tofino

I have pm'd Daddy A to let him know we would like 4 spots for the dinner (my wife and I, as well as the Ahiers of SOBO fame), and I think the idea of the donation to the BC Chefs is great, I will talk to the owner of the Wick, and try to arrange a free night donation. Looking forward to this!!

Other than the obvious BC wines and beers (lets not forget the beers!), we need to look for the items more unique to this area. How about some of the rare apples on Salt Spring Island (their apple festival is upcoming, maybe snag some rare ones for a dessert or sauce), red fife wheat is now being grown again in the Victoria area for breads, any of the great organic lamb/etc being raised in the area. Cheeses from David Woods of Salt Spring, Hilary Abott of Vancouver Island, and the very yummy tiger blue of Poplar Grove to name a few. Lots of great organic vegetables in the area, local sausages etc. I feel we also need to incorporate some of the great ethnic food we are so well known for, or at least use some of the items mentioned above, maybe prepared in an ethnic style to show our diversity. Just a few thoughts - should be a lot of fun!

Try www.happyvalleylavender.com, a company on Vancouver Island that sells fresh (predominantly), and dried as well. Good Luck!

Yahoo, this is going to be good, seeing as we are coming in from out of town, we are going to get a room at the Opus for the night as well - how wonderful is it that a book signing soiree is turning into a weekend for 2 in Vancouver for me. I will begin the training right now - haha! Looking forward to putting faces to names!

I officially have my tickets for the Opus event, and would love to be included in any 'unofficial' event taking place that evening at whatever the cost. I am coming in from Tofino, so why not blow the wallet for one night in the big city - haha!

With respect to Jamies questions as to Cafe Pamplona and Raincoast I would contribute the following. Cafe Pamplona - Rick Moore still in charge - still MY favorite restaurant in town, very limited menu (1 seafood, 2 meats, 1 pasta plus daily features), but the attention to detail is great. Nice wine list to go with the food, casual setting but with the setting as the Tofino Botanical Gardens, when I make reservations for my guests, I tell them to arrive a half hour early grab a glass of wine from the restaurant and go for a walk in the gardens before dinner. A whole lot of yum! Raincoast Cafe - this may be some of the best food in town, however, the wine list is lacking in depth for the style of food provided here (Pacific Northwest with an Asian twist), and backing on to a parking lot provides little atmosphere. I tend to recommend this more in the off season as it gets dark earlier - eliminating the parking lot views. As a side, Long Beach Lodge is in transition again, new general manager in place as of the end of this month - lets all hope for the best!

Hello from Tofino. I won't give my review of the Wick as I work there and my opinion may not be taken seriously. However with respect to other restaurants in the area, there was another thread of conversation further down on this list with a fairly current description of the local scene. Only new thing to note, is Long Beach Lodge has lost another general manager. Heidi Rust who was deemed to be their latest saviour is gone as of the end of August, and assistant manager Carly will be taken over. She is a wonderful young lady, but I think in a little deep for what is currently happening at that property. Oceanside Cafe is a new small spot located at the NaaChaks building on Main St. Simple fare with fabulous views over the harbour. Have a great stay, stop by the Concierge desk at the Wick if you need some hands on recommendations.

Acme in downtown Nanaimo is very good with late night service til midnight (rare in this area unless you are fast food), and also Atlas (I think thats the name) in Courtney is also very good.

As someone living in Tofino, but who has spent the last 9 years between Vermont, New Mexico, Cape Cod, PEI, Rochester/NY, and now beautiful BC, I can honestly say that the amount of diversity and quality of the food products in our region are amazing. Where I typically find we miss the boat a bit here, is that even though our Chefs are well travelled and experienced in different food styles, our wait staff and bus staff have typically not. Typically is the key word, I am not trying to misrepresent some of the excellent wait staff I have come across, but as a rule, we are not travelled enough, and as such - service tends to be not as knowledgeable unless you visit a Lumiere, West etc. Are prices here high? Depends, I had the pleasure of having the 13 course menu at Lumiere in March, and although 'expensive' was a true gastonomic experience. Its like if you rent a car - you can choose between the sub-compact or the luxury. Both will get you what you need, however one feels a whole lot better. As someone who has lived on Vancouver Island for the past 3 years, I have to admit, the dining scene from Victoria right up to Campbell River is in constant change for the better. From local produce, organic meats, mouth watering cheeses, and one of the hottest new wine areas, the Island is becoming a Gourmet destination. With people like Sinclair Phillips, Peter Zambri, Hillary Abbot, Cliff at Wildfire Bakery, we have nowhere to go but up. Eat locally, buy locally and support the vibrant dining scene that is BC. We are very fortunate to live in an area that provides us with so much!

