Valentine's dinners for real-life relationships

You and your significant other are not a Hallmark-card couple.

Restaurants that please everyone: where to dine with the family over the holidays

Charles Dickens’ famous quote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” can be applied to holiday dining with the family.

Creative menus make holiday dinners easy

Corey Sullivan insists that holiday entertaining doesn’t have to be about chaining yourself to the kitchen stove and doing Child’s Pose before the guests arrive.

The perfect fried rice is all about the technique

Cantonese-style fried rice begins with the star ingredient, long-grain steamed and cooled jasmine rice, while kecap manis is the secret to Indonesian fried rice.

Where Vancouver students eat: our informal survey says cheapies, chains, and more chains

This informal survey provides a snapshot of the eating-out patterns of average late-teen to mid-20 somethings.

Seafood on the barbie? Relax and get creative

You like to think of yourself as a seasoned barbecuer. Hot dogs? Child’s play. Perfectly done steak? Coming right up! Your Achilles’ heel, though, is seafood.

Here, Quebec comfort food isn’t just poutine

Ask most people to describe Quebec food and “poutine” would probably be the answer. But local restaurateurs are hoping to change that perception.

From meatballs to manju, festival fare travels the globe

The invite of the summer has just arrived in your mailbox: “You have been cordially invited to the annual multicultural potluck extravaganza. It’s roaming; it spans the whole summer; and, best of all, you only need to bring yourself and your insatiable appetite."

Spicy Indian snacks make addictive munching for the game or anytime

The sheer variety of salty snacks at Himalaya Restaurant would cause the CEO of Frito-Lay to hang his head in shame.

Vancouver chefs bake with Parisian flair

Step through the doors of Faubourg and you’ll swear you’ve left the tony environs of Kerrisdale and found Paris.

Restaurant playlists in Vancouver get just the right vibe

When he was a teen, Nicolas Bragg worked at a restaurant for two years where the same boring music playlist blared over every dinner service.

Creative riffs on chicken wings make for addictive munching

Welcome to the clash of wing-eating styles.

Take a foodie staycation at tropical restaurants in Vancouver

It’s clear that people from sunny places are passionate about their cooking.

New Year's resolutions? Pros dish healthy ones

The Straight phoned 10 food experts—chefs and producers—and asked them to suggest healthy 2011 resolutions for you.

No reservation? Here's where to meet the group for dinner

Now’s the time to spread the love to other excellent spots that, for a variety of reasons, don’t have throngs of trendsters crowding the reservation book.

Classic spaghetti and meatballs done right

A heaping plate of perfect pasta can be pure Italian comfort—here’s where to find a dish that’s that lives up to childhood memory.

Posh food, less service: will customers bite?

Anthony Sterne, general manager at Commune Café, feels that Vancouverites are embracing this new type of establishment.

Restaurant workers who keep it all running

This is about the restaurant workers who get no glory.

Vancouver kicks off 17-day Oktoberfest party

If you listen closely, you can hear the strains of the oompah-pah music announcing the coming of this year’s Oktoberfest.

Museum of Vancouver exhibit exalts the joys of local food

In partnership with FarmFolk/CityFolk, the MOV is showcasing photographer Brian Harris’s images in a vibrant celebration of back-yard farming and local food.

Schmoozing is easy in the great outdoors

Standing at the patio bar and soaking in the energy reminds you of hanging out on a pal’s deck, where there’s no pretension, just unabashed good times.

Vancouver chefs put their ribs on the grill

It’s those first barbecue ribs, tender with smoky, charcoal flavours, that make you close your eyes and thank the heavens that barbecue season has finally arrived.

Summer rife with cultural food festivals

Your phone rings. Your friend wants to know what’s on for the weekend. A trip to the mall? Boring. You remember your summer resolution to check out more cultural festivals around town. Before you know it, you’re out the door.

Three Vancouver places to take part in the art of paella

Three local restaurants put their spin on the classic dish, which varies from region to region, depending on the availability of ingredients and the whim of the cook.

At lunch, tiffin multi-tiered containers stack up

Popular in India, the tiered metal containers can pack curry takeout or a big picnic.

Getting serious about really good shawarmas

In Vancouver, shawarma joints are everywhere, offering cheap, quick, and filling alternatives to your regular burger.

