Other Fun Stuff You Don’t Want to Miss!
BC Distilled: 10 Very Spirited Reasons to Go
Updated, May 17, 2023 BC Distilled 2023 Audience Favourites Awards: Absinthe: Tofino Distillery – Psychedelic Jellyfish Absinthe Amaro or Vermouth: The Woods Spirit Co. – Barrel aged Amaro Barrel-Aged [...]
Bagheera: When all is not as first appears
Bagheera, you may recall, is the sleek, black panther in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. In this decidedly post-Colonial era I was intrigued to see the name resurface—as the moniker [...]
Winter Beers: Embracing the Dark Side
Welcome to the Dark Side! For many people dark beer is a seasonal thing. Although, it doesn’t have to be. I enjoy a glass of decent stout or porter at [...]
Bearface Wilderness 01 Takes Foraging to Thrilling New Heights
Bearface aside, I’ve never been particularly crazy about Canadian whisky. Maybe it has something to do with my upbringing. You’re more likely to catch me nosing a Islay single malt or even a drop of [...]
Vancouver Cocktail Week Gives Covid the Boot
Vancouver Cocktail Week Gives Covid the Boot… Well, it certainly feels that way. The inaugural Vancouver Cocktail Week did that and then some. And achieved it with just as much substance as style. The program [...]
21 Reasons to Read ‘The Distilleries of Vancouver Island’
appeals to casual tipplers and serious spirit hounds alike. It’s as much about the distilleries and what’s in the glass... as the people who make it happen.
6 Proper Drops to Amuse (Even) Queen Victoria
Victoria Day … Growing up in the United Kingdom (are we still allowed to call it that?) I never really understood why ‘stat’ holidays were called ‘Bank’ holidays. Other than [...]
5 Fun Ways to celebrate National Blueberry Pancake Day
What’s not to like about blueberries? Not much! One thing I do find intriguing is how we take them for granted year round. But the domesticated, perfectly shaped (and conveniently frozen) BC blueberry is actually a relatively recent occurrence.
The Haggis Match: What to Drink (as opposed to sip) on Burns Night
The Haggis Match: What to Drink (as opposed to sip) on Burns Night
The Healing Powers of Single Malt & Stout—and Zoom
Single Malt and Stout by Zoom, early in the pandemic...
Sipping the Night Fantastic with Marriott
The words “cocktail crawl’ alone might well have been enough to strike fear into my heart. But an evening with Marriott International Cocktail Crawl happily proved otherwise. This was a fun opportunity to check out [...]
Row Fourteen Takes Similkameen Up a Notch
Row Fourteen is the newest addition to Similkameen's already blossoming scene. And it's a worthy one at that.
Sheringham Wins World’s Best Contemporary Gin
I’ve been following the adventures of Sooke’s Sheringham Gin almost since Day One. So I’m beyond thrilled to hear their Seaside Gin won ‘Best Contemporary Gin in the World’ at the World Gin Awards. I’m [...]
Chowder Chowdown: A Chance to Channel Ocean Wise
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 [...]
Tap & Barrel Shipyards: A Prescription for Patio Fever
Tap & Barrel is no longer the new kid on the block. That was apparent when this casual eatery landed downtown at the Convention Centre. And became even more clear when Tap & Barrel Shipyards [...]
Buy BC: EAT DRINK LOCAL Hails the New Era of BC Cuisine
Buy BC: Eat Drink Local? Sounds like a plan! Although, hard to believe now but there was a time when the last thing anyone wanted was to ‘eat local.’ And don’t even get me started [...]
Parksville Uncorked / Untapped: a Celebration of Island Suds and Sips
UPDATED February 21, 2018 Coming up fast is this year's not to be missed Parksville Uncorked—the 10th Annual—March 8th-11th. The 2018 edition features Untapped at the Beach Club Resort and Swirl at Tigh-Na-Mara, as well as a [...]
Cloud 9 Closes: Time’s Up for Dining in the Sky
Cloud 9 is (or was) the City of Vancouver’s loftiest restaurant. On September 30th it will close forever. And the giant turntable in the sky, which since 1973 has brought pleasure to so many, will [...]
Kiwi Connections: The Great Tiki Tour in Vancouver
The Great New Zealand Wine Tiki Tour comes to town on May 5th—which is the perfect time of year —with a wealth of styles and tastes from around NZ
Malbec: King for a Day…and More
Malbec World Day (April 17th.) is again fast approaching—yet one more reminder of the value to be found from the South American producer. While it’s true Argentina has built its reputation on Malbec, what might [...]
Red Racer + Dix Redux = Good Brews News
Red Racer Restaurant has landed—with a few taps to go along... The Big Brews News of the month is that Central City Brewing’s much anticipated Red Racer Restaurant has landed in downtown Vancouver, [...]
SoCIAL Lite: A Sin-free (and Tasteful) Cooler
SoCIAL Lite: taking a solid shot at the lucrative cooler business I’ve never been a cooler fan. I can’t really say why, except that I don’t like sweet drinks. It wasn’t always like [...]
This week: Vancouver International Tequila Expo (VITE)
El Peloton de la Muerte returns for this year's competition... Vancouver’s premium liquor culture continues to surge and grow in popularity. The biggest to date so far, the fourth annual Vancouver International Tequila [...]
