A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Ciaran Chung & Dolly Reno Get Set To Launch “Wishes + Luck” On Commercial Drive

IMG_4588
It’s cool to watch the arc of a young chef’s career climb from positions on the line to the opening of his/her own restaurant. Such has been the case with Ciaran Chung, who worked his way up the ladder at Boneta and L’Abattoir in Gastown (and a few other places besides) before striking out on his own with partner Dolly Reno.

Dolly was one-half of the recently closed coffee-focused Lear Faye Espresso Kitchen on Commercial Drive. The decision was made to shutter the place earlier this month so that she and Chung could turn it into a dinner-first establishment. Called Wishes + Luck, the new eatery will be open for dinner six nights a week, plus weekend brunches (closed Monday). They could start their lunch service a month or so down the road, but it’s early days yet.

The concept sees uncomplicated and simply expressed food with a coastal bent. At dinner, imagine salmon belly on toast with marscapone; crispy pork bits with picks and peanuts; brown butter beets with vadouvan, yogurt, mint, and idiziabal cheese; and roasted pork with jerk spices and spring peas. For brunch, think three types of eggs benny (avocado, Dungeness, traditional); French Toast with caramel bananas, whipped coconut, and toasted coconut; and house-roasted seed and nut granola with fruits, yogurt and honey. The prices will be in the $4 to $18 range. For drinks, expect a tidy wine/beer list put together by former Boneta workmate Ben de Champlain, while the cocktail card was dreamed up by one of my favourite barkeeps in town, Satoshi Yonemori (ex-Wildebeest).

As far as the renovations are concerned, they’ve kept it pretty simple. The kitchen got some upgrades, but the few aesthetic swaps and flourishes here and there acknowledge that it was a swell space to begin with. The aromatic cedar patio remains as amazing as ever (with its garage door), and the rest you can see below. Wish + Luck is set to open next week (on March 24th, if there are no hiccups).

  • IMG_4606
  • IMG_4597
  • IMG_4595
  • IMG_4603
  • IMG_4594
  • IMG_4607
  • IMG_4592
  • IMG_4604
  • IMG_4600
  • IMG_4608
  • IMG_4602
  • IMG_4598
  • IMG_4588
  • IMG_4605

EXPLORE COMMERCIAL DRIVE

Osteria Elio Volpe Officially Opens In Cambie Street Village

The time has finally come: Osteria Elio Volpe will open at 540 West 17th Avenue this Thursday, March 14th - take a look at what you can expect...

New Chinatown Bar, Meo, Set to Officially Open March 13th

The highly anticipated retro-inspired cocktail bar brought to us by the team behind Bao Bei and Kissa Tanto (Tannis Ling, Joël Watanabe and Alain Chow) is on track to open doors next week.

Good Thief is Coming to Main Street

Scout has toured Good Thief, a new concept by Amélie and Vincent Nguyễn, the sibling duo behind the celebrated Anh and Chi. Although we're sworn to secrecy on the finer points, we can confirm that the "thrilling extension of their vision" will be very, very cool.

Slo Coffee Aiming to Bring a New Pace to the Fraserhood by Summertime

By late spring or early summer, Fraser Street is expected to welcome the new café inspired by the Japanese idea of wabi-sabi and the universal desire to just slow the fuck down.