UrbanDiner.ca | Vancouver Restaurant Scene Magazine » Urban Diner Restaurant Awards

2009 Urban Diner Award Winners

paulkamon — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:26:55 +0000

Wow, what an amazing night! A big thanks to all the UD Forum members who participated in this year’s vote. And a big shout out to all our sponsors who made it all possible. Thank you all for your continued support of this dynamic community, it is greatly appreciated.

UPDATED: event pictures added April 10

Big love to our fabulous venue sponsor, Voya, who exceeded all my expectations with their care and dedication to all the details. You rock!

Many thanks to Mark Butschler and Tinhorn Creek Vineyards for bringing and pouring the wine! (Images by: Jackie Connelly)

Muchas gracias to the lovely ladies of Charton Hobbs for providing the lovely el Jimador tequila. (Images by: Jackie Connelly)

Much appreciation to local craft beer guys, R&B Brewing, for bringing the fine ales.

Many thanks to Vince Piccolo and the fine men and women of 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters for the awesome prizes.

Much gratitude to Skoah for providing the wicked pampering for our hard working front line of tourism.

A big thank you to Take and Atsuko Seki of Santoku for their brilliant Chef of the Year prize (two beautiful hand crafted Japanese kitchen knives).

Thank you to EAT Magazine for their continued support of the local food culture of British Columbia.

Thank you to Jackie Connelly for your passion and beautiful photography.

Thank you to Khristian Laroche for the fine wine basket for sommelier of the year.

Thank you to r.tl, Top Table, Les Amis du Fromage, and the Teahouse for the GC’s!

Congratulations to all the winners!

REGIONAL

Best Suburban
Pear Tree

Best Whistler
Araxi

Best Okanagan
Terrace at Mission Hill

Best Victoria
Zambri’s

Best Vancouver Island
The Pointe Restaurant @ Wickaninnish Inn

RETAIL

Best Beer Shop
Brewery Creek Liquor Store

Best Wine/Spirits Shop
Liberty Wine Merchants

Best Food Shop
Les Amis du Fromage

LOCAL DINING

Best Restaurant Formal
Fuel

Best Restaurant Casual
Campagnolo

Best Restaurant Value
Pied a Terre

Best European Formal
Le Crocodile

Best European Casual
Chambar

Best Asian
Vijs

Best Middle East/Africa
Le Marrakech

Best Americas
Cobre

Best Regional
Fuel

Best Desserts
Thomas Haas

Best Wine List
Uva

Best Beer List
Alibi Room

Best Cafe
49th Parallel Café

BEST NEW ~ announced live at the event

^ Best New Formal & Best New Design
Voya

^ Best New Casual
Campagnolo

^ Best New Restaurant Bar
Uva

INDUSTRY~ announced live at the event

^ Best Kitchen Team
Fuel

^ Best Service Team
Fuel

^ Chef of the Year
Robert Belcham

^ Bartender of the Year
Jay Jones (*award accepted by Voya bar staff as Mr. Jones was lost in Kentucky following the ‘bourbon trail’ at the time).

^ Sommelier of the Year & Service All-Star
Sebastien Le Goff (*was working at the time and had his bar staff drink his Tequila shots in his honour)

Here are some more images courtesy of Jackie Connelly and Heather Goldsworthy:

2009 UD Awards: Voting Ends at Midnight Tonight!

paulkamon — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:36:36 +0000

At midnight tonight, voting in the 2009 Urban Diner Awards will end and the tallying will begin! Winners will be announced on April the 6th on the front page. If you are a registered UD Forum member and intend to vote, do it today before midnight or forever hold your peace. Good luck everybody! ~ PK

2009 Urban Diner Awards Vote Has Begun

paulkamon — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:26:45 +0000

Inside are the official nominations from the Urban Diner Forum members for the 2009 UD Awards. Voting has begun and the results will be revealed here on April 6th. Good luck everybody! ~ PK

UPDATED TO SHOW ALL CATEGORY NOMINATIONS: March 26/09

REGIONAL

Best Suburban
Alvin Garden
Fraiche
Hart House
Pear Tree
Shanghai River

Best Whistler
Araxi
Bearfoot Bistro
Elements
Fifty Two 80 Bistro at Four Seasons Resort
Rim Rock Cafe

Best Okanagan
Bouchon’s Bistro
Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate
Sonora Room at Burrowing Owl
Terrace at Mission Hill
Waterfront Wines Restaurant and Bar

Best Victoria
Brasserie L’Ecole
Cafe Brio
Niche
Stage
Zambri’s

Best Vancouver Island
Atlas Cafe
Shelter
Sobo
Sooke Harbour House
Wikaninnish Inn

