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THE NEXT 201 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | CBNR Mission Statement & Index | Home  THE SHORE CLUB 688 Dunsmuir St.,Vancouver, 604-899-4400, theshoreclub.ca Don’t tell owner David Aisenstat (Gotham, the Keg, Hy’s) that the room looks like a million bucks. That would be a gross understatement. The space reportedly cost $8-million, and every penny apparently went into making an impression. The rat pack-meets-swingers vibe extends to the menu; think clams casino, oyster stew, creamed corn, onion rings and varied hunks of meat. Dapper waiters in butcher’s jackets look as if they could dismember a whole cow should the situation call for it. Drink Yes, they’re putting the piano back into the bar. Hearing blues musician Wes Mackie play live is alone worth the price of a meal.  SO.CIAL AT LE MAGASIN 332 Water St., Vancouver, 604-669-4488, socialatlemagasin.com This is the restaurant as community centre: an updated Art Deco Purple Rain-meets-Moulin Rouge room in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood. The main dining room, which serves as the heart of the restaurant, shares space with a butcher shop that does all its own aging, smoking and cutting, and there’s a casual oyster bar downstairs. Chef Sean Cousins, formerly of C Restaurant and Raincity Grill, balances egalitarianism with his own ambitions, a feat he manages pretty well with dishes like duck breast served with sunchoke hash and carrot-ginger emulsion. Dish The giant, delicious onion rings get a kick from smoked paprika.  THE TACO SHACK 1935 Cornwall Ave., Vancouver, 778-239-5102 Michael Jordan has a steak house, Wayne has Wayne Gretzky’s, even Dan Marino has a chain of restaurants. Add Daved Benefield to the list of athletes-turned-restaurateurs. The former BC Lions linebacker was raised in California and wanted to offer Vancouverites a taste of real Cali-Mex tacos. He’s scored with this bright, bare-bones little restaurant. How’s this for a simple menu? Fish, Chicken, Meat or Veggie in Taco, Burrito or Quesadilla form. They come three at a time for under $7, and although the fish is our favourite, you might want to try all four. Dish The restaurant makes all its own corn tortillas fresh daily.  SKINNY LEGS & COWGIRLS 9008 Jasper Ave., Edmonton, 780-423-4107 Last year, we saw the father/son partnership (Treadwell); this year, we welcome the mother/daughter duo. Chef Susan Kellock and her daughter, Amy, operate this 18-seat gem in a strip mall. The Mixed Grill, featuring lamb, strip loin, tenderloin, a potato gratin and “an abundance of veggies,” is listed as feeding two but could probably suffice for four. Just be warned: The $73 price is a shock, even if they pile the plate with so many layers of food that one contented diner referred to it as “forensic dining.” Warning The menu can be as bizarre as a novel by Tom Robbins (the restaurant’s patron saint). Why is an order of hummus $12, while six tiger prawns are only $14?  OUI BISTRO & WINE BAR 283 Bannatyne Ave., #100, Winnipeg, 204-989-7700 wowhospitality.ca/restaurants/oui.html They’re all here. Chef Tristan Foucault’s menu touches on all the great bistro dishes – soupe à l’oignon, salade frisée, cassoulet, steak frites, crème brûlée, profiteroles – and prepares them with respect and finesse. The room so effortlessly conjures up a sense of the belle époque that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Manet arguing politics with Zola over a glass of absinthe at the next table. Of course, Winnipeg is a very arty city, so maybe their contemporary equivalents are doing just that. Drink A smart cocktail list explains the history of the drink and offers each with house or premium liquors. |
