Jack Keating
Province

Beachfront dining will become a reality at English Bay by the summer of 2011.

That was assured when the Vancouver Parks Board voted 6-1 Monday night to approve a staff report recommending Cactus Restaurants Ltd. be allowed to build a restaurant and concession stand beachside near the corner of Denman and Davie streets.

The company will pay the parks board $240,000 per year in rent, plus an additional four per cent of all revenue over $4 million annually.

The restaurant will be called the Cactus Club Cafe and replace the present concession stand. Under the terms of the agreement, the building would also have a takeout concession stand with 48 outdoor seats.

The restaurant would offer “casual fine dining,” with 79 indoor seats and 70 outdoor seats.

“I think it’s going to be a great fit for the West End community,” said parks board chairman Aaron Jasper.

“Locals and visitors get to have a nice dining experience and all the money — the $1.2 million over five years guaranteed — is money put back into all the programs and services that people have come to expect from the Vancouver Parks Board.”

Construction would begin in September and the new restaurant would be open in June of 2011.

“The win-win, of course, is that we’ve designed the restaurant. The company builds it. We own it– the people of Vancouver own it,” Jasper said.

The sole Green Party park commissioner voted against the proposal.

© Copyright (c) The Province

Tiffany Crawford
Sun

An upscale restaurant with a concession stand offering affordable takeout is expected to open on English Bay in June of 2011 after a Vancouver park board vote Monday night.

Commissioners voted 6-1 in favour of a deal with Cactus Restaurants Ltd. that will bring the board $240,000 in rent per year.

The Cactus Club restaurant will replace the concession stand on the beachfront near Davie and Denman Streets, which netted the board $63,000 in 2009.

Under the deal, the board will own the building while Cactus Restaurants pays the rent and the estimated $5-million cost of building the new eatery.

Park board chair Aaron Jasper, who initially opposed the project because of concerns it would be too pricey for people, said Monday the deal was a “win-win” for the city and for Cactus Club.

“We never wanted to see a high-end restaurant. It was always one that was affordable,” he said. “I think the fact that there is a concession [stand] as a part of this facility is a direct reflection of that recognition.”

The main floor of the restaurant will be 4,212 square feet, with 79 seats and a 70-seat rooftop outdoor patio. The concession stand will serve cheaper takeout items.

Vancouver celebrity chef Rob Feenie will oversee the menu for both the restaurant and concession.

Richard Jaffrey, president and founder of Cactus Restaurants, said prices at the concession will be comparable to those at the old concession stand.

“I think for comparable items there will be comparable pricing. Obviously it will be a year from now and we will have to review it, but affordability is going to be a big concern.”

Commissioner Stuart Mac-Kinnon cast the lone vote against the project, saying “corporate branding” on public beaches goes against park board principles.

“We’ll be looking to Sunset, Second Beach, Locarno and even Spanish Banks next. Will we be seeing a Red Lobster or an Earls or even a McDonald’s at those locations?” said MacKinnon.

“Is this what we want at our beaches? I think not.”

The Cactus Restaurant Group was established in 1988 and is Vancouver owned and operated. There are 20 locations in B.C. and Alberta which generate annual sales of more than $115 million.

The agreement will be subject to review by the board after five years.

Cactus will begin construction after Labour Day with the intention of opening in June 2011.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Frank Luba
Province

West End residents and visitors will both get a new, upscale beachside eatery — if the Vancouver park board approves a lucrative deal with Cactus Restaurants Ltd. when it meets tomorrow.

The restaurant would replace the present concession stand near the corner of Denman and Davie streets.

Under the deal, the parent company of the popular Cactus Club Cafe chain — which has 20 locations in B.C. and Alberta, generating $115 million annually in sales — would give the park board a guaranteed annual rent of $240,000, plus an additional four per cent of all revenues over $4 million annually.

The current concession had a net profit of $63,000 in 2009.

Board chairman Aaron Jasper told The Province he had concerns about the proposed English Bay Bistro when he was with the West End Residents Association, but he supports the proposal now.

“They build it, we own it and they operate it there,” said Jasper. “It’s actually a really good deal.

“These are revenues that we can put back into the services we provide,” he said. “For us, it’s a win-win.”

