Whistler Brewing Co. Has Joined The Growing Scout Community…

Whistler Brewing Company is now a proud member supporter of Scout. We will be publishing their news and press releases on our front page and hosting a page for them in our list of local breweries and wineries. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support of our little website. Click ahead to read on or jump directly to their Scout page… Read more

Mountainous Foodgasms Erupt Up At “Outstanding In The Field”

Michelle and I went up to Whistler last weekend for a wee bit of gastronomic excess with some journalists visiting from the United States (cool cats all). It was bloody hot out, so we borrowed a pretty sweet convertible for the duration, and cranked old Rolling Stones tracks all the way up, singing “Pleased to meet you, won’t you guess my name, wooo-hooo!” Good times…

After checking in at the Westin (hooray for pools), we headed straight for Araxi, this year’s critic’s choice for Best Whistler at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. It and Bearfoot Bistro are my two Whistler reliables, as their respective chefs – Melissa Craig and James Walt – are two of the best in BC. We couldn’t get up in time to enjoy lunch at BB with the American journos, but they regaled us with tales of noon-hour excess. One of them even fell asleep at the table after the lunch had ended! I had the opportunity of being a judge when Melissa won the Canadian Culinary Championships in Toronto a few years back, so I have pretty good idea as to the excellence of what we missed. Sigh…it sounded fantastic, like a fisherman’s “one that got away” tale. There’s always next time…

The 10 of us – happily received in Araxi’s private room by GM Steve Edwards – were led through five courses prepared by James and his crew (including recently minted sous chef Owen Lightly). Several of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life have been enjoyed in that room, and this one was definitely in the running. It began with a tiny, Caprese-esque salad of GME heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil sorbet, gazpacho vinaigrette and nasturtiums, crescendo-ed with a plate of Pemberton Meadows shortribs that had been cooking for 72 hours, and finished with white chocolate-pistachio nougat glacé dealt by pastry chef Aaron Heath. Wine Director (and charmer) Samantha Rahn made some great and sometimes brave pairing moves – like saddling the beef up to a seven year old Austrian Gruner Veltliner – but…if I can channel Hopper for a sec, it was pure poetry, man…poetry. Here’s the menu… Read more

Seen In Vancouver #245: Lengthy Table Of 160 At North Arm Farm

It’s actually Pemberton and not Vancouver, but we’re nothing if not stiffly formulaic with our headlines. We have over 100 photos that we’re putting together for a Scout feature on our weekend up in Whistler and Pemberton (coming shortly in the carousel), but this one is too pretty not to share immediately. Wished you were there…

Top Table Staff Win Accolades As Major Anniversaries Near…

News from Scout supporters CinCin, Araxi, West, & Blue Water Café

Vancouver & Whistler, BC | Fresh on the heels of an unprecedented 17 awards garnered at the recent Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, Top Table team members will be recognized with two more accolades.

On September 27th, executive chef Frank Pabst of Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar, and restaurant director Brian Hopkins of West, will be inducted into the British Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame. These awards signal those “who have demonstrated exceptional professionalism working in the restaurant industry by making their restaurant a special experience.”

The BC Restaurant Hall of Fame was founded six years ago by the BC Restaurant and Food Services Association, and annually honours “the greats” of the province’s culinary community. Jack Evrensel, proprietor of Top Table Group (and 2007 inductee) said, “This is a true distinction and a great honour for Frank and Brian, as well as being a real credit to the other team members in their respective restaurants.” Read more

Top Table Eateries Win Big At The Van Mag Restaurant Awards

News from Scout supporters CinCin, Araxi, West, & Blue Water Café

Vancouver & Whistler, BC | We are pleased to share with you that Top Table restaurants were recognized an unprecedented 17 times at the 21st annual Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards held Tuesday, May 18th at the Sheraton Wall Centre. A panel of 19 judges acknowledged Araxi, Blue Water Cafe, CinCin and West, before a standing-room only audience of British Columbia’s leading restaurateurs, chefs and service professionals. Read more

The View From Your Window #12

From reader “O.L.” | Paradise Valley | Squamish | 10:24am | SUBMIT YOUR VIEW

Top Table’s New Awards, Spring Menus And Upcoming Events…

News from Scout supporters CinCin, Araxi, West, and Blue Water Café

Vancouver + Whistler, BC | Top Table restaurants were successful again this year at the annual Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival Wine List Awards. Convened on Friday, April 23rd at a luncheon to kick off the final weekend of the 32nd festival, Blue Water Cafe and West won two of only three Platinum Awards, while CinCin won one of five Gold Awards, and Araxi, Silver.

The Wine List Awards draw upon restaurants from across British Columbia and Alberta, with judging criteria measuring each restaurant’s wine program philosophy and how successfully wine and food pairing goals match it. Further criteria include the quality of wine education for staff, an accessible and user-friendly list, and the provision of value at all price points.

We would also like to congratulate Owen Knowlton, wine director of West, who was nominated for Sommelier of the Year, a distinction awarded to Blue Water Cafe’s Andrea Vescovi in 2009 and Chris Van Nus in 2007.

Top Table’s wine libraries are also perennial recipients of the ‘Best of’ Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine. Read more

James Walt’s “Araxi” Cookbook Nominated For James Beard Nod

Congratulations are in order for chef James Walt of Whistler’s Araxi. His cookbook, “Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant”, has been nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the category “Cooking from a Professional Point of View”. Also nominated are Peter Meehan and David Cheng’s “Momofuku” and the French Culinary Institute tome “The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts”. The winners will be announced on May 2nd, 2010. Good luck, James!

Tickets Soon To Go On Sale For 2010 “Outstanding In The Field”

Tour dates for the 2010 season of Outstanding in the Field have been announced here. If you’ve never been to one of these al fresco experiences, they are two of the best events on BC’s gastronomic calendar, right up there with the Tofino Food & Wine Festival and Feast of Fields. The dinner series, put on by California-based artist and chef Jim Denevan and his traveling band of merry men and women, sees the best chefs in almost every North American city preparing meals on long, linen-draped tables set with silver, wine glasses, flowers, and really good people. It’s a pretty amazing gig. They boot around the continent hosting these first rate, farm-to-table meals in spectacular settings like beaches, vineyards, forest groves and farmer’s fields, all the while making fast friends wherever they go. Nice.

The one in Pemberton, held at Jordan and Trish Sturdy’s breathtaking North Arm Farm, goes down on July 18th. followed the very next day by a dinner out at UBC Farm. Chef James Walt of Araxi will be returning to cook at the former (he did a superlative job last year), while Robert Belcham of Refuel and Campagnolo will be breaking his Outstanding cherry at the latter. Tickets for each are $180 (US, presumably), and they go on sale March 20th.

Check the Scout Field Trip video above to see how awesomely spectacular both events were in 2009. We took the Westfalia up and camped with the crew after dinner, and then torqued down to UBC the next day. It was the best 48 hours of eating I experienced last year. Here’s hoping you decide to join us at both in July!

Top Table Restaurants On The Most Romantic Night Of The Year

News from Scout supporters CinCin, Araxi, West, and Blue Water Café

Vancouver + Whistler, BC | Like yours, our Olympic memories are rife with wonderful individual moments and the spirit that celebrated excellence at every turn. We enjoyed a great mix of our regulars and locals at each of our restaurants – Araxi in Whistler, and Blue Water Cafe, CinCin, and West in Vancouver – along with many visitors, royals and celebrities of an extraordinary diversity. Read more

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