Western Living BC, JulAug2017 by NextHome

Foodies of the Year 2017!

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WESTERN LIVING // JULY/AUG 2017

Cool Design A Tree House for Grown-Ups in Vancouver

France, India and Calgary: One Home, Three Design Influences

The 10 Most Influential Tastemakers in the West

How Far Would You Travel for the Perfect Meal?

PLUS The Best Cocktail Recipe for Hot Summer Nights

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8 0 0 . 3 3 6 . 9 1 74

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Photography: Jon McMorran | Rug: Shift - a Burritt Bros X Zoe.. Pawlak Collaboration

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Working It The custom white cabinetry in this Calgary office offers a restrained backdrop for colourful artwork by Sheila Kernan. See the rest of the home on page 44.

J U LY/AU G U S T 2 017 Cover: Janis Nicolay. This page: Phil Crozier.

B R I T I S H C O LU M B I A // V O LU M E 4 6 // N U M B E R 6

HOME SWEET HOME 38 // Art House

Designed to showcase a stunning collection of art—while still accomodating socially active teenagers—this modern family home in Vancouver is equal parts light-and-airy gallery and warm-and-welcoming hideaway.

44 // Global Touch

A fateful trip to Paris by a pair of homeowners sets the stage for the multinational design influences that give this beautiful Stephanie Brown-designed Calgary home its eclectic-yetsophisticated flavour. westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

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WL // CONTENTS

DESIGN 25 // Ones to Watch

Victoria florist and gardener Clare Day knows how to work her green thumb.

26 // Shopping

Sleek lighting, curvy furniture and more home decor weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re coveting right now.

28 // Openings

Inside a bohemian apothecary and a luxe new kitchen showroom.

30 // Great Spaces

A boutique gym with a cult following shows off some serious design chops.

32 // Look We Love

With these key pieces, you can bring the Coachella-chic look home.

FOOD 53 // 2017 Foodies of the Year These chefs, bartenders, restaurateurs, producers and designers are making the West a delicious place to live.

TRAVEL 72 // 48 Hours

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got your weekend getaway guide to Prince Rupert.

74 // My Neighbourhood

EQ3 creative director Thom Fougere shares his Stockholm hot spots.

76 // Will Travel for Food

Tales of hitting the road (or taking to the skies) in search of culinary perfection.

26 1 4 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

PLUS 82 // Trade Secrets

How to design a nursery with a style that grows up along with the baby.

Kissa Tanto: Luis Valdizon; Lima: Art DiNo

For all your major appliance needs, visit Scott & Susan!

WESTERN LIVING GENERAL MANAGER | PUBLISHER Dee Dhaliwal EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anicka Quin ART DIRECTOR Paul Roelofs EXECUTIVE EDITOR Stacey McLachlan TRAVEL EDITOR Neal McLennan ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR Jenny Reed ASSOCIATE EDITOR Julia Dilworth ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR Natalie Gagnon STAFF WRITER Kaitlyn Gendemann CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Amanda Ross, Nicole Sjöstedt, Barb Sligl, Jim Sutherland, Julie Van Rosendaal CITY EDITORS Karen Ashbee (Calgary), Jyllian Park (Edmonton), Rosemary Poole (Victoria) EDITORIAL INTERNS Christine Beyleveldt, Maansi Pandya, Aryn Strickland ART INTERN Lydhia-Marie Bolduc-Gosselin

EMAIL mail@westernliving.ca

16 Locations Across Canada In Vancouver: 8488 Main St.

Scott Myler 604-301-3427 General Manager, Vancouver smyler@coastappliances.com

Susan Ford 778-386-7122 Designer & Multi-Family Sales sford@coastappliances.com

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2017-06-08 12:58 PM

INTRODUCING THE FELLOWSHIP Join the Fellowship for priority access on wines, preferential treatment, and customizable offerings including flexible choice mixed-6, mixed-12, or red-only shipment options For more details visit culmina.ca

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CALGARY & EDMONTON OFFICE

ACCOUNT MANAGER Anita van Breevoort 2891 Sunridge Way NE Calgary, Alta. T1Y 7K7

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WL // EDITOR’S NOTE

ANICK A QUIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ANICK A.QUIN@WESTERNLIVING.CA 1 8 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Q& A This month we asked our contributors, what excites you most about Western Canada’s food scene? B a Ko r & S p eJa r, p ‫ה‬rs, “ s t‫ ה‬ar” 51 We love the trend of greenery and plants incorporated into the design of a lot of the restaurants that have opened in the last little while—like all of the terrariums that are in Bridgette Bar. Such a nice touch—feels a bit like home!

OrM m, w r, “W l a l r ” 76 Alberta is finally having its microbrewery moment. We fell behind because, despite having very lax liquor laws, strict production laws stifled brewers. Since changing the rules in 2014 the number of microbreweries has tripled.

Behind the Scenes Photographer Janis Nicolay snaps a shot of the Vancouver home featured on page 36. Stylist Nicole Sjöstedt captured this moment. “We were all laughing that it felt like we were cheating,” she says. “We were literally hanging poolside all day.”

VISIT

Anicka Quin portrait: Evaan Kheraj; styling by Luisa Rino, makeup by Melanie Neufeld; dress courtesy Nordstrom; watch courtesy Tiffany & Co. Photographed at the Aviary, theaviary.ca. Omar Mouallem: Aaron Pedersen

WHEN FOOD CREATES COMMUNITY

It was on one of those rainy, often miserable late-winter nights in Vancouver when I experienced my first Tayybeh dinner. Our associate art director, Natalie Gagnon, had told me about a group of newly arrived Syrian women who were cooking pop-up dinners each month in borrowed spaces—a church basement, an elementary school cafeteria—and I’d hovered over their Facebook page to jump on the event as soon as the next date was announced. There were about 75 of us there that night, piling into a gym that had been transformed into a dinner party for the evening. The dishes were all carefully made and beautifully presented by six chefs who stood smiling behind the buffet as we piled our plates high with mahshi (slow-cooked zucchini stuffed with rice and ground meat), kibbeh mabroumeh (baked fine ground beef, bulgur, pistachios and spices) and yalanji (vine leaves filled with rice and spices). As the evening went on, conversations warmed up, children sprinted between tables and the women’s families passed around tea and Syrian pastries. Organizer Nihal Elwan—one of this year’s Foodies of the Year (page 51)— brought the chefs up front and, for the sake of their English practice, had each say a few words to the crowd. It was mutually emotional, with the chefs moved by the crowd’s love for their home cuisine, and more than a few of us visibly teary at being invited to be a part of their new lives, if only for the evening. It was one of those nights that transformed a typically cold city into a friendly, lively, memorable time and place. This year’s Foodies of the Year have that ability to create a wonderful new space in common, whether it’s cooking for a bustling new bar in Calgary where locals gather over woodfired pizza (JP Pedhirney); opening a building in Victoria that can host other aspiring restaurateurs, butchers and markets (Jayne and Suzanne Bradbury); or leading the charge to create Vancouver’s busting-at-the-seams craft brewery scene (Graham With). They’re people who have have built something out of nothing— and in doing so built a better place to be for the rest of us, one warm evening at a time.

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WL // @WesternLiving

LETTERS, ETC.

Tweet, message, ’gram or email (mail@westernliving.ca)— we love to hear from our readers! TRAVEL Hit the Road, Jack!

Summer is the season of road trips, and we’ve got six jampacked itineraries to inspire your next journey—from Vancouver Island to the Golden State and beyond.

westernliving.ca/travel

Cabin Crush How to Style Your Bookshelf Like a Pro

Readers loved this Okanagan home, a modern take on the classic summer cottage, from interior designer Robert Bailey.

westernliving.ca/homes-and-design

I love everything about this.

EXPERT ADVICE Fox Design Studio’s Ben Leavitt shares his easy tips for stacking your books and knick-knacks.

K aralena Klatten

Pretty fancy cottage. Jealous!!

WL around toWn

Kim PiKe

Gorgeous! leonard Bonnell

RECIPE Western Living Publisher Dee Dhaliwal, Staff Writer Kaitlyn Gendemann and Associate Editor Julia Dilworth were invited to take a peek at the newly designed Coast Appliances showroom in Vancouver. Let’s just say we now have some serious kitchen envy. Thanks for hosting us!

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

Five of our favourite cakes have some sort of fruit or vegetable component (to wit: tomato cake with cream cheese frosting), which basically means they’re kind of healthy, right?

westernliving.ca/recipes

2 0 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

@WESTERN_LIVING

WESTERNLIVING

@WESTERNLIVING

YOUTUBE.COM/ WESTERNLIVINGCA

Rendez-Vous Moon Medium

2017 IS THE YEAR TO GO GREEN! “Greenery” is the pantone designer colour of 2017. Green is back in every shade from spring to emerald. It’s easy to introduce just by bringing some outdoors in — try jade plants, fig trees, succulents or anything that thrives in your area. Another easy step is bright new pillows, or a statement rug. If you’re feeling adventurous, paint a place that will be a smile-inducing surprise, like the inside of a closet, a door, or your powder room.

DIY vs. DIFM? There’s a definite shift happening in home renovation and design trends, a shift that has many of us choosing experts to do-it-for-me. Do-it-yourself is a great choice for so many fun projects, like a family gallery wall or creating an indoor garden spot. But there are always those mind-boggling tasks that require design experience, measuring skills, installation talent and more. More and more Canadians are realizing the cost of hiring a professional compares very well to the real costs of first-time mistakes, time spent doing and redoing the job, and our own personal level of satisfaction with the final result. Summertime motto: put the pros on the jobs you keep postponing because they are just too much! (Save the fun stuff for yourself.)

