Anyone know where I can buy one?
Preferably a larger capacity/higher end unit.
Looking to dry blueberries so the shelves should have a mesh finish....

Hogshack in Steveston was a BIG disapointment. Food was v. mediocre - makes "chain" BBQ joints in the US look good...

Has anyone tried their pizza?

No "authentic" or even close to "authentic" tapas in Vancouver.

If you are in Seattle try it...Whole Foods has almost all of his products. They also have products from La Quercia (http://www.laquercia.us/home/) and are suposed to have products from OLLI Salumeria shortly.

Have you had his salumi/products?

Not sure I undersand your comment about Bertolli?

eatrustic - not to be argumentative but based on what I have tried over the years both in US/Canada and in Europe here is my 2 ¢:

Oyama has some good pates. Some of their "seasonal" product that I have tried is v. nice (i.e. dried/smoked blood sausages and horse meat - sort of like breasola). Their cured stuff (salumi) is nothing special and very similar to the D-original products. Prices are outrageous (IMHO) but if the clientele is willing to pay...why not. Oyama may be percieved as "world class" because of the prices but that's only because it's located in Vancouver.

Recently I tried several of the salumi that JN&Z started to produce and again not bad but very similar to the D-original/Oyama products (prices have also gone up).

Batali in Seattle makes similar product to what can be had at Oyama/D-original/JN&Z Deli. All these guys make products based on commercial formulations that the "big boys" use (i.e. Columbus Salame, Molinari, Freybe, etc.) and use more or less the same ingredients (i.e. spices, starter cultures, additives, etc.) which translated to similar end products.

In my book Fra'mani (http://www.framani.com/) is one company in the US that is one step up over the forementioned makers. I tried many times the various salumi that Paul Bertolli used to make when he was at Oliveto in Berkeley and it was v. good stuff (all of it). He has since (5-6 years?) gone on his own and makes salumi on a more commercial scale. IMHO products are not as good as before but still much better that all the other commercially available salumi.

Next (IMHO), one step above Fra'mani are the two places I mentioned before (FattedCalf and Boccalone).

Next on my list "to try" is Olli Salumeria (http://www.ollisalumeria.com/).

PS: All I can say about Bruce Aidells' comment is that either (1) he needs to get out more often or (2) he was beeing polite.

flowbee - I wish I could say that I was "holdng out"!

I have tried many/most places that make salumi on the west coast of Canada/US and the only two places that have "unique" stuff are the following:
http://fattedcalf.com/ and http://www.boccalone.com/
Both unfortunately are in The Bay area but if you are in that part of the world I highly recommend that you visit them both....

Actually, not too long ago Costco (in the US) had a super deal on D'Artagnan Boneless Jamon Serrano ($99/11 lb+ including shipping).

Oyama has on ocasion "dried" blood sausages...tried them...like them a lot bu these might not be for everyone (strong flavors)......their "fresh" blood sausages (2 types I think) are not so good (IMHO). Another place that has blood sausages is Market Meats on 4th (http://www.marketmeats.com/). I was told that these are made by a "British" butcher....tried them...nothing special.
GoaGirl - where in Vancouver are the Portugese shops you bought blood sausages from?

I was told he is the brother of the Oyama owner. You can get most if not all of his products (retail) at Market Meats on 4th (http://www.marketmeats.com).
I have tried few of the salumi/salami and found all but one to be just OK (flavors are one-dimensional/bland) and very pricey (~$30/lb.). But then again, IMHO all of the Oyama salumi is exactly like that....

24 hrs. is not long enough to kill parasites. Time and temperature of freezing DO matter - you need at least 7 days at less than 21 deg. C for most parasites. Not 100% sure what kinds of parasites are present in salmon and what specific time/temp. is needed to kill them but Sockeye do have them.

Any time you go through a freeze/thaw cycle with fish you will have degradation of quality/texture - there is no way around this one. The quality change may be hard to detect for an avearge person but it's there.

ferret - that the "official" story we are beeing told and you are just repating it. Cutting the artery and esophagus does not result in instant death - brain is still working, nerves are still sensing and hart is still beating - far from quick and painless (there is no "stunning" or "anesthesia").

