MARCH 14 - 21 / 2019 | FREE
Volume 53 | Number 2669
RENTAL HOUSING
Adriane Carr promises solution
FUTURE SHOCK
Gwynne Dyer’s job forecast
PIAF! THE SHOW
Reviving old Paris
22ndAnnual
Golden Plates Bartender of the year JS Dupuis invents memorable cocktails at Tableau Bar Bistro and Homer St. Cafe and Bar, but he says the most important aspect of his job is creating an experience
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CONTENTS
March 14 – 21 / 2019
23 COVER
JS Dupuis has rocketed to the top of the bartending business by paying attention to what people want. By Gail Johnson Cover photo by Shimon Karmel
6
PARQ CASINO | BEST CASINO FOR EATS
REAL ESTATE
Councillors Adriane Carr and Jean Swanson say they each have a plan to promote affordable rentals. By Carlito Pablo
9
NEWS
Author Gwynne Dyer predicts that machines are going to wipe out tens of millions of jobs in North America. By Charlie Smith
13 FOOD
Meet some Vancouver restaurant-industry legends who’ve been filling residents’ bellies for decades. By Tammy Kwan
THANK YOU FOR VOTING VANCOUVER
43 ARTS
Marine Life playwright Rosa Labordé weaves ecoactivism, mental illness, and cultural displacement into a story with magic realism and romantic comedy. By Andrea Warner
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Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 53 | Number 2669 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com
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Grand Chief Stewart Phillip reveals he lost his son to an overdose. Toronto is getting the first legal cannabisconsumption patio. Trudeau has been the MP for SNC-Lavalin for a very long time. Numerous offshore earthquakes hit not far from northwestern B.C. Photos: Jason Momoa and other fans dress to nines for rugby sevens.
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The Georgia Straight is published every Thursday by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. Copies are distributed free every week throughout Vancouver, Burnaby, North and West Vancouver, New Westminster, and Richmond. International Standard Serial Number ISSN 0709-8995. Subscription rates in Canada $182.00/52 issues (includes GST), $92.00/26 issues (includes GST); United States $379.00/52 issues, $205.00/26 issues; foreign $715.00/52 issues, $365.00/26 issues. Contact 604-730-7087 if you wish to distribute free copies of the Georgia Straight at your place of business. Entire contents copyright © 2019 Vancouver Free Press, Best Of Vancouver, Bov And Golden Plates Are Trade-Marks Of Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. SUBMISSIONS The Straight accepts no responsibility for, and will not necessarily respond to, any submitted materials. All submissions should be addressed to contact@straight.com. Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40009178, return undeliverable Canadian addresses to The Georgia Straight, 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C, V6J 1W9
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HOUSING
Carr hopes to slam door on Rental 100
C
by Carlito Pablo
oun. Adriane Carr wants the City of Vancouver to slam the door on new applications to build “for-profit affordable rental housing”. Carr says the city should freeze Rental 100, a program that was introduced by the previous Vision Vancouver administration. Rental 100—and its predecessor, the Short Term Incentives for Rental, or STIR—provides developers with substantial rewards like exemption from paying development-cost levies, or DCLs. “We have given away a lot of money in terms of waived DCLs in order to get rental housing, but not affordable rental housing in most cases,” Carr told the Straight by phone. Based on 2019 guidelines, developers are eligible for incentives, including extra density, if starting rents for East Side projects are $1,607 a month for a studio, $1,869 for one bedroom, $2,457 for two bedrooms, and $3,235 for three bedrooms. On the West Side, starting rents are “affordable” at $1,768 for a studio, $2,056 for one bedroom, $2,703 for two bedrooms, and $3,559 for three bedrooms. These rents apply on the day of council’s public hearing on a Rental 100 rezoning application. Developers can still increase rents yearly during the construction period. Moreover, these rents apply only to the first tenant. After the first occupants move out, developers can charge whatever rents the market can bear. Carr said she is planning to introduce a motion for the city to stop accepting new applications for Rental 100. However, Carr explained, the freeze will not apply to pending projects that are in various stages of review by the city. She indicated
Coun. Adriane Carr says she feels it’s time to halt generous subsidies to developers.
that these applications may likely be approved even though some councillors, like her, do not believe that they are affordable rentals. Carr said developers have invested money and time in bringing these applications for the city’s consideration. “To tell them at the end and to actually then say, ‘Sorry, we haven’t yet changed those policies but we’re going to, and right now we’re going to say no to you,’ I just think that’s unfair process.” Carr said that’s the reason she voted in favour of four Rental 100 applications that were referred to public hearing by the current council. “Even though I disagree with the level of affordability…I voted for projects because of the issue of fairness.” In a separate interview, municipallaw expert Nathalie Baker pointed out that councillors have another choice. According to Baker, councillors are not duty-bound to approve rezoning applications. She explained that Rental 100 is “merely a policy”. “The fact that Vancouver has a general policy that supports rezoning applications for increases in density to build rental housing doesn’t mean council is required to approve a rezoning application submitted under the
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policy or that a property owner has a right to the rezoning,” Baker told the Straight by phone. “To the contrary, each rezoning application must be reviewed on its own merits, and council should decide whether it is in the public interest to rezone the land after hearing from staff, the applicant, and the public at the public hearing.” Otherwise, councillors’ discretion would have been “fettered”, which, Baker said, goes against the Vancouver Charter. “I think it’s important for council to understand that just because council—whether it’s previous council or current council—has adopted this general policy that that doesn’t mean that council must act a certain way on a rezoning application,” Baker said. “And it doesn’t give the property owner any right, either.” COPE councillor Jean Swanson has consistently voted against Rental 100 applications. She said that if it were only up to her, she would have the program suspended. She noted, however, that it’s difficult even getting another councillor onside. “Well, I tried to talk about it, but I am having a hard time getting a seconder,” Swanson told the Straight by phone. g
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NEWS
Drug crimes down but confiscations continue
O
by Travis Lupick
n paper, it appears that Vancouver police are waging the war on drugs with a lot less enthusiasm these days. The year in which officers logged the most Criminal Code violations for drugs was 2006, when there were 5,183 recorded by the force, according to VPD annual reports. Since then, there’s been a consistent downward trend, to an all-time low of 1,556 drug crimes in 2016 and then 1,629 in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available. Between 2006 and 2017, cannabis offences declined 61 percent, cocaine offences declined 80 percent, heroin offences dropped 37 percent, and recorded Criminal Code infractions for methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other drugs declined 73 percent. On the streets, however, drug users and legal advocates told the Straight that it’s a different story. Laura Shaver, vice president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), said the numbers look positive and are good news, but she argued they don’t reveal the whole picture. “People on the street are still getting into trouble,” she said in a telephone interview. Shaver recounted the experience of a friend. “About a week ago, the cops pulled her over, they took everything from her, and they didn’t arrest her,” she said, adding that every VANDU member can tell a story like that. Pivot Legal Society staff lawyer Caitlin Shane told the Straight that drug confiscations remain a constant problem, especially in marginalized areas like the Downtown Eastside. “On paper, the Vancouver Police Department can say, ‘Look, our stats have gone down. We are taking a
Populism linked to job losses Gwynne Dyer says automation is creating opportunities for demagogues
A
by Charlie Smith
harm-reduction approach to policing and drug use,’ ” Shane said. “But what is actually happening is people are still getting hassled on a daily basis.” The VPD did not make anyone available for an interview by deadline. For years, the force has stated that lowlevel drug crimes are no longer a “policing priority” for the force. On January 10, for example, Deputy Chief Const. Howard Chow wrote on social media: “We do not arrest and charge people for simple drug possession.”
On paper, the Vancouver Police Department can say, ‘Look, our stats have gone down.’ – Caitlin Shane
Shaver and Shane both said it’s a good thing that fewer people in Vancouver are saddled with criminal records for drugs but they also maintained that a police encounter not entered into a computer system can have severe consequences. Shaver explained that the effect is fear, which causes people to use drugs alone, away from friends or family who could otherwise respond in the event of an overdose. “It makes people hide, and that makes people die on their own,” Shaver said. g
ccording to Statistics Canada, the provincial unemployment rate is near a 40-year low. But the rosy job numbers don’t impress international-affairs columnist Gwynne Dyer, author of Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work). “Almost anything counts as a job,” Dyer said during a wellattended March 6 lecture in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodward’s. “We count two hours a week working for Uber as the equivalent of 40 hours a week on an assembly line at $25 an hour. They’re both jobs.” Furthermore, he insisted that the stats only reflect people who are looking for work. They don’t account for those who’ve given up on finding a job. “The unemployment figures in every major country are massaged until they’re sore in every joint,” Dyer added. “I mean, it is in the government’s interest to have a low unemployment rate and they can arrange it to look low.” To support his argument, Dyer cited the research of Nicholas Eberstadt at the American Enterprise Institute. He retained a research firm to track how many people were working in the previous week and found far higher rates of joblessness than the official numbers from the U.S. government indicated. According to this data, 17.5 percent of American men between 24 and 55 were unemployed in 2016. Dyer’s book focuses on how automation is eliminating jobs in western industrialized countries on a wide scale. And he links this with the rise of populist politics, noting that these
unemployed and underemployed Americans played a crucial role in electing Donald Trump as U.S. president. Populists are also thriving in many other countries. In the 1990s, there was a great deal of controversy about U.S. corporations hiring cheaper workers abroad. But according to Dyer, that led to about two million U.S. workers losing their jobs—far fewer than the impact of automation on the work-
alk TOF THE WEEK THE U.S. and Russia are moving to abandon a nuclear treaty. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan are on high alert. North Korea is reportedly rebuilding a rocket site. China has unveiled new missiles that can strike Guam. The world could be stepping toward the brink of a nuclear apocalypse. On Monday (March 18), lawyer Andrew Lichterman will deliver a talk about the nuclear threat facing humanity. Lichterman is with the California-based Western States Legal Foundation, a group that seeks the abolition of nuclear weapons. The free event, titled “The Resurgence of Arms Racing and the Collapse of Nuclear Arms Control”, will be held at UBC’s Green College (6201 Cecil Green Park Road), starting at 5 p.m. g
force. He said that this “offshoring” of the 1990s has virtually ceased as CEOs realize that they can save even more money by replacing humans with machines. “In the first decade of this century, six million more American manufacturing jobs disappeared and almost none of them went abroad,” he said. “They just vanished in place. The individuals who held them either became fully unemployed or cascaded down from the $25 [an hour] onto the minimum-wage jobs.” The first jobs to disappear due to automation were on assembly lines in American rust-belt states, which supported Trump in 2016. Now, Dyer said, it’s spreading to the retail sector, with about a million jobs vanishing each year in western countries. He blamed online shopping as one factor. And he predicted that the next group of workers to be clobbered will be those who drive for a living. That’s because the owners of taxi fleets, trucking firms, and bus companies will be eager to buy selfdriving vehicles once they’re safe enough to be on the roads. “Four-and-a-half million jobs in the United States and a half-million in Canada [will be] gone in 10 years, maybe less,” Dyer declared. He said others in the firing line will be white-collar and blue-collar workers engaged in repetitive tasks. And he dismissed claims that automation can create more jobs in the long run. “The ratio is about three jobs destroyed for every one created,” Dyer said. “And the ones created, very often, will pay less and have lower requirements in terms of skills than the ones that were destroyed.” g
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Ian Williams thrives on stylistic daring by David Chau
I
an Williams recognizes the importance of blood ties. There is value, he notes, in connections between people that one cannot choose. “I think the way that life works is that we get both sides, right? On one hand, we don’t choose the families that we’re born into, but then we can choose our futures and choose our mates, and choose the families,” he says. “Given the way life is designed, we’re not even obligated to make that decision. You’re both locked into something and you choose an alternative.” Family, by birth and by choice, is central to the Vancouver writer’s debut novel, Reproduction. The format benefits the acclaimed poet and short-story writer—whose 2011 book, Not Anyone’s Anything, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award— and provides a larger canvas for his boisterous aesthetic. As the novel opens in late-1970s Ontario, Felicia Shaw randomly meets Edgar Gross in the hospital room shared by their respective mothers. The ensuing story maps the link between the then teenager from an unnamed island nation and the adult heir to a German fortune. “If one calculated the number of hours over a period of months or years that relationships take to develop and applied them into a single, compressed meeting of heightened time, and tested that relationship years later by a reliable metric,” Williams writes in the novel, “would that relationship be as sturdy as a relationship constructed over months or years?” Soon caring for Edgar’s mother, in the wake of her own mother’s death, Felicia stokes an attachment to the negligent Edgar. According to Williams, the book reveals “how a love story turns into a family story. What makes this love story different—apart from the individuals involved—is the structure of it,” he tells the Straight, at a downtown restaurant. “A love story can very easily get mushy, like a softboiled egg, so it needs the hardness of structure to contain it. The contrast between the ease of feeling and the firmness, the discipline of the structure, makes a really nice tension.” Inventive structure and stylistic daring remain signatures of Williams’s output, including Personals, his 2012 volume of verse that was a finalist for the Griffin Poetry Prize. Reproduction thrums with an array of devices, from a chorus of perspectives to discussions written as asides, which reflects the Brampton-raised
Reproduction, the debut novel by acclaimed poet Ian Williams, looks at how love, ambition, and sorrow recur in the families we both inherit and choose.
A love story can very easily get mushy…it needs the hardness of structure to contain it. – Ian Williams
author’s taste for surprise and delight in literary endeavours. A spirited passage, in fact, gave Williams, a poetry professor at UBC, an anchor when he began the novel in 2010, during a teaching stint in Massachusetts. Featuring conversations between Army—Edgar and Felicia’s son—and his mother, this piece became the first installment of “The Sex Talk”, a series of exchanges throughout the book consisting purely of dialogue. Williams relished writing these segments. Considering that the novel spans decades, the “Sex Talk” portions act like time lapses and capture interpersonal rapport over years. “They’re the shortest sections,” Williams says of these voice-propelled parts. “But they’re the most expansive timewise.” In the mid-1990s, long after splitting with Edgar, Felicia rents a basement suite for herself and Army from Oliver Soares, a former musician and the divorced father of school-age Heather and Hendrix. Here, Williams introduces new vantage points
and deepening themes, as a scandal spurs Edgar to contact Felicia, and the enterprising Army, who has never known his father, engages the Soares to mixed results. (“The real magic of the book happens in the entanglement of those plot lines,” Williams says. “That everybody has their own drive and their purpose, and they’re related to each other in many different kinds of ways.”) After finishing the novel, Williams was left with a set of characters he favoured but had cut from the narrative. This cast figures, though, in his novel in progress about midlife, which Williams, 40 this year, hopes to complete soon, along with a poetry book. Divisions due to race and class, and kinship that transcends, embroider his work. Beyond defining their identities, the key struggle many of his characters face is communicating effectively with themselves and others. Despite verbal play, there is “a real sad base note through everything” Williams is inspired to write. As Reproduction vaults into the present day, the plot further emphasizes the parallels between parents and children, families and not-quite families. The concept of reproduction on these pages is as much about the patterns of lives lived—how love and ambition and sorrow recur in individuals and households—as it is about impulse and biology. Chance and loyalty, after all, can form bonds stronger than shared genetic material. Williams suggests that “there’s a conflict between our environments and our biology.… There’s symmetry and all this repetition. And there’s a kind of hope,” he continues, “that people will transcend their circumstances.” g
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HIGH TECH
Amazon exec touts local investments
W
by Kate Wilson
hen tech giant Amazon announced in April last year that it would be taking over a third of the downtown Canada Post plant—a landmark building on Georgia Street set to become a new hightech hub—reactions were mixed. Amazon currently employs 1,000 Vancouverites in technical roles. The addition of the new office will bring its total workers in the city to 5,000 upon completion of the building’s renovation in 2022. The prestige of those roles is hard to overstate. Having Amazon on a résumé can give a boost to developers and those in professional services, and it’s no secret that the company pays much better than most—not least important because one of Vancouver’s calling cards when bidding for Amazon’s HQ2 was its comparatively low techsector wages. The addition of 5,000 jobs is a gift to new B.C. graduates and current tech workers alike. Critics of the new development, however, point out how that huge influx of well-paying jobs could negatively impact the tech ecosystem and the city itself. Vancouver currently ranks as the top startup hub in Canada, and 15th in the world. Many of these up-and-coming companies are unable to offer the best wages—particularly compared to what developers might make in the States—but produce hugely innovative products and services. With Amazon establishing thousands of jobs in Vancouver at much higher salaries, the city’s already talent-starved startup community might lose some of its best workers to the tech giant. Another criticism is the potential impact on housing. Historically, when Amazon sets up shop in a new location, the price of rentals in the surrounding area increases. Although
Eric Gales says Amazon Web Services is helping Vancouver become a tech hub.
the new Canada Post development is no HQ2—slated to bring six times the number of new jobs to Arlington, Virginia—Vancouver is a small city with a low rental-vacancy rate. Attracting thousands of new workers with high salaries to the region could impact the pool of properties. In the view of Eric Gales, director of Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Canada, though, the benefits of the new minicampus far outweigh the negatives. “We don’t want to be someone who just takes,” he tells the Georgia Straight. “We want to contribute back to continuing to develop Vancouver as a great technology hub. “What we’ve generally found is that when we invest in cities like Vancouver, it has a positive broad effect on the ecosystem,” he continues. “Everything from encouraging people to enter the tech sector—we need more people entering the workforce, for sure—to the investments that we make with community startups, [where] we share knowledge from our developers here. We are very
conscious of our responsibility to contribute to the community as a whole.” Amazon runs a number of local programs, Gales says, that directly impact the Vancouver tech ecosystem. As well as the Canada Learning Code initiative, which supports young people across the country, from kindergarten to Grade 12, with computer-science and coding classes, the company also runs a scheme called AWS Educate in association with local universities. “AWS Educate is intended to help more students navigate their way into an IT cloud role,” he says. “We have a program with BCIT where they graduate people who have cloud skills. Those people, in many cases, are going to work for our partners, not necessarily for Amazon. We have a partner here called Cloudreach, which has taken 12 people out of that program. When we first started here, we had a great partner called TriNimbus, which is now called Onika. Since we started investing, that’s helped them to grow tremendously, and they’ve expanded out of Vancouver to five cities. So there’s already been direct examples of the contribution that we’ve been able to make to the city. That halo effect is something we anticipate continuing to see.” Amazon’s new presence is a vote of confidence in the city’s potential, Gales says, and has the potential to attract other major firms to the city, legitimizing Vancouver’s tech scene on a world stage. “We’re really excited about the investment here and excited for Canada, frankly,” he says. “Vancouver is a great place to live. It has great universities. It’s a destination for people to move to. Vancouver already had a good reputation in terms of talent and technology, and we just think that these investments will continue to enhance that reputation.” g
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hursday marks the midpoint of Mercury’s retrograde cycle. It’s also the day that Mercury forms an inferior conjunction with the sun. This begins a next phase regarding the process of information-gathering directed toward finding the missing key, unlocking the potential, and making the necessary improvement. Heralding a new season of growth and change for all living things, the soul included, it is no wonder that the ancients viewed the spring equinox as a cosmic threshold of special significance. In astrology, the sun represents the creative force of consciousness and of self-actualization. The moon represents the creative force of the subconscious self, which is rooted in the memory imprints of the past. A building super full moon coincides with the spring equinox. This suggests that the dynamic interplay between the past and the present, between the conscious and subconscious, between action and response is especially fecund and especially well-triggered to create or manifest anew. Wednesday’s equinox happens at 2:59 p.m. PDT while the transiting moon is finishing up in Virgo, one of Mercury’s home signs. This places even more emphasis on the Mercuryretrograde expose-it mandate. There are times when things have to swing to the extreme before they can be brought into better balance. Four hours after the equinox moment, the moon reaches full at 0:09 Libra. This adds extra turbo to the transit of Venus (ruler of Libra) set to turn a corner and move to a new level with Mars. What does it all mean? The agenda is well set to hear it/see it, respond, act, and spring forward in a way that creates real and substantial value.
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SCORPIO
MARCH 14–20, 2019 July 22–August 23
More-than-average potential is on brew while Mercury retrograde continues. Although it has been difficult to get a clear fix, that is soon to change. Before it does, the stars gift you with some extra time to chill out and to feel your way along. Now through next Tuesday is ideal for doing just that. Next Wednesday/Thursday could spark something social or lucrative. August 23–September 23
Thursday marks the midpoint of Mercury retrograde and the start of a new connect-the-dots cycle. It can be amazing how well things go when you don’t struggle to get it all figured out. Keep track of insights and impressions; they’ll provide good clues. Wednesday/Thursday, go with your gut; try a new approach, solution, or choice. September 23–October 23
Creative projects are the best use of your time while Mercury retrograde continues. Time off work—along with more quality rest, entertainment, and relaxation—is too. Through Monday, thoughts, reading material, activities, and conversations hold greater than average sway. Accompanied by a Libra super full moon, watch for equinox Wednesday to kick-start something fresh, lucrative, or personally rewarding. October 23–November 22
Go gentle on yourself and on loved ones, too. Mercury retrograde continues to keep you completely immersed inside yourself. When it comes to creative exploration, love, a commune with the divine, or welldeserved me time, there’s no place better ARIES to situate yourself than at centre court March 20–April 20 (i.e., heart chakra). Thursday through As of Thursday, Mercury Monday, it’s an evolution. Wednesday/ retrograde moves to a next phase. Thursday shifts your course. You can feel this as an inner or outer SAGITTARIUS shift regarding a project, relationNovember 22–December 21 ship, or consciousness. Through Lying low? More privacy, Sunday, one thing leads to another. More leads to more. Monday/Tues- peace, and quiet is where it’s at while day, take advantage of opportunity; Mercury retrograde continues. Out it sorts out well. Wednesday takes of sight can be wise, but you won’t you over a fresh threshold regarding be sitting still, at least not regarding an evaluation process, money mat- your heart or the creative process. You have more on the go than is eviter, or relationship issue. dent to others. Dreams, memories, and feelings continue to flood your conTAURUS sciousness. Next Wednesday/Thursday April 20–May 21 Are you still in love? Are springs it/you to life. you headed in the right direction, CAPRICORN careerwise, or have you outgrown December 21–January 20 the goal/the lifestyle, et cetera? MerBeen feeling overly emocury retrograde continues to take you deeper into a questioning and tional, drained, or too vulnerable of soul-searching chapter. Listen with late? Perhaps you’d call it sensory or your heart; follow your instincts. information overload. As of Thursday, Thursday to Monday, Mercury keeps Mercury reaches the halfway point of the inner and outer dialogue going its retrograde cycle. Through Monstrong. Wednesday/Thursday sheds day, the stars set you onto an upswing. a brighter light/puts you into a bet- Equinox Wednesday onward can see you break positive new ground regardter know. ing a relationship or money matter.
A
I
B
Aarm Dental Group
Dr. Farnaz Kamran, DDS
HOROSCOPE
C
J
GEMINI
May 21–June 21
Relax, there’s no need to race ahead or force a thing. Immerse yourself right where you are and allow the moment to “show you the money”. Thursday through next Tuesday, the stars keep it moving along a fluid track. Time evaporates. Equinox Wednesday onward can spring you/them/it into action, perhaps unexpectedly. Venus hits refresh regarding opportunity, inspiration, money, and matters of heart.
D
CANCER
June 21–July 22
Now through next Tuesday, gift yourself with extra time. Turn off the outer chatter and tune in to the sound of your beating heart. Mercury retrograde can see you tap a wealth of creativity. A better sense of direction comes when you allow rather than force. You’ll see your way clear soon enough. The stars strike fresh flint as of equinox Wednesday.
