eatbc

As for me and everyone I've talked to, we can't figure out why this place is still lined up and acclaimed. The food, service, cleanliness, all suspect. It's not even really that funky and fun. Is it the long history of the place that appeals? (When I first moved to Vancouver in 1979 the head office and birthplace of Greenpeace was right across the street. Anyone remember Rohan's?) There are lots of good veggie, mostly ethnic, choices out there for your next visit. Post here before you come back and I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions.

The wine is the product of a joint venture between Vincor (Canada's largest and North America's fourth largest wine producer) and Group Taillion (sorry, not sure about spelling) Bordeaux's largest bottler of AOC Bordeaux wine. The land was cleared near Osoyoos, BC, and vines planted in a modern high density style under the supervision of the french viticulturalist. Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the classic Bordeaux varieties. The intention is to bottle one premium product with this label. The result is a well-made, well-structured red wine. This is a very impressive wine considering the young age of the vines and the less then average 2001 season. The price of $35 retail is exceptional value, especially considering the travesty of so-called "ultra-premium" BC reds like Ocullus (Mission Hill) and Pinnacle (Sumac Ridge) which sell for around $50. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of BC wines. They present great value at most levels, especially aromatic whites and Pinot Gris. This red, however, raises the bar for reds in BC. I'll post tasting notes if you want them. By the way, kudos to Cru for offering it by the glass.

Agreed, all good and close together. You should probably call ahead, as some, like Poplar Grove, are only open limited times with limited product. La Frenz has some great new releases out right now. Steer clear of Hillside for now. As for dining, Penticton is a culinary wasteland. (sorry, any Penticton people out there, but it's true) Amazing considering the great produce and wines nearby. You're best off in a pub, like the Kettle Valley Station (something like that) right near the golf course in Penticton, they have pretty good pizza. The greek place is awful, and that Villa Rosa is terrible. Call the folks at Burrowing Owl Winery and see when the restaurant is open.

I knew I could count on this forum for some wide-ranging thoughts on the topic. To generalize: It’s been my experience that most parties who bring in cakes do it without warning, just show up and thrust it at the host/ess, expecting the service. They are almost always larger groups of six or more. Regulars would never insult the proprietor in this way. These people feel it’s somehow appropriate to bring their own food into a business that sells food. They are either just being cheap, or incredibly rude. I suppose “ignorant” is a better term, as they may not intend to be rude. Also, as a restaurateur, how would you feel serving some disgusting blue and day-glo orange flowery sugar crusted square? What if the next table over looks on in disgust, thinking that it has come from your kitchen? What if there’s a media critic in the room? What do you do if the birthday party becomes seriously ill? How does all of this affect your hard-earned reputation? If you are not happy with desserts from a certain establishment, don’t go there. If you have certain allergies or needs, ask when you call ahead. If they cannot accommodate, eat somewhere else. If your kid needs a “Sponge Bob" cake, buy it where available and eat it there or at home. If Mom always cooks a traditional cake, eat it at Mom’s. You don’t want a crowd back at your house for dessert, too bad. Guess what? We don’t want them using up valuable space in our place of income, either. Just call ahead (a couple of days) and almost every restaurant I’ve known would be delighted to prepare something for you. That’s the business they’re in.

My sister told me that she brought a birthday cake into a restaurant for a party she was attending, and was actually offended at the reluctance of the restaurant to allow it! People have tried this many times at the place I work. What's with this practice? I'm curious to see what egulleters think.

In BC, Yes. The only alcohol allowed in a licensed premise is product purchased by the licensee from the BCLDB. The operator is actually required to have receipts to show a liquor inspector at any time. This applies to kitchen booze and even staff! This is to deter black market beverages, u-brew products (yuck), cross-border deals or any other lost taxation opportunity by the BCLDB. It also means that customers may not bring in wine, beer or liquor. On a related topic, it's also illegal for customers to bring food (like birthday cakes) into a restaurant. OK, I'm not sure about illegal, but the health dept. does not allow it. I may start a new thread on this one.

Corkage. It's illegal, but some restaurants do it, if you have the courtesy to call ahead.

