Guardian of the Lake

In the Photo: Beams support the central stone fireplace currently under construction at Pala Lago in Cultus Lake. For more photos and story see link below or go directly to the Fraser Valley section under the REGIONAL tab above.




FEATURE ARTICLE

PALA LAGO - A NEW UPSCALE RESTAURANT FOR CULTUS LAKE

With new eating places multiplying all over Vancouver like tribbles, you have to wonder why so many prospective restaurateurs would want to fight and claw for breathing space in a city that even two years ago, was already deemed over saturated with high end restaurants for its size and demographics. The question is: How many of these expensively built places can survive?

The situation seems even odder when you also consider the fact that highly populated suburbs outside the city are begging for places that offer better than fast food fare. So the next obvious question is: Why don’t some of these eager new chef/owners look outside the greater Vancouver area where rents are cheaper and there is less competition, etc., etc?

Well, our theory is that the front partners – the earnest, young chefs, the ones everyone likes to talk and speculate about on the chat sites, are not making the decision. It’s the people financing them who do, and a lot of these flashy new restaurants would appear to be coming into existence to facilitate two main purposes. ... CONTINUE READING ...



Filed in REGIONAL/Fraser Valley + RESTAURANTS/Profiles




DINE AND DASH

Again with the Vintropolis.

The last time we brought up the news that Vintropolis might have been sold, it turned out that they were not - this despite confirmation from one reliable source that they had heard this direct from the horse's mouth on one side of the sale table, and also from a second source who claimed to have been told the same thing from the horse's mouth on the other side. Neither horse ever did return our inquires to them directly about it.

So now we hear once again that the Yorkville wine bar has been sold - this time to a purchaser who is not in the wine business, and who has a name that might be Alex Fraser (?). One of the owners of Vintropolis has also been seen packing up boxes of furnishings at the back of the store.

Believe this or not - it's only a rumour at this stage.





THE MEDIA HOUND

The Outside World

Were we not talking about this only a few days ago? Good thing for the Vancouver restaurants industry there is no local food critic with enough influence to immediately close a restaurant with a bad write up. If anything, we think the harsh reviews make the public even more curious to go visit and decide what their own opinion is. This article was spotted by Jane Mundy.

Food Critics Choke on Ruling









CHEESE LOVERS ALERT!

This just in from Joe Chaput at les amis du Fromage

"The Burrata - Never before at les amis, this buffalo milk cheese comes to us from Puglia in Italy. Similar to buffalo mozza, except that the Burrata has a filling of fresh curd and cream from the whey. The texture is creamy and rich, and is one of the best new cheeses I've tasted in a while. Grab some ripe tomatoes, crusty bread and a bottle of your favorite Italian red. Don't leave any leftovers. Price: $29.50 / 500 g Very limited supply"

The also have Robiola - a soft ripened goats cheese only available in the summer months, a related Robiola that is wrapped in cabbage leaves and a fresh chevre with tuffles from France.


Filed in FOOD/Peak of the Season

PLACES:

1) Players Chophouse & Lounge - Restaurant, Yaletown, Vancouver
2) Hamilton Street Grill - Restaurant, Yaletown, Vancouver
3) So.Cial at Le Magasin - Restaurant, Gastown, Vancouver
4) Italian Kitchen - Future Restaurant, Downtown, Vancouver
5) Rocky Mountain Pizza - Restaurant/Pizzeria, Westside , Vancouver

THINGS:

1) Osake on Granville Island
2) Herder wines
3) Lemoncello lemonade
4) Best selling wines for 2006
5) Vij's cookbook

MOST INEXPLICABLE CONNECTION:

Ireland's Pink Lady

NUMBER OF COUNTRIES LOOKING IN: 117