K
AQUARIUS
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PISCES
January 20–February 18
Keep searching; keep exploring; keep the faith. Potentials are on brew. If you haven’t got a sense of it yet, you will soon enough. A subtle shift, perhaps, but Mercury retrograde moves to a next phase as of Thursday. Next Wednesday/Thursday can bring news, a lucrative opportunity, or a personal, creative, or relationship breakthrough. February 18–March 20
It’s easy to lose track of time. Mercury retrograde continues to keep you deeply submerged in your day and your inner world. There is no better place to be than right where you are. Soak up on the good stuff. Through Monday, one thing flows into the next. Wednesday/Thursday puts you/it on the move. g Book a reading or sign up for Rose’s free monthly newsletter at rosemarcus.com/.
golden plates
Vancouver’s gastronomic godfathers
W
by Tammy Kwan
hen new restaurants open around Metro Vancouver, the average consumer really only cares about two things: its menu and interior design. But at the heart of the tasty plates in which people indulge are the chefs who create the dishes—food experts honing their craft through years of experience in the kitchen. There are many talented individuals cooking across the city, but when it comes to the history and backbone of Vancouver’s diverse dining scene, there are only a handful of chefs and restaurateurs who can claim the title of restaurant legend. These people have been in the industry for decades, consistently serving up exceptional creations while nurturing the city’s young cooks. Here’s our nonexhaustive list of seven Vancouver restaurant legends who have seen the city evolve into a gastronomic hub—and when you combine the amount of time their restaurants have been around, it adds up to more than a century of impressive food service.
d UMBERTO MENGHI Giardino (1328 Hornby Street) Before the Tuscan-style Giardino existed, there was Il Giardino just a few doors down, in the little yellow house on the corner of Hornby Street and Pacific Boulevard. Umberto Menghi—who ran more than a halfdozen dining establishments at one point in his career—was the mastermind behind the well-loved restaurant. Many of the city’s best-known chefs worked for him back in the day, eventually becoming successful in their own right. Menghi, originally from Tuscany, grew up in a household full of fresh and delicious fare. “My mom was a very good cook,” he told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “When she made pasta, my brothers and sisters were all around the long table. We were always so involved because it was an event, a routine in Italian culture.” His early love for quality food stuck with him, along with his passion for cooking—and that’s what he believes is the key to success. “That passion is being extended to your customers, and that’s the goal of what you do. Without customers, you are nothing,” Menghi explained. “Once you’ve grown in the business, you’ll understand it’s like a theatre. You’re going out and putting on a show for your customers.” At the ripe old age of 20, Menghi opened his first restaurant in Vancouver. It was the early 1970s, and he was pretty much broke. He had no money to buy ingredients or kitchen appliances. But with the help of a loving community and friends, Menghi and his restaurant were on their way to success. For him, Vancouver has definitely changed drastically. “I think Vancouver can be competition for any city in North America. I find [it is] even better than New York or San Francisco. Especially because of all kinds here, you have the best Japanese, Italian, Chinese. You have such a choice.” On his days off, Menghi visits chef friends around town or enjoys cooking at home with family. He likes to eat a variety of cuisines, he said, but there are a few things he would never eat: snakes, scorpions, and bugs. d MICHEL JACOB Le Crocodile (100–909 Burrard Street) Fine French dining wasn’t always held in high regard in Vancouver—it may have been the cuisine of choice for Europe’s upper echelons but
Umberto Menghi opened his first restaurant in the early 1970s, and he’s still going strong today with the Tuscan-style Giardino.
not for this little Pacific Northwest town 35 years ago. So when Michel Jacob opened Le Crocodile in 1983, he changed our city’s perception of quality French fare. “People were afraid to go to French restaurants because they were told it would overcharge and be snobbish, Frenchstyle,” Jacob told the Straight during an interview at his dining establishment. “People liked Italian restaurants because it was more relaxed. French restaurants didn’t really have a good reputation in the city.” After working in New York, France, Switzerland, and Germany, Jacob moved to Canada in 1977— to Montreal first, then Vancouver. He cooked with Umberto Menghi for a few years (they remain friends to this day) before getting into the restaurant business himself. Several notable names in the city’s culinary scene have apprenticed with Jacob: David Hawksworth, Ned Bell, and Rob Feenie. Jacob attributes Le Crocodile’s success to one key factor: consistency. To him, the most important thing is that a dish always tastes as good as it
The innovative Hidekazu Tojo is known as the inventor of the California roll.
CHINESE
THAI
1. MOTT 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 2. Peaceful Restaurant Various locations 3. Kirin Restaurant Various locations
1. MAENAM 1938 West 4th Ave. 604-730-5579 2. Bob Likes Thai Food Various locations 3. SalaThai Restaurant 102–888 Burrard St. 604-683-7999
INDIAN 1. VIJ’S 3106 Cambie St. 604-736-6664 2. Sula Indian Restaurant 1128 Commercial Dr. 604-215-1130 3. Tasty Indian Bistro Various locations
JAPANESE 1. MIKU VANCOUVER 70–200 Granville St. 604-568-3900 2. Tojo’s Restaurant 1133 West Broadway 604-872-8050 3. Minami 1118 Mainland St. 604-685-8080
KOREAN 1. SURA KOREAN Various locations 2. Dolpan Seoul BBQ 3779 Sexsmith Rd, Richmond 604-273-9220 3. So Hyang Korean Cuisine 6345 Fraser St. 604-789-0702
d HIDEKAZU TOJO Tojo’s Restaurant (1133 West Broadway) In 2021, Hidekazu Tojo will celebrate his 50th year of being in Canada, and he already knows he’ll have a big party. But the renowned chef is no stranger to milestones: last year, the restaurant that bears his name d JOHN BISHOP had its 30th anniversary, which is an Bishop’s (2183 West 4th Avenue) impressive feat that not many others Before eating locally and seasonally became the norm at quality Vancouver restaurants, John Bishop had already introduced this way of dining at his Kitsilano establishment known CARIBBEAN as Bishop’s. The seasoned chef and restaurateur has seen many things 1. CALABASH BISTRO change in the city over the years, but 428 Carrall St. none compares to how Vancouver’s 604-568-5882 palate has evolved. 2. The Reef Originally from a small town in 4172 Main St. Wales, Bishop discovered early on that 604-874-5375 he really liked spending time in the 3. Riddim & Spice kitchen with his mother. “The more 1945 Commercial Dr. I learned about food and cooking 604-215-9252 techniques and flavours, the more I LEBANESE became interested in food,” he told the Straight in a phone interview. “That 1. NUBA, various locations led to me becoming a full-time chef.” 2. Jamjar, various locations He cooked in London and Ireland 3. Saj & Co., 813 Davie St. before moving to Canada in 1973. In 604-396-7804 case you haven’t noticed, many chefs MIDDLE EASTERN who started out in Vancouver in the 1970s and ’80s worked for Umberto 1. NUBA Menghi, and Bishop was no different. Various locations “I worked for Umberto for about 10 2. Afghan Horsemen Restaurant years,” Bishop said. “It was the busiest 202–1833 Anderson St., restaurant in town; there weren’t many, Granville Island but it was considered one of the finest 604-873-5923 restaurants in the city at the time.” 3. Baghdad Cafe Although it seemed like an un548 Seymour St. achievable dream at the time, Bishop 604-428-2525 eventually opened his own restauPERSIAN rant, encouraged and partially fi1. CAZBA RESTAURANT nanced by his dentist. Bishop’s made Various locations its debut in 1985, immediately estab2. Persian Gulf Restaurant lishing itself as a top-tier eatery. Its 114 West 15th St., North Vancouver signature seasonal dishes made with 604-971-5113 locally sourced ingredients proved 3. Zeitoon to be popular among customers, and Various locations were something unique in Vancouver’s fine-dining scene back in the VISIT GOLDEN PLATES day. “When I first came to Canada, ONLINE AT STRAIGHT.COM the idea of fine dining [was] the chef
did the first time around. That’s why he has built up such a steady clientele, some of whom have been dining with him for more than two generations. Some of his dishes have been served since day one: signature items like crab cakes, onion tarts, soufflés, escargots, and frog legs will never be taken off the menu. “Our team may feel tired to cook it again,” Jacob said, “but I tell them that it’s much more
READERS’ f CHOICES
VIETNAMESE 1. ANH AND CHI 3388 Main St. 604-874-0832 2. Phnom Penh Restaurant 244 East Georgia St. 604-682-5777 3. Pho Goodness Various locations
MALAYSIAN 1. BANANA LEAF Various locations 2. Hawkers Delight 4127 Main St. 604-709-8188 3. Tropika Various locations
AFRICAN 1. SIMBA’S GRILL 825 Denman St. 604-974-0649 2. Harambe Ethiopian Restaurant 2149 Commercial Dr. 604-216-1060 3. Fassil Ethiopian Restaurant 5–736 East Broadway 604-879-2001
difficult day in and day out to cook the same food every day…[and make it] as good as it was the day before. That’s being consistent.” The 63-year-old chef thinks he has enough energy for another decade in the kitchen, and he emphasizes that his team is what makes Le Crocodile run so smoothly. On his days off, he likes to check out local Chinese and Japanese food spots, as well as other restaurants run by talented newcomers. “The young chefs in Vancouver are tiptop, and the top 20 restaurants in Vancouver would be successful anywhere in the world,” Jacob said. “Vancouver has really changed so much from when I first came here.”
in Vancouver can claim. Besides the fact that he invented the California roll (he calls it the Tojo roll at his restaurant), the Japanese chef is recognized for introducing innovative and creative sushi to Vancouver. His signature items include the Golden, Northern Lights, and B.C. rolls. Originally from a Japanese city called Kagoshima, Tojo relocated to Osaka after high school to train at high-end restaurants. He spent four years learning the art of kaiseki, which is a traditional Japanese cuisine that features intricate seasonal dishes. Opening a Japanese restaurant back in the 1980s wasn’t easy, because diners weren’t yet very open-minded. The back story that led to the creation of Tojo’s iconic California roll was simple: people didn’t like seaweed and raw fish, so he put the rice on the outside and used crabmeat in lieu of fresh fish. The rest is history. After decades of working in the food industry, Tojo still has a passion for cooking. He believes that making food that is delicious, original, and well-presented is the key to success. “I love it, my job,” Tojo told the Straight in an interview at his West Broadway dining spot. “Never stop challenging [yourself], and make new dishes all the time.” As one would expect, Tojo doesn’t go out for sushi and sashimi. But he is interested in visiting establishments opened by his peers, such as Cioppino’s, Grand Honour Restaurant, and even Zakkushi for Japanese skewers. Don’t expect the 69-year-old chef to be retiring anytime soon: Tojo still sees himself in the kitchen in the foreseeable future. “I like cooking and still have passion to meet and see people because I have lots of regular customers,” he said. “I would be fine cooking until I die. Maybe I work a few days a week, but I’m still interested in cooking. I love it.”
see page 15
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 13
Photo by Steph Yu
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14 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
Giuseppe “Pino” Posteraro, the chef and owner of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca, says he advises young chefs to stay humble and keep working hard.
from page 13
designed the menu and that was the life of the restaurant,” Bishop explained. “If you were to change the menu, customers wouldn’t come back. The idea of changing a menu was unthinkable.” To him, creating successful dishes comes down to the ingredients. “I’ve always found food exciting, and now I’ve realized that a recipe is nothing without good ingredients,” he added. “They don’t have to be expensive, but they have to be as tasty and fresh as can be, and preferably
not shipped 1,000 miles.” When he has time, he enjoys making comfort food at home and trying new recipes. Luckily for customers, the passion that he has for food and cooking hasn’t died. “There’s a time to quit, but I’m not there yet,” Bishop said. d GIUSEPPE “PINO” POSTERARO Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca (1133 Hamilton Street) His name is Giuseppe Posteraro, but everybody knows him as Pino, the chef and owner of Yaletown’s popular
see page 17
READERS’ f CHOICES CHEF
KITSILANO
1. DAVID HAWKSWORTH (Hawksworth Restaurant) 2. Rob Feenie (tie) (Cactus Club Cafe) 2. Jonathan Chovancek (tie) (Homer St. Cafe and Bar, Tableau Bar Bistro) 3. Alex Chen (Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar)
1. THE NAAM RESTAURANT 2724 West 4th Ave. 604-738-7151 2. Fable Kitchen 1944 West 4th Ave. 604-732-1322 3. AnnaLena Restaurant (tie) 1809 West 1st Ave. 778-379-4052 3. Au Comptoir (tie) 2278 West 4th Ave. 604-569-2278
SOUTH GRANVILLE 1. HEIRLOOM VEGETARIAN 1509 West 12th Ave. 604-733-2231 2. West 2881 Granville St. 604-738-8938 3. Stable House Bistro 1520 West 13th Ave. 604-736-1520
WEST END 1. LITTLE JUKE 1074 Davie St. 604-336-5853 2. España 1118 Denman St. 604-558-4040 3. Tableau Bar Bistro 1181 Melville St. 604-639-8692
YALETOWN 1. MEET 1165 Mainland St. 604-696-1165 2. Minami 1118 Mainland St. 604-685-8080 3. Blue Water Cafe 1095 Hamilton St. 604-688-8078
CHINATOWN/STRATHCONA 1. PHNOM PENH RESTAURANT 244 East Georgia St. 604-682-5777 2. Juke Fried Chicken 182 Keefer St. 604-336-5853 3. Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie 163 Keefer St. 604-688-0876
COMMERCIAL DRIVE 1. BANDIDAS TAQUERIA 2781 Commercial Dr. 604-568-8224 2. Havana 1212 Commercial Dr. 604-253-9119 3. La Mezcaleria 1622 Commercial Dr. 604-559-8226
GASTOWN 1. MEET 12 Water St. 604-696-1111 2. The Flying Pig 102 Water St. 604-559-7968 3. L’Abattoir 217 Carrall St. 604-568-1701
MAIN STREET
1. CHICKPEA 4298 Main St. 604-620-0602 2. Burgoo 3096 Main St. 604-873-1441 3. MeeT 4288 Main St. 604-696-1010
BURNABY 1. THE PEAR TREE RESTAURANT 4120 Hastings St. 604-299-2772 2. Anton’s Pasta Bar 4260 Hastings St. 604-299-6636 3. Hart House Restaurant 6664 Deer Lake Ave. 604-298-4278
NEW WESTMINSTER 1. EL SANTO 680 Columbia St. 604-553-1849 2. Wild Thyme 705 12th St. 604-276-8010 3. Hon’s Wun-Tun House 408 6th St. 604-520-6661
NORTH SHORE 1. ARMS REACH BISTRO 107C–4390 Gallant Ave., North Vancouver 604-929-7442 2. Burgoo (tie) 3 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver 604-904-0933 2. Buddha-Full Juice & Smoothies (tie) 106 West 1st St., North Vancouver 604-973-0231 3. Workshop Vegetarian Cafe 296 Pemberton Ave., North Vancouver 604-973-0163
RICHMOND 1. DOLPAN SEOUL BBQ 3779 Sexsmith Rd 604-273-9220 2. Flying Beaver Bar & Grill 4760 Inglis Dr. 604-273-0278 3. Kirin Seafood Restaurant 7900 Westminster Hwy 604-303-8833
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16 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
AFGHAN HORSEMEN
from page 15
Cioppino’s. He was born and raised in Lago, Italy, where his first exposure to good food was growing up in the shadow of a mother who was formally trained and very talented in the kitchen. Before he entered the culinary world, he was a medical student—but that changed when he decided he wanted to see people happy instead of terminally ill. He opened Cioppino’s in 1999 and will be celebrating its 20th anniversary later this year. It’s no secret that running a restaurant isn’t an easy task, so this milestone is a big achievement for him. “For me, success has been being able to provide for my family and another 45 families for the last 20 years and be there for them,” Posteraro told the Straight in an interview at his dining establishment. Posteraro’s regular customers visit his restaurant for the international experience that he offers—mainstay dishes, like his sablefish with Asian flavours, could not be taken off the menu without a customer revolution taking place. He credits his success to having a firm hand as a chef, because that hand guarantees quality food every night, and also kindness to staff and restaurant patrons. “If you understand early enough that food isn’t about yourself but a bigger picture— it’s about people who provide the ingredients and people who eat your food and people who have a perception of understanding your food—it makes it much easier,” Posteraro said. On his days off, the Italian-born chef enjoys visiting his friend Hidekazu Tojo as well as other restaurants around the city, although Italian spots aren’t on his agenda. Besides mentoring and advising young chefs to stay humble and keep working hard in a city full of people with discerning palates, he hopes to continue to be a trendsetter in Vancouver’s food sphere. “I have enough young people that would take over no problem, but I still think I have lots to do and lots to give,” Posteraro said. d WU YONG ZHONG Koon Bo Restaurant (5682 Fraser Street) Tucked away in a tiny strip mall at 41st Avenue and Fraser Street is Koon Bo Restaurant, a locally run Chinese eatery that has been serving up quality Cantonese-style dishes for more than two decades. Chef and owner Wu Yong Zhong opened Koon Bo in 1998, creating traditional plates that quench the appetite of customers from Hong Kong and China’s Guangdong province. Although many authentic Vancouver Chinese restaurants are visited by customers with diverse backgrounds, some hidden gems like Wu’s establishment are still unknown to many Vancouverites. “About 100 percent of my customers were Chinese when I first opened, and there are still very few westerners who come and try my restaurant unless they come with Chinese friends who bring them here,” Wu told the Straight during a phone interview. Wu keeps humble about himself and his restaurant—he is adamant that there are others that are better and better-known—but that’s what makes him and Koon Bo significant: its quiet, unassuming existence still attracts die-hard customers after 20 years, and it has outlived many other Chinese restaurants in Metro Vancouver. The 51-year-old chef has a few wellloved dishes up his sleeve: shredded
RESTAURANT SINCE 1974
AWARD WINNING
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NOW SERVING
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Ricky and Raj Sharma operate the long-running Raga Restaurant, whose signature dishes include butter chicken and lamb, prawns, and chicken with masala sauce.
chicken salad (it’s not rare to see each table order this classic item on any given night), roast squab, and roast duck, which requires advance ordering. “The preorder helps us figure out how much to make so we don’t waste any extra,” Wu explained. “On weekend nights, we usually sell more than a dozen.” Even though the China-born chef deals with Chinese food every day, he still enjoys eating Cantonese food when he has time off. Don’t ask him if he has a favourite spot, though, because he doesn’t. “I just go out and try other people’s restaurants in Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby,” Wu said. “It’s good to compare and see other people’s standards.” d RICKY AND RAJ SHARMA Raga Restaurant (1177 West Broadway) This West Broadway Indian restaurant has existed for almost 40 years, and the owners have seen its neighbour across the street change from a Jimmy Pattison car dealership to a Toys “R” Us. Raga Restaurant opened its doors in 1981, then was taken over by an uncle and nephew duo, Ricky and Raj Sharma, a few years later. For the Sharmas, customers are their top priority. It’s the reason Raga tries to stay consistent for their returning guests. “We haven’t changed the chef ’s recipes since 1981,” Ricky Sharma told the Straight at his family-run dining spot. “If someone
comes in to try one dish, and they come back a year later, it will taste exactly the same.” Its East Indian flavours have proven to be very popular among local and international patrons, and the restaurant has seen its fair share of star power: celebrities like Mel Gibson, Bryan Adams, Goldie Hawn, and Mickey Rooney have walked through its doors. Raga’s signature dishes—like butter chicken or lamb, prawns, and chicken with masala sauce—are hot picks. According to its owners, the restaurant’s authentic Indian menu items have definitely become better received as the city’s appreciation for global flavours has grown. “Back then, a lot of people liked to stick to the basics,” Sharma said. “Over the years, people are opening up a lot more rather than just focusing on one or two dishes that are popular, and they find they really like it.” Running a restaurant often means you don’t have much free time to explore other tasty spots around town, but when the Sharmas aren’t eating Indian food, they like visiting chains like Boston Pizza. In the next five to 10 years, Raga’s owners want to still be serving up great Indian food. “Hopefully, with everybody’s blessings, we can continue what we’re doing and be consistent and still be around for a while,” Sharma said. g
for a Reservation today call 604.873.5923 1833 Anderson St. (2nd Floor) Vancouver
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Top chef Hawksworth has a dream
T
by Gail Johnson
o watch something “like a hawk” may be a cliché, especially when the person watching is named David Hawksworth. But it’s exactly how the chef takes in what’s happening around him as he sits at the bar at Nightingale, his West Hastings Street restaurant, during an interview as the weekday lunch rush is starting to pick up speed. Every time a dish floats by in a server’s hand, his head turns and his eyes dart right to it, holding a searing stare for as long as he can, ensuring it’s properly plated and prepared. “I have a knack for looking at something from 35 feet away,” Hawksworth says. “I can tell if there isn’t Maldon sea salt on there or if a pasta looks undercooked. It’s a curse. It drives you insane.” You’d have to have a certain dose of madness and perfectionism to reach the kind of success Hawksworth has had over the years. Voted the 2019 Golden Plates chef of the year by readers, he owns an eponymous restaurant and catering company in addition to Bel Café and Nightingale, has a partnership with Air Canada creating dishes that are served in business class on international flights, and has made guest-chef appearances at the James Beard House and Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley, among other places. More recently, the Hawksworth Restaurant Group announced it will open a restaurant at Vancouver International Airport in 2020. Located past security, the 7,000-square-foot space will feature healthy fare, providing an alternative to the hub’s existing food choices, which Hawksworth describes as “shockingly bad”, a “1 out of 10”. The married father of an 11-yearold son has other ideas for new ventures, cards he’s playing close to the chest for the time being. Although he has contemplated opening a second Nightingale location, that doesn’t seem likely anytime soon. What’s got him most excited is the potential for an altogether different kind of project: Hawksworth’s own farm. There’s nothing in writing and no details to share yet, but he will say it’s a dream and a goal to have a place to grow his own vegetables and fruit, to have access to the freshest seasonal ingredients possible, and that he’s exploring local options. “It’s that much more meaningful when you’re growing your own stuff,” Hawksworth says. “We [he and his family] have a few things we grow in our backyard, and when you take that
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w w w.lasma r ga r it as.com 18 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
vegetable and go back to your kitchen, you pay a lot more attention to it than if you went to the store. “If you pick an apple from the tree or have fresh eggs,” he says, “there’s nothing like it.” A cookbook is also forthcoming. It will be a collection of recipes following the evolution of his career, from the decade he spent working in the U.K. at Michelin restaurants like Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, L’Escargot, and the Square to the current day. Sophisticated home cooks will finally be able to make the mosaic terrine he developed in London; other recipes will be simpler, in line with Nightingale’s vegetableforward share plates and pizzas, and will include pastries and cocktails. Although he employs 350 people in his operations, staffing is an ongoing struggle, as any local restaurateur can attest. Adding to the pressure of running a successful restaurant in Vancouver’s competitive market are high rents and pricey real estate. “We don’t have affordable housing, and that’s tricky,” Hawksworth says. “Attracting great staff is always a challenge when Vancouver is so expensive and people are shy to come here. “Anybody can open a restaurant,” he adds. “Given enough money, you
can get the thing open. You’ve gotta keep that beast alive. Restaurants usually don’t get paid off for about 10 years. It’s hard watching other restaurants not make it.” Hawksworth is especially proud of the Hawksworth Young Chef Scholarship Foundation. Its annual competition for aspiring culinary talents aged 28 and under receives as many as 300 applications each year. He started the scholarship out of frustration after seeing Canada get passed over, time and again, in awards like S. Pellegrino’s list of the world’s 50 best restaurants. The Hawksworth scholarship recipient gets $10,000 plus a stage at an international restaurant. This year, he’s taking all of the past winners to Italy for four days to explore wineries and restaurants— “to inspire them to see what’s out there”. The ultimate goal is to have those chefs come back home with the experience, enthusiasm, and professional skills required to help elevate the city’s and the country’s dining scene. “We need to invigorate young cooks,” he says. “I want to see Canadian food be recognized. People should be travelling to Canada for the food.” g
READERS’ f CHOICES NEW RESTAURANT
FRENCH
LATIN AMERICAN
1. THE VICTOR 39 Smithe St., 604-683-7271 2. Di Beppe Ristorante 8 West Cordova St. 604-620-3800 3. Pepino’s Spaghetti House 631 Commercial Dr. 604-254-5633
1. ST. LAWRENCE 269 Powell St. 604-620-3800 2. Les Faux Bourgeois 663 East 15th Ave. 604-873-9733 3. L’Abattoir 217 Carrall St. 604-568-1701
1. CUCHILLO 261 Powell St., 604-559-7585 2. El Camino’s 3250 Main St., 604-875-6246 3. Chicha, 136 East Broadway 604-620-3963
PACIFIC NORTHWEST 22NDAnnual
David Hawksworth—voted the 2019 Golden Plates chef of the year by readers of the Georgia Straight—says his goal is to grow his own vegetables and fruit.
