Vancouver's best-kept restaurant secrets

GK Media Inc is pleased to be presenting an ongoing collection of recipes from Whitecap Books.

The recipe that will be featured today is Apple Flaxseed Squares from the cookbook Everything Flax edited by Linda Braun.

To download all of the recipes please use the recipe iPod guide or go to the Recipes page.

To win a copy of the Everything Flax cookbook please enter our April 2nd, 2009 newsletter draw.

GK Media Inc is pleased to present a new feature article:

Interview with Eat Vancouver Food + Cooking Festival presenter: Ricardo Larrivee

Congratulations to Blue Water Cafe’s Andrea Vescovi for being Sommelier of the year at the Playhouse Wine Festival.
Join Vera’s Burger Shack Club and you can win April’s prizes: ski passes and a t shirt.

Congratualtions to Ocean Wise for their national expansion plans in April.

Provence Restaurant will celebrating April Fools day with a special menu.

Celebrate Easter with Elixir Restaurant.

Join the Dundarave Fish Market newsletter for a chance to win $25 worth of gift certificates.

Mink a chocolate cafe has special Easter promotions.

GK Media Inc is pleased to present a recipe from the new Blue Water Cafe Cookbook by Frank Pabst.
The recipe is Kusshi Oysters with Pickled Vegetables, Cucumber Jelly and Horseradish Foam
To download all of the recipes please use the recipe iPod guide or go to the Recipes page.

To win a copy of the Blue Water Cafe cookbook please enter our April 2nd, 2009 newsletter draw.

Directly from the VSO Press Releases:

Vancouver BC – The VSO proudly presents Mikhail Simonyan – a violinist hailed as having “a flawless, liquid line and ravishing tone,” by The Washington Post – performing Chausson’s Poème and Ravel’s Tzigane. The program, Fine French Fantasies, will be conducted by VSO Assistant Conductor Evan Mitchell and also features Berlioz’s Le corsaire, Op. 21, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite and Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The concerts take place on Saturday, March 28 at 8pm and Sunday, March 29 at 2pm at the Orpheum Theatre and will mark Mr. Simonyan’s debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Marking another debut, this concert features Evan Mitchell’s 2008/2009 Musically Speaking concert debut. These two great young artistic talents team up for a beautiful concert of French repertoire.

Vancouver BC – The iconic Judy Collins makes her debut with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conductor Evan Mitchell, for one night only on March 30, 8pm, at the Orpheum Theatre. Known as one of folk music’s pioneers, Ms. Collins has firmly established herself as a legend of the genre with a career that spans over four decades.

Vancouver BC – Hailed as “the greatest American violinist active today” by The Boston Herald, Joshua Bell is the classical music superstar – winner of several Grammy Awards, an Emmy, an Oscar, the Avery Fisher Prize and a Pulitzer Prize. Joshua Bell performs with the VSO for one night only – Friday, April 17^th, 8pm, at the Orpheum Theatre. Bramwell Tovey conducts this Spanish-themed concert which will include Chabrier’s España, Rimsky-Korsakov’s extraordinary Capriccio espagnole, Ravel’s seductive, ever-popular Bolero, and Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole for Violin and Orchestra – a unique, virtuoso concerto featuring Mr. Bell.

GK Media Inc is pleased to be presenting an ongoing collection of recipes from Whitecap Books.

The recipe that will be featured today is Veggie Calzones from the cookbook Everything Flax edited by Linda Braun.

To download all of the recipes please use the recipe iPod guide or go to the Recipes page.

To win a copy of the Everything Flax cookbook please enter our April 2nd, 2009 newsletter draw.

