Working under celebrated Vancouver chef David Hawksworth at his downtown Vancouver restaurant, Nightingale, as its head chef, Phil Scarfone seems poised to be a serious contender in the upcoming season of Top Chef Canada.
Originally from Hamilton, Scarfone moved out west earlier in his career to work at the Fairmont Banff Springs before doing a stage at The Fat Duck in England and working in Spain, and eventually settling down on the coast. These days, the chef works closely with his boss and mentor in the Nightingale kitchen as well as on the Air Canada business class meal program that David Hawksworth has been in charge of for several years now.
While we're looking forward to seeing how Scarfone fares on the new season of Top Chef Canada, which premieres April 1 on Food Network Canada, for now we reached out to get the chef's thoughts on his favourite places to eat, drink and relax around his homebase of Vancouver.
Breakfast
My partner Hilary and I usually head to Nook in Kitsilano on Sunday for brunch. Their Italian spin on brunch is no-nonsense and genuinely delicious. We usually go for the egg salad on toast, and the Italian Breakfast is a generously sized charcuterie board that will cure all that ails you.
Lunch
La Grotta del Formaggio is my go-to for a quick lunch after a Monday hike with my dog Jasper. They make delicious (and enormous) sandwiches that you can pack up to go, or eat on the sidewalk of Commercial Drive. The rig is full focaccia with mortadella, capicollo, pesto mayo, provolone, and all of the veggies except red onions.
Dinner
St. Lawrence is definitely our special occasion restaurant. We go sit at the open kitchen bar and let the boys in the back cook for us, which is my recommended way of ordering here. The food is straight up Quebecois comfort food and it is aggressively delicious.
Drinks
The Cascade Room is right down the street from my house, and makes delicious cocktails until the wee hours of the morning. Their food program is great as well!
