Visit Seattle has launched a free interactive eCookbook that highlights a range of talented chefs and signature Pacific Northwest cuisine. “Fresh From Seattle” features 26 recipes from 12 noteworthy contributing local chefs, including award winners such as Tom Douglas, Maria Hines, and Thierry Rautureau.

The 92-page eCookbook is a rich compilation of recipes, cooking and storage tips, color photos, food history, chef bios, and more.

Seattle chefs contributed original recipes, as well as personal restaurant favorites, that are designed to pique the culinary curiosity of the inspired home chef. In addition to Seattle celebrity chefs, the cookbook also features acclaimed hotel chefs.

Fresh From Seattle is available here, where it is downloadable as a PDF or you can link to Apple iTunes App Store for download. Both options are free of charge.

“Between Seattle’s creative chefs and welcoming hospitality community, we formed the perfect marriage for this project,” said Ali Daniels, Vice President, Marketing, Visit Seattle. “We are a city of gourmands, constantly exploring and finding new ways to share the inspired culinary offerings of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle’s vibrant food culture just has to be shared, and ‘Fresh From Seattle’ does just that.”

“Fresh From Seattle” eCookbook contributing chefs and recipes:

Thierry Rautureau – Luc and Loulay

Northwest Wild Mushroom Salad, Toasted Hazelnut, Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Neah Bay Wild Coho Salmon with Moroccan Olive Tapenade

Skagit Valley Savory Strawberry & Red Wine Soup

Tom Douglas – Tom Douglas Restaurant Group

Tom’s Tasty Sashimi Tuna Salad with Green Onion Pancakes

Peak of the Season Crisp with Brown Sugar Oats

Etta’s Rub with Love Salmon with Grilled Shiitake Relish

Dungeness Crab Cakes

Maria Hines – Tilth, Agrodolce, Golden Beetle

Skagit River Ranch Wagyu Beef Tartare with Dijon and Grilled Romaine

Loki Fishing Vessel Seared Sockeye Salmon with Sweet Corn Salsa

Oxbow Farm Mixed Summer Squash Salad with Parmesan, Hazelnuts and Truffle Vinaigrette

Daisley Gordon – Marche, Café Campagne

Warm Potato & Salmon Roe Salad

Marché Mackerel

Pernod Mussels

Salad Marché

Sarah Lorenzen – Andaluca

Chorizo and Clam Fettuccini

Pavlova with Lemon Cream and Fresh Berries

Gavin Stephenson – The Georgian

Rooftop Honey-Smoked Salmon

The Georgian Black and White Chocolate Soufflé

Kerry Sear – ART Restaurant

Heirloom Tomato and Burrata Salad

Grass-Baked Chicken

Sean Pals – Brella’s Restaurant & Lounge

Grilled Peach Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Thomas Horner – Hook & Plow

Razor Clam, Local Sausage, White Bean & Kale Stew

Peter Birk – BOKA restaurant + bar

Roasted Quail with Bluebird Grain Farms Farro

Preston Hagan – Jimmy’s on First

Jimmy’s Bloody Bakon Martini

Chris Lobkovich – Bookstore Bar & Café

Fiddlehead Fern Salad

Readers of my Northwest Notes blog and the Northwest Wining and Dining website love great food, wine, cocktails, and travel–in short–the storied “good life!”

And one sure way to enjoy an evening of the “good life” is to attend the upcoming Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter’s  biennial fundraiser entitled, “There is Nothing Like a Dame.”

I’ve been a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, Seattle Chapter (LDES) since 2004, serving in many positions including President, Vice President, Secretary, and International Liaison, my current role.

Our chapter’s 70 members include such food- and wine-industry luminaries as Renee Erickson (Boat Street Café, The Whale Wins, The Oyster and the Carpenter, Barnacle, the Narwhal oyster truck, and Boat Street Pickles), Fran Bigelow (Fran’s Chocolates), and Kay Simon (Chinook Wines).

In 2012, I stepped onto the International Board, serving as Chapter Board Liaison. Later on this month, I will become the organization’s Second Vice President!

So you can bet that LDES’s auction/fundraiser is an event for a cause VERY near and dear to my heart.

This year, the popular, 200-seat auction will take place on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, at the Women’s University Club (Sixth Avenue and Spring Street) in downtown Seattle. Doors open at 5:00 for the silent auction; dinner starts at 7 p.m.

