Tasty Tiki Treats

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About La Brasserie

Yesterday I applied to About.com to become a Vancouver/British Columbia travel writing guide. I had to write a 500 word essay on Vancouver as part of my application. Cross your fingers for me please! Here's the piece I wrote.

La Brasserie

Quality compliments quantity as you dive into one of the most memorable gourmet burgers you’ll ever find. The Brasserie burger is topped with aged white cheddar, smoked bacon, and an obscene amount of their addictive crispy fried onions and the fresh bun is enhanced with truffled aioli. As you taste the savory burger made from freshly ground steak, your eyes will roll back in carnivore heaven. But there is more. The burger is served with a side of hand cut frites. These are true Belgian style double-fried French fries complete with their peel. Even big eaters will find it a challenge to polish off the meal but a glass of one of their German, French, or English beers on tap with help you to successfully accomplish your mission.

La Brasserie (1091 Davie Street (604) 568-6499 Open Mon-Sat 5pm-12am; Sun 12pm-12am) is an intimate Franco-German inspired European bistro located in the heart of Vancouver’s West End, a five-minute walk to trendy Yaletown or the downtown core. Sit at a table or sit at the bar; The fairly priced five-star food is served in an approachable and cozy room adorned with dark wood and stained glass Tiffany lamps. The menu features gastronomical classics such as French onion soup, bouillabaisse, rotisserie prime rib, duck confit, and lobster thermidor. Adventurous eaters can try rotisserie rabbit, whole stuffed quail, steak tartare, homemade bratwurst, or their signature suckling pig.

They are open for brunch from 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday but the bad news is that they are no longer open for lunch during the week. So what’s a foodie to do when you have a mid-week craving for their yummy shoestring fried onions?

Easy. You visit their new gourmet food cart centrally located at Granville and Georgia at the entrance to the City Center Canada Line Skytrain station. The cart has only been here since early April and the choice is easy as there is only one item on the menu, the Brass Chicken sandwich. For $6.25 you get beer-brined rotisserie chicken in gravy served on a buttermilk bun loaded with their desired crispy onions. Add a drink and it is only $7.15 plus tax, a steal in Vancouver for a gourmet lunch. There are a few benches close by which makes for an excellent people watching spot as you enjoy your meal before a round of downtown shopping.

La Brasserie is at the forefront of two exciting new food trends in Vancouver, the gourmet street food cart and the quest for the perfect artisan sandwich. The Brasserie burger is one of the city’s best-kept local secrets and you will be hard pressed to find a better chicken sandwich but it’s fun to try!

Hockey Night in Naramata

I just got back from a week of touring in the Okanagan wine country region. It was a real success. I have potentially five new clients and made some new friends. The vines are still not blooming yet as it's the coldest spring in a hundred years so it's hard to make lush green pretty pictures when they are a bunch of gnarled sticks! I'm hoping to head back this summer and definitely in the fall during harvest time. Everyone tells me to come back sometime between late September and before Halloween.

I brought back eight bottles of wine. Five I got for free because I am going to photograph them for a few clients. I can't wait to see the rolling hills and winding roads of Naramata when it's exploding with grapes.

Designer Tea

Designer Tea from Dean Hannas on Vimeo.

Japanese Matcha green tea and Genmaicha "popcorn" tea are explored along with Chinese Lapsang Souchong, Pu Ehr, and Silver Dragon loose teas. Original music by Kurt Hannas.