Beautiful place, beautiful food.

It isn’t terribly often I get to write about a wonderful meal, sometimes it feels like I only review a restaurant because they cocked up, utterly, and I’m encouraging my friends to stay away.

Today, it’s different. I would say “luckilyâ€?, but that’s not the case. It’s not luck or pixie dust that makes going out for dinner a magical experience, but careful consideration, great staff, an amazing executive chef and fantastic atmosphere.

Adrian and I took a chance on a new place a couple of weeks ago, and it’s taken me a while to get around to writing about it but the memories are still deliciously fresh. We actually got in the car and went to a new restaurant that no one we know had been to before – The Players Chophouse Restaurant and Lounge on Beatty at Robson. Normally, it’s hard to try something new. We like places that are within walking distance, something quick and cheap, a place we’ve heard from friends is great or all of the above. But you have to shake off the normal every once in a while to truly discover new things.

First impression upon walking in? Lush. Decadent. Club.

Wait! Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean ‘club’ like there’s going to be girls dancing on the bar on weekends – I mean club in the ‘I was raised in the south and my family – pretentious though it sounds – had a membership to an exclusive Country Club’ sense. Huge difference. This place is all teak and plush leathers, expensive sound system that you can’t even see and a wine list that will make you want to take your coat off and stay a while.

It’s easier for me to break this down into categories, instead of rambling on about every step I took, every bite I tasted.

Atmosphere: Unfortunately, most people think ‘Atmosphere’ is equivalent to ‘Theme’. It’s not. Atmosphere is created by the colours of the design scheme, the deepness of the booths, the openness of the lounge area, the specially crafted lighting, the wine ladders that reach the three story ceiling, the music that surrounds without being invasive, all the details that make it unique – a delight to all the senses, not just the eyes… Entering Players Chophouse is like being invited into a members-only club, you immediately absorb that special feeling of belonging. That, my friends, is atmosphere.

The only drawback to the atmosphere is that the location has no view other than Beatty street. But don’t forget to try the heated patio – it’s secluded, back from the street and wraps around the building – it is SO gorgeous!

Staff: Really astounding. This kind of restaurant could so easily fall into the same man-trap as other places well-known in Vancouver by hiring the kind of girl who wears her clothing tight, short, low-cut and black. But they didn’t. They don’t deliver to your table a rack attached to a girl whose IQ is usually hovering around the price of the noodle bowl, no. Players Chophouse eschewed such low-brow tactics, here you receive unobtrusive, knowledgeable and attentive care from someone who genuinely has a flair for customer service. Our meals were delivered perfectly timed, and any questions we had were answered immediately, but – and this is KEY – if they didn’t know, they asked. That is my favourite kind of quality service.

Cuisine: Food, cuisine, I don’t care what you call it – it was so good a word hasn’t even been made up yet. This is where I’ll get verbose and I apologize in advance.

To start, we had the Jump Chicken and the Crispy Chili Prawns. The chicken was pretty delicious, but not out there – it’s essentially grilled or sauteed chicken bites served with a thai chili sauce and sesame seed crackers. The wonton wrapped prawns were enormous and served with the same chili sauce (which we happen to LOVE) and still crispy when they arrived. A perfect start.

I had a hard time choosing between the Players Mixed Grill (New York Strip, Filet Mignon and Peppercorn Lamb Chop) and the Prime Filet Mignon. I ended up having just the Filet – because, to be perfectly honest, I really just wanted a nice steak instead of a variety – which turned out to be a great choice. The baseball sized 8 oz Filet was cooked perfectly to my request of medium. And they don’t wrap their steaks in bacon ‘for added flavour’ – there is no need. They only use ‘Prime’ rated beef here, so every single cut is going to be as delicious as it can possibly be. Adrian had the Players Cut Prime Rib – 18 ounces of the most buttery, delicious, slow-roasted, perfectly seasoned Prime Rib you have ever put in your mouth. My stars, that was an amazing piece of meat. Whew. Now I want to go back and have more, my mouth is watering and my tummy is rumbling.