GREEK
1. NIGHTINGALE 1017 West Hastings St. 604-695-9500 2. Bishop’s 2183 West 4th Ave. 604-738-2025 3. Hawksworth Restaurant 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000
1. STEPHO’S SOUVLAKI GREEK TAVERNA Various locations 2. The Greek by Anatoli Various locations 3. Apollonia Greek Restaurant 1830 Fir St. 604-736-9559
CONTINENTAL
ITALIAN
1. CHAMBAR RESTAURANT 568 Beatty St. 604-879-7119 2. Tableau Bar Bistro 1181 Melville St. 604-639-8692 3. Bauhaus Restaurant 1 West Cordova St. 604-974-1147
1. ASK FOR LUIGI 305 Alexander St. 604-428-2544 2. Savio Volpe 615 Kingsway 604-428-0072 3. Anton’s Pasta Bar 4260 East Hastings St., Burnaby 604-299-6636
MEDITERRANEAN 1. CIOPPINO’S MEDITERRANEAN GRILL & ENOTECA 1133 Hamilton St., 604-688-7466 2. Nuba, various locations 3. Café Medina, 780 Richards St. 604-879-3114
MEXICAN 1. TACOFINO, various locations 2. La Taqueria, various locations 3. Las Margaritas Restaurante y Cantina 1999 West 4th Ave., 604-734-7117
SPANISH 1. BODEGA ON MAIN 1014 Main St., 604-565-8815 2. España 1118 Denman St., 604-558-4040 3. The Sardine Can 26 Powell St., 604-568-1350
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GOLDEN PLATES Mott 32 is no ordinary Chinese spot
T
by Tammy Kwan
here’s a lot for guests to take in as soon as they step inside Mott 32 (1161 West Georgia Street), the Vancouver version of an upscale Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong. From the massive Victorian-style conservatory light fixture above its main dining room to birdcage-themed booths to abacus wall dividers, diners will feel like they’ve been transported to a different era. Like those of its sister restaurants in other cities, Mott 32 Vancouver’s interior was created by award-winning designer Joyce Wang, who runs studios in London and Hong Kong. She pays attention to the slightest of details in any given space, which explains why Malcolm Wood, managing and culinary director of Maximal Concepts (the company behind Mott 32), has worked with her on so many projects. For Wood, the atmosphere and design in his restaurants are as important as the food and beverage offerings. “You have to have great cocktails and a wine program, you have to see the guys cooking and see the bartenders and sit there and enjoy the atmosphere,” Wood told the Straight in an interview at his Vancouver restaurant. “If all three are working, then the customer will come back.” There are several private dining rooms at this Chinese fine-dining establishment. Each room has a different theme, featuring unique designs and décor. For instance, the Opium Room has a lounge chair and lighting fixtures made from antique pipes. Authenticity is very important to Wood, who emphasizes that the Chinese vases, Edison lighting, and Victorian chandeliers found at Mott 32 are integral to telling its East-meetsWest story. “At every single Mott 32, you could have five meals in five different spots at the restaurant and it’s a completely unique experience in each one of those spaces,” Wood said. “Having a great design with Chinese food and a mixology program is quite an unusual setting. I think that combination is what makes Mott 32.” The restaurant’s distinctive and breathtaking interior space, coupled with a diverse and consistent menu, is what gets people coming back through its doors. Even with higher than usual prices, Mott 32 is a
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22ND Annual
2019
The interior of the upscale Chinese restaurant Mott 32 Vancouver—which includes birdcage-themed booths—was created by designer Joyce Wang.
favourite with many local food lovers. “There are many different layers and textures to the flavours in our dishes. The backbone of the menu is Cantonese, but we incorporate flavours from other regions in China,” Kai Chung Lai, Mott 32 Vancouver’s head chef, explained to the Straight. He was in semiretirement mode when Maximal Concepts’ headhunting team scouted him, but he’s not complaining. According to Lai, the restaurant’s bestsellers include the crispy, triplecooked U.S. Black Angus short rib, signature Maine lobster ma-po tofu, and apple-wood–roasted Peking duck. “What sets Mott 32 apart from other restaurants is that we really focus on using high-quality ingredients and we especially pay attention to where it’s sourced and how dishes are prepared in the kitchen,” Lai said. Mott 32’s cocktail and wine program is also unique. Its extensive list of libations has proven popular among those who enjoy tipples around town, and Wood is proud to be able to offer that at an authentic Chinese restaurant. Signature cocktails like the Mott St. Cooler (Zubrówka vodka, Madagascar vanilla syrup, Szechuan chili, ginger, and apple) and Hong Kong Ice Tea (Blanco Avion tequila, Lillet Blanc, blackcurrant, and jasmine tea) are top picks. When Mott 32 opened in early 2017, it didn’t garner as much attention as a restaurant of its calibre usually would. The lack of press and social-media interaction was down to one factor: it’s located in the Trump International Hotel. Wood understands that some
potential customers may have kept their distance from his restaurant because of its presumed association with the controversial building and the name attached to it, but he strongly emphasizes that politics are not involved. “Our decision in going into this space had nothing to do with Trump. It was a fantastic location, and with restaurants, it’s all about location,” Wood said. “We operate the restaurant independently, but we are at this address. It is what it is. We aren’t in politics, and we try to stay quite neutral.” At the end of the day, Wood knows what his business concepts are about. Sustainability and environmentfriendly practices are close to his heart, hence his involvement with antishark-fin organizations and antiplastic documentaries. He wanted the first overseas Mott 32 to open in Vancouver, not only because he has a childhood attachment to the city but also because he believes the city is aligned with his own ecoconscious mentality. In a city saturated with exceptional Chinese restaurants, it’s hard not to ask whether the co-owner feels pressure from local competition. But Wood is not fazed by other restaurants—he knows his is unique. “We’re not a mom-and-pop shop just specializing in design or just doing cocktails. It’s a place where you can come for an experience, a casual lunch, and the food is family-cooking food that’s shareable and accessible,” he said. “But you’re sitting in this environment that’s so different. You’ve got to come and try it, basically, to start to understand it.” g
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READERS’ f CHOICES OVERALL
HOTEL CAFÉ
PRETHEATRE
1. MOTT 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 2. Hawksworth Restaurant 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000 3. Savio Volpe 615 Kingsway 604-428-0072
1. BEL CAFÉ (ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA) 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000 2. giovane café + eatery + market (Fairmont Place Pacific Rim) 1038 Canada Place 604-695-5501 3. Sylvia’s Restaurant and Lounge (Sylvia Hotel) 1154 Gilford St. 604-681-9321
1. CHAMBAR RESTAURANT 568 Beatty St. 604-879-7119 2. Cibo Trattoria 900 Seymour St. 604-602-9570 3. Homer St. Cafe and Bar 898 Homer St. 604-428-4299
FINE DINING 1. HAWKSWORTH RESTAURANT 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000 2. Mott 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 3. Le Crocodile 100–909 Burrard St. 604-669-4298
BRUNCH 1. CAFÉ MEDINA 780 Richards St. 604-879-3114 2. Chambar Restaurant 568 Beatty St. 604-879-7119 3. Yolk’s Restaurant and Commissary Various locations
MIDPRICE 1. CACTUS CLUB CAFE Various locations 2. White Spot Various locations 3. Earls Restaurant Various locations
HOTEL RESTAURANT 1. HAWKSWORTH RESTAURANT (ROSEWOOD HOTEL GEORGIA) 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000 2. Botanist (Fairmont Place Pacific Rim) 1038 Canada Place 604-695-5500 3. Mott 32 (Trump International Hotel & Tower) 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886
VIEW 1. SEASONS IN THE PARK Queen Elizabeth Park (West 33rd at Cambie) 604-874-8008 2. Cactus Club Cafe 1790 Beach Avenue 604-681-2582 3. Salmon House on the Hill 2229 Folkestone Way, West Vancouver 604-926-3212
PATIO 1. DOCKSIDE RESTAURANT 1253 Johnston St., Granville Island 604-685-7070 2. Cactus Club Cafe Various locations 3. Tap & Barrel Various locations
RESTAURANT STAFF 1. MOTT 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 2. Cactus Club Cafe Various locations 3. Juke Fried Chicken Various locations
THANK YOU FOR VOTING US BEST BISTRO.............................GOLD BEST CONTINENTAL................. SILVER BEST RESTAURANT WINE LIST....SILVER BEST WEST END..................... BRONZE
22NDAnnual
22NDAnnual
2019
2019
RESTAURANT GROUP 1. CACTUS CLUB CAFE Various locations 2. Glowbal Restaurant Group Various locations 3. Earls Restaurant Various locations
VISIT GOLDEN PLATES ONLINE AT STRAIGHT.COM
BRUNCH LUNCH DINNER DRINKS HAPPY HOUR tableaubarbistro.com tel 604 639 8692 1181 Melville Street Vancouver BC Canada V6E 0A3
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 21
Modern Bowl with Glazed Salmon
Tuna Poke Bowl
Szechuan Lettuce Wraps with Tofu
Best Restaurant Group 22NDAnnual
2019
Thank you, Georgia Straight readers, for voting us as Best Restaurant Group 22nd Annual Golden Plate Awards.
22 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
GOLDEN PLATES
Cocktails make the French connection by Gail Johnson
S
ilky smooth, frothy on top, and served in a footed goblet, the St. Germain cocktail at Tableau Bar Bistro is as pale green as avocado flesh; garnished with a slender lavender stem, it tastes fresh and herbaceous. The Jambe de Bois, poppy red and bold in a crystal Riedel rocks glass, is a drink that grabs your attention with its flavour of bitter orange. What the concoctions have in common is their French connection. The Melville Street restaurant and lounge pays homage to the place that invented the mimosa and celebrated the belle époque with absinthe. Green chartreuse is the star ingredient in the St. Germain. Only two monks from the Grande Chartreuse Monastery in Grenoble know the names of the naturally green liqueur’s 130 herbs, flowers, and plants. The Jambe de Bois features Bigallet China-China Amer, a liqueur made out of botanicals and macerated orange peels in Virieu, a small town in the heart of the Loire region. Heading Tableau’s bar is JeanSebastien (“JS”) Dupuis, who hails from Repentigny, a Montreal suburb. The beverage director of Tableau and Homer St. Cafe and Bar, both of which belong to the Wentworth Hospitality Group, is the 2019 Golden Plates Awards’ bartender of the year. Dupuis cites Harry MacElhone as his favourite bartender. The Scottish master started working at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in 1911 before buying it and wrote Harry’s ABC of Golden Plates Awards’ bartender of the year JS Dupuis takes inspiration from Mixing Cocktails and Barflies and old recipes he sourced from a French cocktail museum. Photo by Leila Kwok Cocktails. Taking inspiration from the first-edition recipe books he Cocktail Book and The Bar Napoléon others (crediting the sources on his sourced from a cocktail museum Cocktail Book, Dupuis uses original menu), and creates originals, like in France, like The Bar Américain recipes for some of his drinks, adapts the 1181, with gin, elderflower syrup,
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lemonade, and sparkling wine. While Dupuis can shake, stir, and invent cocktails that linger in the memory as well as on the taste buds, he says that creating and pouring drinks is but a small part of the art of bartending. “Making cocktails is maybe 30 percent of the job,” Dupuis says in a latemorning interview at Tableau, where the décor is art deco and the food menu features classics like steak tartare, moules frites, and salade Niçoise. “There’s a very, very important aspect of entertainment when you’re behind the bar, of creating an experience. It’s not hard to pour whisky over rocks, but how do you become an ambassador for your city, a concierge, confidant, and standup comedian? That’s what hospitality is all about. “You have to know what your regulars like; if they always have the same wine, then when you see them walking through the door, that wine is already on the bar waiting for him or her,” he says. “The aspect I like the most is building those relationships,
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At Tableau, I say to my bartenders to really go to French roots. Think Paris in the 1920s.
and ensuring that everyone who comes to your bar gets the same level of service so they come back.” Dupuis didn’t set out to be a bartender, having studied botanical science at McGill. (“Liquor is made from plants, so I’m using my degree,” he says jokingly.) While there, he worked at the campus bar, serving beer, rye and gingers, and rum and Cokes. That’s where he got a taste of earning money while being part of the party and experiencing the camaraderie that seems to naturally flourish in the hospitality industry. After university, he moved to Whistler to work as a ski instructor, taking on a second job as a bartender at Garfinkel’s. The latter reignited his passion for slinging drinks and being a host. He left the slopes to bartend full-time, working at the below-ground club for seven years, learning more than how to serve up drinks at whip speed. “Whistler is where I really learned about hospitality,” Dupuis says. “People visit for a week or two; how do you get them back in a short period of time when they have so many options? And how do you make sure the locals, who are your bread and butter, are happy? “You do that by providing good, friendly service, by becoming an ambassador of your town. Having a rapport with your guests is Bartending 101, saying ‘Let me make this experience better for you,’ ” he says. “That’s what bartending is all about, making people feel special. There are no off days for bartenders. You can’t be grumpy. I don’t tolerate it. People sit at your bar, and you’re always on deck. It’s very demanding, but when you get it, it’s the best job in the world.”
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• One coupon per 2 people • Max: 3 coupons per table
2019
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2019
1ST BEST
BRUNCH
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 23
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Think you know BBQ? You don’t know
voted Vancouver’s #1 Central Texas BBQ smokehouse. smoked brisket, ribs, links & more. Reservations recommended. (Vegetarians, not so much...)
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Next, Bearfoot Bistro recruited him. Widely recognized as one of the best restaurants not just in Whistler but right across Canada, it’s also one of the resort town’s most expensive. His career took off. He took on all that comes with the title of bar manager and could use any ingredient he craved, no matter how pricey or outrageous, adapting to the molecular wave when it surged. He was entrusted with opening the restaurant’s famous vodka ice room just in time for the Olympics, the first of its kind in Canada and still the coldest, at –25° C. He has a scar on his arm from helping build it; among the guests he served vodka flights in it were the prince of Monaco and members of 54-40. Working 16-hour days at the Bearfoot during the Winter Games, he says, was “magical”. Gold medallists came in with their families to celebrate. “I got to work with [skeleton athlete and Amazing Race Canada host] Jon Montgomery behind my bar,” he says. “I was teaching him how to make drinks and I got to wear his gold medal.” In 2011, Dupuis moved to Vancouver with his wife, making a home in the West End with their two dogs, to work at Tableau, ultimately overseeing the beverage program, from apéritifs to digestifs and everything in between, there and at Homer St. Cafe. He took a pause for a couple of years to be a wine-and-spirits rep, but missed the restaurant industry and its inherent camaraderie. He worked at Boulevard Restaurant and Oyster Bar, winning the Golden Plates bartender-of-the-year title, before returning to Wentworth. Tableau allows him to travel back in time to the City of Light a century or so ago, when luminaries like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Josephine Baker made the metropolis sizzle, to use author Mary McAuliffe’s term. “At Tableau, I say to my bartenders
to really go to French roots,” Dupuis says. “ ‘Think Paris in the 1920s: be bold.’ All the bartenders in the U.S. who got kicked out because of Prohibition were creating all these wonderful cocktails, discovering these beautiful European spirits, with people drinking absinthe and partying.” To keep that spirit alive, Tableau favours French spirits and liqueurs, such as brandy, cognac, Armagnac, and eaux de vie. It carries only French and B.C. wines. Homer St. Cafe and Bar is a different beast. Although French-inspired, with its showcase rotisserie, its menu is broader, drawing on Mediterranean and South American influences. “It’s a bigger sandbox to play in,” Dupuis says. The international wine list emphasizes wines that may be less familiar to local diners but provide terrific value, such as those from Portugal, Spain, and Argentina, along with bottles from California, Oregon, and Washington. The lively bistro has a rotating tap of local craft beers and its own collaboration with Powell Street Brewing, a hazy IPA. “It’s hard to justify bringing in international beers on draft when we have so many good beers made a few blocks away,” he says. When he’s not pouring drinks or ordering wine, Dupuis has the added role of treasurer of the Vancouverbased Canadian Professional Bartending Association. It’s one way to bolster the community he’s so passionate about, with Vancouver’s scene being especially vibrant and creative. His advice to diners, whether they’re in their home city or travelling, is this: sit at the bar. “The bar is always the best seat in the house,” Dupuis says. “It’s always my first choice. My wife and I went to Montreal last year and went to a bunch of different restaurants; we sat at the bar at all of them. “The bartender will know where to send you depending on what you want to see or do,” he says. “The bartender will take care of you.” g
READERS’ f CHOICES LOCAL BREWERY 1. RED TRUCK BEER COMPANY 295 East 1st Ave. 604-682-4733 2. Granville Island Brewing 1441 Cartwright St. Granville Island 604-687-2739 3. Parallel 49 Brewing 1950 Triumph St. 604-558-2739
NEW BREWERY 1. ELECTRIC BICYCLE BREWING 20 East 4th Ave. 604-709-9939 2. Brewhall 97 East 2nd Ave. 604-709-8623 3. East Van Brewing Co. 1675 Venables St. 604-558-3822
BREWERY TASTING ROOM 1. BRASSNECK BREWERY 2148 Main St. 604-259-7686 2. 33 Acres Brewing Company 15 West 8th Ave. 604-620-4589 3. Parallel 49 Brewing 1950 Triumph St. 604-558-2739
PRIVATE BEER STORE 1. BREWERY CREEK CRAFT BEER & WINE STORE 3045 Main St. 604-872-3373 2. Legacy Liquor Store 1633 Manitoba St. 604-331-7900 3. High Point Beer Wine Spirits 2769 East Hastings St. 604-638-1632
PRIVATE LIQUOR STORE 1. LEGACY LIQUOR STORE 1633 Manitoba St. 604-331-7900 2. Coal Harbour Liquor Store 1218 West Pender St. 604-685-1212 3. Jak’s Beer Wine Spirits Various locations 24 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
RESTAURANT BEER SELECTION 1. CRAFT BEER MARKET 85 West 1st St. 604-709-2337 2. BierCraft Various locations 3. Alibi Room 157 Alexander St. 604-623-3383
LOCALLY BREWED BEER 1. GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING LIONS WINTER ALE 2. Parallel 49 Brewing Gypsy Tears 3. Four Winds Brewing Company IPA
B.C. BEER BREWED OUTSIDE VANCOUVER 1. PERSEPHONE PALE ALE 2. Four Winds Brewing Company IPA 3. Driftwood Brewery Fat Tug IPA (tie) 3. Hoyne Brewing Co. Dark Matter (tie)
CANADIAN BEER BREWED OUTSIDE B.C. 1. STEAM WHISTLE 2. Mill Street Organic Lager 3. La Fin du Monde
IMPORTED BEER 1. STELLA ARTOIS 2. Heineken 3. Corona
BARTENDER 1. JS DUPUIS (TABLEAU, HOMER ST. CAFE AND BAR) 2. Olivia Povarchook (Juke Fried Chicken) 3. Thomas Tsoi (Mott 32)
BEER FESTIVAL/EVENT 1. VANCOUVER CRAFT BEER WEEK 2. Hopscotch (tie) 2. Oktoberfest (tie) 3. Brewery and the Beast
22NDAnnual
2019
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 25
Thanks for voting us “Best Pre-Game Restaurant” and “Best Restaurant For Watching The Game”
22NDAnnual
2019
26 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
GOLDEN PLATES
Raise a golden glass to some first-rate wine lists by Kurtis Kolt
Mamie Taylor’s in Chinatown has a wine program that provides value and balance, and unlike some other eateries, it doesn’t always mark the price up by 100 percent.
F
or this Golden Plates edition of the Straight, we shine a spotlight on many restaurants at the top of their game. Once votes are tabulated, there are always both some surprises and, of course, perennial winners in various categories. On the wine side of things, there are places often top of mind we know we can depend on for a killer selection of bottles, but there are always others a step or two away from that spotlight that are also worthy of our attention. This week, I want to tout a trio of ’em; let’s dub these my personal Golden Glass awards. One of these places is my local, Mamie Taylor’s in Chinatown (251 East Georgia Street). Since 2013, it has been a go-to for many when craving homey, southern U.S. fare like fried chicken (with roast cauliflower waffle, Szechuan honey, slaw, and gravy) or the comfort of a juicy burger (with Swiss cheese, red-pepper relish, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and
fries). Step into the space anytime the joint is jumping and you’ll spot craft beer from local breweries like Strange Fellows Brewing or Superflux Beer Company atop many a table among a slew of well-made cocktails. The cocktail aspect is a given at the place; proprietor Ron Oliver was at the top of the local cocktail game with positions at places like Blue Water Cafe and the Diamond before opening shop. Though it may not be the first instinct for most walking in the door, Mamie’s wine list deserves more than a casual glance. Hovering around the 40-bottle mark, the program offers both value and balance, with a selection beyond what many would expect for the casual spot. Sure, when you’re tucking into that hanger steak (with Brussels sprouts, new potatoes, red kale, and red wine jus), that rich and plummy Tinto Negro Malbec 2016 from Argentina ($11 per glass
HOTEL LOUNGE
B.C. WINE/WINERY (RED)
1. THE LOBBY LOUNGE AND RAWBAR AT THE FAIRMONT PACIFIC RIM 1038 Canada Place 604-695-5502 2. Notch8 Restaurant & Bar 900 West Georgia St. 604-662-1900 3. Bacchus Restaurant & Lounge 845 Hornby St., 604-608-5319
1. BURROWING OWL ESTATE WINERY 500 Burrowing Owl Pl., Oliver 250-498-0620 2. Mission Hill Family Estate 1730 Mission Hill Rd, West Kelowna 250-768-6448 3. Painted Rock Estate Winery 400 Smythe Dr., Penticton 250-493-6809
1. MOTT 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 2. Tableau Bar Bistro 1181 Melville St. 604-639-8692 3. Hawksworth Restaurant 801 West Georgia St. 604-673-7000
INDEPENDENT BAR LOUNGE 1. THE KEEFER BAR 135 Keefer St. 604-688-1961 2. The Narrow Lounge 1898 Main St. 604-839-5780 3. Pourhouse (tie) 162 Water St., 604-568-7022 3. The Diamond (tie) 6 Powell St.
WINE BAR 1. UVA WINE & COCKTAIL BAR 900 Seymour St. 604-632-9560 2. Salt Tasting Room 45 Blood Alley Square 604-633-1912 3. Mott 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886
PRIVATE WINE STORE 1. EVERYTHING WINE Various locations 2. Liberty Wine Merchants Various locations 3. Legacy Liquor Store 1633 Manitoba St. 604-331-7900
22NDAnnual
2019
Thank You For Voting Us Best BC White Wine Winery 2825 Naramata Road, Naramata BC · joiefarm.com · @joiefarm
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READERS’ f CHOICES
RESTAURANT WINE LIST
JOIEFARM WINERY FOR THE WIN!
THANKS FOR VOTING, VANCOUVER! WE’LL SEE YOU FOR LUNCH TO CELEBRATE.
B.C. WINE/WINERY (WHITE) 1. JOIEFARM WINERY 2825 Naramata Rd, Naramata 250-496-0093 2. Mission Hill Family Estate 1730 Mission Hill Rd, West Kelowna 250-768-6448 3. Quails’ Gate Estate Winery 3303 Boucherie Rd, West Kelowna 250-769-4451
WINERY/VINEYARD RESTAURANT 1. TERRACE RESTAURANT, MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE 1730 Mission Hill Rd, West Kelowna 250-768-6467 2. Miradoro Restaurant, Tinhorn Creek Winery (tie) 537 Tinhorn Creek Rd, Oliver 250-498-3742 2. Old Vines Restaurant, Quails’ Gate Winery (tie) 3303 Boucherie Rd, West Kelowna 250-769-2500 3. Vancouver Urban Winery 55 Dunlevy Ave. 604-566-9463
22NDAnnual
2019
WINE FESTIVAL/EVENT 1. CORNUCOPIA 2. Okanagan Wine Festivals 3. Top Drop Vancouver
fairmont.com/pacificrim @fairmontpacific #pacificrimlife MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 27
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or $50 per bottle) will come up a treat. Let’s say, though, that there are a couple of wine geeks at the table (likely, considering the place is a restaurant-industry hot spot) and they’re looking for something off the beaten path. Alpha Box & Dice 2016 “Rebel Rebel” Montepulciano from Langhorne Creek, Australia, would fit the bill too, with its proper take on the Italian variety, chock-full of peppery mulberries and cherries at a very reasonable $70. Looking to impress your father-in-law? Let’s head to Burgundy for a little MarchandTawse Gevrey-Chambertin 2013 ($155), shall we? Yup, there are fancy bottles, too. The best part is, you’re not gonna get gouged when ordering them. Case in point: want to go all-out with your popcorn-shrimp po’ boy (with apple-jicama slaw, Old Bay mayo, cilantro, and fries)? Why not pop a cork from a chilled Pierre Paillard Non-Vintage “Les Parcelles” Bouzy
Sebastien Le Goff oversees the wine program at Cactus Club Cafe, which offers a cut-rate deal on a bottle of Tantalus Vineyards Chardonnay every Tuesday.
