Saveur Magazine

[canucklehead]

Saveur Magazine has a 2 page spread on 14 things to eat in BC. Mostly usual suspects - but some things I have not heard of (or thought would be mention worthy) Reminds us that there are some many things still waiting for us to try in our backyard.

General

Rocky Mountaineer Vacations

Okanagan Valley

Fresco Restaurant in Kelowna

Joie Farm Cooking School

Okanagan Grocery Artisan Breads

Vanilla Pod Restaurant in Summerland

Vancouver

Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks

Bishop's

Lumiere

Tojo's

West

The Islands

Madrona Valley Farm

Pointe Restaurant at the Wickaninish Inn

SOBO

Sooke Harbour House

Surprises for me - was including Bishop's and exclusions of Vij's, Chambar, and the general lack of Asian restaurants. But the list seems very 'west coast' focused in that local bounty sense.

[shelora]

This is indeed good news. Any author's name attached to this?

[Daddy-A]

Call me cynical ... but do these magazines actually send anyone out here? I'm quite serious when I ask, not because I have any issue with their selections, only that I see the same names pop up time after time. Tojo's for instance. No disrespect to the place, but there are other places I would suggest before Tojo's because of the price point alone.

I know we're being scouted by many (if not all) the food media for story ideas. Here's a tip: spend the money and come out to visit! We've grown a bit since 2001.

A.

[peppyre]

Well said Arne!! Very well said! I see the Vancouver list as being very boring and the same-old same-old. There is much more to explore here.

[shelora]

Well put, but this is a major breakthrough for Saveur, who have long ignored B.C.'s food and wine culture.

Hopefully, this is only the beginning of their curiousity.

[kurtisk]

Call me cynical ... but do these magazines actually send anyone out here?

Sometime yes, sometimes no. Occasionally they'll just talk to local food writers, but in this case, the Saveur folks most certainly did a dine-around. My wife does media relations for Tourism Vancouver, so I can guarantee that, yes, they do come, as she was with them at each place they dined. And, yes, they did eat at more places than which were named in the article.

Keep in mind that the places mentioned are the pillars, the ones you can always always count on. Even if something's been hot for a year or so, there's no guarantee that it'll have legs. Last thing you want is to popularize a place that is a) inconsistent or b) not gonna last for the long haul. Same with what tourists want, it's not always the same as what us locals are lookin' for...

k.

Edited August 3, 2005 by kurtisk (log)

[Daddy-A]

Well put, but this is a major breakthrough for Saveur, who have long ignored B.C.'s food and wine culture.

Hopefully, this is only the beginning of their curiousity.

Occasionally they'll just talk to local food writers, but in this case, the Saveur folks most certainly did a dine-around.  My wife does media relations for Tourism Vancouver, so I can guarantee that, yes, they do come, as she was with them at each place they dined.  And, yes, they did eat at more places than which were named in the article. 

Keep in mind that the places mentioned are the pillars, the ones you can always always count on.  Even if something's been hot for a year or so, there's no guarantee that it'll have legs.  Last thing you want is to popularize a place that is a) inconsistent or b) not gonna last for the long haul.  Same with what tourists want, it's not always the same as what us locals are lookin' for...

k.

Excellent points, both of you. Sometimes its easy to get a skewed perspective when you live here. I agree, hopefully they'll keep coming and discover more!

A.

[kurtisk]

Excellent points, both of you.  Sometimes its easy to get a skewed perspective when you live here.  I agree, hopefully they'll keep coming and discover more!

A.

←

Yes, it's quite interesting for me, having been in the local industry for over a decade, to consistently hear the perspective of media and tourists that I'd normally just estimate...

k

Edited August 3, 2005 by kurtisk (log)

[canucklehead]

The article credits Camas Davis who is the Travel and Research Editor of Saveur (based out of NYC). So not sure if she came out to BC - but -she's got Barbara-Jo's new address correct.

As noted upthread - these places are all 'pillars' of the food community so for us on this forum - it feels at little dated. How much of these articles are PR driven or is do they rely on older research.

[Stinky Cook]

Any press such as this about Vancouver, is just that: press about Vancouver. It offers a spotlight on our wonderful city that is seen by other parts of Canada and the USA. People read those magazines, and if and when they do travel here, they remember "that issue with the article on Vancouver", or they reccomend it to a friend that did not read the magazine article. I suspect many food related Vancouver businesses will somehow benefit either directly or in a spin-off form, meaning that a visitor to vancouver will not just visit the places in the article, but search out places (not on the list) based on their own tastes.

All of the places mentioned on the list are perfectly lovely, and i'm sure would not dissapoint any traveler. Some places get mentioned over and over again in similiar articles, but they continue to do a good job.

...hows that for a "go team" rah rah rah

[James Kendal]

Interesting,

2 Saveur magazine writers are slated to come to Vancouver Island in September. This is arranged through public relations. They are quite interested in island cheese and 5 various properties (the usual suspects).

That's all I know at this point.