Reasons to come to Chilliwack!

[Badiane]

Okay, so to avoid hijacking the other thread, I created a new one....

Chilliwack and the surrounding area does have a few interesting things...not many, but here are some I have uncovered.

Organa Farms: Family operated Certified Organic Turkey and Razorback Hog Farm located in Yarrow.

http://organafarms.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/

The will deliver to Greater Vancouver with a minimum $50 dollar order! They sell turkey, chicken, beef, pork, lamb and bison. It's not even ridiculously overpriced, although I have misplaced my list but you can email them and they will send you one.

Little Farmhouse Country Market: Also in Yarrow....#1 quality Grade "A" Free Range pastured poultry, naturally raised Government Inspected, containing no animal by-products, non-medicated, specialty whole grain and vegetable fed. They have chicken, turkey, goose and sausage.

http://www.littlefarmhousecountrymarket.ca/index.html

Wisbey's Veggies: Also in...YARROW! What a shock! they grow and sell all thier own stuff. I get most of my canning fruits and veggies there.

Farmhouse Cheese: Excellent cheesemaker...in Agassiz/Harrison, just for a switch. This woman, whose name escapes me, decided to start making cheese with the surplus milk from the family dairy farm. Best brie ever, fabulous butter...camembert, coulommiers, cheddars etc. This alone is worth the drive. We are heading there in about an hour so I will find out if she has a website and at least give her address. Those of you coming to Chefs in the Country have to drive right by it, might as well stop in and spend some money.

And of course there are all the small farmers that I get nuts, apples and other things...including the old man on Keith Wilson Road who happily sold me all those quinces and not so happily parted with all the figs he had picked that morning...if there is something you are looking for, let me know and I will tell you if I have a source.

And of course if you are desperate for quince paste, I will be coming into the city tomorrow...let me know and I will bring you a slab.

[snacky_cat]

Wisbey's is great! I like driving out Chilliwack way on sunny days in summer (they have the BEST Value Village around), and I always stop at Wisbey's to pick up veggies. They've got great homemade cheese bread there too. Any idea where you can pick up that bread in the off-season? My Mum was looking for some the other week but Wisbey's hadn't opened their main stand for the season yet.

[Badiane]

Snacky Cat...I think they get the baked goods from the Little Farmhouse on No. 5 Road. You may find the cheesebread there.

We have been to see 'the cheese lady'...her info is as follows...

The Farm House Natural Cheeses

5634 McCallum Road

Agassiz, BC V0M 1A1

604-796-8741

Debra Amrein-Boyes is the Cheesemaker. she produces handmade artisnal cheeses from the farm's cows and from local goats milk.

She has...

Cheddar, Gouda, Brie, Camembert, Coulommiers, Country Morning, La Pyramide, Feta, St. George, Chevre, Fromage Frais, Cream Cheese and Creme Fraiche, amongst other things. She also has a small gift shop and sells gelato. In the summer she has other specialty food from the surrounding area as well.

[LeilahT]

Little Farmhouse Country Market:  Also in Yarrow....#1 quality Grade "A" Free Range pastured poultry, naturally raised Government Inspected, containing no animal by-products, non-medicated, specialty whole grain and vegetable fed.  They have chicken, turkey, goose and sausage. 

http://www.littlefarmhousecountrymarket.ca/index.html

Plus, if you're into that sort of thing, Happy Hens Hatchery where they are located sells some interesting heritage poultry. Er, live, I mean. They've got a good selection of interesting turkeys and some really good old breeds of ducks, geese and chickens. We used to get all our chicks from there prior to the big poultry kill, but haven't been back there in a while. It's good to know their market got up and running, it was looking pretty rough there when the flu hit.

- Leilah

[Badiane]

Another reason!!!

Today, Happy Goats Dairy opened the cheese shop at the Chilliwack Branch...it's called 'Heavenly Cheese'.

Heavenly Cheese

7350 A Barrow Road,

Chilliwack, BC

V2R 4J8

Phone: 604-823-7241

www.goatcheese.ca

They have all things goat - cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream. Quite a few suppliers of cheese - McClennan, Natural Pastures, Mountain Meadow, Gorts, etc.

I got Parmagiano Reggiano at $33.60 a kilo, Grana Padano was $24.40 a kilo.

Got some ash chevrotina from McLennan that was only $1.15 for a round that weighs about 160 grams...I suspect it was a misprice but I wasn't paying attention when my hubby picked it up.