Grand Cru Champagne? At $120, it’s a more than fair, less-than-100-percent markup, considering it’s $67.99 on B.C. Liquor Store shelves. That’s certainly worthy of toasting a glass of the citrus-and-brioche laden fizz. Speaking of deals, it doesn’t get
much better than Tuesdays at Cactus Club Cafe (various locations), when the entire wine list is on offer for half-price. Sebastien Le Goff’s wine program is a spirited accompaniment to chef Rob Feenie’s menu, regardless of what we’re noshing on. Whether it’s his classic butternutsquash ravioli with prawns (butternut-squash-and-mascarpone ravioli, truffle butter, sautéed jumbo prawns,
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pine nuts, crispy sage) or a simple order of crispy yam fries with garlic aioli, there will be many a wine suited to pair. That bottle of British Columbia’s Tantalus Vineyards Chardonnay, overflowing with lemon, pear, and hazelnuts, is regularly $57 on the list but on Tuesdays is a mere $28.50. Hell, you can go crazy and pop some Dom Pérignon Champagne on that day, when its $460 price tag becomes $230, which is six bucks cheaper than you’ll find it for at B.C. Liquor Stores. Finally, I’ve really been digging what Siôn Iorwerth has been doing at Juice Bar at the Birds & the Beets in Gastown (55 Powell Street). What was originally a weekly pop-up natural-wine bar has now morphed into a four-nights-a-week flight of good times running every Wednesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. onward. Each night, the guy and his cheery team of wine enthusiasts crack a varying selection of wines from all around the world to offer by the glass. A rotating roster of guest chefs brings a dynamic food program where a fresh oyster bar one night turns into an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria the next. You never know who will stop by, either. Just in the past few weeks, actor-comedian Aziz Ansari stopped in postshow; a few days later, guests could enjoy a fresh and fruity glass of La Stoppa Trebbiolo out of EmiliaRomagna, Italy, poured by cellar and vineyard guy Nico Sciackitano, who was visiting from the winery. Less fussy, more fun: there’s a great wine scene happening in Vancouver. Get out there and drink it up. g
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22NDAnnual
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Best French 1ST PLACE
Best Pizzeria 3RD PLACE
Best New Restaurant 2ND PLACE
Best Italian 1ST PLACE
Best Restaurant for a Stiff Drink 1ST PLACE
Best Independant Bar Lounge 3RD PLACE
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MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 29
GOLDEN PLATES
Industry experts select their favourites by Tammy Kwan
R Thank You
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icardo Valverde is the executive chef at Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio, an upscale restaurant with prime locations in False Creek and Ambleside. Its debut as a fresh-seafood dining establishment in 2015 was well-received, but its menus have since evolved into something much more complex: Peruvian-Japanese cuisine, otherwise known as Nikkei food. Nikkei cuisine hasn’t become mainstream in Vancouver, but those who appreciate and enjoy its flavours understand why it’s such popular fare in other cities. Well-travelled culinary experts around town know its significance, which is why in this year’s Georgia Straight’s annual industryinsiders survey, almost three dozen chefs, food and beverage directors, and restaurant managers voted Valverde chef of the year (in a tie with Botanist’s Hector Laguna) and Ancora Ambleside one of the best new restaurants. Originally from Peru, Valverde has always been fascinated with food. “I used to stand beside my mom and watch her cook, and I was the only one of four brothers who learned how to cook,” he told the Straight in a phone interview. After moving to Canada at the age of 17, he landed a gig as a dishwasher at a local fish-and-chips eatery and quickly moved up the ranks. After high school, he took computer-science courses in college, but that wasn’t his calling. “I was feeling empty. I never really felt like that was what I wanted to do,” Valverde said. He decided to switch gears, enrolled at the Dubrulle French Culinary School (before it was bought by
Ancora’s Ricardo Valverde is popular with his peers in the restaurant industry.
the Art Institute of Vancouver), and took up positions in well-known spots like CinCin Ristorante + Bar, Diva at the Met, and Blue Water Cafe. But he didn’t find a permanent cooking home until he joined Viaggio Hospitality Group’s Ancora. It was a long journey for Valverde to become the executive chef at the high-end dining establishment, but it has paid off, because he can finally cook something that defines him and his culture. “I feel like it’s rewarding and a nice feeling, because I feel like I am putting who I am on the plate,” the chef explained. “I give people what I would prepare for myself at home. It’s what I believe is delicious.” For his menu inspiration, he draws on childhood influences and travels with his wife. “When we eat, we eat for research as well,” Valverde said. “I also have a very international crew that are all very talented, and I pick their brains a lot.” One of his signature dishes is aji-panca glazed sablefish, which
features Japanese ingredients like dashi-braised daikon and kale gomae. Valverde also put his own twist on a traditional Peruvian rice dish, arroz con pato, made with rice, duck, and huancaina (spicy cheese) sauce. “I add my own take on Nikkei cuisine,” he added. “I use what this part of the world offers, and I give people what they’re familiar with, while adding my Nikkei touch.” Valverde still remembers one very significant conversation he had with his father during the flight that brought his family to Canada 21 years ago. It was about his father’s expectations in their new country. “He said to me, ‘Make patria,’ which means represent where you’re from and, at the same time, blend with the new culture,” he recalled. “So doing this, in a way, makes my parents proud.” Many ambitious chefs who work their way up have one ultimate goal: to open their own restaurant one day. But that’s not Valverde’s main objective. “I’m very in love with this company right now,” he said. “What’s next for me is to keep growing with the company and mentoring young chefs. And just keep making patria, not just in Vancouver but all over Canada.” Ancora received plenty of praise from Vancouver’s restaurant insiders this year, but they also gave nods to many other dining destinations around the city for 2019’s Golden Plates. From newcomers (Elisa Steakhouse and Como Taperia) to well-loved cuisines like Vietnamese and vegetarian (Anh and Chi and the Acorn), Vancouver is truly home to many world-class eateries. Here are Vancouver’s food-industry-insider choices for 2019. g
INDUSTRY EXPERTS’ f CHOICES
THANK YOU VANCOUVER FOR VOTING US #1 BANANA LEAF w w w. b a n a n a l e a f - v a n c o u v e r.c o m
CHEF
CHINESE
OTHER ASIAN
1. HECTOR LAGUNA (TIE) (Botanist) 1. RICARDO VALVERDE (TIE) (Ancora) 2. J-C Poirier (St. Lawrence) 3. Andrea Carlson (Burdock & Co.)
1. BAO BEI CHINESE BRASSERIE 163 Keefer St. 604-688-0876 2. Dynasty Seafood Restaurant 108–777 West Broadway 604-876-8388 3. Mott 32 (tie) 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 3. Kirin Restaurant (tie) Various locations
1. MAENAM 1938 West 4th Ave. 604-730-5579 2. Heritage Asian Eatery Various locations 3. Long’s Noodle House 4853 Main St., 604-879-7879
NEW RESTAURANT 22NDAnnual
1. ELISA STEAKHOUSE 1109 Hamilton St. 604-362-5443 2. Ancora Ambleside 1351 Bellevue Ave., West Vancouver 604-926-0287 3. Downlow Chicken Shack 905 Commercial Dr. 604-283-1385
2019
FRENCH
THANK YOU FOR VOTING US BEST RESTAURANT ON THE DRIVE!
1. ST. LAWRENCE 269 Powell St. 604-620-3800 2. Le Crocodile 100–909 Burrard St. 604-669-4298 3. Au Comptoir 2278 West 4th Ave. 604-569-2278
ITALIAN
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JAPANESE 1. MASAYOSHI 4376 Fraser St. 604-428-6272 2. Tojo’s Restaurant 1133 West Broadway 604-872-8050 3. Miku Restaurant 70–200 Granville St. 604-568-3900
INDIAN 1. VIJ’S 3106 Cambie St. 604-736-6664 2. Tasty Indian Bistro Various locations 3. Palki 116 15th St. East, North Vancouver 604-986-7555
KOREAN
1. LA QUERCIA 3689 West 4th Ave. 604-676-1007 2. Savio Volpe 615 Kingsway 604-428-0072 3. Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca 1133 Hamilton St. 604-688-7466
1. DAMSO RESTAURANT Various locations 2. Sura Korean Various locations 3. So Hyang Korean Cuisine 6345 Fraser St. 604-729-0702
OTHER EUROPEAN
VIETNAMESE
1. BAUHAUS RESTAURANT 1 West Cordova St. 604-974-1147 2. Como Taperia 201 East 7th Ave. 604-879-3100 3. Chambar Restaurant 568 Beatty St. 604-879-7119
1. ANH AND CHI 3388 Main St. 604-878-8883 2. Phnom Penh Restaurant 244 East Georgia St. 604-734-8898 3. Mr. Red Cafe Various locations
LATIN AMERICAN 1. CACAO 1898 West 1st Ave. 604-731-5370 2. La Mezcaleria Various locations 3. Fayuca 1009 Hamilton St. 604-689-8523
AFRICAN 1. SIMBA’S GRILL 825 Denman St. 604-974-0649 2. Harambe Ethiopian Restaurant 2149 Commercial Dr. 604-216-1060 3. Cafe D’Afrique 363 East Broadway 604-876-9919
VEGETARIAN 1. THE ACORN RESTAURANT 3995 Main St. 604-566-9001 2. Heirloom Vegetarian Restaurant (tie) Various locations 2. The Arbor Restaurant (tie) 3941 Main St. 604-620-3256 3. The Naam Restaurant 2724 West 4th Ave. 604-738-7151
CHEAP EATS 1. DOWNLOW CHICKEN SHACK 905 Commercial Dr. 604-283-1385 2. Hawkers Delight (tie) 4127 Main St. 604-709-8188 2. Harvest Community Foods (tie) 243 Union St. 604-682-8851 3. DD Mau Various locations
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GOLDEN PLATES
READERS’ f CHOICES
Chinese hot pots bring satisfaction
L
by Tammy Kwan
egend has it that during China’s Qing dynasty (1636 to 1912), the powerful Qianlong emperor enjoyed eating hot pot: an Asian communal meal prepared with a bubbling pot of soup stock wherein diners can cook a variety of meats and vegetables—consider it a fondue counterpart. A few centuries later in presentday Vancouver, there’s plenty of evidence that the love for Chinese hot pot expanded beyond Asia. From hot-pot joints established a long time ago (Landmark Hot Pot and Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot) to newly arrived Chinese hot-pot chains (Haidilao and Dolar Shop), there’s definitely no shortage of this type of cuisine in the city. For most hot-pot lovers, this type of meal is usually prepared in the comfort of their own homes. It’s fairly easy to purchase all the ingredients you need at your local Asian grocery market, and hot-potting under your own roof means you can enjoy your dinner without the nuisance of table time limits when eating out. But why, exactly, is this type of fare increasingly popular among locals? As a seasoned hot-pot consumer, I can explain why hot pot is a cult-favourite dining option. To start, it should be understood that no one really eats hot pot alone. Indeed, newer spots like Dolar Shop offer each guest their own mini pot, but it’s almost guaranteed they aren’t dining by themselves at the table. Hot pot is a communal meal for good reason: it gives people the chance to connect and interact with each other while enjoying tasty food. It’s not rare to see people bond over hot pot, which, when enjoyed at a leisurely pace, can take three or four hours. It’s also entertaining:
SEAFOOD
NOODLES
1. BLUE WATER CAFE 1095 Hamilton St 604-688-8078 2. Joe Fortes Seafood & Chop House 777 Thurlow St. 604-669-1940 3. Rodney’s Oyster House (tie) Various locations 3. The Boathouse Restaurant (tie) Various locations
1. PEACEFUL RESTAURANT Various locations 2. Congee Noodle House 141 East Broadway 604-879-8221 3. Legendary Noodle (tie) 1074 Denman St. 604-669-8551 3. Jinya Ramen Bar (tie) Various locations
STEAK 1. THE KEG STEAKHOUSE & BAR Various locations 2. Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar 637 Hornby St. 604-683-7671 3. Gotham Steakhouse & Bar 615 Seymour St. 604-605-8282
CHICKEN 1. JUKE FRIED CHICKEN Various locations 2. Homer St. Cafe and Bar 898 Homer St. 604-428-4299 3. Nando’s Various locations People often prepare hot pots in the comfort of their homes. Photo by Tammy Kwan
in today’s culinary world, where customers enjoy watching chefs cook both in real life and on reality TV, the prospect of cooking your own food alongside friends or family members can be intriguing. In my opinion, though, the best reason why hot-potting is such a well-loved dining experience is its food variety: at any given hotpot gathering, it’s common to see more than a dozen dishes ready to be cooked in the simmering pot at the centre of the table. Popular hot-pot items include thinly sliced fatty beef and lamb, fish balls, fresh shrimp and oysters, soft tofu, lettuce, radish, and noodles. It’s also
important to have the right mixture of condiments in which to dip your cooked food; these can include soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame butter, chili oil, XO sauce, cilantro, and more. If you ever get asked to have hot pot, take our advice and accept the invitation. It’s a one-of-a-kind dining experience that’s been around for ages, which is a testament to its popularity. And besides all of the above reasons to partake, it comes down to a simple factor: it’s delicious. At the end of the day, eating hot pot means indulging in comfort food, and that should satisfy the bellies of even the pickiest eaters. g
DIM SUM 1. SUN SUI WAH SEAFOOD RESTAURANT Various locations 2. Kirin Restaurant Various locations 3. Pink Pearl Chinese Restaurant 1132 East Hastings St. 604-253-4316
HOT POT 1. LITTLE SHEEP MONGOLIAN HOT POT Various locations 2. Landmark Hot Pot House 4023 Cambie St. 604-872-2868 3. Nabebugyo 3190 Cambie St. 604-710-5039
RAMEN 1. JINYA RAMEN BAR Various locations 2. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Various locations 3. Marutama Ra-men Various locations
SUSHI 1. MIKU VANCOUVER (TIE) 70–200 Granville St. 604-568-3900 1. TOJO’S RESTAURANT (TIE) 1133 West Broadway 604-872-8050 2. Toshi Sushi 181 East 16th Ave. 604-874-5173 3. Minami 1118 Mainland St. 604-685-8080
TACOS 1. LA TAQUERIA Various locations 2. Tacofino Various locations 3. Sal y Limón Various locations
KID-FRIENDLY 1. WHITE SPOT Various locations 2. McDonald’s Various locations 3. Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. Various locations
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THE IRISH HEATHER
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12TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
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GOLDEN PLATES READERS’ f CHOICES CASINO FOR EATS
DOUGHNUT SHOP
1. PARQ VANCOUVER 39 Smithe St. 604-683-7277 2. River Rock Casino 8811 River Rd. Richmond 604-273-1895 3. Starlight Casino 350 Gifford St., New Westminster 604-777-2946
1. CARTEMS DONUTS Various locations 2. Lucky’s Doughnuts Various locations 3. Lee’s Donuts 122–1689 Johnston St., Granville Island 604-685-4021
SANDWICHES 1. MEAT & BREAD Various locations 2. La Grotta Del Formaggio 1791 Commercial Dr. 604-255-3911 3. Railtown Cafe Various locations
SOUPS 1. BURGOO Various locations 2. The Soup Meister 103–123 Carrie Cates Crt, North Vancouver 604-983-2774 3. The Stock Market 1689 Johnston St. Granville Island 604-687-2433
SALADS 1. TRACTOR EVERYDAY HEALTHY FOODS Various locations 2. Cactus Club Cafe Various locations 3. Railtown Cafe Various locations
JUICE BAR 1. THE JUICE TRUCK 2. Glory Juice Co. 3. Jugo Juice
INDEPENDENT COFFEE SHOP 1. JJ BEAN COFFEE ROASTERS Various locations 2. Revolver Coffee 325 Cambie St. 604-558-4444 3. Matchstick Coffee Roasters 639 East 15th Ave. 604-558-0639
TEAHOUSE 1. SECRET GARDEN TEA COMPANY 2138 West 40th Ave. 604-261-3070 2. Teahouse in Stanley Park 7501 Stanley Park Dr. 604-669-3281 3. Neverland Tea Salon 3066 West Broadway 604-428-3066
FOOD TRUCK 1. TACOFINO 2. Chickpea Food Truck 3. Mom’s Grilled Cheese
VISIT GOLDEN PLATES ONLINE AT STRAIGHT.COM
Pinoy pride in Vancouver’s downtown
H
by Carlito Pablo
erbs and Spices Café is a contemporary restaurant with a flair for Filipino fare. As part of its western menu of meat entrées, sandwiches, pastas, and salads, the Vancouver establishment also offers a selection of gateway dishes to the underrated Asian cuisine. By presenting select Filipino comfort food with a modern touch, Herbs and Spices Café aims to elevate the culinary tradition to the mainstream dining scene. Plating is key, says Matte Laurel, chief operations officer and general manager of the downtown restaurant in the Cathedral Place building at 925 West Georgia Street. “We are visual creatures,” Laurel told the Georgia Straight. “We eat first with our eyes. We need to see Filipino food plated modernly.” Herbs and Spices Café’s signature dish, chicken adobo in purple-yam bun, is an example. Chunks of chicken breast are simmered in soy sauce and vinegar and served in purpleyam rolls prepared by the kitchen staff led by married chefs Charlie and Nelia Pingol Lopez. It comes with diced apples, tomato, cucumber, and lettuce in chipotle mayo. For sides, it’s either green salad or fries. Laurel related that diners are also discovering pancit bihon, a ricenoodle dish that is a must at every Filipino gathering. Herbs and Spices Café’s version is vegetarian. She noted that beef caldereta, a tomato-sauce based meat stew served with steamed rice and vegetables, is another popular choice. The more adventurous can dig into crispy pork hock: pork leg boiled, then deep-fried until the skin is brown and crispy while the meat inside is moist and tender. It serves two. Laurel said that patrons also like
Matte Laurel holds Herbs and Spices Café’s chicken adobo, executive chef Nelia Pingol Lopez displays crispy pork hock, and Avhie Bon shows off leche flan dessert.
beef kare-kare, meat stewed in peanut sauce with seasonal vegetables. Spicy shrimp paste is served as dipping sauce. Another dish that is winning guests is crispy pork belly. Filipinos call it lechon kawali, pork belly boiled, then fried until golden and crunchy outside. Every Monday, Herbs and Spices Café lays out a Filipino lunch buffet. The $15-plus-tax spread includes lumpia—spring roll stuffed with pork and vegetables—which is as ubiquitous as pancit bihon at Filipino parties. Laurel said the restaurant is open Monday to Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It prepares an international lunch buffet on Fridays; on weekends it is closed but available for private functions. The establishment can also be accessed through a courtyard on Hornby Street. With eggs Benny, wraps, and omelettes, the restaurant’s all-day breakfast menu is a familiar list. It also offers a trifecta in a classic Filipino breakfast built around fried rice and eggs. The third piece is a choice
of either tapa (cured and fried beef), longaniza (garlicky sausage similar to chorizo), tocino (sweet cured pork), or daing na bangus (butterflied, marinated, and fried milkfish belly). The selection is called the Orient Express on the menu. Laurel related that her family has been in Vancouver for a long time. She took business and language courses in the U.K., then went to Manila for work, gaining experience in various aspects of the hotel and restaurant industry. According to Laurel, it has been her mother’s dream to promote Filipino cuisine in Canada. Her family acquired Herbs and Spices Café and transformed the former sandwich business into a West Coast restaurant with a Filipino twist. It moved to its current location in 2018. She said that although taste is a major factor, food has to come in a “complete package: exemplary service, great ambiance, cleanliness, right location, and correct pricing”. “Food is a strong catalyst for bringing people together,” Laurel added. g
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 35
GOLDEN PLATES
Artisan bakeries on the rise in Vancouver by Tammy Kwan
F
Bonus Bakery uses plant-based and vegan products to make its treats, including this best-selling pretzel-topped cookie.
or a while, gluten-free diets were a hot topic in Vancouver. People with no health issues related to gluten consumption were turning against the food substance because it was the latest health trend. But those days seem to have faded away, and people in the city are embracing gluten more than ever. Want evidence? Just look at all the artisanal bakeries that have been popping up around town in recent years. Aside from the “unbanishment” of gluten, local and artisanal bakeries are gaining momentum because there’s an increased appetite for freshly made bread and baked goods. More people are starting to understand the difference between grocery-bought loaves and a fresh multigrain sourdough from the bakery down the street—and we think that’s something to celebrate.
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d LIVIA SWEETS (1399 Commercial Drive) Claire Livia opened Livia Sweets on the Drive in January, after spending a couple years at farmers markets. She’s known for her house-made bread, which includes fan-favourite sourdoughs like whole-wheat sesame and fig-and-walnut. Baguettes, focaccia, Danishes, and fruit tarts are also in the lineup. She thinks the growing trend of local bakeries is a response to the backlash against gluten. “There were people against grains, bread, and gluten, and now I guess there’s a swing back against those people with the resurfacing of local bakeries,” Livia told the Straight in a phone interview. That doesn’t mean she isn’t inclusive of those with gluten-free diets at her popular establishment—guests will find several gluten-free options on the menu, such as Livia’s signature buckwheat chocolate cake. Livia remembers a time when fresh bread wasn’t that easy to find. “I’ve lived in Vancouver for 12 to 13 years now, and you used to really have to go out of your way to find really good bread for a long time,” she said. The increasing number of bakeries might lead some to be wary of competition, but not Livia. In fact, she thinks it’s a good thing for the industry. “It adds more diversity to the city, and with that comes the education of what really good bread tastes like, and I think that’s positive across the board,” explained Livia. “If all of us bakeries convert more people onto good bread, then everyone will eat more bread, and then there will be more business for everyone.” d BONUS BAKERY (1185 West Georgia Street) Just because gluten-free diets aren’t as popular in Vancouver now doesn’t mean city dwellers aren’t embracing other nutritional practices. Plant-based diets are a growing trend in the city, and some local bakeries understand that. Bonus Bakery is a fully plant-based establishment, preferring ingredients like nondairy butter and nut-based milks over classic milk and butter. Co-owner Pierrick Tanguy hopes customers will see his shop as a regular bakery that merely offers treats made differently.
bakeries because people want to know where and how things are made, and they may not get that from grocery stores,” said Tanguy. “I feel like people really want to support this kind of business because their bread doesn’t come from another province.”
The Drive’s Livia Sweets boasts a range of fresh homemade breads.
“We don’t want it to scream ‘plantbased’ or ‘vegan’,” Tanguy explained to the Straight by phone. “By providing what we do, it allows more nonvegans to realize that they can have anything they want without any animal products.” The Bonus cookie is one of the bakery’s best-selling items, featuring Oreo bits, corn flakes, and vegan marshmallows, topped with a pretzel. The cookie has become so popular that Bonus’s kitchen now produces three times as many as when it first opened. According to Tanguy, the overall response to his 26-seat spot has been overwhelmingly positive. It doesn’t hurt that Bonus is in an accessible downtown location and can cater to the white-collar sweet tooths. He believes that local bakeries are going to become the norm in the city, thanks to a support system laid by counterparts in recent years. People are slowly getting used to the idea that fresh products can and will sell out early in the day, and that if they want certain items, they’ll have to get to the bakery early in the morning—unlike supermarkets, where shelves are always stocked. “I think there’s a demand for local
d BAKE49 (1066 Mainland Street) Luckily for dessert lovers, this Japanese bakery’s cheese tarts no longer sell out instantly, as they did when it opened in Yaletown last November. With a buttery crust and creamy cheese filling, it’s not hard to imagine why this treat has become a cult-favourite item. Bake49 co-owner Iljin Kyung had no idea his offerings would be so popular; he and his team were overwhelmed by the demand. The cheese tarts are made from scratch, and customers have also taken a liking to the crunchy cream puffs and double-fromage cheesecakes. “I think Vancouver people generally like Japanese food, and it was also something that wasn’t really here,” Kyung told the Straight. “We took what we liked from our trips in Korea and Japan, and adapted their concepts and brought it and its ingredients over here.” Japanese bakeries have become more popular in Vancouver since Japan’s Uncle Tetsu dessert chain introduced its fluffy Japanese cheesecake to the city last year. Kyung thinks there’s more room for local bakeries with international flavours, because unique items that taste great are always appreciated. “The quality of pastries and baked goods are picking up from what I’ve seen before, at local and artisanal places in comparison to the ones at grocery stores,” said Kyung. “You can really tell people are going for quality more than convenience.” g
READERS’ f CHOICE LOCAL DISTILLERY
PUB FOOD
1. ODD SOCIETY SPIRITS 1725 Powell St. 604-559-6745 2. The Liberty Distillery 1494 Old Bridge Rd. Granville Island 604-558-1998 3. Long Table Distillery 1451 Hornby St. 604-266-0177
1. DUBH LINN GATE 1601 Main St. 604-449-1464 2. Dublin Calling Party Pub & Kitchen 900 Granville St., 236-886-4729 3. Craft Beer Market 85 West 1st St. 604-709-2337
COCKTAILS 1. MOTT 32 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8886 2. The Diamond 6 Powell St. 3. Juke Fried Chicken Various locations
PUB 1. THE IRISH HEATHER & SHEBEEN WHISK(E)Y HOUSE 210 Carrall St. 604-688-9779 2. The Charles Bar 136 West Cordova St. 604-568-8040 3. Alibi Room 157 Alexander St. 604-623-3383
BREWPUB RESTAURANT 1. GRANVILLE ISLAND BREWING 1441 Cartwright St., Granville Island 604-687-2739 2. Big Rock Vancouver 310 West 4th Ave. 604-708-8311 3. Parallel 49 Brewing 1950 Triumph St., 604-558-2739
RESTAURANT FOR A STIFF DRINK 1. POURHOUSE 162 Water St. 604-568-7022 2. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House Behind 212 Carrall St. 604-688-9779 3. Shameful Tiki Room 4362 Main St.
