THE SUNDOWNER

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for most of us to fully ap-
preciate the natural setting of the North Shore from
the blinkered vantage points of our humble abodes

Dining wi

and work-a-day circumstances.

Afterall, there are only so
many penthouse suites to go
around and only so many
lives blessed with the in-
dependent wealth needed to
make carefree assessment of
the beauty that surrounds us.
And, believe me, neither of
the above are within the
remotest realm of possibility
for restaurant reviewers. Like
the rest of the horde, 1 run
the’ rat race with eyes on the
toad, nose to the grindstone,
and mind on the next dollar.

We must, all, therefore,
thank God for locations such
as the Sundowner restaurant,
which sits on the shores. of
Howe Sound between
Horseshoe Bay and Lions
Bay. .

For -its tranquil view of
British Columbia coastline
alone, the Sundowner should
be required attendance for all
North Enders, and anyone
who has not had the pleasure
of sitting and really observing
the beauty of coastal B.C.

In either direction from
any of the 70 Sundowner
seats; stretches a. three-
dimensional Toni Onley print
that is guaranteed to inspire
silent wonderment in and ap-
preciation of B.C. from even
the most flint-hearted
urbanite,

The view is. unavoidably
the first.course at the Sun-

by. Timothy
__Rensha

downer, its magnificence
rendering all else secondary.
And though a restaurant
could survive by serving
Spam and baked beans in its
location, the Sundowner is
much more than a coasial
observation booth.

Decor is dockside nautical:

_wood pilings wrapped with

lengths of salty rigging, brass
fixtures, and, by gum, a ge-
nuine feeling in the air that

_of The Sundowner

th

old blind Pugh should be
tucked in a dark corner spit-
ting out ‘‘avast and shiver me
scuppers lads."*

Sundowner menu offers
the best from beneath the
waters that it so dramatically
serves visually. Of the seven
appetizers, ranging from
Oysters Rockerfeller ($5.25)
.to Steamed Baby Clams and
Musseis (35.95), five are
seafood-based. Chicken
Fingers ($4.95) and Escargot
a ia Bourguinonne ($5.75)
represent appetizer alter-
natives for those Sess
barnacly-bitten types.

Entres come in seafood:
nine selections, from Filet of
Sole Almandine ($8.95) to
The Sundowner, a $12.95
melange of prawns, scallops,
and oysters presented in a
wine and mushroom sauce,
to the seafood lovers bonan-
za, Howe Sound Mixed Grill,
an upwardly mobile version
with
salmon, crab, and half a
lobster tail added and grilled
($18.95); three selections of
seafood and steak combina-
tions: Steak and Prawns
($15.95) to Steak Combo, six
ounces of New York matched
with lobster tail or King Crab
legs, priced according to size
and season; or just plain
meat in three versions: B.B.
Q.’d Ribs ($13.95) to Filet of
Beef Bearnaise ($14.25).

The Sundowner also offers
a reasonable selection of
wines, 23 whites and 15 reds,
most under $15. Domestic

Arts Club turns to comedy

ALAN: ‘Ayckbourn’s ‘uproar-
ious comedy, Taking Steps,

opens tonight Friday, May |

3ist at.8:30 pm at:the Arts
‘Club Theatre on Granville
Istand, low price previews
May 29 and 30 at 8:30.

. Show-times are Monday
to Friday at 8:30, Saturdays
at 6:30 and 9:30 with special
price’ matinees on “Wednes-
days at 5:30 pm, until June
29, 5: ;
Hard . drinking -tycoon
Rojand Crabbe is about to
purchase The’ Pines, a
dilapitaded - Victorian man-
sion complete with ghost.
On hand to close the deal are
his’ bumbling solicitor,
Tristram Watson, and the

desperately. eager vendor,
Leslie . Bainbridge. . Mean-
while, Roland's wife

Elizabeth, a frustrated
dancer ‘fed -up with. their
Marriage, has’ packed her
bags ‘and left. She has called
in her brother Mark to cope
with -Roland’s inevitable
despair and Mark has
brought along his unstable
fiancee, Kitty.

Upstairs, downstairs and
through a maze of
misadventures and misun-
derstandings, these colourful
characters attempt to sort
themselves out. A tale of
love, confusion and
freedom, Taking. Steps is a
fast’ paced evening of
unrivalied hilarity from the
master of the British
domestic comedy.

