Thoughts From My Belly

The wonderful people at Poppadoms Restaurant are hosting a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. This should be a great event and I strongly encourage everyone to attend. Not only do I expect the food to be great, but its for a great cause and one that is very close to my heart. Last [...]

The Rotten Grape has been hosting a series of events that they’re calling “Wino Wednesdays” in their restaurant on Bernard (near The Sails). Basically they invite a winemaker/winery owner to the restaurant from 5pm and 8pm. Anyone who drops in during that time gets a flight of three 1.5oz glasses of wine from that winery, [...]

For those that don’t know, Wine and Dine Okanagan is a great event where local restaurants put together 3 course set menus for $15, $25, or $35. I love this event, because it let’s you try three different dishes (usually, but not always, an appetizer, main, and dessert) for an affordable price. If you go with a friend and the restaurant has options on their Wine and Dine menu, then you can share and try six different dishes!

This year the event starts today (Jan 13th) and runs through the end of the month. Wine and Dine is a great reason to visit your old favourites or some new flavours during what is typically a slow season for the foodservice industry. With over 50 BCRFA member restaurants participating there is something out there for everyone.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the media launch and sneak preview yesterday afternoon and I have to say that there is lots to be excited about. Here are a few of the highlights:

With 2009 in the books, it’s time for me to share with my readers my thoughts on the best places to eat over the last year. Without further ado here are my first annual Golden Belly Awards. If you know some restaurants you think should have won, please email me your picks or post them [...]

I was driving back to Kelowna from Vernon one hot, sunny Okanagan afternoon and as I was passing through Lake Country I realized that I had some time to spare before I needed to be anywhere. I quickly decided that the best use of that time would be to pop in to Gray Monk for [...]

The Minstrel Cafe is one of those places that I had been hearing good things about for years, but for whatever reason I had never actually made it down there to eat. When I found out that a friend’s girlfriend would be singing there I immediately made a reservation. When my wife and I arrived, [...]

I ended up in Salmon Arm a few weeks ago and had the pleasure to dine at what I now consider to be on of the finest establishments in the interior, Table 24. I was only in town for one night, and the friend who I was staying with insisted we go to Table 24. [...]

My mother-in-law was out here visiting from Toronto and my wife and I wanted to take her somewhere special for her birthday. We wanted to choose a restaurant that would not only provide good food, but also provide an experience unique to Kelowna. Based on our experience at Taste of Kelowna we knew that the [...]

The best cooking class I have ever attended was an Indian cooking class Mission Hill, taught by Celebrity Guest Chef Vikram Vij, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to attend another Indian cooking class at Mission Hill hosted by a Celebrity Guest. I am happy to say that the class I took [...]

Leading up to the opening of Sal’s Prime there was a lot of positive buzz from the community. Many people were really looking forward to have a new steakhouse in town. Unfortunately, once the doors opened that buzz quickly turned bad. I personally heard a lot of complaints, most of which related to price/value. Sal’s [...]