With the pass of the previous decade and advance of the new one, it’s time to examine what I’ve learned over the past ten years. (Oh, and the pedantic “the decade doesn’t change until next year,” argument holds no truck here math geek. Society has unilaterally declared that a new decade has begun. Go tilt at some other windmill.) This was the decade I went from enthusiastic outsider patron to sometimes columnist with a bent for petulance with the fourth most popular food site in Vancouver (among 25-35 year old left handed colour blind fencing enthusiasts.) So quite the mountain summited there. Enough with the foreplay, lets get it on:

*Nothing determines how “good” a restaurant is more than the skill of it’s P.R. person, inevitably an attractive woman. Not the kitchen, nor the staff, nothing has as much bearing on the first couple years as the media relations officer. Vancouver is full of whores willing to say anything nice in print about a new place to become an insider. It’s always been bad, it’s getting worse. A massive proportion of the reviews in this town are shoddily reworded press releases bylined by social climbing wannabes. I’m not certain if Vancouver is alone in this, but the fraternity between restaurateurs and the media is shocking and unethical.

*Hype is never good. The more hyped somewhere is the more disappointing it will be. It’s better to follow Les Faux Bourgeois model, under-promise and over-deliver.

*CFD’s are choking the innovation out of the city. Yes they are fantastically successful business models, they are also Hoovering up all the cash that would otherwise be going to new concepts and people starting out. Creativity and grassroots incubation are being stifled by all the mid-market cash going to these established concepts.

*There are few things a brunoise of sautéed breadcrumbs can’t improve.

*The higher the markup on the winelist the worse the food will be.

*I began the decade mocking the hippies and their precious overpriced organics. I left the decade a committed (or should I say semi-committed, I do love mangoes. And wine. Coffee. Olive oil. Pasta from Italy. So maybe I’m not even a semi-locavore) locavore spending twenty bucks on an organic chicken. Which proves yet again that real societal change comes from dirty leftist freethinkers who you might not want to share a table with but occasionally have a good idea when they manage to drop the bong for a few minutes. They did manage to come dangerously close to undoing their good works however with the continued asinine assertion that white people could wear dreadlocks.

*This is the decade Asian foods came into the mainstream. In 2010 not knowing what constitutes a good xio long bao is as gauche as ordering your ahi (something we’ve stopped eating in the past decade,) well done.

~KT

As reported last night in the UD Forum, Mon Bella in Kitsilano has abruptly closed it’s doors for good. Done. Finished.

Even after a short-lived rally and possible, albeit slow, uphill revival under the guidance of Chef Brian Fowke, the mountain proved too high to climb. The little Italian/French Bistoria, smacked up by the critics right out of the gate, had a hard time regaining a steady and sure footing to rebuild upon and relied on steap discounts to keep the clientelle coming, inevitably leading to a dire numbers game that eventually caught up with them and the bill paying owners who finally decided to pull the plug. ~ PK

Executive Chef Julio Gonzalez-Perini has just given his notice at CinCin. Sous chef of Araxi, John Ferris is running the kitchen during the interim. Top Table’s search continues…

On a side note, I have a Keith Nicholson rookie card for trade. I am looking for a 2006 All-Star David Hawksworth or Feenie. Must be in mint condition to be considered. ~ PK

It has just been announced that the young and talented chef, Francois Gagnon (formerly Lumière, Blue Water Cafe, CinCin), has taken the helm at The Teahouse in Stanley Park. Congratulations and good luck. We look forward to the new menu! ~ PK

Canada’s first beer cocktail competition will be held at The Refinery on August 17, featuring beer from Whistler Brewing. Come see what our local bartenders have concocted as successors to the Black Velvet, Irish Car Bomb, and Ogre Juice.

Contestants must devise a cocktail using either Whistler Black Tusk Ale, Classic Pale Ale, Honey Lager, Premium Export Lager, or Weissbier. They will then have to create it live, behind the bar at The Refinery, using their own ingredients and the supplied beer.

Judging the competition will be Bruce Dean (President, Whistler Brewing), Chester Cary (Canada’s first Certified Cicerone), Joanne Sasvari (The Vancouver Sun), Andrew Morrison (Scout Magazine), and yours truly.

The winning bartender will receive a TaylorMade golf bag; a case of Whistler beer; and a day of golf, dinner, and drinks for two at Pemberton’s Big Sky Golf & Country Club, voted Best Course in BC by the Vancouver Sun Golf Guide 2009.

