nwyles

I know it says " purchased from or served by " but I called Victoria the last time this came up and customers bringing in wine is against the LRB regulations. I would not be willing to put my license up to test this word game and I doubt chef jeff would either. The "professionals" on the board realize this is against the rules and will only "bend" a little for certain guests. I doubt any rule breakers would be doing hard time on the chain gang but if you had a few strikes against you with the powers that be, you could face a fine, or lose the ability to serve alcohol for a few days, weeks or months and that price is too high to play word games with the humourless bureaucrats who run this Province.

I certainly would not allow someone to bring in a bottle that we served. I would stop just short of telling them to fuck off. I do allow special bottles and then only to guests that I know. It does not happen that often that I create a policy but deal with it on a case by case basis. As I read some past post re: buying a bottle from the restaurant as well : I would imagine the thought there was that your's was not the only bottle you were drinking at your table that night and that you were purchasing other bottles as well. This practise would be reserved for special bottles that the restaurant might not have access to as it is an older vintage etc. I would not allow someone to bring in a bottle of Mondavi Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. I have allowed flights of Note Bene etc, and then again, only to people I know.

Hi Neil, Are you getting 200% mark up in Yaletown? Nice if you are. I can not imagine charging a customer $60 for a $20 bottle of wine. Cheers, Stephen ← I only get $40.00 for a $20.00 wine but in the restaurants to the immediate West, 200 % markup is just a starting point.

I am not sure what the logic is on this issue. The "Man" gets his tax money if you buy from the government stores anyways. I would imagine it is about control and about volume. 10 % tax on a $20.00 bottle of wine is $2.00 plus a 10 % tax on the corkage ( $20.00 ) is another $2.00 so the taxman sees $4.00 on your bottle of wine. 10 % tax on a $20.00 bottle of wine is $2.00 plus a 10 % tax on the marked up price ( $60.00 ) is another $6.00 so the taxman sees $8.00 on your bottle of wine if you buy it in a restaurant. From the restauant side, $20.00 corkage on $0.00 inventory layout is not bad but it has to be balanced with the potential of the $60.00 loss in sales although it carries a $20.00 wholesale pricetag. As far as percentages goes, it is good but percentages do not pay the rent.

You understand the rules correctly. Corkage fees and bringing your own product into a restaurant is strictly prohibited. I seem to recall ONtario has a different view on this but here in B.C., that is a no no.

Would your wine cellar be available to all that showed ?

Smoking on Patios in Vancouver: We have a no smoking policy in restaurants in B.C. but the lines get a little blurred when concerning patios. I have to tackle this every now and then as people do not want other people to smoke on the patio. My response is usually something like " The City has yet to regulate the great outdoors yet" . And then I offer them a seat inside. What can you do ? Between a rock and a hard place. There certainly could be an argument made by the public that the patio is an extension of the restaurant : it has to be insured and rent is paid on the property to the City so it could be regulated. The closing times certainly are regulated with great enthusiasm by the city. Some might see that as a triumph for the non - smokers but possibly persecution for the 16 % of our population who smoke. It really is a no win situation. In my experience, smokers have a stronghold grip over the locations that they go to with their social group. They lobby hard to go to establishments that have relaxed smoking rules or large covered patios and will dine outside in all kinds of weather. One smoker will drag three other people to a table outside even if it is a little cool to dine. Why is that ? Are people just being polite or do they not care ? Look at the popularity of the totally covered, nearly fully enclosed patios at Joe Fortes and the Sandbar. Talk about skirting around the smoking bylaws. The Sandbar's patio is almost fully enclosed on all sides with permanent structures and still qualifies as a patio and not interior dining. I have not been to the Sandbar in a couple of years but would assume this is still the case. I was in Joe Fortes a couple of weeks ago and there were people puffing away. Are there any other patios that are "quasi " enclosed and allow smoking ?

I saw Andrey that night and he said that they were not successful in getting the spot. Too bad as they would have done very well in that location - they have and great product and reputation.

I wonder if there will be a glut of cheap cooking wine on the market in the months followin the end of the dispute. Lots of sherry and port reductions in fall menus !

I should have just kept on reading before I came up with a sarcastic remark. Never mind.

Broom him fast before you miss any good dining opportunities. Life is too short to waste any days on bad meals. Get out now, run, run, run for your life !!!

Some might argue that Cobs doesn't sell bread either. ← Laughing my ass off. I had a piece of Cobb's bread. It was not my favourite. I asked my wife why we had it and it was simple. Cobbs had eye appeal to my five year old. Once he had it, he asked me where we could get a nice Tuscan Loaf. Even he realized it was not up to par. Too bad. So much potential. ( The bread, not the kid )

Mexican fusion restaurant. No other details.

Steve, Your ability to call up all of the information on companies and production astounds me. I am sure that if your dug any deeper, Dick Cheney's head would pop up. Good job. Neil

I expect most burger places in BC would be happy to cook your burger to doneness if they were permitted to by law. A. ← I think this " law " is an old wives tale. Does anyone have the goods on this ? I recall something about this ages ago and I am not sure where it ended up. I might have even checked into it myself and posted about it but with soooo many posts, I have not the time to scan the old posts. I need a research assistant ! Anyone ? Low pay, lots of abuse, heavy use of spell check. Sounds like a great job.

I have never grilled a hanger steak, but here is a good all-purpose steak marinade. It is simple, easy and tastes good. pat dry mustard over both sides of the steak. sprinkle a little worcestershire sauce and the juice of a lime over both sides. marinate half hour. salt and pepper to taste, then grill the hanger steak experts may have some advice on this, but I think this cut should be lightly grilled to rare or medium rare (i.e. 4 or 5 minutes a side) - i think overcooking makes it taste kind of livery. but i would defer to the experts if they have a different opinion. ← Sounds good. Add some oil. Never cook the hanger over medium rare. You might as well throw it away if you do. You will not be worthy of the hanger. Love the hanger and it will love you back !

Wow - let me know if they are and I think I just found a new butcher !!

I have drained Intercity and Trimpac and will have to commit to a major re-order. I have a couple of pieces if anyone really, really needs it. Just PM me for pick up times. Cheers

Gingerbread Kolachy = Broken leg !!!!!

Do they have any idea who they just screwed over !! Rant on ! Tell me more about the place on Kingsway - is it the place on the corner, yellow awning - north west side ? Is that it ? Best you ever had ? I can walk there ( halfway between house and White Spot where we are serious regulars )

Cold and hard, like little yellow paving stones making a path across my bread. Words like "yum" come to mind to describe it.

Rumour has it that there will be another little Mexican Place opening soon on Davie Street so, James, all is not lost. Perhaps these chaps will take your advice to heart and perhaps do it just that much better. If all else fails, we could open our own little taco stand. With you taking care of the food, and me taking care of the marketing and promotion ................................perfection !!

I think the reference was for the Brown's on Lonsdale in North Van. As an aside, My count could be up to 13 but I only had dessert at one place so I did not count it. I find this very strange as I feel I never get out and am always a bit jealous of the tales of everybody else's dining exploits. Perhaps it is because the HSG is flying under the radar that I seek similar restaurants.

I have been to 11 , plus my own so that makes me the race leader with 12. One could dispute eating at my own place if we needed a tie breaking protocol.

Has it opened yet ? Anyone been by ?