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10 restaurants. 10 wineries. A beautifully decorated pier and the perfect summer night. This just about sums up Best of the West, an inaugural food and wine pairing event that was held last night as part of the Harmony Arts Festival. It was a successful event too, as all tickets were pre-sold.

[Pouring a Haywire Rosé]

Each restaurant was conveniently stationed next to its partner winery. The event was very well organized to this extent, as I’ve been to many festivals where restaurants and the chosen paired wines (or beer for that matter) are located nowhere near one another, and this can get confusing when things get crowded!

[Seared rare Ahi tuna, avocado salad, crispy won ton and smoked salmon from Carmelo's]
Paired with 2009 Mission Hill ‘Reserve’ Pinot Noir

[Rustic pork paté with frisée leaves, champagne vinaigrette, poached shallots from Louis Gervais Fine Foods]
Paired with 2009 Black Hills Estate Winery’s ‘Alibi’

[Homemade country paté with French bread and mustard from Chez Michel]
Paired with 2009 Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir

[Zen Restaurant]

Best of the West was situated on the pier at the Ferry Building Landing (foot of 14th Street) in West Vancouver. The large light balls gave it a romantic atmosphere as dusk set in.

A band played at the end of the pier, and those in the mood got into the swing and danced away right through until the event ended at 10:30 pm.

[Louis Gervais and Heather Wright of Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering]

[The House Wine ladies]

[Tantalus Vineyards Riesling]

This event was a fantastic way to sample food from several local restaurants, many of whom are now on my radar. There was a People’s Choice ballot available at the event entrance, but I’m guessing from reactions around the pier that Mangia e Bevi’s tasty pork cheek and lentil raviolis with brown butter sage made it to the top. I hope to see the event continue next year.

[Beef short ribs in peppercorn sauce from La Régalade]
Paired with a 2008 Cedar Creek Estate Syrah

[Pan seared beef, crab cake, tarragon on crostini from The Beach House]
Paired with Poplar Grove Winery’s 2007 Merlot

[Foie gras tart with red wine, apple marmalade, apple-ginger caviar, fleur de sel and savoury sponge toffee from Fraîche]
Paired with 2010 Tantalus Vineyards Riesling

[Mangia e Bevi's pork cheek and lentil ravioli with brown butter sage]
Paired with Laughing Stock’s 2009 ‘Blind Trust Red’

The Harmony Arts Festival is currently on through Sunday, August 7.

More photos from this event can be found in my Flickr set.