Fun and Games The gang—Edie, Dave, Gianmarco—from Trans Am are serious about making sure things are casual at their bar.
BAR OF THE YEAR
Our Little Secret LORD, HOW DO YOU DECIDE BEST BAR? Is it a cocktail emporium? A place with the best craft beer selection? Where the music is perfect? Where you bring an out-of-town friend to show off your city? Um, yes to all—and the wonder is that it’s still tough to choose. Here are this year’s standouts.
1 GOLD TRANS AM 1879 POWELL ST.
Like every truly great success story, this one could have gone wrong in myriad ways. The much-babbled-about no-cell-phone policy, for example. It could have been a jaded ploy to grab some pre-opening publicity (if they had, you know, any publicity). Or a menu (newly expanded) that still features just two burgers, a $125 steak, one side and some olives could seem a bit precious. Only playing vinyl, contrived. The complete lack of tables, an annoyance. But all these things are delivered with such a dose of no-B.S. authenticity that it pervades every inch of this 13- “seat” marvel on Powell Street and helps make this improbable candidate our favourite bar in Vancouver.
And the place is authentic because the proprietor is. Gianmarco Colannino worked in the industry, got cancer, beat it and, after returning to work (for a beer company), took a step back—priorities fully in place—and decided to open a bar like the ones he loved in other cities but could never find here: small, with a casual atmosphere and a hard focus on the work side, where neighbourhood folk could hang out, listen to good music and shoot the shit. He essentially built the place himself using a handsaw, because he didn’t have the scratch for an electric one, let alone a professional contractor. The early days—where the food was more front and centre—were tough, with overflow from neighbour Bistro Wagon Rouge providing a thin lifeline. But
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