HAVE YOU BEEN TO...
1095 hamilton street 604 688 8078 bluewatercafe.net
22NDAnnual
2019
Brewery Creek
first place
best seafood
brewcreek.ca
Wing’s Tap & Grill
22NDAnnual
2019
greatwings.ca
1059 alberni street 604 608 6870 thierrychocolates.com
Authentic Greek Food
MeeT Restaurants
Extensive Wine & Bar List
first place
best dessert
1830 Fir St. Vancouver | 604.736.9559
www.apolloniagreekrestaurant.com C L O S E D M O N D AY S L U N C H • W E D N E S D AY to F R I D AY 11:30A M ͳ 2:30 P M D I N N E R • T U E S D AY to S U N D AY 4:30 ͳ 9:30 P M
meetonmain.com
Thank you to our loyal customers for voting us
BE S T GR EEK
22NDAnnual
2019
R E S TAU R A N T
22 NDAnnu al
14 Years in a Row
2 019
604-683-2555 1124 Davie Street
O P E N
7
DAY S
A
W E E K
22NDAnnual
2019
Thanks for voting us #1!
1st Pl ace - Best Deli
Thank You
OYAMA
SAUSAGE COMPANY
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MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 37
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READERS’ f CHOICES CASUAL COOKING CLASSES
CATERING COMPANY
1. THE DIRTY APRON COOKING SCHOOL & DELICATESSEN 540 Beatty St. 604-879-8588 2. Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts 101–1505 West 2nd Ave. 604-734-4488 3. Cook Culture, various locations
1. EMELLE’S CATERING 177 West 7th Ave. 604-875-6551 2. The Lazy Gourmet 1605 West 5th Ave. 604-734-2507 3. The Butler Did It Catering Co. (tie) 620 Clark Dr. 604-739-3663 3. Railtown Catering (tie) 397 Railway St. 604-568-8811
PROFESSIONAL CULINARY SCHOOL 1. VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE 250 West Pender St. 604-443-8300 2. Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts 101–1505 West 2nd Ave. 604-734-4488 3. Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver 2725 Main St. 604-876-7653
COOKING STORE 1. MING WO Various locations 2. Cook Culture Various locations 3. The Gourmet Warehouse 1340 East Hastings St. 604-253-3022
CULINARY SCHOOL RESTAURANT 1. BISTRO 101 (Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts) 1505 West 2nd Ave. 604-734-0101 2. JJ’s Restaurant (Vancouver Community College) 250 West Pender St. 604-443-8479 3. The Dirty Apron Cooking School & Delicatessen 540 Beatty St. 604-879-8588
FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE 1. SKIP THE DISHES 2. Doordash 3. Foodora
MEAL PREP SERVICE
22 NDAnnu al
2 019
1. FRESH PREP 2. Hello Fresh 3. Chef’s Plate
DELI 1. OYAMA SAUSAGE CO. 126–1689 Johnston St., Granville Island 604-327-7407 2. Cioffi’s Meat Market & Deli 4156 Hastings St., Burnaby 604-291-9373 3. Bosa Foods 562 Victoria Dr., 604-253-5578
SPECIALTY CHEESE STORE 1. LES AMIS DU FROMAGE Various locations 2. Benton Brothers Fine Cheese 1689 Johnston St., Granville Island 604-609-0001 3. La Grotta Del Formaggio 1791 Commercial Dr. 604-255-3911
SPECIALTY FOOD STORE
22NDAnnual
1. URBAN FARE Various locations 2. Meinhardt Fine Foods Various locations 3. Bosa Foods 562 Victoria Dr. 604-253-5578
SEAFOOD STORE
2019
38 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY 1. LEMONADE GLUTEN FREE BAKERY 3385 Cambie St. 604-873-9993 2. The Gluten Free Epicurean 633 East 15th Ave. 604-876-4114 3. East Village Bakery (Shop is closed) 604-568-5600
BREAD BAKERY 1. TERRA BREADS Various locations 2. Cobs Bread Various locations 3. purebread Various locations
PATISSERIE 1. THOMAS HAAS CHOCOLATES & PATISSERIE Various locations 2. Beaucoup Bakery & Café 2150 Fir St. 604-732-4222 3. Thierry 1059 Alberni St. 604-608-6870
HOLE-IN-THE-WALL 1. HAWKERS DELIGHT 4127 Main St. 604-709-8188 2. The Narrow Lounge (tie) 1898 Main St. 604-839-5780 2. Bon’s Off Broadway (tie) 2451 Nanaimo St. 604-253-7242 3. Jackalopes Neighbourhood Dive 2257 East Hastings St. 604-568-6674
PREGAME RESTAURANT 1. SHARK CLUB Various locations 2. Boston Pizza, Various locations 3. The Pint Public House 455 Abbott St. 604-684-0258
RESTAURANT FOR WATCHING THE GAME 1. RED CARD SPORTS BAR + EATERY 560 Smithe St. 604-689-4460 2. Shark Club Various locations 3. Bells and Whistles 3296 Fraser St. 604-620-7990
EATERY WITH LIVE ENTERTAINMENT 1. BLUE MARTINI 1516 Yew St. 604-428-2691 2. Frankie’s Italian Kitchen & Bar 765 Beatty St. 604-688-6368 3. Guilt & Company 1 Alexander St.
HAPPY HOUR
1. THE FISH COUNTER 3825 Main St. 604-876-3474 2. 7 Seas Fish Co. Various locations 3. Finest at Sea 4675 Arbutus St., 604-266-1904
1. EARLS RESTAURANT Various locations 2. The Trump Champagne Lounge + Crudo Bar 1161 West Georgia St. 604-979-8885 3. Cactus Club Cafe Various locations
PIZZERIA
BARBECUE
1. VIA TEVERE 1190 Victoria Dr. 604-336-1803 2. Nicli Antica Pizzeria 62 East Cordova St. 604-669-6985 3. Pizzeria Farina 915 Main St. 604-681-9334
1. DIXIE’S BBQ 337 East Hastings St. 778-379-4770 2. Memphis Blues BBQ Various locations 3. Peckinpah 2 Water St., 604-681-5411
VISIT GOLDEN PLATES ONLINE AT STRAIGHT.COM
22 NDAnnu al
2 019
Thank You Vancouver! 22NDAnnual
2019
DENT BEST INDEPENUNGE BAR LO
1 3 5 K E E F E R S T R E E T - VA N C O U V E R C H I N AT O W N (604) 688 -1961 • T H E K E E F E R B A R . C O M
JOIN US FOR
PRIME RIB SUNDAYS vancouverdine.com
604 874 8008
> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < MAIN & HASTINGS
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 11, 2019 WHERE: Main & Hastings You had black jeans on, a blue top, and light blonde hair. You got on the 3 and I waited in the rain for the 8. We couldn’t take our eyes off each other.
THREE LITTLE MAIDS AT ZENQ
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 1, 2019 WHERE: ZenQ
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I was having a Chinese dessert with a little Chinese friend. You were sitting at the next table with two friends. You smiled and waved at me. I wanted to have you for dessert.
YOU REMINDED ME OF YOUNG CHRISTIAN BALE
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I WANT TO SEE MORE OF YOU
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 10, 2019 WHERE: Foret Noire Patisserie
Foret Noire Patisserie - Sunday afternoon. You were wearing a gauzy, light green, long skirt. You were so Rubenesque. I wanted to see more of you.
GETTING CIGARETTES TO CALM MY NERVES
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 8, 2019 WHERE: Joyce St. 7Eleven @ Kingsway I was buying cigarettes, you were behind me in line. I went outside and you smiled and walked away. You walked back and smiled while I was getting on the bus. I'm the yellow coat girl. Coffee?
I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: JANUARY 19, 2019 WHERE: Canada Line
WHISTLER MAN IN MERCEDES VAN
You boarded the Canada Line at Yaletown, moody boy with big headphones. I wonder what you were listening to? I think I was wearing my black jacket, I have glasses too. You got off with me at Waterfront. I walked ahead because I was blushing from making eye contact. You continued to the ExpoLine, which is where I was going. I made it on but didn’t want to seem weird by being in the same car as you. Somehow by Stadium-Chinatown you had found the car I was in and we were standing at the doors together. I got off at Main. I hoped you would too. Train with me again? I’ll go anywhere with you. PS. I can’t remember the exact date, but it was a Saturday night in January this year.
I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 3, 2019 WHERE: Whistler
GET A WHITE CELLPHONE COVER
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 8, 2019 WHERE: Mid Flight
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Kelowna to YVR - you returned my cellphone... recommended a white cover. I’d like to connect again.
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It was a stunning Sunday morning, overlooking a frozen lake. There was something about you... Are you available? Interested?
ORANGE HAIRED GIRL WHO QUIT LULULEMON
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: FEBRUARY 8, 2019 WHERE: Lululemon Office This is super random, but I was leaving work for the day, from the Lululemon office on Burrard St. and as I walked past the reception desk I spotted a very cool looking human chatting with the receptionist. I vaguely overheard you say something about it being your last day/ week. You had short orange hair and looked like a badass stoner chick. I dream of meeting women like you, alternative, coloured hair, chill ass chicks into music etc... I want someone as liberal as me. You probably didn’t even see me but I have medium length hair and a beard. Would love to buy you a beer sometime.
WICKED CAFE- READING SIDE-BY-SIDE
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 9, 2019 WHERE: Wicked Cafe
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I came in for chai and to read, you were already reading at the counter. We made eye contact through the mirror. I sat down beside you and we read side-by-side. You were wearing headphones and eating lunch, I was wearing a purple bunnyhug and an orangeish toque. I was too shy to ask you, but I'm still wondering what were you reading?
TO THE DAVID TENNANT LOOKALIKE ON THE FERRY TO AND FROM VICTORIA
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 1, 2019 WHERE: BC Ferries
r
I saw you on the ferry to Victoria last Friday. I stood outside near you for a bit and wanted to talk but it was freezing and so I went back inside. We both ended up on the 70 bus downtown and we made eye contact and smiled at each other. Then I saw you again on the ferry coming back to Vancouver on Sunday. I felt awkward and buried my head in my book when you looked at me. I’m tall and blonde. You were wearing a blue jacket and travelling much lighter than I was :) I’d love to see you again.
Thank you Vancouver! We’re excited to be voted #1 Professional Culinary School and runner up for Best Culinary School Restaurant, JJ’s Restaurant.
22NDAnnual
2019
CIOFFI’S - UNDER ARMOUR BLACK CAP TAKE AWAY COUNTER TODAY
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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: MARCH 4, 2019 WHERE: Cioffi’s Take-Away Counter in Burnaby. I ordered some take away from you today. You were very helpful and I really like your smile. If you’d like to have coffee, please reply. I’m up to meeting new friends and I like your vibe. You were wearing a black Under Armour baseball cap. If you wish to reply and happen to remember our conversation, please include what it is that my dad does not like to eat. :D
Meet VCC’s all-star chef instructors and see our kitchens in action. Sign up now for an upcoming free info session at vcc.ca/culinary. @vccculinaryarts
Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 39
GOLDEN PLATES
Chefs craft weed-infused experiences by Piper Courtenay
22NDAnnual
2019
ancosuver V u o y k n a h T voting for u for Kid friendly Bestaurant rest KITS MAIN ST
1876 West 1st Ave 604.730.0321 4186 Main Street 604.566.9779 WWW.ROCKYMOUNTAINFLATBREAD.CA
WEEKLY MARKETS
AT RILEY PARK & HASTINGS PARK UNTIL END OF APRIL
SUMMER MARKETS BEGIN MAY / JUNE
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT
WWW.EATLOCAL.ORG OR CALL 604-879-3276
Canapés supplemented with THC and CBD allow folks to enjoy cannabis without inhaling. Photo by High End Dinner Series
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hen it comes to weed, munchies have always been a part of the consumption experience. If a few drags of a joint or a bong rip is considered the first course, a bag of chips is the entree, followed by an entire pint of ice cream for dessert—or some such variation on treats. For chefs, however, the appetitestimulating substance is a doorway into a new culinary art. And Canada is finally in the game. “It’s been an absolute whirlwind. I could have never predicted the response,” chef Travis Petersen tells the Georgia Straight, reflecting on a weed-infused-dining series he started on 4/20 last year. A homegrown B.C. boy, the former Master Chef contestant became recognized as Canada’s leading weed chef in less than 12 months thanks to the globally trending plant. Travelling from province to province, Petersen hosts private cannabis dinners under the name the Nomad Cook. “Canadians are craving this. It doesn’t matter where I take the infused-dining series, they fill up,” Petersen says. With edibles expected to be the most popular consumption method for Canadian consumers when legalized later this year, Vancouver’s budding cannabis chefs believe the evolution of infused dining is the country’s opportunity to define a new foodie draw. Much like what celebrity weed chefs Christopher Sayegh and Andrea Drummer have done for Los Angeles, or what Amsterdam’s infamous cannabis cafés have done for Europe, Petersen says the Great White North has the eyes and taste buds of the world waiting in anticipation. “Internationally, we have never really been seen as a competitive culinary destination. We have amazing diversity of food in this country because we are so multicultural, but this is really our chance to stake our
British Columbia has had the best bud in the world for decades. Let’s lead with that – Travis Petersen
flag on the culinary map,” he says. “Canada has always been a cannabis country, legal or not. B.C. has had the best bud in the world for decades. Let’s lead with that.” Red Seal chef Adam Barski says that although infused cuisine is a crowd pleaser, the excitement is based on providing cannabis-curious consumers with a smoke-free way to experiment with a newly legal substance. He discovered his aptitude for baked baking through medical necessity and says his focus is on providing alternatives to boozy pub nights and smoke-heavy vape lounges. Just over eight years ago, Barski’s best friend was hospitalized for several months. Upon release, he wanted to explore cannabis as an alternative to prescription medication, but he couldn’t smoke as his condition left him with severe lung damage. “When my friend got sick, I vowed to find a better way of consuming: making it more medicinal, healthier, figuring out the math of exact dosing,” he tells the Straight by phone. Combining 12 years of culinary experience with his passion for pot, he set up a booth at Vancouver’s annual 4/20 cannabis protest and celebration to sell medical-grade infused
edibles. He, much like Petersen, was astounded at the response. “The excitement came because this was a completely different level than what people normally were used to seeing,” he says. Alongside edible classics like kush cookies and hash brownies, he offered attendees decadent desserts like infused strawberry mouse encased in a chocolatedipped, hazelnut-encrusted cake topped with gold leaf. “It was the first time a lot of people had seen the combination of a professional chef ’s cooking skills with cannabis.” The following day, Barski launched Budder Bakery, a line of gourmet goods made with all the traditional ingredients of baked goods—sugar, butter, flour—and one nontraditional addition: weed. He and cannabis entrepreneurs Tamu and Zia Stolbie launched the High-End Dinner Series last year. The series hosts educational experiences centred on fine dining in the few places that will permit consumption. From joint-rolling demonstrations to film screenings, Barski ensures each event has a smorgasbord of sesh-friendly snacks. “As much as it is a fun experience, it’s also about breaking down the stigma and making sure people are learning about the plant,” Barski says. “It’s [edibles] not legal yet, so in the grey space it’s our job to show the rest of the world how to do this responsibly.” Petersen—who has spent the past year travelling to places like New York, Las Vegas, and Asia—says Canadian weed catches interest unlike anything he has ever experienced. “We have a chance to highlight our country’s signature flavours using the avenue of cannabis,” he says, a statement embodied by his West Coast amuse-bouche aptly called smoked salmon: smoke from organic, locally grown pot piped into a frozen Champagne flute topped with candied Haida Gwaii salmon. g
READERS’ f CHOICES GLUTEN-FREE DINING
VEGETARIAN
VEGGIE BURGER
1. MEET Various locations 2. Juke Fried Chicken Various locations 3. The Gluten Free Epicurean (tie) 633 East 15th Ave. 604-876-4114 3. Virtuous Pie (tie) Various locations
1. MEET Various locations 2. The Naam Restaurant 2724 West 4th Ave. 604-738-7151 3. The Acorn 3995 Main St. 604-566-9001
1. MEET, various locations 2. Vera’s Burger Shack Various locations 3. White Spot Various locations
VEGAN-FRIENDLY 1. MEET Various locations 2. The Naam Restaurant 2724 West 4th Ave. 604-738-7151 3. The Acorn 3995 Main St. 604-566-9001 40 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
WINGS 1. WINGS Various locations 2. Phnom Penh Restaurant 244 East Georgia St. 604-682-5777 3. The Pint Public House 455 Abbott St. 604-684-0258
GROCERY DELIVERY 1. SPUD 1660 East Hastings St. 604-215-7783 2. Stong’s Market, various locations 3. Save-On-Foods Various locations
MALL FOOD COURT 1. PACIFIC CENTRE 2. Metropolis at Metrotown 3. Aberdeen Centre
HAVE YOU BEEN TO... Vancouver Craft Beer Week vancouvercraftbeerweek.com
Dockside docksidevancouver.com
Chambar chambar.com
Thank you for voting us #1 KITSILANO | GRANVILLE ISLAND | MOUNT PLEASANT | OLYMPIC VILLAGE
tin g u s for Voti Thanks fo
#1 Best Persian Restaurant w! Five Years in a Ro
— Downtown —
1103 Davie Street — North Vancouver —
132 16th Street West & Capilano Mall 935 Marine Drive
— Coquitlam —
Coquitlam Center Mall 2929 Barnet Hwy. — Burnaby —
Lougheed Mall 9855 Austin Ave.
— Brentwood Mall (Opening Soon) —
4567 Lougheed Hwy.
cazbarestaurant.com
22NDAnnual
2019
Thanks for Voting us #1! 1st Place ~ Best Pub food
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 41
Via Tevere Pizzeria serves an authentic taste of Naples
SIMPLICITY IS THE
ULTIMATE SOPHISTICATION -Leonardo De Vinci
22NDAnnual
2019
NEW ORLEANS INSPIRED CUISINE
Via Tevere’s pizzas are baked in a wood-fired, domed oven, as per criteria deemed by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana.
(This story is sponsored by Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana.)
O
f all the food in the world, pizza will always be one of our favourites. It’s the only meal that we consistently reach for regardless of the occasion, the weather, or our mood. It’s hard to think of a time when pizza hasn’t been there for us. That kind of reliability deserves respect. And if there’s anyone who knows how to truly appreciate good food, it’s the Italians. The owners of Via Tevere Pizzeria Napoletana (1190 Victoria Drive) are first-generation Canadians with deep family roots in Naples. And just like the city of their ancestors, they take their pizza very seriously. While we might quietly consider ourselves to be experts, the Neapolitans have taken their passion for pizza to a whole new level. In fact, the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) was created with the sole purpose of restoring and preserving the tradition of authentic Neapolitan pizza. After all, it took more than 100 years to master the craft. To be considered a true Neapolitan pizza, the AVPN worked with the Italian government and the European Union, no less, to come up with a very specific set of criteria. And like any Italian cuisine, it all starts with some key but simple
There’s a lot of science that goes into creating the perfect pizza Napoletana.
ingredients: double-zero flour, San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte mozzarella, and extra-virgin olive oil. The dough must then be handkneaded and never rolled with a rolling pin or other device. It must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven at 485° C for no longer than 60 to 90 seconds. Each one should measure 30 centimetres in diameter and should be three millimetres thick at the centre, giving rise to a cornicione (crust) that is one to two centimetres in height. There’s a lot of science that goes into creating the perfect pizza Napoletana, but the results are pure romance. The finished product is characterized by a
raised crust of golden color with hints of char. The white of the mozzarella should appear in evenly spread patches, with the green of the basil leaves slightly darkened from the cooking process. The pizza should be soft, elastic, and easily foldable into a libretto or “booklet”. And our favourite rule? It should be consumed immediately, straight out of the oven, at the pizzeria. As any pizza connoisseur knows, there is the full spectrum of quality. But once you’ve tasted the really good stuff, there’s no going back. Via Tevere has been delighting Vancouverites with its little slice of Italy since 2012 and is the winner of the Georgia Straight’s Golden Plates 2019 award for best pizzeria. Pizzas arrive at the table uncut, to preserve the soft thin centre and toppings. It’s down to personal preference whether you choose to eat yours with a fork and knife or to rip and fold your pizza with your hands. Neapolitans do both. In Italy, food is so much more than just sustenance—it’s part of the lifestyle. And there’s a reason that pizza gets its own dedicated course. The owners of Via Tevere hope to share the tradition of their heritage and their experience of family holidays spent in southern Italy by serving delicious, perfect, la vera pizza Napoletana. That’s amore. g
READERS’ f CHOICE
22NDAnnual
2019
VOTED BEST EATERY WITH LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
BREAKFAST
FISH AND CHIPS
DESSERTS
1. JAM CAFE Various locations 2. Café Medina 780 Richards St. 604-879-3114 3. Yolk’s Restaurant and Commissary Various locations
1. PAJO’S Various locations 2. Go Fish 1505 West 1st Ave. 604-730-5040 3. The Fish Counter 3825 Main St. 604-876-3474
1. THIERRY 1059 Alberni St. 604-608-6870 2. purebread Various locations 3. Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie Various locations
3 A.M. MEAL
FRIES
GELATO
1. THE NAAM RESTAURANT 2724 West 4th Ave. 604-738-7151 2. Denny’s Restaurant Various locations 3. Lucy’s Eastside Diner 2708 Main St. 604-568-1550
1. MCDONALD’S Various locations 2. New York Fries Various locations 3. Fritz European Fry House 718 Davie St., 604-684-0811
BISTRO
1. FRITZ EUROPEAN FRY HOUSE 718 Davie St. 604-684-0811 2. La Belle Patate 1215 Davie St. 604-569-1215 3. Belgian Fries 1885 Commercial St. 604-253-4220
1. AMATO GELATO CAFE/ MARIO’S GELATI 78 East 1st Ave. 604-879-9011 2. La Casa Gelato 1033 Venables St. 604-251-3211 3. Bella Gelateria 1001 West Cordova St. 604-569-1010
1. TABLEAU BAR BISTRO 1181 Melville St. 604-639-8692 2. Bistro 101 1505 West 2nd Ave. 604-734-0101 3. Burgoo Various locations
BURGER
BLUEMARTINIJAZZCAFE.COM 1516 YEW STREET, VANCOUVER, BC | 604 428 2691 42 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
1. ROMER’S BURGER BAR Various locations 2. MeeT Various locations 3. Vera’s Burger Shack Various locations
POUTINE
CHOCOLATE SHOP 1. PURDYS CHOCOLATIER Various locations 2. Thomas Haas Chocolates & Patisserie, Various locations 3. BETA5 Chocolates 413 Industrial Ave., 604-669-3336
ICE CREAM 1. EARNEST ICE CREAM Various locations 2. Rain or Shine Homemade Ice Cream Various locations 3. La Casa Gelato 1033 Venables St. 604-251-3211
FOOD FESTIVAL/EVENT 1. DINE OUT VANCOUVER 2. Brewery and the Beast 3. Vancouver Street Food Festival
arts
Marine Life melds love, laughs, activism by Andrea Warner
A
s a child, Rosa Labordé used to dream her name was Mandy or Jennifer. In Ottawa, there weren’t a lot of Chilean-Canadians or other kids whose first language was Spanish, and the name Rosa felt like just another way in which she was different. If she were a Mandy or a Jennifer, Labordé reasoned, at least she’d be able to get one of those nameplate keychains like every other kid did when they visited places. Now Labordé realizes she was dealing with internalized racism. But she was also looking for that thrill of validation that only comes when you feel truly seen, when your identity isn’t erased or appropriated by the dominant culture. When you’re eight, it might be as simple as a keychain. But it’s what that keychain represents that shapes your life. She’s a screenwriter and an actor, but primarily Labordé is known as a playwright. Aspects of her life and her family’s life have made it onto the page and stage throughout her career. Her 2006 breakthrough play, Léo, told the story of three young people caught in a love triangle during the 1973 military coup d’état in Chile, following the assassination of President Salvador Allende. The one-act play made Labordé one of the most buzzed-about new writers in Canada. Now Vancouver is home to the Western Canadian premiere of her newest play, Marine Life, which explores, among other things, family, mental health, and the destruction of the environment. Light stuff, right? Well, yes. It’s also a romantic comedy. A dark one, Labordé admits, but a romcom nonetheless. When Marine Life was making its Toronto debut in 2017, Labordé told Lattin magazine that one influence on the play was meeting many people who claimed they used to go to the theatre but didn’t anymore because they were “tired of feeling bad”. “It remains true!” Labordé tells the Straight over the phone from Toronto, where she now lives, before the play debuts out here with Ruby Slippers Theatre. “People keep saying that to me. Even people in the theatre who have to go, like dramaturges, they’re going, ‘Oh my God, I just went to
Q&A
d ACTOR, SINGER, AND writer Meghan Gardiner has penned a searing new play about retribution called Gross Misconduct, running from Thursday (March 14) to March 23 at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre. Produced by SpeakEasy Theatre, directed by Kayvon Khoshkam, and starring Ian Butcher and Mike Gill, it tells the story of a 55-year-old Millhaven Institution prisoner who suddenly gets his first cellmate in 20 years: Corey, a young rich kid. They form a complex bond, navigate the threats of violence at the jail, and slowly open up about the crimes they committed. We asked Gardiner three questions about the work. Q. For this play, you go into a prison cell. This seems like new territory for you—what took you to that confined space for Gross Misconduct?
