hired belly’s best restaurants and dining
Tuned up heritage bar and dining lounge adds up to historic district's latest lively lure L'Abattoir's bar has a real buzz—and great tastes too, Tim Pawsey photo Walk into Gastown’s newest star, L’Abattoir (217 Carrall St., 604-568-1701) and the first person you’ll likely meet is Shaun Layton, who runs everything bar-wise here. Shaun [...]
Fishworks halibut started out well with Stag'sHollow Viognier Marsanne, but the best match might just surprise you - Tim Pawsey photo This week we managed to get our hands on a sizeable, freshly caught Robson Bight Sockeye, which has already served us deliciously well. As we were busy butchering and deboning we found [...]
We’ll be honest. When it comes to watching sports, we’re one of the first to jump on the proverbial bandwagon. We don’t have time to watch much in the way of TV, so whether it’s ice-hockey, football or championship tiddlywinks there’s just one rule: don’t bother—except for a playoff game or other serious [...]
(Besides the fact they’re just darn tasty drops...) The Paarl Valley is just one of many breathtaking spots in South Africa's scenic and varied winelands, Tim Pawsey photo By the time June is over, you’ll know two things, for sure. 1. Soccer is the world’s game—played by more [...]
Spot Prawns are here! Last night’s dinner found us foraging on Chinatown’s Gore Street (Vancouver, BC). There we were lucky enough to pick out a couple of pounds of spot prawns with change from a $20 bill. These guys were so fresh some were jumping right out of the shallow tank! Once home, we enjoyed [...]
BC Spot Prawns—in season for just about eight weeks - Tim Pawsey photo This is the time of year (May through June) when the whole of Vancouver (and just about everywhere else on the BC coast) goes crazy for Spot Prawns. That should come as no surprise. Get ‘em fresh off the boat [...]
On the judging panel at Vintners Brunch: a slam dunk winner! Every year one of the first Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival events to sell out is the Vintner’s Brunch, held on the final day. Lots of folks get a group together and buy a table, to sample tastes from some of the city’s [...]
30+ Kiwi wines you won't want to spit Wine tastings can be a gruelling affair—especially when there are several hundred wines in the room. Spitting is a necessity—though not always easy. In November we visited almost all of the wineries who've come to Vancouver and were impressed above all by the consistency and [...]
Steak tartar like never before Vancouver’s Chinatown has fallen on rough times these last few years, its once unique shopping eclipsed by Richmond’s glitzy malls. Even our foraging finds us more often at T&T’s live seafood bar than the eminently more interesting fishmongers on Gore and Pender. Until now, with the exception perhaps [...]
Just what is Canadian cuisine, anyway? Here come the Feds to the rescue... At some ungodly hour yesterday morning, the Ministry of Agriculture threw a breakfast bash featuring some of the country’s top chefs preparing dishes of locally sourced ingredients from across the land. No seal meat or caribou, though, as the ‘True’ North [...]
