When Irish Guys Get You Smilin'

In the photo: top left, Chef Kevin Dundon; bottom right, restaurant critic and author, Trevor White.




WHEN IRISH GUYS GET YOU SMILIN'


Restaurant critics are like very bad lovers. They only come once a year, they don’t care if you’re not ready, they leave without saying a word and then they tell everyone what you did wrong. … Trevor White


Could anyone be more fun to read than Anthony Bourdain? Quite possibly yes, and his name is Trevor White, a man who in his own words, “parlayed a slight connection with food into a successful career as a restaurant critic in the great cities of the world.�

As Ireland’s most notorious food writer, White has just penned Kitchen Con, a tell-all confession about the restaurant racket that is similar to Bourdain’s famous best seller, only written from the perspective on the other side of the swinging kitchen door -- that of the media critics, public relations people and marketeers who feed off the industry and the punters who get fleeced in between.

If you can relate to the quote above, then check out these other “cuts� from the book where White archly skewers Bourdain, A.A. Gill, Jamie Oliver, waiters in general, as well as other fixtures of the food and hospitality industry --  doing so in the painfully accurate, and deep slicing way that only the sharpest of the Brit rapier wits can inflict.

Listen to this very entertaining BBC interview clip with White and if it only makes you want more .. know that Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks will be hosting him at a book signing on June 7th, 6 p.m. at the oyster bar at So.Cial at Le Magasin. The $50 ticket includes a copy of the book, but that is but the piquant peppercorn on the top of the pudding. Call 604-688-6755 to register.


The other Irish visitor and jigging good cook is Chef Kevin Dundon.

To raise dollars for charity, Dundon recently competed in a televised program called Celebrity Jiggs and Reels (Dublin’s version of Dancing with the Stars), but his real claim to fame is as the chef and proprietor of the Dunbrody Country House and Hotel in County Wexford, Ireland. (Some Vancouverites however, may remember him from the eight years pre-1994 when he was employed at the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, becoming at 22 years of age, their youngest executive head chef ever appointed.)

Although widely recognized in Britain, Dundon is due to become a more familiar face to food lovers in North America. He is about to launch his own line of gourmet sausages for Tommy Moloney's among other authentic Irish food products, and he has also been hired by the Disney Corporation to open an Irish Gastropub at Disneyland in California, following a previous successful launch at their Disney World property in Orlando, Florida.

If you'd like to say hello, Dundon will be a featured presenter throughout this weekend’s Eat! Vancouver : The Everything Food and Cooking Festival, which is taking place all this weekend at BC Place. Showtimes are 5:15 today; 11:15 a.m., 4:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on Saturday; and 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on Sunday. Look for him at the HomeSense International Stage. For ticket information check the website at www.eat-vancouver.com.

1215 Izakaya at 1215 Davie Street is no more but a second Hapa Izakaya has opened in the old Urban Well digs at 1516 Yew Street. In the works, Bays Bar is setting up shop in the old Clove location at 735 Denman Street, a couple of blocks away from the very busy Kingyo.


A sure way to work up a thirst is to deal with ever-shifting traffic patterns caused by the Canada Line construction. It’s worth it though if a visit to new grog shop Firefly Wines and Ales (2857 Cambie Street next door to Figmint in the Plaza 500 Hotel) is in the works. At Firefly bottles aren’t shelved according to country, the usual mode, but are arranged by flavour profiles like spicy, suave, or citrus for wines, and caramel, ‘bitter hoppy’, and the like for beers and ales. Drop in Friday and Saturday afternoons for complimentary tastings paired with appies from Figment. Note the cool Italian-designed Enomatic wine-dispensing machine loaded with bottles for sampling.


The more things change…The Beachside in West Vancouver at 1362 Marine Drive has been reincarnated as Westside Restaurant by Chef Gianni Picchi and son/proprietor Roberto Picchi. The place has had undergone a modest Italianization inside and out and has been open for over a month. Lunch and dinner are served and if it doesn’t look like it’s open, it really is. Deceptive though, since the windows are frosted over except for a strip at the top. Picchi senior did a stint in the Beachside’s kitchen several years ago so he’s quite at home.


Almost next door, shiny new Sugar & Company Sweet Shop (1348A Marine Drive) is doing booming business selling candy of every sort from ruby red wax lips, licorice pipes, boiled sweets, taffy of all sorts, candy corn, Lucky Elephant popcorn, gummi everything, fizzies, penny candy, jawbreakers, soda pop, and lots of nostalgia sweets.


The new Red Burrito at 606 Robson St., opened its doors for business last Friday and is doing a brisk trade, especially during lunch hours. (The original Red Burrito is located on Commercial Drive.)


When partner Mark Brand said that Bonobo’s new restaurant, Boneta, would be at the outer edges of Gastown, we geared up for near-Main Street dining. Instead it’s a mere half block from the Irish Heather in the old One Restaurant & Lounge digs at 1 West Cordova @ Carrall Street. The others in the Bonobo gang are Neil Ingram (ex Lumière who has been spotted moonlighting at La Buca), and André McGillivray (pulling a few shifts at nearby Chill Winston). Stay tuned—this entertaining trio will deliver in spades.


Ambrozia managed to hang in for a year at upstairs at 911 Denman has packed it in. Look for Desi’s Downtown, an Indian resto/lounge to test the waters.


We’re looking forward to Rob Gietl’s new project, Deuce, at 1817 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. Gietl also owns Capone’s in Yaletown.


It’s been a busy year for restaurateur Mona Chaaban. Hot on the heels of newly minted Mona’s Beirut Express at 1183 Davie Street), the third in a string of Lebanese restos (Mona’s Lebanese Cuisine, 1328 Hornby Street and Mona’s Beirut Express number one at 806 West Broadway) is a fourth. Mona has just acquired Abu Alabed (formerly Habibi’s, 1128 West Broadway) and will reopen in a few weeks after a name change, much needed makeover and a mezze menu update.


News from Loden: accomplished and personable hotelier Edel Forristal is truly following in her father’s footsteps (Denis Forristal retired as GM at the Westin Bayshore)—she’s the newly appointed hotel manger for the property which aims to open late summer. David Currell (ex Opus) is the GM, chef is Marc-André Choquette (ex Lumière), and director of sales is Barbara Hicks.


Chef Sylvain Courier has left his lofty kitchens atop Grouse Mountain to try his hand at something completely different, feeding the masses the River Rock Casino. Speaking of the River Rock, Guess Who will be entertaining there on June 1 and 2?


The downtown area of Crosstown is getting busier. A new restaurant will be opening next door to Chambar on Beatty Street, and another is slated to open on the ground floor of a condo building across the street (on the Fatburger side).

MAY 25, 26, 27:
Eat Vancouver – The Everything Food and Cooking Festival
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The annual EAT! Vancouver, The Everything Food + Cooking Festivalâ„¢, is back again this weekend (May 25, 26 & 27, 2007) at BC Place Stadium in downtown Vancouver, BC with a full spectrum of new product exhibitors; International celebrity visitors; cooking demonstrations; wine, beer and chocolate tastings; professional competitions; and expert advice from top rated BC chefs such as Rob Feenie. For details on tickets and scheduling, check the website listing above.