Alen Dominguez and Christine Quintana navigate both the light and the dark in Marine Life. Photo by Tim Matheson
another thing where someone was like, “Here’s my awful story.” ’ ” So Labordé set about writing Marine Life, which focuses on Sylvia, an environmental activist who falls in love with her total opposite, and her codependent brother, who, in the middle of a mental-health crisis, becomes obsessed with breaking them up and self-destructing. “I knew that I was writing an environmental piece,” Labordé says about her decision to situate Marine Life as a comedy. “I knew that I was writing also about cultural displacement, but I also was writing it for my brother, who had some health stuff going on. I asked him permission. I won’t say exactly what it is, but specifically it’s in the play. I asked him, ‘Am I allowed to write about this?’ And he said, ‘Yes, but it has to be funny. And there has to be music.’ ” Labordé accepted his challenge, and ultimately Marine Life tends toward a magical-realist humour— like telenovelas, she says—where pathos and absurdity are the shared space in a Venn diagram, not juxtaposed as opposites. Latin-American
I knew I was writing about cultural displacement, but I also was writing it for my brother. – playwright Rosa Labordé
audience members get it, she says, but not everybody does. “Here, often, you get the ‘I don’t get what tone it is. Is it dark or is it light?’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know that you need to make that distinction,’ ” Labordé says. “I think we live in a world where it can often be both at the same time. And that might be disturbing, but that doesn’t make it not true.”
Labordé is also thrilled with director Diane Brown’s casting of Latin actors in the Latin roles, including Christine Quintana as Sylvia. Labordé met Quintana for coffee in Toronto last year to talk about the role. It’s one of the few opportunities Quintana has had to play a person of Latin descent. “She said, ‘It’s just like me,’ ” Labordé observes. “And Christine’s a wonderful artist who can play anything, but she’s getting an opportunity here to express a real part of herself: as written, as being divided, of being both here and there.” As for Labordé, she long ago gave up wanting to be Mandy. She’s very happy to be Rosa. Now, as she looks at aspects of her culture and her experiences in her work, she’s excited that Marine Life and its majority-Latin cast are delivering the change she longed to see when she was growing up. “It gives it a really beautiful authenticity,” Labordé says. “It offers legitimacy. I love it.” g Marine Life runs from Thursday (March 14) to March 23 at the Firehall Arts Centre.
A. I wanted to see men engage other men on the topic of violence against women, so I searched for a hypermasculinized setting. Because I am also tackling punishment versus rehabilitation, a prison seemed like the perfect setting.
Q. You focus tightly on two cellmates—one older and one younger. What did you discover about their dynamic?
A. I discovered that while a hockey debate can unite even the most unlikely pair, so can prison. When you are reduced to nothing but a number, a bond inevitably forms despite age, background, and experience.
Q. Can people ever really be redeemed? Did you get closer to answering that while writing the play?
A. I don’t know if people really can be redeemed, each situation is so unique. So the question I am wrestling with is “Should everyone be given the chance, when we don’t know what the outcome will be?” g
Piaf! The Show revives a legend’s magic by Janet Smith
B
ien sûr, there was only one Edith Piaf. The Little Sparrow had more than a haunting vibrato and rafter-reaching vocal power; France’s national chanteuse had a soul she laid bare to her fans. In his eulogy, her close friend Jean Cocteau said it best: “I never knew anyone who was less protective of her spirit. She didn’t dole it out, she gave everything away.” Piaf has lain at rest in Père Lachaise Cemetery for 55 years now, and most of us can only wistfully imagine what it was like to see the four-foot-eight-inch waif belt out emotiondrenched torch songs like “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” in the music halls of Montmartre and Pigalle. But we can at least get an inkling, thanks to French songstress Anne Carrère, who is set to come to the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. The star of the multimedia concert Piaf! The Show has helped thousands of audience members across 50 countries experience some of the magic of the legendary French singer. And although she bears an uncanny resemblance to the icon on-stage, she does not try to be Edith Piaf. “I’m just the interpreter, and I try to give the best to the audience,” she tells the Straight, calling from a getaway in the French Alps, where she’s on a brief hiatus from the Piaf! world tour. “I give my soul and my heart on-stage; I share
Anne Carrère sings the songs of Edith Piaf, with projections bringing to life the French icon’s era.
all my emotions with the audience.” Carrère’s connection to Piaf goes back to her preschool years, growing up in Toulon. The artist has strong memories of her grandmother playing Piaf’s records three decades ago, when Carrère was only three. “My grandmother saw Edith on-stage when she was just four years old, and she told me a lot about her experiences
of Paris in those days,” Carrère says, and then admits: “I was not fond of Edith Piaf when I was a little girl.” That changed later, in 2007, around the time she—and the rest of the world—saw the film La Vie en Rose, starring Marion Cotillard. Carrère began to take much more interest in the singer and her work. She had studied everything from jazz dance to piano as a kid, but it was singing the blues, she thinks, that helped her tap Piaf’s spirit. In 2014, director Gil Marsalla offered Carrère the role of Edith Piaf in the touring production of Paris! The Show, a concert of music from some of France’s legendary music stars. She was such a hit that they created an entire ode to Piaf around her the next year—the centennial of Piaf’s birthday. To prepare for the part, Carrère made a connection with the Musée Edith Piaf and spoke to many of the chanteuse’s surviving friends. Through them, she was drawn most to the power and resilience of a woman who had survived growing up in both a brothel and a circus caravan, losing her only child, and later becoming addicted to drugs, booze, and younger men. “They all told me that Piaf was a strong woman,” Carrère says. “There is a story I love: one day Edith was sick and the doctor said to her, ‘Don’t sing tonight, it’s impossible!’ And Edith Piaf said, ‘I do what I want and I am going to
sing.’ And then she just goes on-stage alone without musicians and begins to sing! The musicians had to run to the stage to join her.” Piaf! The Show is split into two 45-minute acts, following the singer’s rags-to-riches career from the streets and cafés of Montmartre to the great concert halls of the world, Carrère singing with four live musicians. Projected photographs and images of some of the iconic Parisian locations of the Piaf era add to the atmosphere. In all her travels with the show, it’s “Hymne à l’Amour” that has become Carrère’s favourite to perform—a song her grandmother used to play all those years ago. “It’s a song of love and it makes me cry; you need a lot of emotion for this song,” she says. And with that, Carrère backs up her theory about why the Little Sparrow is so adored no matter where she performs, from Hong Kong to New York City to Paris itself. “Edith Piaf is loved around the world as a woman who sings lyrics that touch people with love,” she says. “When people listen to it they cry, they have real emotions. All over the world people are— how do you say?—slaves to emotion. Even if you don’t understand all the lyrics.” g Piaf! The Show is at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Tuesday (March 19).
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 43
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Watch the original 1922 silent ü() 3$%(! (%2! )1/% % */ * 0$! * +12!. ǫ $ ƫ$+%. ,!."+.) 0$! 3+.( ġ,.!)%!.! +" /+1* 0. ' +),+/! 5 Ƶ* .!3 +3*%*# * +* 1 0! 5 !/(%! (
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ARTS
Chouinard grows a wild new Garden
H
by Janet Smith
ieronymus Bosch’s busy, bawdy 500-year-old triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights has provoked debate for centuries. Millions flood Madrid’s Prado Museum each year to get a closer look at the naked cavorters, the bird-monsters, the luridly swollen strawberries, and the bulbous pink and blue structures that look straight out of a sci-fi cityscape. With so much going on in the painting, it’s amazing that Canadian choreographic icon Marie Chouinard focused so quickly on what to portray in her dance ode to the work. The Montreal artist had been commissioned by the Netherlands’ Jheronimus Bosch 500 Foundation to create a piece to mark the 500th anniversary of the painter’s death. Knowing immediately that she wanted to delve into The Garden of Earthly Delights, she had a giant 10-by-10foot reproduction of the painting printed and laid it out on the floor of her studio with her dancers. “Right from the beginning I decided that I would concentrate on the human bodies, even though there are so many other beings there,” says Chouinard from Montreal, still ebullient about a project she says is the most “joyous” she’s ever worked on. “We were bending over it and we were just studying all those positions and incorporating those into the body— the feet like this, the head like this—and just making our bodies into those bodies.” The result is Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights, an epic work that’s blissfully, nakedly alive, its white-powdered half-nude forms evoking both the wonderfully weird
In Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights, Marie Chouinard plays on the painting’s bubble imagery. Photo by Nicolas Ruel
painting and the ideas it spurred in Chouinard. Imagery from the artwork appears in projections, and a main set piece is a giant bubble like the ones in which people embrace in Bosch’s central panel. “He has so many bubbles in this painting and they’re such a mystery, because nothing like that could have existed in his time!” remarks Chouinard. Chouinard says she did deep research into Bosch’s masterpiece, but ultimately found most of her inspiration when responding to it directly. It’s an approach she’s used in works DanceHouse has brought to Vancouver, from Henri Michaux: Mouvements, based on that artist’s 1950s ink drawings, to her own sexually
charged riff on The Rite of Spring. “With Rite of Spring, I went right to Stravinsky’s piece and the sound and how it affected my body hearing it,” she says. “How does it affect my desire to make movement, how does it create an inner spirit in me?” By pushing aside the art-history books, she came up with her own takes on the Bosch panels that scholars still debate to this day. “The central panel, when you read about it, is all about sin,” she observes of the section that’s filled with pleasure-seeking naked figures. “But no: when you really look at it, these are gentle, soft people who are absolutely innocent.” Moving to the left-hand painting, generally seen as depicting Eden,
with God presenting Adam and Eve to each other, Chouinard was struck by how much God resembles Jesus. “This is an anachronism; it’s so funny—he was not born yet. I think the work is full of humour,” she observes. “It’s Man and Woman being presented one to the other. So it’s the Paradise of the moment of the meeting, so pure and beautiful.” Which brings us to hell, or the Last Judgment, which the haunting right-hand panel is usually said to show—burning city, severed ears, and all. “I interpreted that this panel is not about hell, but it’s about this life—which is all sorts of horror and torture,” Chouinard says. “You don’t
have to go to hell to experience hell. For me, it was describing not just what was his hell, but also for my time.” Bosch filled the last tableau with symbolic musical instruments, a nod, perhaps, to man’s earthly creations. In Chouinard’s wild dance expression, look instead for objects from her own previous artworks. Dancers shriek and howl, creating chaos with an assortment of props—a ladder, alphorns, yellow rubber boots. But the right-hand panel is not all darkness, Chouinard stresses. Amid her work, she became obsessed with its surreally fascinating central figure, the Tree Man, whom many believe to be a self-portrait of Bosch himself. His torso, supported by contorted, trunklike arms, is cut open, revealing three nude people, sitting on an animal, at a table. The figure’s head is turned back to look at them, with a half-smile as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa’s. Chouinard has bonded closely with that amazing face through her creative process—even if it’s meant connecting with a like-minded artist who lived half a millennium ago. “That little smile is so intelligent and full of love,” she remarks. “You can see his deep understanding of and love for humankind—poor humankind, but beautiful. “Bosch is like a dear friend in my heart,” the artist adds wistfully. “I know I love him—like a family link, a friendship link.” g DanceHouse presents Marie Chouinard’s Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights at the Vancouver Playhouse on Friday and Saturday (March 15 and 16).
THROUGH MAY 20, 2019 ALSO ON VIEW THIS SEASON AFFINITIES: CANADIAN ARTISTS AND FRANCE Through May 20, 2019 MOWRY BADEN Through June 9, 2019 MOVING STILL: PERFORMATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY IN INDIA April 19 - September 2, 2019
French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950 is organized by the Brooklyn Museum Major Sponsor:
Major Community Partner:
Major support provided by:
Visionary Partners for Historical Exhibitions:
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Huaijun Chen and Family
Berthe Morisot, Madame Boursier and Her Daughter, c. 1873, oil on canvas, Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 29.30, Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 45
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46 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
ARTS
Elephant and Piggie lives up to books
WHEN JUSTICE AND MORALS COLLIDE, WHERE IS THE LINE?
by Vince Kanasoot
THEATRE
ELEPHANT & PIGGIE’S “WE ARE IN A PLAY!”
Script and lyrics by Mo Willems. Music by Deborah Wicks La Puma. A Carousel Theatre for Young People presentation. At the Waterfront Theatre on Saturday, March 2. Continues until March 31
d ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE are having a blast performing for their fans in Carousel Theatre for Young People’s Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”, the stage adaptation of Mo Willems’s popular children’s book series. Many adventures of the famous duo have been captured in this lively one-act musical that young audiences will certainly enjoy. The play takes place on a day when anything is possible for Gerald (otherwise known as Elephant) and Piggie. And while they admit they are very different, they firmly believe their unshakable friendship will get them through anything. Throughout the show, we see story elements from
many books in the series, including I Am Invited to a Party!, Elephants Cannot Dance!, and Listen to My Trumpet. In fact, the entire show is a variation on We Are in a Book!. The duo see their friendship tested while learning about concepts like sharing and forgiveness. Director and choreographer Kayla Dunbar has put together a largerthan-life theatrical experience that will keep kids entertained and in awe. For example, Shizuka Kai’s brightly coloured Dr. Seuss–like sets, with images of story-themed items such as stars, ice cream, trumpets, and top hats splashed across them, make for a visual treat for the young ones, while providing a fun playground for the characters to go about their business. To eliminate the potential awkwardness of actors dressing up as a literal elephant and piglet, costume designer Kiara Lawson goes down a different route. Instead, Gerald is dressed in a conservative grey outfit, accented by an argyle sweater, while Piggie is all pink, including pink hair and overalls. They look so human, the rest is left up to the audience’s imagination. But with the performances of Tom Pick-
ett (Gerald) and Kelli Ogmundson (Piggie), it’s a breeze. Pickett’s gentle demeanour, which vanishes when he gets overly excited, and Ogmundson’s sparkling exuberance bring the characters to life. Highlights include Gerald’s passionate plea for Piggie to stay in “Don’t Go”, and Ogmundson’s feistiness in “Toy Breaker”. The trio of Synthia Yusuf, Merewyn Comeau, and Lindsay Warnock are sensational as a sassy girl group, the Squirrelles, livening up the musical numbers with their dynamite vocals and dance moves. Seated on-stage behind a keyboard, musical director Arielle Ballance doesn’t just keep the music and sound effects going—she’s always part of the action, playing the character of Pigeon, reacting to everything with huge animation. Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” will delight kids and parents, especially those who are fans of the books. The show’s participatory nature, splashy theatricality, fun musical numbers, and lessons on friendship make this an entertaining and worthwhile experience for young children. g
Dairakudakan’s cyber spectacle thrills by Janet Smith
DANCE
PSEUDO HUMAN/SUPER HUMAN
A Dairakudakan production. A Vancouver International Dance Festival presentation. At the Vancouver Playhouse on Friday, March 8. No remaining performances
d JAPAN’S DAIRAKUDAKAN ENDED its delirious spectacle at the Vancouver International Dance Festival with a long, ungodly moan. The fitting, Frankensteinlike howl no doubt echoed in the ears of the stunned crowd members as they ventured out into the cold night. On its third trip here, Akaji Maro’s troupe did not disappoint, conjuring a nonstop, ghoulish parade of monsters and mayhem. With Pseudo human/Super human, Maro created a sinister, and often blackly funny, cyborg hell—one populated with pale, dead-eyed automatons with sparkling metal skulls, beings who flailed long machine arms, and even a thudding beast straight out of Mary Shelley’s imagination. Maro was making a clever connection between the reanimated corpse in Shelley’s novel and our obsession with technology and artificial intelligence. And let’s just say he doesn’t think any of this so-called progress will turn out well for humankind. The visual feast contrasted starkly with the last production Dairakudakan brought to VIDF. Whereas Paradise was a carnival of flowers and satin-clad roller skaters, Pseudo human built a cold, mechanical universe. The most striking feature was the central illuminated glass-and-metal structure by the Japanese
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artist known as KUMA (Katsuyuki Shinohara). The red- or blue-glowing post splayed, treelike, at the top into a cerebral tangle that hung over the action like its sci-fi brain centre. At the back of the stage, automatons writhed and pounded their hands on glass lab cases. The evening served up its ideas in a series of dream-logic vignettes, each more bizarre than the last. Just a few of the eye-popping highlights: four men dancing with and splaying the legs of life-size puppets; a small army of bald machine minions dragging in Frankenstein’s monster, complete with exposed rib cage and platform shoes, by chains; the robo-armed character getting her mechanical limbs ripped off, revealing red, veinlike ribbons; and a Dr. Frankenstein character trying to animate a suspended Maro– look-alike puppet by dousing it in fluorescent-pink goo. The images were outlandish, but the butoh-style dancing was never less than topnotch, the dancers articulating every last gnarled finger, contorted spine, and silent scream. The pinnacle of the night, as always with Dairakudakan, was the final act, when Maro himself—in a Bride of Frankenstein white gown, a wild fright wig to match, and eerie Noh makeup—made his grand entrance aboard a cyberslave-drawn wagon. He may have been wearing a death stare, but you knew he was laughing at the universe, and the follies of its silly, self-destructing humans. As you can probably guess, Dairakudakan is not a regular night out at the theatre; for most of us, that’s the draw, but to be sure, the warped hallucinations left a few in the audience puzzled. The rest jumped to their feet at the end in frenzied applause. Maro, and the festival that brings him and his big company to Vancouver, have built a devoted following here, and he rewarded his fans’ expectations amply. g
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GROSS MISCONDUCT By Meghan Gardiner
Mar. 14–23, 2019 Studio B Tickets only $29!
GatewayTheatre.com , H GatewayThtr Ian Butcher & Sereana Malani. Photo: David Cooper & Tim Matheson.
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ARTS LISTINGS ONGOING VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL Highlights of the monthlong festival includesTaiwan’s Tjimur Dance Theatre. To Mar 30, Various Vancouver venues. DOUGLAS COUPLAND’S VORTEX Douglas Coupland’s radical art installation takes an imaginative journey to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, immersing viewers in the ocean-plastic pollution crisis. To April 30, 2019, Vancouver Aquarium. $22/39. REDPATCH The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Raes Calvert and Sean Harris Oliver’s story of an Indigenous soldier from the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation of Vancouver Island. To Mar 31, Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre. From $29. CHANGED UTTERLY Constance Markievicz fights for Ireland’s freedom in a theatre verbatim play with songs and poems. To Mar 16, 8 pm, Jericho Arts Centre. $24/28. JESUS FREAK A story of family, faith, and the in-between space. To Mar 23, 8-10 pm, Pacific Theatre. $20-36.50. REVERBERATIONS Sound installation/ memoir play based on the memories of writer and sound designer Brian Linds. To Mar 17, Presentation House Theatre. $15-28.
CINDERELLA WALTZ Douglas College presents a twisted retelling of the popular fairy tale. To Mar 15, Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre. $10-20. GROWING ROOM: A FEMINIST LITERARY FESTIVAL Room magazine’s annual celebration of diverse Canadian writers and artists. To Mar 17, Various Vancouver venues. By donation. BRAVE NEW PLAY RITES FESTIVAL New work by both undergraduate and graduate creative-writing students. To Mar 17, Studio 1398. VANCOUVER ART GALLERY aA CURATOR’S VIEW: IAN THOM SELECTS to Mar 17 aTHE METAMORPHOSIS to Mar 17 aFRENCH MODERNS: MONET TO MATISSE, 1850–1950 to May 20 aAFFINITIES: CANADIAN ARTISTS AND FRANCE to May 20 aDISPLACEMENT to Jun 9 aMOWRY BADEN to Jun 9 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY’S OFFSITE aPOLIT-SHEER-FORM OFFICE to Mar 31 CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY aKAMEELAH JANAN RASHEED to Mar 17, 12-6 pm THE POLYGON a10,000 SHIPS to Mar 17 aA HANDFUL OF DUST to Mar 17 MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT UBC aIN A DIFFERENT LIGHT: REFLECTING ON NORTHWEST COAST ART to spring 2019 aMARKING THE INFINITE: CONTEMPORARY
WOMEN ARTISTS FROM ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA to Mar 31 aSHAKEUP: PRESERVING WHAT WE VALUE to Sep 1 MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER aWILD THINGS: THE POWER OF NATURE IN OUR LIVES to Sep 30 aHAIDA NOW: A VISUAL FEAST OF INNOVATION AND TRADITION to Dec 1
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 JESUS CHRIST: THE LOST YEARS Remount of Monster Theatre’s play about a teenage Jesus. Mar 13-23, Havana Theatre. $20/15. STORY STORY LIE: YOU’RE FIRED! Embarrassing stories told by TJ Dawe, Corinne Lea, Ian Boothby, David C Jones, Andrew Lynch, and Toben Spencer-Lang. Mar 13, 7-8:30 pm, Rio Theatre. $10/12. METAMORPHOSIS Vignettes created and performed by Iceland’s master puppeteer, Bernd Ogrodnik. Mar 13, 7:30 pm, Surrey City Hall. From $25. SALISH SEA EARLY MUSIC CONCERT Performance of Bach’s sonatas for flute and harpsichord. Mar 13, 7:30-9 pm, Knox United Church. $15-25.
THURSDAY, MARCH 14 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL Musical based on the 1980 comedy, with music and lyrics by Dolly
Parton. Mar 14-23, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $22/15/10. GROSS MISCONDUCT Two inmates at Millhaven Prison debate the nature of their crimes. Mar 14-23, Gateway Theatre. $29. GOLDRAUSCH Comedy about the man who started the Gold Rush Fever of 1848. Mar 1430, Frederic Wood Theatre. $24.50/11.
WHY THOMAS MERTON MATTERS NOW Poet Susan McCaslin discusses Thomas Merton. Mar 14, 6:30-8 pm, Banyen Books and Sound. Free. BRYAN HATT Canadian comedian performs three nights of standup. Mar 14-16,, Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club. $10/20. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL Based on the 1980 hit movie. Three female coworkers concoct a plan to get even with their sexist, egotistical, lying, and hypocritical boss. Mar 14, 8 pm; Mar 21, 8 pm; Mar 15, 8 pm; Mar 16, 8 pm; Mar 20, 8 pm; Mar 22, 8 pm; Mar 23, 8 pm; Mar 17, 2 pm; Mar 23, 2 pm, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $24/15/10. VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR: MUSIC SEA TO SEA—THE FAREWELL TOUR Program includes works by Bach, Debussy, Britten, Kodaly, Raminsh, and Schafer. Mar 14, 8 pm. $29-33.
JOKES PLEASE! Standup comedy show hosted by Ross Dauk. Mar 14, 9-10:45 pm, Little Mountain Gallery. $10. AWKWARD HUG Actor-writer Cory Thibert performs a coming-of-age story with a twist. Mar 14-15, 10-11 pm, Havana Theatre. $12/15.
