UPDATED: Monday, May 31, 2010 – 10 pm
CRU offers new menu, new wines, and familiar fabulous dinner deal; Le Grand Thé makes a refreshing break at Provence Restaurants; June Wine Drinker Dinner at Two Chefs and a Table pairs local, sustainable ingredients with Poplar Grove Wines; Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery Launches World Cup Cocktails and Features; Laughing Stock Vineyards passes HST savings along to wine consumer; The Bishop’s Garden; Celebrity farmers, chefs, and artists come together for stimulating program series on Salt Spring Island.
CRU OFFERS NEW MENU, NEW WINES, AND FAMILIAR FABULOUS DINNER DEAL
Starting Friday, May 28 2010, epicureans have more reasons than ever to visit neighbourhood favourite CRU Restaurant. CRU now offers a fresh new small plates menu, an updated wine list, plus the three-course Prix-fixe for only $38 all summer long.
CRU just won the Best Small Plates category in the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards for the second year in a row. Inspired by this prestigious win, CRU is launching new seasonal menus, offering guests a variety of exciting new flavour combinations. The Small Plates menu will still feature favourites like the Crispy Duck Confit and the crowd-pleasing “Cellar Door” Caesar, but guests can also try intriguing new dishes like:
- Chilled Octopus Salad, ponzu Asian slaw, sweet chili sauce
- B.C. Spot Prawns Salad, lemongrass-infused melon, passion fruit jalapeño vinaigrette
- Pan-seared Qualicum Bay Scallops, on lentils and pancetta, with lime aioli
- Grilled Local Asparagus, lemon mascarpone and a soft-poached egg
CRU’s Prix-fixe menu continues to be an amazing value at $38 per person. Guests will, however, be faced with the daunting task of deciding which option to select for each course. Starters include
- Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio with caper berries, truffle aioli and shaved parmesan
- Citrus-cured Roasted Sablefish creamed leeks and oven-dried tomato
Deciding on a main course is equally challenging:
- Baked Ricotta Flan – puy lentils with grilled, marinated & pickled vegetables
- Roasted Pork Loin – crushed potatoes, oloroso sherry morel cream
- Pan-seared Halibut – brandade croquette, vegetables “a la greque”
And, finally, the diner is faced with choosing a sumptuous dessert item:
- The “Grand Cru” Chocolate Torte – vanilla sour cream mousse, thyme & sour cherries
- Little Goat Cheese Cake – citrus sablé, port-stewed rhubar
- Basil & Lemon Semifreddo with white chocolate ganache and fresh berries
View the complete menus at www.cru.ca
CRU Restaurant
1459 West Broadway | Vancouver
604-677-4111
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LE GRAND THÉ MAKES A REFRESHING BREAK
(Vancouver, BC) – When most people think of ‘afternoon tea,’ the traditions and quaint tea-rooms of England pop to mind. However, there is another, more seductive version of this elegant mid-afternoon break – the French salon de thé. In France tea is très chic. From great food emporiums, to the most venerable cafés, tea is served every afternoon. Imagine yourself enjoying your favourite cuppa in the elegant surroundings of Angelina’s or Fauchon, even Marcel Proust’s epic In Search of Lost Time was triggered dipping a madeleine into a cup of tea.
For the past six years, long before afternoon tea took off as the popular respite it has currently become in Vancouver, Provence Marinaside and Provence Mediterranean Grill have been serving Parisian-style Grand Thé. Like all good things, Le Grand Thé evolves and changes over time. Available from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Le Grand Thé includes an assortment of both savoury and sweet selections plus tea or freshly brewed drip coffee for only $20. Those seeking a truly French experience may wish to include a glass of Kir Royale or bubbly – priced by the glass starting from $7.00.
The only decision you have to make is what kind of tea you prefer. Provence’s list includes an assortment of eight premium organic and flavoured teas. You may opt for traditional Organic English Breakfast or Organic Earl Grey or decide to be daring with Organic African Nectar or perhaps choose a soothing Marrakech Mint or Camomile Citrus. If tea is not your thing, then Provence always has a pot of fresh-brewed drip-coffee on the go.
