by Andrew Morrison | Pictured above is a ridiculously tender Steak Diane, or two filet medallions brandy-flambeed tableside with mushrooms, dijon, and onions. (As a general rule, anything a server in a white jacket lights on fire is delicious.) It was recently enjoyed at Hy’s Encore alongside a hot, double-stuffed potato loaded down with chives, sour cream, bacon, and extra butter. I have no recollection of the green beans.

Oddly enough, such an indulgent meal helps me locate my holiday spirit. Finding it used to be a lot easier. Locking it down as a kid maybe took a Charlie Brown special or two. In my adolescence, It’s a Wonderful Life did the trick. Nowadays, more triggers are necessary. Irish whisky, for instance, works, as do contemplative late night screenings of Apocalypse Now, which might seem a little weird. 

Maybe the latter tradition (newly acquired by marriage) makes sense to me because the holiday spirit is now so elusive (like Col. Kurtz) that even finding the will to seek it out every morning requires some personal catharsis (“Shit, I’m still only in Saigon!”). I panic if I haven’t found it past the second week of December. Perhaps it won’t come this year? It’s usually then that I remember Hy’s — hugely effective, joyful and triumphant.

Hy’s Encore | 637 Hornby St. | Vancouver, BC | 604-683-7671 | www.hyssteakhouse.com

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