nwyles

2005 Chevy Equinox , I could see how someone could get it confused with Umberto's Porche Cayenne but it is not even the same colour !

Ah, White Spot. I have to say that we are "dining" there at least once a week ( usually breakfast ). The kids love it, Pirate pancake paks etc. Yes, the kids placemats suck. But I do know that they actually have four crayons - the staff remove the brown ones and dip them in hot water to make coffee. Their coffee really sucks. I know that in the coffee thread I said that I am happy with any cup of coffee, but that is not quite true. Earl's coffee really sucks as well. I keep ordering it, hoping that it would change but alas, it sucks ass. Other "spots" dined recently - Last night - Fiction / The wine bar @ Fiction. It has been a very long time since I darkened that doorway but I was recognized the second I walked in ( No, Sean Sherwood was not in. ) It was a little unnerving for a second ( I was traveling incognito, outside of my 'hood ) , but I was warmly welcomed and made to feel comfortable right away. We ordered lots of food - Lobster ravioli, Caramelized onion and bacon tarte, a few of the "tastes", spinach salad etc. All nicely presented and tasty. I will be returning real soon - well as soon as the schedule allows. And lastly ( but not leastly ! ) - Bis Moreno A bit of a Chef's night out. Moreno was our host, along with Joachaim and Curtis. Arrived at 9:30 for an informal dining event to discuss all manner of things food or food related. There were seven of us, all chefs or Exec. Sous. Conversation ranged from mushrooms, risotto, suppliers, food writers, wine, Dine Out Vancouver, coffee, methods, teachers, egullet, New York, Daniel, etc. We never talked about cars, sports, television shows we love, or women we love. It was always about food. The food - ( All served family style ) Veal tail agnolotti , porcini mushroom risotto, Wild hare that Moreno's father- in - law provided, a selection of vegetables and then my new favourite, braised pork cheeks - I had three helpings - I loved it. The whole evening was lots of fun and I hope that we repeat it very soon. As I was leaving at 3:30 a.m. ( I hope I did not wake Ling with my foul mouthed swearing ) but some Moth&*%^#ker tipped over two mailboxes on my BRAND NEW CAR !! It was not even a week old. I finally decided to rid myself of the 1985 Dodge Voyager Mini Van that burned equal amounts of gas and oil and get a NEW car. Perhaps if I had dragged my feet on my choice one more week, it would only have been old my old jalopy, but no, on the BRAND NEW CAR. I speculated that someone leaving Il Gardino was pissed about something, thought this might have been Umberto's car and decided to do it in. New cars are magnets for destruction ! Oh, well, off to ICBC today at 4:15 !

There is a place that just opened in Yaletown call PHAT. I had a smoked meat bagel there the other day. Not being from NY or Montreal, I am not sure how it would compare but I do know it was very good and very filling. Perhaps Chef Fowke could compare this to his day in Old Montreal.............. Brian ?? Are you there ?

Sorry to dissapoint. It was a smooth night with no trouble at all. The only sniff of anything about to erupt was people wanting to use Entertainment Cards for Valentine's Day. This is not allowed as everybody pays the full pull on Valentine's. There was a chap who called in looking for a large take out order, I'll give you my credit card #, take a 15 % grat for yourself and I will need extra cash for the cab driver, as he will be picking it up. ( every greedy waiter loves this - 15 % on take out - they jump at it ! ) Sorry buddy, I did not just fall off of the back of a turnip truck ! One of my waiters a couple of years ago fell into this trap in a Sunday night. Burned for a $1000.00 I was sooooo pissed off. When I asked him what kind of fool he was, he had no response. Another Yaletown restauranteur was burned for over $20,000 with this scam. What kind of fool is he ? Anyways Keith, there's a little something for ya' N

Jamie , did Paul Devlin have something to do with Il Barino? Something in the back of my head says he was married to the Owner. I just like to keep all of the players straight. Neil

Ahhhhhh....... The City Hall Shuffle - A dance step I know well. Good luck with that.

Cafe D' Paris I think.

I understand Kris went to the Big Apple to try his luck. I am not sure but I think he might be a pastry chef somewhere. Sean Sherwodd could better answer that, speaking of which, where is he lately ? No time for egullet ? Or perhaps afraid people will get you mixed up with that other " Sean "

I think he owns Sausi's on Broadway, near MacDonald. It maight have changed names a few years ago, I have not paid attention, but I think he owns it either way.

Yeah?! - I've had some stupendous meals from Mark. Particularly when Yaletown was first opening up there was an italian place that he was cooking at and it was spectacular. It is is terrible - I cannot remember the name of the place but it was them and Villa Del Lupo that first started opening up the area - this is about 15 years ago. ← I think that was Alabaster. Then it run by Adam Busby, who moved on to Cascabel ( Smoking Dog site ) , then to Dubrule Culinary school . I heard Mark was the Chef of G.M. Place, but that was some time ago. So many people, so hard to keep track of. Good thread.

