OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: Vancouver Urban Winery Is Looking For A Staff Accountant

Vancouver Urban Winery is located at 55 Dunlevy Ave in Vancouver BC | 604-566-9463 |vancouverurbanwinery.com

The GOODS from Vancouver Urban Winery

Vancouver, BC | Vancouver Urban Winery is looking for an energetic, organized and passionate individual to fill the role of staff accountant. This position is available only for candidates with full cycle accounting experience. The Winery is a dynamic, exciting, and fast-pace environment with a growing team. As staff accountant, you will be an important asset to the success of the business. Entrepreneurial attitude and ability to enjoy a glass of wine are also key personality traits. Details after the jump… Read more

GOODS: “Vancouver Urban Winery” Pairs With Railtown Cafe For Tasting Bar Pop-Up

Vancouver Urban Winery is located at 55 Dunlevy Ave in Vancouver BC | 604-566-9463 |vancouverurbanwinery.com

The GOODS from Vancouver Urban Winery

Vancouver, BC | Vancouver Urban Winery is hosting a Pop-Up Tasting Bar this Saturday, April 20th (4pm to 11pm) featuring Railtown Cafe and Salt Spring Vineyards’ Blackberry Port. Vancouver Urban Winery’s tasting bar features 36 wines taps with wines from all over BC. Guests can enjoy one of our signature tasting flights or select their favorite wines from our extensive on-tap list. Wines will be enjoyed with gourmet eats from Railtown Cafe and we are launching the release of our first Port on-tap; 2011 Blackberry “Port” from Salt Spring Vineyards. Book a reservation 604-566-9463, walk-ins welcome. Read more

DINER: “Two Chefs” To Become Southern Fried Chicken Shack Pop-Up In Early March

From March 6th to the 8th, Railtown’s Two Chefs and a Table (305 Alexander) will open as the “2 Chefs Chicken Shack”. The pop-up will see a Southern-style Fried Chicken joint serving nothing but fried chicken and Southern-style sides. From the inbox:

The menu will match up the chicken with classic Southern sides like coleslaw, mac & cheese, beans and potato wedges, all done Two Chefs’ style. And since eating fried chicken is a thirsty business, Two Chefs Chicken Shack will also be serving up bourbon cocktails and a special craft beer list to quench the thirst–or cool the heat for those who choose to test themselves against the Hot Chicken.

True to Southern tradition, all the chicken will be skillet fried and served up three ways: whole, half or Chicken and Waffles. The birds will be exclusively sourced from Maple Hills Farm who raise some of best medication and antibiotic-free around just down the road in Abbotsford, BC.

“We’ve been scheming on a Fried Chicken Shack pop-up restaurant for a while,” said Karl Gregg. “When the idea finally came to us to just do it as a pop-up in our original Railtown Bistro, we decided to jump at it. We love Southern Food and are looking forward going all Southern.”

[drools, half wishes the change was permanent]

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

DINER: Two Industry Veterans Set To Open “Cuchillo” Eatery On The DTES This Spring

by Andrew Morrison | Restaurant wonks and food lovers will be happy to learn that the main floor of the old building at 261 Powell St. (next to Bean Around The World and Big Lou’s Butcher Shop) has been picked up by a pair of industry veterans who are aiming to turn the raw shell of the place into a 93 seat restaurant by the end of Spring 2013.

Those same folks will remember chef Stu Irving (above right) from his days at Cobre, Wild Rice, Bin 941 and, most recently, The Diamond, but they’ll have to go way back to recall his business partner, John Cooper (left above). Cooper used to work with Irving at Raintree in its 1990s Gastown heyday, back when the now long defunct restaurant was nurturing the early careers of Michael Dinn (JoieFarm), Tyson Reimer (Peckinpah), Andy Crimp (ex-Chambar), Karen Barnaby (Fish House), and many more (it shuttered in 2002). He only just returned to the front of house this year.

Their new project is called Cuchillo (Spanish for “Knife”). The food concept sounds like a slightly more health-conscious evolution of Irving’s work at Cobre, which closed last year after its lease came to an end (it is now another location of Rodney’s Oyster House). From what I understand, the plates will be modern interpretations and presentations of dishes that would be recognized by the peoples and cuisines of Latin America, so if I were to give it a name, I’d call it Modern Pan-Latin. Though there will be plenty of meat on the menu, expect to see some vegan/vegetarian stuff on it as well, albeit without any lifestyle harpery (Cooper is a vegetarian, but he’s not the least bit evangelical about it).

I don’t have an exact date for the building’s beginnings, but it’s in Japantown (DTES) and looks like it has 1890-1910 bones; lots of thick wooden beams and – get this – grey brick, not red. There are several SRO apartments on the three upper floors, the side windows of which can be seen up through the cool-looking, angled skylights casting natural light on one side of the soon-to-be dining room (these look like transparent buttresses). The whole was recently redone from top to bottom and given a seismic treatment, so there’s a naked corset of reinforcing steel wrapping around the room’s waist. From the schematics (see below), you can see a lounge area that includes an 18 seat bar facing a 30 seat communal table leading to a dining room proper opposite Irving’s open kitchen (the design is being done by Mary Lou Rudakewich from M Studios). The whole thing is long and thin with very high ceilings; rather reminiscent of Wildebeest. According to Irving and Cooper, there hasn’t been a business in the space for roughly 30 years (they don’t know much about it except that it was a Japanese bath-house at one point).

