Inside Vancouver

Oakwood Canadian Bistro — A Fresh Take on Canadian Cuisine

by Taraneh in Food & Drink on December 28, 2012

Flank steak, sunchoke chips, chimichurri, roasted bone marrow. Photo credit: Oakwood

I was recently invited to try the new winter menu at Oakwood Canadian Bistro – which has been praised alongside Edible Canada as one of Canada’s best “Canadian” restaurants – and I jumped at the chance.

While reviewers tend to obsess over the Kitsilano-based restaurant’s brisket topped-poutine, it’s dishes like flawlessly cooked arctic char with smoked applewood caviar and flank steak with chimichurri, sunchoke chips and roasted marrow that demonstrate the heights Canadian comfort food is capable of reaching, with the right chef.

In fact, 28-year-old Oakwood chef Michael Robbins might be the Vancouver dining scene’s best kept secret. Born and raised in East Vancouver, Robbins is the type of soft-spoken wunderkind that will take Top Chef by (silent) storm, someday very soon. I jokingly told the humble fellow to work on his TV personality, but in all seriousness, he prefers to work on his menu, not to mention the canvases displayed on the Oakwood’s whitewashed brick walls. Before he transcends to local celebrity, get thee to Kitsilano and eat at the Oakwood. Continue reading:
Oakwood Canadian Bistro — A Fresh Take on Canadian Cuisine

What Does Canada Taste Like? Edible Canada on Granville Island

Ask many people what Canadian cuisine is and they’ll mumble something about poutine and maple syrup. But anyone who lives in Vancouver knows that local food culture goes a lot deeper than that.

And finally there’s a one-stop shop where you can take the skeptics to show just how rich and varied Canadian cuisine can be: Edible Canada on Granville Island. This is the brainchild of the Edible BC people, who run those in-depth chef-guided tours of the Public Market and who used to have a tiny little shop inside selling all kinds of Canadian goodies. They’ve traded that space for a massive 4,000-square-foot bistro, bar and food shop next door (Does anyone remember what used to be there? As far as I recall, it used to be a parking garage!)

Continue reading:
What Does Canada Taste Like? Edible Canada on Granville Island