NU Restaurant Celebrates 5 Years

September 3rd, 2010 admin

I enjoyed celebrating this wonderful occasion on September 1st with proprietor, Harry Kambolis along with his family and media friends.

The drinks were flowing and delicious bites were being passed around and eaten almost as fast as the kitchen was serving them up. My favourites were the Chicken Souvlaki skewers, Greek Flatbread with Hummus, Grilled Eggplant, Greek Meatballs, and the Spankopita.

NU Restaurant has a spectacular patio and view, they are located at 1661 Granville Street and online at http://www.whatisnu.com/

By: Richard Wolak

ROCKY MOUNTAIN FLATBREAD CO

September 1st, 2010 admin

1876 West 1st Avenue, Vancouver

Tel: 604-730-0321

Web: http://www.rockymountainflatbread.ca

Twitter: @flatbreadco

Advice: Sundays & Mondays go with your kids.

Selection of beer

This has been a favourite of mine for organic pizza in the city since they opened. A couple weeks ago my friend Jason joined me for dinner to try some of their new dishes, we both enjoyed some of the beers to accompany our dinner, of course our favourite beers were different and I’m sure your favourites would differ as well.

Fig & Goatscheese Salad

Fresh basil & blackberry Salad

Starting off our meal we shared the refreshing Fig & Goatscheese Salad ($9.25 regular) and the tasty Fresh basil & blackberry Salad ($8.25 regular).

Next up were the pizzas and we shared several, the pizzas here are handcrafted flatbread made in an Artisan Oven with lots of local and organic ingredients. The crust is thin and crisp, the toppings have so much flavour and you taste those vegetables.

Mexicali Pizza

Farmers Market Pizza

Ocean Wise Pizza

Flank Steak pizza

To start, was the tasty Farmers Market Pizza ($15.95) topped with three seasonal vegetables, three herb nut free pesto & caprigny goat’s cheese; then the Mexicali Pizza ($16.75) topped with Chocolate tomato chilli sauce, red onions, roasted peppers, marinated cherry tomatoes, jicama, corn, free range organic chicken, caprigny goat’s cheese, herbs and creme fraiche. Then the delicious Ocean Wise Pizza ($15.95) topped with in-house orange maple cured wild salmon, fresh shrimp, artichokes, red onion, nut free three herb pesto and asiago cheese; and finally the Flank Steak Pizza ($15.45) topped with organic tomato sauce, sprinkled with premium mozzarella.

Dessert Platter

We were both quite full, that didn’t stop us from trying some dessert so we shared their dessert platter which was made of up Chocolate Brownies, cheesecake and biscotti.

Review by: Richard Wolak

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100 Days Opening

August 29th, 2010 admin

On Friday night August 27th,  I attended the opening party for 100 Days at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown.

Cocktails

Kobe Beef on potato crisp

Guests were treated to tasty cocktails, wine and tantalizing appetizers and dessert bites throughout the night.

This is Vancouver’s newest pop-up restaurant that will serve diners for 100 days. The talented chefs at One Hundred Days will dish up a tantalizing menu of urban diner meets Mediterranean cuisine, all inspired by the art surrounding them.

Graffiti Artist Vince Dumoulin

Graffiti artist Vince Dumoulin has transformed the room both inside and outside into a fun and colourful restaurant that exudes high energy and creativity. I caught him on camera as he was putting the finishing Graffiti touches on the outside of the restaurant as the party was underway.

I loved the menu on the large blackboards throughout the restaurant, the Graffiti bar, the DJ spinning and most of all the room on the corner of Hamilton & Davie with the large windows. One Hundred Days promises to be high energy and the most unexpected and thrilling dining experience to be found in Vancouver. After 100 days the restaurant will again be transformed into a new and exciting concept restaurant to open in early 2011.

Go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night, the restaurant is located inside the Opus Hotel at 322 Davie Street in Yaletown.

http://onehundreddays.ca

By: Richard Wolak

A & W opens Urban Concept

August 28th, 2010 admin

You may be surprised to hear that I had lunch at A&W a couple days ago and you may be wondering what intrigued me to visit a chain restaurant in the first place as it’s not too often that I go down that road. When I heard that A & W was about to open their first “Urban” restaurant that had free WiFi, kiosks where customers could electronically place their own orders, and Frosted Glasses for their Root Beer, I knew that I had to visit.

I had a chance to meet and talk to Rob Fussey, Director or Urban Concept Development for A&W who has been working with the company for the past 30 years and he was the ideal person to give me a tour. A&W is based in North Vancouver and all their restaurants are located across Canada, this “Urban” concept was born here and Vancouver is the first city in the country to experience their new restaurant concept.

I sat down and had a fairly healthy, fast food lunch that consisted of a 20oz frosted mug of Rootbeer, Grilled Chicken Sandwich on a whole wheat bun, a side salad with dressing on the side and a side of their famous, hand crafted Onion Rings which I couldn’t resist! I loved the wall of coasters too!

By: Richard Wolak

Barista: Noam Dehan

August 26th, 2010 admin

Noam Dehan - Blenz Coffee in Vancouver

Noam Dehan is a Barista at Blenz Coffee at 609 Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. He has worked as a Barista both here in Vancouver as well as when he lived in Israel. He loves to create new and unique espresso beverages, in addition to his love for coffee, he is also a talented photographer, designer and DJ.

His own beverage creation, “Sugar Love”

Ingredients:

Double shot of espresso

Steamed milk

Lemon

White sugar

Preparation:

1)    Rim the mug with fresh lemon.

2)    Place the rimmed cup in white sugar.

3)    Pour the double shot of espresso in the mug.

4)    Top with steamed milk and decorate.

