Our weekly distillation of who wrote what about food and drink in this week’s city print…

Alexandra Gill is besotted by the Chinese Restaurant Awards in the Globe and Mail (and for good reason). It’s interesting how Richmond’s Chinese restaurant community, after years of ho-hum participation in other, more multicultural restaurant awards that only pay their contributions to the local food scene lip service, finally just said fuck it, we’ll do our own and exclude every other cuisine.

Also in the Globe, a story on the economic downturn’s squeezing of gratuities.

Question: what’s the connection between steak houses and assholes?

Canwest’s Michael McCarthy goes to Richmond, finds Chinese restaurants.

Mia Stainsby reviews the modern Vietnamese fare at Robson’s new Chau.

Sue Frause of the Examiner (the what?) visits Campagnolo.

The Edmonton Journal previews next month’s Canadian Culinary Championships in Banff.

Nation Fong gets his Chinese New Years on in The Vancouver Sun.

So does Stephen Fong in the Georgia Straight.

Also in the Straight, Jurgen Gothe pours $10 wines.

In the Vancouver Courier, Tim Pawsey pens on Team Canada’s preps for Bocuse D’Or.

Deana Lancaster reviews The Village Taphouse in West Vancouver.

The Times considers Canadian cuisine (extra).

Unrelated: Victoria’s Times-Colonist (via the Montreal Gazette) tries to unravel the mysteries of Canadian food culture in less than a 1000 words.

The Westcoaster on how to retain staff.

So.cial at le Magasin’s Romy Prasad preps some veal for 24.

And in my Westender column this week, I check out Wild Rice twice during Dine Out.

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Andrew Morrison is a west coast boy who studied history and classics at the Universities of Cape Town and Toronto after an adolescence spent riding skateboards and working in restaurants. He is the editor of Scout Magazine, the weekly food and restaurant columnist for the Westender newspaper, a contributor to Vancouver and Western Living magazines, and a proud board member of the Chef’s Table Society of BC. He lives and works by the beach in Vancouver.

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