Expectations are high and rising as the doors of One Hundred Days prepare to open!  In a mere 24 hours, OPUS Hotel Vancouver will host a special media and VIP event before opening to the public for breakfast on Saturday morning.  The past week has seen the incredible transformation from traditional French bistro to raw, unpredictable and urbane pop-up eatery.

” The concept of a moment-in-time restaurant arose out of my decision to close Elixir Bistro and develop a fresh and innovative world class restaurant, featuring a new international cuisine, to open in the first quarter of 2011.  In true OPUS spirit, I decided to use the transition period between the old and new to do something completely unexpected and unique.  The richly experiential, stripped back raw structure of One Hundred Days is in perfect keeping with the creativity and unpredictability that defines the OPUS Brand ” said John deC. Evans, President and CEO, OPUS Hotels.

The talented chefs at One Hundred Days will dish up a tantalizing menu of urban diner meets Mediterranean cuisine, all inspired by the art surrounding them.  With choices such as Lobster and Prawn Popsicles and the Kick-Ass Burger, dinner at One Hundred Days is guaranteed to be a unique and adventurous experience!

The décor will be in a constant flux of change at the hands of local celebrity graffiti artist Vince Dumoulin.  With the walls at the mercy of his artistic whims, you may think you are in a different restaurant from one week to the next. 

One Hundred Days promises to be high energy and the most unexpected and thrilling dining experience to be found in Vancouver.  Join us on our journey of 100 exciting adventures.

Peter Girges Unveils RocksGlass Concepts Ltd. Restaurant Group

Peter Girges, the young Vancouver visionary behind the Glowbal Group of Restaurants is at it again and this time launching a new company of restaurants, RocksGlass Concepts Ltd. As the first major move Girges, together with his team announced today they will be partnering with John Evans, President & CEO of the OPUS Hotels Vancouver and taking over the hotel’s food & beverage, including OPUS Bar, Café O and of course the renowned Elixir Bistro.

Shutting down this Friday for a 6-day whirlwind overhaul, Girges and the RocksGlass team will be renovating the Elixir Bistro to insert their own style and complete the partnership. This startling announcement comes just shy of the opening of the first two RocksGlass restaurants independently called Chinois Restaurant, and the other, Pierre’s.

Although construction on Chinois Restaurant and Pierre’s Lounge is still underway, the two highly anticipated restaurants are both slated to open later this fall. Having assembled some of the strongest industry players including restaurant handler and former Glowbal General Manager, Anthony Pratt, EVOKE International Design, as well as an extensive list of high-profile investors; RocksGlass is confident they will exceed expectations.

Peter Girges, the man behind the company, has already earned a reputation for success in the highly competitive restaurant sector. As the other half of the Glowbal Group of Restaurants, he built the original Coast, Italian Kitchen, Sanafir, Trattoria, Glowbal and Afterglow. Even more impressive, at only 31 years of age, this industry veteran has developed a whopping eight successful restaurants, five of which continue to generate well over $30 million annually.

In 2008, after selling his shares in the Glowbal Group, Girges made the decision to branch out independently. “The opportunity was there, and I knew it was now or never,” says Girges. “I have long wanted to re-define hospitality in Vancouver and I believe RocksGlass will achieve just that,” he finished.

With over 15 years experience in the culinary world, Turianskyj comes from within the OPUS Hotel Group family. The native Montrealer garnered much acclaim while serving as both Executive Chef and General Manager of KOKO Restaurant + Bar at OPUS Montreal. Chef Turianskyj’s vision and passion for excellence lead the way in executing a menu that perfectly emulated KOKO’s cosmopolitan, sophisticated environment.

Turianskyj’s career began with his studies at the Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec. He then took on the role of sous-Chef at the Manoir des Érables, and was later appointed Chef for the Délégation du Québec in New York. Turianskyj then returned to Québec, where he further demonstrated his talents at chic Mont-Tremblant restaurant Aux Truffes.

Bearing Taiwanese, French and Ukranian ancestry, Chef Turianskyj grew up surrounded by global culinary influences. His passion for travel and culture took him to the Sheraton Club des Pins in Algiers, Algeria, the deserts of Qatar at the Intercontinental in Doha, and to Q’BA, New Delhi’s pre-eminent dining establishment. He has acquired a wealth of experience, from catering expansive events in the desert to planning formal dinners honouring political dignitaries, heads of state and royalty; he is ideally poised to lead OPUS Vancouver’s culinary team and will be responsible for OPUS Bar, Elixir Bistro and OPUS Catering.

