The Intelligence Brief is our weekly compendium of food and drink news sourced from outlets all over the world, including right here at home.

It’s been a week of “best of” lists! First up, the folks at Esquire share their picks for the best new restaurants in America including Portland’s Bullard and San Francisco’s Nari.

Thrillist presented their own picks for the USA’s best new restaurants and while there’s overlap in cities, many of the restaurants are distinct. Closest to home we have Portland’s Eem and San Francisco’s Um.Ma.

And now for a Monday morning caffeine fix! Food and Wine shares their picks for the best coffee shops across America. Not surprised that multiple PNW spots made the cut, including Portland’s Heart Coffee and Seattle’s Milstead and Co..

The Vancouver Sun dishes on their favourite sushi spot around town including Kishimoto, Masayoshi and Tojo’s.

Good news, meatless and vegan pizza lovers! Virtuous Pie is opening its first Vancouver Island location in Victoria next month.

How one chef used cake as the canvas to share her experiences cooking in Antarctica.

Old news! Turns out only eating oysters during months with an “r” is actually an age-old piece of advice.

“….regardless of the reason, it seems like people have been avoiding oysters during the summer months for the past 4,000 years. Scientists analyzed a large shell ring off the coast of St. Catherines Island in Georgia, and determined that some of the island’s early-early inhabitants didn’t harvest oysters during the summer either.”

Never underestimate the power of a good plate of pickled vegetables to get your night started off on the right foot.

Talk about an early bird special! This new reservation platform that just launched in Vancouver gives a 50% discount to diners that book the first table of the night at participating restaurants.

The Vancouver Sun’s Mia Stainsby checks out Bar Gobo – a Monday night pop-up brought to you by the folks behind Burdock and Co..

How Vancouver Island Chef Castro Boatang has taken his experiences cooking around the world to build success in his own award-winning Victoria restaurant.

Eating via Instagram honours this week go to @panda.dlights because as the weather gets colder, we’re going need plenty more bowls of noodles:

 

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A post shared by Dominic W. (@panda.dlights) on Sep 22, 2019 at 6:02pm PDT

Reservation for two at 7pm? Would you prefer aisle of window? A recent survey shows that Canadians are rather eager to travel for food.

This week in drinks podcasts: The Daily Beast’s Life Behind Bars debunks some of the most common scotch-based myths.

Eating off of biodegradable dishes made of leaves takes “going green” to the next level.

And speaking of going green, some fast food restaurants are attempting to reduce their single use-plastic by phasing out toys that traditionally come with a kids meal.

If you’re looking for NYE plans, look no further because dinner at Galiano’s Bodega Ridge seems like the perfect way to ring in 2020.

Too little too late: Chick-Fil-A says it will stop making donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations.

If you’re looking for a low-proof holiday, consider checking out Lumette! It’s Canada’s first non-alcoholic distilled spirit and it comes from the same Island folks that brought us Sheringham gin.

Dick move: A local farm sale goes south after the previous owners poisoned the blueberry crops just days before the new owners took possession.

Looking for work in the industry? Check out who’s hiring!