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IMPORTANT HEALTH INFORMATION

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?

Do you suffer from shyness?

Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. It can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you’re ready and willing to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Cabernet Sauvignon almost immediately and, with a regimen of regular doses, you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living.

Cabernet Sauvignon may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use it. However, women who wouldn’t mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, incarceration, loss of motor control, loss of clothing, loss of money, loss of virginity, delusions of grandeur, table dancing, headache, dehydration, dry mouth, and a desire to sing Karaoke and play all-night rounds of Strip Poker, Truth Or Dare, and Naked Twister.

WARNINGS:

* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may cause you to think you can sing.

* The consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.

Please feel free to share this important information with as many as you feel may benefit!

Now just imagine what you could achieve with a good Shiraz.

Chile

• De Martino
• Miguel Torres (also Spain)
• Viña Montes
• MontGras
• Viña Santa Rita
• Seña / Viña Arboleda
• Concha y Toro

The Rest of the World

• Bodega Catena Zapata (Argentina)
• Decero (Argentina)
• Las Perdices (Argentina)
• Katnook (Australia)
• Penfolds (Australia)
• Yalumba (Australia)
• Le Vieux Pin / La Stella (Canada)
• Mission Hill Family Estate (Canada)
• Osoyoos Larose  (Canada)
• Painted Rock Estate Winery (Canada)
• Thornhaven Estate (Canada)
• M. Chapoutier (France)
• Maison Louis Latour (France)
• Pfaffenheim (France)
• Estates of Antinori (Italy)
• Bisol Desiderio & Figli (Italy)
• Astrolabe (New Zealand)
• Wither Hills (New Zealand)
• Quinta do Crasto (Portugal)
• Symington Family Estates (Portugal)
• Taylor Fladgate / Fonseca / Croft Port (Portugal)
• Lammershoek Winery (South Africa)
• Bodegas Muga (Spain)
• Bodegas Olivares (Spain)
• Caymus Winery (USA)
• Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (USA)
• Rodney Strong Vineyards (USA)
• King Estate (USA)
• Bergevin Lane (USA)
• Chateau Ste. Michelle (USA)

There are of course many other wineries to try at the Wine Festival, so if you see something that interests you TRY IT.  Some of the wines at the Festival are brought in ONLY for the Festival, so if you like it, buy it in the wine shop at the back of the tasting room before it sells out.  The complete list of wineries at the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival is here.

Tasting Plates Vancouver

Last night was the Tasting Plates event in downtown Vancouver.  It was a perfect night, no rain, no wind.  So walking to the restaurants/carts would be a pleasure.  If you hadn’t heard about Tasting Plates it was a walk about event where you visit up to 10 food vendors, and they give you a selection of appetizers and/or drinks to try from them.  For this evening the participating vendors were:

• Juice Truck
• Cosca Restaurant
• Cupcakes Denman
• Bonchaz Bakery Cafe
• Footo Delights
• Notturno Paninoteca
• WE. Coffee Inc.
• Soho Road
• W2 Media Cafe
• Leonadis Chocolate

My Highlight Tastings

I started out at 5:30pm, walking, drinking, and tasting till 8:30pm.  In that time I was able to visit Notturno Paninoteca, Bonchaz, Juice Truck, Leonadis Chocolate, Soho Road and Footo Delights.  What were my highlight tastings?

Notturno Paninoteca

Notturno tasting plate

Located at 280 Carrall Street, this place had my favourite food overall.   A narrow restaurant with a nice bar. Just opened in November last year and recently getting their liquor license.  They served 3 appetizers, and I paired them with a nice glass of Prosecco.  The appetizers, all winners were:

• Tartufo di Capra – black truffle goat cheese, greens, tomato pearls
• Crudo – albacore tuna crudo, cucumber, tomato, chili aoli, balsamic pearls
• Fico – blue cheese aoli, fig, black olive, walnuts

My favorite of the 3 was the Tuna Crudo.  It had high acidity with fresh flavours and some spiciness in the background.  The Fico with blue cheese aoli was also quite nice.  You had a combination of sweetness, the blue cheese sharpness and the crustiness of the bread.