OPUS Hotel Vancouver
Uniquely stylish and always fresh, OPUS Hotel Vancouver redefines the boutique experience, blending contemporary design with warmth and intuitive service. Ninety-six guestrooms feature vibrant colours, spa bathrooms and five lifestyle-inspired décor schemes. Located in fashionable Yaletown, close to Vancouver’s best restaurants, spas and boutiques, the hotel is home to Elixir Bistro and the dramatic OPUS Bar. OPUS was voted one of the world’s top 100 hotels by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine.

www.opushotel.com

Starting April 13, 2010

Spring Fever has arrived and it is time to get your flirt on! The Elixir Bistro team has created a dining experience for you to impress any potential mate, that includes a very special wine and dine offer available every Tuesday starting April 13. Choose a bottle of wine from our Date Night wine menu and receive a complimentary three course table d’hôte menu for two.

Date Night Menu
A 3-course dinner for two is included with your selection of any of the following wines:
WHITES
JACKSON TRIGGS ESPRIT 2007. Chardonnay. Okanagan Valley. B.C. 49
E. GUIGAL 2004. Viognier blend. Cote du Rhone Blanc France 89
JAFFURS 2004. roussanne. California 109
BERINGER ‘Private Reserve’ 2006. chardonnay. California. 129
VILLA MT.EDEN 1999. chardonnay. California. 119
ROSE
LE VIEUX PIN ‘Vaila’ 2008. Pinot noir rosé. Oliver. B.C. 89
REDS
JACKSON TRIGGS ESPRIT 2006. Cabarnet – Merlot. Okanagan Valley. B.C. 49
CLOS DU CAUSSE 2001. bordeaux blend. Minervois. France 89
NICHOL VINEYARD ‘Capriccio’ 2006. pinot noir & gamay. Naramata. B.C. 79
DUNHAM FROESE 2007. bordeaux blend. Oliver. B.C. 79
DOMAINE VINCENT SAUVESTRE 2003. pinot noir. Pommard. France 129
QUERCIABELLA 2005. sangiovese. Chianti Classico. Italy 119
LANE TANNER ‘Julia’s Vineyard’ 20065. pinot noir. California 159
TORBRECK ‘RunRig’ 2002. shiraz. Australia 469
BUBBLES
PASQUA PROSECCO 79
DE VENOGE. Brut Rosé NV. France 375 ml 99
FERRARI BRUT 119
GOSSET ‘Celebris’ Brut Rosé 2003. Champagne. France 409

“From the beginning, Don was extremely passionate about the Elixir and OPUS Bar brands, which clearly showed through his professionalism and dedication” says OPUS Vancouver General Manager Nicholas Gandossi. His focus and determination were building blocks for Elixir’s early successes, which allowed the business to grow in other areas, most notably in OPUS Catering. We certainly will miss his leadership and humour, which we have all seen, and come to understand over the past eight years.”

About Elixir
French Bistro meets affordable Yaletown glamour in Elixir. Recognized as the bronze recipient for casual French cuisine at the coveted Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards; Elixir is also a founding member of the Ocean Wise Program and Green Table Network. Classic French cuisine is crafted from the freshest regional and seasonal ingredients. Choose a room to suit your mood: bustling Bistro, airy Garden Room or plush Velvet Room. Elixir provides warm, attentive service in a vibrant atmosphere popular with style savvy travelers and discerning locals alike. Valet parking is available. For more information call 604.642.0557 or visit www.elxirvancouver.ca.

On Sunday May 2, Elixir Bistro at OPUS Hotel Vancouver hosts a fundraiser brunch and silent auction, benefitting Team Merckx. Letendre is honoured to once again join this team, which was started by former pro cyclist and Tour de France participant Axel Merckx and wife Jody Merckx of Kelowna. The goal of Team Merckx is to raise $100,000.00 for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Proceeds from the brunch will go toward the team’s ambitious target. For more information, or to make a donation visit: www.conquercancer.ca.

In the spirit of the cycling event, Executive Chef Don Letendre has partnered up with Team Merckx captain Olivier Lebeau to develop a custom menu featuring specialty items including: The After Burn (scallion and bacon waffle, poached eggs, grilled asparagus tomato jam and sauce béarnaise) and Licking the Front Tire (Pavlova, lemon curd and fresh berries). The three-course set brunch will be served on Sunday, May 2 from 10:00am – 3:30pm at $40.00 per person. $30.00 will cover the cost of food and $10.00 will go directly to the cause. There is also a children’s menu available for $30.00. For more information or to make a reservation call 604.642.0557.

