First impressions of Mr. Pickwick’s Fish & Chips
2 Comments
Karen Hamilton
April 29, 2008
In an attempt to venture outside of our downtown comfort zone, a friend and I traversed to the opposite end of Granville Street. It’s there that we came across Mr. Pickwick’s Fish & Chips, a tiny food shack offering a spectrum of deep-fried delights.
The first item that screamed out at me were the deep-fried pickles. Crispy on the outside, sour as sin on the inside, yet still retaining that fresh crunch that is the mark of a good pickle. I was thrilled that my friend is anti-pickle. I ate all 5 slices with relish (ha).
We had a really hard time deciding on which combo to order. There was the usual cod and halibut, even wild Pacific salmon for a bit of West Coast flair. Then there were battered oysters, battered prawns, clam strips. All intriguing but a little too adventurous for a first visit. The range of sides were equally enthralling. In the end, we went with cod and halibut with mushy peas and Newfie dressing on the side.
I preferred the oiliness of the cod while my friend liked the drier, flakier halibut. Both of us enjoyed the Newfie dressing, which is essentially like stuffing with a bit of gravy on top. The mushy peas were indeed mushy. It smelled slightly sulfurous; sort of like how an egg does when it’s cooked too quickly. Neither of us had more than a couple tastes of it. Won’t be ordering that side again.
How can one ignore the deep-fried Mars bar on the menu? We were already drooling in anticipation. This dish delivered over and above our expectations (having deep-fried a Mars bar ourselves once upon a time). It was significantly airier in texture and almost delicate in taste, like a chocolate wafer but oozy. Nothing like the denseness of your typical Mars bar. An instant favourite.
As we enjoyed our lunch, we chatted with co-owner Roy Blackwell about having recently become a Green Table member. He was enthusiastic about his plan to eliminate styrofoam use from all of their locations. He even showed us how he had already switched to takeaway containers and cutlery that were all compostable. It was the first I had heard of such biodegradable products. I learned more about compostable dishware at EPIC, which you may have read about in a previous post.
We waddled out of Mr. Pickwick’s Fish & Chips with happy bellies and even happier wallets: under $20 for all that we had sampled. Looking forward to another go. Perhaps we’ll try their downtown location on Denman & Nelson next time around.
Mr. Pickwick’s Fish & Chips
8620 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 266-2340
Categories: Food, Restaurants, South Granville
An expo of EPIC proportions
8 Comments Karen HamiltonApril 25, 2008
EPIC: Ethical. Progressive. Intelligent. Consumer.
I had first heard about EPIC from my pal, Melissa, who happens to run a local blog on sustainability. We decided to take in the sights last Saturday to see what we could learn about living sustainably in Vancouver.
Of course, my focus was on food.
On the Kitchen Stage
Aurora Bistro: Prosciutto-wrapped BC Spot Prawns
Chef Jeff Van Geest of Aurora Bistro put on a highly educational cooking demonstration using BC spot prawns. All the ingredients are sourced locally, particularly the prawns, which until recently have been consumed all around the globe save here. Watch what Chef Van Geest had to say about buying local and enjoying BC spot prawns while they’re in season.
Raincity Grill: Coho Salmon with Watercress and Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Omg omg omg, my favourite restaurant in front of me at EPIC! I tried to hide how starstruck I was while documenting the demo of Chef Peter Robertson, Raincity Grill’s new chef de cuisine. With some prodding from my friends, I got the chance to ask Chef Robertson a few questions after the demo. He let me know about the BC spot prawn tasting menu that will be coming to Raincity Grill on May 4th, to coincide with the BC Spot Prawn Festival kickoff on May 3rd. Dining there sooner than that? Enjoy their 100-mile tasting menu until then.
Green Table: Green Kitchen 101 with André LaRivière
Green Table is a Vancouver-based non-profit that helps its membership of restaurants and foodservice outlets shift to practices that are sustainable and eco-friendly. All the demos on the Kitchen Stage were by Green Table members.
