DINER: Casual West Side “La Ghianda” Set To Serve Its Last Customers This Weekend

by Andrew Morrison | One of our favourite West Side lunch spots is shutting down for good after service this Saturday. The Italian-themed La Ghianda delicatessen at 2083 Alma St. has proven to be too much work for chefs Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme, who also own the nearby multiple award-winning La Quercia, it’s neighbouring L’Officio wine bar, and Yaletown’s new La Pentola Della Quercia. “It’s our fault for not being able to spend enough time there.” Adam told me by phone this afternoon. “That’s the bottom line. We just couldn’t be there as much as we needed to be, and that’s not fair to both our cooks and our customers.” They could keep it as a commissary space (for salumi, etc.), but since it picked up a liquor license back in August it would be a crying shame to see the West Side lose an option for a solid meal with a glass or two. Word has it that Yuji from Yuji’s Japanese Tapas has taken a peek at the address, and that’s pretty exciting. He may have shut his West 4th location nearly two years ago, but he’s been on the lookout for new digs. Wouldn’t a finely tuned 20 seat izakaya be awesome for this space? Either way, I’m sad to see La Ghianda go. After a muddy, Saturday morning hike through the Endowment Lands, their meaty orrechiete with ragu always hit the spot!

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

WELCOME: “La Pentola” In The OPUS Hotel Has Joined The Growing Scout Community

We’ve invited Yaletown’s La Pentola in the OPUS Hotel to join our GOODS section. The Northern Italian-themed restaurant (from the same folks who brought us the award-winning La Quercia) are now proud members of Scout, and as such we will be posting their news in addition to hosting a page for them on our awesome list of goodnesses. We’d like to take this chance to thank them for their support, and for making Vancouver a more delicious city to live in.

ALL THE LOCAL “GOODS”

DINER: Long Awaited “L’Officio” Is (Almost) Ready To Open Next Door To La Quercia

by Andrew Morrison | Yes, it’s true. The second most delayed restaurant in the entire city (1st is the new Vij’s) has passed all its permits and is on the very cusp of opening to the public at 3687 West 4th. I saw the finished L’Officio with my own eyes last night, and the wee 20 seater is clearly ready to go. But there’s a snag, because of course there’s a snag! It might even be open to the public already if they weren’t short three or four workers. They can’t pull an opening off without them. Specifically, they’re looking for at least two wine-savvy front of house people and a pair of cooks. So if you know of any good people with a passion for food and wine who are currently looking for work (sure you do), please instruct them to send their resumes to owners/chefs Adam Pegg or Lucais Syme at info@laquercia.ca as quickly as possible to save us Vancouver diners from further wait. As you can see in the shots above, right now the staff from La Quercia next door are using the little would-be wine bar as a place for staff meals alla famiglia before service. I consider such behaviour to be of a taunting nature. That could be us, damnit! So tell you friends – look under rocks – let’s get this place staffed and good to go. Thank you.

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

DINER: La Ghianda Gets Upgrade, L’Officio Back On Track, And La Pentola Staffs Up

by Andrew Morrison | Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme’s acclaimed West Side lunch spot, La Ghianda, has just secured a liquor license. It has accordingly shuttered for a rapid aesthetic upgrade and will reopen with table service, beers, tumblers of wine and new hours this upcoming Tuesday (11:30am until late). The deli is shrinking to accommodate the expansion – to 9 joinable two tops – but rest assured we’ll still be able to score their awesome sauces, cured meats, pastas and such at retail. As for the menu, it will be a set affair of La Ghianda greatest hits: veal scaloppine, orecchiette bolognese, duck confit, penne arrabiata, and so on. The “no reservations” policy will continue as is. Stoked.

In other news, the long anticipated L’Officio (a seemingly false-started restaurant project next to Syme and Pegg’s award-winning La Quercia), has been resurrected after a lengthy entanglement with red tape. They are on track for an opening this winter – November at the earliest.