Soho Road

Soho Road Beef Seekh Naan Kebab

My next favorite place was Soho Road, a food truck located at the corner of Smithe and Howe streets.  Again 3 appetizers, some nice hot chai for a cold night.  The appetizers were:

• Butter Chicken Naan Kebab – Tandoori chicken smothered in our famous butter chicken sauce and topped off with a salad of cucumber, tomato, red onion and cilantro all on a freshly baked Naan.
• Beef Seekh Naan Kebab – Ground spicy Beef kebab with chaat masala,  and drizzled with a tamarind chutney. Topped off  with a salad of cucumber, tomato, red onion and cilantro all on a freshly baked Naan.
• Mixed Vegetable Subji – Carrots, Peas, Potatoes and onions cooked with cumin, coriander and other traditional spices, topped with a light mayonnaise and a salad of cucumber, tomato, red onion and cilantro served on a freshly baked Naan.

Of these, there was unanimous agreement amongst the foodies there that the Beef Seekh Naan Kebab.  Again bursting with flavour from the spiced beef and the salad, especially the cilantro.  Some Riesling or maybe a Pinotage would have been a nice accompaniment. My next favorite was the Mixed Vegetable Subji.  Lots of nice textures in your mouth.

Leonadis Chocolate

Leonadis Liege Waffles and macaron

Leonadis won my third place vote, in particular for their Liege waffle.  Their tasting plate consisted of:

• Piece of Leonidas chocolate
• Liege Waffle
• Espresso Con Panna
• Shot of our regular Hot Chocolate (52.3%)
• Shot of our Frozen Noisette

This is a Belgian inspired coffee/waffle/chocolate shop.  I had never had a Liege Waffle before, but loved it.  The waffle had a cake-like texture, not doughy like waffles are here.  It also tasted like there could have been some apple mixed in with the waffle as I picked up an apple flavour. To this I think the Hot Chocolate paired nicely.  On the way out we had our choice of one of several hand made Belgian chocolates.  If you want to find out more about Liege Waffles, here is a recipe I found online.

If you want to find out more about all the vendors you can follow them on Twitter.  Their Twitter handles are @CoscaRestaurant @WECoffeeInc  @CupcakesDenman @FootoDelights @NotturnoGastown @juicetruck @W2MediaCafe @LeonidasChocola  @bonchaz @sohoroad

Thank you very much for Richard Wolak aka @vanfoodster for arranging this fun event. Enjoy!

Sandbar Restaurant boat

This Dine Out venture to Sandbar Seafood Restaurant at Granville Island was a last minute decision.  It was also a lunch decision.  Did you know that many Dine Out restaurants have a lunch menu?  The lunch menu is usually at one price level below the dinner menu, and slightly smaller in portion.  The Sandbar lunch option for Dine Out was $18.  Very good value, for very good food and service I received today.

My lunch consisted of:

• Lemongrass Braised Short Ribs with 5 spice crushed peanuts, chili scallion relish
• 4oz Chateau Rib Eye Steak with Tiger Prawns, caramelized onion marmalade, creamed peppercorn demi-glace
• Spiced Pumpkin Cake with maple frosting

Braised beef short rib

My wine pairing was Quail’s Gate Pinot Noir (sorry I didn’t see the vintage as the wine was by the glass).  This is one Pinot I regularly enjoy from the Okanagan.  The wine had a bay leaf, earthy, cherries and raspberries on the nose, with a big bouquet of violets on the palate.  The high acidity of this wine really went well with the fatty braised short rib appetizer.  The earthy, full flavours of the short rib was a nice complement with the lifted pinot flavours.  The Rib Eye Steak with Tiger Prawn were very tasty.  I especially enjoyed the cedary smoky aroma imparted to the tiger prawn.  The Rib Eye steak was cooked closer to well than to medium well, but was still flavourful. The dessert, the spiced pumpkin cake was very similar in flavour to a carrot cake, but was a bit heavier.  The cake was served cold, and I thought that it might taste just that much better if it was warmed up a bit and maybe served with a bit of vanilla ice cream.

