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THE 1986 CLASSIC #1: PIÑA COLADA
THE 1986 CLASSIC #2: HARVEY WALLBANGER 2.0
The first of the Our City Tonight “Cocktail Experts” is Micah Dew, Suntory Global Spirits Specialist, and bartender extraordinaire with over 28 years’ experience in the hospitality industry. His choice for “The Classic” is one that is often associated with a tropical vacation: the Piña Colada. We meet at the iconic Las Margaritas on 4th Ave, a restaurant that has been serving Mexican dishes inspired by Southern California and the Baja since 1994. They also know a thing or two about the Piña Colada, as does Micah. “Las Margaritas has a great vibe and a great culinary scene,” Micah says, “and is also known, of course, for the Margarita, the most famous cocktail around the world. But there’s another cocktail on the list that is actually still really popular from the 1970s and ’80s: the Piña Colada.” The ingredients include 2 oz of rum (in our case, the superb Brugal Añejo rum), 1.5 oz of some cream of coconut, and 2 oz of pineapple juice (some people add 0.25 oz of lime juice, as well). “You’re going to mix those all together,” Micah says as we sample the first sips, “either shaking them up or blending it up—which is probably one of the most popular ways to enjoy a Piña Colada.” After a few more delicious sips, the discussion turns to that 1979 No. 1 hit song, “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” which only helped increase the popularity of this timeless cocktail. lasmargaritas.com
Another of the Our City Tonight “Cocktail Experts” is Richard Goodine, who has over 35 years of experience running restaurants and got his start in this city managing The Cannery in the late ‘80s. His choice for “The Classic” is the Harvey Wallbanger—which many customers would’ve been ordering around this city in 1986. Richard decides to give this classic a bit of a modern take. At its core, the base is vodka and orange juice with Galliano. “Many would argue that this cocktail started as a Screwdriver and out of a desire for more flavour a bartender added Galliano and voilà, the Harvey Wallbanger was born,” Richard tells us. “So, we can’t lose the integrity of that because we still want to keep the look and feel of this classic.” His fresh spin starts by adding Absolut Tabasco, which will give it a little spicy hit that makes it interesting. To offset that and round it out, giving it a richer mouth feel, Richard adds mango purée. “To keep the integrity of this classic cocktail, but modernize it a bit, we went with the addition of Licor 43,” he says, “which is very similar to Galliano with its honey, vanilla notes—differentiated by being more citrusy and botanical-driven vs. woodsy and herbal-driven like the Galliano.” Then shake hard and serve over crushed ice with a sprig of mint. “The result is a rich, semi-sweet, but spicy cocktail with a complex mouth feel,” Richard says as we enjoy this delicious take on the Harvey Wallbanger.
OUR CITY TONIGHT
THE SPOT: SUMU TOKYO STREET FUSION
There is a new restaurant on Burrard Street near Robson that opened in late August. SUMU’s concept begins with yakitori, a familiar sight in Tokyo’s street-food and casual dining scene, and binchotan, the clean-burning Japanese charcoal at the heart of the restaurant’s yakitori program. “Yakitori is an art,” says SUMU Food & Beverage Director Don Hua. “The charcoal burns at such a high temperature that the fat and juices drip onto it and comes back up as smoke, creating the flavour.” That attention to detail begins before a skewer ever reaches the grill. Take SUMU’s shio chicken, for example; the skin is carefully separated from the thigh before the chicken is portioned, the skin replaced and each piece skewered for cooking over
the binchotan charcoal. Under the philosophy “One Table, Different Cravings,” SUMU brings together yakitori, sushi, donburi and nabe, allowing everyone at the table to choose a different experience while still sharing the meal. For its nabe, or Japanese hot pots, SUMU slow-simmers its broths for 18 hours to naturally develop greater depth and flavour. Guests can select from a display of fresh ingredients upon entering the restaurant, which are then weighed and prepared for their individual nabe. With 131 seats, Hua says SUMU is bringing binchotan cooking to Vancouver on an ambitious scale—while maintaining the care and technique traditionally associated with yakitori. sumucanada.com
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THE VIEW: BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL
It was a sequel that seemingly couldn’t fail—and yet its failure has become the stuff of Hollywood legend. Following the phenomenal 1973 success of The Exorcist, 1977’s Exorcist II: The Heretic brought back Linda Blair, and though Ellen Burstyn declined, the film would add screen legend Richard Burton and recent Oscar winner Louise Fletcher. The directing duties went to John Boorman, who had a history of very good films like Deliverance and one of our 1960s favs, Point Blank. What could go wrong? Plenty. If we were studio executives back then, we would’ve green-lit this film without hesitation! Which leads us to a fascinating new documentary, Boorman and the Devil, from filmmaker David Kittredge. It examines the troubled production (including more than a month of shutdown when Boorman suffered a serious illness), a disastrous reception and lasting legacy as one of Hollywood’s most notorious sequels. Featuring Boorman, Blair and Fletcher, along with horror filmmakers including Joe Dante, Karyn Kusama and Mike Flanagan, the documentary also asks a
provocative question: was The Heretic simply a terrible movie—or a film that really wasn’t a sequel and didn’t deliver what the fans expected? Boorman and the Devil is now available for home viewing. THE READ: CABIN COCKTAILS BY EMILY VIKRE
Emily Vikre’s new book, Cabin Cocktails, takes the classic cocktail and gives it a wonderfully unexpected cabin-country twist. With 70 seasonal recipes, Vikre shows that familiar favourites can be reinvented with imagination and a little playful experimentation. Think a Salted Chestnut Old Fashioned, an Apricot Negroni, a Cranberry- Thyme Gin Cosmopolitan or a Gingersnap Old Fashioned. What makes the book especially appealing is Vikre’s ability to respect cocktail traditions while adding distinctive flavours that feel perfectly suited to fireside evenings, lakeside afternoons and après-ski gatherings. For summer, she brings that same creativity to refreshing cocktails featuring bright citrus, berries, herbs
and other seasonal flavours—perfect for sipping on the dock, enjoying a backyard gathering or relaxing on a warm evening. It’s a fresh, inviting take on classic libations that encourages readers to experiment and have fun. vikredistillery.com T
