Read about it and see photos here.

Is it me or does the new restaurant at the NYC Guggenheim look like it could be ten forward on the Star Trek Enterprise? Either way, I can’t wait to visit. Check it out at the New York Times.

If you find yourself hungry in Deep Cove, fish and chips may seem like a suitable option. With fresh and wild fish, this cute and affordable “Teriyaki” Fish and Chips shop does a nice job of a light batter and not overcooking the salmon. And cute fish dishes to boot! Not worth the drive to Deep Cove, but a good casual option once you are there.

Deep Cove Fish & Chips
Phone: (604) 929-4877
Address: 4369 Gallant Ave North Vancouver, BC , V7G1L1

Finch’s. The amazingly charming cafe with a European feel, serving baked goods and baguette sandwiches at a premium. Here you will find an almost unbelievable concentration of beautiful, offbeat women, enjoying coffee and long chats. It is hard not to like Finch’s.

But Finch’s is busy and Finch’s is slow. I forgot just how slow. I went in for a late lunch today to get an overpriced $8 bocconcini baguette, and spent no less than 45 minutes waiting for it. The staff of 5 attractive and friendly women are seemingly unable or unwilling to move faster than a snail’s pace. As an insult to boot, they served a friend of theirs in line behind me, before me.

And instead of an apology or any recognition of the almost-hour I spent standing in a crowd, waiting for sliced bits of cheese and tomato to get stuffed into a piece of bread, there is a sign that says, “At Finches, we take the time to make our food fresh and beautiful. Please be patient or call ahead.”

To me this sums up the service philosophy (or lack thereof). “We don’t hurry and you can take it or leave it.” I guess that works in a city where the kind of charm they have on offer is impossible to find otherwise. In a city where despite the fact my sandwich is sitting on my desk and I want to smash it rather than eat it, I will be drawn back there easily. But definitely not for take-out and definitely not in a rush. And lets be honest, definitely not soon. I don’t care how beautiful they all are.

353 W Pender St
Vancouver, BC V6B
www.finchteahouse.com

Photo Credit: By svacher on Flickr CC BY NC ND

The battle over pasteurized cheese has come to BC. Here’s the skinny: all milk and dairy sold in Canada has to be pasteurized, unlike in Europe, where you can get all kinds of Artisan cheeses worth weeping over.

In recent years, co-ops have sprung up in Canada that allow you to buy proportional ownership in a cow. Dividends come in the form of milk, that the co-ops make into Artisan cheeses and butter and other treats. These are small organizations that take good care of their livestock and produce some outrageously delicious dairy products. This has been getting around the pasteurization laws, because owning the cow means you own the milk, which takes the government controls out of the picture.

However, the government and the dairy board lobby groups have been taking this head-on, with a public fight in Ontario, which they just lost. The fight has now come to BC, and one of the local co-ops, www.homeontherangefarms.com, is organizing a rally on Monday Feb 1, 9am, in front of the New Westminster Supreme Court. If they can get enough people confirmed as attending, Michael Schmidt will attend too, the Dairy Farmer who just successfully defended his co-op in Ontario.

Certainly this issue is a contentious one, with the associated health issues and the issues of scale and precedent. But if you have ever had a proper farmhouse cheese from France or Britain, chances are you have little patience for the uptight position of the Canadian government.

update: Michael Schmidt will attend the rally, and homeontherangefarms.com is holding a meeting monday night with Michael (inlcuding a cheese tasting) – contact Jackie for information and to RSVP: Jacki from bcfoodies, 604 306 7720, jackie@bcfoodies.com

LINKS

www.homeontherangefarms.com

contact homeontherangefarms here

Articles:

CBC , More CBC

Medbroadcast

Great long article from 2008 in Harper’s Magazine (thanks karl!)

Photo credit: scpgt on Flickr CC NC ND

Perhaps my last foodandtell from Mexico this Christmas,  a Nopal salad. Nopal is a cactus that is native to Mexico and has lots of health benefits and can be a bit slimy like okra.