Warmer and richer? Yes, please. Whatever your style, from sleek and modern to cozy and traditional, 2017 is a welcome move to a softer, richer look and feel. Think 3D fabrics. Velvet pillows. Choose organic bamboo or wood tables. And wallpaper is back, but we’re over the florals. Try marble or other sleek, contemporary finishes. Put on a little lux.

Peace out. It’s amazing what getting a little help can do to reduce your stress level. Try it - take something off your list and give it to somebody who is a rock star in the category. Yes. Do it. Seriously.

Nothing to do but enjoy the view. Don’t lift a finger — get expert service plus our no-questions asked warranty. With Budget Blinds, you can relax, because you’ve chosen a very exclusive combination of design-driven products, expert service, no-surprises pricing, and our no-questions-asked warranty: the best in the business. We’re the largest custom window covering company in North America, and that means more buying power, and more choices. We bring the store to you and take care of it all, measure and install. And our no-surprises pricing delivers an upfront price that is a custom fit for you. We believe everyone at every budget deserves style and service. And that’s a beautiful place to be. 2017windowfashions.com | (866) 789-0520 ©2017 Budget Blinds is a trademark of Budget Blinds, LLC and a Home Franchise Concepts Brand. Each franchise independently owned and operated.

SHOULDNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T ALL ROOMS BE LIVING? CERAMIC | GLASS | PORCELAIN | STONE | PLUMBING 101-1616 WEST 2ND AVE, VANCOUVER, BC 604.742.2015 annsacks.com

DESIGN

S H O P P I N G // T R E N D S // P E O P L E // S PA C E S // O P E N I N G S // I N T E L

ONE TO WATCH

Constant Gardener Clare Monica Day, Garden to Vase, Victoria

Lillie Louise Major

In paintings from the Renaissance, flowers were depicted as wild and occasionally decayed, a far cry from the industrially farmed blooms commonplace today. Master gardener and floral designer Clare Monica Day seeks a return to the unruly. Through her 12-acre Red Damsel Farm, Day cultivates organic cut flowers for singular arrangements that spill out of their confines asymmetrically, as though very much alive. For her admirers, such as the editors of Martha Stewart Weddings and her 10,000-plus followers on Instagram, Day offers instructional classes from her on-site studio as well as online through her latest venture, Garden to Vase—a Renaissance woman for our digital age. —Rosemary Poole

Flower Power “I focus on having as much diversity in the garden as possible,” says Day, who grows hellebores in the spring and chocolate cosmos in the fall.

westernliving.ca / J U LY / A U G U S T

2017 25

WLDESIGN // SHOPPING

A a’s Pi Monkey ceiling lamp by Seletti

$690, available at Dade Loft, dadeartanddesignlab.com At this year’s Dinner by Design in Calgary, Greg Fraser and Darcy Lundgren of Dade Loft had one of the most buzzed-about displays. Suspended over their table design were a half-dozen resin monkeys—with bowls of bananas just out of their reach. I’d assumed that’s all these simians were— the sculptural equivalent of taxidermy—but in fact they’re new outdoor lamps from Seletti’s quirky collection. The ceiling design drops down over a table (a great surprise for your dinner guests), but the Monkey lamp also comes in sitting and standing form—or a hanging design that’ll cling to a wall. Perfect for the playful design lover.

For more of Anicka’s picks, visit westernliving.ca

Seeing Spots

NOTEWORTHY New in stores across the West

Terrazzo continues its ascent, popping up in the latest furniture and accessories from, among others, Hay and Normann Copenhagen. Now, Ferm Living adds the distinctive stone patterning to its new wallpapers (from $92 a roll), available in rose or in pale grey, as shown. Vancouver Special, Vancouver, vanspecial.com

Chemical Reaction

With its new Oxidized vase collection (from $29 to $229), BoConcept plays with burnt finishes and textures on a palette of azure and brass-like steel. BoConcept, Vancouver, boconcept-vancouver.ca

Sight Lines

Patricia Urquiola’s Liquefy tables for Glas Italia (from $3,200) are made from an extra-light tempered glass that appears to change colour by time of day and viewpoint. Available in psychedelic malachite green (shown) or ’70s brown. Inform Interiors, Vancouver, informinteriors.com

Water Wise

Vaia is Dornbracht’s latest collection of fittings (from $3,000), combining a modern, eclectic form with the company’s exacting craftsmanship and materials. Available in platinum matte and chrome (with a new dark platinum matte finish coming this fall). Robinson Lighting and Bath, Vancouver, robinsonlightingandbath.com

2 6 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Summer Sale On Now

PANTRY A space saver featuring storage drawers, a corkboard, dry erase board, 3 cubbies and outlets

KITCHEN ISLAND Fits in any sized kitchen for extra storage and work area featuring a drop leaf bar to sit at

SIDEBOARD Dining credenza featuring many storage options with 4 doors, 4 drawers and felt-lined silverware tray

1335 United Boulevard Coquitlam BC

604.520.0800

www.sandysfurniture.ca

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS!

WLDESIGN // SHOPPING

OPENINGS Hot new rooms we love

BY ARYN STRICKL AND

VANCOUVER Habitat by Aeon The Italian kitchen showroom, Habitat by Aeon, has found a coveted spot in what used to be the studio of legendary interior designer Robert Ledingham—a stand-alone concrete beauty, half-hidden under lush ivy. The expansive 4,000-square-foot space fits eight full Italian kitchen displays and curated selections of decorative lighting, doors and closets. The Minotti Cucine kitchens are modern and minimal with streamlined details and visually dominate with bold square-cut shapes. Interwoven throughout the showroom, the Aster Cucine line varies the space with juxtaposed styles like contemporary, rustic and more. 129 E 4th Ave., aeonhabitat.com

Light Show

Launched at the venerable Salone del Mobile Milano, Bocci’s new 84 series (pricing on request) sees fine copper mesh trapped within layers of clear glass. Available in nine configurations. Gabriel Ross, Victoria, grshop.com; Inform Interiors, Vancouver, informinteriors.com

The new Bower collection at West Elm, a collaboration with the eponymous New York City interiors firm, embraces the Art Moderne-inspired trend—hello, curved lines and exposed frames—with this soft pink arm chair ($599). West Elm, Vancouver, westelm.com

DIARY

What to do this month

VANCOUVER West Coast Modern Home Tour July 8 Get a glimpse into some of the West’s most iconic modernist homes (though this year’s stops are top secret, past homes have been designed by the likes Ron Thom and Arthur Erickson) during the 12th annual edition of this afternoon architectural tour. Mingle with your fellow design lovers during the casual wine reception at the Eagle Harbour Yacht Club that follows. westvancouvermuseum.ca

2 8 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

WHISTLER (AND BEYOND) Boreal Folk Apothecary Partners Raphaëlle Gagnon and Mark Coelho are the brains behind the Boreal Folk mobile apothecary currently roaming across Western Canada. The self-proclaimed modern-day nomads decided to take their natural skincare company into the wilderness, where Gagnon harvests allnatural ingredients. Inside the 99-square-foot solar-powered workshop—designed and handcrafted by Coelho— you’ll find chic sheet metal workstations and wooden crates, the latter just brimming with raw ingredients for products like wild rose bath oils and geranium and soaps rendered from sagebrush and cedarwood. Catch the travelling wilderness laboratory in Whistler this summer or track them online. borealfolk.ca

Bocci: Fahim Kassam; West Coast Home Tour illustration: Kim Kennedy Austin, Untitled, pen and ink on paper, 2016, Courtesy of the Artist; Boreal Folk: Kelly Brown

Curve Appeal

Modern Design Simple Practicality Duravit’s new L-Cube bathroom furniture eliminates all unnecessary elements to achieve the ultimate in modern design. The clean lines, flat handle-free surfaces and wide variety of finishes and configurations mean that you can find a solution for your home that is beautiful, simple and practical. To see our full product catalogue visit robinsonlightingandbath.com or join us at one of our showrooms for personalized service and expert advice.

Available at

Vancouver · Coquitlam · Kamloops · Penticton · Edmonton · Calgary · Saskatoon · Brandon · Winnipeg www.robinsonlightingandbath.com

WLDESIGN // great spaces

LET’S GET PHYSICAL

Wallpaper, chandeliers and walnut: a cult gym brand steps up the workout scene. One More Time

Reclaimed bleached walnut from Madera’s Reruns forms the backdrop for the front desk. madera-trade.com

Wall to Wall

In the barre room, the walls are covered in a paper from the Astek Wallcovering Layered Earth collection. astekwallcovering.com

Hot Stuff MORE cOOl SPAcES Find more great rooms to inspire at westernliving.ca 3 0 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Keep those muscles warm after a workout by the luxe fireplace, built from un-sanded fibre cement board.

Luis Alberto Valdizon

We once were satisfied with a gym experience as long as it had a working treadmill and the TV was turned to the Food Network. But since the arrival of Equinox onto the Vancouver fitness scene, the bar for our standards (or should we say “barre”?) has been seriously raised. The space channels a chic West Coast spa vibe while providing gym rats with 33,000 square feet to play in. “What struck us about Vancouver is its juxtaposition between being urban and the connection to the natural world,” says Aaron Richter, senior vicepresident of design for Equinox. “There’s a play between man-made and natural materials, between smooth and rough textures, between intimate and grand spaces.” Organic elements like bleached walnut behind the reception desk and concrete floors set the tone from the front door through to the lounge (complete with a fireplace); a mirrored ceiling adds a hit of city-slicker glamour. In the studio spaces, wallpaper brings texture and pattern into otherwise minimalist rooms. There are no downlights here, to accommodate comfort during on-your-back workouts. “Lighting is functional first,” says Richter, but, that being said, it’s also not completely utilitarian: a Tom Dixon Plane chandelier hangs above a black iron staircase, welcoming members to a gym that sweats the small stuff with pride. —Stacey McLachlan

home office, reinvented.

