Every January for 18 years, Liberty Wine Merchants hosts a fundraising event to start the bar high for the new year. Liberty is once again recruiting British Columbia’s finest food and beverage purveyors for Taste BC: a fundraiser for the BC Children’s Hospital’s Oak Tree Clinic.

BC Children’s Hospital’s Oak Tree Clinic provides specialized HIV care for infected women, pregnant women, partners, children and youth, and support services for affected families.  This event has raised a collective total of $186,336.00 since 1995 to benefit the Oak Tree Clinic.

Modern Mix Vancouver was there in 2009 and had enjoyed going from booth to booth, learning about new wines, sampling food pairings and bidding on silent auction items.    This year’s 18th annual celebration of local food and drink takes place January 24, 2012 (4:30-7:30 p.m.) at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Guests will taste, sip and experience BC’s finest wine, beer and spirits accompanied by tasty fare from local restaurants. Along with excellent food and drink, attractions include live music, door prizes, and a silent auction that rivals any other. Silent auction items include luxury items, local experience packages, destination packages and delicious products made by British Columbia’s own.

Tickets are $49.99 and available at Liberty Wine Merchant stores.

MMV Giveaway:  Modern Mix Vancouver is giving away a pair of will-call tickets to Taste BC.  Leave a comment below telling us your favourite wine and a random winner will be chosen from the comments below.  Be sure to leave your email address so we can contact you if you’re a winner.  Contests ends Sunday January 22nd.  

For additional entries, you can do the following things;

• For a second entry: Follow @ModernMixVan on Twitter and tweet “I want to win a pair of tickets to @taste_BC from @ModernMixVan http://bit.ly/ylLWkc RT to enter!”
• For a third entry: “Like” the Modern Mix Vancouver Page on Facebook and post on the wall “I want to win a pair of tickets to Taste BC from Modern Mix Vancouver! http://bit.ly/ylLWkc” 

To get a good variety of appetizers to try, we started out with The Fusion ($11) which consisted of a trio of chilli chicken cut up in a moderately spicy pepper sauce, the fusion salad which had a tart but refreshing black salt vinaigrette dressing, as well as two lamb samosas (minced lamb and peas) served with green apple mint and tamarind date chutney dip.

"The Fusion" - A trio of chilli chicken, fusion salad & lamb samosa served with green apple mint and tamarind date chutney.

For our main course, we ordered the Lamb Vindaloo ($14), Shitake Prawns ($17) and of course, everyone’s favourite Indian dish, Butter Chicken ($14).  At first, the metal bowls which the food came served in seemed small – but be warned, Indian food is typically very rich, flavourful and creamy – a little goes a long way!  I was pleased that all three dishes we ordered were sauce-y, so we could dip our Garlic and Chive Naan ($4) in it, or spoon the sauce onto the Pulao Basmati Rice ($4) that we ordered.

The Butter Chicken, our favourite of the three dishes, was delicious, with tender cubes of chicken in a creamy fresh tomato and pureed ginger, garlic, fenugreek herb and cinnamon sauce.  There was a perfect balance of sweet and savoury flavours, and the creamy sauce absorbed nicely into the rice and naan.  The Shitake Prawns has succulent, peeled prawns in the sauce which was cooked in a ginger, garlic, tomato, onion and tumeric sauce.  The tumeric spice gave the dish a distinct South Asian / Middle Eastern taste.  The Lamb Vindaloo had generous portions of braised lamb cooked in a sauce of red chillies, vinegar, tomatoes, onions, and star anise.  We thought the star anise (licorice flavour) added a nice touch to the dish, however, it seemed like the vinegar was over-powering the other flavours and gave the dish an unbalanced sour flavour.

Butter Chicken and Garlic and Chive Naan

From only ordering the appetizer trio and three, creamy meat dishes, giant pieces of naan and a full helping of rice, we had more than enough food to doggy-bag home for lunch the next day.  I’m pretty sure Indian Fusion is one of those restaurants where no one leaves the slightly bit hungry. Lastly, after a full, hearty, meal, the restaurant’s Kitsilano location is great for taking an evening stroll to work off that butter chicken you just ate!

