A Commercial Drive favourite now offers dinner

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Livia Forno e Vino

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Where: 1399 Commercial Dr., Vancouver

When: Brunch/lunch, Tuesday to Sunday; happy hour, Thursday to Saturday; dinner, Friday and Saturday.

Info: 604-423-3869; liviasweets.com

Barack Obama, the late Steve Jobs and Audrey Hepburn inspired Claire Livia Lassam’s signature wardrobe move — striped tops, all of the time, for years. It started as a time-saver when she was hawking her high-demand baked goods at farmers’ markets, working up to 120 hours, give or take, every week.

“I was listening to a podcast and heard that Obama and Steve Jobs wore the same outfit all the time,” she explains. She means a consistent style, a sort of uniform — not the same unwashed clothes on repeat. The no-brainer wardrobe eliminates decision-making, freeing time for more important things.

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“I looked like a schmuck all the time and wanted to pull myself together,” Lassam further explains. “And as a kid, I’d once dressed up as Audrey Hepburn for Halloween, wearing black jeans and a striped shirt.”

Her wardrobe reflects how hard she works at doing what she loves, running a bakery-cafe. Locals can see her coming a block away.

“It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was 17,” she says.

You can also identify her by the funky right-hand drive Subaru Sambar, a VW van lookalike she drives. “It’s hard to find parts for it, but I can fit so much into the back and it’s adorable,” she says.

I’ve interviewed Lassam twice before. Once, around 10 years ago, when she was chef at Little Nest, a beloved cafe off Commercial Drive for kids and adults alike. And then a few years ago, when she opened the warm and charming Livia Cafe and Bakery as a day-time operation. She is so embedded in the neighbourhood, a couple of the children who played at Little Nest are now working for her. Now, at Livia — named after a beloved grandmother — she is offering a limited dinner menu on Fridays and Saturdays, with James Frost as chef. He has cooked at the excellent Italian restaurant La Quercia and is part of a local band, Dadweed. 

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Lassam’s husband, Jordan Pires, who handles Livia’s business side of things, is totally over-qualified. He previously managed 150 employees in 70 countries, covering 11 languages, for an international business development project. “He thought he’d go back to the business world after a year,” she says. Meanwhile, a baby’s joined their household, as well as a pandemic.

The twice-weekly dinners can’t be blamed on COVID. The kitchen is small and the bakery operation muscles in on space. The joy of the two nights a week? “The small volume allows us to almost entirely change the menu every week,” says Lassam.

There are usually two or three pastas, handmade, unless it’s an extruded one like spaghetti, as space is too tight for an extruder. When I visited, the pasta features were burrata cannelloni, sea urchin spaghetti, and duck leg ragu pappardelle. We tried the spaghetti ($26) and pappardelle ($28). Sea urchin is a delicacy and has diva tendencies, testing a cook’s patience. But sea urchin makes for a creamy, subtle and oceany sauce. “The prettiest pieces are saved for the garnish. The less beautiful ones are melted down with butter and chilies and blended,” Lassam says.

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Duck ragu was embedded in the folds of the pappardelle, plentiful enough for every bite. The chef dries the noodles several times as it is being made to achieve a crinkly texture for a clingy surface. “How could we waste even a drop of that sauce?” Lassam exclaims.

Under snacks, we had a chicken liver parfait toast ($7), which I loved. It was super smooth and kissed with cognac and brightened with cubes of watermelon rind mostarda. Marinated mussels, topped with a herbal sofrito ($7) were served atop a spoonful of aioli. Winter radish salad ($16) with butter lettuce, pistachio gremolata, and meyer lemon vinaigrette was crisp, fresh and bright.

For dessert, from a choice of pecorino cheese with fermented spruce honey, quince and sourdough bread or affogato with hazelnut gelato and chocolate biscotti, we shared the affogato. I’d never ordered it before because I didn’t relish a sleepless night of caffeinated regret. But … right! You can ask for decaf. The upshot, however, was, meh. Not a fan. The ice cream and coffee quickly turned soupy and unattractive. Desserts constantly change, and on other nights, you might find something like blood orange panna cotta or dark chocolate semifreddo.

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The beverage program is compact with an interesting, well-priced selection of Italian and Portuguese wines. Portuguese, I wondered? It’s because hubby Pires is half-Portuguese and excited to share what he likes, such as the Casa Saima Pinot Noir, his favourite. There is also a wide-ranging choice of vermouths and vermouth-based cocktails, as well as amaro and digestivos. There’s even a house-made version of fennel liqueur that is mixed with a shot of espresso and topped with a salted foam cap, masquerading as a “macchiato”.

In case it hasn’t been undeniably obvious, I am a big fan of this cozy place run by a woman in stripes. The food is casual, comforting, inventive and delicious, and it’s got soul. Love the music, too. The playlist, Lassam says, is “What we like.”

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The dinner menu started up in November, but shut down in December when Omicron swarmed in. It re-opened in February and, hopefully, no more shutdowns. 

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SIDE DISHES

In support of Ukraine

Until March 18, Glowbal restaurant will donate 25 per cent of sales of a cocktail created as a fundraiser for The Canadian Red Cross’s efforts to help the people of Ukraine. Bar manager Martin Kovalcik created Another Love ($18), made with Botanist gin, Cocchi American Aperitivo, rosewater, pistachio and almond Orgeat, lime and egg white. The name of the cocktail alludes to the Tom Odell song, an anthem at protests against the Russian invasion. The blue and yellow hues of the drink are the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Until March 18, the Canadian government is matching every donation made by individual Canadians to the Canadian Red Cross to a maximum of $10.

And In My Kitchen will donate 100 per cent of registration fees for their March 5 online class to the Canadian Red Cross in support of Ukraine. The $39 cooking class will teach how to make ricotta gnocchi with tomato sauce, Umbrian roast chicken, and fennel salad, all from the Italian region of Umbria. The class, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., costs $39. Recipes are mailed upon registration. Or you are welcome to just watch and learn. More information at inmykitchen.ca.