“There is Nothing Like a Dame” will feature our chapter’s signature Dessert Dash, when guests bid on their favorite desserts created by LDES members, and then race to claim them. This year’s 20 offerings include Flower-Power Cake (Dame Sue McCown), Dark-Chocolate “Royal” Ruffle Cake (Dame Lisa Dupar), and New York Bye and Bye Cheesecake (Dame Rose Ann Finkel).

Dame Kathy Casey of Kathy Casey Food Studios—Liquid Kitchen fame will once again serve as Master of Ceremonies. And, for the fifth time in a row, Kathy has designed a special cocktail in keeping with the theme of the event—South Seas Sparkling Punch.

The menu also tempts, with Sushi Rolls provided by Dame Thoa Nguyen of Chinoise Café; Salumi Artisan-Cured Meats courtesy of Dame Gina Batali; Salade Verte with Mustard & Hazelnut Vinaigrette provided by Dame Joanne Herron of Le Pichet and Café Presse; and Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks with Celeriac Crema & Pomegranate from Dame Holly Smith of Café Juanita. Dames Leslie Mackie, founder/co-owner of Macrina Bakery & Café, and Kristi Drake, co-owner of Le Panier Boulangerie Francaise, will supply the evening’s artisan rustic breads.

Auction items include an overnight stay at the five-star Four Seasons Hotel Seattle and dinner for two at ART Restaurant & Lounge; dinner and wine for six people at ARAGONA restaurant, the latest creation by über Seattle chef Jason Stratton; and Willis Hall wine tasting in your home for 10 lucky people!

Speaking of Willis Hall and its super-talented founder/owner/winemaker John Bell (above), Spencer and I purchased a similar auction package at an American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF) event and enjoyed a tasting with John and two other couples last month during my birthday weekend.

The photo above shows John “holding court,” as he likes to call it, explaining his philosophy of making “Old-World wines with New-World grapes.”

John makes all sorts of wine (including dessert wines such as Razzmatazz, a luscious, not-too-sweet raspberry wine that pairs perfectly with dark chocolate) but he specializes in Merlot (his favorite grape and what he feels is Washington State’s best varietal).

Among our favorites that day (an entire mixed case of which made its way home with us!)? John’s 2002 Syrah, Willis Hall 2005 Merlot, and Willis Hall 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.

The chance to buy unique auction lots such as tastings with winemakers; dinners prepared by LDES members; and travel opportunities, such as a romantic San Juan-Island getaway for two people on a private yacht, with lodging and dinner in Friday Harbor, make the LDES biennial auction a not-to-be-missed experience!

Monies raised through the Dessert Dash, Silent and Live Auctions, Raise-the-Baguette direct-donation of funds, and the Cork Pull will be used to fund scholarship endowments for women, Green Tables grants, community-outreach programs, and sustainable-agriculture projects. All of LDES’s efforts are based in Washington State. To date, the organization has raised $482,000 toward these efforts.

Tickets, which cost $125 per person, are available on the LDES website.

Friday, October 18, marks one of the Pike Place Market’s most fun events of fall–Arcade Lights.

Seven p.m. to 10 p.m. that evening is the time to join your fellow foodies, locavores, beer lovers, and wine enthusiasts in the Market’s historic Arcade to taste handcrafted savory and sweet bites, handcrafted beer, local wine, and nonalcoholic drinks by more than 60 local artisan food and drink purveyors. Adults (over 21 years of age) only, please!

This after-hours event, which benefits all the good works of the Pike Place Market Foundation, provides the perfect setting in which to taste the latest creations of Seattle’s famously innovative food and drink purveyors.

The Pike Place Market Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the following human service agencies at the Pike Place Market: Pike Market Child Care and Preschool, Pike Market Medical Clinic, Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank

More than 60 local food and drink artisans will be showcased at Arcade Lights, including Drummin’ Up Wontons, Mt. Townsend Creamery, Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt, Sweet Iron Waffles, Whidbey Island Ice Cream Company, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Naked City Brewery, Naches Heights Winery, Patterson Cellars, and more.

Pair your favorite must-have tastes with a glass of seasonal ale, Washington wine, or bubbly fruit soda in what has become known as the ultimate tasting event of the season!

Advance tickets, which cost $28, allow advance ticket holders to enter the event at 6:30 p.m. Day-of tickets are limited, and cost $35.