Elixir Bistro
French Bistro meets affordable Yaletown glamour in Elixir. Recognized as the bronze recipient for casual French cuisine at the coveted Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards; Elixir is also a founding member of the Ocean Wise Program and Green Table Network. Chef Don Letendre specializes in classic French cuisine, crafting innovative dishes from the freshest regional and seasonal ingredients. Choose a room to suit your mood: bustling Bistro, airy Garden Room or plush Velvet Room. Elixir provides warm, attentive service in a vibrant atmosphere popular with style savvy travelers and discerning locals alike. Valet parking is available.

www.elixirvancouver.ca

Feel like a celebrity as you walk the Red Carpet, wave to adoring paparazzi and step into the ultimate viewing party! Dress to impress and experience all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood while sipping Oscartini’s, nibbling feature Oscar O-bite platters for $25 and mingling with Vancouver’s glamorous while watching the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Don’t miss your chance to win a Bed & Breakfast package for two at OPUS Hotel Vancouver, for the person with the most correct Oscar ballot predictions.

3 course Oscar Dinner available in Elixir Bistro for $30 with optional wine pairings for $20.

RSVP to Jessica Dunn JDunn@opushotel.com

On Valentine’s Day, casual French bistro Elixir invites guests to savour a decadent four-course menu and amuse bouche. After sampling kushi oysters on the half shell with champagne jelly and caviar, guests will relish a sunchoke and truffle veloute, roasted candy cane beets or Qualicum Bay scallops. Perfect for a romantic evening a deux, the lobster paella, beef Wellington and rack of lamb mains are designed for sharing. And because February 14 is incomplete without something sweet, the meal is capped with a bittersweet chocolate mille-feuille with black cherry sorbet and Valentines petit fours. The four-course menu with amuse bouche is $85.00 per person.

At OPUS Bar, guests will sip a bold, sweet or seductive cocktail then dive into a savoury shared platter of s&b tempura oysters, red curry prawn skewer and Mediterranean lamb popsicle. For dessert? A tier of seductive Valentine’s sweets, including chocolate pistachio éclairs, milk chocolate chai truffles, chocolate macaroons with cherry-chocolate ganache and a hot chocolate shot with passion fruit marshmallow. The savoury and sweet platters and choice of cocktail are $55.00 per person.

Reservations for Elixir Bistro and OPUS Bar can be made at Open Table (www.opentable.com) and through Elixir Bistro at 604.642.0557.

Elixir Bistro
French Bistro meets affordable Yaletown glamour in Elixir. Recognized as the bronze recipient for casual French cuisine at the coveted Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards; Elixir is also a founding member of the Ocean Wise Program and Green Table Network. Chef Don Letendre specializes in classic French cuisine, crafting innovative dishes from the freshest regional and seasonal ingredients. Choose a room to suit your mood: bustling Bistro, airy Garden Room or plush Velvet Room. Elixir provides warm, attentive service in a vibrant atmosphere popular with style savvy travelers and discerning locals alike. Valet parking is available. www.elixirvancouver.ca

OPUS Bar
At chic ‘see-and-be-seen’ OPUS Bar in Vancouver’s world-renowned OPUS Hotel, a playful blend of iridescent lighting, designer furniture and shimmer screens set the mood for its sophisticated and style-savvy crowd. Innovative cocktails are complemented by modern-world “O-Bites”, with live music from some of the city’s best local DJs and musicians. Glass-walled restrooms and live video feeds allow you to always keep an eye on the action. Located in fashionable Yaletown, OPUS Bar was voted “Vancouver’s Most Popular Nightspot” by Zagat. www.opusbar.ca

Located in trendy Yaletown, the unofficial party zone during the games, OPUS Vancouver and OPUS Bar will welcome guests with chic events—plus new Olympic Lifestyle Cocktails and O Bites—that will have guests seeing gold.

Figure skater, hockey player or snowboarder? OPUS Bar’s innovative, hand-crafted cocktail menu allows guests to choose a cocktail to match their room or alter-ego, one of the five fictional muses behind the hotel’s décor schemes. The names of the lifestyle cocktails and O-Bites were inspired by the sports that these characters will watch during the Olympic Winter Games.

New York celebrity mixologist Charlotte Voisey, Ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin, was a special guest mixologist at the OPUS’ 7 Year Anniversary party in November 2009 and created this feature cocktail menu with OPUS’s five lifestyle characters in mind. While snowboarding fan Billy will sip a twist on a dark and stormy, alpine skiing enthusiast Mike will linger over a whiskey smash.