They have fab Happy Days feta, too...voted 6th best in the world recently.

and lots of other things...it's right close to Anita's Organic Flour Mill.

Oh and they have all manner of European specialty foods, tiniest capers I have ever seen, some nice breadsticks, Himalayan pink salt, and interesting other little bits and pieces.

[Zucchini Mama]

Value Village...cheese..quince paste...I'm there! And all these years I thought you were all about the corn!

Zuke

[Badiane]

Oh we have corn...or we will :-) Waiting for Joiner's to start selling it by the roadside.

Best part of the goat cheese place was the baby goats...I didn't know they would try and eat my arm when I stuck it in the pen!

[chromedome]

I moved away from Chilliwack in early 1993, and I don't think I've bought corn more than twice in the intervening years. Just didn't seem worth it...

[Badiane]

Corn has arrived! Almost every street corner has an overflowing cart...we always go for Joiner corn...that family knows how to grow corn! It's the peaches and cream variety right now, and it's gone up in price to $6.50 a dozen (a $.50 jump) We had corn corn and more corn for dinner Saturday, rounded out with various finds from our travels around Yarrow and Agassiz.

Wisbey's Market (the best of the farm markets, IMHO) is in full swing...swiss chard, beets, herbs, zucchini (5 pounds for 2 bucks) green beans, lettuce galore, and a lot of other things. I have pesto for months with the beautiful basil I got.

The mom and pop sign by the road places are starting up, and of course there is fruit by the truckload to be had everywhere. Peaches and Apricots have started, but they aren't very good yet. We are done with local strawberries, but the raspberries are still good...and the blueberries are just coming out.

Sunday was our maiden voyage out to Swift Aquaculture....kept meaning to go, just never got there. Happily, Bruce was home, and interrupted his lunch to show us around. It was a bit of a surprise, really....it's three giant blue tanks of fish in a barn. Very cool to see it, but I think I was expecting something rather more scientific and sterile looking - although the whole thing IS very scientific and sterile. He has Coho, ranging from babies to about 3 pounds. He fished one out of the tank for us, stunned it and left it to 'bleed out' while he showed us his crawfish tanks...also fascinating...he has a handful of the ready to eat size that will become his breeding stock, as well as tiny inch long babies...very cute. He isn't selling them yet, it's still in breeding stock development, but we are looking forward to it. The Coho direct from Bruce was $4 a pound...half the price it is at the butcher shop in town. Of course we had to clean it ourselves, which is an adventure when you live in an apartment.

I cooked it en papillote...with lemons and basil and sea salt. It was pink, but quite light in color, and very soft fleshed. Next time I think I will filet it and do a crust on it, to give it a bit more textural interest.

Has anyone been on the Agassiz Farm Tour yet?

[Badiane]

Produce is at it's peak, and this is a great time to come out and do the various Farm tours.

Corn corn and more corn...Jubilee is just starting up.

Got the biggest head of romaine I have ever seen in my life - at the Little Farmhouse in Yarrow. Practically giving away local produce. 59 cents for lettuce, a huge bunch of herbs for 50 cents....it's been a good year.

Out shopping the area farmers and markets yesterday. At one retail 'farm style' market here they had fresh local figs, $1 each. Oy vey. A buck a fig. Pass. Drove up the road to my 'dealer' and low and behold he not only has figs, he's not too grumpy about selling them this year. A bargain at $1.75 per pound. I got exaclty 41 figs for $10.50. Chutney is simmering as I type!

Couple of new additions to the local restaurant scene...a new Indian - actually our only Indian restaurant called the Shandhar Hut. Good home cooking, mostly pakistani. They have a tandoor and the bread is great, as are all the other things we have tried. Good prices too.

The Mill Street Cafe has reopened under the ownership of a man who most recently, and for the past 18 years, has been the maitre d' at Le Crocodile. I hate to admit that his name escapes me, but it does...anyway, new decor, new menu, looks good. Haven't tried it yet, but I am guessing he knows a thing or two about running a restaurant.

Back to the chutney...which has done that crazy surface tension explosion thing and splashed all over the floor and walls. Great.

[bigdaddy]

excerpts from -

Mia Stainsby

Vancouver Sun

April 21, 2005

Now, why would I make a mind-numbing drive out to Chilliwack to review a restaurant? Well, it helps that some friends moved out that way a year ago. (What have we here? A Chilliwack trend?) It also helps that the guys behind Bravo Restaurant & Lounge are city slickers from Delilah's restaurant -- first in that magnificently campy Haro Street location, then at its encore presentation on Comox Street. Du Plessis was manager, and partner Louie De Jaeger was bartender at Delilah's.

