Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place

On my last trip to Vancouver to visit my dad (and do a story for lowfares.com), I was lucky enough to get to visit the Five Sails restaurant located in the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place.   The restaurant is owned by husband and wife team Chef Ernst Dorfler and Gerry Sayers.  Five Sails restaurant diners enjoy panoramic harbor and mountain views as well as seafood focused delicacies on the AAA Five Diamond menu.   Highlights of the fresh Northwest/Asian fusion cuisine include soy glazed sablefish, rack of lamb and roasted breast of duck.

View from outside of Pan Pacific Hotel

My friend, and my dad’s wife, Lynda joined me for a really good tasting menu from owner and Chef Ernst Dorfler.  Here’s what we had.

Trio of foie gras

We started with a lovely trio of foie gras.  I loved this as I can’t get enough foie gras.  This is labeled “Foie Gras – Yin and Yang” on the menu and it is spectacular.

Foie gras number 1

This version was traditional, with a nice petal and gold leaf topping.

Foie gras number 2

Equally good was the middle selection on the plate, plated with fruit compote and toasted brioche.  Yum.

Foie gras number 3

Our third version was a pan seared foie gras with caramelized mango and a port wine reduction.  I could eat this all day.  If you like foie gras, this is the dish to order. This was served with a Armajan des Ormes 2003 Sauternes from France.  A terrific pairing.

Duo of scallops

Next came a delicious duo of fresh big juicy scallops, glazed with mirin, capers, lemon and shallots.  They sat on a celeriac mousseline scented with vanilla bean and a carrot reduction.  This was expertly paired with a Laurenz V. Singing Gruner Veltliner, 2007, Niederosterreich from Australia.

View from our table

I have to mention something about the view.  Five Sails looks over the harbor, Stanley Park and the Vancouver coastal mountains.  This, as well as the exceptional food, is a huge draw and a great choice for a first date, celebration, or just as an excuse to get out and enjoy a great meal with beautiful surroundings.  When we went in early June it was typical dreary Vancouver weather but if you can dine here in mid summer around sunset it is truly spectacular.  Okay, enough about the view and back to the food.

Austrian ravioli

One of the signature dishes at Five Sails is the homemade Austrian style mountain ravioli, which we were lucky enough to get to try.  It is filled with spinach, herbs and ricotta cheese and served with hazelnut brown butter.  It was paired with a Matua Shingle Peak Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, from Marlborough New Zealand.

Lamb

Our last course before dessert was this yummy lamb, cooked perfectly, served with a fresh mint aioli, honey glazed artichokes and vegetables, and crispy yam wafers.  We really loved this dish.  It was paired with a glass of Therapy Merlot, 2008 from Naramata Canada.

Valrhona chocolate opera slice

Our dessert was a chocolate delight, a valrhona chocolate opera slice with caramel ice cream.

Opera slice

It was served with a lovely Inniskillin Riesling 2006 Ice Wine, very popular in Canada, from Oliver.

Lynda and me at Five Sails

We loved both the view and the food.  I highly recommend making a stop at Five Sails if you happen to visit Vancouver.  It’s a short walk from gastown, located on the R level at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place. Reservations are recommended, 604/844-2855.

Chef Ernst Dorfler and Gerry Sayers, owners of Five Sails Restaurant, Vancouver

On my last trip to Vancouver, I visited the Five Sails restaurant at the top of the Pan Pacific Hotel.  The restaurant has amazing views and equally amazing food, which I got to sample in a fabulous tasting menu.   I also got to sit down with owner and Chef Ernst Dorfler to talk a bit about his food.  Our interview is below.

Chef Ernst Dorflers’ diverse career began when he left his home in Sirnitz, Austria at the age of fifteen to become an apprentice at the Four Star Trattlerhof Hotel in Bad Kleinkirchheim. Armed with formal French and Swiss training Ernst left to see the world, enriching his cultural and gastronomic experience in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada.

Dorfler’s Canadian culinary adventures have taken him from the East to the West Coast. He commenced his Canadian “tour” at the Quebec Hilton in Quebec City, followed by the Westin Hotel, Waldens Restaurant and the Four Seasons Hotel in Edmonton and eventually bringing him to Vancouver in 1988 as Executive Chef of the Five Diamond, Pan Pacific Hotel.

From 1981 to 1992 Ernst competed in the culinary arts locally, nationally and internationally achieving over 30 gold medals. He has been proud to represent Canada at seven international culinary events and was a member of the acclaimed Canadian Culinary Olympic Championship Team in 1992, achieving the highest honor of gold medal for best overall team/country at the World Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany.

Chef Dorfler has continued to win praise and accolades from Vancouverites and visitors to the Five Sails Restaurant and the Pan Pacific Vancouver – both of which have been consistently recognized with the AAA Five Diamond designation since 1990.

