I have been at this gig long enough now to know pretty soon into a dining experience how hard I’m going to need to work to unlock the magic of the place.
Some restaurants keep their treasures locked up tightly and require inordinate patience from diners to discover them, but then furnish rewards that make the effort well worth it. Some places have no such treasure, I’m afraid, and subsist on the thinnest of offerings, leaving patrons scratching their heads in wonder at their continued operation.
Still others, like the restaurant I’m considering this week, put it all out there, loud and proud, and throw their diners headlong into the unapologetic exuberance of their premise.
Two Rivers Specialty Meats launched its public-facing retail space and restaurant – The Shop – in the fall of last year. It was a much-anticipated move as the butcher had, over the course of the previous decade, cultivated one of the strongest and most respected reputations in the business as a commercial supplier of some of the city’s very best, most ethically produced, highest quality and transparently handled meats.
Restaurants that buy Two Rivers’ supplies advertise that decision proudly on their menus, while discerning diners have come to understand that the higher price they pay for dishes that use the pork, beef, chicken, sausage, etc. that hail from the butcher is the necessary cost of securing consistent, reliable quality and sound provenance.
It is fitting, then, that The Shop, Two Rivers Specialty Meat’s first foray into the direct-to-consumer business, should have an already established loyal following that fills the bright, communal seating space to capacity almost every hour that it is open.
I hit up The Shop with my two eldest, Blondie and The Boy, one recent Saturday in the very early evening. We arrived to find the patio completely full, most of the long-table format communal seats filled as well, and only a handful of seats along the long, open kitchen countertop available. I dispatched the kids to secure us three of those seats and joined the long but rapidly moving queue to order.
The Shop is a high-ceilinged, clean-white and airy space with a huge, glass-walled meat aging room on the far right, a retail display of meats in front of that, and then two tills against the far back wall to take orders and issue table numbers.
The middle of the room consists of maybe 80 seats at various long tables, and to the left of the room is the bustling kitchen, the centerpiece of which is an expansive wood-burning grill that bursts with the odd flame flare towards the back where fresh wood is added, but otherwise maintains an even, perfect grilling temperature courtesy of the smoldering white embers that provide the foundation for cooking.
It is a blast to watch the kitchen crew (two very young, but exceedingly efficient chefs on the evening of our visit) process a never-ending roll of table chits spitting from the overtaxed point of sale system printer.
After sitting grill-side for about 45 minutes, the three of us smelled like we had been roughing it in the woods for the weekend, our clothes permeated with the campfire-like (but decidedly non-meaty) scent of burning wood.
The Shop’s menu draws from Two Rivers’ inventory of responsibly-reared, well-aged meats. Much has already been said about the business’s tireless efforts to partner with small, independently owned B.C. and Alberta farms dedicated to the ethical treatment of livestock and aversion to medications and growth stimulants, including in these pages (see “Considering the source,” my 2013 Dish column on the subject for more), so I won’t rehash all that content here. Let it suffice to say that the results of this butcher’s disciplined sourcing are evident in the exceptional flavours and textures on show throughout the menu.
We kicked off our meal with an order of crispy, meaty, caramelized pork rinds that were coated in a delicious dry rub spice mixture that my palate concluded contained an unexpected and subtle fragrant hit of star anise. The crackling was rich and complex, revealing intermittent layers of both crispy, succulent fat and tender, flavourful meat.
A side dish of Chipotle Braised Beans were a revelation, showing none of the usual traits of deep-browned caramelization or sweetness, but rather a fresh and tangy character of tomato and sophisticated herbaceous notes from the addition of housemade Longaniza sausage, a rich and moderately spicy pork sausage not unlike chorizo.
The slim, chipped potato fries are extraordinary here, too. They are cooked in beef tallow and have a crispy exterior, a soft interior, and are well seasoned. Two orders of these fries proved excessive for our needs.
Burgers are the unofficial signature dish at Two Rivers and are truly delicious. The beef is dry aged for 60 days, which results in an exceptionally flavourful ground meat patty, which is then treated with the utmost respect: it is lightly seasoned, simply grilled, and served with charred tomato, housemade pickles, tallow aioli, and American cheese.
The kids both tucked into these with reckless abandon and Blondie, but a tall waif of a girl, put hers back in two minutes flat.
I ordered the Knuckle Sandwich as my main, which was effectively a Rueben made with a generous pile of thinly shaved smoked beef.
Sauerkraut and Swiss cheese gave the sandwich added richness and complexity, and the lightly grilled baguette remained soft and chewy.
I watched with no small envy as beautifully marbled, dry-aged steaks made their way off the kitchen pass topped with compound butter.
There are daily steak, sausage and other meat features that keep the menu fresh and interesting, while menu standards like tartare, glazed ribs, rotisserie chicken, meat pies, and a stunning looking pork belly ramen round out the offerings.
Wine, beer and soft drinks are available to complement your meal. A pint of Postmark IPA paired nicely with my knuckle sandwich.
Our meal was $60 before gratuity.
The Shop at Two Rivers Specialty Meats is located at 180 Donaghy Ave. in North Vancouver. Call 604-990-5288 or visit tworiversmeats.ca for more information.
