Megan Halkett, Author at West Coast Food - Page 19 of 28
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Sweets

Sweet Sweet Beresford Street in Burnaby

By Kristi Alexandra Tucked away just behind Burnaby’s landmark shopping epicentre, Metrotown, where there’s no shortage of food to wares, is a small culinary enclave to satisfy any sweet tooth. Beresford Street, between Dow and Willingdon Avenues, is home to several cafes boasting homemade sweets with the saccharine quality of authenticity. From bubble tea and waffles, to gourmet soups, fresh pastries and handmade chocolates, this gastronomic haven is the gourmand’s secret gem — it’s a place to dine, sip, and study in relative quiet just steps away from the bustling crowds. EStEA Café | 4466 Beresford St.  EStEA Cafe is the eatery to frequent whether you want to stay for five minutes or a few hours. The quaint cafe recalls a Riverdale favorite, Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe, with a modern Taiwanese influence. Seating less than 20, the cafe has an ambiance as adorable as its treats – with spiraling pink art…

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Metro Vancouver Chef Stories

Mexican Cuisine Inspires Chef Sam Fabbro of El Santo

By Catherine Dunwoody El Santo, Spanish for “the saint”, was a masked legend of Mexican sports, a famous luchador (wrestler) and it is the two-year-old restaurant founder Alejandro Diaz’s childhood hero. For Diaz, choosing Vancouver-born Chef Sam Fabbro to helm his New Westminster restaurant’s kitchen made good sense. When it came to creating a menu that focused on the freshest seasonal West Coast ingredients available with a traditional, Mexican slant – Fabbro gets it. While still in high school, Sam hopped on a work experience opportunity at Cobre in Vancouver’s Gastown, then known for its real-deal Latino cuisine. After landing stints at Raincity in English Bay and Cin Cin; El Santo is where you’ll find him now. Always inspired by Mexican cooking, Fabbro spent time in Jalisco, Mexico to immerse myself in the food and culture, and brought some authentic ideas back to El Santo. “My dishes are always changing and that…

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Brunch in Metro Vancouver

A Homey Bakery in the Heart of Richmond’s Steveston Village

By Winnie Tam When Steveston Bakery opened in 1989, the road wasn’t yet paved and there were barely any other businesses nearby. Today, Steveston is one of Richmond’s most beloved and bustling neighbourhoods, with lots to see and eat for locals and tourists alike. And while the surroundings of Steveston Bakery have changed dramatically, husband-and-wife owners Hemant and Bimla Rao’s commitment to quality in their food and baked goods hasn’t budged one bit. The lineups that appear daily in their bakery are the best proof. The shop is the kind of friendly neighbourhood place that every town dreams of. Since moving from Fiji to Canada in the early 80s, the couple has established a regular fan base for their bakery; in fact, some patrons have been visiting nearly every day since it opened (yes, it’s open seven days a week). Hemant jokes that some people call his bakery Steveston’s “second…

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Recipes

Recipe: Gaoler’s Mews Cocktail

By Katie Ingram, head bartender, L’Abattoir Vancouver’s L’Abattoir restaurant is housed in a 19th–century heritage building where the city’s first jail once stood. Head bartender Katie Ingram pays homage to the location’s haunted past with a cocktail inspired by a time when whisky followed freely. The bourbon-based drink offers savoury tasting notes that evoke elements of a prisoner’s last meal. Black tea and vermouth add a gamey quality to drink, while the Nightshade cordial bring weight and texture to create a full-bodied libation perfect for slow-sipping in dark corners.  INGREDIENTS Knob Creek Kentucky Straight Bourbon (45 mL or 1.5 oz.) Fermented black tea-infused vermouth (20 mL or 0.75 oz.) Nightshade cordial (10 mL or 0.25 oz.) Bittered Sling French Quarter Bitters (2 dashes) DIRECTIONS 1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice.