Went to Sunset Burgers on Friday night, a retro-themed diner on Nelson and Seymour in downtown Vancouver.  Bright colours and neon highlights decorate the interior of this burger joint.

With “all burgers made fresh with Kobe Beef” their “original sunset burgers” starts at $5.49 and you can get a number of toppings for free – fried onions, grilled mushrooms, and a variety of sauces. You can also upgrade to delux toppings like avocado, guacamole and a variety of cheeses for approximately $1 extra.

What makes this burger joint unique and true to its Vancouver location, is the option to “Yaletown” your burger – replace your burger bun with a lettuce wrap instead. I “yaletowned” my Sunset Burger and really enjoyed it. The lettuce was fresh and crisp, and because the burger was wrapped in foil, it was easy to eat without getting your fingers messy.  If I come back here again, I’d for sure “Yaletown” my burger again.

Sunset Burger also has an alcohol license so you can order a selection of bottled beer and ciders for around $5. I was surprised that it was fairly empty  on a Friday night, I think this would be a good spot to pre-drink at before a night out on the Granville Strip.  Sunset Burger is open daily from 11am to 11pm.

By Eudora Koh, Modern Mix Vancouver Writer

Chaise is another one of the jewels along Main Street, which we all know is recognized for its smaller hole-in-the-wall restaurants and diners. After passing by countless times, I finally got to try the resto-bar that I’d heard so much about.  The highlights of Chaise? It has a very relaxed and casual atmosphere which is perfect for an evening any day of the week, and has a chalkboard full of daily specials, great service, and drinks specials! Initially, from its fancy-looking exterior and signage (and name for that fact!), I would have imagined Chaise to carry pricier food and beverage; on the contrary, the entire menu was affordable and everything sounded down-to-earth but appetizing.

The atmosphere inside Chaise was split into a bar/lounge area, with high tops and bar stools, and a more intimate area, which I’m guessing is the dining room with the booth and table set up.  Maybe it was because I was there on a Friday night, and a Canucks game night, but at times, I found it too loud to have a meaningful one-on-one conversation.

I ordered the Jamaican Burger which was $10, and was loaded with jerk chicken, cranberry mayo, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and raw onion (of which I probably should not have eaten so much).  Vanessa had the $10 pasta with meatballs special for $10.  She found the meatballs tender, moist and flavourful but the pasta a bit bland.

Regardless, the value of the food for the price you’re paying made up for that, as did my overall experience.   The portions were definitely filling, the food was decent, and best of all, the beer special was only $4.75/pint.  If you ask me, that definitely makes for a good Friday night … minus the raw onion breath I was stuck with.

By Kenneth Law, Modern Mix Vancouver writer

Located in a busy corner of Kitsilano, the Oakwood is a fairly new neighborhood bistro and bar that is likely to be well patronized by locals, but there are enough attractions to draw people in from the rest of the city for brunch, dinner or a late night drink. Walk into the restaurant and you will be warmly greeted by the earthtone décor and fireplace, where reclaimed wood materials are abundantly used in the interior design of the space, leading to a cozy, ski-lodge like feel. Various seating accommodations are available in the small but comfortable venue, including booths, bar stools and a centerpiece wooden communal table that is perfect for mingling.

Head chef Mike Robbins and his staff have created a one page, double sided menu that is remarkably short and succinct, in line with the clean feel – and pricing – of the place. Items are categorized by cost, with $5, $10, $15 and $20 options, and are made with locally sourced produce to craft simple, standard Canadian pub fare, such as burgers and salads but with a bit of an edge. Locally crafted beer and a finely chosen wine list populate the beverage side of the menu.