Encore's Beach Club

The hottest parties in Las Vegas aren’t at the nightclubs.  They’re now by the pools.   Anyone deprived of spring break shenanigans in college can make up for lost time at any of Vegas’ latest indulgence – the ultra pool.   Many resorts have recently added opulent swimming areas each with a distinct personality catering to an adult crowd.  Here is a round up of the latest splashiest scene.

Encore Beach Club

At 60,000 square feet, Steve Wynn’s new Encore Beach Club is larger than the combined square footage of XS Nightclub (40,000), Tryst (10,000) and Blush (4,000) at the Wynn properties.  The venue features three tiered pools, daybeds and 26 cabanas with refrigerators and flat screen TVs.   Eight luxurious bungalows include balconies overlooking the Las Vegas strip, each with a private bathroom, shower and Jacuzzi.

Guests can also play blackjack at air-conditioned poolside open-air tables.  Encore Beach Club is the first pool venue to offer sunbathers air conditioning outside.

Encore's Beach Club

City Center

Whether guests choose to soak up the scene at the newest pools, go all in at waterside casinos or dare to be bare at an adults-only retreat, the resorts at City Center are the place to dive into summer fun.

Aria Resort pool

ARIA Resort and Casino houses three distinctive pools and hot tubs.  Lavish cabanas include 42” LCD televisions, iPod docks and WiFi Internet access.  The Liquid Pool Lounge offer an adults-only experience with a state-of-the-art sound system and world class DJ’s.  Liquid’s 1,200 main pool is surrounded by 85 chaise lounges and 35 daybeds, while two separate private pools boasts uber-VIP private cabanas.

The Vdara  Hotel and Spa 40,000 square foot features phenomenal views of City Center, chaise lounges, plush daybeds and cabanas.   Massages, made-to-order cocktails and gourmet tapas can be ordered poolside.

Mandarin Oriental Pool at City Center

Mandarin Oriental’s stylish 8^th floor pool deck houses two lap pools, a plunge pool, Jacuzzis and pool butlers that provide guests with towels, ice, drinks and snacks.   Poolside cabanas offer fresh fruit, sun care amenities and flat screen televisions.  The Pool Café offers Asian inspired dishes as well as salads and light snacks.

Fortuna pool at Caesars

Caesars Palace Garden of the Gods

Caesars Palace’s new five acre Garden of the Gods pool oasis features eight swimming pools, an 18-foot waterfall and swim-up blackjack tables.   Forty-four new private cabanas include flat screen televisions, DVD players, iPod docking station, wireless Internet access and plush furniture.  Caesars Palace Spa offers a variety of pampering services poolside including sun tan lotion application, massages and body scrubs.  The Garden of the Gods pools are situated on three levels at the heart of the resort and allow guests to find their own pool experience, from those looking to socialize and connect at the stylish new Fortuna Bar to those who want to enjoy a relaxing quiet massage at the Jupiter pool area or partygoers who want to swim to the latest sounds by resident and guest DJ’s at the Venus Pool Club.

Caesar's Palace pool area

Hard Rock HRH Beach Club

The new HRH Beach Club at the Hard Rock Hotel nearly doubles the pool vicinity to house five acres.  Featuring an expansive pool area, sandy beach, 17 daybeds, 24 luxury cabanas, eight spa villas, swim-up blackjack and a gaming lounge.   The spa offers manicures, pedicures and poolside services including deep tissue, Swedish and reflexology massages.  The gaming area includes seven blackjack tables, a roulette wheel and one ice game.   For those who want to play their favorite casino games such as video poker and slots in the comfort of a cabana, mobile gaming is also available.

Sage at ARIA is one of the many restaurants participating in restaurant week

Las Vegas Restaurant Week kicks off at the end of this month, offering diners a unique opportunity to enjoy tastes of The Strip’s most popular establishments while raising money to feed the hungry.  The event, featuring specially priced dinner menus at more than 50 participating restaurants, is August 30 – September 5.  A selection of MGM Resorts International’s finest restaurants, as well as other Sin City  restaurants  will offer prix fixe menus at $20.10, $30.10 and $50.10 with a portion benefiting Three Square, a non-profit organization in Las Vegas working to end hunger in Southern Nevada.

The kick-off event will take place Monday, August 30 from 8 p.m. to midnight at WET REPUBLIC with booths and food stations from restaurants including Jean Georges Steakhouse, Shawn McClain’s Sage and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon.  Celebrity chef Hubert Keller will showcase his musical talents, spinning the hottest hits as special guest DJ during the party.  Tickets to the event are $30.10 and can be used as a dining voucher to any participating MGM Grand restaurant during Restaurant Week.