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Recipes

Recipe: Tales of Suspense #52 Cocktail

By Marc Slingsby-Jones, bar manager, Café Medina “Initially, I wanted to name this cocktail the ‘Black Widow.’ It turns out that’s a fairly popular name for a cocktail, so I channeled my inner nerd and the spirit of Halloween and came up with ‘Tales of Suspense #52’ — the comic in which the Black Widow superhero first makes her appearance.” INGREDIENTS Vodka (1.5 oz) Grand Marnier (1/2 oz) Fresh lime juice (1/2 oz) Charcoal syrup (30ml water, 30ml sugar, 1 pinch of activated charcoal) Egg white (from 1 egg) Mulled cranberry syrup (1 oz) *see below for recipe DIRECTIONS 1. Add egg white, vodka, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and cranberry syrup to shaker. 2. Give the mixture a good hard, dry shake (no ice). 3. Fill shaker with ice and shake a second time. 4. Double strain mixture into a coupe glass. 5. Wait for foam to form on top…

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Filipino

Kulinarya Filipino Eatery’s Rose Samaniego Took a Bold Leap in Coquitlam

By Catherine Dunwoody “I used to work for an investment firm for 15-plus years,” says Rose Samaniego, co-owner of Coquitlam’s Kulinarya Filipino Eatery. She decided to take the leap and open Kulinarya while still also working her full-time job. Fast forward from 2009 to today, and Rose clearly feels she made the right decision to leave her day job and focus on this busy restaurant, including plans to open a second location on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. Rose is passionate about bringing authentic Filipino cuisine to BC, and guides her chef Joemel Gracilla to keep it real when it comes to the dishes served. So much so, that Kulinarya was given honourable mention for Best Southeast Asian restaurant in the 2013 Vancouver Magazine awards. For those not familiar with Filipino food, think Asian with a strong Spanish influence. Signature dishes? Kaldereta (beef and potato in a spicy tomato sauce), crispy pata…

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Wineries

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 3: Dinner at Chaberton Estate Winery

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran Go to Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean Go to Part 2: Lunch at JD Farms A day spent trekking around farms and adding soil to your treads deserves a meal that takes all of what you’ve seen and wraps it into a smooth and elegant finish. And by that of course, I mean that wine pairings are imperative. At the Chaberton Estate Winery you can explore the vineyards and then head to the Bacchus Bistro for selections of wine made right there, alongside rich French cuisine using local ingredients. And then this is where the magic happens: Chaberton’s corks are also refined right next to the where the grapes grow. Once you’ve seen all the work that goes into the bottle, it’s time to work on getting it out of the bottle at Bacchus Bistro. The menu has a diverse selection of…

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Chinese

Richmond Hot Pot: To Hot vs. Yuan’s Chuan Chaun Xiang

By Tara Lee Hot pot takes on many different forms within China and across Asia, including countries like Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the past year, Richmond has seen the opening of many new restaurants that offer a spicy kick. Chongqing and Chengdu are styles of hot put and cities in southwestern China that share cultural roots in Sichuan cooking. Chongqing is known as the birthplace of hot pot and a visit to either city necessitates a hot pot eating experience. If you’re looking to get a taste of this southwestern Chinese style of hot pot, Richmond has much to offer you. Two establishments worth visiting are To Hot (130-8171 Ackroyd Road) and Yuan’s Chuang Chuang Xiang (Aberdeen Centre, 4151 Hazelbridge Way). They’re both innovative in their own ways, modern in their décor, and definitely lip-smacking in flavour profiles. Armed with an open palate – and an empty stomach, I decided to pay a…

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Metro Vancouver Chef Stories

Chicha’s Chef Shelome Bouvette Tells All

By Catherine Dunwoody Even though it’s 2017, it’s hard to believe that women in the restaurant business are not as commonplace as we would like to think. Chef Shelome Bouvette, co-executive chef and co-owner of Chicha shares her story: Can you tell me about how you started your career as a chef? I attended VCC Culinary School and after graduation worked at Delilah’s, Allegro, and Lolita’s but learned the most under Chef Tina Fineza at Bin 942 who was a huge influence. You’ve been at Chicha for how long now? We feel honoured and blessed to have been in business for almost five years, in a city where competition is very tough. I am entirely responsible for the concept and menu, always a challenge, but hard work pays off. How was it cracking the world of male chefs as a female? You know in hindsight I recognize the scarcity of…

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sweepstakes

The Coast is Calling Contest

Win a trip for two with transportation, accommodation, and a private tour. Bring a friend for a foodie experience that spans multiple cities and communities, for a taste of what lies beyond Vancouver’s cityscape. Make the Coast Coal Harbour by APA your urban oasis for two nights, with floor-to-ceiling windows just steps from the seaside tree canopy of Stanley Park. Then choose your own foodie adventure from the choices below: Choose From These Itineraries Bikes, Brews & Bollywood | New Westminster & Surrey Start the day with breakfast at Angelina’s Dutch Corner in historic New Westminster Hop on a bike for an easy community ride tour on the Queensborough Loop and enjoy amazing views of the Fraser River and the city. After you’ve worked up an appetite, stop at El Santo for a lunch of modern, Mexican cuisine. Travel over the Patullo Bridge for a tour and tasting at…

