Here is a captivating collection of Food and Wine Fresh
Story Ideas from Destination British Columbia.
Destination BC is on Twitter. Follow us at @TourismBC.
Vancouver, Coast & Mountains: Vancouver's Cafés and Coffee Shops Offer a Taste of the City:
Caffè latte or buttery croissant? Silky chocolate or freshly roasted
brew? Check out these three delectable Vancouver coffee shops and cafés,
and you may just choose them all.
To start, settle in at the newly opened, and decidedly
Parisian, Faubourg. Long a draw for locals in the Kerrisdale
neighbourhood, this second shop, set across from the Vancouver Art
Gallery in the city's downtown core, promises sweet and savoury
offerings that include decadent créme brûlée, pain au chocolat, flaky
croissants, baguettes and breads. And while you contemplate whether the
delicate mille feuille, chocolate pastry cream-filled eclairs or
signature white chocolate and passion fruit ganache macarons make the
trip home with you, try the tiramisu or feel the seduction of the
brioche with jam and butter. Ooh la la. www.faubourg.com
Continue your edible journey to Gastown, and you'll find a
café with a cause: East Van Roasters. Nibbles of organic bean-to-bar
chocolate and sips of fair trade coffee roasted and prepared on site
will tempt at this Rainier Hotel locale. (Hand-rolled truffles,
single-origin chocolate bars and even sipping chocolate will ensure you
linger even longer.) There's a bonus, too; this not-for-profit draw
provides training and employment for female residents of the Rainier
Hotel, ensuring this is one indulgence you'll feel good about. www.eastvanroasters.com
Cruise up to Main Street and you'll discover what the
locals there already know: 49th Parallel is serious about its brews.
Here, richly roasted treasures are sourced from every corner of the
globe, with Master Roaster Michael Piccolo personally ensuring that each
batch of green coffee is roasted to the 49th Parallel standard. Want to
take it up a notch? Coffee connoisseurs can test their know-how and
fine-tune their skills with small-class instruction that includes
pulling the perfect espresso, preparing pour-over coffee and mastering
latte art. So, enjoy a single-origin espresso macchiato or an Ethiopia
Yirgacheffe specialty drip coffee. Better yet, pair it with a
made-from-scratch-throughout-the-day Lucky's Doughnut, and savour your
cuppa with an apple bacon fritter, PB&J or salted caramel treat. www.49thparallelroasters.com
To read more story ideas from the Vancouver, Coast & Mountains region, visit www.hellobc.com/vcmbcmedia.
Thompson Okanagan: Explore All That Is Edible at Covert Farms:
Set on a 243-hectare (600-acre) expanse north of Oliver, Covert Farms
is home to a bounty of offerings, from the leafy greens and seasonal
fruit at the organic country market to the reds and whites at the
homestead's own winery. Indeed, the farm, with views of the Okanagan's
famed McIntyre Bluff, offers ample opportunity to stock up: you can pick
and pluck your way through over 60 different crops until mid-October
(seasoned staff can lead the way) or, should you prefer your produce
bunched and ready to slip into your canvas bag, opt instead for the
market's fresh field tomatoes, onions, sweet corn, muskmelons and table
grapes. More one-on-one? Team up with a farmer and you'll tour the
vineyards, fields and tucked-away places in snappy style, thanks to
Covert's vintage 1952 Mercury truck. Or simply sit back and take it all
in during their Final Harvest Dinner, October 10, which pairs
Chef Derek Uhlemann with Winemaker Gene Covert for a multi-course menu
that salutes farm-fresh organic crops and toast-worthy vintages lovingly
produced in this desert sagebush setting. www.covertfarms.ca
To read more story ideas from the Thompson Okanagan region, visit www.hellobc.com/totamedia.
Vancouver Island: Forage for Mushrooms With Brother Michael:
Yellow and white mushrooms. Chanterelles and lobster mushrooms. The
elusive matsutake, or pine, mushroom. No, it's not a shopping list, but a
sample of the edible gems to be unearthed during a Fall Mushroom Hunt
with Benedictine monk Brother Michael and Chef Bradford Boisvert of
Amusé on the Vineyard. October and November are prime for the picking in
the Cowichan Valley's thick forests, north of Victoria, where Brother
Michael, along with Chef Boisvert, leads the crew on a hunt to seek out
and identify choice edible mushrooms. (Brother Michael's enthusiasm for
the pursuit began as a hobby, an exploration that, with the sale of his
treasures to local restaurants, raised funds for Duncan's Solo Deo
Monastery.) Once the prizes have been plucked, all participants return
with their finds to the 115-year-old farm house near Mill Bay that is
home to Amusé on the Vineyard, where Chef Boisvert guides the group
through proper cleaning and preparation techniques. A tasty exercise
that results in a three-course, mushroom-themed lunch (think lobster
mushroom bisque, candied jelly tooth fungus and caramelized chanterelle
mushroom ice cream), complemented by local reds and whites. And with
herbs, edible flowers and apple, pear and old-growth walnut trees
peppering the heritage property, it's also the perfect locale to revel
in your edible education. www.amuseonthevineyard.com
To read more story ideas from the Vancouver Island region, visit www.hellobc.com/vancouverislandmedia.
