Chef Fowke

What about a Vancouver eGullet dinner after Opus? Enough choices in that part of town to be sure From what I've read in his books, and seen on TV, I doubt I could keep up with him in the liquor department! DA Great Idea, somewhere in Yaletown...something fun! I am in. My Vote: Best Steak in Yaletown = Hamilton Street Grill. (great Mojito as well)

I saw a chunk of beef in the cooler! All smoked, steamed and ready to go. I even ventured to take a taste... YES! Give Neil a call and set up a time, I am sure he would be happy to arrange a sandwich or two.

The project is re-born! I have spent some time in my good friend's kitchen at the Hamilton Street Grill and for selfish reasons we have just finished curing 20lbs of brisket and will be smoking/steaming it this week !!! Give Neil a call and reserve your sandwich!

I wish I could say more, but cannot until all the legal is finished...here is an update.... egullet thread..chef's gossip

and now Coors and Molsons may be merging togeather ....one corporate identity.

Laurentide, ah yes, Laurentide! Fond memories... Great point, it was nice when the beer was regional; really was a statement of our Canadian heritage and differences within one commonwealth.

Great selection, and diversity. Two more Canadian greats: Big Rock Brewing Company (Alberta): Grasshopper Wheat. ...and my all time favourite Canadian beer ( I hope it is still around, I have not had one for ten years) Creemore Lager.

Looks like it is going to be in the Granville area.

…luckily my mother is only 64 and of Scottish decent!

More news soon! Lots of FN interest.... I will post all the updates in the next week! I am in our new office as of Monday and will have time to promote the new projects (yes, that is plural!).

No, that is wrong. It is important to weight the meat regardless of cooling and re-heating. I tried both and the heavier the press the better while it cools.

I am going to be working with a young woman in Vancouver who is a media genius. She has suggested some type of Food Network presence at/before the opening. Just between you and me.... it scares the hell out of me! Look at Rocco and his media team; he came across like a bungling fool. Now his investors are suing him for not taking care of their investment. I would rather concentrate on the opening details and the investor’s dollars. This is one of the most stressful points in my life, I am not sure I want a camera in my face. What if I say a bad word, or ten!

Yes I am working on a project in Toronto, with never leaving Vancouver. It is systems based for a restaurant group. All done and set-up on/over the internet (very much way of the future stuff for restaurants à POS set up to suppliers, etc) No my restaurant is not opened, yet. I have found a location. I have found a partner I have a chef to work with me I have the kitchen hired I have 90% of the front of the house staff The business plan is finished The employee manuals are complete The Menu is done, costed, suppliers online The demographic study is completed Our marketing strategy is in place We returned our primary investors cheques and subscription agreement three weeks ago because of integrity reasons. We no longer could work with him, more to come after we decide if we are taking legal action. We have another primary investor; who has great ideas about business. He raises capitol for resource speculators internationally. We are re-writing out ten-year plan and seeing if it fits with his needs. So… I am extremely poor, now. All my money has been spent on this project getting it to this point. My partner and I decided to not take any seed money and have a majority of the project financed through a limited partnership agreement. We should be able to tie up the financing in the next four to eight weeks. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. I will see this through to the end. The buzz on the street is strong for the project and so is the support. As long as I can live on Kraft dinner for the next two months we will be back on track soon. Anyone wanting to send a care package…

To put some depth to the story... The salesperson said that the wine was bought from the winery after the contract was broken with the airline....the winery was J Lohr. To be quite honest, the salesman was great, told a great story and I got some really nice wine for less then I could get it at the vineyard. I find it easy to believe that a lot of contracts were cancelled after 9/11.

I bought a bunch of wine a year ago that TJ had picked up from the airlines (no corkscrews allowed on planes). I talked to the salesperson for over an hour about the wine, then about Trader Joes... He stated that they can keep the prices low on wine because they offer cash up front for all there purchases. What a great spot for a company to be in. Buying everything with cash! No debt.

I had the same waiter! He tells that story to everyone?

Let me try to remember my youth, I grew up both on the prairies of Canada and in Ontario... Never used the term Canadian Whiskey, it was always brand specific...you drank Crown or Cub (very class specific). On the prairies it was Crown and coke and back east it was Crown and ginger. I am glad to see a comeback in popularity. I have not had a Crown Royal in years, but I do remember it tasting great!

Oceanaire hardly seem like a "moderately priced" option given that all entrees are over $20 and sides are extra. Then again, I have my own irrational aversion to the place.... I agree. I should have mentioned....we were educated by fire!!! You have to be careful ordering here. One entree for two people is enough. One dessert for four is enough. The first time we went in we ordered the Seafood Plateau to start, an appetizer each, an entree each, two sides and two desserts.... We ate 20% and paid $500. We nearly didn't go back, but the service was very educated (with the exception of the oversell) and the food was FANTASTIC. (I must remember to preface my comments on Oceanaire with a note on portion size)

Oceanaire is still my favorite! My wife makes me drive down from Vancouver, BC once a month to dine here. Call the chef, Kevin Davis and he will set up a vegetarian option. He is one of the top chefs in Seattle (and still a nice guy!). Oceanaire, Seattle

Its Feb 2004 and the restaurant is still open...maybe it was a bad night.

I could not tell the difference...it tasted like it was fresh from Montreal (unfortunately I could have flown to Montreal for the same price with all the testing and retrying of the recipe)!

No, I do not see myself trying it again.

agreed.

Does anything beat being invited over to a friends house for brunch on a Sunday and he forgets to tell his wife? They have two kids, a new business and lots of pressures and time restraints. My wife and I brought a bottle of Veuve.... He spent ten minutes (in the bedroom) calming his wife down while we drank coffee (brewed in a really cool Starbucks percolator). The scrambled eggs and sausage with toast were good (four eggs, eight sausage and five pieces of toast)... The Champagne helped a bit. He is still one of my best friends and they are stilled married.

I know that this venture will be big enough and will have many, many revenue streams that will attract people to it. All the prime spots (i.e. Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House) have been taken and are worth a fortune for lease! I believe this location will gather all the tourist (because of the scale and the grandeur), the hotel business (specifically businessman/women looking for nurturing food and some excitement around the European style bar and communal tables) and the locals who are looking for the convenience of a great, reasonable priced meal, that is full of 'show' and a farmer' market for take-home produce, dairy (cheese) meats and dry-goods. Excitement, show, practicality and convenience all in one. How can you go wrong? Who else is doing it?