GOODS: Outdoor “Sunwolf Supper” By Butter On The Endive Going Down This July 30th
July 25, 2011
Vancouver | Squamish | Whistler | 778-989-9349 | info@butterontheendive.ca | www.butterontheendive.ca
The GOODS from Butter On The Endive
Squamish, BC | Come enjoy the simple flavours of summer with Chef Owen Lightly as he sources local sea-to-sky ingredients for a four-course, outdoor dining experience on July 30th. Nestled in the Squamish Valley, the Sunwolf property is the perfect place to chill out by the river, adore the mountains, and enjoy a fabulous meal with friends and community. The price is $60 for four-courses of delicious local food. Call 778-238-9600 or email info@butterontheendive to secure your spot. Menu after the jump Read more
GOODS: New Local Caterer “Butter On The Endive” Has Joined The Scout Community
July 23, 2011
We’ve invited local chef Owen Lightly’s new catering company, Butter On The Endive, to join our GOODS section as a recommended local business that is well worth checking out. They’re now a proud member of Scout, and as such we’ll be publishing their news front and center and hosting a page for them on our curated list of independent goodnesses. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Owen for his support of Scout and for making Vancouver a better place to live…
CHECK ALL THE GOODS
DINER: “Chewie’s Steam & Oyster Bar” To Open Up From Kits Beach By Summer’s End
June 28, 2011
by Andrew Morrison | Restaurant trade watchers and bivalve addicts might remember that long-time Rodney’s Oyster House fixture Richard Chew (aka “Chewie”) left the Yaletown icon after five years of shucking toil this past January.
He did so – together with Shine vets Jamie and Mel Haddad – to pick up the original Adesso Bistro space at 2201 Yew Street just up from Kits Beach (vacated last Fall by “Karv”). Chewie gave me a shout over the weekend and spilled the beans:
“Finally, our permits in order for the new space [...] We start our renovations shortly and look to be open by the end of the summer. We are opening a Cajun/Creole-inspired oyster and steam bar.”
If an ex-Rodney’s guy named “Chewie” opening a proper oyster joint next to the beach doesn’t sound quite cool enough, chef Owen Lightly (ex-Araxi) of Butter On The Endive is on board doing the food concept and menu design. Owen is a pretty awesome fellow and a great cook. This is his first big gig as an independent consultant, so I don’t expect he’ll deliver anything short of awesome.
The end result (this September, fingers crossed) will be a 2,300 square footer called Chewie’s Steam & Oyster Bar. Expect 60 seats inside and another 36 on the streetside patio. They’ve just received their development permit. Demolition permits are in the mail.
ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS
Once Mighty Voya At The Loden Closes Its Doors For Good
January 20, 2011
A few months ago I made note of the fact that Voya in the Loden Hotel had quickly gone from one of the city’s most promising restaurants to one that was in big trouble (read the whole thing here). Well, they’re finished. Voya has closed and won’t re-open again, at least not as Voya. If all goes according to plan, a new restaurant will be taking its place in the Spring of this year (which probably means next Fall). I’m told it’ll be a re-imagining of a French bistro, and that Marc-Andre Choquette will be at the helm, and that hotel guests are now being given vouchers to dine at the Glowbal Group’s restaurants.
Really, What The Hell Happened To “Voya” In The Loden Hotel?
September 13, 2010
by Andrew Morrison | Read that sign above again. Don’t focus on the spelling errors. Ignore that a supposedly fine dining restaurant of much repute is advertising a tuna melt, and nevermind that it’s nearly 10pm and the staff have forgotten to take in the lunch sign again. I want to, don’t you?
What the hell happened to Voya?
The much ballyhooed restaurant with so much potential in the Loden Hotel has faded away, slowly and without much of a peep. It’s been nearly two years since it opened, and it’s a mere shadow of what it promised to be when it arrived.
