Westender Review #253: “Finer Diner ‘Cafeteria’ Opens Strong”

My review of Main St.’s new Cafeteria in this week’s Westender:

by Andrew Morrison | It’s not uncommon for eagerly anticipated new restaurants to fall flat on their faces. The service can be skittish, the food unevenly prepared, and the vibe altogether unsettled, but that’s only to be expected with new rooms. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt, usually by paying them three separate visits. One can’t expect (though it’s entirely reasonable to demand) perfection during the first few weeks. Mistakes — even a horrendous one, or two — are the norm. One dines accordingly, as if in a minefield.

That said, on very rare occasions, a restaurant comes along that’s a genuine pleasure to review straight out of the gate. Cafeteria is one of those. Having opened two weeks ago at Main and 11th, it’s without any noticeable flaws and drunk on that most elusive of hospitality cocktails: experience, mixed with confidence, and good luck. One visit was enough, but I went twice because I liked it so much. Read more

Seen In Vancouver #240: Already Lining Up At Main’s “Cafeteria”

A quick shot from the line-up at the new restaurant Cafeteria (Main and 11th) taken mid-rush in its first week. I’ve been a couple times now, once because it’s sort of my job and twice because I particularly enjoy gorgonzola and mustard creams bathing my schnitzel. They don’t take reservations (the easily inconvenienced have my condolences).

Durbach & Stewart Softly Open “Cafeteria” At 2702 Main Street

Cafeteria will open its doors softly to friends and family tonight (public this weekend). The new 30 seat restaurant comes to us from industry vets Andrey Durbach and Chris Stewart. As you may recall, they sold their L’Altro Buca restaurant (previously Parkside) in the West End to Carol and Luciano Loi of Adesso Bistro a couple of months ago in order to purchase the Ping’s spot at 2702 Main (details all here).

The focus won’t be cuisine-specific like their two other restaurants, La Buca (Italian) and Pied-a-Terre (French), and much like the original Parkside, the menu will travel quite a bit. They’re aiming for “super casual”, with no dish large or small trespassing beyond the $20 mark. In the end, what I imagine we’ll end up seeing is a playground for chef Durbach’s creativity, which is never a bad thing. All told, I’d count this as a huge win for Main.

I popped in before the doors were unlocked earlier tonight. Click through the menu and the room below…

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

Durbach & Stewart Sell L’Altro Buca & Buy Ping’s Cafe On Main

Chris Stewart and Andrey Durbach (interview) have sold their L’Altro Buca restaurant (formerly Parkside) on Haro St. in the West End to Luciano Loi, who once upon a time owned a Ligurian trat in Kits called Adesso Bistro (now a fratty surf joint called KarV). The ink on the sale has only been dry for a few days, but it’s been long enough for Stewart and Durbach to pounce on a new space – Ping’s Cafe at 2702 Main Street.

We’re working under the assumption that Luciano will likely reprise his regional Italian theme in the L’Altro Buca location (another Adesso Bistro perhaps) but what Stewart and Durbach are going to do on Main is not a total lock. Though this only just happened this morning and they don’t take possession until May 18th, we can tell you that they’re looking to execute a quick turnaround with an opening date set for mid-June. Read more

L’Altro Buca’s Fresh, Affordable Approach To Post-Olympic Dining

News from Scout supporter L’Altro Buca

Vancouver, BC | With Olympic mayhem and meals served in tents now a distant memory, those looking to revel in local fare and fresh flavours at exceptional value can take refuge at Westend favourite, L’Altro Buca. For the next few weeks, chef Andrey Durbach is highlighting the arrival of springtime ingredients with a new menu featuring twenty items under twenty-five dollars, family-style dining options, and prix fixe price breaks. Diners can choose from items such as salad of king crab served with wild prawns, avocado and tomato and basil dressing; grilled asparagus served with housemade pork cheek bacon and poached egg, finished with Parmigiano Reggiano; handmade fazzoletti pasta with osso buco ragu and gremolata; roasted Rossdown Farms chicken served with olive oil mashed potato, lemon, rosemary, confit garlic and fresh baby artichokes. Read more

Celebrate The Arrival of 2010 With Down To Earth Decadence

News from Scout supporters Pied-a-Terre, La Buca, and L’Altro Buca

Vancouver, BC | On December 31st, L’Altro Buca, Pied-à-Terre and La Buca will be opening their doors for those looking to ring in the New Year with classic comfort food in one of three of Andrey Durbach’s award winning dining rooms. Read more

Deana Lancaster Does Shrooms And Eats Horse at L’Altro Buca

by Deana Lancaster | It’s autumn. Curled and broken leaves layer the sidewalk like sodden paper mâché, and a cement sky is gray with rain. It’s my favourite season, but still, it weighs heavily. Time to pull the crock-pot from its hiding place behind the toaster and load it with browned meat, fistfuls of herbs, and wild mushrooms that taste of the forest they were found in.

Even better: to slip into the quiet, art deco elegance of L’Altro Buca in the West End to satisfy my craving for crispy-skinned meats and the lusty flavours of fungi at Andrey Durbach’s annual Game and Wild Mushroom Festival. The ingredients that Durbach sources – locally foraged morels, chanterelles, matsutake, porcini and field mushrooms – are more varied and pristine than what I can dig up (figuratively, if not literally), and his cooking is much more refined than I can accomplish (with crock-pot or not). Read more

Chef Andrey Durbach Gets Down To Business In Buenos Aires…

This is Dispatch Number Two in a series of several posts from Andrey Durbach, co-owner/chef of La Buca, L’Altro Buca, and Pied-a-Terre. Durbach is guest-blogging for us as he eats and drinks his way through Argentina, land of quality beef, very good and inexpensive wine, and a culture that deeply values the marriage of the two. In his first post, Durbach was mugged at gunpoint upon arrival in the South American country. Now recovered, the chef gets down to business. If you’re a vegetarian, you might consider taking the day off. Read more

Vancouver Chef Mugged At Gunpoint Arriving In Argentina

This is Dispatch Number One in a series of several posts from co-owner chef Andrey Durbach of La Buca, L’Altro Buca, and Pied-a-Terre. As we announced the other day, Durbach will be intermittently guest-blogging for us over the next few weeks as he eats and drinks his way through Argentina, a land of quality beef, very good and inexpensive wine, and a culture that deeply values the marriage of the two. He plans to spend about 10 days sampling different steaks in Buenos Aires, and then take a week touring  wine country with a possible side trip to Uruguay. It has begun, with a fright… Read more

Andrey Durbach To Argentina In Search Of The Perfect Steak…

Andrey Durbach, co-owner/chef of La Buca, L’Altro Buca, and Pied-a-Terre, will be intermittently guest-blogging for us over the next few weeks as he eats and drinks his way through Argentina, a land of quality beef, very good and inexpensive wine, and a culture that deeply values the marriage of the two. He plans to spend about 10 days sampling different steaks in Buenos Aires, and then take a week in wine country with a possible side trip to Uruguay. Look for his dispatches soon.

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