Ticket price includes 10 tokens, a tasting glass, and a cloth napkin. Additional tokens can be purchased at the event entrances.

A more family-friendly event takes place on Saturday, October 26, when the Market offers up a Halloween celebration presented by the community’s very own Orange Dracula.

Kids and parents can snap photos with friendly witches, explore a spooky kiddie haunted house, and find the perfect carving pumpkin.

Pets in costume can join in the fun too! Trick or treat through the crafts market and participating Market businesses.

The fun begins under the Public Market clock and continues to Orange Dracula, which has Halloween decorations, costume,s and a Dracula pinball machine. Orange Dracula is located on the third lower level of the Market.

So, all in all, October is shaping up to be a VERY fun time in Seattle’s venerable Pike Place Market.

This is an open letter to MIRROR, a 120-food-wide LED installation by artist Doug Aitken that wraps around the northwest corner of the entrance to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), cater corner  from our condominium building, 98 Union. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Dear Mirror,

I wanted to like you, I really, really wanted to like you.

For several months, I patiently endured the blasts of hammers and whining of saws while you were installed on the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) facade.

I looked on in wonder as the artist who created you and the technicians who made you possible tested your main LED panel and the flashing spikes that run vertically up the mullions on the north and west sides of SAM.

After many months of construction and testing, it was finally time for your grand unveiling in March. I stood on our tenth-floor balcony, which provided a bird’s-eye view of the crowds who gathered, members of the Seattle Symphony who serenaded your arrival, and even Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn who came to welcome you.

After a few tense moments when it seemed you might not light up correctly, your colorfully choreographed images finally started to move.

The crowd applauded. SAM big-wigs pontificated. The donor’s son waxed eloquent.

I snapped photos and put them on my blog.

A few hours later the stage and podium had been dismantled, the crowds had disbursed, the musicians were on to their next gig.

But the residents of 98 Union Condominiums were still there, just beginning to realize your unbelievably negative impact on our lives.

From the very first moment, your giant screen overtook our condominiums like an incessant, unwelcome distraction.

The jagged, ever-changing spikes of flashing light invaded our living spaces so much so that many of us have been forced to shut our blinds to keep out obsessive light pollution.

And your hours are extraordinarily long–from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. seven days a week. Unless we want to “live” from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. when you are dark, we can’t get away from you, as hard as we try.

Your reviews were mediocre at best. CityArts reviewer Erin King said, “Looking at Mirror for eight hours a day beats a plain gray wall. Its sleek sparkle hearkens back to a cheerier 2007, the year it was commissioned and the pinnacle of big shiny Aughties art. But as its light spills over the First Avenue sidewalk, Mirror already feels like a reflection of the past.”

In a review entitled, “Image Grab,” The Seattle Weekly’s Brian Miller says, “The mountains, greenery, orange Port of Seattle Cranes, silhouettes of pedestrians—these source images are too benign. They don’t grab your attention like the signage in Times Square, and they don’t seem grabbed from our immediate, lived world. . . .But that’s also why MIRROR is so boring: It just reflects an anodyne, outsider’s view of the Northwest. It’s tourist Seattle, not our Seattle, and even the tourists aren’t buying it.”

Have you seen MIRROR? If so, what do you think about it?

If you come to look at Mirror, isn’t it better to simply turn around, walk to the dead end of Union Street by the Four Seasons Hotel, take a deep breath of sea air from Elliott Bay, and marvel at REAL-TIME views of the Seattle Great Wheel, ferry boats , and the Olympic Mountains beyond?

It’s not every day that your next-door neighbor gets a five-star rating.

But that’s what happened last week when our neighbor just across the courtyard, the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, became the only hotel in Washington state to be awarded the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating for providing extraordinary experiences with flawless service and the finest amenities.

We’ve written about our own very special part of downtown Seattle, at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street, for The Seattle Times. And you can look at the Five-Star photo album on Facebook.

And happy to report that the Four Seasons is going strong, happily celebrating its fifth anniversary on November 3, 2013.

The 147-room hotel was recognized in Forbes Travel Guide’s inaugural mid-year update to the official 2013 Star Rating announcement and is one of 83 five-star hotels, representing the very best of the best hotels in the world. The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle is also the only spa in Seattle to receive a Four-Star rating.

