese Shop asap.
Here's one more that may go well with your cheese course.
Blue St Agur.
51% milkfat
reminds me of a cambozola only far richer with nutty flavoured blue streaks.Oh, oh, I'm so glad you posted this, Blue St Agur I was thinking of it, but..... I discovered this cheese at Oyama on G.I. It is sooooooo delicious. I
it, really yummy! Very smooth, creamy with just the right bite of sharpness of blue. Really lovely cheese to finish off with I'd guess. 
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"with influence comes responsibility" I like that.....but perhaps too vague(for me anyway). I find Gill to be useful because of her (perceived)distance from the industry, 'punters' perspective' so to speak. The actual content seemed fair enough as far as the Diva review was concerned UNLESS the dining partner & Gill lied about their reaction-but that would be absurd considering her position. So do people take exception to the publication of the free thoughts & opinions of somebody hired for that very purpose? Has Gill panned all the restaurants she has visited?Perhaps in this instance she had markedly higher expectations(which would be the case if i should dine their too!) & those expectations were not met so what!
Really with PR being somewhat pervasive in the higher echelons of fine dining(yawn, yawn i know) perhaps such reviews/reviewers are essential components in the dynamic scene here to provide some form of check to the generated propaganda. I see a more visibly detached press as an encouraging trend for the consumer, just need to ensure that the resume can back it up! and such faith takes a while to establish as egullet proves. It will be interesting to see how Diva responds to the criticism. I find it perplexing that a number of people want to somehow gag/edit/reform Gill through the channels of command- there already exists enough censure, surely the most effective response is to not buy the paper & allow those who do read her reviews to do so unadulterated.
cheers
Very true, and I'm very interested to see.
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The take away/freezer package prices range between $7 and $8. Usually Helen and I can get by with one package but if we are hungary then we usually open two packages but have a bit left for one of us to eat the next day.
Stephen
Thanks Stephen, that sounds just perfect!
ps... we
W. A+ staff, quaffibles & edibles. Deserves a reco IMHO. -
In short, we food enthusiasts congregate here because we relish the opportunity to share our collective dining experiences. And, let's face it. You post here. You take the time to read what the amateurs are saying... unless you skim through a topic until either Andrew or Jamie's or Neil's or Leonard's name catches your eye. The professionals write the reviews, but the amateurs' money pays the bills.
You couldn't have said it better.
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Helen and I decided to drop by South Granville for some shopping and stocking up of freezable Rangoli dishes for those quick late night suppers. Well it was pouring of rain when we arrived and the first whiff of exotic spice sent us straight to a table for a late lunch. It was a pleasure to see Vikram, all too briefly, in his whites enroute to the home show. Helen and I decided on a lunch of cocount curry chicken $11.50 and black cardamon lamb $12.50. Helen opted for a warm glass of chai and I went for a glass of Smoking Loon Viognier (rich malo style with a distinct banana and tropical fruit overtone) it was a great pairing with my chicken. The salad dressing was amzing, I think it is a blend of mint, citrus juice, and possibly cucumber? Round two involved a glass of Lingenfleder Bird Labeling Riesling ( one of the all round great buys with typical green apple, mineral and subtle petrol notes). Both wines are served in the uber cool Riedel overture glasses and a five oz wine pour is a reasonable $6.50. We finished off with a bowl of rice pudding (rich, creamy, and scented with cardamon).
Here's a couple of photo's taken from our camera phone...so the quality is not great.
coconut curry chicken
Black cardamon lambIn a cardamon pod...great food, wonderfully paired and priced wine, and as usual great service.
Cheers,
Stephen and Helen
Beautiful pictures, lovely descriptions. Sounds very enticing and reasonable price wise, and the wines sound devine. Thanks for posting.
In a cardamon pod
too cute!How's the pricing and sizing for freezer take-out, one time awhile ago I tried to check it out, but it was busy, hot and the wee pepper was fussy.
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A Burrito Brothers, if I recall the name correctly, is opening on Commercial Drive, at the corner of 1st Avenue, where the Java place (coffee shop) used to be.
you beat me to it!
we just drove by. i think it's called the red burrito, and the side note said something about your neighborhood burrito and taco joint.Yup, you're absolutely right!
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I LOVE Burrito Brothers!
QUOTE(kurtisk @ Oct 16 2005, 02:27 PM)
I LOVE Burrito Brothers!
I second that motion.
My apologies, I made an error. See correction above^.
Saw it again today, and thought, aw shucks!!