Directly from the Wines of Mexico press release:

March 23, 2009 (Vancouver, BC) – The 2009 Wines of Mexico Fest will take place on Thursday, April 2 2009 at the Metropolitan Hotel.  The tasting will give Vancouverites an opportunity to try some of the best wines from our sunny southern neighbour.  Tickets are only $35 through www.mexwine.com

Mexico has been producing wine for more than five centuries.  In recent years the quality of Mexican wines has attracted international attention, and Mexico has won medals in many prestigious international competitions including the Challenge International de Vin, California’s Orange County Fair, and the Selections Mondiales.  The Wines of Mexico Fest in Vancouver will showcase wines from select Mexican wineries, including Monte Xanic, Bodegas de Santo Tomas, and L.A. Cetto.

The Monte Xanic winery prides itself on being a pioneer in winemaking process and technology.  It is located in Mexico’s most prestigious winemaking region, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California. The winery’s methods produce premium and ultra-premium wines that perfectly express the terroir of this exquisite area. www.montexanic.com.mx

Bodegas de Santo Tomas, founded in 1888, has been producing wine longer than any other winery currently operating in Mexico.  The first vines in the Santo Thomas Valley were planted by Dominican missionaries who settled the Baja area around 1697.  Bodegas de Santo Tomas is well-known on the international stage for its high-quality wines. www.santo-tomas.com

L.A. Cetto winery, located in the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California, currently exports to over 25 countries.  With 75 years of winemaking tradition behind them, they are one of the largest wineries in Mexico and have won a total of 132 international awards for their wines.  www.lacetto.com

The event will feature live Mexican music and a comfortable lounging area.  There will also be a variety of fantastic foods to enjoy, including a chocolate fondue prepared by Yaletown’s beloved Chocoatl Chocolatiers.  The Met’s Executive Chef Dino Renaerts will also contribute a selection of irresistible bites.  Renaerts, who was raised in Vancouver, is known for his skill in pairing food and wine, and will design a menu for the event that brings out the best in the wines served.

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to experience the best Mexico has to offer.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Metropolitan Hotel – Crystal Room

645 Howe Street, Vancouver

$35 per person

GK Media Inc is pleased to present a new feature article:

Cowichan Valley Highlights

The Playhouse Wine Festival starts today and runs until March 29th, 2009. There are currently 94% of the tickets sold to the various wine dinners and tasting events.  For more information please click here: Playhouse Wine Festival

Lumiere Restaurant are featuring a Taste of BC three course menu with Mission Hill wine pairings. The menu is available Tuesdays to Sundays from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The cost is $55 plus $10 a glass or $50 for a bottle of select Mission Hill wine.

Directly from the La Terrazza Press Release:

March 19, 2009 - Vancouver, BC – On Saturday, March 28^th at 8:30 pm, one billion people are expected to switch their lights off for one hour in a global action in support of the fight against Global Warming.

One of the most obvious businesses operating in the public eye on a Saturday night are restaurants and with their presence are able to show the public the effort many others in the world are making and remind them of the impact they can make in their day to day lives. “In 2007, 2.2 million people in Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for an hour. Last year it was 50 million people in 35 countries that demonstrated their involvement by participating in the Earth Hour”.

La Terrazza Restaurant in Yaletown, also concerned about global warming issues, will take part in this event not only for an hour, but for the entire night. And they have eight very good reasons for doing that!

Discussing this initiative around a late night meal at their restaurant, La Terrazza owners Giulio Miceli, Gennaro Iorio and Iqbal Grewal, all fathers of young children (8 between them and another on the way) asked, “what will the world be like for our children if we don’t act for global warming”, then they joked, “we should really turn the lights out one hour for each of our children”, then thought, sure lets do that!

Chef Gennaro Iorio has designed a low impact menu, as low in oven and stove top time as possible for just $45, and though stoves, ovens and fans will still be running, chefs will be cooking by candle light all night . Already one of the most romantic restaurants in Vancouver, guests on the dining room will dine by candle light and the warmth of the restaurants two fireplaces. Daylight from the south wall’s floor to ceiling windows will keep the earlier seating light while hundreds of candles will light the later evening.

Each hour is secretly named after one of their children, but only they and their family will know which ones. In the mean time La Terrazza will turn off their lights for the entire evening restaurant service, 8 hours - 5 pm to 1:00 am.