Wining and dining -- from Main St. to beyond

While the weather outside has been largely frightful, my dining experiences this summer have been fairly delightful.  I have been sticking reasonably close to my neighbourhood, but have ventured further afield on occasion.  No major new discoveries, I am certain, but experiences worth noting.

A friend and I went to the ever popular The Reef earlier in the summer.  As usual, the place was packed and not really conversation friendly.  The service was fairly good as was the food.  I had the chicken roti which was excellent.  I find overall the food there can be hit and miss, but for taste and value, I would recommend this dish.  The washrooms are clean and useable, which always wins points with me.

I have also been to Crave a few times.  Crave is located at the same site as the former Clews (which I did not visit) and The Big C (as in Chow), where I went for breakfast on a few occasions (good food, lousy coffee).  The service at Crave is excellent.  The food is okay.  The first time, I had the halibut and chips.  The fish was heavily battered and the fries, oversalted. 

The dining room is very small and acoustically, problematic.  However, on my second visit, my friend and I asked to be seated on the patio, which I remembered as being nice from The Big C days.  Indeed, it did not disappoint.  Surrounded by luscious herbs, the patio is a very pleasant place to spend an evening.  The food was somewhat better this time.  My friend and I shared some spicy popcorn shrimp which were generous and tasty.  I had a Caesar salad with a chicken add-on.  The latter was okay, but not spectacular.  There is a decent wine list, with some fairly drinkable and affordable wines available both by the glass and per bottle.  More points,  the washrooms are clean and well maintained.

The Main on Main, a family owned Greek restaurant, has also been a good spot for me this summer.  The first time we went for drinks.  The wine list is decent and very affordable.  The relaxing of BC ancient liquor laws now permits folks to have a drink without having to buy food at restaurants.  Nonetheless, the mid-wine munchies got me and we ordered some calamari.  The dish was not as salty as at many of the local Greek places.  There were way too many raw (bleah!) onions for my liking, but the squid were still very edible.  We drank a very enjoyable Jackson Triggs VQA Sauvignon Blanc.

The next visit was a full meal deal.  I enjoyed the chicken souvlaki and of course, the very chocolaty Yellow Tail Shiraz.  Again, the price points were hard to beat.  The service was friendly on both visits, although the servers could learn a bit more about how to open and serve wine.  Hey, I can admit that I am snobby (about some things).  The washroom is dated, but functional and clean.

That night, we also went to Sweet Revenge Patisserie for coffee and dessert.  It has been some time since I have been.  I ate the Sweet Revenge cake which was good, but a little dry.  They have expanded the menu a lot since they first opened, so I shall have to try something new the next time.  They offer the option of shared carafes of pressed coffee, which is a nice alternative to the more common single cup option. 

A few nights back, we hit the Yaletown Brewing Company after being sticker shocked by most other places in the trendy neighbourhood.  We shared the fiery green beans, which were excellent and had quite the kick.  We also split the Italian sausage pizza, which was good, but lacking zap after having had the beans.  The "big ass" (their name, not mine) beer were indeed large as were their prices.  While I give kudos to their washrooms for having change tables for babies and toddlers, they also get a big thumbs down for not removing ashtrays from the stalls.  Boo!

All the Starbucks in Yaletown close early, so we ended up at Urban Fare (which is open until midnight) for coffee.  My decaf latte was rather enjoyable.  They have a water cooler and paper cups for those wanting water.  We watched a woman fill and old two litre coke bottle for her dog.  The lesson here is two-fold.  First, never underestimate the lack of consideration of the public at-large.  Second, think twice before drinking water from a publicly accessible water cooler.

Tonight, my foodie friend suggested that we go to La Buca, a chi chi poo poo, neighbourhood restaurant located in the Mackenzie Heights area of town (I wonder if it's still called that???).  The clientele was much older than the crowds I have been encountering on Main.  The layout is much like a bistro and not unlike Crave.  However, for the most part, the acoustics were much better. 