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A Burrito Brothers, if I recall the name correctly, is opening on Commercial Drive, at the corner of 1st Avenue, where the Java place (coffee shop) used to be.
edited to correct the name which I obviously did not remember correctly; although I did at first, when I got to the p.c., I changed it because I thought I must have remembered it wrong, should have gone with my first hunch, as they say!
The correct name is The Red Burrito, another in the theme of red that I mentioned in an earlier post.
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^ Thank you, you mentioned much of what I didn't have the courage to mention, but certain things certainly did
me, (and no, not the comment below, that I just found quite 
"Look at you," Morrow laughs as I stomp back into the dining room. "Now you're frustrated because you're being treated like a normal person. Imagine the patrons who are just treated like normal people throughout their entire meal?"
Happy to be a lowly normal person, probably with better service.
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OK--time's up.
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But there were open kitchens dating well before Diva opened its doors--exhibition (or open) kitchens have a lengthy history here. I cooked in one at The Attic (shortly after the Crimean War) and my brother likewise at Hy’s at The Sands—in its famous grill pulpit. Hell, the oyster bars that peppered Cordova Street were the city’s first open raw bars (but also served angels on horseback), almost a century before No. 5 Orange opened its doors.
The best known one in the Post-Arugula Epoch is the forno and pass at CinCin (and many Earls for that matter).
But the most legendary open kitchen was at Vern’s. The eponymous proprietor, who cooked from his wheelchair, was a tough old cudgel. One night, at closing time, after the newsmen (including Denny Boyd) had finished their last rye and one of Vern’s very good hamburgers and paid up, a thief walked in and demanded the night’s takings. Vern reached up from behind his counter, pulled the thief over bodily, and griddled his eyes shut.
Ouch! Good one Vern!
Didn't Umberto's on Hornby famously have an open kitchen, earlier too?
I know I remember others too, but not specifically their names at the moment.I did notice though, that perhaps Alex should read the menu before posting certain comments
AHI TUNA TARTAR AND MARINATED SASHIMI
SMOKED SALMON CAVIAR, AVOCADO PURÉE,
YUZU TAMARI DRESSING
I can't understand why," says Morrow, who has trouble stomaching the wilted, room-temperature raw fish. The long scrape of green sauce on the plate might possibly be based in wasabi, but tastes like canned guacamole.
and/or before ordering her wine:
SMOKED ALASKAN BLACK COD
PRESERVED LEMON AND TARRAGON COD CAKE,
CHOWDER VEGETABLES AND BROTH
I fare better with smoked Alaskan black cod, but really wish someone had remembered it came with a lemon and tarragon cod cake when it came to the wine. I'll take part of the blame since I asked for a lean pinot noir, but if anyone had been alert enough to warn me that the lemon was overwhelmingly tart, this is one instance where I would have appreciated being overruled. (Until this point, I should say, the wine pairings had been excellent.)
Perhaps it wasn't very busy that night, being the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, also therefore possibly contributing to the reasons of everything not being at the peak of perfection. Perhaps a disservice was done to the business and those of us who read the review, expecting a true picture of the establishment, by reviewing it on a day that wouldn't reflect the norm of service, imho. I understand she's a friend and all, but I'd respect a reviewer's opinion much more if it was written with more constructive criticism and less maliciousness.
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I haven't been to New Town yet. Is there a Richmond location?
Think it's in the same strip mall with the TD/CT Bank, Staples and the New Asia Deli, across from Richmond Centre. Give them a call though first (604 270-2889), they might not be open yet from their vacation.
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What the hell is this place supposed to be? Judging from the webpage, I have a feeling that it will be a hangout for the collagen crowd. Just a hunch
Came across this click. From what I can tell of the area, and the aforementioned click, it probably is geared to the business and student crowd, for lunch, etc. rather than decadent evening fare that the main pic seems to imply, at least to me anyway.
Could be kind of messy going back to work after eating like that though. -
By the way, summer's over, they might want to update their website in more ways than one.
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I love
the fresh green chili/cilantro/mint condiment (relish/non-cooked chutney) that is offered at some Indian resto's, one place has a tub of it at the till (sort of a fast-food type of establishment at the mall), and I load up on it before going to my table. I've been searching for a recipe, and am wondering if anyone here might have one available. I know it doesn't have mango in it. I think there is green chili, mint, cilantro, onions?, garlic?, tomato? ....... spices?
Would anyone know the amounts of the different ingredients etc., for a reasonable size for one persons use over a few days? Oh, and I could eat lots, with whatever,
I love it! TIA
ETA - p.s. sorry about the spelling mistake, should be desperately, but I don't know how to correct the topic.
