OK, I admit I dropped the ball on this one. Right now, I am in the US on a business trip and will be flying back to Vancouver tonight. Usually I post-process and prepare the pictures for following week’s posts on the weekend and, depending on how busy I am, the posts are written during the weekend or Monday (Tuesday at the latest). However, due to other reasons, I did not manage to do everything before my trip. As a result, I did not have the pictures prepared for today. Ouch… However, this gives me an opportunity to ask readers for opinions on a topic that I have been scratching my head…
From the category archives:
Comments
On Wednesday post, I made a side comment about gratuity charges. While I am sure we can go on and on about how much ought to be paid in tips (called either gratuity charge or tip or service fee, etc. etc. etc.), instead, I would like to hear/read about what are your thoughts about the practice of “gratuity charges” and tipping. And, just in case, I live in Vancouver, BC, Canada and some details I will mention are specific to where I live (unless otherwise specified). I am sure some places will have different laws/regulations, hence it might not be applicable to everybody. If it does not, and were to add a comment, I will appreciate if you could include your location for reference purposes!
Lime Japanese Cuisine
1130 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Feel free to call it alignment of the stars of just because an atom happened to be in a place at the exact time: This post had to do with two very strange topics: perception of sushi and omakase. The first topic is related to a post written by Foodosophy team regarding sushi – you can find it here. It is a really worthwhile read; it might even change your thoughts about sushi. Go ahead, this post will still be here… The second topic is that of omakase, a concept not that different of a tasting menu; here, you “entrust” to the chef to prepare a meal for you. So what Lime Japanese Cuisine has to do with both? It just happened that due to the comments regarding Lime, I was ready to dismiss it but, based on Foodosophy’s team, I was encouraged to give it a second chance. I went there one late night for regular sushi or for soba; however, when I arrived, I noticed they made mention of their omakase menu, at a base price of $35. It was a leap of faith but I knew I had to do it…
I am sure that, for a food bloogers, aside from their personal, to watch movie list, the movie to watch is Julie & Julia, a story of Julia Child and Julie Powell who, according to Wikipedia, began the Julie/Julia Project, a Web log chronicling her attempt to cook all the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which the movie is based upon. Now, I don’t have anything against the movie, I am sure a lot of people will go to watch it (whether I will be going to is still on debate). Personally, I like more action and comedy type movies; if I want to watch drama, I just tune to one of the US news channels… Instead, my food related movie to watch this movie season (*) is Food, Inc., a documentary about the food industry in the US. Here are my thoughts.
(*) – Technically, it was released in Canada mid/late last year; however, it generated so little buzz that I didn’t even realised it was shown… 
First “problem” I ran into was finding a movie theatre that will be showing it. And, out of the dozen or so in Metro Vancouver, only one was playing it. And it was not Tinseltown 12 in the International Village (near Stadium Skytrain station), which usually shows independent movies. Instead, it was a Fifth Avenue Cinema, a small theatre near Kitsilano. How small? I think there were about 200 seats at most. And it was packed full in the 7:30 p.m. showing I went to! (Good thing I took transit this time, as it forced myself to leave early). Of course, I won’t expect it to compete against any blockbuster. However, at least, I would have expected some level of attention similar to Fahrenheit 9/11 or An Inconvenient Truth. But, alas…
Now, to the movie itself: It is about the food industry in the US and, while it is not directly about Canada, to a certain extent, it “hits” us too when you consider that a lot of food found here are US grown/manufactured. Go to the supermarket and you will see the same brands as the US, even if they are local brands, a lot of the ingredients are the same and, finally, despite a lot of produce are grown locally, we import a lot from the US. For example, without realizing it, I grabbed a clamshell of strawberries from a local supermarket and, when I came home, I noticed it was grown in the US. I was slightly confused at this, specially considering that a couple of weeks ago, there were reports that some of the local crops were starting to rot because “nobody is willing to take them in (on that note, after that report, I purchased 1 Kg of local grown strawberries and, while not as pretty looking as the one in the clamshell, they tasted way better).