‘Foragin’ craft gin flights of fancy
A close look at gin ... Leave it to forage to come up with a unique gin tasting option... The ever inventive and regionally driven Vancouver restaurant has unveiled a flight of three [...]
Cider House Rules: BC Tree Fruits Broken Ladder
A new cider from the Okanagan Cider is one of BC’s relatively undeveloped opportunities. However, that may be about to change, with the arrival of a new cider, Broken Ladder, made by [...]
Nose to Tail: When Only the Beast Will Do
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 [...]
16 Oceans Cocktails to Float your Sustainable Boat
Yew's Oceans cocktails, such as this 'Glacial Snout" , are some of the most innovative we've seen I’ll confess: I haven't always been a huge fan of cocktail and food pairings. However, there [...]
Perfect Pairings: ChocolaTas, Whisky and Wine
ChocolaTas: Looking as good as they taste UPDATED, Sept 9th, 2015 CHOCOLATAS OWNER WIM TAS NAMED TOP ARTISANAL CHOCOLATIER There is plenty of gold for ChocolaTas THE NEWS Master Chocolatier Wim Tas, [...]
Judging by the Juice: 2014 Okanagan Preview
Grapes being harvested in Oliver, BC. (courtesy BCWI) Fancy yourself a wine geek? How about this? This week I went to one of the more unusual tastings in which I've participated. The idea was [...]
30 Days of IPA: Time to Hop On
Fat Tug and a whole lot more ... I’m intrigued by the notion of the “public palate”—the way in which ‘normal’ people grow into and adopt new ideas and tastes, as opposed to [...]
It’s Always Pimm’s O’Clock Somewhere
Pimm's. Borage rules, cucumber too. Updated, July 7th, 2014. My recipe has evolved since the original post, so I thought I’d share it now. First of all, for some reason, this time around [...]
First Bites at Vancouver’s Fat Badger
The Fat Badger: making good use of a familiar space CLOSED I knew when I walked into The Fat Badger (1616 Alberni St., Vancouver) for the first time that it would stir [...]
Make Mine with Mezcal: Tequila Expo Shakedown
Shea Hogan's Mezcal based Death Squad Sour (Shameful Tiki Room) Mezcal can be mildly mesmerizing. Over the years I've learned to treat certain spirits—from single malt Whisky to Absinthe and more— with a degree of [...]
Agave Week: Time to Taste Tequila and Meet Your Mezcal (Video)
"Mr. Mezcal" Eric Lorenz and an array of Mezcal Updated, April 9, 2014. This year's Vancouver International Tequila Expo runs May 26-31. Full details here: Much more to come soon... When we [...]
Breaking Bread with Clos du Soleil at Tavola
A ground-breaking collaboration: Marc du Soleil, made by Long Table Distillery, TP photo The Hired Belly has attended more than few winemaker dinners. But some remain etched in my memory. The [...]
Victoria’s Steamship Grill: a Tasty Nautical Nod
I’m a bit of a history buff, especially where buildings, food and art intersect. That thought crossed my mind when I looked out of our window from Victoria’s Hotel Grand Pacific to see the stunningly [...]
Hail forage! Where Caesar Rules!
The well foraged Caesar, TP photo If you're a regular visitor here (and if you're not, why not subscribe?!) You'll know that I have a lot of time for what goes down at [...]
5 Stout Walks on the Dark Side: Any Porter in a Storm
Central City's Imperial ... you might want to share Often as not, the best tastings are spontaneous and even unstructured. The other night I got together with my great friends and neighbours R [...]
10 Sure Bets: The 2014 Dine Out Vancouver Short List
Dine Out Vancouver: It's about food and wine UPDATED, Jan 16, 2014. The Trouble with Dine Out Lists... Is that you're guaranteed to miss not only a few worthy restos but likely many. So be [...]
Books to Cooks Redux: The Holiday Season Hot List
Books to Cooks - Marmite and a whole lot more! Here I am again at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks. I can't help it. I'm a creature of habit. Besides, I can only take so [...]
Odd Society Spirits: Riding the Crest of BC’s Craft Distillery Boom
Craft distilling blossoms: Odd Society's smart Powell St. tasting bar Sitting at Odd Society’s long black bar, it’s not hard to be impressed—even if a little surprised—that this polished operation has popped up [...]
Broker’s, Brollies and Bowlers: The London Dry Taking the Gin World by Storm
The Broker's Brothers Martin & Andy Dawson... If the hat fits ... Andy Dawson is sitting at the bar in Gerrard at Sutton Place. Between measured sips of her Moét, the woman at [...]
Vancouver’s Loss is Saskatoon’s Gain: Dale MacKay Opens Ayden Kitchen & Bar
Ayden Kitchen & Bar boasts a talented team led by Dale MacKay This hard-hitting, exposé of a blog is mainly about Vancouver and BC’s scene but occasionally addresses topics “beyond”—in this case Saskatoon. [...]
A Remembrance at L’Arc de Triomphe: More Than Meets the Eye
L'Arc de Triomphe looms large, at the west end of Les Champs-Elysées When I spend time in France, occasionally, some profound emotion takes hold, often when I’m least expecting it. When I [...]