The Georgia Straight Golden Plate Awards

[*Deborah*]

*hesitating to admit that there is a Stephen King novel on my bookshelf (although almost all of Michael Ondaatje is there, too)*

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I have The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. And I'm an English major. Oh my.

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I think it's OK to have Angels & Demons if you also have Foucault's Pendulum (and have read the former once, and the latter, a half-dozen times) *raises hand*

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I think that these points are particularly true if you are eating at Earl's (to keep this thread on track and not bring down the forum gods on us).

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Hmm, maybe you have to read your Eco while drinking your coffee at Prado!!

[D. Peckham]

I personally think that the golden plate awards don't hold much weight as far as a serious food publication goes but it does have a place in the food scene here in Vancouver. There is no actual results as far as the number of votes cast for any one topic, so there may have only been 10 or 15 people who actually spent the time to fill out the ballot. I also don't remember the Georgia Straight claiming that these awards are the best way for judging where to spend your dining dollar. I think that you have to take these polls and awards with a grain of salt and don't worry or be offended if their opinions don't match yours. I don't get offended when I tell people I only eat out at two restaurants, those being the Cactus Club and Memphis Blues or order in Panago and grab McDonalds take out after work, and they look at me like I'm crazy. Take it for what it is and if it's that big of a deal remember to vote next year.

[Viola da gamba]

I think it's OK to have Angels & Demons if you also have Foucault's Pendulum (and have read the former once, and the latter, a half-dozen times) *raises hand*

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Can I replace the former with Crichton's Timeline - cause I just finished the latter for the umpteenth time and am feeling damned erudite as a result - populism be damned

Looking at the Golden Plate awards, they do encapsulate a time when my friends & I were (a) poor and (b) developing our taste for what we liked in terms of food, cuisine, wine, etc., etc. (and now also © when I lived in Vancouver, but that's a whole other story) - so I agree that they are probably not a true example of what's best in the city, generally - but I still think they have a place (and as bad as Cobbs is, it's still a step up from Wonderbread). But surely anything that gets people thinking about food in the terms of *best* or *most worth visiting* is better than merely sticking to what you know? No?

[Ducky]

Yes D.Peckham and Viola da Gamba, that was also the point of my previous tounge-firmly-in-cheek post. Most egulleteers likely believe that they have a reasonably sophisticated palate - and it may even be correct to assume that the average egulleteer actually has a more sophisticated (better trained) palate than the average non-egulleteer. But so what?

What is wrong with those of simpler culinary tastes - those who eat to live (rather than live to eat) - themselves having a go at voting for their favourite restaurant? Of course you can expect a different list of favourites. We should be more tolerant in this.

By way of analogy the "Top Ten" automobiles nominated each year by Consumer Reports will invariably be quite different from those nominated by "Car & Driver" magazine. Who cares? Different markets. Different tastes.

I suspect also that a very large percentage of the GS readership is older than one might think. Like my parents. They read the thing from cover to cover each week because its the best single source of information in Vancouver for what is on in the cinemas and the theatres etc - and then, as a bonus, there are the titillating personal ads. What is more, these retired folk have time on their hands and make a sport out of responding to polls of this sort. The Cannery? Seasons in the Park? I rest my case.

Noblesse oblige.

[chef koo]

not much time left for you guys to get your platinum plate award selections in. they're due this saturday.

[appreciator]

I think it's OK to have Angels & Demons if you also have Foucault's Pendulum (and have read the former once, and the latter, a half-dozen times) *raises hand*

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Can I replace the former with Crichton's Timeline - cause I just finished the latter for the umpteenth time and am feeling damned erudite as a result - populism be damned

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Okay... have you two seriously read Foucault's Pendulum six or more times? Seriously?????

As to the Golden Plate Awards, I'm with Ducky. The Georgia Straight is not pretending to be the be-all and end-all in culinary commentary and so be it. Not everyone can be enjoying their coffee at Artigiano, lunching at Go Fish and having dinner at West, all the time. Though all of these establishments may certainly be superior in caliber... the places that have been chosen in the GP's have a place as well.

And not just for the great unwashed who have not yet tasted the foie gras kolachy, so to speak.

Edited March 25, 2005 by appreciator (log)

[*Deborah*]

Foie gras kolachy!!! there's an idea!! I don't know how they could do it so that the foie was still rare inside, while still cooking the kolachy dough...maybe it would have to be a paté de foie gras to work in a kolachy format. Are you reading this, Keith?

