Johnathon

The affiliation you refer to stretches to a number of restaurants in the area. The Toptable Group has Ouest (South Granville), Cin Cin (Robson Street), Blue Water (Yaletown) and Araxi (Whistler) under their belt. For those of you unfamiliar with the Vancouver area, the first three restaurants are within a couple of miles of each other while Araxi is a beautiful drive up the Sea to Sky highway to the resort town of Whistler (about 90min). All the restaurants are worth visiting for different reasons. Ouest has an emphasis on finely crafted meals with luxurious sauces for a refined palate. Cin Cin is an exciting room which is rarely empty and features Italian Mediterranean cuisine. (note: Chef Thierry, the patissiere from Ouest now resides at Cin Cin). Blue Water places their emphasis on fresh seafood and a lively cocktail bar in a newer, funky part of town. Araxi is a restaurant very deserved of it's many accolades. Especially for a very fine wine list, warm decor and excellent dishes in a beautiful location.

I just used scotch. No more beer breath!

Must agree with the Diamond Knot IPA, damn fine beer. As far as commercially available American brews are concerned... Sam Adams would be a good choice. Budweiser on the other hand... I have no idea why it has not been classified as a chemical weapon towards a global assault of ignorance in beer making. You really can't trust anything coming out of the Millenium Death Star of breweries! Green bottle beers? Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell. Both excellent.

Must agree with the Diamond Knot IPA, damn fine beer. As far as commercially available American brews are concerned... Sam Adams would be a good choice. Budweiser on the other hand... I have no idea why it has not been classified as a chemical weapon towards a global assault of ignorance in beer making. You really can't trust anything coming out of the Millenium Death Star of breweries! Green bottle beers? Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell. Both excellent.

I must concur with the thoughts on the WS ratings, they are rarely accurate in way of taste and unnecessarily account for an increase in price on low end wines. I also find it incredibly unnerving that any wines they suddenly "showcase" and glorify are also the same wines buying pages and pages of advertising. The almighty dollar rears it's ugly head once more at the cost of common sense and taste. But, I'm not bitter.

"Earth and Ocean" in the W Hotel is excellent. The last time I was there the chef made a fantastic steamed salmon on a bed of couscous that was to die for, heavenly. The chef was voted one of the top ten new chefs in America by Food and Wine magazine (2001). Definitely worth a visit.

Very well said. I for one am looking forward to experiencing the continued growth of the Seattle Scene, in whatever guise it may manifest for itself. Please don't confuse suggestions and comments as criticism. We all learn from input from others, positive and negative. And I must maintain my argument about the status of "fledgling" for Seattle. I travel a lot and Seattle is miles ahead of many large cities for dining and appreciation of fresh local products. If you want fledgling, go to Memphis. It pretty much summates the descriptor of a pre 95' Belltown. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and pride for Seattle within this thread. It exactly this type of open dialogue that creates a great appreciation of comments from those that just plain enjoy good food.

Lived there? No. Visited countless times for over twenty years? Yes. Could not agree with you more that is a growing dining environment. Fledgling? Far from it. There are fantastic spaces and tastes in Seattle (one of the many reasons why I keep going back). Remarks were made which echo yours, albeit not as pointedly. As anything is in the state of growth, there has to be a certain amount of attention given to the art of listening and sharing of thoughts. This is not bitching. This is constructive criticism and pats on the back for areas of concern and delight. Any and all of this will always be subjective to the individual palate and dining experience. What is world class anyways? In my mind you are speaking the likes of Alain Ducasse, Charlie Trotter and Thomas Keller. Can anyone really compare with these people and their food? Rarely. But some will and they will take their place. They may already be in Seattle, Vancouver or any other growing city. As we grom we need input. There is no growth without change. As far as neighborhood finds, ethnic eateries and exquisite seafood are concerned, Seattle ranks very, very high. So does Vancouver, in every respect. One thing you missed though was the public market in Seattle! Now that is world class in every respect.

Being from Vancouver, I have had the good fortune of dining in neighboring Seattle and Portland a number of times. It is very interesting to read the word immature being attributed to the Seattle dining scene but my personal experiences would bely that thought to the service and front of the house etiquette as opposed to the food. I have had many very good meals in Seattle made less memorable by the service provided. But where does the fault lie? Would it be so difficult to send a general manager and a sommelier to a restaurant well known for it's service and front of the house staff? Has no restaurant owner ever heard of Charlie Trotter's book on Service? In my mind the fault lies in the management of the restaurant for not raising the level of the client education factor. Show the client what service is supposed to be like and they will always appreciate the extra attention given to even the slightest of details. From there the general diner has an expectation which must be met by the restaurant to have the guest return. "The food is good, but the waiter was an..." I have heard this too many times for comfort, and worse, I have experienced the same frustration. Food critics will always criticize. And diners will always eat. I have seen rave reviews for bad restaurants which are empty almost every day. And I have seen restaurants packed every day regardless of the critics summation. One meal does not make a restaurant and neither does one bad experience with the staff. I may be off the mark here, but I would warrant that service (or lack thereof) is rarely pointed out in any way other than the size of the tip. Example: Babbo NYC, I must agree with The Fat Guy here, any medoicre meal was an off night. They set a bar for food and service that is rarely met so consistently. I took the time to tell the on shift manager and Mario Batalli himself (who was lounging outside with a glass of wine) what I thought of the food and service. DB Bistro NYC, food was good but definitely not stellar. The waiter was one of the worst I have yet to experience, typifying everyone's worst nightmare of the stereotypical horrible French waiter. I took the time to tip in cash to the bus boys and the hostess while walking with the manager. As I was leaving, I told the manager that there was no tip on the bill for the waiter bacause of his service but felt that everyone else should not suffer from their share in the tip pool because of this fool. Extreme? Yes. I later learned that this was echoed by a number of other diners and that "steps were taken" to prevent such an occurance from happening again. The point? I probably do not really have one other than we cannot lay blame on anything later on if we are unwilling to share our thoughts at the time.

