Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Joyce, News, Vancouver, tagged Announcement, Cardero's, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, Glowbal, Provence Marinaside, Seasons in the Park, The Sandbar Restaurant, The Teahouse, Trattoria on February 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »
The official Dine Out Vancouver may have ended on Sunday, but some restaurants have decided to offer the Dine Out menus just for a few more days.
7 oz Prime New York Striploin at Sandbar Restaurant
Here are their respective extended end date and menu. The list is very short this year. I will keep updating the list if I hear more.
Posted in Burger, Casual, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Fried, Great Views, Joyce, Lunch, No Reservation, Outdoor Dining, Patio, Pop-up, Quick Service, Restaurants, Sandwiches, Seafood, Vancouver, tagged Cream Puff, crispy chicken, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, Fried Chicken, fries, Granville Island, ice cream, Popina Canteen, Puffcream, Sandwich, Soft Serve on February 1, 2019| 1 Comment »
This year’s Dine Out has 4 menu price points: $15, $25, $35 and $45. Not many places offer a $15 menu but I was most intrigued by Popina on Granville Island. The restaurant concept is created by some of the most celebrated chefs in Vancouver. The space is made up of shipping containers, located right by the Granville Island Public Market.
The $15 menu is pretty straightforward. A sandwich + a side of fries and its signature puffcream for dessert. CC and I went there on the sunny Sunday afternoon, 3 hours before our dinner reservation. Luckily for us, because it’s just counter service, we were able to just order one set and share between the two of us.
For the sandwich, you have the option of BC Beef Cheeseburger or Crispy Chicken Burger. We chose the Crispy Chicken Burger.
Posted in Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Great Views, Hotel Dining, Joyce, Restaurants, Seafood, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged apple pie, Arancini, Creme Brulee, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, Dockside Restaurant, Empanadas, Granville Island, Granville Island Hotel, Lamb Chops, Risotto on January 24, 2019| 1 Comment »
Another restaurant that we previewed for Dine Out was Dockside Restaurant. They are also offering a $35 menu. Similar to the Sandbar tasting, we had the full portion for photos and small bite size for tasting. But luckily for us, here we got to try everything on the menu.
Dockside’s menu offers 3 appetizer options, 4 entrees, and 2 desserts. Here they are:
Cucumber Caprese – This didn’t seem like much, but it’s refreshing and light. I really like the mint on top. Simple 3 bites to start the meal.
Beef Empanadas – This had good flavour. The crust wasn’t too thick and there was decent amount of filling.
Korean spiced Arancini – This is an Asian take on the Italian appy. (more…)
Posted in American, Baked Goods, Casual, Chinatown, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Fried, Joyce, Meat, Restaurants, Vancouver, tagged Baked Beans, Biscuit, Chinatown, Cocktail, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, Fried Chicken, Gluten Free, Juke Fried Chicken, Media, Menu Tasting, Pickles, Potato Salad on January 18, 2019| 1 Comment »
For the second year, Juke Fried Chicken in Chinatown is participating in Dine Out Vancouver. I was invited to a tasting of its $25 menu.
The appetizer includes two options. The Country Biscuits are to die for! They were warm, had a nice crispy crust on the outside, and soft, buttery inside. Combining with the herbed schmaltz (think butter), mmm it’s one of the best biscuits I’ve had in town. There was leftover from the tasting, so I brought some home. Even with reheating, my family was still marvelled by how delicious these biscuits were.
The other option is Fried Zucchini Pickles. Since it’s home made, it’s not pungent and acidic like the typical pickles. There’s a bit of sweetness in them. The corn flour-cornmeal crust was thin, making the exterior perfectly crunchy. The honey dill dressing goes well with it, and I tasted a hint of heat too. I didn’t think much of it when I saw this option on the menu, but it’s actually some good munchies before the highlight of the meal.
Suggested by the restaurant name, obviously fried chicken needs to be on the menu.
