WHILE recently perusing the list of winners in one food magazine's "best of" awards, I was struck by an anomaly in the "Neighbourhood Gem" category.
Although the restaurants listed were indeed exceptional, they were also expensive. None of them really fit the criteria of decent food and drinks for wallet-friendly prices. It seems there's confusion over what belongs in this category, so let me clarify by providing an example that epitomizes a Neighbourhood Gem.
I'm talking about The Corner Stone Bistro in Pemberton Heights.
In the past couple of years there's been plenty of ink spilled about the boxy, brick-red business (formerly called The Corner Store) and the efforts of its owners to get a food-primary liquor licence. Last November, Tracey Cochrane and Ian Rabinovitch were finally able to raise a glass of bubbles to celebrate because after much effort, a neighbourhood petition, municipal support, a name change and plenty of expert input, theirs became the first corner store in the province to get a liquor licence.
We should all be celebrating this ever-so-slight loosening of our nanny-state liquor laws, because in the case of The Corner Stone, it means friends and neighbours can wander over to their neighbourhood gathering place on a Friday night, sit down for a meal and a glass of wine, enjoy conversation and music, then walk safely home, perhaps with a litre of milk in hand for the next morning's coffee. How civilized. Let's hope other neighbourhood stores/cafés/bistros will soon follow.
I was recently invited for dinner as a guest of mother-daughter duo Christine Coletta and Alison Scholefield, proprietors of Summerland's Haywire Winery and Okanagan Crush Pad. They live in Pemberton Heights, and have become regulars. And in a beautiful illustration of reciprocity and community support, the bistro carries their wine, as well as beer from North Shore's first nanobrewery, Bridge Brewing Company. Bridge owner Leigh Stratton
(who also has family ties to the 'hood) joined us at a table on the deck, as did Cochrane and Rabinovitch. The six of us ate and sipped until after the sun dropped, listening to a local guitarist, sharing tales about the cosy community, and about the history and evolution of the 100-year-old store.
These days The Corner Stone sells a limited selection of groceries, convenience items, candy, and even gorgeous, locally made giftware and jewelry. It also hosts a rotating exhibit of local artists. Unlike other convenience stores, it doesn't sell cigarettes, slushies or lottery tickets.
One side of the space also houses the café, where customers can order organic coffee and espresso drinks, baked goods, breakfast items, soups and sandwiches.
The other side is home to the bistro, and under the rules of the licence, never the two shall meet. Customers are seated and served alcohol by the staff, on weekends they can eat dinner and listen to live music.
Given the size of the operation, the menu is small; it changes weekly and includes a starter, followed by a choice from two mains, then a homemade dessert. We started our meal with an antipasto plate loaded with garlic sausage, Brie, pickled asparagus and peppers, juicy caperberries and nutty bread, sided by Bridge Brewing's seasonal IPA, the Hopilano.
With dinner we had the Haywire Crush Pad White. It's a perfect patio wine, blended from Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc. We had a simple and crunchy mixed green salad, followed by a mouthwatering plate of thick barbecued ribs, loaded up beside potato wedges and tangy coleslaw. We also sampled the other main: a thick portobello mushroom grilled with Provolone cheese and drizzled with balsamic reduction.
We finished with the day's dessert: lemon trifle layered cleverly in a glass.
To have all three courses, it's $21.95, or you can order them a la carte; mains are $12.95. A glass of beer or wine will run you $5.50.
This isn't fussy food, nor is the menu so ambitious that the cooks can't manage the quality. It's comfortable, homestyle cooking, perfect food at wallet-friendly prices from a true Neighbourhood Gem.
The Corner Stone Bistro is at 1096 22nd St. West, North Vancouver. It is not open Tuesday or Wednesday. Call 604-990-3602 for details, or visit their Facebook page.
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It's already been a big year for the team at Haywire and Okanagan Crush Pad. Recently featured on the cover of BC Business magazine, they've been making news in the B.C. wine industry for their custom-crush facility, where winemakers without wineries can produce and market their brands.
On top of that, as well as the wines they're already producing under the Haywire label, Coletta says they are now preparing to plant Burgundian varietals (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) on the 312 acres of ranchland they purchased in the Garnet Valley.
From a winemaking impulse that started small, this North Vancouver-based operation is landing in a big way.
I'll drink to that. Haywire wines are available at BC Liquor Stores, private wine stores, at the winery, and restaurants, including The Corner Stone.
Deana Lancaster has been writing about food and wine since 2000, and worked in restaurants for more than a decade before that. She is passionate about good food and drinks. Follow her on twitter @deanal, or send her an email, to [email protected].