RETAIL

Best Beer Shop
Brewery Creek
Viti
Firefly Fine Wines & Ales

Best Wine/Spirits Shop
Cambie/39th BC Liquor Store
Everything Wine
Kitsilano Wine Shop
Liberty Wine Merchants
Marquis

Best Food Shop
Bosa Foods
Cioffi’s
Gourmet Warehouse
Les Amis du Fromage
Oyama

LOCAL DINING

Best Restaurant Formal
Bishops
Fuel
Gastropod
Lumiere
West

Best Restaurant Casual
Boneta
Campagnolo
Chambar
db bistro
La Quercia

Best Restaurant Value
Nuba
Pied a Terre
Fuel for lunch
Gyoza King
Deacon’s Corner

Best European Formal
Cioppinos
Le Gavroche
Le Crocodile
Lumiere
Voya

Best European Casual
Chambar
Campagnolo
La Buca
La Quercia
Pied a Terre

Best Asian
Flying Tiger
Lime
Phnom Penh
Sun Sui Wah
Vijs

Best Middle East/Africa
Fassil
Le Marrakech
Mona’s
Nyala
Simba’s Grill

Best Americas
Baru Latino
Cobre
Dona Cata
Lolita’s
Rinconcito Salvadorean

Best Regional
Aurora Bistro
Bishop’s
Chow
Cru
Fuel

Best Desserts
Cincin
Ganache Patisserie
La Casa Gelato
Thomas Haas
West

Best Wine List
Bearfoot Bistro
Cioppinos
Le Gavroche
Salt Tasting Room
Uva

Best Beer List
Alibi Room
Chambar
Stella’s
Uva
Whip

Best Cafe
49th Parallel
Bump N’ Grind
Caffe Artigiano
Elysian Coffee
Medina

BEST NEW

Best New Formal
Lumiere
Voya

Best New Casual
Campagnolo
db bistro
Les Faux Bourgeois
r.tl
Uva

Best New Design
Campagnolo
db bistro
r.tl
Uva
Voya

Best New Restaurant Bar
Campagnolo
db bistro
Les Faux Bourgeois
Uva
Voya

INDUSTRY

Best Kitchen Team
Boneta
Chow
Fuel
Gastropod
Voya

Best Service Team
Boneta
Campagnolo
Chambar
Fuel
Uva

Chef of the Year
Angus An
Jeremy Bastien
Robert Belcham
Andrey Durbach
Pino Posteraro

Bartender of the Year
Mark Brand
Steve Da Cruz
Christopher Flett
Jay Jones
Justin Tisdal

Sommelier of the Year
Tom Doughty
Neil Ingram
Kurtis Kolt
Sebastien Le Goff
Keith Nicholson

Service All-Star
Tom Doughty
Giovanni Giardino
Kurtis Kolt
Sebastien Le Goff
Andre McGillivray

2009 Urban Diner Awards ~ Final Nominations

paulkamon — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:36:47 +0000

Finally, we have the “Best New” and “Industry” category nominations. All members of the Urban Diner Forum are invited to begin nominating their favourites in the following:

Best New
Best New Formal
Best New Casual
Best New Design
Best New Restaurant Bar

Industry
Best Kitchen Team
Best Service Team
Chef of the Year
Bartender of the Year
Sommelier of the Year
Service All Star

We will take the top 5 from each category to the award vote starting on March 25th, and we will announce the winners at a special industry party at Voya at the Loden on April 6th. ~ PK

2009 Urban Diner Awards ~ Round 2 Nominations

paulkamon — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 07:45:04 +0000

UPDATED: March 18/09

Next up is the local dining nominations. All members of the Urban Diner Forum are invited to begin nominating their favourites in the following categories:

Local Dining
Best Restaurant Formal
Best Restaurant Casual
Best Value
Best European Formal (French, Italian)
Best European Casual (include Bistros)
Best Middle East/Africa <—NEW CATEGORY
Best Asian
Best Americas (South, Central)
Best Regional
Best Desserts
Best Wine List
Best Beer List
Best Café

We will take the top 5 from each category to the award vote starting on March 25th, and we will announce the winners at a special industry party at Voya at the Loden on April 6th. ~ PK

2009 UD Award Nominations Have Begun!

paulkamon — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 07:26:43 +0000

Here we go! The 750+ members of the Urban Diner Forum we have begun the nomination process for the following categories. We will take the top 5 from each category to the award vote and announce the winners at a kick-ass party at Voya on April 6th.