Once your beverage is chosen, it comes accompanied by a two-tiered stand laden with palate-pleasing French-style nibbles. The savoury selection includes: Sweet Bell Pepper Marmalade Crostini, Smoked Salmon Profiteroles, Prawn and Cucumber Canapé, Tomato and Bocconcini Brochette with Balsamic Drizzle plus a mini Fig and Prosciutto Quiche. The lower level includes the sweet temptations: Madeleines (lemony and oh so Proustian), Parisian macarons (not to be confused with coconut macaroons. These are the heavenly French confection of flavoured pastry crème sandwiched between pillows of meringue. One bite and they become an addiction!), Orange Lavender Shortbread (very Provençal), a Chocolate Truffle Square and the ‘pièce de résistance’ – a tiny, perfect Petite Tarte au Citron. A small pot of crème fraîche and Bonne Maman preserves complete the extravagance
Provence also offers a selection of separately priced espresso drinks and luxurious hot chocolate for those who prefer beverages other than tea or drip-coffee.
The next time you are feeling over-scheduled and harried, take time to indulge in Le Grande Thé. You’ll leave restored and ready to face the world again. C’est une bonne idée, n’est-ce pas?
Provence Mediterranean Grill
4473 West 10th Ave. | Vancouver
604.222.1980
www.provencevancouver.com
Provence Marinaside
1177 Marinaside Crescent | Vancouver
604.681.4144
www.provencevancouver.com
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JUNE WINE DRINKER DINNER AT TWO CHEFS AND A TABLE PAIRS LOCAL, SUSTAINABLE INGREDIENTS WITH POPLAR GROVE WINES
This is a very special time of year for Vancouver chefs as some of the best local ingredients are just coming into season. With that in mind, the Two Chefs and a Table June Wine Drinker Dinner will focus on some of the best local, sustainable products that this region has to offer. Featuring courses made house-made sausages, wild line-caught Barkley Sound salmon, local Kushhi oysters and spot prawns and Pemberton beef this tantalizing menu is built upon ingredients that are the envy of chefs all over the World. During the special dinner on June 2nd, the courses are being served with specially paired selections from Poplar Grove Winery and their sister winery Monster Vineyards.
The Wine Drinker Dinner will be held on the evening of Wednesday June 2nd and the set menu will be offered until the end of the week as part of the daily dinner service. The dinner costs $65 per person (excluding tax and gratuity) and reservations are recommended. For more information or reservations call 778-233-1303 or email info@twochefsandatable.com.
Menu
First Course
Wine: Monster Rosé 2009
Spicy Lamb Sausage with Kusshi oysters w/spicy radish and chives mignonette
Second Course
Wine: Monster Gewürztraminer 2008
Cured Salmon and Beet Carpaccio: Long line caught salmon, citrus cured, roasted golden beets, mustard ricotta cheese, frissée, olive oil crisps
Third Course
Wine: Poplar Grove Chardonnay 2008
Local Spot Prawns- grilled with cilantro and chive oil, green papaya salad with a cured shrimp nuoc chaam
Entree
Wine: Poplar Grove Cab Franc 2006
Choice of: Iron Seared Pemberton beef w/red wine demi, lobster mushrooms, pomme puree & roasted heirloom carrots
Or/
Free range Pork Belly: 24-hour marinated and pressed w/Quebec maple syrup, pan roasted sweet potato puree and baby roasted vegetables
Dessert
Wine: Poplar Grove Late Harvest Riesling
Choice of: Poplar Grove Blue Cheesecake: mix of rich cheesecake, lined with artisan made Poplar Grove blue cheese, finished with a lavender honey
Or/
Fresh Berry Pavlova: local berries with a classic Pavlova
Visit: www.twochefsandatable.com
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COUNTDOWN TO FIFA WORLD CUP
Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery Launches World Cup Cocktails and Features
Soccer fans across the world are preparing to unite for the long-awaited FIFA World Cup, which launches in South Africa on Friday June 11th.
Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery will be the most popular Vancouver destination to experience the World Cup in style. The experienced team behind the popular sports hub has launched feature cocktails, a signature pizza, and feature breakfast items in honour of the most widely viewed sporting event in the world.
Red Card’s feature cocktails were created to highlight eight key national teams, a celebrated list of “ones to watch”. Assistant General Manager Chris Ballas selected the list of eight teams and crafted an original cocktail for each, utilizing ingredients from their respective country. The FIFA World Cup champions are sure to rise from this list of talented teams: USA; England; Italy; Spain; France; Germany; Brazil; and Holland.
Show your support for your homeland with a classic “Three Lions” for England fans featuring Beefeater Gin, elderflower cordial and ice tea, or join the passionate fans of the Brazilian national team with an “E Campeao” with Cachaca 61, banana liquor with muddled lime and papaya puree. Raise a glass to our closest neighbours with a US-themed “Stars and Stripes” – Jim Beam Bourbon with caramel liquor and passion fruit puree or ally with Red Card Sport Bar and sip a “Forza Italia”, a nod to their proud Italian heritage.
To honour 1978 Argentinean team champion, Osvaldo “Ossie” Ardiles, Red Card’s talented culinary crew have crafted a delicious pizza utilizing all of Ossie’s favourite flavours. Order the “Ossie pizza” and savour delicious San Marzano tomato sauce, topped with garlic, anchovy, and mozzarella, finished with Fior di Latte and cooked to perfection in their world-class Marana Forni brick oven. Executive Chef Andreas Wechselberger has also created a delicious brunch menu to make the early morning games (June 20th onwards) much more enjoyable. Tuck into a Spanish-themed Chorizo with roasted peppers, goat cheese and arugula, a traditional British “Fry Up” or Italian sausage with peperonata and red onion.
Make Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery your top spot to enjoy the hottest action from South Africa’s pitches, sip globally inspired cocktails and indulge in authentic Italian cuisine.
Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery will be showing World Cup games from June 11th to 20th starting at 11am, with repeats running throughout the afternoon and evening. From June 20th, doors will open at 7am to catch all the action of the semi-finals, through to the final on July 11th.
About Red Card Sports Bar
With authentic Italian cuisine and a beautifully-restored heritage building, Red Card Sports Bar offers a dramatic and elegant environment in which to enjoy your favourite sports game. Using the freshest ingredients and traditional techniques, Executive Chef Andreas Wechselberger has created an inspired menu, executed to the highest standards. Red Card Sports Bar is located at 900 Seymour Street, adjacent to Moda Hotel, on the corner of Seymour and Smythe Streets, in the heart of Downtown Vancouver. For more information on Red Card Sports Bar + Eatery visit:
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LAUGHING STOCK VINEYARDS PASSES HST TAX SAVINGS ALONG TO WINE CONSUMER
-New Harmonized Sales Tax Actually Means Lower Winery Pricing-
While the upcoming introduction of the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) in BC will cause the costs of many items to increase, BC wineries have the opportunity to pass those savings directly on to the consumer, thus decreasing the cost of BC wine when purchased directly from the winery.
Laughing Stock Vineyards has chosen to do just that and as of July 1st, 2010, will be passing along the 3% tax savings from the transition to HST to wine buyers on their website and in their tasting room. Currently, wine is one of the only products sold with taxes included in the display price and most consumers are not even aware that the current tax rate for wine in BC is 15% which includes 5% GST and 10% PST liquor tax. Therefore the taxation of wine will actually decrease when the 12% HST is introduced.
The BC Liquor Distribution Branch recently revealed there will be no tax savings passed through to the consumer as the LDB changed their liquor mark-up on all domestic and imported wine and spirits to offset that potential savings. BC wineries, however, are not affected by that new LDB liquor mark-up when they sell directly from the winery and thus have flexibility to adjust pricing to reflect the lower tax rate.
“Coming from a business background, we look at the big picture and since we have the option to decrease our pricing without hurting our bottom line, we are going to pass that tax savings along to the wine consumer,” says David Enns, winemaker and winery owner. “We just feel that this is the right thing to do. We eat it, you drink it.”
