RESTAURANT OPENING - July 16, 2008
CIBO OPENS IN THE MODA HOTEL

The following is a press release from Sebastien Le Goff ...

SLG Hospitality Inc. announced the opening of Cibo Trattoria in the newly renovated Moda Hotel. ... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Restaurant Previews.

CHEF'S NEW INGREDIENT - (MAY 31, 2008)
SABLEENES

In their efforts to more fully utilize food animals, chefs have been bravely experimenting, if not frightening their customers, with the introduction of such novelties as tongues, ears, feet and other "less popular" cuts of meat onto their fine dining menus.

The seafood department is getting no exemption from these trendy ideas about waste reform either. The greater dining public may not be ready for fins and eyeballs, nevertheless, fish carcasses are being reexamined for overlooked tasty bits that hitherto may have been flung from the backs of fishboats as seagull buffet.

From this search has come the sableene (pronounced like Mabeline), and it's an item that's not turning out to be a hard sell at all. ... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Dish on the Dish



HOTELS - (May 5, 2008)
A NEW HOTEL FOR DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER

The following is directly from the company press release ....

ParaYso Hotel Vancouver has Finalized Land Contract at 620 Seymour Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

(Posted : Mon, 05 May 2008 15:50:41 GMT)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, -- Rancho Santa Monica Developments, Inc., has signed an irrevocable contract of purchase and sale for the lands at 620 Seymour Street for $5,500,000 Canadian Dollars.

The Company plans to build a Hotel with a roof top bar lounge, of up to 91 nicely designed interior suites, and energy efficient Hotel. The interiors will be exquisite but will be for the 20th century where beauty, green and energy are of high concerns. The development is lead by Graham Alexander, a developer of hotels in Mayan Riviera Mexico and Chilliwack, B.C., Canada. ... CONTINUE READING.


Filed in RESTAURANTS/News and Rumours.




DISH ON THE DISH - (April 25, 2008)
DEJA VU AT CACTUS CLUB


This week, Cactus Club’s Food Architect, Chef Rob Feenie, began testing his new menu items on some willing and curious guinea pigs. Following a favourable response, a few of the new dishes, such as the Tuna Tataki and Rocket Salad with Panko and Parmesan breaded chicken, have already made it out onto the regular dining room menu.

Most of the debut line up appears to be re-tweaked Feenie classics right off the old Lumiere and Feenie’s menus -- from the infamous Calamari Sandwich of White Spot commercial fame, to the enduringly popular Butternut Squash Ravioli, a mainstay of the Lumiere Tasting Bar. Also on the short list were a couple of Feenie's traveling exhibition dishes, such as the Sake-miso marinated Sablefish in Dashi Broth, which was reminiscent of a dish Chef Feenie took to Japan several years ago for a showcase of Canadian food products.

... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Dish on the Dish.



RESTAURANT ISSUES- (April 21, 2008)
GASTROPOD APPEALS TO FACEBOOK FANS FOR SUPPORT


In reaction to being singled out for protests by an animal rights group angered over the restaurant's use of foie gras, Gastropod on 4th Avenue has posted the following item on their Facebook site. Perhaps they should consider taking credit card deposits on their restaurant reservations until the situation cools down. At the very least, it would be a good way to see if the people hassling them were willing to put their money where their politics are. Obviously there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue, but if the protesters are sincere about their point of view, then what we want to know is why they are not giving equal time to the many more (and much larger) eating establishments that use eggs and meat from battery caged chickens, and who, unlike Gastropod and Fuel, do little or nothing to support local sustainable food producers.

To the fans of Gastropod
11:39 a.m. Today

Hi Gastropod fans,
As you may or may not know, for the past few months both Gastropod and Fuel have been the target of protests on Friday nights by ... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/News




RESTAURANT NEWS - (March 22, 2008)
UPDATES FROM THE GLOWBAL EMPIRE

In a busy town, who’s busier than Emad Yacoub, Jack Lamont and their multi-restaurant owning Glowbal Group?

Not many, we’d say. Here’s the latest update:

The Glowbal Group has taken an 8,000 square foot space on Alberni (across the street from their immensely popular Italian Kitchen, and just down the block towards Thurlow), where they intend to have a new restaurant operating by early 2009. This will be a concept similar to Italian Kitchen (swank design, at least one big lounge section) except that the menu focus will be on seafood. The multi level site will be big enough to also house a commissary kitchen and admin spaces for their separate and growing catering business.

How will this new version of seafood restaurant differ from their Coast restaurant in Yaletown? ... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/News and Rumours.




PERSONNEL CHANGES
RICARDO FERREIRA STEPS UP AS RESTAURANT DIRECTOR OF CINCIN
(March 17, 2008)

Vancouver, BC - Ricardo Ferreira has been appointed as the new Restaurant Director of Vancouver's venerable Italian restaurant CinCin, bringing over 15 years of hospitality experience amassed in leading restaurants throughout Vancouver and the UK.

Previously, Ferreira was the Restaurant Manager of CinCin's celebrated sister restaurant Blue Water Cafe, where he was an integral member of the front-of-house team since 2002. For three-and-a-half years prior, he worked for Vancouver's Relais & Chateau designated Wedgewood Hotel. ... CONTINUE READING ...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Personnel Changes.




RESTAURANT NEWS
SIDOOS ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH DANIEL BOULUD
(March 7, 2008)

David and Manjy Sidoo, the owners of Lumiere and Feenie's, have just announced a partnership with Daniel Boulud. The details of which will be made known to the media at a press event scheduled for next Friday.

We suppose this confirms rumours we have been hearing from our media friends in New York that Boulud is to take a large position in Feenie's, possibly even changing the restaurant's name to that of his own casual dining restaurant in New York, DB Bistro Moderne.

Well, it should be interesting. ... CONTINUE READING...


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Restaurant News

RESTAURANT OPENINGS - (March 6, 2008)
TEQUILA KITCHEN - A PREVIEW

"When the hurricane destroyed both my house and my business, more or less sweeping both of them out to sea, I figured I should find another place to run a restaurant", said the practical Laura Enriquez . "So when I collected my insurance money, I packed up my remaining belongings, and my over twenty years of experience running the franchises for Senor Frog's

and Carlos' n Charlie's in Playa del Carmen (in Mexico's Yucatan), and said: "I'm going to Canada."

Along the way, Enriquez met up with son Emiliano Núñez, who had been working in the restaurant business in Halifax, and together with their business partner Claudia Ibarrondo and Chef Juan González, made her dream come true by launching Tequila Kitchen in Vancouver's Yaletown. .... TO CONTINUE READING AND SEE PHOTOS AND THE $25 INTRODUCTORY SAMPLING MENU CLICK HERE.


Filed in RESTAURANTS/Previews.