Andrew Morrison

Just returned from Naramata Unfiltered "Sommelier Bootcamp" - three days of wine routing, blending, competing, and yes, drinking. Quite the good times. I've put together some videos over at UD. Take a look here.

Some more on the new Burgoo here, but what is really causing me to salivate is the impending arrival of La Quercia. 2008 is going to be nowhere near as busy as 2007 on the openings front, but those few notables on the horizon (Loden, La Quercia, Irish Heather 2.0, and DB Bistro Moderne) are worthy of anticipation. It'll be a good summer.

WF is also back to serving Chilean Sea Bass. Sigh.

I can't accept that.

As most of you are already keenly aware, the prognoses for salmon runs from Alaska to California aren't pretty. A couple of weeks ago, US federal regulators canceled this year's commercial and recreational Chinook season, citing appalling statistics of recent and projected returns. The state of Washington is stopping just short of canceling the season, allowing catches of drastically reduced numbers: "This year’s forecast is for a Columbia River coho population of 196,000, which is a terrible number. Last year was a sub-par 462,000. A good year is 800,000 to 1 million." (linkage). Forecasts for Fraser River sockeye are just as bad, but there is no move to cancel the season just yet. And that's just the wild stuff. Under growing pressure from environmentalists, the provincial government is taking some action on fish farming (they've just suspended issuing new licenses to farmers), but will likely continue to dither with studies and committees without passing effective legislation that will actually, finally, punctuate the long-standing debate on whether farmed salmon is good for anything other than BC's economy. The "it depends on who you ask" argument has become a Pythonesque exercise in ridiculousness that has stymied any forward movement in providing consumers an answer. In provincial politics, the issue of farmed salmon has evolved into a third rail (touch it and you die), so perhaps the only real action will come when it is time to assess blame for its consequences. Land-based aquaculture is, of course, too small to make much of a dent in demand (which is growing like crazy), and won't do anything to help coastal communities that are being hard hit by the bad runs. And nevermind that they'll be even harder hit if the runs were to cease entirely, whether on the government's say-so or Mother Nature's. By all appearances, then, we're looking at the probable extinction of a few species of Pacific salmon if the status quo remains in the hands of people who continue to either sit on them or throw them up in frustration. Our government is not doing enough. Our First Nations leaders aren't doing enough. Our environmentalists aren't doing enough to communicate the stakes to our communities. Our citizens no longer know who to believe anymore. And our media, well...it's the media. Faced with this culture of uncertainty, consumers are still waiting for somebody to tell them what to do. History has repeatedly shown that solutions to big problems never come from those who cause them. The collapsed cod fishery in Atlantic Canada tells us which way the road of indecision leads. The same scenario that befell them - one of wait, fret, talk, do nothing and then wait some more - is what we're seeing in BC today. If we're counting on a white horsed politician, an enlightened fisheries lobby, or an environmentalist Messiah to sort it out, we're just putting our heads in the sand, totally complicit in the destruction of one of BC's most iconic natural resouces by virtue of our inaction. Up until this point, those that have entered the solutions game have been pigeon-holed by the media into the old logger/treehugger dichotomy. This has only served to make it easier for the general public to shake their heads, tsk tsk, and then turn to the sports section. Nothing gets solved and we inch closer to the day when we have to explain to our kids why there are no longer any salmon. It is my opinion that all sides that have participated in the salmon debate are now compromised. The anti-science pushback against Global Warming and tobacco has shown that science is as maleable in today's media marketplace as politics, and just as easily bought. Fish farmers, green gurus, and various other Professors of Salmon have sucked the air right out of the issue's tires, and so it sits on blocks in our driveway like an old Camaro with gimped cylinder heads. If it has taken them more than a decade to come to any semblance of a concrete and workable solution to the crisis, then they should surrender their right to the microphone and be mercilessly beaten with it. It's as if they've all been at the wheel of a car that has seen for miles and miles that the bridge ahead is out, but none of them have been able to agree on which foot to use to apply the brake. So I guess my question is this: what, if anything, can the restaurant industry do where others in positions to effect real change have repeatedly failed? As we've seen, no idea is more ridiculous than inaction, so giv'er.

