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Five Minutes With Mark Taylor, The Owner & Sommelier At Cru

Say hello to Mark Taylor, sommelier and owner of West Broadway’s award-winning Cru restaurant…

Three things about Granville Rise that makes you want to live there: Walk to work, walk to Granville Island, great restaurants (Cru, West, Vij’s).

The thing that you eat that is bad for you that you will never stop eating? Barbara brand jalapeno cheese puffs.

Default drink/cocktail of choice? Old world wine.

Drink/cocktail you’ll never have again? Jaegar-bomb, or Jaegar-anything for that matter.

Fashion turn-off? Off-season wear (puffy jackets in Summer, shorts in Winter).

Fashion turn-on? Anything that shows off long legs (except shorts in Winter).

The Vancouverite that you admire most? Erwin Doebeli (owner/frontman of the old William Tell).

What is your favourite local patio? Thomas Haas on Broadway.

What trend have you followed that you now regret? New wave.

The dumbest thing that you’ve ever done to your hair? Sunlight liquid.

What are the three things you’d like to change about Vancouver? Housing prices, archaic liquor laws, a Stanley Cup.

Is there a local bartender who could sell you anything? Most bartenders can sell me anything.

Your go to, no-frills place for dinner? La Quercia.

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you? Cinque Terre, Italy.

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years?Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger, On the Road by Jack Kerouac and Mad Magazine.

Who’s personal style do you covet? Tom Ford’s (who).

Where was the last place you traveled to for work or pleasure? Maui.

What makes you the most nervous? My third double-long espresso.

What is your biggest phobia? Keanuphobia.

Where did you go to school? Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The cliche that you overuse? “No pun intended.”

Shoe of choice? Italian.

The different career path that you could have gone on? Hand Model.

Your ancestry? English/Welsh.

Your three favourite films? Big Night (see), 2001: A Space Odyssey (see), Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (see).

Under what circumstances would you join the army? For world peace.

Your most regrettable purchase ever? I once bought a used Dodge Dart.

Your major character flaw? That I once bought a used Dodge Dart.

The character flaw in others that you can’t abide? Self-importance.

How do you know when you can trust someone? Once they’ve helped you puke.

What was the luckiest moment in your life? When Danna said ‘yes’.

What are you the most proud of? Five weeks in and I’m a good dad.

What are you the least proud of? I never really played hockey.

What frustrates you the most about your work? The landlord.

The relatively normal piece of clothing that you believe you’d look the most ridiculous in? A hat. Seriously, have you seen me in a hat?

The talent that you wish you possessed? A photographic memory.

What are you listening to as you answer these questions? David Byrne’s Grown Backwards (listen).

What musical instrument you secretly long to play?
Hammond B3 Organ.

What sport did you give up and why? Sailboarding, because of an imaginary close encounter with a shark.

What is the game that you’re best at? Water gun in the clown’s mouth.

What is the one animal that scares you the most? Urban rodent.

Have you ever fired a gun, and, if so, what were the circumstances?
Water gun in the clown’s mouth.

Scariest situation you’ve ever been in? After a fall on bulletproof ice high up on Spanky’s at Blackcomb with one ski left (the uphill one).

The thing of no monetary value that you own and will keep dearly until you die? A photo of my brother and me, aged 7 & 5, in front of our house in Winnipeg. One of us would become a lawyer, the other a restaurateur.

Describe your tattoos: Comely.

The wildest place you’ve ever been to? Drunk on Raicilla, far up a tropical river south of Peurto Vallarta in a jeep with a bunch of strangers (could work for your “scariest” question as well).

Your first memory? An enormous breast coming right at me.

The first album that made you love music? Joe Cocker’s With A Little Help From My Friends (listen).

The song that you could listen to on repeat for an hour? Beck’s Where It’s At (listen).

The one place that you have the least interest in ever visiting? Jail.

The first three things that you do every morning? Kiss my girls, turn on espresso machine, stare at espresso machine.

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