On Friday night August 27^th,  I attended the opening party for 100 Days at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown.

Cocktails

Kobe Beef on potato crisp

Guests were treated to tasty cocktails, wine and tantalizing appetizers and dessert bites throughout the night.

This is Vancouver’s newest pop-up restaurant that will serve diners for 100 days. The talented chefs at One Hundred Days will dish up a tantalizing menu of urban diner meets Mediterranean cuisine, all inspired by the art surrounding them.

Graffiti Artist Vince Dumoulin

Graffiti artist Vince Dumoulin has transformed the room both inside and outside into a fun and colourful restaurant that exudes high energy and creativity. I caught him on camera as he was putting the finishing Graffiti touches on the outside of the restaurant as the party was underway.

I loved the menu on the large blackboards throughout the restaurant, the Graffiti bar, the DJ spinning and most of all the room on the corner of Hamilton & Davie with the large windows. One Hundred Days promises to be high energy and the most unexpected and thrilling dining experience to be found in Vancouver. After 100 days the restaurant will again be transformed into a new and exciting concept restaurant to open in early 2011.

Go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or late night, the restaurant is located inside the Opus Hotel at 322 Davie Street in Yaletown.

http://onehundreddays.ca

By: Richard Wolak

On July 12th I attended the opening of L’Abattoir a new French Westcoast restaurant with a menu that is focused on clean, fresh, and seasonal flavours using traditional preperations. Everything from sauces to pastas, bread, and even fresh cheeses are made in-house by hand.

Barman Shaun Layton

The ‘Slaughterhouse Punch’ created by Barman Shaun Layton was a hit by all those who enjoyed it including me. Tasting bites were passed around from Chef Lee Cooper’s menu.

Serving Smoked Trout

Serving Mini Donuts filled with Lemon Creme

Sean Sylvestre, Jason "Peacho" Pitschke, Letitia Wan, Kenny MacKenzie

On June 2nd I attended the opening of Adesso Bistro a new Italian restaurant specializing in Ligurian cuisine. The location is one of my favourites for a restaurant in the city, it is a wonderful hideaway well situated in the West End in close proximity to Stanley Park.

Mini Blueberry Cakes

I met up with the Chefs Team (shown above) for a little tour of the kitchen and a Behind the Scenes look. In the dining room and on the outside patio, the mood was upbeat as invited guests mingled about drinking Cocktails, Wine, Beer and eating the tasty Appies and desserts.

Adesso Bistro is now open at 1906 Haro Street in the Westend.

By: Richard Wolak

Milkshakes

Last night was the opening party for Nimby Burger in Kitsilano, a late night party outside on the deck across from Kits beach. This new burger joint is a take out spot that has burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Fries

My favourites were the Cheeseburgers, Chocolate and Vanilla Milkshakes.

Nimby Burger is now open at 2210 Cornwall Avenue in Kitsilano.

By: Richard Wolak

Shaking Peach Martinis

On May 6th, I attending the spectacular opening party for the Westin Wall Centre Hotel in Richmond which is located minutes away from the Vancouver International Airport.

Executive Chef - Hamid Salimian

There were chefs at food stations scattered throughout the room featuring an array of different appetizers, cheeses and sweets for guests to nibble and taste.

Cheese Station

Richmond Mayor - Malcolm Brodie

Drinks were cleverly served from an Ice Sculputure for the martinis to pour through, wine, beer and cocktails served from the top side bars along with an Inniskillin Ice wine station.

Food Station

The sweets were one of the stellar highlights that included Nitrogen made Ice Cream, a chocolate fountain with fruits, cookies and marshmellows for dipping. There was also a wall of sweets that included Macarons, Chocolates, Chocolate Mouse and more.

Chocolate Fountain

Wall of Sweets

The Westin Wall Centre Vancouver Airport Hotel is now open at 3099 Corvette Way in Richmond and features the Apron restaurant.

By: Richard Wolak

This afternoon I attended the grand opening of House of Switzerland for the 2010 Winter Olympics on Granville Island in Vancouver. The House of Switzerland is the official Swiss guest centre at the Olympic Games. It has been set-up and outfitted for the Olympic Games, and is now open for the duration of the Games.

