anya.levykh@gmail.com

Anya Levykh is the weekly food and wine columnist for Metro Vancouver. When not sourcing out new restaurants and bottles, she likes to test-drive new cookbooks, experiment with her own recipes (occasionally with passable results) and talk about food and drink with anyone in hearing range. Anya can also be heard Mondays on CBC Radio One’s On the Coast, discussing everything from local restaurant trends to ethical food choices and other flavourful issues.

Two years of top eats

June 24, 2010

It’s always hard to say goodbye, especially to something you’ve enjoyed doing. And I have truly enjoyed writing this column for the past two years and working with the wonderful folks here at Metro.

Five years of great dining is just the beginning

June 17, 2010

There are certain restaurants that fail to stand the tests of both time and fickle restaurant-goers.

Gastropub has potential

June 10, 2010

It was a dark and stormy night, and fittingly, we had tickets for Puccini. It was decided that some hearty gastropub fare would be most welcome pre-show.

No sense of “dhoom” at this Indian eatery

June 03, 2010

The area around Main Street and East 49 Ave. has always been known as Little India, with the appropriate number of curry spots, larger dining rooms and fabric and jewelery stores.

The evolution of bar food

May 27, 2010

Not so long ago, bar food typically referred to salted peanuts and chicken wings. Pre-cooked and frozen chicken wings, at that.

The spot prawn season returns

May 20, 2010

The annual spot prawn season is now in full swing, with at least another four weeks of availability.

The resurgence of afternoon tea

May 13, 2010

Chalk it up to the recent release of Alice in Wonderland, or the general rise in popularity of tea shops, but it seems the British habit of afternoon tea has permanently crossed the Atlantic and is here to stay.

Top Chinese dishes honoured

May 06, 2010

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, so when my friend Stephanie Yuen asked if I wanted to join her and a few other like-minded aficionados on a little dine-around to sample some of the winning dishes

Red Card steps up its game

April 29, 2010

Sports bars aren’t normally on my radar for gastronomically-interesting fare, but I reasoned that any place that opens up in the Moda Hotel and has Uva Wine Bar and Cibo Trattoria as its neighbours, must be bringing something a little extra to the table.

An Argentinean feast at festival

April 22, 2010

There is a popular premise that has taken hold over the last few years — to wit, that the best wine pairings for any cuisine are the wines that come from the same region as that cuisine.

Judas Goat does tapas right

April 15, 2010

Tapas has become a much-used and often-abused nomenclature for smallish, expensive plates of elaborately cooked food.

Gastown’s newest place to chill out

April 08, 2010

Vancouver is blessed with many wine-forward restaurants, but to date I don’t believe I’ve seen a casual wine bar that strictly focused on seafood, until Cork & Fin opened up.

Poor Italian shows some richness of flavour

April 01, 2010

Chef Gianni Picchi has always been a bit of an anomaly on the dining front. This former EC of Il Giardino, and former owner of Gianni’s in West Vancouver, was never one for refined aesthetics.

Elevated pizza at Charlie's in Yaletown

March 24, 2010

It may be in a formerly cursed location, but I think Charlie's Pizza is the formula that will prove successful.

Clean, rich flavours dominate at Oru

March 18, 2010

Oru's food exhibits the same clean, sustainable focus as the beautiful interior.

Corner Suite delivers soul food in deluxe style

March 11, 2010

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a restaurant receive quite so much press before it had even opened. For the last seven months, it seems all everybody could talk about was the yet-again-delayed opening of Corner Suite.

Chinese brasserie brings new vibe to old hood

March 04, 2010

It’s been a sad fact for far too long that the best Chinese food in the Lower Mainland is not in Chinatown.

Fare finally beats the view

February 25, 2010

Waterfront fine dining in Vancouver has always presented as a bit of an oxymoron.

Lupo delivers solid Italian comfort in a sleek new room

February 18, 2010

Lupo, and its owners, have come full circle from where they started, and the journey seems worth it.

Put your heart into V-Day

February 11, 2010

There is nothing like the cliché of roses and a box of chocolates to let that special someone know you care — at the last minute.

5 restaurants for lovers—of food

February 04, 2010

Say “Valentine’s Day” and certain restaurant names can’t help springing to mind. But for those with a lust for something off the beaten tastes, here are some places that dish out love with every gutsy bite.

Hub goes back to basics

January 28, 2010

I had never heard of a casual chain location rebooting as a still-more-casual independent restaurant — but meet Hub, the restaurant formerly known as Browns Social House.

Fishworks goes local, but Ocean Wise isn't always enough

January 21, 2010

There is much to be said for restaurants that join with the Ocean Wise program in support of local, sustainable seafood.

Successful re-boot at Refuel

January 14, 2010

When Fuel Restaurant announced back in December that they would be closing and re-opening as a lower-priced, more casual operation, I was saddened, but not surprised.

Vancouver's best new restaurants of 2009

January 07, 2010

A down economy, scared-cheap clientele, and the looming threat of the HST. The restaurant industry has had better years than 2009.

Some of the year's finest culinary experiences

December 17, 2009

For my last column of 2009 (I’ll be back on Jan. 7, 2010), I thought I would compile a little list of my favourite tasting experiences from the past year.

Tips on tipping for the holidays

December 10, 2009

So you’re all excited about the upcoming dinner at (fill in name here) Restaurant. Lots of booze, lots of food, good times with good friends and, at the end of the night, you all split the bill and head home with a merry heigh-ho.

Simple dim sum from the other side of Richmond

December 03, 2009

With all the hype over the Canada Line, restaurants on the west side of Richmond have seen a sharp increase in diners from Vancouver. The east side of Richmond, however, is not bereft of likely haunts, which can often be found in the most unlikely places.

Society delivers haute cuisine in comfortable style

November 26, 2009

In the interests of disclosure, let me confess that I was made, recognized—outed, in fact—on my first and (several) subsequent visits to Society.

Recession-proof subs give exotic bang for the buck

November 19, 2009

The humble sandwich has been experiencing a bit of a multicultural renaissance of late. First came Mexican-based Las Tortas, with their refried beans and Sloping Hills pork, and La Taqueria, with their authentic street tacos and Pemberton beef.