Another Hard Game Of “Guess That Restaurant” (Solved)

In case you missed the last one, which no one answered correctly, it was The Naam. No hints for this one, either. Best of luck to you. Read more

The Message To Vancouver City Hall From Anthony Bourdain…

My friend Miguel recently loaned me his copy of Anthony Bourdain’s new book Medium Raw. It was a bit of a rambler, jumping from his sordid past to his comparatively shining presence, but one passage stuck with me, ringing as it does very applicably to Vancouver in the wake of City Hall’s recent baby steps toward bringing street food to local curbs (led by Councillor Heather Deal). Let me preface it by saying that I’ve been pretty hard on them in recent months – perhaps even hysterically so in some recent media interviews, saying among a great many other unkind things that our municipal government’s “.22 caliber imaginations were insufficient for our .357 Magnum city”. What I haven’t been is very constructive, and I regret that. So I offer this Bourdain snippet in the hope that it might prove useful to them if they really do want to cement Vancouver’s reputation as one of the world’s most exciting food cities. In the middle of discussing the impact of the recession on restaurants in New York, Bourdain writes,

If any good comes out of all the pain and insecurity, I can only hope that the Asian-style food court/hawker center is one of them. This institution is way overdue for an appearance (on a large scale) in America. Scores of inexpensive one-chef/one-specialty business (basically, food stalls) clustered around a “court” of shared tables. When will some shrewd and civic minded investors (perhaps in tandem with their city governments) put aside some parking lot-size spaces (near commercial districts) where operators from many lands can sell their wares? Sharing tables, as in classic fast-food food courts? Why, with our enormous Asian and Latino populations, can’t we have dai pai dong – literally, “big sign street”, the Chinese version of the indigenous food court, like they do in Hong Kong – or hawker centers, like in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur? Or “food streets,” like Hanoi and Saigon? The open-to-the-air “wet” taco vendors and quesadilla-makers of Mexico City?

Food preparation areas could be enclosed, as they are in Singapore, so food handling and sanitation issues can hardly be an unsolvable impediment: Singapore is the most rigorously nanny of the nanny states – with the most vibrant hawker culture. The hawker center could be an answered prayer for every hard-pressed office worker in a hurry, every blue collar worker on a budget, every cop on a lunch hour, as well as obsessive foodies at every income level. “Authenticity”; artisanship; freshness; incredible, unheard of variety – and for cheap? All under one roof? This, let us hope, is at least part of our future – whatever happens.

I usually won’t reference Singapore as a positive (not least because one small narcotics offense comes with a mandatory death sentence), but if they can do it, we most certainly could, too. Indeed, why stop at mobile food trucks?

Award-Winning “Bishop’s” Seeks Dedicated Kitchen Applicants

Job Posting by Scout supporter Bishop’s

Vancouver, BC | Bishop’s Restaurant is looking for dedicated individuals with a professional attitude for the positions of garde manger and entremetier. Please send resumes to bishopsrestaurant@telus.net. Learn more about the restaurant after the jump… Read more

Field Trip Photo: On Packing Up And Getting Back To Work

Our annual late-summer winding road trip through the Okanagan Valley and across the breadth of Vancouver Island to Tofino has come to a close. However much I tried to regularly post via iPhone, reception was pretty spotty in most of the places we went. Admittedly, this was largely by design, plus I was having too much jolly fun to bother. I’m glad to report that dear Westy (pictured above at our Tofino campsite) survived its 21st long haul under our broods’ care and is still not the least bit worse for wear (400,000kms and counting). We have hundreds of lovely photos to compile for a post on our journey (coming soon), but in the shorter term it’s back to the magic grindstone of print deadlines and daily updates right here on Scout. Thanks for sticking with us.