NUOVOLIOLA queen bed | sofa | storage | HOME OFFICE

One room + sofa + foldaway office + queen bed = one powerfully functional space. 40+ customizable solutions to multiply any space. Designed and made in Italy by : the global leader in transformable furniture design for over 50 years. Available exclusively from Resource Furniture. 861 Richards Street 124 West Hastings Street BC | V6B 3B4 Vancouver Vancouver BC 604.681.0104 | V6B 1G8 604.899.8874 vancouver@resourcefurniture.com resourcefurniture.com resourcefurniture.com

Pacific Rug Gallery A f ine collection of designs inspired by the perfect combination of elegance and modern creativity.

1478 Marine Drive, North Vancouver 604.986.8585 PacificRugGallery.com Follow us

Pacif icGallery

WLDESIGN // LOOK WE LOVE

B Y S A L LY M I C H A E L W H I T E

DESERT STORM

Earthy colours and organic textures bring the Coachella vibe home.

Modular Oasis

Mix and match your ideal lounging configuration with Dedonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s customizable Brixx collection (from $4,600), available in colours inspired by the sand and sea. broughaminteriors.com

Lunar Rising

With its slim brass steel stand and diffused golden orb, the IC Lights T lamp from Flos ($825) is like having a full moon every night. livingspace.com

Moroccan Dream

The supple feel and rich whisky caramel colour of this hand-stitched 100-percent goat leather Moroccan pouf ($138) call out for guests to sit and relax in style. shopmoken.com

Burn Bright

Connect to the elements with this rustic outdoor iron fireplace ($725) from House Doctor, perfect for long open-air nights under the stars. fullhousemodern.com

Prickly Pear

With or without a flower, this stoneware Cactus vase ($35) is a charming addition to any climate. thecrossdesign.com

Sunrise, Sunset

No matter the time of day, you can bask in the sunset glow of Sandbergâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Skymning wallpaper mural ($424). orlingandwu.com

Woven Wonder

Featuring intricate desert motifs, these Jemima 10 Cows baskets ($165) are expertly crafted by Ghanaian artisans. drifterthebrand.com

3 2 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

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HOMES I N T E R I O R S // A R C H I T E C T U R E // D E S I G N // L I V I N G

Welcome Home

Phil Crozier

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something to be said for making a grand entrance. Designer Stephanie Brown elevates a white and bright foyer with a few elegant touches: a hide-topped bench from Made Goods, a pretty bronze mirror, and dramatic hex tiles from Olympia Tile. On a sunny summer day, the greenery outside the window is the icing on the cake. More on this home on page 44.

westernliving.ca / J U LY / A U G U S T

2017 37

WL HOMES // vancouver

A family home in Vancouver is equal parts airy gallery and lofty hideaway. by barb sligl photographs by Janis nicolay styling by nicole sJĂ&#x2013;stedt

3 8 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

ART

HOUSE

Gallery Going Much of the artwork was purchased specifically for this home, including Graham Gillmore's Pre Dom Muse (opposite) and the Gordon Smith painting seen here.

ith its museum-like airiness, the design of this Vancouver home is quietly glamorous—but there’s an intentional push and pull between the grand and the laid-back here. And you’ll witness it in the treads of high-tops and flip-flops as the homeowners’ three teens and their entourage move over the polished taupe-grey tile floors—nothing is kept too precious here. It may be art-filled and clutter-free, but this is a shoes-on house: first and foremost, this loft-like space is a family hideaway. Set in the leafy and tranquil Kerrisdale neighbourhood, the 6,000-square-foot home is surrounded by foliage with peek-a-boo views of planes landing at the nearby airport. From the main living space on the second floor, it’s an almost 360-degree view from aerial highway and gigantic trees to tall hedges and the pool and guest house. It’s the family’s own Palm Springs-style oasis, complete with palms.

4 0 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Art First The homeowners chose to forgo a pendant over the dining table (left) so that it didn’t interfere with sightlines to the art—Psych Test by Graham Gillmore. In fact, much of the design of the home is created to not interfere with the art collection, featuring clean lines, modern furniture pieces and a gallery-like white and bright colour palette.

Green Zone In the sitting room (below, left), a Gordon Smith painting takes centre stage next to an elegant Charles sofa and Mart chair from B&B Italia. In the master bedroom (below, right), a Palm Springs vibe is underlined with quirky Discocó suspended lamps from Marset, along with direct access to the pool through the sliding doors.

When the homeowners bought the house seven years ago, its midcentury-modern style—designed by legendary local architects Pat and Chart McCulloch—seemed ready-made for their version of the ideal family pad. They loved the open-concept second-floor hybrid of living, dining, TV rooms and kitchen that extends into the secluded courtyardlike space. It could be both a lofty hub of activity and, with its gallery-like setting, the perfect showcase for their art collection. Bold canvases and panels take up entire walls and become conversation starters at parties. (One recent summer gathering included some 200 guests in the seamless indoors-and-out space.) The Graham Gillmore piece at the head of the dining table poses questions true to its title, Psych Test, while the same artist’s work over the fireplace acts as another provocateur. A Warhol print brings a magenta pop to an alcove by the 4 2 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

master bedroom. Then there are the huge, almost-photographic Gordon Smith paintings of a waterfall and forest, adding a layer to the treehouse vibe that exists here—from the second floor, the home appears to be perched above the trees. Nothing distracts from the art’s graphic punch—not even the pendant light over the dining table, a choice that keeps sightlines unobstructed the entire length of the main floor and to the exterior. The furniture is monochromatic greys and whites; everything is neutral and unfussy. “We’re pretty minimal,” says one of the two homeowners. “Sometimes I think too much so.” But that means there’s less to worry about. “I have no rules in the house,” she says (although the bright-white sectional sofa is off limits to her teens and their friends—though they will cheekily send her photos of themselves sprawled atop it).

Pool Time The pool deck (left) is made for summer living, with a comfy (and extra-long) Saler modular sofa paired with an Ensombra umbrella, both from Gandia Blasco—and palm trees, of course. Crash Zone The front of the home features a reflecting pool and fountain feature, which gets a playful nod with a sculptural set of lips that came with the house (bottom right). The sitting room that leads off this area (right, top and bottom) is one of the more colourful rooms in the home, with a bold red Egg chair picking up on those lips just outside the doors. A Tufty-Too sofa from B&B Italia makes it a comfy retreat, too.

Amid the spotless design, texture brings softness: sheer drapery, nubbly rug, velvet upholstery. Metropolitan armchairs by B&B Italia seem to match the silvery family cat, who has no boundaries and is a furry foil for the decor. A raw warm-wood bench also grounds the inthe-clouds quality. Underlying these tactile furnishings is the persistent polish of oversized floor tiles that reflect the light (and are low-maintenance under those clad feet). A baby grand piano brings more gloss, alongside the sheen of the minimalist white Archipenko sideboard by Minotti, its circular handle reiterating the piano’s curves. The linear is offset with the curvaceous, from the simple "X" of a Barcelona chair to the sinuous S-shape of Panton chairs in the outdoor dining area. This mix is the homeowner's vision, a passion project in which she s e e s o u r c e s at w e s t e r n l i v i n g .c a

channelled muses like Kelly Wearstler and Tom Ford. Taking inspiration from fashion as well as interior design, she decorated the home herself, with help from local design shops, such as Inform and Livingspace. But it’s the homeowner's innate sense of style that comes through. The low-hanging lights over the master bedroom’s nightstands—whimsical, bloom-like Discocó pendants by Marset—just felt fun, she says. Elsewhere, she’s added touches of red, like the Egg chair in the downstairs den. She played off the big crimson lips outside, a pre-existing sculptural piece that the homeowners kept when they bought the house. Approaching the front door, it’s the first thing visitors see beyond the fountain. It’s like a preview of what’s inside: a cheery welcome into an exhibition space that’s also a very lived-in and lively home. And please—leave your shoes on. westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

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WL HOMES // calgary

Family History A custom-millwork table from Martinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Custom Finishing sets the scene for more-casual meals in the open kitchen and living room. The nearby sitting room (opposite) was designed around a 100-year-old kilim thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a favourite of the homeowners.

GLOBAL TOUCH A fateful trip to Paris sets the stage for the multinational design influences in this Calgary home. by jacquie moore photographs by phil crozier

westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

2 0 1 7 â&#x20AC;&#x201A;4 5

It’s in the Mix “‘Eclectic’ is the hardest style for a designer,” says designer Stephanie Brown. “For the Sandhus, I had to find careful ways to mix European influences with Upper East Side New York, a touch of their Indian heritage and some mid-centurymodern design.” In the dining room (far right), a striking chandelier from Arteriors pairs with mid-century-style dining chairs from Rove Concepts and a dining table with a sexy gold base. In the living room (right), a custom sofa cozies up to a Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams ottoman, its warm metal legs both classic and perfectly on trend.

n the spring of 2012, Navi and Manjot Sandhu were having a Paris moment when Calgary crashed the party. The couple, originally from Winnipeg, were out for dinner in the City of Light but on pins and needles over an offer they’d made a week before on a piece of land in Calgary’s Hounsfield Heights. “We were so anxious, we’d connect to wifi before we even got past the hotel doors,” says Navi. When at last the acceptable counter-offer arrived, Navi was forced to use her “broken high-school French to print and fax the paperwork at 11 o’clock at night.” The Sandhus spent the rest of their holiday with their heads 7,000 kilometres away. “Every piece of architecture and design, every piece of art—it was all up for inspiration.” Little wonder, then, that the Sandhu home, whose occupants now include a baby and a toddler, reflects a subtle Parisian radiance. “The interior was meant to be classic and timeless,” says Navi. “It could be Paris a century ago or right now.” The first of many pieces of art a

4 6 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

visitor encounters, just inside the foyer, is a framed blueprint of the Dôme des Invalides, purchased by Navi at the Louvre gift shop during the aforementioned holiday. “I loved it because it’s historical yet very graphic and modern,” she explains, adjectives she can now use to sum up the aesthetic of her own home. (Paris, it should be noted, is not the only city that beguiles the couple: they worked with their architect, Ron Wildman from Inside Out Architecture, to design an exterior reminiscent of a Manhattan brownstone.) Designer Stephanie Brown, who relocated from Calgary to Vancouver several years ago, was put in touch with the Sandhus through their builder, Laratta Homes. An instant shorthand of shared tastes ensued, as did a three-year process of designing on a schedule that kept them just ahead of construction. “The plans were beautiful,” says Brown, whose challenge lay largely in the blending of the Sandhus’ broad passions and influences.

