The Savvy Boomer

Farmed salmon producers protesteth too much

Here's my first rant of the year:

Which of these would you rather eat?

 

 
Salmon is my favourite fish and my go-to healthy dinner.  For those of us lucky enough to live in the Pacific Northwest and B.C. in particular, we regard eating salmon as part of our culture, so much that I will never order salmon in a restaurant outside of the Pacific Northwest because it would be like someone visiting from Texas ordering barbecue in B.C.  Besides that, the salmon may be Atlantic or as they like to call it to disguise what it really is-"farmed" salmon. Most serious restaurants in the Vancouver area will not serve Atlantic salmon and for good reason.  A lot of farmed salmon is served on sushi, so be sure to always ask first. 

That Atlantic label is deceiving.  I once saw someone about to buy fresh Atlantic salmon in Costco and I said "You realize that's farmed don't you?" They replied that it was cheaper than the other salmon labelled "Pacific wild" and weren't willing to pay extra just because it was caught in the Pacific versus the Atlantic Ocean.  After I set them straight, they bought the real salmon.

There is no way in the world I will ever eat farmed salmon again-I've tried it twice and all I can say is "YECHH!"  I'm not going to go into all the reasons why, but the main ones are how the salmon are raised, what they are fed and their effect on "real" wild salmon.  Most people from B.C. feel the same so the salmon farmers have decided to run a series of strong radio, TV, print and web ads which basically say that anything anyone says negative about farmed salmon is a myth and that those people are pig-headed and ignorant.

Really?  OK even if I were to believe all their propaganda there is one point they never address and that is taste and appearance.  To me, Atlantic (farmed) salmon tastes like salmon flavoured jelly and looks like it was mixed with some other kind of food to make the meat look like a white striped pale orange.  Compare that to the red, robust, perfect taste of a wild sockeye-even one that has been sitting in the freezer for a few months and you'll see what I mean.

The good news for serious salmon lovers like myself is that people who don't know or care about the difference, buy the farmed and leave more of the wild for us.

There are lots of web sites out there that will give you their self interest side of the story (I have no interest in either, other than health, nutrition and taste) but this CTV article gives you an unbiased view.  And every time I see the ad come on comparing how people who think farmed salmon are bad to a drunken teenager blaming the cat for wrecking the house when his parents return home, I become even firmer in my resolve against farmed salmon.  It caused me to write this post and others as well.

 

20 worst drinks in America

The title of this post is a bit misleading because I'm sure that if you overlook the calories/sugar/fat in these drinks, I'll bet they taste great.  They say the drink below is like eating 63 strips of bacon.  I'd rather have the bacon.  You can read the entire list which Starbucks leads the way on at Men's Health.

We don't need no stinkin' corkscrews

It used to be that if you bought a bottle of wine with a screw top, you were a wino.  Now I really don't like buying any wine with a cork.  So what happens if you buy a bottle of wine and find out it has a cork and you don't have a corkscrew handy?  Leave it to the French to solve the problem.  Actually, this could come in handy one day.

Hey restaurant servers-Want a bigger tip?

I would love to find a restaurant that had this list of rules for their staff.  This  is posted on the New York Times website.

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

4. If a table is not ready within a reasonable length of time, offer a free drink and/or amuse-bouche. The guests may be tired and hungry and thirsty, and they did everything right.

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

6. Do not lead the witness with, “Bottled water or just tap?” Both are fine. Remain neutral.

7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.

8. Do not interrupt a conversation. For any reason. Especially not to recite specials. Wait for the right moment.

9. Do not recite the specials too fast or robotically or dramatically. It is not a soliloquy. This is not an audition.

10. Do not inject your personal favorites when explaining the specials.

11. Do not hustle the lobsters. That is, do not say, “We only have two lobsters left.” Even if there are only two lobsters left.

12. Do not touch the rim of a water glass. Or any other glass.

13. Handle wine glasses by their stems and silverware by the handles.

14. When you ask, “How’s everything?” or “How was the meal?” listen to the answer and fix whatever is not right.

15. Never say “I don’t know” to any question without following with, “I’ll find out.”

16. If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, bring a side dish of same. No pouring. Let them help themselves.

17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait. 

18. Know before approaching a table who has ordered what. Do not ask, “Who’s having the shrimp?”

19. Offer guests butter and/or olive oil with their bread.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

21. Never serve anything that looks creepy or runny or wrong.

22. If someone is unsure about a wine choice, help him. That might mean sending someone else to the table or offering a taste or two.

23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.

24. Never use the same glass for a second drink.

25. Make sure the glasses are clean. Inspect them before placing them on the table.

26. Never assume people want their white wine in an ice bucket. Inquire.

27. For red wine, ask if the guests want to pour their own or prefer the waiter to pour.

28. Do not put your hands all over the spout of a wine bottle while removing the cork.

29. Do not pop a champagne cork. Remove it quietly, gracefully. The less noise the better.

30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.

31. Never remove a plate full of food without asking what went wrong. Obviously, something went wrong.

32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.

