Nude Nu News

[Vancitygirl]

First night open, the food was great, service was attentive, friendly. Of course the view and the patio are killer. For the bar food alone I wil be back late night to twill a few drinks and munch (it's basically old style Earls appies for the same price but way better) I look forward to going back and trying some more of the mains.

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[*Deborah*]

First night open, the food was great, service was attentive, friendly. Of course the view and the patio are killer.  For the bar food alone I wil be back late night to twill a few drinks and munch (it's basically old style Earls appies for the same price but way better)  I look forward to going back and trying some more of the mains.

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So it appears some people can get it right from the start! Excellent!

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If you refer to Watermark, it's a slightly different situation--not to be an apologist, and I haven't eaten at either restaurant yet--it may have been Nu's first publicly open day, but according to reports upthread, they have had a few days' "soft" open, which is a luxury that Watermark did not have.

And I don't know how pleased Messrs. Kambolis and Clarke will be to be compared to "old-style Earl's appies", even if better...

Edited to adjust recalcitrant quotes.

Edited August 25, 2005 by *Deborah* (log)

[privatejet]

If you refer to Watermark, it's a slightly different situation--not to be an apologist, and I haven't eaten at either restaurant yet--it may have been Nu's first publicly open day, but according to reports upthread, they have had a few days' "soft" open, which is a luxury that Watermark did not have.

And I don't know how pleased Messrs. Kambolis and Clarke will be to be compared to "old-style Earl's appies", even if better...

Edited to adjust recalcitrant quotes.

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Well having a "soft" opening to iron out kinks, is neither a luxury nor a neccessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part.

And perhaps, the best way to describe the bar food ("for the hand" on the menu) is to say they are updated takes on some classics.

[*Deborah*]

Well having a "soft" opening to iron out kinks, is neither a luxury nor a neccessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part.

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I disagree. If you followed the Watermark thread, you will know that the restaurant was more than a month late in opening, for one reason and another.

I would say that staying closed to the public once one has an occupancy permit, on a delayed and much-anticipated opening, and not making hay while, literally, the sun shines (in this town, in heavy tourist season) qualifies as a luxury. As in, yes, a very expensive choice. Whether it would have been a better choice given the uneven reviews, of course, is open to debate.

[nwyles]

I think a soft opening is always needed. It is not a luxury but an oppourtuity to give the staff a fighting chance once the doors open for real. As you only have one chance to make a first immpression, dry runs or soft opening are crucial.

Do as much "role playing" and procedure manual review you want but people need to get in there and work things out. There are a million things that need to be worked out.

Although the designer laid out a beautiful bussing station, it will really be for the bussers to get in there and stock it and see how it really works. Perhaps the cupboards are too small for the tablecloths and the cutlery racks do not fit etc. That takes a couple of days.

Whether the restaurant was one month late or one year late, an extra couple of days to work things out are a drop in the bucket in the overall lifetime of the restaurant.

[privatejet]

Well having a "soft" opening to iron out kinks, is neither a luxury nor a neccessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part.

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I disagree. If you followed the Watermark thread, you will know that the restaurant was more than a month late in opening, for one reason and another.

I would say that staying closed to the public once one has an occupancy permit, on a delayed and much-anticipated opening, and not making hay while, literally, the sun shines (in this town, in heavy tourist season) qualifies as a luxury. As in, yes, a very expensive choice. Whether it would have been a better choice given the uneven reviews, of course, is open to debate.

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Not to belabour the point but if one goes back in the Nu thread, Nu was aiming for an early June opening so they are roughly 2-3 months late. And in an overall multi-million dollar restaurant opening budget, I don't think a few days of a soft opening is a really significant $ item. So I think it's perhaps a reflection the proprietor's priorities.

[jamiemaw]

Perhaps even more important than a soft opening (Nu) versus a hard landing (Watermark), is the depth of diligence involved in conceiving, developing and ultimately birthing the menus.

While one restaurant cobbled together a proforma, low food cost menu, the other spent more than half a year in development. I note that the post I placed well upthread (#51 - that described the menu development) was from May 14th. At that time, Nu chefs Clark and Belcham had already been at work for months, and had the good sense to throw away a good number of their earlier experiments.

It's that investment of time and effort, I suspect, that will determine where people (especially locals) want to be on that rainy Tuesday in November, when the view disappears at 5:30 and we focus on what's really on our plate.

[Leonard]

As the operations manager for C and Nu, I would like to offer everyone in this forum a warm hello. Thank you to all who have stumbled upon Nu or sought us out in the last couple of days.

Our first, official day of business is September 2nd. Everything culminating towards these dates is a pre-opening, or "dress rehearsal". During this time, we will be serving a limited number of guests. We will gradually increase that number when we feel we have achieved our level of guest experience.

A previous e-Gulleteer noted that a soft opening is neither a luxury nor a necessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part. I couldn't have written it better myself. Mssrs. Kambolis, Clark, Belcham and I measure what we do thoughtfully and carefully, never rushing in where "angels fear to tread". It has been our choice, and our pleasure, to launch Nu with a whimper, and not a bang.

