seasonal Archives - West Coast Food

Craft Beer January 2, 2020

Winter Beers from Richmond You Need to Try

By Brittany Tiplady Richmond has a lot to offer. Most notably, the beautiful Steveston village and boardwalk and, recently, a burgeoning craft beer community. Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks recently took home some serious hardware at the BC Beer Awards, which means, you now have no excuse not to visit their tasting room, and tack on a few others too. Check out the seasonal goodies pouring this fall and winter in Richmond. Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks 11220 Horseshoe Way #103, Richmond Bean Me Up Espresso Milk Stout, 5.7% Coffee, meet beer. We think you’ll get along perfectly, and so do the follks at Fuggles & Warlock. This delightful, winter-friendly stout made in collaboration with Notch Coffee is extra creamy and sweet from the added lactose. Enjoy it on tap, or in cans. Britannia Brewing Brewery: #110-12500 Horseshoe Way, Richmond Brewpub: 12240 Second Ave, Richmond, Steveston Sirens Chai Saison, 5.75 Basically just…

Sweets December 11, 2019

Sweet Holiday Treats in Richmond

By VisitRichmondBC.com In the nights before Christmas, you and your loved ones may well have “visions of sugar-plums” dancing in your heads. Part of the delight of the holidays is the chance to indulge in decadent sweets and desserts, as well as gift them to friends and family. Richmond is home to some amazing boutiques and patisseries that are bound to satisfy everyone on Santa’s nice list— read on for details. Wild Sweets Dominique and Cindy Duby are the ultimate Christmas elves, busily coming up with innovative ways to transform ordinary chocolates and cakes into innovative works of art. Wild Sweets® (2145 – 12191 Hammersmith Way) has just released some new chocolate tasting gift sets, which consist of three, four, or five tiers of their cocoa bean-to-bar chocolate collections. One of the tiers is their new Crispy Praline & Ganache ‘arOma’ Collection, with each chocolate featuring crunchy nut butter praline,…

Craft Beer November 21, 2019

Get Seasonal with these Winter Beers from Langley

By Brittany Tiplady You don’t have to be a Yeast Van resident to enjoy great seasonal beer. Lauded as the next brewery boom town, Langley and Langley City are now home to some pretty sweet, ultra-cozy, breweries, with two more on the way. Check out the seasonal goodies pouring this fall and winter in Langley. Dead Frog Brewery #105 – 8860 201 Street, Langley City Nutty Uncle Peanut Butter Stout, 7.1 % Brewed with eight choice malts, roasted cocoa beans, and of course, copious amounts of peanut butter. This creamy milk stout boasts smooth, peanut butte notes with an ever-so-sweet finish. Frostbite Winter IPA, 6.5% Don’t let the name fool you: this one will keep you nice and toasty. This hazy, “snow-white” IPA has delightfully hoppy and juicy flavours of orange, and spices. Winter Beeracle, 7% Winter Ale’s are one of the best parts of the season for obvious reasons.…

Adult Beverages November 4, 2019

Seasonal Winter Beers from Burnaby and New Westminster

By Kristi Alexandra Normally, a cold comfort is a bit of an oxymoron, but Burnaby and New Westminster are brewing up something that’s both refreshingly cool and cheering. As winter descends, you’ll want to cozy up with a glass of these drafts coming out of neighbourhood taprooms until the New Year. Steel & Oak 1319 Third Ave, New Westminster Back for a second year, and brewed in collaboration with Timbertrain (the West Cordova coffee roasters) is First Press. This double-entendre beer is a cold brew coffee stout with serious notes of cocoa, hazelnut, toffee, and a big old helping of freshly roasted coffee. Find them in cans or fill up on tap. As a redux to First Press, Steel & Oak debuts Second Press. This imperial cold brew coffee stout boasts big flavours of molasses, licorice, dark chocolate, hearty, roasted coffee and finishing smooth with a warming of alcohol. To…

Craft Beer October 9, 2019

Autumn Beers in Vancouver

By Brittany Tiplady You know the drill around here, Autumn in Vancouver (or anywhere really) means ditching your summer gear for all the cozy stuff: scarves, thick socks, peacoats, and delicious, rich beer. But because Vancouver is overflowing with beer and brewery options, we’ve rounded up a bevvy of seasonal suggestions whether it’s for your fridge, or your next brewery crawl. Parallel 49 Brewing Company 1950 Triumph Street Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter 6.5% “All treat, no trick: this rich, robust chocolate pumpkin porter is so good, even the living dead will indulge.” We warned you: there’s not escaping pumpkin flavoured beer during the autumn season. But pumpkin and chocolate? That’s sure to please even the pumpkin skeptics. The base of the Lost Souls Chocolate Pumpkin Porter is a hearty porter, enhanced with a generous addition of chocolate malts. Stanley Park Brewing 8901 Stanley Park Drive Layer Up Winter Wheat…

