Vancouver Restaurants

The Best Time to Drink Beer in B.C.  “There has never been a better time to drink beer in British Columbia.” – Gary Lohin, brewmaster, at the Central City Brewing tap takeover at the Moon Under Water brewpub on May 9, 2013. I couldn’t agree more. The Canadian Brewing Awards were held in Victoria earlier this month. It was the first time the event has taken place west of Toronto in its 11-year history—perfect timing with the boom of new breweries we are enjoying here in British Columbia: seven new microbreweries opened in 2012, and a dozen or more are expected to open in the next year—six in metro Vancouver alone. Overall, B.C. breweries did very well at the Awards, winning 35/116 awards handed out. Central City Brewing won three golds and a silver; Parallel 49 Brewing won one gold and three silvers in its first year of competition; and Howe Sound Brewing won four medals as well—two golds, one silver and one bronze. But Vancouver’s Powell Street Craft Brewery stole the show by winning Beer of the Year for its Old Jalopy Pale Ale, which also won gold in the North American Style Pale Ale (Bitter) category. It was a stunning accomplishment for this tiny nanobrewery that just opened last December—making it B.C.’s youngest brewery. Here’s owner/brewer David Bowkett, still buzzing off his big win back on May 11. Powell Street Craft won’t be the new kid on the block for long—a string of new breweries is set to open over the next few months. I will profile each of these new operations in this column as they open. Four Winds Brewing Delta, BC Website | Facebook | Twitter Opening: June 2013 First out of the gates with beer flowing will be Four Winds Brewing, a family-run operation led by brewer Brent Mills, who previously learned his craft as part of the team at Vancouver’s R&B Brewing. Brent’s two brothers, Adam and Sean, are involved on the sales and marketing side, and their dad, Greg, is handling the administration. Four Winds will release four core beers to start with—a saison, IPA, American pale ale, and a Czech pilsner—all packaged in four-packs of 330-mL bottles that will be priced at $8.99. The idea is to appeal to consumers who usually just buy single 650-mL bomber bottles, spurning six-packs because of the lack of variety. I tasted the saison and IPA early in May when I visited the brewery, and both were excellent, and I have no doubt they will be well-received in the craft beer community. The brewery will also put out limited releases in bombers or 750-mL corked bottles, depending on the style. Mills plans on brewing a saison aged with Brettanomyces yeast right off the bat—talk about trying to hit it out of the park on the first pitch. He wants to put out a mix of old-world (unfiltered, bottle-conditioned) and newer craft beer styles from everywhere—hence the brewery’s name. Four Winds Brewing will be holding an open house on Saturday, June 1, and will be participating in some Vancouver Craft Beer Week events. Look for their products on the market later in June. Next month, I will profile North Vancouver’s Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers, which is opening right across the street from Bridge Brewing, which itself just opened last summer, and 33 Acres Brewing, the first of a trio of new breweries set to open in Vancouver’s historic Brewery Creek neighbourhood. Quench your thirst at www.thirstywriter.com. Follow along on twitter @thirstywriter and @craftbeerrevolu.

