Openings and closings (2006–2008 part 1)

[Xando Head]

Anyone at the Bardot's opening last night?

I walked by all the beautiful people last night sweaty and tired on my way home from the gym. Wondering how it was, though likely hard to tell amid all the red carpet hoopla.

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(This is purely a personal note, but man I wish this neighborhood could support a more "down-home" venue without the glitz ... a pub would be perfect. Do we really need another plastic people hangout in Yaletown? Evidently, we do. Maybe I just need to move...)

Edited July 7, 2006 by Xando Head (log)

[Daddy-A]

Do we really need another plastic people hangout in Yaletown?  Evidently, we do.  Maybe I just need to move...)

Nah, you just need to sic your Jack Russel on them.

No dog hair on the Prada! IC!!

A.

[Vancitygirl]

I did attend the Bardot opening. Had a great time, but I always do (I keep good company). The highlight was the sabering of an oversized champagne bottle by their wine consultant, Mireille. I did, however, feel surrounded by some fine examples of the work of Vancouver's plastic surgeons. Will have to go back on a "regular" night and sus out the feel of the place. Grand Openings are never indicative of the day to day feel of a restaurant.

[Andrew Morrison]

I never got the invite.

What does the room look like?

[Xando Head]

I never got the invite.

What does the room look like?

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From what I can see from the street, it looks pretty much the same.

[wildebeest]

I never got the invite.

What does the room look like?

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From what I can see from the street, it looks pretty much the same.

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It is the same inside. Some very minor changes to the room, felt like the Quay. I took a peek at the menu...$10 caesar salads to $36 for tenerloin. The staff they have hired looks great, lots of experience in the room. I overheard that the chef wasnt on board yet and that he was coming from Coast. Interesting.

[nwyles]

I never got the invite.

What does the room look like?

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From what I can see from the street, it looks pretty much the same.

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It is the same inside. Some very minor changes to the room, felt like the Quay. I took a peek at the menu...$10 caesar salads to $36 for tenerloin. The staff they have hired looks great, lots of experience in the room. I overheard that the chef wasnt on board yet and that he was coming from Coast. Interesting.

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I wonder if Emad knows that yet.

[SBonner]

I never got the invite.

What does the room look like?

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I got the invite by email three hours before the event invite! Rode by there today during the lunch period and it looked pretty dead. From the street it lopked pretty much the same. They need to update their media list if you were not there On the otherhand I do recall your WE review of their Vintropolis (of which I agreed with you 100%)

Stephen

Edited July 7, 2006 by SBonner (log)

[Andrew Morrison]

^

I'm rather socially awkward at parties, anyway.

[Vancitygirl]

Beyond Restaurant and Lounge will open in the Century Plaza hotel sometime soon. No details as of yet. Anyone know the scoop?

[TimK]

Beyond Restaurant and Lounge will open in the Century Plaza hotel sometime soon.  No details as of yet.  Anyone know the scoop?

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I know that they have David Nicolay from Evoke Design doing their room (Sanafir, Crush, Coast). Outside of that....not much more.

[Andrew Morrison]

Salt Tasting Room is now open for business.

[sushi boy]

I was messing around on the Vancouver Coastal Health webpage today looking at inspection reports at places I've eaten recently and found that if you search Memphis Blues you get a listing for a proposed location at 1629 Lonsdale. Is this new? Are they expanding on to the North Shore? Anyone know anything?

[teamboom]

Anona on Main Street is closed. A new place is opening up there! I don't know what it is yet...(I just noticed while walking across the street)

I never got to try that hot chocolate...

[makanmakan]

I was messing around on the Vancouver Coastal Health webpage today looking at inspection reports at places I've eaten recently and found that if you search Memphis Blues you get a listing for a proposed location at 1629 Lonsdale. Is this new? Are they expanding on to the North Shore? Anyone know anything?

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Yup! They're opening around the Lonsdale and 16th area, if I remember right. They're also looking to the Marine Dr/Fraser River area, where they're currently developing.

[maxmillan]

Capers Community Market is opening Thursday July 20. The first 200 people will receive a Capers bag filled to the brim with grocery items. Be forwarned. People will be lined up way before the 8am opening.

There is also a preview party on Wednesday July 19 from 6pm to 9pm. You need an invitation card but I'm sure if you call them you can get one. Invites were sent to staff, vendors, dignitaries. Throughout July 20 to July 30 there will be something going on such as tastings, demos, info, freebies, etc.