Craft Beer October 7, 2019

Autumn Beers from Surrey and White Rock

By Kristi Alexandra South of the Fraser, you’ll find local tasting rooms brewing up some serious flavours and suds over autumn. The season, of course, marks the return of pumpkin-spiced everything, but it also inspires creativity and a break from the norm. Find a few drinks below that’ll have you howling at the moon in Surrey and White Rock this fall. White Rock Beach Beer 15181 Russell Ave, White Rock While the near-beachside brewery may conjure up thoughts of eternal summer, you’ll find a brisk, if not refreshing, return to fall near the seashore. Drink up the spot’s Border beer, a Baltic-style porter that’s malty, clear, and has notes of chocolate. As they put it, this beer is “sure to warm you up on the coldest of days – or nights”. 3 Dogs Brewing 15222 North Bluff Road, White Rock At 3 Dogs Brewing, there are staples and there are…

Recipes January 12, 2019

Recipe: Elk Burger with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

From: Pacific Gateway Hotel, Richmond Burger Pattie INGREDIENTS Ground Elk / Pork (2.27 kg) Worcestershire Sauce (15 ml) Kosher Salt (5 g) Pepper (5 g) Steel Cut Oats (500 g) Bacon or Bacon Ends (1000 g) DIRECTIONS 1. Medium Dice the bacon or bacon ends. 2. Cook until just before crispy. Allow to cool slightly. 3. Add all fat and bacon to a large mixing bowl. 4. Add pork and Elk to the mixing bowl. 5. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl. 6. Mix well by hand or with a large mixer in small batches. 7. Pan fry small patty to test seasoning. Adjust if needed. 8. Make patties of any size or shape and chill for 2 hours in fridge. 9. Sear in pan or cook on BBQ. 10. Serve on your choice of bun, with cranberry barbecue sauce (recipe follows), and other toppings as desired. Gluten Free…

Craft Beer February 2, 2018

Burnaby and East Van have Beer to Spice Up Winter Months

By Brittany Tiplady Spring, so close yet so far. We recommend hibernating for the remaining winter months with a cold beer and a whole lot of Netflix. Or, hang out in one of the tap rooms listed below and take advantage of the rich, wintery beers they have to offer. Dageraad Brewing 3191 Thunderbird Crescent #114, Burnaby Londen, 7.0% Dageraad is the purveyor of classy and full-bodied craft beer. Recently released on January 19th, is Dageraad’s latest winter sipper called Londen; an English porter that is brewed with Belgian and Canadian influence and the “fruity, spicy mystery of a Belgian fermentation.” Try this on tap or in bottles at the Dageraad tasting room. 10°, 10.5% Hold onto your hats, this one is not for the faint of heart (or the lightweight)! The new Dageraad 10°, a 2016 bronze medalist at the 2016 BC Beer Awards, is an exotic winter brew…

Craft Beer January 31, 2018

Embrace the Winter Taps in New Westminster and Richmond

By Kristi Alexandra Winter’s far from over, but the Christmas rush has many of our local craft breweries drying up their stores of limited release selections. If you’ve got a hankering to bring back the holiday season with a few sips of the suds just north of the Fraser, here’s where you can still pour some pints in New Westminster and Richmond. Steel and Oak 1319 3rd Ave, New Westminster This Third Street brewery is still going strong with its limited release, Windrose. This four-grain porter will bring you back to Christmas morning by the fire with the rich taste of chocolate, caramel and toffee fit for overindulging. Sadly, you won’t find it on tap but there are still a few cases of the Zusammen Cardamom Fig Stout floating around Metro Vancouver liquor store shelves. This spicy beverage was brewed by the women of Steel and Oak along with Head…

Craft Beer January 24, 2018

Winter Beers in Vancouver are Still Pouring Strong

By Kristi Alexandra Though the holidays have passed, winter doesn’t officially end until well into March, and nor do the city’s seasonal brews. While it may be too late for that craft beer advent calendar, the seasonal suds are still flowing with these Vancouver-based beers. We suggest you run, don’t walk, to find the following beers in the city before they stop flowing (and most definitely, don’t drive after). Postmark Brewing 55 Dunlevy Ave. Winter Warmer Bring it in for a classic, with touches so subtle you could drink this all-year-long. Dark, rich malts find themselves in a warming ale with refreshingly minimal spices. Parallel 49 1950 Triumph St. Broken Resolution Cherry Baltic Porter Finally, a winter beer that looks beyond December 25th. For when you give up on sober January, grab a hold of Parallel 49’s twist on the classic English Porter. Chocolate, plum, and a bright tart, cherry…

Craft Beer January 17, 2018

Wintery Seasonal Craft Beer in Surrey and Coquitlam

By Brittany Tiplady Beer can be romanticized in so many ways but the great Charles Bukowski nailed it: “stay with the beer,” he penned “beer is continuous blood. A continuous lover.” The holidays have come and gone, but Metro Vancouver’s mild winter weather is here to stay, at least for a few months. Curl up with these seasonal winter brews found in Surrey, White Rock and Coquitlam. Russell Brewing Company 13018 80 Ave, Surrey Winter Stout, 6.5% The name says it all. Available now in 650ml at private liquor stores, Russell Brewing’s Winter Stout is chock-full of chocolate and black malts and roasted barley. Black Death Porter, 6.5% Buckle up for this one! The Black Death Porter, part of Russell Brewing’s Brewmaster Seasonal Series, is a heavy porter brewed with Canadian and Scottish malted barley. Find it on tap or on the shelves at private liquor stores but buyer beware:…