The proposed agreement would be reviewed after the first five years, with Cactus having the option for additional five-year options.

The board would also reimburse Cactus $50,000 plus financing costs annually for five years for site improvements outside the leased area.

The restaurant would have 79 indoor seats, 70 outdoor seats and 48 outdoor seats for patrons that wish to use the new facility’s takeout concession.

According to a staff report, “they intend to offer lower-priced fare with a far greater selection than traditional concession fare.”

Construction would begin after Labour Day and the new restaurant would open in June 2011.

There was also positive news about two other park board operations, the Bloedel Conservatory and the Stanley Park Children’s Farmyard, which were facing closures because of budget shortfalls.

Jasper said several groups attended a question-and-answer session about the Bloedel Conservatory, and the Van Dusen Garden Association is working on a proposal to take over the facility with the Friends of Bloedel group.

Another four groups attended an information session about the farmyard.

“I am optimistic we are going to see some proposals,” said Jasper. Deadline for accepting those proposals is April 30.

© Copyright (c) The Province

Executive chef David Wong likes to create foods from scratch and makes his own tofu

Mia Stainsby
Sun

AT A GLANCE

ORU

Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel, 1038 Canada Place

604-695-5500.

www.orucuisine.com

Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner daily.

Overall: 4

Food: F4

Ambience: F4

Service: Ff4

Price: $$/$$$

No wonder I fell in love: It’s a James Cheng building — the Fairmont Pacific Rim.

And inside, the Oru dining room, designed by MGB Architecture+ Design, stretches out long and lean like a bowling alley. If your table is at the far end, you might feel tempted to try a Kate Moss strut.

A 180-foot origami ( “oru” means to bend or fold, like origami) light fixture marches along the ceiling and one side of the room is glass; the other side is a gleaming kitchen, wide open for viewing.

The light sculpture is crafted by Vancouver origami master Joseph Wu, who was fascinated with paper since he was three. As an adult, he gave up his job as a scientist to work with paper.

The executive chef for the hotel is David Wong and his Pan-Asian menu is a difficult choice for a couple of reasons. It can be a mish-mashy mosaic with no cohesive “there” there and secondly, it takes time to master skills and techniques from so many culinary cultures.

But in the end, what matters is how diners feel about their experience, and I liked mine. Wong is passionate about this style of food and some of it is plucked from his food-loving family. He makes his own tofu, sambal, hoisin and XO sauce (a spicy dried seafood sauce); he also makes his own Chinese steamed buns as well as his own chow fun, won ton and ramen noodles. He tried making Vietnamese baguette for the lunchtime bahn mi subs, but hasn’t yet mastered the unique texture, though he’s working at it. He wants to have a run at the finicky soba noodle, too.

“There’s absolute dedication, passion and excitement for the cooks when we make it ourselves,” says Wong. “There’s no pride in bringing in products. We don’t need to make tofu but it’s exciting watching the soy milk congeal. Any time we can make things more authentic, we will do it.” Next, he wants to bring in whole pigs to butcher and make his own charcuterie. He says his grandmother gave him a solid foundation in traditional Cantonese cooking, but his mother was more adventurous.

“I really have such fond memories of my youth and time in the kitchen with them. We’d dig clams every weekend, forage watercress in god-forsaken places. We had the biggest garden in Nanaimo. Oh my God, so many fruit trees,” he says. You can see where he got the fire in his belly to cook.

The standout dish for me was the house-smoked B.C. sablefish claypot with lap chong (Chinese sausage) fried rice, snap peas, cloud ear and shiitake mushrooms ($24). The fish was gorgeous, visually, and in the mouth. Tom kha talay ($24) is a Thai soup with beautiful local spot prawns, squid, mussels, and a coconut broth with lemon grass and galangal. Dungeness crab and corn soup ($11) was smooth with a definite crab presence. Tuna tataki with avocado, toasted sesame puree, and soy-ginger vinaigrette ($12) was fresh and vibrant.

Grilled Korean beef short rib ($14) could have been more succulent and Korean bibimbap (a rice bowl with sauteed julienned vegetables) tended to be a dry style. Wong couldn’t decide whether to go dry or wet (dolsot) with the bibimbap and says he’ll change it up for a wetter texture with a runnier egg, which would mix with the rice like a sauce.

