~cayenne~
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Posts posted by ~cayenne~
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Hope this hasn't been asked already upthread, but where in Vancouver (or surrounding area) can I find the biggest, most exotic selection of hot sauces? Stuff like "Ass Kickin", "Fear Itself", "Denzel's", etc. It's going to be a gift (although I'll probably scoop up a few bottles for myself).
There was this great hot sauce specialty store in Toronto, which also carried various infused olive oils. I got some ultra-spicy peanuts there for my brother-in-law, and he loved them! The nuts were called "Acid Rain". Anybody know of a hot sauce specialty store around here?
Oddly enough, they have quite the selection at Save-on Foods. Also, I think a variety of sauces may be available for purchase at Sammy J Peppers? It's been a heck of a long time since I've been there, and by no means do I recommend it beyond a place to get together to watch a game and quaff some beers, anyhow, a few years ago, they had quite the selection available. Maybe give them a call if you can't find your choices elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure the ones you mentioned are at Save-on.
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Ok, so, basically none of the six of you had to pay the cover charge to get in? Plus didn't have to wait in line? This begs the question, did the server get to keep the C note or did she have to share? Perhaps you were high end spenders at Bobby's so the word was spread that this habit might extend at Pure? Sure sounds like a good technique though, I'm jealous of your talent and/or beauty.
We were probably average spenders at Bobby's. Apps, main, dessert, a few bottles of wine around the middle of the list. It seemed to me the server kept the whole 100. She did tell us to take care of the doorman and escort though.
Definitlely talent (or maybe just watching enough movies and reading threads like these), not beauty!
Note: In the cab on the way to the airport, we told the driver about our experiences tipping people (this was all new to us). He mentioned that what we were practicing was not called tipping in Vegas, but "Toking." It seems a tip is for services already received, while a toke is an advanced payment for future services. Found that to be interesting.
Oh yes indeed, a C note would be advantageous to the practice of toking.
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My friend's and I were dining at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Cesar's Palace last year. We asked the server about were we should go after the meal, she said this new club called Pure just opened on the other side of the casino. We looked out the window of Mesa Grill only to see hundreds of people in line waiting to pay the $30 cover to get in. We slipped her a hundred dollar bill and asked her if she could get us in. She made a phone call, and after we paid our bill, some guy walked across the casino to get us, and escorted us into the club. We tipped him $20 and the doorman $20 for a grand total of $140 spent. $40 less than the cover (there were 6 of us.) I've learned that in places like Vegas and NY, this technique works great. In Seattle, it doesn't buy you much more than a dirty look.
Ok, so, basically none of the six of you had to pay the cover charge to get in? Plus didn't have to wait in line? This begs the question, did the server get to keep the C note or did she have to share? Perhaps you were high end spenders at Bobby's so the word was spread that this habit might extend at Pure? Sure sounds like a good technique though, I'm jealous of your talent and/or beauty.
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Somehow I forgot -- forgive me, my extreme beauty distracts even me -- to tell you all exactly why my nice guy friend should never have attempted a Smooth Move. After he handed the neatly folded but highly visible bill to the MD, the MD handed it back to him. Without a single word but a silence hung heavily with meaning.
Ouch.
A harsh lesson learned, I'm sure. Bet he never tried that practice again. -
I have found that being extremely beautiful works equally well. And a crate of brown ale goes with any outfit.
I don't snap my fingers, though. I simply exude my attractiveness and all respond instantly.
***
Here's a question: Have any women tried this practice?
After reading your technique
, do you really think any of us would readily admit to it? No, really, I've never tried it, honestly, I haven't.
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Robb Walsh writes in this week's Houston Press about an experience in a local restaurant. During a considerable wait for a table, he and other time biders watched as a new arrival was seated after a short wait.
It occurred to Robb that the hostess had had her palm greased. On a subsequent visit, he gave her an Andy Jackson and was quickly seated.
I've never done this -- never even considered it. I thought of it as a something that happens in movies, like jumping your car over the washed out bridge, not something one does in real life and polite society. Anyone else done it? Do it frequently? On the other side of the equation, does the industry see it occur frequently?
Darn, I wish I could remember where I read something about this, it was just a couple of days ago, I think some kind of newspaper publication. Anyhow, it said that palm greasing, aka slipping the maitre d' cash is definitely an ill-mannered behaviour and highly frowned upon, well in most establishments I would imagine anyway. Definitely not recommended.