CALABASH BISTRO

August 26th, 2010 admin

428 Carrall Street,

Vancouver Tel: 604-568-5882

Web: http://calabashbistro.com/

Twitter: @calabashbistro

Advice: Nominal charge of $1 for the dipping sauces. The best place to sit would be downstairs if space permits.

Coco Bun

Vegetarian Curry

Fried Coconut Dumplings

Loved the vibe and the Caribbean flavours in the food and the music, my friend Noam and I had a late night dinner recently and as much as we both loved the food, it seemed as the kitchen was running on Caribbean time. Despite the slowness in our dishes arriving to the table, once the food did arrive each dish was delicious and flavourful. We both shared the outstanding Coco Bun ($10) with Fried Fish (Snapper was the fish that night) with salad; the spicy Vegetarian Curry ($10) in roti with salad and a side of fried Coconut Dumplings ($4) which needed a sauce for accompaniment, we asked our server what would be best and he said he would bring us some Jamaican Ketchup, it sounded interesting and tasted great and was the perfect pairing with the coconut dumplings. The roti is some of the best I have eaten on the west coast, made fresh in-house. The restaurant is on two levels, upstairs you have a great view into the kitchen and you are close to the bar, downstairs is more secluded with a larger bar. The menu is all about the flavours and you are going to love it, from salads to patties to mains, everything is house-made and you’ll want to check out the Jerk Board for the fish of the day, each of the Jerk dishes are made with the chef’s own Jerk-spice. The next time I am in I must try the Seafood Curry!

Review by: Richard Wolak

Photo Credit: Noam Dehan

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Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food at MOV

August 25th, 2010 admin

I wandered through the exhibit this morning to have a look through this exciting exhibit that runs from August 26th, 2010 through January 2, 2011 at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) where they have partnered with FarmFolkCityFolk to explore Vancouver’s passion for backyard farming and local food. The large-scale photographic exhibit captures the current momentum behind local food production and urban agriculture. The exhibit Home Grown: Local Sustainable Food, is a visual feast of 39 Brian Harris photographs set across four seasons.

Communal Wall of Preserves

Something unique that caught my eye was the Communal Wall of Preserves which will grow with public participation, as MOV hopes patrons will donate jars of home-preserved fruits and vegetables. Jars of all shapes with a maximum height of 11inches or 28cm can be dropped off at the Museum’s front desk. Cory who is one of the owners of local restaurant Twisted Fork has been making preserves for years and he has donated many jars of all sorts of his preserves to start this Communal Preserves Project at MOV.

Using large-scale photographs Home Grown introduces visitors to the people behind local food. The photos range from proud inner city gardeners to an aerial view of an industrial scale sustainable hothouse. Visitors will gain insight into alternate styles of growing food like house-lot farming and farming co-ops.

“This series of photos is dedicated to those who see the beauty in small scale sustainable farming. Urban agriculture is about how we relate to the physical world and strive to develop a deeper connection to our food. The industrial world doesn’t seem to want people to know how their food is being produced,” says featured photojournalist, Brian Harris.

Harris’ images take MOV visitors to the city’s rooftops where a beekeeper tentatively lifts a tray of bees from a hive atop of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s living grassland roof.

“The living roof is 20 acres of grassland – it’s like a prairie up there – smack bang in the middle of a city, a powerful juxtaposition to the cityscape behind it,” remarks Harris.

MOV will host a series of food-based events throughout the fall, a Food and Beers speaker series, Family Workshops, and Talks and Tours.  Watch the museum’s website at www.museumofvancouver.ca for details and dates.

By: Richard Wolak

TERRACOTTA MODERN CHINESE

August 25th, 2010 admin

52 Alexander Street, Vancouver

Tel: 604-569-3088

Web: http://www.terracottavancouver.com/

Twitter: @Terracotta_Van

Advice: The Emperors Room (aka the Sunken Dining Room) seats 12-15 people.

Chun-Li

Big Trouble in Little Gastown

Named after the Terracotta warriors, you will want to visit this hip hideaway on the edge of Gastown for it’s version of Modern Chinese Cuisine along with some inventive cocktails such as the one I had. The décor is dark, the vibe is hip and if you aren’t seated upstairs you are going to want to sit downstairs especially if you are with a large group of friends; the ‘Sunken Dining Room” as one of the coolest tables to dine at in the city. My friend and I began with a couple of cocktails, I had the Chun-Li ($9.50) blueberry stoli, hypnotic, blue liquer with fresh DragonFruit; and my friend Carlos had the Big Trouble in Little Gastown ($9.50) Malibu, mango liquer with fresh lemon.

House-made Wontons

Imperial Pepper Prawns

Seafood Saga

The appetizers are more like Dim Sum dishes with a modern twist and they were all very tasty, we shared all starting with the outstanding Imperial Pepper Prawns ($8.00) seasoned with garlic and peppers; then the very good House-made Wontons ($7.50) crispy won tons stuffed with shrimp, served with red vinegar; and the Seafood Saga ($11) wok tossed scallops with prawns and Chinese vegetables.

Terracotta Short Rib and green onion Sliders

Szechuan Green Beans

Beijing fried Rice

Number 69

From here we moved in to another amazing dish, the Terracotta Short Rib and green onion sliders ($9) served in Golden Mantou subs with hoisin sauce; then the Beijing fried rice ($10.75) wok fried rice and barbeque duck and vegetables; and my favourite Szechuan Green Beans ($8) — tossed in a spicy sauce; and to round out the savouries the Number 69 ($7) spicy bok choi with tofu. Halfway through we were served a tiny cup of a very smooth Chivas & Green Tea ($9).

Tapioca Happy Ending

To finish off our meal with enjoyed a very different though delicious dessert, Tapioca Happy Ending ($6.50) baked tapioca with a thin pastry crust with dragon fruit ice cream.

Review By: Richard Wolak

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