With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/383533
october 2014 BCBusiness 95 nik west; illustration: mark atomos pilon The star-studded Sutton Place Hotel—set at Vancouver's busiest corner on Robson and Burrard— wooed homegrown Alex Chen back to the city as executive chef of its new seafood-focused restaurant, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar. Chen returns to Van- couver after a stint at the Beverly Hills Hotel and competing in the prestigious Bocuse d'Or culinary competition in France, where he placed among the world's top 10. The 290-seat bistro evokes a sophisticated worldliness with its hand-painted tiles from the south of France and Italian calacatta marble bar tops, but its focus is showcasing local businesses: there's a stunning seafood tower served in resin bowls from iconic B.C. designer Martha Sturdy; black walnut serving boards from Vancou- ver artist Kate Duncan; and sustainable seafood and ethical meat sourced from local com- panies such as Pacific Provider and Oyama Sausage (boulevard vancouver.ca). • Just five weeks after opening wolf in the Fog—a laid-back, west coast-inspired eatery in tofino—chef nick nutting has already changed up the menu. but when the bounty of Vancouver island is at your fingertips and your mandate is to keep things fun and unpredict- able, it's a no-brainer. "we've got lots of good connections with farms on Vancouver island and the foraging and fishing up here is pretty strong right now," says nutting. the former chef of the wickaninnish inn's pointe restaurant launched this solo venture with business manager andre mcGillivray and front- of-house manager Jorge barandiaran—also formerly of the pointe—to flee the often-uptight fine dining world. "the way that i cook hasn't really changed—just the delivery to the people and the price point is a little more accessible," nutting says, adding that the restaurant's collection of second-hand "granny's old china" sucks the pretension out of the most refined meals. the open kitchen, communal dining table and fresh, playful menu also fuel the casual ambi- ence that nutting and his crew are cultivating. "we want people to feel like they've been invited over to our house for dinner" (wolfinthefog.com). —Kristen Hilderman A restaurant true to its locale Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar Wolf in the Fog BesT TABLe meet in the centre of the dining room, oyster bar and cocktail bar at table 56, or slide into one of three high- backed, horseshoe-shaped leather booths for a confidential conversation. MusT-TRY ORDeR while the menu is seafood-heavy, there are plenty of tantaliz- ing options for meat-eaters, like the truffled duck sausage pizza ($19) or the braised beef short rib grilled cheese sandwich ($17). DRinK uP bar manager Justin taylor couldn't resist putting his own spin on the classic boulevardier for the restaurant's signature cocktail ($15), using canadian port barrel-finished whisky, amaro, black walnut bitters and flamed orange. insiDeR TiP ask for chen's ocean wise ahi tuna tartare ($18) to be prepared tableside, paired with a glass of one of wine director lisa Hayley's primarily organi- cally grown local and international labels, like the 2012 riesling from b.c.'s first leeD- certified winery, tantalus Vineyards. A new seafood- focused joint in the downtown core brings a local focus by Catherine Roscoe Barr SEE AND BE SEEN Boulevard's palatial dining room offers both private and middle-of-the-action seating. p o w e R l u N c h R e c e N t l y o p e N e d f o o d + d R I N K