Luciano..... can you answer this? (if you don't mind ) Am I correct in my assumption that there was another Italian restaurant in place after "Yew First" and prior to Adesso? I am almost positive I saw signage to this affect and even read something about it (otherwise I would not have posted so above ) but as no one has since confirmed it... I'm beginning to wonder... ← I recall that there was a family that bought Da Pasta Bar. I don't remember if they were Yew First or prior to that. Shortly after they bought it, one of the brothers discovered he had a brain tumor. They closed up before they even got off the ground. Understandably so.

Popped in for a quick pint w/ Chef Fowke. All was well. No sign of that crazed lunatic. A very steady stream of young folk coming through the door. Business was brisk. I actually was struck by the large mural on the wall. Was that always there ? It resembled Kerry Waghorn's work from the Washington Post. I really like it. Beer was good, we did not eat, service friendly and cheerful. I was not wearing my egullet t-shirt so it is not a fair test of the safety of egulleters in there. I had hoped that Sean was there but alas, it must have been family night. On that note, off to bed so I can spend some time with mine in the morning. Cheers

Welcome back. It is understandable about your hesitance to add another post. You have already jumped into the deepest end so don't be afraid now. I re-read your initial post. It certainly was not over the top but just the first in a long line. Good luck in exploring the threads and post again.

I just wanted to point out that is what I did. I took people at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00 ( you can see the pattern here ). As a chef / owner, it is all about me ! Seriously, it was about making the whole thing as smooth as possible. If you are an avid reader ( or rabid ) of this forum, and this thread in particular, I have tried to make that clear. Where it starts to break down is the fact that people are late, no shows, and disrespect you by not vacating their table in the pre-agreed upon two hours. To the layperson reading your post, it would seem that you have the solution to the problem. To the industry person reading your post, it is a little laughable. As we know, the problems did not arise from faulty seating times. As we know, slamming the restaurant by a complete 6:00 seating and expecting everybody to be out by the 8:00 seating is a little unrealistic. I do not know of any restaurant that participated in DOV that did not stagger tables thoughout the evening. To not do so would be suicide. If anyone knows any different ie: restautant X only had 6:00 and 8:00 available, pipe in. I would also like to know which restaurant participated but did not set aside any tables for the event. It was mention earlier on in the thread.

Thank you for suggesting that. I read it from end to end ( as did a few others I saw ). Really interesting read, nice style and lots of good photos. I found the rating system interesting - lots, and I mean, lots of different things went into what the restaurant rated. It would be well worth the time to read. Not only for a fresh perspective, but also an interesting viewpoint into many famous restaurants - Gramercy Tavern, Babbo, Craft, Le Bernadin etc. - bookmark this one as this kid is not done yet. As an addition to this thread, try reading Jamie Maw's stuff in the UK board. I added a post in it but I was playing in the "deep end", I quickly swam back to the comfort of the Vancouver Forum. Since this whole little "event", I certainly have been looking at lots of the other forums. Although our little corner of the world is the most interesting, nice to break out of the neighbourhood every once in a while.

Ok , I know it has only been a short time between the big rumble in Gastown, but it sounds like "people" are aching for a scrap ! I did try and clarify my position on another thread. Now, here is another bold statement, one that is rarely seen anywhere. Chefs, like three year olds, do not really share well, and can not play in the same sandbox together. Chef Brian Fowke actually shared his curry recipe with me and I have made it a few times and it is really good. Is that a case of the "blind leading the blind" ? The caucasian chefs sharing a curry recipe. Enough of that ! I have been doing myself a dis-service and will attend to restaurant that comes out on top of this impromptu survey.

Two tables came in at 11:50 for dessert. The staff were looking at me asking if we were open. We are open until midnight or until I say we are not ! So.......now I sit watching the two of you talk about clothes. I would be doing post shift posting except I know nothing of clothes. I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy. It has been a slow day on egullet today. Where is Sean Heather or Sam Salmon when you need them ? Although I think Sam might have had a dig in my direction in the Indian food thread. Truth be known, I was never really fond of Indian food and my wife had to drag me to Vij's ( kicking and screaming, whimpering like a little baby....) Glad she did. N

Ah, Valentine's Day. The busiest single day of the year. No going out for me, it will be work , work , work. Not to worry, instead of bringing home the bacon, this day you bring home the whole pig ! It is funny to observe people on Valentine's day. Lots of hopes dashed, lots of expectations not met, sometimes seperate bills. A few fights. The restaurant does not supply the romance. You have to bring that yourself. The "magic" is in you, not in the stuffed prawns you just ordered. People ( a sweeping generalization ) expect something special is going to happen spontaneously just by the very fact you are out on Valentine's Day. It is always the same every year. I sort of dread it. Every year there is some sort of surprise, and not usually a pleasent one. I think it comes from a mixture of nerves and heightened expectations, and it has a funny way on coming out. This year will be a whole Valentine's weekend. It starts on Friday and will go until about midnight on Monday. Lets hope everyone gets what they want. For me, an extra hour or two of sleep would be present enough.

