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Picture-perfect avocado toast is served with curried apple preserves, and Liège waffles come sweet (with fresh berries and cream) and savoury (with beef bresaola and arugula). But it’s the tomato and cheddar melt that’s worth lingering over, with fresh tomatoes on crusty bread, swaddled under melted cheddar, then topped with arugula and a drizzle of blueberry balsamic. The inspiration for Cafe Orso’s menu came a few years ago, when the Newfoundlandborn Hayward and his wife were hiking in Northern Italy and stopped at an unassuming cafe for a meat and cheese plate. “We asked ourselves, why is this so good? It was just really good ingredients. It didn’t need anything else.” In his own pursuit of simplicity, Hayward doesn’t try to make everything from scratch. Instead, he sources the best ingredients he can, like bread from Nelson the Seagull, croissants from Chez Christophe, and preserves from Vista D’oro. The cafe slings caffeine all day but also has beer, cider, and wine on tap. Every other Sunday, meanwhile, there’s live jazz in the evenings. To Hayward, Cafe Orso is more than a coffee house: it’s a place for locals to commune and visitors to linger. “This has been a great way to meet a lot of people,” he says. “I love being part of this community.” If the cafe’s popularity is any indication, they’re happy to have him, too. — Eagranie Yuh Cafe Orso
4316 Gallant Ave., North Vancouver, 778-340-3222; cafeorso.ca
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C O M M ON D E NO M I NAT O R
Ai & Om 129 E. Pender St.
Knife Fight
Knifewear 845 E. Hastings St.
Like beautiful knives? Then you’re going to love these two new stores By MAX FAWCETT
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The Cutting Edge For those who are just starting their own knife collection (or who haven’t experienced the pleasures of working with knives made from Japanese steel), it’s probably best to start with a standard gyuto, or chef’s knife. “It’s your multi-purpose knife,” says Knifewear owner Kevin Kent, “the one you could do all of your jobs with.”
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HIGH “We can go crazy and get a knife that’s hand-made by Mr. Fujiwara, who’s one of the greatest blacksmiths in the world. A chef’s knife is about $800. But when you use it, you’ll say things like ‘Holy bananas!’ because it’s awesome.” 210 mm, $795
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LOW(ER) “We’ve got a line called Kasumi Uchi, which is a factory-made knife but looks like it’s been handhammered. It has dimples all over the blade, a Western handle so it doesn’t feel too forward or weird, and it’s going to perform like crazy.” 210 mm, $185
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, sharpen your edges. Vancouver’s knife trade has never been lacking for selection, but it’s about to get a whole lot more competitive with the arrival of two new players. Ai & Om will showcase the affection that owner Douglas Chang, a local chef who’s done stints at Bambudda and Sai Woo, has for Japanese knives. But his new shop is going to face competition from, fittingly enough, the east (the near east, anyway). After running a series of popular pop-up shops, Calgary’s Knifewear has finally set down roots in Vancouver, starting with a store on East Hastings next door to Les Amis du Fromage. What’s the appeal of Japanese knives? For Knifewear owner Kevin Kent, it’s all about performance. “If you like cooking, the knives just make it easier because they go where you tell them to.” They’re becoming more common in kitchens across the city, too, a function of the fact that Japanese knives have some very powerful (and unpaid) celebrity spokespeople: local chefs. Knifewear, for example, counts Quang Dang, the executive chef at West, as one of its more loyal local customers. “They’re the ones who are most excited and kind of rabid about the whole thing,” Kent says. “But as we’re in a market longer, they become about 20 percent of the customer base, and the other 80 percent is people who have a kitchen at home. Which, by the way, is most people.”