COMPAGNIE “…BEGUILI MARIE EYE-FILLIN CHOUINARD (MONTREAL ) THE WALL STREET JO
FRIDAY, MARCH 15
WE MADE THIS UP: VOLUME 1 Original one-act plays by local writers and actors. Mar 15-16, The Dusty Flowershop. $15. 7 STORIES Douglas College presents Morris Panych’s iconic Canadian play, directed by Thrasso Petras. Mar 15-22, Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre. $10-20. CANADIAN BALLET MASTERCLASS SERIES Masterclass with Prima Ballerina Chan Hon Goh. Mar 15, 4:30 am, Goh Ballet Oakridge. $25.
HIERONYMUS BOSCH: THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS
“BEAUTIFULLY UNSETTLING.” THE GLOBE AND MAIL
HOT TICKET
SOUTH ASIAN ARTS The Dance Centre’s Discover Dance! series presents a bhangra showcase. Mar 14, 12 & 6 pm,, Scotiabank Dance Centre. $13-22.
THE GOOD BRIDE One-woman comedy based on the true story of a Quiverfull Christian girl. Mar 14-16, 8 pm–10 am, Evergreen Cultural Centre. $33/28/15.
PRESENTS
Arts
MUSIC IN THE MORNING Cellist Johannes Moser performs with pianist Chiharu Iinuma. Mar 15, 11:15 am, Christ Church Cathedral. $20/38/42.
COMEDY CLUB HOUSE Fundraiser for Boys and Girls Clubs of South Coast B.C features comedian Steve Patterson. Mar 15, 7:30 pm, Rocky Mountaineer Station. $125. UBC SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Performing works by Françaix, Debussy, and Adams. Mar 15, 7:30-9:30 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $8. HIERONYMUS BOSCH: THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS Choreographer Marie Chouinard creates a living canvas embodying Bosch’s most infamous masterpiece. Mar 15-16, 8-9:30 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. From $35. MARINE LIFE Ruby Slippers Theatre presents the Western Canadian premiere of a romantic comedy by Rosa Labordé. Mar 15-23, 8 pm, Firehall Arts Centre. $33. HOT BROWN HONEY Packing a punch of hip-hop politics, the Honeys smash stereotypes and remix the system. Mar 15-30, 8-9:15 pm, York Theatre. Tix $10-51.
HOT BROWN HONEY (March 15 to 30 at the Cultch) It was one of last year’s most buzzed-about and empowering shows. Now the Aussie-born, female-driven extravaganza is back with its bold mashup of political activism, hip-hop, dance, poetry, comedy, circus, striptease, and song. It defies categorization, and so do the Aboriginal Australian, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Indonesian, and South African women who perform it. More than anything, it’s a chance to get loud and proud and dance in your seats—basically, a big party thrown around a huge hive of coloured lights. MULTIPLE ORGANISM (March 19 to 30 at the Culture Lab) “Even die-hard fans of Mind of a Snail, whose work is usually familyfriendly, are in for a surprise—and a treat”: that was the way our review started when we covered the 2017 Vancouver Fringe Festival, naming the multimedia play a standout that year. Not surprisingly, the wildly inventive show and its deliciously dirty projections, body-positive nudity, and adults-only puppets went on to win a spot on the Pick of the Fringe lineup, critics’-choice prizes from both the Fringe and the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, and a Cultchivating the Fringe award from the Cultch. That last one means that Mind of a Snail can now restage the work at the Culture Lab. Don’t miss it this time; you’ve never seen anything like it.g SATURDAY, MARCH 16 TRANSCEND: GO BEYOND Revolver Festival launch party celebrates live theatre. Mar 16, 7-11 pm, GO Studios. $15/17. CELTICFEST 2019 The Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir performs Irish, Scottish, and Welsh songs. Mar 16, 7:30 pm, Christ Church Cathedral. $40/30/28/15. DOUGLAS COLLEGE CHOIRS Featuring Fauré’s Requiem and works by Brahms, Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Pärt. Mar 16, 7:30 pm, Queens Avenue United Church. $5-10. ST. PATRICK’S DAY CEILI DANCE Community ceili dance, with all dances taught and no experience necessary. Mar 16, 7:30-11 pm, Victoria Drive Community Hall. $5-25.
see page 50
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48 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
movies Drug-trade saga takes visionary flight REVIEWS
GLORIA BELL
Starring Julianne Moore. Rated 14A
BIRDS OF PASSAGE
d JULIANNE MOORE lets down her hair but rarely takes off her glasses as Gloria Bell’s antihero, a middleaged empty-nester who relieves the tedium of her insurance job by hooking up with well-dressed randos at a SoCal disco. When she finally meets a more serious fella, things go better. Until they don’t. If this fairly comprehensive synopsis sounds familiar, that’s because you
Starring José Acosta. In Spanish and Wayuu, with English subtitles. Rated 14A
d A DRUG-CARTEL origin story is interwoven with Indigenous ethnography in the visually rich Birds of Passage, which takes some familiar elements to startling new, and very old, places. Things start simply, in 1968, with the coming-of-age of Zaida, a young woman played by Natalia Reyes, one of the few professionals in the large cast. (In fact, she’ll costar in the next Terminator movie.) The ritual, involving seclusion followed by extravagant courtship dancing, pertains to the Wayuu, nomadic people who inhabited Colombia’s dusty, far-northern Guajira peninsula before the Spanish arrived, and never really surrendered. In fact, they still refer to non-Natives as alijunas, very roughly translated as “strangers who break shit”. Clannishness is the organizing principle here, and Zaida’s incredibly tough mother (Carmiña Martínez) has to climb some family trees before even entertaining the notion of outsider Rapayet (José Acosta) asking for the girl’s hand. To discourage the dude, she demands an extravagant dowry, including whole herds of goats and cattle. He’s serious, though, and enlists a mestizo pal (Jhon Narváez) to help raise some quick capital. Both notice that American Peace Corps volunteers, avoiding the Vietnam War while playing guitars and skinny-dipping, have a bottomless appetite for marijuana. Rapayet’s relatives grow the green stuff, and it’s just a matter of baling it up and swapping for gringo dollars. As things get more systematized, with small planes and increasingly weaponized meeting places, you see the cartels taking shape, with conflicts forming along ethnic lines. As people get greedy, their loyalties are tested and twisted. Extended series like Narcos and The Sopranos have dug deep into the pathology of drug-fuelled clan warfare. Codirectors Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra—she’s a veteran producer and he made the spooky Amazonian tale Embrace of the Serpent— are more interested in the interface between conflicting cultures than in the crime story. The Scarface stuff takes over anyway, and the tale loses some of its own roots in the mounting body count. At just over two hours, a kind of formal stiffness sets in, and viewers may not feel like rooting for anyone in particular. The wide-screen images are arresting, however, and the movie helps keep remote places, people, and history alive.
by Ken Eisner
MIDIAN FARM
A documentary by Liz Marshall. Rating unavailable
caught it in 2013’s Gloria, a Chilean effort that won multiple prizes for star Pauline García and writerdirector Sebastián Lelio. Four years later, the latter grabbed an Oscar and more for A Fantastic Woman, and then had something of a dud with Disobedience. Foreign directors don’t usually tackle English-language remakes of their own breakthrough films, so Lelio surely thought he could bring something special to one that trades local specificity—invoking his
see next page
A ritual dance begins a decades-long drug war in the ravishing Birds of Passage.
Toronto. Midian Farm the movie is an attempt by their daughter, the documentarian Liz Marshall (The Ghosts in Our Machine), to “detangle family history”. As she says: “There’s not one answer.” Indeed, one of the remarkable things about Marshall’s film is that virtually all of Midian’s scattered and greying participants contribute to her alfresco portrait. Archival footage and evocatively washed-out ’70s photos supply the rest, which leaves you wanting more than its brisk 80 minutes. The story is what you might expect, with a bunch of beautiful and super enthusiastic city kids grappling, often comically, with alien technologies like septic fields, organic food gardens, and the construction of leaky geodesic domes. The farm’s demise in 1977 is no less predictable, not counting a succession of weirdly biblical punishments that included flood, fire, hail, and a lightning strike that cleaved a “gathering tree” in half. By this point, Marshall and her disillusioned mom were long gone and Grainger’s oft-attested charisma had curdled, for some at least, into authoritarianism. “It started to feel culty to me,” remarks one “Family” member. But this very Canadian tale is no Wild Wild Country or anything—not even close. You’d hardly call Grainger a bad guy, and he’s sincere about his mistakes, although his absence from an otherwise sweet reunion organized by Marshall for the film’s
Movies
TIP SHEET
c A LITTLE PRINCESS Alfonso Cuarón made his 1995 Hollywood debut with this adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, which receives an early, all-ages screening at the Cinematheque on Sunday (March 17).
d AS BUCKMINSTER FULLER stated with unsettling clarity way back in 1969, modern humanity faces a stark choice between utopia and oblivion. Consciously or not, Fuller’s challenge was picked up by c LEVEL 16 Sara Canning is headmistress at a sinister girls’ the children of the ’60s, with alternaboarding school in Danishka tive communities of greater or lesser Esterhazy’s sci-fi horror, virtue popping up all over a so-called returning from VIFF 2018 for developed world, founded generally a single screening at the Rio on principles of collectivism, egaliTheatre on Sunday (March 17). tarianism, and deep reverence for c FILM STUDIES: THE LAST Spaceship Earth. OF THE MOHICANS Critic Midian Farm was one such exRick Staehling inaugurates periment, arriving in Beaverton, the Vancity Theatre’s new Ontario, in 1971, thanks to Grainger series with the director’s Cowie and Diane Marshall, two wellcut of Michael Mann’s 1992 travelled Christians who’d already romantic adventure, on gathered a small flock while running Monday (March 18). a drop-in centre for youths in hippie
closing scenes leaves an ambivalent question mark. If we’re closer to oblivion than ever before, Midian Farm reminds us that the road to utopia still means grappling with the alien technology of being human.
by Adrian Mack
THE QUIETUDE
Starring Bérénice Bejo. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Rating unavailable
d A RESTFUL RETREAT is what everyone is looking for in a rare family get-together at the remote hacienda that shares a name with this low-key Argentine drama. It’s not what they get, because the place is a repository for more secrets and lies than any one home, or movie, can carry. Things centre on sisters who haven’t seen each other in a while. Mia and Eugenia look remarkably alike, thanks to actors Martina Gusmán and Bérénice Bejo, respectively. They’re so close, in fact, they even masturbate together, setting off incestuous alarm bells that actually lead to a different kind of fire. Best-known for her lead in The Artist, Bejo lives in France, and so does Eugenia, with her husband, Vincent (Venezuela’s Édgar Ramírez, who played Gianni Versace in American Crime Story). This doesn’t stop Mia from boffing her sib’s hubby when the occasion arises, while Eugenia has one-offs with handsome family friend Esteban (Joaquín Furriel)—leading to some creepy confusion when the Parisian announces her pregnancy. The only folks not shtupping in this scenario are their parents (Graciela Borges and Isidoro Tolcachir), seen cruelly fighting before Dad has a stroke just as the family is reunited. This leaves the girls baffled and Mom in charge, resulting in more conflicts, since Eugenia is clearly the favoured daughter. We eventually learn why, and it involves the wealthy family’s twisted sexual politics and Argentina’s recent history, which has left unmentionable scars. Writer-director Pablo Trapero has been down this path before, most notably with 2004’s goofier Rolling Family, which put one clan’s social dysfunction on the road. This outing simply tries to cram too much well-acted bad behaviour into closed spaces. And many viewers will simply want to escape before their troubles are over. On a technical note, the Quietude I caught had all of its double-decker subtitles in the wrong order—reading from bottom to top—forcing one to translate the translation. I blame the dictatorship. by Ken Eisner
MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 49
from previous page
nation’s tortured history—for bankable Hollywood stars. But it’s hard to see the advantage here, other than the smooth shooting and the chance it gives for A-list actors to do some downbeat stuff. This Gloria doesn’t seem to care about much, other than the softrock classics she sings along with, badly, on the car radio. She nags her grown kids, leaving long messages on their phones, always followed by an egregious “It’s your mother”— something that manages to be both funny and condescending. When we meet said offspring, played by Michael Cera and impressive up-and-comer Caren Pistorious, they turn out to be fairly substantial people. Gloria’s mother (Holland Taylor), her ex-husband and his new mate (Brad Garrett and Jeanne Tripplehorne), and her own close friends (including Rita Wilson and Barbara Sukowa) all gesture at subplots inherently more interesting than the foreground story. This rests, rather grindingly, on her sputtering affair with someone—played, more soulfully than the man deserves, by John Turturro—who’s just a collection of complaints and prevarications. The problem, which marks all his movies, is that Lelio clearly
VIFF‘18
VIFF‘18
from page 48 SUNDAY, MARCH 17 JNT COMEDY Cannabis comedy show hosted by Andrew Packer. Mar 17, 8 pm, Cannabis Culture Headquarters. $10. INTIMATE LETTERS The Borealis String Quartet and clarinetist James Campbell perform works by Gilliand, Raminsh, and Mozart. Mar 17, 7:30 pm, Orpheum Annex. $35/15. SHAMROCKS AND SHENANIGANS A crazy Celtic version of TheatreSports. Mar 17, 7:30 pm, The Improv Centre. $15.75. THE SCRAWNY SHOW Monthly comedy show features headliner Yumi Nagashima. Mar 17, 8 pm, ANZA Club. $8/12.
MONDAY, MARCH 18 SARAH BRIGHTMAN Classical crossover artist. Mar 18, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. NASTY WOMEN COMEDY Improv comedy by funny feminists. Mar 18, 8:30 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $10/15.
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TUESDAY, MARCH 19 JUILLIARD QUARTET Chamber music by Haydn, Bartok, and Beethoven. Mar 19, 8 pm, Vancouver Playhouse. $55/60. PIAF! THE SHOW Celebration of the life and music of Edith Piaf. Mar 19, 8 pm, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. $87.50/76.75/66. MULTIPLE ORGANISM Genre- and genderbending surrealist comedy for adults about having a body and how our body is seen by others. Mar 19-30, 8 pm, Vancity Culture Lab. $28.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 SPRING BREAK AT THE POLYGON Handson workshops and activities designed to stimulate imagination. Mar 20-24, 11 am–3 pm. By donation.
Juilanne Moore chases the losses in Sebastián Lelio’s remake of his own Gloria Bell.
cares about his characters, and actors, but can’t quite be bothered to fit them into fully convincing narratives. So viewers end up with underserved psychology and overcooked melodrama, giving the proceedings a soapy feel. Anyway, ENVISION Boca del Lupo presents nine immersive micro excerpts of new contemporary work. Mar 20-23, 7-11 pm, Performance Works. $20. LADIES AGAINST HUMANITY The Fictionals present a live improv tournament. Mar 20, 8-10 pm, Rio Theatre. $12.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 SONIC BOOM MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019 Festival celebrating new-music works by B.C. composers. Mar 21-24, Pyatt Hall. $20/$15 (pass $50). THE ORCHARD (AFTER CHEKHOV) The Arts Club Theatre Company presents Sarena Parmar’s timeless family drama set in the Okanagan Valley. Mar 21–Apr 21, Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. From $29.
FRIDAY, MARCH 22 MYSTERY AT GREENFINGERS A comedic whodunnit set in a snowstorm. Mar 22-24, 7:30 pm, PAL Theatre. STEVE HOFSTETTER Comedian and YouTube star performs two nights of standup. Mar 22-23,, Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club. $25. TEEN ANGST NIGHT Sara Bynoe hosts a night of readings from embarrassing teenage notebooks. Mar 22, 8-10 pm, Fox Cabaret. $10/15. CHILDREN OF GOD A powerful musical about residential schools. Mar 22-23, 8-10:10 pm, Surrey Arts Centre. $29-49. THE DELIGHTLY All-genres cabaret where creators present new material and engage in unexpected collaborations. Mar 22, 10:30 pm, Havana Theatre. $15. ARTS LISTINGS are a public service provided free of charge. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight. com/AddEvent. Events that don’t make it into the paper due to space constraints will appear on the website.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MARCH 14
MARCH 15
MARCH 16
MARCH 17
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by Ken Eisner
Arts
HOT TICKET
MUSIC SEA TO SEA: THE FAREWELL TOUR (March 15
at Shaughnessy Heights United Church) In an epic Canadian goodbye tour for long-time conductor Jon Washburn, the Vancouver Chamber Choir is pulling out its all-time top-10 List. Among the faves: Claude Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, R. Murray Schafer’s A Garden of Bells, and Washburn’s own rousing Rise! Shine! Four Spirituals.
SHAMROCKS AND SHENANIGANS (March 17 at
the Improv Centre) Vancouver TheatreSports League serves up laughs with your green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, promising improvised skits that celebrate and send up everything Irish—think favourite Emerald Isle expressions and roving Lucky Charm leprechauns. Heads up that the venue’s Neil Macrae Bar and Lounge has not only shamrockhued draft on tap, but specials on Guinness, shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey, and more. Not that you have to drink to have a good craic... g
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50 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT MARCH 14 – 21 / 2019
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Manson crawls back from nothingness
H
by Mike Usinger
ang in there long enough and sometimes you get a second shot, as Marilyn Manson has proven by lurching back from the grave. It’s a second act that no one saw coming. This century—that’s right, century—has not been kind to the man who was once considered the most dangerous rock star on the planet. First blowing up in 1995 with an industrial-strafed retooling of the Eurythmics classic “Sweet Dreams”, Manson went all-in on the idea that nothing entertains like a spectacle. And what a spectacle he was—all fishbelly-white greasepaint, mismatched contact lenses, and American-gothic suits. Major magazine profiles painted the former Brian Warner as a man who spent his downtime smoking crack mixed with Tic Tacs and ground-up human bones. Right-wing America branded him the scariest thing this side of the devil, something that Manson happily embraced. If he wasn’t on-stage wiping his ass with pages ripped from the Bible, he was claiming to be an ordained minister in the Church of Satan. When the Columbine massacre went down, the perpetrators credited Manson as an inspiration. He was perhaps the only person alive in the ’90s who actually scared Courtney Love. And then it all went way south in the new millennium. Manson’s theatrical fusion of glam and goth suddenly seemed bloated and excessive when the Strokes, the White Stripes, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs spearheaded a pop-music palace coup in 2001. Instead of performing in the hockey rinks he’d always dreamed of conquering, Manson suddenly found himself playing theatres—with stages unequipped for the shows he envisioned that placed a premium on big-top theatrics: towering church pulpits, machine-gun-toting can-
Against all odds, Marilyn Manson is back in 2019. Photo by Stefan Brending
can girls, and crucifixions on crosses made out of TV sets. In a 2015 Rolling Stone profile, writer Erik Hedegaard painted a picture of a man running on absinthe fumes. The promise of a night of fullbore debauch at the fabled Chateau Marmont was not delivered on, and the underlying tone was that Manson was lost in a “general mood of black nothingness”. A year ago, the onetime icon appeared to have bottomed out, as a New York show lit up Twitter for all the wrong reasons. Those who were there reported Manson ambling out on-stage with all the enthusiasm of a man who’d just woken up from a three-month bender. This brings us to the resurrection. In October of last year, Manson made the news for doing something creative again—and by that, we don’t mean making new music. The rocker— who’s claimed he likes to have sex more often than your pet rabbit—released a dildo emblazoned with his face. If there was a demand for such a thing, thank no less than Justin Bieber, who introduced a new generation of tortured teenagers to Manson a couple of years back by wearing his T-shirts in concert. In the rap world, Philadelphia
underground king Lil Uzi Vert not only refused to shut up about the rocker in interviews, but also popped up in Migos’s “Bad & Boujee” video wearing Manson’s face on his shirt. Just to leave no doubt about his fandom, he later shelled out a reported $220,000 for a chain and pendant featuring the likeness of Brian Warner wearing Mickey Mouse ears. A few months back, bad-boy fashion designer Demna Gvasalia paid tribute to Manson at his 2018 Vetements show with a lipstick-pink blouse marked with the singer’s face—just one of the reasons GQ last week ran a story with the headline “Is Marilyn Manson the Hottest Guy in Fashion?”. Marilyn Manson is suddenly everywhere, whether making the rounds at Hollywood Oscar parties or announcing that he’s back on the hockey-rink circuit, coheadlining a 2019 tour with fellow ’90s survivor Rob Zombie. Bringing things truly full circle at the moment is conjecture that the man is becoming the living embodiment of darkness for a new generation. In a 2009 interview in Spin, Manson recalled phoning his onetime fiancée Evan Rachel Wood repeatedly on Christmas Day in 2008 after a breakup, stating: “Every time I called her that day—I called 158 times—I took a razor blade and I cut myself on my face or on my hands.” Although he went on to call that stupid, he noted in the same interview, “I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.” Wood, meanwhile, took to Twitter on March 11 with a series of “IAmNotOKay” tweets that you can Google at your leisure. Manson’s upcoming swing with Zombie is being dubbed the Twins of Evil Tour. Whether that’s clever advertising or God’s truth is, once again, for you to decide. g
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The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private lives—or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.
MUSIC Here’s what’s inside Roubini’s fridge
W
by Mike Usinger
Scan to confess It’s not only you ladies But guys also have issues with our bodies and how we are perceived in society. There are times when I feel like I have to have 6 pack abs, a BMW, downtown condo and 100K job to feel attractive. Why do I feel this... (con’t @straight.com)
Stunning! I wish people didn’t use that word when selling things on Craigslist. All I can think is, that is not “stunning” at all. It’s not a word I’d use to describe a bedside table.
My Best Friend is Me Since deciding to clean my life up I have very few close friends and most of them I see rarely. I spend my spare time doing artistic projects and listening to and playing music. Recovering from codependency is a long hard road.
My past I am now a professional in a white collar job but in my younger years I worked as an escort. I worry that I will never be able to find a partner who truly can move past my past and accept me as the person I am now.
Dumb Birds I have an appreciation for nature and I like most birds, even crows. That being said, I’m so anti-pigeon. I wish there were a few more hawks or owls about to chase them away from my balcony.
Visit
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MARCH
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DEPUIS 1989
Mandolin Orange This Side of Jordan I just saw their show at the Imperial a couple of days ago, so I am reminded of how brilliant I think this album is. Andrew Marlin’s songwriting is phenomenal—he manages to put his poems to music. I love, love, love visually rich songs where I can see the picture of the song in my mind as well as feeling the feeling it conveys.
hat’s in Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.
PARC MACKIN PARK • COQUITLAM ya o j n e e m Co sic, u m f o e c big sli re! u t l u c d n food a
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On the grill Daphne Roubini. Who are you? I’m a jazz vocalist (apparently sounding like I am living in the mid-’40s rather than today) and bandleader of vintage-jazz band Black Gardenia, and ukulele jazz/folk duo Ruby & Smith along with my little darlin’ uke. So, I’m also playfully known as “Vancouver’s first lady of uke”, spreading ukulele madness, it seems, wherever I go. I founded the Vancouver Ukulele Festival and Ruby’s Ukes Ukulele School, now the largest ukulele school in the world outside of Hawaii, in 2009 and have made it a personal mission to make a difference in the world with music. (It’s true!) Coming up next for me is Vancouver Ukulele Festival 2019, with workshops (March 23 and 24) and a gala concert (March 22), and some really cool gigs coming up this summer I can’t tell you about yet! Originally from London, England, I am now deeply planted here in Vancouver! Life-changing concert It would have to be seeing the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain in a tiny little folk club called Cecil Sharp House in Primrose Hill, London, around 2001. There were only 300 people there max, real old finger-in-the-ear folkies. A friend suggested we go, and I went thinking “What am I doing at the ukulele concert?” But she is one of the funniest people I know—to date—and so I went. I couldn’t believe my ears, and the audience, who were a mixture of old folkies and Primrose Hill trendies, were laughing out loud in absolute glee and joy— not in a “piss-taking” way at all. When they played “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” on ukes, we went insane! Now they sell out the biggest venues in the world. I didn’t play the ukulele then and would not have ever even considered it. I was totally immersed in jazz singing and piano then, so I reckon that it did change my life!
What’s in your fridge? A bottle of Wray & Nephew overproof rum. I love rum and juice, and I learned to make rum punch from my Jamaican friends in London, and still make a killer one that will lift you up fast and then let you down nice and slow. Keeping this strong rum cold makes it really smooth to drink. I love shaking a strong punch martini with cherry and apple juice and tons of lime. The perfect postgig or postclass or postanything cocktail. I feel like I am “back home” in London every time I have one of my specials; I am instantly back partying in Crouch End, London. Daphne Roubini is a Vancouver jazz singer and the founder of Ruby’s Ukes.