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Walked by Tony Roma's today --- sign on door reads "closed indefinitely". What gives??
....... Vancouver...and also while in the neighborhood...the place next door (infinitydining) looks like it still needs quite a bit of work, yet website still says opening April 2006...?
The Vancouver location has been eliminated from the Tony Roma's website, only Coquitlam remains out of the two Lower Mainland locations. I'm guessing that they probably were no longer profitable in that location, it certainly wasn't that convenient to access and all the new CFD's to the north probably get most of their intended type of business. As for the other place, a google search indicated they are looking for staff, not sure if the wages offered are very enticing.
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Organic blue gouda cheese (Dutch imported) is on sale this week at Save-on Foods, locally anyway. I can't claim to be a connoisseur of fine cheese, but I found this to be very delicious, I wish I bought more, and I will! Highly recommend it if you are interested. (don't know how it compares price wise, but is $3.79/100 g until Saturday midnight.)
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.....is a young man's game. The stamina and strength required to do the job consistently well tends to fade as people enter their 30's
ps, I hope someone reads this before it gets nuked.
are we talking about the Canuck's?
Does any other trades sector tolerate this rational? Not to my knowledge.No, but unfortunately a certain trade sector is dominating the interest of many concerned in B.C., and all others are getting short shrift. Surprised to see that some companies that would never have to advertise for staff are, and some were even advertising in publications that they have absolutely never in the past done so in, and I'm quite sure that it's because the people that they'd normally expect to be queing in a huge line up for an application (which happened in the past years), have found employment in the other trade sector, at higher wages. God forbid what's going to happen to all those enticed by those T.V. ads for culinary education, et al, in another few years. I am interested to see what those in the know, or those who are in control have to say about what they expect to see as of March 2010, in B.C., not just the south-west but overall.
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I just returned from a few days in Las Vegas, and had an experience that is still p*ssing me off 48 hours after it happened. Although we were watching our budget, my friend and I decided we would splurge on one show (Cirque du Soleil's O--DON'T MISS IT) and one great meal while we were there (unnamed restaurant). Sadly, although the food was terrific, it was completely overshadowed by poor service and attitude.
I don't want (or need) to 'out' the place here, because I am sending a letter to the internationally-known chef who is attached to the restaurant, but trust me that there was nobody we could have complained to on site. The head chef was participating in the same "I'm giving VIP treatment to these folks and could care less who else is in here" that our waiter(s) were involved in, so it seemed pointless. I'm not afraid of speaking up when there is an issue, and thought that our numerous verbal and non-verbal messages would help, but they didn't.
The point of this post isn't necessarily to get a solution for what ticked us off about our $350+ meal for two--it's to ask what others have done when a NAME/REPUTATION doesn't live up to its billing. I'd be curious to hear opinions, especially since I normally don't drop that kind of cash. So--for those of you with the bank and/or expense accounts who do, please weigh in!
Your post piqued my interest, I searched out some online info. I would seriously check out some of these names and send correspondence accordingly. I cannot believe (well I believe you), but $350.00 plus is supposed to an affordable counter service experience? Yikes! I'd copy appropriate personnel outside of the catering establishment itself, such as the hotel manager, etc. There is no excuse for shoddy or ignorant service, especially at that price and at a place that advertises itself as providing quality and attention to detail in a casual dining atmosphere. Hope you get a response, and you indeed should if you copy MGM Hotel management.
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Nyala Afrian Restauarnt is opening a second location in mid March at 26th and Main. I will post more in openings thread when I have more info. Cate
This is intriguing to me.... the spot on West 4th does not seem to be particularly busy... in fact; it seems to be almost "dead" at times.
Is the spot on Main supposed to be in addition, or instead of? I have a feeling they'd be better off on Main than in their current location.
More information and a review of it here.
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...... it is a shame that our most respected national publication holds our "small town" in such contempt as to not afford us a professional, and a mighty pity that our restaurants, both deserving and undeserving, pay the price.
Very nicely said.
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Sounds interesting, love to hear where.I'm not a food-industry insider – although in a previous life, I did do time at more than a dozen restaurants on three continents.
Perhaps a bit contradictory unless these were all exceptional meals that you paid for whilst dining out? If so, rather unusual for the average customer.I don’t claim to be a food geek – I write from the view of the average customer; this one having had the good fortune to consume many extraordinary meals in her life.