At the opening celebration party on October 20th, I had a chance to sample some of the items that are supposed to be on the menu – except they were not.  The waitress gave me a strange look when I asked why the items served aren’t on the regular menu.  Eventually, someone explained to me that the Oakwood’s menus are frequently rotating to accommodate the seasonal availability and sustainability of the items. So what was on display included their burgers, tuna tataki, crab meat tortellini and a butternut squash soup.  Their burgers had a nice touch of using alfafa to soak up the flavor and the taste of the tuna tataki was perfectly balanced between its spice and sweetness.  However, I found some of the selections to be a little too strongly flavored, occasionally overpowering the taste of the natural ingredients.

Overall speaking, the Oakwood Canadian Bistro is a very comfortable, clean and cozy place to spend inside for the winter months and outside on the patio in the summer; a fairly priced and enjoyable affair to have a meal and a drink.

Make a difference. Dine out & support people living with HIV/AIDS.

Dining Out For Life is BC’s largest restaurant fundraiser, benefiting A Loving Spoonful and Friends For Life.  Over 230 restaurants from Whistler to White Rock and across the Fraser Valley will contribute 25% of their sales that day to people living with HIV/AIDS.   From 100 Days to Zen Japanese Restaurant, there will be over 230 restaurants participating in Dining Out For Life in 2011.  Invite your friends & dine at a participating restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Vancouver has raised over $3 million for HIV/AIDS support services over 16 years.

An alternative to your sausage/egg mcmuffin … introducing the buttermilk biscuit sandwich! Mcdonald’s is inviting their customers to join in the product launch celebration with a free buttermilk biscuit sandwich on February 9th and 10th, during breakfast hours, at your local Mcdonald’s. “When you bake the perfect biscuit, you celebrate. Baked fresh daily, they’re just like homemade.” Click here for the Facebook event details.

Some Buttermilk Biscuit Facts for you:

• The new Buttermilk Biscuit is the most significant breakfast menu launch for McDonald’s since the McGriddles successfully debuted in 2003.
• McDonald’s first introduced Canadians to the on-the-go breakfast experience with the launch of the Egg McMuffin in 1976.

When it comes to “concept dining”, my favourite way of eating food is definitely tapas style. Located in Blood Alley in Gastown, adjacent to Salt Tasting Room, Judas Goat Taberna is a 28-seat tapas bar which serves small plates influenced by Spain, Italy and France.  Despite the foreign food pairings, the environment of Judas Goat reminds of me a family grocery store.  A viewable food preparation station and high countertops close enough to make small talk with the patrons sitting beside you.  Square yellow stools huddle around small tables.  For larger parties, there is a counter right by the food preparation area, and another row of seating by the window – which, weather dependant, slide open.

Similar to its sister restaurant, The Salt Tasting Room, Judas Goat combines a variety of flavours and textures and teases the pallet with its small portions. I love the option of nibbling on a variety of food and sharing dishes.  Between the two of us, we ordered 7 items, which included two “hot” dishes, two “pressed, potted, or cured” dishes and a salad. Agreeing with everyone I have spoken with, what you pay for the portions is not really worth the price; but then again, “concept dining” is about the experience of “trying something new”, right??

We started off with two skewers of Fig and Manchego ($3 each) which had perfectly balanced flavours of sweet (soft, chewy fig) and savory (the firm manchego cheese). For our “hot” dishes, we ordered the Veal Saltimbocca Sweetbread ($6) and Brisket Meatballs with Spiced Tomato Sauce ($6).  I learned that “sweetbread” is pretty much baby cow neck glands, but don’t let that phase you out.  The flavourful sage and thin prosciutto rind around the veal medallions made this one of my favourite dishes of the meal.  As for the meatballs, they weren’t anything special (to be honest, I prefer the kobe meatballs at Glowbal – which are larger, jucier, and more familiar tasting). The Potted Prawns with Pistachio Butter ($7) were very tasty.  We had to use our forks to dig through the pistachio butter to find the prawns (hence, “potted”) and eat it with the Melba Toast style bread.  We also ordered the Rabbit Rillette with Carrot Panna Cotta ($6).  Rabbit is not the most common meat to eat; if you haven’t had it before, the taste and texture reminds me of chicken or duck instead of beef .  I was surprised that panna cotta could be carrot flavored and paired with a savory meat, but once again, Judas Goat has been great at combining contrasting flavours and making it work.