And there’s also good news for Syme and Pegg’s upcoming Yaletown adventure, La Pentola Della Quercia (in the Opus Hotel): they’ve hired on former restaurateurs Nathalie and Stephan Meyer as manager and chef respectively. This will be the French couple’s homecoming to the Vancouver restaurant scene. You may remember that they gave up “the life” a few years ago when they closed their restaurant, Saveur, on Thurlow off Robson (it became the Corner Suite Bistro De Luxe and is now home Ensemble). Welcome back!

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

GOODS: “La Quercia” Welcomes Tenuta Sant’Antonio To Supper On The West Side

The intimate La Quercia is located at 3689 West 4th Ave on Vancouver's West Side | 604-676-1007 | www.laquercia.ca

The GOODS from La Quercia

Vancouver, BC | On Wednesday March 14th at 6:30pm, La Quercia will welcome Aldo Steccanella from Italy’s Tenuta Sant’Antonio (makers of fine Amarone, Valpolicella and Soave). We will be pairing six of Aldo’s premium wines with a menu crafted by La Quercia chefs/owners Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme. The menu will reflect the Veneto, offering several classics dishes from the region. The event is nearly sold out already. Tickets are $150, which includes all wines, food, taxes and gratuities. To book, call 604-676-1007. Learn more about the restaurant after the jump… Read more

GOODS: “La Ghianda” At West 4th And Alma Looking For A Full-Time Counterperson

The Ghianda is located at 2083 Alma St. (at West 4th Ave) in Vancouver, BC | 604-566-9559 | LaGhianda.ca

The GOODS from La Ghianda

Vancouver, BC | La Ghianda, the busy little delicatessen (and brother to La Quercia) on the West Side, is currently looking for a full-time counter person. The hours would be Tuesday through Sunday from 10am til 7pm. Resumes can be dropped off in person and in confidence at La Ghianda during opening hours.

GOODS: 3rd Annual Truffle Dinner Set To Go Down At The Award-Winning “La Quercia”

The intimate La Quercia is located at 3689 West 4th Ave on Vancouver's West Side | 604-676-1007 | www.laquercia.ca

The GOODS La Quercia

Vancouver, BC | Our 3rd Annual Truffle Dinner takes place on November 11th. We are very excited about this year’s event as we are partnering with Cru Wine Selections. The truffle dinner will be paired exclusively with the wines of Angelo Gaja (except the reception bubbles). Each of Gaja’s three properties will be represented (Gaja in Piedmont, Ca’Marcanda in Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast, and Pieve Santa Restituta in Montalcino). Tickets are expected to sell out fast ($300 per person), but note that we’ll have white truffles in house for the week leading up to and after the event. A La Carte diners will have the opportunity to sample truffle in a variety of ways, whether it be with egg, Carne Crudo, Tajarin, and so on. Read the special Truffle/Gaja Dinner menu with pairings after the leap… Read more

Chefs Lucais Syme & Adam Pegg Of La Quercia To Open L’Officio

by Andrew Morrison | Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg, the chefs/owners of the award-winning La Quercia (inarguably one of the most respected restaurants in Vancouver), have secured the address next door to their location at 4th and Alma with the aim of turning it into an Italian wine and tapas (stuzzichini) bar.

Syme and Pegg (who also own the nearby La Ghianda) are calling it “L’Officio”, or “The Office”. It is so named because the new project will finally afford them the square footage for an office. The new – and rather small – restaurant at 3687 West 4th (formerly a shop called “Garden Party”) will have separate frontage from La Quercia (though it may umbilically connect at the rear near the kitchen), fewer than 20 seats, many wines poured by the glass, and what I can only imagine will be a menu card of Italian bar bites that will blow us all away. L’Officio is still in its conceptual stage (ie. construction has yet to begin), so we can only ballpark the date for opening in early 2012. Since these fellows aren’t in the business of doing anything half-assed, I’ll wager it’ll be well worth the wait.

