That's a wrap on another Dine Out Vancouver season (though several places have extended their set menus, so you may have a chance still!).
I was lucky enough to go on three outings, a craft distillery tour, a brunch crawl on Commercial Drive, and trying out the Dine Out menu at Bogart's bar & Restaurant, all of which you can see below.
Craft Distillery Tour
Presented by Off the Eaten Track
Craft distilling in Vancouver is certainly not as wide-spread as our craft beer movement, but it's slowly on the rise, and there are some great gems within our city limits and beyond.
Our first stop was to Odd Society Spirits, where we got a crash course in how the liquor is produced, and got to sample some of their amazing cocktails.
Second stop was to Liberty Distillery on Granville Island to sample the vodka, gin, and white whiskey!
Finally stop was The Distillery Bar at the Yaletown Distilling Company which provided us with some great snacks, and samples, and a tour of the facilities.
Off The Eaten Track does a wide array of food tours, but the Distillery Tour is a unique and tasty experience - click here for more info.
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Dinner at Bogart's Bar & Restaurant
I was lucky enough to get to sit down and try out the Dine Out menu from Bogart's Bar & Restaurant this past week. The 3 course meal involved smaller versions of the appies and desserts with a full sized entree. They also had excellent cocktails to choose from, wine and beer on tap, and a great location downtown on Robson and Beatty!
Check out the shots below of the delicious food put together by executive chef Pascal Morin.
Pisco Sour & Pink Lady cocktails
Scallops - pan seared scallops with pancetta chips, cauliflower and goat cheese purée and French lentil ragout
Beet Salad - golden beet and arugula salad with candied pecans, goat cheese and balamic pearls
Arctic Char - parsnip puree, root vegetables and brussels sprouts hash
Chicken Pot Pie - house made puff pastry with roasted chicken and vegetable filling
Bison Ribs - bacon and apple braised red cabbage and gruyere cheese potato gratin
Bailey's Creme Brulee - with orange almond biscotti
Chocolate Molten Cake - with berry coulis & vanilla ice cream
The evening was great and we rolled ourselves home, so full and content. Bogart's is a great location for dinner before or after the game, but they also have a happy hour, and are starting to get live music going as well (including next Weds Feb 11th). Check out their facebook page for more details.
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Brunch Crawl - Commercial Drive
Finally on the last day of Dine Out Vancouver Festival, we toured our way through brunch on commercial drive with VanFoodster's Brunch Crawl! Nothing like spending a gloomy day outside sampling some of the Drive's newest gems and meeting new people!
Our first stop was to Turks for coffee and to sample The Lemon Square. It was a great way to get some caffeine into our system to keep us going through the afternoon.
Next up was Stateside Craft for some cornbread waffles and beermosas - while cartoons and skeeball happened in the background!
We got to try out a traditional Lebanese breakfast tasting plate at Jam Jar on Commercial near 7th Ave. which was light and super tasty.
Next up was Lear Faye, which had live music happening while we dined on steamy beverages and a unique twist on eggs benny (avocado hollandaise!). Oh, and the most delightful server Dolly made the whole experience great.
Finally, we were running out of time (and space in our stomaches), so we had to skips a few stops - but let me tell you, there is ALWAYS room for pizza and beer, esp when it's as light and tasty as the pizza at Famoso (I had a margarita pizza) and Parallel 49's Gypsy Tears.
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That's it! Thanks to Dine Out Vancouver Festival for another awesome year. Did you guys get out to any of the events or find a new favourite restaurant? Let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or tweeting us!
