Vancouver's best-kept restaurant secrets

Beer News: CAMRA Vancouver are promoting Real Ale.  From the Press Release:

Real Ale is a natural, living product that is left to mature in the vessel from which it is served — typically, a 40.9-litre cask called a firkin. Real Ale is unfiltered and unpasteurized, which means its original character and flavour are not compromised in any way. Therefore, it has a limited shelf life and requires proper, temperature-controlled storage.

“Given the growing demand for wholesome, more flavourful food, it’s only natural that people would expect the same from their beer,” said Rick Green, president of CAMRA Vancouver. “Comparing cask ale to industrial beer is like comparing slow food to mass-processed food. You don’t get blandness from quality ingredients and taking sufficient time.”

Restaurant News: The Aubergine Grille in Whistler has a new Executive Chef.  From the Press Release:

As Whistler readies itself to welcome the world to the XXI winter Olympic games, The Westin Resort & Spa welcomes to its kitchen a culinary Olympian, who has amassed a total of 19 gold, silver and bronze culinary medals over the past 18½  years.  Chef Jeffery Young’s medal-winning culinary talent will be showcased for banquet events in 20,000 sq. ft. of event space, the 150-seat award-winning Aubergine Grille restaurant, the 65-seat FireRock Lounge and in-room dining for the 419 suites of The Westin Resort & Spa.

Food News:  The Pink Pantry is promoting various food related gift packages. From the Press Release:

“we’re starting a program of “Indulge Your Inner Foodie Evenings” where customers, instead of going out, can get a group of their friends to join them in the comfort of their own home for an amusing evening of cooking demonstrations and tastings for a nominal fee! We’ll handle the actual supplying of all the food and arrive at their door on the appointed evening with all the ingredients for a wonderful five-course meal which will be prepared in front of them. Practical cooking tips, different variations for using the products, and multi-purpose techniques will be demonstrated as everything is casually prepared, using mainly ingredients from “The Pink Pantry” as the basis to making an evening of easy entertaining, with guaranteed wonderful tastes to follow. All they have to supply is the wine (which we can happily help them choose) for an enjoyably fun, yet fully informative, Foodies’ evening with minimal fuss. We’ll even do the dishes afterwards!”