Andrew Morrison

The Four Seasons Vancouver have released some details on their new restaurant... If you want to read the full release, we have it up at UD here.

I've been hearing nothing but excellent things.

Here you go.

I'll have a video blog up on UD within the hour...

^ It sounds like I really should have! I introduced myself to your chef and enjoyed her dish tremendously. I'm sorry if I missed the pleasure...odd person. Here's more from James Chatto... November 14 saw the 2007 Vancouver leg of the Gold Medal Plates campaign soar into history at the luxe Westin Bayshore hotel. The buzz in the room from the sold-out crowd was palpable and the welcome given to our speaker, triathlete Simon Whitfield rocked the ceiling. As did Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo who was easily coaxed into an encore before the national anthem. Appropriately, the calibre and passion of the cooking from every competitor in the first half of the evening set a new standard for this campaign. Taking the bronze medal (by a difference of less than one percentage point over David Hawksworth of West) was Chef Scott Jaeger of The Pear Tree. Poised over a stripe of celeriac purée, his little slab of B.C. Berkshire pork belly was impeccably textured, so tender it parted at the touch of a fork. The sweet flavour of the meat was beautifully enhanced by a miniature puck of cipollini onion jelly and a tiny crunchy tube of pastry filled with pear butter. The accompanying wine, cutting valiantly through the fat, was Inniskillin’s 2004 Malbec from the Okanagan. The silver medal also went to an out-of-town chef – Melissa Craig from Barefoot Bistro in Whistler. Her presentation was exceptionally refined – four dainty treasures from the sea set out on a small wooden block. Here was a Cortez Island Black Pearl oyster – one of a new breed of East Coast oyster being farmed in the Pacific – dressed with a pickled daikon and cucumber mignonette that tasted intensely of cucumber and had a lovely sweetness to contrast with the oyster. A stiff mousse of B.C. spot prawn was cut into a tiny drum wrapped in a membrane of sesame jelly and topped with what looked like caviar but turned out to be a molecular doppelganger of miso and squid ink. Albacore tuna sashimi was dressed with a yuzu bonito mayonnaise and topped with soy-flavourd “pop rocks”. A crunchy cone of cured wild salmon was dressed with horseradish cream. The matching wine, a 2005 Riesling from Tantalus Vineyards, was perfectly chosen, its acidity and intensity of flavour dovetailing with the many tastes on the plate. The gold medal for our Vancouver event this year was awarded to Chef Pino Posteraro of Cioppino’s. The banner above his station described the dish simply as a “porcini mushroom and chestnut soup” – and indeed it was, served in a coffee cup like some kind of cappuccino. But the texure was profoundly enriched and the layers of mushroom flavour were dramatically deepened by melted foie gras and a scattering of crunchy truffled brioche croutons. In a ceramic spoon set on the saucer of the “coffee cup” was the other element of the dish – a square of chilled mushroom jelly and a roasted mushroom salad served at room temperature, the supple textures and contrasting temperatures working beautifully in the mouth. The judges were unanimous in awarding the dish maximum “wow factor”. As an accompanying wine, Posteraro chose a Niagara Chardonnay that proved an inspired match – Pillitteri Estates Winery Chardonnay Sur Lie 2006. Chef Posteraro will now be competing in the Canadian Culinary Championship, our gruelling three-day finale to the competition, to be held in Toronto from February 7 to 10, 2008. So far his opposition consists of Anthony Walsh of Canoe in Toronto , Martin Ruiz Salvador of Fleur de Sel in Lunenberg, and Roland Ménard of Manoir Hovey representing Montreal. Tonight we do it all again in Calgary ! James Chatto National Culinary Advisor Gold Medal Plates

Sorry, folks have been talking about it on the "other" forum... 1st place | Pino Posteraro of Cioppino's 2nd place | Melissa Craig of the Bearfoot Bistro 3rd place | Scott Jaeger of The Pear Tree I should have a video compilation up later today.