Hey Paul, Yes this is Chris the Concierge at the Wick. The Concierge you met the other night at your beautiful spot was Cody, one of my staff, great guy and hopefully he looked after you. Especially glad to hear you enjoyed your dinner at the Pointe, our Chef is making us very proud. Yes the brewpub will be a bonus when it happens, and it can't be soon enough, until then its mojitos at Shelter - haha - glad to have another voice in Tofino - especially one as proud of living here as I am. Until next time....... Chris

Starting a meal with a joint - odd? Not in Tofino, it starts more meals than a glass of water - haha!

Haven't been back to Rochester since 2001, so not sure how my old favorite haunts are still doing - but here we go: As per an earlier writer - 2 Vine was good , however service was of the rapid fire style or non-existent. Boom - enjoyed rack of kangaroo there a few years ago - still talking about it Richmonds - not really good food usually - however used to do Sunday night BBQ with some travelling BBQ guy - great food - great prices 54 Park(?) - not sure of the actual number but it is on Park - neat atmosphere - great food Tavern26 - In the Inn on Broadway - fabulous sandwiches, and burgers for lunch, great atmosphere Dinosaurs (Rochester) - yes agree with everyone above about decent food, long waits etc - but hey - thats why we go - nothing like a 2 hour wait in the parking lot watching all the Harleys come in and out drinking watery draft!

Eagle Nook Resort - small resort in the middle of nowhere with nice rooms, fabulous views, nice hiking, great kayaking, decent food and a great runaway spot. Was there twice last year - both experiences positive. Unlike Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge this property is dramatically different. Has some of the same facilities, but at a different level that CWL. Overall a fun getaway, but even more remote than CWL.

Long Beach Lodge - non-hospitality aware owners, with European hardline management in a town that prides itself on lack of structure. They continue to hire staff that the Wick fires which amazes everyone. Not that Wick staff are right offs when fired, but you have to do a lot of things wrong to get fired there, but LBL stills hires them as quick as they are fired. No one seems to know why this happens, but it explains the problems with service and consistency which seem to plague them. Too bad, its a beautiful spot missing some soul!

I have, but I am biased, lol! Actually comments coming from our guests have been fabulous. The energy at the Wick is at an all time high - bring on summer!! As a side, had the most wonderful evening the other night at Shelter. Dinner and a show for $40. 3 course dinner by Jesse Blake (yes, believe what you read above, he is doing great work), service can still be spotty, but wow as a forum for a concert by Dany Michel (Juno nominated) for 60-75 of us, with an amazing meal - it was a very special night here. Just keeps getting better!!

Haha - you guys are killing me. It appears that anytime a new property opens up anywhere and gets any kind of accolades, someone inevitably decides to lead the charge to knock it down a few notches. Is SOBO good, yes! Is it for everybody, no! Thankfully that is the case for all of Tofino - otherwise everybody would want to live here. Is Tofino beautiful - yes. Is it the most beautiful spot in BC - that would depend on your perspective - but after spending 6 weeks driving down the coastal highway through WA, OR and CA, I still felt upon returning to Tofino that it was a very special place. No one place will ever be paradise for everybody, but for now I will take this little piece of paradise any day over most other spots I have lived - for those of you who think it is overrated or too pricey - perfect, tell all your friends and leave those of us who love our town and what it has to offer to our own means. I see 100 guests a day who visit this area and most (I am smart enough to realize that not all agree) think it is definitely one of the most special spots in Canada if not North America. I didn't think the 'E' in egullet stood for exasperated. Until next time...... Living it and loving it in Tofino

sunflower cafe you are speaking of, is now called 'Breakers', great spot for pizza slices, and freshly made salads and sandwiches. Ah, another beautiful day in paradise!!

Latest Tofino lineup as follows: Wick - open daily 3 meals a day Long Beach Lodge - open daily 3 meals a day Cafe Pamplona - re-opening March 1st Raincoast Cafe - open daily for dinner 5:30-9 Shelter - reopening March 1st Schooner - daily 3 meals a day Tough City Sushi - daily 5-9pm Surfside Pizza - reopening February 1st SOBO - reopening February 1st (we hope!!!!!!!!!!!!) I agree with Paul Mitchell above about Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, great food, fabulous atmosphere and the staff are great, however, unless you are staying there it can be difficult to get transportation requirements worked out. I desperately tried to send numerous guests out there this past year, and on several occasions was told that unless there were 4 or more booked they wouldn't do the trip for 2 people. Bring a gang and enjoy it - a very special dining experience.

