Pub food

First Bites at Vancouver’s Fat Badger

The Fat Badger: making good use of a familiar space

I knew when I walked into The Fat Badger (1616 Alberni St., Vancouver) for the first time that it would stir my emotions. After all, there are few buildings in Vancouver with which I have a stronger connection than this West End house on Alberni Street, in which Jean-Luc Bertrand established Le Gavroche, in 1978. I was […]

Read more June 15, 2014 Beer

Brews News: Poring over Tastes from Pioneering Portland in Vancouver

We’ve waxed poetic (and otherwise) over the years about what used to pass for a pub in Vancouver. Having been eclipsed for so long by Victoria (which benefitted maybe just a tad from being the seat of political and bureaucratic power), Vancouver is finally coming into its own. In the last few years there’s been […]

Read more October 19, 2012 Beer

Vancouver’s Tap & Barrel Proves Quality Keg Wines Are Here to Stay

We owe a debt of thanks to Blasted Church’s Brent Hayman for being the first to give us the heads up on the burgeoning tap wine business, earlier this spring.  He introduced us to Steve Thorp and Mike Macquisten at Vancouver Urban Winery, who were just bottling kegging their first FreshTap batch of Blasted Church Hatfield’s […]

Read more August 2, 2012 Beer

Gastown’s Bitter: Sweet Destination for a Perfect Pint

If there’s one thing the Hired Belly finds hard to resist it’s a decent pint, particularly when it’s properly poured, and at the right temperature.  I’m sure it’s one of the many very sound traits inherited from my dad—who I still sorely miss. Growing up, beer was very much a church and state kind of thing—literally. […]

Read more March 23, 2012 Beer

Dale MacKay Folds Ensemble and Ensemble Tap

UPDATED, August 27th, 2012. Sadly, Dale Mackay has had to close both Ensemble and Ensemble Tap. Here are the pertinent excerpts from today’s press release… “I learned quickly that opening a restaurant in the heart of Vancouver is something I should have done after building my business and expansion capital in markets that support my restaurant business […]

Read more January 16, 2012 Belly's Best Bites

WHERE Vancouver Announces 15th Annual Where to Dine Awards

WHERE Vancouver (to whom the Hired Belly supplies considerable calorific content) yesterday unveiled the 15TH Annual Where to Dine Awards. The well attended (and well-run) event was hosted in superb fashion by Blue Water Café, who, as usual, catered to their industry peers with an array of seafood towers, sushi and more, not to mention […]

Read more April 28, 2011 Belly's Best Bites

Rediscovering Good Pub Food at Vancouver’s St. Regis Hotel

Recently we broke bread (and sipped some excellent ’05 Burrowing Owl Cab) with Jeremy Roncoroni.  He’s the dynamo behind Vancouver’s St. Regis Hotel (602 Dunsmuir St., 604-681-1135), who’s been busy turning that property into one of the city’s most successful boutique business properties. How successful? You should check out what guests are saying …

Read more October 14, 2010 Belly's Best Bites