Swiss Music Procession

The Alphorn-Players from St. Moritz played Swiss music and people were having fun! A selection of Swiss food specialties were served to the Media and VIP invited guests upstairs while hundreds of locals and visitors packed the downstairs for this great opening party.

Raclette Appetizers

Chef from Switzerland & Switzerland House Manager

The tradition of a Swiss guest centre dates back to 1998, when the House of Switzerland celebrated its inaugural event at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. The House of Switzerland is project managed by Presence Switzerland, part of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and acts as a meeting point and social hub for the Swiss Olympic team, its sponsors, and partners. It is also used for receptions, media conferences, client events, and medal celebrations.  It is one of the few national guest centres at the Olympic Games open to the public, and is intended for a wide local and international audience. The House of Switzerland was conceived as a public-private partnership project and is designed to facilitate close collaboration between official partners and sponsors from the Swiss private sector.

Many events will be held here over the next few weeks including breakfast, lunch and dinner available in the restaurant. Come down for a visit and enjoy some of their Swiss Hospitality and food and drink specialties.

By: Richard Wolak

Last night was the re-opening party for Glowbal in Yaletown, now known as a Steakouse specializing in Steaks and Satay.

Making the Cocktails

Ahi Tuna

Beef Shortribs

Grilled Lamb Chops

The mood was festive as invited guests mingled about drinking Martini’s, Champagne Cocktails, Wine, Beer and eating the tasty Appies and desserts.

Beignets

My favourite desserts were the Beignets and their Chocolate Bread Pudding Squares that seemed to disappear so fast.

Glowbal Grill Steaks & Satay is now open at 1079 Mainland Street in Yaletown.

By: Richard Wolak

Last night was the opening party for Lupo, a new Italian Restaurant in Yaletown.  Lupo is located in a delightful turn of the century Heritage House, a contemporary kitchen that is serving fresh reinventions of Italian classics in a cozy, neighborhood environment.

Grilled Lamb Chop, Wild Prawn, Veal on Polenta cake

Inside Dining Room

Upstairs Lounge/Dining Room

The Menu is rooted in familiar dishes and Italian favourites, but has a sense of adventure and extravagance that comes from Julio Gonzalez Perini’s (Executive Chef & Co-Founder) background in fine dining. Everything is created in-house –from hand rolled bread sticks to freshly ground sausage to pillowy pasta dough. Michael Mameli (Wine Director & Co-Founder) runs the Front of the House and is one of the most experienced Wine connoisseurs around.

Croistini Platter

Veal Meatballs

Pastry Chef Jeff Salzsauler with dessert platter

Coffee Chocolate Macarons, Chocolate Truffles, Strawberry Macarons, Madelines, Chocolate Cookies

I loved the ambience of both the upstairs and downstairs dining rooms and most of all loved the tantalizing flavours of the dishes that I tasted at the party, some of which you can see in these photos.

Lupo is now open and is located at 869 Hamilton Street in Yaletown.

By: Richard Wolak

Hub Restaurant and Lounge held their grand opening party on Tuesday December 1^st.

Lobster Wings

Inside the bar area

They featured complimentary food and drinks from their food and cocktail menus including lobster wings, poutine, bruschetta and their already popular pazookie for dessert.

Pazookie

Located in the heart of Yaletown at 1165 Mainland, directly across the street from the Yaletown-Roundhouse Canada Line Station.

Visit them at http://www.hubrestaurant.ca/

Café Muse held their Grand Opening Party on Thursday November 26^th.

Pedro Villalon of Dao Tea

Guests were treated to Caffe Umbria coffee and espresso, Dao Tea offered samples of their green tea and the chef from Anduccis cooked up fresh pasta with chicken and sausage in a creamy tomato sauce. There were samples of cookies and bars from Sweet-es pastries too.

Café Muse is located at 2305 West 41st Ave in Vancouver.

Visit them at www.cafemuse.ca