Posted in Dine Out Vancouver, Dinner, Great Views, Joyce, Meat, Media Events, Restaurants, Seafood, Steak, Vancouver, West Coast, tagged Chocolate Cake, Cioppino, clam chowder, Croquette, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, Granville Island, Lingcod, panna cotta, Steak, The Sandbar Restaurant on January 14, 2019| 1 Comment »
Last week, prix fixe menus of Dine Out Vancouver 2019 were revealed. With that, I was invited to a menu preview at a few restaurants on Granville Island. One of which was The Sandbar Seafood Restaurant.
Sandbar offers a $35 Dine Out menu, with a couple of entree options that you can upgrade with $10 extra. For the menu preview tasting, we were shown a full-size portion for photos, and then canape-size for tasting. Therefore, what you see below is what you will get, but what I tasted may not be the best representation of the dish as I only had a small portion of it.
There are three appetizers to choose from:
Sablefish Croquette – The croquette was mostly potato with some flakes of sablefish. The miso ailoi had a hint of lemon. The pickled fennel on top brought a good amount of acidity.
Beet & Arugula Salad – A classic combination of beet, arugula and goat cheese, with a fig balsamic vinaigrette. You can’t go wrong with that.
Clam Chowder – My favourite appetizer here. It was creamy, it was rich, and it was hearty.
Posted in Burnaby, Chinatown, Coquitlam, Culinary Events, Dine Out Vancouver, Gastown, Joyce, Langley, New Westminster, News, North Vancouver, Port Moody, Richmond, Surrey, Vancouver, West Vancouver, Yaletown, tagged Announcement, Dine Out Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver 2019, News, Prix Fixe, Recommendation, Tourism Vancouver on January 10, 2019| 1 Comment »
Dine Out Vancouver is back! Did you know I’ve been doing Dine Out Vancouver since, like, forever? My first year was when Rob Feenie still had his restaurants and I was there for DOVF.
Running from January 18 to February 3, the prix fixe portion of this year’s program has changed to 4 price points – $15, $25, $35 and $45. There are also more lunch and brunch options, usually at a cheaper price than dinner. This would give an opportunity to try the pricier restaurants with less.
The menus are now live and reservations are open. Actually, Aeroplan members already had access since Monday, so I had the opportunity to go through all the menus. Here are some suggestions, based on past experience (Dine Out or not) as well as menu attractiveness (e.g. value for the money, choice of ingredients, creativity in the menu, enough options for two people, etc.). Now keep in mind I curated the list based on my preference (as you know, I’m a meat lover), my way of thinking, so it may not all suit your taste. But hopefully this gives you a place to start.
I’ve included links to the menu to make it easier for you.
Chutney Villa Dine Out Vancouver 2018
Posted in Beer, Craft Beer Series, Culinary Events, Drinks, Joyce, News, tagged 33 Acres Brewing Company, Announcement, BC Beer, BC Beer Awards, BREWHALL, Coal Harbour Brewing, Coast Mountain Brewing, craft beer, Creative Industry Awards, Field House Brewing, Kettle Valley Brewing, Lighthouse Brewing, Main Street Brewing, Mariner Brewing, Sooke Oceanside Brewery, Steel & Oak, Sundown Brewing Company, Twin City Brewing Co., Twin Sails Brewing, Yellow Dog Brewing on October 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »
On October 20, 2018, winners of this year’s BC Beer Awards were named. The ceremony was held in conjunction of a tasting event with 60 breweries setting up shop at the Croatian Cultural Centre.
BC Beer Awards received 1,085 entries from 109 breweries. The judging took place over 3 days and was performed by a panel of BJPC (Beer Judge Certification Program), Cicerones and Pro Brewers from all over North America.
Like last year, there was also a Brewers Challenge. Participating breweries were challenged this year to brew something with fresh hop. It can be any beer style. The judging took place as we were given a tour of the space.
And I must say, it’s pretty awesome to see Lien Yeung at CBC as the emcee, especially with her on the step stool. I can totally relate!
A shout out to all the big award winners: (more…)