The sides were well chosen – they complement without overwhelming the palate (see, I can be enthusiastic AND use proper words when I want to!). I was partial to the Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese, but the asparagus as well as the sauteed mushrooms were quite delicious, too! Both of our meals came with yummy little veggie parcels (I ate Adrian’s, of course) and garlic mashed potatos. I found out from the server that to make them, they steam little red nugget potatos, then mash them with garlic and butter and milk, salt and pepper. I wholeheartedly approve of the steaming method for retaining flavour, as well as using just about any potato other than starchy Russets.

I almost forgot to reference the wine list. I briefly mentioned the wine ladders at the bar – but I didn’t mention the portfolio of wines they carry. The list is extensive and well chosen. I wanted to sample several that were available by the glass, but the first one I tried was stunning, so I stuck with it. Just so you can try it out, too: I can’t remember the winery, but it’s an organic red wine called “Adobeâ€?. Also, they carry a very little-known Australian tawny port by Buller. It was heavenly, without a harsh bite at the end. Delight!

Desserts were deliciously perfect endings and we sampled three, which turned out to be way too much. They’re very generous with the portions, so you may want to share one. The Key Lime pie was SO amazing – just the right mix of tart and sweet, very refreshing after a heavy meal. I tried the Mexican Vanilla crème brulee, because that’s my favourite kind of dessert. I’m partial to a very thick crust on top, and that’s exactly how it came! The double chocolate terrine was phenomenal, but entirely too heavy for us after having starters, lots of extra side dishes, huge steaks AND two other desserts. I highly recommend sharing such a delicious, extravagantly rich chocolate dessert.

I’ve finally managed to write a review of a restaurant that exceeded my expectations with a great experience – it was great to be able to tell you about all the GOOD things instead of being forced to complain about all the bad things that can happen at restaurants that don’t seem to care.

All told, we spent over $150 on a three hour dinner at a lushly appointed restaurant in downtown Vancouver. It was well spent, we both agreed, and we’re looking forward to saving up for a couple of months – both our appetites and our money! Definitely try the Players Chophouse Restaurant and Lounge. You won’t be disappointed.

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Stuff We Are Getting Rid Of

Posted as is to Freecycle. I’m slightly drunk, and I found myself to be terrifically hilarious. Maybe you will too.

This round is so…framboozled is a good word.  I made it up, but you can use it if you like.  Instead of putting all this in a box and leaving it outside for anyone, I’ll put this up for people to come get the parts they want.  I can’t IMAGINE a computer geek needing a lovely green women’s sweater or cellulite cream, but WHO KNOWS, right?!

So here goeth the listing…eth:

ONE sea green sweater knitted out of ribbon-style yarn.  Quite lovely.  No tears or pulls.  It just has never looked good on me and I’m giving up.  Size medium, but they lie.  It’s more of a small-medium with petite-shortness tendencies.

ONE chocolate brown genuine suede brokeback-cowboy style open-front jacket with slightly belled sleeves and no front closure.  It’s a size large, fits really well a medium frame over a sweater. It’s a gorgeous jacket.  I loved it very much for a short time.  It was a gift to me from an ex-boyfriend…THAT I HAD TO PICK OUT MYSELF.  He was a douche.  This jacket is not.  Also, my cat puked on it.  It’s a small patch of whatever, but it’s going to need a professional cleaning.  I didn’t even try.

ONE 1″ barrel hair-drying brush with stiff bristles and rubber/plastic/hard tips.  It never worked as well as my friend swore it would (she lied!) and I only use my huge barreled whatchacallit with soft bristles now.

ONE SET – slightly used (and by slightly, I mean about half) Arbonne Figure Eight Vanish Cellulite removal system.  The pre-shower cellulite scrub is at least half gone, and the Contouring Cellulite Cream is mostly full.  I only used it a handful of times, and I gotta be honest – they lie.  (Admittedly, each time I used the system, it had been a month or so – I have NO idea if the product would work if I used it on a regular basis.)  I can’t be bothered to try any longer.  I got running shoes.  (Which are currently in the closet)

ONE container Arbonne REstoring Mist Balancing Toner.  Mostly empty (barely full?).  I love this stuff.  But I’ve switched back to a plain old ‘scrub-in-the-shower-with-soap-and-call-it-even’ beauty regimen.  I’m lazy like that.  This is a good amount to sample before committing.

