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Fish for lunch

I want to live in a city wehre the most expensive power lunch is $16. ($CDN 16 !).

#3. VANCOUVER CLUB
AMBIENCE: Stiff upper lip, exclusive private members club
CLIENTELE: Crusty old money, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, politicians
PRICIEST ENTREE: Ahi tuna pepper steak -- $16

LOCAL NEWS
The power lunch, a la West Coast

Where Vancouver's business elite meet to eat, the only brown bags in sight carry a designer's initials and the tab might hit $100 a head. Today, a look into a world of lunchtime noshing most working stiffs seldom see

Wyng Chow
Vancouver Sun

2003 May 30 (Friday)
CREDIT: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Club is a favourite establishment for power lunches.

CREDIT: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun

Server Michelle Christiaens is No. 1 at Il Giardino. The two most popular menu items -- among regulars -- are Chilean sea bass, served Mediterranean style, priced at $23.95, and grilled lamb chops, at $24.95.

Peter Wall

(Mat Wilcox)

(Kyle Washington)

(Joe Segal)

(Michael Douglas)

(A woman's hand holding a fork)

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When realtor Malcolm Hasman wanted to close Hollywood couple Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell on their purchase of a Shaughnessy home, he cemented the $3-million deal over an expense-account power lunch at Il Giardino.

The flagship restaurant in Umberto Menghi's chain of five fine-dining establishments ranks as the top spot where Vancouver's corporate elite choose to take VIP clients and contacts for business networking.

"Il Giardino is definitely my favourite place to take important clients," said Hasman, who sold Hawn and Russell a five-bedroom, 6,900-square-foot Tudor-style mansion.

"I love to have great food for lunch and I know all the servers there."

Prominent Vancouver entrepreneurs surveyed by The Vancouver Sun indicate that Il Giardino is also the over-all No. 1 pick as a power lunch venue among judges, lawyers, Howe Street high-rollers, deal-makers, developers, celebrities and entertainment industry people.

Chartwell clocks in at a close second with the influential downtown crowd, followed by the Vancouver Club, Imperial Chinese Restaurant, and Cioppino's, the personal rave of flamboyant developer Peter Wall.

"Cioppino's offers the best food, service, ambience and wine selection," said Wall, chairman and CEO of Wall Financial Corp.

"They know how to treat people. That's important when you're entertaining clients."

Rounding out the top 10 are Bacchus, Diva at the Met, Hy's Encore, Cardero's and Joe Fortes.

At any of the downtown core's top power lunch locations, an appetizer, entree, glass of imported wine, dessert and coffee would easily cost $100 or more per person.

The priciest lunch entree served among the top 10 restaurants is a seven-ounce filet mignon steak at Chartwell, offered at $29. The most expensive wine can be found on Cioppino's wine list: Chateau Le Pin 1998, at $5,888 a bottle.

Among regulars at Il Giardino, the two most-popular menu items are Chilean sea bass, served Mediterranean style, priced at $23.95, and grilled lamb chops, at $24.95, while Villa Delia di Umberto Bambolo, at $95, is the most-ordered bottle of wine.

Michelle Christiaens is their favourite server.

Frequent Il Giardino clientele include the likes of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Wally Oppal, entertainment moguls Sam Feldman and Frank Giustra, Canaccord Capital chairman Peter Brown, entrepreneur Jacqui Cohen, realtor Grace Kwok, and developers Rob Macdonald, John MacKay, Francesco Aquilini, Nat Bosa, David Podmore and Bruce Langereis.

At Chartwell, in the five-diamond Four Seasons Hotel, tycoon Joe Segal maintains a year-round weekday lunch reservation, entertaining clients and business associates at the same corner table -- where six people can be squeezed in -- for the past 18 years.

"That's my second office," said Segal, president of Kingswood Capital Corp. "People may think I'm just having lunch, but I'm doing business over lunch."

Over the years, Segal, whose various enterprises comprise property development, retailing, manufacturing, venture capital and broadcasting, has hammered out hundreds of deals while dining on entrees ranging from Caesar salad with crab meat to scrambled eggs and turkey sausages, and sipping wine.

"The food is good, or I wouldn't go there," Segal said. "They'll cook to order anything people want."

Other Chartwell regulars include Arthur Griffiths, Carole Taylor, Art Phillips, HSBC Bank Canada executive vice-president Jeff Dowle, former Future Shop owner Hassan Khosrowshahi, developer Peter Eng, lawyer Lyall Knott, Ernst & Young partners Maria Pinelli and Fred Withers, and KPMG executive Bob Byford.

Meanwhile, the venerable Vancouver Club attracts the city's old guard, ranging from Premier Gordon Campbell to former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen, Concord Pacific Group CEO Terry Hui, and developer Ward McAllister.

About three-quarters of Vancouver's top chief executive officers are said to be members of the club founded in 1889. Initial entrance fees for residents range from $3,000 to $6,000, with annual dues payable of between $965 and $1,930, plus food costs.

"It's a couple of blocks from my office and a lot of people I'm associated with go there," Hui said.

Lawyer Nicole Garton is among the more than 2,000 members of the club, recently reinstating her membership in the facility, where guests can be signed in -- although conducting business is usually restricted to private rooms.

"Now that I've started my own company, it's important to be able to network with entrepreneurs, politicians and CEOs," said Garton, proprietress of Garton & Associates, a public relations consulting and marketing firm.

"The Vancouver Club is where the Who's Who in the political and business world do lunch. It's a really nice place to take clients to."