Regional
Best Suburban
Best Whistler
Best Okanagan
Best Victoria
Best Vancouver Island

The Retail
Best Beer Shop
Best Wine/Spirits Shop
Best Food Shop

Good luck everybody. And stay tuned for continuous updates! ~ PK

The 2009 Urban Diner Awards are Coming

paulkamon — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 00:53:48 +0000

Bang a gong, the awards are on!

Updated: Sunday, March 18 ~ categories revised

~ 31 award categories voted on by 750+ members of the Urban Diner Forum

~ There will be no more UD Forum Registrations allowed after March 15th until after the awards on April 6th. (click to register)

~ Nominations will take place from March 16 – 24

~ Voting will happen in stages from March 25th – April 1st

~ Kick ass party will be at Voya at the Loden on April 6th*.

*NOTE: the party is by invite only. All inquiries, please email: awards@urbandiner.ca

2009 URBAN DINER AWARDS

Notice: The UD Forum Is Closed for the Holidays

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 01:41:01 +0000

Andrew Morrison and myself are back at the table negotiating the fate of Urban Diner and have agreed to close the Urban Diner Forum for the holidays. The UD Forum will return on Tuesday, October 14th. Thanks for your patience and understanding during this time.

~ Paul Kamon | Urban Diner

From Urban Diner…

admin — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:00:14 +0000

We extend a warm welcome to So.cial At Le Magasin, the newest restaurant to join the Urban Diner community.

Media File No.615

admin — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:43:14 +0000

Lots of shots of the Urban Diner Awards in the upcoming issue of Vancouver View (photos by Paul Duchart). See the full-size page by clicking the thumbnail above.

If you missed the awards, take a look below.


	2008 Urban Diner Restaurant Awards

The 2008 Urban Diner Restaurant Awards

admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:51:04 +0000

click Vancouver View image above to enlarge

March 1st, 2008

Restaurant Industry Honours Its Own | by Fred Lee

“If the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards are the city’s culinary Oscars, consider the inaugural Urban Diner Awards the foodie Golden Globes. This year it brought out 200 of the industry’s best, including David Hawksworth, Robert Clark, John Bishop and Pino Posteraro. The brainchild of Andrew Morrison, publisher of the online magazine Urban Diner, the gastronomic gala was hosted by CTV’s Coleen Christie, and a staggering 39 awards were dished out…”

Full results after the leap:

————————————————-

The 2008 Results!

Best Suburban | The Pear Tree

Best Whistler | The Bearfoot Bistro

Best Okanagan | Terrace at Mission Hill

Best Vancouver Island | Brasserie L’Ecole

Best Food Website | CityFood.com

Best Food Publication | EAT Magazine

Best Food Writer | Jamie Maw

Best Wine Store | Marquis Wine Cellars

Best Food Store | Les Amis Du Fromage

Bartender of the Year | David Wolowidnyk (West)

Best Kitchen Team | Fuel Restaurant

Best Service Team | West Restaurant

The Nudge Award | Kurtis Kolt (Salt Tasting Room)

Service All Star | Paul Grunberg (Chambar)

Role Model of the Year | John Bishop (Bishop’s)

Best Desserts | Cin Cin Ristorante

Best Cocktail List | Boneta

Best Cafe | 49th Parallel

Best Small Plates | Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

Best Room With A View | Nu Restaurant

Best Bargain | So.cial Custom Butcher Shop & Deli

Best Hotel Dining | Bacchus at the Wedgewood

Best European Casual | Chambar Belgian Restaurant

Best European | Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill

Best Japanese | Hapa Izakaya

Best Chinese | Sun Sui Wah

Best Other Asian | Vij’s

Best Americas | Cobre

Best Regional | Aurora Bistro

Best Casual | Chambar Belgian Restaurant

Best Formal | West Restaurant

Best Wine List | The Bearfoot Bistro

Sommelier of the Year (tie) | Neil Ingram of Boneta and Tom Doughty of Fuel

Best New Design | Yew Restaurant + Bar

Best New Wood | Boneta

Best New Service | Fuel Restaurant

Best New Casual | Boneta

Best New Formal | Fuel Restaurant

Chef of the Year | Andrey Durbach (Parkside et al)

————————————–

Special thanks to PMA, R & B Brewing, EAT Magazine, Maxxium, Mark Anthony Group, JJ Bean and the Chef’s Table Society of BC for helping us out, and to Nu Restaurant for putting up the venue. Photography by: Atmosphere Unlimited

Of course, there would have been no awards to give out had it not been for the kindly intervention of Origin Organic Farms:

Thank you to our key event sponsors:

Thanks for the support everyone. See you again next year!