After the competition, General Manager, Lauren Mote, and her team will be serving a special Whistler Brewing Company beer cocktail list, along with paired canapés from Chef Michael Carter.

Whistler Brewing Cocktail Challenge
Monday, August 17 @ 3:00pm
The Refinery
1115 Granville Street, Vancouver

~ RG

An announcement will be coming very soon from Top Table announcing the appointment of Julio Gonzalez-Perini (formerly the chef of Federico’s Supper Club, The Beach House, Villa del Lupo) as the new executive chef at Cincin.

There is no word on whether Mr. Francois Gagnon will stay with the Top Table group of restaurants.

View the official press release here.

~ PK

Locked up tight for the last few nights without notice and a disconnected phone are always bad signs for a restaurant. Is Le Marrakech Moroccan Bistro in Gastown the lasted casualty to fall away in the never-ending quest to put bums in seats?

Thanks to Stephen for the tip. ~ PK

Chow restaurant and lounge will be closing their doors.  Tonight (Sunday, May 10th) will be the last night to enjoy a fine meal with the very talented Chef Poirier and crew at the critically-acclaimed South Granville restaurant. With diners tightening their belts in the deflating economy, Chow has become another high-profile victim in a rapidly shrinking fine-dining market.

Our well wishes go out to all the staff and their families.  ~ PK

Talented bartender and award-winning mixologist, Lauren Mote (formerly of Lumiere, Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, and Chow), has been announced as the new GM of The Refinery on Granville Street.

From the press release:

Says owner Peter Raptis, “Lauren brings a level of energy and new passion that pairs perfectly with the Refinery concept”…” On behalf of my business partners Ryan Newman and Raymond Staniscia as well as Executive Chef Michael Carter, “we are delighted to be working with her.” 

As General Manager Lauren will oversee all front of house operations including the wine and cocktail program. 

Congratulations to Lauren and The Refinery. With the sidewalks nearing completion, the downtown Granville strip is about to awaken with a whole new look, and we like it. ~ PK

(Image by: Heather Goldsworthy)

UPDATE: May 2, 2009

One of Vancouver’s most talented and dedicated bartenders, Mr. Jay Jones, has given his notice at Voya  this morning and will be opening a new place of his own design called “Pourhouse” in the old Flux Bistro location (162 Water Street) just southeast of the steamclock in Gastown. The opening is planned for the end of summer.

The Pourhouse will have 135 dining seats with 25 bar seats. The bar program will be “spirit focused” and the overall concept will be “back to basics drinking and eating,” says Jones.   

Jay’s business partner and executive chef  of Pourhouse will be the well-travelled Chris Irving (formerly of The Pointe at the Wickanninish Inn, West, and Gordon Ramsey’s Petrus).

This project is looking to be a great addition to a neighborhood in full transformation.  We are looking forward to the opening, gentlemen.  ~ PK

The rumour has been confirmed; Chef Lee Humphries, formerly of FigMint Restaurant and Lounge, has landed the Executive Chef job at the Irish Heather Gastropub in Gastown and will start this coming Monday, April 20th. Considering Chef Humphries profound love for beer and quality pub food, his “On the Wood Series” beer pairings at FigMint as solid evidence and the fact that he expressed it to me in our last conversation, this looks to be a perfect match. Congratulations to Lee and Mr. Heather!  ~ PK

Wow. Wow. Every once in a while something magical falls out of the sky and makes my job so easy and delightful, it feels like t-ball all over again.  But I gotta be careful and not swing too hard in excitement and whiff past the ball sitting on its perch. Okay, here’s the deal. Plan B has been sold and is being transformed into “Shakin’ Not Stirred.”  

When I first got wind of the change from Cellarmaster, it was April Fool’s Day and knowing from his sassiness in the UD Forum that he was quite capable of a prank, so I made a mental note to walk by the place on my next jaunt through Yaletown.

The above picture is taped to the front window and there was a man painting a deep wine colour on the wall inside.  So after only 5 more days of anticipation we will get to dine on “Food To Die For”.

Shakin Not Stirred (oh shit, I got the giggles again..) is either going to be the coolest thing since Jack Rabbit Slim’s or MGM is going to come for their pound of flesh for such a blatant whoring of the Bond brand and beat them out of the nerd dimension and back to reality. Remember what happened to Deniro’s, now known as Section(3)?

