DINE IN WHISTLER BEGINS THIS WEEK
Dine In Whistler lets visitors experience Whistler’s culinary delights at 25 featured restaurants showcasing spring menus from $19 per person from April 27 until June 25.
Examples of this unbeatable value include:
- $19 at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, Sushi Village and Three Below
- $29 at Black’s Restaurant and Pub, Earls, Monk’s Grill, Mountain Club, the Den at Nicklaus North, The Mix, Ric’s Grill, Tandoori Grill, Teppan Village, 21 Steps Kitchen & Bar
- $39 at Araxi, Bearfoot Bistro, Hy’s Steakhouse, Jordan’s Crossing, La Bocca, La Rua, Players Chophouse, Quattro, the Rimrock and the Wine Room at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler
- $89 at Whistler Golf Club (golf and dine)
In addition, patrons can take advantage of the “Pay What You Want” tour (valued at $149) with Whistler Tasting Tours, offering tasting menus at some of Whistler’s finest dining establishments.
“Many people who visit Whistler have favourite restaurants that they return to again and again,” says André Saint-Jacques, who owns and operates Whistler’s popular Bearfoot Bistro. “With so many Whistler restaurants participating in this program, our visitors can try eateries that they haven’t had the chance to experience before.”
Along with the Dine In Whistler program, spring and summer skiing and riding, entertaining events, and amazing package deals combine to provide a great springtime Whistler experience. Spring skiing on Blackcomb Mountain takes place from April 27 until May 18, 2009. All four of Whistler’s signature golf courses are scheduled to open by early May and summer glacier skiing and riding returns to Blackcomb Mountain June 20, 2009.
Pair your mountain excursion and Dine In Whistler meals with accommodation; book now at whistler.com to take advantage of room rates starting at $79 CAD/ $65 USD* per person, per night.
WINESPEAK: BLACK HILLS ESTATE WINERY NOTA BENE 2006
Who – Black Hills Estate Winery
What – Nota Bene 2006
Where – Oliver
Why – The Spring Okanagan Wine Festival runs the first 10 days of May each year. As always, there are dozens of tastings, seminars and wine dinners to choose from, with many vintners cracking open their new spring vintages for the first time. There is one event, however, where no tasting is allowed. On Saturday, May 2, Black Hills Estate Winery is holding their annual one day sale, where cult favourite Nota Bene is available for sale to the public directly from the Winery. There will be sales only at Black Hills on Saturday – no tastings – and they’ll be open until 5pm or while quantities last (probably much earlier!).
Since I unfortunately can’t taste the future, this tasting note is for last year’s Nota Bene. A heavyweight clocking in at 14.7% alcohol, there is dark smoky fruit aromas leading to a herbacously tinged palate of tobacco, pepper and more smoky fruit. A subtle cool mint lingers throughout to the dark chocolate tannic finish. Certainly worth resting for a couple of years to see what develops. The 2006 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (47%), Merlot (37%) and Cabernet Franc (16%).
When – With beef – preferably barbequed.
How (much) – $43.00 for 2006 vintage.
Winespeak of the Week – Wondering where you’ve heard of Black Hills Winery before? Could be you heard about Jason Priestly being part of Vinequest Wine Partners, a limited partnership investment group in the Okanagan. Priestley sits on the Board of Directors, continuing his work to promote the wines of the region.
EBC PRODUCT PROFILE: COCOA NYMPH – by Kim Peterson
Last Sunday’s 49º Organics demo was a great success, and after sampling them with some food (tacquitos and tortilla chips) I can see why they moved so quickly. The cherry chipotle one in particular, I can see working famously on the grill. All four varieties are up on our online store now, so do check them out.
From spicy to sweet, today I have in front of me five new chocolate bars from Vancouver’s most mythical chocolatier, the Cocoa Nymph. Beautifully wrapped, these 100 gram bars incorporate some of the company’s most popular chocolate combinations, plus a classic 64% dark with nothing but cocoa. The “Garden Nymph” blends a creamy white chocolate with sweet red cherry bits; “Twilight Nymph” is a pure 45% milk chocolate; “Urban Nymph” is also a 45% cocoa content, but with coffee and cocoa nibs for texture and a bit of a buzz; finally, “Sea Nymph” has been swimming off our shelves thanks to a combination of 64% dark chocolate, English toffee and sea salt.
