Archive for December, 2006
December 21, 2006 at 8:52 pm · Filed under Notes From The Bar

by Barrett Jones
One of the things I am frequently asked about is fair-trade coffee. Over that last year, there has been a backlash amongst some of the top cafes around North America in regards to fair trade coffee. Why are the people selling the product bucking a system that touts giving farmers a fair living wage for the product that they toil over? They have other options – options that cost more.
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December 20, 2006 at 5:06 pm · Filed under Industry Profiles

photo: Sam Leung
This week, Paul Kamon interviews Chris Whittaker, the executive chef of Robson’s Zin Restaurant and Lounge.
Urban Diner: How and when did you realize that cooking was what you wanted to do?
Chris Whittaker: I was a dishwasher at the age of 14 and always aspired to get out of that soaking wet, smelly pit. It took me a year, and when I was able to get out of there and make hundreds of pound of salads and thousand of sandwiches in garde manger, it was the greatest feeling…I haven’t looked back since.
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December 19, 2006 at 11:37 pm · Filed under Restaurant News

by Tara Lee
There was a time when the giving of a blender signalled a lack of romantic or platonic spark between giver and receiver. However, today, when food and cooking have become almost obsessively trendy, the mere thought of a new mixer can send some people into paroxysms of Christmas joy.
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December 18, 2006 at 8:34 pm · Filed under Notes From The Bar

When Sam Adams and John Hancock first fanned the flames of independence at the Black Horse Inn in Massachusetts, they probably enjoyed a sangaree together. An important component of the United States’ first (and best) national pastime (drinking), the sangaree was composed of Madeira, water, sugar and nutmeg.
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December 18, 2006 at 8:30 pm · Filed under Notes From The Bar

The Brandy Crusta was originally invented in 1852 by Joseph Santina whilst working at the Jewel of the South, on Gravier Street, in New Orleans. This drink is the precursor to first the Sidecar (brandy, Cointreau, lemon, sugar rim) and then, the Margarita (substitute tequila for brandy, lime for lemon, and salt for sugar), and as such, should be revisited at least once in one’s lifetime.
2 oz Brandy
½ oz Cointreau
½ oz maraschino liqueur
1 oz fresh lemon juice
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar. Garnish with spiral of lemon peel.
Cheers,
Jamie Boudreau
Bar Manager
VESSEL
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