The menu says it’s served in a sizzling bowl, which would normally be stone, good for cooking a raw egg, but it came in a porcelain bowl.

Desserts are Pan-Asian tweaks (gentle) on western desserts. A neatly formed bread pudding comes with jackfruit ice cream (delicately flavoured) and a ganache chocolate tart gets a lift with cardamom ice cream. Nice!

There’s also a cafe (Giovane). It looks like a winner and I’ll be writing a separate review down the road. I can’t wait to try the sugar buns I’ve heard about.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Frequent changes on the menu, as well as transformed ‘off’ cuts

Mia Stainsby
Sun

AT A GLANCE

Corner suite bistro deluxe

850 Thurlow St.,604-569-3415

Overall: 3

Food: ****

Ambience: *** 1/2

Service: *** 1/2

Price: $$

www.thecornersuite.com

Open daily for lunch and dinner; brunch on Sundays.

Many have learned the definition of insanity the hard way by opening a restaurant. The owners of Corner Suite Bistro Deluxe came close.

Renovation hell delayed the opening of Corner Suite Bistro Deluxe by eight months. Then three days before opening last month, sliding in for the Olympics, the chef, Anthony Sedlak, left — a serious buzz kill considering his allure as a Food Network star.

“It was a bit of a scramble with the Olympics starting,” says Andre McGillvray, who co-owns the restaurant with Steve Da Cruz. “We had some serious reinventing to do.”

They didn’t have their kitchen until the day before opening, but Jason Liezert (who formerly ran Niche in Victoria) jumped into the deep end when promoted to take over the kitchen. He has worked in two Michelin-starred restaurants (a one and a two) in London and at Tofino’s Wickaninnish Inn under Rod Butters; a month at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in the Napa Valley showed him how the top-flight chef runs his French bistro.

A French bistro absorbs the texture of its neighbourhood and one block off Robson on Thurlow, Corner Bistro gets mixed traffic. However, an intense McGillvray is in front of house, caring, only like an owner can.

Over at the bar, Da Cruz is mixing up a storm. It seems he’s created the longest cocktail list in North America and on it are the classics, contemporary recipes and ones from “guest” bartenders. Upon sampling one I have to say it was nicely balanced and elegant.

Guests are taking to the extra long cheese list ($5 a pop). It’s longer than usual for a restaurant (notwithstanding Le Petit Chavignol which is fuelled by cheese).

Bistro dishes shouldn’t be show-offs except when the food hits the mouth with a seduction of quality ingredients and technical knowhow. It has to be succulent and bold but not brash; apart from a couple of dishes I tried over two visits, Corner Suite food is like that.

Arctic char (with chorizo, potato, clams) cooked medium rare revealed the best it could be. The country terrine with onion marmalade was another winner. Cassoulet (with duck) with poached egg and foie gras would have won me had there been more. (Someone sitting next to our table kept scraping the bottom of their dish, desperate for more.)

The “24/7” is a daily two-course special for $24.07. One evening, it was a salad with bacon, cheese and buttermilk dressing; the second course was a half guinea hen with hazelnut whiskey sauce. The leg was stuffed with cranberry bread pudding; on the side, a silky olive oil pomme puree. All delicious.

Steak and fries with blue cheese butter presented a professional dilemma. The steak was nicely cooked, simply. The fries were an awful lot like McDonald’s fries — in other words, um, I liked them. Upon inquiring, I found they were McCain’s. But Liezert will be making the fries fresh very soon. As much as I liked the no-grease, perky McDonald’s-like fries, I think that would be a good move.

I had my first crispy pig’s ear with sweetbreads, onion soubise, shallot and parsley sauce. I’m sorry it wasn’t objectionable, but I don’t think I’ll ever comfortably eat ears or lips without fearing an Animal Farm revenge.

A seafood chowder and flour-less chocolate torte were the weak spots for me.

The chowder needed clarity and the torte was too much like fudge.

Liezert says he’ll be changing the menu frequently and tweaking it weekly. “I want to transform ‘off’ cuts into delicious dishes. I just brought in a pig’s head so I’m making head cheese,” he said.

