If Rick Hansen is Vancouvers Man in Motion, then Anthony Sedlak is The Chef Who Never Stops.
Its a busy Friday afternoon and the You Gotta Eat Here is filming one of three new Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»segments at . on Davie. Faster than you can caramelize an onion for one of the fat-laden shaved beef and cheese sandwiches, Sedlak is hamming it up with the shows host John Catucci, ensuring that local food writers are incredibly well fed, and sitting down to talk about where he goes from here. He speaks as fast as he moves; with his metabolism, theres little wonder that a chef who can pack a days worth of calories into one meal looks like he survives on apples and granola bars.
You just let Anthony be Anthony, Catucci says of working with one of the Food Networks most popular chefs. Hes such a great spirit. You can tell the energy when you walk through the door. Hes passionate about food but he doesnt make you feel bad about not knowing everything.
This is the second visit to Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»for Catuccis show, which is in its inaugural season. The first round included the Tomahawk, Argo Cafe and Neighbours. This trip theyre shooting at American Cheesesteak, Miura Waffle Milk Bar (just up the street at 829 Davie) and The Reef (4172 Main) for the shows line-up this fall.
Asked why food shows love this city, Catucci says that Vancouvers beauty doesnt hurt who doesnt love the view of ocean and mountains but theres also a fun vibe here. Its more chilled out. Is it the rain? The weed? Theres a strong food culture.
Sedlak and his business partners, the Eng family, tapped into that when they created American Cheesesteak Co. With a name like that, you know that part of their intention is to expand it far beyond its nook on Davie. But this street, with its plethora of restaurants, was the perfect testing ground. Theres a vibrancy here, because not only is it a destination for foodies, its also a real neighbourhood. Vancouverites are also willing to pay more for good ingredients. American Cheesesteak Co. may cook food quickly but the beef is centre cut prime rib, the Russet potato fries are par-boiled before being double fried, the sauces are homemade, a real vanilla bean flavours the milkshake As proletarian as the sandwichs roots in Philadephia may be, Sedlaks version is on the president of Gold Corp.s speed dial for take-out.
Now the challenge is to find an equally perfect neighbourhood in other cities. Theyre focusing on Calgary and Toronto, where Sedlak is also helping the Engs with one of their hotels. (Hes also got a few other hush-hush projects on the go.) Theyve been thrilled with Vancouvers embrace of their concept but want to make sure they work out all the kinks here before opening new locations.
Its why I got into cooking, says Sedlak, who despite his training at some of the top restaurants, is drawn to providing people with good old-fashioned comfort food. When diners are happy, hes happy, and American Cheesesteak is affordable happiness.
People have to eat, he says, and there will always be opportunities for [chefs] who want to do things that are different and gutsy.
By Martha Perkins