Broadway mega musicals don't open gloriously on Broadway, they open quietly in Poughkeepsie, NY, first. The ones that seem to succeed do, anyway.

So, until September 2nd, enjoy the dress rehearsal.

Yours in service,

Leonard

[kurtisk]

Good on ya!

A hearty congrats & wishing you well!

k.

[Daddy-A]

Are you open for a "soft" lunch? Maybe I'll sneak away tomorrow from packing for vacation

My wife doesn't lurk here, right?

Thanks for the input Leonard. I thought the comparison between Nu and Watermark was far too flattering to the latter.

A.

[Leonard]

Good on ya!

A hearty congrats & wishing you well!

k.

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Many thanks!

Leonard

[Leonard]

Are you open for a "soft" lunch?  Maybe I'll sneak away tomorrow from packing for vacation

My wife doesn't lurk here, right?

Thanks for the input Leonard.  I thought the comparison between Nu and Watermark was far too flattering to the latter. 

A.

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We are going to open on Monday for Lunch.

See you soon,

Leonard

NU GM

[Andrew Morrison]

Just arrived back from an introductory visit. First impression, this is certainly more A Room With a View than Where Angels Fear to Tread. The 70's yacht theme comment I can understand, but the design goes far deeper than a stigmatic shot across the bow. Leonard was kind enough to give me a tour of the kitchen and the room, showing me little motifs and fixtures that are hardly noticeable but show admirable attention to detail. The designer, Dominic Ratte, used a wide variety of materials in tracing the room, and if you look carefully you'll find leather, moleskin, marble, black glass, steel, and vinyl all accenting a nautical palette of blue and turquoise hues that I found very pleasing to the eye. It might not be for everyone, but I thought the room was playful, relaxed, and wonderfully sure of itself.

I loved the menu. Sure the food was excellent, but I'm talking about the actual menu. It isn't in a folder or printed on card stock, but rather folded up neatly like the kind of love notes we all once passed in school. Once you get beyond that particular bit of cuteness you notice the prices. Low, baby. Loooow. Ling...try $3.90 for creme brulee. As always with a staff overseen by Leonard, the service was extraordinarily attentive and friendly. Though I won't go into what I had, I will say that the liquid cheddar filled crackers with apple smoked bacon on top ($5.40) are worth the trip alone. Sounds weird, but trust me on this.

Edited August 29, 2005 by editor@waiterblog (log)

[makanmakan]

yayy!! everything sounds very exciting so far! we are taking our london visitors there for dinner on friday night, after coctails and nibblies at C!! looking very forward to it all!

[Leonard]

yayy!!  everything sounds very exciting so far!  we are taking our london visitors there for dinner on friday night, after coctails and nibblies at C!!  looking very forward to it all!

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Please introduce yourself to me when you arrive at NU.

Sincerely,

Leonard J Nakonechny

NU & C

General Manager

[makanmakan]

yayy!!  everything sounds very exciting so far!  we are taking our london visitors there for dinner on friday night, after coctails and nibblies at C!!  looking very forward to it all!

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Please introduce yourself to me when you arrive at NU.

Sincerely,

Leonard J Nakonechny

NU & C

General Manager

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will do, leonard. see you on friday!

[Macha]

As the operations manager for C and Nu, I would like to offer everyone in this forum a warm hello. Thank you to all who have stumbled upon Nu or sought us out in the last couple of days.

Our first, official day of business is September 2nd. Everything culminating towards these dates is a pre-opening, or "dress rehearsal". During this time, we will be serving a limited number of guests. We will gradually increase that number when we feel we have achieved our level of guest experience.

A previous e-Gulleteer noted that a soft opening is neither a luxury nor a necessity but simply a choice on the proprietor's part. I couldn't have written it better myself. Mssrs. Kambolis, Clark, Belcham and I measure what we do thoughtfully and carefully, never rushing in where "angels fear to tread". It has been our choice, and our pleasure, to launch Nu with a whimper, and not a bang.

Broadway mega musicals don't open gloriously on Broadway, they open quietly in Poughkeepsie, NY, first. The ones that seem to succeed do, anyway.

So, until September 2nd, enjoy the dress rehearsal.

Yours in service,

Leonard

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I had the chance last week to wander into NU (thinking it was already open due to the amount of people), and was very impressed with the hostess. She offered a menu that I could take with me. In following conversations around the city, I was pleased that there is much excitement about NU opening. As the menu is still in my purse, I have been showing your menu to every one that is curious. Again I would like to thank Leonard and Harry for the sneak peak after the excellent C Sustainability Luncheon and look forward to my first visit to NU.

[Vancitygirl]

Is the menu available anywhere on line? I would love to see it.

[jamiemaw]

Is the menu available anywhere on line?  I would love to see it.

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There's a partial description of it on Page 2, Post # 51 of this thread.

[slkinsey]

I suppose it must say something about the difference in demographics that no one has yet brought up the Yiddish "nu" meaning "well. . ." or "so?" That would likely have been the first thing mentioned in the NY forum.

[lauraf]

Fist, a big thank you to Leonard, Edwyn, and Jay, Giovanni and Linda behind the bar for a fantastic introduction to Nu last night.