Thanks for mentioning Anne! It was a fun issue. If you haven't seen it in print yet you can read the whole thing cover to cover with our digital edition here.

I have a feeling that in the next 10 days he'll either have his restaurants back with a new investor or will have gone public with news that he's got a new room in the pipe for 2009. What we're hearing right now in the press is spin, because the truth is probably more about business than ego. The general sense I hear from people close to the story is that Rob has been too busy managing his fame rather than his restaurants, and it ended up biting him in the ass (again). With all the big names on his staff roster flying out the door for the past year the final dissolution really shouldn't come as a surprise. This was not a spontaneous combustion, but the result of slow rot. The media meme is going to crucify the Sidoos. If they are half the social climbers that people say they are they will probably take the money that might be being offered again as we speak and invest it in a more profitable business, like a hot dog stand. To the next investor, enjoy.

A fine blog you have there.

damn.

I was there in the spring. Bad, unimaginative food absurdly over-priced and stuck in the 1980's. From the reception to the table (and back again) the service was pitiful. There are just too many good dining options in Vancouver to take this tourist trap seriously.

Well said. Best of luck!

As evidenced by the little emoticon before my post, I was joking. Sniff...no free oysters...

Very neighbourly of you, OG! I'd probably want to diss Araxi too if I worked at the restaurant that often played second fiddle to it.

I think there have been several eG threads that have covered this topic over the last few years. A quick search will likely put you on a good path.

They should. You have one of the most even-handed temperaments of all the foodies I know. Thanks for the review.

Over at Urban Diner, we reported on that and a whole whack of other West Vancouver tidbits a couple of weeks ago, buried in an omnibus post (see here). The new Indian place is going to be called "All India". I hope they fare better.

The full issue is available online in full digital format. Take a look here. The November issue is coming together right now and it's looking great. Thanks for reading.

We took the kids and had a marvellous time. See here for video.

It is called The Cascade Room: “100+ seats in a bar forward atmosphere. 70% of the seats will be bar height, with a 22 seat bar, raised booths, etc. There will be a further lounge dining area toward the back of the room." Owned by the same Nicolay/Edmonds/Pike group that brought us Tangerine (now Abigail's party) and Habit. David Nicolay and Rob Edmonds are the two designers behind Evoke International Design (Sanafir, LK Dining Lounge, Glowbal, Afterglow, Coast, Sanafir, Seventy Two, FigMint, Metro). Vancouver Magazine's current Bartender of the Year Nick Devine (ex George) is running the bar and Travis Williams (ex LK Dining Lounge, Adesso, Blue Water) is the executive chef. UD has more here.