City of Vancouver aids the planet by collecting food scraps

If you’re reading this article at home and are about to chuck the tea bag into the garbage, stop.

Chambar inspires its alumni

Why such allegiance to the family tree? Chambar owners Nico and Karri Schuermans practise a shocking concept called R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Family-style eating means pass the platters and dig in

There’s boisterous chatter and the bustle of movement around tables in restaurants throughout the city as family-style eating becomes increasingly common.

Find some Valentine's dining privacy

This year, with all the Olympic hoopla and heinous traffic, finding a place to cuddle and nibble—on excellent food, of course—in relative peace may be challenging.

Vancouver gastropubs give pub grub a makeover

A gastropub takes the warm, convivial atmosphere of a pub and combines it with gastronomy, or good eating.

Hot pots, biryani, and chicken say Christmas

Looking to add to your own unique holiday feast? When it comes to cultural traditions, the more diverse the merrier.

Hitting the sauce with wine, beer, and whisky

Here are some suggestions for adding a little tipple to your cooking.

A bowl of chicken soup soothes body and soul

When you’re feeling sniffly or need warming up, nothing says comfort like chicken soup. And it all begins with stock.

Neighbourhood restaurants thrive in Vancouver

The good ones survive, and the better ones thrive. But the mark of a really successful restaurant is longevity.

Beginners cooking classes offer culinary skills to serious amateurs

Culinary education can be a serious undertaking, especially for those intent on entering the tough restaurant industry. That’s why short beginners’ programs can be the ideal way to try out cooking school.

From kebabs to satays, skewers cross cultures

Signs you’re a carnivore: the word tofu never crosses your lips. You sprinkle bacon bits on your ice cream. Meat on a stick makes you weep with joy. And you can out-eat Kurshid Khan, owner of Simba’s Grill.

Chefs dream up those salad days of summer

Who says a salad has to be simple?

Rustic Hakka cuisine packed with flavour at Hakkasan

Mention Hakka cuisine to a friend and you might get a blank look. That’s because in Vancouver, Hakka cuisine isn’t nearly as widespread as Cantonese cuisine. But there are places to sample this unique style of cooking.

Let's do lunch, but for less

When times were good, downtown restaurants were packed at lunchtime with high rollers celebrating market upswings and impressing clients with lavish meals. Recent economic events, however, have taught companies to be cautious.

Film productions eat up Vancouver restaurants as shooting locations

Here in Hollywood North, it's not just local up-and-coming actors who get screen time. Many Vancouver restaurants have cameos in locally shot film and television projects.

Solo diners can savour these tables for one

Enjoying a meal all by yourself in a fine-dining restaurant may seem decadent or, frankly, terrifyingly daunting if you’ve never eaten alone before.

Cooks fire up the classroom

The theme for this year’s Eric Hamber Secondary School 11/12 class is Global Gourmet as students take a culinary tour of the world’s cuisines.

Persian treats ring in the spring new year

At 4:44 a.m. on March 20, at the time of the vernal equinox, Persian families across the city will gather to celebrate the start of the Persian New Year, or Norouz. This year there are many different ways to party Persian-style.

Restaurant bars offer matchmaking on tap

Looking for love in Vancouver is often a losing proposition. However, you might find help from the staff of Vancouver's restaurants and bars, some of whom are more than happy to play Cupid.

Holiday dining in Vancouver when you don't do Christmas

In Vancouver, there are many restaurants that cater to those who don't celebrate Christmas, or those who want some nonturkey options over the holiday season.

Moroccan tajines can warm up winter

Lifting the lid of a tajine—a Moroccan clay pot—provides an aromatic prelude to the heavenly dish to come.

Expert advice for holiday feasting

Author Ginny Love chuckles when she remembers her own feasting mishaps but she knows all too well that Christmas dinner can elicit more shudders than laughter.

Vancouver tofu makers give soy a fresh new appeal

Tofu may seem bland to the uninitiated but a pair of Vancouver manufacturers show it's a versatile, useful—and even delicious—ingredient.

Devoted delis share a passion for smoked meat

Local sandwich connoisseurs are being cultivated by owners who take a real pride in their top quality fare, from the preparation to the right bread and condiments.