[kontemporary]

video-monster was absolutely packed last night.. very clubbish/hipster scene from what I could see; they have a menu.. very limited, though

[maxmillan]

Capers Community Market is opening Thursday July 20.  The first 200 people will receive a Capers bag filled to the brim with grocery items.  Be forwarned.  People will be lined up way before the 8am opening.

There is also a preview party on Wednesday July 19 from 6pm to 9pm.  You need an invitation card but I'm sure if you call them you can get one.  Invites were sent to staff, vendors, dignitaries.  Throughout July 20 to July 30 there will be something going on such as tastings, demos, info, freebies, etc.

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Oops, forgot to mention, RSVP by July 17 to info@capersmarkets.com

[~cayenne~]

Capers Community Market is opening Thursday July 20.  The first 200 people will receive a Capers bag filled to the brim with grocery items.  Be forwarned.  People will be lined up way before the 8am opening.

There is also a preview party on Wednesday July 19 from 6pm to 9pm.  You need an invitation card but I'm sure if you call them you can get one.  Invites were sent to staff, vendors, dignitaries.  Throughout July 20 to July 30 there will be something going on such as tastings, demos, info, freebies, etc.

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Address?

[Vancitygirl]

Capers Community Market is opening Thursday July 20.  The first 200 people will receive a Capers bag filled to the brim with grocery items.  Be forwarned.  People will be lined up way before the 8am opening.

There is also a preview party on Wednesday July 19 from 6pm to 9pm.  You need an invitation card but I'm sure if you call them you can get one.  Invites were sent to staff, vendors, dignitaries.  Throughout July 20 to July 30 there will be something going on such as tastings, demos, info, freebies, etc.

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Address?

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Cambie at 16th!

[SBonner]

video-monster was absolutely packed last night.. very clubbish/hipster scene from what I could see; they have a menu.. very limited, though

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It was a private party. The owners mentioned to me that they will have a full lunch and dinner menu up and running the middle of this week.

Stephen

[flowbee]

new malaysian restaurant opened this week in new west: tamarind hill. my wife suprised me with takeout from there for dinner

eggplant. despite the pool of oil in the corner, the dish was actually less oily than i've had elsewhere. very nice dried shrimp flavour!

this beef rendang kicked ass! very rich and flavourful. sometimes i find rendang too coconutty, but the coconut in this one was nice and subtle. big pounded stalk of lemongrass is a good sign.

in case you were wondering where this place is...

peek at the takeout menu for a taste of their selection and prices. they can prepare seafood in a lot of different ways. looks promising, and worth a follow-up sit-down visit. i hope new west can sustain an "exotic" asian restaurant like this!

[Wine and Roses]

A brief review of our visit to Joey's new location on West Broadway.

Called ahead, but alas they did not take reservations. Arrived about 7:00 pm to be told we would have an hour wait, “and no there were no seats available at the bar”, “and no we couldn’t stand at the bar as their liquor licence didn't allow that” (fair enough), “and yes they had a lounge but there was a wait for that as well”. All this delivered pleasantly by a group of pretty, though not over-the-top-gorgeous-or-altered young and not so young blonde hostesses. A few looking slightly overwhelmed but most seeming calm enough considering the crowd. We had both valeted our cars already, (a bargain at $4 by the way) and were curious enough to stay and wait.

We being, well we, sidled up to the end of the bar as soon as we were out of eyesight where we had spotted one bar stool figuring that our two butts could hang over one side each and ordered a drink from a very efficient, attractive young female bartender. She gave us a wine list upon request, brought our drinks, then much to our surprise came around the bar, found another bar seat and brought it over. We were delighted and even more delighted when the hour wait turned out to be only 5 minutes and we were whisked away into the dining room. Our one and only complaint about the bar was that we had to pay our tab before moving to our table. A practice I find tacky, inconvenient and designed as far as I’m concerned for no other reason then to be a gratuity grab.

Our server popped by as soon as we were seated, said a quick hello and told us she would be right back. When she did she was adorable! Energetic, pretty and knowledgeable. She made a few suggestions including some really fun drink specials our bartender unfortunately hadn't offered.

All the staff were attentive, dressed impeccably without a belly, tattoo, butt crack or canyons of cleavage showing; made eye contact and really made the evening an enjoyable experience.

The room itself was fine. Crisp lines, earth tones, good lighting - a room designed to be an attractive background, not the leading lady.