“‘Eclectic’ is the hardest style ever for a designer,” she says. “For the Sandhus, I had to find careful ways to mix European influences with Upper East Side New York, a touch of their Indian heritage and some mid-century-modern design.” Rather than talking her clients out of any idiosyncratic choices, Brown found thoughtful, lasting ways to incorporate their ideas. “I admit that their desire to put mid-century in the mix, especially walnut cabinetry, threw me for a loop,” she says. “But we found a way to make it harmonious, and they love it.” Indeed, two oversized walnut cabinets in the living room at the back of the house not only provide symmetry by echoing the built-in in the front foyer but also anchor the room with an alluring source of warmth and depth. Together, Brown and her clients likewise landed on unexpected yet elegant ways to turn single beloved elements into focal points in various rooms throughout the house. The sitting room, for instance, was designed around the Sandhus’ favourite 100-year-old kilim, westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

2 0 1 7 4 7

The sitting room, for instance, was designed around the Sandhus’ favourite 100-year-old kilim, and its riot of oranges, reds and blues pulls vitality into an otherwise tranquil room.

purchased in Turkey years before. “I wanted the rug to have a place of prominence in the house,” says Navi. “I don’t usually go for bold colours, but once in a while I go all out.” The kilim’s riot of oranges, reds and blues pulls vitality into an otherwise tranquil room; as well, refreshingly, in a front room that could easily tend toward formality, built-ins here are filled with colourful travel mementos, casual family photos and books for all ages, which set a welcoming and relaxed tone for the whole house. The expansiveness of the top floor of the three-storey house is a direct result of Navi’s tenacity and imagination. Rather than a typical single hallway leading to bedrooms and bathrooms, the stairwell is surrounded by a wide, open square of corridors that lends an ocean of light and a touch of grandness to the entire floor; the view down from there to 4 8 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Colour and Calm In the master (left), Brown designed a space both quiet and full of detail. A rug from Restoration Hardware sets the colour palette for a bold blue accent chair from Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams. On the upper level, the stairwell is surrounded by a wide, open square of corridors (right) that lends grandness to the entire floor.

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Private Luxury There’s a touch of grandness on the upper floor: the master bath features a rug from Jaipur, along with a playful Taj Mahalinspired cut-out above the bath; the dressing room (below) features a marbletopped centre island.

the first floor feels akin to a great old train station or an opera house. The master bath and a bedroom are decorated with a well-trod rug from Jaipur and a kilim from Turkey, and whimsical illustrated maps of big cities temper any potential ostentation; a Taj Mahal-inspired cut-out above the ensuite bathtub is a likewise lighthearted touch. So Jaipur and Agra, Paris and Manhattan come together in northwest Calgary. Oh, and that’s not all: the startling wallpaper in the tiny front-hall powder room, which reminds Navi of a coral reef (“or, sometimes, of chanterelle mushrooms”), is distinctly modern Japanese. Still, thanks to an exquisitely light hand, the spirit of this home—rather than “eclectic global mash-up”—is simply an enchanting feeling of vitality, warmth and harmony. Just the way a perfect holiday abroad should feel. 5 0 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

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Drink Up Graham With—the convivial brewmaster behind some of Vancouver’s most iconic craft beers—celebrates with a shot of one of his own Parallel 49 brews straight from the tank (page 62).

Foodies Evaan Kheraj

2017

From cheeky brewmasters to push-the-envelope chefs and every plant-based cheese disruptor in between, our top 10 Foodies of the Year are making the West the tastiest place to be.

of theYear

WLFOOD // 2017 Foodies oF the year J o ë l Wata n a b e ' s r e c i p e

Potato Tortellini Pasta 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 4 large eggs 3 large egg yolks

Filling 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes 1 cup ricotta cheese Freshly grated Parmesan, to taste Salt

Dashi

Joël Watanabe Owner/Chef, Kissa Tanto, Vancouver

At first blush it sounds like the worst elevator pitch ever. A chef who made his name with an updated take on Shanghainese/Taiwanese food (Bao Bei) decides that for his new venture he wants to fuse— wait for it—Italian and Japanese cuisine, give it a nonsensical name, locate it in a still-transitional part of town and charge downtown prices. Um, hard pass. But it’s a testament to Joël Watanabe’s vision that when everyone was probably telling him to do Bao Bei 2.0, he and partner Tannis Ling went the passionate route, transforming a derelict second-floor room on East Pender into an elegant take on jazz-age cool and creating a menu that walks an exacting tightrope between two cuisines that heretofore were not thought to be natural partners. If there’s anyone else on the planet combining Snake River Farms Wagyu, pearl onion petals, salt, charred scallion sauce, Parmesan, arima sansho, fresh herbs and gnocco fritto, it’d be a miracle. But under Watanabe’s eye it all seems like the most logical idea ever, and the praise—and the attendant crowds—started the moment the doors opened and haven’t stopped since.—Neal McLennan 5 4 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

4 cups water 2 1/2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced 200 g Parmesan rinds 40 g bonito flakes 5-inch piece of konbu (kelp) 2 tbsp white soy sauce 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp mirin Wakame seaweed, to taste

1. To make the pasta, pulse the flour, eggs and

egg yolks in a food processor until crumbly. Turn out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10–15 minutes or until smooth. Wrap in cling film and let rest for at least 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375˚F. Poke holes in the potatoes all over with a fork. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender. While still warm, scoop out the flesh and pass through a fine food mill. Stir in the other ingredients until the mixture is smooth. Put into a piping bag with a small tip, or a heavy-duty zip-lock bag with one corner snipped off. 3. Roll out the pasta dough until it’s just trans-

lucent (extremely thin). Cut into 4-by-15-inch strips. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of the potato mixture at 2 1/2-inch intervals along each strip, spray with a very fine mist of water and fold pasta over to enclose the filling. Press around the mounds to push out any air bubbles and to seal the pasta. With a small round cookie cutter, cut half circles around the potato filling. Join the two corners to form the tortellini.

4. To make the dashi, bring water, mushrooms and Parmesan rinds to a boil and remove from heat. Add bonito flakes, konbu, soy sauce and mirin. Leave to soak for at least 45 minutes, and then strain through a fine sieve, discarding the solids. 5. To finish the dish, heat the broth, cook

the tortellini in salted boiling water for 3–4 minutes or until tender, and drain. Pour broth over tortellini in serving bowls and garnish with wakame seaweed.

Portrait and food: Luis Valdizon; room: Knauf and Brown

the risktaker

THE VISIONARY

Matt Dumayne

Winemaker, Okanagan Crush Pad, Summerland

“THERE’S NOT AS MUCH GLAMOUR AS PEOPLE IMAGINE. I WAS ALWAYS TAUGHT THAT WINEMAKING IS 90% CLEANING, 9% SCIENCE AND 1% ART.”—MATT DUMAYNE

3 WINE PICKS

What’s Trending in Wine? Lionel Trudel

A Return to Terroir.

“There is a movement toward less is more, respecting grapes and varietal character without unnecessary additives, heavy manipulation and extraction in the winery.” —Matt Dumayne

“Blue Grouse is making great Island wines with an emphasis on purity.” BLUE GROUSE QUILL ROSÉ $20

Hop on any of the recent trends in the B.C. wine industry and odds are Matt Dumayne has had a hand in its genesis. Crafting wine in huge concrete eggs? His Haywire Pinot Gris was the pioneer. Native ferments? His Haywire Native Ferments. Orange wine? His work at Vancouver Island’s 40 Knots and the current work at Fraser Valley’s Singletree. Natural wine? Haywire’s Free Form. But the irony is that the gregarious Kiwi—who, after making his own wine in New Zealand, spent time working in Australia, Oregon and California before landing here—is anything but trendy, preferring instead to focus his considerable winemaking skills on searching for the truest expression of the grapes he works with. It’s why he can on one hand make the priciest, most ambitious pinot noir in the province (Mirabel Vineyards) and on the other nerd out on crown-capped sparkling chardonnay made in the hip Pét-Nat method (Narrative Ancient Method) and both examples will be memorable . . . like pretty much everything else he touches.—N.M.

