Canadian Chef Returns to James Beard House with a New Menu

Calgary's Avenue magazine got the James Beard House Experience last Thursday.

Check out Kelsey Mulyk's review of Chef Chris Mills' dinner here.

Chef Chris Mills on Tour

Joey Executive Chef Chris Mills is currently on a media tour to share the five-course menu he has created for his upcoming appearance at James Beard House in New York City. This will be Chris' second appearance at James Beard House....which is often referred to as the Carnegie Hall for chefs.

From the reports we're hearing from media in Edmonton and Calgary, the menu is to die for! Seattle and Vancouver tastings are up next.

Chris visited Global Calgary over the weekend to share the delectable dessert course from his menu...a Vietnamese Banana Cake.

Sweetspot visits Nimby Burger

Burger Alert

The Socialist: Vancouver Parties & People

by: Sheryl Kristie Yen

BC Business Magazine has posted their shots from the Official Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards Afterparty at the Joey Bentall One Wine Room.

Here are a few, but you can check out the rest here.

Vancouver Magazine Announces Winners of 21st Annual Restaurant Awards

More than 700 of the city’s chefs, sommeliers and food critics gathered yesterday at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel for the 21st Annual Vancouver magazine Restaurant Awards. The gala brought them together to celebrate excellence in B.C.’s culinary industry.

“Between the Olympics and the recession, it’s been a whirlwind year in the food and beverage industry,” said Vancouver magazine editor-in-chief, Gary Stephen Ross. “Yesterday’s event offered everybody a well-deserved break and an opportunity to socialize, have fun, and reflect on their successes.”

Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar took top honours, being named Restaurant of the Year and winning Gold in the Best Seafood category. It was also a finalist in Best Service, Best Regional and Best Formal Japanese (Raw Bar at Blue Water). And Blue Water’s chef, Frank Pabst, was recognized as Chef of the Year, having played an integral role on Vancouver’s culinary scene since 1993. Originally from Germany, Pabst worked at Lumière and Pastis before joining Blue Water in 2003.

Sinclair Philip was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, while his Sooke Harbour House won Best Vancouver Island. Since opening their restaurant and inn 31 years ago, he and his wife Fréderique have been internationally lauded for their pioneering use of fresh, local ingredients, many from their own garden.

In a year that saw a variety of exciting new openings, Campagnolo won the title of Best New Restaurant. Thai hotspot Maenam took Silver, while Jean-Georges’s Market won Bronze as well as nabbing Design of the Year.

Perennial favourites Vij’s, Le Crocodile and Tojo’s won as Best Indian, Best Formal French and Best Formal Japanese. CinCin and Araxi reclaimed their titles of Best Last Course and Best Whistler. Uva Wine Bar took Gold as Best Bar/Lounge.

For a list of the full results, please click here.

Nimby Burger Opens in Vancouver’s Backyard

On May 21st, Kits Beach will have a walk-up burger stand where the food is as good as the view. Nimby Burger, located at the corner of Cornwall & Yew, is a fresh take on the beachside burger window, and will offer quality burgers, hand-cut French fries, and real ice cream milkshakes.

“Nimby Burger was inspired by countless road trips down the coast to California with my father, Bus Fuller,” says Jeff Fuller, President of the Joey Restaurant Group. “There is nothing quite like the taste of the burgers from those beachside joints in California. There’s just something about the surf and the sun, with a juicy burger and a shake.”

Though Nimby Burger at Kits Beach will be a casual, walk-up window, the focus is still on fresh, quality ingredients. The burgers and cheeseburgers are made from 100 per cent premium chuck beef and topped with crisp lettuce and red ripe tomatoes. Nimby’s French fries are made from hand-cut Yukon Gold potatoes, which are fried to order and sea-salted. A chocolate, strawberry or vanilla ice cream milkshake tops off the perfect seaside meal.

“My father and I have always talked about opening a classic burger shack in our own backyard,” says Fuller. “But we decided it would be even better to open it in Vancouver’s backyard…Kits Beach.”

Nimby Burger’s uncomplicated menu includes just five well-made items. Prices range from $2.99 for a basic burger, to $5.49 for a Dooblay (double burger with cheese). Milkshakes are $2.99, and French fries are $2.49.

During the summer, Nimby Burger will be open from 11am daily.

Joey Restaurants Offer a Cup of Care

From the Vancouver Sun:

The initiative was part of Joey Restaurant Group's Cup of Care program to help address hunger in its communities. In Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto, the company donated 10,000 cups of nutritious soup to community groups, and its staff volunteered more than 100 hours at food banks, shelters, and community drop-in centres.

Grange blog: What's the Russian word for crickets?

By Michael Grange, The Globe and Mail

Posted Thursday, February 25, 2010 12:02 AM ET

Does anyone know what the Russian word for crickets is?

I know what it sounds like. It sounds like the crowd of Russians gathered in so-called ‘Bosco Bar' in downtown Vancouver for another chapter in the Canada-Russia hockey series.

We know how it ended: Canada came out and treated one of the most talented teams anyone can remember like they were Germany or something.

And so the crowd at Bosco Bar - actually Joey Burrard, an upscale resto-lounge in downtown Vancouver bought out by Bosco Sport (the Russian Nike, and the official supplier to the Russian Olympic team here) for 10 days - quickly shifted from positive, brash even, to something else.

More