Little Frog

What a neat event! And what a great week I had! Pino's on Wednesday, HSG on Thursday, my tastebuds are very happy Both restaurants were extremely busy when we went. At Cioppino's, the Taste of Yaletown menu was served on the Enoteca side to a limited number of guests so it did not feel hectic, but every single table was occupied. Pino made a point of visiting each table, which was a nice touch. I found that the wine pairings were outstanding and they alone gave great value to the tasting menu. When I got to HSG at 6:30 on Thursday, only a few diners were there but the room filled up incredibly quickly. Shortly after 7:00, the place was packed! Kudos to our server who kept his cool under pressure and many thanks to our host Neil, who made time to introduce himself and chat with us a little. It was really nice to meet him, as well as a couple of eGulleters to whom he introduced me. Thank you Neil! My friends and I had a great evening and loved everything we ordered. Then again, how could we possibly go wrong with the much acclaimed ravioli, grill plate and GBP? I will definitely be back, sooner rather than later My only regret is not trying more restaurants. Simply Thai was high on my list, but none of my friends were available to go when I was and although I have no problem going to restaurants by myself, all their tasting menus were for two people. Here is hoping there will be many more Taste of Yaletown events in the years to come!

A boxed set of three small bottles of chocolate liquor that I bought on my first trip to Berlin. It was in 1997. I have no idea why and how it made it through a transatlantic move and regular pantry purges. I am a bit of a minimalist and I usually get rid of clutter on a regular basis but somehow these bottles escaped my vigilance. Time to get baking and put them to good use, at long last!

Wow, and here I was, thinking I would have to puff on my Ramon Allones on my balcony from now on Thank you very much everyone for all your recommendations! I was really sad to see Sausi's close. Their cigar room was very nice and I enjoyed the atmosphere very much. The Reef sounds like a brilliant idea... sometimes I am just in the mood for a casual dinner, some dark rum and a good smoke... sounds like this would be a perfect place for that!

Just had my first Kolachy today! The BBQ beef was quite nice and the split pea soup even nicer; now I am looking forward to trying more flavours. Thank you Deborah for bumping this thread! Perfect timing as I was growing tired of the place where I usually get lunch and looking for new options

One last thing... I have not been to Les Amis du Fromage in three or four weeks, but last time I went I do not remember seeing Cantal. If Cantal is not available, Comte is another excellent hard cheese from the Jura mountains. Comte is interesting in that it will be quite fruity if made with summer milk, or nutty if made with winter milk. It is delicious either way

Let's see... What about: - Saint-Felicien or Saint-Marcellin for something soft and rather mild - a good (read: fatty, runny and smelly) Brie - Cantal for a nutty and fruity Gallic alternative to Gruyere - one blue cheese: Roquefort is a classic, but you may want to try something creamier, such as Bleu de Bresse or Fourme d'Ambert - to round things up, you could either pick a goat's milk cheese (Chabichou, Crottin de Chavignol or a Buche de chevre), something downright strong and pungent (Munster), or maybe a slightly unusual cheese such as Morbier, in which the inner blue streak is not mold but ash. I would serve this selection with a garnish of Autumn fruit (grapes and figs come to mind) and walnuts. If this platter is served as the last course, you may want to forgo aperitifs, which would traditionally be served before dinner. An alternative would be a fruity, lively spirit such as Armagnac or Calvados. However, most French families nowadays would serve a nice full-bodied red wine with their cheese platter. The rule used to be that you should try and serve wines from the same region as the cheese. Obviously, this is unpractical at best when serving several cheeses and no, in case you were wondering, French people do not have a flight of five different wines every night with their cheese course (a shame, I know!) You will need something fairly robust and tannic to withstand the strength of Munster and Roquefort cheese. If you go for milder cheeses, a good Cotes du Rhone or Chateauneuf du Pape would be lovely. I hope you will have lots of fun with your cheese and wine assignment! Let us know what you ended up getting. Bon appetit! Emmanuelle

Thank you very much for the recommendations! The Wedgewood website does not mention a cigar room so I will indeed call them to check whether they still have one. Hee! That is a good one! I would not have thought of Cin Cin, thank you for the suggestion! I would love to organize monthly cigar dinners if could find the right venue for that type of event... at the moment we are having them (in small committee) at my place but my balcony is definitely too small to hold us all!

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

Ume shiso maki and tobiko sushi with quail egg yolk at Musashi

Glad to hear that several people had positive experiences at Mona's. Maybe I caught them on two bad days? I went there twice two years ago and I was not impressed with the food at all. Apallingly bland is probably the best way to describe it I must admit that I am picky when it comes to Lebanese cuisine. I spent quite a bit of time in Beirut betwen 1997 and 2000 and I was also introduced to excellent Lebanese restaurants when I lived in Paris. But even if I had had no previous exposure to Lebanese cuisine, I would have found the food at Mona's unimpressive at best. It definitely lacks the complex, layered, intense flavours that I expect. I would recommend it for an entertaining evening of bellydancing, certainly not for the food. Habibi's on the other hand does an excellent job with some of the tastiest and most traditional mezze dishes, but why oh why a strictly vegetarian menu?!?