It was slated to open in July, but they're now saying autumn. From the press release: VOYA TO ARRIVE IN VANCOUVER THIS FALL Chef Marc-André Choquette Positioned to Take Guests on Culinary Adventures July 17, 2007 (Vancouver, BC) Kor Hotel Group, the Los Angeles-based hotel operator, announces the upcoming opening of Voya restaurant, set to open in fall to coincide with the hotel debut of Loden. The intimate 80-seat restaurant and lounge will offer sophisticated food, spectacularly chic décor, a private dining room with seating for 18 and a street-side lounge, providing a new escape in Coal Harbour. Voya will be led by locally lauded chef Marc-André Choquette - who until now was best known for his outstanding work as Executive Chef at the award-winning Relais Gourmand restaurant, Lumiere. Having honed his craft in Montreal, France and New York, Choquette is classically trained and is a French-Asian cuisine specialist. With a recent trip to Miami in which he exchanged insights and techniques with Executive Chef Pietro Rota at The Tides South Beach's La Marea restaurant, another Kor Hotel Group restaurant, Choquette is preparing to launch the inaugural menu at Voya. The list of planned dishes features decadent albacore tuna loin crusted with pine nuts sided by braised porcini mushrooms and a parmesan consommé; raw artichoke, marinated fennel and fresh sardine salad; and smoked potato gnocchi and hazelnut-crusted lamb loin with gingerbread sauce. It is Choquette's food that is sure to dazzle in Vancouver's savvy dining scene and given its name, Voya (derived from "voyage") will thrive on its inspiration - the thought that food can transplant one to places never before experienced. Voya's interior is designed by San Francisco-based firm Babey Moulton Jue & Booth. An ice-blue room centre-lit by three sparkling crystal chandeliers evokes the sophisticated eateries of the `40s, rich with chocolate-hued upholstery, boldly patterned screens, oversized mirrors and sleek white lacquered tables. Voya will be a member of the Green Table and Ocean Wise sustainable programs and will proudly be offering patrons an alternative to bottled water through its on-premise filtered water system. The restaurant will be a highlight of Loden Vancouver , a hotel that draws the natural wonders of coastal British Columbia into the city's cosmopolitan context. Its exterior mimics ocean waves in curved glass, natural stone and copper, while its warm interiors create a cultivated ambience through atypically bold patterns and deluxe finishes. The 77-room, 14-storey hotel will offer six suites, a 1,600-square-foot Penthouse Suite and Voya, the signature lobby-level restaurant with bar. A second-floor wellness centre will include a full service spa and a fitness studio. Located in Coal Harbour, downtown Vancouver's most upscale residential neighborhood at the edge of the financial district, Loden is minutes from the waterfront, Stanley Park, world-class shopping and the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre. About Kor Hotel Group The Kor Group is a privately held real estate development and management firm with investments primarily in hotels, resorts and multi-family real estate. Kor Hotel Group , the hospitality division of Kor, holds a diverse property portfolio and manages both its own assets and non-owned hotels under third-party management agreements. Kor Hotel Group's properties include Viceroy Santa Monica and Viceroy Palm Springs, Avalon Hotel and Maison 140 in Beverly Hills, The Tides South Beach, Chamberlain in West Hollywood, Loden in Vancouver, The Tides Riviera Maya on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and Villa del Sol in Zihuatanejo on the Mexican Riviera. Resorts and Residences projects in Miami, Anguilla and Riviera Maya are forthcoming in 2008 and 2009.

I don't understand the colonial tie?. 1949 marked the year the communists marched into Shanghai...