“Rhys and Alishan (of Little Farm Winery Winery) are making fabulous and funky wines.” LITTLE FARM RIESLING $30

“Tyler Harlton has a great hands-off approach.” TH WINES ROSÉ $23

westernliving.ca / J U LY / A U G U S T

2017 55

WLFOOD // 2017 FOODIES OF THE YEAR

atâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ur Gu P Đ° u ? â&#x20AC;&#x153;HOT DOGS! ESPECIALLY CHICAGO DOGS AND BRATWURST STUFFED IN A BAGUETTE.â&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D;JP PEDHIRNEY

THE TRANSFORMERS

sh u'd it r

Kate Allen, Kristen Lien & Kelly Morrison

â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE FERMIĂ&#x2C6;RE GALETTE AT SUZETTE BISTRO. I NEVER ORDER ANYTHING ELSE.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;KATE ALLEN

Designers/Architects, Frank Architecture, Calgary

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Kaitlyn Gendemann 5 6 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

THE COMPOSER

JP Pedhirney Chef, Bridgette Bar, Calgary

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough to be a chef in a town thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going through a downturn, but you wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know it from the crowds lined up to get into Bridgette Bar. Calgary-born JP Pedhirney, local homegrown talent and graduate of the culinary program at SAIT, was first choice to take the helm as executive chef. Named after Brigid, the Celtic goddess of fire, the restaurant features a menu that is long on woodfired items. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to think of it as a masculine way of cooking with a delicate feminine spin,â&#x20AC;? says Pedhirney. A long counter of patrons sits

happily sipping inventive cocktails while digging into platters of grilled octopus and roasted cauliflower tossed with an espelette mayonnaise. The chef artfully merges the tried and trueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;like roast chicken and friesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; with the experimental, such as braised rabbit on toast or escargot tarts, and his carefully crafted menu focuses on seasonality combined with creativity. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just me alone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s responsible for the menu,â&#x20AC;? explains the busy chef. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The food we create at Bridgette is a compilation of more than two dozen peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s input. And it can take months to nail a recipe.â&#x20AC;? Clearly Pedhirney and his team have created something so right for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tastes.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Karen Ashbee

Jager & Kokemor Photography

The next time youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dining in Calgary, do yourself a favour and look beyond the plate of food thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in front of you. What will you see? If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at Bridgette Bar, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll notice a 1960s-inspired collection of mid-century-modern furniture, macramĂŠ and your-grandma-will-think-itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-cool emerald marble. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at Model Milk, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll discover southern comfort food served in an industrial-meets-Mad-Menâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; style space (think wood panelling, leather banquettes and fur throws). Next door, Pigeonhole (named best new restaurant in Canada by enRoute magazine in 2015) boasts a Parisian wine bar/cafĂŠ vibe, and down the block at Anju you can feast on Korean tapas in a modern dining room that has subtle-but-gorgeous nods to East Asia. Though each restaurantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design and concept is distinct, all have been brought to life by Frank Architectureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the femalefounded firm made up of Kate Allen, Kristen Lien and Kelly Morrison that has transformed Calgaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dining scene into a mecca of locally influenced, designoriented bars, lounges and eateries. And now, with plans to step outside Albertaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s borders (the team at Frank has been tasked with revamping the Fairmont Chateau Whistlerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food and beverage spaces and are already working on projects in B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba), theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re well on their way to becoming a household name in Western Canada, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no telling whenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or whereâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll stop.

ur D n nt

JP PEDHIRNEY'S RECIPE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;DESIGN LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;KELLY MORRISON

Grilled Baby Carrots 36 baby carrots, preferably with greens attached Black sesame seeds Canola oil, for grilling Salt and pepper, to taste

Chili Pistou 1 cup cilantro, loosely packed 1â &#x201E;2 cup parsley, loosely packed 1â &#x201E;3 cup fresh mint, loosely packed 1â &#x201E;4 cup fresh dill leaves, loosely packed 2-inch piece lemongrass, finely chopped 2 tsp crushed fresh garlic 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped 1 dry chipotle chili (optional) 2 tsp fresh-squeezed lime juice 1â &#x201E;4 tsp sugar 3 tbsp water Pinch salt 1â &#x201E;3 cup canola oil

Goat Cheese Mousse

Cu t D n Ob ss n

â&#x20AC;&#x153;NAVY, RAW CHALKY WHITE AND LAYERED TEXTURED FABRICS.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;KRISTEN LIEN

250 g soft goat cheese 1 cup whipping cream 2 tsp lemon juice Pinch salt

1. To make the chili pistou, combine all ingredients except the canola oil in a blender. PurĂŠe the ingredients on the highest setting while slowly pouring in the oil in a thin stream. Blend until smooth. 2. To make the mousse, combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and fold together with a spatula until fully incorporated.

C H EF ' S T I P

3. If the carrots still have their greens attached,

remove them with a knife. You can pick off the best leaves and use them to garnish the final dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add your carrots and cook until the carrots are just tender. Strain the carrots and immediately lay them on a baking sheet to cool at room temperatureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;this will allow the last little bit of cooking to take place. Once the carrots are completely cool, they are ready to be grilled.

4. Toss the carrots in a little bit of canola oil and

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;4L and up earthenware sauce pot like Le Crueset or Staub. Perfect for braising, stockmaking, soups, sauces and even baking bread. These pots are extremely durable, easy to keep clean and they distribute heat evenly so your sauces donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t scorch on the sides if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re cooking for long periods of time.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;JP Pedhirney

season with salt and pepper. Place them on a hot grill and allow them to get a little bit of char, periodically moving them around so they do not burn. Once the carrots are hot and evenly charred, transfer them to a stainless mixing bowl. Add the chili pistou and toss until the carrots are evenly coated. To serve, scoop several spoonfuls of the goat cheese mousse onto a serving dish, place the carrots overtop the mousse, and finish the dish with black sesame seeds, a drizzle of the chili pistou and a few carrot leaves if you wish.

westernliving.ca / J U LY / A U G U S T

2017 57

WLFOOD // 2017 foodIes of the year

What Defines a Good Restaurant?

“It can be a hole-In-the-wall joInt or a beautIfully desIgned room, but that feelIng of soul Is what I really seek out.” —Jayne BradBury

the place-makers

Jayne & Suzanne Bradbury On Jayne and Suzanne Bradbury’s company website, a succinct credo, courtesy of Winston Churchill: “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” The joint owners of Fort Properties, a threegeneration property management company in Victoria, refer to it often. “That quote touches every part of the work we do,” says Jayne (seen above, left, with Suzanne). “Our built environment affects us in so many different ways. It’s really that intersection of place and well-being.” When the sisters assumed leadership of the company in 2012, they embarked on a long-term revitalization of their flagship properties known as the Fort Common District, slowly transforming a hodgepodge of four buildings fronting Broughton Avenue and Fort and Blanshard Streets and into the city’s buzziest food and dining area. Among their tenants: Fishhook, Chorizo and Co. and Be Love, plus recent arrivals Farm and Field Butchers, a shop that sources its meats and 5 8 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

products directly from Island farmers. Suzanne says supporting that farm-to-table economy is an important part of their business model: “We love to eat and our passion is great food, but we take a very holistic approach to building the whole system, wherever we can.” Last year, the Bradburys made their boldest building improvements to date, adding new indoor and outdoor space for both Discovery Coffee and the Livet restaurant, and turning the once-underutilized brick carriage yard at the back of the site into an atmospheric venue for outdoor events, lit by strings of lights overhead. As tech offices and condos enter the scene, taking over the antique shops that once dominated the area—there’s a metaphor in here somewhere—the city’s mayor has called Fort Street’s revitalization “a microcosm of the kind of economic ecosystem we are trying to build in Victoria.” We call it simply good taste.—Rosemary Poole

Portrait: Lillie Louise Major

Owners, The Fort Common, Victoria

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WLFOOD // 2017 FOODIES OF THE YEAR K A R E N M c AT H Y ' S R E C I P E

THE CHEMIST

Karen McAthy

Wine-Poached Figs Stuffed with Almond Ricotta

Owner/Chef, Blue Heron Creamery, Vancouver

Almond ricotta 1 cup whole almonds, with their skins Water for blending 1⁄2 tsp raw apple cider vinegar Salt, to taste

Wine-poached figs 1 cup red wine (one with a bigger flavour profile) 2 tbsp maple syrup 1⁄2 tsp salt 2 cups dried Mission figs or dried apricots Cinnamon, for garnish (optional) Finely chopped and toasted walnuts, for garnish (optional)

1. Soak almonds in very hot (not boiling)

water for at least 1 hour. Peel the skins off the almonds with your fingers (discard the skins) and place the almonds in a blender or food processor. Add small amounts of water (preferably filtered) and, starting on low speed, finely grind the almonds. Gradually increase the speed, adding small amounts of water to help move the mixture along, until you have a thick mixture that is quite creamy in texture but not watery.

2. Place the mixture into a glass or plastic

container and add the apple cider vinegar. Cover the container and place in a warm area of your kitchen to leave at room temperature for up to 12 hours. The raw apple cider vinegar will culture your almond mixture and give it a light tangy flavour.

3. Uncover and drain the "ricotta" through a

IN MY FRIDGE

fine sieve or nut milk bag for 30 minutes or longer, if needed. Stir the salt into the ricotta. You can add herbs, garlic, lemon juice or other flavours if you like. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

4. Place the wine, maple syrup and salt in a heavy cast iron pot and bring to a boil. After 5 minutes, reduce heat and add the figs. Allow the figs to poach in this mixture over low heat for up to 30 minutes, checking to ensure that they don’t become too soft or mushy. Remove the figs from the wine mixture and allow to cool and dry. Save the poaching liquid to use in a salad dressing. Ingredient You Can’t Get Enough of:

“Nettles! Loving nettles and fir tips right now.” —Karen McAthy

6 0 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

5. To assemble the bites, cut the figs in

half and fill with the almond ricotta. I like to sprinkle the tops with a little cinnamon and toasted walnut crumbs. Serve.