I was excited to read on VanFoodies.com about the “The Cooking with BC’s Best Dinner Series” put on by Edible BC. These events are offered a couple times a month, offering exclusive access to some of BC’s leading chefs. The dinners are held in the Granville Island Market after hours, which is really cool if you ask me. Many of the events are booked up now, but there is still a lot of choice. Dinner costs $89 for most events, and as Frank at VanFoodies points out, it is like a high-end version of the Irish Heather’s Long Table Series.

2010 Market Dinner Schedule –
See the whole, exciting list at: Edible BC

Events with tickets left at the time of writing:

Monday, April 19 – Locals Comox Valley – Chef Ronald St. Pierre
Tuesday, May 25 – Hart House – Chef Kris Kabush
Tuesday, June 8 – Pastry Chef Wendy Boys
Tuesday, June 15 – Sustainable Seafood Evening – Chef Eric Pateman
Tuesday, June 22 – Sol Kitchen and Windset Farms – Chef Dana Reinhardt
Wednesday, August 4th – Chef Afke Zonderland – Raw Food Feast
Wednesday, August 11- Bacchus Restaurant – Chef Lee Parsons
Tuesday, August 24 – Wild Rice – Chef Andrew Wong
Tuesday, September 28 – Culinary Capers Catering – Chef Jonathan Chovancek
Tuesday, October 12 – The Beach House Restaurant – Executive Chef Michael Cameron, Executive Sous Chef Joe Duprey, Executive Pastry Chef Steve Hodge
Friday, October 22 – Whisky Dinner with Cask Strength and Eric Pateman
Tuesday, October 26 – Vij’s & Rangoli – Chef Vikram Vij – Tickets by Lottery
Tuesday, November 23 – Araxi Restaurant – Chef James Walt
Tuesday, December 7 – Holiday Entertaining – Chef Eric Pateman

Photo Credit: Photo by Stephen Chang on Flickr, CC-BY-NC-ND

There is a buzz around Vancouver about Bao Bei, a new “Chinese brasserie” at Keefer and Main Steet. Located steps from Chinatown institutions such as Floata and in an area that is gentrifying quickly, Beo Bei seems to have its timing just right.

Opened by Tannis Ling, a well-regarded former bartender at Chambar, Bao Bei has an excellent drink menu and a well appointed bar. The Taiwanese/Shanghainese dishes are playful and feature pork and dumplings extensively. I loved the toasted dried squid with garlic mayo ($4) which goes perfectly with a well-selected Chinese beer. The Mantou are delicious steamed buns with braised shortrib, hoisin, scallions, pickled cucumber and roasted peanuts. ($9) There is pate, braised pork and pork belly, offal, dumplings galore and lots of other great comfort food to consider. In the kitchen chef Joel Watanabe brings experience from high-end restaurants such as Araxi and the general manager Paul Grunberg came directly from Jean-Georges’ Market.

The room is modern, stylish and most of all welcoming. It makes good use of a small space with only around 50 seats and they told me in their first week they are doing more than twice as many covers. Some reviews have suggested that you can be in for a long wait at Bao Bei and that the crowds of visiting colleagues and friends are leaving diners by the wayside. But it is only week one and the staff were beyond accommodating and friendly during my visit. I think that Bao Bei is a major hit and I can’t wait to go back.

Note: I didn’t get any food photos, but these great blogs have some with their reviews:

vancouver slop

victorias food secrets

Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie
163 Keefer St
Chinatown, Vancouver
604-688-0876
bao-bei.ca

An absolute highlight of my Mexican overeating were these homemade tamales, a corn dish that dates back to Aztec traditions. We had green and red tamales, and I preferred the green (pictured). The husks were grilled beforehand, giving them a  blackened look and imparting a very savory flavor. Unfortunately I got too involved with eating them to take good photos of the inside of the tamale, which was teeming with salsa verde and chicken.