Value

First Tastes of Portugal: Fried Little Fish and Tentacles

November 10, 2010

Two hours after landing in Oporto, we’re hot on the trail of two essentials: sardines and octopus. Oh—and wine! Well, that’s not too hard to find around these parts. Nor are the first two. Down a narrow side street, not far from our hotel, in the centre of the old town, we discover capacious, two-tiered […]

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Calli Restaurante Mexicano: a Tasty, Little, West End Vancouver Haunt

October 6, 2010

A regular refrain often heard in Vancouver concerns its lack of ‘authentic’ Mexican dining. Right off the top, we’ll be the first to say we don’t claim to be an expert in things Mexican or culinary Mexican in particular. However, we’ve been intrigued by a tiny and tasty haunt on Davie Street in the city’s […]

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South East Spain’s wine industry has deep roots

June 28, 2010

Murcia, Spain. As you tour this parched semi-arid corner of eastern Spain, two realities are inescapable: the sun rules and water is a scarce commodity. The harshly beautiful landscape is marked by massive limestone outcrops that punctuate the seemingly always clear and azure sky, their steep, southern slopes rock pocked and treeless, embracing lower plantings […]

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No Time Like the Present to Perk Things Up with Pink

May 31, 2010

Why it’s (always) the right time for BC rosé Not long ago it was almost impossible to find a decent rosé around these parts. But that’s all changed in recent years. Today, rosé is hotter than pink itself. What’s driving the rosé revolution? Well, here’s a couple of ideas. First of all, food. While maybe […]

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Why it Makes Sense to Toast the World Cup with Wines of South Africa

May 29, 2010

(Besides the fact they’re just darn tasty drops…) By the time June is over, you’ll know two things, for sure. 1. Soccer is the world’s game—played by more people on this planet than any other. 2. South Africa is a complex and fascinating nation, that’s overcome incredible odds, whose time has truly come. The third […]

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Why You Should Visit the New Gray Monk Winery & Get the Tee Shirt Too

May 16, 2010

I used to get corked – now I’m screwed! (Updated, see below) We weren’t there at the very beginning, when, in 1972, George and Trudy Heiss were among the first to envision the Okanagan Valley’s potential as a serious wine region. But we have been lucky enough to witness the Okanagan Centre winery’s coming of […]

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Oru Restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. is a Year-Round Dine Out Deal

April 29, 2010

Tasteful and stylish, Oru’s four course Japanese Bento lunch costs just $24 Dine Out Vancouver is in full swing, through May 6th. But one of the city’s best dining deals is actually on offer year round… We’re talking about Oru, the dazzling, Asian inclined room in the new Fairmont Pacific Rim, just across from the […]

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Hired Belly’s Bucket List: 30+ Kiwi Wines You Won’t Want to Spit

April 21, 2010

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 quality from […]

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New Zealand Comes to Vancouver for Playhouse Wine Festival

April 20, 2010

New Zealand’s sophisticated culinary scene revolves (not surprisingly) around lamb, as well as celebrating an abundance of fresh seafood, including the ubiquitous Green Lip mussel, prepared any number of ways. Marlborough’s Allan Scott features the mollusks ‘pepperonata’ style, in a tasty tangle of chorizo, shallots, garlic, chilli and figs—which just happens to match perfectly …

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Bao Bei, Vancouver: Small Plates as ‘Petits Plats Chinois’

April 15, 2010

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 of oversized […]

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