Dined there in early December and both my wife and I had the pasta tasting menu which both of found to be outstanding. As a side, for us the portions were perfect, after a 7 course pasta menu we were perfectly sated, and able to walk back to our hotel without being in pain. I would recommend it very easily, and also a decent value. There may be more of an issue with the non pasta portion sizes, but I can't comment on those menus. Definitely worth a visit!!

Without digressing into the 'lets slam BC wines vein' i agree with the Black Hills Nota Bene as well as a relatively new Semillion blend (sorry can't remember the second grape) from Saturna Island Vineyards - brought back memories of the "I am getting well known now so I will raise my prices New Zealand sauvignon blanc". Being from Ontario and having lived in the Finger lakes region of NY, as well as several other 'lesser' wine producing regions in the States, I have to say I feel the BC wine industry whether subsidized or not is doing very well. For anyone to believe that the other wine regions of North America are not funded or subsidized in the same respect as the BC industry would be very mis-informed. I have several friends who are wine distributors in the USA, and numerous sommeliers throughout North America, and most of them have been very impressed with the product coming from this province. It may not be for everyone, but that is good, if everyone wants it, we become like Napa and Sonoma where average plonk sells for moderate prices because of the 'demand' for the product. All in all, every wine region has some great hidden gems that won't kill the pocketbook - but if the only place you look is the liquor store you will not really know that regions wines at all. By the way I love Hillary Abbotts cheeses that were mentioned earlier in this thread from the Cowichan Valley.

Lots of Laughs about the Tofino chefs - it is true January can be a difficult month in Tofino, but with a population of 1,800 we still have the Pointe, Long Beach Lodge, Raincoast Cafe, Schooner, Blue Heron and several great coffee shops. Yes the Shelter is going through the revolving door of chefs, most recently bringing in the chef from Cafe Pamplona while they were closed, ah, but do not fear, as of February we are back at full steam. Town is still pretty busy, its not summer, but its not Whistler in the summer either. Take care all - love this list of favorites and not so favorites!!

Favorites of the Year - The 7 course pasta tasting menu at Bis Moreno in December was fabulous with my favorite dish being the gnocchi with a nutmeg cream sauce drizzled with a 15 year old balsamic vineagar - yummmm. The burgers at Feenies were amazing in my opinion and good value for the price. Les Amis de Frommage is where I spend most of my favorite minutes on my sojourns into Vancouver, and I still love the Ramen at Ezo-Giku (spelling?) but have put the Gyoza King on my must visit list. Out of town, it is hard to compete with our hometown SOBO, with to die for seafood tacos.

hey if you get the chance to head to Tofino, right now SOBOs, is unbelievable for their fish tacos or "killer fish tacos" as she calls them. I know it is a long drive for fish tacos, but hey, with good food, a walk along Long Beach is about as good as it gets. As a side, SOBO's just got named one of the 10 best new restaurants in Canada by Enroute magazine of Air Canada - and to think SOBO is just a giant purple catering truck - haha! Until next time.... Tofino

Completely agree on the spot in El Rito!! Nothing fancy, but a great overall experience. I used to love Girons in Ojo Caliente as well, but understand it has gone through a change of ownership in the past few years and can't speak for the existing quality. I agree completely on the driving scenarios you mentioned around Rancho de San Juan. Typically if we were going to eat out, we had early dining times to avoid being out really late and driving back to Rancho in the dark. Say hello to John and David for us, next time you are out in the area at Rancho!!

Hello from Tofino BC, Canada. My wife and I used to be the in house managers at Rancho de San Juan several years ago. Yes Rancho is a bit out of the way, but nothing is better than a busy day in Santa Fe, or hiking at Ghost Ranch then to listen to the 'sounds of silence' at night there. A couple of local favorites we used to frequent in the area (remember, haven't been there in a few years), were El Paragua in Espanola, maybe not the best food in Northern New Mexico, but very good, with fun local flavour and great sopapillas. Also the Trading Post Cafe in Ranchos de Taos was always very good, and for a great snack after a nice hike around Taos, I would recommend Eskes Brew Pub, and if they still have it try a 'Fatty' with one of their house beers. Just a couple of suggestions, love to hear your report on Rancho - used to vacation their all the time before we became the managers. Until next time.... W