Animal Farm, I thought.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Music, decor and consulting chef are authentic, but the food is uneven

MIA STAINSBY
Sun

It was easy to get excited, culinarily, with all things Spanish — Spain being the home of El Bulli, the restaurant that set molecular gastronomy afire.

So when Cafe Barcelona opened in Vancouver’s entertainment centre, I charged in for some tempranillo and tapas.

All the better, the consulting chef was a hot young Spaniard — Benat Ormaetxea — who’d won Spain’s Young Chef of the Year Award a number of years ago and had led the brigade in the Guggenheim Bilbao restaurant before opening his own place.

Between anticipation and eating, there was a bit of a tectonic rift.

Yes, it’s authentic Spanish tapas. The music, as well as the night and day mural of Barcelona, almost delivers you there, but the food could not sustain my enthusiasm.

There are some delicious bites, but enough are off-key to have lost me.

To add to this, servers ( often, it’s the owner, Roger Creixams, who trained as a mechanical engineer) are friendly, welcoming and well meaning, but they drop the ball when it gets busy ( and it did).

Wine glasses sat empty, and the diner next to me had to wave his glass for wine service.

Steel napkin holders dispense teeny napkins.

And the room was too cold, which might whip up appetites but certainly detracts from atmosphere.

In the bathroom, I wasn’t thrilled to see blue water in the toilet bowl.

I’ll say one thing, though. If you keep your drinks to a minimum, you can have an ample meal for less than $ 50.

Some are tapas ( hot and cold) and some are pintxos ( smaller and snack-sized).

I enjoyed the Basque sausages ( from Oyama Sausage on Granville Island).

The tortilla de patatas ( potato and onion omelette) was tepid in temperature but not in flavour.

The cabra con piquillo ( goat cheese, anchovy and piquillo pepper) was lively and had bite.

The gambras ajillo ( prawns with garlic, parsley) was fresh and nicely cooked.

Croquetas ( with ham or tuna) had a nice breaded exterior, but the bechamel filling was pasty and there was little evidence of any protein.

A grilled red pepper and eggplant with goat cheese was oily, limp and tepid.

Xaca ( crab, mayo, red pepper, egg, salmon roe) had very little crab flavour.

The two desserts I tried were both problematic. A crème brûlé was too liquid and tooth-achey sweet; and tarta Santiago, an almond pie, was bland, if not stale.

Still, the restaurant wasn’t suffering. It wasn’t the young trendoid crowd ( heavens no, when you consider the table next to us where the gents were unrelenting with lame sexual innuendo jokes), but the place was nearly full by the time we left.

I’m thinking, maybe they ought to look to Mis Trucos, another Spanish tapas joint, on Davie Street — where the chef is local and not even Spanish — for lessons in combining Spain with Vancouver’s hunger for fresh, pure flavours.

taste of nations: We

MIA STAINSBY
Sun

I’m tempted to call Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie the Pied Piper of Chinatown, leading a flock of hipsters into Chinatown but I’ve learned this fairy tale figure is based on a sinister Medieval figure associated with missing children, so I won’t.

But Bao Bei is, sure enough, rekindling a new kind of nightlife in this vintage neighbourhood that’s been trumped by Richmond as epicentre of Chinese food. Good Chinese food is scattered throughout the Metro area now.

Calling Bao Bei a brasserie allows the kitchen wiggle room from traditional Chinese food; the owner, a chic 33-year-old, last tended bar at the Chambar.

With considerable sang-froid, Tannis Ling hatched the idea for Bao Bei when others were paralysed by recessionary heebiejeebies.

“ Everyone was freaked out but I thought it was a good opportunity to open a good restaurant,” says Ling. “ Chinatown was kind of due for this kind of thing.”

As you approach the restaurant, a retro neon sign pays homage to the historical Chinatown. I love the whimsical modern interpretation of a Chinese restaurant and a couple of upbeat servers warm you right up. ( One is Paul Grunberg, who was floor manager at Market at Shangri-La Hotel and worked with Ling at Chambar.) Inside, a granny collection of silver-plated trays winks at you from an entrance wall; a parade of kitchen knives, painted ghostly white, marches down the length of one wall. A blow-up black-and-white photograph hangs at the back of the room: it’s Ling’s dad in a high school band in Hong Kong playing at some country dance.