Follow Me Foodie to An Introduction to Indian Cuisine at Feast Tofino! An Introduction to Indian Cuisine, A Cooking Class with Khalil Akhtar & Chaat Recipe. I was invited to the 2nd Annual Feast Tofino  by Tourism Tofino which is a culinary celebration of the West Coast and Vancouver Island boat-to-table cuisine. Restaurants feature set menus throughout the month ($29, $39, $49) and special events take place every weekend. Given how I feel about price fixe menus I was naturally more interested in the one off special events. Besides The Saturday Dockside Festival and West Coast Paella on the Beach, I had the pleasure of attending this event, Introduction to Indian Cuisine, A Cooking Class with Khalil Akhtar. The Feast Tofino events were a highlight to Follow Me Foodie to Tofino. Khalil is a CBC journalist, food writer and culinary instructor in Victoria, BC. During this event he demonstrated a five course Indian inspired seafood lunch for an intimate group of about 16. Of course we got to eat it afterward, but Khalil also walked us through his ingredients which were both Indian and local (West Coast). I am Asian, born and raised in Vancouver, and I am reporting back on an Indian cooking class I attended in Tofino from an Indian guy who lives in Victoria. The benefits of living in BC. It was random, multi-cultural, eclectic and great! The first thing Khalil stressed was to abandon the yellow curry powder. American influenced Indian recipes often call for yellow curry powder, but to use it for every dish would be inauthentic to Indian cuisine. Khalil’s approach to Indian cuisine was not traditional either, but the concepts and flavours were inspired by his Indian roots and palate. Being in Tofino, meant an emphasis on seafood which was my craving the whole time I was there. Seafood is more popular in Southern Indian cuisine, but luckily Khalil was putting a “Boat-to-Table Twist” on his menu. I actually wish Vancouver would offer more “Boat-to-Table” cuisine. In Vancouver there is growing support for Ocean Wise and sustainable seafood, but in Tofino it almost goes without saying. The seafood is conveniently caught in their backyards and it doesn’t have to be frozen at sea or travel far before making it onto your plate. The lunch was hosted at Cathie’s Cottage Vacation Villa on Chesterman Beach. It was an entertaining and social afternoon event with a substantial lunch, and the only way to improve it was to eat it outside… because this was the view from the dinner table. Khalil Akhtar’s Introduction to Indian Cuisine with a Boat-To-Table Twist Fresh Oysters with Tamarind Chutney Chili-Lime Spot Prawns with Seasonal Fruit Chaat Chickpea Crusted Halibut Cheeks with Tomato-Ginger Curry & Papadums Kichiri with Smoked Pink Salmon, Hard Boiled Eggs, Raita, Mint & Cilantro Sheer Khurma (Milk with Dates, Vermicelli, Rose Water, Saffron and Pistachios) Spot Prawns with Potato and Fruit Chaat Recipe Recipe by: Khalil Akhtar Think of this dish as a salad. Put away your measuring cups and use your instincts. Chaat should be assembled to taste. If Spot Prawns are unavailable, regular prawns or tandoori roasted paneer is an appropriate substitution. Often, chaat is served with various types of kebabs or tandoori dishes. Ingredients Boiled potatoes, peeled and diced Sprouted pulses (available in the produce aisle near the green sprouts) Diced mangoes, apples and peaches Live spot prawns (regular prawns or roasted paneer works too) Lime juice Lime wedges for serving Chaat masala Hari chutney Tamarind-date chutney Cilantro leaves Method 1. In a saute pan over very high heat, add a few drops of oil. Saute the sprouted pulses until they are slightly charred and crisp. Set aside. 2. Steam the spot prawns until cooked — a couple of minutes, depending on size. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle with lime juice and chaat masala to taste. Set aside.        3. Toss the diced potatoes in chaat masal

When I was a kid, I LOVED the show, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Not only was I intrigued with the idea that your father could be your friend, but that there was such a thing as a ‘Best’ friend. Asian families tend to be quite clannish and closed to the outside world, so my social circles consisted mostly of my cousins (and I had a lot of them). But as you grow older, you realize just what a special place your friends hold in you life. My friends showed me the larger world outside of my Asian Canadian childhood and gave me a sense of adventure and discovery. And so – I was really thrilled for my friend Colin Johnson, when he told me he was heading up the kitchen behind the new Chinatown sausage venture, Bestie. The idea behind Bestie is to give a local spin on German street food, with a focus on curry wurst, great beers, and locally sourced and homemade dishes (like freshly baked pretzels). Colin comes from a serious cooking background, with stints that include working for Simon Hopkinson at London’s Bibendum and Andrey Durbach locally. So you knew that there was going to be some serious craftmanship for what most would think of as fast food. I stopped by a friends and family opening – and I gotta say I really liked the whole vibe of the venture. Low key, effortlessly friendly, and the food was really darned tasty. The whole place was awash with a sense of ethusiastic fun, despite it being a super busy soft opening. The housemade curried ketcup that dressed the bratwurst was completely awesome, with a rounded spiciness and mellow sweetness. Fantastic. The turkey wurst literally burst with juiciness, with the sharp sauerkraut and bitey mustard providing the perfect foil. Really grown up flavors. You get the sense that proprietors Clinton McDougall and Dane Brown are not trying to set the world on fire, but are focused on making a corner of Chinatown a little brighter, friendlier, and tastier (and beerier). This is no less noble of a cause, and they have certainly succeeded. The icing on the cake was seeing my friend so happy – a hardworking family man, making tasty food that genuinely speaks to him, excited to be back on the frontlines of cooking and feeding customers well. What would my father make of a place like Bestie? He would have been really surpised that a German sausage joint would open in Chinatown, but he would have loved the youthful energy that created it. He’d try a few things, nod approvingly – and then ask to go to Hon’s so that we could top off the meal with a bowl of wonton noodles. This is why, though my father and I eventually became friends later in life – I can’t say that we were best friends. But, he was a pretty awesome Dad. And so, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Fathers Day, especially for those fathers who are no longer wth us. Bestie 105 East Pender Street Vancouver BC Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Okay – full disclosure here: because this was a soft opening, I did not pay for the food. I was genuinely there to support my friend who is part of this new venture. But I can honestly also say that I genuinely enjoyed the food and new restaurant tremendously.