Tomorrow is the last day for Dine Out Vancouver, so go out tonight and tomorrow for dinner, and don’t forget about lunch tomorrow too.  Enjoy!

Tasting Plates Vancouver

Tantalize your taste buds at over a dozen fabulous downtown Vancouver restaurants at Tasting Plates Vancouver! This evening tasting extravaganza goes from 6pm until 9pm on Feb. 15, and is presented by Vancouver Foodster & Taste and Sip Magazine.

Participating restaurants will offer tasting plates of their food to the guests, showcasing their restaurant, their food and of course their skilled chefs.

If you are a vegetarian, don’t worry.  Most restaurants will have a dish suitable for you.

The participating restaurants this evening include:

• Phat Deli Yaletown
• Notturno Paninoteca
• Cosca Restaurant 
• Bonchaz 
• Footo Delights
• W2 Media Cafe (along with partners: Salt Spring Coffee and more)
• Leonadis Chocolate Cafe
• WE. Coffee 
• Juice Truck
• Soho Road
• Cupcakes

The event is a roving tour that will start off at the W2 Media Café at 111 West Hastings, from there you can visit any or all of the participating restaurants that are located all over downtown including Gastown, Yaletown and the West End by driving, transit or walking.  Here is a link to a Google Map showing the locations of these restaurants.

This info about their packages just came through my email today.   Enjoy!

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Burrowing Owl Winery Special Package Deals

For Immediate Release

February 1, 2012 (Vancouver, BC) – This spring Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is offering visitors three tempting specials. There’s never been a better time to plan your stay at this world-class wine country destination!

Valentine’s Day ‘Dine & Stay’ Package – Tuesday, February 14 2012

from $99 per person includes:

• A romantic dinner for two at the Sonora Room  Restaurant
• One night’s accommodation at the Burrowing Owl Guest House
• Add $40 for the “Sweetheart Package”, which includes a bottle of Burrowing Owl wine, long-stemmed red rose, rose petals, and chocolates waiting in your private room

Winter Getaway Package – from $126 per person

(check the website for details – some date restrictions apply)

• A three-course dinner for two at the Sonora Room
• One night’s accommodation at the Burrowing Owl Guest House
• Our fabulous “wine country” breakfast

Spring Blossom Package – from $145 per person

(check the website for details – some date restrictions apply)

• A three-course dinner for two at the Sonora Room
• One night’s accommodation at the Burrowing Owl Guest House
• Our fabulous “wine country” breakfast
• Package available Monday – Wednesday

For more information, or to make your reservations, please call 1-877-498-0620 ext.3.

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Burrowing Owl Estate Winery: Recently named one of the Top 10 BC Wineries by Wine Access magazine the winery is devoted to producing world-class wines using creative viticultural and winemaking processes that are in harmony with the unique ecosystem where the grapes are grown, which includes the northernmost tip of the Sonora Desert.

Burrowing Owl Guest House:  The winery guest house is nestled in the vineyard and has 10 tastefully-appointed rooms, each with a private deck and fireplace; There is also a 25 metre pool and all-season outdoor hot tub.  The Cellar Lounge is excellent for business meetings and special events.