My pre-edit from back in January. *************** Hotel restaurants should never really be too busy in a food mad city like ours. If sophisticated out-of-towners have a quarter ounce of savvy in them, they see dining rooms that are somehow emblematic of our province as crucial to the entire BC experience. Though many try, few local hotels hit those notes and make them sing. Yew, brand new to the Four Seasons downtown and housed in the old Terrace Restaurant location on the second floor, is poised to move to the front of that choir. Not only will it seduce many of our visitors, it may also bed some locals, too. A Christmas reunion with some far flung family members had me there last week, just a few days after its opening. It's a modern, sexy room with soaring ceilings looming over 204 seats (79 in the front bar and lounge area, and 128 in the dining room proper). According to their press materials, Yew (named after one of BC's indigenous trees) was designed "to capture the essence of British Columbia's natural environment". They've accomplished an approximation of such with greys, tans, and blues playing against light ambers and aqua greens, wood-paneled walls, and a sandstone look-through fireplace. The synthy soundtrack is a little incongruous, but Four Seasons playing the hipster card is nonetheless good for a laugh. Pity about the swirling, puke-promising carpet, though. It's the one thing that reminded me that I was still in a hotel (much like those blinding wall-to-wall, nauseating jobs one avoids looking at in ubiquitous Vegas casinos). Towards the rear of the room is the "talking point" feature: a transparent glass enclosed not-so-private room crowned by a skylight high above. It's reminiscent of Hannibal Lechter's cell in The Silence of The Lambs, complete with the wine cellar he always wanted ("I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti"). We were in no rush and signaled as much to our server, a deferential fellow who understood the signs. He deftly swooped in to whisk away plates and topped up our many glasses like a silent pro without sacrificing a single service protocol, interjecting verbally only when it was time to choose another bottle. We throttled some Chablis and some promising cocktails before we moved into chef Raphael Gonzales' 30+ item menu. The dishes weren't as BC-focused as I expected (like the guests really care in this game of illusion), but the quality quotient was there in spades. We began with a raw bar sampler that saw a citrusy ceviche of scallop hinting of coriander, some poached lobster flesh gently flavoured with almond, grilled octopus dusted with saffron and chili, and a finely chopped Ahi tuna tartar sweetened with pear. It was all so subtle as to border on the perfect ($28). Moving on to a middle course, my slightly overcooked shrimp were over-doused in a weak wasabi ponzu ($12), but there were some salads on the table that were worth trying (the hamachi tuna in particular - even at $23 for an appetiser portion). For mains, one of my dining companions and I split a huge, $82 roasted rack of venison from the "share" section of the menu. The juniper essence of the Hendrick's Gin sauce was hard to discern, and the reduced sweetness of what remained masked the subtler flavours of the thick cuts of meat. A bottle of 2002 L'ecole 41 Syrah from Washington State ($125) may have been to blame (powerful enough to shoot the deer), and the accompanying bowl of black truffle and potato gratin was heart-squeezingly rich (we like), if a little on the cool side in the very center. Tastes and nods from around the table suggested the $29 grain fed chicken was a pleaser (the porcini marmalade was something I'd never tried - a great idea executed well), as was the black cod laced with aged Sherry vinegar and the tang of Sungold tomatoes ($35). After a closing bottle of velvety Sangiovese (actually a blend, the 2004 Sandhill "Three" - jammy with strawberry and blackberry - $90), dessert saw over-sized and nut-crusted brownies plated with bananas Foster and scoops of house-made banana ice cream, very much worth $10 apiece. Though I enjoyed my dinner tremendously, I'm nevertheless very glad that some one else at the table was picking up the tab. I couldn't even bear to look at it. It could very well have been fatal. With intuitive attention to detail in the service, a high end, well chosen wine list with the heft of a Chaucer epic (150 wines by the glass), and a dinner menu that is firing on all cylinders in its first week, I'm thinking Yew is a thoroughbred. It might not play the BC card as well as it purports, but it's still thematically sound. I'd like to next slip in for one of chef Gonzales' Latin-inspired Sunday brunches, if only to see what the light is like in the day. Like most hotel dining rooms, they open at 7am, a fact I was reminded of when we eased gently away from our dark wood table to find the closing bussers lining up breakfast cereal boxes for the next shift. It was late for us, but it was clear that Yew was just getting started. Yew Restaurant + Bar | 791 West Georgia St | 604-689-9333 | FourSeasons.com/Vancouver/Dining Food **** Service ***** Atmosphere **** Value ***

Is that a planet?

