Sit Anywhere You Like

Community Terroir

Unimaginable as it may seem now, solid neighbourhood restaurants were once a rare commodity in Vancouver. Sure, there were dearly-missed spots like Monsoon and Refuel and Aurora Bistro—but nothing in terms of sheer numbers relative to nearby cities like Seattle and Portland, where neighbourhood restaurants like The Walrus and The Carpenter proliferated on every block.

These are spots with little pretense, yet are rich in character; places that you could roll into on a Wednesday evening wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of Converse and wave to the line cooks as you post up at the bar. Where the fixings for your favourite drink are always available, where you invariably bump into friends who live five minutes away. And, most importantly, where you can get top-notch food that’s soulful and beautiful without being too precious. Thankfully, time has brought with it welcome change, and chefs like Andrea Carlson, J-C Poirier, Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson, and Tess Bevernage have redefined what it means to enjoy a good meal at your local.

“When I opened Burdock & Co in 2013, we were 100 per cent going for a neighbourhood place—because I’d spent my entire career in the formal fine dining realm,” says chef-restaurateur Andrea Carlson. “Back then, farmer’s markets weren’t what they are now. My entire impetus was to make impeccable produce from smaller-scale farms like Glorious Organics more accessible by establishing a direct connection to growers that farmed such incredible stuff.”

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