by Andrew Morrison | Researching for a newspaper story yesterday, I took a look inside Top Chef contender Trevor Bird’s restaurant, Fable, which is nearing completion this week at 1944 West 4th Ave (formerly Refuel). I’ll have lots to say about it in next week’s Westender, so suffice it here to say that the 62 seat Fable will see a farm-to-table concept that will play on Canadian nostalgia, a whole lot of preserving/canning, and a design that has adapted well to what Refuel left behind. Soft opening is scheduled for next week.

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

by Andrew Morrison | I took a little walk-through of the old DB Bistro/Lumiere space at 2551 West Broadway yesterday with its new tenant, Patrick Corsi (we announced that he and partner Alex Tsakumis had picked up the space last month). A couple of things to note. First, the DB Bistro side: Corsi and Tsakumis are making it a revamped version of Kitsilano’s popular Q4 – which is to say rustic Italian with approachable price points – and hope to launch it at the end of the first week of May. The original restaurant on West 4th will permanently close toward the end of this month after some 17 years of operation. While they haven’t ruled out retaining the space for something else, I’m not holding out hope. Original Q4 fans can rest easy: though the menu will get an update from chef Bradford Ellis (who wouldn’t want to play with these amazing kitchens!), it didn’t sound to me like the food concept was going to be fundamentally altered.

They’ve already redone the floors in the dining room, torn out DB’s iconic leather paneling, painted the walls and done lots besides, but the bones remain largely the same (eg. the patio, pillars, two big banquettes, private room, kitchen, bar). I’ve seen renderings of the aesthetic (mixed in with the gallery below), but we’ll have to wait until more has been done to get a better idea as to the overall look. Lunch and dinner will be served 7 days a week, and Saturday/Sunday brunches are a go.

As for the Lumiere side of the operation, I can’t reveal who is taking over just yet (we’ve been asked not to because it’s not yet set in stone). We will say, however, that if it all works out as per the current plan, it won’t be the wine bar that Tsakumis and Corsi were originally planning. They will instead be partnering up with another restaurateur who will be doing a London-style cocktail lounge with food being served from Q4′s kitchen (the impressive Lumiere kitchen will pull double duty as a commissary for a retail line of Q4 food products and for private functions). One thing of particular note is that there will be a broad, diner-level window between the two spaces, so one will presumably be oft-tempted to look a how the grass is growing on the other side.

Have a gander at what I saw yesterday in the shots below. It certainly was a little odd seeing the carcasses of DB Bistro and Lumiere laid so prostrate and bare, and it was definitely sad to hear that the original Q4 (aka Quattro on Fourth) is a goner, but such – I suppose – is the nature of storied addresses and restaurant reincarnations. We’ll have more soon.

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

by Andrew Morrison | Early last month we revealed that restaurateurs James Iranzad (Cartel, Abigail’s Party) and Josh Pape (The Diamond) had secured 120 West Hastings with plans for a new joint arriving in 2012. There was no name or chef at that point (they’d only just signed the lease), so the news was “info-light”. In this week’s copy of the Westender, I have written a piece on the place, revealing a whole bunch of details, including a glance askance at the first menu and cocktail list drafts (mmm, bacon bitters). The paper doesn’t come out until Wednesday, so until then, here are the Cliff notes…

First off, the name is Wildebeest, which I really dig. It comes from the Afrikaans term for “Wild Cattle”, which is what the 17th century settlers to the Cape Of Good Hope called the ugly-looking creatures loping around the back veld. Assume it means Wild Beast (a clean Dutch translation), which is cooler. But I digress. The chef is none other than David Gunawan, who left his executive role at South Granville’s West last year to toil at Belgium’s Michelin-starred In De Wulf. Yup, he’s coming home. They’ve also picked up the sommelier services of Lindsay Ferguson, formerly of Salt Tasting Room (also a co-owner of the Re-Up food truck), not to mention the branding talents of Glasfurd & Walker (see L’Abattoir, Bao Bei, Scout Magazine). They have also confirmed that the basement will see a 40 seat wine lounge, complete with 12 bottle oenomatic machine (stoked). For more, check out the article coming out on Wednesday (I’ll link to it here the moment it goes online). If you need a reminder of the concept, read our earlier notes:

The 100 block of Hastings is on the edge of the DTES proper. It’s been cleaned up a lot in the last year or so, with the scaffolding of renovated buildings having recently being peeled away and SFU Contemporary Arts’ toned and modern buttocks now poking out onto a sizeable stretch of its northern sidewalk. The spot is the main floor of a south side “Heritage B” building just west of Nuba, Meat & Bread, La Taqueria, and Revolver. Newcomers Acme Cafe and Save On Meats are on the next block east (Sean Heather’s Bitter should open there later this month, too). It’s a pretty perfect address, and I trust they got it for a relative song seeing as the block isn’t quite ready – but is nevertheless destined – for prime time. My read is that they couldn’t have chosen any wiser, and that 115 seats won’t be too tricky to fill. After having the rough food concept explained to me, I imagine the kitchen will dish the kind of gutturally expressed but nevertheless refined comfort food that would appeal to carnivorous chefs on their nights off. Think chops, steaks, whole fish, off-cuts, small plates and so on. Think Andrey Durbach, Heidi Noble and Eleanor Chow sitting next to Adam Pegg, Lucais Syme, and Nico Schuermans at the bar drinking proper drinks and being very glad that someone else is doing the cooking. Think Toronto’s Black Hoof and LA’s Animal expressed in Vancouver’s uniquely awesome vernacular (one still hopes for tongue on brioche and BBQ pork belly sandwiches). As for look and feel, I picture a totally feasible set of seeming contradictions: casual but exacting; unpretentious but expert; composed but boisterous; communal but intimate. These guys are two of our best young pros, and they’ll likely attract a top drawer set of staffers, despite the informal set up. The early sketches I’ve seen depict a bar height banquette backing up to the brick and running the length of the wall to create a narrow service corridor between the facing high chairs and the deeply set, 12 seat bar (overseen by Pape, naturally). An open kitchen follows the line of the bar and leads to a proper chef’s table at the rear. It’s a basic composition, but it will lend itself to the desired communal feel of the concept. Back at the front right, the plans call for a short staircase being cut into the floor that will lead down to a 500 sqft, low-ceilinged area with potential for 20 seat private dining. That’s all well and good, but this downstairs space is too cool for exclusivity (reminiscent of a miniaturised Calabash basement). A lot of potential. I’m hoping it morphs into a wine lounge with snacks on unbooked nights.

