Beebs

Went there for lunch yesterday, and it was packed! By 1pm there wasn't a seat to be had. Had antipasti, bruschetta sampler, veal & arugula pizza, lamb pappardelle, panzanella salad (between the 6 of us - not all by myself!). Very good food, definately exceeded expectations.

It's going to be a PHAT. From the Urban Diner archives, two months ago: I spoke with Kaminsky just a few nights ago and they're on track, give or take a few days (probably give). I'm looking forward to it. ← Awesome! They're only a block from my work - I guess that's where I'll be spending all my lunch money!

I haven't... I have never shopped at either of those places and I don't even know where they are!! I will check them out, though. Thanks for the tip! ← There's both a Save-On Foods and Superstore at Metropolis in Metrotown, Burnaby - that might be the closest to where you are. Save-On is at the Station Square side, but Superstore is in the mall proper. Personally, I prefer Save-On - it's tidier. They're going on strike though, in the next couple days, so Superstore might be a better bet at this time.

Have you tried the larger supermarkets? Save-On and Superstore come to mind.

We've been having ours cold with a rice vinegar dressing lately! Steam/boil as usual till cooked but a bit crispy. You can shock in ice water, but I'm too lazy so I undercook a tiny bit and let it cool on the counter. Drizzle with a mix of rice vinegar, soy (I used Japanese), smashed garlic clove, ginger, sesame oil, a bit of sugar. Sort of like ohitashi - Japanese spinach salad.

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. If they let you bring a bagful of 100mL liquids on board, then a box of chocolates shouldn't be a problem. I can fit at least 5 100mL bottles in one of those plastic bags they give you--they think I can't combine them all to make some kind of explosives? ← Haha! This reminds me of an SNL skit where a bunch of customs/security agents were in a seminar about items prohibited on the plane and they were asking all these questions to stump the instructor. This one guy said couldn't a bunch of terrorists all have a few little bottles of liquid, then combine them to make a big amount of liquid. My mom always loads up my sister with homecooked goodies when she visits from the US. This visit she brought home meat buns. In the past, she's also taken back entire meals - chicken curries and stirfries with pork. Hasn't been stopped yet!

I've always wondered what customs officials do with all that food they confiscate. Do they toss it? I know it's a risk to bring stuff in, but it makes me sad to think all that good food just gets binned.

'Fess up - we've all done it! Packing contraband goodies into your suitcase, hoping that customs officials don't sniff 'em out! Check out this article in the Globe & Mail - "Is that a sausage in your suitcase?" According to this article, there is actually a wide range of foodstuffs that you can legitimately bring into Canada, for personal consumption. Items like mustards, sauces, candies are all OK. Turns out you can even bring in cheese - pasteurized or unpasteurized - as long as it's under $20 in value, or 20 lbs by weight (yaaay!). Meats, of course, are prohibited. So..what clandestine edibles have you all "smuggled" across the border? Have you ever been caught? Tell all!

What is "ants climbing a tree"? Sounds intriguing!

Canadian tomatoes are apparantly safe to eat...so far. Article here. Some Canadian fast food outlets have also taken tomatoes off their menu, but it's not nation-wide yet. Tomato sandwiches this summer aren't a lost cause yet, hopefully!

An episode of Martha Stewart showed her re-using pickle juice after all the pickles have been eaten. Instead of throwing out the jar & juice, Martha tossed in carrots, asparagus, other veggies, & cukes into the juice until they pickled.

I'd recommend against pre-brewing tealeaves before infusing them in alcohol. Once I spoiled a whole bottle of vodka when in a moment of genius I decided to pre-brew some green tea before pouring the vodka over top, to speed up the process. Big mistake. It made an incredibly tannic, bitter, and scuzzy-coloured infusion. I think tea infused alcohol works best when infused either at room temperature or even in the fridge. I guess it's the same principle as cold-brewed iced tea - it's much less bitter than hot brewed tea, the hot water pulls out the tannins quicker than cold water. The colder the alcohol, the longer it takes to infuse, but I find it tastes much better. I used to work at a tea shop and it was a lot of fun messing around with tea & alcohol! (and tasting them!) I recall one of our staff experimenting with smoked lapsang tea & vodka...something about coming up with a drink reminiscent of scotch. Don't remember tasting it though.

Napolitan ice cream this month, which I haven't had in years. Ate almost the entire 1.5L bucket by myself.

I'm with you on this one. I can tell that they taste different when they're side by side, neat. I've also tried it in a Campari & soda, and a Jasmine, but my palate's definately not discerning enough to taste a significant difference mixed in a cocktail. Although the old formula cocktails tasted a bit richer to me. Haven't tried it in a Negroni yet, though. My old formula bottle is around 6-8 months old, and I opened the new formula bottle about 4 months ago. That being said, Campari & soda is one of my favourite drinks, and it is a pity they've decided to change it....

Ooh I love FreeRice.com! I heard about it on our local radio station in Vancouver. They're doing a Free Rice Day on June 10, and encouraging everyone to play Free Rice for 4 minutes at 11am. Check it out...95 Crave FM.

Not sure if this qualifies for this thread, but Vancouver Coastal Health has just released their 2008 food establishment closures. Click!

Smushed up in a dressing parsley, shallot, olive oil, red wine vinegar and drizzled (scooped!) over boiled potatoes and grilled fish.

Like pigeons nicking your ham hock! ← Even worse...seagulls! What if you drop a fork? Or your shoe? This is too weird.

He might try Enterprise Paper, Unisource, or Great Little Box. I don't know if they've got what he's looking for, but they do custom work and they might be able to redirect him to someone else if they don't have the boxes. GLB would probably be your best bet.

Here's another vote for SBonner's recommendation! Their Imperial Earl Grey is my all-time favourite - much more bergamot-y and none of that weird sweet orange flavour that other Earl Grey teas have. You can order online.

I ate a chicken pie for breakfast just now! Here in Vancouver the Asian bakeries carry little tart-sized savoury pies, usually chicken. It comes baked in a fattening, flakey crust typically made with a lot of lard. Puff pastry pies filled with chicken or curry beef are also very common.

My latest OXO purchase is one of those teeny tiny liquid measuring cups (1/2 cup, I think) that has the measurements on the inside, on that slanted part. Not that I need one, but it was just too cute to resist! I'm using it for cocktails.

Italian sodas - flavoured syrup, soda water, squirt of whipped cream. Taiwanese-style pearl milk tea (bubble tea). Hmm...actually this one might be a bit too complicated, what with cooking up the tapioca.... There used to be a Italian coffee shop in my neighbourhood that made a concoction of sorbet and tea or juice whizzed in the blender. Kind of like a Slurpee but much, much tastier!

I don't know if there's a similar thread in the Pastry forum, so moderators feel free to move this post! When I make cheesecakes, I always press a large sheet of heavy duty foil around the springform pan before placing them in their water baths. But no matter how I wrap the pan, water inevitably leaks through the foil and soaks through the pan, resulting in a somewhat soggy crust. Last time, I used TWO sheets of foil, but no such luck. Are my wrapping skills sorely lacking? What am I doing wrong?

I wish we had a Sur la Table or Crate & Barrel here in Vancouver! We're getting married next year, and we'll be registering at Williams-Sonoma for our upper-range, and The Bay/Home Outfitters for mid & lower-range stuff.