“To be recognized as the best hotel in Washington for our service and amenities is such an honour, and everyone here at the Hotel contributed to our success,” says Ilse Harley, Four Seasons Hotel Seattle general manager. “We’ve been receiving similar feedback from our guests since opening, whether in person or on consumer-generated sites, and to have Forbes Travel Guide mirror what our guests are telling us is outstanding.”

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle will be showcased with all of the 2013 Star Rating recipients on the Forbes Travel Guide website. Since 1958, Forbes Travel Guide’s professional inspectors look for service that is intuitive, engaging, and passionate, and goes beyond expectations. In addition, the physical nature of the hotel is designed with comfort in mind, with particular attention paid to craftsmanship and quality of product, often making the property a destination unto itself. This includes service and amenities found at ART Restaurant & Lounge, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle and the property’s unique outdoor infinity-edged pool.

“Our Star Ratings recognize the finest hotels, restaurants and spas in the world. These ratings serve as guideposts for consumers seeking exceptional travel experiences, and our primary mission is to serve the consumer,” said Michael Cascone, president of Forbes Travel Guide. “We’re proud to be associated with the new additions to our global list.”

“This is truly a celebration for our staff, as we mark our fifth anniversary with the Five-Star rating. Today, our guests will receive ‘Star Treatment’ with Champagne and treats in the lobby and restaurant,” continues Harley. “This award also puts Washington state on the map with other exceptional properties from destinations in the United States, China, and Europe. Out of the more than 187,000 hotels around the globe, only 83 properties are deemed worthy enough of the Five-Star recognition.”

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle continues to be recognized as the best hotel in Seattle, taking the #1 spot in the city on Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards for its outstanding service, downtown location, and sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Four Seasons is the only Seattle property in Robb Report’s World’s Top 100 Hotels 2013. While TripAdvisor’s 2013 Travelers’ Choice awards named it the #4 top overall hotel in the US, #4 top luxury hotel and #10 hotel for service.

In the movie “Dirty Harry,” beloved actor Clint Eastwood said, “Go ahead, make my day.”

Here are half a dozen dishes I’ve sampled in Seattle; on a car trip to Bow, Washington; and even as far afield as Winter Park, Florida, that have all “made my day.” Enjoy!

Beginning with appetizers, here is a beauty we enjoyed at Andaluca in the Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle: Grilled Petite Eggplant. Brushed with a light balsamic vinaigrette, grilled, and topped with alder-smoked tomatoes and fresh house-made ricotta, it was a soulful and hearty bite!

It paired perfectly with one of Andaluca’s by-the-glass pours–Fontaynes Argentinian Malbec Rosé.

The Roasted Whole Idaho Trout at Palace Kitchen is always a winner, but tasted especially clean and fresh–perfectly cooked–on a recent visit. House pours of one of our favorite white blends from Washington State–Southard White–paired nicely with both the trout and the Fire-Roasted Mussels I enjoyed as my entrée.

I downed my first-of-the-season raw oysters on the half shell at Place Pigalle in the heart of the Pike Place Market. They were Stellar Bay beauties from British Columbia waters, grown in the same bay as another one of my favorite oyster varieties–Kusshi. Our pairing that evening was a bottle of DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc, as good (and consistent) as ever. Thanks to our friend and winemaker Chris Upchurch!

The next day, still jones-ing for oysters, we drove to Bow, Washington and the venerable Rhododendron Cafe for a Fried Oyster Caesar Salad. It was a dish I’d enjoyed there several years ago and never forgotten. And even though it was no longer on the menu, Fried Oysters still were, so the chef was kind enough to accommodate my special request.

It was a fortuitous trip (very impromptu!) as the Rhododendron will close end of the month as the owners retire after 30 years!!! A few down days, then the young owners of the Farm to Market Bakery in Edison, Washington, will take over and make the Rhody Too Gallery (right next door) into a bakery and reopen the restaurant. So stay tuned!

And, as you can see, at lunch we stick to Iced Tea for our beverage pairing.  🙂

Late last month, we were in Winter Park, Florida, to help my father celebrate his 91st birthday. Although Dad doesn’t get out much any more, my brother, sister-in-law, Spencer, and I made our way to Cask & Larder: Southern Public House, a recently opened, very-popular gastropub and craft brewery in Winter Park, the sister restaurant to award-winning The Ravenous Pig, where we’ve enjoyed many a meal over the years.