I do not eat out all that often as cooking is my favourite way to unwind after a long day at work... I end up missing it if I dine out too much! Anyway, here are a few recent and very enjoyable dinners: Habibi's: Went there with two friends and had a mezze-style dinner: fattouche salad, labne, shankleesh, foule, warek enaab and batingen blaban, with a very forgettable Pinot Noir. I wish we had sticked to water and Arabic coffee, but oh well. Everything was good, even though the foule (black fava beans) was a little on the dry side. Nothing that a bit of tahini cannot fix. The shankleesh (spiced cheese dish) and batingen blaban (grilled eggplant) were outstanding. A very pleasant casual dinner. I was happy to see that the change in ownership did not affect the quality of the food. However, I really would like to see a good non-vegetarian Lebanese restaurant here in Vancouver. Most of my favourite dishes (arayess, kebbe, habra nayye) are meat-based... Cioppino's I went there with my mother on the last day of her two-week stay in Vancouver. She ordered the terrine de foie gras and the ribeye. I had the stuffed courgette flowers and the crab risotto. What can I say about Cioppino's that has not been said before? We had a wonderful meal. The flavours and textures were extremely well-balanced, be it the delicate and subtle dishes I was served or the earthier, more robust ones my mother chose. The overall quality was amazing and my mom declared afterwards that she did not want to fly back to France because she had much better food in Vancouver! I did not make a note of the wines we had, as Celestino chose for us. But I will not forget anytime soon the wonderful bouquet of the Italian white he paired with my risotto. The pear notes were unbelievable Schooner (Tofino, BC) Another great dinner with my mother We first shared some appetizers/small plates: The oysters were the best I had had in a long time and the nut-crusted goat cheese salad was redolent with flavour (note to self: try to replicate the Cabernet Sauvignon-poached Anjou pear at home!). I then had the "Simply Halibut" and my mom had the crab/shrimp/Brie stuffed halibut. Both dishes were very well executed and the fish extremely fresh. We both enjoyed the polished yet welcoming atmosphere and the professional yet unpretentious service. I will definitely be back next time I stay in Tofino.

Very much looking forward to that... Please keep us mead fans posted!

Ooh, beautiful epis! This sounds like a great class! I like the "hands-on" approach, this seems the best way to learn new skills or improve on existing ones. Sounds like you are all having fun!

*Sigh* The dish I will miss most is their kifto (spicy chopped beef). The texture was somewhere between steak tartare and the Lebanese specialty habra nayye. It was amazing. Here is hoping that they will reopen soon in another location...

I was wondering the same thing in the Openings and Closings thread... The menus outside are gone, the tables and chairs seem to be piled up at one end of the room... that cannot be good, especially when there is no sign on the door explaining what is going on. It is a shame, really. Their food was so good and the host was very welcoming. By comparison, I find the flavours at Nyala much more one-dimensional. I guess I will have to find a new place to break injera with my friends

Wonderful! I will be paying Aurora Bistro a visit in the near future, then!

We have reservations at Pino's on the 12th and at HGS on the 13th. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to it! Emmanuelle, who cannot wait for next week

This sounds like a great idea! Last time I was served local mead, it was the lavender/cranberry from Middle Mountain and I remember thinking that it would be fantastic paired with a lavender creme brulee or something along these lines. It is semi-dry but tastes crisp and fresh enough not to be cloying with dessert. And some good plain mead would go very well with several of our local fresh goat cheeses. Throw in a couple curvy Valkyries to wait on tables and you are all set!

Kurtis and Memo, thank you very much for your replies! I will definitely try and get in touch with Brian at Merridale Cider. Well, I know I would! Seriously though, I am afraid that it would take some effort and time before Vancouverites consider mead as a viable alternative to, say, beer and apple cider, especially if they have never heard of it or tried it before. Even in France, where there are still quite a few commercial meaderies in Brittany, mead (called "hydromel" in French and "chouchen" in Breton) is considered either as a relic from medieval times or as a quaint little regional drink that is almost impossible to find in the rest of the country. Not a widespread thing by any stretch of the imagination! Also, most of the mead made in BC seems (at least from what I read online) to be flavoured with fruit and/or herbs, which technically makes it a melomel or metheglin. I would expect these flavoured meads to be more difficult to successfully pair with food, therefore limiting them to being served as an aperitif or maybe with dessert. Plain mead on the other hand, when well-made, can be refined and complex enough to be enjoyed with food in lieu of wine. Whew! That was a long-winded post! Sorry for being so verbose (can you tell I am passionate about mead? ) and thanks again for taking the time to answer my question. Emmanuelle

A discussion about homebrewing on another forum left me craving mead something fierce. Alas, the bottle I picked up on my last trip to Brittany is long gone and it seems that mead is not all that easy to find in Vancouver. Government liquor stores do not carry it and when I enquired at private stores they told me that they maybe get one request a year but do not stock any. Does anyone know where I could find some locally? What is a girl to do? Plan an expedition to Sooke, where there apparently is a meadery? Or buy the equipment and brew mead at home, putting my whole block at risk of deflagration if the fermentation goes wrong? My buckwheat crepes and myself thank you in advance for your recommendations!

Goma leaf tuna sashimi at En

Hello everyone! This is my first post on eGullet, so please forgive me if this was covered elsewhere, but does anyone know if the House of Selassie on Granville has closed down? I went there several times this year and very much enjoyed their consistantly fresh, flavourful dishes... unfortunately the restaurant was almost empty on most of my visits.