(Yes, Sarah, I'm pretty sure I've read Foucault's Pendulum six times, although it could be five or seven times...I like Eco a lot, and read that book approximately once a year. I misspoke with the Dan Brown book, though: it's The Da Vinci Code that I have (Christmas gift). It's because of my love for FP that I have so little respect for Dan Brown, actually; direct correlation.)

[chef koo]

thanks to all who submitted. the votes are being counted. it's late thought and i probably won't finish tommorow so if you want to try and squeezin your votes if you haven't alreayd then by all means.

[Viola da gamba]

Okay... have you two seriously read Foucault's Pendulum six or more times?  Seriously????? 

As to the Golden Plate Awards, I'm with Ducky. The Georgia Straight is not pretending to be the be-all and end-all in culinary commentary and so be it.  Not everyone can be enjoying their coffee at Artigiano, lunching at Go Fish and having dinner at West, all the time. 

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Yes, but only because I'm too cheap to buy any more books!

Can I volunteer for the daily schedule you've laid out & have someone else pay? Please? That sounds wonderful ...

[PaoPao]

thanks to all who submitted. the votes are being counted. it's late thought and i probably won't finish tommorow so if you want to try and squeezin your votes if you haven't alreayd then by all means.

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The suspense is killin' me ........

[chef koo]

so i just got off of work and went to the IGA to get a bottle of juice. i see a georgia straight with john bishop on the cover. the cover reads golden plates. i remember last year everyone here came away with some strong opinions of the winners and losers.this year i'm glad to see they had a critics award section in the begining. i'm one of those guys who doesn't give much credit to "people's choice" awards. i have this prejudice that the people who vote for these things are people who decide more on reputation of the restaurants more then their own expiriences since my prejudice also dictates that these people haven't even been to many of the restaurants that are in the polls.

but anyways, just some note worthies i found.

mcdonalds got best fries... again. do you see why i have such a bleak view of the people who vote for "peoples choice" awards?

best overall went to lumiere. i remeber having a talk with chef about this and remember him sayin how david hawksworth was the new big guy in town. west did get second but with the lumiere fad starting to die off and everyone talking about west it seems like a surprise. but i suppose west is more of a foodie thing where lumiere is more of a "i saw him on tv so i'll go there" kinda thing

everyone at work was hapy to see le crocodile come away with best french

gerard congrats on best burger.

bishops pretty much cleaned house this year with top fine dining, service and pacific northwest.

anyone else notice how many categories big franchise restaurants came in first?

edit: i didn't bother listing off all of the winners that pissed me off. that'd take ages. there was a lot

Edited March 24, 2006 by chef koo (log)

[kontemporary]

The only thing a reader's choice awards says is probably popularity - and not just general popularity, but popularity from the readers of the Georgia Straight, in this case.

I found the more interesting of the awards to be the critics' choice. Year after year (though it wasn't as bad as last year) readers have shown us a sense of conveyed ignorance in the rankings. (How does Lumière winning best restaurant match with McDonalds winning best fries? the logic escapes me.) The critics sort of bring the issue to a steadfast balance.

This year they divided the critics' choice into Vancouver areas. Surprisingly, the winner of the West End/Downtown/Yaletown section was Blue Water Café. Don't get me wrong and all, Blue Water of course is a great restaurant.. but I have found it not to be able to match up to the consistancy and rigours of restaurants such as Le Crocodile or Parkside (2nd and 3rd, respectively). Surprisingly, Cioppino's or CinCin (they did get lots of wine recognitions this year) didn't make the list either.

Congrats on kurtis and chef jeff for winning best of the east side, topping over Habit and Sun Sui Wah. I couldn't think of any other place on the east side to give mighty competition here (unless the PearTree counted)

My favourite section was their picks on Best of the West Coast. It was C, Go Fish!, and The Galley Bar and Grill - definitely agreeable.

[eatvancouver]

readers' choice

critics' choice

[Andrew Morrison]

Rhonda May at City Food shares her thoughts on the new critic's poll here.

[Keith Talent]

I've never understood why they continue with the idiotic readers choice awards. Perhaps as suggested by Rhonda May its' to give the sales department of The Straight cold call leads. Every year you think that the editors are going to be embarrased by the fact that apperently their readership consists of mouth breathing subway eating morons and spike the readers picks.

And isn't the internet supposed to kill off these stupid polls? We now have a more interactive manner to disseminate out impotent opinion, why shill for McDonalds for free? Very weird.

