hired belly’s best restaurants and dining
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 [...]
Wicked Margherita with herbed and spicy oils to match Bufala has landed on the West Side with a bang! A few years back, when I referred to Kerrisdale as a ‘culinary backwater’ the comment was removed by a sensitive editor. But the fact is that, for many years, the explosion of culinary culture [...]
Smoke & Oak overlooks this dramatic panorama Last week—on yet another glorious Okanagan summer’s day—we found ourselves on the patio at Wild Goose. Nothing unusual about that. But this was the first time I had managed to get back to check out Smoke & Oak Bistro, which they launched late last year. Some [...]
One of those few I consider a Vancouver ‘original, ’ Montri didn’t just ride the wave of Thai cuisine in the 1980s, he was a key player in bringing it into the mainstream.
Faubourg Paris' Franck Point: croissant crusader Franck Point is fanatical about croissants. In fact you could call him a ‘croissant crusader’ and he likely wouldn’t object. Point is the man behind Faubourg Paris, those pretty swish looking, chandelier-trimmed artisan bakery-bistros popping up all around town (there are three so far, all busy), where you [...]
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 my emotions. After all, there are few buildings in Vancouver with which I have a stronger connection than this West End [...]
The View's Hail Mary white blend. More than just a wing and a prayer Yesterday’s BC Bloom spring release tasting yielded up a wealth of wines, especially in the category of decent white blends, which I’m gearing up for summer. (We also judged a whole bunch of them at the All Canadian Wine [...]
Taas, a tasty starter plate of grilled lamb with puffed rice, garnished with fresh cilantro, Tim Pawsey photo (Updated May 8, 2014) Upstairs restaurants (i.e. those without any significant street level presence) can be notoriously challenging. In a business where 'location, location, location' is everything, you can count one hand those in downtown [...]
Yak & Yeti Momos and Lamb Kebab I’m intrigued when restaurateurs open a second location. Often as not the reasons are pretty straightforward: As in “If it works here, why not there?” However, the thinking behind Yak & Yeti Bistro (2958 West 4th. Ave., 604-428-4422) is a bit different. It’s the other half [...]