Here is the Ribeye Hotdog with sweet Vidalia onion relish, Cask & Larder ketchup, and beer mustard on a celery-seed bun my brother enjoyed along with a house-made Whiskey Stout (which was cask-conditioned in a Jack Daniel’s barrel, aged for five months, and tasted of coffee and chocolate!).

Spencer enjoyed the Bibb Lettuce Salad with Pickled Watermelon Radish, Candied Squash, Spiced Pecans, and Buttermilk Dressing with an extra side of Southern Fried Chicken (spicy and good). The ladies had the same salad, but with an extraordinary side of smoked chicken. It was so good, the next day for lunch at Dad’s condo, we ordered in the very same salads!

Feeling a little parched after the long, hot summer?

Then how about popping open a can of DRY Soda?

The company, which I have written about for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, is excited to announce its biggest product line extension to date with the launch of new packaging and flavors.

In July, DRY began offering a new 12-ounce, slim aluminum can and introduced two new flavors this summer: Apple DRY and Ginger DRY. As consumers continue to demand real ingredients in their beverages and seek out all-natural and lower sugar soda options, DRY Soda is making its unique sodas more accessible to customers.

DRY Soda’s launch of slim cans (which will be sold individually at retailers for $1.29) and introduction of new flavors means that DRY customers can enjoy DRY in more places–on the go, poolside, cocktails, lunches, and entertaining at home. In addition to new Apple and Ginger, DRY will also offer three current flavors in cans: Vanilla Bean, Blood Orange, and Cucumber DRY.

Seven DRY flavors are available in 12-ounce glass bottles: Vanilla Bean, Wild Lime, Lavender, Blood Orange, Cucumber, Rhubarb, and Juniper Berry.

In 2005, well before low sugar products were part of the national conversation, DRY Soda CEO and Founder Sharelle Klaus saw the need for a less sweet, all-natural soda and created the first soda line with significantly less sugar and made with just four ingredients. DRY, the “better-for-you soda”, contains one-quarter to one-third the sugar and calories of traditional sodas, and contais only 45 to 70 calories per 12-ounce bottle or can.

“I am so excited for the launch of the cans and new flavors and the opportunity for DRY to be more accessible to people looking for a better soda,” said DRY Soda CEO Sharelle Klaus. “We continue to see consumers and policymakers getting more involved and educated about what ingredients are in food and beverage products. I developed DRY because I believe in offering a better soda option to consumers and am thrilled that DRY has been available for the growing group of customers seeking a low-sugar soda.”

The development of the new Apple and Ginger DRY flavors was led by Chef Richard Blais, television personality, restaurateur and author, and DRY’s creative director.

DRY Soda cans will be available throughout the United States in traditional and specialty retail stores, restaurants, cafes, and online, beginning July 2013.

Hard to believe it’s been three months since we chose a proper Dish of the Day (last one was The Capital Grille’s stupendous Seafood Tower), so today I’ve chosen not one, but three for your viewing pleasure.

Above behold the glorious Asiago-Almond Crusted Scallops with Pernod Butter Sauce and first-of-the-season grilled asparagus,  which we enjoyed a few weeks ago at the Palomino Restaurant & Bar location in downtown Seattle (truth be known, it is in the CityCentre Building, where Spencer used to go to work at Callison Architecture every day!).

How the chef got the perfect crispy crust and still managed to leave the scallops rare in the middle is beyond me. I tried to figure out how to replicate the dish at home, but just figured I’d eat it at Palomino as often as possible.

Just last weekend, when the temperatures were high (close to 90!) in Seattle, we were lucky to score an outside seat at Le Pichet, right on First Avenue in the Pike Place Market.

The Seared Salmon with baby garlic tops, flageolet beans, carrots, and asparagus was like summer on a plate, the salmon perfectly cooked to rare and the garlic tops more green than garlicky. A very light white broth brought the dish together so perfectly that I lapped up every last drop with the soup spoon thoughtfully provided!

Not so politically correct, but still very well executed, is the (blackened) Ahi and Greens salad at Gordon Biersch. I feel a deep twinge every time I order Ahi, since it  (in fact, most species of tuna, except for albacore) is on the endangered list, but every so often it serves as a special treat. This one was served with a well-made miso dressing and wasn’t overly charred or spicy. A Cajun remoulade sauce was also offered, and went surprisingly well with the fish and greens.

There’s still time to take advantage of a great summertime deal: Two Dollar Tuesdays offered up by our friends at Cupcake Royale.