In conclusion, savour the experience of this quaint little tapas bar, sitting elbow to elbow on high chairs and people-watching (Gastown fashionistas, foodies heading to Salt Tasting Room and the occasional homeless person…) while sampling a variety of unusual bite-sized dishes.

I sure love my chai tea! How about in Frozen Yogurt? On March 19,  Yogen Früz is unveiling its newest and most highly anticipated flavor Chai Latté in its NÜmixes portfolio at stores across North America. Yogen Früz’s Chai Latté is blended with low-fat or non-fat frozen yogurt providing you with a healthy alternative to your everyday coffee-break.

Yogen Früz prides itself on providing a one of a kind frozen yogurt experience including two unique elements that set it apart from its competitors. Other brands which simply provide an assortment of toppings, Yogen Früz’s proprietary blending process allows customers the opportunity to choose from an array of fresh fruits to create a personalized frozen yogurt treat. In addition, Yogen Früz’s NÜmixes program offers a fun spin on original flavors including: Chocolate Almond, Key Lime Pie, Piña Colada, and introducing the newest flavor Chai Latté.

Yogen Früz is offered in low-fat, non-fat and no-sugar-added frozen yogurt options, which can be custom blended with a large assortment of fresh fruit and/or sweet crunchy toppings in a cup or blended into a nutritious fat-free, ice-free dairy or non-dairy smoothie. Yogen Früz adds one billion viable probiotic cultures to each serving of healthy yogurt. Probiotics have been shown to help with healthy digestion, immune system support, better mineral absorption and assist with lactose intolerance.

Whether you are looking for a healthy snack alternative, or to just enjoy a tasty frozen dessert or nutritious smoothie, Yogen Früz offers more than just a delicious treat; each bite provides the body with essential vitamins to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. With its added assortment of NÜmixes, Yogen Früz maintains its position as industry leader – consistently creating innovative ways to enjoy frozen yogurt.

After much delay, Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe (850 Thurlow Street) is finally open. Upon entering the restaurant on a Tuesday night for dinner, we were immediately impressed with the beautiful decor, complete with a vintage espresso machine in the middle of the bar, custom chandeliers and leather booth seating.  However, the hostess was unwelcoming to the point where my friend questioned whether or not she actually worked there. When we were finally seated,  we had read through the entire menu (twice!) before even having a server introduced to us.  We didn’t order anything from their cocktail list, but their drink menu is much more extensive than their food selection. (I like how the cocktail menu is in alphabetical order…) However, we felt that the server was slow and inattentive. Our thoughts were further confirmed when she brought us the wrong wine.

However, all our negative sentiments about the service dissolved when the food finally came. If you are a chef Anthony Sedlak fan you may be familiar with his White Bean Cassoulet from his Food Network TV show.  Corner Suite’s own version of that is the “48 Hour Cassoulet” ($25). This classic slow-cooked bean dish originating from France, was fantastic. It was everything you could imagine it being, with white beans layered with sausage, duck confit and fois gras with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. The “Steak and Fries” ($25) with blue cheese butter was deliciously tender; absolutely melt in your mouth.

For dessert, the “Tarte Tatin a la Minute” ($16) was surely the best part of the meal. For those of you unfamiliar with this dish, it consists of apple slices layered in a fan shape, covered with caramel and cinnamon and a delicously flaky batter poured over top. It took 20 minutes to make because it was made fresh to order, serves two and well worth the wait.

In conclusion, give Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe the benefit of the doubt for the service.  Once inside, the classy decor, combined with delicious food will definitely render this restaurant another visit.

Open from Noon til 2am Monday through Saturday | Brunch from 11am to 3pm on Sunday | Service from 3pm to 2am on Sundays