Hmm, this is interesting.
Here we are at Two Chefs and a Table, sitting in the front window, watching a dishevelled couple on the opposite corner wobble, bicker and tear through a bag of clothes.
"Now they're getting into a car," my friend observes. "How can they afford a car?"
I don't think it's their car. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe we are witnessing a drug deal going down right before our very eyes while we tuck into our entrées. And see that man watering the pavement on the other side of the road? I don't think he's a gardener.
This new restaurant in Railtown may not appeal to those with a weak appetite for the grim realities of the Downtown Eastside. But I'm sure it's a welcome respite for the local loft owners, artists, architects and multimedia cubicle dwellers that are gentrifying the neighbourhood about as fast as you can score a hit of crack cocaine.
The two chefs who run this delightful bistro are Karl Gregg and Allan Bosomworth. Between them, they have a wealth of experience that includes long stints with the Spectra Hospitality Group Inc. (including Red Door Pan Asian Grill, Kingston Taphouse and Grille and Romano's Macaroni Grill).
The "table" is a cozy, 26-seat room on the corner of Gore Avenue and Alexander Street. Owned by Sean Heather, the decrepitly chic, single-storey abode was originally intended to house a new restaurant called Pepper until Mr. Heather shelved those plans to concentrate on expanding Salt Tasting Room.
It's now been gently renovated into a tall, airy space with wide, French paned windows, a polished wood floor and crystal pendant chandeliers hanging from wooden beams coated in shrivelled layers of peeling paint.
We love the chalkboard framed in gilt, the narrow cubbyhole of a washroom that soars at least 15 feet high and the haunting mural of old grape vines drawn right onto the wall.
But the centrepiece of the room is a large, brightly tiled open kitchen from which the two chefs serve lunch, dinner (Thursday, Friday and Saturday only), and also operate a catering company.
Mmm. The golden shoestring potatoes at a nearby table look nice and crunchy.
"Would you like to try some?" asks a guest from said table, who is suddenly standing next to ours, holding out his plate of steak frites and urging us to dig in.
Well, thank you kindly. Two Chefs and a Table is obviously a friendly place. And those crispy fries, served with tangy tarragon mayonnaise, taste as good as they look.
The principal plates ($18) all sound enticing. In addition to the steak frites, there is a "Sunday dinner" (a roasted half chicken from Polderside Farms with sweet peas and carrots) and a fillet of fresh sockeye salmon seared in miso with bok choy and shiitake mushrooms.
As for wine, the proprietors obviously have a soft spot for red, which heavily outweigh a scant selection of white on the wine list.
We eventually decide on the chef's special, a daily five-course menu for $36.
The feast begins with a small salad of local micro greens, its earthy spikes of asparagus shards and Edam cheese sweetly balanced with juicy field strawberries and a slippery coating of honey-lime vinaigrette.
Second course is pasta. The braised lamb sauce with roasted tomatoes and zucchini is surprisingly - refreshingly - light. And the angel-hair noodles, so fragile and easy to overcook, have a nice chew.
"True cod" are bite-sized morsels of Pacific ling cod, deep-fried in a crackly hefeweizen beer batter, with a zesty side of salted lemon rind for dipping. The fish goes very well with the fries, our friends at the next table agree, when we offer some for sharing.
Mains are a choice of AAA beef, crusted in paprika, or a pan-seared piece of Alaskan halibut served on a bed of curried Singapore egg noodles brightened with a tiny salad of fresh herbs, tomato and onion.
Dessert is caramelized peaches nestled under a cloud of whipped cream, which could really use a spoon for slurping.
The only letdown is a cheese plate that comes with a boring selection of brie, more Edam and applewood-smoked cheddar, all served cold and rubbery even though we placed the order nearly two hours
before.
The food at Two Chefs and a Table isn't terribly fancy, but it's comforting. The portions are hefty. The prices are reasonable. Service is swift. And the room is charming.
I wouldn't call it a destination restaurant. But it bodes well for the neighbourhood. And as far ambience goes, it sure beats the Ovaltine.
Two Chefs and a Table: 305 Alexander St.; 778-233-1303
Alexandra Gill