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Craft Beer in Metro Vancouver

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…

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Farms

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 2: Lunch at JD Farms

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran Go to Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean After a morning spent checking out Langley along the Circle Farm Tour or perhaps following a round of golf, the stomach starts to call for lunch, and we’ve got the answer. JD Farms raises specialty turkey, and from their farm comes everything from full roast-ready turkeys to sausages, broth, ready-made entrees, salami and pepperoni (even raw pet foods for your furry family) – and of course, there’s a bistro for when you’re hungry right now. The JD Farms Bistro serves up turkey in nearly endless forms. But their most popular item is their smoked turkey legs. These have become so well-known that busses full of people from around the world have been known to make a dedicated stop, just to give the handheld specialty a try. Also popular is their hot and fresh turkey pot pies,…

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Recipes

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie with Chantilly Cream

By Dan Olson, chef/owner, Railtown Catering  DOUGH INGREDIENTS Flour (1 ½ cups) Salt (pinch) Sugar (pinch) Butter (½ cup) Water (30 mL) DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS  1. Sift flour, add salt and sugar, then cut butter into small pieces. 2. Pinch butter into flour until broken down into pea-sized pieces. 3. Add water and start to bring together. Cover dough and rest in the fridge for an hour. 4. Roll out and place in pie pan (9”) PUMPKIN FILLING INGREDIENTS  Whipping cream (116 mL or 4oz) Whole milk (116 mL or 4oz) Brown sugar (½ cup) Flour (1 ¼ tbsp.) Cinnamon (1 tsp) Ground ginger (½ tsp) Ground clove (½ tsp) Ground nutmeg (½ tsp) Whole eggs (2 ½) Pumpkin purée (333g or 1 cup) PUMPKIN FILLING INSTRUCTIONS  1. Whisk all ingredients together and pour into shell. 2. Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes until the middle is firm and a knife…

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Recipes

Recipe: Dried Apricot, Chestnut & Brioche Bread Stuffing

By Dan Olson, chef/owner, Railtown Catering INGREDIENTS Brioche bread (2 loaves, diced into cubes) Celery (4 stalks, diced) Small yellow onion (1, diced) Garlic (4 cloves, chopped) Fresh sage (½ bunch, chopped) Fresh thyme (¼ bunch, chopped) Dried apricots (1 small handful, diced) Roasted chestnuts (1 cup, chopped) Toasted pine nuts (¼ cup) Butter (½ pound) Reserved turkey fat/drippings Turkey stock (3 cups) Whole eggs (4 , whisked together) Old bay seasoning spice (1 tbsp) Juice from one orange Salt and cracked black pepper to taste INSTRUCTIONS  1. In an oven preheated to 350°F, toast the brioche cubes into golden brown croutons with garlic oil and salt. Set aside. 2. Sauté the onion, celery, garlic, thyme, sage and seasonings together in the reserved turkey dripping and butter. 3. In a large mixing bowl, add the croutons, chestnuts, pine nuts, sautéed vegetables, orange juice, turkey stock and eggs. Season with salt…

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Craft Beer in Metro Vancouver

Coquitlam Enters the Craft Brewery Scene with Newcomer Mariner Brewing

By Brittany Tiplady It’s risky to open a craft brewery in such a saturated local market. With tasting rooms lining the streets of Vancouver, and Port Moody’s beloved Brewery Row, how does one launch a new craft brewery that we haven’t already seen, and sipped, so many times before? Mariner Brewing found the recipe to do just that. 26-year-old Byron Vallis brought his love of craft beer to his hometown of Coquitlam, just a few blocks from his childhood home. The vision he and his team shared was to bring a unique element to the craft beer scene in the untapped market of Coquitlam, so that folks like him (and girlfriend Lauren Ang, Chief Consumption Officer of Mariner Brewing,) could enjoy doing what they love most, right at home. Mariner Brewing opened their chic and nautical-themed tasting room on August 30th 2017 with four brews on tap, and has been…

