Sam Salmon

Have you checked out Artisan Breads on Lower Lonsdale in North Van? Some exceptional product especially the Ciabatta. Of course the Transilvanian place on W. Broadway as well.

Growing up in a house where Ukrainian cuisine the house special I wouldn't touch Borscht-as with many kids the smell put me off. As a result I never really liked Beets in any way shape or form. Oh I can recall having them in a salad in a Mexican place in San Jose Costa Rica and 'weren't bad' but Costa Rican cuisine is so awful I probably needed a pick me up of something after months of Gallo Pinto. Anyway about so called Golden Beets has anyone here eaten them and are they a unique, flavourful and taste worthy experience? Or do they taste like a bowl of dirt?

I'm not at all embarrassed to admit that I have never eaten in a MacDonald's. I grew up in a relatively remote part of the country and even as a student in a larger town that had a MickeyD the smell put me off completely. Owning a St Bernard who was totally enamoured of Mickey's burgers and feeding her 4 @ time (that's 4 bites in total) exposed me to more of that smell-enough to last a lifetime.

Japanese means run/staffed by Japanese people-or if you prefer people of origin in Japan (apart from some few Koreans). 'Japanese' means anyone of origin in Asia who's taken a basic course in Sushi making/'Japanese' cooking.

Is this place Japanese or 'Japanese'?

A person travelling around the city can't help but be amazed at the proliferation of 'Japanese' restaurants. In the past month alone 2 new 'Japanese' places have opened up within in 10 minute walk of my place. Already there were at least a dozen a 10 minute walk from 4th & Burrad (3 actually run by Japanese Chefs)-it's astounding that this fad hasn't hit bottom. A quick calculation shows that at the present rate of expansion the year 2020 will see every Vancouverite with a private 'Japanese' restaurant-or each 'Japanese' restaurant with it's own private customer. Your thoughts?

All kinds being seen in the City as well. Too bad they are the infamous 'Amanita Muscaria' and not something as sublime as Matsutake.

Wow! You are sharp Jamie! All that MSG must be good for a person!

"It is a big world out there and we are a well regarded, admired part of it. " Indeed having travelled in a good part of the world I know the truth in that statement. However I fail to see how the Capilano Suspension Bridge has failed to enrich my life-or anyone else's apart from the owners. In fact I am on record as calling it "a tourist trap of the coarsest and shittiest variety" and I stand by my words. If anyone would like to see the future of Vancouver after the Olympics-not all the future but a good sized glimpse-I suggest they drive by the 'lumbering waddling hordes' descending from tour busses en masse outside the Crapilano Suspension Bridge. Rumours of new Kevlar cables for the bridge in advance of the Olympics-said to be needed to handle the strain from behemoth tourists-are just that no tenders have been called to date. BTW-I live very comfortably in Kitsilano and have for 25+ years now. I need no one to tell me my life is lucky and your picayune criticisms are worth the paper they are written on. Of course someone could say the same about mine and they are Welcome to! Anyone wishing some very different perspective on this sort of back patting that Vancouver is so notorious for should Click Here and Click Here as Well The posts are funny as hell and there's some real biting commentary-something that's rarely found in this warm comfy self congratulatory clubhouse.

Andy you have spent very little time here. It's a nice idea to be generous and 'give thanks' but there's no obligation for us to validate those we consider shallow and vacuous. The hordes of lumbering waddling tourists attracted by reviews like that mentioned bring no benefit for most city dwellers that we can't do without. It's the same in all so called 'tourist destinations' around the world.People here have yet to develop that hard shell that one encounters in many places but it's slowly happening.I witnessed a tourist being cursed for not moving out of the way of shoppers @ Granville Island Market this past summer-a first for sure but not the last time it'll happen.

To quote from another Internet Forum-"Is there a shallower more pretentious and lame magazine extant?"

6 months! I had Hepatitis A and was very ill so followed the doctor's instructions to the letter. The white I finally had with a fresh fish dinner was beyond ambrosial-ditto the beer I had a few days later.