Well, we've pretty much beaten this one to death here, but I stumbled across this well-written, well-rounded article on tipping, if you're interested: http://www.nataliemaclean.com/articles/tipping.html

Like it or not, the tip is a huge part of your servers pay, otherwise we would all be paying double or more for our meals here. (Consider for a moment the extremely slim margins to be made in the restaurant biz, just ask any owner) Also, consider that in most establishments, the server has to tip out his/her support staff, ie. the busser, bar, door and almost always kitchen staff. This is almost always based on the servers sales, not the amount of tip they make, so when you stiff them, they will actually be paying (losing money) to serve you. Most good restaurants require servers to "tip-out" 4-6% of sales. Just a thought to consider, before you short-tip someone: Was your experience altered by the reservation procedure, the food quality/speed, or the actual quality of you server's work? Important ... always, always bring a bad experience to the attention of management. Just stiffing the server and leaving will only leave him/her there for the next poor sap. Also, any good restaurant will want to make it up to you in some way. 15% is standard for pleasant, efficient service, 20% and up for exceptional experiences, On The Whole Bill, wine included.

Yes we are all confused, but you're slightly off on the details. At the Vancouver Wine Festival Trade Luncheon, Mark Taylor of Cru restaurant was named Sommelier of The Year, the award sponsored by the festival, BCRFA, Vancouver Wine Academy and the International Sommelier Guild. There have been four others: Peter Bodnar-rod(2000), Mark Davidson(2001), Brent Hayman(2002)and Barb Phillip(2003). Two weeks later at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant awards, Brent Hayman of Raincity Grill was named Sommelier of the Year by Jamie Maw. Brent noted his/our confusion and mentioned Mark in his acceptance speech. (Mark used to work at Raincity and the two are friends) Is every publication going to name one now? Are there really that many working Sommeliers (as opposed to qualified ones working in wine sales) to justify multiple awards? Is VanMag trying to make a statement or was it just an error?

If you're not visiting until May, note that the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant awards are listed in the April issue, which should be out in a couple of weeks. I'm sure some juicy thread will start here as a result of those results.

OK, ok, technically it started in 1859 when Father Pandosy planted vines in the Mission area of Kelowna, but I was referring to the serious planting of quality vinifera grapes following the Canada United States Free Trade agreement of 1988, when the BC and federal governments paid growers to pull up inferior vines and plant premium European varieties. In 1990 the BC government unveiled the Premium Wine policy and established the Vintners Quality Alliance, a marketing body which succeeded (to a limited extent) to spur growth in quality wines here. You must admit, at 13 harvests the premium Okanagan wine industry is very young when compared to “new-world” regions like California, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, or even Washington State.

I agree with the post regarding Quail's Gate, but it should be noted that Ashley Hooper has departed. The new winemaker is Grant Stanley, originally from B.C. but has spent the last decade in New Zealand, most recently assistant winemaker at the acclaimed Ata Rangi winery. He is quite talented and will bring great improvements to Quail’s Gate. As for the general B.C. wine posts, I’m still surprised to hear people say they “don’t drink B.C. wines”. Maybe if they haven’t tried any since 1993, the sentiment would make sense, but with a little work (private wine shops, restaurant recommendations) and a little research (gismondi.com or bcwine.com) it’s easy to find our delightful whites. The pinot gris and pinot blanc are as good as any North Americans, and the crispness of BC chardonnays and aromatic varieties make them excellent food wines and a refreshing change from the (still) over-oaked mass-produced Australian and Californian top 10. Yes, the red wines have a little evolution ahead of them, but remember how young this industry is here, starting in earnest only in 1990 or so, when many growers finally planted vinifera varieties. Having said this, I admit that there is still a lot of bad, bad wine made here. You just need to look a little to find some real gems. Burrowing Owl, Poplar Grove, Quail’s Gate, Stag’s Hollow, Blue Mountain, La Frenz are just a few quality producers.

Wow, thank you all for the flurry of posts! I'll report back after my visit in Jan.

My wife and I are visiting family in Winnipeg for a week in January. We love to dine but we have been somewhat dissapointed in past with the upper level restaurants in this city. Fusion Grill was good in spite of the grumpy owner. We had wonderful sushi at Wasabi but the prices were very high. (I understand you have to pay for good fresh seafood in the prairies.) Average to poor quality at The Inn in the Park (I think it's called), La Vilelle Gare, The Loop (terrible), and most establishments on Corydon. That's about it as far as previous visits. Anyone?