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I was in there on the weekend, and I gave them a bit of the heads up too. Once again, the poutine, pop, service disappointed, but man oh man. Wild Muskox, the gamiest of the gamey. Delicious. Throw in the tobasco, right on that juicey undercooked meat. I'm sold.
That's odd, we were there on the weekend too, well actually Thanksgiving Day, so perhaps different staff? The service was great, friendly, efficient, made us feel comfortable and welcome in an unassuming way. I mean it is a casual place, but it wasn't like MickeyD's by any means. The rosemary lamb and the turkey cranberry burgers were delish, the fries and salad very generous and the SunGod Wheat Ale served up in a full pint, cold and priced right. Got to love the fresh fixin's bar, very, very impressive. Once again, got to mention the staff, they were great.
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Had lunch there Friday, and it was great! It came with an excellent Caesar Salad. The Prime Rib itself was very flavorful and tender and was served with gravy, horseradish and dijon. Beer was $7, Prime Rib Sandwich was $15, so after tax and tip it was close to $30. A little pricey for lunch I think, but I'll be going back.
Edit: Service was also top notch.
How was the portion sizing? TIA.
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Change is always good and sometimes looonnnggg over due!! Alexeandra Gill has the spite and Andrew Morrison is the class act - it would be great to have them proceed with double reviews for Van Mag.
It is all about change isn't it?
Ten years? The man's an upstart compared to Fay Maschler who has been the London Evening Standard's critic for thirty three years. She has her faults, preferences and prejudices, as do we all, but her column is still the first thing I turn to every Wednesday and I'm bitterly disappointed if I find she's on holiday and a guest reviewer is sitting in for her. I'd bet a good few Canadian dollars that Jamie's reviews are the first thing many eGulleters read when they pick up the Van Mag.
Honestly? It's really the only reason I buy the VM. I was thrilled to see the cover when I bought my issue almost three weeks ago, and wondered when the subject would be discussed here, expected to see it brought up earlier. Oh, and I used to like the West Van chinese food delivery guy's stories on his latest delivery experiences, miss them now that the column has been discontinued.
As far as ten years goes, I'm glad for that. It's interesting to see how our culinary choices and expectations have grown and developed from the point of view of one who has grown with them and who has the expertise to understand and comment on them. I appreciate knowing that he knows what our area has and has had to offer, more so than someone who may have just has come into the scene and perhaps expects something else, rather than what we have as our unique and diverse offerings and quality.
ETC cuisine type after realization of error in the wee hours this a.m.
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Any possibility of seeing the menu for:
A Taste of Calabria @ Adesso (Oct 11 - 24)
TIA
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The television show Boston Legal will be featuring a story based on the B.C. Farmed Salmon Industry tonight (Oct 11), as described in this link.
Featuring of course one of our famous Canadian exports, Captain Kirk.
Should be interesting to see what spin this puts on this controversial subject, hoping it weighs in favour of the non farmed in the ocean side.
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This may be a long shot as I realise that smoking is not the most socially acceptable postprandial activity these days... but I thought I would ask anyway!
Could anyone recommend a place where I could enjoy my after-dinner cigar without a) annoying the other guests and b) getting dirty looks? I can cope with the "ohmigosh, I did not know women smoked cigars!" and the "Are you sure it is not too strong for a small girl like you?", I am used to them by now!
If the place in question had a decent selection of spirits (cognac and armagnac are my favourite pairings), that would be wonderful.
I used to go regularly to the Smoking Dog to enjoy a cigar with fellow aficionado Jean-Claude Ramond but it is just not the same anymore without him. I miss you, my friend
Some friends of mine mentioned Joe Fortes, any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance!
Emmanuelle
Bacchus at the Wedgewood Hotel, I believe that they have a room for just that purpose? Very nice lounge too. (phone them if you want to know for sure)
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Very interesting. I'm sure producing food that can be stored safely, reheated in a tiny electic oven at 35,000', still retains at least some tatse and can be done en-mass for as little money as possible takes quite a bit of talent.
Any of these Cara folks ever leave for a local restaurant kitchen?