I saw Japanese hipsters in Mexican wrestling costumes, hoods and devil wings.

The schematics for DB Bistro Moderne and Lumiere landed on my desk last night. Take a look at the full size over at Urban Diner here.

^ It's the Forest Fire ramen with chicken stock.

We've been polling our readership at UD. A lot of BC foodies would prefer Susur opening a Vancouver restaurant to Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay, and Rob Feenie. Nice to see. Pity that Susur is closing though.

Wrong forum, potty mouth.

I think it had a bad start a few months ago. They opened, had trouble figuring out what they wanted to be, and then shut down for extensive renovations and a conceptual rethink. They've also hired professional PR (my inbox has been seeing plenty of press releases), so I think we'll likely see some reviews trickling in soon.

That doesn't leave much room for enjoyment though, does it?

The Olympics are a flash in the revenue pan and aren't (shouldn't) be part of a restaurant's long view/strategy. Besides, it'll likely be bought out for the duration of the Games within weeks of its opening.

I had an outstanding meal at Fuel a few weeks ago, but don't my word for it. Members of the Vancouver restaurant community just voted Fuel the Best New Formal restaurant of the year at the UD Awards. It also deservedly received the Best New Service nod, the award for Best Kitchen Team, and co-owner Tom Doughty tied with Neil Ingram of Boneta for Sommelier of the Year. I put a film up of the night in a previous thread. In other words, they cleaned up. Here's Tom and Neil the moment their names were called... All very well deserved. For my part, I much prefer dining at the bar than at the table. Watching those fellas cook is a meal in itself.

We had our 1st Annual UD Awards Monday night at Nu. After 5 weeks of nominations and five intense days of voting the turnout was incredible. Several directors of the Chef's Table Society were on hand to give away some of the more special awards (John Bishop, Dino Raenarts, Vikram Vij, Sid Cross, Jamie Maw, Julian Bond, Pino Posteraro, and David Hawksworth among them), and CTV News anchor Coleen Christie was my co-MC. It was a seamless event, all due to the hard work of the crew at Nu. A big thank you to them and all those who participated in the process and big, hearty congratulations to the winners. We have a film of the festivities up on You Tube: I hope to see many of you again next year!

I put together a little video blog of what I saw and ate during the CCC. Viewable here.

Melissa Craig, the executive chef at Bearfoot Bistro, has won the Canadian Culinary Championships!

Indeed. Just to be clear, the reference was to the mind-sucking banality of CFD chains, and not the food at Pinkys, which was palatable. I couldn't agree more with Alistair on Chambar. It's one of my favourite restaurants anywhere.

We posted about it a couple of months ago over at Urban Diner (linkage). It's been taken over by the Glowbal Group and it'll be a stylish Italian trat with dishes under $20. Demolition started a few days ago.

Medina, the new cafe attached to Chambar, opens next week.

Yew at the Four Seasons opened for service today. I had a look last night (video) and it's plenty swish. Still no idea as to what the menu looks like, but the little bits being passed around were swell.

Mmm. We buy ours from Savary Island Pie Co. in West Vancouver. So good.

From an Urban Diner report last month: I haven’t heard a peep from the peeps behind it but I hear it’s the Scott Morrison side of the Browns chain (Cactus Club clones) trying to do a “high end” steakhouse in two locations at once, one in Yaletown in the old LK Dining Lounge location and the other in Kits in the old Thai Yummy spot. I’d wager a plate of chili chicken and some short skirt service that Pinkys will be popular with the CFD crowd, but both locations are tough. The full name is Pinkys Steakhouse and Cocktail Lounge. The Yaletown opening is slated for the end of November…more info as it arrives… They also have a website up.