I love reading about the dining experiences that other people have at Ouest. It is no secret that Ouest is my favourite restaurant in Vancouver, admittedly, I am quite biased in this position. But time and time again, Chef David Hawksworth and the wonderful team at the restaurant have consistently, and quite remarkably, expanded my appreciation, expectations and education in the subtle nuance of the tastes and textures of fine dining. OK, enough of the back patting, anyone who has dined at the restaurant will know exactly what I mean by the superior food and service at Ouest. I do have to share quite a moment I had at the restaurant recently though. I usually sit at the bar and enjoy the conversation and food. I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for, but I did know that I wanted just one big plate as I only had a short time available. I looked through the menus seeing some new items and some favourites, but still could not decide. Chef came by to say hello and asked what I was in the mood for tonight, as soon as he asked, I knew what I wanted. A burger and fries. Yes, I was in the mood for a burger and fries. Chef being the incredible soul that he is, looked up at the ceiling in what I thought was a rolling of the eyes but turned out to be some contemplation immediately followed by execution. He just turned on his heels and went to the kitchen. A short time later, out came a delicious looking freshly ground sirloin burger on a baguette with an exquisite Dijon mustard, fresh greens, smokey bacon, heirloom tomato (amazing), and cornichons. Off to the side was a small plate of french fries and onion rings that were some of the best I ever had. Finished off with a couple of portions of fresh made ketchup and mayo and off you go the the diner for a burger and fries! I don't know if chef will be upset with me for mentioning this little tidbit as I am quite confident that diner food is not his first love in cooking, but I must say that it was added to my long list of memorable meals from his wonderful kitchen, albeit for very different reasons. I wonder what he would do with a request for an "open faced turkey sandwich"? I am kidding of course, as there are a few new items I cannot wait to try, the oxtail for one, sounds amazing, perfect for a fast approaching Fall!

Repeating as in ingredients for gazpacho, or repeating from the backfiring chilis?

I recently made a delicious Yellow Tomato Gazpacho with yellow hot-house tomatoes and yellow bell peppers. The yellow tomatoes are slightly sweeter and offset the use of hot peppers quite nicely. It would appear that the majority of recipes are similiar but I am also a fan of some heat in such a fine, cool soup. Yellow tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, sweet onion, orange juice, extra-virgin olive oil, Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, garlic, jalapeño chili with seeds. I am a fan of blending the mixture before serving and here is why: In the bowl I place a small mound of chopped avacado with spot prawns, tiger prawns or shrimp placed on top (I stole this idea from a dish I had at Ouest), then ladle in the Gazpacho around the avacado. The colors and tastes combine for a great dish and of course you can control the heat by not adding the seeds of the chili or ignore the chili completely. If anyone would like the recipe, just PM me.

I have been reading the replies and comments on the egullet site for a little while now and feel that I must add my own experiences from a Vancouver diner's perspective. I find it fascinating to read how visitors have summed up the Vancouver dining experience and how wide and varied the cuisine is within the city. I feel extremely fortunate to have been brought up and exposed to so much in the way of quality ingredients and the seemingly infinite ways of which they may be prepared. The multicultural significance of our city cannot be underrated for its contributions to the palate of the savvy diner. I believe this may help address the common question of why it is that Vancouver can sustain a gamut of dining experience and quality food at affordable prices. As a photographer who travels a lot, I have dined in a number of phenomenal restaurants around the world and have tasted dishes that have both inspired and astounded me and I am constantly impressed to see that Vancouver offers so much in the way of world class dining. Ouest is one of those rare treats, which consistently provides the ideal dining experience. From the front of the house to the back of the kitchen, everyone seems to know and love their job. I usually dine alone (sometimes the best dining companion is a fork!) and when doing so, choose to sit at the bar to converse with the staff and enjoy my meal. I have had the good fortune of experiencing most of what the restaurant has to offer from the menu and a seemingly endless supply of new or innovative dishes done for me at the time. Except for the exquisite “Quebec foie gras parfait” and the “butternut squash tortellini in sage butter”, which I could eat every time, I do not honestly believe that I have ever had the same dish twice. The memory of the chef and the staff as to what I enjoy and what I have had in the past amazes me. Having great food in Vancouver is easy, but I always seem to find my way back to Ouest when I want to be comfortable and have my palate tickled with incredible culinary experiences. So, if you are visiting Vancouver and find yourself in Ouest and see some guy with a shaved head laughing with the bar staff and enjoying a dish which is more than likely not on the menu, give me a tap on the shoulder and we can share in the conversation of the Vancouver dining experience.