Follow Me Foodie’s Recap of the 1st Annual Brewery & The Beast in Vancouver, BC! So you thought how much seafood I could eat in 48 hours was good? Wait until you see how much meat I can eat in 3… uhh that sounded a lot better in my head. Okay, stop it. Anyway it was the 1st Annual Festival of Meat – Brewery & The Beast in Vancouver, BC and it was freaking fantastic! The anticipation was like Christmas. I kept seeing the tweets and I felt like every restaurant in the city was on board. It was a festival for carnivores featuring all you can eat meat and all you can drink beer. I probably ate 1/3 cow, 1/3 of a pig, 1/4 lamb, 1/2 a chicken, 1/8 of a duck and 1/1000 of a bison. This was a meat marathon. Hello my friends. And hello my friends. If what I did there just offended you, than this post is not for you. It is a realistic before and after. In a time where the vegetarian movement is gaining momentum, it is rare to come across events promoting meat. Generally speaking, meat sales are down and people are eating healthier and welcoming vegetarian focused menus and diets. All the power to you, but let’s not forget about our local farmers who still need to put their kids to school. Let’s also not forget that there is such a thing as ethically raised, all natural, organic, and sustainable meats, so this whole “Vegetarian VS Carnivore” thing can relax a bit. Each have their place and we can celebrate both at the same time without making either into “a thing”. Besides, vegetarians and/or vegetables already get their celebration in Vancouver, and it’s every week too! It’s called the Vancouver Farmers Market and yes, I went there before coming to this. On that note, this post is going to take the tone of a meat-eater, because I am one. I’m not a hardcore carnivore, but I like meat and I eat it. I also like seafood, vegetables, wine and desserts, and I’m a a fan of good food done right. I support businesses, farmers, producers and chefs who are passionate and good at what they do, and it was exciting to have so much talent and energy in one space. Brewery & The Beast was a 19+ outdoor event which took place on Sunday June 16th from 1:00pm – 4:00pm at the Concord Pacific Place parking lot in Vancouver. It was fun to get into the meat-eating spirit and 800 others joined, but it never felt like 800 people at once. Based on my experience, line ups at each station were maybe a 5-8 person wait, if even, and there was more than enough meat and beer to satisfy even the biggest appetites. Tickets were $82.95 for good quality all-you-can-eat meat and beer and it was well worth it. There were 30+ stations featuring some of the city’s favourite restaurants and chefs, and I didn’t even know where to start. I already knew I was going to try them all and I had 3 hours to complete my mission. Mission impossible? Not unless they ran out… but they didn’t. Note: Due to the nature and context of the event I’m not going into detail about the food. The items may or may not be representable of what the restaurant/chef can do on a regular day. How much meat can I eat in 3 hours? Bull Chip House and Meating Place Bull Chip House and Meating Place is in Gibsons, BC and I haven’t been there yet, but it was nice to meat them. ”Blah blah blah BACON yada yada”… you know how I feel about the bacon band wagon, but I still like it. It just has to be good quality, used with proper application, and well executed. It was hipster road kill… meaning it looked like plaid. Kudos for the knitting and the entire sheet was crispy. It was a “BLT” without the carbs, so instead of bread they used bacon and sandwiched lettuce and tomato inside. Pourhouse Restaurant “Please let it be the burger. Please let it be the burger.” I had my fingers crossed they would showcase their signature Pourhouse burger from their regular menu

Follow Me Foodie to West Coast Paella on the Beach at Feast Tofino! It was Follow Me Foodie to Tofino & Feast Tofino and I had 48 hours to indulge in as much seafood as possible. As you can see here, I didn’t do too bad. I had just come from an Introduction to Indian Cuisine, A Cooking Class with Khalil Akhtar where he featured a 5 course Indian inspired seafood lunch, so it was time to burn it off with some outdoor activity. My choice? Paella cooked over an open fire right on the beach. Burn baby, burn. I was invited to the 2nd Annual Feast Tofino which is a culinary festival celebration of the West Coast and Vancouver Island boat-to-table cuisine. Restaurants feature set menus throughout the month ($29, $39, $49) and special events take place every weekend. Given how I feel about price fixe menus I was naturally more interested in the one off special events. All of the events sounded unique and were created especially for Feast Tofino, but unfortunately I couldn’t stay the whole month to try them all. One event that caught my attention was West Coast Paella on the Beach featuring Vancouver Island Chef Kunal Ghose from Food Network’s Top Chef Canada Season 2. It is hard enough to find a good paella in Vancouver, so I’ll jump at any opportunity I can get, but the experience is what had me. An event like this doesn’t happen anywhere and it was special to Feast Tofino and Tofino. Chef Ghose cooked a West Coast paella over an open fire on the shores of MacKenzie Beach for around 50 people. Forget long walks on the beach, I want paella on a beach! This was probably one of my favourite events in the 48 hours I was there, and who knew I could be the outdoorsy type? Honestly, it was the biggest paella party featuring the biggest paella I’ve ever seen in my life. Guests were invited to come at 3:30pm for Chef Ghoses’ cooking tutorial on seafood, and after they could watch him prepare the paella. It was a very casual event, but it delivered on a grand scale. Tickets were only $10 too and it was a major bargain for what you got. I would highly recommend this event for next year (if they do it again) and it’s a great way to spend an afternoon relaxing on the beach while someone cooks a giant paella loaded with seafood for you. I don’t even know where you get a paella pan that size… and he had two going. This West Coast style paella put a Tofino twist on Spain’s national dish and featured local and sustainable seafood. I wasn’t aware of how much seafood was going in this, but he started with huge pieces of fresh halibut and line caught salmon… … and then continued with fresh parsley and herbs…. … followed by a generous amount of shrimp and BC Spot Prawns. I thought he was going to stop here… … but no, he kept on adding seafood! More the merrier. He finished with mussels, handfuls of dungeness crabmeat, whole pieces of dungeness crab legs and cockles (small salt water clams). I rarely, if ever, see cockles in Vancouver so it was a treat to get them here. And bon appetite! Or buen apetito! Just look at all that glorious fresh seafood! You certainly got more than $10 worth of seafood and second helpings were welcomed. And to eat it here with a view like that… was simply priceless. The paella was served at 5pm and it was more than enough to tie most down for dinner, but it was my last night in Tofino and I had to eat more seafood. So ? heigh-ho, heigh-ho ?, it’s off to Sobo I go!

Follow Me Foodie to Tofino & Feast Tofino! Follow Me Foodie to Seafood Madness in Tofino! I’m born and raised in Vancouver, BC and I haven’t been to Tofino until now. My interest in it peaked a couple years ago when I started researching it as a BC food and travel destination, and I am happy to say the post card images were even better in reality. I’ve visited beach towns and I’ve seen waves, but I’ve never heard them crash like the ones here. It wasn’t a tropical paradise, but it was BC’s rustic and wild paradise. Welcome to Tofino. I’m not naturally an outdoorsy type although I can appreciate it, and family vacations never brought me here although it is certainly family appropriate. Most people would associate it as a town for surfers, nature lovers, whale watching and outdoor activities, but I associated it with TacoFino Cantina (from their food truck presence in Vancouver), Wildside Grill (from recommendations and requests from readers for a post on it), and The Pointe Restaurant at The Wickaninnish Inn (winner of “Best Vancouver Island Restaurant” at the Vancouver Magazine Awards 2013)… and oh yes, seafood! Lots and lots of seafood. I was invited by Tourism Tofino and The Wickaninnish Inn to explore the culinary scene in Tofino during the 2nd Annual Feast Tofino. Feast Tofino happened during the month of May and I didn’t even know about it until this year. Now that I know about it though, it is something I would want to plan to attend again next year. Feast Tofino is a culinary celebration of the West Coast and Vancouver Island boat-to-table cuisine. Restaurants feature set menus throughout the month ($29, $39, $49) and special events take place every weekend. Local Tofino chefs also collaborate with some of Vancouver’s top chefs to create unique dinner concepts especially for the occasion. I was lucky enough to go to three of them including The Saturday Dockside Festival, Introduction to Indian Cuisine, A Cooking Class with Khalil Akhtar, and West Coast Paella on the Beach with Vancouver Island Chef Kunal Ghose (from Food Network’s Top Chef Canada Season 2). I tried to pre-plan and I looked through Feast Tofino events to see ones of interest and it tempted me to stay the whole month. The price of the events were also very reasonable and at times underpriced. Given that I had 48 hours after all the traveling time, there was only so much I could try, and Feast Tofino was a fantastic taste of Tofino and highlight of my first time there. Speaking of traveling time, Tofino is about a 6 hour commute from Vancouver, BC. There is about a 2.5 ferry ride (BC Ferries) each way and the road is a bit windy, but it’s worth it. And if you stay at The Wickaninnish Inn it comes with views like this. Whether it is breakfast in bed… … or on a private patio… … or at The Pointe Restaurant overlooking the water, Tofino does not have to try very hard to impress you. In a small laid back town of 2000 people I wasn’t expecting a cutting edge or modern dining scene, and to be fair it is not what they are really known for. They have a food scene, but it is limited given the population. It was actually the simple things that interested me most, like the smoked salmon and simply grilled fish. In fact, if I had more time there I would have loved to just buy my own fish and seafood and call on a neighbourhood potluck. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming there that nobody would think it was weird, and I can already imagine the night ending with a bonfire and someone bringing out their acoustic guitar… and me suggesting s’mores. In Tofino, they take pride in preparing seafood and on the whole it was fresher than what I could find in Vancouver. My chances of getting overcooked seafood was much lower in Tofino as well. I know it is only a 6 hour commute away, but the seafood tasted better and was treated differently. In Van

Follow Me Foodie: Try the nigiri By Mijune Pak , Follow Me Foodie – WE Vancouver Published: June 12, 2013 3:00 PM Updated: June 12, 2013 3:48 PM We pretty much all love sushi in Vancouver. In fact, we probably love it as much as the BC Spot Prawn, except it’s even better because we get it all year. We are honoured with our endless sushi options, fresh seafood and talented Japanese chefs, but, sadly, the passion for sushi doesn’t really go beyond the roll. I’ll talk to self-proclaimed “sushi connoisseurs” and sushi lovers who are proud to say they have been to Japan, but still, many do not know how to order it, let alone eat it. There is a technique and art to making and eating sushi. Mind you, I’m referring to places serving sushi piece by piece, and in some cases places that do not even serve soy sauce for customers to dip as they please. These are the places serving traditional Japanese food. Confused already? If not, you’re on the right track, but if you are, then it’s time to break down the sushi basics. Read the full article. See – Rolls VS Nigiri See more Follow Me Foodie stories from Mijune in the WE Vancouver: FOLLOW ME FOODIE: The “Forget-Me-Nots” of Vancouver’s restaurant scene FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Wild BC spot prawn season begins FOLLOW ME FOODIE: The best thing I ever ate… FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Cooking up a career FOLLOW ME FOODIE: Father’s Day for Vancouver foodies

Job details inside. Award winning Fraiche Restaurant in West Vancouver is looking for a 1st Cook to join our team. Please email your reumés in confidence to chef.chow@fraicherestaurant.ca Only qualified applicants will be contacted.

Food Cart Fest returns via @VanSunFood

Austin’s food and bar scene is blowing up this summer with a surprising number of newcomers.  I’ve been running around town like a mad woman trying to keep up with all the restaurant and bar openings, and new menus.  I’m by no means complaining, of course, and am enjoying every new experience.  These are exciting times of Austin and it’s motivating to see the industry grow at this lightning rate. Below are a few of my latest looks at Austin’s newest additions.  More are en route so be sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for sneak peeks. Nectarita – beer cocktail at Brew Exchange A Look at the Beer Cocktails at Brew Exchange in Austin, TX Butcher’s plate with house cured meats and house made condiments at Salt & Time, Austin’s first full service butcher shop First Look at Salt & Time’s Full Menu in Austin, TX Impromptu off the menu cocktail at Whisler’s in East Austin First Look: Cocktails at Whisler’s in Austin, Texas Seasonal dessert with a hit of heat at Mulberry Sugar Rush: Strawberry Jalapeño Profiteroles from Mulberry, Austin