Sam Salmon

Cycled by what was once the location of Typhoon on Main-sign still up but building gutted/tradesmen still @ work-no clue as to what's to come.

hmmm....

Surely some of the increased interest in Sushi in BA can be traced-al least in part-to the increasingly large Korean population.

Unfortunately you're unable to view the situation in any terms other than your own. If you'd ever lived in Canada you'd know that we're an apathetic lot-I might do a bit to save the staff some heat-I might not. Similarly the yoga mat bearing boneheads that populate the café in question continue to patronise the the place even as bile and vitriol vomit forth from the kitchen at ear splitting levels.They shuffle on nervously on their oh-so-toned buns/flush their sculpted cheeks/choke down their Chai and never say a word. The idea that someone in Vancouver would be arrested for walking out on a missing meal is laughable-this is the real world-BS scenarios have no place here.

I'm reminded of a song by the venerable Allman Bros Band (yes I know I'm dating myself here)-'Not My Cross To Bear'

Most people like the smell of Sandal wood burning but may be for you it was gawd awful. I only burn the incense sticks to cover up the smell coming from the coffee shop. I do not encourage smoking on the patio and when the patio is full, I usually do not allow people to smoke.......... I wonder what would you complain about if you went to India. Vikram Vij ← I expressed my appreciation for your extinguishing the rank smell from the incense that was wafting over our table-the idea that most people 'like the smell of smoke with their food' is ludicrous and touches on another aspect of your operation. It's true I've never visited India to date-however my years of residence in Mexico & Central America as well as visiting and fishing the Caribbean/South America and the South Pacific-have pretty well immured me to diesel fumes and chance encounters with odours of the gagging kind. FYI-the reek of cheap incense fell out of style in this town in the late 70's.

Something of a separate question they way you've phrased it. Why do people visit countries with corrupt/opressive govt's? Should the customer/consumer laboriously track the path of every dollar spent/make agonising decisions as to who/what is worthy? One could argue that by not bringing the incident in question to the termagant/owner's attention I sheltered the staff from the worst of her excesses. edited for clarity

Food is good/not cheap as such but reasonable and generally well made.The atmosphere is quite unlike anything else in the 'hood-more like a truck stop on the way up to the Khyber Pass-complete with rug draped walls/excruciatingly low tables/wailing music and fiery Chai. Again I repeat-the staff turnover is almost legendary no one will be the wiser in 6-8 weeks. I ask because of two reasons -as I age I have more desire to examine my behaviour not just react to everything. -I have developed a great deal of respect for many of the posters here-their unique POV's/humour entertain and at times enthrall me. Once the fall weather starts to bite I'll stop by the takeout window for a cup of Chai/exchange a few friendly words with the newbies behind the counter/inhale that unique and enticing aroma wafting from the kitchen/take things from there.

In any other place I'd probably give it a try-here's why I won't in that particular joint. The Owner is notorious for shouting at/acting abusively toward staff-this I have seen myself a number of times.Not sure exactly why-maybe she grew up hard in a refugee camp somewhere outside her home 'n native land and feels she has to kick ass to keep 'em in line. I know she'd be very polite/apologetic and as soon as I left she'd start in on the staff-who don't deserve that kind of BS and who as I mentioned earlier rarely last more than a few months anyway.

They'd sell more of them if they were 100% Stainless Steel-people love shiny things!

Strong words! As I said earlier there was/is no Management presence in the place @ lunch. The trio of food preparers/servers-all young white females just out of high school-were being slowly submerged under more and more customers and I wasn't capable of communicating that my meal was slowly disintegrating without growling.(I growl quite well too-much too well sometimes ) Since I've been going to the place for years I also know that the check was just torn up and the food tossed. It's not a high class joint where every penny is watched and garbage cans are searched for evidence of staff malfeasance.

I wonder if the place on the corner of Kingsway & Clark is still in operation? Haven't driven by in a while and there was a bad fire in that 'hood last week.

Hate to think what you would have done if it hadn't been a favorite place - throw a plate across the dining room? ← In actuality I'm a model customer-polite, friendly but self contained-open/communicative/appreciative and a generous tipper. That is strictly against British Columbia Labour Law and does not happen here. There's generally no Management on site @ lunch.The place is owned by a young Afghan woman who leaves the day to day running of the place to whoever is working the food counter that day-she shows her face around dinnertime.The waitress I initially dealt with was the senior staff member (I had never seen her on previous weekly visits) apart from the venerable dishwasher in the back-someone with poor English language skills and a timid manner-whom I doubt could have dealt with the situation. As I said the place is notorious in the 'hood for constant staff turnover. If the place holds true to form the food was plated straight into the garbage, the thali pitched into the dirty plates bin and it was business as usual for the rest of the afternoon-the Manager would have had no clue/no one to shout at. Well not because of anything I did-she's quite the shouter as regulars can attest. Maybe you misunderstood-I hadn't eaten more than abite of Eggplant and a bite of Alu Gobi-why would I pay for a meal I hadn't eaten? The food people/servers are the same people-it's counter with three people working together elbow to elbow and the restaurant seats 30 people tops. Somewhat spoiled for choice here-it's definitely one of my faves. It'll be put on the back burner for a few months until the staff once again turns over-then I'll catch a whiff of their cooking while riding down 8th Ave and be back inside-hunched over the low tables/shouting orders to the servers while the music wails.

