Valentine’s at db bistro and Lumiere; Mon Bella serves up the love; Eat your veggies at Raincity Grill; Soma presents the “Wines of Argentina”.
VALENTINE’S AT DB BISTRO AND LUMIERE
Planning a seductive evening for Valentine’s? To help you entice your partner by setting the right mood, we’ve enlisted the help of three behind-the-scenes Cupids. The top three chefs at Vancouver’s db bistro moderne and Lumière restaurants have created a luscious menu to wow your Valentine. Executive Chef Dale MacKay recommends his romantically red entrée: Vodka and Beet Cured Hamachi exotically garnished with caviar. Chef Stephane Istel would his Honey with a sensuous Scallop and Oyster Ceviche. Pastry Chef Bruno Feldeisen says for a strong finish, try his Warm Chocolate Bunuelos. This dish you eat with your fingers. For a sensual touch, feel free to help each other. Bon appétit!
Menus:
valentines-db-bistro
Reservations: db bistro moderne 604.739.7115 and Lumière 604.739.8185
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MON BELLA SERVES UP THE LOVE
Tasting Tuesdays ~ Every Tuesday we offer a 3 course food and wine pairing for 20 bucks.
Hump Wednesdays ~ Recession Buster deal of the good old Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. To sex it up, we offer customers 5 choices of cheese for their sandwich – Brie, Gorgonzola, Pecorino, Gruyere and Port Salut …
Sandwiches are 8 bucks and the combo with the Tomato Soup is $12.00. For a few bucks more, they can do the Croque Monsieur.
Valentine’s Day Menu ~ click here to view
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EAT YOUR VEGGIES
Vancouver, BC…. Over the years Raincity Grill has shown the progression of local dining through their evolving menus. In the beginning, menus featured ingredients from the Pacific Northwest region. Now, through their work building relationships with producers and suppliers, Raincity Grill can utilize products from much closer to home. First pioneering the concept of a restaurant 100-Mile menu, and now featuring dishes with region – and farm – specific ingredients, Chef Peter Robertson takes this philosophy one step further with the addition of a “Regional Vegetables” section to the menu. The Regional Vegetables section will change seasonally in keeping with the Raincity style.
This section will focus on three designations;
- 100 Miles – Salad of ‘north arm farm’ beetroot, agassiz hazelnut, ‘david woods’ goat cheese.
- Region Specific – Pemberton Valley – Fricassee of Pemberton Valley vegetables, cured thumbelina carrots, smoked parsley root, sunchoke cream.
- Farm Specific – Helmers Organic Farm – Tasting of ‘helmers’ potatoes, whipped pontiac, seig linda gnocchi, white fondant, baked russet consommé.
Keeping the vegetables local adds more value to the menu than first meets the eye. While Raincity Grill has always been considered a neighbourhood dining room that offers great value in an inviting atmosphere, the contribution to the economy of BC can be affected by shopping locally. Keeping our farmers on the land is just a start.
Since 1992, Raincity Grill has defined Pacific Northwest cuisine, showcasing the unique ingredients of our local waters and small-lot farms – year round. Home of Canada’s premiere restaurant 100-Mile menu and an award-winning Pacific Northwest wine list, Raincity Grill is dedicated to the bounty of our backyard. Overlooking English Bay in the heart of Vancouver’s West End, take in the ever changing seasons of Vancouver by way of the view and the food at Raincity Grill.
For more information or reservations, visit the restaurant at 1193 Denman Street in Vancouver, online at www.raincitygrill.com or call 604-685-7337.
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SOMA PRESENTS ‘WINES OF ARGENTINA’
Featuring 7 of the best Argentinian wines. All of them available by the glass.
1. Luigi Bosca Malbec Reserva, Mendoza Argentina, 2004
This wine is as big and confident as its bottle suggests. Serious aromas of black cherry, fresh berry, coffee grounds, chocolate and rich dark earth. Full-bodied and silky on the palate with consistent mouth-filling power from entry to finish. It shows rich dark fruit, cocoa and soft, fine tannins. Serve with hard cheeses, grilled meat or roasted dishes.
Wine Scores Reviewed – May 27th, 2008
91 Points
2.Michel Torino Don David Syrah Reserve, Argentina, 2006
Sweet, up-front blackberry aromas with cedar, spices, rich chocolate, coffee bean and vanilla notes with a hint of caramel. Creamy berries on the entry, the cedar and peppery spice return on the palate with warm chocolate flavours. Full-bodied and smooth with bright acidity and medium tannins on the finish.
Wine Scores Reviewed – May 27th, 2008
91 Points
3.Bodegas Del Fin Del Mundo ‘Southernmost’ Patagonia Argentina, 2006
A blend of Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet with prominent earthy notes and loads of red fruit – berries, plums and cherries with hints of vanilla. The Cabernet ‘pops’ on the palate with cassis, tobacco and soft spice flavours. The wine is medium-full bodied, the entry smooth, the mid-palate has an appealing dusty texture and the finish shows
chewy, youthful tannins. One of only a few wines available in BC from this very southern region
of Patagonia.
Wine Scores Reviewed – May 26th, 2008
88 Points
4.Catena Malbec, Mendoza Argentina, 2005
Smoky dark fruits – black current and blueberry hints with cherry. Meaty/savoury undertones with chocolate, earth and herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied on the palate showing good depth, a smooth texture and great, ripe berry fruit flavours spiked with warm spices that linger with surprising intensity.
Wine Scores Reviewed – October 18th, 2007
91 Points
5.Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2005
From green harvesting to hand picking, to hand sorting, to gentle gravity techniques, this winery is doing everything possible to make pure, balanced, rich and ageworthy reds. Interestingly, they also make an effort to keep the alcohol content in check (in a world of 14-16 degree monster reds, this was refreshing). Every bottle is labelled by hand (we saw the workers doing so), and the production team is extraordinarily professional and dedicated. When tasting through the
wines we were struck by one thought, “These wines taste like someone is trying to make classic Bordeaux wines with Argentine soul…” Wonderful wines here.
Wine Advocate The 2005 Quimera is 37% Malbec, 28% Merlot, 25% Cabernet
Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. Unlike the 2004, it received only
40% new oak for 12 months. Stylistically the wines are very similar
both in terms of flavor and aging potential.
Score: 92. —Jay Miller, December 2007.
6.Domaine Jean Bousquet – Organic Cabernet Sauvignon
Originally farming in France, Jean Bousquet selected this location as ideal for employing “organic cultivation”. He uses no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
Color: Deep, dark warm crimson, semi-opaque. Aromas: Ripe cherry and
black raspberry, backed by vanilla, oak spice, and gravel notes. The
mouthfeel is medium-to-full-bodied, with substantial dry tannins. Red
to black fruit flavors, hints of dutched cocoa and moderate acidity
are well balanced. Dusty tannins and warm fruit flavors are long
lasting in the finish.
90.5 points
7. Clos de los siete
It’s full-bodied, totally dry, relatively lean, and it has a moderate amount of fine tannin all through its texture. Aromas and flavors suggest smoke, black pepper, spice, dark plum, and blackberry, and all of these contribute to a substantial, firm fruitiness. In a Burgundy-style glass, slight herbal notes emerge, suggestive of garrigue. This wine claims the middle ground between a powerful red and a gentle red, and has lots of presence. With food, it transforms into a smooth, round, soft wine that is a pleasure to drink.
91 Points
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dinner 7 DAYS 5pm-12am
SOMA
151 East 8th Avenue (at Main)
telephone: 604 630 7502
www.somavancouver.com