Does one have to be a food geek to appreciate good reviews, explore the internet and find good recommendations for dining?Food geeks account for only a tiny percentage of the people who read my column – which is why I sometimes contextualize it with broader themes (culinary web sites) and feature elements (dialogue – how novel!).I have the strong suspicion that my writing voice annoys some people – but it has kept me employed at Canada’s most prestigious national newspaper for almost a decade and did earn me a National Newspaper Award nomination last year (so I’m not going to go changing).
As an average food geek/customer/earthling that requires food to survive, the Tuna Melts I ate were never, ever prepared in an Easy Bake oven. Basically, you are insulting an era that produced many of us who are now able to possibly afford the cuisines that you write about. I highly doubt however that "Easy Bake Oven Tuna Melt" would be anywhere similiar to the Rare article.I still think tuna melts should only ever be prepared in an Easy Bake oven, but I applaud Chef Fowke for sticking to his guns (even if I believe he could do much better).I’d say the same thing to Chef Fowke – but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet him, certainly not tableside during my dinner at Rare, which has been erroneously reported in this forum.PM is an option
The review wasn’t a total trashing – my dining companion that night actually thought I was being kind.If your reveiw wasn't a total trashing, then why did you hold back? Be honest, because now, you've just left us wondering what "R" didn't like, and why you didn't report the whole truth of the experience.
You know what, if you could report on politics as openly and honestly as you claim to on the dining experiences in ourIn the world of professional journalism, judicious silence is not an option. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
you might garner some interest.rather small town
Restaurant review vs political election.Can you imagine a big, blank editorial page during a political election? “Oh, we don’t like this candidate so we’re just not going to take any position.” Hmm. Doesn’t quite work that way, does it
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I tried to search if there was a thread that related to this already on this forum, but I couldn't find one. I know there's been mention of certain similiar spots such as the place on Cambie, etc., but it seems they probably weren't in a Japanese restaurant related thread, not specific to a certain restaurant.
A place that I recommend in Richmond, is at Garden City and Blundell, Oyasato Japanese Food. Very, very good food, extremely good prices, nice service. Very clean, and open kitchen. The Japanese folks that operate it have been there quite a long time. A great little place.
(Eat in or Take out) -
I've just waddled home from a ridiculously huge dinner at Imperial Court Beijing Cuisine Restaurant. We had a set dinner that was meant for 10 people....there were 7 of us.
Highlights were definitely the courses of King Crab. I wish I had a camera with me to take pics of the crab before it met it's fate. The first course of the crab was the legs steamed with garlic. So sweet and delicate. Second was the body deep fried with chili and garlic. Third was the yee mein with the sauce from the steamed legs. Then the final course was a lightly curried fried rice with a cream sauce on top done in the crab shell. The other highlight was the crispy skinned chicken, crispy skin, very juicy meat.
We also had a snake soup as a course. Interesting indeed. Very delicate and tender meat, with fungus, and little bits of dried orange peel. It was alright....the orange peel flavour is not my favourite.
Other courses were a cold plate (jelly fish, smoked fish, pork hock, bean curd skin), pea tips with dried scallops (yum), prawns with sugar snap peas, and a gai lan with wannabe abalone (thinly sliced mushrooms).
I now need a lesson on how to pace myself on these types of meals. *groan*
Oh my, sounds delicious! Any hint on the cost of a set for 10? TIA
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The cheap Halibut place on Vulcan is a driver and five iron from my office. I went there last week, becuase honestly, who here isn't intrigued by the concept of buying "fresh" fish out of the back of a freezer loaded into a rusty pickup? Suprise suprise, it's a real fish market, and a very good one at that. They're right behind the Home Depot, and call themselves a "fish club", which I suspect is a dodge around zoning regs, I don't think their location is zoned retail, ergo they're a "wholesale club" a al Costco. Two large live tanks, apparently going to be filled with crab/lobster. They told me crab would be 3.99/pound! If so, my kids will be spending alot of free time picking lump crab meat for their parents.
A piece of very nice cleaned halibut was 6.99/pound. Whole fish are cleaned/fileted while you wait. If I had a freezer I'd definately buy a fish and have it filleted and throw it in for the rest of the Halibut free times.
The loaction is right at the entrance to the Night Market, I suspect that factored in the choice of location, they'll do a brisk business this summer, assuming the city doesn't close them down.