It’s just a few blocks from my house, so I’m very interested to see how they do here. It’s a big room on a stretch of the Downtown Eastside that hasn’t seen an interesting restaurant in some time (the food program at the No. 5 Orange notwithsanding), so it will have its challenges. And despite Irving’s long history of cooking interesting things in the neighbourhood and how Cooper’s Mom was once upon a time Miss Gastown in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade (she used to own Maggie’s Boiler Room on Powell in the 1970′s), the pair will almost certainly be labelled “gentrifiers” by the many NIMBYs who claim to represent the DTES. When I remind Irving of this, he bridles. “I grew up white trash and clawed for everything I have. How could people possibly make that argument?” When I tell him that people will still make the argument regardless of his upbringing, his intentions, or his history of toil in the community, he just shrugs his shoulders and says, “I cook honest comfort food, nothing fancy.”

Fat Dragon, as we just saw, couldn’t make it past nine months in these parts. Will Cuchillo fare differently? That remains to be seen, but for the sake of my appetite I certainly hope so. There are stark differences that work in Cuchillo’s favour, chief among these being that it’s on the 200 block of Powell, and not the 500 block. And there might as well be a chasm between the two addresses. Fat Dragon was pretty well isolated where it was, and Cuchillo is much more accessible; closer to Main, closer to Gore, closer to the hordes of Gastown, and on the immediate doorstep of Railtown’s countless small business offices. I reckon it has a significant leg up on account of its location. But we’ll see. They don’t even have their building permit yet, and opening day is a long time away. In the meantime, take a look…

ALL ANTICIPATED OPENINGS

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Andrew Morrison lives and works in Vancouver as editor-in-chief of Scout and National Referee & Judge at the Gold Medal Plates and Canadian Culinary Championships. He also contributes regularly to a wide range of publications, radio programs, and television shows on local food, culture and travel; collects inexpensive things; and enjoys rare birds, skateboards, cocktails, shoes, good pastas, many songs, and the smell of camp fires.

MAKING STUFF: The Ladies Of “Cadeaux” Share An Awesome Recipe For Sugarplums

‘Tis the season for dinner parties and impromptu visits. It’s therefore smart to have a few treats tucked away for friends and neighbours who might drop in on short notice, not to mention a few quickie recipes on hand in case you’re caught unprepared or you yourself don’t want to arrive empty handed at a party. With those scenarios in mind we’re going to be posting a few solutions between now and Christmas. We’re starting with good one from our friends at Cadeaux Bakery. Sugarplums anyone? Read more

GOODS: Railtown’s “Two Chefs” To Ring In New Year With A Prohibition-Style Evening

Two Chefs And A Table is located at 305 Alexander Street | 778- 233-1303 | www.twochefsandatable.com

The GOODS from Two Chefs And A Table

Vancouver, BC | Two Chefs and a Table is going back to the Roaring Twenties for one night with a speakeasy-style dinner to celebrate the New Year. The menu, drinks and décor will harken back to the wild days of prohibition, though guests can dine easy in the knowledge that the police won’t be breaking down the door…unless they have a hankering for Waldorf-style appetizers and classic cocktails.

There will be two ways to enjoy this special evening — as a $35 three-course set menu served from 5:30 to 8:30pm for those whose evenings include multiple stops, and a 9:00pm seating for the midnight celebrations which will feature a $75 five-course menu with paired wine and cocktail selections (prices do not include tax and gratuity). The five-course menu will also be available by special request during the earlier seating.

The mood for the night will be set with period music, privacy curtains and candles for a true Prohibition feel. What better way to ring in the New Year than with great food and drink, great company and an intimate, unique event to remember? Get all the details about the restaurant after the jump… Read more

GOODS: Powell Street’s “Cadeaux Bakery” Is Prepped & Ready For 1st Holiday Season

Cadeaux Bakery is located at 172 Powell Street in Vancouver, BC | 604-608-8889 | www.cadeauxbakery.com

The GOODS from Cadeaux Bakery

Vancouver, BC| Santa Claus is coming in for an appearance on Sunday December 16th from 11am to 3pm. He’ll be taking pictures with the kids and sharing hot chocolate and freshly baked cookies. It’s the perfect day to come and check out all that Cadeaux has to offer this season from Christmas cookies and Yule Logs to sticky toffee pudding and foodie presents galore. For gift boxes, this year we have a $100 gift option and a $50 option. Take a look after the leap to see the details of each and more… Read more

GOODS: “Vancouver Urban Winery” Set To Throw Special Lobster Supper In Railtown

Vancouver Urban Winery is located at 55 Dunlevy Ave in Vancouver BC | 604-566-9463 |vancouverurbanwinery.com