Portraits: Evaan Kheraj; Stuffed figs: Colin Medhurst, shot at Cook Culture

Necessity is the mother of invention. When Karen McAthy was named executive chef at Vancouver’s Graze restaurant in 2013, she sought to include vegan cheeses on a plantbased charcuterie board but found the available options limited and lacking. Too often they simply imitated the taste of traditional dairy cheeses, and some even contained casein, a milk-based protein. “I began exploring the processes associated with traditional cheese making to see what I could cull from there and apply to what I was doing at Graze,” says McAthy. “Basically, I’m a huge nerd . . . I like to understand the principles of why things work in certain ways, so this has provided me with endless opportunities to learn and experiment.” The results, such as a coconut kefirbased cheese with wine-macerated figs, or a five-month-aged almond beechwood cheese smoked and washed with kelp stout to cure the rind, have led to a growing fan base of customers and restaurants, culminating in a breakout year in 2016 with the launch of her business, Blue Heron Creamery, and her thoughtful, just-published how-to book, The Art of PlantBased Cheesemaking. Sharing her knowledge— a head-spinning world of fermentation, brining, probiotic capsules, and mould—is an important part of the work.—R.P.

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WLFOOD // 2017 FOODIES OF THE YEAR

THE SILENT OPERATOR

Minoru Tamaru Owner, Group Restaurants, Vancouver

Graham With Head Brewer, Parallel 49, Vancouver

In 2012, fewer than 10 craft breweries were open in Vancouver, and Parallel 49 was one of them. Which makes its 35-year-old brewmaster, Graham With, somewhat of a granddaddy of the scene. But don’t be fooled by the baby face: With has seriously honed his craft over the past five years. In his first 12 months he produced a million litres of beer on the job, and since then he has crafted some of the label’s most beloved bevs: Tricycle, Jerkface 9000 and Apricotopus. Under his watch, P49 has scooped up accolades aplenty (the latest: a gold from the Canadian Brewing Awards), started distributing nationally and into the States and launched a limited-edition brewing collaboration called Brews Bros., as well as starting up Hop Circuit, an annual free tour-and-tasting day promoting the wares of Yeast Van. Now Parallel 49 has transformed its tasting room into a full-fledged restaurant and patio with the help of Measured Architecture—but with With’s savvy, P49’s reach will continue to go much farther than the sidewalk of Triumph Street.—Stacey McLachlan 6 2 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

GR AHAM’S 3 BEER PICKS

What’s Trending in Beer?

“Juicy” Fruit IPAs.

Boombox Brewing Tropic Thunder

Twins Sails Dat Juice

Bridge Brewing Side Cut

“A LOT OF NEW HOP VARIETIES HAVE PLEASANT TROPICAL FRUITY FLAVOURS REMINISCENT OF MANGOES AND PAPAYAS. SOME BREWERS HAVE DROPPED THE BITTERNESS IN IPAS TO GIVE THE BEER A ‘JUICY’ FLAVOUR.”—GRAHAM WITH

With: Evaan Kheraj

THE HUSTLER

In 2006, when Minoru Tamaru opened Kingyo (Japanese for “goldfish,” though that particular sea creature doesn’t appear anywhere on the menu), it was not necessarily immediately obvious that the quirky izakaya was the catalyst for an empire. Yes, it was an immediate hit, wowing critics and locals with its playful take on the Japanese pub format, serving up inventive small plates and fusion-forward bento boxes in a cozy woodlined room in Vancouver’s West End. But even its biggest fans likely couldn’t have predicted that a decade later Tamaru would have an international stable of restaurants to his name. South Granville’s Suika (“watermelon”) opened in 2011, bringing the same boisterous atmosphere and Japanese bites to the west-side set; Rajio (“radio”) followed in 2012, specializing in Osaka-style kushikatsu—shareable platters of battered-and-fried snacks on skewers. His then business partner Makoto Kimoto took the concept south the next year, opening up a Suika outpost in Seattle’s Capitol Hill, while Tamaru continued eastward to Toronto the year after that, launching a new Kingyo in 2012. But with Tamaru’s latest project, the dark-and-buzzy year-old Raisu (“rice,” but you probably guessed that one) in Kitsilano, he returned back home to Vancouver—which makes it feel like an appropriate time to fete the man behind this least chainlike of chains. Just over a decade of spreading the gospel of Japanese pub culture, serving up crispy prawn heads and corn karaage, of encouraging us to share every once in a while— that’s worth raising a glass to. Kanpai!—S.M.

It’s what’s on the inside that counts.

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WLFOOD // 2017 FOODIES OF THE YEAR

THE FIRE STARTER

Kevin Cam

Owner, Baijiu and North 53, Edmonton

6 4 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

My first s ff k “IT WAS MIXING CHINESE RICE WINE WITH ORANGE JUICE. I WAS 11.”—KEVIN CAM

BAIJIU RECIPE

Sakura Spritz 2 oz Umeshu plum wine 1⁄2 oz Cointreau 1 oz grapefruit juice 1⁄4 oz lemon juice 2 drops hibiscus extract 2 oz sparkling rosé Dried rose petal, to garnish Combine all ingredients except bubbles in a shaker tin and fill with ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and double strain with a tea strainer into a Champagne flute. Top with sparkling rosé and garnish with a dried rose petal. –Recipe by Andre Bober

Cooper & O’Hara Photography

“I was a 23-year-old trying to pickpocket well-off folks,” jokes Kevin Cam about opening North 53, in 2013, on a corner of Edmonton’s bougie Westmount neighbourhood. Instead, the room—dark and covered in black beehive tiles—drew in ultra-hip millennials, smitten by creative drinks requiring bartenders to torch sprucewood. But they hardly touched the tasting menu that was North’s cornerstone. Within months, Cam—neither trained chef, bartender, nor maître d’, but a well-travelled former fashion buyer with good tastes and, more importantly, investors—had to pivot. He changed chefs, supplanting elevated comfort-food share plates with whimsical baskets of tempura popcorn chicken dusted with blitzed popcorn. The vibe now is like “a party within a party,” says Cam. Lessons in hand, his second venture, Baijiu, required no weaning after opening this year. Inspired by Shanghai and Hong Kong speakeasies, with floral Asian murals on one wall and a Biggie Smalls print on the other, it’s both a tribute to his Chinese roots and adolescent days in Vancouver karaoke bars throwing back Hennessy and green tea shots. The drinks program romps with Asian ingredients like nigorizake, soy milk and Thai basil syrup, while chef Alexei Boldireff plays with a modern style of bao tacos and impossibly tender Szechuan-style confit chicken. Like North, it’s a multisensual combination. “I get a high when I’m standing in one of my rooms; it’s full, the Champagne is flowing and there’s laughter everywhere.”—Omar Mouallem

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WLFOOD // 2017 foodIes of the year

“I thought If I had the chance to do somethIng, I wanted to do It.” —Nihal ElwaN

The Women of Tayybeh Left to right: Rawaa Mahouk, Heba Najib, Hasna Shekh Omar, Leena Alahmad with daughter Loubana, Nihal Elwan, Raghda Hassan with daughter Solar. Taken at Shaughnessy United Church, January 30, 2017.

the community builder

Nihal Elwan It started as a casual conversation. Development consultant Nihal Elwan was sharing her love for Syrian cuisine with a neighbour—growing up in nearby Cairo, she knew Middle Easterners often travelled to Aleppo as a culinary destination—when it occurred to her she could help recently arrived refugees with a fundraiser. “I thought, okay, let’s arrange it,” she says. “Some Syrian families can cook a neighbourhood dinner.” A Facebook post later, the dinner for 50 sold out in minutes. It was the start of Tayybeh: A Celebration of Syrian Cuisine (tayybeh means “kind” in Arabic and “delicious” in the Levantine dialect), a series of pop-up 6 6 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

dinners run by Syrian women. The dinners have developed a cult following, with each successively larger event—the latest hosted 150—rapidly selling out. For the Vancouverites who attend, the impact is more than just culinary discovery and charitable support, says Elwan. “We’re realizing that eating has become a lonely, almost solitary experience,” she says. “People often eat on their own or in twos—but the experience of dining with that large a number of people, it’s something they don’t often experience here. We’re trying to replicate experiences in the Middle East, where large numbers of people get together from their neighbourhood.”

The dinners continue, a catering business is developing and, under Elwan’s guidance, the women of Tayybeh have started to test-market some of their pastries at various farmers’ markets around town to develop a larger food business. Most importantly, all of this puts money in the hands of these women, most of whom have never been able to earn their own wages. “One of them told me, ‘I’m making my own money, and I’m not sleeping thinking about this I’m so excited,’” says Elwan. “It’s the money, but it’s also their sense of confidence. This is really at the heart at what I’ve always loved doing.”—Anicka Quin

Carlo Ricci

Creator, Tayybeh, Vancouver

Visit and fall in love with our wines.

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WLFOOD // 2017 FOODIES OF THE YEAR

Cheers to our Foodies of the Year Finalists Ignacio Arrieta & Marcelo Ramirez

Daniel Edler

Ryan O’Flynn

Co-owners, La Mezcaleria and La Taqueria, Vancouver

Owner, 49 Below Ice Cream, Victoria

Executive Chef, the Guild, Calgary

Jason Barton-Browne

Matthew Garrett & Simon Underwood

Blogger, Follow Me Foodie, Vancouver

Trevor Bird & Victor Straatman Co-founders, Meatme, Vancouver

May Chau

Owners, Moonshine Doughnuts, Doughnut Party, Edmonton

Mark Perrier

Kelsey Johnson

Allan & Amanda Pineda

Chef/Owner, Café Linnea, Edmonton

Founders, Filipino Pop-up Concepts Baon Manila Nights, Winnipeg

Chef/Co-owner, Savio Volpe, Vancouver

Chef, Golden Paramount Seafood, Richmond

Mandolyn Jonasson

Darren & Sylvia Cheverie

Chef/Owner, Island SodaWorks, Qualicum Beach

Liam Quinn

Eldric Kuzma

Michael Robins

Owner, Aubade Coffee, Vancouver

Executive Chef, Sous Sol, Sydney’s, Winnipeg

Ed Lam

Will Robinson

Chef, Yujiro Japanese, Winnipeg

Owner, Hop 'n' Hog, Clearwater, B.C.