July is National Ice Cream Month (who knew?!?!) and so Cupcake Royale is celebrating in grand style, and passing along a screaming-hot (or cool!) deal to their customers; $2 ice-cream scoops on Tuesdays.

So stop by tomorrow, or any Tuesday this month (the offer is good any time of the day) and get a scoop of premium, hand-churned ice cream for just $2 a scoop.

Churning 14 flavors in their downtown ice creamery, you can try one of the newest flavors including Orange Hibiscus sorbet, Honey + Snickerdoodle, Theo Malted Milk Chocolate, or Peppermint + Fudge Ribbon.

More traditional ice-cream lovers can opt for one of Cupcake Royale’s classic flavors–Burnt Caramel with Smoked Sea Salt or Stumptown Coffee with Fudge Ribbon.

And don’t forget about cupcakes! July kicks off the Washington blueberry season, and the Blueberry Brown Betty cupcake is Cupcake Royale’s featured Cupcake of the Month.

This adaptation of the American classic features vanilla and blueberry cake with a brown sugar-cream cheese top, finished with  buttermilk cake crumbs and a single dried blueberry. .

Which just goes to show (borrowing from the famous words of Marie Antoinette), Cupcake Royale is the kind of place where you can have your cake (and ice cream) and eat it, too!

In our June 17 post, we updated you on the summer schedule at the venerable Pike Place Market.

In today’s post, we are sharing the good news about other farmers markets in the Pacific Northwest.

Pybus Public Market, Wenatchee, Washington

After more than a year of dreaming, planning and construction, Pybus Public Market, located at 3 North Worthen, Wenatchee, opened its doors to the public in its inaugural debut (soft opening) on Saturday, May 11, at 7:30 a.m.

The building was built in the late 1940s, and brings together a part of the Wenatchee Valley’s history. . .and a glimpse of its future. Opening weekend included a number of festive events, including the lighting of the large red neon “Public Market” sign that is so reminiscent of the Pike Place Market’s eponymous sign.

Since opening weekend, Pybus Market has been open seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 8 a.m. on Sunday.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Farmers Markets

Vancouver’s annual farmers markets – typically beginning mid-May and running through late October – are more than just a great place to shop; they’re also a terrific source of food education and a great way to meet the colorful characters of Vancouver’s vibrant food community.

Kitsilano Farmers Market

May 12 to October 20 (Sundays, 10am – 2pm)

With nearly 50 vendors offering an array of organic and conventional foods, shoppers can get their hands on Fraser Valley honey, organic coffee, gluten-free cakes and crackers, freshly baked breads, biodynamic berries and handmade crafts. It’s also the perfect spot to grab some goodies for a picnic on nearby Kitsilano Beach.

West End Farmers Market

June 1 to October 19 (Saturdays, 9am – 2pm)

Located in the heart of Vancouver’s West End neighbourhood (walking distance from a number of downtown Vancouver hotels), this quaint market offers high-quality produce, pastries, cheeses, honey and more. For a full day of fun, shoppers can combine a visit to the market with a round of shopping on nearby Robson Street.

Main Street Station Farmers Market

June 5 to October 2 (Wednesdays, 3pm – 7pm)

Nearly 40 vendors line up alongside Thornton Park selling goods like pure maple syrup, natural sausages, wild-caught salmon and handmade soaps. Those who want to carry on their shopping streak can continue along Main Street and browse the area’s trendy boutique shops, or stop by Campagnolo restaurant for a delectable market-inspired menu feature created by executive chef Robert Belcham (available Wednesday nights).

Granville Island Farmers Market

Beginning June 6 (Thursdays, 9am – 3pm)

The Granville Island Farmers’ Market offers everything from handmade artisan cheeses to all-natural gourmet sauces. After working up an appetite, shoppers can choose from more than 70 eateries scattered throughout the island, or stop for mouthwatering fish and chips at False Creek Fisherman’s Wharf.

Lonsdale Quay Artisans Farmers Market

May 4 to October 26 (Saturdays, 10am – 3pm)

Located just 10 minutes via SeaBus from Vancouver’s downtown core, the Lonsdale Quay Farmers’ Market brings together some of Vancouver’s best jam makers, honey gatherers, salsa mixers, bread bakers and crafters. It’s also the perfect pit stop to grab a snack en route to the North Shore’s Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and Grouse Mountain.