It's been my long time experience that many people who open businesses on the Gulf Islands have no idea the amount of work that goes with running a successful operation. If a person is to survive they must have their nose-to-the-grindstone from May to October-as mentioned.Those who opt for the Island lifestyle-long lunches/naps/ganga soaked afternoons soon find themselves at the mercy of bankers and worse. Locally-roaring by on the bicycle a few moments ago I see Café Marseilles is 'under paper'-windows are papered and the sign is gone. Let's hope for a more warmer host and an atmosphere somewhat more welcoming.

Cycled down to a favourite ethnic place for lunch today, settled down @ a shared table and ordered. The waitress seemed to be a bit confused about my order and I had to ask her to speak up twice- a lifetime of loud music and internal combustion engines have played havoc with my hearing. So I finally got my plate of food and commenced to nibble-the 2 mains were lukewarm-not good at all. Instead of waiting for service I took the thali up to the counter and told a staff member about the lukewarm food-she said "really"? I grumbled back "Yes Really" and handed her the plate. The I went back to my seat and waited. And waited. And waited. The place was becoming busier and I knew what was happening-my Afghan Eggplant and Alu Gobi were being reheated but my Dall soup and Afghan Rice were rapidly cooling off, the Roti was drying and my Salad was wilting. So once a full ten (10) minutes had passed I up and slouched out. Walked right by the counter where food is prepared/reheated-I could see my plate sitting there half empty as expected-no one noticed. What's your take on this-did I overreact? As hungry as I was I couldn't speak to someone about the meal again without irritation showing in my voice so I figured I'd just give the place a few months until new Staff is hired-there's always a help wanted sign in the window-and try again rather than upset myself further. Any/all relevant info/comment/opinion much appreciated. TIA

The first item that comes to mind is the Cilantro chutney. Vij's is smooth, tasty and a wonderful accompaniment to almost everything he serves. What it lacks is the piquant immediacy, rough cut texture and almost startling freshness common found in the same dish in Punjabi home kitchens. Of course we could say the same about Mexican or Chinese restaurants-restaurant food is generally produced on a large scale not necessarily by hand and that's life in the real world. However to gush and coo over plain dishes that 1,000's and 1,000's of people here eat daily as though it were a revelation is IMO somewhat shallow-there is no startling innovation in Vij's cookery at all. I could go on and on but the workaday world calls.........

While I've never felt quite as bad the food I've eaten there over the years was fair to good without being outstanding. Underwhelming comes to mind. I know Punjabi home cooking and Vij's is an approximation that no more. The whole 'warm schmoozy host with watery chai in hand' shtick has been done many ways by many people and adds little to the overall experience IMO. Influencing the Vancouver scene? That's laughable and shows how many people in this town can't wait to line up and drink each other's used bathwater.

Well some of us. As it happens I've never drunk a cup of coffeee in all my time on earth and never will-a few sips was enough. Furthermore I think the stuff is poison of the most noxious and insidious variety. Poking a little fun at 'coffee culture' was my reason posting the article-the subsequent raving/growling/snarking and shaking-you all know where that comes from

Click Here for Caffeine-Fired Price Reduction Frenzy Info! "First shots fired in latte price war Last updated Jul 27 2005 01:08 PM PDT CBC News Small independent cafes across Vancouver are taking on Starbucks, offering $2 lattes in an effort to win over customers from the industry giant. Mike and Theresa Triggiano who helped start the price war, say business has been brisk at their Yaletown cafe thanks to their sandwich board on the sidewalk offering the cheaper coffees. "Mike just came up with the idea, and thought let's start promoting ourselves," says Theresa Triggiano. "I think people are getting tired of paying too much for their lattes " A few blocks away at the Cafe d'Azur ....." Please see article for remaing text. Edited for clarity and to conform to site policy as requested by Mod

Caper's of course is smoke free-isn't Feenie's as well?

Had lunch 2 weeks ago @ Rangoli and asked Vij to put out the gawd awful incense he had burning near us. He explained it was to cover the reek from the smokers-indicating the other diners. I had no idea he allowed people to smoke on the patio and was momentarily stunned at the prospect-also a bit trapped as to time/options for lunch with my companion. Luckily lunch was tasty and no one ignited but I doubt I'll be back until he cleans the place up.

Tough crowd here!

If you flush the ashes down the toilet they'll be processed @ your local sewage treatment plant. Flush the throne and slowly add the ashes-if some are left floating lay a layer of comfort paper on top and re-flush.

Had the Salmon Taco tonight-managed to get there just in time after work. A very tasty morsel-2 were almost enough for dinner-my being ravenous and all. Only tangentially related to a Mexican Fish Taco but definitely something I'll try again.

Picnic does have the air of a not-too-thoroughly-thought-through idea about the place -give it a year it'll be gone/reworked/made back into the broom closet it once was.