Jake Lee

Shane Taylor

Chef/Owner, Seoul Fried Chicken, Edmonton

Wine Director, CinCin, Vancouver

Owners, Very Good Butchers, Victoria

Jinhee Lee

Butcher/Owner, Farm and Field Butchers, Victoria

Jay Drysdale & Wendy Rose

Leung Yiu Tong

Owners, Bella Wines, Okanagan

Executive Chef, Foreign Concept, Calgary

Marla Ebell

Paul McGreevy

Natasha Trowsdale

Owner, Hold General Store, Victoria

Chef, Starbelly Open Kitchen and Lounge, Calgary

Mixologist, SpeakTiki pop-up program; bar manager, Alta, Edmonton

Owners, Chartier, Edmonton

Eva Choi & Dallas Southcott Owners, the Chocolate Lab, Calgary

Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote & John Cote Owners, Black Fox Distillery, Saskatoon

James Davison & Tania Friesen

S H OU T OU T S

Foodies Nominate Other Foodies We asked our winners, who’s killing it in the West right now?

“Chef Justin Leboe. He is de-formalizing fine dining by seeking to establish social atmospheres with the eclecticism and charm of one’s home to replace the traditional white tablecloth.”—Kate Allen

6 8 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

“Camil Dumont of Inner City Farms, the team at Solefood Farm, and Kimi Hendess and Kareno Hawbolt at Sweet Digz Farm—the farmers produce the food we cook, process and eat. And I have always admired Chef Andrea Carlson’s work; I love what Burdock and Co. and Harvest Community Foods are doing.”—Karen McAthy “Douglas King, the chef at Pigeonhole in Calgary. Since his landing in Calgary, there has been nothing but great reviews with the food he and his crew are putting out. He is a welcome addition to the local food scene.”—JP Pedhirney “My friend Kylo Hoy at Four Winds has been doing a great job with their sour and wild ales. He pays a lot of attention to all the ingredients he uses and he’s a phenomenal cook.”—Graham With

Chef/Owner, the Salt and Pepper Fox, Victoria

Rebecca Teskey

Chef/Owner, Hoi Tong, Richmond

Fresh Thinking Farm-to-table chef and owner Andrea Carlson runs Burdock and Co. in Vancouver.

Daniel Edler: Tegan McMartin; Jinhee Lee: Colin Way; Ryan O'Flynn: Cindy La; Mijune Pak: Three Sixty Photo; Shane Taylor: Gordan Dumka; Andrea Carlson: Carlo Ricci

Chef, Hayloft, Airdrie, Alta.

Mijune Pak

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TRAVEL

T H E W E S T // W O R L D W I D E // W E E K E N D G E T AWA Y S // N E I G H B O U R H O O D S // R O A D T R I P S

Nordic, Where?

Lindman Photography

One of the things we love about working with creative people is having them tell us about the great places they’ve been. This month we hear EQ3 creative director Thom Fougere wax on about his favourite spots in Stockholm (see page 74), and for us it’s the perfect fit. First, Winnipeg-based EQ3 is a Western Canadian success story. Second, Fougere is a judge for our upcoming Designer’s of the Year competition (look for the latest incarnation next month), and finally we love to hear someone knowledeable tell us about the amazing Scandinavian design scene. Win, win, win.

Swede Shop From Alvar Aalto to Arne Jacobsen, the designers featured at Stockholm’s Modernity are the perfect encapsulation of Scandinavia’s legendary design ethos.

westernliving.ca / J U LY / A U G U S T

2017 71

WLTRAVEL // 48 hours in Prince ruPert

B y K at ta n c o c K

NORTHERN EXPOSURE friday For starters, get yourself situated with a decent vantage point. That means a harbour view room at the Crest Hotel (cresthotel .bc.ca), whose elevated location awards a bird’s-eye view of the island city’s waterfront and the verdant peaks across the inlet. In-room binoculars will help you spot bald eagles or spy on incoming BC Ferries vessels or scope out your first civic adventure. Drive 10 minutes out of town to work up an appetite on the five-kilometre Butze Rapids Interpretive Trail, which loops past second and old-growth forest, open bogs and a beach with rope swings to bring out your inner child. Replenish your energy at Cargo Kitchen ( facebook.com/cargokitchen), whose eclectic offerings run from the usual salads and burgers to agedashi tofu and falafel. Return to the hotel to sip a nightcap on the 7 2 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

heated patio as thesun sets over the harbour. (Near solstice this can be close to midnight, so there’sno need to rush.)

saturday Fuel up with a leisurely brunch: request a window table at the in-house Waterfront Restaurant to savour your eggs and cauliflower hash or eggs Benny with cold-smoked local salmon at a leisurely pace. Then amble down to the dock (bring your best windbreaker and zoom lens) for an outing with Prince Rupert Adventure Tours (adventuretours.net) and their big yellow boat, complete with bathrooms and snack bar. As you head north through Chatham Sound, watch for porpoises, seals, sea lions, blue herons and the ubiquitous bald eagles—plus the headlining mammals: grizzly bears (in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary)

from mid-May to late July and humpback, grey and orca whales from July through October. On-board guides tell stories about their favourite bears and teach guests how to snap iPhone photos through binoculars when their cameras aren’t up to snuff. Back in town, quench your thirst with a tasting at Wheelhouse Brewing (wheel housebrewing.com), whose seasonal Scurvy Dog Spruce Ale is such a hit with Prince

Late to Bed

Even a short drive out of town (above, left) reveals miles of untouched coastline ripe for exploring, and when you return to town you can still enjoy the sophisticated cuisine of Cargo Kitchen (above, right). After dinner, go for a still-light-out-stroll to Cow Bay and snag a cappuccino from, where else, local legend Cowpuccino’s (inset).

Left to right: Destination BC/Grant Harder; Tyler Meers Photography; Tyler Meers Photography

Prince Rupert might receive some two and a half metres of rain each year, but that’s in the winter months. Come summer, it’s all late sunsets and jaw-dropping beauty.

Pacific Cannery: fromthetreehouse.ca; Boat: Captain Doug Davis; Brewery: Brad Smith

Rupertites, it comes with a purchase limit. Then wander two minutes down the road to take a seat (at locally made cedar tables and chairs, natch) at Japanese restaurant Fukasaku ( fukasaku.ca), where the B.C.-first ethos encompasses not just the seafood (also 100 percent Ocean Wise) but the fresh-grated wasabi (harvested in Nanaimo) and the beer, wine and sake list, too.

sUNDAY Expect lineups at Cow Bay neighbourhood mainstay Cowpuccino’s ( facebook.com /yawnbegone), celebrating its 21st birthday this year, so leave a little extra time for your meal to appear, whether you’re going for a simple green smoothie or a more substantial smoked salmon breakfast.

Once fortified, fit in some history with a visit to North Pacific Cannery (north pacificcannery.ca) in nearby Port Edward, whose close to 90 years of continuous salmon production (it ended its run in the 1970s) makes it the province’s longest-running cannery. A National historic site open from May 1 to late September, it’s best explored on a 40-minute guided tour, oriented either around industry (how did they get the salmon into the cans?) or cannery life. Visit the on-site Mess House for an on-theme lunch—salmon chowder, a salmon melt, perhaps salmon chow mein, plus freshly baked cinnamon buns and pies—and pick up a few cans (with gift-worthy historic labels) to take home to help remember your sunny northern excursion.

“Quench your thirst with a tasting at Wheelhouse Brewing, whose seasonal Scurvy Dog Spruce Ale comes with a purchase limit.” Get Lost

The craft beer revolution has hit here hard, with local fave Wheelhouse Brewing (top, right). But this place really excels at the outdoors, like hitting the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary with a local operator (above, right), and history, which is satisfied by a visit to the North Pacific Cannery (above, left) and a lesson on how commercial fishing shaped this region.

westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

2 0 1 7 7 3

WLTRAVEL // MY NEIGHBOURHOOD

3 Stop by the topfloor restaurant of Fotografiska for afternoon fika (a Swedish tradition of coffee, cake and togetherness).

Visits to Modernity always involve a history lesson and heaps of inspiration.

STOCKHOLM SYNDROME

The creative director of EQ3 shares his favourite Nordic spots. It’s not really surprising that Winnipeg-based furniture company EQ3 sells pieces with such a Scandinavian vibe— creative director (and Designers of the Year judge) Thom Fougere makes an annual pilgrimage to Stockholm to scope out the furniture fairs that take place in the design-friendly city. But it’s not just the showroom floor that provides Fougere with inspiration: the Swedish capital is packed with a tantalizing mix of modern innovation and historical charm. 7 4 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

1 The Modernity showroom is filled with a circulating collection of rare mid-century furniture, lighting and art pieces from Scandinavia. 2 Acne Studios Studios’ flagship store is located within an old bank building just off the famous Norrmalmstorg square, where the term “Stockholm syndrome” was coined. 3 Fotografiska is a well-curated photography museum located along the river. The exhibition rooms are much darker than a typical set gallery, which allows the environment to disappear and the photography to appear as if it’s floating.

4 I always end up visiting Café Valand for a morning coffee and pastry. Supposedly, the interior hasn’t changed much since the 1950s—and that’s a good thing. 5 One of my favourite restaurants to visit is Pelikan. The interior is candlelit and outfitted with tropical plants, patterned floors, dark wood furniture and hand-painted murals. These old, distinctly Swedish details add a level of authenticity to Pelikan (it’s been open for over 100 years).

