peter.v's Profile
The New and Improved Ba Le (Banh Mi)
Yeah, Tung Hing takes it for me too still. The bread quality and the pate nail it for me. That liver-y goodness and the pickles are perfect at Tung Hing. Ba Le tends to be my usual spot though just due to proximity to my house and Matchstick Coffee. There I avoid the special in favor of the grilled pork and the bacon. The grilled pork is umami central.
FOOD Ideas Needed for a Vancouver Trip over a Week
Too bad Kimura closed a couple of weeks ago.
spot prawns May 2012
A tea towel and a decent Chinese poultry cleaver will take care of those guys no problem.
Cheapest, High Quality Organic Coffee Beans
It's really hard to compare American coffee prices with Canadian, especially Vancouver prices. Costs are much higher here. A lot of the "commodity" fair trade organic coffees go through the same ports as American coffees, so shipping alone adds considerable cost to the wholesale price of the beans. Rents, local distribution costs and wages are considerably more up here as well. Also, coffee prices on the commodity markets have increased substantially in the past few years. Only 5 years ago or so, the fair trade price for a pound of coffee at origin was $1.40. Late last year c-market coffee prices hit $2.50/pound. Then, fair trade adds another percentage on top of that as well perhaps a premium for organic.
Local roasters purchasing quality coffees in town are probably paying $4+/pound at origin right now. Factor in shipping from places like Rwanda, Burundi and Guatemala and you end up having a much more expensive pound of coffee than whatever you were buying in LA. Hate to be a downer on that one.
In terms of where to buy coffee in town, Elysian has just started roasting their own (full disclaimer, I work there), 49th Parallel, Revolver carries a plethora of top notch roasters including Phil & Sebastian, Heart, Sightglass, Four Barrel, Ritual and others depending on their ordering. Expect to pay $15+ for 3/4 of a pound though.
Non-restaurant eats in Victoria (to take back to Vancouver)?
The bread from Fol Epi is essential. Best bread in the province. Other than that, maybe coffee from Fernwood or Discovery?
Birthday Dinner: Coast....but smaller??
L'Abattoir. I know it gets recommended all the time, but it's justified. Sweetbreads there are spectacular. I have a chef friend who swore by their foie dish too.
Cocktails and good eats in Vancouver
There are a number of spots to drink cocktails in the city.
As others have said, L'Abattoir for both food and cocktails. Stellar all around. Bao Bei would also be top notch in that category. I had an outstanding meal there on Saturday. Pourhouse also manages very well on the food side too and is one of the best classic cocktail bars in the city. Try to sit at the bar there for conversation with some of the city's best bartenders.
Great cocktails can also be found at Market in the Shangri-La, the Diamond, Union Bar, West... the list goes on. Even a lot of neighborhood restaurants and bars have some pretty skilled bartenders even if they aren't know specifically for their cocktails.
Kits Happenings
Are you serious Sam? The only reason why I came into Kits was to eat at Refuel. No wonder why they couldn't make a go of it.
Looking for good corned beef hash (diner ?)
Though I always hope for the best after an ownership change, Tyson et al of Cobre sold Deacon's a few months ago.
Mussette Cafe - hidden away with an "interesting" model
Secret? There are no secrets (although my bunker in Riley Park contains numerous brewing devices...).
Mussette Cafe - hidden away with an "interesting" model
Just as a point of information here... Dave does not own Musette. The owner is Thomas Eleizegui. Also, fun point of information, I brought Dave along to the very first Chowdown years ago!
Musette is a terrific option in that area of downtown.
Good quality fresh olive oil in Vancouver or Burnaby?
Aha! That's what happened with my bottle then. I was trying to figure out what sort of oxidation/contamination it might have been but I hadn't even considered simple temperature (my house is really cold in the winter!).
Where to find lacinato/dinosaur kale in Burnaby?
I'm almost certain I saw it at Whole Foods on Cambie the other day, which doesn't help you for Burnaby, but Capers is owned by Whole Foods, so there is hope there.
Best place to buy a French press or ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Elysian carries Frieling presses again.
Also, just as a note, the Aeropress is not a french press, but is a unique brewing method. I quite enjoy mine, especially with the Able Brewing Disk filter, an aftermarket metal filter designed for the Aeropress.
When is Meyer Lemon season in Vancouver?
They're in stores now. Sunrise Market down in Chinatown had some for a killer price about a month ago and Whole Foods on Cambie had a bunch tonight that looked pretty good.
Dine out.... Good, bad or indifferent?
