36 — Wednesday, September 18, 1991 - North Shore News Bantock wanted to push work to the extreme From page 29 Sabine climbed to number six on the Washington Post's bestsellers list in its first week. Bantock’s publisher, Chronicle Books, upped its print run to 40,000 from 10,000 copies after Doubleday Books included Griffin & Sabine on its most promising books of the season list and Ban- tock’s name alongside Amy Tan’s and Stephen King’s. One devoted reader even phored up Bantock’s mother to find cut whether the book was based ona true story; another confessed she felt too ashamed to read the book in public. Luckily, Bantock isn’t letting it all go to his head. “I'm so glad i'm not in New York where | would probably get pretty big-headed,”’ he says. “Thankfulh: lots of people have been bringing me back to Earth, not the least of which is my char- ming wife,’’ Bantock says through a Cheshire cat smile. What amazes me is how pro- ductive he is. With Griffin & Sabine barely out No frills prices means a satisfied clientele From page 32 location has none of the quirky waterfront charm of the original, the interior is more refined, the menu is still the same and you don’t have to travel through scruf- fy dock-side dirt roads to reach it. The staff, too, is virtually un- changed and as delightfully cour- teous and obliging as they were when the salty breezes and salty dogs blew through the doors of the Lynnwood version of the An- chor In. Voss delivers the kind of belly- busting central European grub that really lets you know when you’ve eaten dinner. There is not much cail for four- course meals at the Anchor In. One course pretty well does it for most folks, or at least most lightweight folks like me. And the Anchor In’s prices are extremely diner-friendly. | couldn’t find much over an $11 entree amidst the Peppersteak Flambe, Duck Schwarzwald, Rinds Rouladen, Sauerbraten, Schnitzel, Eisbein and Salmon Strudel. The restaurant's wine list is minimal!, with five whites and five reds ($12 to $27), a pair of sparkl- ing ($20 to $26) and house and import red and white (by the glass and half-litre ($3 to $8). Decent bottles are available, but why not wash everything down with some excellent chilled draft Warsteiner ($2.55 for a glass, $3.95 for a pint, $15.90 for a two- litre glass boot)? With a schooner of Warsteiner slaking Table Hopping thirsts, we tucked into a Hamburger ($4.25) and a Delight Schnitzel (available in Chicken, $10.25, and Veal, $10.75). New-age diners, be forewarned: Anchor in food is robust; servings are hearty. No need for a salad YOUR BABY NEEDS SOME T.L.C.-4 WINTERIZING SPECIAL WINTERIZING & DE-WINTERIZING $99" (incl. 4 gai. of antifreeze) — includes checking of ail appliances & propane leak test in spring WINTERIZING only $49.00 {inc!. 1 gal. of antifreeze) CALL NOW AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT GO WEST, 1577 Lloyd Avenue fork here. The hamburger, for example, came with a generous side of cot- tage-fried potatoes, a thick slab of hamburger meat, mayo, tomato slice and lettuce all upon a toasted Kaiser bun. The Veal Delight, meanwhile, was presented with shredded red cabbage (steamed and spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon) and a large potato pancake (shredded potato and onion mixed together and fried in butter). Topping the thick veal cutlet were sliced tomatoes and mushrooms and a thick skin of melted Mozzarella cheese. With lively oom-pah-pah music . providing the Anchor-in sound- track, Table Hopping staff rolled up sleeves, tucked linen napkins beneath chins and dug in. Throughout the meal, clientele rolled through the restaurant doors wishing Voss well and ordering their old Anchor In favorites. It is not hard to see why: the Anchor In delivers the kind of full-plate meals at no frills prices that satisfy diners without ex- hausting their wallets. Though it is the latest in a string of restaurant hopefuls at the cor- ner of 13th Street and Lonsdale Avenue the Anchor In has a proven past. Those who hope that mid-Lonsdale may some day de- velop some character and life will pray that the Anchor in has some future at its present location. Appetizing: *good, simple food *big portions *pleasant staff Unappetizing *limited wine list *big portions wl? COMPLETE RV. SERVICE & REPAIRS two weeks, Bantock is already hard at work on Sabine’s Natebook (the books actually make up a trilogy). Due out next month is a sequel to Jabberwocky and the enor- mously popular Wings, followed by Solomon Grundy, a humorous pop-up book based on the children’s fable, in the spring. Bantock’s latest project is a book of illustrations and text, The Egyp- tian Jukebox. After that he'll col- laborate with author William Ken- nedy, who won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for his novel, fronweed, ona new children’s book. If he didn’t seem so darned happy, one would say that Ban- tock is precariously close to burn- ing out. Or maybe it’s just the way he operates. Bantock has ac- complished a lot in a few years and he doesn’t give the impression he’s had to struggle. For instance, when he decided he wanted to design book jackets, he chose and succeeded in getting hired by the largest and most suc- cessful book publisher in London — Penguin Books. “I never had to work in terms of getting things,’ admits Bantock, who immigrated to Canada five years ago after working for almost ail the big book publishers in the U.K, As is typical of Bantock’s luck, convincing Chronicle Books to publish Griffin & Sabine wasn't difficult. Bantock hadn’t even planned to show them his work. “lt (Griffin & Sabine) wasn't at a stage where | would have shown it to anyone. f went to Chronicle with two other ideas — | had taken Griffin & Sabine along for a friend to read. Victoria Rock (a Chronicle children’s editor) saw it sitting in the bottom of my bag and asked me what it was. } showed it it to her and the next thing | knew she was clutching it to her chest. She asked me if she could present it to the board.” Bantock leans back in his chair, stretching his wiry frame. He complains about all the nervous energy he’s been carrying around lately that even a rigorous soccer match can’t diminish (Bantock is a soccer devotee and plays regular- ly). {t’s the challenge of his work that he loves, which is why he came to Canada and why he decided to write and illusteate his own book. He just didn’t expect things would go quite this well. “All the reviews have been pusitive. It’s really :aken my breath away. | wanted tc -io something that had never been done before, something that would push me to the extreme. But this is like having one’s cake and eating it too.” However, writing is a bit of a stretch for Bantock, who confesses he considers himself a neophyte writer. In fact he had originall warted to collaborate on Griffin & Sabine with Chris Priest, author of The Glamour. “But Chris said, ‘Do it yourself. You're good enough.’ His friend was obviously right. Has he ever felt as if someone was watching over his shoulder? Bantock tells a story about the time he was in the British Museum and became mesmerized by a stone sculpture of a falcon. “ft took a photo of it and ever since then I’ve had an image of this bird stuck on my shoulder — like Long John Silver and his par- rot.” qf Lesbo: [> oiner T th Street ER GOOD BUYS INTERIOR BREEZE yy ho Regular reiail price $36.98 {3.78 litre can) Choose eggshell or semi-gloss finish { f These savings are on VISA snow until Sept 29th. 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