tofino

Completely agree with M'd above - the place hasn't been the same since Lisa and Artie Ahier left -too bad its taken such a turn - it is a beautiful spot

I agree with the last person, the 1990 vintage was amazing everywhere. The only difference I would be interested in is your preferences with respect to type of Champagne you prefer. The Cristal, as spectacular as it is, tends to be a more finesse champagne, lighter in body and more subtle in flavor, while the Pol Roger is a little more full bodied and nicer for someone looking for a little more 'pow' for their tastebuds. It seems that nowadays Cristal can be found almost everywhere (hopefully not as common as Dom Perignon - which is good champagne with a huge marketing budget), while the Pol Roger Winston Churchill is not as commonly found. Hope this helps! I would probably grab a 90 Krug if I had a chance - haha! Until next time.....

As a follow up, I took the trip about a year ago with family in the Ottawa area, and while impressed with food and atmosphere, it is important to ensure that you are not getting on to a car with a large group. We ended up having half of our car filled with a large group from Ottawa who ended up being loud and obnoxious the whole trip. The only blemish in an otherwise great experience. Until next time..... Tofino

Sounds good, you can find me at the Concierge desk in our new building Wickaninnish on the Beach. Look forward to seeing you again. Until next time Chris

Worst ever - from a drive through beer store in Niagara Falls NY, beside Petes Market (i think it has a new name now), but they sold "Mystery Beer" by the case. It was all the bottles from cases where the cases had fallen apart, or the labels had come off - so for the grand total of $4.99 you had no idea what you were getting. I should have known better. 16 of the 24 bottles in my case had no labels, indistinguishable bottles and even worse beer. Bad for drinking, but fun for the stories it provided. Until next time...... W

Holy cow, imagine living in Hamilton right now, following this line and having people say there is no good dining. My wife and I lived there most of our life, all of our family is still there, and we get back into town once a year. A few recommendations as follows: Rankins Bar & Grill - nothing fancy but good old fashioned cooking, big servings, fun staff - a great kickback spot - say hi to Amanda and Gary the owners. Rude Native - used to have a location on King William is it no longer there? I used to love this place. Locke St. Diner - I think this is the name, located on Locke street, good local spot - always busy. The Sheik - two locations I believe, one on King near Queen, and another up on Concession - great middle eastern food. The Bean bar mentioned above is a great spot in Westdale - casual Black Forest Cafe - a little touristy, but good german food in the heart of downtown. Forbidden City - great chinese in the same area as Black Forest Cafe. The restaurant in the Royal Botanical Gardens - can't remember the name but the owners used to own a really good catering company in town a number of years ago (Compton & Greenland) and the atmosphere is great. Burlington - my favorite spot here used to be Pepperwoods Bistro on Lakeshore near Brant - I think it is still open - good food, great wine list, lots of great beers on tap, and weekend entertainment. The market mentioned above in downtown Hamilton is also very good, lots of great cheeses on the upper level. This is a start, I will talk to my family in Hamilton and find out the latest hot spots for you that I may not be made aware of .

My wife and I used to manage the Whalewalk Inn in Eastham about 4 years ago, and at that time our favorite spot was Painters in Wellfeet with chef Kate Painter. I noticed inthis line of conversation that her name or her restaurant have never come up, is this now gone, and if so has anyone seen or heard of Kate Painter?? Also, in Chatham, the pub on the main street (forget the name), but used to have a bluefish plate that was to die for. Binnacle - yahoo - mouthwatering at the thought of one of their chicken/green chili peppers/dijon mustard pizza - holy cow gotta try it to believe it - if only two of you, get there early and sit at the bar, around the corner where the two chairs are ina little private spot to watch everything going on - enjoy.

Hey Merlin, yes this is Chris, who is this?? Oh by the way to all, sorry for the double post, hadn't seen the first one go through! W

Latest scoop on Tofino: Pointe Restaurant at The Wickaninnish Inn - still one of the premier spots in the area, Mike Bebeault is the Senior Sous Chef, worked under both Rodney Butters and Jim Garraway. Reservations for Inn guests only during the summer, although they do open up ressies day of for visitors to the area. Best deal is the Salmon BBQ, Fridays-Sundays from 11:30 - 2pm - yumm. Long Beach Lodge - has never been the same since Lisa Ahier left (more on her later), mixed food, very mixed service - although the Great Room is still a nice spot to have a glass of wine or beer with some appetizers. Cafe Pamplona - This is the real deal for all doubters. Rick has been consistently putting out some of the best food in the area, and with Eli and his pairings of wines - this is great value in a beautiful setting at the Tofino Botanical Gardens. Weigh West Pub/Blue Heron Restaurant - UGH! - rushed service, average food, decent atmosphere (if being waterside with a bunch of locals watching keno and sports is your idea of atmosphere). Prices have gone up recently and believe it or not it is better value to have a cold draft at the Pointe then at the Pub - go figure. Shelter - yes the new game in town in doing a good job. Have eaten there twice, both times with mixed service, although the food was very good. Alot of strong personalities on the service side, all seem to be trying to make their mark with not a lot of cohesion. Still recommended for food though! Raincoast Cafe - Great food, lousy atmosphere, very basic wine list. The main Chef just had a baby so she is not always in the kitchen. Good Pacific Northwest cuisine with an Asian Twist. Schooner - the locals favorite - I tend to love the appetizers, but find that although the mains are cooked very well, they tend to be lacking in flavour compared to the appies. - always busy. Loft - most locals shun this place, but I would rather go here for a burger and fries, or fish and chips than most of the other spots in town doing the same food - good value for money. Garys Chinese Restaurant - great takeout - don't eat in!! If you like spice youhave to really emphasize it with the lady taking the order, otherwise just nicely cooked food with no heat. Alleyway Cafe/Costa Azul - Locals favorite - awesome breakfasts, gotta have the Huevos Verde (Tofinos version of Huevos Rancheros) - new nightly features are Tapas that are going over very well - no ressies taken - arrive early! Breakers Deli - Great spot for a quick sandwich, pizza by the slice, decent cheese selection, great spot to stock up for a picnic. Surfside Pizza - good pizza, not great - expensive if you are used to big city prices - always ask for the crust to be cooked a little longer - tends to be a little underdone most times. Sea Shanty - Basic pub food with a view - enough said! Cafe Jabez - Canadian/New Zealand food in a little spot down by the water - has been hit or miss regularly with food and service. Tough City Sushi - Very good sushi (walk right out if the Japenese guys aren't behind the Sushi Line), used to have an alternate menu, but understand that Matthias who was running that aspect of the menu, left the property a couple of weeks ago. Still a great spot for sushi, with nice views over the harbour. Sobo - okay - Lisa Ahiers new spot is a giant purple catering truck behind Beaches Grocery and the Live to Surf shop - holy cow - this is gourmet takeout at its finest. Not just recommended - its a must!!!!!!!!! That basically covers the restaurants in the area - as a side the Long Beach Golf Course has a great little restaurant for burgers, sandwiches etc. If it wasn't a 20 minute drive from Tofino it would be a very busy spot. If any of you need updates on what is going on, I can be reached at gypsyinnkeepers@hotmail.com Until next time...... W

