On The Coast's Urban Foodie has this fall's restaurant trends

The weather might be cooling down, but the restaurant scene is heating up, as evidenced by the spate of new and upcoming restaurants that are worth checking out.

That's what On The Coast food columnist Anya Levykh is seeing, at least. She says the fall makes sense as a time to open a new restaurant for two reasons.

"With back to school and work comes that back-to-reality thud that most people experience at the end of summer," she told host Stephen Quinn. "It helps to take the sting out of saying goodbye to summer by dining out and foregoing the dishes."

"Also, for restaurants, this is the season that is gearing up to the holidays, so opening in summer or fall is ideal in order to help maximize those holiday party profits."

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Levykh says this year's trends in new restaurant openings are small-plate restaurants, and contemporary Canadian cuisine with a focus that "speaks to place."

More casual

The other trend this year for openings is what Levykh calls "version 2.0 of an already established restaurant."

This involves taking an established restaurant's concept, then opening a more casual offshoot of it that captures the flavour of the restaurant in a more economical way.

"For instance, David Hawksworth of Hawksworth Restaurant is opening a second, more casual restaurant in the financial district this fall, catering to business lunchers, with a more casual, laid back atmosphere," she said.

Levykh doesn't foresee many upscale openings coming along this year, as Vancouverites do still favour their cheap and cheerful hangouts.

This week's recipe: Minami Shortribs

From minamirestaurant.com

Makes 1kg of short ribs.

Ingredients:

• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 kg short ribs
• 1 sprig of thyme

Short rib sauce ingredients (per slab of short rib):

• 60 ml marinated braising liquid
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions:

Cut all vegetables and combine all ingredients in a pot with enough cold water to cover the ingredients and bring to a boil. Skim the scum off the surface and cover it with tin foil and put it in the oven at 450-degrees Fahrenheit for 1.5 hours. Remove short rib and strain the liquid and keep aside. Combine 5 parts of braising liquid to 1 part soy sauce to marinate the short rib. Let it cool down.

Short rib sauce:

Bring the braising liquid to a boil and add the butter. Let it thicken to a glaze and season to taste. Pour the sauce over the short ribs and accompany it with your choice of vegetables.