It's one thing to be "told" how things are done and another to actually see how it is done. "Coventional" slaughter is bad enough but Kosher "kill" step is another story. I would suggest that you visit a Kosher slaughterhouse and see for yourself. Alternatively go to "youtube" and search for "kosher shechita".....

Kosher "slaughter" is anything but humane. You basically cut the throat of a live and fully conscious animal and you let it bleed to death....needles to say with the larger animals it takes a while.....

Can anyone comment which type (1 or 2) of ham holder is "better" or "easier" to use. Type 1 has no hindge and Type 2 has a hindge......or does it not matter? Picture of holder with "ham" is Type 2.

When the place opened way back (6-7 years ago?) and offered it's products (i.e. Salumi) it was v. unique. By now there are many more "Salumi" provides in the US with far better products (IMHO) so the luster is gone. The sandwitch portion was never that good in the begining or now...both in terms of food and "atitude"....

-----
Salumi
309 3rd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104

More "free" advertising and bit of a "spin" on the wet crust...
http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/Lifestyle/2...

People ...no one was expecting 2 lb. of pasta per serving (I have been to Antons many times). Portions we got were small...period...if this was "children's menu" I would be fine. But puting the portion aside the point I was trying to make was/is that at this price point one expects more in terms of quality/flavor/presentation/execution (i.e overcooked pasta). What get's me is the pizza. If this was just a another Italian place doing "everything" then this would not be a problem but this place is suposed to be "the" pizza place in Vancouver. Based on my experience they don't have all their Ducks in order...place needs "work". I want to stress that I am not trying to be negative and I want them to do well. I will try them again in few weeks to see if things are improving....

I went on Saturday at 6 PM right when they open to try it out. This is what the two of us had:

1. Breasola platter ($18) - plate came missing olive oil which we had to ask for - 6-7 slices of OK breasola and a bit of Arugula and Parmesano - presentation lacked, flavor was OK but too expensive for the portion size.
2. Next we had two pastas (Gnocchi $16 and Mateo $18) - both were v. small portions, Mateo pasta was over cooked and the cream sauce which had Porcini in it was laking the Porcini flavor . Gnocchi were light but the pesto was bland. Eventhough both pastas were OK in terms of flavor these are not "repeat" items given the price.
3. We had two pizzas (Margherita $12 and Crudo $20) - both pizzas had good/nice outside crust but in both cases centres were soggy - maybe because we were there right at the opening so the oven was not at the right temperature(?). Crudo is not worth the extra $ for the bit of prosciutto and arugula.

Our server was nice but totally not on the ball.
Overall: this was definitively bit of a let-down especially when it comes to the food. I am gone try the pizza again in a few weeks to see if things are any different....

Thank you...

What is the original/most poular version of the "third" (carpace) course?
What was the damage ($) if you don't mind me asking?

How busy was it at lunch?
How busy are they at dinner? (do they take reservations?)

I am looking for opinions on coffe substitutes ("instant" variety) such as "Pero", "Roma", "Inka", "Cafix", etc. Which one has the best taste and aroma?

Are they open for lunch?

Nevermind....the website is up and running....

Only if the water has parasites!

Like I said - go do your research and make your own conclusions. All chemistry aside my take on sous vide is that the benefits outweight the effort/cost for all but a few specialized/specific applications.
BTW - what qualifies as a "strong background in chemistry"?

Congratulations!...looks like you got my point. If you want hard/scientific evidence that this is how things "work" I would suggest a trip to university library (may want to do a quick "google" search first).

Anyone with any knowledge of chemistry will tell you that temperature (i.e. heat) drives chemical reactions...any reaction including leaching of plastics. So, yes one can say that cooking product at sous vide temperatures for hours will be more problematic that stoarge at room or freezer temperatures.

Problem with plastics is (like you mentioned) the "regulatory regime". It is generally assumed that plastics can/are food-safe when heated but that's all based on "migration" studies and how they are conducted (and there is lot's to be said about that). Anyway, you still have very long contact time (i.e. hours) with fat/protein containing foods which act like "solvents" when interacting with plastics....