“ Dad had mixed feelings about it but in the end, he’s quite flattered. When he brings friends, the first thing he says is ‘ Go to the back. Go to the back,’ ” Ling says.

Joel Watanabe heads the kitchen. He’s cooked at Bin 942, Araxi and was the first chef at La Brasserie.

One might wonder about his expertise in cooking Chinese. Well, he hasn’t mastered all aspects but the thought of some of his tweaked Chinese dishes do make my mouth water.

Traditionalists might balk at the tapas-sized portions and compare them with the large family-style servings of most Chinese restaurants. This isn’t for you if that’s what you’re looking for. But the majority of dishes at Bao Bei are less than $ 10.

I’m glad I made a couple of visits because I wasn’t blown away by the food on the first. I hit the best dishes on the second round: those are the sesame flatbread with braised pork butt, Asian pear, pickled onions and mustard green ( shao bing). So-o good. Another is a riff on bath mi ( Vietnamese sub) that Ling had at a street stall in Vietnam . The Chinese sausage( made specially for Bao Bei), omelette, carrot, daikon, cucumber and ginger garlic mayo met in most delightful way, la Vietnamese Egg McMuffin. ( Bath mi trung.)

“ Crispy fishies,” a snack of dried tiny, whole anchovies with peanuts isn’t typically Western but common snack food in Asian communities. “ I’m trying to start a trend; I’m urging people to keep ordering it,” she says, pushing the dish on hesitant diners. “ I’m going to keep goin’ at it until it becomes trendy.” My partner and I ate every speck of it. We’re converts.

Steamed buns with braised shortribs, hoisin, scallions, pickled cucumber and roasted peanuts ( mantou) are like soft, filled tacos. Very good.

Watanabe isn’t strong on skills that take time to acquire, such as making Chinese dumplings. His steamed prawn and chive dumplings fell apart at a touch; and fish balls in a fish noodle soup were too dense and heavy.

Spice-marinated tea eggs are as exciting as boiled eggs. The squid, with pork belly, chili, and bok choy, were tender but too oily for me.

For dessert, the fried banana has a light, crispy batter, not oily as many I’ve come across.

For now, Ling oversees the bar program, something she sought to escape in opening her own place. “ I’ll train someone to take it over,” she says.

She incorporates herbs from an apothecary shop into some of her drinks. “ It’s stuff my mom gave us as kids. We’re spinning them into classic cocktails with a twist.” Dried plum water is one such ingredient.

“ I didn’t want to go ‘ mixology crazy.’ I did that for 10 years. Been there, done that. I want to stay simple and accessible.” ( See my blog vancouversun. com/ miastainsby for her Kai Yeun Sour, named after an aunt.)

Bao Bei has added pizzazz to Chinatown. Opening soon, just down the street, the Keefer Bar, will be adding to the energy.

AT a glance

Bao Bei
163 Keefer St., 604-688-0876.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 5: 30 p. m. to midnight.
www. bao-bei. ca.
Overall: ***1/2
Food: ***1/2
Ambience: ***1/2
Service: ***1/2
Price: $/$$

These gourmet tortas require a firm grasp and a hearty appetite, but are well worth the effort and the price

Mia Stainsby
Sun

AT A GLANCE

Las Tortas

3353 Cambie St., 604-569-1402. www.lastortas.ca.

Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to around 9 p.m.

­­­­­—————

A lot of you think that when Duffin’s Donuts disappeared from Main Street a few years ago, so too did the best Mexican tortas in town.

The family moved the business to 41st and Knight, and is still making a multiplicity of tortas, which are Mexican sandwiches, as well as doughnuts and fried chicken and Vietnamese and Chinese food. (I know, I know, but that’s what I love about the Vancouver food scene.)

Now, there’s a new kid in town. This one’s on Cambie Street — handily, one block away from the Park Theatre.

Although one of my favourite things in life is to become catatonic on my couch with the fireplace on, wine in glass, Sauvagine cheese nearby while watching a movie, I still like going out to the movies.