“House Wine” Consultancy Team Joins The Scout Community

Michaela Morris and Michelle Bouffard’s local wine consultancy company House Wine is now a proud member supporter of Scout. We will be publishing their news and press releases on our front page and hosting a page for them in our list of recommended food and wine industry resources. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support of our little website. Click ahead to view their Scout page… Read more

Adesso Teams Up For Dinner With Laughing Stock Vineyards

News from Scout supporter Adesso Bistro

Vancouver, BC | On Thursday, September 9, Adesso Bistro welcomes Jonas Greig, Assistant Winemaker of Laughing Stock Vineyards, for an evening of delicious Italian fare paired with Laughing Stock wines. Executive Chef Sean Sylvestre has crafted a five-course menu that stays true to Adesso’s Liguria-inspired culinary approach. Fresh Qualicum Beach Scallops, Albacore Tuna and Pasta Genovese start the meal, followed by an entrée choice of Lamb Ribeye or rich Vegetarian Risotto. A Mascarpone and Maple Torta with Syrah-poached late summer fruits caps the meal. Each course will showcase a glass of wine – including Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Portfolio (Bordeaux blend) and Syrah – from Naramata’s Laughing Stock Vineyards. Tickets are available by calling the restaurant directly at 604.568.9975. Menu and details after the jump… Read more

Field Trip Photo: On Camping For Food And Throwing Up Rocks

(posted via iPhone) We’re still in Tofino, enjoying the last throes of this, our final expedition of a summer that has been blessedly full of them. Yesterday, after watching the kids try in earnest to dig to China and a healthy twirl through the skateboard park, we spent hours at the beachfront cabin of a friend enjoying a marvellous spread of barbecued spot prawns, freshly shucked oysters, beach-fire smoked chicken, sweet corn, addictive flatbread, local sockeye, cold beer and crisp wine. This was followed by a game of “Welfare Skeet Shooting”, a very sporting endeavour that sees one person throwing up a large rock and the rest trying to boozily pick it off in mid-flight with stones of their own to giggled yells of “pull!” (despite a few close calls, no one was injured). Sated and long-shadowed, we then went on a seriously tripped-out jaunt through the Botanical Gardens for this small but always enthusiastic town’s annual Lantern Festival. The citizenry really get deep into it with costumes, stunning mobiles that look as if they’re about to burst into dangerous flames, and enough rolled and aromatic recreational fun tubes to steer a herd of elephants into forgetting where they put their trunks. Today, everyone in my party is either going surfing, kayaking or engaging in something called yoga, which leaves me largely alone at our beach camp to drink hot coffee and write by an omnipresent fire that seems to have an appetite equal to my own. The weather, which has been drearily reported since we arrived, dawned mercifully wrong once again. The sand is warm and the crows are well-fed in a blue sky that is, at noon, nearly free of clouds. Beyond them, oppressive billions of stars float in waiting. When they pop for this one last time, we will quietly obscure them with our smoke, drinking long and happy and smelling of the place we loathe to bid goodbye.

Scout Jobs: “Tapenade Bistro” Seeks Commis And Chef De Partie

Job posting from Scout supporter Tapenade Bistro

Richmond, BC | Chef Alex Tung of Tapenade Bistro is currently looking for a chef de partie and commis to join his kitchen team. Tapenade Bistro has earned the reputation of being an exceptional neighbourhood bistro with great food, outstanding service and fantastic wine. The menu is steeped in French tradition, though is updated with west coast sensibility and is presented in an approachable and informal setting. The philosophy behind the Tapenade kitchen is to showcase the natural beauty of local, sustainable and seasonal ingredients in an appropriate and sumptuous manner. We’re looking for passionate people who are enthused by hard work, interested in learning all aspects/stations of the kitchen and takes pride in getting it done properly. Please forward your resume to bistrotapenade@gmail.com.

Scout Jobs: Two Chefs & A Table On The Hunt For Servers

Job Posting from Scout supporter Two Chefs And A Table

Vancouver, BC | Two Chefs and a Table are looking for servers to join our open kitchen concept. We offer locally inspired, sourced and quality driven food with a focus on house made ingredients.

We are looking for candidates with:

- a minimum of 3 years serving experience in a similar bistro or upscale dining room
- flexible schedule for Lunch, Brunch and Dinner service
- detailed wine knowledge
- spirit and cocktail basics
- exceptional service style
- excellent communication and organizational skills

Please email your resume to info@twochefsandatable.com (we will not be accepting resumes at the restaurant). To learn more about us, click after the jump… Read more

Field Trip Photo: Smoky Arrival On Tofino’s Mackenzie Beach

(posted via iPhone) Finally seated and cooking cheddar smokies for the kids while my friend Bobby tends to ears of fresh corn in the fire. A food writer colleague and her family are next to us, and we’ve joined our two campsites together for optimum enjoyment. We’re going foraging for chanterelle mushrooms today with cold beers. Good times are in the offing.

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