Or who knows, it might be a whole new market.  Movie franchise restaurants.  Okay, who’s going to make a Stealing Beauty restaurant? Oh wait, it’s already been done. ~ PK

While it was gloomy outdoors on Monday evening, the glitz and glitter was inside Vancouver’s new Convention Centre West, which played host to 800 people attending the fifth annual BC Restaurant Hall of Fame gala. Appropriately, the expansion’s inaugural event was an opportunity to put the not-quite-finished facility and Executive Chef Blair Rasmussen’s team through their paces — quite a feat since it was said that the kitchen was not yet operational.

^ Ballroom foyer with glass curtain exterior walls and woodblock feature wall.

The reception beforehand gave attendees an opportunity to marvel at this impressive space before attention was turned centre stage to presentations and speeches in Canada’s largest convention centre ballroom. While some have declared the structure “esthetically underwhelming,” to do so looking from the outside completely misses the point. What is iconic for those who will attend functions here, is the natural setting on display through the floor-to-ceiling glass curtain walls.

Memorabilia from the 12 inductees’ careers were on display in the ballroom foyer for guests to peruse while being serenaded by the jazz of Terminal Station, sipping wine or beer, and nibbling on delectable hors d’oeuvres, such as Okanagan chevre & roasted vegetable tarts, Island scallops, Polderside duck rillettes, and chanterelle gougere. Yet they could only begin to tell the multitude of stories represented by the accomplishments of these culinary icons.

Indeed, we have come a long way from the BC restaurant industry’s pioneering days, not to mention Expo 86. Therefore, it is fitting that the BC Restaurant Hall of Fame, Canada’s only such institution, was created in 2004 to not only honour these individuals but also to provide a means of recording this heritage for posterity. Hopefully, there will be some repository for the public to access this history.

^ 2009 BCRHOF inductees.

Once all were seated for dinner, Lieutenant Governor Steven Point and Mayor Gregor Robertson were piped in with their party to the head table. Both offered their congratulations in introductory speeches, while Premier Gordon Campbell delivered his via pre-recorded video. Then, in quick succession, the following inductees were presented with their awards:

Active Restaurateur
David Aisenstat: The Keg Steakhouse & Bar, The Shore Club Vancouver, Ki, Hy’s Whistler
Geoffrey Howes: The Salmon House & Coho Lounge, Aqua Riva, Horizons Restaurant

Industry Award
Back of the House
Thomas Haas: Thomas Haas Chocolates
Scott Jaeger: The Pear Tree Restaurant

Front of the House
Darren Gates: Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House, GoldFish Pacific Kitchen
Jean Turcotte: The Cannery Seafood Restaurant

Friend of the Industry
Sid Cross: Co-Founder, The Chef’s Table Society of BC; Western Living Magazine
Jamie Maw: Co-Founder, The Chef’s Table Society of BC; Vancouver Magazine

Pioneer
George Frankel: Bridges Restaurant
Bruno Patassini: Westin Bayshore
Primo Villanueva: Primo’s Mexican Grill

Special Lifetime Achievement Award
Duncan Holmes: Journalist

^ Weathervane scallop tartar with Hecate Sound dungeness crab salad & shaved fennel.

While taking in the spectacle, guests were quietly presented by banquet staff scurrying about the darkness, a three-course dinner of Weathervane scallop tartar with Hecate Sound dungeness crab salad; maple sake butterfish on a bed of du Puy lentils; and an entrée of British Columbia “Petite Marmite” — L7 bison short rib, barley-fed pork belly, and free range chicken with primeur vegetables, green gnocchi, and porcini & moelle toast.

^ Maple sake butterfish on a bed of du Puy lentils with Venturi-Schulze balsamico.

Introductions from category presenters and a dozen biographies & acceptance speeches have the potential for a drawn out evening of stifling yawns in palms. But with the audience busying themselves enjoying their food and the speakers largely mindful of their time allotment, the pace was comfortable. In fact, maybe just a little too rushed when you have engaging orators — such as Sid Cross, Jamie Maw, and Duncan Holmes — or amusing anecdotes — as when Geoffrey Howes related how his entry to Canada was dependent on providing an immigration officer with The Savoy’s omelette recipe or when Thomas Haas described how in the first few minutes of his kitchen apprenticeship, the chef struck him in the forehead with an apple peeler which left a scar he still bears to this day.

^ Duncan Holmes regales the audience with his acceptance speech.

