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hopping

WHILE the Table Hopping
bus takes the department’s
dining crew on an extended
road trip, a cavaleade of
summary reviews from past
dining adventures is present-
ed for readers’ consumption.
To be digested piecemeal or
in one sitting.

Carmelo’s Ristorante Italiano,
1448 Marine Dr., West Vancouver,
922-4719. Visa, MasterCard and
American Express accepted. Open
every night for. dinner. Open for
lunch Monday to Friday. Fully
licensed. Vegetarian options? A
few. Take the kids or call a
babysitter? Call a babysitter.

Jean Claude Lo-Cicero’s fine
West Vancouver place of Italian cui-
sine. Intimate-and polished. Has
expanded into adjacent storefront,
Upscale Italian brick oven pizza
now on the menu.

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The Salmon House on the Hill,
2229. Folkestone Way, West
Vancouver. 926-3212. Visa,
MasterCard and American Express
accepted. Open every day for
lune’

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

could do cither.

and dinner. .Pully licensed.
Vegetarian options? A few. Take
the kids or call a babysitter? You

High altitude dining experience ,

- features a sweeping view of

Vancouver from North Shore hills.
Haute cuisine kitchen driven by

~ executive chef Dan Atkinson,
Alderwood grilling a.Salmon House
signature, Frontman Brendan Mann

rie

runs a brisk and professional dining

Griffins herald return of Junior

cheap scats

COME September, the
fabled Griffin of greek
mythology will take
flight on Monday nights
at the West Vancouver
Arena.

After a four season absence,
Junior B hockey is returning to
these parts in the form of the
The North Shore Griffins, the
newest squad to join the eight-
team Pacific International
Junior Hockey League. Last
month the PIJHL announced
new. teams had been approved
for the North Shore and Delta.

And local hockey fans have
team owner Ken Wilson and
team general manager Phil De

Grandpre to thank.

“The main purpose of the
league is to give opportunities
to boys with some hockey skills
who want to continue past the
minor hockey level, and want
to stay, in school and stay at
home,” said Wilson, a West

_ Vancouver resident and owner

of Interface Financial Group.
“So often these days, young-
sters have to move out of town,
stay in digs, and that isn’t the
best for them or for their edu-
cation.” The league also allows
these players the opportunity to
mature in ability and personali-
ty and perhaps play Junior A or
US. college hockey after their
careers in Junior B. For North
Shore-based players, the
Griffins are a godsend.

The Griffins are the brain-
child of De Grandpre, who rec-
ognized a need for the team
after the West Van midget A
team he coached graduated
players thar had few options
other than commuting to other
Lower Mainland communities
to play their Junior B hockey.

“I had four players that

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dining arts business

ORTH CHORE | JFE

were beyond their midget eligi-
bility, and their parents just said
‘What next?) "says De
Grandpre, a former pro player
in Finland who works at
Sutherland Secondary in the
special education department.

De Grandpre sees the
Griffins as the top rung on the
development ladder for the kids
coming up through North
Shore minor hockey systems, a
team that younger players will
look up, and aspire to.

“The best thing for us will
be to have a kid go from the
Griffins and play Junior A or
get a scholarship somewhere,”
says De Grandpre. Both men
are, according to Wilson, “old
hockey guys ourselves,” and
the team oyner knows well
that being part of a team is a
sure way to learn life lessons.

“That’s definitely part of
our philosophy,” says Wilson.
“We have certain expectations
of the players in terms of stan-
dards of conduct, because
they're going to be examples
for the younger kids in the
community.”

Wednesday, July 9, 1997 - North Shore News - 14

r

appetite. They've opened one of the best new restaurants on the North
Shore, located on Marine Drive at the site of the old Greek Connection. Or, ed. Open every “day for...
if you'd like striking scenery as an accompaniment to your meal, the
Pacitic Starlight. Dinner Train steams out of North Vancouver every licensed.
Wednesday through Sunday until October 31. Cathy Thomson, director of
passenger service, above, displays the elegant interior of the dome car.