MGM Grand

The MGM Grand resort in Las Vegas is looking for the lamest person in America to turn their mediocre existence into the vacation of a lifetime by competing in the resort’s Get A Life Giveaway.  The resort’s newest promotion offers contestants the opportunity to submit a campaign video for a chance to win a “Maximum Vegas” weekend at MGM Grand.

To enter, contestants create a video of their not-so-exciting life, upload it to YouTube and submit their entry to the giveaway website by August 30 at 11:59 p.m.  From August 31 to September 9, visitors to the contest website can vote for their favorite video.  The five videos that receive the most votes along with an additional five videos selected by MGM Grand will move onto a final round in which a team of judges will select the Grand Prize winner.

MGM Grand L'Atelier Dining Room

The Grand Prize winner not only will have his or her life dubbed the lamest, but also will reap the benefits by enjoying an all-expenses-paid weekend stay at MGM Grand including luxurious suite accommodations for the winner and three guests, gourmet dinners, a pool cabana at WET REPUBLIC, complimentary nightclub admission and bottle service at Tabú and Studio 54, tickets to KÁ™ by Cirque du Soleil®, a helicopter tour of The Strip and much more.  Now that’s a pretty sweet prize.  Go to http://getalifegiveaway.com for more info.

TASTE OF BEVERLY HILLS, PRESENTED BY FOOD & WINE, “TWEET TO EAT” CONTEST STARTS ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, OFFERING FOOD FANS A CHANCE TO WIN TWO WEEKEND PASSES TO THE LABOR DAY FESTIVAL

Follow the “Taste of Beverly Hills” Food & Wine Festival on Twitter (@TasteofBH) August 1-15 for daily culinary clues about participating chefs and  the first fan to correctly guess each of the 15 chefs (answers accepted via e-mail after 4 p.m. August 16) will receive two weekend passes to the event, a $1,000 value.

“Taste of Beverly Hills,” presented by Food & Wine, is a four-day food, wine, and music extravaganza, taking place behind the Beverly Hilton Hotel September 2-5, 2010. This event will showcase over 50 chefs and restaurants from throughout Los Angeles, and the country, as well as cooking demonstrations, LG Electronics’ “Taste of Something Better” live culinary competition, wine seminars from top vintners, and more.

In anticipation of the upcoming festival, the Taste of Beverly Hills and FOOD & WINE invite devoted food fans to get to know the celebrated chefs who will make up the culinary lineup through a daily Twitter contest, held August 1-15, culminating in the chance to win the grand prize of two complimentary weekend passes (a $1000 value). In addition to the grand prize, opportunities to win other festival related perks will be announced throughout the contest, via the @TasteofBH Twitter feed.

Beginning August 1 and continuing through August 15, the Taste of Beverly Hills Twitter account will post a daily “Culinary Clue” about a participating chef (Twitter hash tag: #CCTOBH). The first fan to send an e-mail to TweetToEat@TheTasteofBeverlyHills.com after 4 p.m. on Monday, August 16, with all 15 correct chef names will receive two complimentary weekend passes. Weekend passes grant access to all Taste of Beverly Hills sessions, exclusive of the Thursday, September 2 “90210 City of Beverly Hills Celebration,” which is an individually ticketed event. Additional opportunities to win festival prizes will be announced, via Twitter, throughout the contest.

Visit www.thetasteofbeverlyhills.com The Taste of Beverly Hills for a full schedule of events.

Davidji is an internationally recognized meditation teacher, life guide, and public speaker. He travels the world sharing timeless wisdom on stress management, deeper life fulfillment, emotional healing, balancing business and wellness, getting unstuck, and taking your life to the next level. He is the author of several books, hundreds of articles, and is the subject of many videos.
Since 2003, davidji has lived and worked at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, CA which he refers to as “the sweet spot of the universe.” Having apprenticed under Deepak Chopra and David Simon for seven years, he is the Chopra Center’s lead meditation teacher and ayurveda instructor teaching thousands each month throughout the world to tap into the stillness and silence that rests within.

Davidji

The Chopra Center serves as headquarters of alternative medicine gurus Deepak Chopra and David Simon.  It houses a multitude of classes, daily meditation and yoga, seminars, workshops and treatments based on the principles of Ayurveda, an ancient healing system of India.   The Center combines mind and body techniques with natural spa treatments, including Oshadi, a herbal wrap to eliminate toxins; Pizichilli, a rhythmic therapy massage to enhance circulation; and Abhyanga, a two-therapist massage to enhance the immune system.