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Brunch in Metro Vancouver

A Full Day of Feasting in Langley Part 1: Breakfast at Milsean

Photos by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran The lush fields accented by mountain views in Langley, BC have nestled within them several days worth of exploring. Just a short drive from Vancouver there are farms, vineyards, meaderies, friendly animals, and more. Langley’s Circle Farm Tour has plenty of places to snack and treat yourself along the drive, and we’ve chosen a few favorites to get you started on a full day of getting to know the area’s hidden gems. For breakfast, Milsean’s Tea Shoppe is the place to get your morning tea (or coffee) and get the day off to a sweet start. Prefer something savoury or to-go? Although the waffles come highly recommended, there’s lots more to try. The sunny atrium is a cozy place to have your morning bite. Be sure to take home some of their addictive butter crunch! You’d be missing out in a big…

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Recipes

Recipe: Iced Tea Sangria

by Angie Quaale, Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store Garnish this refreshingly simple patio sipper with your favorite seasonal berries and fresh mint leaves. INGREDIENTS Prepared iced tea (2 liters) Evolve Cellars Rosé (1 bottle, chilled) William Paquito strawberry syrup  (½ cup) INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a large pitcher, combine tea, wine, and syrup. 2. Chill and serve over ice with fresh fruit garnish. Read more about Well Seasoned Gourmet Food Store here!

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Wineries

A Scenic Vineyard Visit to Vinoscenti Winery in Surrey

By Kristi Alexandra Tucked away in South Surrey on the near-rural Colebrook Road, a stone’s throw away from Highway 10 (and just 15 minutes from the Canada-USA border), are acres of fertile vineyard. Rows and rows of grape varieties at Vinoscenti Vineyards give Vinoscenti wines their flavour – but they’re also the focal point of the winery’s other offerings: guided winery walks, wine classes, and private events. I visited the thriving winery to find out more about their 20+ year-old vines and to see how the business’ recent makeover (the winery was formerly known as River’s Bend but re-opened in July 2017 as Vinoscenti under new ownership) is a growing renaissance. If you’re looking to peel off the road and enjoy a leisurely stroll through the vineyards, complete with a wine tasting and a slice of mango cake in the tasting room, you won’t miss the big oak barrels welcoming…

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Festivals & Events

The TriCity Wine Festival to Bring a Taste of Italy to Coquitlam

By Winnie Tam Is there ever a combination better than food and wine? I think not. On November 4 -5, you can sample local and international foods and more than 200 wines from around the world all under one roof at the inaugural TriCity International Food & Wine Festival. Taking place at the beautiful Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club in Coquitlam, the festival features two tasting rooms – an Italian-themed room that will have wines from 15 Italian wineries plus an array of Italian food such as bruschetta, cheeses and cannoli; and an international tasting room with wines offered by 50+ wineries from over 10 countries including Argentina, France and Chile, and yummy nibbles like tuna poke, beef sliders and sweet and savoury breads. Guests can walk through the two tasting rooms and sample to their hearts’ content. The festival’s all-inclusive entry fee means that there are no painful…

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Recipes

Recipe: Beef and Oyster Tartare on Olive Oil Crostini

By Chef Jack Chen, Royal Dinette Yields 24 crostini INGREDIENTS Beef and Oyster Tartare   Beef, sirloin or tri-tip recommended (2 ounces finely chopped) Oyster, shucked and finely chopped (1) Finely chopped shallots (1 tbsp) Finely chopped mixed herbs: parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon (1 Tbsp) Grainy mustard (1 tsp) Extra virgin olive oil (3 Tbsp) Sherry vinegar (1 tsp) Pinch of salt Pinch of black pepper INGREDIENTS Oyster Mayonnaise  Egg yolk (1) Dijon mustard (1 tbsp) Oysters, finely chopped (2) Grapeseed oil (1.5 cup) Lemon juice from 1 lemon Pinch of salt INGREDIENTS Crostini Day-old baguette (1) Olive oil Salt Black pepper INGREDIENTS Garnish  Toasted pine nuts Diced pear Horseradish DIRECTIONS Beef and Oyster Tartare 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly and set aside. DIRECTIONS Oyster Mayonnaise 1. In a bowl, mix egg yolk, salt, Dijon mustard and oysters. 2. Slowly add grapeseed oil while whisking to…

