Victorians Wine and Dine All Summer

TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES

Araxi's in-house wine education program with Mark Davidson has been so successful, Tob Table is planning to repeat the program at their other three Vancouver restaurants.

So much for those spot prawns, visiting author and restuarant critic Trevor White declared Quang Dang's lobster bisque at C restaurant to be the "best in the world".

Andrea Carlson of Raincity Grill is going to pack up her pots and take her 100-mile-menu on the road to the Okanagan.

DINE AND DASH

Unconfirmed rumours

So what's the truth on this one? The gossip going around is that Marc-Andre Choquette may not be going to the Loden Hotel as their executive chef after all. That instead, he may be returning to Rob Feenie's open arms at Lumiere. So far, both the hotel and the person close to Choquette who our informers named as the source of the rumour have "not been available for comment". We have not been able to reach Marc-Andre himself. Perhaps it's just a matter of contract neociations still being in progress.

Another bird informs us that the Bellstar Group, the people behind the Spirit Ridge Development at N'kmip Winery in the Okangan, has taken over the contract for the Rosemead Hotel in Victoria and may be on the purchase track. This does fit with a comment made to use earlier this year by Belstar partner Jon Zwickel that the Calgary-based resort development company would be investing in an already existing facility on Vancouver Island.

VICTORIANS WINE AND DINE ALL SUMMER


Ocean Wise Swims Into Victoria

Beginning July 1, 2007, the Vancouver Aquarium is bringing their successful Ocean Wise program to Vancouver Island. Ocean Wise is a Vancouver Aquarium conservation initiative dedicated to helping restaurants and their customers make environmentally friendly seafood choices. The aquarium reviews the latest scientific information and then recommends sustainable seafood choices to Ocean Wise partner restaurants and markets ensuring all species used are caught in ways that minimize environmental impact and ensures the future health of the oceans. The Ocean Wise symbol on a menu or grocery display ensures that seafood item is the best choice to help protect ocean life. Participating restaurants in Victoria include The Fairmont Empress, Lure Restaurant, The Marina Restaurant, Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub and on Vancouver Island, The Landing West Coast Grill and Nimmo Bay Resort. For more information visit www.oceanwisecanada.org


New Ciderhouse Rules

On July 21, 2007, Vancouver Island's newest cidery, Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse, will open in Victoria, BC. Located on the Saanich Peninsula, 20 minutes north of Victoria, Sea Cider is a certified organic farm boasting panoramic orchards and ocean views. They grow certified organic heritage apples selected for their superior cider qualities and all ciders are crafted on site. Robust to delicate, still or sparkling, each Sea Cider label promises a balance of sophisticated flavours and aromas. Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse is the first cidery on the Saanich Peninsula and will be open to visitors for tastings, Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 am - 7:00 pm. The Saanich Peninsula is arguably the newest and fastest growing agritourism region on southern Vancouver Island and is home to many local wineries. For more information visit www.seacider.ca.


Island Chefs Collaborative Farm Market

This summer, a new farm market designed and run by the Island Chefs Collaborative (ICC) is growing on Vancouver Island. Held every Thursday from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm in Bastion Square in downtown Victoria, BC, the market gives downtown residents and visitors the opportunity to taste some of the island's finest produce with local, primarily organic fruits and vegetables for sale at farmgate prices. Each week at the market ICC chefs will be on hand to provide recipes, cooking tips and explainations of the more exotic items for sale. Additionally, they will take some of that week's produce and create a dish that customers can take away with them or snack on while they shop. The ICC aims to increase public consumption of island grown produce and to decrease reliance on imported foodstuffs. Sales from the market will help provide income for local farmers, many of whom have come through the Island Chefs Collaborative funding program. For more information on the Island Chefs Collaborative visit www.islandchefscollaborative.com


History Bites

From August 3-5, 2007, a new culinary event called History Bites - An Edible Journey Through Victoria's Past will be held in Victoria, BC. Visitors will experience 100 years of Victoria's culinary influences from each decade from 1840 to 1940. Approximately 20 food booths will serve $1.00 "bites" representing cultural and historic dishes interpreted by modern chefs. The event will also include historical and culinary displays, entertainment and a beer garden. First Nations, Chinese and Jewish foods will be featured, to name just a few, as well as dishes from the eras of Fort Victoria and the Gold Rush. Venue locations include the Maritime Museum of British Columbia and Centennial Square. History Bites is organized in Association with the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) and the Canadian Culinary Federation Victoria (CCFV). For more information visit www.bcrfa.com.


Victoria Symphony Splash

The 18th Annual Bayview Residences Victoria Symphony Splash will be held in Victoria, BC on August 5, 2007. The largest annual symphony event in North America and one of the city's most anticipated and popular free summer events, Symphony Splash transforms Victoria's picturesque Inner Harbour into an outdoor concert venue as the Victoria Symphony plays from a barge moored in the middle of the harbour. As the sun sets, the orchestra plays a perfect blend of classics and popular favourites creating a magical evening that comes to a dramatic close with Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture accompanied by fireworks. The Music Director of the Victoria Symphony, Tania Miller, is the youngest conductor of a major Canadian orchestra and the first Canadian woman to be appointed to such a position. For more information visit www.victoriasymphony.bc.ca.



