Now that fall is officially here and memories of turkey dinners have all but faded away, time to put on a warm sweater and get back out on the town. Lucky for you, Yaletown is calling with their annual Taste of Yaletown from October 17 – 25. In its eighth year, this event features the neighbourhood’s best restaurants offering exclusive three-course menus for $25, $35 or $45. A portion of the proceeds go to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, so while you’re enjoying a meal, others benefit.
The menu gets off to a roaring start on October 17 with the Taste of Yaletown Premiere, held from 5 – 8 p.m. at Mini Yaletown. Experience menus sampled from Glowbal Grill, George Lounge, New Oxford, Hamilton Street Grill, Society, Yaletown L’Antipasto, Caché Bistro, Killjoy, and Minami, paired with wines and cocktails. Get recipe tips and take home recipe cards with your favourite bites all for $59 including two beverages.
On October 25 the party continues with Shake Up Yaletown!, where the best bartenders of Yaletown mix up premium ingredients to create innovative cocktails, all featured during the Taste of Yaletown. Held at the stunning Minami Restaurant, guests will get a sampling of competing cocktails and feature menu items from Minami. Tickets are $30.
Not convinced these menu specials are for you? Why not check out a new place at a discounted rate, or hit up an old favourite and leave with less damage to your wallet? Yaletown’s tried-and-true Hamilton Street Grill is just one example of a 2012 Taste of Yaletown’s $25 menu. Start with an appetizer of spinach salad with smoked bacon dressing, quail egg and Roma tomato, or roasted red pepper bisque with whipped goat cheese and potato croquette. Follow up with an entrée of seared wild sockeye over Yukon Gold potato with shellfish “chowder,” lardons and chili oil or proscuitto-wrapped supreme chicken breast stuffed under the skin with roasted red pepper, goat cheese and pine nuts, and a dessert such as the belgian chocolate mousse or cheesecake in a jar.
Down the street, the new kid on the block, Killjoy, also does a $25 menu including such delights as their fall salad with squash and quinoa with cilantro-lime dressing, a lemon-glazed pork belly with salted cucumber, crushed peanuts, and Thai basil or a smoked Albacore tuna with avocado, sunflower shoots, smoked trout roe and lime, followed by a milk chocolate terrine with salted Agassiz hazelnuts and orange marmalade.
The weather’s not getting any better, so gather your friends, make that reservation and head out on the town.
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Image courtesy of RickChung.com.