I sat down with Davidji, aka David Greenspan, for a chat at the Chopra Center at La Costa in Carlsbad about the center, how he came to teach there, and the mind/body connection.  Throughout our conversation a variety of people walked by and all of them had to stop to chat with David.  He greeted each person with a huge hug and every friend thanked him before leaving.  I also felt better after I talked with him than before our conversation, which I think is part of the reason he is one of the main reasons to visit the center.  He gave me a CD of his meditations and after a week I’ve reduced a good deal of stress following the CD.  You can purchase his meditation CD, DavidJi Guided Meditations, at his website, www.davidji.com.

Switch Las Vegas

Wynn’s in-house designer Roger Thomas was inspired by Switch’s location beside the atrium to create an environment unlike any other in Las Vegas, equal parts restaurant and theater. While guests dine, the restaurant frequently “switches” its physical appearance, transforming the space with changes in design such as disappearing walls that open to reveal a chandelier.

Switch inside

The vibrant, stylish decor includes walls covered in brilliant orange crocodile fabric and a cerused-oak floor partly hidden by a hand-tufted custom designed chocolate brown carpet that is splashed with vivid colors. Fabrics made from hemp and Venetian glass murals of large sunflowers add a lively touch to the scene. An alcove located in front of the wine cellar features floor-to-ceiling wine displays and an elevated chef’s table that can be used for private parties or wine tastings.

Chef Rene Lenger recently prepared a tasting menu for me when I visited the restaurant.

Grilled Octopus

I started with an appetizer of grilled octopus.

Asparagus and mushroom risotto

Next came a nice asparagus and mushroom risotto.

scallop, peas and corn

I also sampled a nice grilled scallop, pea puree, fresh peas, and corn.

filet with truffles

My main course was the filet mignon with shaved truffles and a wine reduction sauce.  Delicious.

It came with a creamy side of mac n cheese.

mac n cheese

For dessert, I got some cute donuts with raspberry and mango sauce  and ice cream cones with sorbet.

cute donuts

ice cream cones

My favorite was the mango gelato.

mango gelato

Switch is located at 3131 Las Vegas Boulevard.  Reservations are recommended at 702/770-5340.

René Lenger is the executive chef of Switch at Encore, the new signature resort in the  Wynn collection, where he serves modern seafood and steakhouse fare with an  emphasis on the finest market ingredients. Lenger joined Wynn Resorts in 2005 as  executive chef of The Country Club, A New American Steakhouse.

“At Switch, I hope to provide my guests with a truly unique dining experience,” says  Lenger. “The seasonally-inspired cuisine combined with the restaurant’s theatrics offers  an event that’s in a class of its own. There’s nothing like Switch in Las Vegas.”

Previously, Lenger spent seven years working alongside David Walzog, (former  executive chef of The Country Club, now executive chef of SW Steakhouse, also at  Wynn Las Vegas) at Strip House, Michael Jordan’s and Monkey Bar, where they were  both key members of the Glazier Group, a prominent restaurant company based in New
York.   Born in Vienna, Austria, Lenger grew up in a home where food played a major role. The  chef’s father was a professor at the esteemed Culinary Institute of Vienna and taught  Lenger at an early age how to make Austrian specialties such as taffelspitz and gulasch.  By the time Lenger graduated from high school, he was hooked on cooking and applied
to the Culinary Institute of Vienna where he graduated at the top of his class.

Upon graduation Lenger trained at Zu den drei Husaren under three-toque chef Ewald
Plachutta. While working under Plachutta, he would set off daily for the market, choosing
items for that evening’s menu.

By the early 90’s, Lenger seized the opportunity to come to New York to work at the
Rhiga Royal Hotel. To build upon his already impressive culinary background, he
decided to master pastry arts and accepted a position as assistant pastry chef at the
hotel. Lenger returned to Vienna in 1993 where he worked at another three-toque
restaurant, Altwienerhof, and then became an executive chef at Da’ Marcello. By 1996,
the chef was ready to move to the U.S. and was hired as executive chef at Theodore
Restaurant, a critically acclaimed Austrian-American brasserie in New York’s flatiron
district.

In 1999 Lenger was introduced to restaurateur Peter Glazier of The Glazier Group and
was immediately asked to helm the kitchen at the Glazier Group’s Strip House
restaurant in New York City (in addition, he later helmed the kitchens of Strip House
Houston and Palm Beach Gardens).  Under Lenger’s supervision, Forbes magazine named Strip House as one of the “Forbes
2003 All-Star Eateries in New York.” In addition, Time Out New York’s Eating and
Drinking Guide 2001 nominated Strip House as one of the year’s “Best New
Steakhouses.” Lenger is also a published author in Austria and has written several
books on culinary arts used at many schools throughout Eastern Europe.

Lenger incorporates his love for quality products at Switch, where he brings his
trademark flair to this dynamic dining destination.

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