Last week I took a look inside the space that will soon give us Acorn, a much anticipated vegetarian restaurant from first timers Shira Blustein and Brian Skinner. It’s got to be one of the best locations in the city – 3995 Main (formerly the iconic Cipriano’s) – and they have a killer concept to boot. Blustein, a musician (Hard Drugs, Blood Meridian, Choir Practice), and Skinner, a chef/instructor at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (apprenticed at Bin 941, staged at Noma, and worked at the Mayfair’s Michelin-starred Sketch in the UK), aren’t planning on doing a patchouli-wafting, hammer-to-the-head sort of vegetarian joint – of which Vancouver has quite a few – but rather the rare kind where the meat-free dishes come off as more deliciously adventitious than skill-free polemic (ie. less tofu and miso gravy, more talent). In that vein, the plates won’t be specifically designed to please vegetarians, but palates. It’s a novel, subtle difference, but I think an important one to those who appreciate fine cooking. Expect artful but unfussy food, a good selection of local beers and wines, and some 48 seats in a small room designed by Scott Cohen, the fellow responsible for the swell looks at Cambie’s Pronto, the Fraserhood’s Les Faux Bourgeois, Hasting’s Waldorf redux, and West 4th’s Gastropod (RIP). They’ll have a 2am liquor license (with a late night snack menu), branding by Glasfurd & Walker, and – one suspects – a mighty big line up. I’ll be writing more about it in my column in next week’s WE, so in the meantime take a look below. They’re gunnng for a soft opening on July 1st.

ALL ANTICIPATED RESTAURANTS