Sonora Room Restaurant:  Opened in 2004, the winery restaurant overlooks 140 acres of picturesque vineyard from both the patio or inside the warm and inviting dining room. The philosophy of the culinary team is to showcase many of the South Okanagan’s local producers of local organic produce, fresh, seasonal fruits and artisan breads and cheeses. An exclusive wine list is changed regularly to include a selection of Burrowing Owl library wines that are no longer publicly available for sale. And, the wine selection is enhanced with alternate premium Okanagan wines chosen to complement the menu.

www.bovwine.ca

Spaghetti sauce with yellow and green bell peppers

Today’s Dine Out experience is at home, Chez Karl’s place. On today’s menu is:

• Cow and Goat’s Milk Melange cheese
• Spaghetti sauce with green and yellow bell peppers
• Clementine oranges

The appetizer, the Melange cheese, comes from Trader Joe’s in Washington state.  If you have never heard of Trader Joe’s, it is an organic grocery store chain.  The one I went to was in Bellingham, WA.  This is a hard cheese, white, with no rind.  It has a bit of the sharpness that you can get from goat’s milk, but is still very mild. Low amount of salt.

To pair with this cheese and the main course, I opened a bottle of Portia Prima, Ribera del Duero, DOC, 2007, Spain.  I picked up this bottle at the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival last year.  It is made from the Tempranillo grape. Opening it and pouring it it in my glass with great anticipation.  It was opaque garnet.  Dark cherry, plum, leather, vanilla and some leafy aromas.  Full body with soft mouthfeel and low tannins.  Tobacco, cherries, plum, cassis and some vanilla, oak and leafiness.  There was some chocolate in the mid palate.  Long length with a peppery finish.  A very nice wine that has a good balance between fruit, tannins and acidity.  The Melange cheese just melted together with this wine.  It was an excellent appetizer pair.

Portia Prima DOC, Spain 2007

The spaghetti sauce was served on top of Trader Joe’s mixed cheese multi-coloured tortellini. The spaghetti sauce was full flavoured, but not spicy.  Made with ground beef, tomatoes, green and yellow bell peppers, long thin strips of onion, garlic and chopped celery and seasoned with marjoram and a bit of the Portia Prima wine. Marjoram  is related to oregano, but has a bit of a sweetness to it.  The richness of the spaghetti sauce tasted nice with the richness of the Portia Prima.

After a heavy main course, it is nice to finish it off with some fruit.  The clementines are from California. About the size of a golf ball but very sweet and without any seeds.  I’m satiated.  I hope you have a great dinner today too, whether it is at a Dine Out Vancouver restaurant or at home.  Cheers.

Hot and sour soup

Well I went to my third Dine Out Vancouver restaurant today with friends.  This time we went to Wild Rice, which is located close to the west edge of Chinatown.  It’s a short 2 block walk from the Stadium skytrain station.  The food for all 3 courses were all great, both for me and the others.  What I ordered:

• Hot and Sour Soup
• House Roasted BBQ Pork, Baby Bok Choy, jasmine rice
• Szechuan Chocolate Brownie

House Roasted BBQ Pork

To this I paired a glass of Rollingdale Pinot Noir, from West Okanagan.  The pinot noir has low tannins, light body, some violet aromas/flavours, and higher acidity, and thought it would pair nicely with the BBQ pork.

The hot and sour soup had just the right amount of heat for most people to handle.  I loved the slices of shitake mushrooms in the soup.  The House Roasted BBQ pork was tender and had a tasty sweet brown sauce.  This worked with the acidity of the Rollingdale Pinot Noir.  I wished it did have some crispy pork skin though. The Szechuan chocolate brownie was decadent, covered with a light chocolate sauce and crunchy ribbons of orange peels on top.  Enjoy with a coffee, or maybe port.

Szechuan Chocolate Brownie

I also was able to try some of the Salt and Pepper Tofu, Satay Sauce, Orange Braised Pemberton Beef, Drunken 5 treasure quinoa, and 5 Spice Carrot Cake with Ginger Icing. The panfried tofu with crushed chili flakes was accompanied by a peanut sauce mixed with some lemon grass.  A very tasty dish.  The Pemberton Beef came shredded, reminding me of pulled pork, but with a beefy flavour.  Very succulent.  The 5 Spice Carrot Cake was very gingery and tasted wonderful with the cream cheese icing.  I could have eaten a few plates of these carrot cakes.