Subsequently, one had the opportunity to solicit further details from the inductees during the dessert reception. However, a plethora of desserts, both pre-prepared and prepared to order, constituted a nagging distraction.

^ Raspberry panna cotta.

^ The Fort Wine Co. Saucy cranberry dessert wine.

It was just a matter of time, before the guests began melting into the dark downpour, quietly concluding an elegant evening.

~ photos by Jackie Connelly, text by Rick Green

The Vancouver dining scene is just about to get another notch more interesting this spring and diners are the big-time winners here.  This news is just awesome from all angles.  First, the legendary Parkside goes in for a Sexy Italian Makeover to be re-opened on April 1st as “L’Altro Buca“, now the award-winning Gastropod is about to transmute into a refined but affordable Thai restaurant to be named, “Maenam.”  

Maenam means river or “mother water” and is also a coastal village on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand, known for its white sand beaches and emerald and sapphire coloured waters, not to mention some very delicious and flavourful food.

Chef Angus An, his wife, and business partners have been wanting to open a Thai restaurant in Vancouver for the last couple years, but could not find the appropriate time and space.  Now, with the downturn in the economy, they have decided to move the Gastropod concept into catering and private dining and launch their Thai restaurant in its place with future plans to re-open the fine dining Gastropod in another location during a more appropriate time.  

A refined Thai restaurant on 4th Avenue is simply a brilliant entry into an under served market on one of the hottest restaurant streets in Vancouver.  Angus An worked with renowned chef, David Thompson, at the only Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in the world, Nahm in the Halkin Hotel in London.  Several months ago, Chef An invited Urban Diner Forum members to join a staff meal where he cooked a Thai elk curry that was sublime and immediately had me asking when he was going to open a Thai restaurant.    

Gastropod will continue to operate until the end of April and Maenam will launch approximately 2 weeks later. We look forward to it! ~ PK

^  From left to right, Ken Snyder of RBC, Mayor Paul Ives, Bob Surgenor, and John Watson, Executive Director of the Comox Economic Development Society toast the opening of Surgenor Brewing.

Seven years and $2 million dollars later, Bob Surgenor’s dream has come true. On March 21, family, friends, and local dignitaries gathered at Surgenor Brewing in Comox for a ceremony to mark the launch of BC’s latest craft brewery. The town’s mayor, the Executive Director of the Comox Economic Development Society, and the project’s banker showed up to provide the obligatory speeches. Afterword, the brewery was opened to tour, its beer poured to sample, and food served to satiate.

Surgenor was inspired to start up a brewery when his industrial electrical contracting business began to decline with the slump in the coastal forest industry, his primary source of revenue. Rather than lay off his workers, he was resolved to keep them employed. Fortunately, his plan meshed with the Economic Development Society’s priority to develop the food and beverage sector in the Comox Valley. Along with Beaufort Vineyard & Estate Winery,  Carbrea Vineyard & Winery, Shelter Point Distillery, and numerous food producers, the region is developing into a culinary tourism destination.

^  Brewing consultant Mark Simpson, left, and Surgenor Brewing brewmaster, Douglas Rae.

Not a brewer himself, Surgenor has hired Douglas Rae as brewmaster. Rae started his brewing career at Granville Island Brewing in 1984, then went on to work for Labatt and Molson. Brewer consultant, Mark Simpson, was brought in to help with design, setup, and recipe formulation. Simpson’s brewing experience also includes Granville Island and Molson.

The brewery is state-of-the-art with automated process controls that are operated from one of two graphic terminals. This allows Surgenor to achieve a consistency in the final product equal to an industrial brewery. An Irish red ale and a Czech pilsener are the first beers being produced. A wheat ale and a stout are being contemplated as future additions to their lineup. Those visiting the brewery will be able to sample the beer in their tap room.

^  Surgenor’s bottling line.

Current sales are limited to kegs. However, they expect to be shipping six-packs of aluminum bottles in a matter of weeks. Surgenor will be the first brewery in the province to use this innovative packaging which is lightweight, easily recyclable, unbreakable, chills quickly, and prevents spoilage from light.

Those interested in wholesale orders should contact:

Bob Jeffery
Sales Representative
bob.jeffery[at]surgenorbrewing[dot]ca
Tel: (250) 339-9947
Cell: (250) 898-7862
861 Shamrock Place
Comox, BC V9M 4G4

See Flickr for more photos…

~ RG