O-Bites, a selection of global plates named for the lifestyle characters and their sports, round out the Olympic-inspired tastes. Guests will dive into dishes such as Carving Karage (chicken karage), Buffalo Bobsleigh (miso marinated buffalo sate) and Sockeye Slalom (salmon tempura roll) while soaking up the vibrant, energy-fueled atmosphere. www.opusbar.ca/menus/obites

To complement its five lifestyle-inspired guestroom décor schemes, OPUS offers guests a choice of five virtual guides to the city. The Lifestyle Concierge offers interactive online personality profiling so that guests may discover which personality best suits their lifestyle. For guests wanting to know the hottest happening during the Vancouver Winter Games, OPUS Hotel has launched a special edition of their Lifestyle Concierge online city guide featuring the best of the cultural Olympiad, Olympic attractions and the hottest restaurants and bars, as chosen by the five OPUS’ muses. www.opushotel.com/services_concierge

OPUS Hotel is proud to be hosting an exciting VIP Media Welcome Party for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on Tuesday February 9th, 2010. Hosting national and international media, this dramatic podium themed party will show guests that while Vancouver is known for its snow-capped mountains and sparkling blue ocean, it’s also a cool, world-class city that knows how to throw an amazing party. VIPs will be wowed by interactive, dare-to-disturb room tours and will savour 2010 inspired canapés and fabulous Skyy Vodka cocktails.

OPUS Hotel Vancouver
Uniquely stylish and always fresh, OPUS Hotel Vancouver redefines the boutique experience, blending contemporary design with warmth and intuitive service. Ninety-six guestrooms feature vibrant colours, spa bathrooms and five lifestyle-inspired décor schemes. Located in fashionable Yaletown, close to Vancouver’s best restaurants, spas and boutiques, the hotel is home to Elixir Bistro and the dramatic OPUS Bar. OPUS was voted one of the world’s top 100 hotels by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. www.opushotel.com

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The 2010 Zagat Vancouver guide reports on 298 of the city’s finest restaurants, nightspots, attractions and hotels. “Keep your paparazzi eyes open at this movie star hangout in Yaletown,” says the guide of OPUS Bar praising the “upscale lounge with abundant eye candy.”

“We’re delighted that Zagat have recognized our commitment to provide the best nightlife experience in the city” says General Manager Nicholas Gandossi “its about a multi-sensory experience”. Going beyond the designer setting, talented DJ’s and creative cocktails they are known for, OPUS bar has recently further demonstrated its cutting-edge cool by partnering with celebrated local designer Jason Matlo to outfit cocktail servers in his stylish and sophisticated designs.

OPUS Hotel Vancouver, a “one of a kind boutique hotel…the place in Vancouver to see and be seen” from “the refreshingly hip accommodations, to the hot lobby lounge” and the hotel’s “chic Yaletown bistro” Elixir were also highly rated by the guide.

OPUS Hotel Vancouver was named one of the World’s Top 500 Hotels in the January 2010 issue of Travel + Leisure Magazine.

OPUS Bar
At chic ‘see-and-be-seen’ OPUS Bar in Vancouver’s world-renowned OPUS Hotel, a playful blend of iridescent lighting, designer furniture and shimmer screens set the mood for its sophisticated and style-savvy crowd. Innovative cocktails are complemented by modern-world “O Bites”, with live music from some of the city’s best local DJs and musicians. Glass-walled restrooms and live video feeds allow you to always keep an eye on the action. www.opusbar.ca

OPUS Hotel Vancouver
Uniquely stylish and always fresh, OPUS Hotel Vancouver redefines the boutique experience, blending contemporary design with warmth and intuitive service. Ninety-six guestrooms feature vibrant colours, spa bathrooms and five lifestyle-inspired décor schemes. Located in fashionable Yaletown, close to Vancouver’s best restaurants, spas and boutiques, the hotel is home to Elixir Bistro and the dramatic OPUS Bar. OPUS was voted one of the world’s top 100 hotels by readers of Condé Nast Traveler magazine. www.opushotel.com

Jason Matlo
Jason Matlo is a Vancouver fashion designer who aspires to bring his art form to an international audience. Setting a benchmark for Canadian made ready-to-wear women’s fashion, his brand has been recognized as one of the most luxurious and sophisticated women’s lines that is designed and manufactured in Canada. Innovative design, luxurious fabrics and textures and meticulous attention to detail are Matlo trademarks. Jason’s skill and talent as a designer allow him to adopt an uncompromising approach to quality and detail that place him in rare company. www.jasonmatlo.com