During his talk, Executive Director André LaRivière describes how Green Table helps its members get greener, and provides some tips on how individuals can green up their kitchen at home. Check out his take on water consumption and the benefits of high-efficiency spray valves.
Interesting Exhibitors
The usual suspects in greening up the food industry were in attendance: Green Table, Ocean Wise, Your Local Farmers Market Society. There was also an entire section dedicated to organic, local, and/or fair trade food vendors. Notable appearances included Level Ground Trading, whose fair trade beans are always stocked in our pantry by my coffee-loving husband, and Happy Planet, juicer extraordinaire, who was dishing out samples of their new line of ready-made soups.
Some organizations were new on my radar and provided a wealth of information that I will attempt to summarize below.
BSI Biodegradable Solutions
Take-away plates and cutlery that will biodegrade and are compostable. Finally!
I asked the vendor when these items will be available at retail outlets. Currently, these are only available to you and I at tradeshows, but they hope to come out in stores soon. Take a look at their full range of products on their website.
GE-Free Solutions
Do you know if you are eating genetically-engineered (GE) food? Should you care? Talk to Nigel of GE-Free Solutions to find out.
Photo care of GE-Free Solutions
The disturbing things I learned:
- A substantial percentage of soy products out in the market have been genetically modified.
- Research by UK-based York Laboratory reports a marked increase in soy allergies since the introduction of genetically modified (GM) soy. (This is the most disturbing; I have friends who’ve recently been diagnosed with soy allergies…)
- Eating organic, while generally safe, does not necessarily mean that you are eating food that has not been genetically modified.
- There are currently no labelling standards or certifications in place for consumers to determine whether a product is GE-free.
GE-Free Solutions is the first such certifying body in Canada, and unlike American counterparts The Non-GMO Project and Cert-ID, wishes to shed light on end-consumer products. I’m going to be following Nigel’s UndoGE blog from now on to educate myself on this fascinating topic.
SeaChoice
SeaChoice aims to realize sustainable fisheries across Canada. I spoke with Taina Uitto, SeaChoice Program Coordinator, about how consumers can do their part.
What I learned:
- Check that your copy of Canada’s Seafood Guide is the latest one or you may be eating a fish to avoid! The guide is released once a year as research on each species is updated. Keep in your wallet as a reference at restaurants and vendors when choosing your next seafood purchase.
- The same type of seafood can exist in all three alert groups (green / yellow / red). Some examples are cod, tuna, and crab. Find out where your fish is from and how it was caught or raised. If your restaurant / grocer can’t give you these answers, the very act of asking goes a long way in raising awareness and demand for this kind of information.
- Think twice about eating farmed salmon.
- Raincoast Trading brings you a local alternative to the same ol’ canned tuna you see on shelves. The tuna is caught wild, by hook and line, and is fished from the Pacific Northwest (it even says so on the can).
It’s also damn good!! I made a wonderful tuna and fennel salad and tuna salad crostini from the can I got from the SeaChoice booth. Best I’ve had in a really long time.
At the end of the day…
EPIC opened my eyes to how many people in the Lower Mainland want live and eat sustainably. The surprising thing was that I also learned a lot about myself. Namely, about how much I really do care about getting greener and how it’s not so bad to come out of the food activism closet.
Hope you’ve gotten a fair idea of what to expect at EPIC. If you missed this event this time around, make sure to block out some time for EPIC in 2009!
Categories: Events, Food, Going Green
Herb Spotlight: Cannabis
Leave a Comment Karen HamiltonApril 23, 2008
It’s a little past the date that I should have written this post, but I hope you’ll forgive me.
We have been kicking around the idea of growing our own basil, dill, and parsley in our little apartment in Yaletown, but it’s been 2 years of all talk, no action. Now that I am recently free of the trappings of corporate life, I picked up a few books from the library about container gardening and growing herbs. One such book is Aliza Green’s very informative Field Guide to Herbs & Spices: How to Identify, Select, and Use Virtually Every Seasoning at the Market.
