jcolvin's Profile
Bringing back the local butcher..Superior Halal meats, Richmond
Timing is everything at this place. He gets in a side, cuts it up, and the selection slowly diminishes until he gets another one in. Went back and all the shanks, t-bones and rib eye were gone.
Authentic Szechuan restaurants in Vancouver?
New Szechuan is excellent. Very authentic, and they do not go easy on the chilli. I'd go there way more often but it's a bit of a drive from Richmond.
Fable, new farm to table spot on Fourth Avenue in Vancouver
well, props for the deep-fried prawn heads! :)
Collateral Casualties in the Sushi Wars-Cones
Really? I've never had a problem with ordering cones in any sushi joint I've been to (and a trio of cones; salmon, tuna and negihama; is my standard order). The main thing is to eat them right away before the seaweed goes soft.
The New and Improved Ba Le (Banh Mi)
My regular is just extra hot pepper and extra cilantro. I'm not sure what the butter-substance is but I likes it so it stays in.
Tung Hing Bakery (great banh mi's, etc) on Kingsway
I remember back in my University days when a house special banh mi on Spadina Ave was 75 c. Two for $1.50 was lunch. Kingsway Tung Hing remains my go-to place for banh mi in Vancity, I just hope they stay under $4 a piece...
The New and Improved Ba Le (Banh Mi)
Not bad, but Tung Hing retains the crown IMO (this is based on the "house special" which is my usual). Tung Hing's has a bit more pickled veggie, that squirt of special sauce, a strip of warm bbq pork, more substantial meats, that all combine to keep them my fave.
Bringing back the local butcher..Superior Halal meats, Richmond
It's that location, but a new owner now. I think Halal is basically just like any other butchery really; it depends on the quality of the animals and the commitment of the butcher. For instance he had a nice Angus quarter hanging in his locker that he'd just gotten in (he gets one in every two weeks apparently) and he went into the locker, pulled it off the hook and chopped off the flank steak for me today. Most of their beef comes from Riverside Natural Meats.
Bringing back the local butcher..Superior Halal meats, Richmond
I'm feeling blessed that right around the block from me in Richmond is the recently opened Superior Halal meats (4020 #5 rd, at the SE corner with Cambie). Most of what he carries aged from 24-28 days or more, organic angus from Riverside Meats in Salmon Arm, and the value.... marrow--laden Beef shanks @$4/lb, veal shanks @$5, dark and beautifully marbled well-aged rib-eyes @ $12, etc. Selection varies depending on what he has in, sometimes Fraser valley lamb, and very willing to cut to order off whatever is hanging in the locker. I've been bemoaning the death of old-school "local" butchery, but here they are, bringing it back in an incredibly affordable, unpretentious manner.
spot prawns May 2012
six hours might be pushing it with heads on. they should be almost crunchy/snappy firm if cooked from live. they do deteriorate quite quickly once they die if the heads are on.
Vancouver, Whistler, Salt Spring, Sechelt?
Sunshine coast: spot prawns, and cook 'em yourselves. You can buy still kicking off the boat in Gibson's Landing, or Off the Hook seafood up in Pender Harbor/Madeira Park. http://offthehookseafoods.com/
spot prawns May 2012
Always best to buy them live to avoid the mush. Sometimes the fishermen are just too busy hauling traps and the spotties die on the boat before getting beheaded, which is a recipe for tears.
spot prawns May 2012
It's the tail that does the damage. If you keep your finger to one side so the "trying to escape" tail flick misses you you can rip those heads with impunity even gloveless. It's very Game of Thrones.
spot prawns May 2012
Yep, heads on if cooking them live and eating them right away. Lots of goodness in the heads, but try to avoid the stomach sac which is bitter. Eventually you will become practised at tearing off the good head bits and leaving the stomach behind.
If you are going to cook them and keep them in the fridge for a while, heads off before cooking or they will mush sooner rather than later.
If keeping longer uncooked, heads off BEFORE they die. Once they die they mush quite quickly. A quick rinse under cold water will help stop them mushing from any residual stomach enzyme.
I'll usually turn some into amaebi: buy live, remove heads, eat bodies sashimi style; then immediately (heads don't keep long at all before spoiling) snip off the "spike" and ends of legs with scissors, remove the stomach and deep fry until crispy in very hot oil. The whole head is edible. Removing the bitter nasty stomach is a trick; if you snip just *above* the mouth part with the ends of sharp scissors the whole stomach sac will usually pull out along with the mouth. Will take a bit of practise...