These decadent treats join EBC’s best-selling Cocoa Nymph line-up, which includes Maple Glazed Pecans, both spicy and straight up. We also encourage all choco-holics to make the trip over to the Cocoa Nymph store on 10th and Alma in Vancouver, for truffles and thick, authentic drinking chocolate.
If you can’t make it down to visit us at the Market, be sure to check our online retail store for these items (and 700+ more!).
TASTE WHISTLERS BEST – AND PAY WHAT YOU WANT!
Whistler Tasting Tours is trying a new angle to introduce diners to the Village’s culinary scene. Today they announced their PAY WHAT YOU WANT! promotion. That’s Right, anyone can come out on the walking dining tour and pay whatever you deem appropriate for the dining portion of the experience at the end. There are two tours to choose from – the Après-disiac Tour and the Privileged Palate Tour. Wine pairings are purchased in advance for $39 (plus 5% GST).
This promotion will run until the end of May and be available to groups of 7 or less. Tours begin between 4:30pm-5pm depending on the date and tour.
WHOLE FOODS OPENS SECOND LOCATION IN VANCOUVER
Whole Foods Market is opening its new Cambie store on Wednesday, April 29. At their new store (their first entry into BC was at Park Royal), Cambie offers a widely diverse selection of local natural and organic products to better serve the Metro Vancouver community. With even more local varieties, Private Label 365 Everyday Organic and bulk selections to choose from, the Cambie store makes it easy to shop economically for the unique products customers are looking for.
Located at the corner of Cambie and West 8th Avenue, the 53,000-square-foot store offers skilled in-store specialists in all eight departments – including a certified naturopath, fishmonger and expert team of chefs; new and unique store amenities – including a build-your-own pizza bar and full-service charcuterie; an extended seafood selection – including Whole Opah, Yellow Fin Tuna and Mahi Mahi; and the largest collection of Private Label products in the Pacific Northwest region.
“We are really excited to finally open the doors to the newest Whole Foods Market store in B.C. to bring an even fuller selection of the freshest, highest quality products to our Metro Vancouver customers,” said Vicki Foley, PR Specialist for Whole Foods Market. “From the more than 600 new lines of grocery products to the impressive prepared foods and Whole Body departments, the new Cambie store will provide a best-in-class and budget-friendly shopping experience for customers on every visit.”
Whole Foods Market will kick off launch-day with a bread-breaking ceremony at 9 a.m. followed by a day-long celebration of food, music and community giving. The event will feature live musical performances by folk artist Haley Bonar and an appearance by famed local culinary queen Lesley Stowe. Whole Foods Market Pacific Northwest Regional President John Cougher and the new Whole Foods Market Cambie store team will be in attendance to present a $5,000 cheque to volunteers from Vancouver charity Growing Chefs – a group that unites chefs, growers, educators and community members in a food sustainability project – in support of their work to further awareness and growth of urban agriculture.
Built with a number of unique environmentally-conscious features, Cambie is the first Canadian Whole Foods Market store with LEED Certification – Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design – a Green Building Rating System that provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. The new store also uses energy star-rated equipment, low-emitting paints and coatings and applies construction waste management practices to divert 50 per cent of construction materials from landfills.
Additional highlights at Cambie Whole Foods Market include:
- A Living Wall at the entrance of the store designed to help bring nature back into our urban living environment and make the space healthy and livable
- An extended selection of local products sourced within 100 miles
- An 18-foot wall of bulk selections
- Private Label Whole Catch Seafood – the first Whole Foods Market to carry the line in Canada
- A Private Label wall with more than 350 products – the most complete line of any Whole Foods Market north of California
- A full-service coffee bar featuring Whole Foods Market’s own Whole Trade Guarantee Allegro® coffee
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