Part of me thinks I can’t come down too hard on the writer: the right-wing, culture of perpetual victimhood card is played so heavily as to give the piece the appearance of satire or the half-hearted fulfillment of some editorial decree. It’s hard to imagine someone resorting to such transparent pandering in good faith. But at the same time, given the source, it’s hard not to take it at face value. To the meat of the matter:
…in my view, all is not well in what some proudly refer to as "Canada's culinary capital." That's because, while high-end dining rooms proliferate for the sake of a privileged few, some old standbys that cater to the rest of us are shutting their doors.
The implication that hoity-toity eateries are killing off the favoured establishments of the little guy might hold water if the subsequent examples were not simply illustrations of the sink-or-swim ethos that is a fact of life in the restaurant business. That would be the “free market” that The Province faves like the Fraser Institute tout as the solution to all mankind’s problems in all its glory.
A city with a highly competitive dining scene like Vancouver’s will chew up and spit out more than its fair share of eateries-even good ones-over time. "Old standbys” are the exception, not the norm. There’s innumerable reasons restaurants go under (as the author of the Province piece concedes, albeit indirectly), but to take the inherent volatility of the industry and turn it into class war ammunition is, in the parlance of our medium, an EPIC FAIL.
The demise of Wally's won't be mourned by all, mind you. The vocal food police -- who tend to rail against anything that isn't organic, local or low-calorie -- must be doing cartwheels over the closure.
And the fact that owners of carbon-spewing hot rods, collector cars and mini-vans packed with noisy children have one fewer dining option should leave politically- correct types snickering with glee.
Um…okay. Speaking only for myself, I love a good burger. I’m sure that’s an opinion shared by many a (non-vegetarian) left-winger. And even if one’s tastes don’t run in that direction, most people would probably agree that Big Fast-food’s labour, environmental and health practices are the heart of the problem, and not hamburgers per se. This is ludicrous straw-man bashing barely worthy of any response.
Where indeed? It seems to me that there’s no shortage of low-end chow in this town. The usual suspects (White Spot, McDicks, Burger King) are inescapable, while indie outfits like the Tempelton or Splitz Grill abound. There’s also a host of equally good value Asian, Latin American and other “ethnic” joints to be found from Point Grey to Boundary Road. Indeed, the sheer number of culinary options from high-end to low-brow is one of the best things about Vancouver.
With summer almost upon us, Vancouver is once again welcoming visitors from around the world, and not all of them will be hankering for foie gras or fugu. Many will be on the prowl for down-to-earth grub served in a friendly setting at a reasonable price. Let's hope they find what they're looking for. Otherwise, value-conscious and snobbery-averse tourists will be asking the same question that Wally's Burgers loyalists asked in the wake of its saddening closure: Where's the beef?
The argument that the success and proliferation of high-end, locally and organically focused restaurants is coming at the expense of more proletarian dining options defies logic and evidence. More than 100 restaurants opened in Vancouver in 2007. If you can’t find a good, cheap meal in this town, you’re probably not looking very hard.