Speaking of community,
both Wilson and De Grandpre
are counting on support from
North and West Vancouver res-
idents in terms of volunteer
participation and making the
turnstiles spin.

“This ream belongs to the
community, and without their
support it’s not going to be
what it could be,” says De
Grandpre. “We want people to
come and volunteer at the
games, whether they be securi-
ty or ticket takers. If they love
hockey we really want them to
be involved.”

And while the cost of
putting a Junior B team on ice
is a tew zeroes short of what
Orca Bay needs to operate the
Vancouver Canucks, Wilson
has definitely put his money
where his mouth is.

“We're fairly confident we'll
get a good turnout to games,
and considering West Van
Arena holds about 350 people,
if we yet a couple of hundred
folks in there, believe me, the
whole joint will be rocking,”
says Wilson. He admits that

room, Forty-seat lounge boasts
Tyrone Morine on the baby grand.

Ooo

Corsi Trattoria, No. 1
Lonsdale, North Vancouver, 987-
9910. Visa, MasterCard and
American Express accepted. Open
Monday to Friday for lunch. Open
Monday to Saturday for dinner.
Fully licensed. Vegetarian options?
A few. Take the kids or call a
babysitter? Call a babysitter.

A Corsi retooling carlier this year
has made the Trattoria more
approachable for diners secking an
informal night on the town, Tapas
and other lighter menu items now
fill this original house of Corsi cui-

;. sine ar the foot of Lonsdale.

OOO
The Pacific Starlight Dinner

Train, BC Rails North Vancouver, -

passenger station, 1311 West First
St. (foot of Pemberton Avenue),
North Vancouver, 984-5500 or 1- ,
800-363-3733. Visa, MasterCard ..
and American Express accepted. |
Runs Wednesday through Sunday.
from June 6 to Oct. 31.
Fully licensed. Vegetarian
options? Some. Take the -
kids or call a babysitter.
Cali a babysitter.

~ BC Rail steams into haute
” cuisine with an inspired”
dinner train that features
nine refurbished luxury _
railcars serviced by an

¥ train travels between’ |,
North Vancouver and.,”°

~ Porteau Cove. A bracing!

|, combination of West Coast

scenery and West Coast.

cuisine, Train started’ |.”
rolling on June 6... -

00., on

ay O
Bridge .

expert kitchen: The dinner ~ :

* House:

THE team at Barolo Ristorante Haliano, top photo, make a toast to your Visa, MasterCard and a

Restaurant, ~ |, 3650 .*
Capilano | Rd.,... North
Vancouver, 987-3385. ,°

American Express accept-

lunch and ‘dinner.. Fully; ' -
Vegetarian: ”

te

North Shore Griffins
generai manager Phil De
Grandpre.

while he has gone into the
ownership role as a business-
man, it’s not his sole purpose:

. “Is an opportunity to com-

bine business with fin.”

Fun as it may be, both men
expect great things out of the
Griffins in their first season.

‘Namely, a playoff berth. Six of

cight teams make the playoffs.
“Having watched the top
teams last year in the playoff

hecke £

.a trio of experienced hockey

See Fare page 14

run, I feel that we're not real far
off,” says De Grandpre. “7
Last week, the Griffins hired “

men to take on the team’s *
bench duties: Norm
McNamara as head coach, and
Gord McNeceley and Greg Van “
Unen as assistant coaches. fo

The North Shore Griffins
are conducting a player evalua-
tion camp at Planet Ice ‘in
Coquitlam . July © 25-27.
Interested players should con-
tact the team at 980-2934. The
Griffins will play 42 regular sea-
son games, with their home
games at 7:45 p.m, on Monday
nights beginning Sept. 15. If
you’re interested in volunteer-
ing call 925-6056. “

The Griffins of Greek
mythology were, according to
the poet Aeschylus, “the
hounds of Zeus, who never
bark with beaks like birds, with
the body of'a lion, and the head
and wings of an eagle.”

Pretty scary sounding, crea-
tures. Here’s hoping the new
Junior 8 team draws inspiration
from their namesakes,