nwyles

At the request of some of my servers, I did do a quick little projection of the next couple of months based on past years numbers. With the exception of the first week of Jan. ( totally slow ) , the remainder of the winter months are not bad at all. Even in the years we did not do Dine Out, January was very good - late xmas parties by large firms , late xmas parties by restaurants, moving into Valentines Day, Tax parties from accounting firms, RRSP parties by investment firms. Good operators ( and there are many, demonstrated by the longevity of some of the local rooms ) get out there and shake the bushes and find whatever business they need, and it is not too hard. Winter / Spring in Yaletown might be a little different this year without hockey ( yes, you heard it here first , there will be no season !! ) but no one seems to be suffering to much. Andrew , you paint a bleak picture but it really is not that way. I should qualify that by saying , for the most part , it is not that way Downtown. Who would like to chime in about other areas - N. Van , W. Van, Burnaby, Surrey, White Rock, etc.

We extend Dine Out until Valentines Day. If all things go well, we ride the wave of goodwill into the summer. Dine Out last year tripled our traffic and brought in people who had not been before. We saw those people again and again. We embraced the whole Dine Out concept and did well. Although the Vancouver restaurant scene loses a few places each year, there alway more opening up to take their place. Vancouver does well in supporting the restaurants thoughout the year and this one should be no different. It it not all that bleak. The spring lull consistant and should be planned for.

No , he is just right. I think egullet should have a table booked there every day.

No gurantees obviously, but there is often on-street parking there on Beatty. Failing that, there is a parking lot entrance right between the 7-11 and the Kolachy Shop. ← Or call ahead and a fellow egulleter will be standing on the street with a bag and you can just reach out and grab it and get back to work !

Being so close to that site I can give you the reason - you are going 50 km when you by it. No one ever looks up and just zooms by. I am shocked the Buffet has lasted this long

Yes I am but I will be at the Dine Out Egullet Event @ West that night. Perhaps you would like to change your reso and join the other egulleters at West that night. I will certainly accomodate any change you need to make. Cheers Neil

I have a 2000 word essay on "Areopagitica" due tomorrow and I'm still on Egullet, procrastinating. Now that's a hardcore addict. ← Hey , I do not want to sound like anyone's Dad, but do you have your essay done yet ? You seem to be posting quite a bit today young lady !

I see a coup d'etat in the very near future.

I might be closed that day !

Good luck with that. Let us know how it works out.

Good Lord girl , if egullet is not good for anything else , at least you can use it to get back door reservations ! PM John Jameson your reso and I'm sure it will work out.

It is a shame Pygmy blowgun darts and Tasers have fallen out of vogue, dinner would be so much more civilized. I brought the laptop once and played a movie for the kids - I know that sort of defeats the purpose of teaching them how to eat dinner out but once you are there and it is not working out, what do you do, dinner is on it's way and you are hungry. Eat and live to fight another day !

I thought I heard the sound of a gauntlet being thrown down. My problems with Matthew in this restaurant arises from the fact that he really thinks that he works here. I have no plans to whip the kids off to Lumiere to see how there fare. White Spot, Fets on Commercial, Milestones, Earls and the dreaded Rotten Ronnie's That is as much as I am willing to do ( and let my own kids skip the Hamilton Street Grill - too much strees ! )

Their voicemailbox is now full, you can't even leave a message. Give it some time; they are obviously overwhelmed. ← I phoned Chambar rather early on New Year's Day and was hopefully one of the first in their voicemail queue. At that time, their recorded message indicated that the restaurant would be closed until January 7; this, I gather, is the reason that their mailbox is full and that they haven't returned any calls as of yet. I hope. ← You are correct. I think one of the staff members had the voicemail forwarded to their house but it sounds like that did not work out. No worries , just call on the 7th and you should get in.

I would imagine that at this point , it is gone. I have never seen the word extra next to foie gras, although I have seen the phrase " extra large piece of foie gras"

I am just waiting for the egullet 12 step program. I know that somewhere out there, the Fat Guy Steven Shaw is setting that up. Gets you hooked and then provides the antidote at crazy $$. Mark my words, that is next.

Serves you right for never bringing me one bitch ! Even though you publicly stated my wife is your new best friend for the white truffle for Xmas, do I get a simple dough ball with filling ? Nooooooooo.

Mr Talent , nice to see you back. Having you and Mr. Maw away at the same time has been a little rough. We held up ok without you, but just.

Nice responses Keith, I see you have been there. Ok newbie, we will give you a pass on this one. Stand up and identify yourself or be prepared for an onslaught of sarcasm and bad spelling that will make your head spin. What sorts of fools do your think we are !

Three posts in ten minutes - two saying try the Living Room and another saying has anyone tried it. Welcome to egullet. Out yourself and say who you are. Most of the egulleters have a complusion so your quick posts will out you. We read everything, and I read absolutly everything. Neil Wyles Hamilton Street Grill

Hey, perhaps one of you guys could drop one off for me ? I know I barely know you and never see you so why would you think of me when you are filling your gobs with Kolachy but it would appear I will be the only one working and unable to make this meeting. And no, I do not want a cold Kolachy when you all come for dinner tonight !

This habit is called "Biffing" It is a dated thing that I have seen from waiters from a rural setting. It is from the 70's Here is the set up Big cheesy moustache , shirt open revealing gold chain etc - you know the type. and the intro line goes like this while down on one knee " Hi, I'm Biff and I will be your waiter tonight ! " Just tell them it is a dated habit and although you are fine with them doing it, people are laughing behind your back. That should take care of that !

I hear Gotham, C and Lumiere are sold out already. David, how about West ? Done ? I have lots but still have some space. I took the day off but I know I have 45 messages to get in the morning.

I know a girl who had a guest tell them that they were deathly allergic to something when they were being sat. She told them that they should not eat at that restaurant. A real honest response that probably saved their lives. This was a chain restaurantwith young cooks cranking out pre-made sauces etc. No guarantee of survival. As to the acceptable but justifiable complaint. My reactions are on a case by case evaluation. It is usually based on the $$ involved. Re-do an order of fries - no problem - they probably were sitting on the pass for too long - it happens - no big deal My favourite is the guest who can't give you a specific doneness on a steak "I like it pinkish !" and then sends it back because it does not have enough red in it. That really pisses me off - blue, rare, med rare, med, med well, well - make up your mind and pick one. I want it well done with lots of juice in it ! Um, Ok ? Here is the kicker - A large 20 oz New York med rare - it goes out and they shave off a tiny slice from the tip and declare it over-done. As I have gotten a little older and smarter, I promptly cut the steak in half and have the waiter take it back and politely ask how much less they would like it done. I try not to be over the top but a steak is a terrible thing to waste at the say so of an 80 pound 14 year old kid in their first dining room experince.

Wow, Latin Quarter, I had forgotten about our little fire there. Matthew @ 1 year came to dinner with us. We ordered lots of stuff to eat and we had a tiny table. I have Matthew on my lap and the waiter brings the flaming chorizo with lots of fire and sets it right in front of Matthew. I quickly moved Matthew out of the way and asked the waiter to remove the chorizo and bring it back without the fire. He had a puzzled look on his face as to why I would have such a strange request ! What an idiot !