Back then, I was convinced it would be rock solid for years to come. I think I even pegged it for some awards. Why? Because it was chef Marc-Andre Choquette’s first swing at the independence bat after working as Rob Feenie’s chef de cuisine for over a thousand years. His cooking had long ago revealed him to be one of the most promising chefs of his local generation, and what he was doing here was really very superb. I top-tenned it in my annual 2008 list of the best new restaurants (#7 in 2008), and gave it one of the best reviews I’d written that year… Read more
The Last Good Summer Night At Owen Lightly’s Sunwolf Supper
August 18, 2010
photo: Brenda Lowe
by Owen Lightly | My friends Jake, Jess, Slater and Tanya recently purchased the Sunwolf Outdoor Centre. The property, sitting right on the Cheakamus River in the Squamish Valley, includes ten cabins, a conference centre and a small licensed cafe with seating for 50. Not long after the purchase, I went over to check it out. The second I saw the cafe I was in love; it’s nestled under a massive walnut tree with the seating outside on beautifully weathered picnic tables. During the day they provide lunches for sunburned river-rafters and the occasional wandering local. At night the cafe sits empty. Hearing this I had a crazy idea: what if I rented out the space one lovely summer evening and held a dinner? Together with my lovely lady friend Naomi Horii, we would like to invite you to… Read more
Mountainous Foodgasms Erupt Up At “Outstanding In The Field”
July 27, 2010
Michelle and I went up to Whistler last weekend for a wee bit of gastronomic excess with some journalists visiting from the United States (cool cats all). It was bloody hot out, so we borrowed a pretty sweet convertible for the duration, and cranked old Rolling Stones tracks all the way up, singing “Pleased to meet you, won’t you guess my name, wooo-hooo!” Good times…
After checking in at the Westin (hooray for pools), we headed straight for Araxi, this year’s critic’s choice for Best Whistler at the Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards. It and Bearfoot Bistro are my two Whistler reliables, as their respective chefs – Melissa Craig and James Walt – are two of the best in BC. We couldn’t get up in time to enjoy lunch at BB with the American journos, but they regaled us with tales of noon-hour excess. One of them even fell asleep at the table after the lunch had ended! I had the opportunity of being a judge when Melissa won the Canadian Culinary Championships in Toronto a few years back, so I have pretty good idea as to the excellence of what we missed. Sigh…it sounded fantastic, like a fisherman’s “one that got away” tale. There’s always next time…
The 10 of us – happily received in Araxi’s private room by GM Steve Edwards – were led through five courses prepared by James and his crew (including recently minted sous chef Owen Lightly). Several of the best meals I’ve ever had in my life have been enjoyed in that room, and this one was definitely in the running. It began with a tiny, Caprese-esque salad of GME heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil sorbet, gazpacho vinaigrette and nasturtiums, crescendo-ed with a plate of Pemberton Meadows shortribs that had been cooking for 72 hours, and finished with white chocolate-pistachio nougat glacé dealt by pastry chef Aaron Heath. Wine Director (and charmer) Samantha Rahn made some great and sometimes brave pairing moves – like saddling the beef up to a seven year old Austrian Gruner Veltliner – but…if I can channel Hopper for a sec, it was pure poetry, man…poetry. Here’s the menu… Read more
Scout Surf Spot #257: Blogging Meets Hunting And Gathering…
September 9, 2009
(hat tip: Owen Lightly) Former line cook Hank Shaw kills doves for comfort food, grinds meat from a black-tailed buck he shot after an arduous hunt in order to make sausages that glisten, makes and bottles wine, and does so much more on his super extra double kickass blog, Honest-Food.net. If you like great food and loathe supermarkets, welcome home.
Owen Lightly And The Beautiful Peyote Dream Of Street Vendors
August 26, 2009
the stuff of dreams: organic chickens on the left and porchetta (roast pork loin and belly) on the right, both giving up their drippings to potatoes resting below the rotisserie...
By Owen Lightly | Downtown 2am. I am a little drunk and very hungry, making my down Granville Street in a daze. I am looking for something but I don’t know quite what. I haven’t eaten since my staff meal back at the restaurant and that was many, many hours ago. The five beers I drank at the bar on an empty stomach are starting to do a number on my belly. I need food, fast and I don’t feel like pizza. I probably shouldn’t have smoked that peyote as well. Read more
Owen Sips Lightly On The Wood At Kitsilano’s New “Maenam”
June 16, 2009
Maenam barman Ben de Champlain
by Owen Lightly – A few days after the opening of Maenam, I went and hung out with their bar manager Ben de Champlain to check out a couple of the new cocktails.
Like me, Ben comes from the Island. He’s done a lot of traveling and has they eyes of a man who has seen a few things (ask him about his pilgrimage on the “El Camino de Santiago” in Spain).
Ben was a chef for years and only recently got into the bartending racket. His friends Steve (Corner Suite) and JT (Market), who were running the bar at Boneta at the time, knew he was looking to mix things up, so they offered him a shot on the wood there. Now, I’ve seen the bar at Boneta in full swing, and know how crazy it can get, so for him to jump in (and excel) is a testament to his skill and work ethic – all those years behind the line in a hot kitchen must have helped. Read more