Dragon Boating

The 13th Annual Victoria Dragon Boat Festival will be held August 17-19, 2007 in Victoria, BC's Inner Harbour. In Victoria, the water is a way of life and the sport of dragon boating has been increasing in popularity over recent years. Training occurs year-round, but dragon boating is most popular in the summer culminating with the annual Dragon Boat Festival. Ninety dragon boat teams from across North America with crews of 22 paddlers race head-to-head in a 470 m (1,540 ft.) sprint in full dragon boat regalia with timing drums thumping away. Fast and colourful, the races are just as exciting for spectators as the crews. The Victoria Dragon Boat Festival also includes on-shore cultural events including an entertainment stage with live music and dance, children's activity tent and food fair. For more information visit www.victoriadragonboat.com.



Information courtesty of Heather McGillivray of Tourism Victoria

Filed in REGIONAL/Victoria


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OPENINGS

The new deli section at the T&T Supermarket on Keefer Street opened for business on the 26th (see photos below), and although it may be on a more modest scale than the hot food take out sections of the Asian foods grocer's other locations in Richmond, it has done a great deal to brighten up a formerly tired looking corner of the downtown store, as well as expand the assortment of items available for immediate consumption. There are several new cooler cases with pre-cooked and packaged foods on display, a hot dim sum menu, as well as a small eating area in the back with a window looking out onto Tinseltown. (They may want to take down the poster that now covers it.)

From July 6 to 12, T&T stores will be featuring the foods of Thailand, so be on the lookout for items of Thai cuisine to be featured in the take out section as well as such regular items as barbecued pork, spicy tofu, and smoked honey-glazed duck. (We will have more on this tomorrow.)

Meanwhile, over at So.cial at Le Magasin in Gastown, it looks like Chef Sean Cousins' in-house butcher shop and deli is finally going to make its debut. After long delays and hassles with the city's intricate licensing system, the shop will be open for business this Saturday.

























































































Filed in SHOPS/Shop Talk


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THE MEDIA HOUND

In today's Globe and Mail: Alexandra Gill, who has traded in her full time desk at the G&M for the carefree if more precarious life of a freelancer, has penned an ode to Vikram Vij's Rangoli as part of a series for the Globe that will examine favourite "Cheap Eats" places across Canada. (Nice to see someone doing re-checks of the not so new restaurants in this city as opposed to yet another jump all over the just borns. )

Now that Ms Gill (our favourite young curmugeon), is on the loose, we may expect to see her copy cover some expanded ground -- perhaps expanded lycra. Rumour is she is planning to report on an Elvis-themed cruise. We can't wait to read that one!

Gill also visits Little Nest, a new restaurant that sounds Heaven sent for parents and like dine out Hell for anyone else. Will this work? It reminds us a little bit of a bus tour we were on once where the tour company in their wisdom decided to hire two busses, one for non-smokers and the other for the smokers. Except that no one would get on the second bus. Even smokers didn't want to be trapped in a vehicle where everyone was smoking. Could be the same with eating around screaming kids. Where as the chip of your block's confrontational issues with food might seem endlessly charming, anyone else's..........?

But what's with the Globe anyway? It seems like every week they scour two year old editions of BC press to come up with the lead stories for their Life Section. This week, Haley Mick discovers Venturi Schultze balsamic vinegar. Guess it must all be news to Toronto.


Filed in MEDIA

PINK KNOT ROSE
McLaren Vale, Australia, 2005

Peel me a pink one!

We fell hard for the Red Knot wines during the recent Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. The easy drinking fruit-forward reds from Australia intrigued us with their Slinky-style “Zork� corks that unravel like a perfectly peeled orange. So when we spotted their cotton candy pink sister from across a crowded tasting room recently, we knew we had to peel us a pink one.

With its vibrant shade of berry juice and aromas that pop out of the glass the Pink Knot is certainly no shrinking violet. Aromas are of wild berries, blossoms, forest greenery and minerals and flavours are mouth-watering cranberry and dried lemon peel.
It’s a clean, off-dry rosé with solid, slightly candied flavours--although it won’t quite make your sweet tooth ache or your dentist cringe.

No diploma needed simply purchase, peel, pop and pour.

PRICE: $14.99
FIND IT IN: BC Liquor Stores + 839894
AGENT: Calibrium


Filed by: Daenna Van Mulligen a.k.a. The Wine Diva

Filed in DRINK/A Bouquet of Rose

TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES

The new Cove Lakeside Resort in the Okanagan turns up the heat with Bonfire restaurant and bar.

Just the facts, M'am. Metro restaurant cracks open its doors.

Is Jazz good for the digestive system? Three restaurants in Vancouver give you the opportunity to find out.

Canada's birthday bash is coming up and Granville Island plans to be party central.


Filed in DAILY NEWS/Greater Details and DAILY NEWS/Press Releases.