The wine list is mainly Italian (not my favorite) and some Spanish.  The prices varied from affordable to not-so cheap.  We had the Di Majo Norante Ramitello (I had to cut and paste that), a very dry red wine from the Molise region.   The food was pretty fine.  I had a taste of my friend's appetizer of stuffed zucchini blossom, delicately filled with a ricotta mixture.  For our entrees, she had the ravioli stuffed with prawns and I had the Tuscan steak.  Both were very tasty and well presented.  I also enjoyed the strong coffee flavors in the tiramisu.  Unfortunately, by the time we ate dessert, they had overfilled the table next to us and I felt as though the man at the end might as well the sat on my lap. 

The service was acceptable, but not top notch as would befit the caliber of restaurant they are trying to present.  Access to the one restroom involves a tricky maneuvering through the incredibly tiny and chaotic kitchen.  This also takes away from the experience and illusion of fine dining.

So apart from the usual visits to The Thai House, White Spot and Kitsilano Sushi with the kid and sometimes other family, these have been my dining out excursions this summer. 

Happy eating!

 

Technorati Tags: Main Street dining, The Main, Crave, The Reef, Sweet Revenge, Yaletown Brewing Company, La Buca, The Thai House, White Spot, Kitsilano Sushi

Shemina

A couple of weeks ago, I met a woman who was a friend of and worked with Shemina Hirji. She told me that she had been at the wedding and knew the couple. I asked her what she thought about the overt public speculation that Paul had killed Shemina. She said that she sincerely hoped not, but she was beginning to think that he might be guilty. There were tears in her eyes and I did not pursue the matter, simply offering her condolences for her loss.

Paul Cheema, widower and likely murderer of Shemina Hirji, committed suicide on Monday, August 27, 2007. His guilt seemed to have gotten the better of him. Now, two families each have a dead child. My initial reaction was why didn't he do it to himself first and that way Shemina would be alive. However, upon clearer thinking, I thought perhaps that had he gotten some sort of help in the first place, neither one would have had to die. What a horribly tragic situation for both families. Their children married about a month and half ago and now, they are both dead.

The police have not confirmed the death a suicide, but his family has. The police also have not verified the rumour that they were about to arrest him after having interviewing him just recently. Paul allegedly had made previous suicide attempts. Apparently, this is a common guilty action undertaken by those who have murdered someone about whom they cared.

I don't know how much of the truth will come out and who really deserves to hear it. A "friend" of the Cheema family said that the details of Shemina's death needed to be revealed for her family's sake. I don't know that this is necessarily the case. I've heard rumours that she was brutally (as if there is any other way) stabbed. I cannot fathom how making this information public will benefit the family in any way. I hope that both the families can find some way to deal with their losses and make some kind of peace with their pain.

In memory of a family friend

Last week, I went to a funeral for a man that I have known since childhood. He was a friend of my Dad's and our travel agent. We were also related through marriage as his brother is married to my dear cousin. Nizar "Nick" Manji died on August 11, 2007. He was one of those adults who was not condescending to kids. He always acknowledged me as a child. This is something children never forget.

When my Dad passed, Nick went out of his way to help us get decently priced tickets back to Ottawa. In those days, there wasn't much competition and a flight to central Canada usually cost around $800. He used some of his personal vouchers so we would not have to pay that much. An unforgettable gesture during a time of horrific grief.

Two years ago, there was a tragic accident on a north shore highway. A logging truck lost its load and a couple of logs went over the median and landed onto a car that was heading in the opposite direction. The driver and passenger, a mother and daughter, were instantly killed. This was Nizar's family. In an instant, they were gone, dying in the most unfathomable way.

Thousands of people came to the funeral. It was a media circus. These deaths shook the Ismaili community and we were out in full force. Understandably, Nick's grief was palpable. However, when I offered him my condolences, he looked at me the same way he did when I was a child. Even in pain, he remembered that kid who used to hang out with her Dad and acknowledged her. That was the last time I saw him alive.

A while back he was diagnosed with cancer. Things happened quickly and now he is gone. His funeral was not the spectacle of his wife and daughter's funeral. It was a simple funeral for a man who lived and then, died.