As a bit of a confirmation of an awesome Dine Out experience, I should report on my meal at Campagnolo tonight. Walked in at 10:30 PM after a long day at work and was happily greeted. Full menu still available. Decided to go with the Dine Out menu as I hadn't eaten much all day. Went with the crispy ceci, bollito misto and the chocolate cake. The ceci was the regular standout dish on their usual menu. No reduction in portion size and even more delicious than I remembered. Up next was the bollito misto. A massive piece of veal that didn't need a knife to pull it apart, as it was that tender. Topped with a crisped up duck wing and a rich sauce with some root veg and mushrooms. Outstanding and almost too big of a portion for me. The chocolate cake was moist and flavorful. I left feeling like I had been given a good portion of the meal for free. That is what Dine Out is about if you ask me.
The restaurants that join in on the Dine Out marketing train only for the publicity are the ones that will fail to please. They don't put out the quality they usually do (or are not quality to begin with) and then fail to meet any expectations whatsoever.
Dine out.... Good, bad or indifferent?
It's a pandan old fashioned. Pandan adds a lot of body and a bit of nuttiness. Arthur is doing some pretty cool things there with the drinks.
Union's Feast Van menu is a steal too - $20 for three courses.
Dine out.... Good, bad or indifferent?
Though I'm one of the least likely Dine Out defenders, you've chosen the wrong restaurants. The Diamond is a cocktail bar and doesn't have a full kitchen whereas Save On Meats is an inexpensive diner.
Dine Out at its best is an opportunity to try restaurants that exist outside of your normal budget. Places like L'Abattoir, Hawksworth, West are all relatively good value during Dine Out (if you can get reservations). You can also unearth some gems at the lower price point menus too. Campagnolo, for example, is offering some of their better dishes on the Dine Out menu for $28. Browsing the restaurant list for the right fit is essential.
Favorite Duck dish in central Vancouver?
Refuel does some tasty duck. Usually involves a confit leg but the rest of the dish changes around. They also make a delicious duck confit hash for brunch on the weekends. However, since it's Dine Out for the next two weeks they have limited their regular menu offerings, so if you're in town soon, maybe give them a call or check the website first (that goes for a lot of places in town for the next two weeks).
Where to buy a Japanese or Chinese knife for under $100
I purchased my Moritakas from Kevin Kent at Knifewear in Calgary. He would be quite trustworthy to buy from online.
Where can i find the Best Fried chicken in the GVRD
This is a hard one. As much as I'd love to have real authentic "southern" food, there's a reality to living in Western Canada. There's no history of migration from the south to BC (or to Canada really). Balance really isn't the key here, it's that there isn't the population base to provide the cultural incubation for that side of the food scene. I know you all know this, but you can't really fault Vancouver for a lack of southern food (or Mexican, etc).
Guy Fieri in Vancouver - I'm sure you've all heard! [moved from BC]
Selfish? I think you speak for a lot of us. Peaceful is already busy enough and it hasn't even aired on DDD in Canada yet. I'm sad because it's my local lunch/dinner spot as I work on the very same block.
Looking for a Vancouver Sommelier for a private wine tasting party
Some of the private wine stores might have staff interested in this. Sheila at Firefly would be one that comes to mind. Previously mentioned Kurtis Kolt is another that might be interested as well.
You might also want to email the Art Institute WSET instructors to see if they could forward the idea to their students. Most of the students in the group are industry pros and extremely knowledgeable. Worth a try perhaps.
French Made Baking
Too bad flour imported from the old world is usually dead by the time it hits our shores. Replicating the old world over here is more difficult than if you went to proper lengths sourcing quality ingredients from North America. Look at Fol Epi and Pizzeria Barbarella for examples of that in BC.
Coming home to Van for a while -- are these places still worth eating at? If not, please add.
You've asked the question we've all wanted to know the answer to. Post of the year!
Best place to buy a French press or ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Ha, awesome. Black Cat works well as brewed coffee for sure. It's mostly from Brazil, with a bit of El Salvador at the moment. It does tend to change every month or so depending on coffee availability.
Best place to buy a French press or ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Espresso defines only a method involving a machine that brews at a pressure of ~9 bar. Beans labeled as espresso are simply coffees roasted and/or blended with that method in mind. As espresso produces a concentrated coffee, lightly roasted single variety coffees tend to taste akin to hot lemon juice. If you roast the beans to a medium-ish level and blend for rich, full bodied chocolate notes (by using a Brasilian coffee as a base component for example), you can have coffee that tastes delicious whether or not it's brewed as espresso or not. It's often a coffee I recommend to people looking for low acidity and full body.