Come to think of it, Bravo reminds me of the handsome Parkside restaurant, which now is in the old Delilah's location.

At Bravo, De Jaeger's still shaking martinis, using his own infused vodkas. He's put in a roof-top garden, with the help of Brian Minter (of Minter Gardens) which is yielding herbs like pear mint, and garnishes from the miniature crabapple tree. For aesthetics, they called upon friend Wade King, who's done the interiors at several of Umberto Menghi restaurants as well as the chain of Take Five coffee shops in town.

The place could be air-lifted into Yaletown and trendy lofters would slip into it like a Tom Ford jacket.

...Of course, they wouldn't get far without decent food and what they offer is good value. The cooking is not haute; it's more bistro fare. Every dish on the menu, including beef tenderloin with stilton butter and potato gratin, is under $20, except for the rack of lamb which at $26 limbos pretty low.

Ambience ****1/2 Service **** Food ***1/2 Overall ***1/2

Restaurant visits are conducted anonymously and interviews are done by phone. Restaurants are rated out of five stars.

[Badiane]

Ahhh shameless shilling

Can I come and see your rooftop garden? Please? I will bring you a jar of fresh fig and tamarind chutney

[bigdaddy]

Can I come and see your rooftop garden?  Please?  I will bring you a jar of fresh fig and tamarind chutney 

←

It's a deal... but be forewarned that it's a funky old building that requires a short climb to the roof! My favourite new herb is the cuban oregano. We use it in a butter that goes under the skin of the chicken breast (which we've been serving with....an alsatian tart!)

I'd also be curious to know where you get those fresh figs? We've just found a great source for fresh hazelnuts, but would love to get my hands on some local figs.

cheers.

[Badiane]

I get them from an elderly couple on Keith Wilson Road...if you head east toward Yarrow, they are just a few houses before the bridge over the canal on the left hand side. They always have a hand written sign on a pole out front. Sometimes he's a little crusty - last year he wasn't going to sell me any figs at all because I was greedy and wanted to many :-) He has an astonishing array of fruit on the yard, and even grows quince, which I had a lot of fun with - house made quince paste would be a nice addition to a cheese plate.

Where are you getting the hazelnuts? I get mine from the Hammer Family...they are kind of freaky but grow good organic hazelnuts.

What other local sources are you using? Cheese? Chickens? Bread? I have some excellent sources if you are interested.

[Badiane]

Just ordered my organic turkeys for Christmas. Got one regular for $2.69 a pound and one cold smoked for around $4.00 a pound.

If anyone is interested, there is a limited supply available from the Larson family at:

HallGrove Acres

43390 South Sumas Road

Chilliwack, BC

Ph: 604-798-0830

[canucklehead]

Thanks to the most cool Vancouver Lee - I got treated to the best view and some damned good pie today.

As some of you know - Vancouver Lee is building up his piloting experience and he graciously invited me along for the ride. It was one of the funnest things I have ever done.

Check out the incredible view....

We flew out to Chilliwack - the flight was incredibly smooth and piloting surehanded. At the Chilliwack airport - we headed in for some pie. Now - apparently these pies attract pilots from all over to stopoever for a little fill-up. And damned if there were not some of the best homemade pies I have in a super long time. I polished off a Peaches 'n Cream pie - lickity split - before I even remember to take a picture. It was served a la mode - with old school yellowish Dairly Land vanilla ice cream. So fucking good! The peaches were clearly fresh (this pie is available only seasonally) topped with this creamy/crumble mixture. The crust was flakey and hand made (vegetable shortening).

Here is the aftermath of my Pie Gorge (during which there was no conversation between me and Vancouver Lee):

I brought back some Strawberry Rhubarb, Peach Pie, and Peaches 'n Cream Pie to the friends I was having dinner with. One of them is a Pie Expert (she makes her crust from leaf lard, and her mother is one of those born and bred BC Interior ladies that can bake) declared them truly excellent pies. I liked the strawbery ruhbarb the most - it was fruity and tart and the straightforward filling really showcased the crust.

Now - I would not drive all the way out the Chilliwack for the pie - but the next time you are in the area - check out the pies at Chilliwack Airport. A nice respite during a long drive.

[Badiane]

Funny...we live about two miles away and never go there...looks like a trip is in order! Mrs. Mitchell and her son John really do know how to make a pie.