Faster, higher, stronger. While there are countless casual fine dining chains that strive towards such lofty goals, few have the perseverance, determination and sea salt-encrusted yam fries to achieve them. Which is why it comes as no surprise to the armchair athletes at K&K that Vancouver's snuffed-out Olympic cauldron was relit after months, if not years of dormancy, to mark the opening of a new Cactus Club restaurant Thursday night.
Sure, a few nay-sayers have questioned whether the launch of a new Cactus Club location on top of the Vancouver Convention Centre, overlooking Jack Poole Plaza where the cauldron is located, is deserving of such a symbolic gesture, especially since a plaque on the cauldron states it will only be relit "to celebrate major achievements and events." But clearly they don't understand the hours of training and sacrifice that go into a Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl or Westcoast Pocket Trio of wild Ocean Wise smoked salmon, avocado, seasoned rice, pea shoots, tofu and tobikko. Oh, tobikko - how many times have we yelled your exquisite syllables to the unforgiving skies?
Like an older, less athletic, spiky haired, white-chef-coat-wearing Michael Phelps, Cactus Club "food concept architect" Rob Feenie is a champion in the kitchen - doing things with Arctic char and a thimble of truffle oil few before him have ever dreamed of. His Double Braised Pineapple Hoison Short Ribs make gymnast Nadia Comaneci's achievements in the 1976 Summer Olympics look like a McDonald's Happy Meal and Carl Lewis's 10 Olympic medals the equivalent of a day-old Quiznos chipotle sub. In fact, when we watched Sidney Crosby's gold medal-winning overtime goal in 2010, we remember thinking to ourselves, that's great and all, but we'd like to see what he can do with some arugula, goat cheese and pecans glazed in a balsamic reduction on a Friday night when the Canucks are playing and the kitchen is totally slammed.
As with the Olympics, there are winners and losers in the restaurant world. Those who soar like a majestic bird and those who get de-boned and turned into delicious chicken tenders with honey mustard dipping sauce. But Cactus Club has somehow managed to occupy both of these podiums in life. Plus, in true Olympics fashion, Cactus Club paid the Vancouver Convention Centre, which is run by the B.C. Pavilion Corporation, more than $5,000 to relight the Olympic flame "for up to four hours, calculated from the time the cauldron is lit until it is extinguished" plus a five per cent administrative fee covering "all cauldron-related expenses." And when it comes right down to it, isn't that what the spirit of the Olympics is really about.