ONE Practically full container of Arbonne REversing Gelee Transforming Lift (I think they are making s**t up, to be perfectly honest.  Just trying to come up with pretty names.  But who am I to judge?).  I used this stuff for about two weeks straight.  It’s fabulous – “panty hose for your face” – but I can’t be bothered to put on lotion most days.  Panty hose is way too complicated for this girl.  Come and get your panty hose.  For your face.

ONE Old Navy short sleeve v-neck empire waisted dark brown cotton tee-shirt with beads around the neck.  Size large.  Not as dressy as you might think, despite how accurate the description is.  I like the shirt, but apparently you need bigger tits than I’ve got.  Mine tend to fall out in public in this shirt, which is hazardous as a nanny, as they tend to get wonky anyways with one year old using them as handle bars and such.  Anywho, nice shirt.  broken in, but doesn’t look ‘natty.’

ONE stereo boom-box cd/cassette player combo thingie.  Found.  Not sure where the husband got it, but I wished he’d left it there.  We have a perfectly good REAL stereo.  Dork. 

ONE wall thing.  I have no idea what to call it.  It’s about a foot tall, a foot wide.  It hangs on the wall and has a shelf on the top that is about four inches deep, an angled mail ‘area’ and four hooks on the bottom ‘area’.  It was here when we moved in eight months ago.  We FINALLY got around to painting the place.

ONE wall towel loop thing.  It is a piece of wood (nice wood, I would suppose, but just wood) that has a large metal loop coming from the front.  It’s supposed to hang on the wall in the bathroom and hold the towels you’re not allowed to use that match the soap that you also can’t use.  You know, it’s quite handy if you’re into that sort of thing.  Also holds normal towels that you can use for drying your hands.

ONE back-of-the-door-closet-extender-thingie.  It’s metal. It has holes.  It has a … piece that goes on the top of the door (and, depending on your door, still allows it to close).  Can extend a foot to allow for 20 items of clothing to be hung from the holes (more items if you’re terribly creative on hanging) or close to lay mostly flat against the door.  Yay closet space!

ONE lovely 2′ by 3′ print of that guy being knighted by that girl.  You know, the painting everyone has seen?  It’s here, waiting for you. Your own private print of it.

ONE 3′ by 4′ black art frame.  It still works, we just don’t have anything that big to put on the wall.

ONE large piece of cardboard.  Yay!  Cardboard!

ONE bag of computer stuff.  Here is a list of what it contains.  ALL in working order!
- CD/DVD RW single-layer burner, LG brand
- CD/DVD RW single-layer burner, TDK brand
- cable.  tv/computer/whatever.  six feet.
- five seven-inch telephone cords. (what on EARTH was he saving them for, hmm?)
- three indeterminate-length telephone cords.  (much longer than seven inches, though)
- one really really (really) long telephone extension cord.
- two really long cable extension cords (15 to 20 feet each)
- one modem/ethernet/something cable (maybe ten feet?)
- one (apparently not terribly reliable) stopwatch (kinda makes that about as useful as teats on a boarhog, eh?)
- one Creative Modem Blaster V.92 (que?)
- one Canon Compact Power Adapter
- three (count ‘em, THREE) AM loop antennas.
- one 3′ AM antenna wire.
- one push-button phone in perfect working order.  We use our cell phones and that’s all.
- one Logitech scroll wheel mouse (with ball. just one ball.  but that one ball still works, man.)
- RAM! 512M RAM DDR333MHz
- RAM! 256M RAM DDR333MHz
- RAM! 512M RAM DDR266MHz (note:  don’t mix your ram speed (the second number) but I’m sure you know that if you know what you’re looking at.  But the husband asked me three times to make sure I made note of it, so here’s my note. see above)

Whew.  And that is all for today, folks.  That’s the closet in the bedroom.  I still have another closet to go through, my craft supplies to clear out, my kitchen to…who knows, but something’s gotta be done, and some bookshelves to slightly pick over (we’re pretty selfish with our books).

Send me an email with your request for anything above.  Send this along to any worthy cause that might need it.  I’d hate to throw something away that someone needs – but seriously, it’s taken me this long to clear it out.  I’m way too lazy to FIND these needy places myself.

Pickup, ideally, would be on Monday or Wednesday evenings.  Or mornings.  Lemme know.

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