Craft Beer January 9, 2018

Wintery Seasonal Craft Beer on Vancouver’s North Shore

By Brittany Tiplady Vancouver’s North Shore winters may be chilly and long, but there is always beer- and Kinky Friedman said it best: “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.” We know the holidays are long over (thank goodness!) but if seasonal beers are your jam, you’re in luck! There’s still a bevy of winter-themed brews stocked by beloved craft breweries on Vancouver’s North Shore to keep yourself warm for the winter months to come. Green Leaf Brewing 123 Carrie Cates Court, Lonsdale Quay Market, North Vancouver LoLo Stout 5.5% Named after Green Leaf’s Lower Lonsdale neighborhood, LoLo is a dark and hearty stout that boasts rich and delicious chocolate and coffee flavours. Perfect for the endless North Shore winters. Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers 2270 Dollarton Hwy #170, North Vancouver Dog Mountain Extra Stout, 7.5% (Cans only) Deep Cove Brewers lovingly describes the Dog Mountain…

Craft Beer October 12, 2017

Seasonal Pumpkin and Kiwi Brews at North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing

By Kristi Alexandra Upon stepping into North Vancouver’s Bridge Brewing Company, just a shot up Mountain Highway, light streams through the windows, illuminating a quaint tasting room and bottles of amber liquid housed in the cooler. Craft beer culture in the lower mainland has always lauded locality, but head brewer Kerry Dyson’s newest creations take on a whole new light in this hyper-local haunt, whose tasting room is adjacent to a garage-style brewery. His latest seasonal offerings are the Quaywi Sour–a collaboration beer with Tap and Barrel–the Pear Cardamom Milkshake IPA, and the seasonably apt Pumpkin Porter–all of which use locally-sourced ingredients to perfect their taste. “If we can, we’ll try to source it as locally as possible,” Dyson tell WestcoastFood of his brewery’s zero-waste, local, and sustainable ethos. “We get our hops from Chilliwack hops farms out in the valley… it depends on what we’re looking for. We just…

Seafood July 13, 2017

Here’s Where to Get Canadian Atlantic Lobster on the Pacific Coast this Summer

By Catherine Dunwoody Sure. We have salmon, spot prawns and Dungeness crab aplenty here on the west coast, but that doesn’t mean we don’t crave fresh lobster every summer as well, like our neighbours out east who get to feast on it regularly. Loving fresh lobster is easy right now on Canada’s west coast. Here’s a hot list of restaurants serving it up in a variety of ways. Lobster. The love is real, people. Vancouver Lobster Fest is an annual thing at Provence Marinaside, returning every July and on now ‘til month end. Executive Chef Jean-Francis Quaglia created a three-course menu for a sweet deal at $62 with optional wine pairings for an additional charge. Choices of starters like lobster salad with fresh peas and puree or classic lobster Thermidor whet your palate for even more, with main options offered x3. The whole Atlantic lobster done Provençal style is ridiculously…

Shops & Markets April 11, 2017

Local, Fresh, and Here May-June: B.C. Asparagus

By Anna Black If you’ve been keen to get your hands on a nice crisp bundle of local-grown savoury asparagus your wait is almost over. Considered one of the delicacies of the vegetable world, asparagus will make its debut back onto the shelves of grocers, and menus of local eateries starting in May. The supply of fresh asparagus won’t last long though so catch it while you can! The normal growing season is very short in the Vancouver area, lasting only until the end of June. A great source of vitamins A and C, potassium, iron and calcium, asparagus is available in over twenty varieties grouped by color: green (the most common), white, and violet. Regardless of color, all varieties taste delicious no matter how they are prepared. When selecting your asparagus, look for bundles where the tips are tightly furled and perky rather than limp. The shoots should also…

Farms March 29, 2017

It’s Tarragon Season on Canada’s West Coast

By Jennifer Foden With spring finally here, people are starting to think about their gardens—from flowers and plants to vegetables and herbs. One popular selection is tarragon, a green culinary herb used in chicken, fish and egg dishes; it’s also a main ingredient in Béarnaise sauce. “Tarragon season in BC is essentially the whole growing season, from April to October,” says Conor Preston of Figaro’s Garden, a garden centre on Vancouver’s Victoria Drive (near the Commercial Drive neighbourhood). However, tarragon is one example of many herbs that are perennial and can survive non-extreme winters, like the ones in the Lower Mainland of BC. People often provide the herb shelter throughout the winter months by placing them in a greenhouse. In the summer months, tarragon likes sunshine, but not hot weather; another reason why the Lower Mainland is the perfect climate for growing this popular herb. “Tarragon is all about flavour,”…