The Ismaili senator was there. She is friend's with Nick's cousin who seemed to be his primary caregiver. She was minding her grandson. The Senate is on its summer break. She used to be my Mum's lawyer. She has not changed. She looks the same. I had my daughter with me and we talked, mainly about kids. For some reason, she showed me her tattoos. Needless to say, one of them is the maple leaf. It was kind of funny. She seemed uncertain where the lunch would be and asked if she could follow me. Given that I generally don't agree with her politics, I was impressed by her lack of pretense. The tattooed senator was there to support her friend and look after her grandson.

The lunch that followed was an intimate gathering at his apartment complex. We were invited mainly due to our family connection. His brother brought out a couple of albums. One was a scrapbook that Nizar had made to honour his lost daughter. The other was pictures of him with family and friends which seemed to be taken after his diagnosis. These albums, those of us who knew him and were touched by his life are all that remains of his existence. His wife and daughter are gone. An entire family is no more.

I'm not sure what happens after we die. The fantasy is that we reunite with loved ones. While this is a comforting explanation, I just don't know if I can buy it. Mostly, I find comfort in knowing that death means the end of physical and emotional pain and suffering. Nizar no longer has to miss his family and live with the pain of their loss. At long last, I hope that he is at peace.

yet another anniversary blog

So about a year ago, I stopped going to McDonald's. I never thought the day would come. I grew up eating McDonald's. It was the fast food of choice. I remember going there before our major bi-monthly shopping excursions with my Mum and Dad. Mum and I would take the bus to Dad's work and the three of us would go to the golden arches after Dad deposited his pay cheque at the bank. That's how it was done back then. The three of us would eat for less than $10. Mum would never order a full meal for herself, choosing to pick off fries from Dad and me.

Flash forward about 25 plus years. I took my daughter to McDonald's for lunch one day. I ordered one of their chicken salads and found some beef schmutz in it. I complained to a worker who offered to replace it. I asked to speak to a manager. After a long wait, he emerged, quited annoyed that I had bothered him. "It happens, but not a lot," he lamely explained. He was miffed when I asked for a refund. Hope it came out of his pocket! I wrote a strong letter of complaint suggesting that I may notify the local health board or whomever looks into matters of poor food handling. For this, I received an apologetic phone call from some PR hack. I asked her if I would be receiving anything in writing, she informed me that customers much preferred the human contact of a phone call. I was and am curious about how they discerned this fact. Did they ask each complainant at the end of their call if they were satisfied with the response? I can assure you that I was not. My guess is that their crack legal team has advised them never to put anything into writing. It might suggest culpability.

A month later, we decided to try another McDonald's after we were running late for lunch and there was little else around. This time, I was told that I had to buy my daughter a toy with her Happy Meal. Apparently, this piece of plastic is what makes kids happy. I am sure it does the same for stockholders. Again, I asked to speak to the manager, who basically shouted at her staff to inform me that my only other option was to buy a dessert or forfeit the money. She could not be bothered talk to me directly and certainly would not share her name. This time I called the PR woman who had called me previously about my complaint. She was not there, but someone else listened to my wrath and said that the matter would be dealt with swiftly. A few hours later, a very contrite manager from yet another McDonald's called me. He had been mistakenly told that I had had my issue with his restaurant. Regardless, he apologized and offered to send me gift certificates for my next meal. I advised him that I would not be dining there again. He insisted and took my address, etc. I figured I'd pass them along to my Mum. Needless to say that the certificates have yet to manifest. For the first time in more than thirty years, I have not eaten at McDonald's for an entire year.

Is my absence hurting their business? Likely not, although I have heard that their business is down. Simply a coincidence. Perhaps. I'd like to think of it as karma, but of course, that would be bad karma. I would like to say that the void of Rotten Ronnies in my life has been filled with healthy nosh. Not so much. Fast food abounds. We hit White Spot a lot more than we used to and their fast food satellite Triple Os. I saw Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me at some point during the year and am glad that I have cut out McD's from my life. Now, I need to stop with all the other less than healthful food. This will likely happen soon.

On an unrelated note, Merv Griffin died today from prostate cancer. He was 82. I obviously did not know the man. We shared a birthday. I remember watching his show in the afternoons when I was a kid. I think that he and Mike Douglas and even, Dinah Shore are responsible for my love of talk shows. They just don't make them like that anymore. Now, it's all about gimmicks and giveaways, the talk has all gone. RIP Merv!