Grown up and much less out of control (than Joey Tomato’s), the flagship spot on West Broadway is calmer and classier
Mia Stainsby
Sun
The California sushi taco may be the most creative dish at Joeys on West Broadway, the flagship in the restaurant chain of 13.
The first time I met Joeys, it was in Calgary in the adolescent phase of its trajectory. It went by the name Joey Tomato’s Mediterranean Grill. My husband and I met a friend there, a visiting prof, who trustingly heeded a colleague’s suggestion. We spent the evening lip-reading through thunderous noise. Staff were encouraged to bellow across the room at each other and by evening’s end, we were hoarse despite having communicated very little.
Joeys on West Broadway, the flagship of 13 in the chain, is more grown up and much less an out-of-control teen. It is now in modern twenty-to-thirty-something mode and the look is calmer and classier. Instead of yelling, there are smiles and smiles and more smiles. Plain Jane and John servers obviously need not apply.
Joeys is owned by Jeff Fuller, of the restaurant empire family (Joeys, Earls restaurants) who run casual dining spots with military precision. Staff undergo 20 hours training to learn Joeys’ service philosophy, food and wine.
De rigeur for the times, there’s an ample lounge area next to the dining area with booth seatings. The brown-surround interior, with a rooftop patio hadn’t been given the all-clear for the hordes to ascend when I visited, but there’ll be mountain views, a cabana bar, water feature, lush greenery, and protection from rain, I’m told. I say ‘hordes’ because soon after opening just over a month ago, Joeys has been busy every night judging from the two weekday evenings I went. Obviously, there is a market following Joeys’ coming-of-age. It’s a little too cookie-cutter for me, but I can understand the mass appeal. Dishes are as comfy as a La-Z-Boy — nothing to surprise or come around the corner at you. The most creative dish, the California sushi taco, is comprised of two familiar elements. The Penang prawn curry is made hard to resist with coconut milk.
The attraction is the well executed M.O.R. (middle-of-the-road) experience in a well-appointed setting. Most of the menu is a cakewalk through dishes like lettuce wraps, chicken wings, entree salads, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, steaks and chops, wok dishes and pastas. Sharing plates and appies cost $4 to $9 and entrees can range from $15 to $29.
Technically, the food is nicely presented but sometimes lacks flavour or brightness. The bento box with miso-glazed salmon, crab sushi taco, edamame and Asian coleslaw is one such dish. The crab sushi taco, a signature appy would be better as crab taco — rice and taco are not boon companions. Chinatown lettuce wrap might have appreciated a little hoisin flavour. The sweet chili chicken was very nice with little cubes of cucumber counterpointing the heat; dry ribs with Chinese five-spice induced me to eat way too much of it.
The shell-on chili prawns in chili garlic sauce requires that leap of faith needed to eat the shells. Do! It’s not at all scratchy.
I have no complaints with the entree meats and fish — a lamb chop mixed grill features a juicy, flavourful T-bone and rack; the peppercorn New York 12-ounce steak is juicy and tasty; grilled salmon was served with linguine with alfredo sauce, both nicely done.
The molten chocolate lava souffle is worth bursting a waistband explosion. Fork into a gusher of liquid chocolate and moosh it together with the ice cream next to it. The individual apple pie is a lie — it feeds four quite easily but alas, the apples weren’t really very apple-y.
In the beginning weeks, the room was crawling with service staff and the same in the kitchen. Dishes came out lickety split and sometimes, second courses arrived before we’d finished the first. But servers did have the time for attentive service with killer smiles.
Chris Mills oversees the chain-wide kitchens and definitely, you see quality control, if not the refined dishes of his days of haute cuisine at Diva at The Met. For what it is — a casual, fun, everyday restaurant, Joey’s has buzz and more than decent food.
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JOEYS
Overall: 3 1/2
Food: 3 1/2
Ambiance 3 1/2
Service 4
Price $$
1424 West Broadway, 604-732-5639, www.joeysrestaurants.com
Open 11 a.m. to midnight 7 nights a week.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006