A strong and talented cast
has been assembled in Tak-
ing Steps: Duncan Fraser as
Roland was last seen on the
Arts Club Theatre stage in
Passion and Beyond the Fr-
inge. Kim Horsman plays
Elizabeth and was most
recently in the Arts Club
Theatre’s Passion and the
national tour of Talking

and

Dirty. Corrine Koslo is Kit-
ty, and appeared on the Arts
Club stage in Old King Cole
in. Centaur Theatre’s
Successful Strategies. Colin
Mochrie is Mark and was
last seen in the Vancouver's
Playhouse's /’l! Be Back Be-
fore Midnight and the Van-
couver TheatreSports
League’s Suspect.
Webb is Tristram, last seen
in the Frederic Wood
Theatre’s The Imaginary In-
valid. Henry Woolf as Leslie
was most recently seen in
Beyond the Fringe and

Simon .

directed the Arts Club
Theatre's Pinter Places.
Alan Ayckbourn, one of
Britain’s most popular and
prolific playwrights, is the
author of such comedies as
Absurd Person Singular,
Bedroom Farce, Norman
Conquests and Sisterly Feel-
ings, among others.
Dedicated to playwright Ben
Travers, Taking Steps was
the twenty-third play of
Ayckbourn’s to be presented
at the, Stephen Joseph
Theatre in the Round where
he is Director of Production.

BLACK SHEEP

SPECIAL OF THE _
WEEK (JUNE 2-8)

' BEEF KABOB

$595

Valid Daily 3-8 P.M.

om os om ee ee a me oe ws on oe oe om oe oe ee my

Gourmet

Burgers

2 FOR
COUPON

GOOD ONLY
JUNE 2-6
3-8 P.M.

1 Buy any one of our delectible Gourme! Burgers and
pyour guest will receive another of equal or lesser
pvalue absolutely Free with this coupon!

Fup to
$5.50

Coupon Special!!

$5.50!

LJ
|

Black Sheep

121 East 12th St. (off Lonsdale)

North Vancouver

984-9595

a Vi

and import house wines. are ,
also available,

Basking in he brilliant sun-
shine reflected from Howe
Sound waters and between
snippets of ribald sea chan-
ties, my wife and J sampled
an order of delicately smoked
salmon ($5.25) that’ came
with sour cream and one of

the tiny Sundowner loaves of '

steaming hot homemade
brown bread. | .

Impressed, we sailed into
the main event aboard a bot-
tle of Bolla Soave ($13.25),
and ordered Prawns Saute
($14.95), and the renowned
Sundowner speciality, Steak
and Seafood Shishkebob
($15.95) from our doting and
frighteningly polite waiter.

Belicving any visual voyage
on the good ship Sundowner
should be launched on a full
stomach, the restaurant com-
plements each entre with
green salad, wok-fried
vegetables, homemade bread,
and baked potato. Meals are
consequently substantial;
even the most challenging of
seafaring or landjubbing ap-
petites will be given an expe-
dient walk down the culinary
plank.

Both Saute and
Shishkei:ot iived up to expec-
tations, the prawns sweet and

succulent beneath a saute of '

mushrooms, garlic, parsley,
and wine; the kebob, a
skewered totem pole of
salmon, scallops, prawns,
onions, green pepper, and
mushroom accompanied with
six ounces of New York
steak,

Enjoy a roast turkey or roast
beef dinner at one of North
Van's oldest

ew

obeyed, cheese 10 go or our owt
The jet-black version of pasia sauces

“the old restaurant dessert CATERING

stand-by is a delightful blend SERVICE |

of pecans and fudge. It 31% Mounteln Hwy NV

_ breathes new tife into drearily

Our waiter insisted, in

63 - Friday, May 31, 1985 - North Shore News

NOW
SERVING

» Broaktaot™
¢ Lunch
© Eat in, Take Out
Try our homemade Satads, ¢
European cold cults & *

tones reverent’ end polite,
thar we uy the legendary
Fudge Pecan Pie ($3.95). We

ry
common pecan pie, being
neither too sweet nor too fill-
ing/a definite must-sample.

The Sundowner is open
seven days per week from §
p.m. onward. Cruise the
splendour of B.C.'s inside
passage without leaving the
safety of shore.

You can’t beat
Charley's for

® Lunch

© Dinner,

e Dancing Thurs.
‘Fri. & Sat. nites

* Sunday Brunch {| .

eer

60 Semisch. North Van. 984-0274

‘tamily

restaurants. Dinners include
a choice al soup or salad,

and dessert.

For Golden

Agers this dinner includes:
coffee or tea. The great view

is on us!

_ JUNE 1.30/85

The Jasmine Inn is celebrating their 23rd year of serving
Chinese & Western food on the North Shore.

NEW HOURS:

443 West 3rd St.
North Vancouver

Sun. 11:30 - 8
Mon.-Thurs. 9:30 - 10
Fri.-Sat. 11:30 - 2

ae

=
HULU,
INN

RESTAURANT LTD.

987.9133