Top three records Ahmad Jamal The Ahmad Jamal Trio To me, Ahmad Jamal is one of the most unsung heroes of jazz; his work paved the way for later pianists that I also love, like McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, and Herbie Hancock. I love his early playing and his sense of internal rhythm. He is my favourite jazz pianist and I could listen to this album all day. I learned so much about jazz, improvisation, composition, and swing from the album. Plus, apparently it’s perfect to listen to on repeat night and day. The Carpenters Close to You The first time I heard “Close to You” the purity of Karen Carpenter’s voice blew my mind and I was instantly addicted. I would spend hours singing along to the record in my bedroom when I was small; I often think Karen Carpenter taught me to sing. This album became a guilty secret when I was a teenager; I remember going to a party and we all had to bring a record we loved and I brought “Close to You”, and as I was coming back from the loo I heard someone saying in disbelief “Who brought this album?” I think that’s when I realized some music’s cool and some wasn’t. I always just liked what I liked. I was never the cool one. Now I know that is cool.
Fine chocolate. I am a lover of fine chocolate. Back in the day when I was a massage therapist in London one of my clients would bring me bricks of fine chocolate—he was, like, a chocolate dealer—wrapped in silver foil at the time when Bourneville was about as dark as it got. He’s Martin Christy, now the founder of the International Chocolate Awards. I learned to properly taste chocolate from him, and was one of his chocolate judges back in the day. In his home in Highgate he has a wine cooler full of only bars of chocolate. I have Sirene, out of Victoria, who won silver for their dark milk (65 percent), which is incredible, especially for relatively new chocolatiers. And a new bar by Pacari, single-bean, 70 percent, with cardamom. Pesto sauce. The perfect right-therewhen-you-need-it kind of sauce. I love pesto sauce (especially Costco; it’s not cool, but it is true, and I’ve pretended I made it from scratch once… only once). It’s perfect for everything: salmon with pesto on top (grill for 15 minutes); cut-up leeks (steam first, then add pesto) with a poached egg on top; any kind of pasta, with anything else I can find; cheese-and-rye-bread grilled toast; late-night chips when there’s nothing else in the fridge postgig, served with the aforementioned Wray & Nephew punch martini. g
u Vancouve o y k n r! Tha
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MUSIC
Rogers is Sunday-playlist-worthy LOCAL DISCS BEN ROGERS Wildfire
d AT THE RISK of sounding like some sort of heathen—music critics are supposed to be hopelessly retroobsessed vinyl fetishists, right?—I love Spotify. One of the reasons why is that, for every possible situation or mood you can imagine, there are more playlists than you can count. Those playlists are often made up largely of things you haven’t heard before, and some of them can quickly become new favourites. Let’s say it’s an overcast Sunday afternoon and the only thing on your agenda is crashing on the sofa with a good book. Ben Rogers is exactly the sort of artist you would hope to have pop up on that playlist of rootsy singer-songwriters. Which is a way of saying that the songs on Wildfire are well-crafted and impeccably recorded—Dallas Green of City and Colour and Alexisonfire produced the record—but are generally unobtrusive. I don’t mean that in a bad way at all; Rogers, who has two previous albums to his name, is a damn good
CONCERTS JUST ANNOUNCED SWINGIN’ UTTERS Punk band from San Francisco, with guests Gallows Bound. May 26, 8 pm, WISE Hall. Tix on sale Mar 15, 10 am, $18. NICK MURPHY Singer, producer, and multiinstrumentalist, formerly known as Chet Faker. Jun 9, 9 pm, Commodore Ballroom. Tix on sale Mar 15, 10 am, $43.50. ANDERSON .PAAK & THE FREE NATIONALS American hip-hop artist, with guests Earl Sweatshirt and Thundercats. Jun 19, 8 pm, PNE Amphitheatre. $59.50. JOEY BADA$$ + FLATBUSH ZOMBIES New York City hip-hop artists, with guests the Underachievers, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, CJ Fly, and Powers Pleasant. Jul 25, 6 pm, PNE Amphitheatre. Tix on sale Mar 15, 10 am, $56/30.50. MUMFORD & SONS Indie-folk quartet from London, England, with guests Portugal. The Man. Aug 7, 8 pm, BC Place Stadium. Tix on sale Mar 15, 8 pm, $125/99.50/69.50/59.50. HOZIER Irish indie-rock singer-songwriter, with guest Freya Ridings. Oct 18, 8 pm, Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Tix on sale Mar 15, 10 am, $69.50/59.50/49.50/39.50.
tunesmith. Mind you, his bio would have us believe that he “channels the likes of possessed masterminds from Nick Cave to Otis Redding to Marc Bolan of T.Rex” on Wildfire. Don’t be so sure. He doesn’t sound remotely like any of the above, nor does he need to. His sweeping but resolutely laid-back sound stands on its own, a twang-tinged brand of Canadian Americana centred around his plaintively melodic vocals. Rogers has a rather deadly secret weapon in his arsenal, too, in the person of guitarist John Sponarski, wellknown to local alt-country fans as one of the musical minds behind the dearly departed Portage and Main. It’s downright thrilling when Sponarski rips into a solo, like the four-alarm blazer that burns a hole through the otherwise mellow opener, “Doll Bones”, or the one that takes the epic title track seriously close to shoegazing territory. Wildfire, indeed. by John Lucas
THE BAD BEATS Off the Hook
d IF YOU’RE DOING garage rock in 2019, then covering anything by the Lyres is akin to greeting your
CHRIS WALLACE Toronto drummer and his jazz quartet celebrate their debut release Somewhere Sacred. Mar 14, 8 pm, Frankie’s Jazz Club. $16. CURTIS SALGADO AND BAND Soul, blues, and R&B vocalist-harmonicist-songwriter. Mar 14, 8:45 pm, Blue Frog Studios. $47.
FRIDAY, MARCH 15 THE DREADNOUGHTS Punk band plays a St. Patrick’s Day weekend show, with guests BRASS, ATD, the Gung Hos, Campfire Shitkickers, and North by North. Mar 15, 7 pm, Rickshaw Theatre. $20. PORTEAU Album-release show for Water’s Gate, with guests Harley Small and ursidae. Mar 15, 7-10:30 pm, Fox Cabaret. $10. LYNYRD SKYNYRD Southern rockers perform on their farewell tour, with guest Randy Bachman. Mar 15, 7:30 pm, Abbotsford Centre. $70.50-151. GAMELAN GITA ASMARA A night of Balinese gamelan, with guests Basilissa, YEP, and DJ How-To. Mar 15, 8 pm, WISE Hall. $15/10. COCAINE MOUSTACHE Album-release party with guests Ham Wailin’ (Van Halen tribute), the Gnar Gnars, and Colossus (Clutch tribute). Mar 15, 8 pm, Astoria Pub. $15.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13
SATURDAY, MARCH 16
IL DIVO Multinational classical crossover vocal group. Mar 13, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. $49. TIFFANY YOUNG Singer and actor from South Korea. Mar 13, 8:30 pm, Venue. $32.50.
AN EVENING WITH EAGLE EYES Tribute to the Eagles. Mar 16, Centennial Theatre. $25-40. THE VANRAYS East Van soul-rock band, with guests the Pillocks. Mar 16, 7 pm, Fox Cabaret. $10/12. TORI KELLY Pop singer-songwriter from California. Mar 16, 8 pm, Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tix $46.50/36.50/26.50. BLUE LIGHT SESSIONS Dan Moxon’s first solo show performing his new album. Mar 16, 8 pm, Blue Light Studio. $15/20. MUSIC VIDEOS LIVE Music videos from Vancouver musicians followed by live performances. Mar 16, 8-11 pm, Rio Theatre. $12/15.
THURSDAY, MARCH 14 INDIGENOUS MUSIC FROM HOKKAIDŌ AND BRITISH COLUMBIA Indigenous music with Ainu and Haida musicians. Mar 14, 5:307:30 pm, Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Free with museum admission. KIMMORTAL Album-release show, with guests Tin Lorica and Dakk’one. Mar 14, 7 pm, Fox Cabaret. $12.
fellow travellers with a secret handshake. Tackling the revered Boston revisionists’ 1984 masterpiece “Help You Ann”—as the Bad Beats do in a 2016 YouTube clip you need to watch right now—well, Christ, that’s like rolling up your pant leg and tickling the other guy’s sac while you’re at it. The point I’m trying to make here is that this Vancouver four-piece is no bunch of fuzz-pedal dilettantes. Second album Off the Hook offers solid evidence even without the help of “Help You Ann”; vocalist Cam Alexander and company beat the tar out of the Sparkles’ stupendous 1967 angst attack “You Ain’t No Friend of Mine”. Jagger-Richards receive an equally tough Pacific Northwest workover on the title track, and the band fully reclaims the Animals’ “Inside Looking Out” from the heavy bread head territory Grand Funk Railroad took the song into circa 1969. Best of all, arguably, is the dirty, tumescent organ throb the band uses to assault Townes Van Zandt’s “Waiting Around to Die”, finding the sinister nerve that every Van Zandt– loving acoustic folkie has managed to misunderstand or ignore for years now. Consider it a throwdown. As for the album’s eight originals, starting
SUNDAY, MARCH 17
SANDSTORM Time to Strike
d THANKS LARGELY TO the jokers in Steel Panther, it’s hard to tell when the metal-minded musicians of today are being sincere when faithfully re-creating the sound that made the ’80s famous. Sometimes what seems to start out as a clever in-joke (3 Inches of Blood comes to mind) morphs into a powerfully authentic riff on the real thing. Sometimes what seems like a winking piss-take (hello, Zimmers Hole) is no doubt meant to be a loving tribute. Sandstorm does its best to muddy the waters with the Bandcamp mission statement that the group is inspired by both “ ’80s underground Swedish metal.…& Rob Halfords Instagram account” (which the band thoughtfully links to just in case there are folks out there truly stuck in the pre-Internet era of spandex tights and
Music TIP SHEET
c ST. PADDY’S DAY POGUES TRIBUTE NIGHT (March 16 at the WISE Hall) If there’s one day of the year when you’re meant to shotgun five cans of Guinness and then slur the lines “So drunk to hell I left the place/Sometimes crawling, sometimes walking,” this is it.
MONDAY, MARCH 18
c FOALS (March 18 at the Orpheum) In a 2008 interview with the Straight, singer Yannis Philippakis of U.K. favourites Foals admitted that he found the idea of being unknown in the States refreshing. A decade later, those days are officially over. We’re sorry if you missed them then.
TUESDAY, MARCH 19 UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS AND GRAVEYARD Hard-rock bands from England and Sweden play a coheadlining bill, with guests Demob Happy. Mar 19, 8 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $35.50. AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Rock band from Australia performs tunes from upcoming debut album. Mar 19, 9 pm, Fox Cabaret. $15.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20 FATOUMATA DIAWARA A Grammynominated, boldly experimental Afropop artist who has emerged as one of the most vital standard bearers of modern African music. Mar 20, 7:30 pm, Kay Meek Arts Centre. $45/42. IMAR The Rogue Folk Club presents quartet from Glasgow, Scotland. Mar 20, 8 pm, St. James Hall. $28/24.
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 DAVE MASON Former member of Traffic performs on his Feelin’ Alright Tour. Mar 21, 7 pm, Vogue Theatre. $47.50-254.50.
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ONE OK ROCK Japanese rock band, with guests Waterparks and Stand Atlantic. Mar 22, Vogue Theatre. Tix $39.75. LIGHTHOUSE Canadian pop-rock band celebrates its 50th anniversary. Mar 22, 23, 7:30 pm, Kay Meek Arts Centre. $29-56. ELLA VOS L.A.-based pop singer-songwriter. Mar 22, 8 pm, Biltmore Cabaret. $20. VINCE STAPLES California rapper, with guest JPEGMAFIA. Mar 22, 9 pm, Harbour Event Centre. $35. KING BUFFALO Psychedelic/heavy-rock trio from New York. Mar 22, 9 pm, WISE Hall. $13.
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SATURDAY, MARCH 23 JAMES BLAKE Electronic-music producer and singer-songwriter from London, England. Mar 23, 9 pm, Harbour Event Centre. Moved from original date of Mar 9. $55.
FRIDAY, MARCH 29 WYCLIFFE GORDON Legendary trombonist will shake it up with CapU Jazz’s senior ensembles. Mar 29, 8 pm, BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts. $38/$35. MUSIC LISTINGSare a public service provided free of charge, based on available space and editorial discretion. Submit events online using the event-submission form at straight.com/AddEvent.
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c AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS (March 19 at the Fox) Hang on to your fucking hats, as female-fronted punk revivalists Amyl and the Sniffers show there’s more to Australia than Tame Impala. Sample quote from the band’s YouTube video for “Cup of Destiny”: “A group of mates trying to get somewhere stuck taking care of the one super hyper chick.”
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c UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS (March 19 at the Commodore) No one’s idea of a straight-edge overachiever? You’re guaranteed to have plenty of company with the super-fuzzed stoner-metal quartet from the U.K.
COLIN JAMES Canadian blues-rock singerguitarist, with guest Marty O’Reilly. Mar 21, doors 6:30 pm, show 7:30 pm, Orpheum Theatre. $89.50/59.50/42.50.
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MUSIC LISTINGS
TIM READMAN & SHONA LE MOTTEE St. Paddy’s Day celebration, with guests Fionn. Mar 17, St. James Hall. $24/20. THE CAT EMPIRE Australian ska and jazz band performs two shows on its Stolen Diamonds Tour. Mar 17-18, doors 8 pm, show 9:30 pm, Commodore Ballroom. $42.50. SUSANNAH ADAMS QUARTET Victoriabased jazz vocalist. Mar 17, 8-10 pm, Frankie’s Jazz Club. $16.
FOALS Indie-rock band from Oxford, England. Mar 18, 8 pm, Orpheum Theatre. Tix $79.75/69.75/49.75/39.75.
ozone-destroying hairspray abuse). I’m giving the trio the benefit of the doubt, as Time to Strike does an inarguably credible job of re-creating an era that came to a sudden end when grunge detonated in 1991—right down to the decidedly analoguesounding approach to recording. Clocking in at over six minutes, the galloping “Witchman, Sorcerer of Satan” is every bit as epic as its title suggests, right down to the almost operatically delivered, nuts-in-a-vise final lines, “Moment of silence/Time to die”. “Denizen of Hell” starts out with a funeral organ and a spoken-word bit worthy of Baphomet and then hops in the ’80s Camaro for a clinic in chugging monster riffage. Thanks to their devotion to the power of Marshall stacks and their reliance on a bruising thunderboogie back end, one might legitimately believe that Sandstorm (singerguitarist Stevie “Broke” Whiteless, bassist-singer Reptile Anderson, and drummer P.J. “The Butcher” La Griffe) come from a land where Nordic churches burn brightly all night and Rob Halford still has hair. Either that, or Surrey during the Dark Ages. And, yes, that’s a compliment.
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SHANE’S TEETH Local all-star Pogues tribute band. Mar 16, 8-11:45 pm, WISE Hall. $17/20.
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explosively enough with “What You Tryin’ to Say”—they all sound like covers. Which can only mean the Bad Beats are doing it right and that 1965 is already shaping up to be a very good year.
On December 3, 2018 at approximately 8:45 p.m. a white or off-white vehicle struck a female pedestrian in the crosswalk at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 22nd Street in New Westminster. If you have any information please contact the police:
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is looking for Cook Perm, Full Time, Shifts, Weekends. Salary: $18.50 /hour Experience: min. 1-2 years, Good English Education: Secondary school Main duties: Set up workstation;Prepare and cook complete meals;Prepare and cook special meals to the specifications of the client; Portion, arrange, and garnish food, and serve food to waiters or patrons; Oversee kitchen operations and train new kitchen staff;Coordinate and supervise work of kitchen helpers;Assist other cooks during the food assembly process;Keep a sanitized and orderly environment in the kitchen. Job location and business address: 1967 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC V6J 1Z3 Please apply by e-mail: hrmaplegrill@gmail.com
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is looking for a Carpenter Greater Vancouver area Wage: $26.00/hour is seeking Full-Time Seamstress/Fabric Cutters for Permanent, Full time job. production of our clothing line Frankie Collective. Requirements:3-4 years, Everything cut /sewn from previously vintage t-shirts Good English. and more. Flexible hours, 15$/hour and benefits after Education: High School 3 months. Experience on industrial machines is a Main duties: Construct, repair and renovate wooden must. Work to be done from our studio location structures, floors, ceilings, walls etc.; (Ontario and SW Marine dr, Vancouver) Piece work available. Majority is stretch material and Measure, cut, assemble and fasten wooden materials to make framework or props; requires use of cover stitch and serger, available to Read and interpret construction blueprints; home sewers if own proper machines. Inquire if Fit, repair and install trim items as required such as more questions at frankvintagesnap@gmail.com doors, windows, stairs, shelves etc.; Operate and maintain measuring, hand and power carpentry tools; Golden Owl Construction Inc. Follow established safety rules and regulations. is looking for Carpenters, Greater Vancouver, BC. Company's business address: Permanent, Full time Wage - $ 26.30 per/h 5162 Topaz Pl., Richmond BC V7C 4Z4 Skills requirements: Experience 3-4 years, Good Please apply by English. Education: Secondary school email:hrbrownsrenovations@gmail.com Main duties: Read and interpret construction blueprints, drawings, specifications; Prepare layouts; Operate and maintain measuring, hand and power RAPID WEST COAST CONSTRUCTORS LTD tools; Build, repair and renovate different wooden is looking for Carpenters forms and structures; Measure, cut and join lumber Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Full time and wood materials or lightweight steel; Wage: - $ 26.50 CAD per/hour Install structures and fixtures, such as windows and Main duties: Read and interpret blueprints and moldings; Supervise helpers and apprentices; drawings, perform calculations and prepare layouts; Follow established safety rules. Measure, cut, shape, assemble, and join lumber and Company’s business address: wood materials;Create concrete formworks; 13426 69 Ave, Surrey BC, V3W 8G8 Build foundations, walls and other wooden construcPlease apply by e-mail: hrgoldenowl@gmail.com tion structures;Inspect, repair and replace damaged framework;Supervise helpers and apprentices. In order to succeed in this role, you will need: Hospitality/Food Service 3-4 years of experience in the trade; Completion of secondary school; Good English. Company’s business address: Aqua Painting Co. Ltd. 8-1780 McLean Avenue, Port Coquitlam,V3C 4K9 is hiring Drywall Installers & Finishers Please apply by e-mail: Greater Vancouver area rapidconstructors@gmail.com Wage: $25.50/hour Requirements:2-3 years, Good English. Education: High School Main duties: Measure interior walls and ceilings to be drywalled; Prepare drywall sheets for installation; Position and secure drywall sheets; To place a classified ad call Measure, cut and install metal corner beads; Fill joints, holes and cracks with joint compound; Tape over joints and apply successive coats of drywall compound; Sand seams and joints, comor email pletely prepare surfaces for priming/painting. Company's business address: 14-4160 Bond St., Vancouver BC V5H 1G2 Please apply by email: aqua.painting.co@gmail.com
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SAVAGE LOVE
Abusers plant time bombs in victims by Dan Savage
b MY GRANDFATHER was a pillar of the community and beloved by his family. He was also sexually abusive. He died when I was a child. I remember only one incident happening to me—during a cuddle session, he encouraged me to put my mouth on his penis, and then told me to let it be our little secret. I heard rumours as an adult that he molested other kids in the neighbourhood. He also had a sexual relationship with my mother. She says nothing happened as a child. But as an adult, he started telling her he loved her in a romantic way. He told her he wanted to take nude Polaroids of her, and she let him. And she loved him—she and her sisters all pretty much idolized him. My one aunt knew (she said nothing happened to her), and I asked her how she reconciled that. She said she compartmentalized it—she thought he was a wonderful father and didn’t really think about the other stuff. I did lots of therapy in the late 1980s and early ’90s. I read books, I journaled, I talked to my mom and tried to understand what she experienced. And I moved on as much as anyone could. So now it’s 2019 and I’m almost 50. My mom just moved into a nursing home, and while cleaning out her drawers, I found the Polaroids my grandfather took of her. I know it was him because he is in some of them, taken into a mirror as she goes down on him. They were taken over a period of years. She had led me to believe he never really did anything sexual with her besides taking photos. But he did. And here’s the thing, Dan: in the photos, she looks happy. I know she was probably acting,
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because that’s what he wanted from her. But it just makes me question my assumptions. Was it terrible abuse or forbidden love? Both? What am I looking at? What would I prefer—that she enjoyed it or that she didn’t? She kept the photos. Were they fond memories? I know she loved him. She kind of fell apart when he died. Was he a fucking manipulator who had a gift for making his victims feel loved and special as he exploited them for his own selfish needs? I don’t know if I’m going to bring this up with my mom. She’s old and sick, and I dragged her through these types of conversations in my 20s. So I’m writing you. This is so far out of most people’s experience, and I want someone who has heard more sexual secrets than probably anyone else in the world to tell me what he thinks. - Whirlwind Of Emotions I think you
should sit down and watch all four hours of Leaving Neverland, the new HBO documentary by British filmmaker Dan Reed. It focuses on the experiences of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two now-adult men who were sexually abused by pop star Michael Jackson when they were boys. Allegedly. It’s an important film to watch, WOE, but it’s not an easy one to watch, as it includes graphic descriptions of the sexual abuse both men claim to have suffered as boys. The second-most-disturbing part of the film after the graphic descriptions of child rape—or the third-most-disturbing part after the credulity/culpability of Robson’s and Safechuck’s parents—may be what the men have
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father, and she was so damaged by what he did to her—she had been so expertly groomed by her abuser—that she felt “loved” and “special” in the same way that Jackson’s alleged abuse once made Robson and Safechuck feel loved and special. So as horrifying as it is to contemplate, WOE, your mother may have held on to those photos because they do represent what are, for her, “fond memories”. And while it would be a comfort to think she held on to those photos as proof for family members who doubted her story if she ever decided to tell the truth, her past defences of her father work against that explanation. Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual abuse plants a ticking time bomb inside a person—shit, sorry, no passive language. Leaving Neverland demonstrates that sexual predators like your grandfather and like Jackson—fucking manipulators with a gift for making their victims feel loved and special—plant ticking time bombs in their victims. Even if a victim doesn’t initially experience their abuse as a violation and as violence, WOE, a reckoning almost inevitably comes. One day, the full horror of what was done to them snaps into focus. These reckonings can shatter lives, relationships, and souls. It doesn’t sound like your mother ever had her reckoning—that day never came for her—and so she never came to grips with what was done to her and, tragically, what was done to you. And your aunt wasn’t the only member of your family who “didn’t really think about the other stuff ”. Just as denial and compartmentalization
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to say about Jackson. Both describe their abuser in romantic terms. They both say they loved Jackson. And they both remain deeply conflicted about their feelings for Jackson then and their feelings for him now. It was their affection for Jackson—their desire to protect him and to safeguard what Jackson convinced them was a secret and a bond they shared—that led both men to lie to law-enforcement officials when Jackson was accused of sexually abusing different boys. You should also listen to Reed’s interview on the Gist, Mike Pesca’s terrific daily podcast. Reading your letter the morning after I watched Leaving Neverland reminded me of something Reed said to Pesca: “What the film is about is the reckoning. It’s two families coming to terms with what happened to their sons. And a big part of understanding that, you know—so why the silence? Why did the sons keep silent for so long? Why did they keep the secret? And the key really is to be able to explain why Wade gave false witness and perjured himself on the witness stand. And the reason for that, of course, has to do with how survivors of sexual abuse experience that. And how they keep a secret and how they sometimes form deep attachments with the abuser and how that attachment persists into adult life.” Your mother, like Robson and Safechuck, lied to protect her abuser, a man who abused her and abused you and probably many others. She may have held on to those photos for the same reason Robson and Safechuck say they defended Jackson: she loved her
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enabled Jackson and facilitated his crimes (and allowed the world to enjoy Jackson’s music despite what was staring us all in the face), denial and compartmentalization allowed your “pillar of the community” grandfather to rape his daughter, his granddaughter, and scores of other children. Like Robson and Safechuck, WOE, you have a right to be angry with the adults in your family who failed to protect you from a known predator. That some of them were also his victims provides context, but it does not exonerate them. I’m glad your grandfather died when you were young. It’s tempting to wish he’d never been born, WOE, but then you would never have been born, and I’m glad you’re here. I’m particularly glad you’re there, right now, embedded in your damaged and damaging family. By telling the truth, you’re shattering the silence that allowed an abuser to groom and prey on children across multiple generations of your family. Your grandfather can’t victimize anyone else, WOE, but by speaking up—by refusing to look the other way—you’ve made it harder for other predators to get away with what your grandfather did. P.S. There’s a moment in the credits for Leaving Neverland that I think you might want to replicate. It involves some things one of Jackson’s alleged victims saved and a fire pit. You’ll know what I mean when you see it. g
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