In the Westender this week... Goldfish swims Yaletown’s stylish currents By Andrew Morrison | Jul 12 2007 Although it’s famed for attracting an upwardly mobile, trendy, shallow crowd, Yaletown’s restaurant community has stabilized into a respectable mixed bag over the last couple of years. There are cool little sandwich spots, specialty shops, charming hideaways, and fine-dining joints galore. But there are just two true reflections of the neighbourhood’s broader reputation. The first, Glowbal, is like a gorgeous and rudderless divorcee of means who can still pass for 40 in tight slacks. Loving life and digging the attentions of servers that can smell money from blocks away, it continues to do its utmost to make doubly sure it never grows old (and let’s hope it doesn’t). The second, George Ultra Lounge, is like a delinquent dilettante: a stunning combination of beauty-borne swagger, smarts, and so much hubris that it hurts, man. With the addition of restaurateur Bud Kanke’s brand new $3 million Goldfish Pacific Kitchen, there’s now a third swinger on the boob-job leaderboard. My first impression? It was only a matter of time before someone tried to out-swank Yaletown. But, arguably, none could have predicted that Kanke would be the one to try to pull it off. An old soldier of the game (he launched the Fish House, the Cannery, and Joe Fortes), Kanke is best known for his eateries coming highly recommended by hotel concierges (ka-ching!); the hiring of talented, good-looking people who stay exceptionally loyal; and running a margin-driven ship. He has not, as his past restaurants will attest, shown himself to be any more tuned in to the new fashionista hegemony of Yaletown than the legendary Umberto Menghi (Umberto’s, Il Giardino). So, when news broke last fall that Kanke was opening a new restaurant in Menghi’s failed Circolo spot, most industry observers thought it looked like the area was taking three steps back instead of one step forward. Enter Kanke’s greatest investment: his well-connected army of protégés. Several of his new partners and employees at Goldfish are former Joe Fortes staff (hence the restaurant’s immediate and perfect nickname: “Gold Fortes”). The maitre’d stylings of Albert Chee, for example, are in full effect, filling the already busy room with an everything’s-under-control vibe via a nicely tailored suit and a well-coiffed lid. Darren Gates (managing partner) and Jennifer Hennessey (general manager) are there, too, as are fellow Joe Fortes alumni Nessa Van Bergen (sommelier), Chelsea Bunderson (bar manager), and William Tse (executive chef). Happily — and I mean this with the greatest respect — it’s much more their restaurant than it is Kanke’s. I don’t doubt his spryness or his savvy with the new kids (they are all the sons and daughters of long-time Joe Fortes customers), but it’s time the next generation of “Buddites” got their turn. Fresh from the plastic surgeon, the recently unveiled Goldfish space is a stunning meat market for mid-life-crisis survivors, millionaire retirees, and legions of Sex and the City-type ladies of all ages, who fill the room with air kisses between sips of designer cocktails. I played along and found the Kaffir Lime Mojito ($9) to be nice and stiff, and the Ruby Sour ($9) to be bang on. But the Piña Colada “Deconstructed” ($9.50) was an absolute bomb – think spiked pineapple-and-coconut tapioca for gummy geriatrics, then throw it up in a stemless martini glass, and you’ll have an idea as to how bad it was. Still, the marble-backed walnut bar is very comfortable, as is the adjacent lounge. Beyond the lounge and its colourful Philippe Starck-designed chairs (“They’re made with pairs of Fran Drescher’s pants,” remarked one wit I know) is the main dining area. It makes up the majority of the square footage, and sports lazy-Susan tables and several booths. It’s delightfully open and shiny, but with the lounge scene clearly the main draw, I worried for its relevance, not to mention that of the Pacific Rim-inspired food. The spicy sugarcane-skewered prawns ($18) and the prawn-and-chicken gyozas ($9) were tasty, if typical, starters; ideal for sharing, and much better than the flaccid blocks of pricey ahi tuna I suffered through ($16). All three, however, were about as inspired as a Ford Taurus. My main dishes were a little better. The hoisin-glazed wild sockeye salmon ($20) was prepared simply and perfectly, accompanied by fresh asparagus; and the quickly-seared Arctic char came deliciously dressed in a tropical sauce of lime and coconut (superbly delicate, and fairly priced at $20). My cubed beef ($15), however, was of questionable pedigree and tasted weakly of sugary soy; the meat was so tough, one would think it had been slow-boiled instead of “wok-seared” as the menu advertised (thin slices of Korean-style Galbi beef would have been more appropriate). A coconut-crusted vanilla-yogurt tart and a savoury side of quail’s-egg-and-bacon fried rice were the best and most unique things I tried (and two of the cheapest at $8 each). It’s early still, but we should be allowed to expect better. I was happy to see that Goldfish is into pleasing people as much as it’s keen to attract them (it’s an endangered philosophy). With just a little menu tweaking here and there, we might see equal measures of style and substance yet. With a commendable list of wines and beers; a summery, light-as-air feel; and a talented service team rounding out a room that’s just as beautiful as the people in it, Kanke and Co.’s newest venture certainly has the potential to be a great restaurant. Let’s just hope that they find a way to make it happen. There's video of it on Urban Diner here.

^ Wow. That must be a recent change. In the first couple of days I was told customers could order just 2 ounces of each...too bad.

A little less personality and a lot more cooking, please. "I'm the only self-proclaimed culinary concierge on the west coast." Barf.