Three things I’ll miss about Fuel Restaurant
4 Comments
Karen Hamilton
November 16, 2009
You may have already heard that Kitsilano jewel Fuel Restaurant will be closing its doors at the end of the month. Many in the Greater Vancouver food community are lamenting its passing even though the people behind Fuel are not truly going away. They’re reopening a few days later as a more casual, Pacific Northwest concept that will hopefully be affordable enough for it to become a regular dining haunt of mine.
I was lunching at Fuel for one last time last week when it suddenly dawned on me that I had never written about what has been my top Kits restaurant pick for the past year. I wish this was less of a eulogy, but better late than never to go over the top three things I love about Fuel.
And who knows…maybe Fuel will listen to this little piece of mine and consider keeping these items around for the next incarnation.
1) Sitting by the open kitchen
There are only two circumstances where I would prefer to sit at the bar for a meal: a) when I’m dining solo and b) when I get to watch my meal being prepared.
The latter is why I prefer to take a barstool seat in front of Fuel’s open kitchen. Like my experience at Atlanta’s Two Urban Licks, eating by the kitchen allows me to watch the staff work their magic and whet my appetite with the sizzle of the grill and the aromas that waft my way as each plate comes together.
It also gives opportunity to converse with the people closest to the food and ask them questions: what’s in season? Where did you source your ingredients? How’d you make that amazing sauce?
2) Business lunch set menus
When I have a client or business partner that I want to impress, I usually take them to Fuel.
They offer $25 and $35 “business lunch” set menus, guaranteed from start to finish to take 45 minutes or less. Fuel won’t rush you if you wanted to dally, but it helps to know that they will accommodate 1-hour schedules and won’t mind when you whip out a laptop while you eat.
I’ve been able to get Wifi access and outlet power during all the business lunches I’ve had, so if you might need these services, ask – it may be something that they routinely offer.
3) Fried Chicken Fridays
The fried chicken special offered for lunch on Fridays is the main reason that I’ve been able to return so often to Fuel without draining my disposable income for the month. The $20 combo includes a beer plus 3 pieces of buttermilk battered chicken, seasonal greens, a butter-laden biscuit, and housemade gravy that I cannot get enough of.
They’ve improved the recipe since my first Fried Chicken Friday visit, now dunking said chicken twice into the buttermilk batter for extra crisp. Should this plate pass over to the new restaurant’s menu in December – and better yet, should this become a regular item not just to be enjoyed on Fridays – I suspect that I’ll become a familiar face at lunchtime in the Kitsilano area.
Fuel Restaurant
1944 W 4th Ave | Kitsilano
(604) 288-7905
Categories: Food, Kitsilano, Restaurants
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Articles by Karen Hamilton
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Fuel was a wonderful restaurant no doubt about it.
However, it was overpriced and we went there twice and the service was not what it should have been for a place that was rightly considered to be one of the top Vancouver restaurants.
As we all know consistency is the key to running a successful restaurants and Fuel fell down in that regard.
I’ll miss the Fried Chicken Fridays as well! I have yet to try the business lunch so hopefully I’ll be able sneak one in before they close.
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