Most definitely!!! In all capacities and variations thereof of catering, provisioning and teaching. IIRC there was invovlement by one at a world culinary competition as part of Team Canada, there was major involvement at Expo here and IIRC, in Europe. Some had wide and quite impressive international experience before coming to YVR, and others moved on to a wide variation of foodie type positions after their stint at Cara. Of course that includes the front line employees such as bakers, cooks and other personnel, I'd bet someone on this forum has employed an ex Cara staff member at some time. Some of the upper level ex staff are teaching, running their own ops or are in some type of management at a food related operation. In the past, the airline catering operation allowed for local management and creativity, and made for great experience for future culinary related endeavors. Now, it is so micro managed by the bean counters, usually at the HO level, and of course the customer's bean counters (thus the frozen entrees, and the lack of actual food now on many domestic flights, just the bag of nuts & bolts, hopefully the edible kind
) that creativity and actual hands on learning experience of all aspects of the business is not quite as available as it was in the past, IMHO. -
LeeC’s recent mention of Air Canada is coincidental, as I have been struggling over the past few days to download photos and start a thread on my recent experience which was from YVR to London Heathrow and back…
Flight there, AC896
I’ll skip the details, but we were “bumped” into J-class for this flight (aboard a Boeing 767). What a score!! Seriously, for a trans-Atlantic and at the start of a vacation, there is no better way to fly. Okay so I never flew the Concord, nor have I flown in a 777 or a 380, or a private Leer jet, but hopefully you get the idea. Long-haul business class rules!
All of the seats are like individual Lazy-Boys that are capable of reclining to almost bed-like status – and as you know, business class is seated first. So there you sit in your huge-ass chair, while the coach lot file past you. I felt a little sheepish as folks passed by with gaping jaws, because we didn’t exactly buy the seats. But hey, the low-degree guilt only lasted as long as it took to break out the complementary pre-take-off champagne and / or mango juice.
We had just eaten in the YVR Milestones prior to the flight, in anticipation of turning away most of the bad airline food, but I tucked into the full dinner service anyway – mostly because I had to, for eGullet purposes you understand. N sensibly went with the “Express Menu”.
Apologies in advance for the blurry photos, it was my brand new camera using new (to me) features (macro) in low light on a plane. Not good excuses I know, but I also didn’t want to use the flash because that’s just disturbing to others, especially on a plane.
So they started us off with warmed nuts. N and I both opted for a glass of their “Hidden Treasure” feature wine: 99 Benton Lane pinot noir reserve (Oregon). (Sorry the link does not show the actual vintage consumed, but you can Google it and find results I’m sure – like this one.)
The nuts were not good, but the wine was. Don’t ask me for tasting notes; besides the fact that I would be talking out of my butt, I was too pleased to be at the front of the plane to do much other than relax and enjoy.
Speaking of, you can’t really make it out but at the top of the tray are my feet, clad in bright blue complementary business class “slippers” (really socks), elevated to a comfortable level. Very civilized.
Here is N’s dinner: the Express Menu featuring fresh seasonal greens with yellow and red peppers, chilled teriyaki salmon, grilled vegetables, rice noodle salad and caperberries, cheese and grapes. The desert was fresh berries in a chocolate cup. Also she’s still working on that first glass of red.
The salad is served with pre-bottled olive oil / balsamic, the tiny blurry bottle at the bottom of the tray (right side of photo). What is it with airplanes and tiny bottles? The salmon was okay – hey it’s seafood at 38,000 feet, what do you want? She said the salad and the desert were good though.
Also, see how you get a nice "table"cloth and ceramic S&P shakers? Nice touch.
I started with the pan-seared scallops with marinated fennel salad, with a glass of Domaine Astruc viognier (Malras, France).
Another round of seafood at 38,000 feet but considering that fact, it was not bad. However, the scallops were clearly not "pan-seared". Just look at them! White as virgin snow.
The other choice was marinated Yukon potato served with marinated and baked Japanese eggplant, sautéed red bell peppers, lentil salad, parmesan shavings and balsamic vinaigrette.
What really stood out for me here was the viognier. What a great wine – so rich! On a side / local note, unfortunately La Frenz was sold out of their viognier by the time I got my act in gear to order this season, but I’m pretty sure I can track some down and when I do, I’ll be buying a few bottles for the “cellar”.
I'd give honorable mention to the bun on the left, too. Some sort of potato bun AFAICT. Very good.
The main course I wanted was the maple glazed lamb chops accompanied by red skin mashed potatoes, rosemary demi-glace, blanched spinach leaves, zucchini and turned carrots with basil; however, they had somehow run out. Did I mention we were bumped up? So no worries, I had the non-sequitur sliced sirloin of beef accented by black bean sauce, presented with vegetable fried rice, oven-roasted butternut squash and steamed choy sum, this time with a glass of Phebus malbec (Mendoza, Argentina). (Again, there isn’t much on the web for this wine, you’ll have to scroll down this translated page to find a bit of info.)