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

by Andrew Morrison | Good news, gluttony fans. Local restaurateurs James Iranzad (Abigail’s Party, Cartel) and Josh Pape (former Bartender of the Year, co-owner of The Diamond) have picked up the voluminous, 2,400 sqft space at 120 Hastings across from the Woodwards complex with plans for turning it into a new restaurant and bar by February 2012. They’ve only just signed the lease on the newly renovated (read: empty) location, but trades have nevertheless made their assessments and the keys are in hand. The board is set. The pieces are moving. I can’t wait for this one.

The 100 block of Hastings is on the edge of the DTES proper. It’s been cleaned up a lot in the last year or so, with the scaffolding of renovated buildings having recently being peeled away and SFU Contemporary Arts’ toned and modern buttocks now poking out onto a sizeable stretch of its northern sidewalk. The spot is the main floor of a south side “Heritage B” building just west of Nuba, Meat & Bread, La Taqueria, and Revolver. Newcomers Acme Cafe and Save On Meats are on the next block east (Sean Heather’s Bitter should open there later this month, too). It’s a pretty perfect address, and I trust they got it for a relative song seeing as the block isn’t quite ready – but is nevertheless destined – for prime time. My read is that they couldn’t have chosen any wiser, and that 115 seats won’t be too tricky to fill. If it’s one tenth as popular as I reckon it will be, there will be some who will call Pape and Iranzad “gentrifiers” (which will amuse everyone they know).

After having the rough food concept explained to me, I imagine the kitchen will dish the kind of gutturally expressed but nevertheless refined comfort food that would appeal to carnivorous chefs on their nights off. Think chops, steaks, whole fish, off-cuts, small plates and so on. Think Andrey Durbach, Heidi Noble and Eleanor Chow sitting next to Adam Pegg, Lucais Syme, and Nico Schuermans at the bar drinking proper drinks and being very glad that someone else is doing the cooking. Think Toronto’s Black Hoof and LA’s Animal expressed in Vancouver’s uniquely awesome vernacular (one still hopes for tongue on brioche and BBQ pork belly sandwiches). Think Black Sabbath and early Genesis. I don’t know why, but you should probably just think it.

As for look and feel, I picture a totally feasible set of seeming contradictions: casual but exacting; unpretentious but expert; composed but boisterous; communal but intimate. These guys are two of our best young pros, and they’ll likely attract a top drawer set of staffers, despite the informal set up.

The early sketches I’ve seen depict a bar height banquette backing up to the brick and running the length of the wall to create a narrow service corridor between the facing high chairs and the deeply set, 12 seat bar (overseen by Pape, naturally). An open kitchen follows the line of the bar and leads to a proper chef’s table at the rear. It’s a basic composition, but it will lend itself to the desired communal feel of the concept.

Back at the front right, the plans call for a short staircase being cut into the floor that will lead down to a 500 sqft, low-ceilinged area with potential for 20 seat private dining. That’s all well and good, but this downstairs space is too cool for exclusivity (reminiscent of a miniaturised Calabash basement). A lot of potential. I’m hoping it morphs into a wine lounge with snacks on unbooked nights.

Ooh…

You can stay updated on Scout in the coming weeks as both the chef and the name are confirmed. In the meantime, behold the Rolls Royce passing the Miata above (gentrifiers!) and extend your morning office procrastination by discovering what other delicious things there are to look forward to by clicking below…

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS

by Andrew Morrison | I’ve had to sit on this news through its rumour stage – that Dale Mackay, owner/chef of Ensemble and recent Top Chef Canada victor, was opening a second restaurant this December just a block or so from his Thurlow St. address – but Mackay confirmed to me this morning that it is definitely in the works for December. I can’t say exactly where just yet, nor can I tell you the name (it’s still being registered), but the concept sounds like a BBQ and beer-heavy pub that will serve the kind of fare that you’d normally associate with the milieu (nachos, burgers, bangers, pot pies, etc) only elevated to a level where just about everything is made in house from scratch and by hand. It’ll be sports heavy, too, with some fifteen 45″ flat screen TVs. Helming the kitchen will be chef de cuisine Bradley Hendrickson (now at Ensemble), with former DB Bistro sous chefs Alex Amos (recently Mission Hill) and Greg Reid (recently Quail’s Gate) in support. There will be a 40 foot bar of reclaimed wood to tend, and another 80 seats in an expansive dining room (with mezzanine). Running the show will be current Ensemble barman Christopher Cho, with operations back-up from the lovely and talented Ali Maher, formerly the maitre’d at DB Bistro. More soon.

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS