merlin

You just answered my earlier question Shelora. Queen St? Toronto? I am hoping that the weather is too good to wear "black" [grin] when we visit

Definitely Lure as we are staying at Ocean Pointe after visiting with Chris aka Tofino at the Wick. Saturday, it's Brasserie L'ecole to renew acquaintances with Marc and co. Rosemeade we'll keep for our return trip in the Fall. Where is the Queen Mother Waterside Cafe?

What a great addition to the Victoria dining scene Shelora. Too bad that it will not be open next Friday nite when we arrive as otherwise it sounds like the perfect stop to stock up for a picnic.

Too funny. Thanks for the morning chuckle. Mind you after looking at the pictures I am ravenous. There is "fusion-styled" spot across the street from my office whose owner is of Korean descent. He has his "take" on bulgogi on the lunch menu but his dinner appetizer of the "kalbi stack" is delicious. A number of L.A. style short ribs barbequed and served with some kim chee that I think his mother makes. You mentioned the meat having been marinated in fruit juice. I know when I have tried making kalbi at home I have used pineapple juice to break down the fibres. Don't make it very often as my barbeque is usually a "disaster area" after all that sauce and marinade gets burnt onto the grill.

Certainly endorse that recommendation. This was the first sparkling shiraz I tried. It was recommended to me by Dave Osbaldiston at the Richmond Hills wine store in south-western Calgary. I have not been to the store in years but at the time it was reputed to have the best selection of Australian wines in the country. I was told the Ambassador from "Oz" dropped in when visiting C-Town. Dave, who used to live in Australia and worked at the Best's/Great Western winery recommended it to me as a "sparkling wine to go with a steak". I have a couple bottles of the '91 vintage left. It is terrific. It pours out purple and foamy and you intinctively think, "Baby Duck" only to taste it and low and behold it is a "serious" wine with all that leather, coffee, and various other notes. Brilliant with barbequed ribs! The Knapstein [sp?] "Chainsaw" bottling of sparkling shiraz is also quite good.

Tofino/Chris: I think that that question was directed my way...mind you, if that is the case, maybe I should have left the "uggghhhh" in. We arrive early in the afternoon of Wednesday the 29th of June via SonicBlue from Vancouver and depart for Victoria via Craig Air late afternoon/early evening of the July 1st. Short visit but we are looking very much forward to it. Now just a matter of weeks away. Kudos to the Wick's reservation department. I thought that we would have had to abandon our plans when SonicBlue cancelled their Victoria link but they put Craig Air in contact with us when they got up and running...err flying...a couple of weeks later. I can see and hear the breakers crashing into Chesterman already....

Thanks Treve. Hopefully most of the "newbie wrinkles" will have been worked out by the time we get there. I know what you mean about the typos. Some can be so bad that they seem to hit you squarely between the eyes and you wonder how someone could have possibly missed them. That having been said I have read some documents I have produced that I know I have proofread numerous times and......

Memo: Now that is a real shame! However, as you have pointed out Victoria's loss is Vancouver's gain....another reason not to avoid Vancouver and finally get to try HSG's hangar steak and pudding that you Vancouver eGulleteers have gone on about and revisit a past favourite in the Rain City.

Too funny, with all the great spots to dine in "Cow Town" your client picks a moldy, oldy like The Smugglers. Your description of the interior, the absence of light, the salad bar is spot on. I do not think that it has changed in years and years It has been a few years since my last visit. Did have some Fred Flintstone-like sized bone-on prime rib steak that was quite good but everything else was very forgettable. Just searched for your Peter's Drive-In review. The milkshakes are the only thing worth going there for. I think nostaglia plays a large role in its continuing success as most people who grew up in Alberta have stopped at Peter's en route to or coming back from Banff or other spots in the mountains.

Shelora mentioned that the Ocean Pointe Hotel in Victoria has opened their new Inner Harbourside restaurant "Lure". Has anyone been? I am assuming that it took over part of their bar Ricky's, perhaps the space where the Victorian used to be and maybe the Boardwalk but do not know for sure. We are going to be in the hotel in time...we hope...for the Canada Day fireworks and would be interested in any comments. Just a quick visit this trip. Just the two nights so were hoping that the night of our arrival we would eat there and then Saturday reacquaint ourselves with Marc, Marnie et. al. at Brasserie l'Ecole.

ah Shelora you have made my evening....nice to hear that the new inner harbour side restaurant at the Ocean Pointe has opened...I had my doubts when we last visited in February. we'll be there for a couple of days at the beginning of July after some time with Tofino/Chris at the Wick...we are so looking forward to getting back to the coast.