Fotografiska: Christian Holmér; Café Valand: Emily Chen; meatballs with lingonberries: Tobi Wei

WILL TRAVEL FOR FOOD

In the past few years, the idea of a foodie vacation has gone from niche to mainstream. Trips to New York are arranged around snagging dinner reservations at 11 Madison Park. In Chicago itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alinea, Noma Mexico in Tulum. So weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gathered some of our food-obsessed writers to recount their tales of far-flung gastronomy to help you plan your next excursion.

7 6 j u ly / a u g u s t 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

WLTRAVEL

Edmonton to Beirut Distance: 9,848 km Travel Time: 18 hrs, 20 mins

Local 961 Beer

A mise-en-scene at Tawlet

Beirut Beckons

Lets Promenade

Lebanon’s capital may now be more famous for the turmoil its seen over the last few years, but once upon a time it was the Paris of the Middle East and there are still remnants of that legacy in its under-the-radar restaurants.

Main image: Ramzi Hachicho; Beer: Hisham Assaad

A romantic journey for food in Lebanon’s beautiful capital. The taxi driver looked at the scribbled address as if it were a ransom note. Considering news of gunmen blocking roads and burning tires two nights before in Beirut, where I convinced my non-Lebanese wife to spend half our honeymoon, I worried we were venturing too far from our plush hotel in the heavily secured downtown. But the address itself was the problem; Lebanese citizens get around with directions and landmarks, not numbers. So for 15 minutes, he’d brake and accelerate, shouting “12 Rue Naher?” at pedestrians, until their finger-pointing led us to a lush patio at a grimy street’s dead end. In the years to come, Mar Mikhaël would become Beirut’s trendiest neighbourhood, but in June 2012 it was a restaurant called Tawlet (tow-lee)—meaning “table”—that lured us with its odd tagline (“Make Food. Not War.”) and beautiful concept. Every day for lunch a different rural matriarch cooks the recipes of her region with the crops of her farm. Sitting cross-legged in all white, the owner, Kamal Mouzawak, looked like a spiritual guru in the airy room. He led us to a communal table stretching from end to end and poured us a red blend from a rack carrying at least one of Lebanon’s 90-odd wines, most

from the Bekaa Valley, where my parents met before immigrating to Alberta. We were joined by Mazen Hajjar, the impassioned producer of 961 Beer, who came to stock the fridge with what’s still the Arab Middle East’s only microbrew. As we sipped his malty red ale and learned how 961 began as a kitchen experiment while the summer-long war of 2006 kept him confined, the table seats filled until the star of the show entered from the kitchen. Hana Khoutour, from the southern mountain town Jezzine, carried to the buffet table massive platters of velvety eggplant stew called moussaka, a citrusy bean salad and fried kibbeh croquettes stuffed with the country’s staple ingredient (and namesake) labneh. She shyly scooped spiced burghal onto my plate, perhaps intimidated that this party of suits and tourists paid 40,000 liras ($35)—nearing the average daily wage—for her humble offerings. But that’s exactly the appeal. This was not the typical fare of Lebanese restaurants—neither local nor abroad— but rather the homes lucky enough to have a matriarch like Khoutour. Feasting on the flavours of this tiny region with an oversized culinary footprint, I was thankful to have come from one of them.— Omar Mouallemby westernliving.ca / j u ly / a u g u s t

2 0 1 7 7 7

WLTRAVEL // WILL TRAVEL FOR FOOD

n u r s n : 8,165 km a l Ti : 12 hrs, 56 ns

Astrid y Gaston

Colonial Lima

Lima, been? Maido

Central

SHORT HOP Vancouver to Lummi Island, WA Distance: 100 km Travel Time: 2 hrs, 16 mins If the Willows Inn were in any metropolitan centre it would be a household name and have a month-long wait list. But chef Blaine Wetzel’s homage to all things regional isn’t in Seattle, it’s on Lummi Island, the neglected stepchild of the San Juans that just happens to be the perfect microcosm for Wetzel to create the most locavore menu you’ll ever have. 7 8 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

It would be misleading to say I travelled to Lima for the food. I was already hiking and biking in Peru’s Sacred Valley, so while I did technically “travel to Lima to eat,” in reality that meant booking myself a 24-hour layover on my way back to Canada. The goal? Eat at three of the best restaurants in the world (according to the San Pellegrino 50 Best List). The plan was simple: grab an Uber from the airport and head directly to the #8 restaurant in the world, the Peruvian-Japanese hybrid Maido, for their last seating of the night, then find a hotel, sleep, wake up in time to have lunch at Central (#5, but #4 when I visited last year), kill a few hours wandering around town before dinner at Astrid y Gaston (#33, but #30 when I was there) and then back to the airport for the red-eye back to Canada. Even writing all these months later it sounds romantic, but the truth is I hate eating by myself so I approached the dine-athon with more trepidation than delight. Also, as I rolled into Maido, fresh off a long drive and a bumpy flight from Cuzco, all I wanted was a beer (well, a few beers) so the idea of sitting at the tasting bar, solo, just made me sad. Luckily my Eeyore routine was foiled by the fella next to me, a Peruvian filmmaker there with his girlfriend, who tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I had ever tried cuy (a.k.a.

guinea pig), and when I said no, he more or less jammed a cuy dumpling in my mouth, laughed “now you have,” and we proceeded to get along like an Incan temple on fire for the next few hours. The food was sublime. The next day’s pilgrimage to Central was a much more sombre affair. Unlike the mix of locals at Maido, the beautifully minimal room at Central was all serious food tourists and the place had the tenor of a cathedral on Ash Wednesday. Being solo wasn’t the curse I thought because the general reverie kept jibber jabber at a minimum. So I sat in a monastic silence while dishes—16 of them— appeared and were introduced by Virgilio Martinez, the matinee-idol handsome mastermind behind the spot. The lunch took three hours and I literally staggered out into the midday sun, gleff uly stuffed to the gills with the knowledge that, given the length of my lunch, my next tasting menu started in too-soon-to-contemplate four hours. I tried to walk some space into my stomach but early on into my meal at Astrid y Gaston I was in serious no mas territory. I went outside and took some air. Twice. I ate half of the intricately crafted small plates and by the time I finished my last bite the victory was pyrrhic at best. The sleep on the flight home, however, was inescapably deep.—Neal McLennan

Colonial Lima: Mariano Mantel

The capital of Peru makes its case for the foodiest city on the planet.

WLTRAVEL // WILL TRAVEL FOR FOOD

The Iced Eddie Lake Huron

N th n u r y, О o

s n : 3,193 km Ti : 6 hrs, 49 ns (4: fl ht, 2:27 i )

Cold Comfort

The Local Legend

SHORT HOP Vancouver to Boston Bar Distance: 216 km Travel Time: 2 hrs, 33 mins Truth? You’ll pass easily a half dozen restaurants that are better than Fat Jack’s on your drive to Fat Jack’s, but those temples of urban fanciness get trounced by the setting, the honesty and the sheer surprise of chef Todd Baiden’s take on a roadside diner. The classics are all here—short stack of pancakes, turkey club—but Baiden cut his teeth running the lauded underground restaurant 12b in Vancouver, so everything is four notches better than you’d expect. 8 0 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

On our annual pilgrimage to Lake Huron— to the family cabin on my wife’s side—the last hour is usually pedal-to-the-metal as we pick up the scent of suntan oil on the breeze. But one year we decided to stop a half-hour out, in a flyspeck town called Paisley. A sign for “Back Eddie’s” sucked us in. Cool name—suggesting a countercurrent to the mainstream. Cool building: a century-old mill at a fork in the Saugeen River, now a coffee and sandwich shop. I was more thirsty than hungry, and more hot than cold. “Do you do an iced coffee?” I asked. The hippie-ish looking young woman behind the counter just smiled. If the last iced coffee you had was one of those treacly Starbucks Frappuccino syrup slammers, nothing will prepare your taste buds for an Iced Eddie. The difference is . . . everything—starting with an espresso-strength shot of the café’s own organic “four-nation” blend, made from ethically sourced beans freshly roasted on site in a small-batch Turkish roaster. But the secret ingredient is Mapleton organic espresso ice cream. It comes from a

dairy an hour down the road where—I am not making this up—the cows voluntarily walk over to the milking area whenever they’re good and ready. The server emerged from the back and offered the Iced Eddie, sacramentally, across the counter. I guzzled it standing up. There was a small commission outside. I was blocking the door. I didn’t even notice. My eyes were closed. “How was it?” she said. All I could manage to say in reply was: “Another, please.” People nurse their Iced Eddies on the back deck, watching canoeists en route from Walkerton to Southampton pull in to re-provision. (The owners kicked around the idea of installing a “canoe-thru” window, but decided it wasn’t workable.) But we don’t do that any more. The service at Back Eddie’s can be slow—I imagine the cook’s mind is half on the sandwich he’s making and half on the bands that are coming for Friday night’s blues jam. So we always take our Iced Eddies to go. Now if only we can figure out a way to get them back to Vancouver without them melting.—Bruce Grierson

Top-left: Brian Lasenby

You always remember your first Iced Eddie.

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MODERN NURSERY

Pick colours and patterns that can grow up with the little ones.

8 2 J U LY / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 / westernliving.ca

Though there’s certainly plenty of whimsy to be found in this Calgary nursery (case in point: the adorable balloon-shaped overhead light from Brokis), the space is slyly sophisticated. As she designed the room for her new daughter, Elena Del Bucchia chose features—like the Campbell Dunsmore wallpaper and the Ikea rug—that are stimulating but not explicitly babyish; as the Dwell Studio crib is retired and the toys on the Ikea shelving units make way for books, those graphic patterns will still be totally appropriate. “I wanted to be wise about and reuse everything,” says Del Bucchia. “She’ll grow into the room and mix them in.”

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Portrait: Henry Del Bucchia; room: Lori Andrews

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