While the Four Seasons flagship room Yew hasn't been exactly floundering, last week, newly landed executive chef Ned Bell and team pulled the wraps off their all seafood, all the time "New Yew" Restaurant and Bar (604-692-4939).
Determined to keep the focus firmly "fresh, local and social," the revamped lineup abounds in edgy marine cuisine highlighted by a dazzling new raw bar where freshness rules. Offerings include a succulent, black truffle anointed Ahi tuna tartare adorned with thinly shaved root vegetables ($14), Albacore tuna with Aggasiz hazelnut granola and lime-miso aioli ($12) and simple but striking scallop "crudo" with preserved lemon and olive oil ($13).
With sights boldly set on becoming the city's premier seafood restaurant, Four Seasons GM and regional VP Robert Cima says the move to seafood makes sense because 70 per cent of their clientele were already ordering shellfish and seafood in abundance.
Although there are nods to "turf and fish" (pork and octopus) and a respectable offering of "Not Fish" items (organic chicken, rib-eye or open lasagna), we suspect most will be lured by the likes of roasted steelhead with bourbon maple squash purée ($26), fresh halibut with crispy polenta and chanterelles ($29) or the all encompassing "Yew share" seafood platter.
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With fall around the corner and harvest in full swing, what better place to celebrate the wealth of B.C. grown ingredients than at Bishop's. The city's longest running regional-sustainable champion, John Bishop and chef Andrea Carlson's Harvest Table dinners (through Oct. 20) yield a chance to experience one of Vancouver's most acclaimed rooms for $48 (before tax and tip) Sunday through Thursday nights.
The current menu (until Sept. 22) is based on ingredients from several local producers who've worked with Bishop for years and roams from an amuse bouche of Dungeness crab custard with pine mushroom and Glen Valley artichoke to bacon-wrapped Maple Hill chicken breast medallions with Stoney Paradise Cascade tomato glaze.
The meal's a deal, but if you're wine inclined, the four optional wine pairings (add $25) are more than worthwhile and well chosen, with noteworthy matches from Blue Mountain, Summerhill, Hillside Estate and Quails Gate-whose Late Harvest Optima '08 is a sensual, apricot-toned slam dunk with pastry chef Katie Huitson's Corn Pot de Crème with corn ice cream- made with Hazelmere Farm sweetcorn.
For reservations, call 604-738-2025.
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Remember when before there was Aussie Shiraz you used to drink Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cab? The illustrious Mr. Blass-a much-travelled ambassador who can rightly claim a big chunk of the credit for helping to put Australia on the wine world map-makes a return visit next week. It's all part of the B.C. Liquor Board's Oz promo, through September.
Head across Lions Gate to BCLS Park Royal Signature Store Sept. 24, noon to 2: 30 p.m., where they'll pour rare tastes of the iconic Wolf Blass Black Label 2007 (BCLS $99.99). This is the 35th vintage of the CabernetSauvignonMalbec-Shiraz blend, which has won Australia's hallowed Jimmy Watson Trophy (awarded to the best one-year old wine in the country) an unprecedented four times since 1973-testament to Blass and his vision.
You can catch up with the lively 76year-old between 1: 45 and 2: 30 p.m.
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