Everyone has a just-off-the-radar-restaurant. You know, one of those places you hear so much about that you’ve been meaning to try out but never get around to despite the fact that its practically within walking distance of your house. Well, Bishops is MY just-off-the-radar restaurant, a multi-award-winning Vancouver establishment that I’ve wanted to try for years. And last night, in celebration of our wedding anniversary, Fondy and I finally did.
Unlike a lot of the hot new restaurants in the neighborhood, Bishop’s clientele is middle-aged and professional and given the way many of them were received on the night we visited, it was pretty clear that they were repeat customers. Always a good sign. We were greeted at the door by owner John Bishop, then escorted over to our table where we were presented with our menus and a plate of fresh breads. Now I’m usually not a bread guy, preferring to save my appetite for more exotic fare, but not even I could resist the homemade soda bread. Our waiter happily noted how much we’d enjoyed it, cleared away our plate, then returned seconds later with a second round of the soda bread.
Bishops prides itself on making use of fresh, local ingredients, changing its menu weekly and offering nightly additions to the list of regular selections. On the night we went, we went with the fresh sheet and enjoyed wonderful morel mushrooms sautéed in cream, and sweet prawn in vermouth and green onions. For her main course, Fondy went with the duck – tender yet crispy-skinned served with candied yams and a roasted apple emulsion, a dish she loved so much that she informed me right there and then we’d be back for a return visit. I had a lamb four ways that included a somewhat tough little chop but a spectacular lamb meatball. For dessert, Fondy had a pear and pistachio bread pudding which I found somewhat bland but she enjoyed – although she didn’t enjoy quite as much as my dessert, a delightfully sweet frozen maple syrup bombe with salted pecans. And, just for the hell of it, I ordered a third dessert for the table: a chocolate brioche with chocolate sorbet.
Service was outstanding – professional yet warm and friendly.
If you’re planning to visit Vancouver anytime in the near future and want to try one of the city’s best, I highly recommend Bishops.
Speaking of food – I just got off the phone with my sister who returned from her Miami vacation yesterday, chock full o’ stories and pics of the spectacular meals she enjoyed while on vacation. Truffled polenta with poached egg and crispy bacon. Fall-off-the-bone short ribs with creamy mashed potatoes. Braised pork jowls with Jason’s barbecue sauce and fava beans. Crispy sweetbread. I really think she should start her own blog.
I was in editing all day today, trying to shave some eight and half minutes off of the Reunion director’s cut. It took me a good part of the day to get through the first three acts, then an hour to step back out of the catacombs and have my eyes readjust to the sunlight.
Today’s pics: our dinner at Bishops, M&M’s from the Weir supporters, a snap of Torri’s dog Sedge (Torri was feeling camera shy), and my nefarious alter-ego drops by for his fitting (I’m referring to the character Baal of course and not the actor Cliff Simon who, admittedly, is pretty nefarious himself).
The return of the mailbag –
Neep writes: “I have realised that Don lied. He lied to me and my friend. How very dare he! Now that I think about it, he might not have actually lied about not returning for the films… He said, “Generals don’t just keep popping back from retirement you know. It just doesn’t happen.”
Answer: It’s funny you should say this because when I was talking to Don on his first day here, he told me to apologize to the fans for telling them exactly that.
Plastschu writes: “ Will the deleted scenes be in the episodes or we can watch them only separated? We heard from Michael Shanks that 22 minutes were cut out from the Bad Guys. How many minutes are cut out by an avarage episode? 4-5 minuteS?”
Answers: The deleted scenes will be separate from the actual episode. As for how much time is cut out of an average episode – that really depends on the episode. Some are long while others actually come in short.
Alipeeps writes: “Can you tell us where in the airing order this episode will fall?”
Answers: As things stand, the airing order will be – Adrift, Lifeline, Reunion, Doppelganger, Travelers, Tabula Rasa, Missing, The Seer, Miller’s Crossing, This Mortal Coil.
Anonymous #1 writes: “Someone who was at a recent con said that Torri’s been in five of the first ten episodes, not four. Is that correct??”
Answer: That is incorrect.
Anonymous #1 also writes: “Is there a chance for her to be in more in the second half of the season?”
Answer: It’s possible.
M writes: “When do you all (ie cast and crew) take your summer break from filming?”
Answer: It looks like we’ll be off for a couple of weeks in early July, then taking a long weekend so that we can all head down to Comicon.
Silver writes: “What do you feed your dogs?”
Answer: They eat dog food – and the occasional McDonalds French fry. I’m sorry to hear about your dog.
Kristine writes: “Do you hide Jason Momoa’s tatoo on the show? What are the rules about that? Did he have to ask you before getting the tatoo or did he just do it?”
Answer: Jason’s new tattoo came as a bit of a surprise and we ended up writing it into Reunion. In general, the actors don’t have to ask us permission when making personal decisions, the only exception of course being who they date and/or marry. In the event they are looking for love, they will advise us well beforehand, giving the producers time to put together a list of appropriate candidates based on show business bakcground, compatibility, and value to the show.
Bugguy writes: “I just had foie gras for the first time last night Joe. Unbelievable. It is soooooo good. What is the favorite way you like it prepared.”
Answer: I prefer it panfried with a port and apple reduction. I did cook up a foie gras meal last year for Marty G., David and Jane and made a terrific foie-gras stuffed rigatoni with black truffle cream. Martin referred to it as “meat candy”.
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