Cafe Brio on Fort St. should be open on Sunday and that is where I would head given that Brasserie L'Ecole is closed. It is usually quite lively and the owners are quite the hosts...Greg knows his wine and his "better half"...oh, to have half her energy! Temple? I don't know Andrew. Perhaps I should give them another try because I sure was not impressed the time we went. To paraphrase another poster Paul Mitchell..."what is with the F*&^#@ bed!" [smile] I can see late nite drinks as it kicks into its "supper club" personality but to eat?..hmmmmm

"Spot on" observation...I have chuckled under my breathe more than a few times having heard something said as I regularly sit up at the "wood" when dining alone.

Funny Brenda, I was thinking the same thing last evening while sipping some wine and reading the May/June issue of EAT which made its way across the Rockies to me earlier in the week. Part of the article on Nanaimo mentioned Penny's Palapa which I remember seeing when we were in the area last fall. We could see it from the balcony of our room in the Coast Bastion. We may stay there again en route to Tofino after Thanksgiving and will check to see if Penny's is still open.

Now there is a "blast from the past"...I think the dentist from my youth could have "retired" on the income generated from the fillings McIntosh toffee pulled out of my teeth...

This month's edition of Saveur has a small article on beef cuts including a mention and description...photo and written....of "hanger" steak.

I too am from the "wipe its arse and clip its horns" blue rare "school" when it comes to cooking steak and have found that good restaurants usually do a better job than what I can accomplish at home. I do however insure that the restaurant and I are on the same "wavelength" when it comes to what we are talking about. Blue rare and differ from spot to spot. I want it as red/purple as possible but still have it warm throughout rather than chomping through ice crystals. My "significantly better half" prefers her steaks med-rare...leaning toward the medium...and by the time I get hers done I usually have overcooked my own even if just "resting". Yes, I know I should do mine last but that too has usually not worked. Part of the problem I think is that I do not take the meat out of the fridge early enough. Next road trip to Van will have to get down to check out HSG's hanger steak.

Paul, is Glenterra the one that you have mentioned before in Port Alberni? I do not think that I have seen their wines during our Island visits. Expect that their production is fairly limited especially if they have elected to try to go the certified organic route. Only 2 more months...who's counting? [smile]...and we'll be visiting "Tofino" at the Wick. Do not think that we'll be able to get up to the resort this trip. Maybe in the Fall if you are still open. You had just closed last autumn.

no kidding...same thought crossed my mind and so I inquired over at the Spain/Portugal board. I have not travelled nor as a consequence dined very much in Europe but was advised that the "wine pairing" aspect of tasting menus is not as in vogue there as it is here. Again that is second hand information. I am sure others can speak from first-hand knowledge as to whether this is correct or not. The wine component did not seem as "staggering" ...price-wise...as it can be on "this side of the pond"...many recommended Cava...not surprisingly given it is Spain and a still bottle of white or red or both...and a driver. If I win the lotto I will post because Barcelona and El Bulli have been added to my "foodie fantasy list"....mind you, just tasting the jamon in that shop before he went to the "laboratory" looked fabulous.

Shelora: Thanks for clearing up that mystery. We certainly do have fond memories of Rebecca's.

I tend to agree with RooStew's observations. Originally I was all against the type of cuisine...seemed too much like the "Jetson's" comics of my childhood...too much science and pretence than good food. Did I really want the server to tell me how to eat, spray this, inhale that? Did I want to get small morsels served to me on devices that looked like high school shop glass designers on acid had designed them? I was very dubious. Then I saw the episode of Into the Fire or some similar program featuring Aschatz [sp?] at Trio and then more recently, Bourdain's visit to Spain. I was very impressed and intrigued. I would love the opportunity to try something like this. Goodness knows it will never happen in Edmonton any time soon. That having been said I would also enjoy...likely just as much...a classically prepared coq-au-vin or some similar rustic dish.

Andrew: I am interested as well. We usually stay at the Ocean Pointe during our visits and so have walked past Wild Saffron and have had beers in Swans on many occasions. The menu at Wild Saffron has looked good but usually we are heading off to Brasserie l'Ecole or some similar spot so have not gone in. Since you have Victoria "roots" maybe you can assist me. I asked in another thread if anyone knew the story behind Rebecca's demise. It was in that spot adjacent to Bastion Square looking toward the inner harbour where D'Arcy McGee's pub is now. It used to be our favourite restaurant. Camille's and Rebecca's were usually where we ate in the mid-'80's when my "in laws" lived in Victoria.

LOL...Marlene, as I have posted in another thread two phrases which immediately spring to mind when I think of Saskatoon are "Family Dining" & "Greek ribs"...the latter are everywhere! Calories gets my vote!

LOL...you are absolutely right....I have done just that on at least a couple of occasions. I get a "kick"...ok, admittedly I have a somewhat "sick" sense of humour [?]...reading some of the "yellowed" reviews that restaurants post outside their entrance ways....some of them are out and out "slams" and I expect the proprietor just did not understand ...

I think he hails from Montreal originally. Claim to fame? Pajamas maybe....culinary Hugh Hefner?