The Escalope Please

admin — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:07:00 +0000

Well. That was really cool. After a thirty day nomination process and an exciting five day vote that saw over 50,000 hits, the polls have closed in the forum and we now have 40 Urban Diner Award winners, all chosen by the bright lights of BC’s food and beverage community.

Before I introduce the winners, let me first say a big thank you to all the members of the forum who took the time out of their busy lives to participate. I’m so pleased at the response these awards have been getting in the community, and I’m excited for the ceremony/party on Monday. It’s going to be a shindig for sure.

And now without further adieu, the winners!

(after the bump).

Best Suburban | The Pear Tree

Best Whistler | The Bearfoot Bistro

Best Okanagan | Terrace at Mission Hill

Best Vancouver Island | Brasserie L’Ecole

Best Food Website | CityFood.com

Best Food Publication | EAT Magazine

Best Food Writer | Jamie Maw

Best Wine Store | Marquis Wine Cellars

Best Food Store | Les Amis Du Fromage

Bartender of the Year | David Wolowidnyk (West)

Best Kitchen Team | Fuel Restaurant

Best Service Team | West Restaurant

The Nudge Award | Kurtis Kolt (Salt Tasting Room)

Service All Star | Paul Grunberg (Chambar)

Role Model of the Year | John Bishop (Bishop’s)

Best Desserts | Cin Cin Ristorante

Best Cocktail List | Boneta

Best Cafe | 49th Parallel

Best Small Plates | Bin 941 Tapas Parlour

Best Room With A View | Nu Restaurant

Best Bargain | So.cial Custom Butcher Shop & Deli

Best Hotel Dining | Bacchus at the Wedgewood

Best European Casual | Chambar Belgian Restaurant

Best European | Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill

Best Japanese | Hapa Izakaya

Best Chinese | Sun Sui Wah

Best Other Asian | Vij’s

Best Americas | Cobre

Best Regional | Aurora Bistro

Best Casual | Chambar Belgian Restaurant

Best Formal | West Restaurant

Best Wine List | The Bearfoot Bistro

Sommelier of the Year (tie) | Neil Ingram of Boneta and Tom Doughty of Fuel

Best New Design | Yew Restaurant + Bar

Best New Wood | Boneta

Best New Service | Fuel Restaurant

Best New Casual | Boneta

Best New Formal | Fuel Restaurant

Chef of the Year | Andrey Durbach (Parkside, Pied-a-Terre, La Buca)

The UD Awards Party

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:04:18 +0000

A quick note to let you know that there are just a handful of tables left for the 6pm dinner at the UD Awards party on Monday night and to remind members to RSVP to me for the attendance draw.

Because of the small size of the venue there is a hard number cap for the amount of people who can attend (200), so if you’d like to come either PM or email me with your details for the draw or book for the dinner at Nu. We will be working off a guest list, so I’m afraid just “showing up” won’t do (sorry).

Note: if it looks like you or your restaurant is in the running for an award, be sure to book the night off so you can come (two people from each award winning restaurant are automatically invited). Attendees who are not taking part in the dinner need to arrive at Nu at 7pm sharp. We expect to start on time, finish on time, and then go late!

See The “Live” Results!

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:26:38 +0000

We have opened the forum up to non-members today to let them see how the vote is progressing. To view the “live” results, simply click the image above or hit the UDFORUM button at the top of the center column. In the first 12 hours, every category has already met and passed the requisite number of votes needed to become binding and valid (50).

There are some very close ballots. Very exciting to watch!

And So It Begins…

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:26:38 +0000

UPDATE: I forgot to include one very important category last night, the Service All Stars. It’s up now, so those early bird voters are invited back for a last cast. Thanks for the heads-up, CK.

UPDATE: A number of members who’ve forgotten their usernames or passwords have contacted me this morning asking for me to retrieve their info. It’s no problem. If you find yourself in this predicament, just drop me a line and I’ll sort you out.

Voting in the Urban Diner Restaurant Awards has begun! The ballots will remain open in the forum until 11:59pm on Friday, February 15th.

A few points:

Winners will be announced on UD this February 16th

Award presentations, party, and dinner at Nu restaurant on the evening of the 18th (details).

All those interested in attending please contact me with your essentials and I’ll put your name in for the draw (ceiling is 200 people for the room and we’re at 150 now).

To prevent last minute ballot stuffing, I will not be granting new memberships to the forum until the process is complete.

Happy voting all, and thanks so much for participating in this, our very first UD Awards!