Does anyone know if this place is selling fresh halibut this year?
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It just reminded me of the small town newspaper social column. Provencial and caddy. And, I should know because I come from a small town that had such a social column
I expect better from one of three national newspapers in Canada.
That presumption disturbs me more than his"her" review. I must inquire, what are the three that you think are representative of national?
Actually our local publications (as they were meant to be) and the inner city rags are probably more evocative of the reality of our area, as we know it.
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Just received this from Calvin at Burgers Etc.Well ... all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for all your votes.
CTV called this morning and we have been voted the "Best Burger" !! The camera guy came this afternoon (right in the middle of our Friday lunch rush) to film their segment which will air on CTV (Channel 9) tonight between 6 - 7 pm. It's usually at the end of the news broadcast, so maybe 6:30 - 7:00 ??
Anybody see the piece?
A.
darnit, no!
I had to rush out before 7:00 and tried to make it back before the end of the 11:00 p.m. segment, they usually repeated the burger highlight again at about 11:55 p.m. No such luck last night though, they aired stuff similar to Global/Squire's Satellite Debris at that time. I was so looking forward to seeing the winner. Did you see the Feenies and Diva entree's on Thursday night. Foie gras and all! Big $'s.
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I probably wasn't clear with my original post above, so I edited it with references to the picture.
I've got to question, is it appropriate in any style of journalism, food related or otherwise, to be so specific with peoples posting handles and other quite specific information when repeating it in another publication?
Her latest article is the meanest spirited I've seen by her yet.
READ. CHEW. DISCUSS. SPIT OUT. BLECH.
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Hello everybody,
It's been a little while since I've last posted, however, this topic caught my eye. The new venture on West 2nd avenue is one of those new meal assembly outlets that everyone is buzzing about. It is called Sensational Suppers (www.sensationalsuppers.com) and one of the principal owners is Dean Mallel of Incendio, Incendio West, and Stella's Tap and Tapas fame. The space will be gorgeous modern art gallery meets urban-cool professional kitchen. I am personally looking forward to it opening, since my partner is a chef, therefore, we eat a lot of take-out on our days off!
Cheers,
Jennifer Bragg
Manager
Stella's Tap and Tapas
I'm so glad you posted. I couldn't for the life of me remember what Dean had said the name of the operation was, when I saw him with Simi Sara, as I referred to in my above post. I had tried searching via the interenet last week for the name, to no avail.
Sounds like it's going to be great!
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They have live ones at New Chiu Yeung Fresh Seafood Co. Ltd. along with all kinds of fresh and/or live fish, shellfish and crustaceans. The king crab are huge, although I'd love to try preparing it at home, the prospect is very daunting to say the least. Do they sell you the whole crab? It's a great little store, if anyone is interested. Located at 8191 Westminster Highway, quite close to the Richmond Public Market just across the street.
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It's the fastest growing sector in the food service industry - in fact it's exploding and the newscast tonight is just one example. But first, let me declare: Dinnerworks is owned by my niece Allison and her husband Chris Roscoe. They first tripped over the concept in the Phoenix suburbs and have tried to translate it to an urban location.
It's not necessarily for eGulleteers with an intense interest in cooking, but rather aimed at families or folks with very busy lifestyles, especially two-income families on the fly. The theory being that a family can eat healthfully together at the table for about $4.50 per head - or about the cost of a fast food 'meal'.
Is it as good as my two-day coq au vin? No. But is it better than pizza in a box? Having now tried out a few of them, I can report that I think it is. Certainly the early response has been positive, with numbers growing every week.
>> Here's the link to the discussion in General Food Topics. <<
Are they aware of this new operation? Certainly seems like a popular concept.
Vancouver/Western Canada Ingredient Sources Topic
in Western Canada: Cooking & Baking
Posted
Hope this doesn't sound like a silly inquiry.....
I grew up in an era in which the parental/grandparental unit always wore an apron while preparing the meals. Generally, if not home made, they were purchased at Woodward's, Eatons or Simpsons Sears. Usually the half size terry towel type. It took me awhile, but I'm starting to think it might be a good idea to wear an apron myself while doing kitchen duty.
However, they just don't seem to available in the stores, like they used to. I don't want to spend big bucks on the fancy ones and don't sew. Any suggestions where to buy a few aprons, at an inexpensive price, easy wash and wear material, in the Vancouver area? TIA. 