Vancouver Magazine
Care to travel the world, one plate at time? Visit Kamloops.
Flaky, Fluffy and Freaking Delicious: Vancouver’s Top Fry Bread and Bannock
The Best Gelato in Canada Was Made in a Hotel Room (and You Can Get it Now in Kitsilano)
Wine Collab of the Week: The Best Bottle to Welcome a Vancouver Spring
Naked Malt Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Celebrates Versatility and Spirit
A $13 Wine You Can Age in Your Cellar
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (March 20-26)
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (March 13-19)
Looking for a Hobby? Here’s 8 Places in Vancouver You Can Pick Up a New Skill
What It’s Like to Get Lost on a Run With a Pro Trail Runner
8 Things to Do in Abbotsford (Even If It’s Pouring Rain)
Explore the Rockies by Rail with Rocky Mountaineer
The Future of Beauty: How One Medical Aesthetics Clinic is Changing the Game
Before Hibernation Season Ends: A Round-Up of the Coziest Shopping Picks
On the Rise: Adhere To’s Puffer Jackets Are Designed With the Future in Mind
You're a winner, baby.
Photo by Tanya Goehring, Styling by Robin Del Pino and Jordyn Taylor-Robins
This award goes not just to this bottle of poke sauce, although the blend of soy sauce, fresh ginger, fresh garlic, sesame oil and rayu is worthy enough. It also goes to what it represents—Organic Ocean, slammed by the loss of restaurant customers in the pandemic, facilitating an entirely new relationship between supplier and customer: one in which a normal schmo might find themselves with an Ocean Wise albacore tuna loin, working on their heretofore nonexistent knife skills, cubing the meat, then marinating it and emerging a short time later having accomplished something once only the domain of the white-toque wearer. Let’s call it power-to-the-people poke.
$9.38, organicocean.com
The cardinal rule for a dinner party: never attempt a soufflé. And since there’s no such thing as a ready-made version, we have an entire generation who’ve missed out on the airy delights of the joys of eating a cloud made with cheese. But leave it to Chef Adam Pegg, the quiet genius of behind La Quercia, to solve the problem with these foolproof dinner-party heroes.
$22.99 for two, laquercia.ca
Truth? Plenty of mortals use ready-made sauces when cooking South Asian dishes. But these pouches have all the convenience of Patak’s while still retaining a hand-crafted ethos. This is an heirloom dish from Chef Tushar’s grandmother that uses slow simmered tomatoes, turmeric, onion, garlic and red chili, all mixed into coconut milk.
$9.99, theindianpantrycatering.com
Peak Vancouver, in the best way. Scratch uses the leftover pulp from their barrel-aged hot sauce to create this amazing chili paste, then relies on wild yeasts to continue its transformation into a hot sauce of just the right scoville units to turn all the orange bounty of B.C.—cayenne, habanero and cherry bomb peppers—into a blast of spicy goodness.
$12, scratchfinefoods.com/
In the annals of discovery, a vegan cheese that appeals to non-vegans ranks up there with finding the Ark of the Covenant. But this vegetable ash-rinded, cashew-based, blue and white mould-ripened wonder from industry leader Blue Heron has all the complexity and depth of its dairy-based brethren, and can hold its own—or, heck, shine—on any cheese plate.
$8.50/100g, blueheroncheese.com
Left to right, top to bottom: Bake-at-Home Croissants, Wild Sockeye Salmon Wellington, Roulé Jambon Fromage, Fresh Tortillas, Beef Spice Rub from CharBlue
Bake-at-Home Croissants from Bench BakehouseA fresh-from-the-oven one-way ticket to France. 4 for $14, thebenchbakehouse.com
Wild Sockeye Salmon Wellington from Shop IntercityThe absolute perfect fancy dinner party hack. $5.75 each, shopintercity.ca
Roulé Jambon Fromage from Merci BoulangerieThe tastiest circular reasoning we know of. $5.25, merciboulangerie.com
Fresh Tortillas from ChanchoWe’re calling it: the most authentic in the province. 12 for $5.75, chancho.ca
Beef Spice Rub from CharBlueAn instant spicy-sweet elevation for your fave cut. $9.99, charblue.com
