by Tim Pawsey on August 27, 2010
Tuned up heritage bar and dining lounge adds up to historic district’s latest lively lure
L'Abattoir's bar has a real buzz—and great tastes too, Tim Pawsey photo
Walk into Gastown’s newest star, L’Abattoir (217 Carrall St., 604-568-1701) and the first person you’ll likely meet is Shaun Layton, who runs everything bar-wise here. Shaun is one of the best. We know that, having watched him and tasted his efforts when judging at last year’s Giffard International Cocktail Challenge, in Angers, France.
(Just for the record, this year’s contest was dominated by Vancouver’s entries, when Keefer Bar’s Danielle Tatarin and Market’s Justin Tisdale grabbed first and second places respectively.)
L'Abattoir head bartender Shaun Layton: style and substance - Tim Pawsey photo
A nod to our recent Spanish trip, we opted for his ‘Fino sour’, a twist on the classic Whisky sour that artfully balances Fino (dry) sherry with Cognac and lemon. It was perfect.
With a bundle of exposed red brick contrasted by stainless steel bar stools and a smoked glass facade, the space—once home to the Irish Heather, now across the street—is a real treat,
The bar, with its refurbished original floor, offers more hints than glimpses of the kitchen behind a three quarter wall, while most of the tables are upstairs in the mezzanine, and some in an atrium, in the rear. Paul Grunberg (ex. Bao Bei, Market, and Chambar) runs the show (which is already pretty polished), while chef Lee Cooper (also ex. Market and several notable gigs) heads up the capable kitchen team.
L'Abattoir's rear atrium: a quiet escape overlooking Gaolers' Mews, Tim Pawsey photo
The name L’Abattoir, intended to refer to part of the neighbourhood’s slaughterhouse history—hence ‘Blood Alley’—also seems to nicely complement Sean Heather’s Judas Goat just down the way.
With Boneta’s just announced move right into the next door, just rebuilt Gaolers Mews adjacent complex known as The Garage, expect this little cluster of good eating and drinking to very quickly become Gastown’s dining vortex—and a pretty serious gauntlet to Yaletown.
Read our Vancouver Courier review of L’Abattoir here
L'Abattoir crab custard brioche, Tim Pawsey photo
by Tim Pawsey on August 19, 2010
If you can’t teach an old dog new tricks … maybe you should just go with what works
The late Jean Claude Ramond: one of a kind - Tim Pawsey photo
Just how much does a restaurant always identify with its founder? Every time we wind up at Vancouver’s Smoking Dog Bistro we can’t help but think of its founder Jean Claude Ramond, the feisty, pint-sized but tough as nails wrestler turned restaurateur.
Jean Claude passed away far too early, in 2005. Here’s what we said at in the Vancouver Courier at the time (we’d link to it but the archive has vanished):
A far bigger a man than his small but rugged frame suggested was Jean Claude Ramond, who passed away at month’s end, barely a few days after he had eulogised his old friend Joel (Thibault).
Ramond recalled the time when a customer complained his steak was too tough—and Joel came out with a chainsaw and sliced right through the steak, plate, table and all! If there was ever a survivor in a tough business, Jean Claude exemplified it. No doubt some of that resilience came from his former endeavours as a wrestler but he was quite the comeback kid, from Le Beaujolais, La Crépérie, and L’Orangerie to Jean Claude’s and, of course, the Smoking Dog—all testament to his feisty perseverance.
Even though ‘The Dog’ was named ostensibly in deference to Le Chien Qui Fume (the celebrated Parisien bistro), its arrival just happened to coincide with the vigorous debate before the city’s smoking ban—which, once enacted, curiously, took longer to reach the Smoking Dog than any place else in town. Ramond was the consummate, occasionally unpredictable ‘patron’, who not only loved to host but had be part of the scene. His favourite trick (abandoned only recently) was to spin the bottle in the air just inches from your nose before pulling the cork.
Even if characters like these are hard to forget, we shouldn’t—and won’t—dwell any more on the past.
Smoking Dog opening chef Pascal Georges (l) is welcomed back by co-owner Jean Séguin - Tim Pawsey photo
A few weeks before Jean Claude died, he sold the bistro to Jean Séguin and Jude Andrews, who’ve tweaked things at various times over the last few years, endeavouring to do that tricky thing of keeping the old clientele happy while also moving with the times, and also keeping things pretty affordable.
However, arguably the best change they’ve made took place earlier this summer, when the pair re-hired Jean Claude’s opening chef Pascal Georges (who was also in the kitchen when they acquired the restaurant).
Pascal has been busy revamping the menu—often with a new twist but also by reinstating some old favourites… Read about it here in the Vancouver Courier—or, even in the Regina Leader Post! Hmmm. Maybe JC had a Regina connection we don’t know about…