So, what about the food industry itself? When I was growing up, one of those “funny” jokes was related to laws and sausages: if you like them, don’t try to find out who they are made. In this case, how some of the food we consume ended up in our plate. In the effort for “cheaper” and “standardised” (for example, fast food/chains), how corporations grow it. OK, let me rephrase that: it is not longer about “growing food” rather, as the movie points out, it is now about “manufacturing food” and taking control of the food chain. On that point, one of the most disgusting topics mentioned was that of Monsanto being able to patent genes of some grains (in the movie, soy was mentioned; in Canada, a ruling about canola) and, if another field that does not use their seeds end up having some of the genes (natural cross-pollination, for example), Monsanto can sue the farmer. And, due to the high cost of litigation (“whoever has the more $$$ “wins”), the farmers would usually settle out of court rather than fight.
And then there is food accessibility: how it is possible that unhealthy food tends to be cheaper, more accessible, than fresh ingredients to be able to cook a meal? Again, in the movie, it describes a family who are always on the run (due to the different jobs to make ends meet), to the point they don’t even cook. Instead, they just go to a nearby fast food for “cheap” food. But it has taken its toll: one of the members of the family has diabetes and the cost of drugs takes a huge chunk of the family income (which, oddly, creates a vicious circle).
I could go on and on but rather than doing that, I think it is better for you to watch that movie. Caveat Emptor, some of the scenes are not for the faint of heart. Likewise, the movie is one-sided, as the major food growers, errrr…., manufacturers declined requests for interviews for the movie. But, regardless, it would be a good idea to watch the movie to have a better understanding on how things end up in our plate. It will not be pretty (think shock therapy) and entertainment value might be nil for most but, as with most documentary, it is not about entertainment…
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Although I have posts in the queue, instead, I will be taking the day off today, as it is Canada Day! It has been over 7 years since I moved to Canada and a couple of years since I have became a Canadian citizen. While I am proud to be Canadian, there are some “dark” sides about living in Canada (or at least in Vancouver), like not being able to find a restaurant open after 10:00 p.m., no decent food street vendors and Celine Dion (sorry about that!). And, to “close” this quick random post, please, check the clip below. As for me, I will see if I can find somebody who will be selling poutine with maple syrup and Nanaimo Bar for dessert… ^_^;;;
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Wally’s Burgers
Concession stand in Cates Park
North Vancouver, BC
Last year, Wally’s Burger, an iconic restaurant in Kingsway closed its doors. In the same vein as Save-on-Meats burger shop, it had some neon signs and, while I did not go until a couple of days before it closed, it had its share of faithful customers. After all, it was cheap, it was tasty, it was a place where you could gather with other people. As per this article, the rights to the name and trademark were purchased and, its location in Cates Park in North Vancouver, most likely be the first among many future Wally’s. While any future locations might (or might not) open, the question was rather, does it live to expectations? Only one way to find out… Go and have a burger!
Cooking Shows
by KimHo on October 18, 2009 · 5 comments under: Comments,Food,Random
Note: Today, I have two post! This is the first one of two – the “other” one is a photo essay called “Colours of Fall 2009“.
I am not sure if I watch more TV than I should. While I don’t mind if I miss a show or two (don’t have a PVR), I can easily spend over an hour a day in front of it. A lot of times, I just leave it on mostly for background noise. I am sure a radio can do the same but, once in a while, I do need the visual stimulus. Among the shows I like to watch are on the lines of comedy like CityTV The List and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or Canadian news. Sometimes, reality TV like The Amazing Race but never drama – if I want to watch drama, I just watch the American news. Do I watch food related shows? I will admit that I do but at the same time I have started to dislike one particular category: competition… Iron Chef America (not the original Japanese version, though), Top Chef, Chopped, different Food Network competitions, et al. You name it, 99% likelihood there is something I hate about it…
Read more…!
Tagged as: Random