lemontart

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! canucklehead Great idea about sushi, but since we will be in Vancouver for a several days as well I think I will leave the sushi for there. We're all grads of UC Davis (some recent and me not so recent ) so have all had some pretty amazing sushi and sashimi in California. mkjr When I say very lively I mean just that - with or without large amounts of vino this is your typical group of Italians, who while eating have many many differing opinios about - well - EVERYTHING!! so a place that can take a boisterous group would be best... Haven't been to Rimrock for ages so that sounds great as well as Bearfoot Bisto. Would Apres be appropraite for a large group?? The wine list interesting, but I see many quotes about 'intimate dining' so not sure this would be the best choice. Appreciate any comments about this.

I am escorting a group of young Italians - all involved in the wine industry there - on a trip to Vancouver and Whistler from May 13th to 18th. Anyone have any suggestions as to restaurants in Whistler that can readily accommodate a very lively group of 8 to 12 people? They prefer simply prepared food - not too fussy or overly sauced (actually they seem to prefer Nona's cooking to just about anything else but they are fairly open to trying anything.) Somewhere with a very good selection of BC wines would be great as well.

Lemontart, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I assure you that every one of our glasses get polished and our restuarant gets dusted a couple of times a week, or as needed. We strive for perfection, like anyone else who cares in this business, but sometimes we miss things. We are only human. I will look into our cleaning process and see if there is anywhere we can improve. Was the fly a fruit fly, or a house fly? I would assume a fruit fly. The odd fruit fly does get into the sweeter liquor bottles on occassion, and in any dark busy restaurant they can end up in a drink. While not acceptable, these little pieces of pickled protien are harmless, and do not indicate that we are dirty. I hope you gave us a chance to bring you a fresh martini. Finally, you mention that our servers can be irritating to old people. In what way are they irritating? We have many regular customers, and quite a few of them are "old"(although I'm sure they don't like being called that!). I'm sure if they were irritated they wouldn't come back. Our servers enjoy serving people of all ages, and some of our favourite customers are "old". I think if they knew that old people found them irritating, they would want to know how they could change that situation. We thank you for your input, and would love for you to experience again, the restaurant that we are proud of and passionate about. Feel free to contact me at 604-873-9944 if you have any more concerns. Regards, Jeff Van Geest Chef/Owner Aurora Bistro ← Chef Jeff The fly was a house fly and while we were offered another martini it finally came along with our mains by which time we had a bottle of wine to go with the meal. We were there with my mother-in-law who asked a few questions about the menu as she is on a salt restricted diet. The server was not terribly helpful and when my mother-in-law later asked for fresh ground pepper the server rolled her eyes and said" You can't have salt but you can have pepper?" and walked away. I thought this was "irritating" to say the least. We have also been there with a family friend who is in her seventies and the server was less than patient with her as well. I can appreciate that the servers are very busy, but people who are not familiar with unusual ingredients or ways of preparation often do ask questions so they can make a decision about their orders. We have never had a bad meal at Aurora food wise - and the wine list is excellent - but others have had similar comments to mine about service, and some of them are in their late twenties which is closer to the age of the servers, so it's maybe not fair to say they are only irritiating to older people. We're not 40 yet Chef Neil " I am turning 40 soon, so I want to sit in silence " Wyles - so guess age is not our excuse for our "problem" - we only know how we like to be treated when we dine out. Getting back to the topic at hand -- so I don't get bumped -- I would still say if you want "a quiet place for Dad" Aurora with all those hard surfaces may not be the best choice (although personally I think the decor is great especially the use of plywood - a great made in BC product!!).

Aurora waaaay too noisy - and servers can be really irritating with older people (also have had issues with cleanliness - all those hard surfaces don't get dusted - and we have a whole new meaning for dirty martini - as one of us was served a martini that had a fly and dust floaing on the top!) Chambar is fine if seated in the front. I second the idea of Parkside - excellent food, service, reasonable prices and very quiet. Cru is still great as well.

I second Vancitygirl -- DO NOT DO City Park!!! There are so many beautiful places in Kelowna, but downtown is not one of them. What about Elysium Gardens which is in absolute splendor at that time of year? Also second Quail's Gate Winery - not sure about Mission Hill as the chef has changed I believe. Do not know if Cedar Creek winery does weddings on the property but it's a fabulous view, and possibly a good choice for dinner as well. As for artisan cheese as well as Carmelis what about driving to Vancouver via the south Okanagan and give the Naramata bench a try, especially Poplar Grove who make fantastic cheese to say nothing of all the fabulous wine to be sampled in the area. We live in the Mission area of Kelowna and would be happy to give you an 'itinerary' of differnent places to see if you would like. Best of luck!

Anyone know where in Vancouver we can find something similar to the Calebaut chocolate loaf we get that Rhys Pender & Alishan Driediger make at Okanagan Grocery in Kelowna?? http://www.okanagangrocery.com/index_files/page0007.htm We will be staying at our condo in Yaletown for two weeks starting this weekend and I think we might have withdrawal symptoms if we don't have chocolate bread for that long!!! This bread is highly addicitve, and it is nothing like pain au chocolat that you see in most bakeries. There are chunks of dark chocolate throughout, and the bread dough is also chocolate.

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! Will let you know where we tried and how we liked it.

We are going to be in Portland for three days at the end of March. Anyone have any suggestions?? We like all kinds of ethnic food, but would love a 'fresh local ingredients' kind of place as well.

Truly, a tragedy. ← I love morels as much as the next person - but as someone who lost their home in the OK Mountain Park fire I'd rather have had my house than the morels that could be found on the property afterward -- at any price. Just to put the 'tragedy' in perspective!!