I find the taste of Chinotto to be vile-VILE!!!! I forgive Italians for drinking it only because they also invented Pesto

Hello everyone-once again I'm back asking for ideas to help me consume a surfeit of Salmon. The Fishcakes as suggested earlier have worked very well-that's what I'm having tonight. However with all the cooked Coho in the fridge I'm having friends over tommorow and I thought I could use up the rest by adding it to a creamy sauce over pasta. Times and waistlines being what they are I need a simple recipe that's not too heavy on cream or cheese-obviously I need some though ;) TIA Also-we caught one Spring Salmon over 30# today and another Coho about 15#. Tonight I'm processing Salmon Caviar about 5 pounds of that from just 2 fish.

A suitable method for farmed fish.

Last Friday I was back @ Park Royal with a bit more time so the store rec'd a closer look. It's apparent that there are more items to come, some sections are much better stocked than others. I agree that the emphasis on prepared food is interesting and from the looks of people's baskets profitable. A woman I know well-famous for never looking at a price tag-was prowling the deli counter with a gleam in her eye-she's the demographic they want ;) Also a quick glance at the muffins shows that while they are indeed from Savary Island Pie Co the ones on sale @ Whole Foods are noticeably smaller!

As good a reason as any to avoid the place I'd say.

I was @ Park Royal this AM so I stopped by Whole Foods for a look see and a Muffin. The store is what we've come to expect here-standard layout and shelves groaning with foodstuffs both mundane and obscure. Prices are high for most items-this from someone who lives just a few blocks from Capers-but not outrageously so. Particularly fine was the Seafood display-the White Spring Salmon looked fabulous-if you've never eaten White Spring it's the best Salmon of all IMO. Alas prices for Muffins were stratospheric-$2.69 before tax! As good as they might be-they looked ordinary-I passed and ended up @ Savary Island Pie Company-it was packed as always the place is warm and welcoming. Muffin was delicious as always-$2 total.

I have a lot-I mean a lot-of Coho Lox in the freezer-one of the benefits of being a Sportfisherman here in BC-it's been a fabulous season and isn't over yet. So I'm thinking of doing a Smoked Salmon Cheesecake for a friend's upcoming B-Day. I need Smoked Salmon Cheesecake recipes Please. What I don't need are links to google-that bottomless pit of marginal info-but real recipes that have worked for you in the past. Any/all relevant info/comment/opinion much appreciated. TIA Sam Salmon Vancouver BC

I can tell instantly what has MSG added in quantity and what doesn't. That being said the stuff doesn't bother me as much as it used to-one of the benefits of ageing. Living as I do in a community with an unbelievable number of Chinese restaurants I know that "So, the people who complain about what was once called "Chinese Food Syndrome" are basically just psyching themselves out." is just uninformed blather.

Nothing Lasts Forever A bit of gossip from the 'hood says that the first objections came from a neighbouring Chinese Café.The neighbours were so incensed at the 'goings-on' that they dumped grease down DaKine's toilet causing the place to be shut for repairs. When the place reopened the Café then went to Chinese TV-whose broadcast then brought Da Kine's nefarious activities to the attention of the wider world. The dumb-as-a-post interview that the owner did-stating that she hoped that the authorities would help her to 'help people' by allowing the sale of drugs-helped to sink the place permanently.

2 to 1 always. I also agree with no salt added to rice in cooking.

As it happens I have Basmati rice on the stove as I post-lunch is nigh. I rarely rinse rice unless I've bought a grubby bag-which I have seen from some producers. I always buy Basmati from Indian or Pakistani sources-never from the USA. Anyway all I ever do is add twice the amount of water to rice, bring to a hard boil, simmer for about 5 minutes and shut the burner off. Never stir the rice or even lift the lid-just let it cook. Depending on the amount of rice 15-25 minutes it's done perfectly every time. My recipe for Thai Jasmine rice is exactly the same except I pay a little more attention-I find it a tad more delicate and it can end up a gelatinous mess with heavy handling. Again I only buy Thai grown rice.

Strictly a personal observation-Elephant Garlic is not real Garlic- a pale shadow at best.

As to Yogurt some Turks here in Vancouver have a vegetarian catering business and they add something dairy-either a real rich Yogurt or Cream Cheese or a bit of both. Lose the Tahini for one batch and notice the flavour will be more eggy. I add plain diced Garlic-roasted sounds weird IMO.