Now, you might wonder why I leave the food to last? Probably because it was at best mediocre. A disappointment from the moment we opened our menus. Classic suburban mainstream. A little something for everyone though unfortunately they had pegged everyone at a lower common denominator then the savvy Vancouver diners are, they should have done their research before venturing in from the burbs! Three pastas, all vegetarian (which I thought was a good idea), a bit of steak, a bit of fish, a bit of ribs, a bit of chicken, a stir fry or two. You get the picture, a bit of everything and nothing interesting. I can’t recall the last time I looked at a menu and was this uninspired.

The food, which arrived promptly, was underwhelming in taste and presentation. A chicken starter with bottled Asian sauce was undercooked; our mains were under seasoned, cooked without finesse, and decidedly unmemorable.

Knowing that Joey's has a sibling connection with the Earls chain let me say that Earls has a far better menu, a much more interesting selection and I have never had a meal there that I didn't like.

The wine prices at Joey’s were far higher then at Earls, drink prices about the same. The service was much better, the room better designed and more current, and the dress code was far superior at Joey’s, but all those pluses don't add up to anything without good food.

Would I go back? Perhaps to sit on the gorgeous roof top patio for a couple of drinks. Would I eat there again? Probably not.

Older sibling wins!

[Foodie in Vancouver]

I am glad you had a better experience at Joey's than we did. The food, as you noted is quite blah and not suited to the room nor the location - so close to so many other great dining options.

Here is what happened to us:

We were offered a seat in the lounge because the wait was at least 30 minutes. We went to said lounge where there were many open seats. Once we had ordered our drinks we were ordered out of the lounge - neither of my daughters had their ID with them (when you are in your 20's you leave your wallet at home when the parents are paying!). We exited the lounge to the embarressment of the daughters and the father was dispatched home post-haste to retrieve the wallets and ID.

We were eventually shown to a table for 4 for our group of 6. And told that we would have to wait at least an hour for anything else. So we sat down. The two of us sitting on the banquette sat on a very, very wet seat and subsequently had wet bums for the remainder of the evening.

When we went to order several items were unavailable but we weren't told so until after the orders were placed. So menus were brought back and 2 of us had to choose again. Fair enough but still a theme was developing.

Once dinner arrived only 5 of us were served. Because so many people acted as expediters it took us a while to flag someone down to ask where the missing meal was.

I had ordered the curry and asked for a glass of Riesling with dinner. The waitress informed me that the Riesling wasn't available by the glass. One thing I always notice is wine lists. So I pressed my point and insisted that it was. She held her ground and told me firmly that it wan't and that I had to choose a different wine - perhaps I wanted the Chardonnay. It's good she said. I refused and demanded the menu and pointed out the Riesling by the glass.

At the same time the daughters asked for another drink. Fatal flaw. Said drink was brought to the table and promptly poured all over the father. Now he too was soaked. (Probably why he refused to pick up the bill - he had already been soaked). The waitress scurried off and returned, eventually with a wad of paper napkins. And a new drink.

The mood at the table has turned from celebration to endurance -"Can we finish without further incident?" from the younger of us and from the more senior members we are taking bets on when someone from management will show up to apologize and offer dry cleaning and to comp the meal. Neither group won.

The waitress trys to make amends and offers us free desserts. We don't want them but after a vote agree that it was a gesture on their part and we should at least take them up on it. We order the apple pie which arrives but by this time a bus boy has cleared all our utensils. By the time we flag someone down the ice cream is a puddle. But of all the items we ate, the apple pie was the only thing I can say was worth eating.

Finally at the end of the meal the manager on duty arrives to ask us how things went . I asked him if he really wanted to know because the list was long. He thought about it, took a breath and said yes.

At the end he apologized and said that they had given us free desserts but he wanted to make sure we would return. And then he came back with a $25 gift card. Chances we will use the $25 gift card? Less than zero. But I did the noble thing and gave it to the daughters and told them to have a drink on me. The bill for dinner was $275 which seems steep given that neither of the daughters had a main course. The food was unremarkable, service left a lot to be desired but I assure you, it will be long remembered as a memorable family dinner. So they win in the entertainment factor category.

Granted this occurred in the first weeks after they opened but service aside the food just didn't hit the mark. It was without flavour and there was nothing creative or interesting on the menu that carried through on the plate. Too bad because the location and the room have real promise.

[canucklehead]

I don't think even the "recently opened" excuse can apply here. Joey's have a number of locations that are operating at full steam already. The whole point of these places is that the operations should be replicable and consistent. If it falls short in this measure - then the big redeeming factor in favor of dining at a CFD's has evaporated.