On the pro side there is some dubious behavior exhibited as well. I'm certain the powers at C arre thrilled to have spent X million to beat out a taco stand on the docks and a beer soaked sailing club house. Quality does triumph.

Free papers are worth what you pay.

[Mooshmouse]

Keith, you're just bitter because Chatters didn't make the cut this year.

[maxmillan]

I can't say enough about hating Cobs bread. When I see people walking around carrying a Cobs cloth bag, I just want to rant in their face about their poor taste.

[winegeek]

I just gotta laugh when I read that Lumiere wins Best Overall but comes in 3rd in Best fine Dining and that Bishops comes in 3rd Overall but 1st in Fine Dining. I am soooo confused .

[eatvancouver]

I can't say enough about hating Cobs bread.  When I see people walking around carrying a Cobs cloth bag, I just want to rant in their face about their poor taste.

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I've never tried the bread here, but I'm interested in why you think it's so bad.

[Chewie]

Coffee Shop (Independent)

1. (tie) JJ Bean house of coffee

Various locations

1. (tie) Caffe Artigiano

Various locations

2. Blenz Coffee

Various locations

3. Bean Around the World

Various locations

4. Delaney’s Coffee House

1105 Denman Street, 604-662-3344

I couldn't help but notice that all these coffee shops are chains (with the exception of #4). How does a coffee shop chain maintain its independance? Is this similar to the Hollywood trend of calling any movie not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer indepedant? Aren't there actual independant coffee shops that need support?

Perhaps the category needs to be expanded to "Best Coffee Shop (chain)" and "Best Coffee Shop (Independant)"

(It should be noted that as my brother owns an independant coffee shop in Vancouver, I have a personal axe to grind.)

Regardless, I think the point stands.

[maxmillan]

I can't say enough about hating Cobs bread.  When I see people walking around carrying a Cobs cloth bag, I just want to rant in their face about their poor taste.

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I've never tried the bread here, but I'm interested in why you think it's so bad.

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I usually try the basic bread or apple dessert when testing out new bakeries. I tried the regular baguette and mutligrain baguette when one first opened in Kerrisdale. The plain baguette had less taste than the worst supermarket baguette; there was no salt, no sweet, no tangy, no substance, just bland. The multigrain was the same with just a change in texture. There was no apple dessert at the time so I bought a cinnamon roll. It was the same bread base with a sugar and water icing. It tasted worse than the Chinese bakeries that try to mock western baked goods.

[Jeffy Boy]

I can't say enough about hating Cobs bread.  When I see people walking around carrying a Cobs cloth bag, I just want to rant in their face about their poor taste.

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You should try their cloth bag. I hear it's not too bad.

[*Deborah*]

Coffee Shop (Independent)

1. (tie) JJ Bean house of coffee

Various locations

1. (tie) Caffe Artigiano

Various locations

2. Blenz Coffee

Various locations

3. Bean Around the World

Various locations

4. Delaney’s Coffee House

1105 Denman Street, 604-662-3344

I couldn't help but notice that all these coffee shops are chains (with the exception of #4). How does a coffee shop chain maintain its independance? Is this similar to the Hollywood trend of calling any movie not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer indepedant? Aren't there actual independant coffee shops that need support?

Perhaps the category needs to be expanded to "Best Coffee Shop (chain)" and "Best Coffee Shop (Independant)"

(It should be noted that as my brother owns an independant coffee shop in Vancouver, I have a personal axe to grind.)

Regardless, I think the point stands.

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I would have thought Artigiano qualified as independent (not sure about the others); having more than one location doesn't make you a "chain" per se, does it? Doesn't that relate more to the corporate or non-corporate nature of ownership? If your brother is successful enough to open a second storefront, won't he still be independent?

[Ling]

I can't say enough about hating Cobs bread.  When I see people walking around carrying a Cobs cloth bag, I just want to rant in their face about their poor taste.

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You should try their cloth bag. I hear it's not too bad.

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I haven't had Cobs Bread either, but I visited several locations when they first opened, just to take a look. I imagine the bread tastes as good as they look--big, fluffy, pale loaves. The negative comments I've read from ppl who've actually tasted the bread doesn't do much to motivate me in purchasing a loaf for myself.

[Daddy-A]

[host]

Ahem ......

Golden Plates? Remember them?

Let's get this thread back on track please.

A.

[/host]