Everything but the bird: 3 alternatives to turkey leftovers this weekend
Bacchus, the Red Wagon, and Brass Fish are options for those who are stuffed full of stuffing
Roasted Yarrow Meadows duck breast is on Bacchus Restaurant executive chef Montgomery Lau’s winter menu at Wedgewood Hotel & Spa. Photo by Richard Won
FOR TRADITIONALISTS WHO are celebrating Christmas, this weekend is going to be all about turkey leftovers—turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, turkey wraps, turkey casserole…. For those who wish eschew the bird after the big day, here are three alternatives for gustatory goodness.
Bacchus Restaurant's winter menu runs through January. Photo by Richard Won
Bacchus Restaurant executive chef Montgomery Lau is handling sold-out brunch and dinner on December 25, but he has also created a winter menu that’s running now through January. He’s a chef worth seeking out: prior to joining the restaurant at Wedgewood Hotel & Spa—one of the city’s most elegant dining rooms, complete with live (Plexiglass-shielded) piano—he worked at MARKET by Jean-George and Diva at the Met, both of which were dining destinations in their day. In 2011, he represented B.C. at the Canadian Culinary Federation’s National Chefs Challenge and won, earning the title of Canada’s Chef of the Year. (For a while, he worked at the Secret Location in Gastown, now defunct for good reason as one of the snootiest spots in town, where he was encouraged to experiment but where his talents were wasted.)
To ward away the winter chill at Bacchus are dishes like seven-spice crusted albacore tuna with Cerignola olives, celery hearts, Marcona almonds, and lemon balsamic; roasted Yarrow Meadows duck breast with pumpkin spätzle, Brussels sprout fondue, golden beet, and cinnamon grape jus; and vegan risotto with winter truffles, wild mushrooms (including maitake), charred leaks, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. “Cooking is science and art combined,” Lau says.
The Red Wagon is no ordinary diner. Photo by Octane Collective
For an altogether different vibe, wheel on over to the Red Wagon at its new location at 2128 East Hastings Street (just a block and a half from where owner Brad Miller started it all).
Miller permanently closed the East Van institution’s sister restaurant Bistro Wagon Rouge on Powell Street in November, but n’inquiétez vous pas: he’ll be folding in some of its French-inspired dishes on the new spot’s ever-changing dinner menu (think Lois Lake steelhead noisette and salt-cold twice-baked potato). All-day breakfast and lunch items include crispy pork belly with eggs, grilled tomato, and salsa verde; pulled-pork pancakes; classic “trucker” breakfasts; a seven-ounce Pemberton-beef Wagon Burger; Croque madame and Croque Monsieur; Cobb salad with fried buttermilk chicken… It’s all enough to make you want to have a hangover so you can go in for a cure, but this is no greasy diner: everything is made with made with sustainably, ethically sourced products from local farmers, and the wine and cocktail lists are just as thoughtfully crafted.
Over the holidays, the neighbourhood joint is open daily except December 25, with varying hours (some dates are brunch and/or dinner; on December 27 and 30 it’s Wine & Charcuterie Night). Come 2021, the East Van fave—which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2011 and is named after the Radio Flyer wagon Miller had as a kid—will be open for daily brunch (weekdays from 8 am to 2 pm and weekends 9 am to 2 pm) and dinner Thursdays through Sundays from 5 to 10 pm.
Vancouver chef Mike Robbins is collaborating with Brass Fish Tavern & Kitchen with a special menu that includes an open-faced braised short-rib sandwich.
Brass Fish Tavern & Kitchen opened its doors in the iconic Marine Building in February 2020—ouch—and has weathered the COVID-19 storm. Now, in addition to its regular menu by chef Alvin Pillay, it is offering a special collaboration with chef Michael Robbins.
Robbins has been building buzz ever since he opened AnnaLena in Kitsilano, following it up with Their There and Hundy. He has come up with six dishes for the Donnelly Group eatery (four appetizers and two sandwiches). Among them: fried cauliflower with chili pecorino emulsion and sourdough crumb; pickled beets with burrata, brown-butter vinaigrette, and salted pistachio; open-faced braised-short rib sandwich with pickled onions and aerated hollandaise; and a confit-tuna melt with dill kewpie mayo, aged cheddar, and fried pickles. Who needs turkey?
Related Articles