More often than not, my husband can’t get out of the office in a timely fashion and it’s a breathless race to grab a bite and meet our friends.

Las Tortas is the perfect place for a grab-and-run meal (and by that, I don’t mean dine and dash) if you’re heading to The Park. I’ve even snuck one into the theatre for my late-arriving husband and he gobbled it up in the dark.

These tortas cost more than others you might have encountered ($6.95 to $9.95) but they’re probably twice the size and require a firm grip and large appetite. I could only eat half of one and my partner uncharacteristically declined it after finishing his.

I don’t know if any torta can be called gourmet (as Las Tortas does) but it certainly is a decent and filling fast meal.

The place is tiny but clean and bright. You order at the counter, ticking off your order on a brown bag. The tortas contain lots of veggies (combinations of tomato, cabbage, pickled red onion, guacamole) and refried beans; they use three cheeses — Oaxaca (semi-hard), panela (like soft mozzarella with more flavour) and Monterey Jack.

I tried the Chorisqueso (house-made chorizo with Oaxaca cheese) and Cubana (roasted pork, turkey, chicken schnitzel, panela cheese), both very flavourful and fresh tasting. But I’m telling you, they’re a mittful.

The buns are freshly made daily at a bakery that one of the partners owns. There are 13 kinds.

Since there’s minimal ambience and very few tables, it’s best for takeout; they also do free deliveries within three kilometres for a minimum $15 order. And sorry, there’s no liquor licence, so no beer to wash down your big sandwich.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Enthusiastic kitchen crew creates menu for the unfussy foodie at a price that’s right for any budget

Mia Stainsby
Sun

AT A GLANCE

Eight 1/2

151 Eighth Ave., 604-568-2703.

www.eightandahalf.caOpen daily, 12 to midnight

Overall: 3 1/2

Food: f3 1/2

Ambience: f3 1/2

Service: ff3

Eight ½ is on East 8th Avenue, halfway down the block. The name, you’ll note, isn’t just a Fellini film (the muse for the current musical Nine). Eight ½ is also a geographic mnemonic device should your iPhone app come up short on where to eat. It opened last March after its predecessor, Soma, fell on hard times.

Just the history of this heritage building is enough to warrant a visit. It acquired its quirky appearance when, in 1917, the top two floors were skidded there (on logs) from its nearby birthplace on Kingsway.

It’s purportedly the oldest house in Mount Pleasant and once housed a brothel as well as bed and breakfast. Bain’s Chocolates also operated out of there and the founders of Purdy’s Chocolates learned chocolate-making from the owner.

Today, the economy is affecting our appetites and the food at Eight ½ is succour for an ill at ease world.

“The food doesn’t have too many components. It’s simple and comfortable,” says day-time chef Alison Koenka. “Everyone in the kitchen is so enthusiastic about having people enjoy food and not be too fussy. It’s cared about and shows how much we enjoy what we do.”

The food can be uneven, but the “cared-about” comment rings true and the price is right -mains go down easy -$8.50 to $10.50 for pizzas; $12.50 to $17.50 for entrees.

Flavours can be weak, in spite of quality ingredients (local, grassfed organic beef, Oceanwise seafood). In one case, though, muted flavour helped: Roasted beet salad with goat cheese, potato nuggets and candied pecan came with a blueberry compote with only a faint taste of blueberries -mercifully.

It’s not surprising that the most asked-for dish is the mac and cheese with Parmesan, bocconcini, brie and mascarpone cheeses. Nice, but it could be softer and velvetier. Pesto prawn thin-crust pizza featured lovely prawns, but it would have shone with a more assertive contribution from the pesto. An Arctic char was cooked very nicely and the Cajun spices didn’t overwhelm as I had feared. A topper of fresh salsa appeared a little wilted, though.

The “Latin” bouillabaisse (thanks to a couple of Latin Americans in the kitchen) was absolutely delicious and good to the last spoonful.

The stuffed organic chicken was lovely and most definitely not a factory hen.

Keeping with the comfort food theme, some Quebecois dishes (split pea soup with maple-smoked bacon and ham hock, tourtiere, tarte au sucre) will join the menu soon.

I gotta say, Eight ½ is a cosy, comfortable place.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun