hired belly’s best restaurants and dining

West Restaurant: a West Coast Tasting Tradition

By |2020-01-06T17:57:19-08:00August 31st, 2019|Dining, Latest Posts|

The Tasting Menu is back. Although, truth be told, at West Restaurant it never went away.  Earlier this summer I had the opportunity to witness the artistry of West Chef Bobby Milheron in two contrasting settings. The first was at the BC Seafood Festival in Comox. The second was at the South Granville restaurant itself. [...]

Papi’s Revitalizes Iconic West End Spot

By |2019-07-31T14:05:15-07:00July 31st, 2019|Latest Posts, Dining|

Papi’s Seafood & Oyster Bar—the successor to Beach Bay Café—recently arrived in the space once occupied by long-running Raincity Grill. It’s hard to say precisely why Beach Bay didn’t make it. But, evidently, Viaggio Hospitality (Ancora, Uva, Cibo) felt it was time to start over. English Bay has long been Vancouver’s summertime epicentre. Arguably the [...]

Quebec Rendez-Vous Gourmet at PICA

By |2020-05-17T19:37:46-07:00April 4th, 2019|Dining, Latest Posts|

Quebec, even though you may leave, never leaves you. Excuse me for being a tad sentimental. But yesterday I indulged in a small slice of my past. Quebec came to town—at least a select few artisan Quebec producers did, along with their wares. The venue was Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts— PICA, which is also hosting [...]

Curry Cup 2019 Crowns The Cascade Room

By |2019-03-14T08:23:17-07:00March 12th, 2019|Dining, Latest Posts, Sustainable|

Curry Cup 2019 is a wrap! I’ve judged at a few competitions over the years. But I’d have to say that the Curry Cup is one of the coolest. Maybe it has something to do with my U.K. upbringing. But I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for a good curry—which is still [...]

Vintners Brunch: A Worthy Culinary Crown

By |2019-03-06T14:54:05-08:00March 4th, 2019|Dining, Latest Posts|

Vintners Brunch is for many still their VanWineFest highlight. It's easy to see why. The setting is dazzling, especially on a day like this past Sunday, when the North Shore Mountains and harbour seem almost on the edge of the room. It's also a great party, one of few events that comes with live music. And while [...]

Chowder Chowdown: A Chance to Channel Ocean Wise

By |2023-05-09T09:11:08-07:00February 23rd, 2019|Beer, Dining, Latest Posts, Ocean Wise, Spirits, Wine|

Why would over 200 people patiently line up outside the Vancouver Aquarium on a near freezing winter's night? To taste chowder. That's why. And not just any chowder but 14, truly unique, BC recipes. And all OceanWise at that. Thursday night's 2019 Chowder Chowdown, as usual, was an unqualified success. Fourteen leading restaurants, resorts and [...]

Ancora Ambleside: A Dazzling West Van Lure

By |2021-01-23T15:37:09-08:00February 13th, 2019|Dining, Latest Posts, Wine|

Ancora arrives Recently opened (on January 8th), Ancora is already a going concern. That should come as no surprise. ‘Mainland’ Vancouverites have already embraced chef Ricardo Valverde’s Nikkei cuisine. A marriage of Peruvian and Japanese styles, the origins of Nikkei date from the late 19th century. Around this time several thousand Japanese people came to [...]

Verre: French Fare with Flair in Coal Harbour

By |2023-01-12T07:59:34-08:00January 28th, 2019|Latest Posts, Dining|

At Verre the glass is more than half full. Liam Breen is chef-owner of Verre, a refreshing newcomer at the north foot of Denman. Right on the seawall, near the Bayshore, this space had became a bit of a revolving door. But that should change with the latest incarnation. The design team behind Verre has [...]

Burgoo: Onion Soup and a Blast from the Past

By |2019-01-22T00:48:11-08:00January 22nd, 2019|Dining, Belly's Best Bites, Latest Posts|

Burgoo is comfort food central. Yesterday a few of us dropped by Burgoo on Burrard for lunch. It turned out to be the perfect choice for a warming bowl of French onion soup and a good salad. The soup was wickedly good, topped with lashings of broiled cheese and packed with croutons in a tasty [...]

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