I recommend coming to Wild Rice for Dineout Vancouver.  Enjoy!

Taste of the NFL

Are you an NFL football fan and a foodie? Well you can have the best of both worlds if you go to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Here is a press release about a local Seattle restauranteur bringing Pacific Northwest cuisine to the NFL.

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Proprietor and author Chef John Howie, is off to Super Bowl XLVI (46) in Indianapolis in 10 days.  Although Howie is as renowned for his love of sports as he is as a restaurateur (Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar in Bellevue & Seattle, John Howie Steak – Bellevue and SPORT Restaurant – Seattle), he will not be down on the playing field or sitting in the stands watching the Patriots and Giants face off.  Rather, in a combo of his passions, he will be representing the Northwest and the Seattle Seahawks on the eve of the big game at the “Taste of the NFL”, a strolling food and wine event.  More than 35 food stations, each from an NFL city, will provide food and wine samples for guests to savor.  Each chef is paired with an NFL player at their station, either past or current, and Howie will again be joined by Seahawks defensive lineman Craig Terrill.  The evening includes a silent auction with hundreds of one-of-a-kind sports and entertainment items as well as incredible getaways.  This year it will conclude with a live concert performance by multi-platinum and award-winning country singer and songwriter Sara Evans.  Titled the Party with a Purpose, the proceeds from the event will benefit food banks in each of the NFL cities (in Seattle Food Lifeline), with an emphasis on the Super Bowl host city’s food bank.

Howie has appeared at the “Taste of the NFL” every year since 2004.  This year he will be preparing Ancho Chili Applewood Scented King Salmon on Southwestern Roasted Corn Mashed Potatoes with Sweet Chili Hollandaise and Lime Cream from his new cookbook Passion & Palate: Recipes for a Generous Table.  Since 1992, Taste has distributed more than $11 million to hunger relief organizations nationwide.

Ticket prices are $600 and the event is attended by approximately 5,000 guests.  To attend, purchase tickets online at www.TasteoftheNFL.com or by phone at 888-695-0888 (extra fees do apply). 

Grilled BC bison striploin

Restaurant #2 on my list for Dine Out Vancouver is Cobre Restaurant in Gastown. It is described as Nuevo Latin Fusion of Mexican, Cuban, Brazilian and Argentinian flavours. With my group of friends, we tried most of the dishes on the Dine Out menu.

My selection was:

• Taqueria – Pulled duck and cracklin’ y charred scallion, roasted garlic
• Char grilled BC bison striploin with wild mushroom y valdeon empanita, mole demi
• Tres Leche Cake Orange and olive oil pound cake, Bourbon vanilla and sweet cream

My wine pairing between myself and friends was Stoneboat Chorus 2009, which is a blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, Muller Thurgau, Kerner, Schoenburger.  Tropical fruit, citrus and high acidity.  Not the best pairing with my dishes, but still an overall nice wine.

Pulled duck taqueria

My favourite of my 3 dishes was the pulled duck appetizer.  Served on a small tortilla shell.  Lots of flavour from this dish.  The duck was succulent and garlic added nice flavour to the duck.  Add a bit of Mexican hot sauce to this dish for an added kick.

The main course, the BC bison striploin, was a bit gristly. Hopefully this was just something I came across and it was not something you encounter.  Topped with this was a empanita, which looked like a tiny tortellini. It had blue cheese inside. To me blue cheese and beefy meat goes together well.

Tres leche cake

The tres leche cake was topped with a lemon ice cream.  The cake was very rich and sweet, and there was also a bit of saltiness with the crunchy topping.

I also tried the Taqueria – Battered Baja rockfish, jicama slaw y chipotle aioli appetizer and the Wild Mexican Sea prawns Pipian verde, butter browned corn arepas.  Both were excellent.  The sea prawns are a bit spicy, so avoid dipping them in the Pipian verde sauce.  They are very juicy on their own.

Enjoy!