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Wineries

See What the Mead Buzz is About at Festina Lente Estate Winery in Langley

Images by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran Seven years ago, Teresa Townsley and her husband Bill bought a 5-acre hobby farm in Langley, and got to work on delighting the palettes of wine lovers in BC and any visitor lucky enough to find them. From an unfenced grown-over lot next door to Campbell Valley Regional Park, the two of them have cultivated the land to mind horses; chickens; and best of all (for the rest of us), colonies of honey bees, which happen to help make some of the region’s most delicious varieties of mead. Festina Lente’s specialty is mead, or honey wine. Although it’s made by fermenting honey, the end result is not necessarily sweet. Varieties are smooth and crisp, some with herbal and fruit infusions. The unique coffee-infused mead, “Zephyr” and the lavender-infused “Flora” are absolute must-try flavours. Far from novelty, these meads are as sophisticated as…

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Craft Beer in Metro Vancouver

Tour: Fraser Valley Wineries

You don’t have to go all the way to the Okanagan to taste world-class BC wine! Fraser Valley wineries have been quietly growing world-class grapes and producing award-winning wines just minutes away from downtown Vancouver. Let WestCoastFood and our transportation partner, Burnaby Tours, be your host as we explore the wineries of the Fraser Valley. On this tour, you’ll visit: Krause Berry Farms & Estate Winery This family owned and operated destination farm and estate winery is our first stop. We’ll enjoy a tour and then settle into the special event tent with a beautiful cheese board and 5 samples of Krause Berry’s award-winning fruit wines. After the tasting you’re free to explore the farm and do a little shopping in the market before we move on to the next stop. Chaberton Estate Winery Established in the Fraser Valley in 1975 by Claude & Inge Violet, Chaberton Estate Winery is…

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Festivals & Events

Vancouver’s North Shore Has Their First Ever Craft Beer Week

by Catherine Dunwoody Vancouver’s North Shore Tourism Association has partnered with the five (soon to be seven!) microbreweries to host their first-ever craft beer festival, running from October 6-13, 2017. Vancouver’s North Shore goes from Deep Cove to Horseshoe Bay, and participating breweries are offering everything from cask nights to craft brewery crawls, to Brewmaster’s Dinners, and more. Who’s in on the fun? Beere Brewing Company, Black Kettle Brewing Company, Bridge Brewing Company, Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers, and Hearthstone Brewery. Serious about beer? Get your very own Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week Passport and get stamped as you sip your way to the opportunity to win a prize draw. Think hotel stays, Capilano Suspension Bridge passes, filled growlers, and much more. “We are delighted to introduce this festival, and our craft breweries, to new and old friends alike”, said Jennifer Belak, Executive Director at Vancouver’s North Shore Tourism…

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Recipes

Recipe: Honey Glazed BBQ Chicken Breast

By Chef Caitlin Mark, H2 Rotisserie & Bar For this recipe, H2 uses local chicken from Maple Hill Farms and local honey produced on-site. Prep time: 10 minutes, Cook time approx. 20 minutes INGREDIENTS | PART 1: SPICE RUB Skin on boneless chicken breasts (6) Coarse Kosher salt (1/4 cup) Brown sugar (1/4 cup) Chili powder (1/4 cup) Smoked paprika (2 tbsp) Canola oil (approx. 1/2 cup) INGREDIENTS | PART 2: HONEY GLAZE Unsalted butter (1/4 pound) Crushed garlic (2 tbsp) Chili flakes (1 tsp) Organic honey (1 cup) DIRECTIONS | PART 1: SPICE RUB  1. Mix dry spices with canola oil until it forms a loose paste 2. Gently rub in spice blend on and under chicken skin, ensuring that the spice rub is spread thinly and evenly across the entire chicken breast on both sides 3. Depending on if you are using a barbecue or an oven: On…

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Farms

Meet the Animals Along the Circle Farm Tour in Langley, BC

Images by Michele Mateus Words by Alexis Baran The heart of local food that brings all the greens, grains, produce, cheese and meats to our plate isn’t often in our urban centres – it’s mainly found in the people and animals who work the fields and farms. There are several places within Metro Vancouver where you can bring the kids to meet the producers and see farm animals, and a scenic place to start is Langley along the Circle Farm Tour. At Milner Valley, a fifth-generation heritage farm, they specialize in a variety of artisan goat cheese. There is a whole crew of adorable goats to visit on Milner Valley’s farm, who are milked to create the cheese you can buy in their shop. All of the ogling, petting, and taking photos of the goats can get exhausting, so cool yourself with hand-made goats milk gelato, served up in the…