Visitors to www.laughingstock.ca and Laughing Stock’s tasting room on the Naramata Bench can expect to see price adjustments effective July 1st, 2010.
About Laughing Stock Vineyards:
Located on the picturesque Naramata Bench in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Laughing Stock Vineyards is a serious enterprise with a lighthearted attitude. David & Cynthia Enns gave up their careers as research consultants in the investment industry to pursue their dream of founding a winery. And with a name like Laughing Stock, they wake up everyday with the motivation of not living up to their name. Fortunately, their flagship wine, Portfolio, has received many accolades and awards. www.laughingstock.ca.
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THE BISHOP’S GARDEN – A DISPLAY OF FRIENDSHIP
From May 27 to June 19, South Granville’s Winsor Gallery (3025 Granville Street) plays host to a show by famed artist Alan Wood. The Bishop’s Garden – presents a new series of wood relief sculptures, collage and watercolours, based on the haven found in a close friend’s garden. That close friend is restaurateur John Bishop and that garden is the one found in the back of Mr. Bishop’s Point Grey home.
” It seems like I’ve known Alan for ever,” says Mr. Bishop. “In the early days, my wife Theresa and I would save up to buy his work. In turn, Alan and his wife Flora started coming to the restaurant and the friendship grew over the years.”
“When Flora passed away five years ago, I started to drop by John and Theresa’s home. They were always so welcoming and kind. I’d come and sit in the back garden – it became my refuge. One evening, I came for dinner. John and his son David had arranged eight of my pieces around the garden illuminated by candlelight. It was magic. That gave me the idea to try to capture and interpret the calm and happiness I have found there. This show is the result,” says Mr. Wood. “I named the series The Bishop’s Garden because I want to honour the role played by everyone in the Bishop family in creating this special space.”
Alan Wood is one of Canada’s leading artists. He has received international acclaim for his painting and is best known for his use of colour and for creating the outdoor environmental work, Ranch. Mr. Wood is a prolific artist and since 1962, has participated in many group and solo exhibitions in Great Britain, Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia.
For more information on Mr. Wood, the exhibit and Winsor Gallery: www.winsorgallery.com
Bishop’s
2183 West 4th Avenue | Vancouver
604.738.2025
www.bishopsonline.com
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FOXGLOVE FARM ON SALT SPRING ISLAND AND THE CENTRE FOR ARTS, ECOLOGY, AND AGRICULTURE HAS LAUNCHED ITS 2010 SUMMER PROGRAM SERIES
Foxglove Farm on Salt Spring Island and the Centre For Arts, Ecology, and Agriculture has launched its 2010 summer program series.
Building on last year’s success, the centre has expanded its offerings with a focus on the culinary and agricultural arts.
Join Eliot Coleman, author of the New Organic Grower, Andrea Carlson of Bishop’s Restaurant, ecologist and author Briony Penn, farmer and author Michael Ableman, plant breeder John Navazio, chef, author, and mushroom expert Bill Jones and other world class instructors for a thought provoking, informative, and delicious program series.
The workshops are held at the 120 acre historic Foxglove Farm – one of Salt Spring Island’s original homesteads, bordering Maxwell Lake and surrounded by hundreds of acres of protected forest and agricultural fields. The farm now produces 50 different organic fruits and vegetables, orchard crops, and 10 acres of grain.
This year’s workshops include a three-part ‘Field to Plate’ cooking series, The Art of Wild Crafting, Four Season Harvest, Seeds For Change, a ‘Farm, Arts and Culinary Camp for Kids’, Small Scale Grain Production, Foraging for Fungi, Farmstead Cheesemaking, The Artisan Baker, Growing For Market, Growing For Family, Backyard Poultry, Growing Tree Crops, and Preserving the Harvest. There is also the annual Foxglove Festival – with live music, tours, fresh food and home-made ice cream.
Online registration and information on 2010 classes can be found at www.foxglovefarmbc.ca. For information about Michael Ableman visit www.fieldsofplenty.com.
