Hospitality is a dynamic industry and I know it can be hard to keep up with all the developments on the local scene.
That’s why this week’s column takes a look at recent North Shore restaurant news and will hopefully inspire you to try out a new location or two.
Chef Steven Hodge has launched a new flight of treats at his stylish Temper Pastry in West Vancouver. I had the privilege of previewing most of these new menu items, which are now generally available, at a recent tasting event.
My biggest challenge in sampling these dishes was not the sheer breadth of offerings or even the impossible richness of the creations themselves (I noticed a number of fellow guests closing their eyes and sighing deeply with each bite), but rather my intuitive hesitation to wantonly destroy such elegant, meticulously crafted little morsels of edible artwork by eating them. Nevertheless, in the name of responsible reporting, I prevailed and demolished every last one.
My favourite, if such a determination is even possible, was Hodge’s riff on a rum baba in which the signature Jamaican rum syrup was infused with licorice root, and the whole confection was topped with vanilla Bavarian mousse and licorice-scented streusel. Summer-appropriate parfaits also populate the new menu, including a fantastic cherry-centric variation on Eton Mess and a remarkably satisfying, but lighter in caloric content, lemon yogurt parfait with seasonal fruit jelly.
Butter Lane Bakehouse, the mother and daughter-operated space that offered a delightfully unpretentious afternoon tea and demi-tea service, is currently in search of new digs on the North Shore, having vacated its former location on Mountain Highway. On the bakery’s Facebook page, owner and chief baker Amy Symonds has expressed her preference to set up shop again in Lynn Valley, should the right space present itself.
Bridge Brewing, which once boasted the handle of first nano-brewery in the city, but quickly outgrew that category as demand for their product precipitated a dramatic increase in production, has moved to a bigger and brighter location down on Charlotte Road, a few blocks north of Main Street off Mountain Highway.
The new space has some outdoor seating, which has been fully occupied every time I’ve visited, and the growler refilling process has been streamlined. In addition to its popular staple brews like Hopilano IPA and North Shore Pale Ale, Bridge continues to offer interesting, limited-release session beers.
On a recent visit, I enjoyed an understated and refreshing Raspberry ISA, which was put into a “Canpedo,” a sleek, one-litre tall can that is made on the spot and can be filled with any of Bridge’s beers. Bridge Brewing has been travelling the festival circuit recently and has come home with a number of accolades, including a gold medal for their stout at the North American Brewing Awards.
Anatoli Souvlaki, one of a small handful of Greek institutions on the North Shore, has branched out with a new outlet in trendy Yaletown. The new Mainland Street venue, called The Greek by Anatoli, focuses on mezze, or smaller, shareable plates, featuring herbs grown in an in-house cultivator.
An expanded cocktail and on-tap craft beer list help further differentiate Anatoli’s Yaletown outlet from the parent restaurant at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue.
Another of the aforementioned Greek institutions, Kypriaki Taverna, has moved to a new, more contemporary space right next door to their original location in the 1300-block of Marine Drive.
The new space is larger and boasts a great south-facing patio that seems, based on my frequent passage along that strip of Marine Drive, to be packed to capacity on sunny evenings.
The Juicery Co., which prompted me to attempt a one-day juice cleanse last fall, is also in expansion mode with a new location on Vancouver’s West Fourth Avenue and a small shop smack in the middle of Edgemont Village on Highland Avenue. The Juicery continues to deliver both its one- and three-day cold-pressed juice cleanse products directly to your door, and still makes the best nut milk you’re likely to have, in my opinion. Try the Honey Vanilla Almond Mylk (sic), it’s a treat.
The highly anticipated opening of the North Vancouver outpost of Tap & Barrel, with its staggering 350-person outdoor seating capacity off the historic Coppersmith Building at the Lonsdale Shipyards, grows ever closer. The restaurant is in hiring mode right now, recruiting for all positions via job fairs. Hopefully they will be staffed and ready to open with plenty of this glorious summer left.
Maurya Indian Cuisine, purveyors of fine curries (including a truly world class Saag Paneer) is no longer. Their West Vancouver space at Marine Drive and 17th Street is papered over with promotional material announcing the imminent arrival of Swad Indian Kitchen. I spoke to Swad owner Kamal Mroke and he reported that the Northern Indian style restaurant is still in the early days of construction. Stay tuned for more on this opening.
Finally, I recently spoke with Darren Hollett, operations manager of Hearthstone Brewing, the new operation that moved into the former Red Truck Beer space on Marine Drive and Mackay Road next to Indigo. Hollett tells me that while Hearthstone has been brewing beer there since November of 2014, they are still awaiting permits to begin construction on their new taproom and pizzeria, which will be housed in the old Avalon liquor store space. Two giant Italian forno ovens are apparently already on premise, waiting and ready.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. He is a North Shore resident and a self-described wine fanatic. He earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: [email protected].
This story was edited to correct the name of Temper Pastry chef Steven Hodge. He was incorrectly identified as Chris Hodge in the original story.