I cannot say it better than Aliza, so below are excerpts from her profile of cannabis, the herb that is cherished for a multitude of reasons here in Vancouver.
Cannabis
Other Names
Bhang (or bang), charas (hashish), or ganga (Hindi); cáñamo índico, grifa, or hachís (Spanish); canapa indiana (Italian); chanvre indien (French); da ma (Chinese); grass; hash or hashish; hasish qinnib (Arabic); hind kinnabi (Turkish); Indian hemp (British); kannabisu (Japanese); kif, qinnib, shâhdânag or sharâneq (Morrocan); maconha (Portuguese); marihuana or marijuana (Mexican); Mary Jane; pot; weed.
General Description
Marijuana is the leaves, buds, and flowers of Cannabis sativa, popularly used as a spice, herb, and mild hallucinogen. Cannabis has a long history of use in religious ceremonies, in traditional customs, for medicinal use, and as a culinary herb. Cannabis is used medically for stimulating the appetite and reducing pain for cancer patients, and for helping those with glaucoma.
There are three types of cannabis used in India. Bhang, a Sanskrit term referring to cannabis from Bengal, is one of the most ancient forms. It is made from the leaves and stems of uncultivated plants blended into a liquid, sometimes served with yogurt and sweet spices. Ganja, more potent than bhang, is made from the resinous tops of cultivated plants. Charas, similar to hashish, is obtained by scraping the resin from the leaves of cultivated plants.
Marijuana is considered an essential herb in Jamaica’s Rastafarian cooking.
Cannabis seeds may be toasted and used as a condiment, ground and brewed as a coffee substitute, made into cakes, or fried.
In Japan, the seeds, called asanomi, are one of the ingredients in the spice mixture shichimi togarashi.
[Tiny Bites Note: We use this all the time at Japanese restaurants and in our kitchen. Who knew??]
Growing Season
This easily grown plant is in season year-round; much of it is grown in hothouses.
Purchase and Avoid
The possession and growing of marijuana for private use are illegal in the United States. Many European countries have either decriminalized cannabis or have stopped enforcing laws against it.
[Tiny Bites Note: There is a push in Canada to decriminalize some forms of marijuana use. Learn more about its legal status in Canada here.]
Food Affinities
Almond, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, dates, ginger, nutmeg, rosewater, sesame, sugar, yogurt.
Recipe Time!
I’m not at all suggesting that you go out and procure some cannabis for consumption. But should you ever be interested in eating it as opposed to its other uses, try these recipes from Aliza’s book on for size.
Buttered Cannabis
Freshly green marijuana leaves may be dipped into melted butter, sprinkled with salt, and eaten.
Moroccan Majoun
Cannabis is mixed with dried fruits, nuts, and spices to make the Moroccan candy called majoun, [which means] “love potion” in Arabic.
- Remove stems and seeds from 1/4 oz of marijuana tops, then dry and crumble the leaves. In a dry skillet, toast the leaves over very low heat until the aromas are released.
- Mix the leaves with 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground anise, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 cup honey, and 1/2 cup water, adding more water if the mixture is too dry and crumbly.
- Simmer together until the mixture is soft and thick. Mash by hand or transfer to a food processor and blend, using several short pulses.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, spoon into a jar, and refrigerate for storage. Spread on crackers for plain cookies, or use as a filling for stuffed cookies. Majoun will keep for 2 to 3 months refrigerated.
Where is this info from again?
From Field Guide to Herbs & Spices copyright © 2006 by Aliza Green.
Reprinted with permission from Quirk Books, www.quirkbooks.com.
It’s a great reference book to the most common culinary herbs and spices. Particularly useful is the centre spread with full-colour photos of each of the items referenced (now I can spot the difference between chervil and flat-leaf parsley).
So there you have it, folks…hope you enjoyed learning more about this often controversial herb.
Categories: Books and Such, Dessert, Food, Food Fun Facts, Recipes
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