A cute story from my trip to Paris a few years ago. My wife and I have been managing high end Inns throughout North America over the past 8 years (Vermont, New Mexico, Cape Cod, PEI, Rochester/NY, and now in Tofino. We took a week in Paris several years ago and decided to dine in a hgihly recommended little French Bistro near the Arc de Triomphe. Arriving at our pre determined 10:30pm reservation, we were escorted to a small table right beside the kitchen (we don't mind this actually - being in the business this can be a great place to watch the show), were shown the 'special tourist menu' as was described to us by our server. This would have all been good except that was the last time we saw our server for the next 15 minutes. No one had stopped by the table, no one asked us about water, drinks anything. This was a special evening for the two of us, celebrating our anniversary, and when I finally got the Captains attention, he arrived, unimpressed with my trying to flag him down. It wasn't until I ordered a bottle of Cristal, ordered in French, that the moment changed. Immediately, he clapped his hands, two servers arrived, and while we were sitting at the table, picked it up, and moved it about 6 feet away from the kitchen door. Cristal arrived in seconds along with a complimentary plate of smoked salmon. The rest of the evening was amazing to say the least. The unfortunate part of all of this, is that with all my years in the industry, this is a very common practice. Unless you are known, regulars, or indicate you are going to buy nicer wines etc., servers will treat you with respect and due diligence but very rarely go over the top for you. The reality of this is as long as our employers continue to pay minimum wage or slightly over, making the gratuity such an important part of the servers wage, the style of service, table seatings etc. will continue to be an issue. Sad but true!

Dahlias Lounge is great, had a trio of Lamb while there last summer! Also love the Flying Fish and Fandango - great mojitos!! Also out by the airport in the din of chain restaurant strip malls - is a very non-descript Italian restaurant called Grazies - a local family owned spot in a little strip mall. Love the inexpensive Italian wines - enjoy the Primitivo (Italian Zin), especially if you can find a good 1997 vintage.

Hello from Tofino, I have been reading this line for some time, and have thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. Some of the latest udpates for all: Wickaninnish Inn - Pointe Restaurant - now under the direction of Senior Sous Chef, Mike Bebault - best bargain is the salmon BBQ takes place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at $28pp. Dinners still great, service good, and still a tough reservation during the summer as accepting guests only due to the recent expansion. Cafe Pamplona - Outstanding food, funky atmosphere, decent service - Eli is the person to talk to about hidden finds for wines at this restaurant. Go early for your dinner reservation and wander through the Tofino Botanical Gardens. Long Beach Lodge - Not the same place since Lisa left the kitchen (I will talk more about that later). Still a great place to hang in there Great Room, eat nibblies and have a glass of wine or beer - service can be spotty. Raincoast Cafe - Still some of the best food in town - pacific northwest with and Asian flair - Not a very good wine list - little atmosphere. Shelter - the new kid on the block is holding there own - good food, mixed service (been there twice with two dramatically different experiences) - I still expect this restaurant to grow in stature once they get the details worked out. Schooner - the old standby intown - always packed - slow service - go for appys (lots of flavours - mains tend to lack after the appys). Alleyway Cafe/Costa Azul - yahoo, fun atmosphere, good cheap and plentiful food - new tapas menu in the evening is good and lots of fun. Tough City Sushi - good sushi (if the real sushi guys are working), introduced a new regular (?) menu this year under Matthias, but just heard he walked out last week - not good! Weigh West Pub - sorry other than a last resort for a cold beer - I do not recommend this place - Last week all nightly food specials and beer deals are gone - now costs $7 for a lousy draft - its cheaper at the Wick. Sobo - this is Lisa Ahiers' new spot, a converted catering truck serving unbelievably great take out food. Located just behind Beaches and Live to Surf - Long live the killer seafood taco!!! I think that is the basics for now - I can be reached at gypsyinnkeepers@hotmail.com if someone needs more direct needs. Big Hugs from Paradise!!