At Imperial, which specializes in serving Chinese dim sum lunches, the regulars include property magnates Bob Lee, Geoffrey Lau and Ian Gillespie, public relations consultant Mat Wilcox, architects James Cheng and Stanley Kwok, entrepreneurs Eva Kwok, Karen Tong and Nelson Skalbania, and commercial realtors Robert Levine and Michael Gill.

"The Imperial restaurant is the ultimate power lunch spot," said Wilcox, owner of the Wilcox Group. "You can do it in 45 minutes."

Said Lee, chairman of Prospero International Realty: "Most of my clients like dim sum, and it is a very convenient location."

Marine entrepreneur Kyle Washington, former Playboy model Penny Phang, and diamond broker Colin Ferguson are among other aficionados of Cioppino's, although Washington says he finds more time to have dinner rather than lunch with clients at the trendy Yaletown eatery.

"[Manager] Celestino Posteraro runs the floor like a general," said Washington, CEO of Washington Marine Group, in reviewing his typical dining experience.

"Bright lighting, stark white tablecloths and a bustling open kitchen give it a very New York 'power feel.'

"Then Pino (Posteraro, the owner-chef) hits you with the dish of his choice. I always let him choose, and in one bite, your knees go weak.

"This feeling will happen time and time again as you work your way through the courses -- and a final time when you get the bill!"

wchow@png.canwest.com

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TOP 10 POWERFUL SETTINGS

#1. IL GIARDINO

AMBIENCE: Mediterranean villa-like feel, without paying the airfare

MAIN CLIENTELE: Celebrities, movers & shakers, stockbrokers, developers, media personalities

PRICIEST ENTREE: Sauteed Dover sole (flown fresh from U.K.) -- $45

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE (BOTTLE): Chateau Trotanoy 1994 -- $1,250

#2. CHARTWELL

AMBIENCE: Five-star hotel setting, furnishings straight out of a Sotheby's catalogue

CLIENTELE: Harry Rosen crowd, property tycoons, deal-makers, Board of Trade types

PRICIEST ENTREE: Filet mignon (7 oz.) -- $29

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Latour 1964 -- $2,200

#3. VANCOUVER CLUB

AMBIENCE: Stiff upper lip, exclusive private members club

CLIENTELE: Crusty old money, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, politicians

PRICIEST ENTREE: Ahi tuna pepper steak -- $16

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Pichon Longueville 1986 -- $275

#4. IMPERIAL CHINESE RESTAURANT

AMBIENCE: Waterfront setting, super-high ceilings in heritage Marine Building

CLIENTELE: Asian tycoons, PR executives, developers, realtors, bankers

PRICIEST ENTREE: Braised abalone -- $80 (per person)

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Petrus 1997: $1,250

#5. CIOPPINO'S

AMBIENCE: Rustic Italian look in trendy Yaletown

CLIENTELE: 'New economy' entrepreneurs, diamond brokers, developers, high-tech types, tourists

PRICIEST ENTREE: Seared Ahi tuna -- $26.95

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Le Pin 1998 -- $5,888

#6. BACCHUS

AMBIENCE: Intimate setting in the most successful boutique hotel in town

CLIENTELE: Judges, lawyers, commercial realtors, jet-setters

PRICIEST ENTREE: Lime seared B.C. wild salmon -- $17

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1992 -- $980

#7. DIVA AT THE MET

AMBIENCE: Definitively West Coast, open kitchen

CLIENTELE: Financiers, stockbrokers, developers, business travellers

PRICIEST ENTREE: Rare seared Ahi tuna -- $28

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Le Pin 1995 -- $3,400

#8. HY'S ENCORE

AMBIENCE: A Vancouver tradition, enclosed fireplace, signature steakhouse, lights kept low

CLIENTELE: Well-heeled old guard, entrepreneurs, hospitality industry officials, developers

PRICIEST ENTREE: Filet mignon (7 oz.) -- $23.95

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1997 -- $700

#9. CARDERO'S

AMBIENCE: Marina setting, with patio offering spectacular waterfront views

CLIENTELE: Downtown business crowd, seawall walkers, tourists

PRICIEST ENTREE: Ahi tuna -- $21.95

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Insignia 1998 -- $312

#10. JOE FORTES

AMBIENCE: People-watching extraordinaire on the city's best roof garden

CLIENTELE: Stockbrokers, developers, media personalities, Robson Street habitues

PRICIEST ENTREE: Hawaiian Mahi Mahi -- $22.25

MOST EXPENSIVE WINE: Chateau Cheval Blanc 1988 -- $1,400

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WHERE THE ELITE GO TO EAT

PETER WALL CEO, Wall Financial Corp.

TOP SPOT: Cioppino's

BECAUSE: "They have the best food, ambience and wine selection. They know how to treat people. That's important in business."

MAT WILCOX Owner, The Wilcox Group

TOP SPOT: Imperial

BECAUSE: "It's the ultimate power lunch --- you can do it in 45 minutes!"

TERRY HUI CEO, Concord Pacific Group

TOP SPOT: Vancouver Club

BECAUSE: "It's a block from my office, and a lot of people I'm associated with go there."

KYLE WASHINGTON CEO, Washington Marine Group

TOP SPOT: Steamrollers, on Davie

BECAUSE: "It's healthy, quick and tasty."

JOE SEGAL President, Kingswood Capital Corp.

TOP SPOT: Chartwell

BECAUSE: "I do a lot of business over lunch. It's located next door to my office."

ROBERT LEE Chairman, Prospero International Realty

TOP SPOT: Imperial

BECAUSE: "Most of my clients like dim sum, and it is in a very convenient location."
© Copyright 2003 Vancouver Sun

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