The beef was actually passable, in a kind of CFD kind of way, but the Chinese black bean slant did not match anything else on the menu even remotely. Also, what is up with the two starches – squash and fried rice? Neither was any good. The veg was okay, but once again the malbec outshone the food.
The other choice for a main was a vegetarian pasta: spinach and ricotta cheese cannelloni with saffron complemented by Alfredo sauce and oven-roasted tomato red pepper sauce, offered with sautéed button mushrooms and a stir-fried carrot and zucchini julienne. Pass.
One other thing occurs: these long-winded pratty food descriptions are all from the Air Canada menu, I did not make them up.
The cheese course was gouda, cheddars and camembert, with a Cockburn’s special reserve port.
The website claims this is the world’s most popular port. It was quite sweet, actually too sweet for me, so perhaps I have just tipped my hand regarding my port palate. I nursed it bad. The cheese was decent though, a nice touch and impossible to screw up even in a plane galley.
Dessert was, on N’s advice, the fresh berries in the chocolate cup, and coffee.
I enjoyed this, despite the use of fairly cheap chocolate. The other choices were amaretto cake and maple mousse. Port still going on the left side. In the end I finished it for sleeping purposes, kind of like drinking Nyquil even though you’ve only got a mild passing of a cold. PS: you can kind of make out the electric blue socks in this photo.
Anyway, like I said it was a very civilized way to travel. I also enjoyed the EnRoute magazine, this month is the music issue. I was surprised – pleasantly – to see a familiar name (Chris Tearns) with a drinks article, I didn’t know he was a contributor. And there is also a photo of Kari from Chambar on the Vancouver “scene” page.
Flight home, AC831
Just for comparison purposes, here is the breakfast we were served in coach on the return flight. Granted it’s breakfast not dinner, but the difference is significant. Then again so is the difference in published prices for each section.
It’s a Spanish omelette, with pieces of potato and I think Moneys pieces and stems mushrooms, and some baked beans (no not refried or black beans, like Heinz baked beans). Accompanied by a bun, a small croissant, a small bin of homogenized fruit, some yoghurt, some apple juice and a coffee. We did experience the business class breakfast before we landed at Heathrow, and the yoghurt was better, the fruit was actual sliced fruit on a plate, the juice was in a real glass, plus they had smoothies and other pastries… This bun was not as good as the potato bun either.
Again, not complaining here, just wanted to illustrate the difference.
When I look at these pictures, one other thing that stands out is the warmth of the lighting in business class compared to coach. I can't really remember if the window shade was up in the last photo, but I don't think it was.
PPS: For those interested, here is a LINK to the thread where I’ll be posting reports on some of the meals we had in France, as well as other stuff we saw. Progress will be as slow as this thread has gone I’m sure.
Interestingly, the lighting of the Y/C photo made for a more realistic picture. Kind of suprised to see the styro coffee cup for economy class breakfast, they used to have a real cup, plastic though, but did have the handle and wasn't disposable.
Also, the meals produced in J/C are almost exactly the same as I remember from a few years back, provided by Cara Operations IIRC. Also, IIRC, the Y/C meals are mostly pre-made, frozen and popped into dishes. Makes for a consistent product, although it may be uninteresting.
ps.. Not meant to be a slam at Cara, IIRC they followed AC guidelines. They did have some very innovative chefs, their parties for Octoberfest and Christmas were showcases for the talents of the Head Chefs, Garde Manger and Pastry Chefs.
They also provided some of the other fabulous airlines cuisines and services in the past.
I remember meeting some of those that were the culinary influences at Cara, they had great boat cruises during the fireworks festival in the summer in Vancouver, at the end of July and the beginning of Auguest. Awesome!!
They employed some great people, with wide experiences, I guess that made for the interesting cuisine ideas. I remember Frank, Gerry, Bent, Hans, John, Maurice and Kevin IIRC, as being pivotal to the operation at YVR. Also I had the opportunity to meet with some of the Cara personnel in YYZ in the past. All in all, was a good ops, albeit following the AC and other guidelines for cost control!
Openings and closings (2004–2005)
in Western Canada: Dining
Posted
New restaurant in Richmond, on 3 Road at Westminster Highway (west side), called Sante Fe, I believe. I think there was a different restaurant there before. Appears to be an attempt at high-end quality dining, presumably fusion cuisine, with Asian / Central American / West coast influences?
Nice assortment of cold and hot appetizer selections and entrees, but certainly not inexpensive, some of the entrees were in the high $20's, one was over $30. Salmon, halibut, veal and filet mignon I think I remember seeing on the menu posted by the door. Seems strange at this location but certainly if it is good, definitely has been lacking as far as I can tell in Richmond.