I rarely give detailed food reviews, verbal or written, for three main reasons:

1) I don't make notes, trusting instead my steel-trap memory, a decision that at the time is usually informed by martini consumption, which also leads to significantly dulled recall the next day. 2) I know what I like but make little pretention to know how to review food or decor in a meaningful way and often have little to say except that 'it was good'. 3) am hesitant to broadcast my honest views about establishments which I may inevitably call upon as an advertising account.

But! I emerged triumphant last night with notes galore, worthy comments whirling in my head, and a resulting impression that, honestly delivered, I doubt will bias the restaurant against me in any negative way. (Plus, I don't actually work with them anyway.)

We decided to forgo our table reservation in favour of the bar, now properly positioned so that, as Giovanni put it, the patrons, rather than the bar staff, get to enjoy the platinum view of False Creek. Indeed, the whole transformation of the room from its previous incarnation was clearly a well-conceived, laborious, but ultimately impressive success. I was poured a beautiful martini while being told about the 'tentacle' problem of the bar - must have been thinking too much about sister restaurant's signature octopus bacon, as I finally realized he was describing the 'technical' problem of repositioning the bar against the expanse of glass facing the water - there is no underground plumbing, so everything, including bar taps, is piped in from above, and even the bottle racks are lazy susans suspended from the ceiling.

We were served complimentary sumac-spiced crisps - the 'non-fatal' version of sumac, I was assured, a decision that I assured them would definitely help for repeat business. Keeping Andrew M's recommendation of the Liquid Cheddar Filled Crackers in mind, we ordered that, the Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken Wings, Roasted Bone Marrow and the Crimini Mushroom and Brie Pithiviers with Asparagus.

The Crackers were the first to arrive, five whimiscal little pockets lined up oozing with aged white cheddar, and topped with a small oblong of thick bacon. Surprising but unpretentious, perfect mouth poppers.

Then the Mushroom and Brie Pithiviers - essentially a puff pastry fiiled with crimini mushrooms and melting brie, atop five perfectly cooked spears of green asparagus and drizzled with a creamy mushroom reduction. Without the sauce, it would have been very good but unremarkable - the sauce was an essential component to elevate this beyond standard brie-in-puff-pastry purgatory. When our astute bar staff noticed that my husband had managed to score most of the reduction on his plate and I was not very discreetly swiping his plate with my fork, I was served a side bowl of the deeply flavoured mushroom sauce. I ended up spooning it into my mouth alone - while too rich to serve as a whole bowl of soup, it would make a beautiful amuse bouche on its own in a little espresso cup with a bit of garnish of some sort.

My partner insisted on trying the Bone Marrow - two pieces of veal bones with the marrow removed, mixed with - oh dang, forgot to write it down! . . . I remember bread crumbs being part of it . . . and stuffed back in. We used little spoons to scoop out the marrow mixture - intense flavour, thick, fatty mouthfeel. It would have been overwhelming on its own, but was perfectly paired with juliennes of crisp green apple and leaf parsley that cut through the fat and offered a nice acidic counterpart. And if we had a dog, we would have bagged the bones to take home.

Finally, the Chicken Wings. Not wings at all, it seemed, but drummettes served with a hands-friendly stripped bone a la rack of lamb. To be honest, by this time I had eaten, let's see, um, cheese with bacon, cheese with mushroom cream sauce, and animal bone fat, so the next combination of cheese and chicken wasn't received with as much salivary glee as if it has been my first course. Nevertheless, the combination of the smooth and tangy goat cheese with the tenderness of the chicken meat and the Basque-region chili-and-vinegar marinade was a winner.

Too full to contemplate diving into the main plates, we opted instead to finish off with a light dessert - the lemon tart was our pick. It arrived hand in hand with a complimentary serving of the chocolate mousse - thank you Leonard! - both accompanied with fresh blackberries and a berry compote.

Throughout our meal, we watched as the bar staff maintained a smoothly kinetic control over the serious mixology their drinks required. The bar was stocked with fresh fruits (including half a whole watermelon), herbs and syrups to be mixed, muddled and shaken into gold-rimmed glasses. The commitment to taking a serious culinary approach to cocktails was reflected by the fact the drinks were mixed not on a stainless steel counter, but a professional kitchen-sized wooden cutting board. Nice touch.

At 8:30pm, the lights went down, the music up, and inside and out it looked and felt like a hip private lounge, serving really, really good food. The lack of signage out front - which at first occurred to me to be an unfinished design component - started to seem like a good thing.

[mtigges]

Thought people might be interested, Don Genova makes a couple of comments on Nu today.

http://pacificpalate.typepad.com/

[coinoisseur]

Here's the view of NU from our flybridge as we moored at the False Creek Yacht Club for the Grand Opening Party last week. What a convenient location what a great party Thanks Harry, Leonard and all....

[jamiemaw]

Mia Stainsby gave Nu a very positive review in today's Queue section of The vancouver Sun. In fact, it's the most laudatory recommendation I can remember from Mia. Unfortunately the link is behind a subscriber screen, but it's a worthwhile investment to buy the papaer today.

J.

[privatejet]

I'm pretty sure this link to the Sun review is public

Sun Review