Once you have been to Vij's , is there anywhere else ? I know other Indian restaurants must exist, but I have been spoiled by Vij's and will probably "never darken the door" of any other. Is this narrrow minded ? Or extremely loyal ? I once found that the fourth chop on my lamb popsicles was done more than I would have liked ( the first three were perfect ) but other than that, I can not imagine a negative thing about Vikram's fantastic restaurant.

My wife hails from a large praire city in Canada and the local food critic's articles are firmly in hand when entering the restaurant o' the month. People would order all of the things that the reviewer had. It seemed a little outlandish to me but has been confirmed by many sources. As a side note - several of the local restaurants have barred her from ever entering their restaurants. ( The writer, not my wife ) In all fairness to the readers who use the review as a guide to dining, multiple visits would seem only fitting as to give a broader, more informed picture to the faithful reader. ( the ones buying the paper ) This also works in favour ( or not ) to the restauranteur. The overall score could average up or down, depending on each visit. But a true representation of what they are doing. If the reviewer raves about so and so's latest bistro ( based on one announced visit ) and the locals flock to it and it really turns out to be crap, everybody loses. The restaurant loses guests and the writer, credibility ( and marketability ). This also works the other way around. If the true point is to slag a place for the fun of it and drop in your new ten dollar word, it really becomes info-tainment and not journalism. The marketplace really dictates if a restaurant is going to survive or not, but a fair, informed review will help it on it's way. And I do not think that that can be done with one fleeting visit. A writer owes it to their reader to be well informed, and that is not achieved over a quick lunch. I know that it is a little like preaching to the choir here. No one who is active in this forum would take a critics word for anything. They would get out there and find out for themselves. But we are talking about your average person on the street here, not the egullet uber-informed.

Karole, this is a PG site. Language, please. I can't see who Okanagan Vineyards is ? Inniskillen came up a couple of times. Mystery wine ? Beware the yellow cork.

Nice to see you all on the mighty gullet ! I hope to see you all posting in other areas of the forum as your insight and comments are most welcome - that is after you get over the rush of egulleters at the door. I will drop by as I would love to see what you have done with the room. You will be able to tell which one I am, the one wearing the "I love egullet" t-shirt My friend is one of the owners of Da Pasta Bar and I spent lots of time in that location. If I recall, the layout is interesting, with a rather large back prep / dishwasher / storage area. It was a little surprising to see in a restauant that size. It made me jealous - I have such a tiny kitchen. Although , not as small as the Irish Heather's but that is another story. Good luck Neil P.S. you must have multiple computers at work as I can see that both you and Luciano Loi are on- line. Major geek alert !

Volume, volume, volume ! Agree with Sean or not, this thread have seen incredible volume since the infamous posting. I have seen it go from 1400 views to nearly 6000 in a few days. ( edited to say 10 people viewing with 30 seconds of this post ! It is like a car crash, you want not to look but you can't help yourself ) This post or posts have turned a fairly active board into a hornets nest, with people all over the globe dialing in to see all of the Hub-bub. I wonder if the same is happening at the Heather ? Are people dropping in to check it out for themselves ? I have no inside knowledge of this or is it a set-up - I am just curious. What is the response to a series of negative posts ? How has this affected the business ? Curious onlookers seeking to form opinions of their own or does nobody other than the people involed really care? Has this been a rallying cry to all supporters of the Heather ? Are there tourists with camera seeking shots with the "crazed Irish Lunatic" ? What are the short term losses or gains. What would the long term ones be. How far reaching is the power of the mighty egullet ? Sean ? Care to fill in the blanks. I think a pint of Harp is in order, so I can see for myself. I think I will bring my camera for that candid shot of the "crazed Irish Lunatic"

And ladies, thanks to you, I have sold over 600 pounds this month. Not bad for my little restaurant. And great for no one having heard of it in Vancouver before - well very few anyways Neil

Oh, how soon you forget. How many restaurants do you go to where the Chef brings you a chunk of housemade smoked corn beef as a little something for lunch tomorrow. Which reminds me, there are four more whole corned beef briskets ready to go. I will PM people when it is ready. Cheers