The GOODS from Vancouver Urban Winery

Vancouver, BC | Join us on the cellar floor of Vancouver Urban Winery, in the historic Railtown neighbourhood, for a very special Railtown Supper Party edition. This unique edition will feature LobsterMatt, a passionate East Coast lobster cooker. Born and raised in the Maritimes, LobsterMatt has mastered the art of preparing lobster. Come join us for some fresh lobster, flown in from the Maritimes with LobsterMatt. Each lobster portion will be paired with wines hand-picked from the Winery’s rotating selection of wine-on-tap. All the details (plus a link to tickets) after the jump… Read more

GOODS: Railtown’s Big Lou’s Butcher Shop Prepped And Ready For The Holiday Season

Big Lou's Butcher Shop is located at 269 Powell Street in Vancouver, BC | 604-566-9229 | www.biglousbutchershop.com

The GOODS from Big Lou’s

Vancouver, BC | Once again this year, Big Lou’s Butcher Shop is working closely with local farms and suppliers to offer an enormous range of delicious local poultry, seasonal roasts and great food gift ideas so that our customers can have a holiday season filled with great taste. From fantastic unmedicated turkeys from Two Rivers Meats or Rossdown Farms to gift baskets and culinary stocking stuffers, Big Lou’s is the destination for lovers of artisanal meats and butchery. Get all the details after the jump… Read more

GOODS: Railtown’s Two Chefs Set To Plate The “Dishes Our Grandparents Taught Us”

Two Chefs And A Table is located at 305 Alexander Street | 778- 233-1303 | www.twochefsandatable.com

The GOODS from Two Chefs And A Table

Vancouver, BC | With the spirit of the Holidays in the air, Two Chefs and a Table is readying for its next Wine Drinker Dinner with a distinctly family-oriented theme. On Thursday December 6th, Dishes our Grandparents Taught Us will feature a multi-course meal of dishes that the Two Chefs team first learned in their family kitchens.

Grandparents’ houses are most often remembered warmly, and it’s no surprise that the five-course menu includes comforting selections like Oxtail Soup, Fried Chicken and Braised Chuck Steak. Of course, in this city of immigrants, the cuisines represented span Southeast Asian Satays, to French and Italian and even the classic Canadiana of a Maple Pecan Tart. Check out the menu after the leap… Read more

GOODS: Vancouver Urban Winery Releases Their Own “Roaring Twenties” Wine Label

Vancouver Urban Winery is located at 55 Dunlevy Ave in Vancouver BC | 604-566-9463 |vancouverurbanwinery.com

The GOODS from Vancouver Urban Winery

Vancouver, BC | Vancouver Urban Winery officially has launched their first wine label: Roaring Twenties Wine Co.. Currently available throughout the BC market, the label will initially release a Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand and a Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina, both with suggested retail of $14.99.

Roaring Twenties Wine Co. is a local brand with an international story. While creating a typical winery can take several years – vines need to ripen, grapes crushed and fermented, and finally, finished wines produced – the unique concept of an “urban” winery offers a new perspective where grapes and finished wines are sourced elsewhere. Without a vineyard in sight, young wine lovers and travel enthusiasts Steve Thorp and Mike Macquisten set out on a wine hunt of their own. With a third friend in tow to document the adventure on film, the crew headed to the two wine regions they have always enjoyed drinking from most. Read more

GOODS: “Union Wood & Supply Co.” Adds Several Newly Rendered Pieces For Home

Union Wood & Company is located at 503 Railway St. in Vancouver, BC | 604-675-9033 | www.unionwoodco.com

The GOODS from Union Wood & Supply Co.

Vancouver, BC | In the last few weeks over at Union Wood Company, and with the Christmas season’s custom furniture rush in full swing, there’s been a nice mix of goods arriving in the Railtown woodshop.

1) A super clean industrial dining table being the finishing touch on a condo in a repurposed church off Main St.
2) A hand painted sign salvaged from an auto shop on Clark St turned into a rugged side table
3) Patch-work style bed frame(yes with cubbies) put together using several sources of vintage barn wood from the Fraser Valley

To see more works, follow everyday on Instagram. We also just finished a video with Andrew Norton. Check it out…

Learn more about the company after the jump… Read more

GOODS: “Union Wood & Supply Co.” Adds Several Newly Discovered Pieces For Home

Union Wood & Supply Company is located at 503 Railway St. in Vancouver, BC | 604-675-9033 | www.unionwoodco.com

The GOODS from Union Wood & Supply Co.

Vancouver, BC | When Vancouvers winter weather finally hit, the crew from Railtown’s Union Wood Co. hit the road searching for more goods. Here are a few of the pieces that made the cut:

1) restored solid maple butcher block table with an aged steel base
2) reworked vintage tractor seat atop a cast iron machine base
3) well-worn wood and metal step ladder
4) Rare steel “Pinkerton” branded crates

To see more follow them @unionwoodco and learn more about the shop after the jump… Read more

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