Proof that sustainable is sexy? That green is the new black? That vegetarian dining can be modern and fresh, filling and fulfilling?
Okay, maybe that’s not such a big stretch. But what about a busy restaurant that creates just ONE pound of waste per month?
The proof is in The Parker. The tiny 550 square foot plywood-clad room on Union Street in Vancouver packs with under two dozen people, though the bright space has been as efficiently maximized for output as it has been for sustainability. Everything has its place, not the least of which is the strong team manning the program. Chef Curtis Luk is familiar from time on Top Chef Canada, and his tiny, tidy menu showcases picture-worthy seasonality through his creative hand. Co-owner and wine guy Steve Da Cruz is well-known from his time spent behind bars around town, though now you’ll now find him front of house, leaving the moving and shaking of fresh cocktails to bar manager Nich Box. Cruz’s partner, co-owner Martin Warren, also owns a sustainable construction company, so the restaurant has become a meeting of like minds and helped cement Vancouver’s vibrant upscale/casual vegetarian dining scene.
Every element of the experience adheres to The Parker’s conscious dining ethics, from the biodegradable hand soaps in the restroom to the recycled building materials to every one of the colorful and decorative consumables. Early spring dining saw cushy just-made gnudi with fiddleheads, green chick peas and gremolata, and an artistic, comforting roasted turnips plate with house made cheese, grilled bread, radishes and fragrant parsley puree. Wines include BC boutiques like Okanagan Falls’ heady Liquidity Viognier, as well as hand-selected specialties from further afield, like the glorious Tahbilk Marsanne. I stuck to cocktails; my Anona Royale struck the perfect chord for early spring joy with a deft balance of bubbles, cassis and black balsam.
I’ve dined at The Parker in the middle of Vancouver’s drippy winter and in the height of glorious spring, both times being impressed by the comfortable, relaxed atmosphere and outstanding attention to detail, color and flavor. And they always make it look so easy and effortless. That’s much more than sexy. THAT is sustainable.
The Parker || 237 Union St, Vancouver || theparkervancouver.com
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