A Return, and a Welcome

The issue you hold in your hands is part of a 34-year history here at Vanmag—we have been holding our annual Restaurant Awards since 1989. In a typical judging cycle, our judges would dine out over the course of the year, and then spend months comparing, debating with each other, and finally gathering up their votes to send to our accountants (thanks, Crowe MacKay!). The judges would send us a final tally, and we’d start the work of assigning the profiles, stealthily photographing the winners... and planning out all the details of the big annual awards event we hold to celebrate these outstanding restaurants and restaurant professionals.

Of course, the last few years threw that meticulous schedule right off the rails. If you’re thinking, wait, didn’t the Restaurant Awards just happen? you wouldn’t be wrong. In almost every year we’ve held these awards, we’ve announced the results in our May issue, but a couple of years ago we started delaying them to September as the restaurant world dealt with the trials of the pandemic. So yes, our last Restaurant Awards issue did appear less than a year ago, but now we’re thrilled to welcome it back where it belongs—along with a raucous in-person awards ceremony on May 15.

And, as fits the ever-evolving nature of the Restaurant Awards, we’re introducing a few new categories this year. Our talented associate editor Alyssa Hirose—who stickhandles the production of the awards each year—felt it was time to transition Best West Coast to a more relevant Best Contemporary (and you can see the results on page 46). The restaurants in this category celebrate the way we dine in Vancouver: fresh, local ingredients; creative execution of techniques; and a modern dining experience. Our new Best B.C. Wine category (page 61) celebrates the restaurants that have brought together a B.C.-dominant wine list that’s well rounded and well paired to their cuisine. And this year’s Best Middle Eastern category (page 40) was clearly overdue—the incredible calibre of the restaurants we’ve highlighted here makes them each well worth a visit (or three).

While we’re celebrating the idea of bringing in the new—I want to welcome Vanmag’s new editor-in-chief, Janine Verreault, who will officially introduce herself to you in the next issue on this very page. She’s as thrilled to be here as I am to have her on our Vanmag team, and I can’t wait to see her big plans for the magazine come to life in future issues.

Anicka Quin editorial director anicka

Coming Up Next Issue

k The Home Issue

We’re putting the spotlight on local Vancouverites at home—their favourite rooms, collections and shops around the city. And speaking of shopping—get into our editor’s picks of the city’s design districts.

Vancouver’s Best Patios Summer is when our city really shines—and we’ve taken on the excellent task of picking out the very best spots in the city to while away the hours in the sun.

On the Web

Every Alcohol-Friendly Park and Beach in the City

Thank you, Parks Board, for bringing us into the modern world: we can permanently drink in over 30 parks, and summertime booze it in another 16. For the complete list, head to vanmag.com

5 Things to Do This Week

Our culture sleuth Kerri Donaldson discovers the best events in the city each week, from wrestling matches to wine fests and seafood feasts to art auctions. Get plugged into this city—and subscribe to our newsletter to get the scoop first, too.