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Craft Beer in Metro Vancouver

Tour: Lagers, Stouts and Ales in Coquitlam, Burnaby and New West

There’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker on Canada’s West Coast. The region is undergoing a craft brewing renaissance and it seems that there is a new craft brewery popping up every week. Let WestCoastFood and our transportation partner, Burnaby Tours, be your host as we guide you to some of the best craft breweries in the region. Enjoy an in-depth look at the art of beer making with a behind-the-scenes tour at one of the breweries, and get a full sampling of the breweries’ finest beers. (If you left beer fans at home, be sure to pick up a growler or two!) On this tour, you’ll visit:   Mariner Brewing, Coquitlam One of the new kids on the block, Mariner Brewing opened recently to much fanfare. Beer enthusiasts can expect their first offerings to include a sour weisse, a dry-hopped cream ale and a Northeastern…

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Craft Beer in Metro Vancouver

Tour: Craft Brew Hop through Surrey and Langley

There’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker on Canada’s West Coast. The region is undergoing a craft brewing renaissance and it seems that there is a new craft brewery popping up every week. Let WestCoastFood and our transportation partner, Burnaby Tours, be your host as we guide you to some of the best craft breweries in the region. Enjoy an in-depth look at the art of beer making with a behind-the-scenes tour at one of the breweries, and get a full sampling of the breweries’ finest beers. (If you left beer fans at home, be sure to pick up a growler or two!) On this tour, you’ll visit:   Central City Brewing and Distillery, Surrey Known for their line of Red Racer beers, including their signature Red Racer IPA, Central City also produces offer a variety of craft beverages including specialty beers, ciders and both brown and…

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Metro Vancouver Chef Stories

A Modern Menu in Historic Fort Langley: Chef Romy Prasad of Fortitude Restaurant

By Brittany Tiplady Entering Fort Langley is like stepping into a page of Canadian history. The idyllic village caters to history buffs, trail walkers, and coffee shop dwellers alike. As for food and drink, the options for casual fares are plentiful. The classic Fort Langley dining staples still stand strong: Wendel’s, Beatniks, and the Fort Pub and Grill to name a few, serving regulars and tourists with a hint of small town charm. Today, as Vancouver millennials slowly migrate from city life to suburban haven, the energy in Fort Langley has shifted into a more youthful local community, while still managing to keep the beloved, historic charm, intact. City-inspired hot spots like Trading Post Brewing and Little Donkey have moved into the village with much acclaim, but the new kid on the block, Fortitude Restaurant, is creating quite a buzz within the community and abroad. Fortitude brings a fresh, fine-dining…

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Festivals & Events

New Westminster’s Feast on the Fraser Returns

By Catherine Dunwoody Back for its third year, New Westminster, BC is once again hosting its culinary showcase Feast on the Fraser taking place September 22 to October 1, 2017. Ten days of delicious tastings, cocktail parties, food tours and long table dinners are yours for the taking, but make special note in your calendars for these themed parties: Mad Men Mixer at Mid-Century Modern Home Store, a Speakeasy Prohibition Gala at 100 Braid Street Studios, a Beauty and the Beast children’s tea party and a Canada 150-themed dinner cruise on a paddleboat on the Fraser River. The entire festival champions local restaurants and local ingredients from the Fraser Valley, withTej Kainth, executive director of Tourism New Westminster, summing it up well: “It’s creating these cool collaborations between chefs and producers and the unique spaces we have in New West. Our events are smaller and more intimate, to give visitors…

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Sweets

Must-Visit Richmond Bakeries

By VisitRichmondBC.com Who doesn’t want to consume their weight in baked goods? This list of delicious, must-visit bakeries will make you want to throw out your diet, even if just for one day. Go ahead and indulge – try out these six bakeries – three Asian bakeries and three European/North American ones, all located in sunny Richmond, BC. Chinese Bakeries Lido Restaurant 4231 Hazelbridge Way Apparently, pineapple buns are a really big deal around here. Ask just about anyone who has lived in Richmond for any substantial period of time and, assuming that this person is reasonably up to snuff on Hong Kong style bakeries, they’ll tell you that Lido is king of the pineapple bun. Trays of these buns are brought out every 15 minutes, all day long. Bite into a deliciously fresh, hot bun with a slab of butter in the middle and you’ll see what we’re talking…

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