hired belly’s best restaurants and dining
Sashimi platter at Miku, photo: KK Law One of the highlights of my year are the WHERE to Dine Awards. They were handed out this week at a superb party at Boulevard Vancouver, hosted by WHERE, and emceed by the inimitable Fred Lee. As Food & Wine editor, I get to hand out [...]
Sai Woo's long bar makes the most of the expansive room One of the challenges of this gig is finding the time to return to those places that impress the first time around. It takes no shortage of smarts to open a restaurant right, to hit the ground running and not miss a step. I’m [...]
Nose to Tail at Campagnolo Roma Dramatic pig skull presentation at Campagnolo Roma makes the point I’m both intrigued and reassured by the resurgence and resilience of nose to tail dining. I’m a big fan of the whole beast movement, for any number of reasons. I’m intrigued because it really is a [...]
Amici Miei owners Marcella and Manrico CLOSED. I love it when I discover new little places with a whole lot of heart. There’s no question that’s the case at Amici Miei Cucina Italiana (1114 Denman St. 604-563-6610), in Vancouver’s West End. Owners Manrico Serpente and Marcella Gentile told me they came to [...]
No, they weren't on the menu. But isn't everyone mesmerized by jellyfish? There's something very reassuring about walking into Stanley Park on a perfect, almost Spring evening. This night was spectacular. A crystal clear partial eclipse of the moon was framed by a cascade of brilliant stars, Venus and Jupiter. I was on my way [...]
Nettles, freshly cut. Put them in the crisper and they'll keep for at least a couple of weeks. Or dry them. My love affair with Stinging Nettles is a relatively recent occurrence. When I was growing up, in England, it seemed they were everywhere, including at the bottom of our garden. It was [...]
Brian Fowke... Time to move on. Tim Pawsey photo Fresh daily proponent Brian Fowke says it's time to move on from his cherished Kitsilano Daily Kitchen, which will now become AnnaLena ... This from today's mail: "I have just put my chef's knife down for the last time at Kitsilano Daily Kitchen. With [...]
Rob Feenie and one-time mentor Michel Jacob (courtesy le Crocodile) It’s a fact of life. People just have to ask me: “What’s your favourite restaurant?” It's always tough to answer because, as a rule, I don't play favourites. "It depends," I'll say ... Chances are it might be the ‘flavour of the month:’ [...]
Cactus Club exec chef Rob Feenie and sommelier-service director Sebastien Le Goff Scratch the surface of a Cactus Club wine list and you’ll often find what constitutes an unlikely line-up of wines—for what we now refer to as “Casual Fine Dining” restaurants. Much of the reason for more interesting than usual selections (especially [...]
Raincity Grill owner Harry Kambolis, at Nu, 2005 Raincity closes Whatever the circumstances, I was saddened by last week’s shuttering of long-running Raincity Grill and, not that long before, of C Restaurant, owned by Harry Kambolis. In the fickle world of dining there are any number of reasons as to why restaurants come [...]
