Two Vancouver eateries among top three new Canadian restaurants

 

Hawksworth and L’Abbatoir make en Route’s best list

 

Hawksworth chef/owner David Hawksworth (left) and chef de cuisine Kristian Eligh
 

Hawksworth chef/owner David Hawksworth (left) and chef de cuisine Kristian Eligh

 

Photograph by: Nick Procaylo, PNG

 

VANCOUVER — I would have demanded a recount if Vancouver’s Hawksworth restaurant wasn’t on this year’s en Route magazine’s annual Best New Restaurants list, released today.

But it was and it took second spot in the magazine’s 10th annual Top 10 list.

“A seamless fusion of Asian, European and West Coast elements, the cuisine reflects its city with subtlety rather than shock value,” wrote the judge and writer, Sarah Musgrave. “Seared scallops with homemade XO sauce wear a pork-crackling fascinator sprinkled with togarashi powder. Sticky, sultry, finger-licking veal sweetbreads – fried in bacon fat and maple syrup, c’mon! – are everything you knew you loved about chicken wings and didn’t know you loved about kholrabi and kumquats. Slow-cooked halibut is cloaked in almost-translucent chorizo, duck bathes in Chinese five-spice broth. For dessert, cream of calamansi, the tiny Asian citrus, comes with Italian and French meringue.” It omitted to mention, however, the extremely good post-recession value one finds at this haute restaurant.

L’Abattoir was another Vancouver restaurant on the list and sits in third spot. Chef Lee Cooper’s French-accented West Coast food was called “breathtakingly original,” mentioning the Dungeness crab and chickpea toast in a toasted brioche cylinder with crab custard and pickled carrots. “Each dish is a who’da thunk it, like juggling cubes of Aperol (Jell-O shots) surrounding a foie gras terrine, or crisped, Szechuan-spiced dumplings (oxtail egg rolls!) alongside exquisitely seared scallops, Asian pear and charred daikon,” writes Musgrave.

St. John’s restaurant, Raymonds took top spot. It’s chef Jeremy Charles’ second win. In 2007, he was chef at Atlantica, another Newfoundland restaurant when it took top spot in the en Route.

Eligible restaurants opened after July, 2010. Musgrave toured the country visiting restaurants recommended by food writers or critics in various cities.

The results are online at www.enrouteaircanada.com. They’ll also be published in the magazine, out Nov. 1, along with a restaurant trends report.

mstainsby@vancouversun.com

 

Comments:

No comments

Post Your Comment:

Your email will not be published
The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the REBGV, the FVREB or the CADREB.