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

La Quercia Offshoot La Ghianda Looking To Staff Up This Week…

The intimate La Quercia is located at 3689 West 4th Ave on Vancouver's West Side | 604-676-1007 | www.laquercia.ca

Job posting from Scout supporter La Quercia

Vancouver, BC | La Quercia owners Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme are looking for a good cook or two as well as a counter-person for their new deli/lunch spot, La Ghianda (2083 Alma). Applicants are asked to please drop either establishment with a resume between 10am and 5pm. Read more

West Side’s “La Quercia” To Dish Six Courses Of Alba Truffles

The intimate La Quercia is located at 3689 West 4th Ave on Vancouver's West Side | 604-676-1007 | www.laquercia.ca

News from Scout supporter La Quercia

Vancouver, BC | At 7pm on Friday, November the 19th, La Quercia restaurant will play host to twenty lucky gourmands for an incredible feast of white truffles paired with the Piemontese wines of Angelo Gaja. Chefs Adam Pegg and Lucais Syme have built a menu of classics, highlighting the exquisite nature of this rare tuber that will be served in hedonistic proportions.

James Johnson of CRU distribution, Angelo Gaja’s exclusive importer in British Columbia, will talk about the Piedmont region and the wines of Angelo Gaja. Angelo Gaja is internationally recognized as not just one of Italy’s, but one of the world’s greatest winemakers. Angelo Gaja’s wines have been described by Wine Spectator as “perhaps the finest Italian wines ever made.” Menu and details after the jump… Read more

Syme & Pegg Of “La Quercia” Get Set To Open “La Ghianda” In kits

by Andrew Morrison | Well, this is exciting. Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg, the two owner/chefs of one of my favourite restaurants on the planet, La Quercia, have in recent weeks been quietly going about turning the old Hôt Cuisine space at 2083 Alma (off 4th) into a 16 seat, 900sqft delicatessen called “La Ghianda”. The name, translated from the Italian, means “The Acorn”.

Open from 7:30am to 7:30pm, La Ghianda will serve up to five house-made sandwiches on ciabatta buns (including an application of La Quercia’s famed vitello tonnato), a daily soup, salads, and one or two simple pastas in addition to a selection of cured meats and cheeses. In the morning, they’ll focus on breakfasts of coffee, strudels and croissants. There will retail food items as well, like pasta sauces, dry pastas and high end olive oils and balsamics. Aside from the few communal tables on the floor, a high counter will allow for munching in the window. Read more

“La Quercia” To Host 2nd Annual Truffle Dinner On Friday, Nov. 5

The intimate La Quercia is located at 3689 West 4th Ave on Vancouver's West Side | 604-676-1007 | www.laquercia.ca

News from Scout supporter La Quercia

Vancouver, BC | On Friday, November 5th, chef/owners Lucais Syme and Adam Pegg will prepare their 2nd Annual White Truffle Dinner at the restaurant. We will be partnering with Batasiolo wines and serving a 6 course menu of white truffles from Alba, Italy. There is only one seating for the very special night and space is limited to just 20 guests. The intimate evening begins with a Prosecco reception from 7pm to 7:30pm, after which we will sit for dinner. Wines will include Batasiolo Chardonnay, Dolcetto D’Alba, 2004 Barbaresco, 2001 Barolo (Magnum), 2004 Barolo, as well as a dessert wine. Tickets are $300 per person + tax and gratuity (these are non-refundable, and must be purchased in advance – we expect to sell out quickly). Reservations can be had by calling 604-676-1007. A glimpse of the draft menu after the jump… Read more

4th & Alma’s Superb “La Quercia” Joins The Scout Community

West 4th’s award-winning, super good La Quercia 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 restaurants to check out. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support of our little website. Click ahead to read on or jump directly to their Scout page here… Read more

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