Dear Mabel,
Just wanted to send you an update from Tales of the Cocktail Vancouver. http://www.talesofthecocktail.com/info/totc_vancouver_2011
Met some amazing people, including my fellow apprentices:
Adam Robinson, of Park Kitchen in Portland, OR
Colin Tait, of Calgary, Alberta
Cooper Tardivel, of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Derek Vanderheide, of Calabash Bistro in Vancouver, BC
Heather Yau, of the Waldorf Hotel in East Vancouver, BC
Jeffrey Van Horne, of Taboo Nightclub in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Jonathan Smolensky, of Brix and George Ultra Lounge in Vancouver, BC
Trevor Kallies, of the Donnelly Group.
Some of the hardest work I’ve ever done. And those Canucks know their way around a shot glass. Don’t remember much, but in glancing though my drunken photos I vaguely remember thinking that this bar just hit the nail on the head.
L’Abattoir http://www.labattoir.ca/ hits the right mix of swank and sass. There’s a sleekness and a touch of old-world pride, but it’s somehow thrust off-kilter in a way that feels young– check out the crooked shelving on the back bar and the tiles that lie somewhere between Art Deco and Humane Genome.
It wasn’t until I saw the photos that I realized… Shaun Layton’s Meat Hook cocktail had me sure those shelves were on straight. A dark, bittersweet, smoky concoction, it’s also got a certain touch of New-World pluck. Thanks for the memories, Vancouver.
Love,
Tommy
Tweed & Malt 
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