Photo Credit: ecstaticist.

So I’ve dedicded to start a new project for dining in 2010. The tagline of this site is “Sampling the World’s Cuisine Without Leaving Vancouver” and so instead of of traipsing around Vancouver’s culinary delights in the random way I have been for the last (almost) 2 years, I am going to present my finds country by country.

I still have a bit of a backlog of reviews, so I may post those interspersed with the project and if I feel really keen, I may even post some recipes.

First stop on the grand tour: North America. Got any favorites you’d like to recommend?

While we’re on the subject of pubs, I’m well behind on writing about one of my favorites. Way back when I wrote about the Shebeen Whisk(e)y House but since then the Irish Heather et al. has  moved houses, acquired chef Lee Humphries and generally just upped the ante in terms of casual Gastown hangouts. They’ve also introduced the Long Table Series.

When the economy turns ugly, you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, call in your friends and sit down to a meal of good, hearty, simple food. Or something like that. But the trick is to find the deals without sacrificing quality. The Heather has always managed to straddle the gap between gourmet gastropub and authentic Irish fare without being expensive, but their new space included a room with a giant table in it that I thought might be for parties or overflow, but out of which the Long Table Series was born.

The idea is that one dish is made each day (although the hardworking kitchen still puts out the Heather’s regular menu for those on the pub side and offers a vegetarian option for the long table dinners as well) and comes with a pre-set beer or cider for $15. The menu is posted in advance, resos are made through email and on the appointed date diners pack in around the table to chow down on what just might be the best deal in the city.

I’ve been twice for the roast suckling pig dinner (pictured top) – mouthwateringly tender with bits of satisfyingly crunchy crackling and mashed potatoes – a feast I can assure you I’ll be back for again. I’ve also had duck leg with colcannon potatoes and foie gras jus, braised short ribs, traditional Irish stew with soda bread (and Guinness of course) and a couple of others.

The food is delicious enough to take the table of 50 or so down to a dull roar, but half the fun is jostling elbows and chatting with your neighbours. Filing in from the Shebeen waiting room out back feels like the first day of school all over again – except with beer and no homework.

The menu is published a month in advance but there are a couple more dates left for December, including a New Year’s Eve seating. Dinners have been sold out solidly since the summertime so if you want to get in on the popular dishes, it’s best to sign up soon.

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Irish Heather
212 Carrall Street, Vancouver

I guess it’s about time I introduce you to one of my favorite watering holes in all of Vancouver. I’m still a liquid mistress, after all (to borrow a line from one of my favorite flickr photorgaphers, [au ro]) and whisky is my friend and if you feel the same way then I welcome you friend, to the Shebeen Whisk(e)y House. Tucked in behind the Irish Heather in a heritage coach house building, the Shebeen is like the secret clubhouse you always wished you had. That is if you always wished to have a clubhouse that was filled with whisky. Just pass through the Heather, across the courtyard and through the red door.

Inside you’ll find the largest selection of whisky in the province. Often I stick with Jameson‘s and beer or Oban for a treat, but on a couple of recent visits I’ve sampled the Yamakazi Single Malt from Japan, the Glenfarclas 17 year old Scotch, Penderyn Welsh whisky, and reminded myself of the taste of Canada’s only single malt, Glen Breton Rare. I also smelled the corks of a couple of bottles I can’t afford. See the complete list here.

The only problem with the Shebeen is that its days are numbered. It, along with the Irish Heather and the Salty Tongue Deli, will be moving across the street to 212 Carrall Street so the old location can be earthquake-proofed. While the plans for the new edition look promising, I still have a soft spot for the current one so I’ll be cramming in as much barstool-time as possible in the next month.

Photos courtesy of the Shebeen Whisk(e)y House

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Shebeen Whisk(e)y House

Behind the Irish Heather

217 Carrall Street, Vancouver