Halal Lamb
I recommend Brother's Halal Meat and Deli and #5 and Cambie in Richmond. They changed ownership a while back and they now have a great selection. Fresh local lamb chops, $8 / lb (on my BBQ today). Good organic beef, some nice Angus, and they sometimes have some nice seriously aged stuff in the back. I used to bemoan the lack of local butchers but it seems the halal places are taking up the slack and bringing back the local.
tofino meals
Sobo is a higher-end full-service sit-down restaurant now. You are probably remembering when it was a take-out trailer place :)
Last time I was at Sobo (last weekend) I had an excellent bouilabaisse chock-full of fresh local seafood. The day before we went to Shelter and had a very mediocre cioppino that was mostly crushed canned tomatoes. And they couldn't cook their double-cut pork chop anything less than medium-well, which made for rather dry experience.Shelter does have a larger menu (Sobo has only 5 mains to choose from plus a daily special) but I find Sobo takes the cake.
tofino meals
Sobo is probably your best bet for a 2nd dinner in Tofino. Shelter is so-so; both times I've been recently have been mediocre.
Tofino and Nanoose Bay, Mid June
It's about 1/2 hour out of your way but if you are on a weekday a visit to Island Scallops is a great stop. You can buy a box of fresh shucked qualicum scallops or a bag of 5 lb live scallops for a considerable discount of market prices. http://www.islandscallops.com/
Definitely stop into the Goats on Roof market in Coombes on the way to Tofino. Pete's mountain meats in Port Alberni is worth a stop.
Open hearth or fireplace cooking
http://www.wisementrading.com/outdoorcooking/castiron.htm
http://www.hoffmansforge.com/fireplace__cooking
I use my wood stove mainly to sear steaks, lamb chops and squid, since it's too hot for much else (although it's great for braises on top of the stove). But it sure does sear a great steak.
Crawfish in Vancouver?
wonder if they will bring in fresh softshell crabs. i live in hope...
Kumato in BC?
Think I had some at Thrifty's last year. Small-medium, greenish-brown. They were excellent with real tomato taste, although I recall I still prefer the Gipaanda sweetcherries for their sweet/tart tomatoiness. Haven't seen any lately, probably not quite the season yet.
Chantarelles in Vancouver
Not the right season for chantis they are a summer mushroom. Morels will be starting up in may but it won't be a good year for them since few fires last summer. The mushroom guy in granville island is good, and South China usually has (pricy) what's in season too. Costco also often has chanterelles when the season rolls around.
After much anticipation...
Haven't been yet. Took a look at their website http://thecrabking.com and under "style" it shows a picture of what looks to be a lovely octopus and scallop ceviche or salad. NICE!! I thought but then looked in vain through their menu for anything octopus and scallopy. That's a bit of a tease.... Can't wait to try their moules-frites though.
Best time of year for king crab?
Yep, looks like the season is almost done now, price up to almost $16 /lb at T&T now, and that's for crabs with 2 legs missing. I got my yearly 7 lb-er, shared between 3 people, dismantled (quite a job) and cooked myself last week when it was $12 /lb. I was worried I'd bought in too early and it would go down to $9 like some years, but not this year I guess. 7 lb was fine for 3 people, almost too much crab.
Best time of year for king crab?
Kings down to $12/lb at T&T now. But it can be a challenge to find one with all its legs, which is pretty important since that's what you are paying for with king crab. One leg missing = 17% of your crab missing.
Suggestions for Vancouver (downtown area) and Whistler
Alta bistro in whistler is phenomenal. Prix fix bistro fare at $29 and $39 for 3 courses and some of the best food I've had anywhere. Smallish place with smaller plates but oh so good. It is always full so reservations essential. If you go there you will see why it is always full. How they can do such great food at this price point in whistler I have no idea.
razor clams...where and when they are available
Thanks for the Bell Buoy tip, we stopped in on our way up the Oregon coast and they had fresh ones in-shell dug the night before. Made up for us getting skunked when we tried to dig them said previous night.
We're Back! (And looking for Thai and Mexican in Vancouver/Richmond area)
maenam is good albeit pricy for the portion size. bob likes thai is a good little place too. i dont know why we have such a lack of decent thai in town. the last really good one apart from maenam was montris and it closed last year. meanwhile i was just in port angeles in washington state, a little town of 20,000 and had incredible thai that kicked the ass of anything we can get in vancity.
Porterhouse Steaks in Vancouver
The trouble is that supermarkets rarely age their meat, regardless of grade. Often a well-aged AA will be a better steak than a piece of AAA fresh off the cow, regardless of marbling. While the supermarkets sometimes offer high-grade meat, it rarely seems to have sufficient aging. The majority of supermarket shoppers like that new "bright-red" look to their meat, so that is what they provide.