33. Do not bang into chairs or tables when passing by.

34. Do not have a personal conversation with another server within earshot of customers.

35. Do not eat or drink in plain view of guests.

36. Never reek from perfume or cigarettes. People want to smell the food and beverage.

37. Do not drink alcohol on the job, even if invited by the guests. “Not when I’m on duty” will suffice.

38.Do not call a guy a “dude.”

39. Do not call a woman “lady.”

40. Never say, “Good choice,” implying that other choices are bad.

41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.     

42. Do not compliment a guest’s attire or hairdo or makeup. You are insulting someone else.

43. Never mention what your favorite dessert is. It’s irrelevant.

44. Do not discuss your own eating habits, be you vegan or lactose intolerant or diabetic.

45. Do not curse, no matter how young or hip the guests.

46. Never acknowledge any one guest over and above any other. All guests are equal.

47. Do not gossip about co-workers or guests within earshot of guests.

48. Do not ask what someone is eating or drinking when they ask for more; remember or consult the order.

49. Never mention the tip, unless asked.

50. Do not turn on the charm when it’s tip time. Be consistent throughout.

A Vancouver area winery with an outstanding restaurant

Although I am a big supporter of British Columbia, I have never really been on board with the BC wine industry.  The reason is simple; BC wines, while reasonably good are also reasonably expensive.  I find much better values in our local liquor stores in wines imported from France, Argentina, Chile, Australia and the USA in particular.   I like a lot of BC wines I have tasted but refuse to pay $20-$30 a bottle when I can buy as good or better tasting imported wine for $12-$20 a bottle. 

However, I do enjoy the restaurants found in some B.C. wineries.  If you are in the Okanagan, be sure to try the restaurants at Lake Breeze, Burrowing Owl and Gray Monk.  If you are in the Vancouver area, there is a restaurant in the Langley winery called Domaine de Chaberton.

We recently enjoyed a lunch there that rivalled any top quality restaurant I have eaten in for some time.  We started with mussels in a sauce that had us wondering if we had ever had any mussels this scrumptious before.  Superb does not adequately define them.  Our main courses of a curry roast lamb and a roasted double rack pork chop were not only outstanding, but were so large in quantity that we took home the dreaded doggy bags and had more than enough for dinner that night.  I can't even imagine how large the dinner portions must be.  A word of warning is that every entree seems to be served in the French style of a lot of rich sauce (guess that's because the winery has a French name) and while they taste wonderful, if you aren't a sauce person, you need to ask if they can cut it back.

Of course we also had a couple glasses of their wine which was very good but I'm sticking to my guns about BC wines being over priced.  I guess I didn't mind too much though since the food was great.  Our server, Beverly, was very professional and attentive and while the restaurant ambience is wannabe outdoorsy French, it doesn't quite succeed but is certainly adequate-and did I mention-the food was incredible and given the quantity, the prices are quite reasonable.

OK OK, I'm not much of a food critic writer, but this restaurant gets a 9 out of 10 from us and if they ever understand that their wine is overpriced by about 30% compared to their foreign competitors, they will get a 10.

That Cappuccino may help your memory

It's nice to see a study about that finds something good about coffee.  BBC reports that a University of Florida study showed that drinking 5 cups a day could reverse memory problems found in Alzheimer patients.  The test was done on mice but anything that says coffee is good is fine by me.

In case you were wondering about what's in all those posh coffees that you order, below is a chart from Lokesh Dakar that will help you figure out a few of the more popular ones.

Another Reason for Canadians to avoid Starbucks

I stopped patronizing them a couple of years ago but continue to be amazed at how they keep shooting themselves in the foot.  Now, they are dumping their local suppliers of muffins to buy from a central base in Toronto and then freeze them and send them across Canada.  Yeah, I can't wait to pay a couple of bucks for a frozen muffin.  Time for their execs to take their heads out of the place the sun don't shine.  Another dumb decision-what's next?  Nescafe?

Time to change this line on the Starbucks Canadian website:

"At Starbucks we source the finest and freshest ingredients and use them to bring you delicious foods that complement our range of coffee. We pride ourselves on quality and always strive to source our ingredients locally."

Maybe they could replace it with a pic something like the one below instead of this line of BS:

“As part of our continuing efforts to streamline our business, we are in the process of consolidating our baked goods suppliers in Canada. Although we are unable to share specifics about this change, we will be discontinuing relationships with a number of suppliers. We value the relationships and appreciate the partnership we have had with the suppliers who may be impacted by this decision.”

Free Starbucks coffee on Wed April 22nd

I found this on the Canadian Starbucks site but it says at the bottom of the page  it is being limited to Canada, but you never know if some US stores might honour it.   Print it off and take it in to a Starbucks with your travel mug, tell them you're a Canuck (be sure to say "eh" somewhere in the sentence -like the word hay without the h and make it sound like a question- eg. "I'd like a free coffee eh?")  and see if they pour you a free cup.  But since they plan on closing 600 stores this year-probably not.

Meanwhile, MacDonalds Canada is giving away small coffees for 2 weeks, no strings attached.  Hey, for once Canucks get freebies not offered in the U.S.  What next?  A competitive cell phone market like they have in the U.S.?  NAHHHHHHHHH