Happy Halloween! Entered a pumpkin carving contest at work and this was my team’s entry – a pumpkin burger meal complete with fries cut from pumpkin strips. The sesame seeds on the bun are the seeds that we scooped out from inside.

Did you carve a pumpkin this year? What did you do?

Q: What do you get when you put a suckling pig dinner, a room full of strangers and a 40 foot communal table inside an awesome converted restaurant?

A: A great dinner series where you can enjoy yummy food and a beer for about $12.

A local gastropub, The Irish Heather, has been hosting these great events called Long Table Series.

Using a 40ft communal table, Chef Lee Humphries is offering a series of meals matched to a beer/cider for low prices . . . decent meal at a decent price! This series began in early June and will run throughout the year . . . or for as long as our customers want it.

Ryan and I decided to check it out with a group of friends. On tonight’s menu:

• Roast suckling pig with apple-rosemary sauce
• Braised cabbage
• Mashed potatoes
• Bottle of Hacker-Pschorr 500ml

I love the space the restaurant is in – high ceilings, wooden beams and brick walls. They’ve decorated it tastefully and it compliments the environment without being too overpowering. The food was great as well – love the salty pig and the crunchy skin on top of a smooth bed of mashed potatoes and braised cabbage.

I’m not a huge beer drinker but I thought the beer they paired with the meal (Hacker-Pschorr) was actually quite good. If you find yourself in Vancouver (or if you’re a local), definitely check out this event.

In Vancouver’s Chinatown, we have apple tarts that are comparable to the copious amounts of pastries I ate the last time I was in France. New Town Bakery has been serving Vancouver for over 30 years, making some of the best Asian baked goods in Chinatown. They make fantastic steamed buns and cookies, however they are famous for their apple tarts.

New Town is a unique Asian bakery, specializing  in Fillipino and Chinese cuisine. The place is divided into two sections. The front is a bakery and the back is a restaurant which serves dim sum and western cuisine. I grew up eating these as a kid and could never eat just one. New Town serves almost every type of  food that an Asian kid growing up would eat. These treats range from pineapple buns and BBQ pork buns to almond cookies and sesame seed balls.

As I stand in line, the tray of apple tarts behind the glass becomes smaller with every customer in front of me. These tarts sell so quickly that they’re always hot from the kitchen. Needless to say I stuffed my face, savoring the flaky crust and hot apple filling. If you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to pick up a box or two! A dozen apple tarts will run you $8 or $4.25 for six.

New Town Bakery
158 Pender Street East
Vancouver, BC V6A 1T3
(604) 689-7835

Open 6:30 am -8:30 pm 7 days a week

On my trip to Oregon a few weeks ago, I stopped by a famous Portland destination – Voodoo Doughnut. The interior of the store is filled with vintage ephemera including concert posters, ads, toys and various other knick knacks. With donuts named “The Memphis Mafia”, “Dirty Snowball” and “Bacon Maple Bar” I couldn’t help but wonder what these bizarre donuts were like.

Open 24 hours, I stopped by Voodoo’s Third Ave location. Their roots began when two guys named Kenneth Pogson and Tres Shannon wanted to start a donut business. They traveled to LA to meet up with donut masters and learn secrets of creating them from scratch. A few celebrities that tried their early creations included Brad Pitt.

The first thing you notice when walking towards Voodoo Doughnut is the line.  When you finally get inside you’re welcomed by a massive fiberglass donut, a brass chandelier hanging from above and photos of celebrities lining the wall. Behind the counter are donuts of all shapes, sizes and colors. At the time of my visit, a fresh batch of donuts shaped like voodoo dolls and ones with a strip of bacon on top came through. I picked up one of each.

The idea of eating a donut with a piece of bacon on top  is weird and looks completely unappetizing. After the first bite, however, I was stunned. Salt from the bacon combined with sweetness from the maple syrup create a harmony of flavors I’ve never tasted before.

Their trademark voodoo doll donut was good and hilarious to look at. Sure my calorie intake skyrocketed that afternoon and yes I totally negated my workouts for that week. Was it worth it? Definitely. It’s a good thing I live 6 hours from Portland.