Saint John's inaugural restaurant week kicks off this weekend.

A1

Craig Pinhey

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

1 Comment(s)

The Uptown Saint John restaurant scene will be more alive than ever from Sunday November 1st to 7th for the Chop Chop Feastival, a full week of restaurant events, fit for even the fussiest foodie.

Enlarge Photo

Chop Chop arose out of meetings of several key players in the Uptown, including representatives from Opera Bistro, the Grannan's Group of Restaurants, Billy's Seafood, happinez wine bar, and the Saint John Ale House.

"It started with a handful of restaurants," explains Margret Begner of Opera Bistro. "There was myself, Brendon Kane from Billy's, Peter Smit of happinez, Chef Jesse Vergen and Pete Stoddart from the Ale House, and Chris Grannan."

The resulting plan was to create a weeklong restaurant event and invite all the Uptown food purveyors, except for chain restaurants, to participate. The concept was to celebrate local businesses, local food, and show how far the city has come.

"We got Uptown Saint John on board with funding too," adds Begner, "so Peter Asimakos joined in, as well as Tracy Magee, their Project Coordinator."

Chop Chop definitely meshes with their goal of making Uptown SJ a more vibrant community.

Magee has done a great job as the point person, according to Begner. "She keeps on top of the restaurant people."

If you have traveled to large cities renowned for food, you'll remember that it's often easy to choose from 10 or 12 or even 20 or 30 different places all within a block or two. My most recent visits to Madrid and Barcelona were great examples of this. And they all were relatively busy - busy enough to make a living.

People with experience in the restaurant business always tell me that a certain amount of competition is good for everyone. If there are a bunch of really good eateries close by, each doing its own thing well, this creates a dining scene. It brings people to the area on a regular basis, and not just Thursday to Saturday.

"I believe that these type of festivals reflect our city's shift in dining habits," says Chef Vergen. "Whereas at one time many people in Saint John just fed themselves, now you're seeing more people using dining as a form of entertainment. Be it eating wings and drinking beer or having a wine paired dinner, it's an experience.

"Chop Chop is going to be a showcase of these experiences," he adds, "and it's going to give people a chance to try something special without breaking the bank."

Vergen also feels that Chop Chop will have an effect on the restaurants themselves.

"This is going to force Chefs and local restaurants to do something outside the box, to leave their comfort zone...which is a good thing, as it might lead to a new dish on the menu, a new format of service, or maybe finding a new product that they would not normally use."

Even the service staff will benefit, Vergen insists, "It's always great to throw them something new and exciting, as in this business there is a lot of repetition. Chhop Chop gives restaurants and staff that creative spark to play with."

10 years ago, there was not much of a restaurant scene in Saint John. At the risk of insulting some of the places that are still around from then, there was no scene, just a few decent places doing their own thing. Times have changed in the Uptown; there are now various choices to eat, with many different ethnicities represented. There are still a few holes to fill, such as high quality Italian and French cuisine, but I'm confident these will come with time.

Chop Chop got great buy-in from Uptown restos. Here are the festival participants, in alphabetical order: Alley-Gria, Beatty & The Beastro, Big Tide Brewing Company, Billy's Seafood Company, Boilerworks, Church Street Steakhouse, Grannan's Seafood Restaurant, Happinez Wine Bar, Lemon Grass and Pepper's Pub, Mexicali Rosa's, Opera Bistro, Saint John Ale House, Sebastian, Sense of Tokyo, Shucker's Restaurant & Bar, Steamers Lobster Company, Taco Pica, Thandi, The Brigantine, The Wild Carrot Café, Urban Deli, and Vito's Dining Room & Lounge. Contact info for all participants is easily found at http://chopchopfestival.tumblr.com.

Reservations are recommended. THIS FESTIVAL IS HOT!

Sponsors include Clancy's Amber Ale, 97.9 The Wave, and Punch Productions, who did the funky marketing with the chef posing against a bright orange background. The participating restaurants shared some of the marketing costs, too. "We've also had support from Tourism Saint John," adds Begner.

While this isn't a charity event, it is for a good cause. "By sharing in the promotion costs, all the restaurants benefit. It's a great way to promote the whole scene."

Begner has been a key cog in the Uptown restaurant scene, being one of the drivers behind the regular restaurant hops. But this "feastival" is very different, in that it lasts a whole week.

"The way the week works is that restaurants have the choice of offering one or two or all three Chop Chop special price options," she explains. "There is a $10 Chop Chop special available anytime, a two-course $12 lunch, and a $30 dinner of three courses."

The Chop Chop special is a perfect place for restaurants to offer a selection of small bites, available all day, appetizers for people to share at a very fair cost. "All the restaurants have the flexibility to present whatever they want," she adds, "as long as it fits one of the price categories."

The Ale House is offering all three Chop Chop options.

"Our 2 course lunch starts with a modern take on the Bacon Cheeseburger," explains Executive Chef Jesse Vergen, "with local raw milk cheese, house made pancetta, and green tomato jam. You also get a root beer float for dessert!"

That should remind you of your childhood! (it did for me)

His $30 dinner consists of a fennel salad followed by lamb and gnocchi, with white chocolate bread pudding to finish. Their Chop Chop plate is a terrine of heritage pork with mustard, pickled vegetables, and toasted sourdough. Yum!

At Opera Bistro, they will be offering all three choices every day, but will also be changing them every day. Watch their site at operabistro.com, follow them on Twitter, or drop in to check their board. Whatever Chef Axel has planned is sure to be excellent.

Happinez wine bar is doing things a little differently. Since they are not a restaurant, they are doing a special wine and food-pairing event with me on Tuesday November 3rd. Chop Chop Meets Sip Sip will feature a selection of special wines paired with delicious bites prepared by local caterer Marianne Jordan (www.framboisemj.com). I'll help guide tasters through a lovely feast for the senses.

This is just a sampling of some of the delights in store for you during Chop Chop. Be sure to contact participating restaurants to see what's cooking all week. Oh, and don't be surprised if you notice a common dress code.

"At least 10 restaurants have already ordered T-Shirts for their staff with the Chop Chop logo," offers Begner. It's great to see this level of excitement from participants. Here's hoping this is infectious, and that Chop Chop achieves its goal of increasing awareness of the excellent dining scene that has developed here. Let's also hope for this to be an annual event.

"I believe that this is a milestone for Saint John," enthuses Chef Vergen, "It shows that the restaurant scene is united, talking to each other and on the same page. The people who will benefit are our customers."

Visit as many Uptown restaurants as you can next week. There is only so much time, though, so ... Chop Chop!