Kootenay Rockies: Cedar House Restaurant Promises Dining That's Fine in the Canadian Rockies:
If you're passionate about what's on your plate, then you'll love what
they're dishing up at Cedar House Restaurant and Chalets. Making its
home just south of Golden on a private four-hectare (10-acre) wooded
expanse, Cedar House prides itself as a true fine dining experience, a
tasty indulgence that celebrates sustainably sourced fish, natural meats
and some of BC's finest wines. And this former residence, with its wood
trim and heavy timbers, embraces its surroundings throughout the
seasons; in summer, pre-dinner strolls of the gardens and stone
pathways, wine glass in hand, are a must while cooler climates will
beckon you indoors, where a wood-burning fireplace sets the scene. And
while you may wish to devour your braised elk short rib with garden-herb
spatzle or pan-seared pickerel with sweet corn and herb purée, don't
feel rushed. You could call it a night in one of the draw's seven
eco-friendly chalets, complete with fully equipped kitchens, private hot
tubs and views of the organic gardens. The best part? Your overnight is
just steps away from out-of-this-world Rocky Mountain menus. www.cedarhousechalets.com
To read more story ideas from the Kootenay Rockies region, visit www.hellobc.com/krbcmedia.
Northern BC: Come for the Menus, Stay for the Music at Nancy O's:
Fresh, made-to-order menus. Good stories, a few jokes and ... live
music? Welcome to Nancy O's, a Prince George staple that satisfies the
cravings while plucking a few guitar strings. On the menu: vegetarians
rejoice! Well, once a week, anyway, during Meatless Mondays,
where popular choices include summer succotash and veggie burgers with a
little Middle Eastern flair. You'll rack it up Tuesdays, thanks to
Nancy O's signature slow-roasted, sweet-and-spicy-rum baby back ribs,
corn bread and braised kale, while pulled pork sandwiches paired with a
tall, frothy pint will answer the question of what's on Wednesdays. For
lovers of all things pasta, cravings will be met with heaping dishes of
linguini packed with prawns, scallops and Pacific mussels alongside
macaroni and cheese with bacon, creamy smoked cheddar and organic
arugula. And if you think that lineup will satisfy, be sure to stay a
while — and work up your courage — during the ever-popular open-mic
nights, or settle in for musical acts that include Picture the Ocean and
Blackberry Wood, and comedians the likes of Darryl Lenox and Johny
Buehler. After all, the folks at Nancy O's think that home-cooked meals
are best served with a side of showmanship. www.nancyos.ca
To read more story ideas from the Northern British Columbia region, visit www.hellobc.com/northernbcmedia.
Cariboo Chilcotin Coast: Move Over, Maple Syrup. Moose Meadows Farm Brings on the Birch:
While there's no question that maple syrup is a proud Canadian
condiment, Moose Meadows Farm's Heloise Dixon-Warren and Ted Traer are
doing their part to let you know that birch syrup bears its own luring
qualities. And how better to hear first-hand what intoxicates than
during an Educational Farm Tour at the bustling draw near
Quesnel. Running until November, these tours highlight, among other
things, resident critters (alpacas and chickens!), the expansive
Christmas tree forest and, of course, illumination into sap collection
and syrup production in the farm's own sugar shack. And while you can
witness this ritual during Sugaring-Off Season (April), there's
opportunity to sample the golden-hued elixir any time of the year, an
ideal opportunity to hear more from the folks who literally wrote the
book on birch syrup: 2007's award-winning The Birch Syrup Production
Manual — Tapping into Syrup Boreal Forest Style. Being that there's so
much to say, you may even choose to stick around a while. You could, for
example, ring in the winter season with a wreath decorating workshop,
stock up on your syrup stash at the on-farm Christmas Market or
settle in for a snooze at the Groom's Quarter B&B, complete with a
home-cooked breakfast. Featuring a touch of syrup, no doubt. www.moosemeadowsfarm.ca
To read more story ideas from the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region, visit www.hellobc.com/cccbcmedia.
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